Nana

In my constant search for the best breakfast in Chicago, I think I may have found the place.  A friend was in town and had seen this show about Nana.  About a 10 minute drive south of the loop in Bridgeport, sits this very unassuming place.  Large windows fill the place with the warm sun, festive Mexican music playing, and a menu that made deciding on a dish a very difficult thing.  A mother, her family, and a chef who isn’t afraid of butter and duck fat make up the cast of Nana.  A few things stood out…one is the fact they are procuring organic food.  Two…housemade chorizo and giardiniera..and third Rishi tea.

I have never been a fan of chorizo due to the burning sensation in my stomach it gave me and the aftertaste that seems to over power and linger for days.   This chorizo was like no other.  After watching the video (see link above), I can see why it tasted sooooo good.

Breakfast was huevos rancheros. Ola!  A crispy corn tortilla topped with chorizo, refried pinto beans, sauteed vidalia onion and red peppers,  scrambled eggs, poblano cream, guacamole, and queso fresco.  So fresh, so delicious…I had to have the leftovers boxed up.

And on a sidenote..in the pursuit of getting Melicello out into the hands of consumers stay tuned…Plant Chicago is the ticket!  I’m looking for investors…anyone interested??

In my constant search for the best breakfast in Chicago, I think I may have found the place.  A friend was in town and had seen this show about Nana.  About a 10 minute drive south of the loop in Bridgeport, sits this very unassuming place.  Large windows fill the place with the warm sun, festive Mexican music playing, and a menu that made deciding on a dish a very difficult thing.  A mother, her family, and a chef who isn’t afraid of butter and duck fat make up the cast of Nana.  A few things stood out…one is the fact they are procuring organic food.  Two…housemade chorizo and giardiniera..and third Rishi tea. I have never been a fan of chorizo due to the burning sensation in my stomach it gave me and the aftertaste that seems to over power and linger for days.   This chorizo was like no other.  After watching the video (see link above), I can see why it tasted sooooo good. Breakfast was huevos rancheros. Ola!  A crispy corn tortilla topped with chorizo, refried pinto beans, sauteed vidalia onion and red peppers,  scrambled eggs, poblano cream, guacamole, and queso fresco.  So fresh, so delicious…I had to have the leftovers boxed up. And on a sidenote..in the pursuit of getting Melicello out into the hands of consumers stay tuned…Plant Chicago is the ticket!

Double Chocolate & Banana Tart

This little gem has been on my radar since I purchased Dorie Greenspan’s ‘Around My French Table’ cookbook last year.  There is nothing overly difficult about this recipe, just a lot of steps involved.  I made the chocolate tart shell a day ahead. This was a straight forward tart dough – almost sable cookie-like texture.  Mix all the dry ingredients plus one egg yolk and  you are done.  I pressed the mixture into the tart pan with my fingers, froze it for 30 minutes before baking and was finished baking in under 30 minutes.

The next day I sliced and caramelized one banana then let the pieces come to room temperature.  Once the pieces had cooled, I placed them in the bottom of the tart form and begin making the ganache; chocolate, cream, butter…all melted up and poured directly over the top of the banana pieces. I let the ganache set in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.  Three bananas were sliced up and tossed with just a little squeeze of lemon juice to stop them from turning brown.  Once the spiral design was done, apricot jam was warmed up and  brushed over the slices.

Results: Bananas – Chocolate…how could you go wrong with that? This dessert had a great fudge-like texture mixed in with the subtle banana taste.  I was worried the chocolate shell would be overkill, but not at all.  This recipe is a keeper!  As long as you toss the banana slices with a little lemon and glaze them, the dish will hold up for a few hours.  I recommend bringing the tart to room temperature before inhaling.  Enjoy!

Momofuko Bo Ssam

While in Florida for a quick mini vacation, I happened upon this article and the above amazing photo about the Bo Ssam at Momofuko in New York.  I had tried back in November to reserve the infamous Bo Ssam for the family, but unfortunately they were booked solid.   And at $200 a pop I was thrilled to see the recipe!  And what was more fantastic then that, was reading how incredibly easy it is to make.  To be honest, it seemed too good to be true.

I ventured out to Joongboo Market; which is the best Korean market in Chicago to get a few ingredients for the sauces. There was a fermented bean-and-chili paste (ssamjang), chili paste (kochujang), and Kimchi (fermented vegetables..usually cabbage).  Here is a pic of what the two pastes looked like..it helped enormously to have found pictures on the internet beforehand,  since everything is in Korean at the market.

