Acorn Curry

Before Merima left MN, we had decided we were going to tackle our list of 'things to cook'. It was a compiled list from last summer of breads, entrees, and ingredients Merima wanted me to cook or use in cooking. Unfortunately, she left the list back home, so we brainstormed and remembered one of the items was curry. Thus I came up with this recipe 'on the fly' [kitchen lingo for not planned or in the spur of the moment] while preparing naan dough [another item on the list]. It was simple, but tasty. Merima even stated that it was one of the best Indian dishes she ever had and that it tasted very authentic. If you know Merima, this is quite the compliment. So you best try this one if you are a lover of Indian food. Enjoy my foodies....

an aerial view of naan and curry [sorry for the lack of a close-up]

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 shallot, mined

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 chili pepper, dried

3 cardamom pods

2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

1 tablespoon garam marsala

9 ounces tomatoes with juice (from personal canning collection)

2 cup beet greens, chopped

1 cup green beans

1 tablespoon cumin

2 pinches of sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Bake the squash in the oven at 375 for one hour, or until cooked, in a baking dish with water.

In the mean time, add the oil to a wok and heat. Once hot, add mustard seeds, cardamom, and chili pepper. Cover with a lid until the mustard seeds stop popping, be careful here not to get one in the face :). Then add shallot and garlic. Once translucent, add the green beans, tomatoes with sauce, garam marsala, cumin and sugar. Keep on a simmer and add the squash once cooked thoroughly.

Note: you will have to skin and cube the squash before adding to the wok.

Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 10-15 minutes until everything is cooked through.

Serve with naan and eat up!

If you try this recipe, comment on the preparation or taste. I am curious to know other's thoughts.

Kith & Kin

Steamed Grouper, Fava, Meyer Lemon Sauce, Zucchini

...one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago, Kith & Kin. When you visit Chicago, be sure to check out this wonderful restaurant where the food is innovative, exciting, rich in flavor, and fresh to the taste. Together, the three of us [Merima, Gil and myself] indulged in a plethora amount of food. Here were some of my favorites....

Beef, Blue Cheese, Mushroom Ketchup, Worcestershire Powder, Parsley Sauce

Lobster Bisque

Wood Smoked Oysters

Trio of Clam Rillette [horseradish, back left], Chicken Liver Pate [Dijon, Cornichon, back right] & Foie [Brioche and Strawberry Preserve, front]

The pictures are out of eating sequence, but I'm sure you would have guessed that. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmy

Pancake with Mandarin Ginger

Merima kept telling me all week that she needed her ginger fix, so I decided to treat her to these pancakes one weekday morning. I attempted to use the King Arthur pancake recipe, but could not follow it. It is difficult for me to follow a recipe most times, when I am cooking in the comfort and freedom of my own home. I will post the recipe from the website I used and mark the adjustments/additions with an asterisk.

• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/3 cup sour cream*
• 3 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/8 cup wheat germ*
• 1/8 cup flaxseed*
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger, freshly grated*
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar OR 2 tablespoons honey (mix with eggs)

Directions

1. Beat the eggs and milk until light and foamy, about 3 minutes at high speed of a stand or hand mixer. Stir in the butter or vegetable oil and sour cream.

2. Whisk the dry ingredients together to evenly distribute the salt, baking powder and sweetener.

3. Gently and quickly mix into the egg and milk mixture. Let the batter rest for at least 15 minutes, while the griddle is heating; it"ll thicken slightly.

4. Heat a heavy frying pan over medium heat, or set an electric griddle to 350°F. Lightly grease frying pan or griddle. The pan or griddle is ready if a drop of water will skitter across the surface, evaporating immediately.

5. Drop 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the lightly greased griddle. Bake on one side until bubbles begin to form and break, then turn the pancakes and cook the other side till brown. Turn over only once. Serve immediately.

Then, there's the sauce:

Mandarin Ginger Sauce

1/2 cup maple syrup

3-4 mandarin oranges, zested and segmented

1 tablespoon ginger, freshly grated

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pot and simmer for 15 minutes or until warm.

Goose Island Brewery

Monday's and Tuesday's have become my weekend, especially since Gil doesn't work at Alinea on those days. This last Tuesday Merima, Gil and I decided to spend one of our 'weekend' lunches at Goose Island Brewery. Each of us tasted 12 different beers and shared three entrees:

Lamb Burger with Poached Pears and Brie with a side of German Potato Salad

Walleye Fish and Chips

The Rueben Sandwich with Sweet Potato Fries

This is a picture of Merima waiting for her food, giving me the hurry up and take the picture so I can drink my beer and get back to work look.

...And below is Gil drinking his first beer, the Green ale by Goose Island. It was nice for a light summer brew; however, the summertime ale was even better.

....then there's me, hoarding all my beer. Do I really need to share mine with everyone?! We decided in the end that everyone could taste every beer, but I knew I had to keep my eye on Gil. He's a big time beer drinker.

Merima Visits Chicago

Yay, my friend Merima left cold Minnesota by bus to cold and windy Chicago to visit and keep me company while I get my feet on the ground. Currently, I do not work often, so it does get lonely. Tomorrow Merima leaves and I will once again have to entertain myself developing new recipes. Our first night of extravagant eating was mussels over spinach linguine with a Meuniere sauce and a side of garlicky green beans.

Mussels over Spinach Linguine in Meuniere Sauce

We attempted to make thumbprint cookies, but were not pleased with the results. The recipe, I thought, was full-proof and tested from the Joy of Baking. Even after the cookies came out of the oven, they were too flat and tasted like a stick of butter. However, I managed to form them back into their intend shape and refrigerated them. A day later we tasted again, not wanting to trash our lovely cookies of apricot and almond delights. To our surprise, they tasted much better. Still buttery, but decent.

The picture on the left depicts me pulsing the roasted almonds in the food processor. Almonds were used to coat the cookies just before baking.

My apartment is quite small as you can see with only enough room for one body to manage the stove, sink and preparation area. I am actually standing in front of the island prep station with my oven and sink hiding behind.

Do you see all my canned/preserved goodies in the top of the picture? That is from my stock of 80 something jars. Neat eh?

This is the thumbprint batter. Nice and buttery. It definitely needed to be refrigerated; I believe it was for 45 minutes, not the suggested 30 minutes. It was far too soft to work at 30 minutes.

Day 2 of the Sourdough Adventure

When I first started this recipe, I felt it wasn't going to work since the description in the procedure said the dough should be stiff. Mine was not; however, once I looked at it this morning to add the bread flour and water, it seemed to be doing just as it should. After more thought, I wondered why the recipe was in ounces, rather than in grams. I mean, this is a French recipe from The Pouliane, right? Well, it probably is not, and it did need some tweaking. Initially, in the first day, I added an extra 2 ounces of flour so that the flour was evenly hydrated and not overhydrated. Today, on the contrary, I did not adjust any of the weights.

*Remember, when baking, it is best to measure by weight, rather than by amount and it is also best to weigh in grams than ounces. Grams are more accurate.