midwest food photography

Ham + Pea Tortellini by Jason Olsen

Jason Olsen, entrepreneur, graphic designer, and certified lover of food, stopped by the studio to create a soul-warming dish that his dad taught him how to make when he was young. His father was a firefighter that loved cooking for the whole station. Making food for others made him happy- a trait that was passed down to his son.

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Ham and Pea Tortellini
serves 4-6
3/4 lb sliced ham
1 1/2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp butter
1 white onion
8 cloves garlic
1/3 cup flour
3 3/4 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp fresh ground blank pepper
To Taste 1/2 tbsp salt
1 1/2 cup sweet peas
18-20oz of fresh cheese tortellini  

Cut ham slices into 1/2" squares. Dice onion into 1/4" squares. Mince garlic.

Heat pan on medium heat. Sauté in 1 1/2 tbsp butter lightly with sprinkle of garlic powder and black pepper. Add ham and enough water to cover, bring to a boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Strain ham from water reserving the ham stock in a separate bowl.

Sauté onion and garlic in 2 tbsp of butter until translucent. Dust with flour and stir. Add ham stock 1/4 cup or less at a time and continue to dust with flour to form a thick rue. You may not need to use all of the ham stock. Add ham and stir.

Add 2 cups heavy cream and stir on low heat for 5 minutes. Slowly add milk for desired thickness.

Boil tortellini until al dente. Season sauce with garlic powder, pepper and salt to taste. Add peas at the very end for taste.

Italian Chicken Soup + Muffuletta Sandwich by Andrew Wettengel

Chicken soup with Sicilian roots and the journey of a muffuletta sandwich from New Oreleans to Omaha. Andrew walks through the preparation of two of his favorite things.

For the chicken soup

butter

celery

carrots (sliced to small pieces)

sweet onions

cherry tomatoes

garlic

fresh thyme

basil

white Rice

chicken thighs

white wine (Andrew typically uses Reisling
as it’s subtly sweet)

2 48-ounce cartons of chicken stock

Sauté the thinly sliced and chopped sweet onions and garlic in grassfed butter, adding a bit of white wine as needed. Once translucent, add the chicken thighs cut to preference. Cook thighs until nicely browned. Add the celery and carrots and cook thoroughly. Add crushed cherry tomatoes and add wine as needed and reduce. Add the chicken stock and 2 cups white wine, thyme and basil. Bring to boil, set to medium and let boil for about 45 minutes. Spoon out, and top with Romano cheese.

For the Muffuletta sandwich

fresh Italian garlic bread (pre-made with the
garlic butter and cheese already on it)

Soppressata

Salami

Prosciutto

Mortadella

Capicola

Swiss and provolone cheese

spicy giardiniera

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all meats and cheeses on the bread (pile as high or low to preference). Add the olive salad (giardiniera) on the top of the meats, and then another final layer of provolone over that. Bake 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is slightly browned.