Michigan’s Larder by Ruth Paget
I behaved well as a child, because I liked going along on business dinners with my mom to Carl’s Chop House in Detroit (Michigan) so I could pick out a lobster swimming in an aquarium that would become my dinner with melted butter dipping sauce. (Detroit has direct flights with Maine I think.)
I also loved going to Macchus Red Fox Restaurant after junior bowling league at Yorba Linda Lanes in Royal Oak (Michigan) for house salad with sweet pimientos and spicy peppers, garlic bread, and tiramisu for dessert to celebrate strikes with mom.
I learned at a young age that Detroit’s auto executives and engineers liked steak and seafood main dishes while their spouses preferred French dishes that took two or three lines on a menu to describe.
As I grew older, I also learned to love French food. I knew when I saw the Savor Michigan Cookbook by Chuck and Blanche Johnson with Matt Sutherland that I would no doubt find some great French dishes made with Michigan’s ample supply of agricultural products, game, and foraging foods like mushrooms and ramps (wild leeks).
Some of the dishes in this cookbook that I like for showing off Michigan’s products include:
*Main Dishes
-Roast Goose with Stuffing, Glazed Carrots, and Cranberry Sauce
-Michigan Rabbit Braised in Cèpe Cream with Polenta Biscuits and Roasted Farmer’s Market Carrots
-Roasted Breast of Pheasant with Leg Confit, Brioche Bread Pudding, and Braised Kale with Apple Cider Gastrique
-Pork Cutlets with Apples and Maple Syrup
-Chicken Strudel with Mustard Sauce
-Roasted Venison Loin with Parsnips, Braised Red Cabbage, and Huckleberry Gastrique
-Pork, Duck, Dried Cherry, and Mixed Nut Terrine
-Roast Pork or Veal Loin with Dried Cherry and Wild Rice Stuffing
-Wild Boar Scaloppini with Wild Mushrooms Demi-Glaze
*Vegetable Dishes
-Michigan Wild Ramp (Leek) Quiche with Raw Milk Cheddar and Roasted Garlic
-Vegetable Strudel with Spinach and Boursin -Michigan Corn Pudding
-Morel and Leek Pierogi – a pierogi is a large, round Polish ravioli served with butter
*Soups
-Watermelon Soup
-Zuppa di Farro (Italian Whole Grain Soup)
People who like cooking gourmet dinners would probably enjoy trying several of the recipes from the plush restaurants described in Savor Michigan Cookbook: Michigan’s Finest Restaurants – Their Recipes – Their Histories by Chuck and Blanche Johnson with Matt Sutherland.
By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
