Foodmomiac

Trying to be creative with our weeknight meals

I've written before about my issues finding good quality meat while out shopping. The meats at our usual supermarket (Jewel-Osco) just don't look great a lot of the time, and their selection of organic meats is incredibly minimal. The meats at Costco are terrific, but I don't always want to get so MUCH meat all at once. PLUS, I need to get some meat every week, and I can't deal with a Costco trip every week. Trader Joe's has lots of organic meats at a great price, but I've had too many instances of TJ meats that have turned. We love, love, love the Paulina Meat Market, but they aren't open on Sundays, and that's when we shop.

So, Michael started doing some research, and he found a lot of people talking about a market called Treasure Island. This is a European-style market with a few locations in Chicago, but we had never been there. I'm not sure why. It has certainly been recommended to me. 

We finally made it to Treasure Island on Sunday and it was terrific. They had Boars' Head meats (which we love), lots of great ethnic foods and a fabulous meat department. I was most excited by the short ribs I bought, so when we got home, I sat with my cookbooks and tried to find a good recipe. 

I realized as I looked through the recipes that most of them required multiple hours of cooking. However, I already had a Sunday dinner planned (with not enough time or energy to make two at once). This meant that the short ribs had to become a weeknight meal, but I didn't want to use the crockpot. So... I got creative.

I found a Mark Bittman recipe for Anise-Scented Short Ribs that required multiple hours of cooking. Last night, after Michael and Dylie headed up to bed, I did the first part of the recipe. I browned the meat, removed it from the pot, and then sauteed onions and ginger in the fat. The rest of the ingredients were added (soy sauce, water, sugar, rice vinegar) and then I brought it all to a boil. According to the original recipe, I was then supposed to turn the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook it all for an hour. This was not happening at 10:30 pm. So, I covered the pot, threw it in the fridge and then pot it back on the stove after work today. Right now it's cooking away, but I'm feeling a little nervous. The meat doesn't seem to be falling off the bone yet. We still have half an hour, but not sure we'll get what we want. Stay tuned...

The Festival of Cheese

Have you ever witnessed people at a conference that just seems totally dull? Like, you are walking through a big hotel, and a crowd of people walk buy with name tags that say "10th Annual Office Supply Conference," or "Accounting World 2008."

I am lucky when it comes to conferences. For work each year, I get to attend the annual conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and BlogHer. What I love about these conferences is that not only are the sessions interesting, but the people are interesting too. I get to meet and network with people who fascinate me.

About 10 years ago (oy, I'm old), I was a cheese buyer at a small gourmet market/produce store in Ann Arbor. I love cheese, but I was NOT good at this job. I am just too stubborn, and I insisted on buying really expensive artisanal cheeses, when most of my customers just wanted the simple stuff. The end result was a lot of cheese going bad in our back cooler and me moving back to a career at an interactive agency.

BUT, during my short tenure at the store, I did manage to go to the annual conference of the American Cheese Society. Wow, was that a great conference. We made cheese, we talked about cheese, we ate a LOT of cheese. It was just awesome. I haven't managed to make it back to that conference since, but this year, since it was held in Chicago, I was able to make it to the big Saturday night shindig!

Michael came with, of course, but so did Megen (my beloved sister-in-law) and my father-in-law (aka Poppy). It was a good group for the event. Michael was able to instantly scout out the availability of Matilda (one of my favorite beers). Poppy was kind of like Homer Simpson at an all-you-can-eat buffet. He made it to every single table, and would report back on the highlights. He was especially fond of the specialty tables along the edges of the room (the pates, the salamis, etc.).

Megen is, quite simply, my partner-in-crime. She and I ate as much as we could, but I tell you, it was tough. There were well over 1,000 types of cheeses, and after an hour or so, we started to feel a bit ill. We probably should have been a bit more strategic in our eating, but we were troopers. Towards the end of the evening, we came across the magically-named Table of Aged Goat Cheese, and I almost cried when I realized I was too full to try any of it.  Highlights of the night included the Butter Table (goat milk butter is a beautiful thing) and a lovely conversation with the famous Paula Lambert.

After we waddled out of the festival, we went to our local pub for some more beer:

Kung-Fu Tiki Mai Tai - The Best Friday Night Drink EVAH!

  Kung-fu tiki mai tai 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

The Kung-Fu Tiki Mai Tai has become a Friday ritual for me (well, the last two Friday nights I've been in town, at least). We have a restaurant just a few blocks away from us called Kitsch'n. We had basically avoided the joint because of one mediocre meal and the fact that Rachael Ray recommends it. I just can't trust someone who uses words like, "yum-o" and "delish." (In fact, I cringe just typing them.)

