Original No Artificiality...

I've been feeling a little stir-crazy lately, and if the feedback I've been getting about the preponderance of recipe posts I've been writing lately is any indicator, you're probably not surprised. Much as I love cooking and trying new recipes, I've been dying to get out of the house more lately, so I've been scouring my usual source of inspiration for activities around town, and hunting down entertainment bargains non-stop. Earlier this week, I found a promo-code on the Broadway in Chicago Facebook page for $36 tickets for Fela!, the biographical musical about afrobeat pioneer, Fela Kuti, and I snatched them up.

I hadn't been particularly interested in seeing Fela!, but Justin has more eclectic taste in music than I do, and a better appreciation for world music. He'd expressed an interest in seeing Fela! quite some time ago, but neither of us were motivated enough to pay full price for the privilege. Instead, I kept my eye on Hot Tix and Broadway in Chicago, the two leading sources for discounted tickets to major productions in the city, and waited. Weeks went by, and several deals were offered, but none of them were quite enticing enough. The tickets were either cheap, but terrible, or decent, but only slightly marked down. Finally, tonight, with only a few performances left, there was a last-minute deal for 1/2 price tickets, anywhere in the audience. We snapped up some reasonably-priced tickets that were perfectly-located, and headed over to the Ford Oriental Theater to catch the show.

Once we got to the theater, it became clear that we weren't the show's target demographic -- the crowd was approximately eighty percent young, black urban professionals, ten percent clueless white hipsters embarrassing themselves in their early 1990s hip hop Africa necklaces and Jamaican-print clothing, five percent tourists who wanted to catch a show in the big city regardless of what it was, and five percent stuffy older white people who were probably season ticket holders. Still, despite being obviously out of our element, I ended up really enjoying Fela!

The music was incredibly catchy, and though I didn't appreciate the cast's attempt to get everyone up on their feet and dancing (I hate being made to dance for pretty much any reason), the call-and-response tradition within the African-American community made for some of the most natural, unforced audience participation of any show I've ever seen. At times, I wish the audience had been a little less enthusiastic, as the constant appreciative shouts of "You go, girl!" at the female dancers on stage were a distraction, but it contributed to the show's tremendous sense of energy.

Sahr Ngaujah, who played the titular Fela Kuti, was a phenomenal performer. He was charismatic, and his stamina never flagged for a moment, despite the incredibly demanding role. Justin also tells me that he was very true to the personality and style of Fela, but I'll have to take his word for that. It's easy to understand why he was nominated for a Tony Award for his work in this role either way. The rest of the cast was similarly talented, from the musicians who played on stage and interacted with the singers and dancers, to the incredible dancers who managed to shake their hips at a ferocious rate for the entire length of the show. They were in incredible shape, and certainly easy on the eyes as well.

Fela! was certainly a departure from the usual musical theater experiences that I seek out, but I'm glad that I was open-minded and gave it a chance. We haven't been seeing as much theater as we did last year, but it's a safe bet that this pleasant surprise will go down as one of the best things I'll see all year. If you have the chance to see it while it's on tour, I highly recommend it.

Thin Is In...

I'm a little late in jumping on the bandwagon this year, but I didn't want the Girl Scout cookie season to pass by without acknowledging it in some way. Bloggers all over the internet have been coming up with creative ways to turn the famous cookies into other desserts, or to make cakes and cupcakes that call to mind the flavors of the various annual treats, as if the thrill of eating them straight out of the box is somehow insufficient, and I figured I would jump on the bandwagon as well.

As I've recently discussed, I crave salty snacks more than desserts, but even I can be counted on to pick up a box or two of Girl Scout cookies when my cousins come calling every year, selling them on behalf of their daughters. Since sweet treats tend to linger around my house until they go stale (well, at least they did before I moved in with Justin), I acquired the habit of keeping my Thin Mints in the freezer to extend their longevity while I waited for my transient cravings to emerge and motivate me to eat them. Besides, everyone knows that Thin Mints are at their best when they're cold and almost refreshing.

Since my Thin Mints were already taking up freezer space, I thought I would transform them into another frozen treat that would take advantage of them at their chilly best by turning them into a batch of ice cream. I'd seen the recipe on Serious Eats, my favorite food blog, and I couldn't get it out of my mind, so I finally relented and gave it a try.

