Last week, I went to Mercat a la Planxa for a birthday dinner.  Looking at the menu, it was like I was back in Spain: jamón ibérico de belota, boquerones en vinagre, pulpo con patatas and setas al horno.  It was heavenly, and nostalgic. Mercat’s warm and expansive interior full of yellows and reds cultivates the sexy and sensual side…just like Spain!  Walking in, you circle around a sunken center dining area, the bar is on your right and it absolutely gorgeous (as is the grade-A mixologist!).  The open-air kitchen stretches out on the left, letting all the smells mingle and drift into your nose.

Our meal started with drinks, I had the Shoko Cocktail– Peach vodka, fresh sour, orange juice, cucumber and basil leaves.  I detest sweet drinks and so I asked about this…our waiter assured me that I was safe. It was delicious. A true sock rocker.

The menu is focused on the Catalan region of the country– think Barcelona area. In Spain, they say they are a nation of nationalities, and it is true. From Madrid to Galicia and down into the south, regional foods are key and everyone has a favorite.  I’m a big fan of everything I ate at Mercat….

Here is a run down of my tastings:
Piminetos De Padrón– fried little green peppers with sea salt

Dátiles

Dátiles con Almendras– bacon wrapped dates with almonds

Cocas con Costillas de Ternera– flat bread with beef shortribs and horseradish

Espinacas a la Catalana– Spinach with pine nuts and raisins

Hongos Al Horno

Setas al Horno– Sauteed wild mushrooms
Escalivada– Roasted red peppers and eggplant with cipollini onions

Patatas Bravas

and of course….Patatas Bravas– potatoes with heat!

Mercat combines traditional food with haut cuisine styling. Everything gets a make over.  Honestly, the tastes were great, but there is something to be said for non-frou-frou presentation. The patatas were a little much (pictured above), who needs them to be so formatted!

I would go back, if for nothing else the great service and the Shoko Cocktail.

Things to eat right away: Pimientos De Padrón and the Hongos.
What I want to eat next :  A big plate of boquerones. I miss those little fish
Maybe take a pass: Cocas con constillas
Other Note Worthy Crumbs: stop in for a few drinks and a small plate or two for a VERY reasonable price. Its a great spot for a group, everyone can try a little taste and get to know the food. Mercat is a chef owner establishment, Jose Garces has cooked all over the world, focusing on Latin American cuisine.  Dig in to the archives of Iron Chef and you can see him defeat Bobby Flay!

This weekend, the farmers market in Evanston, was truly glorious.  The late summer produce still abounded, tomatoes, string beans and leafy basil found happy homes inside my bag (and almost as soon, inside my tummy). This was the last weekend for the beans, and I think I’ve got the final fronds of fresh herbs too. I want to cook with this stuff, but it is just so tempting to eat it raw!

Here are just a few things that I found interesting.  As usual, I like to try new apples in fall.  Last year on the blog I featured the Mutzu (still equally delicious) but this year I discovered the Liberty and the Roxbury Russet.

The Liberty apple was born in 1962 in New York to its proud parents, The Purdue and Macoun Apples.  This firm and tart apple with its beautiful rosy skin gets is named for its ability to “liberate” itself from apple diseases…Does that mean the Liberty is better for you than a normal apple? Well no, but it does give you a great burst of energy!  The Liberty has a great shelf life; it can last up to five month in a cool environment (your fridge) and in enough space to breathe (yes, apples breathe.)

These ugly looking dudes are Roxbury Russets.  Created in 1600, it is the oldest apple in the United States.  See that kind of brownish greenish coloring? That is called russeting.  I think it gives the apple character, improving with age maybe.  Crisp and a little tart, these are the quintessential fall apple; Thomas Jefferson thought so too, he had them in his orchard in Monticello.

This week’s Sunday Night Supper is coming to you on a Tuesday. My apologies. I promise a new system next week so you can actually MAKE the meal on Sunday if you feel so inclined.

This week, it turned a little colder and I feel drawn to big pots of hot, steaming foods. Now, Moroccan stew might not be the first thing that jumps into your mind, but bear with me. This ménage a trois of squash, carrots and spices infuses my house with the scent of warmer lands and my stomach with healthy, delicious brain food.

First off, I need to say that this recipe requires a lot of spices. Now, spices might seem a little pricey at the outset, but that large upfront cost is going to allow you to travel to India on a Tuesday, march around Africa on Thursday and seduce a Frenchman on Saturday.

Moroccan Squash and Carrot Stew

Recipe from Gourmet Magazine

Now, that looks horribly and complicated and intimidating. It is not. Let’s do this in plan English and we can get an idea of what is going on.

Step 1: Combine the spices and S & P in a small bowl and set aside. Now, you can use what you have, but paprika, cumin and chili are essential (and ESSENTIAL for you to have forever) Ginger and turmeric greatly enhance the flavor

Step 2: Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a large pot until they smell really delicious. About five minutes.

Step 3: Toss the spice mixture in with the onions and stir until onions are coated

Step 4: Add one cup water, double the amount of tomatoes called for (juicier this way), a squeeze of lemon juice and bring to a boil.

Step 5: Add the squash and carrots and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.

While that is happening…..

Step 6: melt butter in a large pan and sauté some garlic and a little onion (the idea that you have to put carrot here too is silly in my opinion) until brown, about 5 minutes

Step 7: add a few dashes of turmeric—for color and flavor—and stir around a bit.

Step 8: add 1cup quinoa and 2 cups water, boil, then cover and simmer until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Step 9: stir in chopped cilantro and mint. If you choose to buy only one, go with the cilantro.

