Archive for January, 2009

the perfect complement

01.30.09 // Comments:21

roasted red potatoes

For some of us, we found out in kindergarten, say when we were the goofy pink pig in a school play, holding a large cardboard animal in front of our puffy party dress, wearing a big white bow in our equally puffy hair (later immortalized in photographs we’d see again and again). But there are others, I suppose, who didn’t know until high school or adulthood maybe, when they didn’t get the promotion they wanted or didn’t become famous, or, if they did, it didn’t turn out to be what they’d hoped.

Whenever it happens, we eventually learn: Not everyone can be the star.

And maybe I’ve just known this for so long that I’m justifying, but, here’s my take: It’s not so bad to play a supporting role. In order for anyone to be a star, someone has to be a fan. For every leading lady, there’s a winsome best friend. For every best-selling author, there are publishers and editors and illustrators, not to mention readers—the people who ultimately determine a book’s success. And in that way, we behind-the-scenes types play a pretty important part, don’t you think? I mean, how interesting would a basketball team be if no one watched it? How much would you want to see a movie with only one actor? Heck, how sad would this blog be if no one read it? [You all who do are pretty wonderful, and I'd send each (!) one (!) of you a dozen homemade cookies if I could.]

These rules are so universal, in fact, that they extend even beyond human interaction but to things we do on a routine basis. Things like the way we view food.

There are, of course, the rockstars of food, the ones everyone wants to eat and talk about: the steak dinners, the homemade pizzas, the chocolate tortes. I think of them as the popular kids who never went through awkward stages and won every award.

Everyone seems to overlook the cooked carrots or the boiled green beans. These everyday vegetables aren’t dynamic forces on their own—maybe more of the bookworms or so-called geeks, but yet they make a big difference to an overall meal, completing dinners, bringing out the flavor of starring entrees, giving you nutrition when you need it.

So I offer this recipe in honor of all the unappreciated, in an attempt to shine the spotlight somewhere new, somewhere deserving: rosemary-covered roasted red potatoes. Whatever you’re having for dinner this next week, I bet at least once, this so-easy-to-make, so-easy-to-love side dish will be the perfect complement.

roasted red potatoes in the pan

Firm to the touch, red potatoes are more sugary than regular potatoes, but less starchy. And look at them! You can’t deny they’re pretty. Set on a plate with grilled chicken or blackened fish, they provide a punch of color with vibrantly rich red skins.

As these potatoes cook, the assertive smell of chopped rosemary fills the kitchen, pine-like and earthy. The oven emits a shrill scream, the sound of hot oil sizzling in the pan amidst your potatoes, mingling rosemary into the juices. And once roasted, these beauties turn stunningly golden, their skins crispy and wrinkled.

I like to pop them in my mouth one by one, biting past the crunchy exterior to soft, hot insides. They’re so tasty, I even like to eat them alone, as the starring event, you could say. It’s like one point for sidekicks everywhere.

Great Late-Night Food: One more thing I wanted to throw into this post, albeit on an unrelated note. DETAILS recently did an article on great places to get late-night food in several major cities. Did you know that Chicago’s Wiener’s Circle in Lincoln Park is open to 4 and 5 AM? Me neither. And I love a good hot dog. Check out the article here.

Roasted Red Potatoes
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes, quartered
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons coarsely chopped rosemary
Coarse salt (i.e., kosher) and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss potatoes, oil and rosemary on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread out potatoes in a single layer; season with salt and pepper. Roast, stirring once halfway through cooking, until potatoes are golden brown and crisp outside and tender inside, about 30 minutes.

Comments:21 Click here to comment! Categories: before the 2009 diet change

in search of a burger

01.28.09 // Comments:12

Uncle Bub's in Westmont IL

You may call it a strong will; I call it a persevering spirit. Whatever the case, there’s little doubt I get mine from my mom, the woman who talked me into visiting Uncle Bub’s in Westmont this past Saturday, where she’d been the week before. See, some people would visit a place like that, have a barbecue beef sandwich that they didn’t particularly enjoy, and never want to go back. Not my mom. Her friend tells her—swears up and down, in fact—that the burgers at Uncle Bub’s are the best. We had to find out.

In case you’re not from the Chicago area, or if you are but don’t know Westmont well, here’s a bit of history: Westmont is one of the cities along the Metra’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe line, the one I’m most familiar with, having grown up in the southwest suburbs. It’s not as commercial as Oak Brook, which is to its north, or as charming as Downers Grove, which is to its west. In fact, outside of being near a lot of things, Westmont isn’t filled with many claims to fame. Downtown Westmont, which is where Uncle Bub’s is located, is something of a stereotype. You can see the beginnings of redevelopment everywhere, from the new condo building to the trendy espresso bar, but it’s not quite a thriving faux-urban center.

