minnesota

My Favorite Foods Around the World

0 · Jan 21, 2019 · Leave a Comment

When I started my blog back in 2010, I began making a list of any food item I’d declared, “My favorite ever!” Now that I live in NYC, some of these declarations (best burger! best pizza!) feel a little controversial.

The Colony Pizza at Emily in NYC has pepperoni, honey and jalapeño with that deep dish crust. I’m drooling.

After living in New York City for a year and a half, I just updated the list with all my new favorites, but it’s still so fun to look back on foods I added way back in the beginning. Since I’m originally from Phoenix, Arizona, many of those favorites still stand. The English muffins from La Grande Orange will never be topped! After living in Houston, Texas for a year after college, I still crave the queso from Torchy’s Tacos. My Minnesota favorites come from spending time at the lake with my mom’s side of the family every summer since I was little. Everywhere I go, I like to collect new favorites to add to the list!

The Caramel Rolls from this hole-in-the-wall spot near my family’s lake cabin put any other rolls to shame!

Last updated: January 2019

Almond Croissant: Common Bond, Houston, TX

Bagel: Brooklyn Bagel and Coffee, Chelsea, NYC

Banana Bread: Order from The Hungry Gnome, NYC

BLT: Maple Beach Resort & Grill, Pelican Rapids, MN

Black and White Cookie: Empire Cakes, Chelsea, NYC

Blueberry Scones: Empire Cakes, Chelsea, NYC

My co-workers and I find any excuse to celebrate and pick up these blueberry scones around the corner from Chelsea Market where we work.

Bruschetta: Postino Wine Café, Phoenix, AZ

Burger: Emily, West Village, NYC

Caramel Rolls: Nootzi’s Café, Dent, MN

Carbonara Pasta: Barbuto, New York, NY

It’s become a hobby of mine to order Carbonara at any Italian restaurant I go to just so I can see how it compares to Barbuto.

Cheese Biscuits: Jim ’N Nick’s Community BBQ, Birmingham, AL

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Levain Bakery, Upper West Side, NYC

Churros: Churrería el Moro, Mexico City

Queso with Green Chiles: Torchy’s Tacos, Houston, TX

Queso with Chorizo: Bakersfield, Indianapolis, IN

Crepes: Cibo Urban Wine Café and Pizzeria, Phoenix, AZ

Cuban Sandwich: Columbia Restaurant, Tampa, FL

Detroit-Style Pizza: The Colony Pizza at Emily, NYC

Dim Sum: Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Chinatown, NYC

English Muffins: La Grand Orange Grocery, Phoenix, AZ

Fried Green Tomatoes: Eli’s Table, Charleston, SC

Gluten-Free Cookies: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie, Fair Trade Café, Phoenix, AZ

Gnocchi: Barbuto, New York, NY

Hummus and Pita Bread: True Food Kitchen, Phoenix, AZ

Ice Cream: Honeycomb and Pistachio Flavors at Van Leeuwen, NYC

Kale Salad: Barbuto, NYC

Nachos: The Macho Nachos, Zorbaz on the Lake, MN

Pimento Cheese: Husk Bar, Charleston, SC

Ramen: Ippudo, NYC

Scrambled Eggs: The steamed eggs at Buvette, West Village, NY

If you like a soft scramble, you’ll love these almost-gooey eggs from Buvette in the West Village of NYC.

Soup Dumplings: Joe’s Shanghai, NYC

Sweet Corn: Johnson Family Farm, Pelican Rapids, MN

Tacos: Los Tacos No. 1, NYC

Turkey Sandwich: The Shaved Turkey on Warm Pita, True Food Kitchen, Phoenix, AZ

Waffles: Matt’s Big Breakfast, Phoenix, AZ

This list is always growing, changing and evolving, but I want to know – what do you think? Have I nailed it on the head (the Levain cookies!!) or am I missing out on something I need to try ASAP? I seriously want to hear! Send me a DM on Instagram (@gourmet_gab) or email me at gab@thegourmetgab.com. I’m happy to take one for the team and try something new to see if it deserves a spot on the list 😉

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

Minnesota Lake Days 2017

0 · Aug 22, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Here’s just a segment of the Birkeland crew. The saying is so true, “Life is better at the lakes!”

Summer wouldn’t be complete without an annual trip to the lake. My mom’s family is from North Dakota and her parents always took their eight (!!) kids to a lake in Minnesota every summer. Ever since, our family has kept the tradition going. My aunts, uncles and cousins have been getting together for our annual “Birkeland Bash” reunion for more than 20 years. Now that there’s around 25 cousins, we can’t always all be there, but it is so special to see as much of the family as possible every year.

I just got home from a ten day trip to the lake and have so many fun memories. Usually I get really lucky with a perfectly sunny week, but this year we got hit with more rainy and cloudy days. There are plenty of things to do at the lake, even on overcast days, so here are a few of my favorite memories!

