In the Kitchen – Page 4

Chicago Italian Beef

The Chicago Italian Beef Sandwiches that I made for Mixed Signals this year were a rampaging success. Making allowances for differences in giardiniera and breads, this stuff tasted just the way it should, the way it tastes at Al’s or one of the other stands in Chicago. Beefy, salty, lightly fatty, fragrant with garlic and oregano, vinegary and spicy from the pickles, and just barely holding its structural integrity due to immersion in the delicious broth.

I used this recipe because there were lots of comments from born-and-raised South Siders who swore it was the genuine article. I followed it closely, though I did double it and make two 5+ pound rump roasts, I studded the roasts with garlic, and I doubled the gravy for each batch to end up with a quadruple recipe of juice.

That juice reeked in a terrifying manner of oregano, to the extent that I was worried I’d overdone it, but after an hour or less of simmering, I sieved out the oregano and the garlic, and added in 4 more bouillon cubes and 6 cups more water. I was worried that canned beef broth would taste of the can, so I used all bouillon cubes, and I’d do the same next time. This wound up just perfect, not too strong of oregano, not too spicy from the hot sauce, not too salty.

The roasts smelled absolutely dreamy, and honestly they would have been delicious just as they were, sliced and served. But I put them through the meat slicer — home meat slicer FTW, again! — and then into the cooled broth to soak. Due to logistical pressures, they were only in for a few hours the day of the party, but I think that was plenty. I didn’t notice any lack of flavor in the meat itself, and it didn’t overcook due to too long a stay in hot broth.

I put the broth and meat into the crockpot to serve it, which worked out well. A quick 4 minute trip in the microwave got it up to temp, and then I left it on low, which kept things hot without toughening the beef.

Giardiniera and hefty rolls were handcarried from Chicago last week, and we augmented with some other sub rolls from Costco that we left out for a day to stale up. Everyone seemed to like it, but the best compliment was from another former Chicago dweller who made a point to thank me for making something just like he used to eat when he lived there, something he missed pretty bad. I know the feeling.

fun with cilantro chutney

On a whim I bought some 3-layer Trader Joe’s hummus which had plain, red pepper and cilantro hummus. It was delicious and I developed a minor obsession with the cilantro layer. My mind wandered. I wanted a whole tub of cilantro hummus, but Trader Joe’s didn’t make one.

Slightly later I was in Patel Brothers buying some red lentils to feed another minor obsession with cooking dal as a way to incorporate more reputedly healthful spices into my diet. And I wandered by the chutney rack, and the lightbulb went off: maybe I could stir some coriander chutney into plain hummus and get something akin to the delicious bottom layer.

Turns out I was right, and the resulting treat is even more delicious than the original, since the chutney lends a bit more tanginess and spiciness.

Now I buy organic plain hummus and plop in unholy dollops of cilantro chutney, and put that stuff on salads instead of dressing, and dip carrots in, and put it on Triscuits. NOMS.

And I’ve also learned that cilantro chutney is fantastic on a ham sandwich. Sometimes I think that is the truest test of a condiment: Does it taste great on a ham sandwich?

Lazy Indian(ish) snack

I have been reading that turmeric and other spices used commonly in Indian cooking are very good for you, being anti-oxidant and helpful in fat-burning and so forth. So I have been thinking perhaps I’ll make a bit more effort to cook some more Indian-style dishes rather than my usual oscillation between mitteleuropean, Central Asian and Far Eastern cuisines.

Of course I am lazy, so the first manifestation of that was to dump some Madras curry powder into some cottage cheese and sprinkle in some kalonji that I dug out of the back of the spice drawer, and call it a snack.

And dang if that wasn’t a hell of a tasty snack. So much so that I did it again for breakfast, with a side of the half-made red lentil dal that I started last night. Yums.

delicious breakfast

sliced banana, dried cherries, salted almonds, pumpkin seeds and a sprinkle of cinnamon. yummy and filling. I also ate a hardboiled egg before I tucked into my fruity treat.

Aperol

It has slowly seeped into my consciousness, by means of various restaurant cocktails and general reading, that Aperol is delicious. I will have to try and acquire some. To that end, two recipes for later reference:

Aperol Spritz
1 1/2 ounces Aperol
3 ounces Prosecco or sparkling wine, chilled
Sparkling mineral water or club soda, chilled
1 lemon or orange slice

Pamplemousse (from Orangette)
½ oz. Aperol
2 oz. freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, pulp strained out and discarded
2 oz. dry white wine

Fill a tall glass about halfway with ice cubes. Add the Aperol, juice, and wine, and stir to blend. Strain into glass.

oranges in red wine syrup

So I had a cup or so of red wine kicking around left over, and I finally did something with it. Turned out yummy.

Boil leftover red wine with 2 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 6-8 peppercorns, and 2 roughly 1″ chunks of piloncillo (or a couple tablespoons of brown sugar) until it becomes syrupy.

When cool, pour it over some segmented oranges in a bowl, and let macerate a while.

I think this would be a lovely dinner party dessert in glass cups to show off the jewel tones of the fruit and syrup. I’d allow 1 orange per person, with maybe one extra for the bowl.

acorn pancakes

A while ago tallasiandude went through an obsession with acorns and whether or not you could eat them. He collected the godawful quantity of them that fell in our yard, then cracked them (with a hammer) and cleaned off the bitter skins, and then soaked them (for a near eternity). Finally he dried them and ground them in the food processor to make a beautiful deep brown flour.

We made them into pancakes. You can do it with only acorn flour, but these are very flat like crepes and really not what you want unless you are doing some kind of hard-core survivalist cuisine. Adding even a tiny amount of regular all-purpose flour will give you the fluffier pancake texture while still retaining the slightly gritty texture and nutty flavor that proves you’re eating acorns. Which, by the way, are quite delicious.

Here’s the recipe, so I can finally throw out the piece of paper on which it’s scribbled:

1 cup acorn flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp butter (melted)
1.25 cup milk
1 egg (beaten)

quick turkish-esque bean and tuna salad

A delicious main-course salad I happened into while using up leftovers.

large can butter beans, drained and rinsed
can of tuna, drained
jar of marinated artichokes
big handful of dill, chopped
1/2 cup or so of ajvar

Mix all this up together with a drizzle of olive oil, some brine from the artichoke jar, and black pepper and hot paprika if your ajvar isn’t the hot spicy kind.

sweet-salty daikon pickles

I got this recipe from my mother in law after she served them to me during a visit and I went bonkers for them. I just typed it up for a friend who went bonkers for them after having them at our NoodleFest, so I figured I should post it as well.

1 lb daikon

peel and cut into quarters the long way (or whatever size/shape seems like it will make nice pickle pieces). Slice thin, btwn 1/8 and 1/4″ to taste.

mix the slices with:
1 Tbsp salt (kosher, and you can go a little lighter on this maybe I think)
1 tsp szechuan peppercorns
2 pcs star anise (I think they mean 2 whole ones but I use up my broken pcs for this)

Let this sit with a heavy weight on it for 2 hrs; remove weight and drain liquid. Wrap turnips in a cloth, press again with heavy weight for 1 hr.

Unwrap turnips and mix with:
2.5 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce

Marinate 1 hr.

I think you can short the press-and-drain a little bit, but you do want to get the liquid out pretty well as it gets runny enough as it is.

I have been digging the last of these pickles with congee. Hope yours come out good!