Steve Zacher

A continuation of this week's Budgeteer Family Kitchen ...

If you have read my last blog about Steve Zacher, the corporate executive chef of Grandma's Restaurant Company, you will know my opinion of his as a chef: he's a great one.

He basically takes ideas to see if they work on the menus of the different Grandma's Restaurants.

Here is a little more biographical information on the man who makes the food at all the Grandma's establishment's so great.

In his early 30s he decided to go chef school. Before that, he receive a bachelor of fine arts degree from Gustavus Adolphus.

"My family was not supportive of it," he said. "They said 'Why would you want to do a job like that, it's a step above being a domestic servant.' This was long before the Food Network. Julia Child was doing her thing, she was maybe the only one doing it. I said, well, I think being a chef is a good career choice, I'm going to do it."

Going to cooking school was a good choice. He graduated from St. Paul Technical College's culinary program as their all-time valedictorian.

After that, he became an intern chef at the famous Leamington Hotel in Minneapolis.

There he helped with banquets that sometimes served more than 10,000 people.

Later on he worked for Hilton Hotel. He was the banquet chef at the Bloomington Hilton for many years. He was also a chef at a Hilton in Florida.

He eventually took a position as the executive chef at Lutsen Resort after a tragedy occurred in the Twin Cities involving some of his friends.

He said he wanted to get away from the crime and chaos in the Cities.

"It was a 100-hour work week," he said. "I went from a size 10 1/2 to a size 13 (shoe) just from being on my feet. I was seeing it was having a profound affect on me."

He then left there and went into sales for Sysco Foods, where he earned the Rookie of the Year award.

After that, he went to Grandma's where he eventually came to the position he is at now.

One of people he said has influenced him is the legendary Julia Child.

Who has influenced your cooking ways?

Posted by: Matt Suoja on 4/24/2008 at 9:00 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

What cooking is all about

This past Thursday, I went to a cooking class at the Blue Heron Trading Company.

Steve Zacher was the one cooking up storm. A very good storm I might add. He is the corporate executive chef of research and development for Grandma's Restaurant Co.

He was cooking various salads. One that really stood out (don't get me wrong they were all good), was a spicy potato salad.

It had some spicy peppers in it which really added to the charm of the salad. (I've never had a spicy potato salad before.)

Another salad he made was with asparagus, prosciutto and truffle oil (that added a lot to the salad, it is, however, quite pricey).

Prosciutto is an Italian ham that has very strong flavor, way more then the American version of it or bacon. The salad was awesome.

From this experience, I started to think about the philosophy of cooking.

What does it mean to be a cook?

It doesn't just mean one can cook a meal. It has to mean something more.

A real cook is someone who experiments, like chef Zacher. He made things that I have never tried before. It was quite an experience.

When cooking, don't be afraid to try new things. Let's say you try out something new and don't like it. That experience, however, could give you an idea for something in the future.

You never know what will work until you try. Recently I tried a burger with cream cheese and green olives on it (yes, I'm mentioning it again, it is a fine burger).

Who came up with that concoction, I don't know (it's on the menu at Betty's Pies).

This is a strange type of burger. It also defines what a chef is. The person who tried making it experimented around and came up with it.

Who would of thought this type of burger would have worked?

You never know what will work and what wouldn't, unless you try.

Want to learn more about chef Zacher.

Check out this week's Budgeteer food page.

If you are at all interested in cooking, check out the Blue Heron Trading Company in the Dewitt-Seitz Marketplace in Canal Park.

They have a lot of neat gadgets and spices, including the truffle oil mentioned above.

Leave a comment on what you think makes a good chef, or name a chef in the area that you think is great.

Posted by: Matt Suoja on 4/21/2008 at 5:00 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink

A bad burger

Recently Burger King released the Loaded Steakhouse Burger. It has a baked potato topping, crispy fried onions, a steak sauce and a beef patty.

This burger was bad ... one of the worst I've had at a fast food restaurant.

Let's start with the baked potato topping. It's like mushy glue and had no flavor. It's also grainy.

It's so gross, I don't think I would throw it in a garbage can (hey, they don't need that type of treatment).

Next up, you have the crispy onions. Those are actually pretty good. Surprisingly they stayed crisp below the soggy baked potato "thing".

Next up was the steak sauce. They call it A1 Thick and Hearty Steak Sauce. If you like regular A1 steak sauce, then you will like it. I, however, don't.

I like steak sauces with butter in them. Some of the items I like in these butter sauces include chives, bleu cheese and rosemary.

The bacon was next on this sandwich. Burger King has pretty good bacon. It was good on this burger as well. It was crisp and not fatty. It had good flavor.

The 100 percent angus beef patty sat below the bacon. I didn't like it. Musty might be the way to describe the flavor. I wish they would use the beef they use on their various burgers (Double Stack and the Whopper to name a few) rather then this beef. American cheese sat on top of the beef. The cheese wasn't bad.

If I were to rebuild this burger, I would get rid of the baked potato topping all-together. I would leave the crispy onions on. Instead of the steak sauce I would use a spicy mayo, like their onion ring sauce, but thicker. The bacon would stay and I would use the regular Whopper beef patty instead.

I think that would make for a good burger.

I'm surprised Burger King would release this burger. Don't they have people test these things before they come out?

If you have tried this burger, I'm sorry I didn't write this sooner. If you haven't, beware.

They also have the regular Steakhouse Burger. This looks similar, but with no baked potato topping, but instead add lettuce and tomato. I wouldn't try that one either.

