Culinary Historians of Chicago
SUMMER 2002
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NEWSLETTER OF THE Culinary Historians of Chicago |
SUMMER 2002 |
Friday: Leave Chicago. Stop at Tuscola -- Amish shops and restaurants -- lunch on your own. Dinner at Pheasant Hollow, Mt. Vernon. Winemaker's Dinner.
Saturday: Breakfast at Inn (included). Morning, Farmer's Market. Noon, Owl Creek Winery, Tour and Picnic Lunch. Evening, Van Jacob Winery, Tour and Mystery Dinner.
Sunday: Breakfast at Inn (included). Mid-morning, Alto Pass Winery, Tour and Lunch.
Accommodations: Hampton Inn (expanded Continental buffet breakfast included), indoor pool.
Transportation: Deluxe motor coach roundtrip (included).
Total Cost for 3 days: $287/person (single occupancy, add $75).
Includes 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners, 2 nights' stay at hotel.
For registration and deposit, contact:
Susan Ridgeway
"The hot dog has two origins. One is the wiener, which is a Viennese sausage, and the other is a Frankfurter, which is a German sausage, supposedly from Frankfurt. These were brought to America, not hot dogs, but those sausages, by German immigrants in the middle of the 19th century. Hot dogs as we know them today emerged around the turn of the 20th century, and the reason is because of the introduction of machinery, which could make the kind of immulsion -- that's what the hot dog is made out of -- that is really finely ground up stuff.
"My first hot dog was eaten at Coney Island at Nathan's Hot Dog Stand. I was taken out there as a kid. It was just after World War II, and it was great. New York's hot dogs have garlic in them. Chicago's are more spicy -- many more spices. Myself, I'm a Chicago hot dog fan.... It has chopped onions, it has bright green relish. It has to be neon green. There's no substitute. And sometimes celery salt. Depends on your taste.
"One of the beautiful things about hot dog stands in Chicago is their handmade nature, and they represent the entrepreneur him or herself who is trying to make it in the world. These are petty entrepreneurs who are at the bottom end of the business chain. They're very hopeful in a lot of ways. They represent the neighborhoods they're in because the iconography often looks like the neighborhood: Mexican or African-American -- you can tell right away that it represents their neighborhood. But it also represents their aspirations, their democratic impulses.
"We're individuals, we're democratic. No one's better than anyone else, and the hot dog represents that. That's one reason it became an icon. It's the food of the masses, sold on the streets, sold everywhere to everyone."
Today, I use the internet to make custom itineraries taking me from point to point. I use internet mapping programs to lead me from the off ramp directly to my destination. My restaurant itinerary is custom made as well by visiting unique message board websites such as www.chowhound.com.
Are you traveling I-80 going west through Pennsylvania? A deceptively desolate series of truck stops until you visit the Pennsylvania message board via the Mid-Atlantic region web page. Do a keyword search under "80" "I80" or "I-80" to read threads (postings) about the restaurants along the road. Didn't find what you were looking for? Post a question?
Traveling beyond the USA? There is an international message board on where to eat in Zagreb, Croatia, Beijing, or if you cannot find it posted, then ask!
Are you being transferred to San Francisco? Post on the San Francisco Bay Area message board a request for where to live and eat (or is it really live to eat?) in San Francisco. Now relax and let the Chowhound welcome wagon roll out a cornucopia of ideas.
Kosher? "Kosher Balsamic vinegar" sources and more is at your beckoning call at the Kosher message board.
Are you looking for a "brick-oven type of pizza place in Chicago?' "Great Italian deli?" "Food co-ops?" All these were recent topics on the Chicago-area message board. Looking for an obscure ingredient for your piri-piri dinner party? If it is in Chicago, then someone will offer advice with several second opinions to follow.
Chowhound.com is a good resource for very specific regional food information. For the culinary historian, it is an intuitive source of regional specialties, restaurants current and past -- a living history website.
September 14
All material is reviewed by the CHC editorial board, and it may be submitted in the form most convenient -- e-mail, hard copy, disk -- to:
Nancy Ryan
Newcomb presents a scientific puzzle on at least two fronts -- physics and math. To wit, if two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time (a law of physics), can one body be in two places at the same time? It doesn't add up. Consider the meetings he attends and the duties encumbent: He is not only vice president of CHC (monthly meetings), president of ChicaGourmets (30 events a year plus pre-planning meetings), but he is also on the board of the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Wine & Food -- his 19th year -- (more meetings, and he served as secretary and program chair for two terms -- positions which entail not only meetings but responsibilities).
