Chicago Fare

Leaving San Soo Gab San I smell as though I rolled around in a pile of hot coals…  But I don’t mind…  I just spent an hour intensely flipping pieces of marinated beef short rib over a charcoal fire indoors on a hot summer day.  Why?  Because I’m hoping my new grill scent will help me attract a few good men for my single lady friends…. or maybe its because I have an addiction.

It’s an addiction that seems to only get worse with time.  Especially during the summer months, when guests from all over the United States end up in Chicago and at my mere suggestion attempt to share 4-8 short ribs with me.  Korean BBQ, two-three times per week became a perfectly normal occurrence and before I knew it, I was hooked.  My husband decided to place an intervention one night after a grilling binge that resulted in a string of kalbi scented burps.  To decrease my reliance on San Soo Gab San, he was going to create our own Korean BBQ.  But who am I kidding… we have tried many other recipes before, but nothing could stop my trips… well until we stumbled upon Maangchi…

Marinating Short Ribs

We found the marinade recipe here and used a suggested modification by adding a 1/2 a cup of mirin instead of the water.  This may be a little sweet for some, so you could use a 1/4 cup of mirin and 1/4 cup water if you prefer.  We placed our thinly sliced organic beef short rib in the bag and left it to marinate in the fridge for a few hours and focused our efforts on creating a few banchan, the equally addicting small side dishes that accompany any good Korean barbeque.  We opted to try another of Maangchi’s recipe for marinated tofu, our usual pickled daikon with Korean chili peper, and pickled okra.

Korean BBQ with Banchan

After about three hours we removed our marinated meat from the fridge and headed to the grill where we conducted our own open-air Korean BBQ on our balcony.  While I flipped the meat over and over on the grill I realized now I had control over my addiction.  I can make it everyday! Okay… maybe I’m not clean yet, but I’m gettin’ there.

Kale scares me.  No, seriously.  There is no other vegetable that frightens me more… except swiss chard.  At first when I removed the kale from our CSA box I quickly hid him away in our vegetable cooler.  But by week two, he was starting to droop and a second box arrived with two more bags of his friends.  We had to do something… and fast.

So… I would like to propose two of George’s recipes for any fellow CSA-er that has found themselves knee high in the crunchy, resilient, beautiful (but sometimes scary) vegetable that is kale.

Kale and Pesto Lasagna topped with squash blossom

Kale and Pesto Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale

1 bunch of basil (~10 leaves)

8 cloves garlic

1/2 cup fresh parsley

1/4 cup chives

Fresh lasagna pasta

1/2  cup olive oil

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2 cups of skim milk

8oz fontina/asiago/parmesan cheese mixture

8oz mozzarella cheese

Salt/Pepper to taste

1.  Blanch basil for 5 seconds in boiling water then combine with parsley, chives,  garlic, and olive oil in blender until pureed into a pesto

2.  Combine grapeseed oil and flour over medium heat until golden in color

3.  Stir skim milk into flour mixture until thickened over medium heat

4.  Once flour mixture has cooled combine with pesto and parmesan cheese until uniformly mixed

5.  Wash kale thoroughly, remove it from its stem,  and cut into small pieces.  Blanch in boiling water for 10 minutes then strain out excess water

6.  Boil lasagna noodles until cooked al dente

7.  Oil a lasagna pan and spread thin layer of pesto mixture on bottom

8.  Place layer on noodles, followed by thin layer of pesto, then sprinkle with both mozzarella and fontina cheese and finally even distribute 1/3 of kale over this layer

9.  Repeat step 8 with each additional layer of lasagna

10.  Preheat over 375 degrees

11.  Cover pan with aluminum foil then bake for about 40 minutes until cooked through

12.  Remove foil and cook for an additional 5 minutes to make the top layer golden brown

13. Let rest for 5 minutes prior to eating

Kale and Grits

Apple and Kale Sautee with Cheese Grits

2 Golden Delicious Apple

2 Heads of Kale

1 Vidalia Onion

1 head of Garlic

Corn Meal

1/2 cup cheese

1 clove sauteed garlic

1. Roast 1 head of garlic at 350 degrees for 45 minutes

2. Wash kale thoroughly and remove it from its stem;  Cut kale into small pieces and blanch in boiling water for ten minutes;  Remove from water and strain out all excess water

3. Peel, remove seeds and dice apples

4. Peel and dice onion

5. Saute onions and apples over medium heat for about 10 minutes until soften

6. Add kale, and roasted garlic and saute mixture for another 15minutes

7. Add 1/4 tsp on freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

8. Serve over cheese grits

Genesis Growers Radish, Spinach and Lettuce

I love the farmers market.  There… I’ve said it.  My first memory of a farmers market stems from the small local market in West Allis, Wisconsin.  Although, we had our own cherry trees, raspberry bushes and vegetable garden in our backyard, every summer my mother would take me and my brothers to pick pints of pickles and tomatoes from local farmers, which she would use to can pickles and salsa all summer long.  And even though my most vivid memory of the market is of my brother getting stung by a bee, it was here that I began to realize the importance of the farmers and where our food comes from.

