Food Adventures

Olive oil business

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:25:00 +0000

Recently, there have been several articles on the fraud in the olive oil industry and what that means to you as a consumer. There was this New Yorker article: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/13/070813fa_fact_mueller

It discusses some disturbing practices in the olive oil industry. It claims that “in 1997 and 1998, olive oil was the most adulterated agricultural product in the European Union” and that olive oil fraud is a major international problem.

I personally found this newsletter by Silvestro Silvestori, the owner of the Awaiting Table cooking school (www.awaitingtable.com) in Lecce (Puglia, Italy) much more useful: it summarizes some of the major problems in the olive oil industry, but also provides suggestions for what we can all do to make sure we do not unwittingly contribute to the disturbing practices described:

http://awaitingtable.com/about/4menu_newsletter/2008/2008February_BananasCoffeeOliveOil.htm

While it is disturbing to know that I might have unwittingly contributed to the less-than-ethical practices in the olive oil industry, what touched me was this other newsletter by Silvestro describing the effect of those practices on the people who have spent their lives growing olives and making olive oil:
http://awaitingtable.com/about/4menu_newsletter/2008/2008January_Golfball.htm

Those of us who enjoy food tend to idealize the process of producing olive oil (and other agricultural products). While sitting at our computers and trying to meet another work deadline, we dream of green olive groves and the happy people who tend them. But, as Silvestro’s newsletter makes clear, the lives of the people who produce (or used to produce) this wonderful product are filled with hard work and some unpleasant choices. Come to think of it, it’s surprising there are still as many small olive oil producers as there are. I know I will think of this next time I decide what olive oil to buy.

p.s. You might also find this newsletter, which describes the process of making olive oil and some of the things that can go wrong, useful:
http://awaitingtable.com/about/4menu_newsletter/2008/2008February_Sulphur.htm

Pasta comfort

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:07:00 +0000

Here is a recipe for a pasta dish that has become one of out favorites this winter: it’s easy and quick, which makes it perfect for work nights, when you want something comforting and tasty, but have little energy for cooking. It is a mix between spaghetti caccio e pepe (the Roman dish make with dried pasta, most often spaghetti, and cheese and black papper) and a grilled cheese and prosciutto sandwich, two of my all-time favorite meals.

Viktorija’s cheese and prosciutto spaghetti

Serves: 2 people, with leftovers for lunch the next day

½ package spaghetti
½ cup prosciutto, chopped
3 Tbs. half and half (or heavy cream)
1 ½ cups cacciocavallo (or other firm yellow cheese with strong flavor such as Parrano), grated
Pecorino Romano to taste, grated
Salt and pepper

Cook the pasta al dente (making sure to add plenty of salt to the cooking water). In the meantime, chop the prosciutto and brown it in a pan (Do not add oil; the prosciutto should have enough fat to brown and become crispy without burning). Add the half and half and when it’s warmed through, add the cooked pasta, and make sure it’s coated with the liquid in the pan. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the cacciocavallo, the Pecorino Romano and freshly-ground black pepper. The hot pasta should melt the cheese.

Enjoy with a nice glass of Italian red wine. We usually drink Valpolicella, our house wine.

Green Grocer Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:39:00 +0000

It’s still winter in Chicago (this week the temps are barely reaching 30F) and spring and the farmer’s market season feel far, far away. But, there is a way to ease the winter blues and remind yourself of what’s coming when the farmer’s markets start. And, of course, it involves delicious food.

A new grocery store on Grand Avenue (1402 W. Grand) carries some of my favorite products from the farmer’s market: Mint Creek Farm lamb, River Valley Kitchens salsas and sauces, and Tomato Mountain Farm jams and preserves. They also carry a number of other local and specialty products, including Metropolis coffee. (If you live in Chicago and have not tried Metropolis coffee, go looking for it as soon as you’re done reading this blog.)

Green Grocer Chicago (greengrocerchicago.com) is owned by Cassie Green and Gary Stephens. Cassie has a passion for food and has gone to great lengths to find products that are local and sustainable. She works with a lot of local small producers and you can often find some of these folks offering samples of their products on Saturday mornings.

Speaking of Saturday mornings, there are a number of courses on everything from nutrition to the basics of yoga and pilates (check out the schedule on the website).

One of the items on the wish list (a.k.a. mission statement) is “We want all people who enter the store to leave a little happier than they were when they came in the door.” And the folks at Green Grocer Chicago have certainly done that. On a stretch of Grand that lacks fun stores, this is truly a unique and heart-warming place. The minute you walk in, you feel like you are in a different world: warm, inviting, full of positive energy, and delicious food. Need I say more?

Wild Boar (take 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:44:00 +0000

The second cinghiale recipe I made on Saturday is a stew common to the Maremma area of Tuscany. Before I discuss the recipe and my notes on it though, a short geography lesson is in order.

Maremma is the southwestern part of Tuscany, including the coastline and the town of Grosseto. It is famous for chestnuts, wild mushrooms, and game since much wild life lives in the mountains and hills. More recently, the Maremma has also become popular as a wine-producing region (more about that in a different post). The town of Grosseto is one of the most famous places for wild boar in all of Tuscany and the recipe below is one of the traditional ones.

Cinghiale alla Maremma (stewed wild boar Maremma-style)
(recipe modified from A Culinary Traveler in Tuscany: Exploring & Eating off the Beaten Track by Beth Elon; The Little Bookroom, 2006.)

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs rosemary
2 pounds wild boar shoulder, cubed
1 ½ cups red wine (Chianti or other wine made in the Maremma area)
1 14-oz. can San Marzano tomatoes, chopped
20 black olives, coarsely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil and the rosemary in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add meat and brown well on all sides. Add salt, pepper, and wine. When the wine is reduced to about half, add the tomatoes, lower the flame and simmer covered for about 2 ½ hours, until the meat is very tender. Add the olives, taste for salt and pepper and serve over polenta.

Polenta:
8-10 cups water
2 cups coarsely-ground polenta (found in the bulk section of grocery stores)
salt

In a heavy pot, bring water to a boil, add salt and slowly whisk in polenta (to avoid lumps). Lower heat and simmer slowly for about 3 hours. If polenta dries out too much and is in danger of burning, add a little more water throughout the cooking.
Cook's Note: most recipes for slow-cooking polenta say to cook it for 40 minutes. This is not nearly enough. The polenta might be o.k. to eat after 40 minutes, but the flavor really develops after at least 3 hours. I am grateful to Bill Bufford (the author of Heat) for confirming my intuition about polenta; in the book, he explains that in restaurant kitchens the polenta cooks for hours. This encouraged me to try the ‘put it on the stove and forget about it’ approach, which works beautifully.

The recipe is perfect for Saturday or Sunday dinner: you can put both the sauce and the polenta on the stove in the mid afternoon and enjoy the fantastic smells for hours while you’re doing other things.

Cinghiale (wild boar)

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:09:00 +0000

When Chicago looks like this (picture taken on Friday), there is only one thing to do—cook wild boar! And that’s exactly what I did on Saturday. I cleared my schedule for the afternoon, consulted my trusty cookbooks for new recipes to try and the cooking fun began.

The first recipe was for pappardelle with wild boar sauce by Duccio Bagnoli’s recipe from the Apicius cookbook Innovations: New Appetites in the Tuscan Kitchen. Duccio (who was my instructor in the two courses I took at Apicius in the summer of 2007) offers a variation on the traditional Tuscan recipes for wild boar pasta sauce. Wild boar pasta sauce is usually tomato-based and made with red wine. Duccio’s sauce uses no tomatoes and uses white wine instead. All of this sounded intriguing and despite some misgivings I had while cooking, the sauce didn’t disappoint!

