Archive | December, 2009

The Best Margarita

by Jamie Ginsberg on 25. Dec, 2009 in Jamie Ginsberg

We have been in Mexico for a week and I have been on a steady diet of Margaritas, Chips, Guacamole and Quesadillas. We avoided walmart this year (last year’s mistake) and did all of our shopping at Soreanos (sp?). The produce is amazing and the only food priced appropriately. Shopping was difficult, I am very price conscious and have to divide everything by 12 to know what I was really going to pay, then finish by changing the kilos to pounds.

Shopping on the first day was especially tough because my spanish was still weak and I have to look at the ingredients of everything and at least know what I am getting. The meats are always a little suspicious, we are spoiled in America. The deli counter could only be described as comical, it was huge with basically only 2 items – 15 kinds of ham and Oaxaca cheese. The deli ladies seemed to like me and gave me un regalo (present) of a plastic hot dog holder like lunch box for the turkey dogs I picked up for the kids (oddly enough their were no pork or beef dogs but 7 different kinds of turkey dogs).

What? You don’t know about Oaxaca Cheese? This is Mexico’s response to Italy and their Mozarella cheese. It is the cheese of choice for quesadillas. Smooth rich and smooth, guaranteed not to upset your stomach, even if you are lactose intolerant. This is one of my favorite treats in Mexico. Fresh corn tortillas, Oaxaca cheese and a drop of salsa verde. You can make these for breakfast, lunch or dinner and feel like a king.

The spinach is like lettuce, massive leafs that truly taste like spinach, without any of that gross chalky after taste. The Valencia Oranges are green to yellow orange, it is tough to make the psychological leap that you are buying an orange and it will be delicious, but at 50 cents for two and a half pounds the risk is low. Limes are fresh and perfect, I quickly filled 4 bags, sorting like a pro. Picking between 4 kinds of avocados is a luxury, they all needed 2 days to ripen (end result was delicious gucamole, por supuesto).

We spent about $400 at the supermarket filling 3 shopping carts to the brim in an hour. If you shop at Whole Foods this would be 1 cart ;-) We got a few dinners and breakfast out of this shopping, including delicious coffee from the hills of Chiapas (sacred area in the South Western coast of Mexico). From simple Pasta, to arroz con frijoles negras (rice and beans), sandwiches and of course quesadillas. The liquor section is very diverse. Basically everything you find in America, but very little vodka (I generally avoid vodka but have noticed there are no less that 30 brands at most bars these days). We focused on the Tequila section, surprisingly challenging. Why? We get the best Tequillas in America, there are a lot of brands, 100% Agave, but very little on the high end. I am probably just ignorant, but at home we usually get the Patron Anejo – oddly enough only available at the airport. We settled for the Don Julio Anejo, drinkable and no hangovers.

SO, what is the secret to a great Margerita? Starting with the juicer, I quickly juiced 15 Limes and 2 Valencia Oranges, mixing them into a container in the fridge to chill. Filling the Osterizer blender with ice, adding 4 teaspoons of azucar (sugar, but not the white kind – brown but crystalized equals delicious), pouring in a healthy splash of fresh tart lime orange juice, and a 15 second pour of Don Julio Anejo. Blend for 20 seconds or until smooth, holding the top of the blender on to keep your kitchen clean. Dipping the tops of the cups in the frozen margaritas, the cups are then dipped in salt or sugar (a mix might be perfect, must try at lunch today). The salted rimmed cups are then filled with the perfectly blended Margarita and imbibed on the deck facing the ocean, relaxing to the dynamic sounds of the waves rolling onto the beach. Welcome to Mexico…

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Beer Exchange

by susannahm on 20. Dec, 2009 in Susannah Michaels

I think we’ve all heard of cookie exchanges at this time of year. Call me a scrooge, I deserve it, but I live in a two-person household and I can’t imagine what I’d do with a few dozen cookies. So I’ve always weaseled out of the cookie exchange invites. I’m not much into sweets and I have a cookie limit of about three a day, max. And I don’t necessarily want to bring them to work or give them to friends because there are just so many sweets around at this time of year, it’s ridiculous. “Stop the madness!” I say.

