Food Blog

Last weekend I made it to Paulina Market, often cited as Chicago best butcher shop. Chefs and restaurants brag about getting their meat from them. I got there a little too close to closing time, so they were unstocking the cases while I stood gaping, trying to decide what I wanted. The sausage case was a little intimidating, I had no idea what was what. I’ll need to study up on my sausage before I go back.

They have a case of game meat, elk, buffalo, venison, quail etc. Fairly pricey, but this stuff is never cheap. I got about a pound of ground goose meat for 6 bucks.

Lamb loins were on special, so I got 4 at about 12 bucks a lb. And 2 smoked ham hocks.

The lamb loins were braised in fennel, carrot and onion, served with some root vegetable puree and wild rice with some of the ground goose and mushrooms.

The goose also made it into a couple of other meals – a sheperd’s pie I should have photographed, a goose, wild mushroom pizza and a pasta sauce. The ham hocks are simmering in some split pea soup at the moment.

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I really hate theses meme things, they feel like a homework assignment. And I almost never do non-food related ones. But once in awhile I’ll do one. S’kat tagged me with one that will make me sound interesting. Ten random and interesting facts about yourself (they don’t necessarily need to be food-related). Also you’d need to read through 6 years of KIPlog to find out anything about me, so here’s some stuff.

People who know me now, don’t know I once had really red hair.

I once ripped asbestos out of the basement of the lion house in the Lincoln Park Zoo. And the old fossil hall in the Field Museum.

I used to go into people’s homes and shoot their babies. Then I’d try to sell them a nice album and wall frame package.

I lived above a pub in Auckland for several months.

I’ve skied on an active volcano.

I’ve chased a tornado in a Chevy Citation.

And some food related things-

I’ve never had a Cosmo.

As a result of spending some time as a prep cook, I can crack eggs, clean lettuce and de-vein shrimp faster than most people.

As a result of other restaurant experience, I can wash dishes better than most people.

I didn’t own a microwave until about 2001, when someone gave me one. I didn’t use it much for a year or so.

Since I hate these things, I don’t like passing them on, but I’ll tag a few of Food Blogs that have requested to get on my list. They look like the meme type.

So I tag Confessions of a Cardamom Addict, Passionate Eater and Tartine Gourmande.

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From Consumer Reports – When it pays to buy organic “We found, for example, that it’s worth paying more for organic apples, peaches, spinach, milk, and beef to avoid chemicals found in the conventionally produced versions of those items. But you can skip organic asparagus and broccoli because conventional varieties generally have undetectable pesticide levels. You can also pass on organic seafood and shampoo, which have labels that are often misleading.”

A movie about How to eat at a Japanese sushiya. You may need to understand some Japanese cultural traditions to get some of the jokes. Found via this post at Presentation Zen, which has several more food related links like the Bento Blog and pretty pictures Kyo-ryori.

Lord Of The Rings – The Hobbit Feast We missed it, but it was $88, 12 hours and 7 meals (1st breakfast, 2nd breakfast, elevensies, etc.) “Elevensies – Pan Seared Sausage and tomatoes with cheeses, cabbage and pickles”

Not-as-fast food “Drive-through wait times creep up as menu options get more complex” “Wendy’s maintained its ranking as the fastest ketchup gun on the block. But its average service time jumped from 124.69 seconds last year to 135.7 seconds in 2005…”

Starbucks Economics – Solving the mystery of the elusive “short” cappuccino “The short cappuccino has the same amount of espresso as the 12-ounce tall, meaning a bolder coffee taste, and also a better one.”

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What the World Eats Photo Gallery

Food Scarves

Dead restaurant chains. As the page explains, they are not all dead. This Roadfood Forum thread talks about more long gone regional chains such as Shakey’s and Tastee Freeze. My long lost favorite was Mr. Bee’s, a NJ chain featuring honey fried chicken.

The Seduction of Cognac “Most of the early cognac makers were not French. They were English or Irish, which is why cognacs carry such names as Hine and Hennessy.”

Way too nice to use on food (or anything), these are some beautiful knives.

Flash Virtual tour of Julia Child’s Kitchen at the Smithsonian, “a new exhibition featuring a reconstruction of the entire kitchen as it existed when Julia Child cooked in it.” Includes details on all the knives and gadgets in her kitchen.

NPR’s Leonard Lopate did a show with Ruth Riechl, editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, and several food bloggers on what it takes to be a good food critic. It’s not up yet, but it’ll probably be availble as a podcast here soon.

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The LA Times lies. The last sentence of their article on Food Blogs says that I “blog about food blogs, with comprehensive, up-to-date links to the newest entries.” Hardly up-to-date or newest around here.

And they obviously didn’t check their facts, this isn’t just a food blog about food blogs, I also blog about marshmallow bras and sushi, dimsum and fried shrimp USB drives.

You’ve probably heard the story before but here’s the chef vs. food blogger cease and desist story from the wife’s perspective.

