daniellewiley

We were craving German food after our journey, so I decided to make pork chops and sauerkraut. I found a recipe called German Sauerkraut in one of my Frugal Gourmet cookbooks (I loved that guy - he was a huge influence on me), and decided to adapt it, based on what I had in my house. I threw five strips of Niman Ranch bacon, two sliced onions, one 24 oz. jar of sauerkraut, 1/2 sliced cabbage, one cup of beer, one cup of peeled, grated potatoes and a bunch of black pepper into my Le Creuset dutch oven. This was covered and cooked on low for and hour and a half. Everyone loved this dish. The Frug called for more sauerkraut, no cabbage, white wine (instead of beer) and juniper berries, but even with my massive changes, it was terrific. The pork chops were cooked up following a recipe given to me by Michael's crazy Granny. She soaks them in milk and then dredges them in a mixture of flour, ginger, paprika, salt and pepper. They are then pan fried in canola oil. The gingery pork fat melded wondefully with the sharp flavor of the sauerkraut. The dinner was finished off with some Trader Joe's canned corn. Canned corn is one of my weaknesses, and the Trader Joe's is especially good, as it has no added sugar. The finished dish: Max was hungry before dinner was served. His new trick is opening the lazy susan cabinet and helping himself: Here is Dylan being a great big sister: Tomorrow I'm thinking Koreatown. Maybe I'll make some bibimbap? Any other ideas? What do I need to buy? Offhand, I can think of kimchi, kochujang, bulgogi... Anyone know the best market in Koreatown? Are there certain brands I should look for?

Well, we explored some German markets, but the outcome was NOT what I expected. After fortifying myself with some unpasteurized apple cider: I picked up Dylan from school and we headed up to Lincoln Square. She was starving, so we first hit Meyer Delicatessen: How cool is this place? We didn't have any sort of list, so all we ended up getting was some German candy for Dylie. I think I need to be more prepared for our next ethnic outing. I get so overwhelmed. Anyway, here is Dylie posing with her candy (it is not as cold as her coat might imply - it's just new, so she wears it everyday): We stopped into the Lincoln Meat Market as well (I don't have any pictures), but I was VERY disappointed with their selection. So, with a craving for German food, I drove back down to my own neighborhood and hit the Paulina Meat Market. This place is terrific. I didn't get any photos of the inside, but here is the outside: The Paulina Meat Market is one of those places where the butchers give kids a piece of homemade bologna. Sometimes, that bologna is so delicious, you end up buying 1/2 a pound of it: We also got three giant pork chops: Dinner was great - I'll post details in a bit. (I think this post has enough photos already!!)

Our nanny is getting her MBA from DePaul. I will be in Lakeview East later this week when I head over to Pastoral! It is very close.

What CSA were you were a part of? We are trying to find one now, for next year. My friend has suggested the Farmer John CSA (I'm blocking on the name. Angel something?). I will add Fernando's to the list. We went to Tapatio last weekend. That is another very kid friendly Mexican place and we liked it very much. I'm always on the lookout for great Mexican. We also like Picante, which is around the corner from us on Lincoln (between School and Roscoe). We often order in burritos from there. Dylan loves their taco. And Sweet Tamarind goes on the list as well! I need a new Thai place that delivers. We had a favorite, but last time the food was way too salty. Dylan ALWAYS requests Thai food - it's very cute.

I ate my lunch two hours ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting about it. I was on a long conference call. Michael picked up goodies from Whole Foods yesterday, and there was still enough left over to make a nice lunch for myself. I made a panini. Here is the sandwich pre-grilling: I scooped out some of the bread filling, and spread it with mayo and horseradish. I then added Point Reyes bleu cheese, rare roast beef, roasted turkey breast, arugula and fresh mozzarella. I used my fancy panini maker (a.k.a my George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine). Here is the sandwich ready to be eaten: It was terrific, but I'm still so full. It is hard for me to think about dinner, but I know I must soldier on. I'm thinking of heading up to Lincoln Square to scout out some German eats. We'll see what Dylan wants to do. I will for sure need to stop somewhere to get her a snack. She is always starving when I pick her up. They have catered hot lunch at her school, and I know she eats well, but they play pretty hard all afternoon, and she usually eats like she has been starved for a month.

