Food: November 2009 Archives

We're fans of both Adam Seger (one of the the city's best mixologists) and Nacional 27. So we were excited to see that Nacional 27's upcoming monthly cocktail class is about creating Champagne cocktails. We suspect the class may be quite popular as it's just in time to learn these cocktails before New Year's Eve and wanted to give you the jump start to get your tickets early.

In what has become a site tradition, the staff at Chicagoist have shared some of our favorite family recipes for readers at Thanksgiving. This year we decided to do something a little different. We reached out to some of our favorite local chefs to come up with side dishes that best complement the Thanksgiving turkey. How you may want to prepare the bird Thursday is up to you. We're hellbent on cooking the turkey sous vide, after watching the Grant Achatz/Nick Kokonas video from last year and this one with PolyScience's Phillip Preston and Erick Williams of MK. These side dishes our chefs have sent us should complement any Thanksgiving table.

The long-awaited French market planned for the Metra station at 131 N. Clinton now has an opening date: December 3. If you've been like an ostrich and had your head in the sand, please catch up by reading our previous coverage of the MetraMarket:

Via Art of Drink we discovered Beverages De Luxe, a wonderful bar book dating from 1914. Digitized from a copy in the collection of the Library of Congress, it's an utterly fascinating glimpse into the world of alcohol just before Prohibition. It features a number of pieces written by various distillers and brewers, including chapters entitled "New England Rum" and "Making 'Hand-made' Sour Mash." The entire second half of the book is made up of cocktail recipes from clubs and hotels across the country, and that's where we found the Auditorium Cocktail.

    

We prefer to make our salad dressing at home. It's easy, it tastes better than many store bought options, and we know exactly what's in it. Here's one of our favorites. Instructions are in the captions.

Meet Andrew Hroza. The chef and certified Cicerone (the beer equivalent of a sommelier) has just been promoted to fill the formidable shoes of John Manion at Goose Island's two brewpubs. It was announced last week that Manion will be taking over for Bob Zrenner at Branch 27 effective December 2. Hroza's resume includes working as a caterer for musical acts such as Prince and Van Halen.

It’s not often that we give a positive review to a restaurant that started flooding during our meal. Heck, it’s not often that we EXPERIENCE a flood during our meal - though the urge to pair up and make like Noah’s animals gave our date a certain sense of urgency. But Paramount Room is an exception. An upscale pub from the group behind the popular Roscoe Village spots Kitsch’n and Volo Restaurant Wine Bar, Paramount Room is a dark, atmospheric dive that, in another time, would’ve been filled with smoke and gangsters.

We've been remiss with filing the Buffet the past two weeks and, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, we thought we'd instead list this week local restaurants offering Thanksgiving dinners, either to dine in or to go. This one's for those of you who think you have no cooking skills or simply don't want to put forth the effort in the kitchen.

Umami (pronounced 'Oo-MAH-mee') seems to be mentioned everywhere lately. It was featured in an episode of Top Chef this season as well as The Next Iron Chef in which the contestants had to make dishes that contained a lot of umami.

• Who is the chef behind the blog Butcher's Grip? Don't look at us to out him/her, especially since, for followers of snout-to-tail, it's isn't as though the chef is completely anonymous. [via Grub Street Chicago]
• Late night secret congee menus at Me Dee Café in Ravenswood. [The Food Chain]
• Delightful Pastries' second location is now open in Old town. [Drive-Thru]

Bad news often begets more bad news and the last thing we need to hear is the possibility of another convention contemplating pulling up stakes to move to another city. Hot on the heels of the plastics convention moving to Orlando comes word that the National Restaurant Association may be looking at hosting its 2012 convention in another city. The NRA is already committed to having its spring show at McCormick Place in 2010 and 2011, but the old refrain that cost is an issue may force the NRA to look elsewhere.

As every good foodie knows, each new and exciting trend produces plenty of stale, unexciting hangers-on. Exposure quickly dampens our enthusiasm, but even lasting trends are hurt by the legions of high-priced, low-quality imitators. I've seen this happen with cupcakes, creme brulee, bacon, boutique pizza - and now it's happening with cocktails. Recently, I've been ripped off by a lot of bad cocktails, and it's reaching the level of a trend.

Anthony was impressed by the food at the Drawing Room when he visited a couple months back and we've always loved the cocktails of Charles Joly and Tim Lacey. Now the Drawing Room and the LUNGevity Foundation have teamed up to raise funds for lung cancer research.