Garage Dance Parties

My aunt and uncle have transformed the garage of their house into a screened-in porch with string lights and fun decor. We all gather in here every night when the sun sets, start jamming out to music and have some great conversation. This year, Bruno Mars was the hit and my cousins and I were singing songs from his new album with Motown style dance moves.

Gardens and Fields of Vegetables

My aunt and uncle started their own garden on their property at the lake and it was amazing to see how much produce came from it! They had bags and bags of green beans, tomatoes, peppers, peas, broccoli, kale, squash and lettuce. It makes me want to start a garden so badly! My uncle also took my aunt and I to his friend’s field of sweet corn. It was the coolest feeling pulling the fresh corn right off the giant stem!

Sunny Saturdays

Playing with my little cousins by the water makes for some of my favorite memories. These kiddos could swim for hours and hours. They’re all little water babies and have grown up with the lake as their playground! The older cousins and I swim out into deeper water and tread water for a really good workout.

Food Network Star Party

Several of my cousins, aunts and uncles love Food Network Star, so we all got together to watch the finale a few weeks ago. We decided to have a little dessert party around it and made homemade s’mores bars and a rhubarb blueberry crumble. It was so fun recording my cousins cooking on Instagram Stories and pretending we were on FN Star. I was rooting for Cory, but the crowd favorite was Jason, so they were excited he won!

Learning New Tricks

I love being adventurous at the lake because there are always new things to learn. My aunt taught me how to do a headstand on a paddle board for a little paddle board yoga and it was such a cool feeling! I also went to the driving range at a golf course for the first time in a while, plus finally got my surfing skills down and can ride the wake without the rope.

Birthdays x 3

With so many family members, we have a LOT of birthday. My aunt and two cousins ironically have birthdays three days in a row, so it was a blast being there to celebrate with them all. It felt like the party never ended, but that’s how it’s supposed to be right? From dinners and drinks to dance parties, we had a BLAST with the birthdays.

HUB41 and Brygge Taps & Tastes

My cousins own two really awesome restaurants in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota so we spend a lot of time at them while we’re at the lake. Brygge (pronounced Brigg) has been around for a few years, but they just rebranded and have some killer things on the menu like gouda pickles and homemade chips! I got to be the guest chef for their Flight Night special, so I’ll write about that later and share recipes. HUB41 is their new concept right on the water of Detroit Lake. It’s seriously the hottest spot in town and I couldn’t be more proud of my family.

Pontoon Rides

My favorite memory of the whole trip was probably taking a pontoon ride on the gorgeous sunny Saturday with the family. Everyone in my family is super athletic, so they were diving, flipping and doing tricks off the side into the sandy water. I learned how to flip off the pontoon and it was such a fun feeling! We even swung by the neighbors lake house where they were doing a Bloody Mary bar for the lake. Those kinds of afternoons just can’t be beat!

I’m already counting down the days until next summer! Minnesota days are my favorite way to spend summer. I hope you enjoy following along. Do any of you do similar things with your family? Do you have a ton of cousins, too? Or spend time at the lake? I would love to hear in the comments below!

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

Lake Life 2016

0 · Aug 15, 2016 · Leave a Comment

I’ve been home from the lake for one week and I finally feel like I am back into my groove. I was lucky enough to settle into a vacation pattern during my ten days at the lake…ten days of sleeping in, staying up late, eating endless chips and dips, enjoying a new drink everyday and not opening my computer more than once! This summer was particularly exciting because all of the cousins got to be together for one day (minus our one cousin Emily who had to work). We haven’t all been together at the same place and time for years since we’re split between a few states. Our annual cousin line up is something I cherish. The line keeps getting longer and longer with the little cousins, but I also keep getting bumped over by the ones who grow taller than me!

The annual lake vacation is so important to me because I can refocus and rejuvenate. While things in my career and personal life may change, it seems like things stay the same up at the lake. It reminds me of priorities in life – spending time with family, building relationships with those you love and keeping things simple. The little things, like having a cup of coffee on the patio while the lake is smooth as glass and taking a tandem bike ride up and down the street to look at the lake houses and wave to neighbors – feel especially meaningful.

Whenever the whole family gathers we all pitch in to create a potluck style lunch or dinner. Someone brings the meats, someone else brings ingredients for a salad, there are never a shortage of chips, and certainly my Aunt Ann will be in charge of dessert. I love how it all ends up coming together.

gourmetgab_icecream — My favorite Raspberry Chocolate Chunk ice cream from DuCharme’s Corner Store.

My grandpa Myron will lead us in a prayer and we can break bread together while counting our blessings. The moment we all gather together in a circle to say grace gives me goosebumps every time. We have family members from age 80 to 9 months old. My grandpa and grandma started it all with their eight children! It truly is incredible to see the circle of life.

