A Halloween Treat for You!

A very special meatloaf. Be sure to scroll down—you wouldn't want to miss any of the pretty pictures. Thanks to my friend Carmel for "pointing" this out, ho ho!

I've got no costume this year (like I ever do), but my lingering cough at least makes me sound frightening. Happy Halloween, y'all.

Food Poetry 9: Splitting an Order

This poem appeared back in September on The Writer's Almanac—which gives us all the great gift of daily verse—and I fell in love with it. I hope you enjoy it, too.

A few words about the poet. Ted Kooser is a Midwestern boy. He was born in Ames, Iowa, and now teaches at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2004 to 2006, and he is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize in poetry.

Valentines, the book in which this poem appears, is a collection of 22 years of Valentine's Day poems with illustrations.

Splitting an Order

I like to watch an old man cutting a sandwich in half,
maybe an ordinary cold roast beef on whole wheat bread,
no pickles or onion, keeping his shaky hands steady
by placing his forearms firm on the edge of the table
and using both hands, the left to hold the sandwich in place,
and the right to cut it surely, corner to corner,
observing his progress through glasses that moments before
he wiped with his napkin, and then to see him lift half
onto the extra plate that he had asked the server to bring,
and then to wait, offering the plate to his wife
while she slowly unrolls her napkin and places her spoon,
her knife and her fork in their proper places,
then smoothes the starched white napkin over her knees
and meets his eyes and holds out both old hands to him.

From Valentines, by Ted Kooser, by permission of the University of Nebraska Press. ©2008 Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. Available wherever books are sold or from the University of Nebraska Press; call to order at 800-755-1105, or order online.

Popcorn Shop Open Near Downtown Champaign

I visited C-U's new gourmet popcorn shop last Thursday, just before being hit hard by a nasty chest cold (NOT H1N1). Thus, though I meant to tell you about it right away, I'm only now out of the bed and at the computer.

The shop is at the corner of Chester Street and First—that nice-looking historic building on the southwest corner (across the street to the south from Manzella's). That little spot has held any number of local businesses; anyone remember when Dandelion used to be there? In any case, the owners of Cool Bliss, the purveyor of Hawaiian ices that was parked on Neil Street over the summer, have opened the popcorn shop.

Last week was their first week open; they were doing a "sneak preview" before their grand opening, which is coming soon. One of the owners told me all about their products and their plans. As of Thursday the place was a bit bare bones, but they did have plenty of flavored popcorn on hand; notably, cheese, caramel, and popcorn balls in fruity flavors. You can buy any size from a small bag to a large tin, and the owners are also excited about doing special events and gift packages.I brought home smallish bags of caramel and cheese popcorn, and both were fresh and tasty. (Can't say the same of the last tin we got from Carmelcorn in the mall, which was stale.) The shop will also carry kettle corn and more varieties of caramel corn (with nuts, with chocolate, etc.).The owner told this reporter that they make the corn in a kitchen off-site and then take it to the store for sale. They plan to have a movie-theatre popper in the store soon, plus antique popping machines and old-timey boxes, showcasing popcorn's long history and POP-ularity. It should be a cute shop with lots of popped . . . bliss. And more. According to yesterday's News-Gazette article, they'll also carry old-fashioned candy such as licorice ropes and lollipops.

Popped Bliss
75 Chester Street
Champaign, IL
217-355-0655
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday

Chinese-Style Boiled Peanuts, Part 2

I can see some of you rolling your eyes—again with the boiled peanuts?! Forgive me, but for those of you who love them the way I do, here goes.

I tried making Chinese-style peanuts over the weekend. I had talked with Paul and Wendy Chang more about technique, and I found out that Paul cooks the peanuts for an hour or so, then leaves them in the pot on the stove for some hours (or overnight). They continue cooking in the pot even with the heat off. Hearing that, I thought, what about just doing them in the Crock-Pot from the get-go?

So that's what I did, and I'm telling you, I think it's a great method. Just dump the raw peanuts into the slow cooker with enough water to cover (I put about 1 pound of peanuts into my large Crock-Pot, which I think is a 5- or 6-qt. one). Stir in a few dried star anise pods, a few slices of peeled fresh ginger, a glug of good soy sauce, and a small handful of salt. Cook on High for about 6 to 8 hours.

