Twisted Tapas: Not Really

You know what's useful in a man? His ability to chow down. I met a new friend in Chicago, and we decided to get tapas on a whim, and I appreciate someone who can go for dinner round 2 late in the evening.

We checked out Twisted in Wrigleyville. It was fine, but not amazing. But seeing as this was one of my first forays into the Chicago restaurant scene outside of the world of deep dish pizzas, I was intrigued.

Twisted doesn't seem to do much to go beyond safe fare, and it doesn't do safe fare well enough to make one jump in her seat. It does do things decently, and it's an acceptable place to venture in a pinch, but I'd rather do more research in the future and find a place where a bit of food makes one's eyes widen with surprise.

I think it's a little weird to call oneself Twisted when none of the tapas are particularly novel. I mean crabcakes isn't a standard tapas dish, but it's not an unusual dish on its own. Adding red pepper aioli does not put one on the wild side of dining. Okay, these bacon wrapped dates are in a roasted red pepper sauce, which is twisted, but more like a weird kind of twisted.

So I've bashed this place a little bit. I had a good time, but mainly because it was fun to try a new restaurant and to do it with someone who could hold his own, which translated into an opportunity for me to try more dishes.

Twisted, 3412 N. Sheffield, Chicago, IL

Pizza with Caramalised Onion, Edamame Ricotta, and Prosciutto

The holiday season is upon us, and I am starting to think about cooking again. Back before I started drowning in the overwhelming experience called first quarter of graduate school, I did putter around the kitchen a bit.

Have you ever put together an entire outfit because of a particularly pair of hot stilettos or a very shiny pair of earrings?

Well, I have. And after my mozzarella ball fiasco and resulting mess of edamame ricotta complete with slightly undercooked and crunchy edamame, I knew I wanted to use the ricotta in some sort of preparation that would allow the edamame to cook more.

Somehow, the obvious choice in my mind was to make pizza. Here's my argument for the connection: I was thinking bread because I had just made No-Knead Bread for the Vegetarian Potluck, and ricotta is a cheese, and cheese goes on pizza. Q.E.D. Obviously.

Haha, I'm just finishing up a batch of finals. You think the use of similar logic will manage to get me far in regards to a passing grade in a class?

Convoluted thinking aside, I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen for Fresh Ricotta and Red Onion Pizza, and suddenly my path to gustatory victory was clear.

Only problem is that I had a lot of edamame ricotta. And I really don't know how to cook for one. So I made two baking sheet-sized pizzas at once. Yes, I have problems.

But you have a bigger one. You didn't know to call me up that day because boy could I have unloaded some deliciousness onto your plate.

West Egg

Dixie Delight: homemade biscuits, country gravy, two eggs sunny-side up, plus potatoes.

Rod's Country Fried: country fried steak topped with country gravy with two eggs sunny-side up and potatoes.

Two visits to West Egg: two dates with some country gravy. It'll definitely lead you feeling full. The food at West Egg isn't mind blowing, and I confess the potatoes had me dreaming of the fantastic home fries at Blue Water Grill in Union Square, New York, but it's a solid spot. The waitstaff is friendly, the atmosphere laid-back.

West Egg, 620 N. Fairbanks Ct (@ Ontario St.), Chicago, IL

Vegetarian Potluck

It's finals right now, and I really should be studying, but let's ogle these pictures from a Vegetarian Potluck that happened way way back in September. Samosa Chaat. I had to seriously restrain myself on these.

Pasta Salad. A bit of acidity to it, if I remember properly. Now if I could only remember equations as well.

Eye-opening Orzo with Roasted Vegetables pasta salad. Looks unassuming, but really delicious.

Moroccan Carrot Salad. Someone has amazing knife skills.

My contribution, homemade bread. This is back when I tried to make fresh mozzarella, bungled it, turned it into ricotta, and all I had left to bring was bread.

I know! The host and hostesses had a whole bevy of homemade deliciousness.

Love those family secret recipes.

There are people who don't like Guac. They also don't know what they are talking about. California shores, I will be home soon!

These were out of this world. I am not even a sweets person, but some one's mother in Kansas really delivered a small bit of wonderfulness to us poor deprived students in Chicago.

Caprese salad, always a welcome addition to any table.

More pasta salad. The request was to only bring vegetarian items, and there was a really great assortment of dishes.

Banana pudding. This just makes me think of my childhood: green lawns, bike rides to school, trading cool erasers during recess. Yes, was always a mega dork.

Looks like fruit ambrosia to me, and I feared it would be cloyingly sweet, but I was wrong. It was light and you caste the different fruit.

Aren't they so cute? I had a great time. There was a little toddler running around who stole people's shoes for a bit of impromptu dress-up. I got to meet some of my classmates, and I cannot wait until things die down, and I can return the favor.

Quick Salad

Have you ever hit that moment when you really need to turn rabbit and hoover down as much roughage as you can? After one too many days of pizzas and burgers and ramen, I couldn't take it anymore, ran to the corner grocery store, and whipped this salad up: celery, cucumber, grape tomatoes, seeded kalamata olives, feta cheese, sliced red onion, and rough-chopped butter lettuce in a quick vinaigrette of mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. It hit the spot.

Roti

My classmates are talented chefs as well, and a new friend was kind enough to let me try her homemade roti and kidney beans. Now that I've been on the receiving end of a few meals, I've realized that it really makes one feel so taken care of and welcome when someone spends the time to cook for you. I just love to entertain because I like being in the kitchen, and I like showing off culinary skills, but it has been lovely to be a guest as well.

Thomas Keller's Roast Chicken

I managed to have people over for dinner once or twice before things got really out of hand at school, and Thomas Keller's recipe for a simple roast chicken really saved me. It's so easy, and even if you have crap trussing skills like me, you can still make a delicious moist and flavorful bird.