Potluck!

On my to do list for the next year is to make a better effort to find some culinary simpaticos at school. (That's a complete bastardization of the word is it?) I met a few at an Italian themed potluck with some members of the Epicurean Club.

The evening looked promising with the proffer of a beautiful pomegranate cocktail, courtesy of the hostess.

Followed by an addictive white bean dip.

I couldn't really understand why guests did not clean out this bowl of green beans tossed with slivered sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts and homemade pesto. It was fantastic, and there was a healthy pool of pesto-green olive oil pooling in the bottle that just begged for me to scoop up with the spoon and drizzle over the beans. I had at least three helpings.

Caprese salad with an aged balsamic.

I brought this salad, of which I made way way way too much. It's a shaved fennel salad with Boston lettuce, grapefruit and parmesan in a sherry vinaigrette. It was really an excuse to use my beloved mandoline.

One of two gigantic lasagnas. I love meeting people over food. I learned about people's culinary interests as well as their own personal fascinations, and got opinions about Oprah and the state of education in America. A good meal's ability to bring together relative strangers and generate meaningful conversations is one of the best things about creating a delicious dinner.

Nigerian Fish Stew

This picture doesn't look amazing, but let me tellyou the dish tasted amazing. My school has got a good international contingent, and one of my study-group mates is from Nigeria. After much begging and pleading, he agreed to make what he calls a Nigerian fish stew for us. The piece of catfish is rubbed with some sort of Nigerian spice that's hard to find. I'm going to find it. And then there's a bit of habanero thrown in. The fish is then gently poached in water. It seems so simple, but lord, it's a whole new taste and spicy and good. The flavor of the spice is vaguely reminiscent of the numbing spice of Sichuan peppers, but it's got this new indescribable additional component as well. I love love love trying new taste sensations.

Here's something new

En route to Cincinnati, I saw this product near the cash register at a gas station where stopped to fill up. Are you understanding the purpose of this product? It's for the fellows that dip. And it's a nice minty depository for your spit. I know. It's kind of genius. What kind of person buys this? Is it for the ladies? Do the guys care? There's this whole world I don't know about.

Montgomery Inn: I'm Not Convinced

Okay, let's not get into details, but I found myself in Cincinnati, Ohio a few weeks ago, and a classmate recommended that we all try Montgomery Inn. There are a lot of sports jerseys in Montgomery Inn. I take this to mean that big men who burn a lot of calories and can afford to eat substantial quantities of protein like the barbecue at Montgomery Inn.

I think the big men in sports jerseys should go find a place with linoleum on the floor and sauce in plastic squeeze bottles.

Or they can visit New York and stop by Hill Country or Fette Sau because I like me some super fatty ribs, and Montomery Inn's ribs aren't as lip-smackin' as one would hope.

I will say this for the place, amazingly friendly wait staff. Almost disturbingly friendly. They make people nicer out in the midwest I've discovered.

Montgomery Inn, 925 Riverside Drive, Cincinnati, OH

Bin 36

Bin 36 is a wine bar that I'd like to revisit. It's got a great array of wine flights that are affordably priced, and an enticing menu of savory and sweet dishes that would pair well with many a wine. My only complaint about them is that the establishment is too well-lit. The proper level of lighting for a place that wants to encourage the enjoyable consumption of wine is a level of illumination that makes everyone's skin look smooth and pores look small. That, Bin 36, is called low-lighting. Try it out, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results.

Bin 36, 339 North Dearborn St., Chicago, IL

Idiot Moment

I must be constitutionally incapable of properly prepping a blog posting about how to make Thai Curry. In October 2008 I tried to write about making a Thai Dinner but I forgot to take pictures beyond ingredients.

This time at least I managed to grab a shot of ingredients after I prepped them, but there is nothing, nada, zippo of the finished product. Basically, I felt the need for a big pot of Thai Green Curry. I have a pot prepared green curry from Mae Ploy, which doesn't make me feel completely legit, but I did not have time to spend half a day pounding away with the mortar and pestle.

Making curry is simple: Heat oil in pot, throw in a few spoonfuls of curry, add coconut milk and palm sugar. Throw in meat (or if you want, sear meat a little with the curry and hot oil), then throw in vegetables according to time it will take to cook. Season with fish sauce to taste.

Well, it is admittedly sort of nerve wracking the first time around, but honestly after a try or two, it's pretty simple stuff.

Zed 451

This is my plate after my first round of circling the antipasti buffet at Zed 451. I want to take my parents here one day because there are just so many things to try. I can think of some NY friends who would go nuts over the different composed salads as well.

I was visiting the restaurant as part of a school event. Since I have no social standing anyways, I figured it wouldn't make any difference to whip out my camera and start snapping photos of the food instead of conversing with my peers.

Zed 451 is sort of based off of a Brazilian Churrascaria, but with lots of other goodies thrown in, like this cheesy jalapeno thing. There might be a starch component in there, but all you need to know is that there is cheese and that there are jalapenos, and that should be reason enough to plunge in.

Turns out they make all their charcuterie on premise. Okay, I'm a little impressed.

Look at all the good things to eat! It's like Christmas!

Small wedges of Red Devil Cake.

So you can have room for Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake.

Plus some chocolate dipped strawberies and fudge brownies.

Maybe you can squeeze in some decadent chocolate concoction.

And then finish it off with a little more chocolate dipped strawberry.

Okay, so school isn't totally an overwhelming experience. This. This I can handle.

Zed 451, 739 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL

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.