The Cure For Everything Is Salt …
… tears, sweat, and the sea. (Dinesen)
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A Perfect Chicago Spring Morning
16 May 2012
Stand back, please, I’m about to unleash a whole bunch of perky. What a beautiful morning in Chicago! Last night’s rain has given way to a clear blue sky and a cool breeze. Our roses are in various stages of bloom as the rest of our garden continues to come to life, and everyone I’ve talked to this morning was as cheery as the sunshine. It’s the kind of day that makes me want to lunch, sipping cold white wine, at a sidewalk cafe. The kind of day that begs for a dinner of spicy BBQ chicken off the grill and a fresh salad with homegrown herbs. The kind of day that demands shorts, t-shirts, and a jog by the lake (you jog, I’ll watch). I’m thrilled with life, happy to be at work, and knocking down items on my to-do list like pins in a bowling alley (never mind that I suck at bowling). I’ll take an entire spring just like today, please, and thank you.
The 2012 Sous Chef Series
15 May 2012
Check out Tasting Table’s and Williams Sonoma’s series on sous chefs. The latest feature on on Sung Ahn, the chef de cuisine of Aziza in San Francisco, has what looks like a killer recipe for Korean short ribs.
Spring Planting 2012
14 May 2012
The usual rule of thumb in Chicago is to wait until Mother’s Day to start planting, but with the strangely warm weather last March, everyone I’ve talked with feels that they’re behind the curve this year. Yesterday, I finally made it to the Garden of Gethsamane and filled my Earthboxes with heirloom tomatoes, mesclun lettuces, and herbs.
I’m a city boy, born and raised, mostly apartments, only Chicago. Was 33 when I planted my first flower (a rosebush in the small front yard of our townhome), and 38 when I planted my first vegetables. So I’ve got a lot of admiration for people who know their way around a garden or vegetable patch and a lot of envy for those who grew up eating fresh dinners made at least partly from what was growing in their backyard.
My colleague Kate recently shared a number of links for gardeners that I found very useful:
- Square foot gardening: http://www.squarefootgardening.org/
- Seed growing in the snow: http://www.gardendesign.com/seed-sowing-snow?pnid=122085#gallery-content
- A planting calendar by zip code: http://sproutrobot.com/
- Gardening without a garden: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/gardening-without-a-garden-10-ideas-for-your-patio-or-balcony-renters-solutions-167221
- Colorful garden plans: http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plans/special-spots/colorful-front-yard-garden-plans/
- Organic gardening: http://planetforward.ca/blog/my-organic-garden-2012-seedlings/
In the next few weeks we’ll be planting a cutting garden on the deck as well so we can have fresh flowers in and around the home. Welcome back, sunshine and warmth, I’ve missed you.
The Chez Miranayes 2012 Pizza Toolkit
12 May 2012
I love pizza. Love, love, love pizza. I also love kitchen power tools and cooking at home. The get:
- Pizza dough: http://annies-eats.com/2010/04/29/perfect-homemade-pizza-crust-tips-and-tricks/. Thank you, Susan, for introducing me to Annie and to this recipe. I’d previously used a recipe from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food, but I like this dough better. It’s fast and simple and good. Please read Annie’s notes about freezing and defrosting the dough and consider making more than one batch at a time—extras in the freezer make homemade pizza a great go-to possibility for a quick lunch or weeknight meal.
- Pizza sauce: Muir Glen’s canned pizza sauce: I enjoy white pizza from time to time, but I’m a red sauce guy at home. This stuff is really good, and it has half of the calories, sugar, and sodium of “fresh” pizza sauces sold in the supermarket’s chilled prepared food section.
- Epicurean pizza peel and cutter: these products are eco-friendly, easy to clean, and heat resistant up to 350 degrees.
- Cordierite pizza stone: want a crisp crust? This stone will deliver. Better yet, this particular stone works both in the oven and on your grill.
- Parchment paper: much easier to use than cornmeal, and it allows you to take your time in assembling your pies. For tips on how to avoid the misshapen debacle that was my first attempt at using a pizza peel, please see this CHOW video tip.
- Kitchenaid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer. Yes, I realize that this is overkill, but it’s a fantastic mixer that makes great dough, and it looks great on my granite countertop. If you drive an SUV in the city, please put down that stone and back off slowly.
As for recipes themselves, I tend to throw whatever I’m craving or whatever is in the fridge on to my pizza. A few things I’ve learned:
- Precook anything that normally takes time to prepare. This would include heartier veggies like broccoli or kale or potatoes, as well as meats like sausage or ground beef.
- Fresh mozzarella tastes better than aged mozzarella. Learn more about mozzarella from Serious Eats.
- I prefer to dress the pizza with fresh herbs after the pizza’s done cooking.
Tips on technique:
- Preheat the pizza stone in the oven at 500 degrees for at least a half-hour before making your pizza.
- If you’re using a pizza peel, position the tip of the peel at the absolute back of the pizza stone and the oven, and pull the peel out from under the pizza.
- On a stone, pizza will take roughly 10 minutes to cook; plan accordingly.
