The Shop
In the historic district of downtown Livingston, Montana, is where it all happens. We’ve been in business since 1997, and this location is where I feel most at home. It’s our shop and real kitchen, where customers come for meals they’ve grown to love. Here at the café, the fresh salad bar, hot bar, sandwich menu and daily soup offerings are what people have come to count on. I love being the place where they know the food is fresh, consistent, and delicious.
Whether it’s a business lunch, an after-school snack for the kids, a convenient weeknight meal, or a pick-up for a party, it’s here at Mustang. On any given day, these are the standard items available at the shop, for here or to go.
Ignatius Bunkers peers at the dessert choices at Mustang. Mini pot pies in progress. Courtney Lehman takes a break for lunch. A great place to bring the kids (and canine friends, too) for a snack. Indian Lamb Stew.
Pulled Pork Sandwich. The daily salad bar accoutrements are fresh and varied. A busy day at the counter, where soups, sandwiches, salad bar, and housemade favorites are available daily. Even cowboys like Mustang to-go!
SERVES 6–8
2 tablespoons butter
4 leeks, sliced, white part only, washed and drained
4 cups artichoke hearts packed in water, drained
5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
½ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1. Melt butter over medium heat. Add leeks, cooking and stirring until leeks are softened—about 10 minutes. Gently stir in the artichoke hearts and stock. Bring soup to a simmer and let cook for about 20 minutes.
2. Purée soup in batches, using a small ladle to push soup through fine mesh strainer. This will catch all the unwanted artichoke pieces and give you a smooth consistency.
3. Stir in Parmesan, heavy cream, and salt and pepper. Reheat soup to desired temperature.
HEARTY VEGETABLE SOUP
SERVES 6–8
3 tablespoons canola oil
½ cup each peeled and diced potato, yellow onion, carrot, and celery
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
4 cups vegetable stock
1½ cups shredded cabbage
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
½ cup frozen peas
½ cup frozen corn
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chiffonade basil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1. Heat oil over medium-high heat in stock pot. Sauté potatoes, onion, carrot, celery and garlic for about 5–6 minutes or until onions are soft, stirring frequently so vegetables won’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
2. Add stock, cabbage, and tomatoes, along with dried Italian seasonings and bay leaf. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
3. Stir in peas and corn and simmer 2 minutes longer. Add fresh herbs and salt and pepper.
SERVES 8–10
7 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon pickled jalapeño, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
2 lbs. lamb stew meat, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups diced tomatoes with juice (canned)
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons salt
1 lb. potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
3 ⅔ cups water
1 cup frozen peas
1. Heat oil in heavy pot over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the onions, garlic, and jalapeños. Stir and fry until the onions have browned slightly. Add the meat and stir vigorously for about 10–15 minutes, until meat is browned. Add the spices, stir to coat. Add tomatoes and continue to stir, cooking on high heat for 10–15 minutes or until the sauce is thick and the oil seems to separate from it.
2. Add water, cook for another 5 minutes, then add potatoes. Cover and leave the lid just slightly ajar. Adjust heat to medium-low and cook about 20–25 minutes or until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick.
3. Just before serving, stir in frozen peas, stir and cook for 1 minute. Serve warm over rice if desired.
CHICKEN MIRABELLA
SERVES 10–12
20 chicken thighs
3 tablespoons garlic, chopped
3 bay leaves
3 teaspoons dried oregano
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil
1 cup dried plums cut in half
1 cup green olives cut in thirds
¼ cup capers with some juice
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
1. Combine garlic, bay leaves, oregano, red wine vinegar, olive oil, dried plums, green olives and capers with some juice in a large container. Marinate the chicken thighs overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Pour brown sugar and white wine over chicken and bake uncovered for approximately 1 hour or until browned and cooked through.
4. Serve with warm couscous and dried currants and apricots.
SERVES 6–8
½ cup salted butter
¼ cup shallots, diced
5 lbs. wild mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
1 cup cooking sherry
¾ cup vegetable stock
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup sour cream
⅓ cup Dijon mustard
sprinkle of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
1. Melt butter in a large pan. Add shallots to the pan and cook for approximately 1 minute. Add wild mushrooms, cook for about 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are soft. Then add sherry and vegetable stock, cook down for 5 minutes.