Unfortunately, the product that resulted didn't quite live up to my imagination: the ice cream, which lacked any alcohol or other additives that help keep ice cream from freezing too hard, was like an impenetrable brick. I was concerned that this might happen from the moment I made the custard base, which set up to a dense, mouse-like consistency when I chilled it prior to churning. Instead of pouring it into the machine, I literally had to spoon chunks of it into the canister. It was not an auspicious beginning. 

The ice cream itself tasted fine, though it could have used a bit more mint flavor. Surprisingly, the bits of chopped Thin Mints that were swirled through the mixture at the last minute retained their pleasant crispness. I just didn't enough the chewy, stiff texture of the ice cream overall. At the end of the day, I would have rather satisfied my Girl Scout cookie craving by eating half a sleeve of unadorned Thin Mints, though I was glad to have tried this recipe's intriguing technique of infusing cookie crumbles in the cream for flavor. Hopefully, I'll be able to marry that technique with a different base to create some interesting flavor combinations in the future...

Chocolate Thin Mint Ice Cream

adapted from Serious Eats

6 egg yolks

1/2 c. sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

3 c. half-and-half

28 Thin Mints (one box), divided

5 oz. dark chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a medium saucepan off heat, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until light in color and slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in cocoa powder until no lumps remain. Slowly add half and half, whisking constantly. Finely chop 10 Thin Mints (crumbs should be no larger than a pea) and stir into dairy.

2. Put saucepan on medium-low heat and cook, whisking frequently, until custard reaches 180°F on an instant read thermometer (custard should coat the back of a spoon but a swiped finger should leave a clean line). Remove custard from heat and stir in chocolate, then salt to taste.

3. When chocolate is fully melted and incorporated, transfer to an airtight container and chill overnight in refrigerator.

4. The next day, churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Roughly chop remaining Thin Mints; chunks should range from pea to nickle-sized. In the last minute of churn, add chopped Thin Mints. Return ice cream to container and chill in freezer for at least two hours before serving.

Happy Easter...

Traditions have always been important to me, especially when it comes to holidays. Christmas witnesses, for example, my annual Cookie Bonanza, my yearly photo op with Lisa in front of the Daley Plaza Christmas tree, and our trek down to White Hall to celebrate with Mom's side of the family at Seton Hall. Easter used to be my day for watching Jesus Christ Superstar, but given that Justin is not particularly fond of Andrew Lloyd Webber's brand of Biblical rock opera, we opted to make Easter brunch at the Chicago Botanic Garden our new Easter custom after trying it for the first time last year.

The unseasonably warm winter and spring we've had so far this year meant that the plants were blooming in force this year, in comparison to the relatively bleak landscape we observed last year. For me, this was actually more of a detriment than a benefit, as it sent my already terrible allergies into a tailspin, and spent the morning sneezing, sniffling, and trying not to rub all the makeup off my eyes. Still, all the blooms made for a much nicer photo of Justin and I in our Easter finery:

I'm sad to report that the food wasn't quite as good as last year. The main dishes were still uniformly tasty, but the selection seemed smaller, and the dessert table was definitely in a sorry state. Where there were several varieties of cheesecake, flourless chocolate cake, carrot cake, cookies, brownies, and a wide array of top-quality candy last year, there were only three different dessert options and the candy seemed to be representative of what might have been on sale at Costco. Considering that the price of brunch had gone up since last year, we were a little disappointed.

Even so, the surroundings were quite spectacular, and we lucked out with incredible weather. It was sunny, and a bit more brisk than it has been lately, but still very pleasant. The jury is still out as to whether we'll be back next year, but I still feel that the Botanic Gardens is probably the best combination of affordability and atmosphere in the area. Even if brunch doesn't fit into your own Easter traditions, I would recommend making a pilgrimage to the Botanic Gardens just to take in the scenery. Just don't forget to load up on allergy medication before you do...

Beans, Beans, the Wonderful Fruit...

