First Attempt at Making Bacon – Part 1

For the longest time I’ve been wanting to try my hand at curing meat and making sausages.  I’ve been following a couple of charcuterie bloggers and have been fascinated by what they’re turning out.  Since I spend less time in the kitchen during the summer I figured now would be a good time to cross the cooking Rubicon and start.  Gotta begin somewhere and so I thought I’d start with something which seems fairly straightforward and simple: bacon.Continue reading “First Attempt at Making Bacon – Part 1”

White Bean Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I warned you there’d be more than a few cold salads during the summer.  This is one I’ve been cultivating for a few years and it’s getting very near perfect (for me at least).  Many different kinds of bean salads can be found on picnic tables throughout the summer; sweet ones, vinegary ones, baked beans (ok that might be stretch but a big crock of cold baked beans at a summertime BBQ is delicious).  This white bean salad is a snap to make and is one of those rare dishes that is even better a day or two later after the flavors meld together.Continue reading “White Bean Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes”

Strawberry Ice Cream – Another Easy Ratio

Having celebrated our wedding anniversary this week (the cotton one) I decided to dust off one of our wedding gifts and whip up a batch of strawberry ice cream.  Strawberries are really coming into season now and I was further encouraged by a posting I saw about how the strawberry picking season has arrived early in Wisconsin due to the milder winter/spring.  Needless to say I didn’t leave Wrigleyville and head north to Wisconsin for my strawberries but it did give me the idea to make Strawberry Ice Cream in our ice cream maker.  Cheryl came home from work on Tuesday (our anniversary) and saw me over the stove with milk and a bowl full of egg yolks and started guessing what I was up to.  She figured it out when she checked the freezer to see if the special bowl was in there and was pretty happy about it when she saw she guessed correctly.Continue reading “Strawberry Ice Cream – Another Easy Ratio”

Summer Lentil Salad

Hot summer days require something cool to go with whatever you’re grilling.  Cold salads fit the bill nicely.  As you’ll see, I like making a lot of different salads in the summer.  They can be made ahead in bulk and chilled in the fridge, ready to be served or packed up and taken on a picnic (along with those deviled eggs).  This lentil salad is an awesome one for the summer and Cheryl’s usually pretty happy when she sees it in the fridge.Continue reading “Summer Lentil Salad”

Decadent Truffle Deviled Eggs for a Movies in the Parks Picnic!

We’ve had Memorial Day, the official summer kick-off.  Here in Chicago another summertime favorite starts on Monday, June 11 : “Movies in the Parks”.  Dinner and a movie outside!  These are a fun way to get together with some friends (or a romantic evening for two), have a picnic, and watch a movie.  Chicagoans are all about being outside during the summer and we are a city blessed with a lot of public park space, so we take advantage of them!  One picnic item I always try to make is deviled eggs.  They’re a small, simple appetizer to make but one which you can get very creative with. Continue reading “Decadent Truffle Deviled Eggs for a Movies in the Parks Picnic!”

Awesome Summer Dessert – Strawberry Rhubarb Pie!

A little more than a week ago Artizone, an online artisanal food shopping and delivery service here in Chicago (and Dallas) hosted a quiz on Twitter where you could win a small bag of food from them, sourced from local shops like Gepperth’s Meat Market and Green Grocer Chicago.  It wasn’t a very difficult quiz (there was no math involved), mostly questions about items on their website.  Somehow, along with a couple other participants, I won a small gift bag which they delivered to me.  I received some organic mushrooms, popcorn, microgreens, oregano, apples, and stalks of rhubarb.  While I’ve eaten rhubarb before I’d never worked with it, but I knew where to go to find some inspiration: my mom’s recipe books.  Sure enough, there was a recipe for strawberry rhubarb pie.Continue reading “Awesome Summer Dessert – Strawberry Rhubarb Pie!”

Night at the Field Museum! Wine Enthusiast Toast of the Town on June 8

Taking a break at last year’s Toast of the Town in the Field Museum

Recently, I received a postcard from Wine Enthusiast alerting me to their upcoming event at the Field Museum: Toast of the Town.  They sponsor the event in three cities: New York, Chicago and Washington, DC.  Chicago’s the second stop on the tour and while we don’t get as many wineries/distributors as New York we have way more restaurants attending.  DC brings up the rear in both categories.  Since Cheryl and I went to last year’s event at the Field Museum the arrival of Wine Enthusiast’s piece of direct mail caused a bit of excitement.  We like tasting events (see my earlier post on Binny’s Whisky Tasting) so I am happy to say we’re going back to this event!Continue reading “Night at the Field Museum! Wine Enthusiast Toast of the Town on June 8”

Get Ready for Summer Salads! Potato Salad with Eggs and Dill

Lately I’ve been talking about refreshing your grilling skills as we get closer to Memorial Day and the official start of summer.  Very important of course, but one area you shouldn’t neglect in your preparation are salads.  I was inspired to make the first potato salad of the summer since we had absolutely gorgeous Chicago weather this week.  Oh and there was also a 50 lb bag of potatoes in our basement.Continue reading “Get Ready for Summer Salads! Potato Salad with Eggs and Dill”

Mixed Berry Custard Tart – Simple Ratios

On Mother’s Day we went over to our friends Erik and Jen’s for some grilling.  It was a beautiful, sunny day in Chicago and we offered to bring some dessert.  No idea why since I’m not much of a baker.  Well not much of cake baker at least.  If I had to rank my dessert making skills I’d say I make pies the best with cakes way down on the list.  Tarts are somewhere in the middle since they’re pie-like but require some extra ingredients.  That said, I really can’t believe how simple it was to make this delicious tart.  Minimal ingredients and minimal time.Continue reading “Mixed Berry Custard Tart – Simple Ratios”

Sopa de Tomate! Tomato Soup Recipe Learned in Barcelona

A couple of weekends ago Cheryl and I traveled back to Washington DC to see some friends and ended up having Sunday Brunch at Taberna del Alabardero.  Normally brunch is brunch but this particular Sunday they were hosting a Feria del Abril event.  Dancers, food, drink.  Lots and lots of them.  One small bite offered was a little glass of gazpacho.  It reminded me of a tomato soup Cheryl and I learned how to make in Barcelona while we were on our honeymoon.  I didn’t think I’d have a chance to make it so soon but Chicago cooperated and one day last week the temperature was up over 80°F.  Perfect opportunity to make this quick and easy summertime soup.Continue reading “Sopa de Tomate! Tomato Soup Recipe Learned in Barcelona”