Two recipes, many inspirations: Roasted Chili Cumin Chicken with Pickled Red Onions

Inspired by Mexican street food (channeled by Rick Bayless), sweet, tangy pickled red onions and chopped cilantro give roasted Chili Cumin Chicken a lively, fresh finish. Recipes below.

At some point, I’m not sure when, Mexican restaurant food became relegated to comfort food status for us. Something we could count on to be reliably good, filling and cheap, but no longer something we got a hankering for. It wasn’t always this way. At one point, Marion and I ate at a Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood at least once a week for a year or more. In fact, we went there on our wedding night, before going barhopping with my mom and my brand new sister-in-law.

Now, though, it’s comfort food. And that in itself is not a bad thing—sometimes, the baskets of chips, the familiar flavors and friendly, relaxed atmosphere that are part of the package deal are exactly what you want. Add some friends and cocktails and you’re set for a good evening. Continue reading “Two recipes, many inspirations: Roasted Chili Cumin Chicken with Pickled Red Onions” →

Take that, wind chill factor: Belgian Pot Roast with Onions and Mushrooms

Based on a traditional Belgian stew, this hearty roast is flavored with beer, thyme, bay leaves, mushrooms and lots of onions. Recipe below.

THE CALENDAR KEEPS TRYING TO TELL US IT’S STILL AUTUMN. The snow on the ground and wind chill numbers with minus signs in front of them tell another story, at least here in Chicago. So when Marion and I spotted a hefty chuck roast in the meat department, deep red and nicely marbled with fat, we grabbed it like a long lost uncle who’d suddenly won the lottery.

Chuck roast is one of our favorite cuts of meat, cheap and wonderfully flavorful. And yes, it can be on the tough side, but cook it long and slow and the toughness melts away. Continue reading “Take that, wind chill factor: Belgian Pot Roast with Onions and Mushrooms” →

Holiday shopping for foodie friends made easy

Okay, show of hands. Has anyone out there not heard of Etsy? Etsy calls itself “your place to buy and sell all things handmade or vintage and supplies.” From clothing to candles, toys, soaps, pottery, crochet, jewelry, quilts, woodworking and “everything else,” if someone makes it by hand, you’ll find it here.

Now, a pair of twentysomethings has taken this idea and focused it on food. Foodzie is kind of an Etsy for gourmets. Continue reading “Holiday shopping for foodie friends made easy” →

This colorful, lively side bites back: Roasted Radicchio with White Beans and Tomatoes

Roasting radicchio is a favorite way to prepare it in Italian kitchens. Here, roasted wedges add a pleasantly bitter edge to cannellini beans, tomatoes and sage. Recipe and variations below.

Of the five taste sensations, bitter is often the toughest sell, the one we come around to last. For many of us, we discover its pleasant edge through coffee, dark chocolate or perhaps licorice. In the produce department, you’ll find varying degrees of natural bitterness in escarole, broccoli rabe, eggplant, curly endive, mustard and dandelion greens… and in deep red radicchio.

A form of chicory, radicchio enjoys a long, storied history in Italy. Roman scholar and prolific author Pliny the Elder wrote of its medicinal benefits in Naturalis Historia around 77 AD, claiming that it was good for insomnia and purifying the blood. Its culinary history dates back centuries too, but Americans are fairly recent converts to its bitter charm. Continue reading “This colorful, lively side bites back: Roasted Radicchio with White Beans and Tomatoes” →

Old San Francisco speakeasy gets new life as a pop-up restaurant

Remember when restaurants used to boast about how long they’d been in business? Now, it’s all about, well, now. Bricks and mortar permanence has given way to the shock of the culinary new. Food lovers chase food trucks, whose chefs in turn chase the next new trend, unshackled by high rents and overhead. Adventurous home cooks and would-be chefs run secret supper clubs—occasional, nomadic “restaurants” whose locations and menus are announced last minute via emails or text messages to diners. And now, chefs are taking a page from retailers, opening temporary pop-up restaurants. Continue reading “Old San Francisco speakeasy gets new life as a pop-up restaurant” →

Thanksgiving, the morning after: Wow weekend guests with Ricotta Pancakes with Sautéed Pears

Beaten egg whites give ricotta pancakes a light, creamy finish; quickly sautéed fresh pears is one of many possible toppings. Recipes and variations below.

