by JP Esq | Jul 12, 2010 | Uncategorized
Anyone who knows me knows I spend just as much time in Chicago as I do in Indy. I love Chicago and threaten to move there every time I visit, but you can’t really beat the cost of living in Indy, so…yeah.
This trip, most of my time was spent in Lincoln Park. Bailiwick Chicago is running a production of AIDA at American Theatre Co. {which happens to be the first Chicago revival of the production post-Broadway}. Tiny theater…big impact. My sister is cast as Amneris, so of course the parents and I made the journey for the opening night performance.
Sidebar: I really have no interest in traveling with my parents ever again. I say this every time I take a road trip with them. I’m smart enough to book a hotel room on a separate floor if I can, but I think my first new thing to do in my last year as a 20-something is to stop these crazy road trips. Case in point: we were in Chicago for 2 nights. My parents had enough luggage/coolers/crap to be gone for 2 months. That is not ok.
Moving on…
I love to eat. {Surprise!} Isn’t Chicago a fabulous place for eating?? And in case you forgot, I certainly have a love-love relationship with Empanadas. If I can find one…I’m gonna eat one. {This almost got me in trouble in the middle of a shaky area in Cancun when I was tempted to eat one from a guy on the corner. The pigeon playing in the bucket of water he was using to cook/clean/drink & the crazy long line at the nearest hospital definitely changed my mind. Smelled good though.}.
That brings me back to Chicago. Lincoln Park. LITO’S Empanadas. We all went to Golden Nugget Pancake House for breakfast, so needless to say I was full. As we made our way down Clark St to browse & be nosey, we stumbled upon a little self-serve frozen yogurt place. I don’t remember which one, but I wasn’t thrilled with it. But, my impulse said – “it’s hot – get frozen yogurt”. I would have much preferred Ms. Impulse to say – “it’s hot – but wait because across that next block is an empanada shop and you know how you are so put the yogurt down and keep steppin’ missy”. She didn’t say that, so I was 27% into my frozen yogurt when I gasped loudly, frightened my parents, and stopped sidewalk traffic to oogle and drool over some empanadas. It’s a personal problem. The fatty in me said “do it…”, but I’ve learned to silence her by reading nutrition labels and reminding myself of my 6-months-ago BMI. Mental note: we’ll be back tomorrow. And we did go back.
We ordered 1 Beef & Rice Empanada and 1 Vegetable Empanada. They were deep fried to order, but made right in the store. I love a good entrepreneurial story. Carlos, the owner, is Colombian and moved to Ohio with dreams of one day having his own business. He and his wife realized this dream in 2007. Now, if I could only convince him to pack up and move to Indy that would be fabulous.
I don’t know how any one could not love anything deep fried in a pastry-like dough. Definitely added to my list of forever pit stops I make on every visit.
So yummy.
by JP Esq | Jul 7, 2010 | Uncategorized
Well I promised an update to include the Burgers I made at my parents’ impromptu BBQ this week. Good news is – I’ve got the experiment. Bad news is – there are no pictures. Why? Because I was too into the process of throwing stuff into a bowl and mushing my hands in it that I forgot to take pictures of the process. Then, not long after, I proceeded to SMASH said burgers {as did everyone else} and there was no remaining evidence of which pictures could be taken. I do apologize.
Here’s the thing you need to understand about my family. We over-do everything. Every event, every meal, ev-er-y-thing. Our regular BBQs generally include burgers, hot dogs, brats, ribs, pork chops, steaks, chicken breasts, chicken with skin & bones, mac & cheese, baked beans, potato salad, corn on the cob, greens or green bean casserole or both, etc. Get the idea? We cook alot of food. This Fourth of July I wasn’t feeling it. I’m still recovering from the Father’s Day meal I prepared. So I convinced my Mommy to let me keep it simple. Burgers & Hot Dogs.
The Burgers
I always make burgers from freshly ground beef. No patties here kids. I buy 4% fat {96% lean} beef. Every time I make burgers they taste different…why? Because I just throw some stuff in & pray for a miracle.
With most basic meats, I start with my favorite Fab Four:
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
Garlic Powder
Ground Black Pepper
Worcestershire Sauce
The Experiment:
I opened my parents’ spice cabinet and then just began grabbing whatever I could find. That ended up as:
Dried Onion
Butter Sprinkles
Cajun Seasoning
Curry Powder
Ground Mustard
Pour the junk on the meat. Massage it up until it looks well seasoned {remember those Southern roots? Somehow you just know…}
Grill it & kill it.
The End. Those lower fat burgers were so juicy and ridiculously good. They were gone in a matter of minutes {along with the cheesy fries I made to go along with}.
by JP Esq | Apr 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
As I was scouring the internet for dinner ideas, I came across this recipe on Williams-Sonoma for Pan-Seared Chicken with Mustard Sauce. I use recipes for inspiration – and then I commence experimentation. Sometimes this ends in disaster. This time, it ended it sweet, glorious, mustard-bathed chicken.
You’ll find the original recipe via the link above. I substituted a few ingredients and of course, downsized the recipe for solo-dining {because cooking for a family of 52 is really not necessary for single people}.
Listen kids, your girl doesn’t measure stuff. I was born in Alabama – those southern genes teach me to taste my food & fix it. Here’s your inspiration, do your thing with it:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder, to taste
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
Ground mustard {enough to taste good}
White wine
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup skim milk
A dollop of fat-free sour cream {whatever a dollop is}
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
The Chicken
Use a meat pounder {or some other object you can pound things with – this probably doesn’t mean a hammer} to flatten the chicken to about 1/2 inch think. Season to taste with Lawry’s, pepper, and garlic powder.
In a large pan over medium-high heat, melt half of the butter. Add chicken breasts and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides and not bleeding or otherwise obviously raw. Set the chicken aside on a plate.
The Sauce
You’ll want to cook the sauce in the same pan with the chicken drippings, etc. Return the pan to medium-high heat and stir the ground mustard into the pan drippings. While whisking, the wine and broth and bring to a simmer. This should deglaze your pan and make a fabulously tasty sauce. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, until slightly reduced. Stir in the milk, dijon mustard, and sour cream and cook for 1 minute to blend the flavors.
The Finale
Return the chicken any accumulated juices to the pan, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 1 minute. Mix it, Eat it, Love it.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Simple Suppers, by Melanie Barnard (Oxmoor House, 2007) as listed here on Williams-Sonoma.com.
by JP Esq | Apr 11, 2010 | Uncategorized
Today I had a date with my book and my debit card. We ventured out into Clay Terrace and after all of that shopping, I definitely needed something to refill my tank. Since seeing the movie It’s Complicated, I’d been craving Croque Monsieur. I knew Cafe Patachou had this on the menu. What I didn’t know, however, was that it was massive and would have been knocked out on the couch in utter food bliss.
by JP Esq | Mar 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
Since my friend is involved in ministry in Costa Rica, he invited me out to feed the homeless of Quepos with him. Quepos is a coastal town with a very clear line between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. There is a lot of drug use and quite a few people with little to no survival resources.
People from a few of the local churches often get together to feed people once a week. Each person brings their contribution {bologna, veggies, meat, bread, beans}. We met at a local church that had an open “kitchen” {basically a counter space} and we prepared the sandwiches using meat my friend provied and bread a bakery donated. We also had some beans/soup provided by someone.
We packed up everything & walked closer into town towards the shore/Malicon {where addicts & prostitutes & homeless gather}.
We distributed food & just loved on those people.
That’s where my heart is.
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