[Molly] We're close to the opening of our
new restaurant in town, Bernie's.
We want everyone to feel welcome.
And I'm sharing some of the best recipes on the menu...
Do I look restaurant official?
...like my insanely good Wild Rice Burger with cheese and bacon...
Look at all the colors and the textures.
It's so plump and happy.
...refreshing Green Goddess Salad tossed with creamy dressing...
It smells so fresh.
...the crispiest, saltiest bistro fries of your life...
Mmm.
...and for a cute, sweet treat,
my Sprinkle Cake Donuts.
How could you not be happy eating these?
Oh, yum.
Yay!
Hey, this is me, Molly Yeh.
This is my husband Nick.
This is our growing family.
And this is our home,
our farm on the North Dakota-Minnesota border.
The place where I eat, sleep and breathe food.
We are so close to the opening
of our new restaurant in town, Bernie's.
So, I'm cooking up
some of the menu's greatest hits and then bringing them over to the space
to test out a booth and make sure it's got the cozy energy that we need.
For dessert, I'm frying up our Sprinkle Cake Donuts
which are super moist and a little lemony and almondy,
and they've got this shell of sprinkles that are crunchy and sweet.
I'll start with my dough by mixing up my dry ingredients.
I'll use three cups of cake flour which will make the innards
kind of lighter and fluffier.
What I love about these donuts is that when you bite into them you get,
first that sensation of biting through that crisp shell
and then when you get to the inside,
they're soft and fluffy and moist.
And half a cup of all-purpose flour
which will add some heft and prevent it from being too light and crumbly.
Two and a half teaspoons of baking powder
will allow these to puff up as they fry.
And a teaspoon of kosher salt.
This style of donut is super popular around here.
They are recognizable by their crackly shell.
They're a cake donut. So, they don't get too puffy and airy.
They retain that denseness so you got more to bite into.
[inhales sharply] It's everything you want with your morning coffee.
For the wet ingredients,
I have three and a half tablespoons of melted butter,
two-thirds of a cup of granulated sugar,
and I'll mix this up to combine.
And I like that it's melted butter here versus softened butter,
because it allows the texture to be little bit more dense.
[whirring]
[Molly] I'll add three egg yolks, one at a time.
Using just the egg yolks, not the egg whites,
creates a richer texture and flavor.
Gonna let this go until it's pale and fluffy.
I'll zest in half of a lemon.
And using a zest like this as opposed to the juice
allows you to get lemon flavor without adding too much moisture.
Two teaspoons of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of almond extract.
All these flavors together give you some major nostalgic
birthday cake energy.
And then a third of a cup of sour cream
and a third of a cup of softened cream cheese
which gives you the acidity and tang that you need for a well-balanced flavor.
I'll get this combined.
[whirring]
Okay, this is smooth and combined.
I'll add the dry ingredients now gradually.
And once all of the flour is combined and I can no longer see any dry bits,
turn off the mixer.
[sniffing]
Mmm. That would be my signature scent.
Cream cheese, lemon and almond.
I'll wrap this in plastic
and then stick it in the refrigerator for two hours,
and then I'll be ready to roll and fry and sprinkle.
My dough is chilled, I'm ready to roll it out.
I have some flour on my counter here so that the dough doesn't stick.
I'll roll it out until it's a scant half-inch thick.
Looks good, looks even, looks smooth. I can see the lemon zest in there.
I've got my three-inch donut cutter here.
You don't have one of these, you could use a biscuit cutter or even a drinking glass.
Cut one of these puppies out.
[mimicking fanfare]
Just like that.
So geometrically pleasing.
I'll place it on to a tray,
continue cutting these out,
and then before I fry these, I will stick them back in the refrigerator
for another hour so they can firm up.
My dough is chilled, it's ready to be fried.
And now I have my neutral oil here heating at 350 degrees.
So, I'll do three at a time.
I'll gently lower them in. They're sizzling already.
And I'll fry these on both sides for a few minutes until they're golden brown.
