city apricot jam

I am getting my camera back this weekend from Indianapolis, but I’m so excited, I’m going to post without pictures.

My friend Annie lives in Pilsen in Chicago. She has a fantastic backyard, which happens to include a real, live, fruiting APRICOT tree!

So, on Tuesday Gerard and I went to go pick about 10lbs of apricots. I’ve made apricot cobbler, 12 jars of apricot jam, and am using the rest to infuse some tequila…. and there’s still a ton of fruit on the tree! It’s so exciting to pick fruit from a tree in the middle of a huge city like Chicago. I know a lot of people in warmer areas often have this experience, but as a stalwart Midwesterner, it’s one I’ve never had. I’d suggest making friends with people who have fruit trees.

Making the jam has been an easier process than I originally thought it would be and I can’t wait to have it with crackers and goat cheese.

I found this recipe to be the simplest, and from what I’ve tasted, also the best apricot jam I’ve ever tasted!!!

I’ll post pictures of my babies when I get my camera back.

Also, when you’re canning, the jars make a really funny “ping” sound. Gotta get your kicks somehow.

budget margarita/ gringo tacos

If your like most people, the the current recession has really taken the wind out of your sails. This blog entry is a siren call! While a lack of funds certainly takes a toll, remember that money doesn’t equal happiness and you can usually have a large amount of fun for a small amount of money. Since I love going to the grocery store, I find I usually have quality staples around my house for a decent meal. Since I also love spending time at my house rather than a bar, I keep an eye out for deals on alcohol that my nearests and dearests enjoy. Hence, budget margaritas and gringo tacos, a phenomenon of Winter ‘09.

Corn tortillas pretty much go with anything, and if you have a gluten allergy, they can quickly become your BFFs. So, you have tortillas?

Get some goat cheese.

Make a tuna salad (my house recipe currently includes Genova Tuna, this crazy Turkish spice my friend Sean brought home for me, a healthy dose of natural mayo, and a healthy dose of Dijon mustard. Yes, Genova is made by Chicken of the Sea, but it’s really good and packed in olive oil, and I like it.) Put the goat cheese in a taco, when it’s cooked add the tuna, eat and enjoy.
(this is a kind of gross picture of tuna salad in the making)

Now, on to the fun part. The guys I work with always mix really good tequila with Squirt. I decided to follow their lead after talking it over with GB.

Get some good tequila. Put a shot in a glass, top with Squirt. Cut up whatever citrus you have, squeeze into the glass, and enjoy.

Delicious, and cheaper than buying all those limes. Just try not to think about the corn syrup.

rainy days and mondays.

Hey Chicagoans,
Remember this Monday and how rainy it was? What better way to combat the weather than making fish tacos with pico de gallo and going to see a free show?

If Tuesdays make you blue, I’d suggest renting a movie, eating pizza, and making pisco sours. It’s pretty easy and very fun. We were, however, lacking bitters.

Ingredients:
1.5 oz. pisco, 1 egg white (it’s not gross and probably won’t give you salmonella)

Juice of 1 lemon, (squeeze it)

1 oz simple syrup

Shake it up over ice.

Pour into a glass, add a dash of orange flower water, and garnish with a stem of mint if you so desire… Look at the pretty foam!

Delicatessen. Entertaining for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

hits and misses

Generally, I try to post items that reflect my untrained and moderate culinary successes, or things other people make that I find tasty and pretty.

This is not one of those entries. Last night;s menu was meant to snub the current weather. It was summery! and light! and (supposed) to be delicious! It even looks pretty…

But you know what? Until you taste it, you don’t know if it is good or not. I was in the mood for ceviche. I have made it before using this recipe. I have had great success with that recipe. It is tart and sweet and spicy and everything that a ceviche should be. Yesterday, when I was writing up my grocery list, I was in the mood for ceviche. I then made a fatal mistake. I remembered a recipe that I saw in the NYTimes a few weeks ago. It was about using vodka to cook fish. I thought it sounded interesting, and decided to try it myself.

The recipe calls for a lot of citrus vodka and scallops, avocado, cumin, and cilantro. I followed the directions, and the results were dismal. It looked so pretty and tasted like…. fishy vodka… fish flavored vodka… vodka flavored fish. Now, I’m not one to knock a gimlet or a bloody mary, but vodka isn’t something I really want to chew. Maybe my palette isn’t developed enough, or maybe I just don’t enjoy raw-fish orange-vodka stew. I’m sticking with my main man Mark Bittman, over at the Times. Whenever I stray, I seem to end up with something really gross.

In other news, the watermelon salad (1/2 watermelon diced, 1/2 jalepeno chopped, 1 teaspoon salt, chill for an hour) was delicious and is proving to be a perpetual summer favorite. The combination of hot, sweet, and cold, is refreshing without being boring ( a big problem I have with cucumbers, although I do like them)

Gerard also made some Salsa Verde!
We roasted 2 Serrano peppers:

Used a pound of tomatillos and a clove of chopped garlic, cooked it down with some olive oil, salt and adobo.

