Windy City Cooking: Week 31

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column whose title says it all. Note: this column was originally scheduled to be posted last week. Enjoy! -Max)

Opening Day
by Jason Hissong
5 April 2010

I have been to so many Major League Baseball games in my 28 years that I can't remember them all. When we moved to St. Louis in the late 80s, I remember Dad would turn on the tv to watch the Cardinals, but listen to the radio so we could hear Jack Buck. There was the game I attended my sophomore year of High School in which Mark McGwire tied Roger Marris' home run record at 61. There was that scorcher of an afternoon the day after my sister's wedding. The sun was so hot in the middle of July, in St. Louis, that I remember not enjoying the game much. There was that first, cold cold April day a few years ago that was my first ever trip to Wrigley with three of my best friends. There are the games in Houston's Astrodome, and Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium that I don't remember because I was so young. There was Mark Buerhle's first no hitter- another cold April evening in Chicago, on the south side. That season I think I went to 15 games between Wrigley Field and The Cell and Buehrle's no hitter was the only ticket I actually paid.

Windy City Cooking: Week 31

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column whose title says it all. Enjoy! -Max)

On Pizza
by Jason Hissong
22 March 2010

The photo you see is my attempt at making a pizza from scratch. I created this two years ago, maybe, when my friend Aaron came over one night. This pizza had chorizo as its protein, and I loaded it with cheese and an imperfectly shaped crust. I remember it being delicious in that 'this is really bad for me but I love it' delicious kind of way. It's becoming more and more evident to me that somewhere hidden in my genetic code is a deep, eternal battle with pizza. I hate pizza. I love pizza. What is pizza? What makes pizza, pizza?

Windy City Cooking: Week 30

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column whose title says it all. Enjoy! -Max)

Yes, I Cook
by Jason Hissong
15 March 2010

On Thursday night I cooked for the first time since Sunday night. This is a common occurrence. Thursdays are usually my first day during the week that I have no post-work obligations. This is all by choice, of course, but those choices make me better in other areas of my life. So Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are usually leftovers or a stop at Potbelly's, or a Clif Bar, or cereal. Something that's not cooking.

Ray's Braise: College Towns - Princeton

[Every other week, Ray takes us on a culinary tour of the tri-state area and treats us to some of his favorite recipes. Enjoy! -Max]



Illustration by Donal DeLay

Every University has its own culture, and the towns surrounding them tend to match. Where Rutgers is casual, Princeton is blue-blood. Where New Brunswick is urban, the city of Princeton is touristy. I never attended Princeton, but I've had the pleasure of visiting the city many times and sampling its culinary offerings. While you won't find the same cultural diversity or great cheap eats you'll find in New Brunswick, what you will find is a surprising amount of fine dining and some classic restaurants that can transport you to a bygone era of dining - as well as possibly the finest ice cream parlor in New Jersey.

Windy City Cooking: Week 29

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column whose title says it all. Enjoy! -Max)

Questions and Answers
by Jason Hissong
08 March 2010

My favorite sports writer, Bill Simmons, writes a reader mailbag column every five or six weeks or so. Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, this week I'm doing the exact same thing. I've solicited questions for a few weeks, and now, finally, the question askers receive their answers. So, without further ado, off we go.

Windy City Cooking: Week 28

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column whose title says it all. Enjoy! -Max)

$3,770.47
by Jason Hissong
01 March 2010

A few weeks ago I read Sam Walker's Fantasyland. Reading a book about his foray into the world of fantasy baseball elicited a couple of reactions. First, it made me hungry for baseball season. Second, it made me hungry for statistics consumption.

Windy City Cooking: Week 27

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday--and occasionally on Tuesday--Chicago's Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column whose title says it all. Enjoy! -Max)

The Thin Place
by Jason Hissong
22 February 2010

I asked my friend Larissa what she means when she uses the term "thin places." She gave me a quote. I didn't ask her where this quote is from, but this is what she wrote me, "These are places along one's spiritual path where God's spirit feels especially near." There's more to the quote, but for my purposes today that portion is enough. If forced to paraphrase, I would say that thin places, or moments, are when the tangible and the spiritual intersect, and are inseparable.

