Monthly Archives: February 2012

Béchamel Sauce – Creamy Truffled Cauliflower Gratin

27 Monday Feb 2012

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In the Top Chef Texas season there was a challenge where the chefs had to rework Escoffier’s “mother” sauces, one of which is béchamel.  This is an awesome, versatile, easy sauce for the home cook.  Once you learn to make this preparation you can make all sorts of creamy, gooey, cheesy things.  It’s perfect for making casseroles, gratins, or to flavor and use as a sauce or creamed soup.  Very simple and easy to make.  Use this the next time you make macaroni and cheese and you’ll never make the Kraft one again.  It’ll wow everyone. Continue reading »

Top Chef Episode 16 – Will This Season Ever End?

24 Friday Feb 2012

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I’m beginning to think it won’t.  Man, this season has really dragged on.  Much like my time spent at O’Hare this morning while waiting for a flight to New Orleans.  We had a snow storm move through Chicago last night and while it didn’t dump much snow it mucked up travel nonetheless.  So, while waiting for my flight I figured I’d bang out this week’s recap.  My morning here has reflected the past few weeks of the season, initial excitement at the start, then some delay, then into the just get it over with phase.  This week’s episode was the just get it over with episode.  The three remaining chefs came down off the mountain to Vancouver where, I am only guessing on this, the title will be decided. Continue reading »

The Bad Apple – Nothing Bad About It!

23 Thursday Feb 2012

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Sitting on a corner of Lincoln Ave. between Irving Park and Montrose is a place called The Bad Apple.  I’d heard good things about it from some co-workers and since it’s just a few blocks away from my office on Damen, it’s perfect for a quick lunch.  The food is good, moderately priced, and they’ve got a huge beer list with lots of beers/ales/lambics/IPAs.  The majority of the beer offered is bottled but their draft list is large with at least a couple dozen to choose from.  And yeah that’s right, there’s nothing wrong with having a beer at lunch. Continue reading »

Quick Post: It’s Paczki Day Here in Chicago!

21 Tuesday Feb 2012

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Hey Chicago!  Did you get yours this morning?  Did your boss stop and bring some to the office like mine did?  Did your friend who got up early in the morning save you one?  No?  Cheryl wasn’t so lucky either so I thought I should pick some up for her.

For all the non-Chicagoans (and non-Polish), Paczki (sounds like PUNCH-kee, where they get that “N” from I have no idea) are the pre-Ash Wednesday treat here in the Windy City.  Big Polish doughnuts.  Insert your own joke about oversized pastries for oversized noggins here.  And yes, a lot of Chicagoans get excited for this Fat Tuesday tradition.  Since Chicago’s supposedly the largest Polish city outside of Poland it’s no surprise paczki are a huge (pun intended) favorite!

I scored these from Dinkels Bakery on Lincoln Avenue by the Paulina Brown Line stop.  Since I am not of Polish heritage I did not get up at the crack of dawn to wait in line and so ended up with these flavors: lemon, raspberry, strawberry, and a caramel coated custard one.  All for $6.  They’re pretty damn awesome too (had a chocolate one and a cheese one earlier today).  I just hope Cheryl gets home soon as I can’t look at these much longer without biting into one.

What’s for Sunday Dinner – Braised Short Ribs

20 Monday Feb 2012

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Short ribs!  Always be on the lookout for when these go on sale at the grocery store, when there is one they disappear quickly.  Short ribs are delicious, juicy, and tender.  These are wholly unrelated to “boneless short ribs” which aren’t even from the rib area.  They’re packed with layers of fat which melts away and shrinks the meat on the bone, so you’ll need at least 2-3 per person depending on the size of the short ribs.  Marinating and braising them in some wine makes for a very comforting Sunday dinner.  Continue reading »

A Tale of Two Thai’s: Eater 38’s Tac Quick, and Indie Cafe

17 Friday Feb 2012

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Tac Quick's Som Tum Thai - a spicy tower of papaya

Recently we’ve been to two extremely different Thai restaurants.  One is our neighborhood place here in Wrigleyville, Tac Quick (Eater 38), and the other is up in Edgewater, Indie Cafe.  Both are very good but very different dining experiences.  At one you’ll find some unique, authentic Thai dishes, the other is more mainstream.  Oh and both restaurants are BYOB!  Score. Continue reading »

Top Chef Episode 15 – I thought it was the Finale

16 Thursday Feb 2012

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I was so excited for Top Chef last night.  You read that correctly: Excited!  Mostly because I thought it was the big final and we’d get a winner and be done with this train wreck of a season.  I was wrong.  Cheryl kept asking if I was sure this was the final episode.  Yes, yes, of course it is, they’ll have one elimination to get rid of the fourth wheel and then it’s final challenge time.  Bing bang boom, we have a winner.  Nowhere near close to what happened on the show.  Continue reading »

Welcome! I Made a “Best of” List? How’d that Happen?

16 Thursday Feb 2012

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Hello to all the new readers clicking through or coming to my little piece of internet real estate from Chicago Rants.  Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

And a big Thank You to Chicago Rants for deeming me worthy of any Top 10 list!  It’s always nice to be noticed.  For those who’ve been following me prior to this auspicious award go ahead and pat yourselves on the back for being so ahead of the curve.  More importantly, check out some of the other Chicago-centric blogs on the list.  Some good reading!

Thanks again and keep coming back!

Change it up for Valentine’s Day, Apple-Almond Tart

13 Monday Feb 2012

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What, no chocolate?  That’s right no chocolate.  Why?  I’ll tell you why.  Because everyone always expects chocolate and if you really want to make an impression you should think outside the box.  Apples fit in perfectly on Valentine’s Day.  Folkore, mythology, legends are full of stories where the fruit represents both good and evil.  We all know the story of Adam and Eve (forbidden fruit! bad apple, and yes I am aware it was probably originally a pomegranate which actually if you think about it removes the evil taint from apples) but the apple is also a symbol of Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love. Continue reading »

What’s for Sunday Dinner – Duck a l’Orange (also a great Valentine’s Day dinner)

12 Sunday Feb 2012

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I started making this dish for Cheryl when she was back in business school and the first time I made it for her was on St. Valentine’s Day.  Seriously, if you’re a home cook this is a pretty awesome dinner to make.  Classical French, not too difficult, delicious, and it’s duck, which is a nice treat.  Romantic, no?  The most difficult part (at least in my opinion) is the sauce and it’s not really that difficult.  It’s more about the timing and having it ready for the duck.  The sauce has a fair amount of components to it which take some time to assemble, meaning this is not quick weeknight dinner.  However, it’s perfect for a Sunday dinner, or Valentine’s Day for all you hopeless romantics.  Continue reading »

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