Trencherman

In the old Spring location, Chicago's Trencherman has been plating up beautiful dishes since opening in  early July. We ventured out for their Christmas Eve prix-fixe 3-course menu with our friends and their 11 mo. old daughter for the (as it was put) "family seating." Because we were practically the first people, other than the staff, to step in the door that night they offered their apologies for not having our table ready; inclusively of them, "reservations for 4 with a baby" means just 4 human beings.

Once we were seated at our beautiful curved booth which reminded me of something out of Downtown Abbey, the delightful server took drink orders and the menu choices. Our friends chose from their amazing cocktail list two drinks that embodied the holiday spirit (featuring spiced "sparkling" vermouth), and we opted for the new Illinois Sparkling Co.'s Freak of Nature. GORGEOUS floral and citrus notes, the restaurant had just gotten a supply of their limited stock of this wine and if you can get your hands on a glass or even a bottle you should go for it. We've been wanting to head out of town to their tasting room, but our schedule hasn't been able to yet afford the 4 hour round trip excursion. :(

For the first course everyone, save moi, had the infamous "Pickle Tots"plated atop red onion yogurt with chicken bresaola. I chose the Brandade Cake, I can never say no to brandade. The cake is served with a charming little fried quail's egg, and pear and kale(?) garnish. It was a little on the dryer side, but the pickle tots are incredible. They definitely live up to the hype.

Second course we all had the Skate Wing offering except for one of our friends who went for the duck. A Peking-style breast with a paring of duck sausage, served atop sweet little doll-sized spaetzle. The Skate Wing was heavenly cooked and the sautéed cipollini onions, kale, and yuzu-sauce made a super tasty match. A really interesting, though minor, ingredient perched atop the fish was bacon that was so crispy it gave one the impression that maybe it had been slightly dehydrated before cooking. Kind of like turkey-bacon, but better. Because it was pork.

Then, holding a finger a side of her nose, the server brought MILK AND COOKIES before dessert!!! Honestly, this was my favorite part of the evening, and despite trying to avoid gluten I gorged on the floury stuff in the form of one of the best pieces of gingerbread I've ever had. Slightly crispy and caramelized on the ends and cake-y-chew in the middle. I think the key must be how thickly the dough was rolled, being one of the more girth-some gingerbread person I've ever eaten. The server was even kind enough to think to bring my lactose challenged friend a glass of the soy stuff.

Desert choices were between two of their cakes off the dessert menu; a coffee cake (made with real coffee, folks!) and the cognac brown butter cake. The first served with a chai-tofu ice cream (not dairy-free though) with smoky chocolate, while the cognac cake was accompanied by a ginger ice cream. Both were very good, but I think they could find something to sub in for one of the cakes at least. Rumor has it, however, that they have no pastry chef right now, correct me if I'm wrong! In that case, bravi to the lot of them for making the desserts work.

Overall, a merry experience! They are also doing a NYE set of menus if one feels so inclined! For my part, I'd like to come back sometime to experience sitting at their amazing bar for more of those beautiful cocktails - accompanied by pickle tots, certainement!

My Piggy Birthday

There comes a time when a girl knows what she wants. When someone says, "What do you want for Christmas or Hanukkah, or what do you want for your birthday?" the answer can give one pause... This year I told my parents and the Husband: I want a pig.

Not a pet pig. That would be silly. A gorgeous 50LB roasting pig? Now you're talking.

Meet Constantine:

I named him as such because he (or she, I really don't know) was a fighter, I can tell. A great pig amongst pigs.

The H and I ordered Constantine from a superb local butcher (The Butcher and Larder) who sources from as close to the city as possible. We had to order at least a week or two in advance, in case inquiring minds were inquiring. The day before the party we went to the shop to pick it up and they scored his/her (him from now on, this is getting ridiculous) skin for us and also placed some of the innards in to-go containers -- the modern equivalent to an Egyptian tomb urn, if you get my drift.