EAT!

Ok, so it is not really Sunday anymore, just took me a while to post this bad boy…here goes:

Dancing in my delicates while cooking over high heat has to be one of my favorite activities. On Sunday, I threw together an easy clean out the fridge meal while grooving to Solid Gold.

For throw together meals, the quantity all depends on what you have. The “recipe” below was for two or three servings, dinner on night and lunch the following day plus a snack.

What you need:
2 skinless boneless Chicken Breasts
Fresh or frozen spinach (judgment call on how much)
1 Chopped onion
2 ish cloves chopped garlic
Olive oil
Spices (depending on what you have will determine what genre this dish falls under)

I was feeling like Indian flavors, so I reached for the garam marsala and whole cumin seeds while I assembled the rest of my ingredients…

In a large pan, start two dashes of olive oil heating over medium. When hot, but not smoking, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. If using whole seed spices, add at this time, let ‘em warm for about 30 second and then toss in the cubed chicken.

Sear chicken until light brown on all sides and add the remainder of your ground spices, about 2-3 teaspoons worth. This will eventually create a little moisture, at this point, add the spinach and ¼ cup water (less or more depending on amount of spinach). Saute until chicken is cooked and spinach wilted.

Serve with some salt and pepper and rice (if you have it, I didn’t!)

Only 7 days ago, The Stained Glass, a classic wine-lover’s outpost in Evanston opened a lower priced, beer intensive annex called The Cellar. And in five days, I’ve already been there three times, tried nearly half the menu, a Dirty Bird martini and of course, hand crafted artisan beers from around the world.

The Cellar has a great thing going. The menu has three parts, Europe, America and Other Worldly. On my first meal, my compatriots and I hit every category with a drink to match.  We started with three mini burgers: lamb, beef and salmon with shoestring potatoes.  Each meat was succulent in its individual “meatiness” and the softer flavor of the salmon was not overpowered by the lamb. Along with a glass of Leffe Blond Ale from Belgium, I was a happy camper.  I also tasted a little bit of Orrechetti Pasta with kale, white beans and veal meat balls as well as the muscles in ginger beer.

On my second visit,  I got my mouth on a few fish tacos ceviche style with avocado and red onion,  a smoked salmon flat bread with arugula and goat cheese and lastly, the increasingly popular soft shell crab Jibaritos.  This is an interesting dish-  two “buns” made of fried plantain house the crab, flash fried in his shell, with mango mayonnaise and onion.   Though it may become the signature dish,  it does need some work. A bit heavy and a mouth full of chewing, but a great idea.

Wednesday night was the grand opening.  A perfect Evanston evening: great staff, great food, delicious wine.  They were pouring a 2008 Alta Vista Torrontes and a 2006 Old Vine Malbec, both out of Argentina. From passing trays of appetizers, I sampled the bacon wrapped-chorizo stuffed dates, Cubano and Tramezzini sandwiches, tempura vegetables, more tacos and of course, more burgers.

At the end of the night (yes, I stayed the whole time) they brought out a huge bottle of liquid, a totally sexy 2 feet of something delicious.  Instead of the cliche champagne, a liquid the color of burnt carmel poured into my glass.  Smooth, rich and slightly sweet, this Belgian temptation was a tribute to the greatest beer menu I have ever seen.

Things to eat right away: Fish Tacos, mini burgers and salmon flat bread
Maybe take a pass: Orrechetti pasta (not as interesting as other things and you have to LOVE mussels to like the ginger beer steamed flavor dish (I do)
What I’m trying Next Time: Maryland Crab Cake, Braised Short Rib (with marrow potatoes!)
Other Note Worthy Crumbs: Killer date spot, the location every budding college romantic has been waiting for.

check back for photos soon!

Cheers Evanston!

For ten or twelve blocks, street vendors fill the road, people mill about and the beat of 7 stages of jazz music pulses through every vein, ever heart and every soul.  Everyone feels the urge to dance, and some (myself most definately included) actually get groovy on the pavement.

The jazz was excellent, but of of course I was captivated by the variety of culinary melodies, harmonies and symphonies that came in the form of the Indian bread naan cooked in a tandoor oven (a “melody”), fresh shucked oysters with butter (harmony) or the prefect afternoon sushi sampler at Yoshi’s Jazz Club.

Naan is the generic name for (delicious) bread from India and other south Asian countries.  It is quite old, the first recorded mention dates back to 1300 AD.  Traditionally, naan is stuck to the side of the Tandoor oven like in this picture, though it can be made in your oven at home.   Tandoori food gets its name from the tandoor oven and is more a method of cooking than anything else. The naan is ready to eat when it is just about to jump into the hot coals that have imparted their delicious smokey flavor into the bread.

Don’t they just look delicious?? I think the aphrodisiac effect of the oyster is increased with sultry tenor sax in the background….

Ooh, if that doesn’t make your mouth water you must be missing a gene (no I’m just kidding). From the left clockwise: Unagi (eel), whitefish, maguro (tuna), Hamachi (yellowtail), salmon, scallop and shrimp.  Addmitedly, I might be wrong about the hamachi and whitefish, maybe it is the other way around.  Scallop sushi is the most devinly soft and silky thing I have ever had on my tongue, it is like biting into the way a good pillow feels on your tired head: comforting, welcome, and almost sinfully perfect.

The expanse of cultural food at even the more commercial stands was refreshing in and of itself.  It made me love San Francisco even more: Mexico borders Hawaii bordering texas alongside the neighboring United Kingdom. Oh, and across the street? Vietnam, Puerto Rico and New York.  Quite excellent.