Foodies: Culinary Fun in Southwestern Michigan
Southwestern Michigan is one of the few places in the United States where food and fun come together with delightful splendor. Lake Michigan tempers our climate so we harvest a bountiful variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Our communities seasonally showcase this deliciousness in local farmers' markets, roadside markets and u-pick farms. Such goodness also attracts talented chefs, winemakers, microbrew and spirits masters, cheese makers, bakers, food crafters and innovative inventors of world-class kitchen appliances (we're home to Whirlpool Corporation, including its KitchenAid® brand) and that makes us a foodies' paradise!
To celebrate our region we're gathering recipes that feature locally grown foods. Please submit your recipes (our staff will review each before posting) and check here often for new favorites to add to your culinary collection.
Appetizers
Smoked Whitefish Spread and Tart Cherry Jam
Round Barn Public House
Smoked Whitefish and tart cherries pair wonderfully for a refreshing summer appetizer. Serve whitefish spread on warm crusty bread or crackers then top with tart cherry jam and scallions.
Whitefish Spread:
- 1# smoked whitefish, skinned, deboned, and flaked
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbs. lemon juice
- 1 celery stalk, minced
- 1 scallion, Sliced thinly on bias
- salt and pepper to taste
- Tart cherry jam (recipe follows)
In a medium mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, scallion, and salt & pepper. Mix well and gently fold in smoked whitefish to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Tart Cherry Jam:
- 1# pitted tart cherries, fresh or frozen
- ½# sugar
In a large stainless steel saucepan, add the cherries and sugar. Stir to combine well. Place saucepan over medium low heat and watch until mixture starts to release its juices and sugar is dissolved. Raise heat to medium high and cook, watching closely and stirring with a heatproof spatula. The cherries will tend to foam high in the pan so be careful of boiling over. If this happens, turn the heat down slightly to avoid. Maintain a steady boil until jam is slightly thickened, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat to cool and refrigerate until ready to use.
Note: This is a no pectin jam so it needs to reduce by half to thicken properly. Towards the end you will have to stir frequently to avoid scorching. Can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Guacamole
Contessa Wine Cellars
- 4 soft avocados
- 1 small ripe tomato finely chopped
- 1 small onion finely chopped. More if desired.
- 1 small clove garlic crushed
- 1 to 2 tablespoons of jalapeno juice (from jalapeno jar)
- Plus about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the jalapenos finely chopped
- 1/2 fresh lemon juice squeezed (plastic lemon juice isn't the same)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (to taste)
Directions – Cayenne powder to taste. Depends how much of a bite you want. (1/4 teaspoon) Large bunch of cilantro finely chopped. About 1/2 cup total. More or less according to your taste. Salt to taste. Don't skimp on the salt. It should be relatively salty. Start out with 1 teaspoon. Mix well!!! Don't use mixer. Use fork and smash avocados as you blend. Use a little extra lemon juice if needed. Serve with Nacho chips or on bed of lettuce leaves. Wine: Serve with Bianco Bello, a semi sweet white balanced blend of French American grapes. Just enough sweetness.
Italian Stuffed Mushrooms with Merlot
Contessa Wine Cellars
- 1 lb large regular mushrooms or baby portabellas (fills 16-20 large mushrooms)
- 1/4 stick butter
- 1/2 small onion finely chopped
- 1/2 lb Italian sausage
- 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs finely crushed
- 1 cup Italian cheeses finely grated (parmesan, Asiago, Romano)
- 3 tablespoons Contessa Wine Cellar's Merlot
Directions – In frying pan, sauté onion and Italian sausage until sausage is done. Drain excess fat. Melt butter in sauce pan and set aside. Combine bread crumbs with onion and sausage and pour butter over and mix well. Add cheeses and mix again. Place in washed and dried mushroom caps arranged on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 until cheese is browned and melted.
Wine: Serve with Merlot, a soft pleasurable compliment to this appetizer.
Dinner
Chili
Contessa Wine Cellars
- 2-3 LBS ground beef browned in very large pot
While beef is browning, dice into 1/4" pieces - 1 green pepper
- 3 stalks celery
- 1 very large onion
Cook veggies in separate pot with water to cover
Add to veggies
- 1 TBS chili powder
- 1 TBS cumin
- 3 TBS garlic powder
- Salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
Cook veggies and spices until soft, about 30 minutes, plus
- Add veggie mixture to meat, including liquid
- Add 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- Add 1 large can tomato paste, add more paste for thicker chili
- Add two cans (15 oz) of black beans of choice (great northern white, pinto, kidney, black beans)
- Add 1 cup Contessa Wine Cellars - Lago Rosso (or a semi-dry or dry red wine)
- Stir contents until blended, simmer for 1/2 hour
- Refrigerate and serve next day for best flavor
- Serve in bread bowls or over crackers topped with grated cheeses and sour cream
Use more cayenne peppers for added "heat"!