Every evening while I’m at the lake, I have to stop and savor the sunset over the water each night. It is honestly magical to watch the sky illuminate every evening in a different combination of colors. My mom loved these Minnesota sunset more than anything, and every time I see them I think of her. She insisted we stop what we were doing to watch the sunset every summer we spent in Minnesota together, and now I try to keep the tradition going with my relatives.

My family is a big water skiing family, but one of my highlights from the lake this year was learning how to surf without holding on to the rope. Spending time on our neighbor’s boat listening to music and watching everyone surf made for some of the best afternoons at the lake. My cousin Mitchell is a great videographer with his GoPro and drone, so he put together this video about our lake life 2016. You’ll catch me dancing with my crazy hair, jumping into the water with him and even surfing for a few seconds!

Every summer as the time at the lake wraps up, I already begin counting down the days until the next trip. This summer was filled with delicious grilled food, gorgeous weather, family, friends, an Eric Church concert, so many Snapchat videos and all around great memories. I hope you’ve enjoyed following along!

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

Grilling on the Big Green Egg

0 · Aug 12, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Summer dinners usually means grilling outside, preferably with a stunning view and great company. That’s the norm for us at the lake at least. We use the Big Green Egg to grill dinner while admiring the picturesque sunset as it surprises us with the colors of the rainbow it’s going to chose for it’s palate that night. At the picnic table is as many little cousins as can sit still, or on a calm night, maybe just the adults sipping a glass of wine.

We use the Big Green Egg to grill dinner while admiring the picturesque sunset as it surprises us with the colors of the rainbow it’s going to chose for it’s palate that night.

My Uncle Timmy has always been the grill master of the family. We’ll provide the ingredients and let him work his magic. Ever since he got a Big Green Egg though, his grilling has gone to the next level. He is so passionate about the smoky flavors infused into the meats. The all-natural charcoal he uses gives the food incredible flavor. He adjusts the heat and temperature so he can do everything from grilling pizza to baking pie.

One of my favorite memories from last week at the lake was making pork tenderloin and potatoes for dinner for the family. Timmy and I decided to pair a zesty mustard and honey barbecue sauce with the pork and a viva caliente seasoning for the potatoes to balance the sweet and savory flavors. Of course, we couldn’t go through the grilling process without Snapchatting along the way. I’ve compiled our snaps into a Youtube video here so you can rewatch. You’ll notice the gorgeous background — the sunset chose to be a stunning neon pink and periwinkle that night creating a glow on everyone outdoors.

One night on the Big Green Egg we also grilled corn on the cob. The whole family liked to get involved so we grabbed the big bag of corn and sat around on the grass shucking – and I may have snuck a bite of the raw sweet corn here and there. Whether you’re putting large veggies straight on the grill, wrapping them in a tin foil package like we did in the video above, cooking pizza on a pizza stone or cooking salmon on a cedar plank, the options are endless with the Big Green Egg.

Timmy gave me a few tips for grilling. He said first and foremost, always use caution when grilling! You’ll notice he always “burps” the Egg before opening it to let out a little bit of the heat. Timmy also recommends using natural lump charcoal and starting naturally without fluids. You can see in the Snapchat we use this ignitor device to get the fire going so we don’t have to use liter fluid!

These memories with Uncle Timmy outside on the patio making dinner for the family are ones that I will cherish forever and look forward to every summer. It was a blast making videos on Snapchat with him. Based on the audience’s reaction, it looks like he may have to be a regular with his Big Green Egg.

Thank you to Big Green Egg for sponsoring this post.

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

Flight Night at Brew Ale & Eats

0 · Aug 9, 2016 · 2 Comments

gourmetgab_BrewFlightNight — If you watched the behind-the-scenes of my Flight Night at Brew Ale & Eats in Minnesota on Snapchat, here’s the story behind it all.

I’ve been cooking in a home kitchen since I was about five years old, but just last week I got the chance to cook in a restaurant kitchen for the very first time. My cousins Gretchen and Nate Hunter own the restaurant, Brew Ales & Eats, in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. While I was on vacation at the lake, they asked me to be the guest chef for their “Flight Night.” Every Tuesday they do a special food and beer tasting of an appetizer, salad, entree and dessert paired with accompanying beers.

I was beyond thrilled when they asked me to be the guest chef and immediately got to thinking about what dishes I wanted to create. The four dishes for Flight Night needed to feel like an extension of my kitchen – something I would make for friends at a dinner party or recipes I would post on Gourmet Gab. For an appetizer I chose Roasted Piquillo Peppers stuffed with Machego Cheese and served with a cilantro dressing. The rustic Corn and Black Bean salad with mango and a paprika lime vinaigrette felt summery and fresh. For an entree, I marinated shrimp in a roasted jalapeño and basil sauce, skewered them on kabobs and grilled them on the flat top. I wanted dessert to feel light on a hot lake day, so I went with a Bruleed Peach with Homemade Caramel and Vanilla Ice Cream.