They placed him in a dignified black trash bag, and we put him in the trunk...just as a cop drove by... (Now, I don't know if this was just the neighborhood, but the cop didn't stop us. Typical.) Anyway, we took him home, but not to our home, because the next step involved a bathtub and our has Jacuzzi jets -- as much as I love pigs and the meat of their loins I don't want one involved in my lavender-eucalyptus bath time... (however, in reading this over for proofing, these would be excellent flavors for pork... though aren't eucalyptus leaves poisonous to humans? thoughts? hmmm.) So over to the neighbors he went and into the bathtub packed with ice. We heavily salted him and left him over night to "cure".

The next day we carted him over to the house of another friend who has a yard where the party would also be later in the day; a yard is unfortunately essential for this type of grill. Let me just say right now, if your yard is full of precious grasses this cooking method is not for you. Buy a spit or rent a smoker, or what-have you, because this will RUIN your grass. Luckily for us these friends are building a garage in the backyard soon, so the state of the grass was not of great concern. The H had gone before piggy-pickup and bought 40 or so cinder blocks and a 4x8 foot piece of expanded metal. You know, from the friendly local expanded metal shop. These, along with 4 industrial sized baking sheets and some tinfoil, would be all the grill would need to be assembled. EASY. Here's how it went...

Building the grill: 3 blocks for the long side, two on the shorter ends. Some of the bottom blocks were turned on their sides for airflow, then the tinfoil is placed on the grass (where the coals live), then we build the sides of the grill up another level, making it ready to have the grate lain upon them. On top of the grate then is lain the third level of blocks, then the sheet pans. The first set of coals were lit in the chimney and then emptied out onto the tinfoil right before we put the grate on. Subsequent coals were shoveled from the the corners on the second level, which we left at angles for easy removal and replacement. (If I could I'd draw an arrow I would, but it's basically where the shadow of the hand is in the bottom right corner.) Some people use bricks to stop up the holes in the cinder blocks for the air flow, but we used tinfoil flaps...because, honestly, we forgot the bricks... it worked just fine though! The grate we used hung over the edge of the blocks by about a foot and a half, and was propped up by another block, which was actually good because we used this end as a little table for the waiting coals, utensils and such. 

Before we put Constantine on the rack (giggle) we injected him with a brine I made the night before containing white wine, sage, mustard, and S and P. Simple, but enough flavor and moisture to ensure our porky friend wouldn't dry out. It's a good excuse to buy one of those gigantic injector needles. Everyone needs one of those.

Then it was on the grill, with a probe thermometer inserted into the shoulder to track progress. The only thing we should have done was use an oven thermometer inside the grill to track the temp. The pig should cook for 5-6 hours at no warmer than 250. We got a little excited...Constantine started out like this...

...but by the end he got a little crispy on his back... like this... The flavor wasn't compromised, just the skin. Actually, it was kind of tragic, but whatcha gonna do. How many times do people roast whole pigs in the city.

The other thing that we didn't think about was how to get him off the grill, he was so tender when he was done that to pick up him up whole would have been disastrous. Others before us using this cooking method welded handles onto the grate's sides for easy removal and serving. We didn't do that, obviously, because that's the smart-plan-ahead thing to do. Necessity (proving to be once again the mother of invention) led us to cutting the beast in half and sliding him onto two of the giant pans. It was actually better for us because then you can have two serving stations. So folks carved him up to their hearts content, and I think Constantine was overall very happy with his performance. He looks pleased anyway...

Constantine, weighing in at just over 50lbs, fed about 25 people with gobs leftover. Friends brought salads and fixin's, and a lucky few took some of the noble animal home with them -- which I have to say is THE BEST party gift, you all should remember this for future baby showers. We had pork tacos several nights following, as well as various sandwiches. The best part for me... The skin. I could have just eaten that and been happy. Best birthday present ever. 

José can you see...

Washington, D.C. is a strange melange of would-be (and most unfortunately-are) politicians, tourists, government workers, along with a large number of hipsters and other kindly folks.  It is in this place of eternal filibusters that the José Andrés empire of restaurants begins its stretch across the globe. Following a job at Castleton Festival we took a little trip to our nation's capitol for a little fun in the sun (104 degree heat), some touristy outings, and of course good meals.

