Being a transplant and being single can get pretty lonely living in Milwaukee, especially during these uncertain times. My family lives in Alabama and all of my very close friends from college are scattered across the globe.

At my age, it gets harder and harder to make new friends especially with people who share my unique blend of interests. But I’m fortunate that I met someone on social media who shares a lot in common with me. Her name is Adrian Lipscombe and she lives in La Crosse, but just like me she is a transplant from the south, she studied architecture, she is passionate about food and she likes the same music as I do. She also happens to be the chef and owner of Uptowne Cafe & Bakery in La Crosse, which was featured on Wisconsin Foodie.

During this pandemic, I have been following her Facebook statuses and she is has been cooking a lot of amazing dishes just like me. So, I reached out to see if she would be willing to share some recipes and music with me so I can feel connected even though she lives in La Crosse. She agreed to send me recipes and a playlist each week and I decided to share them with you.

The first recipe Adrian shared with me is for her biscuits. Biscuits are true southern comfort food.

Adrian Lipscombe’s Simple Biscuits

“I have been making biscuits since I was 8 years old with my mom and grandmother. These bring back the best childhood memories or fresh preach preserves and concord grape jelly. Biscuits are made with simple staples in your pantry, it is about the technique of making them. This is a recipe that never fails me and gets me moving in the morning to start my day.”

Ingredients

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of white granulated sugar
• ½ cup frozen or cold butter
• 1 cup milk

Instructions

Preheat over for 400 degrees.

In a large bowl place the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar and whisk together. Cut the butter or if frozen grate the butter with a cheese grater and mix in with the dry ingredients until it resembles a coarse meal. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl, it may be a little sticky.

Turn out onto a floured surface, fold dough upon itself, like folding a map, several times, this will help create layers in your dough. Try not to knead the dough, this will melt your butte, and you want to avoid that. Pat or roll the dough out to 1 to 1 ½ inch thick. Cut biscuits with a large cutter or juice glass dipped in flour. Repeat folds and pat down until all dough is used, you may need an additional sprinkle of flour if the dough is getting sticky. Brush off the excess flour, and place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges begin to turn to brown.

“In my family music has always been integrated in the kitchen while cooking. It sets the mood for the type of meal we will be eating to the personality of who is cooking. The following playlist is what I tend to listen to when I am cooking this recipe.“

Family owned and operated, Jewels Caribbean will serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. They will be serving dishes like traditional beef patties with coco bread, Accras (fried saltfish fritters, rice and peas, curried goat, and more.  Other items will include Trini Corn Soup, Creole red snapper, chicken and beef dumplings, jerk burgers, roti rolls, and more.

In addition to serving food, Jewels Caribbean will host events and live music.  Jewels Caribbean will host a grand opening on Nov. 24 from 6pm-9pm. There will be live music from reggae band, Kojo and DJ Natasha Jewels will be spinning dancehall, reggae, afrobeat, and more til close.

Full disclosure: DJ Natasha Jewels works at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee as part-time on-air host and her family owns and operates Jewels Caribbean

Hours

A proper dim sum restaurant

I still can’t believe Milwaukee doesn’t have a proper dim sum restaurant.  When I mean proper, I mean carts of goodies like Chicago’s Phoneix Restaurant in Chinatown, which serves Hong Kong style dim sum. I use to get dim sum instead of brunch when I lived in Minneapolis and DC. Now, I have to take a train to Chicago if I want that same tasty experience.  If we can get a world-class arena, we should be able to get a proper dim sum joint, right?

The concept of food halls originated in the UK, where a large section of a department store sold food from butcher shops, artisan restaurants and other food-related boutiques under one roof.  Most in the US are familiar with a similar concept called the food court, which focused on chains and most were located in malls.  In last few years, the UK concept has taken off in the U.S. with major food halls like New York’s Hudson Yards Food Hall and Austin’s Fareground. One of the most famous food halls in America is Los Angeles’ Grand Central Market, which was featured in a documentary about late food critic Johnathon Gold.

