Hey old lady....here's the beef!

"Where’s the beef?" Remember that old lady? That makes me laugh for some reason. Oh well...

I will begin with an apology to my vegetarian friends; this post is about pure, unadulterated meat loving. I’m sure I’ll have a post about the Loving Hut soon enough. This is truly for all of you meatatarians out there. Yes, new word and you may feel free to use it.

Today we explore some of Chicago’s best steak houses. This is not, I repeat, not intended to be a comprehensive look at the best steak houses in the city but a few that I would consider among the very best. Feel free to add a comment about the places I don’t mention but don’t come at me talking about Sir you forgot the best place or how dare you not mention such and such. Just add it and I will probably go eat there just to make you happy. At least that’s what I’ll tell myself.

Gene and Georgetti

500 North Franklin Street

Chicago, IL 60654-4669

(312) 527-3718

http://www.geneandgeorgetti.com/

This is Chicago’s oldest steak house and has that old school look about it. I absolutely love the steaks here. Gene and Georgetti offers a full complement of seafood and Italian dishes in addition to the steaks and chops. They do everything well but don’t kid yourself, the steak reigns supreme!

The appetizers are a great start. Now, make sure you are ready to eat because the servings are generous. This is a great place for a family special occasion. The mussels marinara is classic and delicious. The marinara is simple and allows the tomato to shine. The sauce is the perfect compliment for the fresh, yummy mussels. The fried calamari will also leave a smile on your face. Now I know that this dish is pretty cliché but I still believe that if a kitchen can get the calamari just right, they have something good going on back there. This calamari has a very light batter and is cooked to perfection. It is tender and light with a great crunch.

The steaks are aged prime beef, nothing but the best. For my money, the bone-in rib eye is the way to go. The rib eye is the best flavored steak because of the heavy marbling and the bone-in option only adds another layer of greatness. They broil the steaks to perfection and to the temperature you request. I always order my steak medium rare and many times it will come medium or worse, rare. Not at Gene and Georgetti, they brought out a perfectly cooked rib eye that made me want to slap my momma!

Lawry’s

100 East Ontario Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611
(312) 787-5000

http://www.lawrysonline.com/theprimerib.asp

Want the most incredible slice of prime rib you can find? Then head on down to Lawry’s where they carve it tableside to your exact specifications. You get to select the size and temperature and the master carver will give you a perfect steak.

Don’t bring your friends who don’t like prime rib. While Lawry’s has a surprisingly tasty salad, also tossed and dressed (this dressing is memorable) tableside the menu is very straightforward: very large prime rib, large prime rib, and somewhat large prime rib (5 cuts in all). You can get the requisite side dishes, of course. And I think I recall that the server offered to describe the seafood special, if we were interested. We weren’t. We were, however, interested in the shrimp cocktail appetizer and for very good reason. I will keep it simple, it’s great! Classic and great, nothing “new” about this dish.

Not sure what to say about this prime rib. It is simply marvelous. It is smooth, tender, and succulent. Meat is handled with love at Lawry’s and it shines through on the plate. Do yourself a favor and get to Lawry’s immediately.

Smith & Wollensky’s

318 North State Street
(At Marina City)
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 670-9900

http://www.smithandwollensky.com/

This place has amazing crab cakes. They are made of lump crab meat and almost nothing else. They are delicately fried to perfection. There are times when I consider going here just for the crab cakes but then I see the steaks on the menu and I’m a goner.

I prefer the filet with Gorgonzola crust, medium rare. The Gorgonzola takes this steak to another level. The cheese compliments the perfectly dry-aged (28 days) prime cut of filet mignon. This steak is so tender and flavorful that I intentionally put my fork and knife down between bites so that I don’t just hog it down.

They offer all of the requisite salads, large sides, shellfish and seafood for a great steakhouse. And they execute with tremendous results.

Alert: I’m going off topic but with a purpose!

Now for the guys that plan to make reservations for a special occasion with that special someone, if the person in your life is up for this much beef, good for you! If not, at least you could add something new and snazzy to your wardrobe to impress. I would suggest a bow tie. I like the bow tie because you can dress it up or be pretty casual with it. There is a bow tie for every man’s wardrobe. But I’m not going to give you fashion advice, but I will lead you to THE place to get it. My friend, who makes awesome bow ties for me (hint hint) can tell you far more about it. Check her out at RandyFashion! What’s better than a new, fashionable piece that you can’t find in stores…yet!


And ladies, she has awesome stuff for you as well. Again, RandyFashion! Check her out, right now. 

Quick and easy #3

Pan seared chicken cutlets

Roasted asparagus and red peppers

Crispy romaine side salad

Twenty minutes?! Shut yo mouth!

