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.

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.

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.

Windy City Cooking: Week 21

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column whose title says it all, and which this week turns legal drinking age. Enjoy! -Max)

Food Traditions: Christmas
by Jason Hissong
28 December 2009

I rest my head against the tiny window of the Boeing 737 that will take me from St. Louis to Chicago in 38 minutes. I'm anxious. I've never traveled on a plane during snow, or winter conditions, really. The captain dings the intercom on to inform us that we're going to be delayed because the plane needs to de-ice. It's a small comfort. I close my eyes and try to sleep, and as I try to sleep I can't stop thinking about our family's food traditions during the holidays. And, more importantly, how they're changing.

Windy City Cooking: Week 20

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

Evolver
by Jason Hissong
21 December 2009

'Tis the season.

I've had three culinary events this week which evolve previous topics I've written about. This is the nature of cooking, writing, and, life. As we march forward through time things shift, understandings change, ideas and meanings more lucid.

Windy City Cooking: Week 19

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

Enemy Self
by Jason Hissong
14 December 2009

I'm sick.

I'm not physically ill. I haven't come down with H1N1 or that ubiquitous winter cough. I don't have any virus or disease, that I'm aware.

I'm sick of myself.

Why?

Windy City Cooking: Week 18

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

Giving Thanks: The Harvest
by Jason Hissong
30 November 2009

I'm sitting shotgun in our rented Jeep Wrangler. Jonathan's driving down I-70 towards Indianapolis, where we'll switch to I-65 which will deliver us back to Chicago. We're listening to the Garden State soundtrack as the miles tick by. It's calm, and collected, and it just seems appropriate as we travel home. We haven't spoken much on this trip. There's no need.

Windy City Cooking: Week 17

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

The Web Log

23 November 2009
by Jason Hissong

My good friend Joel used to run a blog about pop culture and other items he found of interest. His blog was full of links to other websites, because that's what the first blogs were. The word 'blog' itself is a contraction for "web log." So, in the tradition of early blogs, I present this entry in that style.

Windy City Cooking: Week 16

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



The Revisionist
by Jason Hissong
16 November 2009

       It starts with an idea. I hear a word, or see something on the television. Acorn squash. Risotto. Tomato bisque. I think: how? I think: what does that taste like? I think: what goes with that? I think: how do I cook that?

Windy City Cooking: Week 15

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

Extraction
by Jason Hissong
9 November 2009

       This is going to be a bit of a different column. Essentially, it's an extended version of what I do at the end of my columns in the What I've Cooked, What Others Have Cooked for Me, Where I Ate feature. Why? Extraction. I now have four stitched up sockets where my wisdom teeth used to be thanks to Dr. Katabi and his staff at Armitage Oral Surgery.

       Because of said stitches I can't really use the back of my mouth to chew. So I've had to find ways to get all my requisite nutrients and protein/fats/carbs. It's a different way of thinking about food. A challenging way.

Windy City Cooking: Week 14

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



Gear
by Jason Hissong
2 November 2009

       I get suckered in, too. They're so pretty- images of complete kitchens with all the gear. Racks of pots and pans. Blocks and blocks of knives. The advertisers are so charming in their made up world of perfection. I fall for it all the time. I think: if only I had the entire pot and pan set I would be a better cook.

       And it's not true. I'll be a better cook when I cook more, and better. The thing with gear is that there's so much of it that it's hard to know what's vitally necessary and what's advertisers' attempts at selling product. And it's difficult to discern.

Windy City Cooking: Week 13

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



Risotto
by Jason Hissong
26 October 2009

       Yesterday I spent a few hours over at my friend Andy's house. He doesn't cook much, and so we spent part of our afternoon in the kitchen with me showing him how to cook a couple of dishes. Our main dish? Risotto.

Windy City Cooking: Week 12

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

The Cook's Bookshelf
by Jason Hissong
19 October 2009

       My friend Kate is an amazing woman. Gorgeous. Intelligent. Funny. Well read. She sings and plays guitar. And, she's one hell of a cook. Every time I visit her home there is one item that draws me in over and over again: her food bookshelf. I envy her food bookshelf. It's full of cookbooks and books about food, old and new alike. I want most of the books Kate has on her shelf. They look good. They smell good. I'm sure the recipes in them taste incredible with proper execution. And while her shelf is far more extensive than mine I find myself dipping again and again into my own food bookshelf.