Pappardelle al Cinghiale (modified recipe)

Marinade:
1 ½ pounds of wild boar shoulder, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 sprigs rosemary
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup white wine vinegar

Combine all the ingredients and marinate meat for at least 4 hours in the fridge.

Sauce:
Marinated wild boar
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium carrot, chopped finely
1 celery stalk, chopped finely
1 medium yellow onion, chopped finely
2 juniper berries
1 cup dry white wine
½ cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. flour

Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat and sauté the onion, carrot, and celery until soft. Add crushed juniper berries. Add the marinated meat (without any of the marinade) and brown well on all sides.

When the meat is browned, add the wine and increase the heat to evaporate the alcohol from the wine. When the alcohol has evaporated (when you can’t smell it if you lean over the pot), add the chicken broth and a little water. Lower heat and simmer for about 2 hours, adding more water if the sauce becomes too dry. Enjoy the sauce over fresh pappardelle.

Cook's notes: Because the sauce does not have tomatoes, it tastes clean and you can really taste the wild boar. It really lets the meat shine. If the sauce is too thick, you can thin it out by adding some of the pasta cooking water.
Order wild boar online from the Broken Arrow Ranch http://www.brokenarrowranch.com/

This is the second year that I have bought wild boar from them and it has been excellent. I order shoulder since this is a good cut for stewing.

A Mano (review)

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:35:00 +0000

A Mano
335 N Dearborn
Chicago, IL 60601
http://www.amanochicago.com/

The menu at A Mano, the Italian trattoria owned by the folks who own BIN36, is quite extensive and versatile. It ranges from antipasti such as grilled baby octopus and marinated wild mushrooms, to a selection of salumi (cured meats), raw fish, and wood-burning oven pizza to first courses (including ribolitta, salads, and cotechino sausage), pasta and second courses (including both meat and fish). There is also a selection of side dishes and, most importantly, a gelato and sorbetto bar.

The restaurant, located in a basement space right underneath BIN36, also features an excellent selection of wines, possibly the most extensive selection of Italian wines of any restaurant in Chicago. And the wine was also the best part of an otherwise average dinner. Both the Amarone and the Valpolicella Ripasso we tried were excellent: rich and complex. The 5-page wine list contains something for every taste and will not disappoint.

Another memorable thing about the dinner was the wild boar, shredded and cooked in its own juices with sweet raisins. It was flavorful without being heavy and the fact that it wasn’t surrounded by a sauce made it stand out and make an impression.

The pasta (pappardelle) the wild boar was served over is a different story. It was somewhat leathery and didn’t combine well with the wild boar. The other pasta we tried, the gnocchetti with sweet butter and parmigiano, was equally unimpressive. The gnoccheti were somewhat slippery and didn’t have any flavor. The most flavorful ingredient on the plate, the shavings of parmigiano, was in short supply, which made the dish as whole quite devoid of flavor.

The pizza is good, but not great. The dough is a little too thick for my taste and the flavors of the pizza we had (Prosciutto di Parma with arugula and mozzarella) were unremarkable. The prosciutto, which should have been the star of the show, was overpowered by the cheese and could have been mistaken for any ham. For my taste, Spacca Napoli and even Frasca have much better pizza.

The meal was somewhat redeemed by the finish, a combination of three sorbetti: lemon, cranberry-apple and blood orange. The lemon was very lemony (even too lemony), but mixed with the blood orange, it yielded the perfect combination of sweetness and refreshing tartness. The cranberry-apple sorbetto was surprising, with a somewhat less even texture than the other two, and the prefect balance of the two fruits.

Overall, the experience was not inspiring, but I would go back for the rotisserie whole lamb (special on Thursdays), the whole roasted fish of the day, and more sorbetto. And, of course, the wine!

Tip: try to go early as the noise level is pretty high later in the evening.

Baccalà (salted cod)

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 22:02:00 +0000

Salted cod (baccalà in Italian) is one of those things people either love or hate. I had heard very few positive things about it; most people ate it around Christmas as kids (and some still do) and would rather not discuss the experience. Well, I have to disagree with them and put myself in the category of those who love it.

Until last July, I had not tried salted cod. Since it is one of the typical Italian ingredients (particularly popular in and around Venice), we studied it in the Tradition of Italian Food II course. Related to salted cod (baccalà) is stockfish. Baccalà is made from cod that has been cleaned on the boats right after it’s caught and then submerged in barrels of salt so it can be preserved for a long time. Stockfish, on the other hand, is dried on wooden grills at low temperatures (about 0 degrees Celsius or 32F), exposed to cold air and the occasional winter sun in Northern climates. As a result, stockfish (dried cod) is a tougher and tastes quite different when cooked.

I prefer baccalà: it is softer and juicier, with none of the texture of jerky. There are, of course, many ways to prepare baccalà and, while I liked all three that we tried in class, my favorite (perhaps because it was the most unusual one) is baccalà all vicentina. Baccalà alla vicentina (from the town of Vicenza in the province of Veneto) is cooked in milk. When I first learned this, I thought that maybe the people who hate baccalà had a good reason for doing so. The recipe calls for baccalà sandwiches, stuffed with parsley, garlic and parmiggiano. You sauté some red onions, add the baccalà sandwiches and, after browning them on both sides, add milk to cover them and simmer for about an hour. Easy enough! But baccalà and milk?!? Well, my first bite of baccalà alla vicentina convinced me to count myself amongst those who really like baccalà.

So, for my first baccalà-cooking experience at home, I decided to go with baccalà alla vicentina. It seemed like the perfect comfort food for a freezing day in Chicago: the milk becomes creamy and infused with the aromas of garlic and parmiggiano.

Since baccalà is very salty, before cooking it, you need to soak it in water for anywhere between 24 and 48 hours (depending on how salty it is), changing the water several times. In a pinch, you can leave the fish under running water for several hours; this does the trick. I put the fish in water in the fridge about 24 hours before I was going to cook it. I changed the water 5 times in the course of 24 hours. It was perfect!

After sautéing the baccalà, onions, garlic, and parsley in a little bit of olive oil, I added the milk (about 2 cups for .75 lb of fish) and simmered everything for an hour. Then, I sprinkled some parmiggiano and a little bit of ground nutmeg and put the baccalà in the oven so the cheese would melt.

The traditional way of serving the dish is on squares of fried polenta.

Olio nuovo

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:12:00 +0000

It’s January and the days are short, cold and often gloomy. The spring is far away and the memories of sunny places and meals full of sunshine seem unreal. There aren’t too many green things that taste natural, but one never fails to put a smile on my face and remind me of sunny days in Italy, great food, and beautiful vistas—olio nuovo. For those of you who have not heard me gush about olio nuovo and have not had the pleasure to come over and share some, here is a brief explanation of what it is:
Olio nuovo (literally ‘new oil’) is the (extra virgin) olive oil just pressed from the 2007 olive harvest. The olive harvest happens in November or early December (depending on the region and weather) and the olives are almost immediately pressed into olive oil. The fresh oil (which is often not filtered) is strong, pungent and greener than any extra virgin olive oil I have ever seen. Because it is unfiltered, it contains some solids, which are partly responsible for the vibrant green color and the cloudy appearance that give the oil its charm. It is by far the tastiest extra virgin olive oil you will ever taste.