Continuing on in the theme of dishes inspired by the expensive Italian charcuterie I was able to pick up at Fox and Obel earlier this week, I decided to try out another unusual pizza recipe that I spotted when I was culling my collection of cooking magazines before we moved. Like the sweet potato pizza I tried last month, this recipe eschewed the traditional topping of tomato sauce in favor of a quick mash-up of white beans, garlic, and herbs. The idea of beans on pizza seemed a little out-there, but on the heels of yesterday's wildly successful orange pasta, I was feeling brave.

Since we'd frozen our leftover pizza dough from our last pizza-baking venture, this dish came together so quickly that I could have saved it to make on a busy weeknight. And just like the pasta, this recipe was definitely a keeper. The carbs-on-carbs aspect of the dish didn't bother me, a consummate carbohydraterian, but the addition of smoky, salty pancetta was what really made the dish. The bean layer was perhaps a little too thick, so I've reduced the amounts in the recipe below, but it was perfectly seasoned with a generous amount of garlic, rosemary, and a hint of crushed red pepper for kick. 

If you substitute bacon for pancetta (though I really recommend the pancetta if you can find it) and mozzarella for the fontina cheese, you could probably make this dish using ingredients you already have in your fridge. We could probably all use a little more fiber in our diets, so go ahead and give this recipe a try -- it will turn out better than you think!

White Bean and Pancetta Pizza

adapted from Food and Wine

4 oz. pancetta, cut into 1x1/4-inch pieces

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

6 oz. fontina cheese

1 12-inch pizza crust, par-baked

Preheat the oven to 450.

In a skillet, cook the pancetta in 2 tablespoons of oil over moderate heat, until crisp; transfer to a plate. Add the garlic, rosemary and crushed pepper to the skillet and cook for 20 seconds. Mash in the beans. Stir in the pancetta; season with salt.  Brush the crust with oil and spread with the bean mixture. Top with the cheese. Bake the pizza until the cheese is bubbling, 7-10 minutes; slice and serve.

Orange You Glad...

Often, my menu choices are inspired by curiosity about a given recipe. I routinely find myself asking, "Does that flavor pairing really work?" or "Could I handle that complicated technique?" Often, I begin cooking with a sense of, "Well, this will either be brilliant or terrible." For the most part, I've had fairly good luck with the thirty or so new dishes I've tried since we moved a little over two months ago (time flies, doesn't it?), despite the skepticism about my recipe choices voiced from such critics as my mother, who frequently questions the unusual flavor combinations to which I am drawn. 

Tonight, I was moved to try a recipe that seemed so odd, even I had serious doubts. It called for pasta in a simple cream sauce flavored with prosciutto and, of all things, orange. I had never heard of such a paring, but I spotted it in a Bon Appetit article about the Emilia-Romagna, the region of Italy that is home to Bologna and Ravenna, both of which I visited last fall when I was traveling with Dad. Considering how exceptionally well we ate in both cities, I figured this seemingly odd recipe couldn't be all bad, so I filed it away for another time. 

This recipe finally moved to the front of the queue today because I had a Groupon for Fox and Obel (my favorite gourmet food shop in Chicago) that was getting ready to expire next week. I couldn't come up with any truly extravagant purchases I wanted to make there, so I decided to stock up on a few expensive and/or hard-to-find ingredients to round out some of the recipes that had been lingering on my to-do list. There was high-quality Parmesan cheese, golden syrup, imported from England, for a few British desserts I've had my eye on, maple sugar for more of my beloved macadamia-maple sticky bars, and pricey Italian charcuterie to make both this pasta dish and a pizza with pancetta that I'm planning to make tomorrow. It was an odd assortment of items, but the Groupon gave me a chance to experiment with some ingredients that otherwise would have been beyond our budget right now.

Ultimately, I'm really glad that I snapped up that Groupon months ago, because both Justin and I loved this pasta dish. I'm going to start keeping an eye out for prosciutto on sale at our regular grocery store, because we'd both like to make this dish a staple around here. It was incredibly quick to put together -- probably about six minutes of effort all together, outside of boiling the pasta water. The sauce may have been cream-based, but the citrus notes from the orange made it feel light and refreshing. The salty prosciutto was balanced by the acidity and sweetness from the oranges, and the whole dish was mellowed by the presence of cream. It was truly perfect, and an excellent weeknight meal. I can't recommend this one enough!