Now, Crossroads Collective has announced the first tenants for the food hall:

• Laughing Taco (Justin and Lucia Munoz-Carlisle)
• Scratch Ice Cream (Ryan Povlick and Dustin Garley)
• Pedro’ South American Food (Pedro Tejada)
• Unnamed soup and sandwich shop (Tess co-owners Ashley and Mitchell Wakefield

The 7,000 square feet space would be considered a micro-food hall compared to Grand Central Market’s 44,000 square feet. In an article in the Business Journal, the developer is looking for other types of tenants including a crepe vendor and a Mediterranean style restaurant.

Beef Bulgogi Ssam

Char’d will not be your traditional Korean restaurant.  In a sense, it will be two restaurants.  During the day, it will serve as a casual cafe that serves coffees, smoothies, noodles, salads, burgers and bowls. The lunch menu includes dishes like:

PERSIMMON – $9
mixed greens, dried persimmon, candied pecans, goat cheese, beet slices, pomegranate seeds, walnut oil, pomegranate vinaigrette

DUMPLING – $9
mixed greens, fried vege dumplings, edamame, seaweed salad, red onions, beet slices, scallions, chili soy vinaigrette

SEAFOOD RAMEN – $13
ramen noodles, seafood broth, mussels, shrimp, squid, bean sprouts, serrano peppers, scallions

BULGOGI SLIDERS – $7
2 unsalted pretzel slider buns, charred beef bulgogi, scallions, pickled lotus root, spicy aioli, chard stem pickles

KFC WINGS – $9
“Korean-Fried-Chicken” (5 pcs) crispy batter fried wings, drums, sweet and spicy garlic sauce, scallions, pickled daikon radish

KIMCHI POUTINE – $6
potato fries, kimchi, cream fraiche, parmesan cheese, bulgogi gravy

Bulgogi Slider

In the evening, Char’d transforms into a full-service grill restaurant and bar.  They will serve tapas-style shareable plates, signature grill and ssam, a Korean dish featuring meat wrapped in leafy vegetables and accompanied by a condiment called ssamjang.

Char‘d is named by harmonizing perfectly charred meats meet with fresh greens (such as Swiss chard) for a nutritious balance. Our signature Grill & Ssam menu introduces interactive dining experience of searing delicious Korean BBQ meats on sizzling lava stones, so the very last bite is as delicious and fresh as the first. Enjoy our Ssam (lettuce wrap), a fun way to intake fresh spread of leafy greens with juicy meats.

The evening menu is divided into four categories: small, medium, large sizes and grill and ssam. Dishes include:

BEEF SHORT RIBS – $36
butterfly-cut marinated beef short ribs, mushrooms, leek

PORK BULGOGI – $24
thinly sliced marinated pork shoulder, mushrooms, carrots, grilled shishito

BEEF TARTARE – $12
raw beef, asian pear, egg yolk, caper, pine nuts, onions, chili sauce, whole grain mustard, wasabi cream, baguette

TOFU CAKE – $8
steamed tofu, multigrain, black sesame puree, chestnuts, candied pecans, whole grain mustard

KOREAN GNOCCHI – $15
chewy potato gnocchi, gochujang tomato sauce, mussels, squid, shrimp, scallop, parsley

KIMCHI PAELLA – $20
black and white rice, kimchi, beef bulgogi, potato crunch, dried seaweed, scallions, sunny-side up egg

BAMBOO STICKY RICE – $6
steamed rice wrapped in bamboo leaves, chestnut, date, lotus root, ginkgo nuts, pine nuts

Korean Gnocchi

Tofu Ramen

Black Sesame Tofu

Boone & Crockett will have the same old drinks, same staff and same vibe. They’ll even still have their trusty taco sidekicks (with a new name), Taco Moto.

So, besides the new building’s location, what else has changed?

Though they’ll still have their classic Boone drinks, they’re adding a few new cocktails. Here’s a sneak peak:

League of Cheng, anyone?