It's important to fry these in batches
so that you don't drop the temperature of the oil too much
because if you do that, the oil will actually start to soak into the donut
and that donut will taste greasy.
Okay, see what's happening here?
How the dough is starting to crackle open and break.
That's what's gonna give you some great fried crispy bits.
And also some grooves that will catch the glaze.
And it looks cool.
I'll gently turn these over and get golden color on the other side too.
Nick and I are opening this restaurant and we want everyone to feel welcome,
at all times of day.
We want it to be a casual but still special place,
and of course,
get a donut on the way to work with good coffee.
These are done frying.
I love it when the oil still sizzles on the surface of the donut.
I'll transfer these to a wire rack so that any excess oil can drip off.
And while they're still warm, I'll take them for a dunk
in a simple powdered sugar glaze that I've enhanced with a little almond extract.
I'll swish it around on one side and then
flip it and swish it around on the other.
I like to be able to see the donut through the glaze.
That's the consistency of the glaze that I'm going for.
Now into a sprinkle bath.
I want to get this completely coated in sprinkles.
I just, like, can't wait to make these at Bernie's
in a huge bathtub of sprinkles.
[sings] Ah.
So, even though we haven't opened yet,
we still wanted to sponsor a softball team, Little League, in town.
All the credit for that idea goes to Nick.
We went to a game the other night and
the girls were wearing hot pink shirts
that said "Bernie's." They were so cute.
We brought them all donuts.
I'm going to do one of these.
[crackling]
[humming] Mmm.
The tang of the cream cheese gets me every time.
How could you not be happy eating these?
Coming up, a burger without the beef.
The secret Minnesotan ingredient to make it irresistible.
For our Bernie's booth lunch test drive,
I'm making a burger that will blow your buckets.
My Wild Rice Burger with Bacon and Cheese
is so chewy and hearty and filling.
And it is a total regional favorite.
It also all comes together in one bowl really easy.
I'm starting off with three cups of cooked wild rice.
Around here, if you see a veggie burger, chances are it's wild rice based.
Wild rice is the state grain of Minnesota
so we obviously had to have it on the menu.
When you get it, it's super dark but then when you boil it,
it softens but it retains its heft.
And then it also kind of splits open
and gets a little curly.
Its chew is what makes it a great base for a veggie burger
because really gives you something to bite into.
So, to my wild rice I'll add a quarter cup of sunflower seeds
for some additional texture and crunch.
I'll also add six tablespoons of panko breadcrumbs
to help bind everything together.
And then half a cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
for that great umami flavor and saltiness.
I'll season this with a teaspoon each of paprika for smokiness.
Dried thyme.
I love how flavorful this patty is.
Garlic and onion powder.
And this Wild Rice Burger represents so much of what our menu is about.
We want to showcase local ingredients, local cuisine.
And wild rice is Minnesota in a grain.
And then half a teaspoon of celery salt
for saltiness as well as grassy notes.
And a half teaspoon of kosher salt.
Black pepper.
You know what this is? This is the veggie burger for meat eaters.
I'll mix this to combine.
And then bring this mixture together with three eggs.
Sometimes it looks like it's not gonna be enough egg to bind this all together
but as you mix, it will come together.
Oh, I love wild rice.
It's great in savory and sweet dishes.
It's a great grain.
Okay, the egg is thoroughly combined.
All these seasonings are smelling delightful.
I'll get some oil heating up in my skillet.
I'll form two patties.
This batch is big enough for four but I'll just do two at a time.
I find it easiest to make a ball first,
and firmly pack them.
And unlike a meat patty, these do maintain their size while they are cooking.
Sometimes meat patties, you know, they kind of shrink up a bit.
I can do it about the same exact size as the burger bun
and then have it stack up cleanly.
I'll gently lower this into the oil.
Form one more.
I love not handling raw meat.
I'll fry these up until they're golden on the bottom,
three to five minutes over medium, and then flip them over
and let them go for another three to five minutes
until they have that golden crisp shell.
One thing I'm learning about opening a restaurant
is that it requires five million, gazillion decisions to be made.
