It will take forever for me to write about everything we've eaten and cooked over the last week or so, but here is a really quick recipe that resulted from arrving back at home after the holiday to a fairly empty kitchen except for leftovers...I didn't write a recipe while making it, so I hope this is about right. We were looking for something with a little less fat in it!! The boy liked it so much he insisted I try and write it down so I could make it again. I swear, I am trying to practice to write for other cooks. It's hard, most of the time I just improvise. Well, here goes!
Impromptu Black Bean Soup
Saute in 4qt pot:
1 small onion chopped
1 tb olive oil
After 3-4 minutes add:
4 cloves garlic chopped
3 gentle shakes of chili powder
1.5 tsp ground cumin
After 1 minute add:
1 can black beans drained
1 can creamed corn
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can H20
2 bouillon chicken cubes
Bring to boil then cover and reduce to simmer for 30-45 minutes.
Turn off heat and puree ½ of mixture + 2tb neufchatal/cream cheese
Return to pot and stir.
Add and stir:
¼ Meyer lemon squeezed
3tb chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garnish with any of the following
Sr cream, cilantro, slivers of Monterey jack or cheddar
Gently squirt a little more Meyer lemon over top before serving.
YUM!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
French Kissing a Mexican
Intriguing title no?
What really happened was Belle Bleue and her husband and the boy and I visited Mi Barrio the other night in Grant Park. It came to us with great reviews. The kissing reference alludes to some fantastic tongue I had. I had never had tongue...well beef tongue... and I am glad I have now.
In the interest of time I will review what the boy and I ate since I did not taste our friend's meals. We had:
Guacamole
Good! Simple! Not crammed with stuff that belongs in salsa, picante or pico de gallo. Just avocado whipped to its sexy personal creaminess and a hint of lime and salt.
Beef Tongue and Steak "Soft" Tacos
I loved both these tacos. They are the simple, real Mexican style taco with cilantro, a little onion and lime juice. The tongue was rich and moist; the steak flavorful. The tortillas are hand made, and I wonder if they are white corn because they tasted like corn, but were not the pale yellow of regular corn tortillas. They were delicious and light in any case.
Pork Tamale
Too dry and tasteless. Steaming these babies should keep them moist and flavorful, especially if they are not slipped out of their corn husk embrace until right before serving. I used to buy some from the guys in my old neighborhood in Chicago for $1. They would pull them steaming from the pockets of their coats, and I would unpeel the corn husk and nibble on moist tenderness while I waited in the snow for the train...that was good tamale.
Coctel de Camaron (small)
Bizarre and very huge. Especially for a small. It was layered cilantro, tomatoes, onions and shrimp in faintly lime scented watery stuff. The shrimp were the right firmness and tasted fresh; they just bored me. But perhaps it is my own fault for sharing this and not getting the ceviche...I was craving the crisp burst of lime marinated seafood and the floral dance of cilantro around firm flesh, but this was hardly the coctel. Though to be fair, the boy liked it and so do Bleue and hubby.
Beverages: A Tecate and a Modelo
The service left something to be desired. It was very busy and confused. Every table was filled, and we had four different people attending to us, but none of them seemed aware of the other. I have no idea whom we tipped at the end. Sadly all of us had eaten most of our supper before the boy's chile relleno even arrived. I am assuming the place is just having growing pains as they seem wildly popular, and this could explain some of the disappointing dishes as well as the haphazard service. Neither were bad per se, just nervously ill prepared. I wish them luck and may be back for another little kiss sometime in the future.
What really happened was Belle Bleue and her husband and the boy and I visited Mi Barrio the other night in Grant Park. It came to us with great reviews. The kissing reference alludes to some fantastic tongue I had. I had never had tongue...well beef tongue... and I am glad I have now.
In the interest of time I will review what the boy and I ate since I did not taste our friend's meals. We had:
Guacamole
Good! Simple! Not crammed with stuff that belongs in salsa, picante or pico de gallo. Just avocado whipped to its sexy personal creaminess and a hint of lime and salt.
Beef Tongue and Steak "Soft" Tacos
I loved both these tacos. They are the simple, real Mexican style taco with cilantro, a little onion and lime juice. The tongue was rich and moist; the steak flavorful. The tortillas are hand made, and I wonder if they are white corn because they tasted like corn, but were not the pale yellow of regular corn tortillas. They were delicious and light in any case.
