I can’t get enough of asparagus in the spring, it’s one of my favorite vegetables and I try to use it a lot because of the shortish season. It just makes me happy because I know spring is really here. Plain old sautéed/steamed asparagus can get kind of boring though so last week IContinue reading “Asparagus Lemon Custard – A Savory Springtime Treat”
Category Archives: Recipes
Homemade Mustard – Condiment Making 101
Mustard. Chicago’s favored hot dog condiment and one which comes in many forms. There’s spicy, sweet, honey, stone ground, Dijon, country-style, Chinese, German, sharp and tangy…I could go on and on. If you take a look at the ingredients you’ll find, no matter which is your favorite, mustards are pretty much all made with theContinue reading “Homemade Mustard – Condiment Making 101”
Artichokes & Asparagus with Olives and Lemon (Carciofi e Aspraragi)
Spring is here! Not quite temperature-wise but mainly in the appearance of vegetables like artichokes and asparagus at the store. Artichokes and asparagus are a great combination and I was really happy to have some different ‘in-season’ produce to work with. It’s not a very revolutionary preparation but a quick sauté with some acid (lemon)Continue reading “Artichokes & Asparagus with Olives and Lemon (Carciofi e Aspraragi)”
Sunday Dinner Side Dish: Potatoes Dauphinoise
While you may think this potato dish gets its name from being prepared for French royalty, it’s actually named after the region it comes from: Dauphiné. The French have some great potato preparations and this is no exception. Goes great with any Sunday dinner and since I hadn’t made Potatoes Dauphinoise in a long whileContinue reading “Sunday Dinner Side Dish: Potatoes Dauphinoise”
Sicilian Pizza and Arcade Games
Thumbing through Classico e Moderno for some pizza ideas I came across a recipe for a Sicilian style pie which reminded me of pizzerias back home in New York and summers of riding around with friends playing arcade games. Just like here in Chicago, we had different types of pizza growing up; the regular pizza,Continue reading “Sicilian Pizza and Arcade Games”
Florentine Onion and Pea Soup – what to do with leftover bread
I’ve been doing a bit of bread baking recently and always end up with 2 loaves. One of the loaves is usually eaten quickly while the second languishes a bit and gets stale. It’s not surprising. Fresh bread is fantastic, two day old bread is meh. What do you do with the re-meh-ning bread? ProbablyContinue reading “Florentine Onion and Pea Soup – what to do with leftover bread”
How to Deal With a Canceled Vacation: Make Chocolate Truffles
We weren’t supposed to be in town for Valentine’s Day. We were supposed to be far away from snowy cold Chicago on a Caribbean island. However, Old Man Winter had other plans and ended up blasting the east coast thereby canceling our trip (for now). I had to scramble for Valentine’s Day and whip upContinue reading “How to Deal With a Canceled Vacation: Make Chocolate Truffles”
Saffron Stewed White Beans: Updating a Classic
Last Sunday I was flipping through my newest cookbook, Classico e Moderno, looking for some inspiration. We were having roast lamb for dinner and I was searching for something new to serve alongside it. I found a classic dish for stewed beans which supposedly is a common Tuscan side for roasts and braises and itContinue reading “Saffron Stewed White Beans: Updating a Classic”
Tarte Tatin: A Perfect Treat for Valentine’s Day
Way back in the beginning when I started this blog I wrote about how the apple is a more fitting fruit for Valentine’s Day and I’m still of that mindset. If you’re going to cook a special dinner at home for your Valentine, a tarte tatin is an impressive dessert, as well as firmly outsideContinue reading “Tarte Tatin: A Perfect Treat for Valentine’s Day”
Truffled Saucisson Sec: Taking the Next Step on My Charcuterie Adventure
I don’t think I’ve arrived at the peak of home curing but I’ve definitely leveled up with this air cured sausage: truffled saucisson sec. Who’d have thunk when I started making my own bacon a couple of years ago I’d end up turning a refrigerator in my basement into a curing fridge and making driedContinue reading “Truffled Saucisson Sec: Taking the Next Step on My Charcuterie Adventure”
The Roaming GastroGnome 