We were slated to go to Jaleo upon the night of our arrival. My parents had eaten there before, and it was a favorite of my sister when she was working at the American Galleries. In the middle of the afternoon, however, we got a call that a city inspection at Jaleo was going long and there were some things that would not be take care of by our 6pm res. Scandal of all scandals, though in that town who knows what their qualm would be. No matter, they moved us to the newer restaurant Zaytinya. One that we had been recommended by my host family in Rappahannock County.


Specializing in Greek, Tukish, Lebanese, and variants on other middle Eastern cuisines, Zaytinya features mezze style small plates, the counterpoint to pichos and tapas. Seated in their light airy dining room accented with blues and yellows, we ordered a caraffe of one of their house cocktails, the Clean Monday. My father (as he is wont to do) a beer. The cocktail though was a bright refresher to the heat we had been dealing with all afternoon. We ordered 8 plates for the four of us including a soft shell crab special, a beet salad, zucchini and cheese fritters (amazing) with a yogurt caper dipping sauce, sauteed shrimp in a gorgeous lemon-mustard broth, Adana Kababs (which my father had to have because of an old army grudge developed while he was serving in Turkey--more on that maybe later), and a watermelon salad. While all of these were excellent my favorites were the Kibbeh Nayeh, similar to a beef tartar but mixed with bulgur wheat and spices, and--shock--their dolmades.


Now, I should preface by saying that my Czech mother is a huge fan of stuffed grape leaves (as well as my Irish-English father). These dolmades were ordered with some grumbling on my part, though through my great trust in the chef I had to try them. Maybe it was the variation in ingredients, but these were fantastic. The Zaytinya dolmades include fennel and raisins, which give a sweetness to an otherwise very tangy dish. And the extreme "TANG" of the dolmades I grew up with give me pause. I don't like pausing. 


The Husband, my father, and I split the rice pudding for dessert, which is accompanied by rose overtones. Quite a lovely finisher to a heck of a hot day. 


Due to Jaleo's pause in service and prior plans, we didn't get to experience any of the other J.A. restaurants in town, but he also has a beautiful restaurant in the National Galleries which we debated. In the end we passed his $20/per person buffet up. There should be some other word for buffet. Something more classy. Maybe they'd have more takers. 

La Tacorea, Chicago

Though I've always thought the title would be more fun as La Ta(k)orea, this little wanderlust of kimchee and tortillas has become a favorite of mine over the past few months. Located on Belmont just East of the "L" stop, this place is slowly but surely showing that Korean style proteins aren't just for lettuce leaves. I am frequently just down the block from the restaurant, and needing dinner (when do I not need dinner?) one night I stopped in when the waft of cooking meat filtered onto the sidewalk. Offering a small menu of tacos, burritos/bowls, dumplings, Bi-Bim-Bop, and the owner's Mama's Kimchee, they don't shy away from saying "This is what we do, no need to pad our menu!"

The first time I went I ordered a Bulgogi taco, which is big for lil'old me, beginning with a heated 10-12in flour tortilla, then rice, meat, peppers and onions (extra charge but worth it!), a choice of cilantro, red onions, cheese, finally a topping of their sweet Korean style BBQ sauce (not like American BBQ, silly-sallies), and an option for some hot-chili sauce. Their burrito-size is made all with the same stuff just with a jumbo tortilla and of course a greater portion of fillings. The meat is so good, though at times a little fatty on the ends, but has the best flavor. And to be honest, the south-o-the-border toppings really work! Even the cheese! These are messy though, I have since learned to order it with less rice, and less sauce. At about half of those ingrediant amounts it's the perfect for me, though I miss licking my fingers in front of perfect strangers.

I've also had their Kalbi taco, which is Korean short-rib rather than the rib-eye offered in the Bulgogi, both are very good, but I like the texture of the rib-eye better in the tortilla. And the Husband enjoys the shrimp a whole-whole lot. Next time I have to try the pork... Yum. I've seen folks ordering the Bi-Bim-Bop, and I *think*, though not certain, that they make that to-order in the back. The owner's Mother is frequently on the premises, and I have no doubt that she is adamant about the freshness of the egg in that dish. It's all so good!!!

