Chicago Fare

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)

Hot Doug's The Sausage Super Store

It takes a lot for a straight man to rave about another man’s sausages, but Hot Doug’s renowned Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium meets and exceeds all the national hype.  Hot Doug’s gourmet sausage shop has received praise from my stomach to Anthony Bourdain and even the New York Times.  Last week, we decided to check it out again.

We drove on a cold December day to this hot dog mecca on the north side only to be greeted by a  long line when we attempted to enter.  We clearly were not the only ones craving a lunchtime dog and after a few minutes waiting outside we were upgraded to the line inside.  Yes!   And I’m going to go ahead and call this cash-only establishment a truly unique place.  Doug himself was taking orders at the cash register and even though the line was winding out the door, he was still super friendly.  As we were directed to the next available table, we noticed the phrase painted on the wall, “There are no two finer words in the English language than ‘encased meats,’ my friend.”  I can’t say that I disagree and by the looks of it, neither can his patrons.

The Atmosphere:

It’s a casual neighborhood spot on California and Roscoe in Chicago, with miscellaneous hot dog paraphernalia adorning the walls(i.e. a sausage timeline or photo of Britney Spears dog in hand) Now this isn’t your typical hot dog stand so expect a wider range of prices ranging from $1.75 – $9.00 per dog/sausage.

The Menu:

Hot Doug’s is a sausage lover’s heaven.  Doug has encased just about every kind of meat conceivable from rattlesnake to duck.  Your standard hot dog and bratwurst are fixtures on the menu along with other more uncommon sausages like andouille and dare I say it a veggie dog.  Yes, you heard me right, a veggie dog.  It was a vegetarian who actually first recommended Hot Doug’s to me.  These standard features all have creative names like the Salma Hayek mighty, mighty, mighty hot andouille sausage.  However, it’s the gourmet sausages that truly define this unique sausage experience, and you have a lot to choose from.  Doug has a daily special list of about 10 sausages that change at random every 10-12 days.  And although you can order your typical chicago-style dog, the rest of these condiments aren’t your usual chicago fare.  Foie gras, brie cheese, peach mayonaise, and truffled aioli are condiments typically reserved for a slightly pretensious gourmet restaurant but here they pair perfectly with each sausage .  Of course no hot dog is complete without fries.  Hot Doug’s fries are excellent, but for a real treat try the fries on Saturday’s and Sundays when they are fried in duck fat (the tastiest form of fat fat according to french culinary standards).

Foie gras sausage, jerk pork sausage, beer brat

We satisfied our hot dog craving with the following three sausages:

1. Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris

2. The Spicy Jerk Pork Sausage with Spicy White Peach Mayonnaise, Creme de Brie Cheese and Roasted Plantains

3.  The Paul Kelly(aka bratwurst)

Each sausage had its own complexity of flavor starting from the seasoned meat, further amplified by the condiments.  My mouth was overwhelmed with flavor from the rich foie gras and earthy truffle aioli.  It was the most decadent bite of food I have had in recent memory.  The spicy pork sausage was equally impressive complimented nicely by brie cheese and sweet fried plantains.  Katie loved it.  Need I say more?

Our Thoughts:

Everyone should go there.  Now.  No seriously, leave work early(they close at 4), grab some cash and head on over there.  Ok. wait… check their website first(they may be off on holiday) then leave.   Also, try a special.  Katie was hesitant but now she too believes in their special sausages.

Hot Dougs | 3324 N California Chicago IL 60618 | 773-279-9550

Additional Reviews at Urban Spoon

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

Had it not been for two very special patients of mine in Wisconsin, I may have never known that this wonderful market existed.  It’s located in Arlington Heights and worth the short drive from the city.  It has large selection of Japanese groceries, fruits, veggies, waygu beef and and most importantly sushi grade fish, and that’s just half of it!  The rest of the market consists of about 15 vendors including multiple restaurants, a book store and my favorite pastry shop.

The restaurants are situated like a food court in the mall, but with a lot more people in little less space.  Week-end lunches can be busy.  So come prepared to search out your vendor, identify food item, execute purchase, grab your order number, and glance toward your potential table.  Since the week-end is busy we tend to divide and conquer. My fiance does the ordering and I turn scout to stake our claim.   I identify the slowing movement of chop-sticks, the swift napkin to the face, and the eye flicker towards the garbage before I grab my table.  I have also seen the hover and strike technique successfully executed. Oh and the udon noodle bowls are good, but make sure you save room for dessert. Pastry House Hippo has one of my favorite things at Mitsuwa. Sweet coffee bread.  And if you are not a fan of coffee try one of the other eclectic pastries or other bread selections.

On our past trip we had a mission.  Goal: Donburi.   So we carefully selected our fish. Salmon and Kampachi. I grabbed some wasabi tobiko too.  Easy enough, but then we were seduced into the aisles where I snatched up some sweet dried crabs, seaweed, and sweet sesame candies.  Unnecessary?  Yes. But far too intriguing to pass by. Near the fresh produce we spotted some fresh wasabi and the vendor persuaded me to try some prepared dried fishes.  Then home to create our dish.

Salmon Donburi Bowl

My bowl consisted of some fresh grated wasabi, salmon, one part dried seaweed, one part fresh seasoned seaweed to the left and some small prepared dried fish to the right.  Oh and sushi rice!  I added some additional wasabi tobiko and a splash of soy sauce and suddenly achieved the elusive fifth flavor… Umami… Well… not quite. I think it may have just been MSG.