I yakeed in bacon grease, of course!

I was hunting through epicurious for something interesting for breakfast, knowing that we didn't have any decent bread (the other recipe that caught my eye was a savory parmesan french toast, but that needed something better than sandwich bread) I like yaki onigiri, and when I saw the recipe, it took me a minute to realize that was what it was - I didn't follow (or even really read ) the recipe, I just made a mixed-rice onigiri (to make it a counterpoint and not just a bland pile of starch) and topped it with an egg and the green stuff, and it worked out well.

Cornflake Cookie - from Baked By Betsy

Yesterday was the second week of the Prudential Plaza's Farmer's Market. There was a baked goods stand selling many cookies (among other things), and the cornflake cookie caught my eye. One of the women working the stand was so entheusiastic about it, even sharing that she got the recipe from her own mother, that I really hoped for her sake that it was good.

I'm glad to share her enthusiasm. The cookie itself was very chewy and buttery, with some of the corn flake crunch. I could detect some coconut flakes, but it didn't really have any coconut flavor. It was great to snack on with my mid-day coffee, but I could see how it might be too sweet for some. All the cookies were very competatively priced at $1, and I hope to see the stand back again.

Boursin Burger at Double Jacks in Algonquin. A Angus burger stuffed with garlic and herb Boursin cheese, sauteed mushrooms, and carmelized onions. I actuall wrote down the description it was that good!

Checking in from Spain, 2 real standouts from Madrid:

1. A bocadillo de calamare from basically a diner near la Reina Sofia. What´s not to like about a fried calamari sandwich?

2. ¨Creamy rice¨ with foie gras and a poached egg from Casa Lucas, one of the tapas places on Cava Baja.

This place is out of control.

Keep talking, jesteinf, I'm going to be there for the month of July.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:Keep talking, jesteinf, I'm going to be there for the month of July.

Full report coming in probably a couple of weeks. We´re now in Barcelona for a few days before making our way down to Roses for el Bulli. After that it´s back to Barcelona for a couple more days and then home. I´ve already got some solid jamon and paella porn.

jesteinf wrote:We´re now in Barcelona for a few days before making our way down to Roses for el Bulli....

Very, very jealous -- I'll be in Barcelona for the second time in twelve months in September, but there's no chance of getting into elBulli on my company travel budget -- or my own personal stash.

Two consecutive early Sunday night winner-dinners, after doing some urban balcony gardening at the Customary Dining Companion's place:

1) Coalfire, a pie with sausage, last Sunday. We sat at the table nearest to the kitchen, so we could see the pies being made, and I could see the flaming oven and the deft work of the pizziaolo. It was out of the oven, cut, and to our table in under 45 seconds, and was the best pie we've ever had there. That Coalfire is about ten minutes from the CDC's home makes it even better.

2) Tonight, after the basil-planting and strawberry pot homecoming (and the discovery of the shockingly energetic sprouting of the pole beans, planted just Sunday!), we opted for the Paramount Room, even closer to CDC's place. We both had the kobe burger and brew $10 special, and a big cone of the fries, but the execution of every component tonight was absolutely perfect. My medium-rare burger was exactly that, and the fries were blast-furnace hot and crisp - when was the last time you ate every single fry in an order? CDC had his burger medium, topped with an over-easy egg, and both were textbook renditions. Luscious.

Another big plus in favor of early-evening dining: free parking, and right in front of both of the restos of choice. Miraculous, especially at Paramount. That's my tip for you: go on Sunday!

Mexican Chocolate Chipotle gelato by Palazzolo's. It contains Mexican chocolate with cinnamon and is blended with chipotle peppers, chocolate chunks and raspberries. Easily the best, most balanced use of hot peppers and chocolate I've tried. (I purchased this at a grocery store in Michigan; not sure if Pasticceria Natalina still carries Palazzolo's, or if they carry this flavor.)

Patty Melt "Gary Style" at Patty's Diner in Skokie. This means the on the housemade bun, with a runny fried egg inside as well.

Perfection.

2-2-2 at Two Way Grill. Two pancakes, two over easy eggs, two sausage patties.

Serviceable at noon, nirvana at 2am.

Two Way Grill
4351 N Elston
Chicago, IL

hand pulled noodles with pork and greens of the special menu - ogden (downers grove) branch of LSC

A dozen Hot & Sweet wings at the restaurant I am now managing in CT. What is already a favorite tastes even better when you run the place!

Spinach-ricotta ravioli with a garlicky spring pea topping. I hope the recipe gets posted here somewhere...

3 dishes from last week's Chef's Tasting Menu at the French Laundry:

- a silky, luxurious, incandescent cauliflower panna cotta with california sturgeon caviar
- perfectly cooked butter poached lobster tail with white asparagus and a very playful passionfruit mousseline
- a tender, perfectly-marbled piece of rare Snake River Farms beef with bone marrow pudding, mushrooms and carrots

homemade white peach ice cream. i used 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. cream to 1-1/4c. pureed white peaches, a little sugar(maybe 1/4c., i didnt measure it) and 2 capfuls of meyers dark rum and it was amazing. delicately perfumed and memorable. justjoan

justjoan wrote:homemade white peach ice cream. i used 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. cream to 1-1/4c. pureed white peaches, a little sugar(maybe 1/4c., i didnt measure it) and 2 capfuls of meyers dark rum and it was amazing. delicately perfumed and memorable. justjoan

Wow, that sounds so good! Did you use the hand crank ice cream machine again!?

