Last night I was lucky enough to attend a unique dinner at Takashi restaurant, a benefit for Japan that featured more than a dozen well-known Chicago chefs. Since each of the seven courses was contributed by a different chef, we ended up with a wide-ranging tasting menu of dishes from great ... continue reading...
Dinner at Next: Paris 1906
Last night I had dinner at Next – I would say “finally”, except that it was only a week ago that I made the reservation. It seemed longer, though, since I was starting to feel like a child waiting for Christmas morning. By the time the big day rolled around, I’d started to worry that a letdown might ... continue reading...
Chocolate banana muffins
I've recently been on a bit of a cookbook binge, and got two books by Nigella Lawson. Her writing can be over-the-top at times, but that just makes the recipes more fun to read. What other cookbook can boast shellfish characterized by "bouncy sweetness", cheesecake that's an "overindulgent ... continue reading...
Dark chocolate brownies
It's pretty clear that I love chocolate - for example, a typical day at the office starts with a few squares of my favorite 65% Michel Cluizel single-origin chocolate. Given this, perhaps it's odd that I don't make many chocolate-based treats. Only rarely do I bake a chocolate cake, cookies, or ... continue reading...
Thinking of Japan
Japan has been heavily on my mind lately - such an amazing country, facing such terrible and unrelenting disaster. So I wanted to share some of my favorite memories of Japan, focusing on the food, since that's certainly one of the things that makes Japan so distinctive and ... continue reading...
Spinach pie (aka spanakopita)
My introduction to Greek food came when I was quite young, at Ikaros restaurant in Baltimore, and I found it wonderfully exciting. It was always a treat to go to Ikaros since it was so far afield from my usual haunts; Greektown is near the industrial part of the harbor, almost an hour drive ... continue reading...
Palo Alto Sol (mole, olé!)
If you spend enough time with me, you'll sooner or later come to realize that I have an obsession with mole sauce. Not just any mole, though - the mole poblano at Palo Alto Sol. For those who aren't familiar with it, mole is a sauce made of unsweetened chocolate, chilis, spices, tomato, and a ... continue reading...
Olive oil cake with orange
Usually, when I buy a food magazine, I read the articles but only skim the recipes – and I certainly don’t go so far as actually making many of them. But occasionally, just from reading a recipe, I find that I can clearly imagine the taste of the finished product. And once that happens, the ... continue reading...
Superbowl chili
According to an article I just read, the White House Superbowl party will include bratwurst, kielbasa, cheeseburgers, deep-dish pizza, buffalo wings, German potato salad, twice-baked potatoes, potato chips, pretzels, dip and a salad. But no chili? That's a must-have, if you ask me. I’ve used ... continue reading...