Pork Tamale
Too dry and tasteless. Steaming these babies should keep them moist and flavorful, especially if they are not slipped out of their corn husk embrace until right before serving. I used to buy some from the guys in my old neighborhood in Chicago for $1. They would pull them steaming from the pockets of their coats, and I would unpeel the corn husk and nibble on moist tenderness while I waited in the snow for the train...that was good tamale.
Chile Relleno
Aiight. The poblano probably should have been charred a little more or blanched a little longer. It was a little too al dente and was still more hot than roasty rich spicy poblano-ey.Coctel de Camaron (small)
Bizarre and very huge. Especially for a small. It was layered cilantro, tomatoes, onions and shrimp in faintly lime scented watery stuff. The shrimp were the right firmness and tasted fresh; they just bored me. But perhaps it is my own fault for sharing this and not getting the ceviche...I was craving the crisp burst of lime marinated seafood and the floral dance of cilantro around firm flesh, but this was hardly the coctel. Though to be fair, the boy liked it and so do Bleue and hubby.
Beverages: A Tecate and a Modelo
The service left something to be desired. It was very busy and confused. Every table was filled, and we had four different people attending to us, but none of them seemed aware of the other. I have no idea whom we tipped at the end. Sadly all of us had eaten most of our supper before the boy's chile relleno even arrived. I am assuming the place is just having growing pains as they seem wildly popular, and this could explain some of the disappointing dishes as well as the haphazard service. Neither were bad per se, just nervously ill prepared. I wish them luck and may be back for another little kiss sometime in the future.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
No, they don't pay us
This morning, I received this message in my inbox from the proprietors of Bacon Salt reminding me that a gift of Bacon Salt is a gift of love! It's perfect for everyone on your gift list: no calories, no fat, vegetarian, kosher, and, the best part -- it makes everything taste like bacon!
From Bacon Salt HQ:
The holidays are rapidly approaching and buying gifts for all of your family members, friends, co-workers and acquaintances can be a challenge.
Here's a stocking stuffer that we know they'll all love - Bacon Salt. After all, is there anyone in your life doesn't love the taste of bacon (and if so, can you really count on their love)?
It may have been awhile since you bought Bacon Salt, so we just wanted to make you aware of some special holiday packages we're offering on our website for last minute shoppers, stocking stuffers and holiday gifts. These include a "12 Days of Stocking Stuffers" package and an "8 Days of Kosher Bacon" package, and are perfect for all of the bacon-lovers in your life.
We hope you and yours have a happy, safe and delicious holiday season!
Justin and Dave
Bacontrepreneurs
passthebacon@baconsalt.com
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
A modest celebration with Kevin
Last night, my boy and I had a lot to celebrate, but as one of the things we were celebrating was the fact that we are likely buying a house that is slightly more expensive than we can comfortably afford, we were torn. The other thing we were celebrating was me receiving an offer for my dream job today -- a huge, huge deal. What to do?
So, we decided to cheap out on a fabulous place instead of heading to a loud, unwashed masses kind of place. First, we tried to eat at the bar at Shaun's -- everyone else raves about it, but the one time we went it wasn't that great. I'm hoping it was just an off night for them. Well, turns out that Shaun's is closed on Tuesdays, apparently, so we headed for Rathbun's, the original, one of our mainstays.
We chose to sit on the patio, rather than at the bar. Their patio is both covered and enclosed on the sides, so that it was quite comfortable in the balmy December weather even with the heaters off. It's also quite a bit quieter and less claustrophobic than the inside. Two thumbs up on the patio, Kevin!
We came with the intention of sharing small plates, but there are so many delicious and decadent things to choose from. What to have? We settled on:
First course: Garlic Fennel Soup -- this soup was creamy, flavorful with just a hint of fennel flavor (I am not a licorice person, so subtle fennel=good fennel in my book). Extremely delicious. We were soaking up every last drop with our bread.
