Welcome to Pure Tastes!

Welcome to Pure Tastes.  This is a blog for learning and sharing wonderful ideas, discoveries, and more: all related to wonderful food!  We have compiled a group of contributors who  love to cook and love to share their wonderful ideas with you.  So enjoy the reading and let us know what you think!

Orange Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

I made these muffins today for some friends who came over for tea.  I didn’t have much but wanted muffins and saw the oranges on my counter.  They were really moist and orangey with my modifications.  The orange zest amount might be off, since we doubled the whole recipe and just did two oranges and didn’t measure it.  Here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole oats
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons grated orange zest, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons flax seed
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 2 cups orange juice
• Cinnamon, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. Stir the oats, flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl.  Stir in the egg, orange juice, orange zest, oil, and raisins.
3. Evenly divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove the muffins from the oven.

I didn’t actually make it with the olive oil, but we thought it would make the paper liners less sticky to the muffins.  If you make it with oil and you think it needs more/less, leave a comment!

I saw a streudel topping on another recipe there; that might be fun to try.  I also saw one with a spoonful of orange marmalade in the middle, which I would have done if I had any!  Just put half the batter in the cup, marmalade it up, then cover it with more batter.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with lemony-cream cheese glaze

I made this new kind of cookie tonight.  I really liked it, although I couldn’t really tell what the ricotta cheese did to the flavor.  Perhaps my tastes aren’t refined enough.  It wasn’t too sweet, and the lemon helped give it a lighter taste – a nice break from the typical holiday treats if you ask me.  Here’s the cookie recipe I used.  And here it is with the changes I made:

Cookies:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container skim milk ricotta cheese
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 pinch stevia
1/2 package cream cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice (might have been more; I didn’t really measure)
1 lemon, zested (I didn’t have another lemon for this, but I would have done it if I did)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cookies:

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, cream cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours.  (The cream cheese may not actually harden; they just haven’t lasted that long to know for sure.) 

Next time, I might try yogurt and herbs like thyme or lavender. Orange or lime would be a tasty zest/juice to use too.

My Favorite Waffle Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 c. milk
• 3 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• pinch of salt
• optional: cinnamon, nutmeg, blueberries, raisins, apples, etc….

Directions:

1. Whisk the egg
2. Add everything else
3. Grease a waffle pan & cook until done

Tips:

• Keep finished waffles on a plate covered with a towel in a microwave to keep warm until they are all finished
• To make pancakes, increase the milk by a few Tbs. and increase the baking powder by another 1/2 to 1 tsp (depends on how fluffy you like them).

Tips for a good Chocolate Chip Cookie

I’ve tasted many cookies in my short life.  Some bad, some good, some undercooked, some crispy, some with nuts, some without…And I’ve come to a few conclusions about Chocolate Chip Cookies, and a recipe that I like the best.

Tip #1: Not all chocolate chips are the same.

When making something as amazing and comforting as chocolate chip cookies, I believe in using a good chocolate chip.  Some have more cocoa than others, and some are smoother than others.  Here’s my ranking of semi-sweet chips I have tried, from best to worst:

• Ghiradelli
• Hershey’s
• Nestle
• Store Brand

I never actually bought and made a batch with the Ghiradelli, but I have tried them and they are quite amazing.  However, a compromise between quality and price usually dictates that I get the Hershey’s, which is still very smooth and tastes more chocolatey.  The only reason I first tried them was because they were out of stock of the Nestle….but once I tried them, I would never go back.  The price difference isn’t big enough for as much as I actually make cookies, so I just get the Hershey’s.

Tip #2: Use whole-wheat flour for the best flavor

Really, if you haven’t started using whole-wheat flour in everything by now, you really should.  I don’t care if white flour is cheaper; that doesn’t mean it’s better OR better for you.  That’s my philosophy on buying other types of breads, as well as things like pasta and frozen convenience foods.  You can read a little bit more about “whole wheat” labeling on foods here.

If you just start doing whole wheat with everything, you’ll get used to the taste.  When I first started eating whole-wheat pasta a few years ago, I thought it was really weird, but since I knew it was better for me, I just kept getting it.  Now white pasta tastes really weird to me.