On the way home I was heading to Whole Foods to pick up the pork.  The recipe calls for a bone-in pork butt, which I had never seen before.  I happened to randomly take another street and saw this…

HOME OF THE BEEF!  PLASTIC COWS!!  I felt like I was back in Florida at the local steak house.  So of course I had to venture in and piled high in the case were bone-in pork butts. For a total of $15 I got a 6 pounder and Momofuko’s $200 meal was seeming better and better.   I came home, mixed up 1 cup of Kosher salt with 1 cup of sugar, rubbed it on, and didn’t look at it until the next day.

Now here’s where the recipe was vauge..does one wash the rub off or not?  I did.  Right? Wrong?  Who knows? Anyone out there make this with the rub on it?

Here’s a picture of it going into the oven…

The recipe called for a 8-10 lb pork butt and to cook it for 6 hours.  I cooked mine for 5 hours and it probably could have went for another hour.  One thing I’ve come to realize about roasting pork butts, no matter what the size, it is more like 8 hours in a normal oven.

The end result…worth every long hour waiting for it to cook.  The sides were so easy to make and the pork was out of this world. I was blown away by how easy and painless this A-rated meal was to put together.

The perfect meal for a cold winter day.

Momofuko Bo Ssam

Pork Butt

1 whole bone-in pork butt or picnic ham (8 to 10 pounds)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt

7 tablespoons brown sugar

Ginger-Scallion Sauce

2½ cups thinly sliced scallions, both green and white parts

½ cup peeled, minced fresh ginger

¼ cup neutral oil (like grapeseed)

1½ teaspoons light soy sauce

1 scant teaspoon sherry vinegar

½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

Ssam Sauce

2 tablespoons fermented bean-and- chili paste (ssamjang, available in many Asian markets, and online)

1 tablespoon chili paste (kochujang, available in many Asian markets, and online)

½ cup sherry vinegar

½ cup neutral oil (like grapeseed)

Accompaniments

2 cups plain white rice, cooked

3 heads bibb lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried

1 dozen or more fresh oysters (optional)

Kimchi (available in many Asian markets, and online).

1. Place the pork in a large, shallow bowl. Mix the white sugar and 1 cup of the salt together in another bowl, then rub the mixture all over the meat. Cover it with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

2. When you’re ready to cook, heat oven to 300. Remove pork from refrigerator and discard any juices. Place the pork in a roasting pan and set in the oven and cook for approximately 6 hours, or until it collapses, yielding easily to the tines of a fork. (After the first hour, baste hourly with pan juices.) At this point, you may remove the meat from the oven and allow it to rest for up to an hour.

3. Meanwhile, make the ginger-scallion sauce. In a large bowl, combine the scallions with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and taste, adding salt if needed.

4. Make the ssam sauce. In a medium bowl, combine the chili pastes with the vinegar and oil, and mix well.

5. Prepare rice, wash lettuce and, if using, shuck the oysters. Put kimchi and sauces into serving bowls.

6. When your accompaniments are prepared and you are ready to serve the food, turn oven to 500. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining tablespoon of salt with the brown sugar. Rub this mixture all over the cooked pork. Place in oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until a dark caramel crust has developed on the meat. Serve hot, with the accompaniments.

Davanti Enoteca

When you take a chef from The Purple Pig and the team behind the Francesca’s restaurants and mix them together you end up with Davanti Enoteca. A quaint place in Little Italy with a menu that rivals the best.  There is something about a brisk night, tea candles ablaze, exposed  brick, and recycled wood bar that seemed extra inviting as we walked in the door.  The wine menu was full of Italian wines just begging to be tried.  On tap was a 2008 red Salice Salantino from the Puglia area.

Since we were a large group we decided to order several things on the menu to share. Appetizers were cacciatorini (wild boar salami) and chicken liver pate served in a mini mason jar with tuscan toast.  I have never tried pate before and decided to branch out this night and give it a whirl.  Ok…sold.  Won’t snub my nose at that every again.

Next up was Paccheri con Salsiccia e Pomodri al forna (rigatoni & sausage) and pizza con prosciutto e ruscola (prosiutto, mozzarella and arugla).  The ‘gravy’ was nice and light, pasta al dente, along with a perfectly made wood burning crust on the pizza.