Macworld Eats For those going to Macworld Expo, “a guide to eating near the Moscone Center (with a few suggestions for side trips beyond downtown)” in iPod format of course.

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Some 2005 local food round-ups.

From Chicago’s LTH Forum – 2005: The Year in Food Photos, a food porn slideshow.

The Chicago Tribune’s top 10 favorite recipes of the year.

Citysearch’s Top 10 New Restaurants of 2005.

Metromix’s year in review of new, local nightspots.

Vital Information’s 25 Best Things Eaten in Wisconsin in 2005. His Food Envy Wish List for 2006 is pretty good too.

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I have a confession to make. One time last year, after a night drinking downtown I did something I hadn’t done in years.

I’m not a complete health food nut or anything, I just hate the idea of wasting a meal on something as generic as McDonalds. I also hate the idea of spending money at a chain when I could eat independent and local.

I think the last thing I got at a McDonalds was one of their steak bagel breakfast things a couple of years ago. Those things make me drool. This year I’ve had Arby’s once, Burger King a few times, KFC a few more times, and my first Quizno’s experience. (Did you know a new Quizno’s opens every 7 hours!).

That one night out was turning late, and I walked past the Super-sized McDonalds formerly known as the Rock ‘n Roll McDonalds and it beckoned me. I had to check it out. It’s 24,000 square feet but it really isn’t as big as it looks on the outside as far as the seating areas, although the kitchen area is huge and there were at least 30 employees roaming around. I ate upstairs where they have some cool tables with wierd lighting effects that waver when you touch them. There’s some designer chairs up there too, but I think they rope them off late at night.

I just had a quarter pounder and some fries. The burger was much better than I remembered, but the fries weren’t. Probably because last time I had them, beef tallow was somewhere in the process.

The gigantic McDonald’s is at 600 N. Clark street in the shlockiest tourist area in Chicago. It’s open 24 hours.

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Just a few food blogs to add to the food blog list. Quite a few more to come.Bitchin’ in the Kitchen with Rosie “I like food. I like bitchin’. I like making sure eveyone hears about both frequently. Hence, the blog.” Columbus, Ohio.Cakehead “Sweet news for food heads”Chilefire Is this the only food blog to cooking in a galley on a yacht? Washington DC.Dan’s Kitchen Pasadena, CaliforniaEat, Drink & Be Merry West Los Angeles, CaliforniaFallen SouffleThe food pornographer “Food at its porniest.”Haverchuk “a little bit kosher, mostly treyf”The Hungry Rose “Exploring food in New York City, one day at a time.”Just Braise “Succulence. This is the goal of braising; it is the aim toward which one strives, from the very begining, and it is the direction in which all techniques and methods lead. ” Astoria, NY.Live To Nibble “Experiencing life one small bite at a time” Atlanta, Georgia.Madison A to Z “we decided to eat at every restaurant in Madison in alphabetical order”Meal MePodchef Show “The podcast about cooking, food, and the politics of food.”SaltShaker “Casting a little flavor (and a few aspersions) on the world of food, drink, and life.”ToastPoint “A hymn of praise to foie gras…and Cheetos.” Washington, DC

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Here’s a recipe I want to perfect. It would probably work on chicken too.

Slightly inspired by the Black Cod with Miso from Nobu, I wanted to achieve a lacquered skin, with a nice sweetness. Nobu’s black cod isn’t so much about the miso, as it is about the mirin and sake that it uses in its glaze. Here’s Nobu’s recipe for black cod with miso.

I had just been to Penzey’s, where i got a bunch of stuff, including some allspice and black cardamom. I also got some ground galangal, which is something I hadn’t seen before.

I figured the cardamom and mirin would be a nice match together, and it works well. I didn’t have any sake, but I did add a little maderia, for a little extra liquid. The mirin I bought was rather expensive, otherwise, I would have used the whole bottle. The ingredients for this attempt:

1/2 cup mirin
1/3 cup maderia
1/2 a minched onion (2-3 T)
3 T sugar
2 T honey
3 t cardamom, freshly ground
1 t salt

I threw all of the above into a pot, boiling it for 10 or 20 seconds to melt the sugar and boil off a little alcohol. After a bit of cooling, I poured it over two Cornish game hens, and let them marinate for an hour. The hens were stuffed with some onion and tangerine and went into a 350 F oven for an hour, then I turned the oven up to 450 F and left them in for another 15 minutes. During the cooking, they got a slathering of the reserved marinade once in awhile.

It turned out delicious but I’ll work on this one and make a few corrections. Next time I’ll thicken the sauce with more honey or sugar, and put the hens under the broiler for a bit to really crisp up the skin. I’ll also buy the cheap mirin so I won’t feel bad about using more, and I’ll leave out the Maderia. I might do this sort of thing with just Maderia, but I think the flavor of the mirin and cardamom work well enough by themselves. One thing I have learned about my cooking is that removing an ingredient sometimes makes a better dish. This is because I tend to be an experimental cook, adding things to try to figure out what a dish ‘needs’, when what it really needs is more simplicity.

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