Fettucine with Prosciutto and Orange

adapted from Bon Appetit

12 oz. fettuccine (preferably fresh)
2 tablespoon. unsalted butter
2 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 1" pieces
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan

Freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute before al dente, about 2 minutes for fresh pasta, longer for dried. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto; sauté until browned, about 3 minutes. 

Add reserved pasta water, orange juice, half of zest, and cream; bring to a boil. Add pasta; cook, stirring, until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese and divide among warm bowls. Sprinkle remaining orange zest over pasta.

Using Your Noodle...

It's amazing how things slip through the cracks, falling to the wayside in the endless blur that is our daily lives. The recipe I made for dinner tonight, for example, is something that's been on my to-do list for nearly two months, but it always fell off my radar when something else would come up -- an unexpected dinner with family or friends, being too tired to cook, or needing to eat up some leftovers that I hadn't counted on when I did my meal planning at the beginning of the week. This dish kept getting bumped because all the ingredients were already in my freezer and pantry, and I could leave them be for another week while something intriguing went on sale at the grocery store and needed to be consumed in a short window of time.

It's good to have flexible meals like that; something that you could make at any time, but I've been so eager to try this recipe that I was starting to get a little sad that it always got put off. You see, when I read the list of ingredients, I suspected that I would really enjoy the end product, given that it contained spicy sausage, tomatoes, garlic, saffron, and onion -- all ingredients that can be found in my favorite pasta sauce. So this week I made up my mind that I wouldn't let myself get distracted, and that I would finally make this dish happen.

I was glad that I did. The recipe is a spin on fideos -- broken bits of either angel hair or spaghetti, that are used for a variety of eponymous soup and noodle dishes in Spain and Latin America. This particular incarnation fell more into the soup category, and it came together quickly enough to make it a more than acceptable weeknight meal choice. The broth was flavorful and a bit spicy from the andouille sausage (authentic Spanish chorizo is inexplicably difficult to find around here; the grocery stores only seem to carry Mexican chorizo, which is a fresh sausage, not cured, and therefore not a viable substitute.) The shrimp added a nice pop of briny sweetness every now and then.

My only complaint is that the recipe didn't make very much, and we only had a single bowl leftover. When you have two people in the house that need lunches to take to work, tense words are exchanged over who gets the coveted leftovers and who gets another salami sandwich, so in the future, I may opt to double this recipe. It's definitely worth giving it another go, given the convenience of having all the ingredients on hand (what does that say about me, that I keep shrimp and andouille sausage in the freezer, and saffron in the pantry at all times?), and the fact that it turned out to be just as delicious as I had hoped.

Fideos with Shrimp and Chorizo

adapted from Sunset

1 onion chopped fine

4 oz. cut spaghetti

3 garlic cloves, minced

pinch of saffron threads

1 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 lb. Spanish chorizo or andouille sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced thickly

2 1/2 c. chicken stock

1/2 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined 

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large wide pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook, covered, until starting to soften, 5 minutes. Add pasta and more oil if it looks dry, then toast over medium-high heat, turning constantly with tongs, until golden. Add garlic and saffron, tomatoes and tomato paste, sausages, and broth.

2. Boil pasta in soup, uncovered, until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Add shrimp and cook just until pink and curled, about 1 minute. Season with salt to taste.

Happy Birthday To Me...

When you want something done right, you just have to do it yourself. That was the tack I took when it came to celebrating my birthday this year after an attempt at throwing myself a birthday party resulted in a shamefully low guest-count. Somehow, my birthday fell on the weekend of several weddings, concerts, family visits and other long-standing commitments that had the vast majority of my friends otherwise engaged. I cancelled my party, but I remained determined to celebrate the passing of another year on Earth with a cake that would have been worthy of the first party to be thrown in my new home.