Everything from what's gonna be on the menu
to what our accent color is gonna be
to different chairs and table finishes.
Oh, yeah. That's some good golden brown color.
The one thing that has been a constant
is that there will be a Wild Rice Burger on the menu.
I'll let these go for another few minutes on the bottom while I grab my toppings.
I've got lettuce, pickled onions, mayo and mustard
and American cheese 'cause it's melty and delicious on burgers.
You know you like it.
I'll let these go for another few minutes while I grab my buns and assemble.
They're buttery and toasted.
I'll get a serving platter.
I'll start with a squiggle of mayo.
Gotta have that creaminess.
Top with the patty.
And that's a good patty to bun ratio.
I know it might be weird to top a veggie burger with bacon but,
it tastes good.
It will obviously be optional
and it's more representative of the way that I eat,
mostly veggies, a little bit of meat.
Some lettuce.
Pink pickled onions. They add brininess.
And you've gotta have pickles and onions on a burger.
This just combines the two.
And it also helps cut the richness of the bacon and the cheese.
And then I'll glue the top buns on with mustard.
Hee-hee. Look at all the colors and the textures.
It's so plump and happy.
I'm gonna squish into it.
Just bring it all together with a pat.
[exhales] Here I go.
Mmm.
Perfection between two buns.
That is one wildly amazing burger.
Next, a crunchy, creamy, dreamy salad side
that'll hold its own next to the fries.
For a little something fresh
to go with the Wild Rice Burger,
that'll hold its own next to a plate of fries,
I am making my Green Goddess Salad
which is bright and beautiful and creamy and herby.
And it's got crunchy everything bagel crumbs.
Oh, my goddess. Is it lunch time yet?
I'll start by making some everything crumbs which add crunch to this salad.
It's like that necessary carby element too
that makes you crave a big bed of greens.
I've got some bagel chips here.
I'll dump them into my food processor.
You could also use pita chips, that would be tasty.
And even though these have some everything bagel seasoning
on top of them already, I'll enhance them with more everything bagel seasoning.
And I'll pulse this just to break it up into crumbs.
I'll get these out of my food processor.
[sniffs] Mmm. They smell good and garlicky.
I'll reserve these for sprinkling later.
And then I'll use this to make my dressing too.
And then Green Goddess by definition is a ton of herbs.
For the base, I'll use a quarter cup each of mayo and yogurt.
So you get the rich creaminess of mayo
and that tart fluffiness from yogurt.
And then all my fresh herbs.
I've got basil, parsley, dill and thyme here.
I'll give these a rough chop before tossing them into the processor.
Oh, that basil smells so good.
These will make the dressing pretty and green.
I'll add most of my dill now
and then save some of it to sprinkle on at the end.
So, you get double the dill.
And you get some good old Jewish chicken soup vibes in there.
A little fresh thyme for earthiness.
A clove of garlic.
A shallot for a subtle onion flavor.
I'll add the juice of a lemon.
Even though this is a creamy dressing,
it's a super bright dressing thanks to this lemon.
And some salt and pepper.
And I'll blend this until it's creamy.
[whirring]
And then I'll continue to blend this
and drizzle in a tablespoon of olive oil for some added richness.
-[clicks] -[whirring stops]
Smells so fresh.
Mmm.
Mmm!
That is so creamy and fresh. It's good enough to eat with a spoon.
I'll jar it up.
I like being able to see the speckles of the herbs in here.
Okay.
I'll get my salad ingredients
and put this fresh beauty together.
I have velvety butter lettuce, peppery radishes and chives here.
I'll add some avocado for creaminess.
I like big, thin slices.
I could just eat this every single day.
I'll scoop out the slices.
We don't have a ton of avocado at Bernie's since they're not local but
I'm making an exception for this salad because it's so good
with the creaminess of the avocado.
For some acid, I'll sprinkle on some pink pickled onions.
Also for a super great and intense color.
I'll add a few hard-boiled egg wedges.
Make it like a fun chef's salad.
