Kitchen essentials – Demi-glace

Still back home visiting but I crafted this entry before leaving when I realized the only “essential” I’ve mentioned is truffle salt.  If you’ve read any of Anthony Bourdain’s books you know he is a big proponent of demi-glace.  Traditionally it’s made with veal stock and sauce espagnole and reduced.  Making some can be a long process for the home cook.  Thankfully there are people who make it and sell it.  10 years ago you probably wouldn’t have been able to find it in stores.  I used to order it online and hoard small tubs in my freezer, saving it for special occasions.  These days it’s not uncommon to find demi-glace in the grocery store and it’s not terribly expensive either.  Around $5 depending on your market.  Here in Chicago I’ve found it at Treasure Island (they also have my other favorite ingredient, truffle salt).

Continue reading “Kitchen essentials – Demi-glace”

Roaming Home

This weekend Cheryl and I have traveled back east to Hyde Park, NY for a family visit.  So far so good!  I haven’t been back in a couple of years, since before we moved to Chicago, so I’ve been looking forward to it.  My Dad’s  got a big retirement birthday this month so it’s a celebratory trip as well.  Today we went up to my mom’s in Rhinebeck for lunch and tonight we’re going out to dinner with my dad at Le Petit Bistro, also in Rhinebeck.  Not bad.

As you’ve no doubt read, my mom can make some good stuff.  Continue reading “Roaming Home”

Top Chef Episode 6 – Can we move the show to a Post Office?

Because these guys look like they’re just mailing it in.  I’ve been annoyed (really, we couldn’t tell!) with the challenges but more and more I’m thinking it doesn’t matter what the challenges are.  These guys can’t even master simple team ones where they all work together on putting out meals.  Isn’t that what they normally do when back at their restaurants?  And they’re getting loads of time too.  This week they had an hour and a half for the quickfire and a total of six hours for the elimination challenge.  Continue reading “Top Chef Episode 6 – Can we move the show to a Post Office?”

Quick Weeknight Dinner – Farro with Mushrooms and Peas

One ingredient I like to keep in the cupboard is farro.  It is one of the oldest grains in the world and was a staple of the Roman diet.  It’s a grain which has low gluten levels but is also a good source of fiber and protein, so it’s healthy for you too.  And versatile!  You can put it into soups, grind it into flour for bread, or make a salad out of it.  Farro can take the place of rice or potatoes or you can make a quick weeknight dinner out of it. Continue reading “Quick Weeknight Dinner – Farro with Mushrooms and Peas”

What’s for Sunday Dinner – Braised Leg of Lamb with White Beans

With all the turkey, stews, soups, and pork we’ve been eating lately I decided to change it up a bit and make a leg of lamb.  I saw there was a boneless one on sale at the market so I grabbed it.  A boneless leg of lamb is nice because you can stuff it with all sorts or herbs and mixtures.  I hadn’t cooked one in a long while so this was going to be fun.  Since I needed to reacquaint myself with preparing one I went to my stack of cookbooks and pulled out one I knew would have a good recipe: Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Continue reading “What’s for Sunday Dinner – Braised Leg of Lamb with White Beans”

My Favorite Christmas Cookie – Porlos Testa

Just like Grandma used to make!

Remember how I said my Grandmother’s stuffing was one of the first recipes of hers I got?  Well this is the very first one.  Porlos testa (TEE-sta).  Nothing says Christmas to me like these “cookies.”  I suppose they’re more like a pastry but growing up they were my favorite, and still are.  These were really special because they were only made at Christmas.  Kinda like egg nog.  And it seemed like everyone in her family made them.  I’d get them at her house, at my great-aunt and uncle’s house where we had Sunday dinners, and at home because my mom learned how to make them.  There’d be two kinds of these Hungarian treats.  Continue reading “My Favorite Christmas Cookie – Porlos Testa”

Ora Sushi – Restaurant Review

Looks like this was some tuna, avocado, garlic chips and an aioli. Deee-lish!

Sushi.  I find that you’re either a sushi person or you’re not.  You can never convince someone to like sushi who isn’t down with eating raw fish.  And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.  In fact I like it that way.  Because of this, sushi is never a “trendy” thing like cupcakes or macarons that “foodies” flock to.  You won’t find a fleet of sushi trucks tweeting their locations for the bicycle riding hipsters.  Sushi bars were “chef’s tables” long before high-end restaurants figured out they could charge a mint to let someone eat in the kitchen.  No trend.  Sushi just is.  It’s simple and clean but can be oh so memorable.  People who like it are always looking for that, and remember those places where they find it.  Ora is one of those places.Continue reading “Ora Sushi – Restaurant Review”

Top Chef Episode 5 – Come on, let’s get going here

So far I’ve been pretty unimpressed with the season.  The challenges haven’t been all that exciting and the chefs aren’t dazzling very much.  Not to mention there’s barely any drama among them.  These guys are so blah the show can’t even edit in good drama to make it seem like there’s tension.  We really haven’t seen much interaction between any of them.  Normally I’d be really happy about this but we’ve had a lot of group challenges where everyone seems like they’re playing not to lose, which makes for boring Top Chef.  I hope it changes soon. Continue reading “Top Chef Episode 5 – Come on, let’s get going here”

Strudel – The Old Fashioned Way!

Way back in October Cheryl and I attended a hands-on strudel making demonstration at Dank Haus (German-American cultural center here in Chicago).  When we lived in Washington DC Cheryl used to get strudel from Heidelberg Pastry Shop in Arlington (they’d also have grilled sausages on the weekends which were great after my men’s league soccer matches) so we decided to see how to make it firsthand.  At the demo we made apple, sweet potato, cheese, and butternut squash strudels.  The tricky part, of course, is the dough.  You’ve got to get it paper-thin without tearing.  I was really intrigued by this demo since I’d heard stories of my Hungarian great-grandmother making strudel and how she’d spread a huge cloth on the dining room table, flour it, and pull the dough out in a huge sheet.  The demo was great and I’m keeping my eye on their event list because they also have a sausage making demo over the winter.  Continue reading “Strudel – The Old Fashioned Way!”

Turkey Noodle Soup

End of the road for Thanksgiving leftovers

So we come to the last bits of the big bird.  You’ve got some meat left and the carcass.  What to do?  Of course, you know what to do…make soup!  Making any soup from scratch is easy, especially turkey/chicken when you have the leftover bones.  The most important step (in my opinion) is starting with a good stock.  I’ve tried many different ways to make stock but the best way I’ve found, and the only way I make it, is with this oven method courtesy of my personal kitchen hero, Ruhlman.

It’s such a simple way to make stock.  Continue reading “Turkey Noodle Soup”