The second farmers market that played a significant role in my life, as well as many other UW-Madison students, was the Dane County Farmers Market.  Every Saturday students from all over campus flocked to the capital for one of the largest farmers market in the country. Going from tent to tent we would select tomatoes, honey or cheese curds from farmers or producers who were passionate about their vegetables, bee hives, or dairy farm.

Tiny Green's Radish and Onion

It was here that a squeaky cheese curd made an impression on me.  Its almost impossible to find a squeaky cheese curd in a big box grocery store, and why is this? Because the squeak is an indicator of freshness that is lost in the time it takes to go from the farm to your grocer’s refrigerator.  This was an epiphany for me, a poor college kid whose only sustenance was the processed foods of her dorm.  I vowed that once I had the money and kitchen to do so, I was going organic, sustainable or the next closest thing.  It took several more years and a bout of professional school until the final realization of my goal.  I shopped predominately at Whole Foods for the past three years. And oh the price I paid for going organic, but I wanted to support a corporation that promoted both farmers and the environment.  But when I moved to Chicago last summer, I found that there were few other places that I would rather be than the Green City Market in Lincoln Park.

Beckerlane Organic Pork

The 12 year old market is a model for the sustainable food movement where local farmers and artisans share their craft every Wednesday and Saturday from 7 Am to 1 Pm from May to October.  This market is a constant reminder that we as consumers have other options than our big box grocer.  We can go straight to our farmers where their produce will always be ripe, seasonal and maybe even less expensive.  Here all your questions about what is laid before you are easily answered.  Where was this grown?  When was it picked?  What is in season now?  When was this beef slaughtered?  How are the lives of your hens?  Do your pigs live a happy life?  How long are these eggs good for? What is a CSA?  Here you can find the pork they serve at Publican, the beef they serve at The Four Seasons Hotel, or produce used at Frontera Grill. The market operates on the premise that you should, “know your food.  know your farmer”, a motto that challenges Chicago to become more aware of where our food actually comes from.

King's Hill Farm Radish, Chive and Rhubarb

The market’s influences can be seen all over the faces of the patrons roaming through the grass, passing and stopping at each tent.  We want to know our food!  We want to know our farmer!  We are here because sustainable practices and preservation of the environment are important to us, and we know what we do here has an impact elsewhere.  With a look of content I wander the market knowing that my tiny purchases here show my support of local farmers, my daily attempt to save the earth, and my appreciation for farms that truly do have happy cows, pigs and chickens. After perusing around the market we found ourselves with bags full of spring garlic, micro greens, potatoes, Berkshire pork, goat cheese, a fig tree, and a few too many plants.  When we went home, I put on my green gardening gloves, pulled out some potting soil and began to plant the lavender, chives, fig tree, sage, and grape tomato from the market.  You see I have my own makeshift farm on my balcony. Hungry from all the planting, I went inside to see G had created a Green City Omelette.

Our Homage to the Green City Market

Our omelette consisted of sauteed spring garlic, Fromage a Trois goat cheese from Capriole, inc. topped with onion micro greens from Tiny Greens and  green garlic.  And the eggs we used were from TJ’s Free Range Poultry.  We liked it so much, we decided to make another!

Shopping for kitchen appliances for us is kind of like shopping for a new car.  We have those mixed feelings of anxiety and excitement that race through our mind…should we…do we really need it…. only its a mixer not a car.   We know the basics of what we’re looking for i.e. a KitchenAid Mixer, have read all the reviews, and even have a general color in mind.  The next step is simply making the trip to William Sonoma.  As we approach the store for the first time we peruse the shelves taking note of each make and model available.  Before an employee has a chance to pounce on our sale, we escape to review the information we have collected and compare with other KitchenAid dealers in the general area.  Then we form our consensus and decide to return to William Sonoma.  We select our model and color and check to see if we need any upgrades…  sausage stuffer, food grinder, citrus juicer?  We decide on a pasta roller set, complete our purchase and return home with the image of homemade pasta floating in our heads.

