Topolo Bliss

Last night I ate the best meal of my entire life, and really have a renewed respect for Iron Chef judges - especially Jeffrey Steingarten. We had an 8:30 dinner reservation at Topolobampo, Topolo for short, at 445 N. Clark St. in Chicago. We ended up sitting down at 8:00, and didn't complete our dinner experience until 11:00. Yes, I ate for 3 entire hours. I wasn't sure I would be able to finish my 5 courses, but I am very proud to say that I did.

I had the Bravo's Top Chef Master Finale Tasting. Rick Bayless won this program, and while I didn't watch it, did know that it had occurred and that Rick Won. I don't have much time (or rather make much time) for television watching lately, but after eating this meal, I could see myself watching this one. Rick's challenge was to create a menu that represented his food life from first beginning until now. I've long been a great admirer of his, and have cooked many things from his cookbooks. I think I even tackled tamales alone due to the courage his writing has given me. And his recipes for sauces and salsas are constant homemade companions in my kitchen.

Jeff also had a tasting menu, his first, the Adventurer's Tasting. Appropriately, since he tends to try things unusual, when I will not. But before we had set foot inside this beautiful place, I had made up my mind to eat any and everything I possibly could.

The second we entered, was crazy. The whole place smelled of smoky corn, it was like a huge tortillaria. I think I was expecting a more pretentious Chicagoian type place, but instantly I thought I could pull up a chair and live in this restaurant.

I'll let my blurry, dim pictures taken with a borrowed camera

stashed into my bag tell the rest of the story:

The guacamole they gave us right after we sat down was made with Illinois sweet corn and served with jicama and cucumber chips. I may be converted from tortilla chips forever.

My first course was Codorniz estilo Oklahoma Barbecue: Hickory smoked quail with amazing bbq sauce, cornbread croutons, spicy watermelon salad and these amazing red chile threads. It was the first course, so I was feeling really good about demolishing all parts of this dish until only 2 small quail bones remained. It was so delicious. It was hard to get pics of Jeff's food, since my hands were unsteady with excitement, but he had 3 beautiful British Columbia oysters with squid ink caviar, roasted poblanos and crema. Judging from his eyes rolling back, I'd say they were pretty good.

My second course was Atun en Mole Negro: by far the most miraculous thing I've eaten. Seared Ahi tuna in Oaxacan black mole that has 27 or 28 ingredients and takes 3 days to make according to our handsome, attentive waiter, who looked somewhat like a latin Adrien Grenier. It was served with a grilled nopal (cactus) salad, and a plantain filled tamal - and was paired with probably the most delicious wine I've ever tasted: 2006 Bodegas Ateca "Atteca Armas" from Calatayud, Spain. I think if the meal ended here, I would have been satisfied enormously.

Jeff's second course was a Tallgrass ribeye tartare with guajullo chile, red onion, garlic scapes and avocado, also a pretty little quail egg. Also delicious.

The third courses were seafood: Jeff's was Louisanna crawfish and a New England sea scallop in a tremendous verde sauce. Mine was Arroz Negro a la Tumbada: Black rice with Maine Lobster, squid, Prince Edward Island Mussel, grilled octopus and homemade chorizo. The poorly taken picture of my most amazing course is really sad. This course is where I started feeling super full. Still I had to eat 2 of the corn tortillas that I had smelled on the way in, to sop up all of the tomato jalapeno broth. Had to.

I have much happier pics of Jeff eating, but this one kind of shows the background of the restaurant...

And as for me, well, I normally don't have quite so sunken eyes...the red eye reducer was flashing away, and I was worried about attracting attention.

The fourth course was the piece de resistance. Mine was Cochinita Pibil: overnight braised suckling pig "pibil" with crispy pig's foot, sour orange jellies, and a sunchoke pudding brushed onto the plate. If I told you that the pork literally fell apart under the weight of the air, it would not describe how wonderfully tender this was. I was so full by this point, that I had to sacrifice a portion of the puerco to Jeff, who agreed that this was some seriously good eats. I tasted his too, a Barbacoa de Chivo: delicious goat barbacoa with braised garbanzo beans.

