Tami Lax

Salad of Local Asparagus, Egg, Wisconsin Parmesan-style Cheese

Start with a 6-quart pot of water on your stovetop. Make the water as salty as the sea by using either Kosher salt or sea salt. (Making the water salty enough will pull the true flavors of the asparagus and eliminate any top applied salt at the end of the cooking process.) Bring to boil. Clean your asparagus. Remove the bottom portion of stalk if the stem is woody. Only use the tender portion of your asparagus stalks, this will generally be the top 75 percent of your asparagus.

Heat a heavy-gauged sauté (or non-stick pan) to medium-low heat. Pour a generous amount of olive oil in the pan. Turn the heat down slightly. Crack egg into pan, keeping the yolk in tact. Salt and pepper. (The secret to a perfectly cooked egg is not to rush it. The egg likes to be cooked on lower heat until the translucent white of the egg becomes porcelain white.) Once your egg starts to turn porcelain white, drop your asparagus into the pot of boiling, salted water until al dente, approximately 3–4 minutes.

Place your drained cooked asparagus onto your plate and slide egg onto the top of the asparagus, pouring the remaining olive oil over your dish. Garnish with freshly grated organic lemon zest and ribbons of Wisconsin parmesan-style cheese. Use your vegetable peeler to make cheese ribbons. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

My work in the Madison area has ranged from pub fare to omelets to high-end catering. I am most proud of leading the food crew for the past three ACT rides. My emphasis recently has been on affordable, vegetarian, family cooking. So many recipes involve purchasing expensive ingredients to complete them. But with planning and practice, vegetarian cooking can be delicious for all members of the family as well as inexpensive. Here is my Italian Sausage Soup Recipe. It takes less than an hour from start to finish.

Italian Sausage Soup

Sauté onions in oil with salt, pepper, and oregano, on a medium heat. When onions are soft and translucent, add garlic. (If you add it at the beginning, you might scorch it!) Add diced tomatoes and stock, let simmer while you slice the sausage. Cut links into coins. Add sausages and Orzo and turn down the heat. Let simmer for 15 minutes or so, until the orzo is cooked. Add more salt, pepper, cayenne, or oregano, if desired. Add more water if the soup seems too thick. (You’ll also need to add more water when you reheat it.)

Linguine with White Clam Sauce

Scrub clams then soak in cold water and 1 Tablespoon salt for about half an hour. Drain and rinse to remove salt.

Steam clams in ¼ cup white wine, covered, until they open. As clams open, move to a fine-mesh sieve placed over a container to catch the juices. Shuck and chop 16 of the clams and set aside along with the 20 whole clams. In a wide saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the shallots or onions until very lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook until very lightly browned. Add the parsley and red pepper flakes, and cook another minute. Add 3/4 cup white wine and reduce by half, add 1 ½ cups of clam juice and reduce by half. Add butter to sauce. Cook pasta, reserving ½ cup cooking water. Drain pasta. Add cooked clams to hot sauce along with cooked pasta. Add cheese and toss well. If pasta seems dry, add some of the reserved pasta water. Portion into bowls and garnish with whole clams, parsley, and lemon wedges.

My love for making this salad has carried over to the palates of my customers; it is the most often requested salad I make.

I prefer using Spanish olive oil, partly for the more-fruity-less-peppery flavor that I have found in them, but also as a way to reconcile history. When Europe conquered South America, quinoa was scorned by the Spanish colonists as “Indian food” and actively suppressed. The conquistadors forbade quinoa cultivation and the Incas were forced to grow corn instead. Today, it has made a comeback as a “super-grain,” even though it is a seed. High in protein and iron, and gluten free, it has been a great choice for special diets.

Black Bean Quinoa Salad Dressing

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cover for 10–15 minutes. When it is done, the grain appears semi-translucent and the germ ring is visible.

I grew up in Kentucky where the focus on food in my family was definitely Southern. Ever since, I have loved strawberries and anxiously anticipated spring and their arrival.

Back then, a new dessert was fresh—uncooked—strawberry pie. Before the recipe was hijacked and wrecked by too many chain restaurants, it was my favorite and still is—if made right. Here is a recipe that my grandmother clipped from the Nashville Banner that I still make today.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Put the water in a glass measuring cup or small bowl and sprinkle with the gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes. Meanwhile, put about three cups of the smaller or less attractive strawberries in a blender or food processor. Add the lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Blend or process until the strawberry mixture is smooth. Transfer the strawberry mixture to a saucepan and set over low heat. Stirring constantly, heat the mixture until it comes to a boil. Continue to cook and stir until the purée is thick and transparent. Stir in the softened gelatin and immediately remove from the heat. Let it cool.

Slice the remaining strawberries in half and add to the cooled purée. Gently fold together and transfer to the pie shell. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the top.

Chill the pie for at least 2 hours and serve chilled with whipped cream.

When I was young, my mother would make these sticky buns twice a year, once on Christmas morning and once on Easter. They were so delicious! It was definitely one of the things my brothers, sister, and I looked forward to on the holidays. We’d wake up in the morning and she’d be just pulling them out of the oven. I remember scraping the warm caramel out of the bottom of the pan, making sure I got my fill. Mmmmm ...

Sticky Buns

Melt butter, stir in brown sugar and corn syrup.

Grease Bundt pan (or angel food cake pan). Place pecans in bottom of pan. Place 18 frozen rolls on top. Pour butter mixture over top.

Cover pan with towel and let rise overnight. If kitchen is cold, heat oven to 100 degrees. Turn oven off and place pan in oven overnight.

When risen to double original size, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place rolls in oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes until brown. Let sit 10 minutes or so and invert pan on plate. Let sit a few more minutes for caramel to cover rolls.

Just about all of my favorite things about food come together in fondues. To me fondue is the ultimate selection “après ski” or as a winter’s day lunch accompanied by a green salad and a glass of wine. Everyone knows about dipping bread cubes in fondue, but other accompaniments such as sliced vegetables, smoked and cured meats, and even pickled vegetables are just as traditional and satisfying.

Fromagination Artisanal Blend Fondue

Vigorously rub the exposed end of the garlic over the surface of the pot, starting in the salt and coating the entire surface. Discard the garlic.

In a medium bowl, combine the grated cheeses. Add one cup of wine and lemon juice to the cheese. Mix well. Let the cheese and wine soak at room temperature for at least 45 minutes.

Add half of wine into the prepared fondue pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.