I think you are going to really like this. And we are starting to build up a nice little repertoire of quick and easy meals. We’ll have you actually wanting to cook soon, who would have believed that? Feel free to share your pictures so I can see how your creations are coming out. And remember, once you get comfortable with a recipe you can start to switch up the ingredients and the spices. That’s when it gets super exciting and when you can call a recipe your own.

This next meal is super easy and very quick. At the same time, it has great flavor and is healthy, to boot. So no excuses!

6 chicken cutlets ½” thick (or 2 breast sliced into cutlets)

½ pound of asparagus

½ red bell pepper, julienned

1 romaine heart chopped

¼ cup of shaved Parmesan cheese

Croutons

Salad dressing of choice, I suggest something creamy with this meal

Season your chicken cutlets with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and a little cayenne pepper. Set to the side.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Julienne ½ of a red pepper (although you should still have plenty left from your prep time on Sunday, remember?). Place the asparagus and red pepper on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, then salt and pepper. Mix around with your hands to make sure all is lightly coated with oil. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until asparagus is tender and bright green with some brown tips.

While the veggies are cooking we’ll get to the chicken. Heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat and add some EVOO (start with a tablespoon, you can always add more if needed), once the skillet is hot. Carefully place your chicken in the skillet and cook until brown on one side (3-4 minutes) then turn the cutlets. Cook on the second side another 3-4 minutes and then remove from heat.

Toss the romaine with cheese and croutons. Serve dressing on the side.

How easy is that? Dinner in 20 minutes, how do you like that? 

Easy does it!

Sautéed mixed vegetable pasta with lemon ginger sauce

Spinach salad with mushrooms, red onion and fresh red pepper

Fifteen minutes max!

Mixed Vegetables and Pasta

½ cup of red onion julienned

½ cup of bell pepper, your favorite color julienned

¼ cup celery cut on the diagonal

¼ cup carrot cut on the diagonal

8-10 spears of asparagus cut on the diagonal

1 lemon, zest and juice

1 clove of garlic minced and smashed

½ teaspoon of fresh grated ginger (optional, but this is a good thing to have around)

4 tablespoons of EVOO

Salt & Pepper to taste

2-4 tablespoons of chicken or vegetable stock

½ pound of thin spaghetti (I prefer the multigrain Barilla in the yellow box)

Spinach Salad

¼ cup of red onion julienned

¼ cup of red bell pepper julienned

½ cup of baby bella mushrooms sliced

½ bag of baby spinach

2 tablespoons of EVOO

2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

Drizzle of lemon juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

First things first, put the water on to boil. You want the water ready when you are ready to drop your pasta. We are all about efficient use of our time, right? So, put the water on high heat as soon as you walk in the door, and then take off your coat. ;)

Mince a large clove of garlic, cut 8-10 spears of asparagus on the diagonal, zest and juice the lemon, and grate a little ginger. Next, heat up a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of EVOO to the skillet. Since you prepared all of your staple vegetables the other day this will be a quick process (we covered this in the first of this series, yesterday…just a hint). I know it looks like a long list of ingredients but if you did your prep ahead of time all you have to do is the garlic, asparagus, lemon, and the ginger. How easy is that?! Super easy!

We want the veggies to maintain a crunch for texture so we are not going to cook these to death. Into the hot oil go the carrots, celery, onions and peppers, season lightly with salt and pepper. Always season with every layer of ingredients, this will ensure that the entire dish is well seasoned and there are no bland elements in your dish. Let this sauté for about 4-5 minutes and add garlic and asparagus and sauté for another 2-3 minutes (don’t forget to season the asparagus). Next add the ginger, lemon zest and about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, along with a little chicken stock. Stir well and let the sauce coat the veggies. Turn the heat down to low and let simmer until our pasta is ready.

Once the vegetables start cooking drop the pasta into your boiling water. Make sure to salt the water very well prior to adding the pasta. Cook according to package instructions.

Last, add the cooked pasta to the vegetables and drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of EVOO over the dish once it is plated. Serve with lemon wedges.

Toss the spinach, mushrooms, red onion and red bell pepper in a bowl to create the salad.  For the salad dressing, in a separate bowl mix the vinegar, lemon and EVOO with salt and pepper. Whisk or stir vigorously with a fork. Dress the salad just before serving. 

You like 'em easy, huh?

Too many of us live crazy busy lives. Up in the morning at the gym, then off to the office, we get home somewhere between 6:00 and 7:00 where we want to spend time with family and friends and we are too tired to cook some deeply involved meal. That doesn’t mean we have to stop off at our favorite take out place on the way home for dinner.