For the past two years, I have ordered my olio nuovo from Casa de Case (http://www.casesf.com/CasaDeCase/index.html), a SF company that imports olio nuovo directly from Frantoio Olivestri in Umbria. The arrival of the 5-liter can is always a much-anticipated and joyous event. I immediately contact my friends who appreciate the oil and the list of visitors grows. It’s hard to resist this green nectar that tastes like nothing you’ve had before and cannot be compared even to the best of extra virgin olive oils that are not freshly pressed. It’s strong, pungent, peppery, and complex. For me, it brings back memories of green Tuscany (the oil is technically form Umbria, but the property is very close to the Tuscan border and the oil has some of the features of Tuscan olive oils), vineyards and olive groves and tasty dish after tasty dish.

Because the oil contains solids, it is less stable than regular oil and is best consumed quickly, which is not an issue for me. I enjoy it at least once (and often twice) a day, with some crusty Italian bread and good wine.

Nothing makes winter meals tastier and more cheery than olio nuovo and daydreams of the next trip to Italy.

Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:46:00 +0000

Today is a very special day—the first day of 2008 that Sensational Bites, my favorite Chicago bakery, is open. They are always closed the first week of the year (something about the employees and the owner taking vacation) and I have spent the past week trying not to think of the luscious custard in the Boston cream pie cupcakes, the fluffy, light cupcake and the way the two combine to make even the worst of days bearable.

Yes, you guessed correctly: my favorite thing to have is the Boston cream pie cupcake. Saying that is my favorite treat doesn’t come close to describing exactly how much I enjoy this custardy dessert. This is what helps me get through the endless months without bomboloni (to better understand my fascination with bomboloni, read some of my posts on these perfect Italian breakfast pastries). Yes, the Boston cream pie cupcake makes being away from Italy just a little brighter. This probably explains why I have a cupcake every single day and why I am so excited to be able to get one today after a week. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, in the past week I have not been without custard (that would not be possible). I made sure to save a couple of cupcakes in the fridge and even the freezer. They were not nearly as good as when I get them fresh, but they got me through a tough week. I also paid a visit to a Sicilian bakery in Andersonville (more about that in another post) and had a treat with Sicilian custard. But nothing compares to the Boston cream pie cupcakes made by Gina and her friends.

To start with, this is the lightest, tastiest cupcake I have ever had. The batter is light without being insubstantial and even though I am not the biggest fan of yellow cake, I can eat this kind of yellow cake any time. The middle of the cupcake is hollowed out and filled with thick, smooth, heavenly custard unlike any other I have ever tasted. If you are lucky enough to have a cupcake minutes after it has been filled with fresh custard, you will never think about what is essentially a cooked mixture of milk, eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla the same way again. On days when I get to Sensational Bites as the cupcakes are being brought out of the back, I have been known to have two instead of my usual one. It’s an experience impossible to put into words.

It is not unfair to suggest that my favorite part of the whole cupcake is the custard itself (I believe by now my love of custard is well-known) and I have been known to just scoop out the custard on days when I am too full to eat the entire cupcake (I am never too full to have custard). Another thing that shows just how much I adore Gina’s custard is the fact that most often I will simply skip the chocolate ganache the cupcake is glazed with. Me skip chocolate?!? Now, there is something I never thought I’d do, but the custard is simply so good that everything else, including the chocolate, fades in comparison.

Even the coldest, gloomiest, most stressful day can be turned around by Gina’s heavenly custard and the fluffy pillow of yellow cupcake that is its vessel. Cheers to that!

To experience one of these delectable cupcakes (or any other delicious dessert), go to

Sensational Bites
3751 N. Southport Ave.
Chicago, IL 60613
773-248-2271
(closed Monday)

Vino Italiano

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:07:00 +0000

I love learning about wine, especially wine that pairs with what I cook. But until a couple of weeks ago, most of my wine knowledge came from trying out different wines and deciding what I like or don't like or from going to wine tastings, where you can more easily compare different wines. Reading books about wine was not something I found useful; most books about wine are written in a language I find too technical. That has changed!

I recently discovered Vino Italiano by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch, a wonderful and very readable book on Italian wine. Not only is the book written in a language that I find accessible, but it also presents information about the different wines in context: it talks about the region, its climate, food and people, and offers stories of both cooks and wine producers. The stories make the wine and grape information more memorable and easier to understand for people like me who do not enjoy the technical jargon of the wine world.

The book discusses the wines of all 21 Italian regions, including the most significant grapes grown and the most significant producers and types of wine. It also offers suggestions for wines to try (ones you can get in the U.S.). The discussion of each region ends with a brief discussion of the food of the region and a representative dish and provides the recipe, a perfect way for people like me to broaden their wine knowledge.

My favorite new discovery so far: Amarone. This more complex relative of Valpolicella, which has become the house wine around here, is made from grapes that have been dried a little, so it tastes a lot richer. The bitter note that gives it its name is subtle and pleasant. It's a wine that demands attention. Try it with meat dishes or cheese. It's divine.

So, whether you are just beginning to learn about wine or would simply like to know more about Italian wine, get this book and happy sipping.

Adventures of an Italian Food Lover

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 22:50:00 +0000

I have been busy reading a number of books on Italian food and wine. First, let's talk about the new Faith Willinger book, Adventures of an Italian Food Lover.

This is part travel guide for food lovers, part storybook, part cookbook. Willinger tells stories about her friends (chefs, restaurant owners, wine consultants and couple of her family members), describes the food-related establishments they are associated with, and provides the recipes they make. Her masterful story-telling is combined with a great deal of useful information on interesting places to visit, ingredients to look for, and things to do.

The book can easily serve as a travel guide for foodies: there are enough restaurant recommendations to keep even the most dedicated among us busy for years. I look forward to planning many itineraries around the farms, restaurants, and food stores described in this book.

For now, the most interesting part of the book are the recipes. They range from simple to quite complex and from familiar (arista) to completely surprising (pasta with chicken bone sauce). Many of them have their origins in peasant cuisine and use leftovers and simple ingredients in new and creative ways. I can't wait to try the leftover beef and potatoes and the pasta with chicken bone sauce.

My favorite part is that Willinger is not afraid to adapt these recipes so they are more accessible to the home cook. For example, in the recipe for eggplant puree, she cooks the eggplant in the microwave, something many Italian chefs would disapprove of, but a technique that will make the home cook more likely to try the recipe.

Many comments about the ingredients and potential substitutions reveal once again Willinger's focus on quality and tradition. She not only describes the ingredients she uses and explains why they are appropriate, but also suggests what you can substitute if you are not lucky enough to live anywhere close to Italy.

What is the first recipe I tried? Tuscan brownies, of course. They are made with extra virgin olive oil and come out very moist and gooey, but also light. Because they are made with olive oil, they are supposed to stay fresh longer, but I won't have a chance to report on that because this first batch will not last long enough.

Stay tuned for more comments on Willinger's recipes!

Cooking for One

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:40:00 +0000

I am currently reading a book titled Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, a collection of essays, edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler, about cooking for one and dining alone.

The authors recount periods when they frequently ate alone and tell of some interesting rituals they engage in when eating alone. Many of the essays also provide recipes. While all the authors seem to enjoy food (enjoy it enough to think and write about it), what struck me was the spectrum of attitudes toward cooking for one: from utter enjoyment (one essay discusses all the comfort foods that can be made using an eggplant) to something resembling discomfort, eating only to survive and barely remembering the meal. Many of the writers admit that they do not like eating alone and tend not to cook for themselves when alone. They see cooking and eating as a communal experience and, when alone, seem to get by on food that does not require much preparation. Now, I can understand that not everyone likes to cook and, if you are in that category, it is perfectly understandable that you will enjoy it even less when there is no company. But I am surprised when people who otherwise enjoy cooking—some even having built a successful career as chefs and cookbook authors—see dining alone as less worthy of their effort than cooking for company.

