Chicken Tomatillo Taco Party

As it is the season for roasting and making chicken, I decided to change it up a little. Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables is delicious, but I wanted to add some flair to our chicken. I found this recipe on  Tasting Table and modified it a little. I changed the salsa slightly and increased the amount I made (so I could make another dish) and changed how it was served. I thought this would be an awesome taco dish. And it was kind of perfect. I added some guacamole and we had a chicken taco making party.

It's a party on your plate

This is a dish you need to start prepping the night before; the chicken needs to sit and soak up all the spices. 

The Four Seasons Plus a Few More

The Husband and I decided to spend a lovely evening at Aviary. We wanted to get in before the Kyoto menu changed over so we could taste the Kyoto flight and slurp on some delicious ramen. A friend and Aviary regular, The M2, ended up meeting us there as well, (he needed a break from studying for his Medical School exams) so the three of us had a lovely evening drinking and eating.

The last few times we had been to The Aviary, we skipped drinks upstairs and went downstairs to The Office. Because of this, there were several new drinks on the menu that we wanted to try. I went with the Kyoto Flight, a four course flight of drinks based off of the Kyoto Kaiseki menu at Next.  When I finally write up our Kyoto dinner, I will go into detail about what a Kaiseki menu is. But for the sake of today, kaiseki is a type of art form that balances the taste, texture, appearance, and colors of food. In traditional kaiseki menus, only fresh seasonal ingredients are used and are prepared in ways that aim to enhance their flavor. Finished dishes are carefully presented on plates that are chosen to enhance both the appearance and the seasonal theme of the meal. At Aviary the each of the four courses represented a season.

Spring was a Cherry Blossom. It was beautiful. The flue came with a cube of sugar and small dried ball at the bottom along with a single sprig of leaf on the side. Our server informed us that the sugar has been soaked in cherry, persimmon and various other deliciousness before being formed into the cube. She then slowly poured the spirit into the glass and as if by magic, the dried ball at the bottom began to open up and became a beautiful cherry blossom. They then took a small spray bottle and sprayed some essence of cherry onto the glass. The drink was light, refreshing and all around perfect. Once I finished my drink, I was trying to get to the sugar that was at the base of the flute (without sticking my finger inside).  When I got my next course, I ended up using the straw to grab at some. Seriously, best sugar ever.

Spring

Chestnuts and Apples Roasting in my Kitchen Fire

It’s been a rather busy month since I last wrote. Rather than dive into two rather long posts, I’ll start off small.  This Thanksgiving The Husband and I stayed in Chicago and were so kindly invited to join in with friends of ours Thanksgiving Festivities. As a couple who loves food as much as The Husband and I do, they had an amazing Thanksgiving Feast prepared.  Everyone brought various different dishes and it was one of the most delicious Thanksgivings we’ve had to date.  The Husband and I were in charge of a dessert.  As we spent Thanksgiving with them last year, I decided against the Cinnamon Ice Cream and Pork Lard Crust Apple Pie, and went for something a little different.

I did a play on Alice Water’s Apple Tart that I found on Smitten Kitchen and Chestnut Ice Cream.  I thought Chestnut Ice Cream sounded really interesting and rather unique, and I’m really happy that we ended up making it.  I should give The Husband a HUGE thanks for running around the city trying to find me whole Chestnuts to roast.  The recipe called for canned, pureed unsweetened Chestnuts, but I couldn't find them, so I decided to make my own Chestnut puree.   Both recipes were rather simple (even though this is long, they really were easy),  light (you don’t want a crazy heavy dessert after Thanksgiving dinner) and a perfect end to a deliciously and meticulously prepared dinner.  Well, the 60 Oysters we ate AFTER dessert was really the perfect end….

Mac Attack!

As I've said before, The Husband has a thing for Mac & Cheese.  So when a friend, The Ex-Pat (as she’s currently residing in Scotland, drawing pictures of cowboys and walking past breathtaking castles while also being a good wife and making delicious food) posted not one but TWO separate Mac & Cheese recipes (along with mouthwatering pictures), I had to test them.

The first, an ode to Avocado was an awesome one pot (one Cuisinart) dish. The combination of Avocado and Cheese made it really creamy and the pepper jack was a really great addition. As I like my food on the spicy side, this was kind of perfect. For once in my life, I did follow that recipe as it was written which is why I just posted the link to it above. If you don’t want something on the spicy side, you can just go with Monterey Jack some something a little milder.

The second recipe The Ex-Pat came up with herself. She winged it (which I totally love) but since I knew how delicious this was going to be, and figured that something this fantastic should have a recipe, I followed her directions and came up with something a little more concrete. Both The Husband and I totally loved this, we had loads of leftovers and he took it with him to work for a few nights. The amazing thing about this dish is that it’s just as fantastic cold as it is hot. And it can be used as either a side or a dinner (we had it for a dinner)

What an AMAZING El Idea

The Awesome Dining Room Art-Aqua Teen Hunger Force!