Now, I let my peanuts go in the cooker for 9 hours, because I was out and about the day I did them. Thus, they were well softened when I finally fished them out, which didn't bother me at all; usually when I've bought them down south they've been quite soft. However, if you like them crunchier (and since tasting Paul's peanuts, I'm starting to like them that way myself), test them after 4 to 6 hours and see. They might be done that soon.

Thanks again to Paul and Wendy for the boiled-peanut consultations and recipe. They still have raw peanuts in the shell at the store (Chang's in Royal Plaza, off Neil St.), if you're interested in trying to make Chinese-style goober peas yourself.

P.S. I found this interesting post on the food blog Red Cook; in it, the author reminisces about taking boiled peanuts into the movie theatre and eating them as we do popcorn here in the States. The author includes a recipe in the post; she adds Sichuan peppercorns to the mix, along with the star anise—I must try that next time. Notice that she uses the Changs' method of cooking the peanuts on the stove for a short time and then leaving them in the pot to "cure" overnight.

Roast Chicken with Pancetta and Olives

Two recipes in a row; what's happening?! Well, I just had to share this one with you, because if you're a fowl eater, you'll want to make it ASAP. This is a delicious recipe that I got from the January issue of Gourmet magazine (thanks, Amy!).

I wanted to make something from Gourmet as a tribute, since the magazine is now kaput. Can you believe that? My feeling is that Condé Nast made a bad mistake in shutting Gourmet down after 68 years. To my mind, it was really the American food magazine. Damn.

At least we still have recipes from old issues. This is an easy dish to make, though it roasts awhile in the oven (but not all that long). The skin on the chicken becomes wonderfully crispy, and the flavors of the wine, olives, herbs, and pancetta are incredible. We ate the chicken with buttery, parslied rice and Swiss chard sautéed in olive oil and dressed with a little fresh lemon juice. And luckily, the thyme and rosemary are hanging on in their big pots on the back patio, so I had the fresh herbs right on my doorstep.

Roast Chicken with Pancetta and Olives
From Gourmet magazine, January 2009 issue

The recipe in the magazine has you cutting up 2 whole chickens into 12 serving pieces; I used two packages of Triple S Farm chicken thighs (bone in and skin on) instead—10 thighs total. You could roast any chicken parts you wanted to, but if you use breasts, cut each breast half into 3 pieces, and if you do a whole chicken, don't use the wings or back, and separate drumsticks and thighs. As noted in the recipe, the backbones can be used to make stock.

2 chickens (about 3 1/2 lbs. each), backbones cut out and each chicken cut into 12 pieces, as noted above; or, for a smaller meal, use about 3 pounds of chicken thighs
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped thyme
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 1/4-inch-thick slices pancetta, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used Triple S Farm cured jowl)
1 cup dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
24 oil-cured black olives

Preheat oven to 450 °F with rack in middle.

Toss chicken with oil, thyme, rosemary, sea salt, red-pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon black pepper, rubbing mixture into chicken (I did this right in the roasting pan).

Arrange chicken, skin side up, in one layer in a 17-by-11-inch 4-sided sheet pan (I used a 9 x 13 roasting pan for my smaller quantity of chicken). Scatter garlic and pancetta on top and roast until chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Drizzle wine over chicken and roast 8 minutes more. Scatter olives over chicken and roast until the skin is golden and chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In the magazine, they suggested serving the chicken with cheesy polenta and broccoli rabe with Italian sausage; what a great meal that would be. But we quite enjoyed the chicken with our simple rice and greens.

Here's the January issue of Gourmet, all wrinkled from somehow getting completely soaked while I was cooking. But I think it's a good look; the best, in fact. Each issue should be well-used. If no one comes to their senses and reverses the decision to shut you down, I guess I'll have to say so long, Gourmet.

Hungarian Goulash

Back in March of 2007, I did a post about lesço, a Hungarian peppers-and-tomato dish that Keith's mother made often when he was a child. He's said that he doesn't remember her making goulash, but even so, seeing as how he's half Hungarian, and seeing as how goulash involves meat and potatoes, I figured we should probably have it in the repertoire.

Thus, when I saw a discussion of the dish in the March issue of Saveur, I studied it eagerly. The one-page "Classic" feature was called Soup of Ages, and it explained that real goulash has no truck with tomatoes, sour cream, or a flour thickener, as the "goulash" you run into in the United States often does. The real gulyás (pronounced GOO-yash) is a traditional Hungarian soup—not even a stew.