Uncle Bub’s is right on Cass Avenue, across the street from an antique store and steps from a big Catholic church. There’s a lot of parking, which is a plus, and from the moment you pull up, you can tell this is no ordinary storefront. Outside, Uncle Bub’s looks like a cross between a barn and a warehouse. Dark red shutters and awnings decorate the rustic exterior. By the front entrance, a large white sign with black print gives you instructions of what to do when you enter.

This place is casual—like hanging-out-in-your-friend’s-backyard casual, with red-and-white-checkered tablecloths and old-wood booths. It’s a little reminiscent of Cracker Barrel, but not quite as cutesy and a whole lot more barn. You order at the counter like you would at a fast-food place, and the server gives you something—in our case, a wooden rooster—to mark your order.

wooden rooster

So in terms of overall ambiance, this place maintains a consistent atmosphere, which is cool. From the silhouette cowboy by the bathrooms to the knickknacks on the walls to the way the tables are decorated, you get the same message: this place should be about quality of food, the kind of place where you can take your kids and they can be loud and crazy, and you’ll enjoy a good meal for a reasonable price.

casual uncle bubs

Part of that message is true. The prices are very affordable. My mom and I each got a burger, fries and an extra side (she, the cole slaw; I, corn on the cob), and we paid less than $15. Also, I’ll add that the place is clean, the organization is good and the staff is very friendly and helpful. One guy, who maybe is the owner or manager, I don’t know, stopped by our table a few times just to make sure everything was OK, and I’m pretty sure he cleared our table as soon as we’d finished eating.

Burgers at Uncle Bub's in Westmont IL

But, and here’s the important part, the food was just OK. Like, maybe barely OK. My burger had gristle in it, and if there’s one thing I cannot handle in red meat, it’s gristle. I only ate half of it, and my mom barely managed to finish hers. The fries, on the other hand, are a different story entirely—pure magic with a crispy exterior and a soft inside, seasoned with nothing overpowering but just enough to make you say Man, that’s a good fry. So good, in fact, they almost make up for the burgers. Key word: almost.

I probably won’t be stopping by Uncle Bub’s again, not unless it’s with a big group of people with different palates than my own, or, possibly, just to pick up a side of fries on the go.

Uncle Bub’s
http://www.unclebubs.com/
132 S Cass Ave
Westmont, IL 60559
(630) 493-9000

*One more thing! I’ve recently done some cleaning up, so that all my links are organized on their own page. This new list is a lot (!) longer than the links I previously posted, but it’s also full of cool places to check out. The links will be updated automatically as I change my reader, so you can keep updated from day to day.

Comments:12 Click here to comment! Categories: before the 2009 diet change

with your hands

01.26.09 // Comments:15

spinach pizza

Once when I was little, one of my teachers had our entire class over for a pizza party. What I remember most was standing on a stool at a counter, spooning sauce onto a circle of dough and getting to top it with white strings of cheese, feeling very grown up. That was probably the best party ever. I kind of loved that teacher but, mostly, I loved that pizza.

Here’s the truth: I could eat pizza every day. Sometimes I do. I like the fancy ones that cost $15 at a nice restaurant, the frozen ones in cardboard boxes at the grocery story, even mozzarella and tomato sauce heaped high on a bagel. In my book, pizza = good. Always.

So as far as pizza goes, it’s hard to make me hate one (though not impossible, thank you, Domino’s, when we ordered you the second time at work), it’s easy to make me like one and it’s, seriously, not that hard to make me really like one.

Now love? Well, let’s just say this: If you can’t get to Chicago’s best Neapolitan-style pizza restaurant or to the place with the most hearty, meaty pizza pot pies in the Midwest, and if you can’t find that tiny place on Boston’s North End where they don’t even say they sell pizza, but you might get lucky and see someone eating one and then order it and, one bite in, think you’ve died and gone to heaven, well, then you have to make one.

homemade pizza

Even a hardcore pizza fan like myself has to admit that pizza made with your own hands far outshines any competition. And also, it just so happens I’m privileged to have an incredible mother who makes the most incredible meaty sauce you’ve ever had. Really. She froze a Tupperware container of it recently, and she gave it to me to use for a Sunday lunch. She should bottle it and sell it in grocery stores, it’s that good. And it’s perfect on pizza.

