Delicious desserts are one thing, but delicious sustainable desserts are another. This recipe for hazelnut flourless chocolate bouchons meets both criteria: the hazelnuts were harvested from the hybrid hazelnut field just outside Lied Lodge – we’re talking 500 feet from field to kitchen — and they add nutritious, great-tasting flavor to a variety of dishes we serve here at Lied Lodge.

Give this one a try and let me know how you like it.

Hazelnut Flourless Chocolate Bouchons
2 lbs. melted chocolate
2 cups crushed toasted hazelnuts
1 cup whole toasted hazelnuts
1 tsp. salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2 vanilla beans
1 ½ cups sugar
1 oz. powdered gelatin
6 egg whites
Cocoa powder

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over low heat for approximately 15 minutes. Combine salt, cream, milk, vanilla beans, sugar and gelatin in a sauce pan and bring to a scald. Be careful not to boil. Set aside to cool. Slowly stir the cream mixture into the melted chocolate and reserve at room temperature; add the crushed hazelnuts. Chill a bowl and the egg whites, and then whip the egg whites into stiff peaks. Fold into the ganache. Spray a silicone mold with pan spray and dust with cocoa powder. Bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes or until picks come out clean. Chill the mold. Remove for serving, and garnish with toasted hazelnuts.

Enjoy!
Chef Matt

Matthew Taylor is the Executive Chef at Lied Lodge & Conference Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska, where local, sustainable entrees are served daily. You can catch him doing a live cooking demo at this year’s Wine Under the Pines Festival on Saturday, August 6, 2011, at Kimmel Orchard & Vineyard, Nebraska City.  Have a specific recipe you’d like to see featured on this blog? Let us know.

From the Lied Lodge Kitchen: Crab Cakes

Jul 05 by Lied Lodge Blog in Food & Drink, General, Local food, Recipes tagged Arbor Day Farm, comfort food, crab cakes, Lied Lodge, summer recipe with no comments

 

This is one of my favorite summer dishes. Crab cakes are an excellent way to kick up the barbecue, especially when you mix and match accompaniments and use fresh, seasonally available ingredients. Let me know how you enjoy this one.

Maryland Blue Crab Cakes
2 lb. blue crab meat, well drained
¼ cup raw garlic
1 cup panko crumbs
2 whole eggs
½ cup red bell pepper bruinoise
½ cup carrot bruinoise
½ cup red onion bruinoise
2 jalapeños, seeded and bruinoise
¼ tbl Old Bay seasoning
2 lemons zest and juiced
1 orange zest
½ cup flat leaf parsley, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Kernels from 2 ears of fresh sweet corn

Procedure:
Heat olive oil on medium flame in sauté pan. Add garlic and sauté until aromatic. Add the peppers, carrot, onion, and jalapeño to the pan and cook gently until just sweated together. Add Old Bay seasoning and parsley, cook until just aromatic, about 2 minutes. Combine all ingredients to mixing bowl and stir together well. Adjust seasoning and panko until the mixture forms small cakes that stay together well and are not too moist or too dry. Form cakes into small cylinder shapes Reserve cakes to order.

Until next time,
Chef Matt

Matthew Taylor is the Executive Chef at Lied Lodge & Conference Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska, where local, sustainable entrees are served daily. Have a specific recipe you’d like to see featured on this blog? Let us know.

World-Renown Chefs Pay Visit to Lied Lodge Kitchen

May 17 by Chef Matt in Food & Drink, General tagged Arbor Day Farm, ceviche, chef, Lied Lodge with 1 comment

 

It’s not every day that I get to share my professional kitchen with world-renown chefs, but last month here at Lied Lodge, that’s exactly what I had the privilege of doing.

Chef Javier Wong and Chef Matthew Taylor spent hours cooking together in the Lied Lodge kitchen.