I also enjoy preparing food for others and will go to great lengths to construct a menu that I think my guests will appreciate and shop for the best ingredients I can find. But I also don't mind cooking for one and dining alone. Good food is one of my favorite pleasures and I refuse to forgo it because I happen to be alone. So, when Michael is out of town and all of my friends are busy, I gladly cook lunch and dinner for myself, complete with wine, dessert, and great relaxing music. I have been known to make risotto for myself and even pasta from scratch (with a sauce also made from scratch). Even on nights when I simply have a grilled cheese sandwich, I make it fancy: Tuscan bread brushed with high-quality extra virgin olive oil, good prosciutto, Cambozola or Parrano cheese, green olives, and a glass of Valpolicella. I sit down at the dining room table for 12, make myself comfortable, and toast to the day and to my ability to prepare a great dinner for 1 or 12.

Which reminds me: off I go to make pasta caprese for one.

Pasta Caprese (for one)

Note: I use durum wheat spaghetti because their simplicity pairs well with this simple tomato sauce and the rich buffalo mozzarella. Use the best ingredients you can find for this dish as there are only a few ingredients and, when they are of high quality, they can really shine and make a very satisfying dish (that is also incredibly easy to prepare).

100 gr. durum wheat pasta
1/2 14 oz. can of San Marzano tomatoes, chopped (about 3 tomatoes)
1 clove of garlic, sliced thinly
2 oz. buffalo mozzarella (or the best quality cow's milk mozzarella you can find), cubed
3 leaves basil, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
salt
pinch of sugar

Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two, until the garlic becomes fragrant (make sure the garlic does not start to brown as that means it is burnt and it will overpower the dish). Add the chopped tomatoes and the sauce they were in. When the sauce comes to a boil, lower the temperature and simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste and a pinch of sugar.

In the meantime, bring to a boil a quart of water. When the water starts to boil, salt it with coarse sea salt and add the pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Toss and serve topped with the mozzarella and basil.

Enjoy!

Summer fare

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 14:24:00 +0000

Now, I know many of us have gotten used to having access to zucchini year round, but summer is the season for zucchini. Zucchini features prominently in Italian cuisine in everything from marinated zucchini salads to fried zucchini flowers to stuffed zucchini. Below is my recipe for stuffed zucchini. Note that many recipes for stuffed zucchini do not specify to boil the vegetable before stuffing it. That leaves the zucchini half raw and crunchy since the cooking time is not long enough for it to soften. For me, in this dish the zucchini needs to be soft, so I boil the zucchini before stuffing them. I also stuff them with ground turkey for a lighter dish. It is the perfect summer comfort food. Enjoy!

Stuffed Zucchini

4 large zucchini, boiled and cut in half lengthwise

1 pound ground turkey

¾ cup of fresh bread crumbs

2/3 cup of grated pecorino romano cheese

3 eggs

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. freshly ground pepper

freshly ground nutmeg

Sauce:

12 oz. can San Marzano tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup water

Preheat oven to 350F.

Boil whole zucchini in water until a toothpick goes through to the center of the vegetable. Cool zucchini under running water and, when they are cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise. Hollow out the halves with a teaspoon (or melon baller) and set aside.

In a bowl, combine meat, cheese, and eggs being careful not to overmix. When the ingredients are combined, add the bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Distribute the meat mixture evenly among the 8 zucchini halves. Press meat mixture down into each zucchini half and shape it with your fingers, so it is smooth.

In a small bowl, break up the tomatoes, add the garlic and water, and stir. Pour the tomato sauce into a baking dish and place stuffed zucchini halves on top. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Enjoy hot with some grated cheese.

Back home and cooking

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 23:08:00 +0000

Aaah, it's great to be back home even though the month spent at Apicius in Firenze was magical and full of excitement and learning. As you might imagine, the classroom learning was supplemented heavily with more experiential types of learning: walking through the market every morning and enjoying the smells, colors, and sounds, seeking out great food (good food is easy to find in Firenze, so I have raised the bar and now only seek great food), and tasting as many pastries, cheeses, gelato, and other delicacies as 24 hours in a day would allow.

Even the flight back was a gastronomic experience. I flew business class from Amsterdam to Chicago (thank you KLM!) and got treated to excellent service and some surprisingly good food and wine. Everything from the appetizer (smoked salmon with marinated cucumber and a 'Eigenheimer' potato salad with mini shrimp) to the main course (chicken medallions with tarragon sauce served with turnip, a red pepper compote, pasta and white beans) to the choice of desserts (fresh strawberries with whipped cream, cheese, or an apricot ice-cream treat in a shell of white chocolate) was excellent. Even the pizza with smoked salmon and crème fraiche was relatively good.

Now, it's time to start testing all the recipes I learned in class or imagined and adapting them so they can be prepared with the ingredients available in Chicago. After a night out on Friday, I immediately got back to cooking on Saturday night with some fresh made pici (a thick handmade pasta without egg, resembling irregularly shaped spaghetti) dressed with nduja (http://www.nduja.info/index-en.html). I brought back a little jar of nduja after tasting it at a restaurant in Firenze, where it was served as part of the meat-and-cheese appetizer. The spread I brought back contains a lot less meat than the salami-like product we had at the restaurant, but it was perfect for dressing the thick pici, especially when reinforced with grated pecorino romano. Nduja is very spicy since it is mostly hot pepper paste mixed with pork fat and some pork meat. The fat coated the pasta and the heat of the peppers was perfectly counterbalanced by the think, chewy noodles and the salty cheese. What a divine meal!

Last night, I tested a trick I learned in class: roasted potatoes, restaurant-style. I love roasted potatoes and often make then on Sunday nights. But, in the past I used to cut them up and roast them in the oven in evoo. Depending on the oven temperature and the roasting time, sometimes they would dry out (unless covered with foil) and develop sharp edges, thus becoming less delicious. One of the tricks Duccio shared with us is that you blanch the potatoes first (cook them for a couple of minutes in boiling salted water), toss them in a pan with olive oil and bread crumbs, and then simply finish cooking them in the oven. Not only does the process take much less time than roasting in the oven, but the end result is much tastier: the potatoes are creamy and soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside (without being dry or difficult to chew). They are also less oily as you only use oil to quickly toss them in the pan. Another winner! With thin center-cut pork chops with a shallot balsamic sauce, some sautéed broccoli rabe, and a glass of good Sangiovese, it was the perfect Sunday-night dinner.

Interesting fact: according to Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking, broccoli rabe (http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/broccolirabe.htm) is not related to true broccoli. It is a bitter green in the cabbage family, often used in Italian cooking. In my Sunday-night dinner creation, it complemented perfectly the sweetness of the roasted potatoes and the balsamic sauce for the pork chops. As McGee eloquently says, it provides a "civilized dose of bitterness."

To sautée broccoli rabe, heat a couple of teaspoons of evoo over medium-high heat, add a half a bunch of the greens and quickly toss to cover the greens with the oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes, tossing regularly, so the greens cook evenly. Serve sprinkled with salt and a couple of drops of balsamic vinegar. Enjoy with a friend!