Sadly, this post is not about that sauce—mainly because she eyeballs things and feels her way around the recipe, and that sort of thing is very hard to communicate. Instead, this post is about two other things. 1) An easy pizza crust recipe that you really ought to try, and 2) A cookbook that, now, I am officially endorsing.

First, the pizza crust. When I was at Whole Foods this weekend, would you believe a frozen pizza, wrapped up and placed near the deli, cost $12? I suppose that’s not so bad when you think what it costs to buy one at Connie’s or Pizza Hut or, heck, even Domino’s, by way of comparison. But then, when you think how cheap the ingredients are for a good crust, it’s a shame not to do it yourself. You’ll need, essentially, the following: water, yeast, olive oil, flour (unbleached all-purpose or bread flour, which is what I used) and salt. Seriously. The process is just as simple: you’ll mix up and knead the dough, then let it rest, then finish kneading, then let it rest. Split it up into two sections and you’re ready to use it—or you can refrigerate it for tomorrow or freeze it for sometime later.

Before I go any further with the explanation of the pizza crust, I must get to the second thing: You really ought to buy The Art & Soul of Baking. After I got past the beautiful hardcover exterior and into the large pages of beautiful, colorful photos, I made its white bread, fougasse and (now) pizza crust, and I have to say I’m sold. Plus, it’s been endorsed by Dorie Greenspan, Anita Chu and Gourmet, where it was selected for the cookbook club. What more can I say?

OK, back to the pizza dough. Mine turned out very nicely, even though I may have pushed the first in the oven before it was fully preheated and pulled it out before the crust’s bottom was fully browned. Because the recipe makes two crusts, I shaped the first into a circle that fit our pizza pan; the second I sort of free-formed into a rectangle. Both were substantial—not as thin as I’d imagined—and held up with the toppings perfectly. I’ll be making the recipe again, no question, both because it’s simple and because, as you could guess, it’s delicious.

Pizza Dough
Adapted from the Art & Soul of Baking, by Cindy Mushet

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (2 ounces) warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (or 1 3/4 instant yeast)
1 cup (8 ounces) water
3 Tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) olive oil, plus some for brushing
3 1/4 cups (16 1/4 ounces) bread flour (or unbleached all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Directions:
MIX, REST & KNEAD DOUGH:
Pour the warm water into the bowl of the stand mixer. Add the yeast, whisk by hand to blend, and allow the mixture to sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until the yeast is activated and looks creamy. Add the 1 cup water and the 3 tablespoon olive oil and whisk by hand to blend. Add the flour and salt. Knead the dough on low speed for 2 minutes, or until it comes together in a cohesive mess. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp lint-free cotton towel and let the dough rest for 20 minutes to allow it to fully hydrate before further kneading. Turn the mixer to medium-low and continue to knead until the dough is firm, elastic, and smooth, 3 to 6 minutes. (Note: My mixer struggles with yeast-based mixing, and sometimes it jumps (!) off the hinge. Does this happen to anyone else?)

RISE THE DOUGH:
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature until doubled, 45 to 60 minutes (longer if the room is cold).

DIVIDE & SHAPE THE DOUGH:
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Press down on the dough firmly to expel some of the air bubbles, but don’t knead the dough again or it will be too springy and difficult to shape (if this happens, simply cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp lint-free cotton towel and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes to give the gluten some time to relax). Divide the dough into half (or quarters if making smaller individual pizzas). At this point, you can refrigerate or freeze all or some of the dough (see “Getting Ahead” at the end of the recipe).

When ready to bake and after thawing out the dough if necessary, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour, then press down with your fingers (or use a rolling pin) to flatten the dough into a disk about 12 inches in diameter. Alternatively, slip your hands, knuckles up, under the dough and lift it up, then gently stretch the dough by pulling your fists apart. Rotate the dough a little each time you pull so the dough is stretch into an even circle. Brush any excess flour from the surface and underside of the dough.

TOP THE PIZZA:
Apply the toppings of your choice, leaving a 1/2 –inch border at the edges. (If you’re curious, here’s what I did: olive oil on the pizza pan, then the crust on top of that. Drizzle olive oil on top and indent all over with a fork to help the oil soak through. I covered it with Mom’s meat sauce, then loads of mozzarella, then shredded fresh spinach.)

BAKE THE PIZZA:
Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, until the dough is golden brown at the edges and across the bottom (use a metal spatula to lift the pizza slightly to check). Brush the edges of the pizza with the 1 tablespoon olive oil to give the golden crust a beautiful shine. Use a pizza cutter or chef’s knife to cut the pizza into 8 wedges and serve immediately.

Comments:15 Click here to comment! Categories: before the 2009 diet change