Now I must tell you that I truly believe that there is always ALWAYS room for dessert. Jeff rarely eats dessert, and prefers additional food to sweets. I usually like something sweet a couple of hours after supper. But this Fifth course came out, and I really didn't know how I was going to eat another bite. For for the sake of food writing, I persevered. Mine was Tartaleta de Duranzo: Peaches, flowers, and a tart of goat cheese infused with Earl Grey, and toasted pumpkin seed frangipane. After one bite, I nearly finished the rest, only leaving about 2 bites, that really could not find a way to wedge themselves into my overpacked stomach.

Jeff actually finished his, and loved it! A blueberry tart with macadamia nut crust, and a sweet corn ice cream. WOW.

I was so blissfully giddy when we got up to leave, never really having such a dining experience before. I wonder if I'll ever be actually hungry again, and wonder if I can ever cook again since eating such works of art. I've got to hand it to those like Jeffrey Stiengarten who eat for a living...I don't know how they do it. Probably just little mouthfuls here and there, and not nearly licking the plates as I did. But what a wonderful birthday! 33 has to be a great year after a start like this!

Thank you, thank you, darling Jeff.

Thanks to Jamie Oliver, a Happy Birthday... (or In Which I eat my way into the weekend.)

Yesterday was my birthday, and I could think of no better way to celebrate than to make a dinner. I decided on all Jamie Oliver food from the Jamie in Italy cookbook after such a success with the Julia Child menu. It's fun to make all one person's food; I think it gives a better sense of the overall cookbook and style of the writer.

I like to have 3 things for dinner. I've held for a long time that there should always be three things on the plate, even if one of them is bread. But I made mozzarella cheese baked into lemons, salad with seared tuna and anchovies, and spaghetti with a pesto of basil, garlic, almonds, pecorino and farm market cherry tomatoes (shown above).

I hollowed out the lemons, and buried a half a cherry tomato, a basil leaf, some dried chile and anchovies in a couple. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, and serve on bread or crostini. In the words of Jamie: brilliant!

The beginning of the salad - new potatoes dressed when still hot with lemon juice, olive oil, red onion and s&p, and cooled to room temperature, then mixed with salad greens, the seared tuna and cooked eggs. If I would have cooked up more tuna, the salad alone would have been plenty for dinner, even considering the diners I had.

The tuna was gorgeous. Sushi Grade. Need I say more?

It would have been a shame to cook it any more than this. It melted in your mouth.

The pasta was terrific. I was glad it was my birthday and I splurged on the package of imported Italian spaghetti for $3.50... It was also really good. And fairly healthful, if you ask me...

Sasa said, "What's this?" when she saw the cupcakes in their storage container. For my birthday, of course I had to make cake of some sort. I used more of the Daring Failure buttercream stealthily in the centers of these moist chocolate ones... and a lean version of almond buttercream for the top.

I'll probably have to make these again next week when Gina visits. Anything for Cake!So today, we're off to Chicago. I hope I can walk up an appetite...since I finally get to go to Topolompampo tonight! I am covertly concealing a borrowed camera in my bag, due to my recent addiction to photographing my food. So hopefully, I will have some new stories to tell of amazing Mexican food when I return.

Not a bad way to start my 33rd year...my palindrome birthday as it is. All the cooking is resting my hands from the knitting a little, and I think by next week I'll be able to pick up the needles again if I'm careful not to be such a stressful knitter.

The Continuing Adventures of Foraging for Apples

So yesterday, after the farm market, I decided to pay another visit to the apple tree at the end of our block. This time in addition to my son I was armed with the Radio Flyer, and a good size bag. I passed my Father-in-Law on the way, and he said I should probably ask Mrs. W. if it was okay to hunt and gather, since technically, she planted the tree - even though it is on public property.