FOR US, THANKSGIVING OFTEN MARKS THE BEGINNING of weeks of house guests. Sometimes lots of house guests. I remember one particular five-week period in which we never had less than two people visiting on any given day. Continue reading “Thanksgiving, the morning after: Wow weekend guests with Ricotta Pancakes with Sautéed Pears” →

Small Bites: Make any room a wine tasting room and Chicago gets a coveted little red book

We have spent some memorable afternoons in winery wine tasting rooms. Okay, and a few blurry ones too. Sampling and comparing wines is a great way to learn about wine. But unless you live in a wine growing region, it can also be expensive when you figure in airfare, hotels and repairs to the rental car.

Now, TastingRoom.com brings wine tastings to you. Through their website, you can order six-packs of sample-sized (50ml) bottles of wine based on a theme—wine-producing regions, hidden gems, specific varietals or even individual wineries. Then you can hold your own wine tasting stumbling distance from your couch. Continue reading “Small Bites: Make any room a wine tasting room and Chicago gets a coveted little red book” →

Country style ribs, Italian style

Slow cooked with aromatics, herbs and canned Italian plum tomatoes, country style ribs take on a delicious Italian accent. Recipe below.

We moved our cookbooks last weekend. More precisely, we moved our cookbook bookcase, which involved removing the cookbooks and then reshelving them in their new spot. Have you ever moved cookbooks without opening any of them? Neither have we. That’s how we came across the recipe that inspired this one.

More than a year ago, Marion gave me the wonderful (and sadly out-of-print) Roma: Authentic Recipes from In and Around the Eternal City. I immediately cooked one of Rome’s “favorite humble meals” from it, pasta e ceci (pasta and chickpeas). And I promised more to come. Of course, then it got filed away with all the other cookbooks and forgotten.

Now it’s back, with a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs rib dish that’s perfect for chilly nights. Continue reading “Country style ribs, Italian style” →

Small Bites: Tacos with a Korean accent, going mobile to fight Detroit’s food desert and a new book on sustainable farming

For a time in my life, most of my taco consumption happened in the hours after bars in St. Louis had closed for the night. This isn’t a confessional post about substance abuse, but rather a frank assessment of the state of tacos in the Midwest until recently. Taco lovers in California (and indeed, throughout much of the Southwest) have long enjoyed much finer fare, authentic tacos sold from Mexican taco trucks on street corners. But now, really good tacos are popping up across the country, thanks at least in part to Korean tacos. For more about tacos enjoying newfound street cred, check out my latest post on the USA Character Approved Blog.

In Detroit: Bringing fresh food to the people

For many of Detroit’s nearly one million residents, getting to stores that carry fresh, healthy foods is a major challenge. To help people eat healthier in one of the nation’s worst food deserts, two organizations are taking creative approaches to getting the food to the people. Continue reading “Small Bites: Tacos with a Korean accent, going mobile to fight Detroit’s food desert and a new book on sustainable farming” →

Duck Breasts with White Beans and Sausage: The comfort of cassoulet, only quicker

Duck Breasts with White Beans and Sausage combines many of the comforting elements of cassoulet, but comes together fast enough for a weeknight dinner. Recipe below.

French cooking is usually thought of as elegant and refined. And indeed, it’s no accident that the term that defines high-end dining, haute cuisine, is French. But fancy isn’t all they do. When it comes to comfort food, few can outcomfort the French. Hanger steaks with frites, coq au vin, gratins filled with cream and covered in cheese…

And perhaps the most comforting of French comfort foods, cassoulet. A hearty baked stew of beans and various meats (usually pork and duck and maybe lamb) and crusted with bread crumbs, cassoulet sticks to the ribs and satisfies your very soul on a chilly night. Unfortunately, cooking it takes forever. Recipes vary, but baking time is always measured in multiple hours, usually with at least an hour or two of prep time up front. And if you make your own duck confit for it, you can tack on another day or two.

So we were really excited when a dinner in Portland, Oregon, on our recent trip to the Pacific Northwest got us thinking about ways capture some of the flavors of cassoulet without all the long cooking. Continue reading “Duck Breasts with White Beans and Sausage: The comfort of cassoulet, only quicker” →