New England-Style Clam Chowder

Last week I had a crazy craving for creamy clam chowder. So mid-snow storm (since I had no food in the apartment) I went out to get the materials. I wanted it to be creamy, but brothy, not glutinous and it turned out pretty much perfect! My tummy was so happy.

Ingredients:
10 large clams, scrubbed
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
4 slices bacon, sliced crosswise in 1/2 inch strips
1 bunch fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup dry white wine (I used a chardonnay recommended by the ever-helpful Whole Foods "sommeliers")
2 cups heavy cream
3 yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
salt and pepper

Directions:
Bring two cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the clams and and steam, covered, for 10 minutes. When all or most of the clams have opened turn off the heat and let cool. Remove the clams from their shells and chop them. Strain the resulting clam juice, reserving 4 cups (or add water until you get 4 cups).

Meanwhile, fry the bacon until brown and crispy. Discard the fat and drain on a paper towel.

In a large pot, melt the butter and olive oil. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute over medium high heat until onion is translucent. Add the thyme and bay leaves and the wine. Simmer until wine is reduced by half. Add the 4 cups of reserved clam broth, heavy cream, potatoes, reserved bacon, and clams. Season with pepper and salt, if necessary.
Simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Discard thyme stems and bay leaves before serving.

If you prefer a thicker chowder, stir in two tablespoons of flour to the cooked vegetables before adding the wine and other liquids.

Longman & Eagle (and Gilt Bar)

Unfortunately, Jacob and I didn't take any pictures of our dinner at Gilt Bar on New Year's Eve. I'll just tell you what we ate: gnocchi with pancetta and butternut squash, brussels sprouts with pork belly and maple syrup, and kielbasa sausage with sauerkraut and potatoes. For dessert we had an indulgent mocha coconut cream pie. A very rich and porky meal. If you study their drink menu you'll see $2 PBRs and $4 Table Wine options hidden in the filigree. They're not just there for decoration; when I asked the server about the wine she told me they have a chardonnay and a cabernet, both from California. I ordered the red and it tasted reeeeeaaaaally good. Maybe it tasted better knowing it was $4, but that's not usually how wine works. Ya know.

I didn't know this, but gilt is what farmers call a female pig that hasn't had babies. That's probably why our meal was so porky.

Since he only had a week to spoil me, Jacob took me out to Longman & Eagle later in the week. L&E is a a whiskey bar/inn/tavern in Logan Square. The food was elegant but, to me, under-seasoned. We shared everything which left me kinda hungry at the end of the meal. We had porchetta stuffed ravioli with a spiced applesauce (top), venison sausage with a pierogi (not pictured), "steak and eggs" (above), and for dessert, a bourbon and spiced pecan cake, steamed in a mason jar (below).

I was especially impressed with the sausage and the "steak," which was really boneless beef short-rib, magically grilled into a juicy tender steak-like cut. The ravioli was stuffed with an egg yolk and creamed spinach.

All in all, not worth the money in my opinion (go to Gilt Bar instead!), but at least we got to see a beautiful sunset on the drive down. A perk for L&E, if you need somewhere nice and affordable to stay in the city, you can get a room upstairs for as little as $75 a night. Chump change for a Chicago hotel.

Relaxation Techniques

Hi all!

I have been descending into midterm writing mode. I have a paper due right after fall break and I am hoping to get it done painlessly before leaving for break, instead of the night before it's due. So I won't write much here, but I do want to leave you with some pictures.

Relaxation Technique #1:

The label says it all on this Hey Mambo wine. I took one sip and was like, "Oh yeah! That's what good wine is supposed to taste like." My palate was accustomed to $3 wines. I bought two bottles, mostly for cooking purposes...but I did get to enjoy them a bit!

Relaxation Technique #2:

A lit candle is somehow good company while "burning the midnight oil." This is one of the best smelling candles I've come across: a little citrus-y, a little floral, a little sweet, and not overpowering at all. Plus, I have noticed a significant decrease in my apartment's weird odor! Win-win.

A Recipe for a Happy Birthday

Since I just moved to a new city, I don't know too many people yet. But I was determined to have an awesome day anyway! Here's a little guide on how to succeed in having a happy birthday (or any day) when there's not much going on. Happiness is all about setting achievable goals for yourself, fulfilling simple desires. In other words, your 25th birthday should be just as happy as your 3rd, just without the crown and cake and mountain of presents. Unless that mountain included a bubble saxophone, in which case your life has been downhill since then.

