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Drew Waseskuk, deli manager at the Carter House Market & Cafe, slices Ffnocchiona salami on Thursday in Cedar Falls.
Carter House Market & Café baker Vicky Dunn handles freshly made bread on Thursday in Cedar Falls.
Carter House Market & Café chef Jim Miller prepares a lunch order in the kitchen on Thursday in Cedar Falls.
Carter House Market & Café deli manager Drew Waseskuk, baker Vicky Dunn and chef Jim Miller.
The Carter House Market & Café in downtown Cedar Falls.
The Carter House Market & Café in downtown Cedar Falls.
The Carter House Market & Café in downtown Cedar Falls.
The Carter House Market & Café in downtown Cedar Falls.
CEDAR FALLS – Every café needs a signature sandwich. At the newly opened Carter House Market & Café, the namesake Carter House sandwich begins with a freshly made French roll and a slathering of herbaceous pesto aioli. Next come layers of prosciutto, provolone, pecorino romano and lightly dressed arugula.
If that doesn’t make your mouth water, Chef Drew Waseskuk has a few more tasty offerings like his original BLT made with thick-cut bacon and sun-dried tomato aioli on house-made toasted sourdough bread, or the turkey club with house-roasted turkey, bacon, Swiss and lemon pepper aioli. Of course, there’s always the muffuletta stuffed with mortadella, soppressata, provolone, muffuletta olive spread on a French boule.
“The Carter House is our best-selling sandwich,” said Chef Drew. “But the muffuletta is my favorite sandwich. I wanted to work somewhere I could make a muffuletta like the one that originated in New Orleans.”
Carter House Market & Café is located at 119 Main St., formerly home to Farm Shed, next door to Bar Winslow and the Black Hawk Hotel.
“Our focus is on three ‘C’s’ – convenience, community and celebration,” said Audrey Kittrell, vice president of business development for Eagle View Partners in Cedar Falls. That attitude continues the 168-year legacy of Midwestern hospitality at the Black Hawk Hotel. In fact, Carter House is a prior name of the hotel from the late 1800’s.
“We’ve repurposed the concept into a neighborhood market and café that serves take-out friendly, local fresh food for lunch or dinner, a picnic or gathering. We think it’s a better fit in for the COVID and post-COVID world that likes and wants ‘to-go’ food and curbside pick-up,” said Kittrell.
With more people living in downtown lofts and apartments, the need for an urban market became evident. That’s the niche Carter House expects to fill. In addition to the deli, customers can grab a few staples such as milk and eggs and seasonal produce.
“I like the European model of going into a market and making a meal from whatever is available and in season. That’s different from Americans who like more consistency. My passion is to open people’s eyes to new possibilities,” Chef Drew said.
Customers can order online or in person at the deli. The menu includes sandwiches, salads, sides, sweets such as chocolate chip cookies and lemon curd tart, even charcuterie boards from a carefully curated selection of meats, cheeses and other items gathered from ethnically sustainable local and regional sources, if possible, and all of the highest quality available.
Meats can be purchased by the pound and cheeses by the wedge.
“Our line of salami, to my knowledge, is not available anywhere else in the Cedar Falls and Waterloo area. We want to have unique options,” Chef Drew explained.
Top-quality brands are featured such as LaQuercia, Prairie Breeze and Nueske smoked meats and women-owned brands like Red Bear Provisions.
In addition to ready-to-serve boxes of charcuterie-for-two, Chef Drew will personally work with customers to create a custom charcuterie board to their taste and sense of adventure. “I can work with a customer to hand-select the flavors they like and to fit their budget and number of people being served,” he said.
That personal attention and interaction “creates a boutique experience which people like,” said Kittrell.
All breads and baguettes are baked daily in-house by baker Vicky Dunn. The wine selection features many brands unique to the Cedar Valley and all bottles are under $20. The market offers different types of mustard, hot sauces, sauces, olive oils, pesto and other specialty items.
In the kitchen, Chef Jim Miller creates Take & Make meals intended to fill the gaps for customers when days are too hectic to cook. Portion sizes are big enough to serve up to two people and come in microwavable containers. Larger orders can be made with advance notice.
“These are made-from-scratch Midwestern classics, but super-elevated,” said Chef Jim. Offerings include braised short ribs, beef and homemade noodles, lasagna with homemade noodles and chicken and rice.
One corner of the market is devoted to a selection of kitchen, bar and home products, last-minute entertaining and picnicking essentials, greeting cards and bags and wine boxes for gift-giving.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday; closed on Monday. For more information and online orders, go to carterhousemarket.com.