By the way, there’s a difference between “wheat” and “whole wheat,” which you can read about here.  Basically, something labeled “wheat,” or containing “wheat flour” on the ingredients means that the flour was not made with the whole kernel of wheat.  Something labeled “100% Whole Wheat” or listed as “Whole Wheat” on the ingredients means that the flour was made from the whole kernel of wheat.  And since ingredients lists are required to list the stuff in rank of proportion, something that has “Whole wheat” as the first ingredient is the best for you.  And the benefits of whole wheat/whole grain consumption?  More fiber!  Lower cholesterol!  And thus, lowering your risk of heart diseases, obesity, and diabetes, among others.

Tip #3: Balsamic vinegar

Not even kidding.  Vinegar brings out the flavor of chocolate.  Balsamic is also kind of sweet, so that’s what I like to use.  Schlotsky’s sells some amazing balsamic vinegar, by the way.  Also, there is some Raspberry-balsamic vinegar made by Regina that we recently got at the store, and that is amazing on salads and in marinades, though I haven’t tried it in the cookies.  It’s just mixed with raspberry juice, but it’s even more fruity.

Tip #4: Activate the gluten in the flour

This will make the cookies stay softer for longer, and you do this by mixing the flour with a bit of water before adding it to the other ingredients.  Since I’m usually too lazy and don’t want to have to wash another bowl, I usually don’t do this.  When I do, though, I can tell a difference.  Matt can too, even when I don’t tell him I did the water trick.  Definitely do it though, if you plan on sending someone cookies in the mail or you’re making a lot of cookies several days in advance of a particular holiday or event.

Tip #5: Only bake one cookie sheet at a time

It may take a while longer, but the air circulates better around one sheet rather than two.  The cookies will be baked more evenly and that means you know every time exactly how long you need to set the timer.

Oven temps and times may vary.  What I put in the recipe below is the perfect amount of time on my oven for the level of softness and done-ness that I like (which is: completely cooked dough in the middle, yet still soft and chewy).  We’re also fortunate to have a digital thermometer and timer on the oven, so it’s a bit more precise.  We didn’t have one like that before we moved, so I would just watch it until the cookies were golden brown around the edges and starting to firm up towards the center.

The Recipe:

This is modified from the Nestle/Hershey’s recipe (they’re the same recipe on the back of the bag of chips).

• 1 c. salted butter, softened (2 sticks)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 c. white sugar
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/4 c. whole-wheat flour
• [Optional: few Tbs. of water]
• bag of Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Optional: chopped nuts, cinnamon, or raisins (seriously, they taste good with chocolate!)

Cream the butter, salt, sugar, baking soda, and wet ingredients with a mixer.  [Add a few table spoons of water to the flour and mix well.]  Add the flour to the butter and stir in chips.  Place tablespoonfuls on a good air-bake cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 F for about 10 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet immediately and place on a cooling rack.

Two Random and Useful Ideas:

#1: Double or triple a batch and freeze whatever you don’t want to bake that day in a plastic bag.  When you know you’re going to have guests over, you can take the bag out, let it sit for about 10 minutes, scoop what you need onto a cookie sheet, and pop it into the oven.  And there you go, fresh baked cookies for your guests without all the prep and mess!

#2: Frozen, baked cookies are pretty good straight from the freezer, as is cookie dough.

I hope this was a helpful post.  Enjoy your cookies!

Green Beans & Shrooms

Hello tasty world -

Here’s a super-easy side dish that I make pretty frequently in some variation or another; hope you enjoy. The name is fairly self-explanatory:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. or more fresh green beans*
• 3-6 oz. of sliced Portabella Mushrooms
• 1/2 Sweet Yellow Onion, thinly sliced
• 1-2 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar (Red Wine Vinegar works great, too)
• Spritz of Olive Oil to coat your pan

*Half poundish is usually enough for two people for a side dish (mileage may vary).

Directions:

• Wash all your veggies. You don’t know where those things have been.
• Start with the mushrooms and slice them in half, begin to sizzle those up on about medium heat in a skillet coated with some olive oil.

• While those guys are cooking, remove the ends on your green beans (I usually just use kitchen shears to chop them off).
• Pull the ’shrooms aside and then put your green beans in the skillet. Depending on your skillet you may need to add a smidge more oil.
• Add your vinegar to the skillet at this point and toss the green beans around to coat them in the vinegar.
• Cover your pan; this helps the green beans stay nice and moist.