If you've seen it in passing (or if you haven't) I highly encourage you to stop in, even just for a taco. It's way fresher and much more flavorful than Chipotle, PLUS it's a small-business, something we should all be supporting more often! The owner says they've seen a lot of repeat faces which gives me hope that it will still be around when I get back home from a job in July. Go tonight and give it whirl!

Rhapsody in the blue

Wealthy people of Chicago you are being duped.

On a recent outing to the Chicago Symphony buildings we caught ourselves wanting dinner before the concert. Upon finding our usual Loop-eateries packed solid, we looked for other options for a sit-down dinner. We'd been to Rhapsody before, the bar for a drink, and thought, "It's right there, let's just go and we'll be so close to the concert hall after."

Sitting down looking at the menu was not a shock, downtown can get pricey, but I figured that the ingredients and the creative sounding plates would hold up to the asking price. Having just eaten an extremely late lunch with friends, I looked to the pastas and the small-plate starters. The pastas were, at the time of our visit, $18-19, and the starters between $8-14. I thought this was a little steep on the noodling end, and again my mind went to give them the benefit of the doubt. Even the prices on the wine were suspect. My husband was reccomended one of the higher priced glasses (at $14/glass, all reds were between $12-15) that he was told would compliment his pasta.

We ordered first a side of Brussels sprouts, acompanied by pancetta and balsamic, the menu said. I chose for myself a small-plate of braised rabbit with someone's Nonna's gnocchi. And the Husband chose the boar ragu with hand cut pappardelle - a favorite of his when we eat out.

THE FOOD CAME.

Brussels Sprouts: DROWNED in raw balsamic vinegar. They looked like once they might have even tasted good. They had a nice...shade of brown about them... Someone must have switched the bottle of reduction with the Heinz bottle in the back, they were soaking with the stuff. We each tried to suck it up and finish the bowl but they were, simply put, gross, and we would have sent them back but at this point we were on a time crunch for the performance (something this restaurant works with all the time being literally connected to the symphony).

Husband's Boar Ragu: BO(A)RING. What was once beautiful boar was ground into a substance that easily could have been ground turkey for all we know. No flavor save for the unopressed saccharine tomato of the sauce. Just tomato, it was unfortunate because the "hand cut" pappardelle were actually good, great in fact. There was no meat flavor anywhere. Chef, you should save your restaurant the Boar-Bill and just get some ground beef/pork because, quite honestly, the boar is lost. It tasted like the cooks gave up on this one. A Ragu is not difficult, but apparently it's too much to deal with for a restaurant charging $19 for Chef Boyardee's secret recipe. The secret is worth being kept, trust me.

Nonna's Gnocchi and Rabbit: Someone's Nonna is rolling in her grave. Her gnocchi have been wrecked. MUSH, barely flavorful. I say to the cook, for shame, that Nonna's memory deserves better. The rabbit was good though,  thank God, and the sauce pleasurably spicy, though all you really got from the sauce was the heat, actually maybe that's a good thing. But the gnocchi. I mean, sad pandas. The kittens in the street weep for these once-pillowy gems. I'm surprised they were able to get them on the plate without disintegration.

Oh and the wine was NOT a good match for the tomato-obsessed sauce. It would have been a good match for a meat-focused sauce. But alas...

Lesson learned. A poor experience from a place that is frequented by this city's elite, the wealthy patrons of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (oh, and the guy next to us who was coming from a cubs game who kept saying that the wine was cleansing his palate, and his wife -or mistress- who looked like she was in a circle of hell having to partake in conversation with him). So I say again, what did we take away from Rhapsody? Drowned Boring Mush. Eek. That sounds harsh, but sadly true. If a restaurant can't even manage Brussels sprouts appropriately something is seriously outta wack. But really, who I feel worse for are the unfortunate little rich people being forced to not only eat such underwhelming food, but pay out the nose for it. Poor you.

On the subject I'd never thought I'd write about

What sounds like the BEST thing to eat in the middle of winter amongst the hoards of cookies and fatty meaty meats and booze galore?

(I cannot believe I'm saying this)

Tofu.

I know incredibly little about tofu, only that it's a sort of form of soy coagulate that resembles feta in looks, custard in texture, and tofu in taste. Well, it doesn't taste like chicken anyway. So really, it can taste like anything you want it to. I think.