Pasta Beginnings

Now since we purchased a KitchenAid MIXER, one might think that you would want to use it to mix your dough.  However, George being the purist that he is insisted we make pasta the natural way by creating well inside 3.5 cups of flour and adding 4 eggs, a pinch of salt and some garlic powder.  The basic premise is that you use a fork and gradually incorporate the flour into the eggs forming a homogenous dough.  It seems easy enough, but required a bit more patience then George had expected.  Maybe it was because we did not use Semolina flour, but there appeared to be a moisture imbalance that made it quite difficult to roll into flat sheets.  We added a tablespoon of water which seemed to help.

We eventually incorporated all of the eggs into the dough and prepared our KitchenAid pasta roller attachment so that we could turn our dough into flat sheets of pasta similar to those used for lasagna.  We ran one sheet through each setting, until we reached the the correct width of pasta we desired.

Homemade Pasta Dough

With a long flat piece of dough resting over my arm we switched attachments to the spaghetti cutter and preceded to run the thin dough through the blades creating our very first homemade pasta.  Honestly, I was surprised at how easy it was to make pasta dough.  Sure it was a little messy with the flour well and eggs, but it took only about 20 minutes to prepare this dough and run it through the attachment.  The only difficulty for me was that I didn’t prepare a place to cut the long sheets of dough into smaller sheets.  Thus, when it was time to change the attachment to cut the pasta into spaghetti.  I was running around with a pasta dough sheet the length of a towel on my arm until G was able of change the attachment for me.

Our next step was putting the pasta to use in a Frutti Di Mare.

Flat Pasta Sheet into Spaghetti

We dropped the pasta into boiling water and checked a few noodles every couple of minutes until they reached al dente.  Fresh pasta cooks much faster then dry, and if you’re not careful you’ll end up with a pot full of mushy noodles.  We sweated some onions and garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes and added shrimp, mussels, clams and squid a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper.  After about 10 minutes as the clams began to open we added our pasta. Tossed everything together and a minute later filled our bowls and began to eat.

Note:  If you’re cooking for two, cut recipe in half as the amount of pasta we made would have fed four people!

Frutti di Mare

G has never been someone that does things the easy way.  Except perhaps when coaxing friends into assembling furniture or helping him pack for another move.  So when it took us 4 hours to make our seafood gumbo.  I wasn’t surprised.

Approaching a Peanut Butter Colored Roux

This was our second gumbo attempt year to date and we hoped that it would be a success.  Our last attempt left us with an awful taste in our mouth, quite literally, from a burnt roux.  For those of you who are unsure about what a roux is let me clear it up.  Its an oil and flour mixture(usually 1:1) used as a thickening agent and can add a depth of flavor.  Yes indeed, its oil and flour that is heated with a watchful eye and wooden spoon in hand until it reaches certain color checkpoints.  These checkpoints are based on the type of protein utilized in the gumbo, family recipes and are quite subjective if you ask me.  With time the roux progressively gets darker making its way through each checkpoint, blonde, peanut-butter, and chocolate brown.  The one roux rule: Do not burn!

Seafood Stock

We started making a homemade seafood stock from our cleaned shrimp shells, crab claws, crayfish shells and let that sit on low heat for about an hour.  While the stock simmered I was responsible for the roux.  Since our last attempts failed we decided to heat the oil over low-medium heat for the next hour and a half until it turned into what we deamed an appropriate peanut butter color.  Yes.  That’s right… I stood at the stove for an hour and a half watching oil and flour in a pan.  Sounds fun, I know.  I hadn’t watched something this intensely since Michael Jackson passed away.

As our roux cooled, G began frying the andouille, okra, and a New Orleans triad(onion, celery and bell pepper).  We drained the shells, onions, celery, etc. from our stock and added it to our triad, andouille, and okra. We added a cup and a half of the roux to our mixture and let it simmer for 45 minutes.  After about 40 minutes we plopped in our fresh bay scallops, crab meat, crayfish, and shrimp in.  We cooked them for about 10 minutes and then sat down to eat!

Seafood Gumbo

We adapted our recipe from Emeril Lagasse.  You can find the original recipe here.  It calls for a lager beer, and after perusing the shelves at Whole Foods, we ended up with Tusker, a Kenyan beer.

The gumbo was tasty with a multitude of different and spicy  flavors.  The okra was my favorite addition as I feel that it is a vegetable often over looked in homes and restaurants in the midwest.  For more information regarding creole and cajun recipes check out the gumbo pages. (I wish we had checked this out before we started!)

What does trout taste like?  hmm… I didn’t know.  I had never tried trout before, and G for once couldn’t remember if he had ever even tasted it, but it looked so alluring in the Whole Food’s fish case we just stood there for a moment hoping we might be able to come up with an excuse to purchase it.

