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.

Bread? Bread! The Great Adventures of Sourdough

Tomorrow marks the official first day of my wild yeast sour dough starter! Boy am I pumped. I went to Whole Foods and bought the necessary ingredients, which just happened to be on sale in the bulk department. Speaking of which, buying in bulk must be a foreign concept to Chicagoland people. I have visited and shopped at several different stores, but have only found but one worth visiting. This particular Whole Foods store is located in Lincoln Park, foodie central. I went crazy and stocked up on dry goods since it is a bit of hike from where I live [...if traveling by bike with several bags of groceries that is].

Anyway, I now have all my ingredients to start my sourdough bread journey. It begins with organic rye flour and water for one day. Then, for the next four days, I feed my seed culture, more flour, only this time all purpose organic flour and more water. After this, I am then ready to prepare the barm, the 'mother' or starter for most basic sourdough recipes. The recipe I fancy to prepare first is a miche style bread from France. None other than Lionel Poilane, a famous French baker, is known for this style of sourdough. His recipe is in the book The Bread Baker's Apprentice, and I highly recommend purchasing this book if you are a serious bread baker yourself. If you want to read a bit more about Mr. Poilane, go to the following website:

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/feb2007/gb20070206_625846.htm

Ingredients

	1	cup (4¼ ounces) dark rye or coarse whole rye (pumpernickel-grind) flour
	3	cups (13½ ounces) unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
	2¼	cups (18 ounces) water, at room temperature

Steps

1. Day 1: Mix the rye flour and ¾ cup (6 ounces) water together in a bowl until they form a stiff ball of dough. Do not worry if the dough is very stiff, but be sure that all the flour is hydrated. Press this piece of dough into a 4-cup measuring beaker and place a piece of tape on the beaker to mark the top of the dough. Cover the beaker with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature for 24 hours.
2. Day 2: The dough should not have risen much, if at all, during this time. In a mixing bowl, combine the sponge from Day 1 with 1 cup (4½ ounces) unbleached flour and ½ cup (4 ounces) water, mixing with your hand or a spoon until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. The dough will be somewhat softer and wetter than before. Return this to the beaker, press it down, and replace the old tape with a new piece of tape to mark the spot. Cover with plastic wrap and ferment for 24 hours at room temperature. Do not be put off by the strong, unpleasant aroma of the dough; this will eventually brighten.
3. Day 3: Check to see if there has been a rise in the dough. There will probably be some fermentation but not a lot, perhaps a 50-percent rise. Regardless, discard half of the starter (or give it to a friend to cultivate) and mix the remaining half with 1 cup (4½ ounces) unbleached flour and ½ cup (4 ounces) water, just like on Day 2. It will be a little wetter. Again, return it to the beaker. It should press down to the same height as on Day 2. Re-tape the beaker to mark the top of the dough, cover, and ferment for 24 hours.
4. Day 4: The sponge should have at least doubled in size; more is even better. If it is still sluggish and hasn’t doubled in size, allow it to sit out for another 12 to 24 hours. Otherwise, repeat as on Day 3, discarding half of the starter and mixing the remaining half with 1 cup (4½ ounces) unbleached flour and ½ cup (4 ounces) water, returning it all to the beaker as before. Cover and ferment until it at least doubles in size; this may take 4 to 24 hours. It is OK if it triples in size, but because it is now fairly soft and spongelike, it will not be able to sustain that large of a rise without falling. If it falls easily when you tap the beaker, that is the sign that your seed culture is ready to be turned into a barm, or mother starter.

Momofuku Pork Buns

Well, I purchased the Momofuku book about a couple of months ago, but have been eyeing it up since my friend Bobby showed me his copy. One of the first things which struck me were the steamed pork buns. The actual amount of rendered pork fat is not colossal by any means, but rather scant overall. While making these I knew they were going to be worth the wait, for it took several hours until I could indulge in the soft, delicate buns.

During the fermentation and rest times, I prepared accoutrements playing off Momofuku's standard cucumber pickles, hoisin, pork, and green onion fixings. Instead, I prepared an edamame puree [see below], hoisin, sriracha, leek and pickled carrot.

Edamame Puree:

3/4 cup edamame, frozen is quite alright

pinch salt

pinch sugar

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp. wasabi powder

1/8 cup yellow onion

2 tsp. brown rice vinegar

1 1/2 cup water

1 tsp. oil

Saute onion in oil. Once translucent, add remaining ingredients and cook for about 30-40 minutes on medium heat covered with a lid until edamame is quite soft and skins of beans separate. Puree in food processor or blender. You may need to adjust the water content based on how much evaporated in the cooking process.

