Results tagged “soup”

If you haven't noticed, Chicagoist likes soup. We don’t limit our soup to the winter months nor do we only eat gazpacho in the summer; sometimes we want a hot, comforting bowl of soup in June. That being said, really heavy and creamy soups don't sound great on the cusp of summer either. (We're complicated people.) So here is a spring version of Potato Leek Soup (adapted from this Epicurious recipe) that doesn't call for any cream, butter or milk, making it a little lighter on our palates.

If you didn't attend any of Hideout's "Soup and Bread" events this winter, you're getting a mulligan today with an encore presentation featuring soups from Hideout bartender Anastasia Davies Hinschsliff Martha Bayne, Celestial Kitchens' Celeste Dolan, and Karen Gerod and the wonderful staff at Swim Caf&3233, which was a regular participant in the series.

In today’s soup, we move onto an entirely different set of flavors. Rather than onions, celery, crushed red pepper or sausage, this soup has some new ingredients: curry paste, coriander seeds, coconut milk, ginger. The end result is a creamy broth that, depending on your taste, can be as spicy or as savory as you like. Play with the optional ingredients, try something new, or substitute something familiar - this is a very versatile soup and a good introduction to some basic Thai spices. We bought all of our ingredients at a normal grocery store - the “Thai Kitchen” brand is usually reliable.

Hosting ad-hoc soup kitchens have been all the rage this winter. From 1-4 p.m. Sunday at Custom House (500 S. Dearborn, 312-523-0020) the big boys get in on the act.

This winter, we’ve been on a real root vegetable kick. We’ve re-discovered beets, come to love turnips and remembered that we don’t really like parsnips as much as we think we should. In our kitchen, root veggies have been steamed, roasted, pickled and turned into pasta. But, aside from last week’s Onion Soup, they haven’t really been turned into soup.

This spicy soup is perfect for those of you who prefer a lighter winter soup. No potatoes, no cream, nothing too rich - just good hearty sausages and tender red peppers. Oh, and enough garlic to wake the dead.

Starting this Wednesday and running through April Fool's Day, Hideout will be transformed into a soup line with a weekly dinner featuring three soups fashioned by Hideout staff, regulars, local chefs and maybe even a food writer/blogger or three.

While the weather when the puck drops Thursday at Wrigley field will be nowhere near the extremes of the Bears' last three home games, it'll still be cold. While we know some of you attending the game will be sneaking flasks, beer and soda will also be served in plastic bottles only. Hot chocolate will be served in a commemorative Winter Classic cup, as well.

A pound and a half filet of cod in the freezer and all out of ideas for what to do with it. Sure, we could grill it or pan fry it, or even bake it, but we've done all those things before. They're all delicious, but not new or exciting. And then along to the rescue comes Elise Bauer at one of our favorite food blogs Simply Recipes. For Lent Elise reposted a recipe for her dad's fish stew. Intrigued? Yes, we were.

• Mattell will make a collectible Barbie based on locally-based sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha (Barbie Dream Gamekeepers not included).
• For the curious: the man whom the Bishop Ford Freeway is named after.
• Mayor Daley open to the idea of closing half-empty schools.

In what's become an annual feature here at Chicagoist and a personal favorite, we canvassed the staff for some of their best recipes and put together a potluck of amazing proportions to fascinate your taste buds, amaze your family (even the ones entranced by the football games), and bring about peace on earth - or at least in your family - for a few hours through the miracle of tryptophan, simple starches, and sugar...

All Arthur Friedman wanted to do was liven things up in the bedroom. He and his wife, Natalie, had been married for ten years, and things were getting a bit, ahem, stale. Instead of the usual suspects — lingerie, porn, toys, weekend get-a-ways — Arthur had one tiny request: he wanted to watch his wife engaging in sexual acts with other men and women. (We imagine her response was something along the lines of, "oh honey, how romantic!")

There are a lot of rules at Viet Hoa Plaza, which really isn’t a plaza but an Oriental market on Argyle. The signs posted throughout the store inform shoppers that since there are no refunds, returns or exchanges — exceptions are made for defective rice cookers, and thermo and hot pots — they should inspect all items before leaving. Just in case you didn’t get that, rule No. 4 states that “All sales final.” Are we clear on that? And don’t even think about writing a check — rule No. 5 — but these days we don’t know anyone who does.

When you have a six-month-old, your restaurant expectations change dramatically. You’d give a place four stars if it has clean high chairs, a place to stow your car seat, attentive service, and food good enough to spend the 30 minutes it takes to get your kid ready and load him into the car. Mrs. Murphy and Son’s Irish Bistro on Lincoln just about fits the bill. The first thing we noticed as our eyes adjusted to the dim light was the sight of an actual, log-burning fireplace. As our eyes continued to focus, settling on the massive, beautiful teak bar, we revised that thought to include a nice stout.