While in DC the previous weekend we decided to dive deep into the beer menu at the Brickskeller. Our favorite selections from our visit belonged to Green Flash Brewing in Vista, CA, particularly their hop Head Red Ale and West Coast IPA. We were back in town in time for all the "OMG! BIG STAR IS OPEN!!" twittering going on. We went to Big Star last week and made sure not to use any tasty adjectives that would draw the ire of the Twitterati.

The first Billy Goat Tavern opened in 1934, or 11 years before the curse of the billy goat fell upon the Cubs. To celebrate their diamond anniversary, all Billy Goat locations except for the one at O'Hare Airport will be serving 75-cent cheeseburgers tomorrow. [via]

We're fast approaching Christmas ale season and Goose Island is giving back in a way that will make any Grinch's heart grow three sizes.

The USDA released its annual report on Household Food Security (which is a sanitized way of saying "hunger") yesterday and the results were sobering. An estimated 17 million households, or 14.6 percent of the population, has experienced "food insecurity" at one point in the past twelve months. These figures are the highest since the USDA started tracking numbers in 1995.

It's fun when chefs play musical chairs. The same day that word spread about Dale Levitski taking over at Sprout came news from Chicago mag that Bob Zrenner was leaving Branch 27, effective this Thursday. Zrenner will doing some consulting work.

      

Thanksgiving is coming up and those folks without a meat thermometer in the kitchen, the pop-up timer in your turkey serves as a way to tell you to get that bird out of the oven before it turns to sawdust. (We were once convinced that our host actually cooked a phoenix that had decided to end its life cycle in the oven, thus reducing itself to ash.) And guess what? The inventor, Eugene Beals, was born and raised right here in Illinois. We decided to take a closer look at one of these things to see how it works. Now, a simple google search revealed this completely awesome diagram which taught us exactly how the timer works... but to us that was like looking at a diagram of a DVD player when there was a perfectly good one in front of us we could open up and destroy. Basically, we wanted to cut this thing open. But first, some history.

Get this beer while you can. Van Twee is the long-awaited collaboration between De Proef and Bell's breweries. MAde by De Proef's Dirk Naudts and Bell's John Mallet, Van Twee is a porter-dubbel hybrid, with Michigan sour cherry juice and brettanomyces in the secondary fermentation.

Two years ago, we bought our first local turkey to serve for Thanksgiving. At the time, it was mostly an ethical decision - after reading far too much about turkeys that are too breast-heavy to walk and too stupid to mate on their own, we didn’t want any part of the turkey empire that is Butterball. We visited a farm near our parents' home in Iowa, picked out a turkey that seemed lively and drove home with it that very day. After brining and roasting, the turkey was presented to family and friends, and we realized the other reason to buy local - it tastes better. Much better.

You’ve likely seen products like “spelt spaghetti” or “quinoa spirals” while perusing the pasta section of your grocery store. These alternatives to refined white pasta typically provide more nutrients and fiber and impart unique tastes and textures. When consumed in moderation, pasta has its place in a nutritious diet. A healthy serving of pasta is generally about ½ cup cooked, or about ¼ of your plate, which is a whole lot less than what we typically consume. Think of pasta as a great side dish to accompany lean meat or fish and a big helping of veggies. Here is a quick run-down of some commonly sold alternative grain pastas.

           

We saw this article on Lifehacker that said you could make cookies in your waffle iron in 90 seconds.

Tuesday we posted that the Dill Pickle Food Co-op was set to open on November 21st. Co-Op Board President Billy Burdett responded in the comments to that post and contacted us via e-mail that the ever wonderful city inspection process will definitely push that opening back until around Thanksgiving, probably later.

Gathering some of the best food-related tidbits on the web so you don't have to:

Booze-flavored lollipops, of course! Lollyphile, an online independent candy boutique, offers amazing hand-made suckers in some amazing flavors. Feeling like The Dude? Try a White Russian. Wanna explore your tough side while eating candy? Try the dark, smoky/sweet Bourbon lolly.

Craft breweries may receive (deserved) recognition for the inventiveness they're using to raise the profile of beer in the marketplace. It's wise to remember that today's brewers are merely dusting off techniques that date back generations, to those first groups of friars who discovered that fermenting malt made for a nice loophole to their fasting. The brewing history of the De Landtsheer family starts in the 1600s, but Emmanuel "Manu" De Landtsheer's Malheur (French for "misfortune") listed his first beer for public consumption only 12 years ago. The Malheur brews we'd shank a man with a sharpened toothbrush handle for are the ones brewed in the "methode champenoise" style.

