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Robin Asbell, cooking instructor, culinary advisor to the Whole Grains Council, and author of Big Vegan: More Than 350 Recipes, No Meat/No Dairy, All Delicious, will be appearing at the Kitchen in the Market (in Midtown Global Market) on December 11 from 1 to 3 p.m. The author will be signing books, giving a short cooking demonstration, and handing out samples of her innovative vegan dishes. Asbell's latest cookbook has recipes for every meal, including Griddled Oat Polenta with Smoky Maple-Tempeh "Bacon" for breakfast, Seitan Burgundy Stew with Parsnips for a hearty lunch, and Red Lentil Masala Burgers with Curry Ketchup for dinner. The Hot Dish caught up with the multitalented Minneapolis resident and got her to share a recipe for a holiday party appetizer she calls "seasonal, colorful, and fun." It also makes good use of the leftover bag of cranberries you might still have in your fridge from Thanksgiving.
Courtesy Robin Asbell
Now that the turkey is done, the relatives have made themselves scarce, and the cranberry sauce stains have been addressed, it's time to kick this holiday season business into high gear. It's time to get our bake on. 
Baking cookies with the "Pie Guy" JML
For ideas we turned to area cookbook author, chef, and television personality John Michael Lerma. You may recognize him from the small screen as the Pie Guy, or perhaps you've found yourself searching his recipe-stuffed blog or easy-to-follow cookbook, Garden Country Cooking.
We asked JML to share one of his favorite holiday cookie recipes, and he sent us this gem.
Istanbul is a city with great narrative. It has style, romance, history, and food, an exploding music and art scene, plus a caressing Mediterranean climate. But after you've looked and tasted and examined and thought, the urge to do is inviting.
Wikipedia The Haiga Sophia and Blue Mosque: Cooking in a foreign city can create an intimate connection with the local culture
Cooking classes in a foreign town are a sure bet for the curious traveler. It's a tasty way to explore the city through its food. Cooking a country's food lets you start with the local foodstuff--the panoply of produce, spices, and herbs filling the bins and barrels of the local markets--and figure out how the odd vegetable and local grain combined to forge the foodways of a culture. And since most often cooking classes are held in a private kitchen, taking a class also gives a coveted peek into someone's private home or office, a look inside normally not available to tourists.
Filmmaker Mike Etoll knows a little something about blood and guts, having made the movie Sewer Baby and videos for bands like the Meat Puppets on the tightest of budgets. Etoll, who is also the creator of The Butcher Shop House of Gore, shared a few of his most grisly Halloween recipes with items found in the kitchen (cue the scary laughter).
A few of Etoll's ghastly creations
The lovely sight of apples hanging from the trees is a fine reason to hit the orchards this week. We are a big fan of buying bags of "seconds"--apples with slight blemishes that are sold at a deep discount. Finding ourselves with 12 pounds of apples this weekend (at 99 cents a pound from Aamodt's), it was time to get crazy in the kitchen. Here are three of our favorite creations.
Applesauce and apple butter home-style.
This week we've been chatting with chef Jorge Guzman, executive chef at Solera. Thus far we've covered his growing years and career. (Get caught up here and here). Today we wrap up our conversation talking about what really matters: food--Spanish food, Mexican food, comfort food, and shrimp heads. 
What was the first food you learned how to cook?
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| Joy Summers |
| Joia Sodas premieres at Strip Club Meat & Fish |
These aren't the sad pickled beets of your Sizzler salad bar, circa 1985. The fresh, area beets from farmers markets, roadside stands, and your nearby co-op are full of flavor and can be used in a variety of ways. Il Gatto, the Italian darling at Calhoun Square has two (yes, two) beet dishes on its regular dinner menu, proving that chef Jim Christiansen is well aware of the power of the purple (or golden).
Minnesota beets on Minnesota soil
When asked to share some of his favorite beet preparations, Christiansen said, "Beets would be a great idea--they are coming into season right now locally."
We couldn't agree more. Eschew the California varieties offered at your supermarket and go for the local beet roots and greens. Then you can try out some of the recipes that Christiansen shared with the Hot Dish. Or, you can stop into Il Gatto for dinner and have them prepare the Barbabietole for you.
After a long, soggy, cold spring, the weather turned on us. It's like Mother Nature is giving us the ol' "Oh, yeah? You don't like sweatshirts in summer? Well how do you like me know?" 
Zingy rhubarb lemonade with just a smidge of gin and Aperol
The best way to combat our sweltering environs is by staying plenty hydrated. We asked Christina Nguyen and Birk Stefan Grudem, the team in the cheerfully colored Hola Arepa food truck, for the recipe to one of their outstanding lemonades. Here we have a large dose of sweet, tart summer heat relief with or without the booze. A perfect way to utilize those last cherry-colored stalks of rhubarb at the farmers markets.
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