Paprika is the essential ingredient; that and slow simmering gives the soup its silky texture and deep, rich flavor. The other basic ingredients are beef and potatoes, and sometimes dumplings (csipetke). Some traditionalists include caraway seeds, while others feel it spoils the flavor. The formal recipe in the Saveur article was the author's mother-in-law's, and it called for not only the caraway seeds but also marjoram, garlic, carrots, parsnips, a pepper—and even a tomato.

The author herself didn't provide her recipe per se, though she explained, in the text of the article, how she makes her version. I chose to follow her method, though I didn't add the dumplings, as she said she does, and I did use some ingredients from the mother-in-law's version (the garlic and the carrots).

Hungarian Goulash
From recipes by Carolyn Bánfalvi in Saveur magazine, March 2009

4 tablespoons bacon fat or canola oil (I used the bacon fat)
2 yellow onions, chopped
1 1/2 pounds beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup Hungarian sweet paprika
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat oil in a 5-qt. Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

Increase heat to high. Add beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, stirring only once or twice, until the meat is lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the paprika and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add carrots and about 5 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Simmer, covered, until the beef is nearly tender, about 45 minutes.

Add potatoes and cook, uncovered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve with rye bread, if you like.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I used one more potato than was called for in the mother-in-law's recipe, and I mashed some of the potato pieces against the side of the pot once they were tender, so my "soup" was actually rather thicker than that shown in the photo accompanying the Saveur article. We loved it. Once we had a crisp Romaine salad dressed with a lemony vinaigrette on the side, and another time ate it with steamed broccoli. And crusty bread, of course.

Thanks to Ms. Bánfalvi for the recipes for this traditional Hungarian dish. We'll make it again and again in the cold months ahead, I'm sure.

Find Out What's Cooking in C-U on Twitter

It's a weekday morning, and you're wondering where you should go for lunch. Wouldn't it be nice, you think, if I could see at a glance what the specials are at all my favorite restaurants around town?

Here at CT, we've long dreamed of creating just such an online resource for the Champaign-Urbana area, but time and logistics have always been a problem. Now that there's Twitter, however, this kind of food-information clearinghouse is starting to become a reality.

Are you onto Twitter yet? If you're interested in what's going on with the local food scene, it's a good place to get the lowdown. Here's a list of the food-and-drink-related Twitterers that I know about in the Champaign-Urbana area, with links to their Twitter pages.

The Art Mart
Blue Moon Farm
Boltini
Cafe Kopi
Caffe Paradiso
Cakes on Walnut
Campusfood
Cocomero
Common Ground Food Co-op
Curtis Orchard
Eastern Illinois Food Bank
Eat CU
The English Hedgerow Bistro
Jittrs (Monticello)
Kennedy's at Stone Creek
Manolo's Pizza & Empanadas
Seven Saints
Starbucks
The Urbana Farmers' Market
Xinh Xinh Cafe

10/13: This just in: Za's is also on Twitter (thanks, Susan!).

10/14: And another one! Espresso Royale of C-U is now on Twitter.

Update 10-15: No one can resist Twitter: Say hello to Howbowda Bagel.

Now—ahem!—not all of these folks are regularly posting tweets about their daily specials, but some are, and we can follow them all and keep hoping. I think every local restaurant, bar, bakery, coffee shop, and market should be on Twitter. It's a quick, FREE way to stay on people's minds and get the word out about special offers and new products.

So, c'mon, C-U food establishments—get on the Twitter bandwagon. Doing a Twitter post about your daily specials will take just about 30 seconds out of your busy day. Here's information on how to get started with Twitter.

And here's another idea: If all of the food-related businesses in C-U would not only post tweets about their specials but also use a hashtag of some sort (say, #CUFood), then we locals could go to one online spot to find out who's offering what specials on any given day.

And then it would be a cinch to decide where to go for lunch.