But ANYWAY, we moved even closer to the restaurant when we bought this house, so we decided to give it another try, and I just love it. First of all, it is perfect for children. Kids meals are very varied, and come in a totally cool, retro metal lunchbox. You can also have the kitchen mix peas or broccoli INTO the meal, which is a nice feature. Adult food is also quite good (our first visit must have been a fluke). I have a hard time ordering anything other than the Fried Chicken, but the Beef Stroganoff also rocks, and Michael has even enjoyed more gourmet fare, like Tilapia in a White Wine Sauce.

It's just a great place to eat with kids without losing sanity. Everyone can be kept entertained with the board games piled high on the shelves, and adults can drink away the screaming and whining with drinks like the Kung-Fu Tiki Mai Tai (or a Daquiri made with Tang, but I haven't yet been so bold as to try that).

My Top 5 Favorites Places to Eat in Chicago

I RARELY do memes, but Mamacita has been a loyal reader for a LONG, so I just can't say no. Plus, this is a fun one.

Step 1: Add a direct link to your post below the name of the person who tagged you. Include the city/state and country you’re in.

Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, USA)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
tanabata (Saitama, Japan)
Andi (Dallas [ish], Texas, United States)
Todd (Louisville, Kentucky, United States)
miss kendra (los angeles, california, u.s.a)
Jiggs Casey (Berkeley, CA, USA! USA! USA!)
Tits McGee (New England, USA)
Kat (Ontario, Canada)
Cheezy (London, England)
tafka PP (Jerusalem, Israel)
Liza ("Northern" Israel)
Beth (Dublin, Ireland)
Emily (San Francisco, CA, USA)
Mamacita (Houston, TX, USA)
Foodmomiac (Chicago, IL, USA)

Step 2: List out your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location.

Hopleaf: This Belgian bar/restaurant is my favorite date night spot, though my husband swears that the strong beer makes me beligerant. I don't love their main courses, but give me a couple of Belgian brews and an order of mussels and fries (with aioli!) for two, and I'm happy as a clam (or mussel).

Naha: The food here is top notch, but also quite expensive. Get a taste, for less, by sitting at the bar for your meal and ordering off the special lounge menu.

Shaw's Crab House: This restaurant offers multiple experiences in just one location. Sit at the regular bar, the oyster bar (our favorite) or in the restaurant itself. This is one of our favorite places for a splurge. Nothing says indulgent quite like a lobster bib.

Sola: We've only been here once, but we are dying to get back, so I'm adding it to my list. If you can't get a reservation (you generally need to call at least two weeks in advance), try getting a spot at the bar. The scallops entree is out of this world.

Homemade Pizza Company: This is our Thursday night standard. Our favorite order? Spinach salad and a large Sausage and Carmelized Onion pizza.

Step 3: Tag 5 more people.
OK, This part is hard for me. If you'd like to participate, please do so, and put a link to your post in my comments!

It's Live!

Check it out - The Chicago Moms Blog is alive and kicking and already generating lots of awesome discussions. I'm very excited to be a part of this, and some of my favorite bloggers are there with me as well.

(It's been a looooong day home with a sick Max, but I'm feeling rejuvenated and am about to prepare a delicious dinner of Grilled Lamb Chops and Greek Salad. There are some definite perks to avoiding the commute home.)

Love is...

  The back deck 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac.

Being so excited about living in Chicago that seeing this out my back door on October 12 just makes me laugh.

Today is Love Thursday.

Roast Pork Shoulder, Puerto Rican-Style

  Roast Pork Shoulder, Puerto Rican-Style 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac.

As I get accustomed to living in Chicago, I've been trying to figure out where I'll be doing most of my food shopping. I have yet to make it to the Green City Farmer's Market, though I hope to do so next weekend. It sounds fabulous.

We live about a tenth of a mile from Whole Foods, so I go there quite a bit, but it's ridiculously expensive. I love their cheese selection, and they have non-homogenized millk which is very cool, but I rarely get out of there for less than $50 bucks, and sometimes I'm not getting much food for that money.

I'm also really close to Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's is awesome. I can get juice, milk (homogenized, but organic, and affordable), eggs, cereal, snacks, frozen meals, cheese, etc. I also love the little kid carts that they have. Dylan is much easier to deal with when she has her own cart to push around.

I have yet to explore the ethnic markets. I need to spend some time up on Harlem Avenue - I hear there are some amazing Italian and Polish markets up there. I also have to make a trip to the Spice House in Old Town.

For supermarkets, I've been going to Dominick's. It's about 5-10 minutes from our house and so far I've been thrilled with the quality of food. I'm not a big fan of supermarket meats. I like to get free range, and I usually tend to shop at smaller meat markets where I have a better sense of where the meat has been. However, I have had GREAT luck at Dominick's. Last week we made some killer ribeyes that I purchased there. And, tonight, I made a phenomenal pork roast. And, it was hormone-free meat. Awesome.