Windy City Cooking: Week 11

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

The Most Important Meal
By Jason Hissong
12 October 2009

       The most important meal I ever cooked I cooked for a girl in college that told me it was too complicated for me to make. It was a simple chicken and pasta dish with a white sauce and a salad of some sort. I have forgotten the exact details. She enjoyed it, or told me she did, and at the time nothing mattered more.

Windy City Cooking: Week 10

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday (or, on occasion, Tuesday morning), Chicago's cheerful chum Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column about eating and preparing food in Chicagoland. Enjoy! -Max)



Ingredient Stretching
By Jason Hissong
5 October 2009

       Last Sunday I made tomato bisque. It’s a super simple dish, really. I started with rendering some bacon in my big saucepot and then removing the bacon for later. I then drained some, but not all, of the bacon grease and left a little to sweat my aromatics- in this case a simple onion, garlic, celery, and carrot. To this I added my whole, peeled tomatoes and let simmer for half an hour. I then added my bacon, a cup of milk, and blended with my stick blender and added some shredded cheddar cheese. I cracked the black pepper after ladling into a bowl, and served with a buttered, farmhouse roll. Delicious, satisfying, and comforting on cold autumnal evenings in Chicago.

Windy City Cooking: Week 9

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's close confidant Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column about eating and preparing food in the City of the Century. Enjoy! -Max)



Sometimes Food is Not About Food
By Jason Hissong
28 September 2009

       It’s Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Two more hours and I have the evening’s reprieve from a crazy, stressful workweek. Tomorrow is a new day, and eight more hours of stress, but that’s tomorrow.

       It’s 5:00 p.m. and I close the computer. I change in the bathroom and lock my work clothes away and go see Jonathan. It’s time to leave the office and commence our evening. We hit the Red Line after stopping by the cash box, and we run into a friend during the commute. We get off a stop before we need to to enjoy the evening’s blue sky, one of the last we might see in this dying summer.

       We walk north on Clark Street. While there are worthwhile places on Clark Street we’re heading to Wrigleyville. It’s fine in its proper perspective, when taken at face value. And we both know that our purpose isn’t Wrigleyville, but a place for dinner in Wrigleyvile and it just so happens our primary concern this evening is very close to the restaurant.

Windy City Cooking: Week 7

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's superlative chum Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column about eating and preparing food in the City in a Garden. Enjoy! -Max)



Food Traditions: French Toast and Football
By Jason Hissong
13 September 2009

       Culinary traditions are one of my favorite aspects of food and thinking about food and today I celebrate one of my favorites: French toast and bacon while watching football.

Windy City Cooking: Week 6

(Ed.'s Note- Every Monday, Chicago's good friend Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column about eating and preparing food in the Second City. Enjoy! -Max)

Sometimes Things Don’t Work
By Jason Hissong
7 September 09

       Sometimes a dish doesn’t work. Most of the time, it’s because I made a bad decision, or a couple, along the way.

       I’m trying to take advantage of the same Farmer’s Market I mentioned two weeks ago before Old Man Winter comes and swallows the market into his cold, dead claw. So I went back to the market this past Thursday, not having a specific goal in mind. As soon as I saw the early fall harvest, however, I knew exactly what I was getting. There were rows, and rows of apples. All varieties. But then I spotted something else: peppers. Mountains of peppers. How could I pass this up?

Windy City Cooking: Week 3

[Ed.'s note- every Monday, Jason Hissong writes Windy City Cooking, a column about eating and preparing food in the Paris on the Prairie. Have at it, Jason! -Max]



The Pork Tenderloin
By Jason Hissong
17 August 09

Let me be perfectly clear: every time I eat a piece of meat I know it was once a live animal. This is an entry-point into a discussion that would take too long here, as it’s complex and multi-faceted. But, for me, every time I touch a piece of meat the thought crosses my mind at least once.