What's cool now...

What Pierino thinks are cool would be tiffin lunch boxes, composed of stackable tiers of trays. All neatly organized and cheap---unless you go to Design Within Reach where they are ridiculously expensive, but that's Williams Sonoma for you.

We cook away from home frequently so for us it's a convenient way to prep ahead. But they are also excellent for your picnic. Think green too. No little foam trays to fill up land fills with.

Our understanding (knowing nothing about Indian languages) is that the name comes from "tiffin walla"..."who carries a box." The imperial English shortened the name to tiffin. The ones we own were made in India.

What else is cool? Blackhawks v Redwings in Stanley Cup semis. This is the oldest rivalry in hockey going back to 1926 when there were only 6 teams in the league. Can you guess who the other four were? Carolina Hurricanes were not among them.

Setting the Bar of Bar Courtesy

This we believe, after 30 years of constant travel. Be courteous and respectful toward your bartender.

One thing I learned when I was traveling solo and dining in good restaurants is that it's usually easier (and more appreciated) to take a seat at the bar (I bring a book along)and order the menu from there. Be prepared to chat with your neighbors and the bartender. Trust me, they'll ask you about the book.

Step two, be sure to politely ask everybody's name. It goes along way. Pierino's MO is to order one (or maybe two) drinks along with food. Nurse your drink and get to know people. During my travels I've gone back to quality restaurant bars after a six month interval, and say, Mario up in Monterey remembers me and what wine I ordered and points up the best things on menu. Not because Mario is trying to "sell" them but because he personally likes them. The term "sous vide" seldom comes up.

I do this at home as well. Basically because I visit bars to eat and not to drink all afternoon. So, these people have become my friends and not my servants. Sometimes the chef will come out and chat with me for awhile.

Back to bar etiquette. Don't yell that "we want three Captain Morgans." You'll wait a full half hour for drinks. A nod is all you need, he or she knows you are there. And be sure to always say please and thank you. As in, "thank you, Heather." "And, yes, I will look at a menu thank you."

Now enjoy your food and your book.

Classical Gas

This past week we had an opportunity to cook dinner for good friends; something we love.

It's funny how a menu can begin with just one ingredient and then just roar off like a brush fire. Not a good joke just now. One of the first dishes we thought of was an old school iceberg lettuce wedge with roquefort dressing. This was approved by popular acclaimation. And then...

...but then we had to come up with a "classic" old school main dish. Pierino consulted with his friend Kim http://kimsunee.com/blog/ on some ideas. But what we settled on was osso buco. With some trepidation we ordered over the phone so that our friend Lee Van Cleef could pick up the package in Ojai. Let's just say it exceeded our expectations. What a relief. Four nice shank pieces coming in at 4 pounds total. Oh, yes.

Now Pierino's criminal mind went to work. The traditional accompaniment would be a risotto Milanese; but---- What we served was a saffron fettucine. Saffron is our favorite ingredient. End of discussion.

Pierino knicked his left thumb early into the game while chopping onions. This happens a lot. You put a tiny cut on the tip of your thumb with a sharp knife and you won't believe how much it will bleed. So: much hand washing, taping and retaping. Try this experiment; use a very sharp knife and poke the edge of your ear with it (you might want to test this in the shower because you will bleed lavishly). Okay,you probably don't want to do that. We're just saying...

A "classic" Roquefort dressing

Real Roquefort, crumbled
Hellman's/Best Foods mayonaise
Buttermilk (we love buttermilk)
Garlic salt
Possibly water to thin
A whisk

Combine ingredients to your personal taste. Our recommendation? Knock yourself out with Roquefort. You won't regret it.

Buitoni Angolotti recipe

The Buitoni folks might put a hit on me for saying this but portobello and cremini are not "wild" mushrooms. They are the same 'shroom at different stages of age, the common brown mushroom which has been used since the 18th century in America. Give it a marketing name and hey.... it's still a good product

But because I'm supposed to be a "Taste Maker" here's the RECIPE;

1 package of Buitoni wild mushroom agnolotti cooked per package directions
1/4 cup walnuts
California walnut oil
Some really good Roquefort cheese (if you can find it after the 300% tariffs)

While your Buitoni is cooking lightly toast the walnuts in a skillet. Remove that from the flame and heat some walnut oil in a larger pan. Once the agnolotti are cooked toss them into the pan with the oil. Finish with walnuts and and generous amount of Roquefort. This will take less than a minute.

This is not one of my typical "Recessionist" recipes but you have to live free or die of hunger. The Roquefort is a splurge but it's really good. Buy it before they take it away from us. Note to cooks: we didn't want to pile mushroom on mushroom for this. We thought about truffle oil. But we like the recipe above best.