"How did this happen?" asked the parent of the disobedient child, knowing full well how it happened and yet eager to hear the story.

With the coming of Fall, the Husband and I had been over indulging in heavy meals full of meat and potatoes and not many veggies, but it was tasty and fulfilling. One night we met up for dinner at Joy's Noodles and Rice on Broadway in Chicago. And all I could think about was eating tofu. Some may think this is strange, I will agree. I mean, I've had tofu in soups against my choosing and so forth, but I've never EVER said to myself: If I don't eat tofu tonight I will be unfulfilled.

(Is this how people become vegetarians???? Do I want to be thinking about that?)

I ordered their garlic chicken coconut curry, except with tofu (another classic Vegetarian move, heaven help me). It was PERFECT. No tendons, pieces of gristle, nor the heavy gross feeling after. I felt wonderful, though in my head it felt wrong, but yet completely right. CONFLICT. It was however in fantastic counterpoint to all the corpulent plates of goodness consumed in the weeks previous.

Confession: a Japanese friend of mine turned me onto Agedashi tofu last year. A simple dish but really cravable, and one of my now favorite things to order when available on the menu. So. Technically, I have been moving toward tofu for months. It's like some kind of odd butterfly into cocoon thing... Tonight we cook tofu for the first time ever at home stir-fried with bok choy and other greens.

Sunday we're having lamb shank.

Madam's Pasta

A couple of nights ago we were watching Jamie Oliver's show on Netflix, the episode where he was making Pasta Puttanesca. I always forget about this dish but it is one of my favorites. This is a sauce that incorporates all your favorite salty things (olives, anchovies, capers) with tomatoes, garlic, and basil. I'm not exactly sure why this pasta is named such, translated as "the prostitutes' pasta." Among the theories: the short amount of time it takes to make, because we all know a good lady-of-the-evening is a busy girl; maybe the salty/sweet combination. Or because its gorgeous smell made people want to come to the brothel. Nothing says "I love you for the next 10 minutes" like food, after all. Who cares, it's delicious. It comes from the Southern part of Italy, Naples and the Campagnia region. This does indeed explain the anchovies and the olives...and I suppose the prostitutes too.

So to make this sauce you can go a number of routes, but here's the one we did last night - pretty yummy...

Olive oil

4-5 cloves of smashed and chopped garlic

1 cup of chopped mixed olives, pits removed...(kalamata, big green ones, gaeta, doesn't matter as long as they're salty) - We used half cracked green/half kalamata

1 tin of flat anchovies in Oil, chopped - SAVE the oil

1/4 cup drained capers (if you'd like more, go for it)

Pinch of chili flakes

1-1.5 cup crushed/pureed tomatoes from can or garden - Jamie O used whole canned that he chopped up but I like the saucy feel of the puree.

Basil, a nice punch maybe 10-12 big leaves torn or sliced

(Get everything chopped and ready cause this sauce moves FAST, that includes having your water on the boil when you start)

Pour the olive oil from the anchovies into a saute pan, add enough extra from a bottle to get at least 2-3 tablespoons of oil in there. Saute the garlic till it starts to turn golden then add the anchovies and saute till they start to break up. Add the olives and capers with the chili flakes. At this point put the pasta in your boiling salted water - we used Linguine - cook till just before they reach the al dente phase while you finish the sauce (say 5 minutes if they're like spaghetti or linguine, a minute or two more if they are thicker noodles). Once those ingredients have sauteed for a couple of minutes add the tomatoes. Simmer while the noodles get to that "just under-cooked" point. Add the pasta to the saute pan to finish cooking, adding water from the pot to thin the sauce if it gets too thick. When the pasta reaches "done" (aka al dente) toss in the chopped basil and enjoy. DO NOT top with cheese. It doesn't really go.

I scarfed it. Not very lady like, but puttans are just slightly less than elegant society so I suppose it works. If you're looking to shake up your pasta I really recommend it. We had a grilled fennel salad with shallot-Dijon dressing in addition , and a Tempranillo which cut the salt nicely. Not a half bad Monday night dinner.