daniellewiley

Michael went to Seoul this summer for work - he didn't have much freedom when it came to choosing meals, but he did get out late night a couple of times for some food. (He said he preferred Kang Suh in NY over what he had, though, interestingly enough.) He also drank quite a bit of soju. The price point you mention above, actually, is very similar to what things cost at that little cafe I went to the other day. Their bibimbap was $5.00!! The soup I got, which came with just kimchi (not a whole tray of banchan, unfortunately) was $6.00.

For breakfast - leftover brown rice, marinated spinach and bean sprouts, topped with bulgogi and kochujang. Basically bibimbop, no egg. I now feel full to the point of being ill.

Thanks! We each did add a bunch of gochu jang - that is the red lines you see. I bought some variety in a squeeze bottle. I did buy seasoned stuff, and then also seasoned some ADDITIONAL veggies, including cucumbers, zucchini and carrot. The cucumbers were raw, so those were easy. The carrots and zucchini I boiled separately, but I used the same water, and did them one after the other so it wasn't a huge deal.

The dough is just before the cheese. It's near the guacamole and salsas and prepared dinners. The sausage was excellent - basically tasted like salami, but with such a nice chewy texture.

I ended up doing a compromise with dinner, but it is a very good reflection of our reality, so I think that's a good thing. We bought pizza dough at Trader Joe's and then used it to make our own pizzas at home. I think this is the third week in a row that we've done this. The dough is excellent, and a bag of it (enough to make one large pizza) is just 99 cents. Here is the kids' pizza raw (tomato sauce, TJ Quatro Formaggio blend, fresh mozzarella, sliced olives): And cooked: And the parent pizza raw (same as above with the addition of sliced, dried hot sausage from the Italian market): And cooked: and the verdict: Big thumbs up from both kids.

oh man. Grocery shopping alone. It brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it. :-) Max calls most things "da da" at this point. He DOES say pizza, but it sounds like, "peetzaaaaaaa." And he pronounces water like Vinny Barbarino; "wahtehr." Dylan speaks beautifully - she has always been super verbal. Her only food pronounciation quirk these days is fudgsicles. She calls 'em fudgicsles. P.S. I will surely not be partying on Rush Street this weekend, but if you ever make it to town again, I promise to meet you down there.

Yes, it was chicken liver mousse. I feel bad saying this because I love Hot Doug's, but I didn't love it. It was kind of funky tasting. And, I'm a big liver fan. The corned beef sausage was also a bit dry. In retrospect, I should have tried the kangaroo - the juniper/gin thing turned me off though.

Today, for lunch, my friend and her daughter joined me at Hot Doug's. Hot Doug's has become a bit of a Chicago institution. Doug Sohn is the owner of Hot Doug's, and there have been tons of great articles written about him. He is a very charasmatic guy, and one of my favorite things about him is the way he talks with every customer who comes in. And it's not just small talk. My friend Joni called it schmoozing, but it's more than that, I think. You can tell that he truly is interested in all of his customers. When I brought my dad and stepmom there a couple of weeks ago, we had a great conversation in the two minute time that we spent ordering. They shared that they were visiting from NY. He shared that he was a philosophy major at Columbia once upon a time. And he laughed at where that got him (plenty far, if you ask me - he is a happy man, doing what he loves). He told us about his memories of riding the LIRR over Passover and savoring all of the smells of the food people were taking with them out to their family's homes on the Island. So, anyway, I ate at Hot Doug's today. Here is the front of the store: Here are today's specials (I got the corned beef sausage described on the left): Ordering from Doug: The fries: My sausage: Interior of sausage:

Just finished a childish breakfast of fruity cheerios. Not bad. Too oaty, IMO. If I'm gonna have froot loops, they should taste of pure sugar. I'm heading to Hot Doug's for lunch today with a friend. Here are today's specials. I'm tempted by that kangaroo sausage. A lot of these sound good, though. I'll need to see how I'm feeling in about an hour. In the meantime, here are some shots of our kitchen, for your nosy pleasure: Our rack: Our house in Toledo was nearly 5000 square feet. Our apartment here is about 2000 square feet. We consequently have some storage issues (understatement of the year). This is our Metro shelving rack. It's in our kitchen. It is very ugly and messy looking. You'll see that the bottom shelf has stuff that the kids can pull off without major injury. Shot one of our fridge: Can you tell yet how messy I am? Shot two of our fridge: And my cookbook collection:

Quick poll: Which would you guys prefer I have for dinner? homemade pizza, using ingredients I bought earlier in the week at the Italian market chicago pizza - takeout or delivery.