• At some point while cooking, usually anywhere from 5-10 minutes depending on the heat of your stove, the beans will start to change color. A mixture of colors that looks like the different Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is pretty normal, but ultimately we’re going for a Donatello-green as shown below:

• Once all the green beans are a nice olivey dark green and showing some burn spots, they’re perfectly good to go. Take them out of the skillet and set them aside for now.
• Throw a little more vinegar in your skillet and toss around the finely sliced onion – let it carmelize and absorb all the flavor of the vinegar.
• Once the onions are ready, combine all three (mushrooms, onion, green beans) in a bowl/skillet/whatever vessel you have handy and toss them all together.
• Voila!

As a note, this method of cooking the green beans leaves them a bit on the crunchier side, while still leaving them soft enough to be enjoyable. If you can’t stand/want something a bit different, I’ve broiled them, after skillet-ing them, in the oven on High for about 5-7 minutes to soften them up. If you do decide to go that route, I’d recommend  you wait to toss in the mushrooms and onions (don’t want those guys to burn!). Hope you enjoy!

Cheers.

Lemon cake!

First off, I must say:

Now that I’ve got your attention, I had several recommendations for a good lemon cake recipe, including some from Mary, Sadie, and Clea.  I also found one on AllRecipes and one by Ina Garten.  Apparently Cook’s Illustrated wants you to sign up for their recipes, and while the first 14 days were free, I was just too lazy to bother signing up.  So after careful consideration of the remaining four, I chose the one Sadie recommended based on its simplicity, somewhat healthfulness (aka doesn’t call for a pound of butter), and good reviews.  Also, I was in the mood for cakey and the pound cake wasn’t quite what I was feeling at the moment.  Plus, I happen to have heard Sadie talk about different food dishes before, and I am pretty sure we like a lot of the same flavors, so I trusted that she was right with my taste buds when she said that recipe was incredible.

This cake ended up being very light, moist, and lemony – everything I was looking for.  It also had a delicious surprise of a beautiful, crunchy, thin, golden layer on top from all the eggs & a sprinkling of sugar:

Since the original recipe is kind of confusing, here it is rephrased and with my alterations.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. olive oil
• 2 large lemons
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour, minus 1 Tbs*
• 1/2 c. white flour, minus 1 Tbs*
• 5 large eggs, sepaarated
• 3/4 c. sugar + 1 Tbs.
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• several large sprigs (about 2 Tbs) of fresh thyme, rosemary, or lavender (optional)

*Original recipe called for 1 c. cake flour, which I didn’t have/didn’t want to pay for, so subtract 2 Tbs. of flour to make the equivalent.

**You’ll also need  spring form pan – any size – and parchment paper (or this can be made in any other kind of pan, obviously, but watch your cooking time.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Oil the bottom & sides of pan with olive oil.  Then, if using a spring form pan, line with parchment paper, and brush a bit more olive oil on top. (To do this, trace around the bottom of the pan onto the parchment paper & cut out just inside your pencil marks.)
3. Zest the lemons to get about 4 tsp. of zest.  Set aside.
4. Halve the lemons & squeeze them.
5. Beat the egg yolks and 1/2 c. sugar until thick and pale.  Add the olive oil and the lemon juice, reserving about a third of the juice for later.  Beat until just combined.  Stir in flour, lemon zest, and your choice of herb until just combined.
6. Rinse the beaters.  In another bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until foamy.  Add remaining 1/4 c. sugar gradually until soft peaks form.
7. Gently fold a third of the egg whites into the yolk mixture to lighten the batter, then fold in the rest gently but thoroughly.
8. Transfer batter to pan & rap on the counter to release air bubbles.
9. Sprinkle top with the extra 1 Tbs. of sugar to make it sparkle.
10. Bake until puffed and golden and toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes for a dark 9″ spring form pan.  (Time may be longer for light-colored pans, or shorter for glass pans.)
11. Cool 10 minutes, then run a knife or spatula around edges and remove spring form.
12. Cool until comfortable enough to handle; remove the bottom & the parchment paper as you transfer to your serving platter.

Toppings:

13. If you looooove lemon flavor, at this point, spoon a simple syrup over the top & sides.  This is made with 1/2 c. lemon juice and 1/2 c. sugar brought to a boil for a few minutes.  This will soak into the cake and make it even more moist, especially if you slightly lift the cake with a spatula and spoon some syrup underneath it!  (I got this part from the Ina Garten recipe & some others I’d seen.)