School (part I)

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 15:29:00 +0000

It's 10 am on a hot July day in Firenze. There are 10 of us in the Advanced kitchen of Apicius. There are pots stewing on every single burner. The contents of each pot look very different even though we're using the same main ingredient: one looks like spinach tomato stew, another one has ground beef, still another looks like tomato sauce. The main ingredient is the star of Florentine cuisine and something tourists take pictures of every day at the market and the brave ones occasionally taste in restaurants—tripe.

That morning, we were greeted by a large mound of tripe on the stainless steel table of the classroom. It looked huge for an organ that resides in the stomach of an animal, yet it was only a piece of the whole thing. It had been cleaned, scrubbed, and boiled and was grayish-white in color and rough to the touch. As Ducio talked about tripe and its place in Italian cuisine (Florence and Tuscany are famous for it, but it is also used in other regions), many of us were trying to imagine tasting the dishes we would prepare at 11 am on a very hot day. Most of us, myself included, have no problem eating tripe; it's the thought of having 5 different versions of it at 11 am in 100F+ that was not very appealing. But once we started working on the different preparations and the aromas of the stews filled the room, others started peaking into the classroom to see what we were cooking. Many of them would come back later for a taste of the different versions. (The photos are of two different tripe stews, one with spinach, the other with tomatoes, and a tripe salad.)

This is my first course of the day: Tradition of Italian Food II. It focuses on the main ingredients used in Italian cuisine: truffles, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cured meats, cheese, honey, tripe, fish, etc. Each day, we talk about an ingredient (e.g., parmigiano or pecorino cheese, olive oil, truffles, etc.), taste several variations, and then prepare two or three dishes with it. It allows us to think about how that ingredient has evolved, how it differs from its close relatives, and how it can be prepares so it shines. Our instructor, Ducio Bagnoli, a native Florentine, is passionate about high-quality authentic ingredients and shares that passion with us every day: I can now distinguish not only prosciutto di Parma from that of San Daniele and Tuscan prosciutto, but also taste the differences in Pecorino cheese that come from the method and length of aging. (I have been using Ducio's book of Italian cheeses, which contains the descriptions of no fewer than 293 different cheeses produced in this country, to taste 2-3 different cheeses a week. It has been a great research project.)

Some of the ingredients we are learning about and working with are very famous, others less so but equally crucial. The first day of class, the perfume of truffles filled the room as we smelled, tasted, and used all types of truffle products (truffle oil, truffle paste, preserved truffles, truffle honey, truffle butter). Another day, it was prosciutto and we learned the method of production and differences between Prosciutto San Daniele and Prosciutto di Parma, for DOP products, strictly controlled with special designations from the EU, produced in a particular way in a limited geographic area. We also tasted a prosciutto di Norcia, a less famous, but equally delicious relative, and a local Tuscan prosciutto, dryer than most and with a stronger flavor.

Then there was the day we tasted cheese (probably my favorite) and talked about the differences between Pecorino produced in different areas and aged for different amounts of time. Pecorino is a sheep's milk cheese Tuscany is famous for (think Pecorino of Pienza), but depending on which part of the region it comes from and how long it is aged, it varies greatly in flavor. It is featured on the menus of most Tuscan restaurants and usually served with honey or pears. It is a great start to a meal, but I prefer it as a finish. It pairs wonderfully with a good Chianti. We also tasted and cooked with cheeses from other regions: parmigiano reggiano, grana padano, bitto, fontina. The flavor of each of there cheeses contributes greatly to the overall dish as we saw most clearly the day we prepared risotto with horse bresaola and bitto. Some of us made a variation of the recipe using fontina and parmigiano instead of the bitto and the differences were very obvious: the risotto with fontina was more flavorful and more unique, as the combination of the two cheeses perfectly complemented the flavor of the horse breasaola (Yes, cured horse meat is a delicacy and it has a distinct flavor that can't be compared to anything else and a tenderness and moisture that are somewhat surprising.)

While I get very excited about tasting and comparing balsamic vinegar, cheese, and even cured horse meat at any time, some days are less glamorous and it is harder to get excited about tasting the main ingredient that early in the morning as the memory of the cappuccino and bombolone is still fresh. Like the day we tasted lardo, lard that has been cured in spices in marble caves. Lardo is one of the stars of Italian cuisine and it is also becoming famous and appreciated in the U.S. Several famous chefs (e.g. Mario Batali) use is in their recipes and even make their own lardo with a unique blend of spices. It is usually served very thinly sliced on warm toasted bread, so the fat starts melting onto the bread, but sometimes it can also be served on bread that is not toasted. The lardo carries all the aromas of the spices it has been treated with and lardo from different regions and different producers has particular flavor combinations. Unfortunately, I find it hard to get excited about lardo (even great lardo). I can appreciate it when it is used in a dish to add flavor, but lardo by itself on a piece of bread is not something I would seek out. There are too many other tasty things to focus on.

Stay tuned for some stories about my other course, Tradition of Italian Food III (advanced).

La Pentola dell'Oro

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:19:00 +0000

Every day, I think I'll be able to write about my classes and the things we're cooking, but then I discover another restaurant and have to write about it. These days, I am not easily impressed with restaurants. Not only am I in Firenze, where there are four restaurants on each corner, but I am also cooking a lot and tasting some great dishes. Sometimes, even when I eat at good restaurants, I realize that I could make those dishes myself and it's hard to be impressed. So, the list of restaurants I return to more than once is short. But last night I found a place I would definitely revisit, and soon.

I have a list of restaurants I have made over the years and this year I added La Pentona dell'Oro (http://www.lapentoladelloro.it/). What I didn't write down is what I had read about this restaurant that made me want to try it. So, I might not have gone if I hadn't gotten an e-mail for Ryanna, an e-friend of mine who spent June in Firenze and highly recommended the osteria. She was right—this place is wonderful!

It's on a quiet street in the Santa Croce neighborhood (via di Mezzo 24-26/r), a short walk from the church. The minute my two dinner companions and I walked in, we knew we were in for a treat. One look at the place lets you know that your food will be prepared by people who care about tradition and quality. The stone walls are decorated with art and various objects from past centuries in a way that is tasteful and not done simply to please the tourist. Everyone, from the women in the open kitchen to the owner and the waitress greeted us kindly, with a smile, and the service throughout the evening was excellent.

The basement dining room with vaulted ceilings is peaceful, cool, and relaxing. There was music playing and that helped drown the noise of the conversation from the other tables, but not to the point where we could not hear each other. So, we settled in for a most pleasant evening and great food.

The menu is well composed and the descriptions of the dishes show the same respect for tradition as the rest of the restaurant. For example, one of the first courses, Crema de' Pomi d'oro, is not described, but rather explained with a quote making a reference to how much good this dish does to the stomach and health in general. Several of the recipes are described as being Etruscan, descendents of the ancient people inhabiting Tuscany. Others, such as il peposo del Brunelleschi (Brunelleschi's beef stew) also uses an old recipe where the beef is stewed with three types of peppercorns and pears. Many of the dishes make references to the Medici and other noble Florentine families and combine flavors in a way typical of those times. A true surprise for the palate and a reminder of the rich history of this marvelous city.

We started with Ouverture Pentola dell'Oro, the house appetizer that includes several typical products: Tuscan salami, finocchiona (the fennel salami typical of this area), Tuscan prosciutto, thinly-sliced pecorino cheese with zucchini salad, and four crostini (with chicken livers, olives, tomato paste, and herbs).

