by Terry B on March 17, 2010
Slow-cooked Braised Lamb Shanks, flavored with generous amounts of onions, shallots, garlic and rosemary—a seriously satisfying main course. Recipe below.
I remember the first time I ordered lamb shank in a restaurant. It came out looking like a giant Flintstones club on the plate, impressively [frighteningly?] large and unmistakably honest about its animal origins. I was immediately hooked.
Seafood has in the past given me pause by looking too much like the original creature—I used to be troubled by my dinner staring back at me, for instance. Now, though, I think that if you’re going to eat animal flesh—and I am—you need to respect the animal and own up to what you’re doing. With its protruding shank bone and knobby joint, lamb shank leaves no doubt. [click to continue…]
by Terry B on March 10, 2010
Sautéed with prosciutto, garlic and crushed red pepper, broccoli rabe combines with Cannellini beans and small pasta to become a standout side or a satisfying meal in its own right. Recipe below, with a vegetarian variation.
A recent Sunday found us at Quartino having lunch with Marion’s sister Lena. Just off Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, Quartino specializes in “authentic Italian small plates” and pizza. With painstaking attention to architectural detail, the comfortable, rambling space feels as if it’s been around far longer than the less than five years it’s been open. Just as much attention is paid to the food. We ordered a pizza and three small plates to share. All were delicious.
Interestingly, though, the scene stealer was an unassuming little dish of broccoli rabe, made with red chili, garlic, onion, olive oil and pork stock. Before we’d even paid the check, I knew I would be doing something with this multi-named, misnamed winter green.
Broccoli rabe [rob] or rapini [rah-PEE-nee], also called “raab, rapa, rapine, rappi, rappone, fall and spring raab, turnip broccoli, taitcat, Italian or Chinese broccoli, broccoli rape, broccoli de rabe, Italian turnip and turnip broccoli,” according to What’s Cooking America, isn’t related to broccoli at all. It’s actually a relative of turnips and cabbage. Enjoyed throughout the Mediterranean and China, it is used extensively in Chinese and Italian cuisine. And it’s finally gaining popularity here in the United States. [click to continue…]
by Terry B on March 10, 2010
Yet another wave of food recalls has food safety, food additives and FDA’s changing role in food enforcement in the news.
The argument for real food just keeps getting stronger. On March 4, Daily Kos reported that “the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] announced a recall of 30 processed foods containing HVP—hydrolyzed vegetable protein—a widely used flavor enhancer, due to ‘possible salmonella contamination.’” As of noon on March 8, the number of recalled products had risen to 108.
But what is HVP and why is it in everything from salad dressings to soups, potato chips, hot dogs, dips and even ready-to-eat tofu dinners? Wikipedia says that the flavor enhancer “is produced by boiling cereals or legumes, such as soy, corn, or wheat, in hydrochloric acid and then neutralizing the solution with sodium hydroxide.” And as Helene York reports in an article for The Atlantic Online, “HVP could be in almost any food.” The term food industry suddenly sounds especially appropriate. [click to continue…]
by Terry B on March 3, 2010
Bacon and Leek Quiche, with two cheeses and a simple four-ingredient crust, makes a satisfying lunch or dinner with the addition of a side salad. Recipe below.
As much as feminists—myself included, the proud, vigilant father of two daughters—would like to believe otherwise, men and women are different. Equal, but different. Men are from Mars, women aren’t afraid to make pie crust.
That’s the only reason I can think of that I haven’t made quiche before now. Yeah, a lot of recipes let you cop out with store-bought crusts, but I told myself that if I was going to make a quiche, I was going to make the crust too.
While we’re at it, let’s deal with the other elephant in the room. Men and quiche. As Epicurious.com says, “Quiche made its way from France to our shores in the sixties, but it was in the seventies that its popularity soared.” By the early eighties, it became the target for a tongue-in-cheek book on manhood [click to continue…]
by Terry B on March 3, 2010
Artisanal gourmet toffee, produced in small batches in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, delivers sublime flavor and gives your teeth a break.
I wish I could say it was love at first bite with toffee and me. It wasn’t. When I was nine or so, a neighbor girl’s mom took her and me to a movie and snuck in candy bars to avoid movie theater prices. At the time, Hershey’s milk chocolate was my speed. Maybe with almonds, if I was being really adventurous. What I was handed after the lights dimmed was a Heath Bar. In the darkened theater, I thought it said Health Bar, not a promising start. And it was little. Still, chocolate was involved, so I soldiered on, even though I was less than impressed.
But when I later fell for toffee, I fell hard. Even though it threatened to break my teeth with every bite. Even though, failing that, it stuck to my teeth like crazy. There was just something so buttery good and, well, grown up about toffee that I put up with its cruel dental ways.
So imagine my delight when we recently discovered Sweet Margy Gourmet English Toffee. This is toffee at a whole different level. [click to continue…]
by Terry B on February 24, 2010
The idea behind Open That Bottle Night is a simple one. As a Wall Street Journal article puts it, “Whether it’s the only bottle in the house or one bottle among thousands, just about all wine lovers have that very special wine that they always mean to open, but never do.” So in 2000, husband and wife WSJ wine columnists John Brecher and Dorothy Gaiter proclaimed the last Saturday in February Open That Bottle Night, an excuse to enjoy that special bottle you’ve been saving.
This Saturday, February 27, marks the 11th anniversary of this noble invented holiday. And OTBN is not all about opulence. As Brecher and Gaiter say, “You don’t necessarily want to open your ‘best’ wine or your most impressive wine, but the wine that means the most to you, the one that you would simply never open otherwise.” They also offer some tips on enjoying your special bottle to its fullest: [click to continue…]
by Terry B on February 17, 2010
Dijon mustard adds a surprisingly delicate touch to these simple, flavorful lamb chops, pan seared and finished in the oven. Recipe below.
Our love affair with lamb is pretty much a year-round thing. So when the American Lamb Board asked us if we’d like to help get the word out about an actual Lamb Lover’s Month—February, as it happens—we jumped at the chance.
There are a lot of things to love about lamb, starting with its distinctively rich, mild, sweet taste. Too much has been made of its gaminess, I think. As I said when I wrote about lamb stew, “that gamy flavor—as the dictionary defines it, ‘having the tangy flavor or odor of game’—is what makes lamb special. It’s the same quality that separates venison from beef and duck from chicken. And while I love a good steak or roast chicken, there’s just something exciting about the ‘wildness’ of game.” Even though lamb has a more intense flavor than beef, it also seems somehow lighter than beef to me.
Lamb is also lighter on the environment. Sheep are generally raised in ways that are easier on the planet [click to continue…]
by Terry B on February 17, 2010
I‘m often kvetching about the lack of food trucks in Chicago, thanks to draconian local health regulations. Well, last weekend Logan Square Kitchen reminded me of the wealth of delicious locally produced foods—and the wealth of local culinary talent—with a pre-Valentine’s Day Pastry Market.
Logan Square Kitchen is itself an outcome of an increased interest in local, artisanal foods. Created by longtime Logan Square residents Zina and Nick Murray, it houses a shared-use commercial, two-galley kitchen that chefs, pastry chefs and entrepreneurs armed with secret family recipes can rent to produce their creations. Unlike home kitchens, it is up to health department code, so users of the space can legally market their wares.
The front half of Logan Square Kitchen is an event space. And that’s where we found a number of delights last Saturday, all locally produced. [click to continue…]