Pinot Grigio Poached Salmon
Contessa Wine Cellars
- 1-2 pounds of salmon
- 1 bottle of Contessa Wine Cellars Pinot Grigio
- Crushed thyme
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2-3 Tablespoons of butter (optional)
- Salt to taste
Directions – In a medium to large frying pan - add enough Pinot Grigio to fill the pan about 1". Skin salmon and slice into 1-3" wide slices. Arrange salmon in Pinot Grigio filled pan. Liberally coat the top of each slice of salmon with plenty of crushed thyme and freshly ground pepper. Add a bit of salt to taste, if desired.
Add butter to pan.
Wine: Serve with Pinot Grigio, a truly exotic marriage to the salmon.
Creamy Shrimp with Spinach Soup
Contessa Wine Cellars
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion - grated or minced finely
- 1-2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 large crushed cloves garlic
- Three 14 oz cans chicken broth
- 1 large can coconut milk
- 1 box frozen chopped spinach
- 2 lbs cooked, peeled shrimp
Directions – Combine first five ingredients in large pot and sauté just until butter melted. Add the chicken broth and coconut milk to pot. Add the frozen chunk of spinach. Slowly heat the mixture, stirring, until the spinach is unfrozen and everything mixed. Add salt and red pepper to taste.
Add the cooked shrimp to the pot and heat contents until just boiling. Makes 6-8 side servings or 4-5 main dish servings.
Wine: Serve with dry Riesling or Pinot Grigio. A wonderfully fresh compliment to the piquant soup.
Desserts
Blueberry Feather Muffins
JW Morlock & Girls
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Soft Margarine
- 1 Egg
- 2 1/3 Cups Flour
- 4tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 Cup Milk
- 1tsp Vanilla
- 4 Cups Blueberries
Topping:
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1/2tsp Cinnamon
- 1/3 Cup Flour
- 1/4 Cup Margarine
Directions: Mix Sugar & Butter until fluffy. Beat Egg. Stir in Flour mixed with Baking Powder & Salt. Alternate with the milk (beginning and ending with flour). Stir in Vanilla & Beat Well. Gently fold in Blueberries. Spoon into greased muffin pans, filling cups 2/3 full. Mix Sugar cinnamon, flour & Butter until crumbly. Sprinkle crumbs over muffins. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Pumpkin Mousse Filling
Contessa Wine Cellars
- 12 oz. of cream cheese slightly warmed
- one 29 oz. can of pumpkin (the large can)
- 1 1/2 heaping cups of powdered sugar
- 8 teaspoons of vanilla
- 1 tablespoon of ground cloves
- 1 heaping tablespoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon (or to taste) salt
Directions – Mix all the ingredients at very high speed until smooth. Chill and use in a baked pie crust or small tarts of any size. Or heap in parfait glasses topped with whipped cream. Use your imagination!! (Note: the cream cheese has to be very very soft or it won't blend smoothly in the mixture.)
Wine: This goes well with Celeste, a refreshingly sweet white wine.
Dutch Apple Pie
Nye's Apple Barn
CRUST
- 9” unbaked pie shell
TOPPING
- 2/3 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/4 cup oat meal
- 1/3 cup butter or margarine
FILLING
- 6-8 Medium sized apples
- mixed varieties
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar or to taste
- Dash of salt
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch or 2 tablespoons flour
Directions – Prepare pie shell, and refrigerate until ready to use. Make Topping: combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. With pastry blender or Cuisenart cut in butter mixture is consistency of coarse cornmeal. Refrigerate. Preheat oven to 400 F. Make Filling: Core and peel apples. Slice into large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine corn starch (flour), sugar, salt, and cinnamon, mixing well. Toss lightly with apples. Turn filling into unbaked pie shell, spreading evenly. Cover with topping. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until apples are tender.
It is hard to determine how much flour or corn starch is needed because of how juicy the apples are. I precook my filling just enough to get the consistency and sweetness I want so I do not add the cornstarch to the sugar mixture. I mix it with water and add it to the filling as it cooking. Then I put in the pie shell and bake until the shell is lightly browned and apples are tender.