The highlight for me was the ‘board.’  They literally bring out a small piece of wood,  pour mascarpone polenta on it (which tasted like a vat of cream and butter were added to it) and then top it off with a lamb ragu.

There were so many more things beckoning to be ordered, that I’ll have to go back.

Davanti Enoteca

1359 W. Taylor Street  (Little Italy)

*No reservations, so get there early*

The Come back kid…

I hope these last  months you have  enjoyed the bounty of the final summer treats and kicked into full gear the warm winter stews, hot cocoa, and yummy root vegetables.  As I hunker down into the heart of another Chicago winter and the new year upon us…it’s time for a little reflection and regrouping of this blog. Numerous things have caused a delay in posts, but I hope to get things up and running again.  Of course the focus will always be on healthy food.  I’ve seen some good things and bad things happen this past year as the vegetarian road was rerouted.  The constant tingling feeling in my fingers has disappeared, but an extra few lbs were added.   With the exception of a few meals, I can’t say that I actually enjoy eating meat.  Having that type of protein in my life seems more of a necessity thing right now.  When I look back to this past year of the actual meat I bought it was seafood, lamb, and pork.  A roast chicken seems to get me through a week here or there, but I am not gorging myself on it. So looking forward, I know that a plant based diet if more healthy then what I am currently doing…and that isn’t much.  In hopes of reviving this blog I’d like to add an emphasis on all things seafood that are sustainable and lamb.  Growing up lamb was a staple for the Armenian side of my family and my ‘body’ seems to agree with it, so I’m going with that.

The other part of this blog will also be dedicated to all the wonderful places in Chicago to dine.  My Godmother is coming here in a few short months and wants to go visit some of these great places.

After four long months, this new entry is broken up into two parts.  One is the Christmas eve dinner I made and the second part is a great place I recently visited.  I realize I am not a recipe developer, so occasional I will post a ‘revised’ recipe here, but until that time, I’ll add the link to the recipes and any ‘enhancements’ that were made to it.

I call this Kimbrella’s lamb.  Kim has been a friend of mine for many years and made this one year for Easter.  When she came to visit this year, I begged her to recreate it and I’ve been hook ever since.  The only addition I did to this recipe is made more slits in the lamb and stuffed the roast with a whole head of garlic.  Temperature wise it said to cook till 160 F, but that was way too done for me.  I would go with 140 F. Also, I bought a 2.5 lb de-boned roast, but followed the recipe the same. The other part of this dish which is a total keeper were the Greek potatoes. I finally think this recipe nails that wonderful lemon taste. (I used chicken stock)

Lamb recipe

Potato recipe

Since I am a fan of all things tea and had a few days off, I decided to visit another locale in Chicago to see how High Tea was done there.  The Drake Hotel is located at the very north end of Michigan Avenue. The hotel is beautiful and it was extra nice since all the holiday decorations were still up.  In life I’ve realized going solo sometimes to an event gets you to places where you never could go otherwise.  Front row of a show, learning a new custom because a local takes you under their belt.  Some of the best meals I’ve had were alone and left having made some incredible friendships. And high tea didn’t disappointment.  Inside the ‘tea room’ stood a giant fountain and I was lucky enough to score a seat right next to it.  The table next to me was enjoying a martini glass full of strawberries and sipping on a delectable glasses of Veuve. Next to them, the harpist was playing Christmas carols.  Ahhhh….bliss….

Tea was a Chinese black mixed with wild blackberries.  Four small sandwiches, a raisin scone, banana bread, and two desserts (mini key-lime pie and a creme filled pastry shaped like a swan).  Lemon curd, preserves, and double Devon cream accompanied the whole thing!  Service was top notch.  The afternoon was heaven and would recommend it should you be in town.

Last of the summer favorites….

As summer winds down and work starts back up again, I realized there were a few places I’d been to this summer here in Chicago and wanted to share.  First up is Isaacson & Stein Fish Company. This fish market is a help yourself kind of place.  Rows and stacks of fish, shrimp, clams, etc.  Once you pick the fish of choice, there is a cleaning station with men that will gut and scale it for you.  I bought some jumbo prawns and made a great Thai BBQ dish.

Next up is Gene’s Sausage Shop. Pure bliss.  First floor, all the sausage you can imagine.  Second floor all the beer and condiments you can imagine.  Third floor…roof top deck that cooks up what is on both floors.  Oh yeah!!

This summer went by way too quick.  I’m still pinching myself because I can’t believe I am living here and get to enjoy all the great food and wonderful places to visit.