Fusilli with Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella
Bring 4 quarts water to rolling boil in stockpot; add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta, stir to separate, and cook until al dente. Drain and return pasta to stockpot.
Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, oil, garlic, scallions, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in medium bowl. Add tomato mixture and mozzarella to pasta in stockpot and toss to combine. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Chef’s Notes: For maximum creaminess, use fresh mozzarella packed in water rather than shrink-wrapped cheese sold at supermarkets.
Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen.
For the Cake: Set oven rack in middle position. (If oven is too small to cook both layers on a single rack, set racks in upper-middle and lower-middle positions.) Heat oven to 350 F. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour.
Reserve cherries for decoration, if desired, and place remaining fruit in food processor. Pulse three to five times until chopped; do not overprocess and turn your chunks into sludge. Spread cherries onto triple layer of paper towels and top with three more layers, pressing gently to absorb as much moisture as possible.
Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.
Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.
Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
Gently toss cherry chunks with tablespoon of flour to prevent them from sinking in the batter; add to batter and fold by hand to incorporate. Be gentle to avoid coloring the batter pink.
Portion one-quarter batter evenly into prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, wash and prepare cake pans again; divide remaining batter between two pans and repeat baking process.
For the filling: Heat cherries and jam in small saucepan over medium heat until just bubbling; let cool completely. Process cherry mixture in food processor until smooth, about 15 seconds.
For the frosting: In an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter, vanilla, salt, cherry preserves, and juice on medium-high speed until combined. Reduce mixer speed to medium-low. With motor running, slowly add confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and beat frosting until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
To assemble: Carefully spread half of filling over two layers to avoid tearing cake. Spread 1 cup frosting over third layer. Stack filling-covered layer, frosting-covered layer, filling-covered layer and naked layer. Cover cake with remaining frosting and garnish with reserved cherries and sliced almonds.
Chef’s notes: A 13-ounce jar of preserves will be enough to cover all your bases. You may want to briefly heat and then strain your preserves for the frosting if you don’t want bits of fruit in it. Toast the almonds until fragrant, about 5-10 minutes, before or after you bake the cake.
Spicy Very Cherry Cake: For a fiery twist, swap in cherry jalapeno jam. It’s not for everybody, but it’s a tasty variant for those who like a little heat.
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 F. Make foil sling for 8-inch square baking pan by folding 2 sheets of aluminum foil to 8 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease foil.
2. In medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water, melt chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until mixture is smooth. Whisk in cocoa until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. (You can also melt the chocolate in the microwave at 50 percent power, stirring every 30 seconds or so.)
3. Whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk warm chocolate mixture into egg mixture; then stir in flour with wooden spoon until just combined. Pour mixture into prepared pan, spread into corners, and level surface with rubber spatula; bake until slightly puffed and toothpick inserted in center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 35-40 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, then remove brownies from pan using foil handles. Cut brownies only when you’re ready to serve them to prevent them from drying out.
Chef’s notes: If you have it, swap in 2 ounces of chopped unsweetened chocolate for an equal amount of the chocolate chips and up the sugar to 1 1/4 cups. You can also enhance the chocolate favor by mixing in 1 teaspoon of espresso powder or instant coffee. If you like chunks in your brownies, well, what else are you going to do with the other 5 ounces of chocolate chips left in your bag? Either Dutch-processed or natural cocoa works well here, so save your Dutch for another day if you have both.
Recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 F. Make foil sling for 13 by 9-inch baking pan by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil; first sheet should be 13 inches wide, and second sheet should be 9 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease foil.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl. Whisk sugar and melted butter in second bowl until combined. Whisk eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold in flour mixture until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until top is shiny and cracked and feels firm to touch, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let blondies cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours. Using foil overhang, lift blondies from pan, cut and serve.
Chef’s notes: If you have them, add 1 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and then chopped coarse, and substitute 1/2 cup white chocolate chips for an equal amount of the semisweet. The base bar has great flavor on its own, so feel free to experiment with other mix-ins as you like. Be sure to check the blondies early so they don’t overbake.
Recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen.
Maple Cream and White Chocolate Sauce
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, sugar, cream cheese, maple syrup and brown sugar. Stir constantly until butter, sugars and cream cheese are melted and blended together. Add white chocolate chips and stir until melted. Thin the sauce with heavy cream as needed. Heat 10 to 15 minutes until ready to serve. Scoop ice cream onto plated blondie and drizzle with sauce; top with chopped walnuts. Serve warm.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 F. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil spray. Gently toss 24 peach wedges with 2 tablespoons schnapps, 2 teaspoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar in bowl; set aside.