Blended it with 1/2 cup of cilantro and one more clove of garlic

We let it cool, and then we enjoyed it. With chips, not ceviche. Then we had passionfruit sorbet. I have never like passionfruit until recently. I hate the scent in chemical products, but in real life, it is great to eat!

*As a side note, we are trying to salvage the rest of the ceviche by straining out the vodka and covering it with lime juice again. I will have to see how it looks after work.

weeknight warrior

My friend Natalie has been a big part of my life for over a decade. She’s also not really into birthday parties. However, I wasn’t going to let her quarter century anniversary pass without note. I know I have talked about it a lot, but I figured that the Violet Hour was nice enough for a special occasion and cool enough that she wouldn’t find it completely ridiculous.

This time we were sitting in a booth, which provided ample opportunity to snap some flash-free pictures, without looking like a total nerdo, or interrupting a party of people who don’t like to take pictures of things that they consume. To begin, I had a Daisy de Santiago (Flor de Caña, Lime, Yellow Chartreuse, Spring Bitters) Gerard had a Yellow Rose of Texas (which includes Tequila and Yellow Chartreuse) annd Natalie had a Spring Sidecar (Landy Cognac, Orange Curacao, Lemon, Pineapple, Spring Bitters)- which she didn’t find as tasty as the ones at the Matchbox.

For the second round, Natalie had a Dark and Stormy (a personal favorite)

(Dark Rum, Ginger Beer, Ginger Syrup, Lime)
*I was excited to have a sip of this, seeing as I have been trying to perfect it at home. There is still something with more “bite” about the version at the VH. At home, it tastes sweeter. I think I need to add more ginger.

Gerard had a Hemingway Daiquiri

(Rum, Maraschino Liquor, Lime, Simple syrup?)

I had a Miraflores

(Pisco Italia, Grapefruit, Orange Blossom Honey Syrup, Miramar Bitters)
*My favorite part of which is the egg meringue

For the third and final round (it was a birthday celebration!) Natalie had “The Art of Choke”

(Cynar, Appleton Rum, Lime, Green Chartreuse, Mint)
*Which I had when I came with Gemma, and enjoyed immensely. Artichoke Liquor is tasty!

Gerard had a Spring Sazerac

(Old Overholdt Rye, Herbsainte, Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur, Peychaud’s Bitters)
*Which actually tastes like Apricots!

I had an El Diablo

(Which includes Tequila, Lime, Ginger Beer, and Cassis)

It’s fun to look up all the ingredients online, but they (the internet gods) don’t always give the quantities, which are really important in cocktail constructing. I realize that I missed a great opportunity to have a professional Mai Tai, which will have to happen in a month or so, seeing as the Violet Hour is really only somewhere you can go when you are celebrating something or temporarily flush in cash.

P.S. I have found this website, of Death and Company in NYC (the Violet Hour’s sister bar) very helpful for home bartending. I visited Death and Company when I was in NYC during February and was equally impressed with it as the Violet Hour (actually, I felt that Death and Company felt more like a Chicago place with the wood paneling and that the Violet Hour feels more like a NY place with its sophistication)

P.P.S. I also think I have discovered the secret ingredient in the VH’s deviled eggs. I think they put drugs in them.

senior living

I have read 4 books since I arrived in Florida. Some good, some bad; The Year of Magical Thinking, Itty Bitty Lies, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Killing Yourself to Live. I understand that these books have little in common besides the fact that they are written in English . I love Joan Didion, but after breaking my heart, I really needed to read a caper about loose Southern Women. I digress.
I love living the life of a senior citizen. Asleep by 11:30, awake by 7:30. This is the life. Going to the beach and eating 3 square meals a day. I, for some reason, know that I will not feel this way when I return to my fair city, especially since I hear rumors of warm weather and repaired bikes, but for now it is perfectly wonderful.

On Sunday we had lobster ravioli from the farmers market with a sundried tomato cream sauce. My grandma made it, and it was tasty.

I made the salad, it makes me excited for fresh midwestern produce. The tomatoes down here are amazing!

On Monday we had steak and potatoes. No, really.

When I decided to come down here for vacation, I told my grandparents that I wanted to make them dinner. I gave them 2 choices: a French Menu or a Mexican Menu. They decided on French. The menu was as follows:

Cocktail: Citrus Cooler

Salad: Orange, Fennel, Olive, and Baby Greens w/ a Citrus Mustard Vinagrette

Soup: Cauliflower Thyme Brie Soup

Main Dish: Lemon Thyme Roasted Chicken with Mustard Gravy over Garlic Roasted Fingerling Potatoes. As a side note, I have never roasted a chicken before. I was really nervous. This recipe was easy, although time consuming– well not exactly time consuming but demanded a fair amount of planning and foresight. Also, did you know that the chicken comes with its gizzards and heart in a bag? I think I might have to write a song about it.

