Brats on the Grill

Aside of cheese in Wisconsin, beer is next or perhaps they are about a tie in popularity. At any rate we could not go to Wisconsin without touring beer facilities. Our second stop for sight seeing on Saturday was the Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee, home of Captain Frederick Pabst, the world famous beer baron. This really is a must see stop when in Milwaukee. Following that we toured the Miller Brewing Co. in Milwaukee. It was an interesting, informative tour with free samples for those older than 21 at the end of the tour.

Bratwurst

Bratwurst aka brats are a German sausage made with beef and pork that naturally pair nicely with beer. The kids decided to grill burgers and brats for dinner. What was different about this meal was the prep as well as cooking on a charcoal grill.

One of the best things about food and cooking is there are always opportunities to learn. There are always new to you ways of preparing the food too. That's what makes food so much fun to experiment with. I cook with beer fairly often and I've grilled brats but this was a new method for me.

Method: Pour 3 cans of Miller or brand of choice beer into a large saucepan. Add raw brats and one sliced onion. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. Simmer until the brats are no longer pink.

Corn

Grilled corn can't be beat. It has just that little extra flavour mingled with a little smokiness to accent the flavour. The kernels remain tender and juicy, just begging for a little salt and butter :)

I've cooked many a cob of corn over an open fire an on the grill yet this method of prep was another new to me. After seeing it done and seeing the end results I will be using this method. The end result is the same but I think it is a much neater look. I'm going to give my method first followed by the kids' method. That way you can choose whatever method you want to grill the corn.

My method: Remove any long leaves. Soak in water about 20 minutes. Place on hot grill. Grill until outer husk is blackened. Remove from grill. Hold the cob on the uncut stem. Peel back the husk. Butter and salt.

The Kids method: Remove outer layer of husk. Break off the stem. Cut across the top of the cob with scissors to for a neat, squared end. Soak in water about 20 minutes. Place on hot grill. Grill until outer husk is blackened. Remove from grill. Peel off the remaining husk. Butter and salt.



Don't you just wish you had smell-o-vision? My husband took his hand at grilling on the charcoal grill. Now I just have to tell you a bit more about this. The grill after a bit of coaxing was fired up and if there is anything that my husband enjoys it is grilling. Their house backs onto a beautiful forest setting. It rained that day. See where I'm going here? Well, once the grill was going my husband said would you like me to grill them for you of which one of the kids said sure and left him out there with the dog happily grilling away EXCEPT for the gigantic mosquitoes! No amount of smoke was keeping them away! However, he is now 100% convinced he needs a charcoal grill in addition to our gas grill. I have to agree it would be a nice addition along with a little smoker [Time to go shopping!]

Plated

The meal consisted of grilled homemade burgers, bratswurst, steamed fresh green beans, onions and pasta salad. The brats came out lovely as did the homemade hamburg patties. There was shredded cheddar cheese in the patties too. I'm telling you every meal in Wisconsin has cheese in some form. It's no wonder since good quality cheese can add so much flavour to a dish. The beans were steamed to al dente just perfect. There were buns for both the burgers and brats but I really didn't feel like buns.

What I really liked about this meal was the added dimension of the brats in beer combined with the elements of the charcoal grill. It was a lovely combination!

Cedar Valley Cheese Store

Cheese is a staple in our home! Many of the grocery stores here store brand sell cheese in bricks and often but the 900 g bars on sale. While they are named (sharp, cheddar, colby, marble, mozzarella) they basically taste all the same for what little taste they have. A step up in flavour are those bars by Kraft and Cracker Barrel. I seldom buy either of the store brand or brand name cheese because I do find them lacking in flavour. Some stores in our area sell cheese from Pine River Cheese Factory located on Hwy 21, 6 kilometers south of Kincardin, Ontario. We always stop there when in the area. Pine River Cheese has an online store if you can't find it in your area. The cheese is shipped in special coolers packed with ice by ground so they do not deliver to PO boxes. Other cheeses like Emmental, Asiago, Havarti, Swiss, Gouda, Parmesan etc are available as well as specialty cheeses. While these are more expensive than the store brand or brand name they are considerably more flavourful and well worth the extra cost. This means that in some dishes you can reduce the amount of cheese without reducing the flavour of the dish. So spend that little bit extra for good quality cheese.