To make a long story short, an international film crew stayed at Lied Lodge last month while working on a tourism documentary about Peru, South America. They stayed for many days, put in incredibly long hours shooting in Peru, Nebraska, and brought with them some of the finest chefs in the southern hemisphere to star in the film:

Chef Christian Bravo, the award-winning chef and restaurateur of Lima, Peru, hailed as one of the best gourmet chefs in South America;
Chef Javier Wong, internationally known as “The God of Ceviche,” who owns and operates one of the most exclusive restaurants in all of Peru, and
Chef Ivan Kosac, a molecular gastronomy guru who has worked and trained in France and Spain.

Being a chef myself, I was familiar with the collective reputation of these three chefs and their elevated standing in the world community of gastronomy. I was thrilled to have such talented and well respected chefs in house for a few days, and our time in the Lied Lodge kitchen together are some of the most cherished memories of my career.

Read More…

What’s On Tap: Draft Beers of Lied Lodge

Apr 07 by Lied Lodge Blog in Beer, Food & Drink, General tagged bartender, beer, Library Lounge, Lied Lodge, Nebraska beer, sustainable brewery with no comments

 

Ales, lagers, stouts… When you’re thirsty for a cold beer, our very own Library Lounge here at Lied Lodge won’t disappoint. Watch as Bartender Matt showcases a few of the delicious draft beers he’s pouring for our guests. Not only do we love these beers for their distinct flavors, but we especially love the eco-friendly, sustainability stories that accompany a few of them.

Read More…

Employee Soup Challenge

Feb 17 by Lied Lodge Blog in General tagged Arbor Day Farm, Lied Lodge with 2 comments

 

Fifteen Arbor Day Foundation employees brought their bubbling, steaming crock pots into work today for the 2011 Arbor Day Foundation Employee Soup Challenge. The culinary creations ranged from chicken and beef to veggie and mushroom, and all employees were encouraged to participate – either by entering a soup or by tasting and voting for their top three favorites.   

And the winner is…  

Read More…

Fall Foliage Tour at Arbor Day Farm

Oct 27 by Amy S. in Fall Foliage, General, Leaves, Nature, Trees tagged Arbor Day Farm, autumn, fall foliage, leaves, Lied Lodge, trees with 2 comments

 

So we’ve shared on this blog before some of the inherent perks of working at Arbor Day Farm, but during the fall time of year, as our workplace is surrounded by trees with leaves in every color, it’s hands-down gorgeous. 

Read More…

Bring Your Kids to Work Day — Arbor Day Farm Edition

Aug 18 by Amy S. in Arbor Day, General, Nature, Orchards & Apples tagged Arbor Day Farm, Lied Lodge, trees with no comments

 

Yesterday was our very first Bring Your Kids to Work Day here at Lied Lodge and Arbor Day Farm. Twenty-four wide-eyed youngsters came to work with their parent and got an up-close and personal look at a day in the work life of mom or dad.

It rained on us a bit, but that didn’t put a damper on the fun. And let’s face it — Arbor Day Farm is the complete opposite of most people’s work environment, with all that green space and fresh air, and all those trees…

We put together this short video highlighting Bring Your Kids to Work Day 2010; kids say it best, don’t they? Enjoy.

Watch the Video — “Bring Your Kids to Work” Day, Arbor Day Farm Edition

A Tree House Proposal

Aug 03 by Lied Lodge Blog in Engagement Proposals, Nature, Tree House, Trees, Weddings tagged Arbor Day Farm, Lied Lodge, treehouse proposal, unique engagement ideas with 6 comments

 

 

It all started on a cold winter day in December with a little movie called “Swiss Family Robinson.”  This 1960 Disney Classic would spawn my ingenious idea that would later unfold at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, NE.  As I sat on the couch with my girlfriend Melanie that day, I was informed multiple times how amazing the tree house in the movie was.  Being an interior designer, Melanie deeply admired the craftsmanship of that tree house, noting the clever design by the Robinson family.  She pointed out the awesomeness of it every chance she could.  By the end of the movie, I had no doubt that she genuinely wished she could live in a tree house.  As the credits rolled, I had my “Ah-hah!” moment.  That was it.  The engagement idea I had been searching for. 

I knew then and there that I had to propose in a tree house.

Read More…

Next Page »