He has been doing volunteer work for 20 years for March of Dimes and Meals on Wheels and, most recently, for Chicago's Green City Market (time, time and more time). (In the past, he served on the board of directors of the Chicago Ensemble and the Oak Park/River Forest Symphony.) Newcomb currently teaches a class in the Floral Arts at Kendall College in Evanston. He is Social Chairman and President of his fraternity, Theta Delta Chi. As if that were not sufficient activity, he pursues hobbies: "gardening, flower arranging, travel, attending good movies, the symphony and the theatre."
Events that Newcomb plans, run like clockwork, because his attention to detail is meticulous. His demeanor is calm and collected; he is affable and socially gregarious. So we investigated his background to discover clues to the mystery of how any one man can possibly be in so many places so responsibly.
We discovered that not only does Newcomb have a BS in Horticulture and a M.Ed, both from the University of Illinois, but he was chairman of the Horticulture Department at Triton College for 19 years. That was several decades ago, and it is our theory (completely unsubstantiated) that Newcomb through his work with plants, discovered and perfected the art and science of cloning long before its recently touted scientific debut. But being a man of reason as well as wit, an individual of responsibility as well as creativity, he decided to keep his discovery secret, believing (entirely correctly) that the world was not ready to use such a powerful genetic tool. It is our belief, however, that he did use his discovery to enable him to appear in several places, perhaps (again completely unsubstantiated) simultaneously.
Should our theory prove incorrect, then we are left with not only the insoluble mystery of a highly efficient man of perpetual motion -- but with a heightened awareness that we probably shouldn't complain quite so conspicuously when we have to attend two meetings in the same day.
Soak dried mushrooms in the 2 quarts of warm water to rehydrate. Remove mushrooms when softened, squeeze out excess water, and reserve. Heat water to near boiling point in large soup pot. Add bouillon. Slice the shiitake, cloud ear and wood ear mushrooms thinly; add to soup. Add Paddy Straw mushrooms, peas, black pepper and garlic. Let simmer for 15 minutes, then add tofu. Add golden needles, either whole or chopped. Add vinegar. Adjust vinegar and pepper to taste. Stir soup continuously while dribbling beaten egg into it, slowly.
Heat the two oils in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus, garlic and mushrooms. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the oyster sauce and cook for 3 minutes longer. Serve warm.
Here's how Chicago food journalist Camille Stagg describes Hungary's gastronomic contributions: "The cuisine is hearty and vibrant, flavored with paprika, caraway seeds, herbs and onions. Hungary is land-locked, but fish comes from lakes and streams. One of the most famous is fogas, a pike-perk from Lake Balaton in the western part of the country where there is one of the many fish soup competitions held throughout the country. Soups are the soul of this cuisine, and an especially delicious one is halaszle, and of course gulyas (beef-vegetable soup). Their sausages, like Debreceni, are renowned. As with other Eastern European cuisines, dumplings (especially spaetzle) and noodles are important, and are served with meat dishes, usually with sour cream (think veal paprikash). And Hungary is known for desserts like palanczinta (crepes with cheese or fruit filling)."
In giving their personal insight into their cuisine, samples of which were presented from their restaurant, Boeze commented that theirs was authentic Hungarian home cooking, hard to find even in Hungary where international restaurants were the big attraction.
Slice an eggplant, add some mint, and stir in a thick, age-dried yogurt of onion and you have just begun a journey into the sensuous smells and tastes of Iranian food. Laden with organic vegetables and adorned with the exotic spices of saffron and sumac, each appetizer, salad, or entree becomes another step toward the final destination of enjoying Persian cuisine. Such is Chef Parvin Naghavi's self-proclaimed mission in the U.S.: cutting a direct route into the role of food in an Iranian culture.
When revolution created chaos in Iran about 25 years ago, Chef Naghavi and her family left for the U.S. Having landed in Chicago, they found little in restaurants and foods that reminded them of home. Most of the time, the lack of necessary herbs and spices adulterated their favorite dishes. Hence, Chef Naghavi, her brother, Mirjavad, and her father Miramain, mapped out a plan to awaken Chicago to Persian cuisine.
