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Content about Summertime

The Tomato Sandwich: Why You Don't Always Need Bacon to Be a Glutton August 2, 2011 Adventures with buttered toast, ripe tomatoes, and Duke's mayonnaise. Most people return from the beach with tans; I returned with tomatoes. It was a half-bushel, to be exact, and they were stashed in the back of a car as it wound its way from North Carolina, through the Great Smoky Mountains, and, some 16 hours later, finally to Chicago. Why such extravagant measures for tomatoes? When it comes to tomatoes, I don't suffer fools, and I simply can't accept sub-par specimens. I shun fresh ones except... Read the Full Article	How to Make Proper Barbecue Chicken July 22, 2011 No offense, but you're probably doing it wrong There's a lot of misconception when it comes to "barbecue." The problem is the word itself. It's used as a synonym for grilling, refers to the grill itself, or to the meat being grilled; it also has a sauce named after it; and sometimes it's just the word for the party itself held outdoors in somebody's backyard. What, actually, is "barbecue"? American purists see things a little differently. To them... Read the Full Article	Italian Bean Salad with 'Loadsa' Herbs and Tuna July 8, 2011 Cooking from Chicago's New Dose Market, Happening Again This Sunday The Italian bean salad has been with me a long time, and for good reason. I've made some variation of beans, herbs, and olive oil dozens of times over the past few years and I never get tired of it. When it comes to the relationship between deliciousness and effort, this one gets it exactly right. It's about as easy as mixing the ingredients together and letting the flavors develop, then it's ready to bring to... Read the Full Article	Discovering White Gazpacho May 27, 2010 Almonds, garlic, and bread are the magic ingredients in this alternative to tomato gazpacho I heard a lot of complaining this month about Chicago weather, mostly about how cold and rainy it was, and I added my fair share to the chorus. "It's May, already, where's the warm weather?" was a common conversation starter, as weather always is. Apparently, somebody upstairs was listening. This week we have been thrust into what feels like the height of summer: it has climbed repeatedly above 90 degrees, and Chicago has... Read the Full Article
The Sides of Barbecue: Homemade Red Coleslaw, Hushpuppies, and Black Eyed Peas August 6, 2009 What to pair with North Carolina-style barbecue. The crisp bite of coleslaw, the crunchy crust of freshly fried hushpuppies, and the porky punch of black eyed peas: I realized after a mad dash through the barbecue trail in North Carolina that these were not just side dishes, but essentials. Without them my meals would have fallen apart, lost in meat gluttony. They helped achieve a barbecue balance, where everything complimented and heightened the taste of each other. I couldn't... Read the Full Article	How to Make a Chicago-Style Hot Dog July 22, 2009 A step-by-step guide to every condiment and step in making the perfect, authentic Chicago-style hot dog. Part I: The Ingredients We'll begin with the dog, which is actually the most difficult to get right. A true Chicago dog needs a natural-casing hot dog, preferably (though it's not mandatory) made by the Vienna Beef company. Yet even in Chicago, it is hard to find a dog with natural casings. Most grocery-store hot dogs are packaged without casings, also known as "skinless." Yet the casing is a mandatory part of the hot dog... Read the Full Article	English Cucumber Sandwiches February 4, 2006 "Why cucumber sandwiches? Why such reckless extravagance in one so young?" Read the Full Article