A few of you have asked for meals that you can cook very quickly when you get home and I put some thought into the matter. I’ve tried to keep these meals fairly light and very easy to execute. To keep the reading interesting and manageable I plan to release these meals as a series. Tell me your thoughts on that decision. I see no reason to wait any longer, let’s get to eatin!

Pan roasted salmon and broccoli with rice. Thirty minutes and you are eating dinner. You could substitute the rice with an escarole and endive salad with oil and vinegar and cut this down to Twenty minutes.

2 portions of salmon (skin removed)

1 medium head of broccoli

½ cup of rice (uncooked)

Season the salmon with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Always season both sides of your fish. Set to the side while you prepare the broccoli and rice/salad. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil into a hot non-stick skillet. Carefully place the salmon filets into the skillet, former skin side up. The salmon should brown up really nicely in about 2-3 minutes per side. Then place the skillet in the oven. At this time you will be turning the oven back to 350 degrees from 400, where it will be for the broccoli. I like my salmon medium but you can play with the temperature and get it to your liking. It will be ready in about 5-7 minutes

Cut the head of broccoli into florets and toss them in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and put into a 400 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes. Broccoli should be tender and slightly browned. If you want it to cook a little longer just leave it in with the salmon. When removed you can top the broccoli with some good EVOO and optional, freshly grated Parmesan.

Do I really need to tell you how to cook rice? The directions on the box are perfect. The one key is to not remove the lid during the cooking process. Other than that you can add some really cool flavor and color by experimenting with various spices in the cooking water. My personal favorite is turmeric.

Quick Tips:

Prep vegetables ahead of time, perhaps on Sunday evening. You will want to always keep onions, peppers, celery, carrots and garlic prepped and ready for cooking. I also like to keep mushrooms at all times. If you slice, dice, and chop your veggies all at once it will save time all week. Just watch your fingers, will ya! I strongly suggest having a good set of airtight plastic or glass container, these make for great storage of your prepped veggies. And they stack nicely in the fridge, saving space.

With garlic, I like to buy 2 heads at a time and sit at the island, watching TV while I peel cloves of garlic and drop them into an airtight container. I then store them in the friends and they keep beautifully for a while. This is much cheaper than buying the jars of peeled garlic. Don’t believe me? Go look! It’s worth a little bit of time. To make it easy, I roll the cloves between my fingers to loosen the husk. Then I peel it off fairly easily.

I also suggest having a good bit of greens prepped for salads. You can certainly mix up what greens you choose or you can stick to a favorite. There are great pre-packaged salads in your favorite produce section. 

Thank you Philippines!

Isla Pilipina

2501 W. Lawrence

773-271-2988

www.islapilipina.com

I cannot say enough about this place. The food here made me want to slap my momma! It may be small and not look like much from the outside but they are serving up pure love at Isla Pilipina, let me be the one to tell you! They have the friendliest staff with good knowledge of the menu. We had never been to a Pilipino restaurant before and we asked our server for some guidance. This was a wise choice for a couple of newbies. Next time we will venture out all alone. And next time isn’t going to be long coming. We are planning to go back tomorrow; did I fail to mention that we were just there this past Sunday? There were too many items on the menu that sounded irresistible and obviously are seeing that we are planning to trek back over there tomorrow. Can’t lie, this place excites me.

Ok, let me tell you what we had the first time and what I plan to order the next time. Told ya, I’m excited. I imagine that over time I will try the entire menu, at least it sounds like a good idea right now.

We started off with the pork bbq appetizer. The plate has skewers of pork which have been marinated in some delightful concoction that I think has soy, some citrus, lemon grass, ginger, and a few other ingredients that I haven’t got quite yet. No worries, I will be giving myself another opportunity next time. For $3 you get 2 skewers with 3 or 4 slices of delicious, tender pork. This will be a repeat for sure!

The fried butterfish with a vinegar dipping sauce was a great treat. This is a small fish about the size of the palm of your hand that they season nicely and quickly fry. It is served whole and comes off the bone in nice small little bites that you dip into the vinegar sauce. Each bite is bright and fragrant.

The entrees were both suggested by the server. He must be smart!

The Bicol Express is an intoxicating mixture of seafood, pork (I know what you are thinking but it works beautifully!) and, vegetables in a coconut milk sauce. This was amazing, listen to me on this one. The mussels are plump and exploding with flavor; there are also perfectly cooked shrimp, and tender squid swimming around in this dish. I’ve promised myself that I will get something new each time I visit but this dish will be calling my name every time I walk through the doors.