Step 1: Know there are people out there who love you
All this talk of the enjoying the simple things is great, but it would be useless if you didn't realize that being by yourself doesn't mean that you're alone. Aww, cliches. Anyway, due to the magnificent invention of Facebook, I could watch the birthday wishes roll in and know that I have friends who care about me. And my parents, of course.

Step 2: Pamper Yourself



I decided the day before that I was going to make myself breakfast on my birthday. I'm not a big breakfast fan - it's either too greasy or too sweet - but growing up my dad always cooked breakfast on special occasions, any time we had an excuse to be together in the morning. Favoring the savory over the sweet, I decided to make myself some scrambled eggs with goat cheese and parsley, one little piece of bacon (which was enough for me), and some chai.

My morning was spent relaxing with the tea and a good book.

Step 3: Look forward to the simple things
I made a plan to go exploring, which somehow ended up with me window shopping at a mall. The good news: I found a mall. Really, I knew it was out there, I just wanted to go out there and see what it was like. And then on my way back I stopped at Whole Foods for some ingredients for dinner. Turns out they sell hand-made earrings there and I bought myself a birthday present.

I also booked my mega bus tickets back to Chicago for fall break. Just another little something to look forward to.

Step 4: Eat Well
I picked out my birthday dinner days in advance and scheduled my exploring adventure around getting groceries at Whole Foods, where I found a $3 bottle of wine, with a cute label.



I'm no wine expert but it was a lot better than some $7 bottles I've had. I won't say it was amazing, but I definitely wasn't disappointed.

Here's a recipe like chicken cacciatore. Chicken with tomatoes and peppers:



Ingredients:
3 lbs. chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
4 Tbsp olive oil
3 oz. prosciutto, chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 large can tomatoes, chopped, with juices
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh marjoram
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch strips

Directions:
Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Season with salt and pepper.



In a large pot, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and add prosciutto, sauteeing until it begins to become crisp. Add the chicken, skin side down and brown, about 5 minutes a side. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, juices, 1 clove garlic, and marjoram. Simmer uncovered until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.



Meanwhile, in another frying pan, heat the remaining olive oil and sautee 1 minced clove of garlic until starting to brown. Add the peppers and sautee until tender.

Add peppers and juices to the pot with the chicken and let cook for about 5 minutes.

Serve over pasta.

Viva Italia!

"Consider your origin; you were not born to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge." - Dante's Divine Comedy

We all get stuck in ruts when it comes to the food we eat, but there's nothing wrong with a good routine. One of my go-to recipes is this cauliflower pasta recipe which is cheap, fresh, and healthy (not to mention extremely addictive). It's good for lunch, as left-overs, or even for an easy dinner among friends. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
1/2 cup very hot water
2 tablespoons salt
1 pound dry penne
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a 12 to 14-inch saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add garlic. Cook gently until softened and very light golden brown, then add tomatoes and cook, stirring, until tomatoes begin to break down. Add cauliflower and mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup very hot water and simmer for 30 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Add the penne, and cook according to package directions, until tender yet al dente.

Drain the penne and add to the pan with the cauliflower. Stir in parsley and black pepper, to taste, and toss 1 minute over high heat. Divide evenly among 6 warmed pasta bowls, top with grated cheese, and serve immediately.

I never have 2 lbs of tomatoes so sometimes my dish is kind of anemic looking...but it still tastes good. One thing is for sure, you have to use fresh tomatoes. I've tried it with canned and it doesn't work. The canned tomatoes don't have enough moisture to cook the cauliflower and it just doesn't taste as good. The best time to make this is in the summer when you have huge fresh tomatoes at your disposal, but you can definitely find ways to make this year-round.



I splurged and bought a bottle of wine...Italian this time! My family has been going to the same Italian restaurant for 28 years and every time I hear my dad order a Montepulciano (or alternatively, Chianti). So I decided to find out what that actually tastes like. The one I got was a 2007, $10.99 at Whole Foods, and totally nom-worthy. Really juicy, medium bodied, with a slight bite. Wikipedia describes Montepulciano as "easy-drinking," which I can now verify as true if you know what I mean... :)

Bucheron

I've always been a sucker for goat cheese and I eat it on just about anything: salad, baguette, sandwiches, in scrambled eggs, BY ITSELF, etc. I recently stumbled upon my new favorite cheese, bucheron, which is an aged goat cheese. The center has all the mild bite of a soft goat cheese but with a drier almost crumbly texture, while the rind mimics the gooey-ness (at room temperature) and smokiness of a brie rind. Bucheron is a more complex goat cheese meant to be enjoyed on its own. I always serve cheese with Carr's crackers and a warm baguette. It also goes well with the occasional dried cranberry for garnish.

