Big Star

Lots of outdoor seating, cheap and delicious tacos, great beer selection - does it get any better? We had been wanting to go to Big Star for awhile, and then when I saw it mentioned in Food & Wine a couple months ago, I knew we had to go. Here's what Food & Wine had to say:

When Blackbird's Paul Kahan (an F&W Best New Chef 1999) and Avec sous-chef Justin Large took over a beat-up bar in Wicker Park, they insisted it would be little more than a dive serving tacos. That was an understatement. Highlights of the supercool "honky tonk" taqueria include excellent pork-belly tacos and greasy-good queso fundido (a glorious melted-cheese appetizer studded with chorizo). Dim lighting, fashionably disheveled bartenders and country music encourage down-and-dirty drinking of highbrow and lowbrow beers. But there are also exceptional cocktails by Violet Hour mixologist Michael Rubel, best sipped on the patio.

So Peter, Jacquilyn and I went last Friday. To say it was hot out is an understatement, but we wanted to sit outside anyway. Later in the day I saw a thermometer that said 93 degrees, but it felt like 9300 degrees. That didn't stop us. First up, chips and guacamole.



The chips and guac were great. The chips were nice and greasy and salty, and the guacamole was excellent. It disappeared pretty quickly. Next, we ordered the queso fundido.



Under all that melted cheese was chorizo and slices of poblano pepper. Admittedly, it was a little heavy for me, but still really good. And now for the main event:



The menu is set up so that you order each taco individually, for about $3 each. So we decided to do three each of three kinds of tacos. On the left are the tacos de rajas de poblano - poblano peppers, onions, and fried cheese. In the center are the tacos de panza - crispy braised pork belly with queso fresco. And on the right, tacos al pastor - marinated, spit-roasted pork with grilled pineapple and onion. The tacos al pastor were my favorite, but they were all wonderful. I can't wait to go back. We'll just have to make sure we go on a day when it's not 100 degrees, so I don't feel like I'm the one being spit-roasted.

Hummus Part II, and Caprese Salad

I love the hummus recipe from Food & Wine so much, I've made it a few times in the past month. But the last couple times I've made it, I've used chipotle chili powder. I eliminated the paprika, and added 1 1/2 teaspoons of chipotle chili powder.



I have to warn you, it's pretty hot. I like it that way, but if you don't want it so spicy, just use 1 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder, and you can always add more.



And, caprese salad. I feel a little silly writing about caprese salad because it requires no skill, and almost no time to create. But it's so pretty I had to share. I made it a couple nights ago with burrata instead of mozzarella di bufala. I don't know if Whole Foods always carries burrata and I gloss over it because it's $13 or $14, but it was on sale the other day so I bought it.



Burrata is mozzarella, stretched and then stuffed with more mozzarella and cream. It's so creamy that just from touching it while slicing it up, my fingers looked like I dipped them in melted ice cream. It made my regular caprese salad extra good. After slicing up tomatoes and cheese, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper, and add some sliced basil. Yum!

Spaghetti with Artichokes and Pancetta

This is the cover recipe from last month's Food & Wine. It's a Mario Batali recipe, so I knew it would be excellent...but what took me so long to make it was looking for baby artichokes. I had seen them at Whole Foods before, and sure enough the day I went to the store with the intention to make this for dinner they didn't have them. But luckily they came back so I finally made it last night. Aren't they so cute? Awwww.



1 lemon, halved
8 baby artichokes (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
One 2-ounce piece of lardo or pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound spaghetti
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

Fill a large bowl with water. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon halves, then add the lemon halves to the water. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, peel off the dark green outer leaves. Cut off the top fourth of the artichoke; peel and trim the stem.



Slice the artichoke lengthwise 1/8 inch thick and drop into the lemon water. Repeat with the remaining artichokes.



In a saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic and lardo and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain the artichokes; discard the lemon. Add the artichokes to the saucepan, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until almost tender, about 10 minutes.



Add the white wine, cover and simmer over moderately low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the pasta and the reserved cooking water to the artichokes and toss over moderate heat for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, stir in the 1/4 cup of cheese and season with salt and pepper. Serve the pasta, passing more grated cheese at the table.



I cut this recipe in half. The baby artichokes were great, but thing that really tied the dish together was the added pasta water at the end. It instantly thickened everything up, turning it into an almost carbonara-like sauce. As long as I can find baby artichokes, I'll keep making this dish.

Hummus

It's certainly not hard to find a selection of great hummus at the grocery store, so why make it? Well, just for fun! I've made something similar before - white bean garlic spread - but this is just the classic version. I found the recipe in Food & Wine.