V. Picasso Tapas Bar Opens in Urbana

Let me say right off the bat that this isn't going to be a full review—more like an extended Quick Bite, because we visited V. Picasso on its first day in operation. But I did want to let you know the place is open and share my first impressions.The space is very attractive; with the warmth of the lighting, the wood accents, the exposed brick, and the burnt oranges and golds, it feels very cozy inside—and yet it's spacious, too. We sat in the raised area near the large front windows, in one of the booths that line the east wall. Piano music wafted over us (there was a woman playing on a small stage in another part of the bar), which was very pleasant. I imagine the owners plan to have Spanish guitars going at some point, which would be extra-good. We were promptly greeted by a server who took our drink order (I tried the sangria), and we perused the menu. There is one page of tapas selections, with vegetables and uncooked items at the top, followed by "from the grill" itemsand moving on to fried and baked dishes.There are also entrees and salads to choose from (the paella was tempting, but we were really there for tapas, so that'll be for another time).Not to mention desserts (I would have loved to try both the creme brulee and the churros, but as you'll see, we were too loaded with tapas to think of it on this visit).For the younger set, there's a children's menu (I see the slider, quesadilla, and chicken fingers being very popular, but I love the linguine with butter and toast).At lunchtime, you have your choice of sandwiches (gotta try that Cuban, and how about the burger made with chorizo and topped with a fried egg?),lunch entrees (mmm, shrimp tacos; mmm, tomato risotto),and salads to choose from. Notice the quinoa salad; unusual to see quinoa on a restaurant menu in C-U. (And here I'll note that V. Picasso is fairly vegetarian friendly.)To start, we ordered olives (large green and Kalamatas, with lime zest, shallots, and spices; $3).Then we tried the shrimp ceviche ($6),a roasted pork empanada (that's goat cheese on the side; there is also one with manchego cheese shavings; $5),the French green beans (haricots verts) with chili flakes and roasted peanuts ($3),jerk-seasoned pork on sugar-cane skewers ($5),scallops wrapped in Spanish ham, with a honey-and-fennel buerre blanc ($10), and finally, fried chicken breast with lemon, garlic, and sherry, served with paprika-dusted potato chips ($5). This was a standout dish. The flavor of the moist and juicy chicken was fabulous, and the paper-thin, crispy chips were—well, let me just say you can't eat just one, in fact you'll want a large bowl full.So there you have it; our first visit to C-U's newest tapas spot. I was absolutely going to give them a free pass on the service, seeing as how we went on their opening night, but I didn't have to. The arrival of our various dishes was nicely timed, and there was always someone watching over us to make sure we had what we needed. In addition, the staff was friendly and helpful.Welcome to Urbana, owners and staff of V. Picasso. I look forward to many more visits and to seeing how your tapas dream continues to come true.

V. Picasso
214 West Main Street
Urbana, IL
217-328-0122
Hours of operation: Daily from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Novel Food, Autumn 2009 Edition

And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane. The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it; perhaps because I had so often seen such things in the meantime, without tasting them, on the trays in pastry-cooks' windows, that their image had dissociated itself from those Combray days to take its place among others more recent; perhaps because of those memories, so long abandoned and put out of mind, nothing now survived, everything was scattered; the shapes of things, including that of the little scallop-shell of pastry, so richly sensual under its severe, religious folds, were either obliterated or had been so long dormant as to have lost the power of expansion which would have allowed them to resume their place in my consciousness. But when from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, taste and smell alone, more fragile but more enduring, more unsubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, remain poised a long time, like souls, remembering, waiting, hoping, amid the ruins of all the rest; and bear unflinchingly, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection.

That's part of the famous "madeleine" passage in Marcel Proust's Swann's Way, the first volume of In Search of Lost Time. Who knows how many people, in addition to being overcome by melancholy and perhaps even shedding tears upon reading it, have been inspired by that passage to purchase the special baking pan, find a recipe, and recreate the cookies that Proust so evocatively describes (and write extremely long sentences)?

If you've read a novel that has inspired you to cook, please join Simona, author of the food blog Briciole and my partner in this event, and me for this edition of Novel Food. The books that got us going (in 2007) were the Inspector Montalbano novels by Italian author Andrea Camilleri. Since then, we've branched out—and we'd love to hear about the books you're reading and see the food that you make in their honor. Your book can be an old favorite or a new discovery, a literary classic or pulp fiction. It's all up to you.

To get a feel for the event, you can take a look at the roundup posts that Simona and I did for the summer edition. What happens is that we split the roundup; Simona reports on half the entries and I take the other half.