But beer, that’s a different story. I drink less beer than I eat cookies, but it doesn’t get stale as fast as a cookie and Ben is sure to drink it within a fraction of that time. So a beer exchange at Christmas-time, that makes sense to me. Amy and Peter Callies, hosts extraordinaire, held their second annual beer exchange recently, and this time, I didn’t weasel out.

How does it work? Let me tell you. Each person arrives with two sixpacks and perhaps an hors d’oevre. We tried to get interesting beers — a chocolate stout, local stuff, stuff we’d never heard of but that looked nice. Everyone’s beers were collected on the dining table. Wow, that was a lot of beer.

Then, each participant took turns tossing an origami ring onto the table and whatever beer it collared, that was then his or hers. Around and around we went.  “Everyone’s a winner,” someone kept shouting, like a barker on a carnival midway. Because this was a non-competitive event. If your toss didn’t land on a beer, you simply tossed again. You tossed twelve times, if that’s what it took (and sometimes it did). And you got a ruling from one of the two judges if your toss was ambiguous. A cheer erupted every time someone collared two beers on one throw. Some people tried to aim for certain brews (rarely worked), and then there was the 32-ounce Miller Lite that fell to some poor soul. But you always came away with something, interesting or not. Swaps happened on the sidelines. Those chocolate stouts were in high demand, especially among the ladies (lovers of women, take note).

What do you wear to a beer exchange. Why a beer hat, of course.

After a few hours of drinking, nibbling, conversation, ring tossing, and good cheer, the second annual beer exchange had run its course.

Girlfriends, don’t bother inviting me to your cookie exchange, it’s just not for me. But almost anything else will do. Perhaps next year we can exchange cheese along with the beer — now that would be my style.

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The Fajita Casserole

by susannahm on 14. Dec, 2009 in Susannah Michaels

When they write up my entry in Wikipedia, I’ll go down as the inventor of the fajita casserole.

As you may know by now, I’m a recipe follower. I don’t want to be, but I am. I wish I could be one of those people who just “throw something together.” It’s going to take some practise. My office-mate told me about some neighbors who just “throw something together” every night. She did that with them one night and the results were delicious, she said. They sautéed onions and garlic, added coconut milk, curry powder, and a ton of spinach. They ate it over quinoa. Sounds good and I might try it some night. But tonight, inspired by that story that made throwing together sound so simple and fun, it was time for me to try my own invention; to take a baby step toward becoming a thrower together.

I started with the loose idea of fajitas. These would be veggie fajitas and I bought some fajita-fu, a baked tofu product made in Wisconsin by the Simple Soyman. I also wanted to use some corn tortillas that had been  in the freezer for awhile — that’s why I couldn’t just make fajitas, I needed to hide the old tortillas in a casserole.

I started by sautéeing onions and red pepper for about ten minutes, then added a small zucchini and cooked another ten minutes. Finally, I added my chopped up fajita-fu. Meanwhile, I made some rice. I had a random packet of Ortega fajita seasoning that I’d accidentally bought when I meant to buy taco seasoning. I put half of it and some water in my onions/pepper/zucchini/tofu. I mixed in the cooked rice. Then I assembled my casserole by layering tortillas, rice mixture, tortillas, rice mixture. Finally, I had some sour cream I wanted to use up. I mixed it with some salsa and spread it over the top. Then I sprinkled on a little cheddar and put it in the oven for twenty or so minutes.

And there you have it: veggie fajita casserole.

fajitacasserole

Yeah for me, I finally threw something together! Ben said I was beaming. And the tofu was hidden in enough stuff that he actually ate it. It wasn’t haute cuisine, but it was easy and fun and edible. I think this dish is worth throwing together again. But wait, would that being following a recipe? Ach, I’ll just throw it together a little differently.