Did you use the hand crank ice cream machine again!?

yes, i used the hand crank ice cream machine. i tried to return it to the friend i borrowed it from so i would STOP making ice cream, but she told me to either keep it or toss it. (the electric motor is broken, and it takes 20 slow minutes of hand cranking to use it). i intend to throw it away.....but not quite yet. malted milk ice cream with finely chopped pecans has been my other favorite so far. i havent figure out yet how to keep homemade ice cream from freezing hard as a rock after removing it from the ice cream machine. (assuming there's a way to do it) anybody had any luck with this??? justjoan

justjoan wrote:

Did you use the hand crank ice cream machine again!?

yes, i used the hand crank ice cream machine. i tried to return it to the friend i borrowed it from so i would STOP making ice cream, but she told me to either keep it or toss it. (the electric motor is broken, and it takes 20 slow minutes of hand cranking to use it). i intend to throw it away.....but not quite yet. malted milk ice cream with finely chopped pecans has been my other favorite so far. i havent figure out yet how to keep homemade ice cream from freezing hard as a rock after removing it from the ice cream machine. (assuming there's a way to do it) anybody had any luck with this??? justjoan

I'm sure that 20 minutes of hand cranking makes it taste better and helps burn some of those calories! 1 tbsp of vodka has kept my ice cream from freezing too hard.

Jalapeno cheese cornbread from whole foods...it was amazing and going to add to the crack addiction I have with the place.

justjoan wrote: i havent figure out yet how to keep homemade ice cream from freezing hard as a rock after removing it from the ice cream machine. (assuming there's a way to do it) anybody had any luck with this??? justjoan

I've little experience making ice-cream, but if the ice-cream is freezing too hard suggests there is not enough air in it. Try whipping some of the cream before mixing it in (to compensate for not enough air getting mixed in while 'churning')


---
best thing I've eaten lately [Jun 25, 2009]

Now that's a Biscuit!


flaky, soft, melted in my mouth, perfectly salted (I didn't bother with the jelly).



at the Montgomery Biscuits Ball Park (Montgomery, AL) [sorry this is a non-Chicagoland entry]

Stewed beef with noodles at Shanghai Cafe on Mott St. in NYC Chinatown. My first time having this dish - it was a revelation. Something like an elemental version of Pho - beef, noodle, broth, a bit of five spice. No fussy herbs to mess with. And it registered on my palate is very very Chinese in flavor and composition. The thick noodles were homemade or expertly prepared (probably both) as they were perfectly al dente, something I haven't had at an Italian restaurant in ages. Oh and a huge bowl was $4.95. Ridiculousness.

I know this dish must be available in Chicago (I think I've seen something similar in the Katy's thread, but I've never made it out there). I gotta find a fix when I get back home.

Cheers.

My dinner last nite, 7.10, made at home:

Homemade Venison Polish Sausage (which a relative had made)
Sauerkraut (in which I added tremendous amounts of bacon and bacon fat)
My mother's homemade potato pierogi's (fried in a little left over bacon fat and butter)
Paddles to revive me for dessert

Delicious. Outstanding.

lnasreen wrote:Apple Fritters at the Hopleaf.

Rest of the menu is very good too-- wish it wasn't so hard to get a seat in there.

love their duck sandwich

Fried eggplant at Captain Porky's: thin discs of Chinese-style (long, thin, pale purple) eggplant, sliced and hand breaded before my eyes, and baptised in the fryolator.

When he piled them into the styrofoam container, Dino said, "would you like some homemade parmesan and olive oil sprinkled over that?"

"But of course!"

Wonderful, fruity olive oil and crumbles of hearty parmesan (not the eyes-rolling-back crystalized umami of a reggianno, but damn good), with sweet fried eggplant. I suggested an eggplant parm sandwich, and he said he'll do a "bomber" with marinara.

Maybe next time.

Beet ice cream at Vie.

Mussels steamed in White wine with Farmer's Market garlic, shallots and parsley, served with hot crunchy french bread.

Tres delicioso.

Steak & Baked Potato Night
Giant dry-aged bone-in ribeye from Al's Meat's in Wilmette (10 oz boneless version in the background).



Cooked over lump with a chunk or two of hickory



Served medium rare with a baked potato and sautéed mushrooms with caramelized onions.



Second best thing I've eaten lately:
Steak hash with poached eggs made this morning from the leftovers.

Breakfast at Ria's Bluebird Cafe' in Atlanta, GA. The Brisket Breakfast for $10 was a 14-hour, slow-cooked Angus beef beauty, shredded in a spicy tomato broth with two poached eggs and a toasted baguette. We also enjoyed the buttermilk pancakes with caramelized bananas. Rated as the "world's best pancakes" by the NY Times, these hand-sifted, made from scratch flapjacks were served with hot maple syrup.

Ria's Bluebird Cafe
421 Memorial Drive SE
Atlanta, GA
404-521-3737
www.riasbluebird.com

Actually two best things, both had Friday night at the Lincoln Tavern: a delectable freebie appetizer of sliced and warmed (griddled, roasted?) disks of sausage, and one of the best plates of pierogi I've had in a long while; potato, meat and kraut-filled were equally tasty, no gumminess to be found, perfectly browned with onions. The rest of our meal (barley soup, roasted chicken, cherry-glazed duck served "with flame") was also a pleasant surprise, and all of it was under $50, including a couple of beers. After walking hopelessly around the Crotch for 45 minutes looking for something worthwhile, we just gave up and headed toward Club Lucky. Fortunately, we were tired enough to regroup and drink a beer first ... and found a little gem in this place. Because Lincoln Tavern had little attention here (this is the only post I could find), I include the contact info below. Dinner only served Wednesdays and Fridays.

Lincoln Tavern
1858 W Wabansia Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 342-7778