Corn Pesto with Rustic Egg Cavatappi

One of my favorite summer meals is fresh corn pesto. On a recent trip to the Mill City Farmers Market my family and I happily stumbled upon an artisan noodle stand. The presentation of the noodles was what immediately drew our attention to the table. I had never seen noodles presented in this manner.  Each variety was laid out in a delicate fashion that highlighted the color, shape, and thickness of the noodle. The couple representing the Dumpling & Strand, Noodlers at Large, were so helpful with the selection of the the perfect noodle for our dish.  Ultimately we chose the  Cavatappi. The spiral shape served as a magnet for the pesto, which resulted in a wonderful burst of flavor in each bite. Without a doubt we will be trying a few of the other noodles in the near future. 

Fourth of July Festivities 2016

This year my family spent our Fourth of July weekend a little differently. Instead of staying in the city for the holiday my family was invited to go camping with family friends at Tettegouche state park which is located on the north shore of Lake Superior. It was a short but eventful and fun trip. We spent the trip going on beautiful hikes through the forests located near Lake Superior, we enjoyed  beautiful bon fires under the star filled sky, and we enjoyed multiple meals, including brats and coffee rubbed skirt steaks from Clanceys Meat and Fish. The brats and skirt steaks were grilled over the campfire which gave the meat a nice smoky flavor.

Holiday Festivities

This year was the first year that my family hosted the holidays in Minnesota. In my lifetime we had always celebrated the holidays in Michigan with my dads parents and family. Our family decided as a whole that it was time to try something different. So with that, our Christmas celebration moved to Minnesota. My Dad's parents and family were all here in Minnesota. In many different ways, this was a big change for me.

Over the two week break my family made some great meals. We created multiple spectacular meals.

One of my favorite parts about Christmas is the sweet treats that are available during this time. In my household you could always count on hearing: "Mom wheres the Dezie?", Can I have a candy cane cookie?" "What about an almond bar?". Christmas time sweets are a necessity in the Slager household. Dezie which is an ice cream dessert is an all time favorite. It is made with a crushed Oreo crust, peppermint ice cream on top of that, and is completed with a layer of chocolate fudge.

One of my favorite dishes was the Seafood Stew my aunt made on New Years Eve. We used some beautiful seafood from Clancey's which is the local butcher shop that I worked at last summer. The stew was plentiful in flavors, heart warming, and delicious. Another night we made Baked Chicken Wings with a soy and apricot glaze. This meal was enjoyed after watching the Michigan Wolverines football team destroy the Florida Gators in the last game of the season. One thing about our family that is really nice is that we all enjoy a variety of food, kids included. This appreciation allowed us to make some spectacular meals that we could all enjoy, talk about, and remember for many more holiday seasons.