My pici di Montalcino were served in a sauce of cinta senese, the tasty heirloom pork that is making a comeback in Tuscany because of its exceptional quality. The sauce was full of flavor without being heavy and the raw cubes of tomato served not only to make the dish more pleasing to the eye, but also to cleanse the palate.

One of my dinner companions ordered the lasagnole al savor di noci, flat noodles about an inch wide in a sauce of ginger, fennel, and other spices, masterfully blended to give the dish sweetness without making it taste like a dessert.

The list of second courses (16-18 Euro) looks very good, but we had no more room. Maybe next time. Peposo (beef stew), porco cinghiale in dolce-forte (wild boar stew with pine nuts), cosciotto di agnello in coppo (lamb in aromatic spices), and pasticcio Mediceo (veal with aromatic herbs and fresh peaches in green ginger sauce) all sound very intriguing.

The wine list offers a number of choices and we enjoyed our meal with a bottle of Chianti Classico. The restaurant also has bottles of the house wine, both white and red.

The waitress spoke great English, explained the menu well, and was gracious to answer any questions. She was also the most pleasant waitress I have seen in a while: nice and attentive without being overbearing, with a smile that never left her face. She joked around with us in a way that made us feel like regulars. The finished the meal off with some lemon crostata and limoncello (on the house), both great.

On our way out, I told the owner that this was one of the most pleasant meals and promised to return. I will keep my promise.

La Giostra

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:20:00 +0000

As I am enjoying a quiet Sunday morning by the open window of my apartment, overlooking the cupola of the Duomo, I am still thinking about the wonderful dinner at La Giostra last night. This restaurant has been reviewed multiple times and all he reviews are glowing. But it one of those places to which no review (mine included) can do justice. It is an experience more than a place, something that has to be savored with all the senses.

After a long day of walking the hot, crowded streets of both Firenze and Bologna, I wanted a good dinner in a relaxing place. I was not in the mood for a loud trattoria with communal seating, which I usually love; I wanted a quieter meal. I remembered walking by La Giostra the previous night and thinking that it was a pleasant atmosphere with tables outside on the street (the street is closed to traffic). So, at 7:30, I called to see if I could get a table. The hostess said that unless I came over immediately, I would have to wait until 10:30. Not one to hesitate when it comes to good food, I said I'd be over right away. The restaurant is a 5-minute walk from my apartment, so I changed quickly and off I went. On the phone, the hostess had said that she only had a table outside, which I thought was perfect. It would give me a chance to people-watch, which is especially enjoyable when eating alone.

I was seated next to a young woman studying the extensive menu. The menu takes some time to study not only because of the extensive wine list and food choices, but also because it includes a brief history of the restaurant. I had already studied the menu online and knew what I was going to order. Still, going through the 15-page hand-written menu would require some time, so I settled in and started reading. In addition to the story of the restaurant, the menu includes a personal message from the chef/owner. I knew I would love this place, when I read the very first line: "Very Slow Food…! The Best!!!"

Five out of the 15 pages are dedicated to wine and one look at the list lets you know that this place is serious about wine. Unfortunately, no wine is served by the glass. When the waiter told me this, my face fell and my excitement about this dinner was somewhat dampened. He noticed that and said that he would see if he can get me a glass of red wine. "It might have to be Chianti," he added. I am not one to turn down a good Chianti, especially not when in Firenze, so I said that would be great. It turned out that Katie, the woman at the table next to mine, was also looking for wine by the glass. It also turned out that she is in the wine business, so she offered to order a bottle and share it. Even better, I thought, someone in the wine business ordering wine for me. I could go along with that! She told the waiter which wine she wanted and he was visibly impressed. Later he said that when someone orders Cabernet Merlot Insoglio, he knows they know their wine.

The wine list includes Barolo, Barbaresco, Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico Riserva, San Giovese, Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino, San Giovese Merlot, Cabernet Merlot, and Cabernet Franc-Sauvignon, ranging from 25 to 3,000 Euro, most in the 50-200 Euro range. There is also a selection of white wines, including Sauvignon, Pinot Bianco, Gewurtztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and some bubblies. The menu consists of a number of appetizers (from land and sea), about 25 first courses (again, both from land and from the sea), as many second courses and a number of vegetarian and side dishes, and, of course, desserts.

I ordered the Tortelloni all Mugellana con Ragu' Toscano and a salad of arugula and tomatoes, a perfect combination. The tortelloni were filled with potatoes and the meat sauce complemented them perfectly—rich and flavorful, without being heavy or overpowering. The evening started with a complementary glass of prosecco and an appetizer which the chef himself brought out and explained. On a large plate, there was a piece of salami (as he explained, made of beef only, with no pork), a piece of buffalo mozzarella served on top of a slice of tomato, a Tuscan crostino with rabbit liver pate (my favorite piece), a ricotta fritter, a slice of marinated eggplant and some marinated roasted red peppers, a slice of tomato bruschetta, and a piece of stuffed zucchini. All excellent and a wonderful way to start the meal.

The evening was spent in conversation with Katie, who turned out to be very interested in food (and wine, of course!), sipping wine, and having a very slow meal, just as promised on the menu. Unfortunately, after all that great food I had no room for dessert. Maybe next time!

A three-and-a half hour meal, a great bottle of wine, and an interesting new acquaintance—the perfect Saturday evening in Firenze.

Bomboloni

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 14:28:00 +0000

My great love for this fluffy, rich pastry filled with pastry cream is well-known by now, so it's just right that I should post an update on my bomboloni research. Since I arrived in Italy 2 weeks ago, I have eaten at least one bombolone a day. I have limited myself in this way only because there are so many other delectable things to try, but the limit is not easy to abide by every day.

Despite my regular consumption of bomboloni and other Italian pastries, I have not managed to learn the art of gracefully holding a pastry in one hand, sipping a cappuccino, and chatting all at the same time, while getting no sugar on my face. I guess I am not truly Italian after all. While Italians seem to have to problem eating their pastries very gracefully while standing at the bar and having a discussion about one thing or another, my research involves a lot of lip licking and whiping sugar off my chin. Clearly, I need more practice.

Last year, I ate my bomboloni at Robiglio in Via de'Servi in Florence and this year that was the case until last Friday. That day, we had packed the suitcase and cameras as we were going to Giglio for the weekend and, when we left the apartment, Michael started looking for a taxi. "Without breakfast?!?," I asked, horrified. I am sure he thought we would stop somewhere once we picked up the car, but I was not ready to run the risk of not getting a bombolone. So, as he rolled the big suitcase down the cobblestone streets of Firenze, I decided to 'compromise' and have breakfast at the closest place I knew had bomboloni, Rivoire. What a breakthrough in my research work! One bite of Rivoire's bomboloni made it clear that they were better than Robiglio's: better ratio of dough to pastry cream and more yellow, sweeter dough. When fresh, they are like little clouds, fluffy and soft, and every bite is a real pleasure.

I could not believe that we made this important discovery by accident and decided to test further to make sure that our impressions had not been affected by the fact that we had dragged a heavy suitcase on cobblestone for several blocks. So, after returning from Giglio (where I also did some bomboloni research), as soon as Rivoire was open again (they are closed on Monday), I went back and I have returned every day since then.

In the mornings, Rivoire belongs to the locals: as Piazza della Signoria is waking up and people are going to work and deliveries are being made, the locals gather at the bar and chat just like in any Italian small bar. Later, Rivoire and Piazza della Signoria will be full of tourists speaking a variety of languages, but for an hour or so in the morning, there is a feeling of calm and the divine smell of pastry. As I stand at the bar and observe the exchanges between the barista and the regulars, I know that these will be some of my fondest memories of Italy and this magical city that is starting to feel like home.