And by the way we loved the years when Diego Maradona wore the Buitoni shirt for Napoli.

My kind of town part 33 1/3

Flora and Fauna.

Flora was easy to sum up. The ivy on the Wrigley Field walls was dead. One more month maybe.

Fauna: guys with gigantic t-shirt jiggling bellies, feeding their kids corn dogs. When Van Cleef and I were at Doug's there was a guy heaping on condiments like it was "all you can eat Ketchup day". But he's probably telling his kids that you need to store up lipids for the winter.

And so far nobody has correctly answered the Ramones question.

My kind of town, part 3

We go out blogging after midnight...

Another ball game at Wrigley but first we had breakfast and then hot dogs. We met up with Lee Van Cleef downstairs at Mercat. We couldn't figure out why the continental breakfast costs $18 and eggs any style costs $8. Well, it's the quality of the ingredients. Spanish chorizo, incredible cheese. Okay, we bought it.

Lee Van Cleef went out for a walk while Pierino went back to his room to read the papers.

Red line again, but this time we had to get to the shrine of all hot dogs. Pierino loves hot dogs and there is no better place to have a dog than Chicago. No better place in Chicago than Hot Doug's.

The Chicago hot dog is composed like this:
poppy seed roll
all beef frank in a natural casing (go for Vienna Beef)
yellow ball park mustard
green relish
chopped onions, lightly sauteed
dill pickle spear
one or two Chicago sport peppers
celery salt

No tweaking! Everything above is indispensible unless you are a total effing sissy.
Hot Doug's is on the northside about 3 miles from Wrigley. Go early and stand in line. They describe themselves as a "sausage superstore and emporium of encased meat". The Chicago hot dog will only cost you $1.75. But Doug (very nice guy) does real charcuterie. The "celebrity sausage" that day happened to be rabbit. $6.95.

Doug puts a lot of good things into a natural casing. Go visit him on N. California at Roscoe. We love this place.

From there it was back to Wrigley. Cubs lost again to a better team, the Cards. Pierino loved that the Cards' pitcher Weinstock was able to put down two sacrafice bunts to advance a runner each time. The Cub/Cardinal rivalry is huge. But we watched only two fist fights.

Back to the Blackstone for a couple more vodka tonics. Pierino's knees seem to respond well to warm temps and vodka.

Dinner at Shaw's Crab House for a little bit of old school. Scallops, shrimp and there you go. Kind of old Chicago atmo. Pierino gave up martinis a few years ago. But if you are up for them this is good place. They have two rooms; dining room and oyster bar but you can order from either menu in either room. Life is beautiful.

My kind of town, part 2

Wednesday morning Pierino woke up jet lagged, with painful and unreliable knees. We did have a great view of Lake Michigan although our early morning vision was a bit uncertain.

A few hours with the morning papers. We discovered that Marylin Chambers and Mark Fydrich had died. Phil Spector was convicted of second degree murder and sent to the Big House. Phil don't drop the Ivory Soap. It reminded me of a Ramones' song with the line; "It's the end, the end of the seventies. It's the end, the end of the century." How many living Ramones can you name?

Along with our friend who looks like Lee Van Cleef we walked to the Harrison Station and took the red line Metra to Addison for the ball game. We were at least an hour early but we wanted to pick up the vibe. It was overcast and cold, like very cold. But Wrigley Field is the shrine of shrines for baseball fans. Cubs have great fans who can combine the wit and stupidity of soccer fans in Europe. What a mix.

When we ordered our tickets we didn't know that it was going to be #42 day in honor of the late Jackie Robinson. "Who's in right?" Number 42 Fukodome. "Who's at first" Number 42, Lee. Whats on second and I don't know is on third.

Anyway Cubs, who don't look so good, lost to the Rockies. We also started the Giovany Soto index. How low could the Cubs' catcher's BA drop in two days. Dropping faster than the S&P.

Lee Van Cleef commented that, "they really drink a lot of beer here." More on that later.

Metra back to the Blackstone for some vodka tonics to unlock our knees. Dinner decision: Rick Bayless's Topolobampo. They weren't taking reservations but we were seated right away at what I think they call "the chef's counter" or something like that. It's right off the cooking line. In the morning your clothes have an aroma of ambient flavors. Lee Van Cleef ordered pig and Pierino ordered duck. Neither of us was disappointed, but we agreed that the pig was best. There is no better Mexican restaurant in America. And there may be no better Mexican restaurant in Mexico, because there really is no restaurant culture there. We had excellent service in cramped and hot conditions. Rick, we love you man. Wonderful flavors. Only the Two Hot Tamales can rival you.