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Melt Bar and Grilled – Because Cheese is Delicious

by Jamie Ginsberg on 07. Dec, 2009 in Jamie Ginsberg

Lunch at Melt Bar and Grilled was delicious. Started with a cup of the Potato Leek Soup. It was rich and delicious with a little chunkiness to it. Served in a coffee mug with little crispy fried leeks on top it was a great way to warm up. I was a little surprised the cup wasn’t full, but then again I really do not know the difference between ordering a cup and a bowl and maybe a coffee mug is larger than a normal “cup.” What followed was an orgy of fat and carbs. I ordered the “Parmaggedon,” which is 2 potato & cheese pierogis, fresh napa vodka kraut, grilled onions, sharp cheddar. The bread was thick sliced, buttered and grilled. Carbs within carbs and loaded with cheese? I LOVE it! This would be my favorite breakfast dish!

The fries are hand cut, crisp on the outside, fresh and soft in the middle. The fries would definitely make my top 10 list, however my kids might not like them as they are very dark and not that typical golden yellow look my kids associate with fries. The Slaw on the side was good, not covered in mayo and gross. It was clean and tasted healthy, unfortunately this meant I had little interest in the slaw…maybe next time? At the advice of my lunch mate Brad, I did get a side of the tartar sauce, it was a little sour but well balanced.

The atmosphere of Melt is Bar, which I will not normally get excited about traveling to the West Side for. However, that also equals comfortable – complete with a friendly staff and good service. If I truly partied I would have ordered the December special pictured below. Did I mention I love the rock show inspire art melt uses for their monthly specials? What oozes out is character and quality. I am excited Melt is opening on the East side (South Taylor and Cedar) as of February 2010. If you are on a diet, Melt is not the restaurant for you. If you are a Vegan, Melt is not the restaurant for you. If you are a veggie or a carnivore you will enjoy, maybe even love Melt. Because Cheese is Delicious!

melt

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The Big Pot

by susannahm on 04. Dec, 2009 in Susannah Michaels

Recently, my father has been making no-knead bread, à la Mark Bittman. Do a search on youtube to see a video of how it’s done.  The idea is that you a) don’t have to knead the bread, and b) let the flavor develop over a very long rising time (18 hours, I think).  Anyway, you need to bake the bread in a large cast-iron pot with a lid. My father doesn’t have one of those, so he’s been baking it in a lidded Pyrex dish. At Thanksgiving, he mentioned to us that he was contemplating buying a cast-iron pot and had seen one at TJ Maxx.

On Black Friday, my older sister and my aunt ran out to TJ Maxx while my father was out of the house on an errand. “Where are Rebekah and Carol?” he asked when he got home. “They went shopping,” we dissembled. “Why? Where? Kohl’s? Penney’s? TJ Maxx??”  he asked, horrified. We dissembled again.

Alas, they had to call and speak to him. They couldn’t find the pot he’d mentioned seeing — a Cuisinart knock-off of a Le Creuset. Reluctantly, he told them where to find it.

It’s a big pot. In fact, I’m afraid that my father will hurt his back lifting it or that  he’ll drop it on his foot. And then our present won’t seem like such a great gift.

bigpot

He made his no-knead bread in it:

bread

And then we made a turkey soup:

turkeysoup

We started by sautéeing onions, carrots, and green pepper. Then we added the leftover turkey and gravy, water, a can of kidney beans, and some spices. My father made dumplings for it, which gave it a nice focus.

I joked to my father that he’d have to keep the pot in constant use. Because who has room to store a brand new gigantic pot at this point? None of us, I hazard to assume. For the few days that I was there, he was able to do so. We stored the leftover soup out on the deck, since it was cold out and there’s no way a raccoon could tip over that heavy lid. Well, if the raccoon did tip the lid, he carefully replaced it and left us enough soup for the next day and beyond.

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