HOLY COW!

The Cubs are going to the world series.  Let me repeat that:

THE CHICAGO CUBS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!

Homigod.  It's stunning, really.    I am a transplant, but at this point I've lived in Chicago longer than I lived anywhere else - it's my home. And I love it.

I grew up a Mets fan, so growing up with a team that had some serious curse baggage is de rigueur, but the Cubs' baggage is of a different magnitude.  We haven't been to the World Series since 1945.  1945!

And the last time we won the World Series?  1908!  Let's put that in perspective:

20 Events that Have Occurred Since the Chicago Cubs Won Their Last World Series

1. Both radio and TV were invented
2. Fourteen teams were added to Major League Baseball
3. George Burns celebrated his 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays
4. Haley's comet passed Earth, twice
5. Harry Caray was born, and died
6. The NBA, NHL and NFL were formed, and Chicago teams won championships in each league
7. The US fought in World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, Iraq War, Afghanistan War
8. Man landed on the moon
9. Sixteen US presidents were elected
10. Eleven amendments added to the Constitution
11. Prohibition was created and repealed
12. The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, and was re discovered
13. Wrigley Field was built and becomes the oldest park in the National League
14. Flag poles were erected on Wrigley Field roof to hold all of the team's future World Series pennants, which have since rusted and been taken down
15. A combination of 40 Summer and Winter Olympics have been held
16. Thirteen baseball players have won the Triple Crown
17. Swing music, bell-bottoms, and disco came in style, went out of style and came back in style
18. The Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins have all won the World Series; what next, the Nationals?!?
19. The Cubs played almost 15,000 regular-season games, losing the majority of them
20. Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma and New Mexico were admitted to the Union

Sooooo, we're due.
No more talk of curses.
No more talk of Goats
No more talk of Steve Bartman (Doug and I were at that tragic game.)

Let's talk about Javi.  And Rizzo.  And Grandpa Ross.  And those glorious pitchers.  And Joe Maddon. And Theo Epstein.  These guys are easy to root for - young and exuberant and unencumbered and READY.

 Hoist a glass, people.  It's on.

For tomorrow night's game, I'm going to whip up a batch of a classic Chicago Italian Beef

Portillo’s Family Recipe - Italian Beef

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon onion salt
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 bay leaves
• 1 (2/3 ounce) package Italian salad dressing mix
• 5 lbs inside round roast (cap on)
• 
  

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water, salt, ground black pepper, oregano,
 basil, onion salt, parsley, garlic powder, bay leaf and salad dressing mix.

2. Stir well and bring just to a boil.

3. Place roast in a slow cooker and pour mixture over the roast.

4. Cover and cook on low setting for 10 to 12 hours OR high setting for 4 to 5 hours.

5. Remove bay leaf and shred meat with a fork.

6. Serve on Italian Rolls with spicy giardiniera



                             LET'S GO CUBBIES!!

Veggie Tales

Remember Veggie Tales? If you have a child between the ages of 15-22, chances are you have a soft spot for "Dave and the Giant Pickle," "Rack, Shack & Benny," Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber and his alter-ego, Larry Boy.  Hilarious, sweet stories told by animated vegetables, based on bible stories, with very catchy tunes.

What's not to love? Guilt-free e-parenting that got me through those toddler years.

Was that why my kids were good veggie eaters?  I don't know.  Couldn't have hurt.  Julie taught me that me trick that, before dinner, when your kids are starving, if you put out a big plate of cut veggies, maybe with a little side of ranch dressing, they'll gobble it up.  And they did.  Veggies were never the enemy.  When Noah was in preschool his teacher told me at pickup one day that she had made a pepper rainbow - had cut strips of red, orange, yellow, green and even purple peppers arranged on a plate like a rainbow, and Noah was the only one who ate them!  Yay!

But my veggie prowess is being tested, suddenly, because Corey is now a vegetarian.  She's been talking about it for a while and finally made the jump this summer, following my niece Jackie, who recently went vegan.  Vegan to me makes cooking and eating way too much work, but veggie I get.  I looked for a cute picture of corey and jackie and I have, well, millions.

 

 

 

So cute!  So many years have passed!  Sigh.  (Girls: notice how I left out the awkward years?  You're welcome.)

ANYWAY, it's a good time to be a vegetarian or vegan in the world - there are so many more options for dining out or in now.  But cooking vegetarian?  That's not really my jam.  So I'm having to learn.

