Monthly Archives: July 2014

Grilled Halibut on Brioche Burger Buns

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Our Brioche Burger Buns are the stuff of legend, if we do say so ourselves. Not only do they fly off our shelves, lickety-split, but our wholesale partners (Hello, Skillet, The Swinery, and Re:Public!) can’t get enough of them either. Plush and buttery with just a hint of sweetness, they are profoundly delicious when toasted to a caramelized crisp. Is your mouth watering yet?

Brioche has inspired masterpieces, a knitter’s stitch, and even a font. But ours incite great works of the edible variety. We joined Leslie at her barn to see how she uses these buns to create summer sandwich perfection. With grilled halibut, spicy harissa aioli, and preserved lemons, it’s sure to be a hit at your next barbecue!

Grilled Halibut on Brioche Burger Buns
Click here to print this recipe!

Ingredients

1 pound fresh halibut
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Ground black pepper to taste
1 1/4 cups pure olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons ground harissa
*1/4 cup preserved lemons
**1 package Brioche Burger Buns

*Leslie uses the Quick Pickled Lemons recipe from Jerusalem: A Cookbook.
**Available in our cafés.

Makes 4 sandwiches

1. Preheat a grill to 500°F. Brush grill grate to remove any debris.

2. Cut halibut horizontally to create an even thickness. Sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper, and drizzle with a little olive oil. Set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, add tomatoes, and drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt. Bake for 10 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Set aside to cool.

4. In a medium bowl, add the egg yolks, Dijon, lemon juice and garlic, and whisk well to combine. While continuing to whisk, add 1 cup of olive oil in a slow, steady stream. The aioli mixture should thicken slightly but should not resemble processed mayonnaise. Stir in harissa and salt to taste.

5. Brush a little olive oil on the preheated grill grate and cook the halibut for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. While the fish is cooking, slice the buns in half and brush the cut side with remaining oil. On the coolest part of the grill, toast the buns cut side down for 1 to 2 minutes.

6. Spread 1 tablespoon of aioli on the inside of each toasted bun half. Then layer 1 tablespoon of preserved lemons on each bottom bun, followed by a piece of halibut, and a quarter of the tomatoes. Sandwich with the top buns and slice each sandwich in half for ease of eating.

Enjoy with a fresh garden salad, roasted potatoes or potato chips. Happy grilling!

Francese Crostini: Our Favorite Summer Appetizer

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Since we’re all spending more time outside soaking up this gorgeous weather, we thought you would enjoy seeing what Leslie has on the grill this summer. This rustic yet elegant Francese Crostini appetizer using our Pane Francese bread toasted right on the grill and topped with fresh, local ingredients is hard to beat. You can make the Fig & Olive Tapenade at home using the recipe below, but we also sell this delicious spread in our cafés. Check out the video to learn about Leslie’s inspiration for this recipe and stop by for a freshly baked loaf of Pane Francese for your next dinner party!

Francese Crostini
Click here to print this recipe!

Ingredients

For the tapenade:
1 cup dried Black Mission figs (about 18), trimmed and quartered
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cups pitted Kalamata olives, rinsed
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 medium cloves garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3/4 cup extravirgin olive oil, divided

For the crostini:
*1 loaf Pane Francese
2 fresh Black Mission figs, trimmed and sliced lengthwise into 12 pieces
2 tablespoons chopped Marcona almonds
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
**4 ounces of Camembert, Brie or Cambozola, sliced into 12 pieces

*Available in our cafés.
** Leslie uses Dinah’s Cheese from Kurtwood Farms.

Makes 12 servings

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the dried figs, water and balsamic vinegar to a simmer and cook until the figs are soft and the liquid has reduced to about 2 tablespoons, about 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.

2. Pour the warm figs and cooking liquid into the bowl of a food processor or a blender. Pulse several times to break down the figs; scrape the bowl and purée to a smooth texture. Add the olives, capers, mustard, garlic, rosemary, thyme and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Pulse the mixture until it is spreadable and has a uniform texture. With the machine running, add another 1/4 cup olive oil in a slow stream until the mixture is smooth and easy to spread.

3. Reserve 1 cup of tapenade for the crostini. The remainder can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week for future use.

