gram's first bulls game...
Seriously, even I could do this on my first try. No need for additional butter or mayo type dips for this guy, the wine and seasonings give it plenty of flavor.
Ingredients:
1 large globe artichoke
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup white wine
Directions:
1. Cut off the stems of the artichokes.
2. With a sharp knife cut off the top 1/3 of the artichoke.
3. Cut each artichoke in half through the stem, from the top to the bottom.
4. Use a spoon and/or a knife to completely remove the hairy choke and all the prickly purple leaves inside the artichoke.
5. Melt the butter in a large saute pan.
6. Add the garlic and saute over medium low heat to flavor the butter.
7. Arrange the artichoke halves cut side down in the pan.
8. Saute for about 5 minutes or so, until just lightly browned.
9. Add the wine and the seasonings.
10. Reduce heat to very low, cover the pan, and let cook for about 20 minutes.
Another from the North side of the city...
This recipe is so simple, I don't even know how to properly cook fish and I have managed it twice now without majorly screwing up dinner.
To make a good, lowfat and flavorful broth for poaching your seafood, follow this recipe. I've used both cod and some monster tilapia fillets from Dominicks and both were good. I'm pretty sure you could use almost any fish you want and it would be delicious.
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients except fish into a saucepan.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups of water, or enough to barely cover fish.
3. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
4. Add fish, turn down heat and simmer 5 to 7 minutes, or until fish is cooked through.
5. Remove fish. Reduce poaching liquid by half; strain and serve with fish.
At the end, I skipped the reducing step and just said enough is enough and the fish had more than enough flavor without more salty sauce. Served with steamed broccoli and some wild rice, we are like a fancy ass restaurant up in here.
So apparently I designed this awhile ago and completely blocked it from memory. I found it on my desktop buried in folders the other night...
The only time I've ever had a cassoulet was at Maude's Liquor Bar on Randolph and it was mind-blowing. It was also chock full of sausage, duck confit and pork belly which may have contributed to it being so heavenly.
I found this veggie cassoulet recipe awhile ago and Bryan has made faces at it every other time I've brought it up but now that we are trying to eat healthfully (during the week at least), he was all about it.
It's pretty easy, once you chop up all of your veggies (onions, celery and zucchini) and saute with some olive oil, salt, pepper and freshly minced garlic.
Throw it in a baking dish with two cans of white beans, a can of tomatos (I used Rotel, obviously), two bay leaves and a bunch of sprigs of thyme. In the oven it goes at 400 for 30 minutes.
It said to serve the whole wheat toast on the side but mine in the restaurant had a nice crispy crust on top from breadcrumbs so I figured, crumble those guys up and serve on top. It was meh. Maybe I would cover the casserole with actual breadcrumbs next time before baking to try to get a better crust?
Bryan ate the leftovers today for lunch cold and said it was probably better that way, "almost like a cold salsa" he says, which honestly doesn't sound that appetizing to me but hey, whatever floats your boat.
Recipe:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 zucchini, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
3 cups drained cannellini beans, liquid reserved
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 dried bay leaves
4 slices crusty whole-wheat toast
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400°.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook zucchini, celery, onion, salt and pepper until soft, about 8 minutes.
3. Mix in garlic and cook, stirring, another minute.
4. Combine veggies, tomatoes, beans, 1/4 cup of the bean liquid, thyme and bay leaves in a 2-quart baking dish.
5. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes.
6. Remove bay leaves and serve warm with toast on the side.
When we moved in, there was a Maui Wowi on Jackson. I always forgot that it was there but on the rare occasions that I would walk and take Jackson to work, I'd usually stop in to get a latte on my way. Apparently, most other people forgot it was there too because earlier last year it closed up shop. It always makes me sad when places close, even if I wasn't a regular there, I want places in the West Loop to succeed like they do in other neighborhoods.
A couple weeks ago, I noticed that another coffee shop had taken its place, M2 Cafe. Again, on a random snowy day when I had to stop at FedEx on my way in, making a bus ride essentially ineffective, I walked down Jackson and stopped in.
The first thing I noticed was the awesome new mural on the far wall. The decor is definitely a step up from the somewhat borderline corny Hawaiian decor that used to grace the space. Pretty modern and clean with touches of vintage coffee posters and the cool chalkboard menus (that are actually very neat and readable... I'm talking to you, Italian place on Jackson! Cursive on a chalkboard?!?)
Anyways, the girls behind the counter were really nice and friendly for a snowy morning, the latte took a minute but they have salted caramel sugar free syrup... sign me up. It tasted good but was unfortunately not hot at all. On a cold day, I was hoping for some tongue burning action. It could have been a fluke so I'll give it another shot because I like the vibe of the place. The next time I'm walking...