So, I knocked on the door, and she was pleased that I wanted to do something with them. Her son happened to be visiting, and said they make wonderful sauce, to which I replied that I already knew since I had gathered a few earlier. He was actually going to do the same thing, and as we plucked apples from the ground (and he had a fancy apple grabber to collect from the actual tree) he told me that his mother had planted the tree from a seed 30 years ago. They are Duchess apples, and she has won blue ribbons at the State Fair for pies made from its incredible fruit.

Ordinarily, I don't get all that excited about apples. I think come fall, though, every human at least in climate changing areas has some peculiar longing for them. It's been chilly here this past week, mid 60's for the highs with the overcast gloom that reminds us Midwesterners to get out and soak up the last remaining of the T-shirt weather before we take to our homes until April.

Both in and out of the context of weather, however, these Duchess apples really are a delicious thing. My Mom has canned applesauce for years, and I confess to robbing her stores when I need it - so I really do know what the real thing tastes like. But the sauce made from these apples truly was something special. Maybe I'm romanticizing a bit since they were somewhat neglected and abandoned, but they didn't need a speck of sugar, and I just gently simmered them in a heavy pot with a cinnamon stick.

After an hour or so of gentle bubbling, I strained them through my inherited china cap and marveled again at the blushy pink color. I have a pretty large bowl, maybe 8 cups or so, from the half a Trader Joe's bag of apples I collected yesterday, and I am gloriously renewed in my love of the apple.

The picture above was the smaller first batch from the other day, Sasa was here for lunch, and between the three of us, it was gone in one sitting. I guess I can add another food to the list that Boy-O will eat...though he did occasionally eat my Mom's applesauce before. Maybe he's excited since he helped me pick them up (well, pick some up, and throw the others like baseballs...).

Maybe another harvesting event will take place for me at the end of my street later in the week. I'm also looking forward to experimenting with some of the more unusual varieties that I've seen at some of the farm markets... Either way, I'm thankful to Mrs. W. for some of the best sauce that I've ever had.

Daring Failure

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonfulof Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular DobosTorte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: ExquisiteDesserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

I intentionally began my work on this, my second Daring Baker challenge, later in the month. I think that was a two-part reasoning on my end: First I was out of town on August 1 when the challenge was revealed, and Second, I knew that Maeckel had a birthday, and he is a dessert eater.

I excitedly checked the forums early that morning at my parents' apartment and maybe my jaw actually dropped, I'm not sure. I don't know what I was expecting...but it certainly wasn't this Viennese pastry! The first challenge, Mallows, were decadent by my fat to dessert consumption ratio, but really relatively easy in comparison to this crazy layered concoction boasting nearly a dozen whole eggs.

Like I've said before, eggs do not bother me - and butter, well, I don't even eat it on toast so why shouldn't I indulge with it in a cake once in a while, but this recipe already was frightening me if only by shear fat and cholesterol content. Sure, if I were fortunate enough to be strolling past a European bakery, preferably somewhere in Europe, I would in a heartbeat be sideling up to the counter to devour one of these confections. But a whole torte, in my house, with me the only dessert eater within 10 miles? Not a good scenario.

Then there was the fear of failure. Sure I've made flops. I kind of just made one the other day, the Dimply Plum Cake was really less to write home about, but still tasty nonetheless. In fact, I popped it into the fridge, which I seldom do to a cake, and by my standards, it became even better. I still probably wouldn't serve it to company, at least not without a lengthy explanation...

But still, I approached this challenge with vigor! I thought "I can do it "I'll make the mother of all Birthday Cakes!" When I logged on again later in the month to print the recipe, I saw this amazing, incredible, 30 layer torte that Audax Artifex made, I really began to be frightened. Wow, this guy can bake! Check out his blog, you will absolutely agree. I quickly printed off my recipe, and got the heck away from the computer before I began to feel really depressed.