As for the Momofuku steamed bun recipe...well, I guess you'll have to buy the book. It's well worth the price.

Overall, the recipe was easy; it was just time consuming for the average person. However, I highly recommend trying this one at home. The flavor will send your senses into a frenzy and you'll be sorry you didn't make more.

Kimchi

According to my Joy of Pickling, "Korean scientists have found that fresh cabbage kimchi is actually more nutritious than unfermented Chinese cabbage....Its levels of vitamins B1, B2, B12 and niacin are twice what they were initially, and its vitamin c level equals that of fresh cabbage."

....And guess what? It tastes amazing! Unfortunately, for this particular recipe, I could not find Korean chili powder, so I substituted chili powder and chili flakes. My lovely friend Kelsey just happens to live in South Korea. I spoke with her while waiting for my cabbage to soak in the salt brine and told her about the kimchi. She was delighted and said I needed to make some for her arrival. Sure I would, just as long as she sends some of that spicy magic powder directly from Korea.

The recipe I used was from the Joy of Pickling, but I did tweak it a bit with more garlic and spice. Before I play around with too many variations, I thought it best to begin with the basics. Once I perfect the base recipe, then I will go on to add things like carrots or daikon radish.

Cabbage Kimchi

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon pickling slat
6 cups water
2 pounds Chinese cabbage, cut into 2-inch squares
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons Korean ground dried hot pepper (or other mildly hot ground red pepper)
1 teaspoon sugar

1. Dissolve the 3 tablespoons salt in the water. Put the cabbage into a large bowl, a crock or a nonreactive pot and pour the brine over it. Weight the cabbage down with a plate. Let the cabbage stand for 12 hours.

2. Drain the cabbage, reserving the brine. Mix the cabbage with the remaining ingredients, including the 1 teaspoon salt. Pack the mixture into a 2-quart jar. Pour enough of the reserved brine over the cabbage to cover it. Push a freezer bag into the mouth of the jar, and pour the remaining brine into the bag. Seal the bag. Let the kimchi ferment in a cool place, at a temperature no higher than 68 degrees F, for 3-6 days, until the kimchi is as sour as you like.

3. Remove the brine bag and cap the jar tightly. Store the kimchi in the refrigerator, where it will keep for months.

Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

Chicago vs. Minneapolis/St. Paul

Well, I have decided to move to Chicago in search of more opportunities and change of scenery. It has been quite challenging on many levels, but feel it is a good decision. While in search of new jobs and apartments, I have discovered a plethora of eating establishments. There are foods from just about every type of cuisine with the addition of Chicago's hot dogs, of course. Hot Doug's is one the more famous local hot dog eateries that I have yet to enjoy. Just about everyday I see people stand in long lines outside, even in the windy, cold weather, waiting for their fill. I was not sure what to think at first, but then I discovered on-line that it was part of the Slow Food Chicago movement (http://www.slowfoodchicago.org). This website is now my go-to page to find participating restaurants. Another restaurant making the list was Green Zebra. My friend Niki, former Sous Chef of Corner Table, and I decided to eat there a couple days ago to indulge in a complete vegetarian affair with fresh burrata topped with crispy lentils, butternut dumplings, mushroom bread pudding and poached egg over smoked applewood mashed potatoes. Yummmmmy. The food was absolutely delightful. Several people had told me beforehand that it is quite possibly the best vegetarian restaurant in Chicago. I guess I will have to eat my way through Chicago and decide for myself.

After my experience at Green Zebra, I could not help but compare the restaurant/food scene of Chicago to Minneapolis/ St. Paul.* The two cities have quite the food scenes going on, each with different high/low lights, thus it is difficult to say which has better food. One thing I do like more about Minnesota and the Twin Cities is the local food movement. I do not have exact stats on how many and how much food the restaurants source locally, but due to the larger number of farms in Minnesota, it would seem more likely. If you think back to a post I wrote a while back on what local means, I mentioned the term 'local' has various definitions depending on who you converse with. Therefore, I must clarify what I mean when I speak about local foods; I believe local foods should refer to the mileage, the distance the food traveled from growth to consumption within a 100-200 mile radius. Most Chicago menus and websites I have browsed print 'local' when they source mostly from Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio. Yet, there are a fair amount of farms in Illinois, especially in the growth of various berries, asparagus, squash and dairy production, much like MN. Perhaps I have it all wrong; I would love to be proven otherwise that Illinois is well on it's way to providing local foods to local restaurants.