As for wine pairings, I am NO expert. Someday I hope to be but for now I will just pretend. Bucheron, and goat cheese in general, is slightly acidic or tart so I imagine an oaky Chardonnay would contrast nicely. I don't know much about other varieties of white wine, to be completely honest. Last time I had bucheron, I served it with Hey Mambo Chardonnay. Read more about Hey Mambo and its affordable trendy wines with funky names here.

Ina's Braised Short Ribs

Ina Garten is my kind of socialite. She's all about keeping things simple while maintaining the specialness of the main event. She's not afraid to use a LOT of butter or most importantly, to eat her own food. But Ina would not be Ina if she did not have her food muse: her husband, Jeffrey. Their romance is quite possibly the cutest story ever told. Despite the fact that Ina and Jeffrey are rarely seen together on camera, he's ever-present in the kitchen. When she cooks for Jeffrey, everything is extra special. And when Jeffrey is unavailable, she fills the void with food and friends (and lots of wine).

Since Jacob went away to grad school in Michigan last August, this too has been my way of coping. I've spent what free time I have trying out new recipes, things I'll want to eventually make for Jacob. Being relatively new to this whole cooking-on-a-regular-basis thing, I tend to make mistakes the first time around. But I learn quickly and by the second try, I'm ready to share it with Jacob. I was always told that the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. This is true, but what they don't tell you is that it's even quicker if you cook everything with bacon!

Today's test run was Ina Garten's Wine-braised Short Ribs, and I have to say it was MOSTLY successful. It is rather time consuming, but for most of that time it is hidden away in the oven. For example, I had time to go to the gym and fit a 20-minute run in before coming back to take a peek in the oven. My roommate, Alden, was my guinea pig and we were debating the safety of leaving the oven on unattended. It probably was not the safest for us to both leave to go to the gym, but it's rare that we both want to work out at all, so we did it anyway. When we came back, all was well, but an hour later our carbon monoxide detector started beeping relentlessly! I guess our oven isn't quite used to being on for hours and hours at a time, or on such a low temperature. Luckily, the food was pretty much done so we opened some windows, turned off the oven and stove, and chowed down. And we didn't die.

Without any further ado here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
6 beef short ribs, trimmed of fat
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (2 onions)
4 cups large-diced celery (6 large stalks)
2 carrots, peeled and large-diced
1 small fennel, fronds, stems, and core removed, large-diced
1 leek, cleaned and large-diced, white part only
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (750-ml) bottle burgundy or other dry red wine
Fresh rosemary sprigs
Fresh thyme sprigs
6 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the short ribs on a sheet pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.



Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven and add the onion, celery, carrots, fennel, and leek and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour the wine over the vegetables, bring to a boil, and cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the rosemary and thyme together with kitchen twine and add to the pot.



Place the roasted ribs on top of the vegetables in the Dutch oven and add the beef stock and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover the Dutch oven and bake for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.

Carefully remove the short ribs from the pot and set aside. Discard the herbs and skim the excess fat. Cook the vegetables and sauce over medium heat for 20 minutes, until reduced. Put the ribs back into the pot and heat through. Serve with the vegetables and sauce.


This is the finished product after we had already eaten most of it. Pictures kind of fell by the wayside.

Alden does not like fennel (or anything anise flavored) so I substituted a second leek for the fennel bulb. Normally though, I swear by fennel and I could write a whole post about fennel and its uses. Sounds like a topic for another time though.

The bottle of wine I used was a red blend from the Rhone Valley in France. It was $7.99 so I went for it.



I snuck a taste before it went into the pot. "The Old Farm" is full-bodied and smooth, but sadly with not a lot of flavor. Again, $7.99 at Whole Foods so who cares. The end result was quite delicious.

I served the short ribs with roasted golden beets and a crusty French baguette to soak up the juice. I peeled the beets, quartered them, and rolled them around in the fatty meat juice in the sheet pan the short ribs were baked on, added a little more olive oil, salt, and pepper and added them to the oven for 30-40 minutes. The result was sweet and caramelized, but a tad bitter. I'm no beet expert so I could have picked out some under-ripe beets, otherwise I have no explanation as to why they were bitter. I wanted to steam some spring asparagus to go with the meal, but ran out of patience. I finally went to the gym, so I wanted to stuff my face.