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By Leslie Keith: One of the hardest English foods to get in America, I’ve found, is the pork pie. If you haven’t had one, think of the pork pie as the northern cousin of the pasty (and you can’t walk through Mineral Point without tripping over a pasty). Even as my beloved Scotch egg becomes more and more common in restaurants, pork pies are still few and far between.
Because I’m not much of a baker (dough and I historically have not played well together), I never really thought of making my own. Luckily, Leslie loves kitchen experiments and she decided to take on this delicious project. While she did all the hard work I got to keep trying samples and giving advice to recreate the proper pie. Here’s hoping it becomes a yearly tradition.
Leslie: I first made these pork pies two years ago. It was really fun to place my pork-centric order with Lois at Marr Valley View Farms. I asked for pork shoulder, lard, pork bones, trotters, pork belly, and bacon! Even better was the actual process. There are several steps to to make these delicious meaty treats which we will divide into 3 segments. It is quite time consuming but I guarantee that your taste buds will be pleased. I followed Nigel Slater‘s recipe except for replacing the regular bacon with smoked bacon and adding a bit of salt into the meat (right before filling the pastry).
Continue reading English Pork Pies
By Leslie 
I can’t believe that fall is upon us once again. I hope you had a wonderful summer! There are so many things that I love about this season. My ultimate favorite is that first bite of apple, just seconds after picking it from a tree. Second, a good bonfire while sipping extra dark hot chocolate. Third, knowing that the mosquitoes are finally gone! Keith and I enjoyed the fall colors last Sunday while kayaking on Twin Valley Lake at Governor Dodge State Park. We might go for an apple drive this weekend to Gays Mills then cross the Mississippi and end up at some quaint little town. Who knows? Anyway, we thought it would be fun to put together a few things that we like to do in the fall plus events happening in the next couple of months that caught our attention. Have fun filling up your bellies and your calendar!
1. Tour de Cheese
2. Driftless Film Festival
3. Fall Art Tour
4. Fermentation Fest
5. Vennelag 513 Høst Frokost Fall
6. Driftless Folk School
7. Vesperman Farm Corn Maze
8. Visit your favorite apple orchard. Pick some apples to make pie and enjoy an apple cider doughnut or two! Check this list to find the orchard nearest you.
9. Go on a fall color drive then catch a ferry ride in Cassville. Last day of operation, October 26, 2014.
10. Enjoy every last bit of fall sunshine! Go hiking, kayaking, picknicking, or camping. Shop the markets while they last!
By Leslie When Keith and I moved to Mineral Point seven years ago, one of the best spots to hang out was the Old Royal Inn. There was a restaurant and bar on the main floor. We spent many Saturday mornings there munching on Mark & Jennifer’s famous egg sandwiches and sticky buns with multiple cups of coffee. Keith even had a favorite spot to sit. A brown leather chair in a corner (which we bought after they closed). It was a fun spot where they hosted open mics. A couple of times, my students even had their recitals in there. When the restaurant closed, the space became a temporary gallery space and it also housed the winter farmer’s market. Now, it is home to a new restaurant called Tequila Point.
Continue reading Tequila Point at the Old Royal Inn
By Keith 
Probably the longest standing “to do” place on our list has been Breitbach’s Country Dining in Balltown, Iowa. We first hear about the place back in 2007, before we even lived in the Driftless Area. Breitbach’s was featured on Alton Brown’s awesome, but directionally challenged, Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run. (I say directionally challenged because it would make so much more sense to travel down the Mississippi and end in Louisiana eating etouffee, then up the Mississippi and end with Lutefisk in Minnesota.) Complicating our longstanding plans to visit Breitbach’s was the fact that since we heard about it, it burned to the ground. Twice. Both times it was rebuilt, however, and it is going stronger than ever. More recently, it was featured in the documentary Spinning Plates:
Continue reading Driftless Iowa: Breitbach’s
By Leslie Hello, how are you? I hope that your summer has been spectacular. In a little less than one month from today, summer will officially be over. Keith & I have been celebrating the fine weather by travelling, kayaking, drinking mojitos, making s’mores, gardening, taking Ollie dog on extra walks (or carrying him back home because he’s too hot), hanging out with friends, and basically doing what the Italians call dolce far niente. The sweetness of doing nothing. Since it has been pretty hot lately, I’d like to share the three salads that have been on rotation at the Button Hill: cantaloupe-cucumber-feta, watermelon-lime-feta, and tomato salad.