As you can see, I also got creative and garnished it with some shaved lemon peel and fresh springs of thyme (my chosen additional herb).  I made it look like a flower!!    I love making food look pretty!  (And then taking pictures of it.  Followed by eating it!!!)

This would also probably taste good with a cream cheese icing.  For that, I would beat with some yogurt, powdered sugar, and enough lemon juice until you get the desired consistency & sweetness.

I also read suggestions of serving this with fresh whipped cream & strawberries, which I am going to do next time I have a slice!!!  (minus the whipped cream, since I have none)

I think this one is going to be the new summer banner….

Mango Chicken dish

I made this last night because I had a very soft mango that was pretty much good only for a puree.  Then the color of it reminded me of a peach-chicken dish I had made before, so I came up with a brilliant idea for dinner: Chicken with a mango sauce!  I was kind of scared because I was completely making this up, but I felt confident with the knowledge about flavors that I have accumulated over the past few years.

Everything below is approximate and to taste; I didn’t really measure a single thing.  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients & Directions for chicken:

• 2 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken breast
• salt
• pepper
• fresh thyme
• cilantro
• lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves
• olive oil
• water
• dash of cumin
• dash of curry

Season the chicken on both sides with lemon juice, oil, salt & pepper.  Crush garlic & add thyme and cilantro.  Let marinade for a while if possible.  (Cooking tip: NEVER cook chicken without marinading it with at least some salt & pepper!  It’s disgusting!  Unless you like that “pure, unadulterated chicken” flavor…)

Heat up a pan on the stove with 1/2″  of water.  Put the chicken in the water & add curry & cumin.  Cover with a lid.  Keep an eye on the water level so the chicken stays moist & doesn’t burn.  (Cooking tip: This is a really healthy way to cook chicken & keep lots of flavor locked in – plus it’s a lot faster & cooler than heating up the oven in the summer!)

While chicken is cooking, prepare the mango sauce.

Ingredients & Directions for mango sauce:

• olive oil
• 1/4 c. sliced red onion
• 1 jalapeno, chopped fine (seed to your level of spice)
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 1 c. pureed mango
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• water
• 1 tsp. dried cilantro (more if fresh)
• 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

Slice & sautee the onion in a little bit of olive oil with salt until soft.  Add jalapenos and black pepper and sautee for a minute.  Add mango, lemon juice, and a little bit of water at a time until a medium consistency is formed.  Add cilantro &  tomatoes.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.  Cook over med-low until chicken is just about finished.

Putting it all together:

When the chicken is just about finished, you can leave it whole or slice it up and brown it in the pan for a minute.  Keep a little water in there still!  Add the chicken to the mango suace and cook for a few more minutes over med-low heat.  Serve over brown rice, orzo, couscous, quinoa, or something of the sort.

(We had this over orzo with olive oil, lemon juice, & some yummy Moroccan black olives – feta cheese would have been good in there but we didn’t have any.)

Sorry, no picture!  I was too hungry & it looked too tasty to stop & take one.    Next time!  Or, if you make it, send me one & I’ll post it on here!

Arris’ Pizza Review

Matt & I went to Arris’ (http://www.arrispizzaonline.com) on Valentine’s Day because we realized we’ve always ended up eating pizza on that day somehow, so we decided to make it a tradition.  Plus, we’ve always wanted to try it because we heard it was really good.

The atmosphere was more casual than I thought it would be.  Nice casual decor of the Greek/Italian cafe variety.  We sat at a tall table off on the side by ourselves – it surprisingly wasn’t that busy for a Saturday V-Day evening.  Prices for a medium pizza range from $10-$14.  We ordered a half & half pizza.  Here’s the names and what was on them:

Heart of Zeus (Zeus) – Artichoke hearts, roma tomatoes, feta cheese and Greek sausage
Yo-Jo’s – Feta cheese, pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms & green peppers

I had never had Greek-style pizza before, but according to Arris, it’s a really (REALLY) thin, crispy crust with loads of huge chunks of toppings.  We saw them lining up all the crusts with sauce on pans, waiting for orders so all they had to do was add the toppings.  There were no thicker crusts that I saw or that were mentioned on the menu, but I also didn’t ask about it either.