Apicius revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:52:00 +0000

Some people go on vacation to lie on the beach and do nothing. I seem to want to go on vacations where I will be in a hot kitchen in the middle of July, sautéing, baking, and frying in 100 degrees. So, this year, once again I am going to Apicius (www.apicius.it), the Culinary Institute of Florence, where I got my first taste of professional cooking courses last summer. I will be spending the month of July in Florence, taking 2 courses on Italian cuisine. Admittedly, July might not be the best time to visit Florence (because of its location, Florence is the hottest city in Italy, hotter than Rome), but I am not discouraged by the prospect of cooking in hot kitchens. I know I will enjoy it and learn a ton, so I am looking forward to it.

Michael is joining me for the first 10 days and we will spend the first weekend of the trip on a farm in the mountains north on Prato and Florence (www.agriturismocorboli.it). This will allow us to relax after the long trip, get over jet-lag, and spend some time in a cooler place before we brave the busy (and hot) streets of Firenze. Also, we hope to have some homecooked food as the owners have a small restaurant on the property.

The second weekend, we are going to Isola di Giglio, a small island off the Southern coast of Tuscany (www.giglionews.it). One of my instructors from last year and a dear friend, Marcella Ansaldo, is originally from the island and will be there. I have always wanted to see the Tuscan coast and visit some of the islands and this is the perfect opportunity to do so and have the advantage of being introduced to the island by someone who knows it. What an adventure!

So, stay tuned for more cooking school stories and recipes. And get ready to help me taste test some new recipes when I come back.

Crust

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 21:39:00 +0000

If you have had a hard time finding out about Crust, the new pizza place in the space where Settimana used to be, you're not alone. Despite the fact that we knew the place was set to open on May 24, on the day of the opening we could not find any information about whether it was really going to open. I certainly could not find a phone number to call, which was discouraging. (By the way, the phone number is 773-235-5511)

But, we decided to take a risk. When we arrived, it looked like the restaurant was open, but we were told that it would take a couple of minutes until we got served. It was shortly after 5. In fact, we did not get seated until close to 6 pm. By that time, there were at least 15 or so other people waiting to be seated. Since the restaurant was technically open and we could smell the food being prepared in the wood-burning over, it might have been a good idea to offer those of us waiting a taste of something, but alas! At least the atmosphere didn't feel rushed and stressful. Everyone seemed calm albeit a bit disorganized.

Crust, which touts itself as "the first certified organic restaurant in the Midwest," has a menu of 5 salads, 4 sandwiches, and 10 pizzas, or as they are called here 'flatbreads'. The flatbreads are described as "pizza's big brother, worldly and without boundaries." I was not sure what that means (even though I found the description somewhat intriguing) and, after trying the flatbread/pizza, I am even less sure I know why you'd call it that. The flatbread is a smallish pizza (10 inches or so): the toppings taste rather fresh and vibrant, but, for my taste, there isn't enough cheese (I could barely taste the cheese). But, it is cooked in a wood burning over and it tastes good. In addition to some rather traditional combinations, such as the Italian sausage and shroom, there are also somewhat surprising ones such as clambake (fresh clams, béchamel, fresh-pulled mozzarella, caramelized onion, wild herbs) and b.l.t. (slab bacon, beefsteak tomato, amish blue cheese, tossed arugula). Many of the flatbreads are made with béchamel, the flour-butter-milk sauce usually used in lasagna. The prices range from $10 to $14.

The sandwich choices seem to cover both vegetarians and carnivores: pulled pork, grilled cheese, tallgrass beef, and Californian. The pulled pork sandwich is served on a brioche bun, which adds to the sweetness of the pork and the sauce. It was also supposed to have Asian slaw, but I only found some pepper strips in mine in addition to the hoisin sauce. The pork was tasty, but not even close to impressive.

The most exciting part of the menu might be the cocktails, many of which contain interesting vodka infusions. The grapefruit mojito is truly a must-try. The drink list also features local beers, white and red wines, martinis, and several vodka infusions.

On opening day, the service was a little uneven: most of the waiters seemed quite inexperienced and nervous albeit well-meaning. There were some snafus, but nothing offensive. If the food were more memorable, I would go back.

My New Year's resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 00:02:00 +0000

Yes, I did make a New Year's resolution—to make (and eat) more pasta! That said, a word is in order about home-made fresh pasta and its vast superiority over dried pasta (for most recipes) as well as store-bought 'fresh' pasta (How can anything that has an expiration date two months away be called 'fresh'?). Now, this doesn't mean that I do not from time to time resort to dried pasta because I do. In my opinion, there are recipes for which high-quality dry spaghetti works best (e.g. Neapolitan pasta with a simple tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella).

I will also purchase fresh pasta others have made, but only the kind that is really fresh and could not possibly last in the fridge for more than a couple of days. I usually buy fresh pasta either to eat it immediately (because I don't have time to make my own) or to freeze it immediately for those 'emergency' situations when I really want fresh pasta, but have no time/energy/will to make my own. Fresh Pasta on Harlem (just a half a block North of Belmont) has some excellent fresh pasta (as the name of the store implies) and Terragusto's tagliatelle (especially the kind with Swiss chard) is also very good.

But, for me, the best fresh pasta is the one I make at home. There is something about the time and effort that goes into it, the process of taking flour, salt, water (and sometimes eggs) and turning it into sheets of pasta that smell so heavenly fresh that you can barely wait to cut and cook them. The 10 or so minutes of kneading the dough requires provide a nice escape and an occasion to daydream. After a long day at the computer, there is no better way to transition into the evening and the pleasures of dinner and rest. The kneading helps work out all the stress that has accumulated during the day and, even though it's hard work, leaves me invigorated (and hungry!).

So far, I have kneaded and rolled out all my home-made pasta by hand. The giant rolling pin (shown in my blog of December 5) makes things fun and easy, but it does require some practice. My upper body took a little while to recover from wielding such a heavy piece of equipment (taking it out of the cupboard is a feat), but now we're friends.

It's not that I am opposed to pasta machines. I simply haven’t decided what kind I want to get; in the meantime, making and eating fresh pasta has been too important to put on the back burner.

I hope none of the people who will eat pasta at my house are like certain Italian foodies described in Heat (by Bill Buford): they travel out of their way to eat at a restaurant famous for its fresh pasta, take one bite, declare it has been rolled out using a machine, and promptly walk out the door. We might have to do some blind taste tasting to see who can tell the difference.

Well, all this writing about fresh pasta is making me hungry. I better go make some pasta!

Cappuccino is official!

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 17:14:00 +0000

I was very entertained by this article about my favorite drink

http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,,1980914,00.html#article_continue

Kudos to the Italians for liking their cappuccino so much to make it official.

Here is a photo of the only cappuccino I have ever had in Chicago that tasted exactly like cappuccino tastes in Italy. It was made by Gianluca at Café di Maggio on December 24, 2006. I still dream about it and hope to have another one soon.

Cinghiale is here!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 15:20:00 +0000

One of my favorite things to eat when in Tuscany is cinghiale (wild boar). I seek it out and enjoy it both over pasta (usually pappardelle) and as a stew. Last summer, I enjoyed the cinghiale stew at Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco in Florence (the pasta with cinghiale was much less impressive). Cinghiale is not very common is Florence (it is more characteristic of other parts of Tuscany), and I suspect that it is considered a touristy thing to order, but that has never stopped me from enjoying this great meat.

