Focaccia al Cacao

Tags

bread, cocoa powder, focaccia, grapes

Making bread has always seemed incredibly daunting. You can buy bread practically anywhere, at any store, in any city. Because it is so widespread in every culture, I’ve been intimidated to bake it on my own.

I decided to try it though, having stumbled across an unpretentious recipe for focaccia (a flatbread ubiquitous in Italy). Focaccia is typically savory, garnished with caramelized onions, roasted tomatoes, salty olives, peppery rosemary, thick olive oil- the toppings vary depending on where in Italy you find yourself. This recipe, though, is for a sweet focaccia, complete with cocoa powder and green grapes.

I must admit that there is something very rewarding about baking your own bread, a true sense of accomplishment, a feeling very similar to graduating from college.

Think about it- bread dates back to the Neolithic Era. That’s around 9500 BC! You can potentially create something older than Christ!

In an age when so much of society depends on technology, when so many demand instant gratification, you, as a human being, still have the power to make BREAD, with your HANDS, just like Pliny the Elder once did.

You don’t need machinery, you don’t need expensive baking equipment, you don’t need products from Whole Foods, you don’t need a lot of space.

You just need (at least for Focaccia al Cacao):

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup warm water
• 1 package yeast
• teaspoon salt
• tablespoon melted butter
• green grapes
• olive oil
• more sugar for generously dusting the bread
• a pair of hands
• an oven

That’s all you need.

I found this recipe here, a blog that I enjoy quite a lot. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, the recipe is in English.

Try it! It’s not too sweet, perfect for breakfast or a mid-morning snack, with melty grapes that ooze sugary juice, and an unassuming hint of cocoa rounding out the bread’s flavor.

 

Icewine Jelly

Tags

icewine, jelly, lailey vineyard, reisling

I love this stuff.

It’s a delicate jelly, made from Reisling Icewine.

Icewine is a specific type dessert wine that is produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. As a result, the grapes’ water freezes, while the sugar doesn’t. So, pressed from the grapes is a concentrated must that yields a very sweet, albeit smaller amount of and, consequently, a highly expensive, wine.

It’s not surprising that icewine’s origins were accidental.

Germany, 1794. A German vintner is out of town, while he should be harvesting the grapes from his vineyard. Upon his return, he discovers that the grapes have been frozen. Regardless, he decides to harvest his grapes, and the deliciously saccharine icewine is born.

Eiswein remained a strictly German product up until the 1960′s when other European countries began to commercially produce it as well. While Germany’s icewine is still renowned, Canada is the world’s leading producer, particularly in the Niagara Peninsula.

This icewine jelly hails from Lailey Vineyard in Ontario, using Reisling grapes. I’m not quite sure how I came to acquire this product, although I suspect that it has something to do with my father, who has had a history in the wine business. Like an apparition, the jelly suddenly appeared in my family’s refrigerator, where I claimed it as my own. Could this delight be a hallucination? Perhaps.

I’ve been devouring this with fresh bread, crackers, and brie, not wanting to mask the taste. Like the wine, it’s sweet, but not cloying, with the refreshing flavors of fleshy apricots and succulent mangoes, a slight aftertaste of ripe tangerines.

I wish I knew where to find this so that you could all try it. It doesn’t seem as though it can be ordered online. Here, however, is a recipe for homemade icewine jelly, which I might try once I (very soon) run out of my own stash.

Lemon and Thyme Risotto

Tags

lemon, risotto, thyme

Risotto is a labor of love.

It’s not a meal that you make when you’re in the mood for instant gratification. If you don’t properly nurture it, gently coaxing it into maturity, there’s a great chance that the rice could dry out or become too mushy. In that case, it’s no good and you’ll have to resort to eating that dusty box of Kraft macaroni and cheese that has been sitting in the back of your pantry for two years.