When the pizza came, there were huge chunks of artichokes and golfball-sized sausage balls on the Zeus half.  I really prefer my toppings on anything to be spread out evenly, so I spent quite a bit of time cutting sausages and artichokes and dispersing them more evenly in smaller chunks over the pizza.  The artichokes were really tart, especially in combination with the feta cheese.  The flavors weren’t really balanced & I hardly ate any.  (And this was the half that I had wanted to order the most.)  The Yo-Jo’s half was pretty good and a bit more balanced with tart-sweet-salty-accents.  I ate more of this than the Zeus, but it was still getting to be too much tart with the olives & feta. Also, the crust was incredibly crispy and thin, and quite tasteless if you happened to have a square from the edge.  I really thought they could have done something to jazz it up a bit, such as adding olive oil & Greek spices either in or on it.  Just because you want to have “authentic” food at your restaurant or home doesn’t mean you can’t THINK about ways to improve the food.  It’s perfectly okay to vary from the standard recipe to make it better! And it’s ok to make mistakes when you cook this way (at least when you’re at home – experiment a lot more with a restaurant!)

I don’t remember very well since it was 2 months ago, but I also believe there wasn’t any sauce on the pizza…I could be wrong.  Just be warned that the pizza might not be what you’re expecting.  This was partly why I was so disappointed.  I shortly lost my appetite for the pizza (a rare occurrence) & we took leftovers home, where I still could hardly handle the Zeus slices.  I was really disappointed that we had spent so much money on a pizza experience that wasn’t as professionally gourmet as I had thought it would be – especially on Valentine’s Day.  If I ever go back, I would order the Gyro like I almost did in the first place (I just got pizza cuz it was our tradition).  Depending on how that was, I may or may not change my recommendation for Arris; Pizza: Beware of what you order, and don’t go in with any expectations.

Arris’ Menu

Mediterranean Wrap

I just made this and it’s pretty good.  I’m eating it right now!

Ingredients:

Olive oil
Sea salt
Red onion strips
Red bell pepper strips
3-4 Asparagus
1/2 Avacado
Mozzerella cheese
Fresh spinach
2/3 c. water
1/3 c. Quinoa (Pronounced “Keen-wah”) or other similar grain
2 large spoonfuls plain non-sweetened yogurt
2 tsp. basil pesto
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
Multi-grain wrap

Boil water for quinoa (2 part water to 1 part grain).  Add grain & cook over medium for 10-15 min until water is absorbed.  Meanwhile, saute onion in oil with salt until soft.  Add pepper for a few min, then asparagus.  Mix yogurt, pesto, vinegar & smear on wrap.  Add grains, sauteed veggies, mozzerella, avacado, spinach.  Wrap.  Eat.

Notes:
Serves 1.  As always, use what you have.  But don’t use mayo or sour cream instead of yogurt, because both of those need to die off the face of the earth.  Chicken strips would be good on here.

Also make sure you use a good balsamic vinegar, or at least a real one that has been aged in oak casks.  Some store brands (like at Walmart) aren’t real balsamic vinegars at all.  Schlotsky’s has the best vinegar I’ve ever tasted – just pop in their restaraunt & buy a bottle off the shelf.  It’s very sweet & flavorful.  Huge bottle for about $8 (a pretty good price for that size & quality).

P.S. Sorry for lack of posts the past few months – no internet at home for a while.

Cookie Chemistry

Do your cookies ever end up too crumbly or too flat? Looks like adding a little bit of water to your flour can be a lifesaver. Read this article from NPR and learn a few tips on baking from chemist Shirley Corriher!  There’s a cookie recipe in there too if your interested.

Chicago Food Tour: Vienna Beef Hot Dogs

So there are about a million hot dog places in Chicago, and Matt researched some before we left.  He was serious about his dogs.  He decided on two places that we had to visit, and Vienna Beef was one of them.

Vienna Beef hot dogs, Chicago, IL

 Yeah, it is a hot dog factory.  The dogs here have natural casings, Matt said.  I didn’t smell anything funky when we walked up to it.  Of course, I couldn’t feel my nose either after many blocks of walking from the train, so there could have been a smell and I just didn’t know it.  But wow, the prices at this place were surprisingly cheap considering this was Chicago.  I think it was maybe $5 for two Chicago-style hot dogs, plus about $3 for a big thing of chili fries. 