I've got my everything bagel crumbs. Just make it rain.
A little flaky salt.
Wanna play close attention to make sure that
I'm seasoning the eggs and the avocado 'cause they really need it.
Some black pepper.
[grinding]
[Molly] Lastly, a little dill.
This looks great but it's gonna be even better with the dressing on it.
So, I'll save the dressing though to toss right before we eat
so that it's extra fresh that way.
So, if you see me at Bernie's at lunchtime,
chances are I'll either be decorating a cake or eating this salad.
Still to come,
the trick to the crispiest fry in town.
Our restaurant Bernie's is about to open
but before it does, I'm taking a few
of my favorite menu items for a test run right here at home.
One non-negotiable when we were developing the menu was that it would have to have
good, crispy, salty, bistro style fries.
They are triple fried, triple fun,
and triple dunked in mayo.
To start, I have two pounds of russet potatoes
that I've cut to uniform size.
And I've soaked them in ice water for half an hour which does two things.
One is it draws the starch out which yields a crispier potato
and it also helps seal up the pores which also yields a crispier potato.
And I'm gonna fry them three times for maximum crunch.
So, for this first fry, I have my neutral oil heating here to 310 degrees.
So, it's on the lower side but I'm just using this first cook
to cook the potatoes through to get the innards creamy.
I'll gently lower these into the oil.
I'll cook this for two to three minutes until the potatoes are softened.
So, this step is just a blanching stage.
I'm not worrying about getting the outside crispy yet.
So, there are a lot of potato farms in this region
and actually this farm used to be a potato farm until it was a sugar beet farm.
Of course we had to add them to the menu.
I'm gonna test to see if they're cooked through.
So, I'll just cut through with a spoon,
and if it cuts through easily, that's how I know that it's blanched.
I'll keep on blanching these
and then stick them all in the fridge for 30 minutes
while I increase my oil temperature to 355 degrees.
It's fry time. My oil is hotter.
My fries are colder. Now it's time to get these crispy.
So, for the second fry, I'll gently lower these in.
My oil's at 355 degrees. I'll fry these now for two to three minutes
until they're golden brown all over.
We actually have a French fry factory in town.
My favorite thing to do is drive right by it and...
smell the French fries.
These are looking golden brown and crispy to me.
I'll remove them from the oil.
Transfer them back to the wire rack.
And fry up the second batch now.
Fries are actually magical in that
if somebody else that you're dining with orders them from the menu,
they don't have calories.
Mmm. That is some great French fry color.
They'd be good right now but I'm gonna fry them a third time to get them extra crispy.
You wanna make sure not to burn the potatoes.
So, if you leave it in the fryer for too long, you might burn them.
But if you take them out and let them cool for a little bit,
you're able to get them extra crisp.
So, this last fry is just a few seconds.
Get them into a big bowl.
These look stunning.
There's room in my bowl to toss them around and get them fully coated in salt.
Don't hold back with the salt.
Do I look restaurant official?
[snickers]
Oh, yeah. Little more.
Toss them around to get them evenly coated.
And I'll sprinkle on some chopped parsley for color.
Now that looks like a bowl of fries.
Okay, so a bistro fry has gotta have aioli or mayo.
That's a crispy one.
[crunching]
Mmm!
That is one crispy, salty fry.
Now, I have no idea how I'm not going to eat these on the way over to Bernie's
but, I'll try.
-We're eating our first meal here. -Feels good.
[Molly] It feels great.
I think this is gonna be my spot.
The lighting feels bright.
Wow!
-[Molly] Mmm-hmm. -Wild rice.
Imagine all the things that will happen at this booth.
-[Nick] Oh, this will be a great blind date spot. -[Molly chuckles] Mmm.
[chuckling]
Did you save room?
[Nick] Always.
[Molly] Here we go.
[chuckles]
[Nick] Mmm!
I'm so ready for this place to open.
[Nick] We got the booth, right?
-We got the burger. -[Molly] Yeah. Yeah.
[Nick] We got the baby.