The other night I made the family a weeknight stir-fry.  No recipe, just marinated some diced chicken breasts in soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, vegetable oil, crushed red pepper & garlic.  Then I stared at that block of tofu I had bought, utterly mystified.  I knew that Corey (and Jackie) had done some tofu 'pressing' at the lake this summer - so I called her down to deal with it.

Apparently, if you want your tofu to stay firm you need to drain the excess water.  You wrap it in a towel or paper towels, put between some heavy items and leave for 15-30 minutes.  Which I did. It wasn't a raging success - still a little mushier than I think is ideal, but hey, I'm a newbie.  It's a whole new veggie world out there.

Stir fry for one and all

Cut all the veggies you have on hand into strips/florets.  I prepped a red pepper, green pepper, a few carrots, a bunch of green beans (just trimmed edges) and a head of broccoli.

I took two chicken breasts and cut them into strips then marinaded them in

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp sesame oil

3-5 Tbsp rice vinegar

1/4 cup veggie oil 

several cloves garlic, minced

lots of crushed red pepper flakes

 The trusty beast lays in the same spot all the time, right in my way, hoping I'll drop something.

 Heat up some veggie oil in the wok.  Get it really hot.

 Add the marinated chicken with about half the marinade.  

Cook it on high heat for about 5 minutes, until cooked through.  

Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon.

 Meanwhile, cut your pressed tofu into pieces and let it marinate in the other half of the marinade while the chicken is cooking.

 Throw the whole situation in the wok and cook on med high heat until it's firm and edges are crispy. Remove from wok with a slotted spoon.

 

 Dump all your veggies in the wok, stir up and cover. 

 Stir occasionally and cook only till veggies start getting tender, about 5 minutes.

 Take some of this yumminess out and mix it with the tofu. 

Then dump the chicken and some peanuts into the wok and mix well.

Serve over rice. 

Meanwhile, I had a lovely afternoon in the city with one of my favorite carnivores, and he wisely chose a classic Chicago hot dog.  

Variety is the spice of life, yo. 

Fall, Friday, Football...

It's that time of year again!  Fall!  I love fall.  As I discussed last year, I think fall is my season - I love when the nights turn crisp and the  world starts turning a little inward and the smells and activities change.  Football games on Friday nights (Dylan) and Sunday afternoon (Bears.  Thank you for your sympathy.)

Cooking has been a little haphazard, I must confess.  Due to my previously discussed poor ability to cook for three, we have a lot of leftovers lately,  and leftovers have now become part of the rotation.   What a concept!  But this week I got myself in the kitchen a few times.

As an aside, poor Dylan is now directly under the kitchen-table spotlight, both literally and metaphorically.  There are upsides:  I think he likes having the basement and the bathroom all to himself, but dinners are, well, QUIET.  He's in that reticent teenager phase and Doug and I really have to draw conversation out of him.  But draw we do!  We persevere!  Remember conversation questions?  Well, they're baaaaaack.  The other night I made us engage in that beloved dinnertime activity, and it was a hoot.  Dylan asked about my transition, as a kid, to being an only child.  I informed him I was the fifth (he: you were?), so was never an only child, but regaled him with tales of Jacquie and me being a junior and senior,  the last two at home,  and inheriting Mary Beth's sky-blue AMC Pacer when she moved to Manhattan.  I had to pull up some photos of Pacers - he was duly stunned and impressed. 

I asked Doug and what instrument he regrets giving up as a kid (cello.)  (He gave up many.)  Doug asked Dylan about his Chem/Phys class.  Anywho - in addition to the scintillating dinnertime conversation, we ate some yummy fall  food.

Cauliflower and Zucchini Soup

Last night was a cold and rainy night.   I got home and looked in the fridge and I had a ton of veggies and no plan, so decided to make some class of veggie soup.  We were heavy on Zucchini and Cauliflower so, voila!

I pan roasted 3 chopped zucchini and a head of chopped cauliflower with some olive oil, salt & pepper.  About a half hour on 400.  

 

 Then I sauteed a chopped onion and some garlic. 

 I added some chopped potatoes to give the soup some oomph.  Brought to a boil with 6 or so cups of chicken broth.  Then let that simmer for half hour or so, while the veggies roasted. 

 I added the veggies back to the pot and threw in some crushed red pepper and a ton more fresh ground pepper and some kosher salt. 

 

 Then pureed it a bit with the hand blender. 

 It was good!  Next time I might add some cumin or curry to give it a little more depth, and for sure some more crushed red pepper.  But it was filling and yummy and both veggie-rich and filling. 

Also this week: 

Baked Squash Soup, 

which I spelled out for y'all last year.