Chicago-style hot dogs at Vienna Beef

 Yep, that’s it.  Apparently, Chicago-style hot dogs have the dog, mustard, tomatoes, onions, little hot peppers, relish, a ginormous pickle spear, and celery salt on a poppyseed bun.  That’s right, NO KETCHUP.  I don’t like ketchup, so that was fine with me.  The tomatoes were much better than either ketchup or BBQ sauce…and I like me some BBQ sauce on my dogs.

That dog's goin' down!

Matt's big bite

 

It had a funny hole on the end...

Mmm....

 

To be honest, it was kind of hard to eat a pickle spear and a hot dog on the same bun.  We made some at home after we got back from Thanksgiving, and cut the pickle spears in half and shared them.  Much easier!

There was also too much celery salt on it for my tastes.  It is a strong flavor!  (Great on seasoned potatoes, though.)

Ah-mazing chili fries!

The chili on these fries was soooo good!  It is some of the best chili I have ever had.  It was very flavorful and savory.  I definitely didn’t want to know how much grease was hanging out in my arteries after this meal.

A cool bridge nearby

So, if you’re craving hot dogs, Vienna Beef is a pretty good place to go, especially for the price.  They close at like 4pm though, so make sure you get there early enough to get a tour of the factory!  We didn’t, but I’m kind of glad.  I’m not sure I would have ever eaten another hot dog in my life.  There are some things in life a person just doesn’t need to know.

Vienna Beef is located at 2501 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL, 60647 (Google won’t let me link to a map for some reason, so just look it up).  They sell their hot dogs all over the place and have stands all over, but this is where they make them.  I think you can even order some online.

Chicago Food Tour: Pizzeria Uno

It’s finally here!  The moment you’ve all been waiting for!  Introducing….CHICAGO FOOD TOUR on Pure Tastes.  Yeah!

We went up there a few weeks ago to visit my sister.  We decided to take pics at every restaurant we went to and review the food.  Now next time you go to Chicago, you will know some places to stop and eat some mouth-watering tastiness!

Stop One: Pizzeria Uno, the original Chicago-style deep-dish pizza

My mouth waters just thinking of it.

On our audio tour of the John Hancock building, the second tallest in Chicago (and a cooler view than the Sears Tower, I might add), we heard a little tip from David Schwimmer.  That’s right.  I said David Schwimmer.  He was the host of the audio tour.  (A surprisingly comforting voice, I thought.)  Now you all know what he’s been doing since “Friends” ended…Anyways, he said there was “a place on the corner of Wabash and Ohio” that was the inventor of the original deep dish pizza.  He didn’t really say the name of the place (for silly legal reasons, I assume), but we walked down there later and found it.   If David Schwimmer says it is good, it truly must be tasty. 

Pizzeria Uno, The Original Chicago-style deep-dish, on Wabash and Ohio

We wanted lunch, so we went in and found out it was a 40-minute wait.  The good part was that they took your order and you paid with the host whenever you put in your name, because the pizza took an HOUR to cook.  Matt thought it must be a good deep dish with a lot of stuff on it if it took so long to cook.  We saw another place down the street called Pizzeria Due (not realizing at the time that it was an offshoot of Uno’s because they had no room to expand in the original building).  The wait there was a long time, too, and we had to go to my sister’s senior recital.

Pizzeria Due, an offshoot of Uno's in Chicago

So we went back to Uno’s on another night.  The wait wasn’t as long during the weeknight as the Saturday lunch had been….and it was SOOOO worth it!!!!!  We got “The Numero Uno” which I think was like a supreme.   Pardon my on-camera flash:

"The Numero Uno"

The crust was grittier than what you’d get at a Pizza Hut or Little Ceasar’s, but of course…how could you change a classic?  I think there might have been quite a bit more cornmeal in it.  Of course, it was deep dish so it had that delicious crispitty-fried crust, but soft on the inside.  Let me think now…what was on this sucker…I believe the cheese was on the bottom, then pepperoni and sausage, then sauce, then mushrooms, onions, and green peppers.  This was followed by a healthy dose of Parmesan cheese by ourselves at our table. 

