August is upon us in the beautiful state of Minnesota, which means we are in the final lap of summer break. This time of year always seems to fly by as we soak up the remaining weeks before another year of school begins. The days are still deliciously warm, the sunlight doesn’t wean until well past 8 pm, and I relish summer activities with my girls. In all honesty, August is typically the month in which I bury my head in the sand and pretend autumn and back to school isn’t looming around the corner. Each season and stage of life has it’s beauty, but there’s just something about summer break that feels like a favorite lounging chair with a good book.

There is always a highlight to the end of August in the Twin Cities, and that is the Great Minnesota Get Together, our State Fair. People travel from all across the Midwest to attend – and the sights, activities and food are no small offering! From Sweet Martha’s Cookies to anything on a stick, everyone I know has a favorite staple of which they can’t visit the fair without consuming.

For me, it’s the corn on the cob booth. The smell of fire roasted corn, still in their husks mixed with tubs of melted butter is unmistakable. There’s bits of burnt husk flying around in the breeze and people young and old nibbling at the cobs with butter dripping down their arms. It’s a 10 plus napkin kind of snack, and it brings me fond memories of when I was a teenager snacking at the fair with my family.

This recipe is an homage to said food stand at the Great Minnesota Get Together. It’s incredibly simple to make, and celebrates the freshest produce of summer with locally grown corn and herbs from my garden. Albeit you can make this year round, nothing compares to a sublimely fresh piece of produce in the peak of it’s harvest season. Recipe yields 6 ears of corn – but there is enough herb butter for 12. I used the remaining half of my herb butter the following week tossed with a gluten free pasta and sautéed vegetables, which left me equally satisfied.

There are a bunch of really talented bloggers who have created copycat recipes from the Great Minnesota Get Together, and we’ve teamed up to share them with you in a recipe round up!

Below are the links to these recipes:

Vegan Nachos: Kelly & Dustin with Dining Duster
Watermelon Kombucha Slushie: Sharon with The Honour System
Breakfast Pronto Pups: Janel with Nellie Bellie
Fried Pickles with Sriracha Ranch Dip: Greta with Pickles Travel Blog
Cinnamon Sugar Mini Donuts: Lane & Holly with With Two Spoons
State Fair Cookies: Alice with Dining with Alice
Corn fritters + maple butter: Haley with Cheap Recipe Blog

What’s your favorite part of your local State Fair? I’d love to hear!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 6 stalks of locally grown organic corn, still in their husks
• 1 stick organic butter at room temp
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
• salt + pepper to taste

Method:

1. Place the room temperature butter in a bowl and add in the freshly diced herbs. Stir until well combined. You can leave the butter at room temp for coating each cob, or make the butter in advance and store in the fridge. To store, wrap and roll in parchment paper and store up to 1 week. (see photo)
2. Peel back the corn husks halfway to remove the silk from the cobs, enclosing each cob with the husk once removed. You want each cob to be covered as much as possible to protect them from burning.
3. Place the cobs with their husks repositioned in an ice water bath for 30 minutes to ensure they don’t start on fire during the grilling process.
4. Preheat your gas grill to medium heat.
5. Gently dry off the excess water from the cobs and place them on the grill, directly over the fire,
6. Rotate each cob every 5 minutes for a total cook time of 15-20 minutes. Remove from grill.
7. Peel back the husks and generously spread each cob with the herb butter. Finish with salt and pepper + enjoy!

Since the onset of my struggles with gluten earlier this year, I have learned to satisfy my cravings for carbs in a variety of ways. Potatoes are definitely one of the vehicles that delivers this carb satisfaction – though I’ve always had an affinity for potatoes. We are Midwesterners, after all!

I recall thoroughly enjoying wedge potatoes from the deli often as a child; the crispy outside + the fluffy insides covered in copious amounts of salt + seasonings…they were the ultimate comfort food. I wanted to recreate them in a healthier version that was gluten free, and did so completely unintentionally the other evening.

The end-result was an evening where my two blonde babes and I sat around the dinner table on a mommy/daughter date night and devoured said potato wedges in a state of giggles and bliss. While the recipe is perfectly satisfying, the memories of that night spent with my girls will be the one I think of every time I make these going forward.

The key to the wedges turning out with the crispy exterior and fluffy inside is the ice bath. When it comes to your seasonings of choice, I recommend using what you love most. For me, it was a combination of garlic, salt, pepper + dill. Happy cooking, friends – from my kitchen to yours.

