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Friday Cocktail Hour: The Southside
Excited about our Chicago trip to promote the new book, Salumi, I tweeted for a Chicago cocktail and got a few suggestions (only a few), including one for an actual Chicago (which I'll save for later).
But the suggested Southside proved to be easy to prepare with ingredients at hand and uncommonly refreshing. I was able to make use of a wonderful gin I hadn’t known of, Nolet’s Silver, which truly rivals my beloved Beefeater's (thank you, Sally Alfis!), slightly more fruity and flowery, but still wonderfully dry. And the mint is still growing in the garden. So, The Southside it is! (Yes, Southside is one word for the cocktail, though the actual area, referred to in the Jim Croce ...
The Amazing Potato Gratin
(and Le Creuset GIVEAWAY)
My daughter was assisting Donna during these videos for Le Creuset cookware (which I love, and am genuinely honored to be working with this company; seriously, not worthy, but I try). After the shoot, Addison said, angrily, real anger, "Why don't you make that potato cheesy thing for me?!"
"Good lord," I said, "I'd make them all the time if I thought you'd eat them!" [I didn't say, "Because of all the things you refused to eat when I tried to make good food for you!"] I cherish her but she's difficult.
Fact is, these are the easiest, best potatoes ever, and in this Le Creuset gratin dish, they not only cook perfectly, they're gorgeous to serve. Watch the video—shallots are key, and I love that you can start the dish on the stovetop.
And Le Creuset is GIVING AWAY ten—yes, TEN!—of these gratin ...
Posted in aromatics, baking, From Scratch, Giveaway, Recipes, sidedishes, Technique Also tagged Chicago, El Ideas, events, Floriole, gratin, Le Creuset, Salumi, The Publican Comments closed
Salumi Video & Tour Events
On Saturday night in Cambridge, on a young friend’s recommendation, we dined at The Russell House Tavern, near Harvard Square, where chef Michael Scelfo and his mischievous band of cooks put out excellent high-end tavern fare. I was delighted when my 13-year-old son perused the menu and immediately asked, “Can we get the charcuterie board?”
This question has only one correct response. I especially appreciated Scelfo's pork rillettes, which were topped with a creamy layer of duck fat. Scelfo has a menu that would seem to be designed exactly for me, with items such as “Pig’s Head Cake” and “Crispy Pork Belly Sandwich,” but also deviled eggs and superb fried oysters.
But it was the fact that he, like so many other chefs, offered charcuterie. Indeed the charcuterie or salumi board is now ubiquitous in American restaurants. A charcuterie board even made it onto an episode ...
Posted in Books, Charcuterie, chefs, Salumi Also tagged brian polcyn, charcuterie, Chicago, Cleveland, El Ideas, Illinois, michigan, ohio, Pigstock, Salumi, Traverse City Comments closed
Chicago, XOCO & Chocolate
I'm such a homebody, I dread book tour trips and typically stress about them, and I nearly always return thrilled to have gone and surprised and amazed by what I encountered. Last week was Chicago and the schedule was so tight that I took a taxi from O'Hare straight to the Chicago Tribune's test kitchen where Monica Eng, formerly a food reporter now on the investigative beat, reverted to her former purview to join me in making an easy Coq au Vin from Ruhlman's Twenty (I forgot how good it was till I tasted it—haven't made it since Donna took the pix). I had time for a quick lunch after across the street at The Purple Pig (pig ears and the artichokes), excellent casual place recommended by a twitter friend.
That night there was ...
Posted in Books, chefs, Desserts, Food Adventure, Travel Also tagged Brendon Edwards, Chicago, chicago tribune, chopping block, emilia juocys, John Peters, Nightwood, Paul Kahan, Rick Bayless, Shaw Lash, The Bristol, The Publican, XOCO Comments closed
