Well, I've determined that Costco is the best place in the world to go with Dylan after school. As I mentioned the other day, she is always starving when I pick her up. Today, we went straight to Costco. She had peanut butter pretzel sandwiches, animal crackers, spaghetti with tomato sauce, granola bar, peaches and cream gunk, and then was still hungry. So, she ate half of a giant chocolate frozen yogurt (purchased for $1.25). What a deal! At Costco, we picked up the rotisserie chicken. We then headed east for a spur of the moment trip to Pastoral. What an awesome store - I will definitely be back!! Here is a strange side view of the front (the street was too busy for me to get a better shot): The Jams and Jellies section (and the bread - they were out of Olive, which was a bummer): Grumpy child telling me to stop taking photos so that we can go home: The bread again, as well as the wine: One of the owners, Greg O'Neill (on the left) and Jason, who I'm assuming is an employee, as I don't see him listed on the website. He was VERY helpful, though, and did a great job selling me cheese. The cheese he sold me: As you can see, this cheese was very expensive, but it was phenomenal. Kind of tart, with a very distinct fruity flavor. Very obviously a raw sheep's milk cheese. The pickled cranberries I bought to accompany our chicken: They were terrific. A little sweet, lots of great spice flavor. I can't wait to try them with the cheese. Our dinner (very boring, and very salty - the chicken is tasty, but I think it's brined for about a month, from the taste of it): I had some potatoes that were on the verge of being scary, so I mashed 'em. Oh, one more pic. Dylan and Max both loved the berries. Here she is serving him some more: I'm off to watch Project Runway while munching on some of my expensive cheese and cranberries. (P.S. lunch was leftover soup from yesterday - I forgot to post about it!)

Is this a new law? Or is it just not enforced? We used to bring beer and tequila to La Fiesta Mexicana in Ypsi. This was in the late 90s.

I just returned from the Costco's in Chicago (Lincoln Park). They are still using a rotisserie.

But of course!! Here was dinner:

OK, Jean. Here's my trip to the Italian markets. I think you will find that you are already familiar with the three places I visited (you might have recommended them yourself in the Heartland forum), but hopefully, you'll see something of interest regardless. On Sunday, Max and I headed all the way over to Harlem Avenue (pretty far from my house) to do some shopping at the Italian market. We researched on eGullet beforehand, of course, so I had some addresses in my notebook. We first hit Gino's and Pasta Fresh. These stores are right next to each other in a cute little strip mall. They are connected by a doorway inside, but I'm not sure on their relationship to each other. Other stores in the strip mall are all very European. I saw a lot of European beauty products, etc. that were clearly imported. There was also a little Italian gift shop. Here is what I mean by cute strip mall: We went to Gino's first. They have a LOT of stuff. We saw whole Prosciutto (what do you do with that much Prosciutto??): And whole Mortadella (same question for this): There was also a meat counter. Here we bought some aged sausage. They had some beautiful fresh sausage that I will buy in the future: Gino's was great for dried goods. There was every variety of DeCecco, and other brands as well. I saw a ton of brands of San Marzano tomatoes. I bought Michael some canned and some jarred tuna (I'm allergic), and I also picked up some polenta and some arborio rice. Then, we headed next door to Pasta Fresh. They make their own pasta here daily. There was a big focus on stuffed pastas. Here you can see some of the variety. There is more in back as well: Here is Max drooling over ravioli: This is the back room where they make the pasta. The two guys on the left were having a very serious conversation, half in English, half in Italian. Their outfits and hairstyles were very Soprano's. Unfortunately, James Gandolfini was nowhere to be found. We then drove south a few blocks to go to Caputo's. I heard they had terrific fresh mozzarella. Here is Caputo's: Here is Max's reaction to visiting yet another store: And our take. The mozzarella: The sausage from Gino's: Fresh ziti (it was still soft) from Pasta Fresh:

Bavila - no yolk for Dylan because she decided recently that she hates it. I let her create her own bibimbap buffet-style. Max just had pieces of everything on his booster seat tray - beef, squash, carrot, rice. Sounds like Max and Dax are VERY similar. I'm glad I'm not the only one losing my mind! Breakfast today was another two chestnut crepes, made with batter leftover from yesterday. For tonight, dinner is just me and the kids, so I'd like to keep things simple. I'm also on a deadline for work, so time is at a premium. We can do a rotisserie chicken from Costco, with fun sides. Any suggestions? What do you guys eat with your rotisserie chickens? Also, is anyone interested in seeing pictures from our trip to the Italian markets on Sunday? Seems like I won't be headed anywhere super interesting today, so that might make up for it.

Note to self: Soju and Pale Ale don't mix well. I'm drinking EmergenC (this time for a hangover), coffee and taking some tylenol. Breakfast of champions. :-) Thanks for delurking Jules! It seems that everyone is heading to Lincoln Square! Some good friends of ours just made that move. We are considering it as well. I had heard of the great Lebanese markets and restaurants on Kedzie. I will need to check those out. Vietnamese scares me a little bit because I am allergic to fish sauce (I know, it sucks). I also worry sometimes about Thai, but I seem to be able to order some standard dishes without the Nam Pla. Anyone out there with advice for eating fishless Vietnamese food? I do love it.

I meant to get some! You know, the shopping carts at the store didn't have straps, so shopping was a little scary. Max has a tendency to try to stand up. Which is my long way of saying - I forgot! (I also forgot the kochujang, and had to drive back to get it. Luckily, I hadn't gone far. I called my sister-in-law when I left the store, and she asked me what I got. I told her, and she said, "what about the kochujang?" duh)

She did. She is very persuasive.

Michael and I have a bit of a love affair with Korean food, and for kind of a strange reason. Before we met, he dated a Korean woman in New York. Theirs was an incredibly tumultuous relationship (she was crazy), but he did get one great thing out of the fiasco; a love of Korean food, and a knowledge of all of the great Korean joints in NYC. When we first met, we were living in New York, and he took me to all of his favorite places. We'd have late night Korean barbecue at Kang Suh and make bulgolgi with ingredients from the awesome market on 32nd Street. Even though I don't like thinking of Michael with Anna, I am certainly glad that he knew her. Before I met Michael, I had never tasted Korean food, and now it's one of my favorite things to eat. Tonight, though, was the first time I made Bibimbap! And, was it good! I marinaded the bulgolgi in Kris' marinade and then cooked it on my cast iron griddle. I blanched carrot and zucchini (separately), and tossed with rice vinegar, sesame oil and sesame seed. I julienned cucumber (with a knife - no time to tackle the mandoline tonight) and tossed it with rice vinegar, sesame oil and sesame seed as well. We also put out kimchi, salted radish, mixed seaweed, marinated bean sprouts and a marinated spinach mix. We also fried up two eggs. For rice, we cheated a bit and microwaved some frozen brown rice from Trader Joe's. As I mentioned earlier, today was crazy hectic, and avoiding the rice cooking portion of the evening helped me out a bit. Here is the finished version: Here it is all mixed up: This is the Kids' Version, with no yolk, and just cucumber, carrot, rice and meat: And, our third child, begging for a taste of the bulgolgi:

Wow, having the babysitter cancel made things super difficult today. Sorry for the delay in posting about our trip to Koreatown. So, anyway, after Max woke up from his morning nap, we headed up to Koreatown, and never got out of the car. Exciting, huh? Actually, Koreatown didn't have too much in the way of food shopping. There were some small bodega-type shops (obviously not bodegas, but that size), and then a lot of other storefronts, but none that fit my needs. I saw a book/comic store, a Korean insurance agent and tons of travel agencies. Luckily, I had the address of a great Korean market, thanks to a fellow eGulleter who emailed me. So, we traveled south just a bit (back towards my house, actually), and went to Chicago Food Corp, quite possibly one of the coolest food marts I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. Here are some signs outside: When you walk into the store, you see a very large produce section. Some stuff is standard (like cucumbers, carrots), and some is more unique. I had never seen sesame leaves before: Here is the Ramen aisle: On the opposite side of the store from the produce is one of the greatest inventions of Asian Market history. The Panchan Bar!: And, if that isn't enough for you, behold: The Wall of Kimchi: As you walk through the store, the overwhelming thing you notice is the mouthwatering scent that fills the air. This is courtesy of the small cafe at the back of the store. The cafe was PACKED, and with all sorts of people. I loved the diversity. There was a latino man with sweat pouring off his head as he devored his super spicy lunch. There were Koreans, natch. There were also a bunch of white folk like me. This is the cutest white folk I saw there: And my lunch, Duk Mandoo Gook - rice cake and dumpling soup. It was served with a side of kimchi. Max LOVED the soup. I gave him pieces of the rice cake and dumpling. He devored them. This bowl was enormous, and I ended up paying an extra 50 cents to get a to go container. Here's our take: I'm about to prepare the bibimbap. Be back in a bit with the details.

Your consolation prize for living in Rochester is Wegmans. Something tells me that Chicago-area supermarkets haven't yet reached their level. But I'm surprised that local produce and other foodstuffs are that hard to find in the Windy City. Most sizable US cities in agricultural regions have centrally located markets that feature local foodstuffs, including produce and meats sold by the producers directly. Even in my hometown of Kansas City, you could go down to the City Market on weekends and take your pick of lots of fresh, locally grown produce. I would think that the city Carl Sandburg famously called "hog butcher to the world" would have something similar within its limits. Are you telling me it doesn't? ← Actually, I think that the Green City Market is phenomenal, and everything there is local. Click! Additionally, my local Whole Foods has a decent selection of local produce.

A fancy breakfast just for you guys. Here is the recipe: As you can see (maybe - my handwriting is awful), this is from the Moosewood Cookbook. I don't have the Moosewood Cookbook, though. I got this recipe from my friend Abby back in the mid-90's. She told me it was foolproof and read it to me over the phone. It is indeed foolproof - makes perfect crepes every time. Here is the batter: And, the final product. I filled them with Chestnut Milk Jam from Fauchon. Michael and I went to Fauchon in 2003 (on a trip we took to Paris for my 30th birthday). I've been holding the jar since then, waiting for the perfect moment. I pulled it out this morning and realized it was expired. I ate it anyway, and it was marvelous. If I don't post later, I'm dead of botulism. It was worth it though. David Lebovitz wrote a blog post once about foods that are too good to eat. The chestnut milk jam was always that food for me. I'm glad I finallly opened it. Small change on my itinerary, by the way. I'll be taking Max with me on my tour of Koreatown. The babysitter is sick.

Good morning! It is a very rainy day here in Chicago, but I'm excited for my venture up to Koreatown. I am going to go by myself today, in an effort to get a little more accomplished. Any other tips out there for things to look for? I'm not totally tied to Bibimbap - it's just a dish that we all love, so I thought it would be fun. And, I've wanted to make it myself for a while now (ever since the eGullet cook-off, actually). Michael thought I should up the ante by announcing that I would cut all of the vegetables using my mandoline. My mandoline has been sitting on a shelf since I got it for my birthday about five years ago. The thing terrifies me. It is now covered with dust, and is on a new shelf here in Chicago. It truly would be ideal for my bibimbap veggies, but I might need some guidance and support from you guys. Are there any mandoline experts in the house? It is a Bron. I have not yet eaten breakfast, but I did make a 6am run to Starbucks. We ran out of coffee beans yesterday, and I neglected to pick any up. I would much prefer to go to an independent coffee house, but the Starbucks is just a two minute walk from my front door. I walked out my door at 6:01, and came back in with my coffee at 6:07. You really can't beat that.

Here's my mug: the day just doesn't feel right if this mug isn't clean and available.