Leave a comment on a fast food burger you dislike, or the one I just mentioned above.

Posted by: Matt Suoja on 4/17/2008 at 8:30 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink

Grilling cheese

I love grilled cheeses. Below are some quick recipes and a short story from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board about the grilled cheese. If you are an expert in the field of the grilled cheese, but like to keep things simple, try putting some mustard on the inside of the bread before grilling.

Restaurant menus concentrate uniquely on it, blogs are dedicated to it, a month celebrates it and numerous articles are written about it. Yet, it is one of the more simple staples of the American diet. Behold the culinary wonder that is the grilled cheese sandwich. April is National Grilled Cheese month, and America's Dairyland is the resource for all things cheesy and melty.

The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) is celebrating the ultimate comfort food all April long. Recipes courtesy the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

Tips for enjoying the perfect grilled cheese sandwich:
-Butter the bread, not the pan. Butter will be more evenly distributed which ensures a properly crisp sandwich.
-When using dense breads, slice them thinly so that the heat can penetrate and melt the cheese.
-Grate or shred the cheese; it will melt faster.
-Press the sandwich with a spatula after it's been flipped to help create the perfect even spread of cheese.
-Use a nonstick pan instead of cast-iron the sandwich is less likely to stick to the pan, which makes clean-up much easier.


Tuscan-Style Wisconsin Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients:
18 spears (1 pound) grilled asparagus
1/2 cup prepared balsamic-garlic-olive oil vinaigrette
12 slices crusty sourdough bread
12 slices (6 ounces) Wisconsin fontina cheese
12 slices (8 ounces) Wisconsin fresh mozzarella cheese (from 4 ounce ovals)
1 cup (1 ounce) fresh basil leaves
1 cup (6 ounces) roasted red pepper pieces
12 slices (6 ounces) Wisconsin provolone Cheese
extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Cooking directions:
Toss grilled asparagus with vinaigrette and let stand covered and refrigerated, at least two hours before using. Reserve. Lay six slices of bread on clean, flat surface. Top each slice with (in order) two slices Wisconsin fontina, three marinated drained asparagus spears, two slices Wisconsin fresh mozzarella, six fresh basil leaves, 2 1/2 tablespoons red pepper, and two slices Wisconsin provolone. Top with second slice of bread and brush both sides of sandwich with olive oil.
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and grill sandwiches on both sides until golden brown. Transfer to baking sheet and keep warm in 350-degree oven eight to 10 minutes or until heated through.


Grilled Wisconsin Fontina Sandwich

Ingredients:

Cherry Chutney:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 cup water

Sandwich:
8 slices hearty bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
16 slices of Wisconsin fontina cheese
1 pound smoked turkey, shaved
1 Granny Smith apple, sliced thin

Cooking directions:
To prepare chutney, heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Saut￩ onions until beginning to brown. Deglaze pan with vinegar. Add cherries, salt, tarragon, honey and water and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes; cool. To prepare sandwiches, butter one side of each slice of bread. Place four slices of bread, buttered side down, in a large, non-stick pan or griddle on medium heat. Top each with Wisconsin fontina cheese, turkey, sliced apple and one tablespoon of chutney. Top with remaining four slices of bread, buttered side out. Grill each side until golden brown and cheese is melted.


Grilled Wisconsin Havarti Sandwich with Sliced Apples

Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and thinly sliced
4 to 6 tablespoons sugar, to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
8 thick slices rustic round loaf bread (French or Italian)
8 thin slices Wisconsin havarti Cheese

Cooking directions:
Melt three tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add apples, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom; cook about seven minutes, stirring frequently until most of the apple juices are reduced and the fruit is coated with syrup. Remove pan from heat. Set aside. Place four slices of the bread on a griddle. Top each with one slice of Wisconsin Havarti, 1/4 of the spiced apples, another slice of Havarti and top with remaining slices of bread. Butter sandwich tops. Turn over and butter again. Place griddle over medium heat. Brown on each side three to five minutes, until golden and Havarti begins to melt. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Visit www.wisdairy.com/grilledcheese for additional recipes and tips.

-Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board

Posted by: Matt Suoja on 4/16/2008 at 8:59 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Strange meals

Does anyone out there have a strange way to eat a food, or experimented around?

Here are some of the strange ways I eat certain foods.

For one thing, I love burnt popcorn. Not too burnt, however. I don't want it to be charcoal, but I like it to be mildly charred. Then there's my editor's friend from high school who likes to dip her popcorn in ketchup.

I also like to eat cinnamon rolls with peanut butter. I have tried peanut butter and summer sausage on a cinnamon roll before, but that wasn't very good.

Peanut butter goes well with a lot of things, but don't try it on any quick breads such as banana and pumpkin.

I also like salt on chocolate chip cookies. Even though I haven't done that in a while, I still feel salt and chocolate chip cookies make a great combination. Later on in life, I found a more natural sweet and salty snack - kettle corn.

I suppose that is a snack for the salty cookie lover who has matured.

I also like cream cheese on a burger, maybe with some green olives on it.

The only place I've tried this on a burger was at Betty's Pies up in Double Harbors. It's known there as the Oredocker Burger. It's pretty awesome.

What else would make for a great combination?

How about steak and tartar sauce?

No, just kidding.

Strangely, I don't like some of the most popular combination dishes, like steak and lobster.

I don't care much for lobster or crab. I think shrimp beats it all the way.

What strange combinations do you like. Leave a comment.

Posted by: Matt Suoja on 4/3/2008 at 8:10 PM | Comments (4) | Permalink