Yields approximately 24-30 wedges.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized organic potatoes, peeled and cut into equal sized wedges.
• ½ cup organic corn starch
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ cup organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
• 1 garlic clove, cut in half
• Salt + Pepper for seasoning
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

Method:

1. Soak the peeled + diced potato wedges in an ice water bath for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper + set aside.
3. Combine the corn starch, garlic salt + pepper in a medium sized bowl and stir. Strain the potatoes and toss them in the seasoned corn starch. (I gently tapped each coated wedge on the side of the bowl to ensure they were not over coated before placing them on the lined baking sheet.)
4. Bake 20 minutes on the center rack of the oven. Remove and lightly drizzle the wedges with 1 tbsp of the EVOO. Return to the oven for 10 minutes.
5. In a large sauté pan on your stovetop, heat the remaining EVOO (the ½ cup less 1 tablespoon) over medium high heat. Add the garlic clove and sauté for 1-2 minutes to season the oil. Remove the garlic clove from the oil + discard prior to pan frying the potatoes.
6. Sauté the wedges in small batches until each side is a light to medium golden brown. Place the batches on a paper towel lined plate + season immediately with salt and pepper.
7. Transfer to a serving plate or bowl and garnish with chopped dill. Serve immediately.

In my humble opinion, appetizers and the Holiday Season pair together much like wine and cheese. November and December bring family + friends alike together with greater frequency, all of which makes my heart sublimely happy.

Following our Thanksgiving dinner, we had an excess amount of mashed potatoes (thanks to you CostCo + your 15 pound bag of love!) While we usually have no trouble consuming the leftovers, the amount we had was a bit more daunting than usual and I hated to waste them. I also had a fair amount of bacon from hosting Thanksgiving morning breakfast and a variety of cheese + herbs I wanted to utilize. The end result was putting these little pockets of love together for a neighborhood gathering.

If you’re seeking a low carb, low calorie option — try hitting up Cooking Light, because you aren’t going to find anything of the sorts in these. But my position on food is that it should be real, high quality and meant to not stress over the calories when enjoyed in moderation. I also think eating low fat foods stripped of their nutrients and overly processed in the name of “health” is 1.) an oxymoron and 2.) a huge disservice to both your body and tastebuds. This recipe calls for real butter, whole fat milk, nitrate free bacon and a good quality gruyere. Trust me when I suggest shortcuts would produce a less flavor-packed punch.

I made two versions of the appetizer to appeal to carnivores and vegetarians alike. Each was delicious, but the bacon delivers a perfect salty crunch if you’re entertaining the first mentioned group. Start to finish, the apps take about 60 minutes unless you use leftover mashed potatoes. Just be sure to warm the potatoes prior to baking them in the filo cups. Substitute to your hearts desire with a cheese or herb that tickles your fancy.

But do enjoy with loved ones and pause to drink in the moment deeply.

There’s beauty in the gathering.

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays from my kitchen to yours!

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs organic yukon gold potatoes, peeled + diced into 2″ cubes
• 8 oz organic butter, divided
• 1 cup organic whole milk
• 1 wrapped packet (1/2 the box) of frozen filo dough, thawed per directions on the package
• 1 lb. nitrate free bacon, cooked + chopped
• 6 oz freshly grated gruyere cheese, or a preferred alternative
• Freshly diced chives
• Salt + pepper to taste
• 2 muffin pans

 Method:

1. Cook the bacon + set aside to cool slightly. Chop into small pieces.
2. Preheat oven to 300.
3. Cook the peeled + diced potatoes until fork tender, drain and return to the pot.
4. Add 7 oz of the butter, cubed and 1 cup milk. Mash the potatoes and season with salt + pepper per your preference. Cover and set aside in the pan to remain warm.
5. Lay out the thawed filo dough and cut into thirds, horizontally. Cut the thirds in half, resulting in 6 square shaped piles. Place a slightly damp towel over the filo dough to prevent from drying.
6. Select 4-6 filo squares at a time, fanning them out with the centers aligned. Gently press them into each muffin tin. Complete until all 24 tins are lined.
7. Melt the remaining 1 oz of butter and use a pastry brush to moisten the bottom of each filo filled muffin tin. Gently brush a little butter up the sides and tops as well, but the goal is not to soak or oversaturate the dough.
8. Take a freezer bag and put the mashed potatoes into the bag, creating a piping bag. Use a scissors and cut a small opening in the bottom corner of the freezer bag and pipe the potatoes into each filo lined tin.
9. Top with the grated gruyere, followed by the bacon.
10. Bake 30-40 minutes until the filo cups are gently browned on the tops and the cheese melted.
11. Let sit 5 minutes, then using a spoon or cake spreader remove each pouch from the muffin tins. Top with chives + serve hot.