Cedar Valley Cheese Factory

I had been looking forward to our Wisconsin trip not only to share the milestone wedding but also to stock up on cheeses. I have heard so many good things about Wisconsin cheese so planned ahead by bringing a large cooler. We stayed at the kids from Thursday through early Sunday afternoon and enjoyed cheese each day. Talk about a cheese lover's mecca!

Saturday the kids took us sightseeing. One of our first stops was the Cedar Valley Cheese Store located in Belgium, Wisconsin just outside of Random Lake. Shown in the picture is the back of the massive factory. Midway up in the photo in front of the second white sign there is a road that the factory faces. Not visible in this photo as we are on Side Road 57 is the store which is tucked into the far left corner facing the road in front (Jay RD) of the factory.

Cedar Valley cheese can be ordered by calling them at 920-994-9500. A list of their products can be found on their website. They do not recommend having cheese shipped between May and August but next day service is available. Shipping is by UPS or USPS so they will ship to PO boxes by USPS.

Cedar Valley Cheese Store

Pictured is the store portion facing Jay Rd. of Cedar Valley Cheese, makers of fine Italian cheese. Not shown is the massive factory portion extending to the left of the store. The store in tucked into the far right corner of the factory with ample parking out front. There are plenty of signs so you won't miss it regardless of what road you take.

The store is bright, cheery and spacious yet small in comparison to the factory. There is a entrance before the doors entering the store. There you can find pamphlets for other area attractions as well as store notices. The main attraction here is of course the cheese!

Cheese!

The store portion is not all that large. As you enter the store to your left is a table with various cheese samples. The aroma of smoked cheese greets your senses. Samples that day included string cheese, fresh mozzarella ball, tomato bruschetta and Sesmark Savory thin sesame rice crackers. Lining the wall behind are gift shop items. To your right and running the length of that wall is various foods, jams, jellies, maple syrup, honey and anything else that goes nicely with cheese. A wide aisle separates this wall from the cheese coolers that run the same length. There's cheese, cheese and more cheese! Just before the coolers, closer to the doors is an open cooler with specialty cheese including some for taste testing. Above this cooler are cheesehead (the name for Green Bay Packer's fans) hats.

Our Purchases

I can't help but share the purchases we made. Immediately you will notice the focus was on cheddar cheese. There is a method to our madness! Cheddar is our most used cheese so we go through a lot of it. I want quality cheddar with lots of flavour. Our second most used cheese is mozzarella but really we use a lot of cheese. I have a cheese keeper in my fridge that is the size of a vegetable crisper, a nice selling feature for the fridge. It is usually stuffed with various cheeses spilling out onto the cheese shelf. As you can see a good portion of refrigerator space is dedicated to cheese.

Their cheese strings are award winning so I had to get two packages, one for snacking on there and one to bring home. They come in a plastic bag with a tie or vacuum sealed. There is no difference in quality only in packaging. I should also mention that their cheeses with the exception of cheese strings, curds and shredded cheese are vacuum sealed. Vacuum sealing extends the self life of the cheese. Cheese is one of your more expensive food items so vacuum sealing is a must. When I use cheese, I cut from the block the amount I want to use then immediately vacuum seal the remainder.

• garlic cheddar (0.89 lb)
• white cheddar mild (1.24 lb)
• 2 year aged cheddar (1.13 lb)
• garden monterey jack (0.84 lb)
• mozzarella (1.34 lb)
• mozzarella (1.29 lb)
• red wax cheddar longhorn (1.15 lb)
  
• string cheese (0.76 lb)
• 1 year sharp cheddar (3.37 lb)
• white cheddar curd (0.79 lb)
• two tone cheddar curd (0.87 lb)
• shredded mozzarella (1.72 lb)
  

Be sure to check back often to see some of the foods I make using cheese bought on this trip :)

Wedding Cheesecake & Louise's Italian Cafe

As previously mentioned the primary purpose of our road trip was to share the joy of one of our kid's marriage. The kids had made all the arrangements for the wedding, the cake and the family get together after the wedding. The wedding was scheduled for 11 am Friday morning. It was very hot and humid yet despite threatening rain it remained dry.