Cut remaining peach wedges crosswise into thirds. Gently toss chunks with remaining 3 tablespoons schnapps, remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in bowl. Spread peach chunks in single layer on prepared sheet and bake until exuded juices begin to thicken and caramelize at edges of sheet, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer sheet to wire rack and let peaches cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F.
Spray 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil spray. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in bowl. Whisk brown sugar, 1/3 cup granulated sugar and eggs together in second bowl until thick and homogeneous, about
45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter until combined. Add sour cream, vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract; whisk until combined. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
Transfer half of batter to prepared pan; using offset spatula, spread batter evenly to pan edges and smooth surface. Sprinkle crushed bread crumbs evenly over cooled peach chunks and gently toss to coat. Arrange peach chunks on batter in even layer, gently pressing peaches into batter. Gently spread remaining batter over peach chunks and smooth top. Arrange reserved peach wedges, slightly overlapped, in ring over surface of cake, placing smaller wedges in center. Stir together remaining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and remaining 1/8 teaspoon almond extract in small bowl until sugar is moistened. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over top of cake.
Bake until center of cake is set and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool 5 minutes. Run paring knife around sides of cake to loosen. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely, 2 to 3 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.
Chef's notes: To crush the panko bread crumbs, place them in a zipper-lock bag and smash them with a rolling pin. If using peak-of-season, farm-fresh peaches, omit the peach schnapps.
• 16 Oreo cookies (with filling), broken into rough pieces, about 2 1/2 cups
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 6 large egg yolks at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold), cut into 6 pieces
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 F. In bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade, process cookies with 15 one-second pulses, then let machine run until crumbs are uniformly fine, about 15 seconds. (Alternatively, place cookies in large zipper-lock plastic bag and crush with rolling pin.) Transfer crumbs to 9-inch pie plate, drizzle with butter, and use fingers to combine until butter is evenly distributed.
Press crumbs evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie plate. Refrigerate 20 minutes to firm crumbs, then bake until crumbs are fragrant and set, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack while preparing filling.
For the filling: Bring half-and-half, salt and about 3 tablespoons sugar to simmer in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon to dissolve sugar. Whisk yolks thoroughly in medium bowl until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Stir together remaining sugar and cornstarch in small bowl, then sprinkle over yolks and whisk, scraping down sides of bowl, if necessary, until mixture is glossy and sugar has begun to dissolve, about 1 minute. When half-and-half reaches full simmer, drizzle about 1/2 cup hot half-and-half over yolks, whisking constantly to temper; then whisk egg yolk mixture into simmering half-and-half (mixture should thicken in about 30 seconds). Return to simmer, whisking constantly, until 3 or 4 bubbles burst on the surface and mixture is thickened and glossy, about 15 seconds longer.
Off heat, whisk in butter until incorporated; add chocolates and whisk until melted, scraping pan bottom with rubber spatula. Stir in vanilla, then immediately pour filling into baked and cooled crust. Press plastic wrap directly on surface of filling and refrigerate pie until filling is cold and firm, about 3 hours.
For the topping: Just before serving, beat cream, sugar and vanilla in bowl of standing mixer on low speed until small bubbles form, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium; continue beating until beaters leave a trail, about 30 seconds more. Increase speed to high; continue beating until cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume and forms soft peaks, about 20 seconds. Spread or pipe whipped cream over chilled pie filling. Cut pie into wedges and serve.
Chef’s notes: Do not combine the yolks and sugar in advance of making the filling; the sugar will begin to denature the yolks, and the finished cream will be pitted. Even a pie made with bittersweet chocolate is fairly sweet — the colossal cloud of whipped cream will see to that — so I suggest starting there and moving to semisweet if desired.
Source: America’s Test Kitchen
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Even a murder of crows will find this year’s Scarecrow Stroll a hoot, featuring nearly 100 scarecrows handmade by volunteers and the public, at the Cedar Valley Arboretum & Botanic Gardens.
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Drew Waseskuk, deli manager at the Carter House Market & Cafe, slices Ffnocchiona salami on Thursday in Cedar Falls.
Carter House Market & Café baker Vicky Dunn handles freshly made bread on Thursday in Cedar Falls.
Carter House Market & Café chef Jim Miller prepares a lunch order in the kitchen on Thursday in Cedar Falls.
Carter House Market & Café deli manager Drew Waseskuk, baker Vicky Dunn and chef Jim Miller.
The Carter House Market & Café in downtown Cedar Falls.
The Carter House Market & Café in downtown Cedar Falls.
The Carter House Market & Café in downtown Cedar Falls.
The Carter House Market & Café in downtown Cedar Falls.
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