Justin offered to bake a cake for me, but I put the kibosh on that idea right away, even though it was sweet of him to offer. If I couldn't satisfy my urge to play hostess, I would at least get to try out another one of the cake recipes languishing on my Pinterest board. In fact, I had so many delicious-looking options to pick from, I could hardly choose which direction to go. I eventually narrowed it down to a maple cake with maple cream cheese frosting (I had a package of cream cheese in the fridge already) and a snickerdoodle-inspired cake with a brown-sugar buttercream frosting. I vacillated back and forth for quite some time, but it was ultimately my recent oven troubles that caused me to select the snickerdoodle cake -- the maple cake called for a full hour-long bake time, and I was worried that the oven might not hold out that long after last week's incident with the Brussels sprouts.

I still need a cake comb to decorate the sides better, but I really like the swirl pattern I created on top with an offset spatula. (I totally stole this idea from the blog where I saw the cake, but I'm going to keep it in mind for the future.)

I do love snickerdoodles, and anything cinnamon-flavored in general, so it wasn't much of an imposition to be pushed into this choice. This cake wasn't quite as easy to put together as the mint chocolate chip cake I baked for Cake Day last month, since it required splitting cake layers, and the frosting wasn't quite as straight-forward, but after the cake project I undertook for Justin's birthday last year, everything has seemed relatively simple in comparison. I did discover that the cheap knives Justin brought with him when we moved in together actually work better for the purpose of splitting cakes than my more expensive ones -- the blades are thinner, and the fine serrations, which destroy my cutting boards otherwise, cut through the cakes with less tearing. 

Thankfully, I seem to be making a small amount of progress when it comes to my cake assembly and decorating skills. This cake had the straightest sides and flattest top of any cake I've put together in the past couple years, though my ability to smooth the sides of the cake is still regrettably lacking. I was able to put a nice swirly pattern on the top of the cake, which I think looks better than trying to smooth it off. If it's going to be lumpy anyway, why not embrace it?

The cake turned out incredibly moist and delicious, though the crumb was a bit coarse and it was not immune to the slight denseness that characterizes homemade cakes. However, I'm not a fan of frosting in general, and I didn't particularly care for this one. The flavor of it was fine; I used the fancy genuine cinnamon (not cassia) that I received as a gift from Katherine a while back, which I had been saving for too long for a special occasion. Such is the problem with truly special ingredients -- you save them for a special occasion and then there never seems to be a sufficiently special time to use it. I figured my birthday would have to suffice.

Sadly, the frosting had a somewhat unpleasant granular texture, which I attribute to the brown sugar, since I've never had a frosting made with powdered sugar turn out like that. It didn't ruin the cake, but it kept the recipe from being an unqualified success.

Still, it worked just fine as a receptacle for birthday candles, and Justin gamely sang "Happy Birthday" to me before I blew them out. Twenty-six was very good to me, and I can only hope that twenty-seven goes just as well. I could do a lot worse than celebrating in my own home with the man I love over a piece of delicious homemade cake, and I hope I get the chance to do the same thing again next year.

Snickerdoodle Cake with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Frosting

adapted from Foodie with Family

For the cake:

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c. cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 3/4 c. superfine sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 c. whole milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 325, and butter and flour two 8 or 9-inch cake pans.

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale in color.

3.Beat the eggs in one at a time, fully incorporating each egg and scraping down the bowl between each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

4. Add about 1/3 of the milk, beat to incorporate, then 1/3 of the flour, again beating to incorporate. Repeat this process, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until all of the milk and flour are added and mixed in evenly.

5. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake, rotating midway through, for about 35 minutes or until the cake tests done.

6. Let the cakes cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes before turning out onto the racks to finish cooling.  

For frosting:

2 1/4 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c. light brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons cinnamon

8-9 c. powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 c. half-and-half

1. Beat together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until fluffy and pale in color.

2. Add 6 cups of the confectioner's sugar and the vanilla extract and beat, starting on low and moving up to high, until it is fully incorporated.

3. Scrape down the bowl and add the half and half. Beat to incorporate again.

4. Add another 2 cups of the confectioner's sugar and beat, starting on low and moving up to high, until fully incorporated. Check the consistency of the buttercream. If it needs to be thicker, add the remaining confectioner's sugar. If it is too thick, add more half and half a teaspoon at a time, beating after each addition, until it reaches the desired consistency.