Got any pizza tips? Please share …
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Seattle 2012: The Recap
16 March 2012
As far as vacations go, Seattle was wonderful and now a million miles away, even though it was just a week ago today that Peter and I were ferrying out to Bainbridge Island for lunch. Special thanks to Jenni and Chris, Nicole and Anne, Jen, and Marsha for helping us to pick out terrific restaurants and taking time out their lives to hang out with us. Headed to Seattle soon? Check out:
Crush
2319 E. Madison Street
Seattle, Washington 98112
206.30.CRUSH
We were such big fans of this place the last time we visited that we had dinner there twice in a week. Three years later, it’s every bit as good as we remembered it. Octopus a la plancha, trumpet mushroom risotto, roast suckling pig, black cod, and a plate of local cheeses for dinner.
Canlis
2576 Aurora Avenue North
Seattle, Washington 98109
206.283.3313
The place is right out of North by Northwest (OK, I thought it looked upscale Brady Brunch in the best possible way, but Peter’s NBN reference is cooler). The restaurant has been in the family for more than 60 years, and the service is genuine and attentive. Jacket required, and it was well worth the dressing up.
Rover’s
2808 E. Madison
Seattle, Wa 98112
206.325.7442
We chose the lightest of the price fixe menus and were delighted with both the meal and the exquisite wine pairings. Chef in the Hat!!! Thierry Rautureau, who came out to talk with us briefly, knows Karl Gross from Oceanique, our favorite restaurant in Chicago, very well. The Chef in the Hat!!! told us he couldn’t imagine cooking anywhere else in the world like he’s able to in the Pacific Northwest, where so much can be sourced locally.
Portage Bay Cafe
391 Terry Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
206.462.6400
They have three locations, and we went to their place in South Lake Union to meet Marsha for brunch on Saturday. Great food. Packed! Make reservations on the weekend.
Cafe Nola
101 Winslow Way E.
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
206.842.3822
If you head out to Bainbridge Island, give this place a try. The bar is warm and inviting, and a bowl of their mussels with spicy Italian sausage and a tomato broth is the perfect thing for a misty and gray afternoon.
Etta’s Seafood
2020 Western Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121
206.443.6000
Best Bloody Marys I’ve ever had, and fried shrimp for Sunday morning breakfast is a rare treat.
Beecher’s at Pike Place Market
1600 Pike Place
Seattle, WA 98101
206.956.1964
We went here to assemble a dinner gift for friends—I found out afterward that they serve meals, too. Friends, I’m warning you now that several of you are going to get their mac-and-cheese kit for the holidays. Say you love me in scotch.
Next time around, we’ll get to:
Travelogue: Dubrovnik, Croatia, Saturday, 3 September 2011
8 September 2011
At the Revelin Club overlooking the harbor, Peter and I split a bottle of local white wine and fish caught in the Adriatic earlier that morning. Best grilled calamari I’ve ever had in my life. At the end of our meal, the waiter brought us each a shot of plum grappa and told us of a local saying: when there’s a bottle of this grappa on the table, the devil’s in the corner. View my photos from our day in Dubrovnik …
Travelogue: Corfu, Greece, Friday, 2 September 2011
8 September 2011
We wandered through the old town until we thought it was time for lunch. We tried to get seated at 11:15 a.m. at an open-air restaurant in a private courtyard off of one of the main streets in Old Town, but the owner waved us off. So we wandered down to a nearby cafe for a couple of Coronas and snacks.
We returned to restaurant at noon, just as the owner was returning from the market with plastic bags full of fresh vegetables in each of his hands. He nodded to us, so we sat down. A younger woman, presumably his daughter, came out to take our order: feta, olives, tzakziki, and a pitcher of local red wine to start, followed by the special mixed grill.
The meal was the essence of every romantic dream I’ve had about Mediterranean food: the feta, sharp and rich and fresh, the black olives, briny, and the wine light enough that Peter and I thought we could spend the entire day drinking it. The grill was a tower of pork. lamb, beef, sausages, and chicken served on a bed of crispy fries with fresh lemon and parsley. The owner smiled and told us to take our time. Bellissimo.
Travelogue: Katakolon and Mt. Olympia, Greece, Thursday, 1 September 2011
8 September 2011
Lots of rocks, excavations, museums, tour buses (hate tour buses!), tourists, blather blather blather political and economic posturing from the tour guide (ugh). Wish I’d packed mojitos for the ride. Saw the place that the Olympic torch is lit every four years. View my pictures from the Mt. Olympia and Katakolon tour …
Travelogue: Malta, Wednesday, 31 August 2011
8 September 2011
Disraeli once commented that Malta was an island of palaces built by princes for princes. Over 400,000 people live in Malta. The culture reflects the various powers that once ruled the archipelago of Islands, and one can hear Italian, French, and Arabic in both the old and new Maltese language. We visited Vittoriosa and Valetta. In both, we saw the fortresses built by knights during the Crusades. Both cities were damaged badly during WWII, and the restorations in which the country is currently engaged are extensive. View my photos of Vittoriosa and Valetta …