The four dishes for Flight Night needed to feel like an extension of my kitchen – something I would make for friends at a dinner party or recipes I would post on Gourmet Gab.

My cousin Emily came to help me prep in the kitchen all day. We chopped, roasted, stuffed, blended, skewered and prepped everything for about 6 hours in a teeny tiny kitchen! I have a new appreciation for eating out a restaurants now because prepping and cooking in the kitchen is nonstop, thrilling hard work. After we got all four entrees mostly complete, we got to take them out to the bar to sample the beers to pair with them. Emily was especially helpful with this side of things since she is a beer connoisseur. We had a blast working with Chef David Grimsley in the kitchen and couldn’t have pulled it all off without him.

Once 5:00 pm hit, it was time for Flight Night to begin! After preparing a few of the flights, I got into the rhythm of the timing. To prep, brûlée the peaches, plate the salad and spoon dressing for peppers. Once the order is placed, put the peppers into the oven to warm and cook the shrimp on the flat top. When shrimp is done, pull both from the heat. Plate everything. Add scoop of vanilla ice cream to peach then drizzle with carmel. Wipe plate with towel for presentation. Pass on to servers to deliver. Then, on to the next! We sold out of almost 25 flights and it was non stop all day. The reviews were raving and it was an incredible experience. By far the favorite item on the flight was the stuffed peppers with Manchego cheese, so I’m sharing the recipe below!

My whole family who lives in the area came to support and they took over almost three tables at Brew. Wherever the Birkelands go, you can expect lots of kids, lots of noise and lots of picture. It was incredible to look out the kitchen window and see them all taking seats at the tables, enjoying drinks, catching up and ready to enjoy the food Emily and worked so hard to prepare!

Stuffed Piquillo Peppers with Cilantro Dressing

Save Print

These Stuffed Piquillo Peppers with Cilantro Dressing are an easy appetizer packed with flavor from the Spanish Manchego cheese.

Author: Gabriela Rodiles

Recipe type: Appetizer

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

1 bag baby bell peppers or jarred roasted piquillo peppers
1 block manchego cheese
1 bunch cilantro
½ cup olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ lime, juiced
1 teaspoon salt, plus extra for seasoning
½ teaspoon pepper, plus extra for seasoning

Instructions

Toss peppers in olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast over an open flame until peppers are soft to the touch and charred.
Place in a bowl and immediately cover with plastic wrap to keep heat inside. The peppers will sweat making the charred black easy to peel off.
Gently peel or scrape charred black off peppers. Carefully remove the top of the pepper to create a tiny hole.
Stuff each pepper with manchego cheese.
Bake until cheese is melted (approximately 5 minutes).
Make cilantro dressing: blend olive oil, cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper and garlic.
To plate, spoon dressing to a plate and top with peppers to serve.

Thank you to Gretchen, Emily and David for helping make the Flight Night and Gourmet Gab collaboration happen! It was an incredible experience and I hope to do it again next summer.

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriel

Minnesota Memories

0 · Aug 16, 2012 · 3 Comments

Summer is never officially complete until I have traveled to Minnesota for my annual family reunion. I have to admit it felt great to leave my laptop in Arizona and enjoy the lake country without technology overdose. Here are a few snapshots of my vacation. Soon I’ll post the recipe for Honey Cucumber Lemonade that my cousins and I made all week-long!

A typical day at West McDonald Lake:
blue skies, sunshine, sandy beach and green grass.

The absolute best BLT I’ve ever tasted.
Layers of thick, salty bacon. Fresh tomatoes. Crisp lettuce. Buttery, toasted bread.

Alexander and I loved this Cream Soda from Maple Beach Resort & Grill on Lake Lida.
P.S. Don’t you love his Olympics spirit!?

This is the third year Alexander has joined me at the lake. I am so happy he loves my family as much as I do! Here we are with a few of my little cousins at the neighborhood vegetable stand.

Liz and Alexander picking fresh apples.
It’s hard to take a bite missing a front tooth!

It’s a family tradition to indulge in caramel and cinnamon rolls from Nootzi’s in Dent, MN. Alexander and I swirled some extra caramel in our coffee and MY-OH-MY was it good.

My cousins and I in order from tallest to shortest.
We’re still missing about 14 cousins, believe it or not!

I miss the family and Minnesota sunshine already, but I am so grateful for all the fun memories we made. Do you and your family still have reunions? What are some of your traditions?

Love food | Love self | Love life … Gabriela