After an epiphany we chose our trout and gathered some spinach, goat cheese, and a meyer lemon.  As we were about to leave I thought we might need just a little something more.  For some reason I envisioned my trout in his prime eating grass hoppers and other insects that found themselves floating helplessly atop the water. It was this image that prompted my desire for something “earthy”.  As we ventured toward the mushrooms my eyes flickered toward a box of pretty chanterelles.  They looked interesting and according to the signs it supposedly had a subtle sweet flavor, so we decided to incorporate it.

After sauteing the spinach, chanterelles, and garlic in some olive oil and meyer lemon juice we placed the stuffing into our trout. We added fresh thyme sprigs, sprinkled on some goat cheese, folded the trout over and added a few Meyer lemon sliced on top. Why a Meyer lemon?

We used chive infused goat cheese from Capriole

After a mere 15 minutes in the oven:

Results:

Spinach, Goat Cheese and Chanterelle Stuffed Trout

So… what does trout taste like?

The fish is light and slightly sweet. Delicate even.  I think G will remember what trout tastes like from now on.

I am unhappy to say that we do not have any images from our Christmas Eve Dinner. However, I would like everyone to know that it is possible to successfully execute an excellent maple roasted duck in the “baby george rotisserie”.  Happy Holidays!

Supplies:

• 1 baby george rotisserie
• 1 ~4-5 lb fresh organic long island duck
• 1 golden delicious apple
• a bunch of fresh thyme sprigs
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• salt and fresh ground black pepper
• pure maple syrup to glaze

Recipe:

1. Rinse the duck
2. Trim excess fat off of duck and remove innards
3. Puncture skin everywhere with a fork/knife on each side of the duck to allow fat removal during roasting. Take care not to pierce the flesh
4. Season with salt and pepper (inside and outside)
5. Separate skin from meat and place garlic cloves inbetween skin and meat
6. Stuff cavaity with thyme sprigs and sliced apples
7. Roast for approximately 75 minutes until internal temperature is 180 F
8. During last 30 minutes glaze the duck with maple syrup(every 10 minutes until complete)

Now I can’t say that I have ever really enjoyed a sardine.  I can’t even say that I’ve tried one.  But I think that goes back to my brief experience with a fish bone lodged in my throat.  However, today was the day we demolished my fear of the whole fish.

Sardines (aka Pilchard)

George had been coveting sardines since we saw them last week at Mitsuwa, and lucky for us while perusing our favorite Chicago Whole Foods we came across some very large ones left over from someone’s very special order. And guess what?  The Monterey Bay Aquarium supported our sustainable seafood choice.

Our recipe comes from George’s mom and is something he grew up eating.  Sardines or “Mathi” in Malayalam(the main language of Kerala, India) were first cleaned and gutted.  Not the cleanest job, but actually a lot easier then I had expected.

Next we dredged them in spices and set our work station up for some quick frying action.  About 2 minutes on each side and they were ready!

Some rice and other condiments seemed necessary to complement the sardines so I turned to what I deem my best purchase ever, the sanyo rice cooker. I feel as though everyone should own a rice cooker. In fact, I am seriously looking into giving my secret santa a rice cooker for Christmas.  Just throw in whatever you want with the rice and watch it turn into Uncle Ben.

Frying Mathi

We also decided to add pickled onions to compliment our dish and hoped ours would come close to the original recipe.  Even though we lacked all the preferred ingredients a true cook from Kerala would have, our onions still tasted great.

As we prepared to eat I thought to myself, “This is it!  It’s you or the fish. You can do it, those tiny bones are no match for your vicious incisors and bone-grinding molars.”

As I pondered the risk of choking, I decided to remove any bones that blatantly taunted me before preceding to peel the moist meat away from the rounded sides of the fish. I placed a piece with potential bones into my mouth carefully and as I continued to chomp precariously, I realized that the whole sardine was, in fact quite amazing.  High in omega-3 fatty acids, Calcium and Vitamin D, I determined my meal was worth the potential risk and my fear, completely unnecessary.

Sardines, Tumeric Rice and Pickled Onions

As an homage to our trip to San Fran and the Napa Valley we created this meal of BBQ oysters, a halibut ceviche and a tomato/mozzarella salad.  In Napa we tried many oyster shooters, only to find that slippery slide of that poor fresh oyster down into my gullet made me feel bad.  That poor little slimy creature was going to die a horrible death inside my acidic tummy. So when we saw the first “BBQ OYSTERS” sign we stopped… immediately.  We then stopped three more times sampling at least three spots on HWY 1 all with differing BBQ sauces.   They’re amazing so when we had the first chance we took them to our grill!  :)

BBQ Oysters