4. Slice the bread lengthwise and brush each cut side with the remaining olive oil. Toast the bread cut side down on a grill until golden brown. Alternatively, the loaf can be toasted cut side up in the broiler until golden brown.

5. Divide the reserved tapenade in half and spread evenly on each side of the loaf. Layer each side with 6 slices of cheese and 6 slices of fig, evenly spaced. Sprinkle both sides with almonds and oregano.

6. Slice each length of bread into six pieces, making 12 pieces total. Enjoy!

24 Hours in Minneapolis with Leslie

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Gold Medal Flour

Milled in Minneapolis for over 130 years. Photo by Dennis Brekke.

Minneapolis is nicknamed the Mill City for good reason. By the late 1800s, this town situated on the banks of both the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, was booming with mills for cotton, paper, wood, wool, and most importantly, flour. Grain grown in the Great Plains was shipped to Minneapolis’ 34 flour mills for production. According to the Mill City Museum, in its heyday, a single mill at Washburn-Crosby (General Mills‘ predecessor) made enough flour for 12 million loaves of bread each day. There’s no doubt about it, flour soon became ingrained in this city’s culture.

Leslie spent some time in Minneapolis recently, admiring the rich heritage one delicious loaf at a time. Here is a sampling of some of her favorite stops along the way.

Stop 1: Sun Street Breads
We filed in line with crowds of people waiting for delicious brunch. Their Biscuit Sandwiches are not to be missed. We selected a combination of biscuits, southern-style sausage gravy, cheddar scrambled eggs and fresh scallions. It was so good! We also had the Sourdough Flapjacks, made with bread starter perfectly balanced with the sweetness of real maple syrup and sweet butter. They are famous for their southern fried biscuits with chicken fried steak, bacon and sausage gravy… Oh my stars! As we were leaving we couldn’t resist getting a loaf of their Bergen Bread packed with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax meal, cracked wheat, rolled oats, and rolled rye. The Bergen Bread was awesome for a midday snack with cheese and fruit. The café had a bustling atmosphere with very friendly and helpful staff.

Patisserie 46 in Minneapolis

Rows of pastries on display at Patisserie 46.

Stop 2: Patisserie 46
Tucked into the Kingfield neighborhood in southwestern Minneapolis, this lovey bakery sits. It offers elegant French-inspired pastries, a great selection of baguettes and levain-style breads; lunch with soup, tartines, sandwiches, quiche and crepes; and the most elegant chocolates! John Kraus, the owner, was a pastry instructor for many years before opening this wonderful bakery. The pastries and bread were devoured in minutes, but the chocolates stopped me in my tracks! A must see!

Salty Tart Bakery in Minneapolis

Starting the day with warm pastries and cookies from Salty Tart Bakery.

Stop 3: Salty Tart Bakery
It took a bit of a search to find this bakery. It is located in the Midtown Global Market, nestled in the center of the block-long cross-cultural textile and food concessions. The best time to visit is in the morning when the display is full of warm pastries and cookies. I bought one cream-filled brioche; simple but out of this world. I immediately bought two more to bring back to Seattle to share at Macrina. The richness of the brioche filled with vanilla bean-scented pastry cream is very simple but stunning!

Borough in Minneapolis

Lamb with fresh fava beans, couscous and harissa at Borough.

Stop 4: Borough
We didn’t have reservations but were able to find seats at the bar. This was awesome as we had a window into the kitchen, which was very entertaining and fun to watch. The octopus was excellent with yam, soy and cilantro. The grilled prawns was also a great first course. The menu changes often, but we enjoyed the grilled shrimp with ricotta cavatelli, tomatoes and English peas. The lamb entrée was succulent with lamb loin, belly and cheeks, fresh fava beans, couscous and harissa. The Parlour downstairs is more casual with hand-cut fries and juicy burgers that will make you drool.

Stop 5: Digs
This is a sweet shop packed with art from local artists, yarn, unique cards, housewares, earrings, stoneware cups and custom T-shirts. It was so much fun to spend an hour and find all the birthday and graduation gifts needed for the next few months! Very special finds! Owner Linda Schneewind is a wealth of information.