Ray's Braise: College Towns - New Brunswick

[Every other week, Ray takes us on a culinary tour of the tri-state area and treats us to some of his favorite recipes. Enjoy! -Max]



Photo Courtesy Monyca White

My eight-year stint as a college student will come to an end for now come this May, as I prepare to graduate from Rutgers University with my Masters degree. Being on the cusp of this accomplishment has caused me to reflect back on the time I've spent there - and of course, the meals I've eaten! When we think of the dining habits of college students, we usually think of ramen noodles, crowded dining halls, and student centers filled with the usual array of fast food chains. But by wandering outside the university grounds, there's usually a whole world of great, reasonably priced food to be found.

Greek Revised: Chicken Pastitsio

[Editor's Note: Please welcome new columnist Maria Koumentakos, who will take us through her own spin on Greek cuisine, highlighting a different classic Greek dish every month. Enjoy! -Max]



Greek Revised 01
February 16th, 2010
by Maria Koumentakos

Hey guys! This is my first article here on Beach City Cooking. I’m very excited and honored to have been asked to write it. I’ll be writing a monthly column featuring a Greek recipe I like that I’ve modified to my tastes or one that I’ve never made and always wanted to try. A little background info about me:

I’m a Panamanian born Greek, I’ve been raised on Greek and Panamanian food and being interested in cooking from a very young age, I’ve had extensive experience with Greek cuisine. By living here in Panama, my style of Greek cuisine had to adapt and mold to the ingredients available (or unavailable) to us here as well as the personal changes we have made over time to otherwise traditional meals. I’m looking forward to be showing you guys every month the things I’ve learned from my mother, my main teacher of Greek cooking, and also anything I’ve learned on my own as well.

Windy City Cooking: Week 26

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column whose title says it all. Enjoy! -Max)

Changing Tastes
by Jason Hissong
15 February 2010

Sunday evening I found myself at home enjoying the company of two of my favorite people; my roommate Jason and his girlfriend Elizabeth. While watching Planet Earth reruns on Discovery and establishing our game of Monopoly, we decided to get food. And the decision came down to two types of cuisine: pizza or Chinese. The pizza would have come from Fornello or Carreno's. If we went with the Chinese, on the other hand, there was only one choice. Orange Garden.

Panama City Cooking: Sancocho at El Carbón Rojo

[Editor's Note: Every month, Juan Duque of Panama City stops by to share the cuisine of Panama with us. Enjoy! -Max]



Panama City Cooking 02
January 27th, 2010
by Juan Duque

Hi! Welcome back to Panama City Cooking. This month I wanted to feature a local restaurant, so you guys could get an idea of what kinds of food we have over here. For this first one I chose the Bar and Grill El Carbón Rojo. It’s basically “The Red Charcoal” in Spanish. This used to be another restaurant decades ago, until it was bought by three Greek brothers in the early 80’s and got its current name. We actually went behind the scenes for this one!

Windy City Cooking: Week 25

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column whose title says it all. Enjoy! -Max)

Top 5
by Jason Hissong
25 January 2010

A big Windy City welcome to Beach City Cooking's newest contributor, Ray Goldfield. Go read his column. It's great.

My column comes inspired by two places. First, Ray's column I mentioned above. Second, from one of my favorite films- High Fidelity. In the film, and the novel upon which it is based by Nick Hornby, the three main characters sit around a record store and create hypothetical Top Five lists. Top Five Side Ones, Track Ones, for example.

And thus I present: my personal Top Five Ingredients.

Ray's Braise: Best Meals of 2009

[Please give a warm welcome to new biweekly columnist Ray Goldfield! Ray, in his column Ray's Braise, will take us on a culinary tour of the tri-state area and treat us to some of his favorite recipes. Enjoy! -Max]

Photo Courtesy Jason Perlow

In many ways, 2009 was the year everything changed for me in the world of food. I grew up in a home where food wasn't a huge part of day-to-day life. My father loved eating out, and he wasn't picky. My mother was certainly a good cook, but her tastes geared more towards salads and vegetarian dishes. In addition, growing up with dairy allergies, my diet was somewhat limited. It was very easy, as an adult, to fall into a routine of eating canned food and meat and potatoes without putting much effort into the food that I ate. Variety mostly came from eating out, and while I did certainly consider myself a food lover, I never had much interest in broadening my horizons. This started changing in 2002, when I won a contest in the Newark Star-Ledger to ride along on the Munchmobile, a yearly review trip that criss-crosses New Jersey visiting eateries of every kind. I was exposed to so many unique places and cuisines on these weekly trips that I came away with a much better understanding of my likes and dislikes. But it wasn't until years later, inspired by my friends (including those posting at this blog), that I really took the initiative in cooking for myself and bringing the things I love to eat when I'm out to my daily life and my kitchen table.

