I'm all for recipes that look and taste like the "real" thing but are better for you, so I was thrilled to see this article in yesterday's New York Times which also includes a recipe for mac n cheese!
"Researchers at Penn State University found that adding vegetable purée to various recipes [resulted in feeling] full after eating fewer calories, allowing the vegetable purée mixtures to act as natural appetite suppressants."
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/recipes-to-curb-appetites/
Enjoy.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Link: Easy cooking projects
Wanted to share this New York Times' article (which I learned of via Irv & Shelly's Fresh Picks): http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/16/dining/16diy-recipes.html
It guides you through thirteen simple cooking projects, designed to get you comfortable with your kitchen and create some delicious staples like fresh cheese, and some not-so-staple items like cold-cured pork belly.
Let's get cooking!
It guides you through thirteen simple cooking projects, designed to get you comfortable with your kitchen and create some delicious staples like fresh cheese, and some not-so-staple items like cold-cured pork belly.
Let's get cooking!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Back in action - artichoke season
After a long winter hiatus, we're back! Not that I haven't been cooking - there's been lots of that going on - just in a bit of hibernation mode.
I thought I'd start with an easy post -
The Wall Street Journal posted The Art of the Artichoke in its weekend edition, which I share with you because artichokes are my favorite food. I'm particularly interested in trying the Artichoke, Dandelion and Pecorino Salad with Mandarin Dressing, as I think Pecorino may be my second favorite food.
For a super-simple artichoke recipe, here's my earlier post on how to steam an artichoke.
I thought I'd start with an easy post -
The Wall Street Journal posted The Art of the Artichoke in its weekend edition, which I share with you because artichokes are my favorite food. I'm particularly interested in trying the Artichoke, Dandelion and Pecorino Salad with Mandarin Dressing, as I think Pecorino may be my second favorite food.
For a super-simple artichoke recipe, here's my earlier post on how to steam an artichoke.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Drop me off in New Orleans for the food!
I spent about a week in New Orleans earlier this month, so I thought I'd post some food photos from that trip. Enjoy!
Beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde.
Amberjack (fish) with butter caper sauce at Adolfo's on Frenchmen St.
A fresh praline and Abita Amber beer at the New Orleans School of Cooking.
Grilled scallops with wild purple rice at Bayona.
Smoked duck, peanut-cashew butter and grilled onions with pepper in a puff pastry at Bayona.
Mac n cheese at The Praline Connection.
Fried softshell crawfish and dill pickles at The Praline Connection.
The making of Café Brûlot - boozy orange on fire at Arnaud's.
Fries with roast beef debris at Mahony's PO Boy Shop on Magazine St.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Friday lunch - heirloom tomatoes and fancy feta
Here's what I had for lunch today - 2 ingredients.
Yarra Valley Persian Fetta from Pastoral; heirloom tomatoes from the Daley Plaza Thursday farmers market.
First, I sliced up the 3 tomatoes.
Yarra Valley Persian Fetta from Pastoral; heirloom tomatoes from the Daley Plaza Thursday farmers market.
First, I sliced up the 3 tomatoes.
Then I poured some of the herbed cheese and olive mixture on top.
Proof that something so very simple can also be so very delicious.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Thoughts on Hot Doug's
If you couldn't tell by the line wrapped around the building, even on days when the weather may not be cooperating, Doug is on fire...not just hot. What took us about two years to finally try out turned out to be well worth the wait. We stood outside for an hour or so, listening to the others around us talk about their favorites and look at a website printout to study the specials of the week. When we finally made our way to Doug, we had a laugh with him about waiting in line and then promptly began to order our feast (see pictures in post below).
Marsala and Roasted Garlic Wild Boar Sausage with Anchovy-Parsley Goat Butter and Black Pepper Affinois Cheese
Veal and Pork Weisswurst with Chili-Garlic Mustard and Goat Cheese
Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel
Chardonnay and Jalapeno Rattlesnake Sausage with Sweet Curry Mustard and Hickory-Smoked Sweet Swiss Cheese
The Dog
Chicago-Style Hot Dog with all the trimmings: 'nuff said.
Duck Fat Fries
Ok, so we can all agree that you aren't coming to this place for health reasons. Hell, I hope that Doug himself doesn't eat too much of his own food. Would hate to see Hot Doug become cold cardiac arrested Doug. Anyway, it is hard to really think about all the different things going on here. We sat and went around bite by bite trying something new until we worked our way back and each bite was followed by a "oh man...or mmmm". It got to the point that his plain dog, which was our last item to try, couldn't compete with the blast of flavors we just put our taste buds through. We had to concede that his regular hot dog (which we had grilled and fried for good measure), is probably quite good by itself. I finished it off later that day to prove that point.
Because we had so much, in a short period of time, it is difficult for me to remember particulars about each. Here is what I recall:
The fois gras with a duck sausage was delicious, if you enjoy fois gras. This being my second time having it and generally being a fan of liver, I enjoyed its rich, earthy, and livery sort of flavors.
