Mill City Farmers Market by Diane

Sunday, August 25. The highlight of our trip to Minneapolis was the Mill City Farmers Market (yes, it even beat out the state fair – more on the fair later…)

We arrived bright and early at the market, which is located on the water next to the Guthrie (well, for us 8am is early). When you first walk into the market, you think it’s cute but perhaps a little small. You then turn a corner and walk into a structure where the market extends, and you realize this is a market to be reckoned with. They sell produce, cheeses, breads, coffees, clothing, baked goods and candies (the mini-donuts were a big hit with us all!) If you happen to find yourself in Minneapolis, you should definitely stop by and check it out.

The main event at the farmers market was the Pie Across America Iron Pie competition, done in conjunction with our visit. Five chefs were let loose on the market to find ingredients for a galette and pizza pie baking contest. They had an hour to purchase ingredients and make their pie.

The contestants were –

1. Michelle Gayer-Nicholson of LaBelle Vie, Solera. She’s also a culinary teacher at Cordon Bleu and former pastry chef for Charlie Trotter in Chicago. The amazing thing about Michelle is that she’s so popular, she actually has a fan club, three who came out with a sign to cheer her on.
2. Scott Pampuch – he’s the executive chef/owner of Corner Table, which was voted “Best Neighborhood Cafe” and was former chef at the Modern Café and NE Thyme Restaurant. Scott very kindly did some pre-interviews with media about the Sustainable Table tour and the pie competition at the market, and he also let us interview him for our You Tube clips and possibly for the documentary we’re doing.
3. Carla Blumberg – she’s the executive chef and co-owner of Chester Creek Café in Duluth. She previously owned a restaurant in Austin, Texas, and learned to cook at an early age from European-American relatives.
4. Jenny Elliot – she’s from Ovens on Fire, a Mill City Farmers Market vendor and a blue ribbon pie winner since 1952. She teaches cooking at the Stillwater Chef’s Gallery.
5. Lorenzo Torregrossa – he’s famous among family and friends for his fantastic Silician style home cooking. He’s from Biella, Italy, and learn to cook from his grandmother and mother.

Judges for the competition were –

1. Simran Sethi, host of Sundance Channel’s “The Green” show. (Simran joined us on the bus for a couple days.)
2. Jeremy Iggers, former Star Tribune food critic and blogger for The Rake
3. Brenda Langton, chef/owner of Spoonriver and Café Brenda, and a Mill City Market founder. And a huge Thank You! goes to Brenda – she organized most, if not all, of the pie competition and even treated us to dessert when we ate in her restaurant Spoonriver after the market. If you’re in Minneapolis, you must check out Spoonriver!

Our emcee for the event was Sue Zelickson, Minnesota Monthly and WCCO Radio food reporter. Sue entertained the crowd by interviewing the chefs as they made their dishes, talking to the folks involved with the event, and by keeping us informed of everything the chefs were doing.

I know this sounds hokey, but, really, everyone was a winner – especially those of us not cooking because we all got to sample what the chefs created!

There was also another category to the contest – the contestants all brought a sweet Ready Made Pie.

But if you had to know the winners, they were Jenny Elliot for her "Sweet Galette with almonds, apples, raspberries and caramel” (see recipe below!) and Carla Blumberg for her Ready Made dessert pie.

At the end of the competition, Sue our emcee started speaking about making this an annual event so check with the market next year and do try to attend if you can. Everyone who was there (and I heard it was the most crowded the market’s ever been) had a great time – come join the fun next time!

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Sweet Galette with almonds, apples, raspberries and caramel
By Jenny Elliot, Ovens on Fire

A 'galette' is also often referred to as a 'tart', because it uses only one crust and the edges are lifted up and pleated over the filling, leaving the center of the dish visible.

1 Recipe pastry crust, cold
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup granulated cane sugar
½ cup (scant) cane brown sugar
Pinch of salt

½ - ¾ cup sliced almonds
2-4 Wealthy apples, cored, sliced, and sprinkled with lemon juice
½ pint raspberries
Handful of Edna’s Caramels
2-3 tablespoons cane sugar
1-2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out the pastry dough to an eighteen-inch circle and put into the center fourteen-inch area a mixture of 1/2 cup of all purpose flour (I use 'Swany', an unbleached flour with the wheat germ in it), 1/2 cup granulated cane sugar, a scant half-cup of cane brown sugar, and a pinch of salt, spreading it out evenly over the surface of the crust.

Next, sprinkle a liberal layer of sliced almonds.

Onto that put concentric circles of thinly sliced Wealthy apples with the skin on, slightly overlapped so each apple slice shows its peel edge and the next slice rests upon it about half-way. The apples should be cored, cut and generously sprinkled with lemon juice to keep them white and add a bit of sharpness.

Over the apples place an arrangement of raspberries, sitting so the caps are upright and fairly close together - about half a box of berries.

Then, snip small bits of Edna's Caramels over all, followed by generous 'dots' of butter.

Next, carefully trim the un-covered area -leaving an edge of 2 1/2 inches- so it is even all around the pie. Gently turn up this edge over the filling and pleat in soft folds so that it embraces the filling.

Add a generous sprinkling of granulated cane sugar and place in oven. Start at 400 degrees for ten minutes and reduce heat to 350 degrees to finish baking. Watch carefully so it does not over-brown too quickly. When the apple slices yield to the point of a thin knife, it is 'done'. This takes 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the tart and the thickness of the apples. Remove from oven and let sit at least 20 minutes so the juices can set up. You may allow it to cool completely before serving. Cut in as many slices as you have guests and enjoy!

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