Not to scare you or anything…

Risotto is a northern Italian dish, which means it relies heavily on butter rather than olive oil as its choice fat. Typically, it replaces pasta or soup as il primo, the first course- which is to say it’s after gli antipasti (appetizers) and before il secondo (the protein). However, these leftovers have been so scrumptious that I’ve been eating this singular meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I first got the idea for a lemon risotto from here, and wanted to try it. Glad I did. The following recipe is essentially the same, except that I used thyme in lieu of parsley. I’m a bit ambivalent towards parsley and thought that thyme would make a great substitute. It did. Thyme is a bit peppery and has a distinct lemony taste. Lemon also has a lemony taste. So, the two work well together.

I hope that you enjoy this as much as I did!

• 6 cups chicken broth
• 3 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
• grated peel of 1/2 lemon
• juice of 1 lemon

Bring broth to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low.

In a heavy (and large*) saucepan, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter with the olive oil. Add the onions, cook for about 5 minutes. Add the rice,** and stir for 1 minute. This process of coating the rice in fat is called la tostatura del riso. Doing this ensures that the rice holds on to its starches and will only release them with the gentle cajoling of your wooden spoon and broth.

After the tostatura, add the wine to the rice, and stir for about another 30 seconds.

Add a ladle of the hot broth to the rice and simmer until fully absorbed. Remember to stir frequently. Then, add the remaining broth one ladle at a time, allowing the broth to be absorbed each time before adding more. Do this until the rice is tender and creamy, about 35 minutes.

At this point, stir in the cheese and remaining butter. Then, stir in the thyme, lemon peel, and lemon juice.

Eccolo! Che bello! The risotto is buttery and refreshing and astonishingly light.

I accept dinner invitations.

*Make sure that the pan that you are using is relatively large as the risotto will slowly expand into copious amounts of wonderfulness.

**Use a high-starch, medium-grain rice, such as Arborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone Nano. These rices will absorb liquids and release starch, making them stickier than other varieties.

White Bean Soup

Tags

bacon, cannellini beans, cream, rosemary, soup, thyme

Tis the season for soup.

So, that is what I made today. And I am glad I did, since now my entire apartment smells like bacon and rosemary. Really, is there any better way for a home to smell? (The answer is no.)

Simple, savory, rich, and delicious. A wonderful way to warm up when the cold outside insists on lingering in your bones. Another way to warm up is to close your window, which I did- after days of wondering why my bedroom was so cold. (“Oooooooh. That’s why I’m cold all night!”)

Anyway, here’s the recipe for my White Bean Soup.

• 5 cups water
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 slices of bacon, chopped
• 2 cups vegetable stock (I made this with a bouillon cube)
• 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 pint heavy cream
• handful fresh thyme, whole leaves
• handful fresh rosemary, whole leaves
• salt
• pepper

In a heavy soup pot, cook the bacon in its own fat and the olive oil for about a minute. Add the onions, garlic, and carrots. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add a generous amount of salt.

Pour in the water, vegetable stock, and heavy cream. Add the bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, and pinch of black pepper. Bring to a boil. Then, lower the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes, allowing the herbs to fully flavor the broth.

Add the cannellini beans and bring to a boil again. Discard the herb leaves and serve.

Yum.

Thanks to my friend, Kiyomi Negi-Tran, for lending me a nice camera.

Dates Wrapped In Bacon

Tags

bacon, dates, tapas

If I were a superhero (which I’d like to believe I am), bacon-wrapped dates would be my kryptonite.

Besides being absolutely scrumptious and addictive, they’re super easy to make. Bring them to a party and watch the crowd’s attention shift from the birthday girl to you. With these tapas, you’ll be the star of night.

Also, I like to stuff the dates with cheese, like a sharp provolone. But, you could use anything really- fontina, fresh ricotta, blue cheese. Yup, fancy and delicious. The epicurean’s appetizer.

Anyway, here’s how I make these.

• dates
• bacon
• cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the pits from the dates. Thinly slice the provolone. Stuff the desired amount of provolone into each date. Wrap one slice of bacon around each date. Place the dates onto a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Let the deliciousness cook for about 15 minutes. Drain them, and enjoy!

The First Tea Of The Season & Comfort Food

Tags

comfort food, echinacea, eggs, tea, tomato

I’m sick.