I LOVE Hot Doug's. We'll only get to do duck fat fries if I go on Friday or Saturday, but I will go one day regardless. Last time I went I had a rabbit sausage with St. Nectaire cheese and a fines herbes Dijon mustard. Awesome. Doug's old store was definitely closer to me, but the new one is certainly not far.

Nope, those raspberries are courtesy of Trader Joe's. They sure are pretty.

Great idea - I've been wanting to check it out. If the weather holds up, and the kids are amenable, that will definitely be an option.

OOoohhhhh Olive Bread - awesome. We are olive lovers here. My daughter's favorite food, actually. I think my pizza problem might be the same as yours. I'm from NY originally, so it all seems sub-standard.

Your first assignment: I need to figure out what we are having for dinner tonight. I would like to stay local, if possible. Your choices are (and I can combine these): meat market - one of the best in Chicago Whole Foods regular supermarket (boring!) German market Also, I do have some leftover ingredients from yesterday's trip to the Italian markets. We have some fresh ricotta, fresh mozzarella, and two dried sausages (one hot, one mild).

thank you! I will try to get a picture without her hamming it up (not easy with a kid who is almost five). When she is smiling, she is even prettier. We have the best donut joint in Chicago about a block from my house. That'll be breakfast on Saturday. We LOVE donuts in our house!

So far they have been crappy. I hear the good place is in Lincolnwood, just north of the city. Haven't had the chance to make it up there though.

So... my morning routine. Sorry this is so late - it's been a particularly crazy morning. Above is my coffee corner. The coffee is kept in that big Trader Joe's tin, but it's not the Trader Joe's coffee (I don't care for their coffee very much). I just love the tin. The Splenda is Michael's - I hate the stuff. My sweetener is in that colorful little sugar bowl - it's Turbinado. My coffee maker is a Hamilton Beach - I needed one in a hurry last year when my old one started leaking. This was really cheap and it works wondefully. I try to always drink my coffee in the above mug from the San Diego Zoo. It's my lucky mug. This morning I added some EmergenC to my morning drink lineup. Michael has a terrible cold, and I am very afraid. I also had some of those Get Well Soon vitamins up there. Here is Mr. Max eating his breakfast. He loves the cereal bars from Trader Joe's. This one is called, "A Strawberry walks into a bar." He eats nonstop. After the bar he had cheerios and then an entire orange. (He was sneezing this morning, so I'm pumping him with vitamin C as well.) He also had a big bottle of milk. Here is Dylie helping me make her breakfast. She wanted Quesadillas. I let her sprinkle on the chili powder. She has only burnt herself once. And, finally, my breakfast. I don't eat until Dylie is at school and Max is down for his morning nap. I had Total Fage 0% yogurt with frozen raspberries and honey. I added too much honey this morning, but it was still pretty tasty.