This recipe is from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. I continue to love this book. Pork shoulder is inexpensive and fatty, so it is a wonderful choice. My theory is that it's cheapness derives from the fact that most people opt for tenderloin or pork chops. Pork Shoulder Roast is just not popular, and price is driven by supply and demand. The fattiness means that you can cook this with minimal fuss and end up with a deliciously succulent piece of meat. These days, pork is rather dry. It used to be a very moist meat, but modern science bred much of the fat out of pigs, yielding low fat pork with no juiciness. Buying a cut that is inherently fatty will help to counter this. (You could also look for a heritage variety pork such as Berkshire - this will be juicier than the supermarket variety.) Anyway, on to the recipe. This will have a permanent place in my repertoire. And it matched up quite well with the Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Roast Pork Shoulder, Puerto Rican-Style
Serves: 6-10

4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 medium onion, quartered
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons peanut (preferred) or any other oil
2 tablespoons wine or cider vinegar
1 (4-to 7-pound) pork shoulder

Combine the first five ingredients in a food processor. Add the oil in a drizzle and process to incorporate it. Stir in the vinegar.

Rub the mixture into the pork, getting it into every nook and cranny. Place the meat on a rack and let it sit, uncovered, for 1 to 24 hours; refrigerate if the weather is hot or the time is greater than 2 hours or so.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roast the pork for about 3 hours, turning every 30 minutes or so and basting with the pan juices, until it is well done and very tender, and the skin is crisp. (The internal temperature should be at least 150 degrees F, but no more than 160 degrees F.) Let the meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it up; the meat should be so tender that cutting into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into chunks.

Note: I used a smaller cut and just made sure to check the temperature every half hour or so. It took about two hours. I also skipped the basting step with no noticeable bad effects.

Ubiquitous Corn Salad

Tonight, we had dinner at our friends' house for Labor Day. I can't tell you how nice it is to have such an awesome support system in Chicago. It has made the move so much easier. Finding our doctors, learning where to go to donate all of the crap for which we have no space, discovering the best parks for kids, getting the scoop on public schools... I have no clue how I'd do any of this without our friends. And then, when some of them invite us over for awesome fried chicken (told you I liked it Bill) and a tour of their beautiful neighborhood (Lincoln Square - home to one of the coolest parks in the city), I'm even more grateful.

We were told to come with just ourselves, but I decided to make up a quick batch of corn salad. I swear I made this recipe up back when we lived in Ann Arbor, but since then, I've seen variations of it in multiple publications and on other blogs. I guess it's just one of those recipes that is inevitable. The ingredients make sense. And when that is the case, you can't go wrong.

Ubiquitous Corn Salad

6 ears of corn, shucked
2 ripe avocados
2 limes
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered (or halved if they are small)
3 scallions, chopped
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt
freshly ground pepper

Place corn in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, turn off the heat and cover the pot. The corn will be done in 10 minutes.

While the corn cooks, cut the avocados in half and remove the pit from each one. While still in the peel, slice through the avocado meat vertically (but not through the peel) in quarter inch increments. Do the same thing horizontally. As soon as you finish scoring each avocado half, squeeze lime juice over it to prevent browning. Once all of the avocado halves are scored, use a large spoon to scoop out the meat. You should have nice little cubes. Place these in a large bowl. Add the rest of the lime juice, the tomatoes, and the scallions.

Once the corn is cooked, slice the kernels off the cob with a sharp knife. Place these in the bowl with the rest of the vegetables. Add the olve oil and toss everything together. Salt and pepper to taste. This tastes wonderful at room temperature, but you might need to refrigerate it for a bit to cool down the corn. (You can make the corn up to two days in advance to avoid this scenario.) Remember, the longer you refrigerate the entire salad, the less integrity your tomatoes will have. Refrigeration kills tomatoes, but it is often inevitable.

Moving Sucks

  Boxes in our new kitchen 
  Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac.

I'm still alive, barely.

It is truly a bitch to move 5,000 square feet of stuff into 2,000 square feet. I know that I will be happier with less stuff, and in a smaller space, but the journey is trying, to say the least.

We are still surrounded by boxes (not as bad as above, though), but I think the end is in sight. I took the kids to Ikea today and ordered a ton of storage solutions. Bookcases for Dylie's room, bookcases for our room and a big entertainment center for the family room.

Needless to say, I have not cooked. We have eaten wonderfully, though. I love my new neighborhood so much I could make out with it. Saturday night we went to a local Italian restaurant for Chicken Milanese and Seafood Agnolotti. Last night we ordered in amazing Mexican food from a little joint called Picante. It is two blocks from the house.

I promise to start blogging regularly again soon. I just need to get my life unpacked first!! In the meantime, I will continue to upload photos to my Flickr account. I finally got my new camera (the D50!!), so I'm good to go on the photography front.