The Rattlesnake dog was quite nice. The cheese and sweetness of the curry mustard helped to balance the flavors of the rattlesnake sausage. A person in line in front of us thought that it was too sweet, but I found it to be just right (and I'm usually not a fan of mixing sweet/savory)
The veal/pork with chili-garlic mustard and goat cheese was my least favorite, for no other reason than the chili-garlic mustard was quite strong, spicy and overpowering. I really didn't get a mustard flavor. To me, it tasted like the spicy nacho cheese that you microwave and dip chips into. With globs of goat cheese on top, I think the meat got a little lost in the background, and that is a shame when you have a tasty veal and pork sausage.
Lastly, the wild boar was great. The flavor of the sausage was fantastic, juicy, and the butter/cheese complemented it well. For people who want to try something new and don't want to get too crazy, this is a solid upgrade from a regular hot dog/brat/sausage.
Oh, and those duck fat fries? You get a slight hint of a flavor difference versus regular fries, but not as much as I would have hoped for. Given the choice, I'd go with the duck fat, but wouldn't be upset if I came midweek when they don't have them available.
Verdict? Well, I told Doug himself that I "was pickin' up what he was puttin down' ". He got a laugh out of that and thanked us. While delicious, an hour or so wait outside is tough for a mostly impatient individual like myself. However, when you do get inside and order, the food comes quickly and they bring it out to your table for you. Despite the crowd outside, they've worked out a system such that everyone can get a table to eat at. I did have a smile and odd sense of accomplishment when we finally made it to our table and the food came. And with all that said, I would love to go back, probably midweek though to avoid the weekend rush.
Marsala and Roasted Garlic Wild Boar Sausage with Anchovy-Parsley Goat Butter and Black Pepper Affinois Cheese
Veal and Pork Weisswurst with Chili-Garlic Mustard and Goat Cheese
Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel
Chardonnay and Jalapeno Rattlesnake Sausage with Sweet Curry Mustard and Hickory-Smoked Sweet Swiss Cheese
The Dog
Chicago-Style Hot Dog with all the trimmings: 'nuff said.
Duck Fat Fries
Ok, so we can all agree that you aren't coming to this place for health reasons. Hell, I hope that Doug himself doesn't eat too much of his own food. Would hate to see Hot Doug become cold cardiac arrested Doug. Anyway, it is hard to really think about all the different things going on here. We sat and went around bite by bite trying something new until we worked our way back and each bite was followed by a "oh man...or mmmm". It got to the point that his plain dog, which was our last item to try, couldn't compete with the blast of flavors we just put our taste buds through. We had to concede that his regular hot dog (which we had grilled and fried for good measure), is probably quite good by itself. I finished it off later that day to prove that point.
Because we had so much, in a short period of time, it is difficult for me to remember particulars about each. Here is what I recall:
The fois gras with a duck sausage was delicious, if you enjoy fois gras. This being my second time having it and generally being a fan of liver, I enjoyed its rich, earthy, and livery sort of flavors.
The Rattlesnake dog was quite nice. The cheese and sweetness of the curry mustard helped to balance the flavors of the rattlesnake sausage. A person in line in front of us thought that it was too sweet, but I found it to be just right (and I'm usually not a fan of mixing sweet/savory)
The veal/pork with chili-garlic mustard and goat cheese was my least favorite, for no other reason than the chili-garlic mustard was quite strong, spicy and overpowering. I really didn't get a mustard flavor. To me, it tasted like the spicy nacho cheese that you microwave and dip chips into. With globs of goat cheese on top, I think the meat got a little lost in the background, and that is a shame when you have a tasty veal and pork sausage.
Lastly, the wild boar was great. The flavor of the sausage was fantastic, juicy, and the butter/cheese complemented it well. For people who want to try something new and don't want to get too crazy, this is a solid upgrade from a regular hot dog/brat/sausage.
Oh, and those duck fat fries? You get a slight hint of a flavor difference versus regular fries, but not as much as I would have hoped for. Given the choice, I'd go with the duck fat, but wouldn't be upset if I came midweek when they don't have them available.
Verdict? Well, I told Doug himself that I "was pickin' up what he was puttin down' ". He got a laugh out of that and thanked us. While delicious, an hour or so wait outside is tough for a mostly impatient individual like myself. However, when you do get inside and order, the food comes quickly and they bring it out to your table for you. Despite the crowd outside, they've worked out a system such that everyone can get a table to eat at. I did have a smile and odd sense of accomplishment when we finally made it to our table and the food came. And with all that said, I would love to go back, probably midweek though to avoid the weekend rush.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Hot Doug's
The line at Hot Dog's on a Saturday at 1pm.
Today's specials. We got the Weisswurst, foie gras, & rattlesnake.
And the wild boar.
And the duck fat fries.
That's hot Doug, himself.
The dining area
Our lunch (...and dinner, it turns out).Clockwise from top left: foie gras, rattlesnake, duck fat fries, weisswurst,wild boar, beef.
Marsala and Roasted Garlic Wild Boar Sausage with Anchovy-Parsley Goat Butter and Black Pepper Affinois Cheese
Chardonnay and Jalapeno Rattlesnake Sausage with Sweet Curry Mustard and Hickory-Smoked Sweet Swiss Cheese
Duck fat fries
Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel (I could eat one of these every single day).
Beef Chicago dog - fried and grilled
Veal and Pork Weisswurst with Chili-Garlic Mustard and Goat Cheese
Hot Doug's is located in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood. Here's the website: www.hotdougs.com
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