2. Gently stir in heavy cream, sour cream and Dijon mustard. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste. Let this simmer for 10 minutes, then add tarragon and dill.
3. Serve over egg noodles or brown rice.
PULLED PORK SANDWICH
SERVES 6–8
SPICE RUB
2 tablespoons ground cumin, curry powder and chili powder
1 tablespoon each ground allspice and black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Mix cumin, curry powder, chili powder, allspice, black pepper, and cinnamon together.
PULLED PORK
4 lbs. of country style boneless pork ribs (available at your local butcher or Costco)
½ cup dry spice rub (see recipe above)
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce (yes, there it is, my secret is out!)
1. Rub dry spices into pork on all sides. Cover and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
2. The next day, preheat oven 350 degrees F. Generously season ribs with kosher salt, cover pan tightly with tin foil and bake for 2 to 2½ hours or until ribs are fork tender.
3. Remove from oven and let stand, covered. Be sure to keep the delicious pan juices. When the meat is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size chunks (I don’t like to shred it too fine) in the same pan it was cooked.
4. Cover ribs with Famous Ray’s BBQ Sauce (OK, the jig is up, but it is so good!). Mix together and reheat covered for 10–15 minutes at 350 degrees F. Serve with our Classic Coleslaw (see recipe in Chapter 4) on ciabatta bread.
SERVES 6–8
1 Torte Dough (or frozen puff pastry) (see recipe in Chapter 6)
½ cup butter
½ cup flour
4 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
3 cups roasted Costco chicken, shredded
1½ cups parboiled diced carrots
1 cup frozen peas
12 frozen pearl onions
1 whole egg
2 tablespoons milk or water
1. Lightly butter a 9x13-inch pan.
2. Cut chilled dough in half. You will use only one half for this recipe; wrap the other half in plastic and freeze for up to 2 months. Divide remaining dough in half and roll out one for bottom layer of the pan and the other for top of torte. Use flour on both sides while rolling out as to not stick to the surface.
3. Begin to make a roux by melting butter. After it has melted whisk in flour. After flour is incorporated (about 1 minute) slowly add chicken stock whisking constantly as you are adding. Add thyme, salt and pepper and stir.
4. After all chicken stock has been incorporated and you have a silky sauce, add the chicken, carrots, peas and pearl onions.
5. Allow to cool, then spoon into prepared dough pan. Roll out dough to cover and slightly overhang the pie pan, trimming some of the ends and then rolling dough to seal by crimping the dough.
6. Make 3–4 slits into top of pie dough to allow steam to vent. Make an egg wash by mixing the egg and water or milk, then brush the pastry with it.
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 13 minutes and then reduce oven to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for about another 35 minutes or until the crust is nice and brown and you can see the sauce is bubbling. Serve with a green salad and enjoy.
MAKES 24 CUPCAKES
CUPCAKES
3¼ cups all-purpose flour
1¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1¼ cup frozen blueberries
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 12 cup muffin pans with cooking spray and line with paper liners. Sift flour and next four ingredients into a large bowl. Whisk melted butter and oil in medium bowl. Add eggs, whisk until blended. Whisk buttermilk, milk, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients, whisk just to blend. Stir in frozen blueberries. Divide batter among liners. (I use a commercial-size 1⅝-ounce scoop).
2. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack to cool.
FROSTING
2¼ cups sifted powder sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup Xylitol (this is a natural sugar substitute that is more granular than regular sugar)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
4 teaspoons whole milk
blueberries, for garnish
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add 4 teaspoons milk. Beat until well blended and fluffy, adding more milk by the teaspoon if dry, about 4 minutes total.
2. When cupcakes are cool, pipe frosting onto cupcakes with a 12-inch bag pastry bag using a round tip.
3. Place 5 fresh blueberries on each cupcake.