About 10 years ago, the doors of Noon O Kabab were opened to let the aroma of Persian cooking waft through Chicago's northwest side. Although lamb, chicken and fish are more common than beef in Iran, Noon O Kabab's entrees are given Midwest roots. Plenty of beef, in the way of filet mignon, rib eye and ground beef, shares the terrain with kababs of lamb simmered in a tomato and cinnamon sauce, vegetable stews, and seasoned jumbo shrimp. Tandoori bread, creamy feta cheese with fresh herbs, and mountains of Persian rice round out the landscape. According to Chef Naghavi, only the freshest vegetables and meat, chicken or fish, are bought and prepared daily for the menu.
Up until recently, packages of saffron and sumac would return to the U.S. with Chef Naghavi when returning from her homeland. For the most part, these two spices were difficult to find in the U.S. Also, the family discovered that the U.S. farming industry's heavy usage of pesticides and herbicides affected the flavor of their vegetables and herbs. Today, at least 95% of Noon O Kabab's vegetables and herbs are organic.
Saffron is one of the spices that sets Persian cuisine apart from other West Asian cuisines. Harvested stigma by stigma from the crocus flower (Crocus sativus), it is very difficult and expensive to grow and dry. Nonetheless, almost all foods cooked in the Iranian tradition will boast of saffron.
Another frequent visitor in Persian dishes is sumac. Crushed from the dried berries of the elm-leafed sumac (Rhus coriaria), this spice is typically used to season meat. It imparts a tanginess to the entree and is also believed to lower cholesterol. Most entrees boast of sumac's presence, its tanginess alerts almost every palate.
Traditionally, lunch ranks as the number one meal of the day; dinner is served in the late evening around 8 p.m. Family members gather together at most meals, seated on the floor in the Sufi manner. Sitting cross-legged props up one's spine. In turn, one is unable to eat any more than they need.
Travel to Noon O Kabab, 4661 North Kedzie, Chicago, to savor fine Persian food the American way. Either drop in, call 773-279-8899 for reservations, of fax them your order at
Call it Octoberfest, call it a wander weekend, call it a fall getaway, but do come to the first ever CHC October Wine Tour, October 18-20, 2002.
2113 Sanborn Circle, Plainfield, IL 60544
Phone: 815-439-3960; Fax: 815-254-9483
E-mail: saridgeway0622@yahoo.com
A WEBSITE YOU SHOULD KNOW!
By Catherine Lambrecht
October 12
November 16
December 1
2970 N. Lake Shore Drive, #8C, Chicago, IL 60657
E-mail: nrryan@xsite.net
Phone: 773-883-1575; Fax: 773-883-1510
The deadline for the fall newsletter is September 30.
Is the Mystery of His Mastery Finally Revealed?
- Nancy Ross Ryan
By Nancy Ross RyanIn the fall,
And for the mycologically addicted, here are two recipes from Catherine Lambrecht -- to usher in the fall mushroom-feasting season:
For some among us,
Fancies turn
To thoughts of fungus,
We long to taste
Fresh shiitake,
And yearn for dashi
With matsutake.
The portabellos
Are handsome fellows,
Cloud ears put us
On cloud nine,
And wood ears are
Three times as fine,
A fresh morel
Or chanterelle
Is, oh, so swell,
And truth to tell,
The common Agaricus,
Can go quite far with us,
Fresh or dried,
Braised or fried,
Sliced or diced,
Ridiculously overpriced,
In the fall,
Have them we must,
To quench autumnal
Mushroom lust.
(From the Oregon Mycological Society)
2 level teaspoons beef or chicken bouillon granules
1/2 cup dried Auricularia sp. (Cloud Ears)
1/2 cup dried Augicularia auricula (Wood Ears)
1 cup Volvariella volvacea (Paddy Straw mushrooms)
1 cup Lentimus edodes (now Lentinula edodes) (Shiitake)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound tofu, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
1/4 cup dried Golden Needles
(lily flowers, found in Oriental markets)
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1 egg, beaten
Serves 4 to 6
The rich flavor of oyster sauce pairs well with these vegetables.
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1-1/2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1/4 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
1/4 pound Portabello mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup oyster sauce
Serves 4
Hungary's heavenly culinary history
Presented by Tamas Bosze, proprietor of Paprikash restaurant and
Tibor Liptay, former manager, on July 20, 2002
While Zsa Zsa Gabor may stand out as the most exotic piece of cheesecake Hungary has ever exported, it's the actual cuisine that most of us warmly associate with that mystical Central European country.
Presented by Chef Parvin Naghavi
Saturday, May 18
773-279-1120.
- Sher Blair