SO, LONG story shortened, I'll explain the rest along with the pictures:

I began my project on Thursday, August 20 - 7 days to posting time. And actually I was more excited at this point since I made the buttercream, and Who can possibly be un-excited about buttercream? This one is particularly great, and I felt incredibly guilty dipping several (clean) fingerfulls into my mouth, even though it was nearing bedtime.

The next morning, I was even more excited after I made the cake batter. Yes, I eat batter, and yes it was tasty. So, hence my growing excitement. I could begin to envision, maybe not a 30 layer masterpiece, but perhaps a lowly 5 layer mini-masterpiece. But, unfortunately, that is kind of where I began going south.

Here is a close up of the poor sponge cake, incredibly sticky, after its painful removal from the parchment paper. Of course, I thought I had an extra box of parchment, and did not. I used up all I had on the baking, so when they came tumbling out of the oven every 5 minutes, I was trying to transfer them to wax paper to cool, and they were ripping like mad. I was getting frustrated, but kept my calm - I think the 2nd layer baked turned out alright...and that was a plus. But as you can see:

...not really all that great. And not only that, it was humid and rainy, and they just got stickier as they cooled. I determined that I could not actually complete a 5 layer cake, since one layer was so mangled it ended up right in the garbage, so I cut 2 inch rounds. I thought I could get 7 little 5 layer cakes, and really could imagine them looking pretty posh all done up and sitting on a platter.

See how cute?

But, alas, the atmospherics were working against me, and the buttercream, only out of its cool climate a couple of hours, became very soft. And then, I burned the caramel.

On any given day, I have like 10 lbs. of sugar in the house, but Daring Baker Challenge day? Only enough to get the job done. Right. The First Time. I figured after spreading the very soft (but still extremely delicious) buttercream on my mangled layers that this was not going to earn me any points with the DobosTorte council members, so I just figured I'd pour the caramel over the layers and find out what happened.

There was a fair amount of lemon juice in the sugar/water solution. I did think this was strange...but it was even a stranger and most unpleasant discovery when I tasted it. Burnt sugar is good, even great at times when it's intentional. Burnt sugar with lemon? Not so much.

I felt much better, when like Amelie, I poked my fingers into the tops and felt the delectable crack under the weight of my fingertips. That, my friends, was the only thing delectable about this caramel.

That, and wrapping them up into a huge ball, squishing them between both hands, admitting defeat, and chucking the whole ordeal into the trash.

I still had the matter of a birthday cake to attend to. I thought about it, and decided for sure to include the chocolate buttercream that dreams are made of... but it was so rich that I didn't want anything too heavy around it. I settled on a chocolate devil's food cake, and topped it with very lightly sweetened whipped cream.

It was good. Maeckel had a birthday cake! I sent a fourth of it home with him, but still had half a cake looming at me. I kept it in the fridge, against my normal cake morals, but I didn't want the buttercream softening up again. So, Saturday I made this cake on accident, and Monday, I took the remainders (slightly less than half a cake now, since there was a whole Sunday in there for it to stare me down) to R1's house. She has more kids than me, and a husband who loves dessert. So we watched a few episodes of Three Sheets, and ate cake. And it was gone.

A good lesson was learned, and cake was made from salvaged materials. I am undaunted in my Daring Baker tasks, but am wondering what September will hold. I'm hoping for Pie or something. Guess I'll just have to wait and see. As for the Dobos Torte, I may try again. Maybe some fridgid winter day when the humidity is low...

For now, I'll check out the Daring Baker blogroll to see other DB hits and misses. They don't call them challenges for nothing...

Food Bloggers REALLY have the best recipes...

Last night I did it again. I knew I wanted a curry for dinner, and wanted to use up some corn from the farm market. After such luck the other day, I decided to Google. Immediately, I had dinner planned, thanks to Thai-xican. It even made use of the Thai basil that desperately needed pruning/using in my yard. Not only that, it was easy and really tasty. Find the recipe here!