They will also have new extended hours, “because it’s never too early for a taco and an Old Fashioned,” they say. Their new hours start tomorrow when they open at noon. After that, they’ll be opening at 12 p.m. on weekdays, at 11 a.m. on weekends and they’ll stay open ’till bar close every day.

Soon, there will be a brand new patio, though it’s still under construction for now.

And, right next door, is the The Cooperage, their new large scale event space, which opened last week.

Cheers to the new/old Boone & Crockett!

Wisconsin grilled cheese lovers can enter their winning recipes into one of four categories for a chance to win the grilled cheese competition. The Open Class is for recipe creations without any limitations – there are no restrictions on how few or how many ingredients are used as long as it has Wisconsin cheese. For those who want to keep it simple, enter into the Classic Category with a grilled cheese recipe using just six total ingredients. The Junior Class category opens up the competition for rising chefs under the age of 18, and recipes have no restrictions. The final category is new this year – the Fan Flavorites category will allow chefs and foodies to enter a video along with their recipe.

The contest is being hosted by the Grilled Cheese Academy (yes, it exists). However, it’s not a school. It’s an institution created by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board that’s dedicated to the deliciousness of the grilled cheese.

2017’s winner, the Mississippi Comeback

Last year’s grilled cheese glory was awarded to Lorie Roach of Buckatunna, MS for her Mississippi Comeback, a tasty combination that brings together Wisconsin fontina and cheddar cheeses with fried okra and the signature southern comeback sauce.

Got a recipe you think could take the cake…er, I mean, cheese? Submit your creation on the Grilled Cheese Academy website.

Dark Side of the Spoon Cookbook, $14.99 (via Boswell Books)

Dark Side of the Spoon: The Rock Cookbook features thirty recipes inspired by some of the most renowned rock acts of today and yesteryear. The dishes are accompanied by exclusive artworks from thirty top illustrators. Catering for cooks of all abilities and tastes, this book will help you master a wide range of appetizers, entrees, and desserts–including Smashing Pumpkin Pie, Fleetwood Mac and Cheese, and Primal Bream.

However, if your special someone is more of a hip-hop fan, the writers also published a cookbook for them called Rapper’s Delight.

Holiday Caramel Assortment from Cream City Caramels, from $14.00

Cream City Caramel’s holiday assortment includes flavors like Buttered Rum, Dark Chocolate Gingerbread, Orange Cranberry Walnut, and Peppermint Bark caramels.

Turntable Kitchen Pairings Box Subscription, $25 – $300

One of my favorite sites, Turntable Kitchen offers a food & music pairing box. A gift subscription features recipes, vinyl single, digital mixtape, and premium ingredient. They over 1, 3, 6, and 12-month subscriptions.

BBQ, Bourbon & Beer Bus Tour of Milwaukee, $70/person

You can’ go wrong with this gift featuring the 3B’s – BBQ, Bourbon, and Beer.  Milwaukee Food Tours offer a curated tour of some of Milwaukee’s finest BBQ establishments. Enjoy transportation, narrated fun, and enjoy three stops for BBQ, each location paired with a bourbon-inspired drink. For those that prefer to not have bourbon on this tour, we can offer craft brews or soda instead.

Col. Bill Newsome Aged Country Ham

If you have someone that loves curred meat, I highly recommend they try some authentic country ham. There is really no place in Milwaukee to get the good stuff.  You could call country ham America’s prosciutto but 100 times better.  One place you should order it from is Kentucky’s Col. Bill Newsome Aged Country Ham. The smoke, cure and aged the hams the old-fashioned way and with no chemicals. They offer many great products that will bring the taste of the south to Milwaukee. Plus a good glass of bourbon pairs very well with the ham. Check out these items:

• Premium Aged Country Ham (available in Feb)
• Aged Country Ham (get a half of ham for $69.99)
• Gourmet Aged  Whole Prosciutto ($194.99)
• Smokehouse Meat Sampler ($59.99 – $199.99)