ah.... pizza. Here's the official eGullet thread on Chicago pizza: click! ronnie_surburban can't understand it, but I didn't love Lou Malnati's. I really liked the crust (we got deep dish), but the cheese/sauce/sausage bit weren't my favorite. I liked Pequod's a lot, but here, the crust was a bit lacking. I loved their sausage, cheese, sauce. (I also loved their salad). Pequod's is definitely my favorite deep dish so far. We tried Gino's East last week. I hated it. The crust was tough. There was hardly any sausage. Big thumbs down. I'm eager to try Due. If I can catch the kids in a good mood Thursday night (we love doing pizza on Thursdays), I might haul them downtown to try it out. I wish I could get them to deliver to my house. Our favorite pizza overall in Chicago (not just deep dish) has been at a local place called Frasca's. This is a wine bar with a wood burning oven. They have thin crust individual pizzas. They are phenomenal. This is a terrific restaurant. It's at the corner of Roscoe Street and Paulina. We can walk there in about 5 minutes. This is probably a more likely candidate for pizza out this week. Since it's so close, one of us can take a kid home if we have horrible behavior. One of our biggest struggles lately has been eating out with the kids. Max is just at that age where he grabs at everything and fusses all of the time if he is not entertained. And then Dylan gets jealous of the attention he is getting and she starts to throw a fit as well. We have had some luck lately with bringing him a ton of snacks and toys. But.. it is not relaxing. We usually prefer to order in if we are eating with the kids these days. By the way, I NEVER thought I would say that. I am a huge proponent of exposing children to eating in restaurants. Things changed a bit when we had a boy.

Hey Jean, I'm looking forward to seeing you Friday (we are having a dinner with some eGullet people at Hot Chocolate on Friday night - I'm VERY excited). Combining Sam's and Stanley's is a great idea. I have another (non food-related) errand in that area as well. Perfect. Regarding Pastoral, I probably won't be doing that bread. Raisins are one of those foods I do not like! But... I'm sure they'll have other great stuff!

Hi Chufi! Yes, I'm hoping to make this blog a reference - that would be awesome! Funny about ER - I haven't watched in years. I do remember them walking around eating street food and drinking coffee. Can you think of any particular food references? I just love this city. I can't say enough good things about it. I don't know that there is too much I miss from Toledo foodwise. There is just so much here. But, I kind of miss our favorite Lebanese restaurant, The Beirut. And, I miss our favorite Japanese restaurant, Kotobuki (but part of that might be due to the very cute owner, Dennis). What else... oh yes. I absolutely miss my favorite produce store in Toledo - Rhode's. It is a phenomenal little produce shop with tons of local offerings. I'm hoping that I can find a Chicago replacement this week. The Farmer's Market is phenomenal, but it's a bit of a chore to get there (you'll see why on Saturday), and is only open Wednesdays and Saturdays, May through October. They have an indoor market in November and December, but January through April there's no market at all. I'm hoping that the aforementioned Stanley's Produce will be wonderful.

Hey Fabby, Yes, I've been a bit absent. Life was a little crazy for a while. We are in the city, but northwest of downtown. We say that we live in Roscoe Village, but we are technically in Lakeview (if you walk half a block west, you hit the border of Roscoe Village). I can just imagine the experience of shopping with Fresser.