I have enough leftover for another whole meal tomorrow, I think, since tonight I'm out to another installment of Mitered Mitten knitting. And unfortunately, my husband does not know or care to fix up leftovers...

Oh, you'll make a lovely dinner tomorrow, my friend.

(The update on my knitting Mitered Mittens is that I started over 5 whole times, the last time on much larger needles. I still am in the process of knitting a mitten for a society woman of the 1800's, since I still can hardly get it on, and it's not that I have humongous hands either. After Loop Yarn Shop consulting, I decided to halt knitting progress until tonight's class to see what size needles I should actually go up to before beginning again. I have the general idea of how to knit a mitten, which was my goal starting out, so Mission Somewhat Accomplished! Meanwhile, I started the Alien Illusions scarf from the Stitch'NBitch book for my friend R1's birthday...and I am proud of my one whole alien head already in emergence. I'll be Posting the preliminary pics on Flickr when I get a chance.)

So by this morning, the cool front had moved in and it was actually chilly in the house. Having no cake, I decided I had to make one. And plums aplenty sitting on the counter prompted another Google search. Of course, many, many food bloggers beat me to the punch with Dorie Greenspan's recipe for Dimply Plum Cake...but I thought I'd try it anyway. Since the iPod formats so nicely to blog recipes, I pulled the barely tweaked recipe from Smitten Kitchen, published about a year ago...but mine came out with much different results.

I think I need to buy a square baking pan. I got one for a wedding gift, and it was a good one, Calphalon, I think. But somehow its coating started flaking off, and the bottom actually rusted, and since I have round cake pans and springforms, I decided I could limp along without one. I do have a 8 in. square glass baking dish - used exclusively for small batches of fudge and petite chocolate cakes for home consumption, but I really needed a 9 in. square baking pan for this recipe I think.

Given that I love to bake Marcella Hazan's Morning Cake (Lydia's Winter Fruit Cake) in a springform, I decided to bake this one in there as well. After all, it was morning.

All looked well going into the oven,

but coming out, was a slightly different story.

The only tweaking I did, was to add about a T. of Cointreau since I had no orange on hand for orange zest, and I doubt an extra T. of liquid was the culprit for my now Buried Plum Treasure Cake.

I was a little confused, but it smelled good, and looked edible, so I didn't pay it much mind - and boy-o and I took Mr. Bean for a walk. A long walk for him to be sure: 2.5 miles. My child could hardly make it back to the house, and fell asleep very promptly post lunch.

While meandering around the neighborhoods, we found a laden pear tree, it's neglected perfection of fruit littering the ground. While I couldn't see myself climbing a stranger's tree to harvest pears, I could see myself foraging around

the bottom of the tree for some not too bruised fruit. And I got to thinking, "I saw another neglected pear tree somewhere, I think. And I know of an apple tree at the end of our street that for sure is not on anyone's property." So, on the way home, I gathered a bag of apples, with the intent of some applesauce today or tomorrow. But just look at this! It's all relatively perfect! I can see myself now with eagle eyes eagerly foraging around the city for unclaimed fruits! And just like the Morell Mushroom Hunters, I'm not giving away my spots...

After we were home, had lunch and boy-o put himself down to nap...I had to try this seeming flop of a cake. I didn't know really what to expect. But it was delicious! And had this faint alcoholic punch, I only assume comes from baking very ripe plums with a tad of orange liqueur. But it was soggy and comforting in the middle, and I strangely wished it was the depths of December so I could justify eating to stay warm. Another win for the recipes of Food Bloggers (and, of course, Dorie Greenspan).

The Last Bite. And I'm looking forward to having some more later as well. I better knit like the wind so I burn enough calories, but if the rain stays away, the rest of this week promises to be perfect walking weather. Good thing.