The Great Minnesota Get Together

I love the State Fair--it is everything that I love and hate about Minnesota all wrapped into twelve days of summer. While better food can be found in Minneapolis on a daily basis, the State Fair is filled with some unique options, some unappetizing choices (I will not eat a deep fried candy bar), food that should not exist and people that should not be eating said food. 

The State Fair also has baby animals, taxidermy, more baby animals, frozen wine drinks, corn, art made out of corn, "Vote No" art made out of corn, beautiful handmade wooden kayaks, not so beautiful hand knit sweaters, beaded "things"...the list is never ending. 

While there are fantastic sites to be seen at the fair, the most impressive thing about it is that each and every type of individual shows up and, in all seriousness, that is an amazing feat.

Ice cream from the fairy barn, bavarian pretzels, lamb fries, 1919 root beer,
cheese curds, milk, and a walleye roll.

Don't mind if I do.

Amazing what you can find in the agriculture building: giant sugar beets, a  Mario Bros. "Vote No" piece of art made out of seeds, and award-winning corn.

Weekend of Celebrations

This was quite a weekend of celebrations. 

I attended a memorial service celebrating the life of a friend's father filled with beautiful speeches from friends and family members.

I celebrated the fact that I can still sit around a table of food, stare at a dog, and talk about anything and everything with some friends that I have known for a long, long time.

I celebrated the return of summer by taking a nice long walk around Lake of the Isles with a friend that I do not see enough of.

I went to the State Fair to celebrate the best (and possibly, the worst) of Minnesota.

And maybe most importantly, I spent Saturday night celebrating Peter and Rachel as they got hitched in the rain...with some assistance from my cookies...

Rachel looked beautiful.

My first "catering" gig!

Look to the cookie, Elaine, look to the cookie.

I have said in the past that a good chocolate chip cookie is the best cookie ever. While I still believe this, a black and white cookie is a close second. Not only is a black and white delicious, it is arguably part of one of the best Seinfeld episodes ever.

A black and white is hard to come by in Minneapolis, though, so last weekend I reserved a few hours to harness the words of Jerry Seinfeld and bake the infamous dessert.

"The black and white. I love the black and white. Two races of flavor living side by side in harmony....If people would only look to the cookie, all of our problems would be solved."

--Jerry Seinfeld

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Black and White Cookie
from Baked

Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

In the bow of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and egg yolk one at a time making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl each time. Add the flour mixture in three parts alternating with the buttermilk (start with flour and end with flour). Scrape down the bowl and add the vanilla and lemon zest. Mix on low speed to incorporate.

Using a #50 scoop the batter onto a silpat/parchment lined baking sheet leaving a few inches in between the dough. Bake for 17 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Make the frosting: Whisk together the sugar, milk, cream, and vanilla. Add milk one teaspoon at a time until you reach desired consistency. Pour half of the frosting into another bowl and add the cocoa powder and one teaspoon of water. Whisk until chocolate frosting comes together. If it is too thick, add water until frosting has desired consistency.

Using an offset spatula, spread the white frosting on half of the cookie. Let it set for an hour or so and then add the chocolate frosting. Let the cookie dry completely before serving. 

Cookies
3 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp grated lemon zest

Frosting
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsp whole milk
3 tbsp cream 
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

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