1 15-oz. can of chickpeas, drained except for one tablespoon of liquid
1 small garlic clove, smashed
1 Tbl. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
extra virgin olive oil
pinch of paprika
kosher salt
pita chips or crudités, for serving

In a food processor, combine the chickpeas with the liquid, garlic, lemon juice and tahini and puree to a chunky paste. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the paprika and puree until smooth. Season the hummus with salt, drizzle with olive oil and serve with pita chips or crudités.

I meant to take more pictures of the process, but it took only a couple minutes to make and I was done before I knew it. This recipe made a cup and a half of very tasty hummus. I think next time I'd like to try adding some roasted bell pepper, or some chipotle chili powder.

Thai Grilled Steak

Airports are the worst...long lines, security checkpoints, 3 oz. liquids, taking your shoes off, delays, and don't even get me started on the masses of people wearing sweatpants and pajama pants. A couple months ago there was a guy at my gate with BARE FEET. But there's a glimmer of happiness at the airport, too - the newsstand. I always treat myself to a food magazine or two to enjoy on the plane. This past weekend I bought the April edition of Food & Wine, and found this great recipe I made last night. The recipe is actually Thai Grilled Skirt Steak, but I used flank steak instead. And as usual, I cut it in half, but here's the full recipe:



1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbl. each of finely chopped ginger, garlic, cilantro, and salted roasted peanuts
2 scallions, minced
1 Tbl. each of light brown sugar, lime juice, and chile oil
2 lbs. skirt steak
1/4 cup chicken stock
salt and freshly ground pepper

In a bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, cilantro, peanuts, scallions, sugar, lime juice, and chile oil; transfer half to a shallow dish. Add the steak and turn to coat. cover and refrigerate overnight. Refrigerate the remaining marinade.



Light a grill. Add the stock to the reserved marinade. Bring the steak to room temperature, season with salt and pepper and grill over high heat until medium rare, 5 minutes. Transfer the steak to a board and let rest for 5 minutes, then thinly slice across the grain. Serve the steak with the sauce.

So I used flank steak which is a little more dense than skirt steak, and I cooked it over medium-high heat for 7 or 8 minutes on each side for medium doneness. And of course a broiler could be used in place of a grill. The steak was great - really flavorful and a little spicy. To go along with the steak I made rice (sushi rice) with toasted coconut, sauteed ginger, and some more chopped salted peanuts. The rice was pretty good, but even better when it soaked up the extra marinade on the plate. I'll definitely make this again.

Pork Chops & Lentils

I saw a recipe in Food & Wine for wine-braised lentils that looked great, but it involved buying a lot of things I didn't already have, and I knew I wouldn't get much use out of them after this recipe. So I took the general idea, but changed it up. I also made pork chops with herbed mustard and cornbread crumbs. My mom makes a pork tenderloin recipe with cornbread crumbs, but I didn't have the recipe and there were no pork tenderloins at the store so I had to improvise.



1 cup lentils
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 big celery stalk, chopped
1 bay leaf
3-4 Tbl chopped pancetta
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 Tbl. mascarpone cheese, or creme fraiche
a couple handfulls of arugula or baby spinach
salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan heat the lentils, onion, celery, and bay leaf and enough water so that it's about an inch above all the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat down to a strong simmer. Cook uncovered for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the lentils equally soak up the water. Feel free to add more water if it's getting dry, but make sure to drain the excess before the next step.

In a large skillet cook the pancetta until cooked through but not crispy. Add the lentil mixture to the pan, then add the red wine, chicken stock, and mascarpone. Stir to incorporate all the ingredients and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or long enough for the wine to reduce, and for the lentils to soak up most of the liquid. Add the arugula and cook just long enough for it to wilt, only a couple minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

You can really add whatever you want to this dish. You could put leeks into the first step, you could add parsley and cilantro to the skillet (that's what the original recipe called for), or you could use white wine instead of red. I used French green lentils, but you could use regular green lentils, or even red ones. Whatever sounds good!



1 lb. center cut pork chops
salt and pepper
3-4 Tbl. Dijon mustard
1/2 cup cornbread crumbs

Turn the broiler on to high. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops. Cover each side in a layer of mustard. Cook under the broiler for about 8 minutes (time varies depending on thickness of the chops). Take the pan out of the oven and flip over the pork chops, then add cornbread crumbs to the top of each piece. Cook for another 8 minutes or so. Test with a meat thermometer - it should read 150 degrees to know that they're done. If they're not done at this point, put them back in the oven but not under the broiler because the cornbread will start to burn (just bake at about 350 or 400 degrees for another few minutes). Voila!

I had an herbed Dijon mustard that I used (you can see the green color), but you could also sprinkle some fresh thyme along with the salt and pepper. Or not...mustard has a lot of flavor so it won't be lacking anything without the herbs. For the cornbread, I just bought a piece from the soup section at Whole Foods instead of making my own. So easy!