Italian Cravings

As most of you know I am half Italian by blood and full Italian by heart. I love everything about my heritage, especially the food. Last year at this time the hubby and I were on the most wonderful two week trip through Italy. So in honor of that trip, we skip down memory lane via food.

Since I can't travel back to Italy anytime soon, Italy will come to me. One of my favorite things about Italy and good Italian food in general is its simplicity and the respect for the ingredients. So tonight I made pasta as my great grandparents would have, I used no machines and completely enjoyed the experience. Though I have made homemade noodles numerous times, I usually use the food processor and to be honest it has been way to long since I made pasta in general.

I decided to make my favorite noodle, the pappardelle noodle. It's long ribbon like frame offers a mouthful of goodness. Though, this type o f noodle is often accompanied with rich, deep flavors. This meal is for me, so I get the noodle and sauce of my choosing. Tonight, we use just simple but good extra virgin olive oil, basil, tomatoes and parmigiano-reggiano.
 

Pappardelle Pasta
3/4 Cup of Semolina Past Flour  - Durham Wheat
3/4 Cup of White Flour
2 Eggs

Make a mound on a clean wood butcher block, cutting board or your counter with the flour. In the center make a large whole for the eggs. Crack your eggs in a separate bowl, then place in the whole in the flour. You want to crack the eggs in  separate bowl just in case you get a bad egg. With a fork whisk eggs, taking a little flour from the sides. Do this until you incorporate all the flour, by putting your hand around the flour you can control the distribution easily. Once all the flour and egg is mixed together kneed for 3 to 5 minutes, moving front to back. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

After your dough has rested and chilled, it's time to roll the dough. I quartered the dough, to make it easier to work with and since my counter space is not that large. With a rolling pin, evenly (to the best of your ability) roll the dough out. It's up to you how thin or thick you want your noodle personally, I like them on thinner side. The next step is to cut out your pasta, lightly roll the dough, then make two inch cuts down the dough. Once all the dough is sliced, lightly unravel the pasta, sprinkle with flour and set aside. I lined mine up on the counter, to ensure they didn't stick but technically the flour should also prevent sticking.

In the meantime, start a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling salt the water, remember the pasta itself doesn't have any salt so the water should be salty. I usually taste it before putting the pasta in.

For us a simple few ingredients made for a wonderful meal. We had veggie Italian sausage for our protein, which means it will be quick and tasty. While waiting for the water to boil, chop up 1 to 2 cloves of garlic, 2 handfuls of basil, 2 handfuls of small cherry tomatoes and diced veggie Italian sausage. In a medium to large size pan, place one to two tablespoons of olive oil, add garlic and sausage and saute on  low heat, caramelizing the veggie sausage. The pasta should only take three to five minutes depending on how thick it is. Once pasta is cooked al dente, place in your pan with the sausage and garlic, add remaining ingredients, season with salt and pepper and toss. Finish with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and shaved parmegaino-reggiano. If you like a saucer pasta, you can always add some of the pasta water to the pan.

Please do not be intimated by making homemade pasta, give it a try and you will be pleasantly surprise how easy it can be. I hope you enjoyed this as much as my husband and I did. It truly transported us back to Italy.
Ciao!

Father's Day BBQ Ribs

I am so excited for this weekend, it's Father's Day and for the first time in a very, very long time I get to celebrate it with my Dad and not over the phone! Now that we are in Chicago, we get to see the folk's much more often and I am very thankful for that. I am and will always be a Daddies girl, so this year my parents, my sister and her boyfriend are all coming to our place for a Father's Day Cookout.

We have planned a menu fit for a King and hope and pray that the Chicago weather is good to us, so we can spend some much needed outdoor time together. About a month ago, I had a huge craving for BBQ ribs, so I thought why not try to make them at home and I was pleasantly surprised how well they turned out for my first time. After raving about them so much, my family has requested BBQ ribs for Father's Day and I am happy to comply.

You do not have to be a BBQ master or even have a charcoal grill, to get these juicy, smokey, tender ribs. I did a little research, read a few blogs and found out the best ribs are done at a low heat around 230 for about 3hrs. Whether you like your ribs wet or dry, you must start with a dry rub to get that crust that you expect from a BBQ Rib.


BABY BACK RIBS 
3 to 4 Pork Ribs - Cleaned and Trimmed
Wood Chips for Smoking (Mesquite/Hickory)
Foil Pan for woodchips
BBQ Sauce

DRY RUB 
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup smokey paprika

3 tablespoons sea salt (fine)
3 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon red cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground ginger powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon rosemary (ground to a powder)

2 tablespoons of Olive Oil

Mix all rub ingredients together, after ribs have been cleaned and rinsed. I purchased cleaned and trimmed ribs, if you didn't make sure to remove the membrane before cooking as it can be leathery and chewy. The membrane is the white thin layer on the back of the ribs. Lightly coat the meat with oil, I used olive oil but vegetable oil would be fine. This will help the rub sticking and creating the crust. Liberally place the rub all over the top of the ribs and massage into the meat. Let sit for at least 2 hours.The remainder rub can be stored in a jar or plastic bag and placed in fridge. It's a great dry marinade for fish and chicken.