I should start, that while there was not an Annie Lennox dance party in the kitchen, nor were we given a bottle of Old Granddad and asked to do shots with the staff, our dinner at El Ideas was probably the most fun we've had in a dining experience to date. Not to mention, our favorite meal this year.

Back in mid-August The Husband realized that my birthday was approaching. After thinking about various places to try, he decided to make a reservation at El Ideas, the brain child of Phillip Foss. We had been tracking Foss, the chef/owner for some time. After leaving Lockwood, he became a pioneer in the now overwrought food truck scene in Chicago. His Meatyballs truck was a hit, the sandwiches were delicious and after doing that for some time, he decided to open up a brick and mortar place, El Ideas.

SHE CAN BE TAUGHT!

I think I’m a fairly decent baker. I don’t think I’m amazing, but I do think that I can find my way around a pie tin and pipette bags. There is one thing that I have been trying to bake for over five years now, and I still haven’t found the right way to do it: Banana Bread.  Part of my problem is this: 1) I get bothered by the recipes that call for sticks of butter, or lard or large amount of any fat, 2) Because of this, I mix and match low-fat recipes.  And while I know it’s verboten in the world of baking, I rarely follow any recipe I read to a T.  Ninety percent of the time, it works out in my favor; the remaining ten perfect is my Waterloo.

My low-fat Banana Breads never work out as I hope. They generally brown very quickly, get a little burned on the outside and under-cooked on the inside and don’t taste as delicious as one would hope (given the large amount of brown sugar, vanilla and banana that are in them). However the whole “oh Apple Sauce is a great substitute for butter” thing, is a lie. It really isn't-  At least not in breads.

Fast Break!

The Husband is a breakfast person-He loves pancakes, he loves Eggs Benedict, he loves waffles and bacon. I, on the other hand, am not.  Growing up The Mother would treat us every once and a while we would have Breakfast for Dinner. The Siblings would be so excited. The Mother would make pancakes, and scrambled eggs and bacon and breakfast sausage (okay, the ONLY breakfast things I really enjoy are sausage and hash browns).  Growing up I hated eggs, refused to eat them. And pouring maple syrup onto pancakes made them so mushy. While The Siblings were going crazy over Breakfast for Dinner, I’d silently sulk. And when I got older, I’d go out  to the Wawa and grab a sandwich.

As I've gotten older, I've changed my mind on the eggs (although I'm not the hugest fan of soft boiled eggs..the texture creeps me out), and I'm much less against breakfast. We're not brunch people (because I sleep too late to make it in time) but when we do, I err towards the side of savory and much more on the lunch side of the brunch menu. I  should add, I do enjoy a good Southwestern Omelet every once and a while. 

So back to The Husband- He’s been traveling a lot this past month (he’s currently in Denver for a conference) and on one of his rare mornings home, I decided to make him something that he loves (and something I’ve never made) French Toast.  I got the idea the evening before, while making a Roasted Tomato Soup and Veggie Sandwich. I had ¾ of a loaf of Italian bread left and thought, rather than making ribollita, I’d try something I haven’t done before. Besides, I was picking The Husband up from the airport at 8am, so I thought I could make up for his 4:30am wake-up with breakfast.

French toast is best when the bread used is slightly stale. And since the bread I had was fresh, I thought I would speed up the process. I cut the bread into 1.5 in slices the evening before and let it sit out on the counter until I made it, 16 hours later. Making the French toast was super quick. I think the whole thing took maybe 20 minutes and I have to say, I think I did a pretty good job for a first time.

French Toast:

4 Eggs

¾ cup of Milk

2 TBS Sugar

1 TSP Vanilla

Pinch of salt

10 slices of Italian Bread (firm to the touch, but not totally stale)

1 TBS Butter

Maple Syrup (the real stuff)

Confectioners’ Sugar

In a bowl, mix Eggs, Milk, Sugar, Vanilla and Salt. Wisk until liquids are totally mixed. Soak the bread, making sure to cover both sides. You want to let the mixture soak into the bread as much as possible, without letting the bread soak up all of your mixture too soon. I recommend about 90 seconds on each side. Heat a large skillet, add ½ TBS Butter to the skillet.  When the butter had melted, add bread.  Cook each slice until it’s golden brown and slightly crispy on each side. This should be about 4 minutes or so total.

Repeat the process until all of your slices have been cooked.  I the meantime, put your Maple Syrup into a microwaveable container and heat for roughly one minute. Trust me, you’ll want to do this, warm syrup is so much better than cold syrup.

When you’re about to serve, sprinkle Confectioners’ Sugar onto the toast and serve with your warm syrup.