Wedding Cheesecake

After the wedding and photo taking we went back to their house to change into casual attire for lunch. They had decided to leave the wedding cheesecake at the house to enjoy with a glass of wine later in lieu of dessert at the restaurant. The wedding cheesecake was made by Simma's Bakery of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They are well known for their specialty cheesecakes. The fluffy yet creamy filling tops a thin layer of cake then topped with a thin layer of raspberry and cream mousse followed by chocolate ganache. The cheese cake was decorated with pale blue Micky Mouse motifs.

The Micky Mouse motifs have a lot of meaning to the kids. They met online playing a Disney game. Their first vacation together was to Disney World. After long distance dating for a year they decided to tie the knot. That proved a lot easier said than done once US Immigration became involved since Canadians need a K1 Visa in order to enter the US with the intent to marry a US citizen. Waiting for the K1 took another long and stressful year where our kid was restricted from entering the US so communication for the couple was by phone or online. The final test for the K1 was an interview in Montreal. We were just so thrilled when the much coveted K1 Visa was finally approved and the wedding could go forward. They are going to Disney World in September for their honeymoon.

The Firepit

The kids chose Louise's Italian Cafe in Brookfield, Wisconsin for lunch. They had discovered this restaurant on a previous outing. It was a perfect choice for a family lunch. The restaurant opening daily at 11 am weekdays and 10 am Saturday and Sunday is conveniently located a short distance from I-94. Enticing smells greet you as you enter the restaurant but the first visual impression is the copper. It is everywhere, the warm copper tones contrast nicely against the sea blue walls. What is most impressive is the copper clad wood-fired oven. Specialty pizzas and foccacia are baked on site in the wood oven. Their pastas are made fresh including their lasagna using fresh made pasta then finished in the wood oven. Why am I impressed with wood fired ovens? The main reason is these ovens give a flavour to the food that can't be duplicated using an oven much the same as grills impart a certain flavour.

Foccacia

Meals come with a good size basket of herbed and garlic foccacia bread served with light extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. The flavour was light yet had a nice depth. The bread itself was nicely seasoned with just the perfect amount of chewiness. This is a must make bread so I will be looking for a good recipe, doing a little tweaking and will report back on the results.

Chopped Insalata Louise

Salad does not come with the meals so we ordered an Insalta Louise to share. This salad is made using mixed lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, mozzarella, mushrooms, bell peppers and Italian vinaigrette garnished with a hot pepper. What makes this salad stand out is the way it has been prepared. The lettuce is cut very fine and although it is said to be chopped it really is more the texture of shredded, something not often seen in lettuce based salads. The other vegetables were chopped somewhat finer than for other salads. The Italian vinaigrette was quite flavourful. I didn't get a chance to ask if it was a house dressing but suspect so. The hot pepper was a nice addition giving a bit of punch with out adding too much heat. This salad is priced at $6.95 for small and $8.95 for large.


Grilled Chicken Calzone

The groom ordered a grilled chicken calzone. I have to say this was a large calzone! The pizza dough was folded the stuffed with pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, Ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmigiano cheeses then baked in the wood fired oven (price $10.95).

The immediate comment on seeing the size of the calzone was "Oh my gosh!". The huge calzone came topped with shredded Parmigiano cheese and a side of marinara sauce. It was baked to a golden brown hiding the generous and tasty chicken and cheese filling. This meal got a two thumbs up from the groom. It was too large to finish so part went home.


Chicken alla Parmigiana

Pasta is fresh made daily in the style of Italy's Emilia Romagna region, using only fresh egg yolks and flour. My husband ordered the Chicken alla Parmigiana. The meal came with a breaded chicken breast with grilled fresh Mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. It was served with Tagliolini pasta and Parmigiano cheese, garnished with a sprig of fresh basil (price $13.95).

My husband said he would rate this dish at 8.75 out of 10. It was very good with no complaints. According to him even though the pasta looked different there was no difference in taste. The chicken was nicely seasoned and cooked topped with a generous amount of Mozzarella cheese.

Three Citrus Grilled Chicken

I ordered the three citrus grilled chicken. Two nice sized piece of grilled chicken was served with fresh vegetables and angel hair pasta with fresh Roma tomatoes and basil (price $14.95).