And last weekend we had a dinner party and served: 

Grilled  Chicken & Steak with  Chimichurri

 I know, you're sick of me posting this recipe.  I know!  But, see, you MUST make it.  You must!  It is the best thing ever.  I promise. And takes 5 minutes.  Please make a list and go to the store.  

You're welcome.  

Happy Fall!!

Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Skirt Steak - trimmed - about 1/2 lb/person.  I used almost 6lbs for 10 people. 4 min per side.
(this sauce is also amazing on grilled chicken breasts - just pound them out, salt & pepper them and grill 4 min/side)  When the meat is resting, smother in chimichurri.  Serve with more on side.

Melissa d'Arabian's Chimichurri - I doubled this recipe. 

• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 4 tsp white wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
• Red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2/3 cup olive oil

Table for Three

Remember when I used to cook?  And write about it?  It's been a month of major adjustments in the Holt household.  First we got Noah off to school. Then Corey off to school. Then I took two quick work trips - to NY and DC - with a weekend in Phelps wedged in.  And now, as we settle in to fall, we are, suddenly,  a family of three.  It's so tiny and cute!

I do not know how to shop for three.  Milk has spoiled.  Fruit has overripened.  Leftovers are copious.  But I am adjusting.  And, much as I miss my big people, it's been lovely to just focus on Dylan for once in his life.  Not sure if he'd agree.....

So I'm slooowwwwly getting back to kitchen duty.  Doug did a very good job of getting dinner on the table while I was gone.  I had made and frozen a few entrees, he was responsible for sides.  I asked Dylan how Doug had done in my absence.  His answer, "Pretty good.  There was a LOT of rice."

Last week's menus:

Grilled chicken breasts seasoned with The Spice House's Central Street rub,  fruit salad

Meatball subs with green salad

 mix 1lb ground beef, 3/4 cup bread crumbs, 1 egg, 3 Tbsp parmesan, salt & pepper & a couple Tbsp chopped parsley.  Mix well and form about a dozen meatballs. Bake at 350 for half hour.  Simmer some tomato sauce, add the meatballs and simmer a bit, serve on crusty bread wedges.  YUM.

Sausage and peppers subs

Cut 4-5 hot links (can be turkey or beef or hot italians (my fave)) into 1-2 inch chunks.  Cook on med high heat in a skillet until cooked through, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes to start.  Add a chopped up onion and 2-3 peppers sliced in strips (I like multi color) after 10 minutes and cook together with sausage the last 10 minutes.  Drain the nasty fat from the pan.  Put all the yumminess back with a large can of diced tomatoes, a tsp dried oregano and basil, lots of pepper and a tsp kosher salt and some crushed red pepper for grins.  Simmer the whole situation for at least another 20 minutes, longer if you can.  Serve up on crusty rolls or french bread wedge and a green salad. 

 Ina's Linguine with Shrimp Scampi 

I served it with a watermelon/arugula salad with a lemon vinaigrette.

Vegetable oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt plus 1 1/2 teaspoons
3/4 pound linguine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 lemon, zest grated
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

Copyright 2002, Barefoot Contessa Family Style, All Rights Reserved

Tavola, Amici, Cortona

We've been back from Italy over a week now (sob.) There are so many magical moments I want to hang on to, and they're starting to fade, but when I think of the tone of that week, the central theme, it's that table, around which every day started and ended for the 17 of us lucky enough to be at Villa Le Contesse last week.

Our wonderful friend Barb Stewart, in May, did that thing at a fundraiser when you put
your paddle up, and you win.  And because she's married to the equally wonderful Peter Bowe, who embraced it, that raised paddle became a week at the Villa Le Contesse in Cortona, Italy, which sleeps 18, complete with a chef on-site who prepared breakfast and dinner, a cooking class and a wine tasting.  All we had to do was get there.

And get there we did.


Barb and Doug were in the same high school class.
As were three other of last week's attendees, plus two couples from Baltimore and two of Barb's Northwestern roommates, and us spouses/partners.  

What a week!  It all went shockingly well, especially considering the size of the group, and the fact that many of us had never met.  We all got along great, no one was high maintenance, we all rolled with the inevitable challenges, and I think we all felt like we made some genuine new friends and had a wonderful time with old friends in a spectacularly beautiful setting.

For me, being back in Italy for only the second time since my year there in 87/88 was such a wonderful and emotional and satisfying and melancholy and cathartic experience.  The lovely thing about Italy is that it doesn't change, so those old chords were easily struck and in cities like Florence and Rome my feet knew where to take me without thinking about it.

It was heavenly to experience those iconic Italian elements again:

 The art

Bernini's Apollo and Daphne. 

