4.15.2009

Farm to (Poker) Table

I haven't been home since Christmas and while I do miss it, I did feel connected with my family during Easter weekend. I wasn't home for the egg hunt or the traditional dinner, but I did create my mom's family's Easter recipes. My mom grew up on a farm in a tiny little town in Central Illinois and when I was a child we had dinner on the farm, served on Grandma's china plates with the white roses. Our traditional menu is below:

Baked Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Chicken and Egg Noodles
Green Bean Casserole
Seven Layer Salad
Jumer Rolls

After deciding to make this menu, I called my Grandma for the special noodle recipe and my Grandpa answered the phone. His response to my quest was "Don't forget the hard-boiled eggs; here's Grandma for the rest". It was quintessential Grandpa. He doesn't talk very much, but what he says is important. His grandma always put whole hard-boiled eggs in her chicken and egg noodles as a treat and that tradition is still a part of my family's Easter Sunday.

For our dinner, I followed Grandma's noodles instruction in detail, but forewent the china plates and planned a more casual event. With our guest list in mind, we decided not to play a family favorite - Bagg-O - and, instead, recruited for a Texas Hold 'Em tournament. Our guests, Nate's old roommates, little brother and his roommate, were on board. And, as a bonus, his brother's rommate brought a fantastic cake from Sweet Mandy B's in Lincoln Park.

While my grandma was not exactly thrilled with my choice to gamble on Easter, she was happy that I made our traditional Easter dinner. And when I told her that Nate won the tournament and I came in third, she didn't sound so dismayed by the gambling. She is a very competitive woman and appreciated our winnings. Overall the day was perfect. I felt connected to my family, ate a delicious dinner, and played in a fun and competitive game. I'd like to share a bit of this day with you and while I'm not ready to part with the noodle recipe, I've given you the traditional 7-layer salad recipe (I used romaine, fresh peas, homemade mayonnaise and extra-thick bacon).

7 Layer Salad

1 head lettuce, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 small box frozen peas
1 jar Hellman's mayo, plus 2 tbs sugar

Layer each layer into casserole dish and let sit overnight. Then add the 2 cups cheddar cheese and top with bacon.

ps - I know that this is not very gourmet, but it's delicious. Try it!

4.11.2009

Aunt Becky's Jumer Rolls

If you have never had a Jumer roll, you are missing out. They are sort of like a cinnamon roll without frosting, but smaller and so much better. My mom's sister, Aunt Becky, was an excellent baker. Growing up, she used to make these Jumer Rolls on Easter. All 4 of us kids considered them a special treat and we added the rolls to a long list of reasons why we loved Becky that included her great sense of humor and fun-loving nature.

In anticipation of Easter, I asked my mom for the recipe for Jumer rolls. My aunt passed away in October of 1994 and while my mom has made these great little rolls a few times in the past 15 years, I decided it was time to try to make Jumer rolls on my own. So, today I set out to do just that.

Not having inherited my aunt's baking skills (I think those went to my sister), I expected it would be a bit of trial and error and that they wouldn't turn out perfectly. What I didn't expect was to feel so nostalgic about how these little rolls connected me to my aunt. I think about her quite often and wear her cowboy boots just about every other day - fall through spring; and today I felt that there was something special about trying to recreate her recipe. While brushing the butter over the rolled out dough and sprinkling the cinnamon and sugar on top, I remembered being in my mom's kitchen with my aunt standing next to me, guiding me through these steps. This is a memory I had forgotten and am glad that the Jumer rolls brought it back to me.

In the end my Jumer rolls didn't turn out anywhere near as good as my aunt's, but that's just fine. It was a nice day in my kitchen in the middle of Chicago with my memories. And right now my Jumer rolls are staying fresh wrapped in plastic in my kitchen waiting for Easter tomorrow when I can share this special treat with my friends.

4.04.2009

Pequod's Pizza


Living in Chicago, there is a lot of discussion about the best pizza pie in the city. And guests who come to 'Our Kind of Town' want to try 'our kind of pizza' which means I have spent more than my fair share of time in Giordano's and Lou Malnatti's.

But these traditional Chicago places are not where I go to fill my belly (to its brim) with pizza. For my money, there is only one place for the ultimate deep-dish pie: Pequod's Pizza. This pizzeria is located in Lincoln Park at 2207 N Clybourn. It used to be a big dive and has been redone to be less of a dive after a fire a few years ago. Even though its ambiance is less than romantic, it's one of my favorite stand-by date places to go with my husband.

Last week my sister was in town and we headed here for lunch. I called in our order ahead of time since I knew I wouldn't be able to wait the 45 minutes for my pizza after arrival. About 5 minutes after we were sat, our half sausage half mushroom & onion pizza was at our table and the waiter was dishing up our lunch. Oh, so good. My sister thought the sausage side was better, but I stand by my mushroom & onion side. I really like the textures of the mushrooms which are cooked dry and the onions which are crunchy. The crust is prepared with cornmeal and its heartiness is enhanced by the deep tomato sauce flavored with plenty of oregano. And, the best part of the pizza is the caramelized outer crust. Perfect.

If your mouth is watering or your stomach is grumbling, I suggest you head straight to Pequod's for your own pie. And have a tall glass of Tucher's cloudy Hefe Weizen for me while you're at it!

Pizza picture by Katie Cannon.