Cinghiale has a stronger flavor than pork, somewhat gamey, but not overwhelmingly so. It is darker in color and firmer than pork, so many recipes using cinghiale include extended marinating time (12+ hours) to tenderize the meat. The marinade often contains juniper berries, which help make the meat less gamey. Slow cooking in a liquid (usually wine) over low heat also works very well. The meat becomes tender and falls apart and the flavors concentrate. The wine accentuates adds a new dimension of flavor and makes the meat taste less gamey.

For a while now, I had been trying to locate a website where I could order cinghiale since I could not find it in any meat market in Chicago. I tried Zingermann's and a couple of other websites, with no luck. Finally, a friend of mine recommended the Broken Arrow Ranch in Texas. He had ordered some cinghiale from them and made delicious pasta sauce with it that reminded me of just how much I like cinghiale.

For a while, The Broken Arrow Ranch was out of the cut I wanted (shoulder, of course). When they finally got some, I quickly put in my order. I also ordered some stew meat, chili meat, and sausages. When my order shipped a day later, I was ecstatic! It arrived the next day still frozen and I immediately started collecting recipes and trying to decide which ones to try first. I located recipes for cinghiale in agrodolce (sour and sweet), cinghiale stew and multiple recipes for pasta sauce.

I decided to go with the pasta sauce recipe first. I used the stew meat since the 4 ½ pound shoulder was frozen solid and I didn't think the two of us would be able to eat 4 ½ pounds of cinghiale in a reasonable amount of time. So, the shoulder will have to be enjoyed with friends.

The stew meat, meanwhile, made an excellent pasta sauce. Cooked very slowly with some onions, carrots, and celery in red wine and tomato paste, it turned out to have that richness I remember and the strong flavor that wakes up my taste buds and reminds me how much I appreciate strong and unusual flavors. To make the experience as authentic as possible, I made hand-made pappardelle, the perfect vehicle for the rich sauce.

I used the recipe courtesy of Gioco, where I had eaten cinghiale, but decided that my preparation was better than the one at Gioco. Maybe it was the fact that I thought Gioco's was undersalted or the fact that I like my own hand-made pasta better. Either way, this one dinner made ordering the cinghiale all the way from Texas and paying the shipping charges worth it.
And now some photos: first the pasta dough and the beginnings of the cinghiale sauce and the pasta dough tunred into pappardelle and then the finished product. Yum!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 22:39:00 +0000

This picture was taken on our balcony last Friday, after the first big winter storm of the year. If it seems a little blurry it's because I was in a hurry to take it since it was freezing outside. For those of you not living in Chicago, what you see is nothing compared to how it will be in January and February. You ask why some of us are crazy enough to live here? Well, I am not sure I have a good answer.

Now that it is really freezing, it seems only appropriate to make some winter foods. So, on Friday, I decided to try and recreate the Bolognese I had at Terragusto on Thursday night (see previous post). It might not be fair to call what I tried to do 'recreate' since I used a recipe from Mario Batali's cookbook, so I knew that the sauce was not going to turn out exactly like Chef Theo's. I was really surprised to see that Mario's sauce uses olive oil, instead of butter. I am pretty sure that real Bolognese is made with butter (and lots of it!), but I decide to trust Mario and try his recipe if for no other reason then because I'd be able to critique it. (My vegetarian friends can stop reading here because what follows will not make them very happy.) I used ground pork, ground veal, and ground beef and despite the fact that I used half the meat that Mario's recipe calls for and the full amount of liquids (wine, milk), after about an hour and 15 min, when the sauce was done, it was somewhat drier than I expected. I like dry sauces, but I can see how for someone who likes sauces a little saucier, this might not be enough. I didn't want to randomly start adding either wine or milk because I didn't want to change the flavor (for some reason, I thought that adding one or both the liquids at the end of the cooking might significantly change the flavor; I guess we'll never know now).

Of course, I couldn't serve the Bolognese with just about any pasta, so I made some fresh pasta, using my new rolling pin (it's serious rolling pin!). Now that I have a rolling pin that does half the work for me, I will be making pasta even more often that before. J

Everything tasted delicious although the sauce tasted nothing like the Terragusto one. You couldn't even have guessed that it was supposed to be the same sauce. I think the Terragusto sauce has more butter and milk (and it's certainly not as dry). Next time I make Bolognese, I will have to try a different recipe (or make up my own).

noreply@blogger.com (Viktorija) — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 22:00:00 +0000

Last night, Michael and I managed to get a table at Terragusto, for the first time since the show aired. For those who might not have gotten one of my many emails about my recent appearance on Check, Please! (http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=1,5), I recommended Terragusto because of the quality of the ingredients and the fresh pasta.

You can read a summary of the review at http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?erube_fh=wttw&wttw.submit.CPRestaurantDetail=1&wttw.RestaurantID=180

The pasta at Terragusto is the only pasta in town that tastes the way real pasta should taste: fresh, perfectly cooked, and dressed just enough to enhance its flavor (not drenched in sauce). It's also perfectly seasoned, enough salt to enhance the flavor and make it linger in your mouth. Since my first visit to Terragusto in the spring of 2006, I have returned many times and always have the pasta (since I started making pasta at home on a weekly basis or so, Terragusto is the only restaurant where I order pasta).

Of course, after the show aired, Terrausto was packed and the couple of times I called they were completely booked up. So, it had been a couple of months since my last visit and the call of the Bolognese sauce was too loud to ignore. On a cold, wintry night like last night, with the entire city bracing for a huge snow storm, we decided to warm up with pasta Bolognese and some good red wine at Terragusto.

I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure how the "Check, Please! Effect" had affected my favorite new restaurant, so in the interest of full disclosure when the waitress asked us if we had ever dined at Terragusto before, I told her that I had recommended the restaurant for the TV show. She was very nice about it as was Chef Theo who came out of the kitchen to meet us right after our waitress informed him of our presence. It was a pleasure to finally meet the chef whose pasta I admire so much and have a chance to chat. He's very pleasant and friendly and seemed to appreciate the fact that I had recommended his restaurant for the show. I told him how happy we were to be back and how much we enjoy his food. We even talked about risotto (as those of you who might have read this blog know, I have been trying to perfect my risotto and, in the interest of doing that, Michael and I have been dining on risotto a couple of times a week for the past several weeks).

The pasta, as expected, was divine! The waitress had told us that there were only two servings on the pasta Bolognese left, at which point I begged her to put in my order for one of them. The Bolognese sauce and the pork sauce are my absolute favorites at Terragusto and both are served with perfectly cooked fresh pasta. Last night, the Bolognese sauce was over their Swiss chard pasta, which is my favorite Terrausto pasta (I often buy it to make at home). It was a perfect combination of some vegetable flavor (from the pasta) and a rich, smooth, heavenly-tasting meat sauce, the perfect food for a cold winter night. Michael's pappardelle with vegetable ragu was also very good and it was good to have two such different dishes to share. Throughout the meal, we kept commenting on how great the food was and how glad we were that Terragusto had opened (and so close to our house). The meal was so wonderful that I could not eat dessert (despite the fact that the crème brulee looked good), and those of you who know me even a little bit will be shocked to hear this.

I am determined to try making Bolognese sauce at home again. Last time I made it, I used venison in an effort to recreate a great venison Bolognese that we had tried at Enoteca Roma (next door to Letizia's bakery), but the venison seemed too lean and it dried out a bit. This time, it will be an authentic Bolognese, following Mario Batali's recipe. Stay tuned!