Not the kind of sick where you can call off of work and lie in bed all day, watching movies and sleeping, happy and well in a day or two. But the kind of sick that will insist on lingering in your system for few days- or worse- weeks, the kind where you’re in a constant state of discomfort. Leaky nose, fuzzy head, itching eyes, raw throat- I’ve got it all.

I tend to drink hot tea religiously come fall and winter. This season, I’ve been holding off on drinking tea, not wanting to acknowledge the drop in temperature, falling leaves, and impending winter. Alas, I can no longer pretend. I’m pretty sure that summer won’t be making a comeback any time in 2009.

In an attempt to boost my immune system, I’ve been drinking echinacea tea flavored with some grated fresh ginger. My goodness, so delicious. Here’s to hoping that the echinacea and ginger combination forces this illness into submission.

In the meantime, I only want to eat really hearty comfort foods. So tonight I’m going to make eggs in tomato sauce much like this recipe from the always wonderful Smitten Kitchen. Poached eggs with a wonderfully delicious runny yolk and sweet tomato sauce, on top of thick crusty toasted bread with a side of mushrooms sauteed in butter. My ultimate comfort food.

And what about you? What type of food do you like to eat when you’re sick? What’s your ultimate comfort food? Care to divulge the recipe?

Please share!

El Tinajon

Tags

cassava, enchiladas, Guatemala, jamaica, longaniza, plantains, tamales

In a city with more Mexican restaurants than there are humans,* it is rare to come across other Latin American cuisines, let alone ones of great quality. In Roscoe Village, however, a Guatemalan restaurant exists that will make you reconsider the next time that you dismiss Central American cuisine in lieu of a greasy burrito. That restaurant is El Tinajon.

El Tinajon, a star shining brightly in the glum Chicago evening

Guatemalan hand-made crafts, posters, and maps adorn the bright orange and yellow walls here, creating a welcoming atmosphere, one that implores me to seek refuge inside from the bitter Chicago cold. I oblige.

Upon being seated, I am brought homemade chips and a cilantro-heavy (by which I mean delicious!) salsa. But, don’t be confused! Despite a small number of Mexican platillos, most of the food is Guatemalan through and through and the friendly waitstaff will gladly answer any questions that you have regarding the menu.

To drink, I order jamaica, a juice made from hibiscus extract. The result is a thick, sweet beverage, deep-pink in color, that tastes of roses. My dining companion orders a Guatemalan beer, Famosa, which tastes like most mass-produced commercial lagers. However, unlike most American macros, it doesn’t have a lingering metallic taste, which makes it significantly more refreshing than, say, Budweiser.

With our appetizers arrive cups of chicken soup, filled with tender chicken and chunks of vegetables. The waitress informs us that the soup’s on the house. You’re off to a good start, El Tinajon.

But, while the soup is wonderful, the appetizers steal the show. The tamal guatemalteco is a corn tamale steamed in a banana leaf and stuffed with pork, olives, capers, and pimento peppers. The succulent pork breaks apart with ease, and the masa melts in my mouth. For a moment, I want to eat these tamales forever. But then I move onto the yuca con ajo. This is the starchy cassava root, its yellow flesh cubed, boiled, and blanketed in parsley, garlic, and butter. Maybe it’s this that I could eat forever.

For dinner, there’s a Guatemalan enchilada, topped with ground beef, fried sweet onions, pimento peppers, and beets. Beets on enchiladas? Sold. I also taste the longaniza, which, as the waitress explains, is a sausage similar to chorizo but filled with “Guatemalan spices and vegetables.” The sausage is a bit dry, but I taste capers, parsley, and hints of garlic, so I’m forgiving.

Then, there are the plantains, fried and caramelized with a smoky flavor tempered by sour cream. A great end to a great meal.

If this is what Guatemala tastes like, then, in the words of 30 Rock’s Liz Lemon, “I want to go to there.”

El Tinajon

2054 W. Roscoe St, between N. Seeley and N. Hoyne

easily accessible by the brown line Paulina stop and Damen and Belmont buses

*Not an actual statistic