Chris.Derecola

By my count, it’s been about 2.5 years since I’ve posted a recipe. Given I cook more than not, it’s hard to believe that much time has past. I guess since I have a standard set of recipes I rotate, and have managed to post most of my signature dishes, there hasn’t been any long and involved processes to talk about. At least it seems that way. In reality, I’ve had to step outside my box quite a few times in the last year due to receiving a large number of… new to us… vegetables with our CSA. If nothing else, the CSA has proved a great way to expose us to vegetables we wouldn’t normally buy ourselves.

Perhaps not surprisingly, this recipe was born of a combination of “What the heck are we gonna use this for?” and “What the heck are we gonna eat?” moments. I had a few key pieces on hand and did my best to come up with something worthy of a fall afternoon. The beauty of the meal is it took less than an hour to make and, although I’m not a nutritionist, very healthy. Heck, if you replace the chicken broth with vegetable and don’t bother with the duck pate (more on this later), you’ve got yourself a delicious vegan meal. You could use everything fresh (non-canned) if you wanted the purest home-cooked meal, but you’d obviously have to cook it longer.

Required:

• one butternut squash – peeled, de-seeded and diced
• one small onion – cut to preference (I like wedges)
• one head garlic
• one can chunky crushed tomato
• one large container chicken broth (I use low-sodium fat-free)
• evoo
• salt & pepper
• steamed rice

Optional:

• grated pecorino romano
• grated aged gouda (I prefer 5 year as it’s much sharper and harder)
• three or four radishes (large cooking variety, not those in salads)
• tablespoon duck liver pate

It’s worth noting all the optional ingredients made it in to the pot because, and only because, I had it on hand. Everything on that part of the list was added for the sake of making a heartier, more complex soup. You’ll probably have to go out of your way to find three of the four, so I’ve listed them in descending order of recommendation. Whether or not you include them is entirely up to you and your tastes.

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (I use my convection-capable microwave.)
2. Spread just enough evoo to cover the bottom of a large Pyrex dish.
3. Single layer the vegetables in the dish, keeping the garlic in unpeeled clusters to prevent burning.
4. Liberally salt and pepper the vegetables.
5. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender (pic above).
6. In separate pot, simmer canned tomatoes and chicken broth on moderate heat.
7. After vegetables are cooked, remove the garlic and dump contents of Pyrex into the pot.
8. Peel garlic cloves and put in soup.
9. Simmer soup, covered, for 20-30 minutes. Add pate towards the end, if desired.
10. Serve over steamed rice with cheese(s) grated on top.

I cook my rice with powdered chicken bouillon (a Vietnamese variety, actually) so no seasoning of the soup is necessary. I also included a clove or two of the garlic to flavor the rice, but this is definitely not a required step. Feel free to adjust to your tastes.

That’s it. Easy peasy, right? I think so. I don’t generally go for vegetable soups but this is a downright delicious bowl of goodness. Enjoy.

Back to Reality. Our vacation is over; I’m happy to report everything went well and we had a good time. I have a lot to talk about but I also have a feeling it’s going to take me awhile to decompress and digest it into readable bits. My calendar is somewhat full for the next 10 days but I’m hopeful I can get stuff on here before you lose interest. In the meantime, here a few things off the top of my head.

• 19 days is a long time. It was actually long enough that I caught myself thinking a few times that living out of a backpack and moving around all the time was my normal life… like I got used to it or something. Travel/vacation never felt that way for me before and it was pretty cool. I was definitely ready to come home, but I appreciate the experience.
• The weather was somewhat crap but kinda awesome. We didn’t count, but our best estimate is that it rained for 13-14 days of the 19. I’m not talking 5 minute sprinkles surrounded by sun, but rather gray with on/off rain or just plain rain all day. Rain on vacation sucks, but it didn’t get to me as much as you might think. We were prepared for the most part and given that most places didn’t have A/C, I was okay because it rarely went above 65°. The days it was sunny were absolute perfection, so I’m not really complaining.
• I shot 791 pictures and 35 movie clips. I really thought I was going to shoot more, but the weather ran interference with that. Some days it was just so wet and gray that I didn’t feel it worthwhile to pull the camera out. Still, those counts are nothing to sneeze at and I’m sure it’ll take some time to get them online.
• I managed to cross two things off my Life List. I was thinking it would be three, but the timing and logistics just flat out didn’t work. As with several things on the trip, we felt it better to dial it back a notch and not force it.
• I ate a ridiculous amount of most everything I try to avoid on a regular basis and only gained two pounds. I truly feared the scale after all the beer, foie gras, chocolate, pork, wine, bread, bone marrow, butter, beef and ice cream I had but was pleasantly surprised. The significant amount of walking we did – averaged nine miles/day in Paris, where I stopped keeping track – must have compensated for the caloric intake. This fuels my belief about why Americans are fat; more about that in another post. The unwanted side effect of this food appears to be the resurfacing of acid reflux. It went away four years ago when I stopped eating crap, so I’m pretty sure it’s related. Bah.