To cook your ribs you will need a grill, a container for the wood chips and wood chips. You want to heat your grill to 225 - 230 and do not let it get hotter than 250, as the meat can become tough. The key is to slow roast at a constant temperature. Once you have the temp down, place two or three handfuls of woodchips in a pan that can be on the grill with a small amount of water. You want a nice smoke coming from those chips. Place the pan of chips on the back of the grill, directly on the heat or as close to it as possible. Then add your ribs, meat side up. Never putting them directly on the heat.

Now it's time to wait, enjoy a cold beverage of your choice and the beautiful sunny day, cause that is why your grilling right. About halfway through cooking, you should move the ribs so each rib is getting cooked at the same pace. Meaning if one is closer to the flame, switch with the other that is farthest from the flame, never flipping keep meat side up. This is a great time to add more woodchips, if need be, another two or three handfuls. Try not to peek during cooking and enjoy the process. 

Allow 3 to 4 hours to cook, cooking time does vary depending on how steady the temp stayed, the type of ribs and amount of meat on the bone. A great way to test them, is to pick up a slab with tongs and gently bounce it. If the surface cracks, they are ready to go. Once you have determined they are cooked, slather your ribs with your favorite barbque sauce and place the ribs on the hottest part of the grill. This will give you a crisp, caramelized texture. Remember to keep lid open and watch them at this point, as the sauce can burn in seconds. 

Your ribs are read to be taken of the grill and enjoy! These may take awhile but really once they are on the grill, you get to sit back and relax. Have people over, play a game of bocce or cornhole and enjoy the Summer! I hope everyone enjoys these as much as my family.

Happy Father's Day! 

Eating Out

With Birthday's, Holidays and Weddings the last month we have had a lot of eating out and trying new places. Still new to the City of Chicago, I am always excited to get out and try the wonderful culinary benefits this great City has to offer. This past weekend we were able to try a local bakery, a great burger bar and an Italian restaurant with lots of old charm.

First, lets talk about the bakery! Both my husband and I love sweets! Since we moved into the Lakeview neighborhood, I have walked past Dinkel's Bakery numerous times. So, I decided to do a little research and was pleasantly surprised to hear all the rave reviews. I'm a sucker for tradition and small family owned restaurants. Dinkel's has been at the same location since 1922 and four generations later they are going strong. I was happy to find out they were able to do a small birthday cake with little notice and ordered a chocolate cake with chocolate mouse and a chocolate gnosh topping. Needless to say my husband is a chocolate addict. The cake was moist, not overly sweet and very good. The service was excellent, the price was average and I plan to stop back in when I need that sweet treat.

Our next adventure was the Burger Bar. This is where my hubby wanted to eat for dinner, so as true Chicagoans, we hopped onto the L and a few minutes later we were sitting at the burger bar. Right of the redline, the burger bar is located on Clyborn in Lincoln Park. Though it was a Wednesday night, they were rather busy and to our delight were able to seat us quite quickly. We started our meal with fried pickles and two beers. The beer selection was great and they had specials on numerous craft beers, another plus. I ordered the Wild bill, which was a bison burger with arugula, goat cheese and tomato chutney on a pretzel bun. Though it was very good burger, it was a little dry and just didn't wow me but with that said, my husband ordered the sausage burger and it was fantastic, cooked to perfection, juicy, tangy and a definite try. They have many choices, numerous toppings and the best sweet potato tator tots I have ever had. I love that they support local farmers and the burgers are organic and hormone free. All in all this was a great experience and with all the choices available in Chicago, we will be coming back to the Burger Bar.

So the final adventure was Italian restaurant off the beaten path. We usually do not go out for Italian, I am a little spoiled and let's say picky growing up eating my Sicilian grandmothers food but I had heard about Ignotz Ristorane and how they have been around since the early 1900's and how it was traditional, so I wanted to give it a try. We walked in and were immediately greeted by the owner, Roger. Who was very nice and welcoming, it was Saturday night and the place had a few empty tables so I wasn't sure what we just got ourselves into. After being seated we ordered two glasses of wine and the fried calamari. The calamari was OK, I loved the spice and light breading but it was on the chewy side. I ordered a seafood fettuccine with a spicy red sauce, clams and oysters. Ben ordered veal parmigana. Both of our meals were very good, the service was excellent all in all it was a good experience and I'm glad we ventured in but not sure it is worth a second trip.

We have really enjoyed our new City, spent the entire Sunday just taking in all the sites via bicycle and are so thankful to finally have some great weather. Stay tuned for a great BBQ Ribs recipe, perfect for Father's Day.