The coffee 

Yum

 The wine  

The breathtaking countryside

Cortona at sunset

view from the villa

The red roofs

Firenze - from atop the Campanile

The cypress trees

ubiquitous and stunningly elegant

And, of course,  the food

Italy just kicks ass.

I was telling my daughter the other night that one thing I really appreciated this time, at this stage in my life, is the Italian lifestyle.  Our villa did not have air conditioning and it was hot, but the solution there is to just shut the shutters through the hottest part of the day.  And that's what Italians do during the heat of the day, both literally and metaphorically.  They close their shutters and their shop and they sit and they eat and they drink and they talk and they might nap:  they live in that moment.   It's inefficient, but man is it a lovely way to live. 

I was also struck this time around by the infusion of beauty in everyday life.  Aesthetics are important to Italians.  I think when you grow up surrounded by art and by beauty it becomes a part of you, something you assimilate without thinking about it.  Even the crappiest street had cool flower boxes and amazing doors.  The women were ALL gorgeous and are so at home in their bodies, no matter the size.  Effortlessly stylish. Effortless beautiful.  Such is Italy.

There were so many highlights:

We biked around Lake Trasimeno as a group ("for me, for you...") and had lunch on the Isla Maggiore.

Four of us girls did a day trip to Assisi (as did another part of the group another day.)  Assisi was gorgeous.  Umbria is so different than Tuscany!  White stone, no red roofs, and every single alley and street was positively dripping with flowers.   And the basilica of St. Francis is so beautiful and so moving, and chock full of amazing frescoes by Giotto.

We tasted wine at the Palazzo Vecchio winery, and ate an incredible, gourmet meal with all local ingredients made by our chef, Sunshine Manitto at his restaurant next door. 

wine tasting and tour in Montepulciano

We spent a day in my beloved Firenze, and took side trips to Orvieto, Montepulciano and  Pienza - all fantastic Italian towns.

There were a few setbacks, of course.  Doug and Heiko both scraped up their rental cars.  I haven't washed my hair sitting in a tub with a hand-held nozzle since I lived on Via Maroncelli in 1988.  The experience hasn't improved.    It was extremely hot, and, in touristy spots, particularly in Florence, it was insanely crowded.  And the concept of space - or lack thereof - took some getting used to again. There is no such thing as personal space in Italy, whether you're driving down an alley, climbing a bell tower, or walking down the street.  It's tight quarters and so very different from the way we view space here, and it can feel a little claustrophobic.

 But who cares?  We had the villa waiting for us at the end of every day,

with Carmela and Aurora cooking for and serving us. 

Each morning, a beautiful breakfast was laid out for us, and each evening we sat around that table and we drank, and we ate, and we talked, and we laughed.  

And man, did we eat well.  Here are a few samples of what they lovingly served us:

We even had a cooking class with Carmela, where we learned to make Panzanella salad and homemade pasta with a pici sauce, and tiramisu. 

We had local wine delivered to the villa every day (ish.)    Barb and Peter asked a group question at dinner each night, which was a wonderful tool for getting to know each other.  (One was, introduce your spouse/partner.  Another was, if you could be someone else for one day or the rest of your life, who would it be?)  We ate and drank like pigs and fishes, but the portions were reasonable and the days were active and the food and wine were so fresh, we never felt like we overdid it.  

It was magical.  

TAVOLA

  

 AMICI

 CORTONA

Close the shutters. Sit and eat. Enjoy your food. Drink some wine. Spend time with your friends.    

 Thank you, Barb & Peter.
When are we going back?
 

Panzanella Salad - a la Carmela

note: panzanella is an Italian bread and tomato summer salad that utilizes day-old (ie stale) bread. It's prepared differently in different regions of the country.  Many areas toast or grill the bread,.  Many regions use vinegar.  Carmela sticks with local olive oil, salt & pepper.  

Take a loaf of stale Italian bread.  Break it into a couple pieces and soak it in water for about 30 seconds to rehydrate it.
Squeeze as much water out of the bread as you can
Break the bread into small pieces and put in a bowl.
Add some incredible olive oil, salt & pepper and let it sit.

Meanwhile, chop up all the fresh vegetables you've just picked from the villa's garden:
about a pint of cherry tomatoes
celery (2-3 stalks)
cucumber - 1 large
1 small shallot, chopped fine
Add a generous  handful of fresh basil, chopped
Toss with some more salt, pepper & olive oil.  Let sit so the flavors can mix. 

 If your ingredients are fresh this salad is an explosion of flavor.