That’s it for now. I apologize if the thoughts aren’t entirely coherent or ramble on – I’m still six hours ahead. I should also probably apologize for the overuse of the word but. I didn’t count but I usually end up with far too many if I don’t make a conscious habit not to. More later… and with less buts!

Writing reviews for places you went to six months ago is an interesting exercise in recall. Once upon a time, I would devote a post to each and every establishment we visited in Chicago. Those days are not long gone, but since I’ve written this post over the span of several months it’s gonna be a bit fragmented. I’ll try and touch on the things that stick out in my mind and what my overall impression of the places were. I have a feeling I’ll get into it and make this post way longer than it should be, but I don’t want to break any hearts if I don’t. Anyway…

Hot Doug’s -This is one of the places I was really looking forward to visiting. Unfortunately, they closed for a three week vacation the day we arrived so I didn’t get to sample the seemingly wonderful duck fat fries. Sad.

Tierra Caliente – Tacos Al Pastor is like the Mexican version of gyros. I’ve never been a HUGE Mexican food fan, but that’s because there is so much bad Tex Mex in this world. Who knew real tacos could be so delicious with so little toppings?

Guanajuato – Carne Asada done right. I’m a big spicy food fan and this was pretty spicy even for me. The star of the meal, however, was the horchata. The giant white container of creamy white liquid is a bit intimidating, but the drink was delicious. It sounds gross, but it’s like drinking ice cold, watered down rice pudding. I loved it.

Map Room -We met Mike late on a Sunday night, after we had a fairly ridiculous dinner at L2O. The bouncer asked us where we came from, since were so dressed up, but that’s all that was made of our unusual visit. The place was pretty empty, but it reminded me of a great corner bar to meet up with friends and drink the night away. Their beer selection was fairly awesome and despite clearly not belonging, we somehow fit in. I’m glad I don’t have a place like this in walking distance.

Hopleaf Bar – Their beer menu is absolutely ridiculous, especially if you’re into trying every Belgian beer in existence. For what was essentially a neighborhood bar that has tables and a two page menu, the food was impressive. It’s really hard to go wrong with a sausage platter, which was the best dish of the night. The mains weren’t nearly as memorable, but that might be due to the numerous high ABV beers I’d had. All the patrons seemed local and considering it was after dark on a Monday night, I’m surprised at how packed the place was. I have no idea if Hopleaf is a typical Chicago neighborhood eatery, but I think it speaks well for the city.

The Publican – I love pork and therefore I love The Publican. This was another dinner with Mike, who I believe described the restaurant as one of his all-time favorites. Their menu reads like a foodie’s wet dream, which makes it tough to narrow down your selections. The three most memorable things about the night were the crispy pig ears, the head cheese and Mike not realizing the hot waitress was hitting on him. We didn’t drink nearly as much beer as I thought we were going to, but I blame all the pig we ate. The choices were certainly there were we willing. The community tables is an interesting idea, but I’m not sure it’s for me. Thankfully we had one of the penned in booths; an improvement that still had me feeling a bit claustrophobic. I could see how people wouldn’t like the atmosphere, with the hustle and bustle, but the food makes it all worthwhile.

L2O – I’m not really sure one can write a review of the Tatami Room dining adventure because it’s one of those things you have to do for yourself. Nineteen courses of some of the most elegantly prepared and delicious food I have ever experienced is not something easily described in text. Countless plates of cooked and raw fish, wagyu beef,  smoked salmon, scallops, lobster, jalapeno sorbet… all great… and the list goes on. The private bamboo lined room was romantic and our kimono-clad waitress was extremely pleasant and knowledgeable. I can’t say the cost of the meal was something I’m proud of, but life is about experiences and our dinner there was definitely one you talk about for a long time. I don’t think I would have ever recommended a five hour dinner to anyone, but I’m recommending this one.

[Included below is a scan of our menu. You can also find pictures of all dishes but one in the Derecola Archives.]

Part of the reason we went to Chicago was for the food scene. I’m happy to say it did not disappoint, although I think knowing a local gastrophile helped us out tremendously. The fare is really a lot more down-home than I expected, although considering the roots of the city, isn’t surprising. Somehow, the city manages to make eating both comfortable and experimental at the same time… if that’s possible. It really is one of the better food cities I’ve visited and I’d recommend it to everyone.