Dessert: Grapefruit Granita… Which I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of. It was really pretty, and easy, and you’ll just have to trust me on this one.

We had a great time!

Tonight we’re going to the Florida Studio Theatre!

dark n’ stormy

A few years ago, a friend’s older sister’s friend (say that 10 times fast) introduced me to a delicious drink called the Dark n’ Stormy. I know it sounds like a romance novel from the last days of disco, but it’s actually quite good and very refreshing. Last night, the weather was dark and stormy, so I though a theme drink would be apt. I’d also confirm that I find people usually act more “Light n’ Sunny” after they’ve had a few of these almost tropical concoctions.

If you google Dark n Stormy, you’ll be told that you MUST use Gosling’s Dark Seal Rum. They are lying. It is good with any high quality dark rum. However, it’s worth noting that the powers that be are not lying about the dark rum- don’t try it with white rum or spiced rum. You will not be happy with the results. Traditionally the ingredients are 1 shot dark rum, ice, ginger beer, and lime. Ginger beer is worth having at your house all the time. It is delicious, and you can even make your own. After going to the Violet Hour, I was surprised to see them using a ginger syrup in addition to the traditional ingredients. Needless to say, it gave me a great idea.

Last fall, I decided to make my own ginger syrup. I’ve been experimenting with it since then, but I think last night I finally got it right. Here is the recipe

1 cup freshly grated ginger
1 cup sugar
1.5 cup water
2 tablespoons ground ginger

Combine ingredients, bring to a boil.

Let boil until the mixture reduced by 1/2. Strain into a glass container.

Meanwhile, you should have some freshly cut limes on hand.

Once the ginger syrup has cooled a bit, pour a shot of the syrup into your glass, along with the juice of 1/2 a lime

Next, pour a shot and a half of dark rum over your syrup/lime mixture

Place 4 cubes of ice into the cup, top off with ginger beer, stir and garnish with a lime

Delicious! I’d recommend making this on Thursday nights, especially since 30 Rock is all new.

celebratory

My friend Danielle just got a great new job. Last weekend over a celebratory Framboise at Small Bar in Logan Square, she mentioned wanting to go out for drinks sometime this week, with the girls before her 7:30am-5:30 pm hours began.

The Violet Hour is delicious and fantastic, but a bit out of our price range for this Wednesday. The Matchbox is an old standby, but we wanted something a little more intimate and less crowded (an odd mix of terms, eh?)

I figured it was the perfect opportunity to try out Juicy Wine Company. We weren’t dissapointed- I had a delicious grilled cheese and some reasonably priced glasses of Pinot Noir. Natalie got and shared some lemon-thyme brined olives and Danielle got the “Stinky, Creamy, Sharp” cheese plate, which was generously portioned and very tasty. It’s a bit pricy to be the kind of place you can go every day (not that you’d want to go to a wine bar everyday, i’m just saying) , but is worth checking out, especially with a group of friends on a low-key weekday evening.

on turning 25.

last friday, october 5, i turned 25 years old. a few things are changing in my life.
here is a picture of me smoking one of my last cigarettes. i look kind of cool, but totally dumb, because of the smoking.

this was at the burlington. a new favorite neighborhood hang.

natalie was there too.

we ate rice and mushrooms and cheese for dinner. it was tasty.

my bosses at work were awesome we had delicious sushi and everyone said happy birthday all day long. friday evening proved to be even better!

it’s also donald’s birthday! my little (bigger) brother

don and dad love to talk and eat (at the same time!)

aunt sallee and mom are really serious about their dessert. no fun here! chocolate makes you cry! (kidding!)

this was gerard’s early birthday dessert.

here is a handsome man relaxing during dessert. (we ate at lula, surprise surprise)

this was my regular birthday dessert.

christmas card (POSSIBILITY)

better christmas card (POSSIBILITY)

classic!

most hilarious picture ever.

sarah and emily came to visit me at work for lunch on saturday. here is what they got to eat at fan si pan. it was also tasty.

here are my roommates hanging out

on sunday we rode bikes

and wore tennis shoes

it was a good birthday weekend.

tgif

after a long work week, i met up with my girl danielle at the matchbox.
a great place by my old house.

we talked about our careers and the perils of being a real adult, as well as the advantages. we also talked about creativity, and if part of being truly creative is being a truly irresponsible person who is unconcerned with the bs of paying bills, being on time, etc. we came to no conclusions, but it was an interesting topic to talk about.

critical mass was going on, so it was fun to holler at all the bikers. look, here’s a picture of danielle’s beer.

isn’t she pretty?

here are some gimlets.

here is a deconstructed glass

theresa’s knee and hand

colin seems to be praying to a god of some sort.

gerard and i are in the mob, really

then we went to cafe privata, a restaurant i have never been to, but might start to frequent. i had a sublime steak. the salsa was amazing

said sublime steak

yumyumfunfun