Chicagoist often thinks of restaurants like friends, and thus our experiences with restaurants are oftentimes described in terms of human relationships. For example, one restaurant we eat at is a go-to kind of friend; always open, never a hassle, no complications. Another restaurant we like to go to keeps letting us down because our expectations are too high ... and yet, we keep going back for more.

How Do I Get Lucky in the New Year?

A few weekends ago, we were sitting in our apartment, thinking of all the people we would need to purchase gifts for this holiday season. Parents? Check. Significant Other? Check. Younger Cousins? Check. Check. Check. The list seemed manageable, and we felt like maybe Christmas wouldn’t take a ridiculous bite out of our wallet. But as we thought about it more, we began to think of all of the people to whom a “holiday tip” might be in order. After tallying up the potential cost, we began to feel a little dizzy and visions of sugarplums were suddenly replaced with visions of eating Cup o' Soup for a month.

Moto’s Chef Homaro Cantu has invented an edible paper on which he prints his menus using organic inks and a Canon printer. OK, that’s a little off the wall, but we’ll believe it. After all, Chicago’s stock as an experimental culinary destination has been on the rise as of late. What makes Cantu’s paper, and many of his other gastronomical creations, different is the fact that he is applying to have them patented. He even goes so far as to print the following legal jargon on his tasty paper: Confidential Property of and © H. Cantu. Patent Pending. No further use or disclosure is permitted without prior approval of H. Cantu.

How many cops does it take to bust into a house and shoot a couple of dogs? 30? A Chicago man apologized for spreading his shit (literally!) around a courtroom during his trial. The Chicago teacher's union doesn't want public funds to be used for an online school. Remember those storms we had a few days ago? Some people still do not have power. It's Chicago's biggest blackout in 3 years. Mayor Daley announced...

We swore that we wouldn't admit it. But yes, we watched it Monday night. Like a virgin pint of Ben & Jerry's Turtle Soup that's begging to be scarfed in a single sitting, we sat there glued for two straight hours. And like that pint of ice cream, those two hours fulfilled our TV junk food quota ... until next Monday night.

TECH UPDATE: The Gothamist Network is still experiencing off-and-on technical difficulties. Bear with us, and believe us when we say we're doing the best we can with posting and comments. We're trying to get this wrapped up ASAFP.

It’s been two months since Fat Tire Amber Ale, from Fort Collins, Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing Company, made its long-awaited (legal) Chicago debut, complete with commemorative labeling on the bottles. Like the inspiration for Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi, who’s looking to open franchises eight years after that show was consigned to syndication, Chicagoist is striking while the iron is quickly cooling, weighing in on the fast receding Fat Tire phenomenon.

Chicagoist doesn’t venture much outside the city limits, but last night, we found ourselves way north, up in Evanston. With our stomachs rumbling, we stopped inside Prairie Moon (at 1502 Sherman Ave.), which bill itself as all-American dining. However, most of the menu items, as well as the interior décor, boast a Southwestern twist.

Chicagoist would like to set one thing straight: A digital jukebox and electronic poker machine are not a fair trade for a Nintendo entertainment system. The new management at Darwin’s (1935 N. Damen) has removed the Nintendo system from the front bar, and we could not be more disheartened. Many a Saturday night, when tired of the typical bar scene, Chicagoist would take refuge at Darwin’s. We’d order a few beers, play some Super Mario...

Sure, it's been a while since the Bears played in the Super Bowl, but that doesn't mean that there are no Chicago ties to this year's big game. When the Philadelphia Eagles take on the New England Patriots (the ones the Bears beat 46-10 in Super Bowl XX), there will be plenty of locally grown players as well as a number of former Bears.

Last week's call for favorite delivery and carryout spots elicited several responses, which we'll list this week.

If 2004 was the year of tapas, or small-plate dining, then 2005 will be the year of the Comfort Food. Comfort food — think hearty, filling — has been making its way onto menus for some time now. After 9/11, the school of thought was that restaurant patrons wanted something that would soothe the mind as well as sate the belly. Meatloaf, for instance, has popped up in some unexpected places such as Bar Louie,...

It is a cold, gray rainy winter day in Chicago, the kind of day that calls for soup. Good homemade soup. Chicagoist likes soup but lacks the time to do the legwork of making soup from scratch on a weeknight after work. So here’s a cheat version of a simple, tasty, nurturing soup that is a version of a soup that Mrs. Chicagoist used to get in Greektown when she worked nearby. Just so everyone understands, we don’t measure when we cook, so everything here is a rough estimate. This takes about 15-20 minutes to make.

Happy National Split Pea Soup Week! We didn't get your card, but we'll assume you're wishing us a good NSPSW also. Since 1969, the second week of November is a special time, set aside from the rest of our busy food-celebration calendar, during which Americans can reflect on the delicious and nutritious legume. You don't need to soak split peas before you cook them, FYI.