Most of us have little time, or desire, to scrutinize food labels. Not to mention doing so can perplex even the most astute shopper. But the ability to quickly interpret a food label, and weed out key information, is requisite to healthy eating. So leave your calculator at home, enter your grocery store armed with patience and a satisfied belly, and consider these key points to efficient label reading.

                 

Lots of money was raised for Arts of Life and a great time was had by all last Saturday at Half Acre Brewery's Charitable Chili Cook-Off. Over 200 people attended, 20 chili entries were judged, and almost $2,500 was raised. And in the end, a winner was chosen by the members of the jury (which included yours truly): the Tomatillo Chili cooked up by the team of Erin and Elena from The Kids' Table. Possessing a healthy amount of heat and a glowing green color, it was definitely one of the most individualistic entries in the competition. They've graciously passed the recipe on to us (after the jump), so now you can make it yourself. Enjoy!

After years of planning, networking and raising funds, the Dill Pickle Food Co-op is finally set to open on November 21 at 3039 W. Fullerton. Neighborhood-owned co-ops aren't a new thing, but they are risible propositions in these times; the recent history of the former Hyde Park Co-Op stands as a reminder of how tricky running a grocery cooperative is. Dill PIckle Co-Op plans are ambitious: they'll be stocking fresh, local organic produce and claim to have one of the largest bulk food sections in the city.

                   

We recently enjoyed a Fall dinner with friends and family. We decided on foods that would capture the season and, of course, respect the dining preferences of our guests. Not only that, but to maximize time with guests, many of the foods could be prepared in advance of their arrival. Inspiration for the menu came not only from the season but even the last episode of Top Chef in which kale was used. We captured some pictures to show how we put together our menu. Details in each caption are light, meant to inspire you to get creative in your kitchen with some Fall flavors - Enjoy!

We're getting closer to tomorrow's Half Acre Brewery's Charitable Chili Cook-Off this Saturday benefiting The Arts of Life and if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, get a move on! They're still only $5 through 5 p.m. today; you'll pay $10 at the door tomorrow. And if you think your chili has what it takes to win it all, $20 will get your entry in (besides other prizes, we'll also be featuring the winner right here). Last we heard, there are almost 20 different chili entries so you'll be able to stuff your face with some quality food. There will also be six different raffle prizes handed out, there'll be Half Acre beer, and the folks from Nice Cream will have samples at the ready. So what are you waiting for? Grab some tickets and swing by. I'll be there as will Rob, who gets to taste all of the entries as one of the cook-off's judges, so be sure to come say hi if you can make it.

Just a little wink wink, nudge nudge to remind you about Half Acre Brewery's Charitable Chili Cook-Off this Saturday. It benefits The Arts of Life, a non-profit community that uses art to assist developmentally disabled adults discover personal growth, and is being co-presented by Nice Cream and Chicagoist. Yours truly (this is Rob typing) will be among the panel of judges selecting a winner, who will receive a trophy and a signed and framed drawing of the original picture that inspired the cook-off by Arts of Life artist Kris Shenkel. (Oh--and the winner also gets a coveted spot in one of our gallery posts.)

  

We grew up eating Korean barbecue - bulgogi and kalbi. While bulgogi is made with marinated thin slices of beef, kalbi is made with beef short ribs and, in our humble opinion, should only be prepared on the grill. And since we had a sunny day on Sunday and our patio faces South... we decided to take advantage of the warmth by firing up the grill and trying the Trader Joe's version of kalbi - Korean Style Beef Short Ribs.

          

Roast chicken is the perfect fall dish - It's hearty, it warms up the kitchen and it uses only root vegetables that can be stored in your fridge for months. It's a great dish for a workday evening because there actually isn't very much effort involved - your oven does most of the work. Roasting a chicken is one of the easiest things that you can do in the kitchen, and somehow it's been turned into a complicated and magical process by cooking magazines and recipe books. Follow the pictures (the instructions are in the captions) and you'll be set to roast a great bird.

A couple months back we wrote about Hum Spirit a rum-based liqueur infused with hibiscus, cardamom and ginger. Seger is ready to foist Hum Spirit on the rest of the world with a launch party at Pops for Champagne (601 N. State St., 312-266-7677) the Hum Spirit launch will feature cocktails crafted by Seger, Charles Joly of the Drawing Room and the Violet Hour's Stephen Cole. If that doesn't draw you over to Pops, maybe the $3 PBRs and $5 Jameson shots will. this is all part of Pops's "Shift Drinks" series featuring guest bartenders every Monday night in their downstairs bar.