Second course: Eggplant Steak Fries with Confectioner's Sugar Tabasco Dipping Sauce and Krog Street Mozzarella with Hot Cotto and Black Olive Vinaigrette. We had one order of each of these. The eggplant fries were divine, as usual. These fries never fail to make the boy say "But I don't like eggplant!" The dipping sauce sounds scary, but the combination of the sweet spiciness and the crisp eggplant is genius. The server had the kitchen split the cheese dish into two portions which were beautifully plated. The cotto (which is sort of like salami) was a nice complex, not-too-spicy flavor that complemented the mild, creamy mozzarella well, and the black olive vinaigrette pulled it all together by adding a little moisture to both loosen up the cotto and hold it all together.
Third course: Dark Chocolate Flourless Cake with Coffee Ice Cream and Raspberries. This was beautifully presented, and quite tasty. Moist, not-too-rich. I only had a bite of it, but the boy, the sweets connoisseur in the family, was very happy.
Libations: A bottle of Vina Robles, Syrah, Paso Robles, California ‘03. This wine was in the cheapest category of reds on the menu, but it was utterly respectable, especially once it opened up and lost its tartness. Luckily, it dropped the tart note while we were eating the creamy, creamy soup, which stood up to the wine just fine in its pre-mellowing moments.
Initially, I wasn't sure if what we had ordered was going to be enough food, but we were thoroughly satisfied, and even left 3 or 4 eggplant fries orphaned on the plate. We were also very pleasantly surprised by how inexpensively we were able to have such a satisfying, delicious meal with such wonderful service and atmosphere. The bill came to about $55; so for under $70 (including tips for the server and the valet), we achieved our celebratory goal at one of our favorite restaurants in town. I think we've spent more at the Vortex before. Wow! Thanks, Kev.
So, we decided to cheap out on a fabulous place instead of heading to a loud, unwashed masses kind of place. First, we tried to eat at the bar at Shaun's -- everyone else raves about it, but the one time we went it wasn't that great. I'm hoping it was just an off night for them. Well, turns out that Shaun's is closed on Tuesdays, apparently, so we headed for Rathbun's, the original, one of our mainstays.
We chose to sit on the patio, rather than at the bar. Their patio is both covered and enclosed on the sides, so that it was quite comfortable in the balmy December weather even with the heaters off. It's also quite a bit quieter and less claustrophobic than the inside. Two thumbs up on the patio, Kevin!
We came with the intention of sharing small plates, but there are so many delicious and decadent things to choose from. What to have? We settled on:
First course: Garlic Fennel Soup -- this soup was creamy, flavorful with just a hint of fennel flavor (I am not a licorice person, so subtle fennel=good fennel in my book). Extremely delicious. We were soaking up every last drop with our bread.
Second course: Eggplant Steak Fries with Confectioner's Sugar Tabasco Dipping Sauce and Krog Street Mozzarella with Hot Cotto and Black Olive Vinaigrette. We had one order of each of these. The eggplant fries were divine, as usual. These fries never fail to make the boy say "But I don't like eggplant!" The dipping sauce sounds scary, but the combination of the sweet spiciness and the crisp eggplant is genius. The server had the kitchen split the cheese dish into two portions which were beautifully plated. The cotto (which is sort of like salami) was a nice complex, not-too-spicy flavor that complemented the mild, creamy mozzarella well, and the black olive vinaigrette pulled it all together by adding a little moisture to both loosen up the cotto and hold it all together.
Third course: Dark Chocolate Flourless Cake with Coffee Ice Cream and Raspberries. This was beautifully presented, and quite tasty. Moist, not-too-rich. I only had a bite of it, but the boy, the sweets connoisseur in the family, was very happy.
Libations: A bottle of Vina Robles, Syrah, Paso Robles, California ‘03. This wine was in the cheapest category of reds on the menu, but it was utterly respectable, especially once it opened up and lost its tartness. Luckily, it dropped the tart note while we were eating the creamy, creamy soup, which stood up to the wine just fine in its pre-mellowing moments.
Initially, I wasn't sure if what we had ordered was going to be enough food, but we were thoroughly satisfied, and even left 3 or 4 eggplant fries orphaned on the plate. We were also very pleasantly surprised by how inexpensively we were able to have such a satisfying, delicious meal with such wonderful service and atmosphere. The bill came to about $55; so for under $70 (including tips for the server and the valet), we achieved our celebratory goal at one of our favorite restaurants in town. I think we've spent more at the Vortex before. Wow! Thanks, Kev.
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