Apple Cake
Nye's Apple Barn
- 5 Apples (I use a mixture) use your favorite
- 2 tsps. Cinnamon
- 2 1/2 cups sugar + 1 tbls.
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup oil
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 2 1/2 vanilla
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Directions – Peel, core and thinly slice apples. Toss with cinnamon and ¼ cup plus 1 tbls. sugar; set aside. Combine flour and baking powder, set aside ¼ cup. Add remaining flour to remaining sugar (2 ¼ cups), oil, eggs, salt, juice, and vanilla; beat until smooth. Toss raisins and nuts with reserved flour. Add with apple mixture to batter; stir only until mixed. Pour into greased tube pan. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Grandma D’s Blueberry Buckle
DeGrandchamp Farms
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1 egg
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 pint fresh or thawed frozen blueberries
TOPPING
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup margarine or butter
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (if desired)
Directions – Cream sugar and shortening together. Add remaining ingredients except blueberries. Mix well. Carefully fold in blueberries. Pour into greased 9″ square pan. Combine topping ingredients with a fork until a course crumb consistency. Sprinke on top. Bake at 375 degrees 45-50 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.
Blueberry & Granola Parfait
DeGrandchamp Farms
- 2 cups vanilla fat free yogurt
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1 cup granola
Directions – Spoon 1/4 cup yogurt into each of 4 parfait glasses; top each serving with 1/4 cup blueberries. Top each serving with 1/4 cup granola, 1/4 cup yogurt and 1/4 cup blueberries.
Blueberry Butterscotch
DeGrandchamp Farms
- 1 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 to 2 cups blueberries
- 1/2 of a 5 1/2 oz pkg of butterscotch chips
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 2 Tbsp granulated brown sugar
Directions – Mix flour, salt and baking soda. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in dry ingredients. Fold in blueberries. Spread mixture into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Sprinke with chips, pecans and brown sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Top should be lightly browned. Cool in pan.
Blueberry Cream Tart
DeGrandchamp Farms
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Directions – Using a spoon combine sour cream and brown sugar until a nice cream forms. Pour over blueberries.
Blueberry Sour Cream Cake
DeGrandchamp Farms
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 stick margarine
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups blueberries
Directions – Combine and set aside brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon. In large bowel, beat margarine and sugar with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, sour cream, flour, baking soda, salt and vanilla. Mix well. Fold in blueberries with a spoon. Spread 1/2 of the batter in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of the sugar, nut and cinnamon mixture. Spread the remaining batter on top and sprinkle remaining cinnamon mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 – 45 minutes. This is a great cake for breakfast or brunch!
Blueberry Muffins
DeGrandchamp Farms
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 8 oz sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup blueberries
TOPPING
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Directions – Line a 20 muffin pan with paper bake cups. Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir with a spoon. Fold in blueberries. Pour batter into muffin cups, until 3/4 full. For topping, combine ingredients and sprinkle on top of muffins. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 – 20 minutes.
Fresh Blueberry Pie
DeGrandchamp Farms
FILLING
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 cups of fresh blueberries
Directions – Combine all ingredients and pour berry mixture into prepared pie crust or your own special crust. Dot with 1 1/2 teaspoon butter and top with unbaked pie crust. Bake 60 minutes at 350 degrees in a preheated oven until golden brown.
Drinks
Round Barn's Famous Crantini
The Round Barn
- Fill shaker with ice
- Add 1.5 oz. Vodka
- Add equal parts lemonade & Round Barn Cranberry Fruit Wine
- Shake well and serve in Martini glass
- Garnish with a lime wedge
Nutty Russian
The Round Barn
- Fill shaker with ice
- Add 1 oz. DiVine Vodka
- Top with DiVine Black Walnut Crème
- Shake well and pour into rocks glass
- Top with a cherry and enjoy
Round Barn Root Beer Float
The Round Barn
- Fill rocks glass with ice
- Add 1/3 root beer of choice
- Add 2/3 DiVine Black Walunt Crème
- Stir and garnish with a cherry
Blueberry Fruit Smoothie
DeGrandchamp Farms
- 1 cup low-fat vanilla ice cream
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (don’t thaw)
- 1/2 cup light peaches, packed in water or natural juices, chopped
- 1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
Directions – Place all ingredients in blender. Cover and mix until smooth, about 30-45 seconds.