Catherine dousing the goods with Parm

This was seriously the best pizza I’ve ever had from a restaurant.  I could only do two pieces and that was overkill.  Matt finished his, too, but my sister Catherine (probably the smart one of the bunch) took the last half of her second slice home.  (I got jealous when I saw her eating the leftovers the next day.)  Now, Cat goes to school up there and she says there is some other place that parades itself as the original Chicago-style, but we think they are lying.  It begins with a G, but I can’t remember the name.

Uno's Pizzeria at night

Here is a map to Uno’s if you are in Chicago.  It is a must-eat!

The Best Chocolate Cake Ever (with Chocolate Ganache Icing)

To make up for Amber’s last recipe post with the healthy pumpkin baked oatmeal (which I have yet to try but sounds delicious!), I’m posting the recipe for the best chocolate cake ever.  (In fact, I am eating it in between typing sentences.  And it’s almost gone.)  Everyone who has ever tasted it goes, “mmm” with their first bite.  Sometimes people can’t finish it because it’s pretty rich, but if you REALLY like chocolate then this is the cake for you.

The original recipe was at AllRecipes.com  (which is one of my favorite sites because of the plentious user reviews).  I hardly made any additions because it’s pretty stinkin’ delicious.

Dark Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (whole wheat can be used instead)
• 2 cups sugar (any kind)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cold brewed coffee
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. vinegar (any kind will do; I use balsamic)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan or two round cake pans.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the eggs, coffee, milk, oil and vinegar. Mix until smooth, batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Notes

• Coffee and vinegar are supposed to enhance the chocolate flavor.  If you don’t like the taste of coffee (which really isn’t that noticeable; just tastes more chocolatey to me), then you could substitute an egg and extra milk for the cup of coffee.
• This is very runny batter!  I was concerned but it just came out moist!
• ADD CHOCOLATE CHIPS TO THE BATTER!!!!!!!!  Oh my goodness, you will think you died and went to heaven, and that Jesus must like chocolate cake because they sure have great cake here.  I would make Jesus a chocolate cake if He wanted it.

 

Now for the icing on the cake!  Ganache is a type of icing that is made with cream.  It’s very easy to make, it looks classy with its glossy lustre, and it’s very very decadent.  Smooth this sucker with a spatula between your layers of cake, on top, and on the sides!  Oh yeah!  I bet it would taste good in ice cream cake, too.

Chocolate Ganace Icing

Ingredients

• 9 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped or in morsels
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1 Tbs. vanilla

Directions

1. Place chocolate in a medium bowl
2. Heat cream on stove over medium heat.  Watch carefully & bring to a boil.  Immediately pour over chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth.
3. Stir in vanilla
4. Allow to cool very slightly before pouring over cake.  Don’t mess with it too much as it cools or it will not be as shiny and pretty.
5. Optional: Add a dusting of finely sifted powdered sugar, candied fruism marachino cherries, or other such pretty things for garnish.

 

Well, I finished my cake somewhere between the cake and icing recipes.  I probably shouldn’t have had it before bed because of the caffeine in it, but it’s too late for that now, isn’t it?

Enjoy!

-R

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

There is something about the impending feel of winter that makes me want to hole up and indulge in baked goods. This usually also means that I am at home indulging and baking and not outside running! As a runner and all-around healthy person, I love finding recipes that are as good for the body as they are for the soul. I happened upon this recipe for pumpkin baked oatmeal online, and it’s quickly become my go-to food item for quick and hearty breakfasts and snacks.

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

2 1/2 cups uncooked oatmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup Eggbeaters
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup Splenda
2 tsps pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin 
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8″ square dish with non-stick cooking spray. Combine wet ingredients. Combine dry ingredients. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake for 40-45 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool. Cut into 6 bars.

I personally like to blend my own pumpkin pie spice with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, but feel free to spice it up however you’d like. This is also delicious with dried cranberries and apples, especially served warm with some fat-free half and half on top. Best of all, the serving size is generous, and each piece is loaded with fiber and 8 grams of protein.

Lobster for Thanksgiving??

Tired of having turkey on Thanksgiving?  New Englanders have a suggestion for a replacement:  lobster.

Follow the link and click Listen Now to hear the story from NPR.  And if you’re in the middle of the country but want a fresh lobster to try out this idea.  The Lobster Net will send you a Maine lobster overnight.

I think I’ll stick with the turkey, but if you decide to mix it up with a bit of lobster (or anything else unusual this Thanksgiving) I’d love to hear about it and share the experience with our readers!