*I guess I should also mention that I had the fortune of eating at the only two 3 star Michelin restaurants in Chicago, Alinea and L2O, since this plays a vital role in comparisons between the cities.

Here are some quick notes on comparing the two foodie destinations:

Twin Cities:

Fewer restaurants (obviously) with less variety

Less creativity, all the food seems alike

Cheaper prices

Ingredients travel a shorter distance in terms of 'local' eating

Easy to go out, [free] parking is available

More country style comfort foods

Quieter

Less busy overall

Chicago:

More restaurants with more variety

Menus differ between restaurants with more creativity

Expensive to eat out

Heaps of community style restaurants

Adventurous eaters, here's your city

Restaurants here have a longer history

Michelin Restaurants: for food and entertainment (might have to explain that in another post)

No parking, unless you want to pay an arm and a leg [taxi]

Of course, these are my observations and options....to each their own.

Tchau tchau for now foodies.

Adapting to the Midwest

It was not long ago when I sat on Lopes Mendes beach, soaking up sunny, 100 degree weather in beautiful Brazil. Often I think of my travels and reminisce on such days when the weather here in Minnesota becomes cold and gray. Thus, to bring the warmth back, I prepared one of my favorite comfort foods. Yesterday I made Split Pea Soup with all natural organic ham from Beeler's Farm in Northwestern Iowa. In my opinion, it is best to make several quarts at once and freeze the bulk for another rainy day, but in small portions. The recipe below makes about 1.75-2 gallons depending on your desired consistency.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced

1/2 medium yellow onion [kept whole]

5 small/medium carrots, diced

4 celery stalks, diced

14 cloves roasted garlic

4 cups potatoes, diced

14 ounces frozen peas

2 pounds cubed, smoked ham

3 cups shaved brussels sprouts

ham stock

1 1/4 pounds green split peas, rinsed and soaked* [see note]

1 bay leaf

smoked paprika to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Garnish of toasted sliced almonds and celery greens

Preparation:

Rinse the soaked split peas and return to the pot stove filling with water to cover. Add bay leaf and half onion, cooking until peas are tender and naturally fall apart into a puree.

Meanwhile, in a pan, saute in oil [or butter] the diced onion until translucent, then add carrot and celery. Once cooked through, add the potatoes and fill with ham stock just enough to cover the vegetables. When the potatoes are almost soft, add the frozen peas and cook for another few minutes, puree all contents in a food processor until smooth with the roasted garlic. Put in a stock pot and keep on a low simmer. Add to that the cubed ham and shaved brussels sprouts.

Once the split peas fall apart, remove from heat and puree all but three cups for texture. Be sure to remove the bay leaf and half onion before pureeing. Add the peas to the stock pot with the soup. Mix well and heat slowly until the ham warms. Season accordingly with the paprika, salt and pepper until desired taste.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with chiffonade celery leaves and toasted almonds.

A nice boule of whole grain bread or Peasant loaf would suite this dish well.

Over the years, I have made several different versions of this recipe. When I have the time and I am moved to Chicago, I will search for past recipes and try them out to see how they compare. In past recipes, I believe I added toasted, ground cumin seeds and spinach.

While in Chicago, I was craving this soup and mentioned to Gil this was one of my favorite soups to prepare. Gil said he could make a better split pea than I, while Lori and Doug stood aside in hopes there would be a cooking show down for them to judge. Perhaps Gil and I will have to prove which one makes a better split pea once I move to Chicago. However, I may have to change a few things since his will be loaded with fat. We all know that fat is flavor, flavor is fat. Who knows, the two combined could be a match made in heaven.

* I prefer to soak the split peas to shorten the cooking time; however, whether it is worth the trouble is up to you. Soaking in cold water for 6 hours can save you 30 minutes in cooking time. Think of it this way, it doesn't take long to soak, so why wouldn't you? All it takes is forethought.

Soaking yellow split peas is another story. It will produce a more viscous puree than unsoaked and will save you one hour of cook time when soaked for 8-10 hours. Be careful though, over-soaking can cause germination and give off-flavors.