Good morning! Oh, I am so excited for this week. The last time I blogged, I was living in Toledo with one kid (my daughter, Dylan). Now, I am in Chicago with two kids (Max is 14 months old). Things change a lot in just a couple of years! The move to Chicago was rather unexpected, and came about at the end of August. We had just three weeks to find a place, hire movers, and get here. It was insane. I am just now feeling settled, but one of the things I have NOT yet done is really get to know the food offerings here. We've had some fabulous dinners (Butter was our favorite so far!), and I've seen a few great shops, but I really want to find the best of the best. And that's where you guys come in. I want your help. Each day, I'm going to explore a different food market, ethnic area of the city or classic style of Chicago food (hot dogs anyone?). And, I want your input. If you know of great Chicago places, please tell me. I also want some input from people with specialties in various areas of ethnic cooking. When I go down to Chinatown, I'd love to do so with an assignment. Tell me what to cook, give me a shopping list, and set me loose. Sound good? I have some pictures to share of my morning routine, but first I'll give you guys a list of some of the food places I think might be interesting. I still need my itinerary for today, by the way. However, today is a challenge. I work from home and have phone meetings until 2. Dylan needs to be picked up from school at 3. I can certainly go somewhere with here after school, but we can't be gone long (Chicago babysitters are expensive, and I'll have one home with Max). And to make it even more complicated? The baby will be up from his nap by about 4. I can keep him occupied in his booster seat with some food for probably 1/2 an hour. So... we need something easy. Welcome to the world of a working mom who cooks! Here's the list I started. Please add to it as you see fit: Italian markets - I cheated and did this yesterday. I have lots of great pics to share. I'm willing to go back though. Chinatown - I'm excited to go, but this is very far from my house Koreatown - This is pretty close to my house Pastoral specialty foods store - I am very eager to check out their cheese selection. Bread - There is a bakery here called Crust that makes fabulous bread. I have found it at local stores, but I have not found their actual bakery. I would like to do so. German food - We are very close to some great German stores and German restaurants. Polish - Chicago has a HUGE Polish population. Mexican - ditto the above Farmer's Market - This I'm doing Saturday morning. I will need some help, though. I'll tell you more later. Meat Market - We live about a block from a GREAT one. Sam's Wine - Heard this place is the best, but I haven't checked it out yet. Stanley's Produce - Ditto the above. Coffee - I need to get some more today. I usually get the Pleasant Morning Buzz blend at Whole Foods (we live a block away), but let's try something more interesting. I'm thinking Intelligentsia or Julis Meinl. Any opinions out there? Spice House - I've been dying to go here. It's not too far from my house. OK, I'll leave you with that, and will be back shortly with my morning routine.

Wow, this is all just amazing. Those tarts look great. Who is the royalty, by the way? (You can answer this later - I know you are trying to get your account written up!)

I have more than I might normally have just because I have a nanny home all day with the baby, and frozen foods are the easiest way for me to feed them both, without having to come downstairs from my home office and cook. We always have Tyson's chicken nuggets (thanks to chrisamirault), Trader Joe's meatballs, frozen pizza (I like CPK, but the kids like Tony's plain), Trader Joe's french toast, Trader Joe's steelcut oatmeal, potstickers, and lots of frozen veggies. We always have French green beans, peas, broccoli and corn. I usually have frozen organic raspberries on hand for a quick breakfast (yummy mixed with Fage Total yogurt and some honey). I also just have been turned on to the frozen one pound packs of organic ground beef from Costco - great emergency dinner!

In lieu of presents, we are doing a family trip to New Orleans this Christmas with my in-laws. There will be eight of us, including two small children (five-years-old and 17 months). One person is a vegetarian. Two of the family members are very picky eaters, but I think I'll let them worry about themselves. So... we need a Christmas Eve dinner locale, breakfast and dinner for Christmas, and then any other suggestions for activities around that time. Aside from the two picky eaters, we are a food-loving bunch, so I am looking for food-related activities. I'm thinking we will take a day trip to bayou country for a crawfish boil maybe? Last time I visited, back in '96, we went to a restaurant near New Iberia (I think) that boiled up the crawfish with mash from the Tabasco factory and then served 'em right on the table over newspaper. There were sinks along the side of the room. I'd LOVE to go back there, but I don't remember the name of the place, so I don't even know if it is still around. Thanks!

A friend recommended his Ginger Ale. I've been looking forward to trying it. I don't often buy prepared sauces, but I'm all for great soda!

I already am loving it. :-) My daughter would NEVER give up ballet, but if given the choice of cooking vs. soccer or swimming, or something like that, she would almost certainly choose cooking. She always tells me that she can't wait to be eight because "that's when I can cook things by myself."

We have Kiddy Cuisine at one of our Whole Foods here in Chicago. We're new to the city so I haven't explored it yet (plus, my daughter cooks with me all of the time anyway - I'm not sure how much she'd get out of it). But, I hear it is popular. Link

Does someone convert the recipe further? For example, 18-3/4 teaspoons is a lot harder to measure than 6 Tb plus 3/4 teaspoon. Or 1/4 cup plus 2 TB plus 3/4 teaspoon. I bet Tammylc would have a FIELD DAY with that program!