Pinakbet is on the vegetable list at Isla. However, you may question that listing once you read about this dish. Yes! This dish has pork in it as well (you’ll soon learn that I love PIG butt and I cannot lie! You will be wondering why you’re singing “Baby Got Back” a little later, lol). If you don’t mind a little pork on your plate you will surely enjoy these vegetables though. This dish has Kabucha squash, eggplant, and bittermelon. To be honest, it is mostly veggies so don’t let me scare you off with the talk of delish, succulent pork. Also, be careful taking bites of the bittermelon. It is, in my opinion, used to flavor the dish not to be eaten. It is a great balance for the shrimp brine paste in the sauce. This is packed with loads of flavor. Yum!

The next visit will bring the Crispy Chicken which appears to be a small mountain of deep fried pieces of chicken. As it was delivered to a table across the dining room I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I immediately uttered, I’m getting that next time! I said the same when the server carried a plate of Inihaw na Baboy directly past my face. I almost reached out and snatched one of these incredible looking grilled pork strips. I have to stop talking about them, my mouth is watering.

Let me finish by saying that if you live in Chicago get to Isla Pilipina, immediately. If you are planning to visit Chicago and want to get away from the tourist traps and the heart of the city, get on the train, or in a cab, and find your way to Lawrence and Western. You will be happy you did! 

Playing with fire

You know you did it when you were a kid and you probably miss doing it. So here I am to give you a reason to do it again. Play with FIRE! This little technique (or 2 really, I’ll give you 2 ways to do this) will help you bring another layer of flavor to your soups, sandwiches, salads, pastas, and pretty much anything else you are making that calls for peppers.

We are talking fire roasting today. Normally, I use red bells and jalapeños for fire roasting but you can use this technique for almost any pepper. Not only does this draw out more flavors from your peppers but it will also increase the shelf life, significantly.

Technique #1 requires a gas stove or a grill with an open flame. This is so simple that you will be doing this all of the time. Whenever I buy peppers I grab a few extras just to roast. Ok, enough chitter-chatter.

Turn on a burner to medium high and place your pepper directly on the fire (I repeat, directly on the fire, you need no pan). Allow the pepper to sit on the fire until it starts to char. At this point I like to turn my peppers so that the charring and cooking processes are even and slow. Some of you may differ in your approach and may allow your pepper to get completely black on one side before turning and that is perfectly legit as well. But now back to my way! Continue to turn your peppers until they are almost completely black, and then transfer them to a bowl to cool. The flesh of the peppers will continue to cook during the cooling process, this makes for even more tender flesh. This process makes the skin loose and fairly easy to remove. When removing I use a peeler to make quick work of it all. I also remove the stems and guts after peeling.

Technique #2 is for you poor, poor souls out there with electric stoves. Alright, I’ll cut you some slack you are only poor, poor souls for the purpose of this post and only because I prefer the open fire roasting. I’m biased, what can I say? But I’ll help you anyway.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place your peppers on a cookie sheet and drizzle with a little oil to coat (vegetable or canola oil is best here). Cook them until the skins are blistered and darkened. When the skins start to blister turn the peppers over and return to the oven. Remove, cool, and peel. Don’t forget to remove the stems and seeds. A major benefit of oven roasting is that you can do garlic right along with you peppers. Trim the stem side of the head of garlic down about a ¼” inch and drizzle with some EVOO. Wrap the garlic in aluminum foil and put it on the cookie sheet right along with those peppers. Yum!

Storage is the same regardless of which technique you use from above. I place the peppers into an air tight container and liberally spread some love in the form of EVOO. You’ll want to give them a good coating, but they do not need to be completely submerged in the oil, and toss them into the fridge. Same for the garlic and you get to decide if you want them to fuse in the same container or if you want to keep them separate. Both are amazing choices! 

And the finished product (having used technique #1)

Anybody here...? I sure hope so!

I need to apologize for leaving you all hanging for so long. You all have been great to read my ramblings, give me feedback and some have even been brave enough to try my recipes. Crazy enough you've liked them. And then what do I do? Well naturally I stop writing. Duh! Let me say, my bad and that I will work harder.

More posts are coming your way. I'm working on what I think are some exciting things. I'm going to be including some great tips for adding flavor to your dishes, reviews of some restaurants, and new recipes.

There are some new things that I have in store for you too. I'm pretty excited about them so keep an eye open. One small thing that you will notice, I hope anyway, is that I'm going to review various cuisines. In these posts I will highlight a few different restaurants. I look forward to your thoughts on that approach. Just want to keep the writing fresh and non-formulaic so that you want to keep reading. As always your feedback will be appreciated.

I hope that you'll welcome me back with open arms and share my posts with your family and friends.