Windy City Cooking: Week 24

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday--and occasionally on Tuesday--Chicago's Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column whose title says it all. Enjoy! -Max)

The Diner
by Jason Hissong
19 January 2010

Edward Hopper's painting Nighthawks is one of my favorite images. Partly because everyone knows it, or some variation thereof. Partly because Hopper's composition of buildings and figures is well composed. Partly because on the surface it looks so pedestrian, so standard. And yet, looking closer, there's so much unknown about the figures in the piece. There's a figure whose face we cannot see. The red-haired woman with the other customer is looking at her had, disinterested in whatever conversation occurs between her, presumed, man and the soda jerk at work. All of the figures are within the walls of the diner. And outside, the streets are empty, lights turned out.

Windy City Cooking: Week 23

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column whose title says it all. Enjoy! -Max)

Culinary Surprises, Culinary Simplicity
by Jason Hissong
11 January 2010

I purchased Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck Cookbook via a giftcard over the holiday season. While I haven't read it, and I probably won't ever cook from it, I have looked through it. It's fascinating. It's part autobiography, part modern art book, part scientific journal. The tome's opening pages feature stunning artwork by Dave McKean. One of the pages has an image of Blumenthal himself through McKean's mixed media lens, and the double page spread the words: Something interesting happens every time I put food or drink in my mouth.

While I don't have Blumenthal's culinary skill or knowledge, and I don't yet take the time to really ascertain what happens in my mouth every time I feed it, I do think this statement is accurate. And what I find fascinating time and time again is how often I am surprised by food, and how often simple food brings such enjoyment.

Chicken Piccata

When Jen and I lived in Valley Village a few years back, one of our favorite restaurants was Georgio's on Ventura Boulevard. It was a cozy little Italian joint, where the food was good and consistent. We especially liked their chickens Francese and Piccata. In perusing the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook that I recently received, I came across a recipe for Chicken Piccata that looked pretty great. So, armed with fond memories, I tested out the recipe, and it turned out well. Onto the recipe!

Windy City Cooking: Week 22

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column whose title says it all. Enjoy! -Max)

The New Year
by Jason Hissong
4 January 2010

The menu: antipasto of swiss cheese and crackers, sausage, raw red peppers, carrots, radishes. Roasted fennel, parsnips, and carrots. Main course: three cheese and broccoli soup, chili with rice, and pasta e fagioli. Dessert: Oreo/cream cheese balls and chocolate cake.

Blue Cheese Dressing

I recently received a copy of America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, and it's a terrific book. There are plenty of photographs, which is a big plus in my book, but it's the sheer number of handy recipes--over 1200--that makes the spiral-bound tome so worth owning. In flipping through the book, there are a bunch of recipes that stood out to me, but one in particular caught my eye: blue cheese dressing, mostly because I had some great blue cheese on hand, and some buttermilk I had to use up. This recipe turned out to be extremely delicious, and thankfully quick and easy to prepare. You won't even need to break out the blender or food processor. Okay, onto the recipe.

White Corn Tortillas

I've been on something of a Mexican food kick lately. I really enjoyed making those flour tortillas a month or so ago, but I've always been more partial to flour tortillas than their corn counterparts. I think that's because I've had corn tortillas far less frequently, and because the ones I have had haven't been particularly excellent. I was leafing through the excellent Tacos book by Mark Miller that I mentioned in yesterday's Tomatillo Salsa post, though, and came across a recipe for homemade corn tortillas that looked easy enough. These tortillas turned out really well, and weren't terribly too much work, although you will get some good exercise out of the process if, like me, you don't happen to have a tortilla press lying around. Okay, onto the recipe!

Tomatillo Salsa

Hey faithful readers, Happy New Year! I'm going to try and get these blog posts back to something resembling a more regular and respectable schedule. Thanks from Jason, Juan and myself for your continued support of the site! We'll have plenty more content for you in 2010, so stay tuned!