The vegetables consisted of yellow and green zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower. They were cooked to al dente and lightly seasoned. A generous amount of Roma tomatoes and basil topped angel hair pasta. Slices of orange, lemon and lime were under the pasta that had a slight hint of citrus. The chicken was nicely grilled yet still moist. I would definitely recommend this meal. The only complaint I had was it was too much food which isn't a bad thing :)

This is one restaurant that I would highly recommend. Not only is the food excellent the service is fast and friendly. They are quite attentive to your needs. The atmosphere is most pleasant creating a lovely dining experience so if you are in the area do be sure to stop by. Just tell them the Garden Gnome recommended their restaurant :) No I do not have any affiliation with them other than really enjoying their great food and wonderful hospitality.

And the Road Trip Begins

Road trips are always fun but this one was special because after considerable red tape and over a year of frustration, one of our kids was finally getting married in Wisconsin! We had planned on leaving here about 9 am with the first stop being an 11 am appointment to have the two front tires replaced. As with all plans sometimes life throws in a curve ball. My husband had been away on his annual boat cruise. Horrible storms came through the night they were coming through so he was only able to get our boat to a safe harbour. First thing Thursday morning we headed to the marina where our boat slip is. A friend met us there and drove us to where the boat was. We had to drive the boat across the lake then up the channel and back to the slip. This put us behind schedule but it was nice to get a boat ride in before leaving.

Raspberries

Raspberries are now available at the U-pick. They are expensive even if you pick your own. Picked is $8 per quart or $2.25 per half pint at the road side stand or $5 per quart if you pick your own. I love raspberry jam so will be doing a small batch. A quart is needed for each 500 ml jar of low sugar jam using Pomona's pectin so as jam goes this is expensive. However, it will be a premium gourmet style of jam. I will likely use 250 ml jars instead of the 500 ml jars.

Raspberries and blueberries are always expensive here. One of our favourite ways to enjoy them is fresh over homemade yogurt. We enjoyed a nice dish of berries and yogurt before we left for the official road trip.

Big Mac

We arrived at the tire place about 2 pm. It was a very hot, humid, stiffling day certainly not suitable weather to be walking anywhere. They said it would be about an hour wait. We walked the few feet next door to McDonald's. It was the only restaurant within walking distance. We figured if we had a bite to eat while waiting for the tires we wouldn't have to stop en route for more than a washroom break.

My husband said there was no way I would share this with my readers and found it quite amusing when I assured him I would. As you know I am not a huge fan of fast food restaurants even when travelling so why not share those very few times we do eat fast food? This was the only fast food restaurant stop of the entire trip.

I ordered the Big Mac meal. It came with the burger, fries and a drink (I got ice tea). The burger had two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. It left me wondering where's the beef but that's just feeds into that other cute commercial. Seriously, I had to lift the top of the bun to see if there really were patties on the burger. The worst part of this fast food meal is the burger failed miserably on the taste test. I really wasn't sure if I was eating the burger itself or the box it came in. The anemic looking fries actually weren't all that bad with ketchup other than they were quite salty. Sadly I thought of the very first time I had a Big Mac when I was about 12 years old. I was amazed at the size and taste! We lived in a very small community and my Mom didn't drive so I did not grow up with fast food other than the occasional frozen pizza. I never acquired the taste for fast food restaurants which likely is a good thing.

Double Quarter Pounder

My husband ordered the Double Quarter Pounder meal that came with fries, burger and drink. It was apparent the burger patties were larger on this burger and there was less bun. His opinion of the burger was not anymore favourable than mine. The only thing good we could say about this meal other than it was fast is the ice tea was nice. It wasn't that pre-sweetened ice tea but rather simple actual tea.

As a whole McDonald's is quite disappointing but it is fast, inexpensive and you basically know what you are going to get. This one was decorated in a hockey theme that was quite cute. The meal for the two of us was about $13 but when you see some of the other food we ate on this road trip and see how it compares in terms of price and quality it just reinforces my idea that making a stop at a road side restaurant gives a better bang for your buck.

The next few entries centre on foods we ate on the road trip as well as foods I brought home. Trust me there really is no reason for a road trip unless you can enjoy good food and bring some of it back with you. Tomorrow I will share the ok so adorable wedding cheesecake and wedding restaurant meal.