Cantaloupe-Cucumber-Feta
Continue reading Summer Salads
By Leslie Hello everyone. Sorry for the silence. We have been a bit busy with life lately. Fortunately, we were able to sneak away a bit to one of our favorite destinations, Italy. I’m sure I will eventually get to telling you all about it. Meanwhile, I’m so happy to be back home and to have some kitchen time. Here’s an easy dish that I made for a wonderful young lady who took care of our Ollie dog while we were away. I found some baby zucchinis in the garden with the flowers still attached and made a sort of variation of a stuffed zucchini flower dish I helped to make at Plum Lyon last summer. Since I only had a bit of zucchini, I decided to make a quiche with caramelized onions, goat cheese, fresh herbs, parmigiano, butter and a bit of olive oil.
Continue reading Quiche aux fleurs de courgettes
By Keith We recently had a superb meal at Elizabeth, a restaurant in Chicago owned and operated by chef Iliana Regan. As is often the case, our Chicago friends have written much more insightful pieces about the restaurant then you’ll get out of me. Check out here, here, and here for an interview with Iliana.
Continue reading “Drifted” Appetite: Elizabeth Restaurant, Chicago
By Leslie Because of the longer, cooler temperatures this spring, the violets have stuck around and have proliferated in lawns all over town. For awhile now, I have been interested in foraging and eating things from the wild. Last season, I was most proud of my plum jelly, made with wild plums I found while hiking on Merry Christmas Mine Hill. (Yes, that is really what the hiking area is called.) My yearning to learn increased even more right after experiencing “New Gatherer” cuisine at Iliana Regan’s Elizabeth restaurant in Chicago. (Keith will post about it soon.) I had never considered eating violets before. All I knew was that they made a sound as satisfying as freshly cooked pasta being stirred in a pan when I went over them with our push mower!
Continue reading Playing with Violets
By Leslie Hello everyone, happy springtime! It has been absolutely gorgeous here especially with the mist and rain. The grass is finally green and sparkling with a million water droplets. I have been checking on my garden almost everyday. Soon there will be enough rhubarb to make my favorite rhubarb custard pie. I’ve used chives in just about everything for a week now. My garlic plants are fat and about a foot tall. This morning, I spotted a patch of wild violets near my Concord grape vines. This year, I think I will finally have a go at sugaring some violets to decorate cakes. Speaking of cakes, I celebrated my birthday recently. Keith surprised me with a cake made by Erin from Enos Farms. I had never been so excited to open a box of cake. A cake in a wooden box with a leather strap! I seriously imagined a fluffy bunny with a half-eaten cupcake inside.
Box made by Piebox in Chicago
Continue reading Birthday Cake from Enos Farms
By Leslie The first sign of spring in these parts is when there is available sustenance again, in the form of maple syrup. This was our third year visiting Cooks’ Woods for their sugaring and open house. Sugaring in the states can be traced back as far as the 1500′s. The whole process always feels like visiting an old friend. As we turned down into their driveway from Ebenezer Rd. there were the familiar rows and rows of Christmas trees (which are sold in season). When the road went up again, there was the humble sugar shack. The steam billowed out of the chimney and carried the scent of maple syrup. A little flag with maple leaves on it swayed by the door. Right when we walked in, we were greeted by an even more intoxicating scent of syrup. The massive evaporator was to the right. It can boil off 35 gallons of water per hour. Ten gallons of sap will make about one quart of syrup (or 2 pints). We spotted Dave Cook, who wore a bright orange cap, chatting with visitors.
Continue reading The Sugar Shack at Cooks’ Woods
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