If you'd like to join us, and we hope you will, here's how to do it:

• Prepare a dish of your choosing that has a connection to a published literary work (novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio, poem).
• Publish a post about it on your blog by Saturday November 7, 2009 (midnight, Pacific Time), referencing the Novel Food event. Include a link to this or to Simona's announcement. You can use the Novel Food logo in your post if you'd like to.
• Send an e-mail to Simona (simosite AT mac DOT com) or to Lisa (champaigntaste AT gmail DOT com) and include your name, blog name and blog address, and a permanent link to your post. Please include the words "Novel Food" in the e-mail subject line, so we can more easily retrieve the message in our inboxes.
• Non-English submissions are fine. If possible, include an introduction in English.

If you don't have a blog, send us an e-mail telling us about the recipe, the literary work that inspired it, and, if you have it, a picture of what you made, and we'll add it to the roundup as well.

Simona and I will do roundup posts with links to all of the entries soon after the deadline. Happy reading and cooking.

Quick Bite: Chinese-Style Peanuts at Chang's

Let's talk some more about legumes, shall we? You may remember my adventure with making my own boiled peanuts. You may also remember that in researching that post, I discovered that boiled peanuts are popular in countries other than the United States. I was intrigued by descriptions I read about peanuts flavored with star anise and ginger, for example.

And then the other day I walked into Chang's Oriental Mart to buy rice. What did I see on the counter but this!A large bowl filled with boiled peanuts. I couldn't believe my eyes. The owners kindly offered to let me taste some, and I was in heaven. Subtly flavored with star anise, fresh ginger, a bit of soy sauce, and a bit of salt, the peanuts were sublime.

They were rather crunchy, too, more so than I thought I liked them, and yet—I liked them. Paul Chang told this reporter that he boils them for only about an hour and a half (you may remember that I boiled the ones I got from the Lee Bros. for, oh, a million hours). The peanuts the Changs are using are not old and dried out like the ones I cooked back in May; I had let those sit in my basement all winter.And speaking of making your own, you can buy a 2-pound bag of raw peanuts at Chang's if you prefer to go that route. At $2.99 for 2 pounds, it's definitely the bargain way to go. And, of course, the store also carries everything you'll need to flavor the peanuts Chang-style: star anise, ginger, and soy sauce. Though any good soy sauce will do, Paul recommends using Kimlan brand for its superior flavor when making the peanuts. In fact, he shared the recipe. You can see the package of star anise pods and the bottle of soy sauce here.Chang's Boiled Peanuts
From Paul Chang of Chang's Oriental Mart in Royal Plaza, Champaign

1 2-pound bag raw peanuts in the shell
Handful of star anise pods
Soy sauce (no exact amount; you're using it basically to give the peanuts a nice color and a little flavor, so don't overdo it)
Several slices of fresh ginger
Salt

Place all ingredients in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until softened to your liking.These are peanuts I brought home from Chang's. You can see a slice of ginger and a piece of star anise lurking in the bowl. I liked these peanuts much better than the ones I made last May. I had seriously over-salted mine, for one thing. These were light on the salt, and the other flavors, as I noted above, were subtle. Just enough to keep you wanting one more. And one more after that. And so on.

Peanuts are high in fiber and protein, and the fat in them is mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. They're also filled with vitamins and minerals. Furthermore, star anise and ginger both have medicinal properties, aiding digestion and helping to ward off viruses. So not only are these Chinese peanuts delicious, they may lower your cholesterol and help keep you safe from the 'flu!

The peanuts that the Changs sell are coming from Georgia, and they won't be available all year long. This is prime peanut harvesting time down south (in fact, I read that the peanut crop is being harvested late this year; thus, raw peanuts may be around later into the fall than normal), so take advantage of the availability of raw peanuts while you can. Boil your own, or just pop into the store and pick yourself up a bag or two of the ready-to-eat variety ($1.99/pound). I have it on good authority that there will be boiled peanuts at the store today!

Many thanks to the Changs for sharing their recipe and for making delicious, Chinese-style peanuts available to all of us in Champaign-Urbana.

Update: I made Chinese-style peanuts again, in the Crock-Pot. You'll find more info on how to do it in this later post. ~Lisa

Chang's Oriental Mart
505 South Neil Street (in Royal Plaza)
Champaign, IL
217-356-9288
Open 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 on Sunday