Ole for Spanish Pork Braise!

OK, so yesterday we picked up a large pork shank from the butcher, along with smoked pig's feet and made a recipe called Spanish Pork Braise. This was AMAZING! 

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spanish-pork-braise-235849 

We added potatoes to the recipe and it was incredibly delicious. We cooked at 350 degrees for two and a half hours and then lowered the cooking temperature to 250 degrees and braised for another hour. The flavors are just incredible. We loved the smokey sweet paprika of the pork, and the garlic of the chickpeas, and we found that the gremolata just perked everything right up. Not a quick dish, but not labor intensive once it's in the oven and well worth the effort.

A marvelous Sunday comfort food meal! We will definitely revisit this due to the intense flavors that are still lingering after making our mouths dance!

Therapeutic Cooking for the Soul

There is not much that brings me as much joy as cooking tasty meals with my lovely bride on the weekends and today was no exception! We headed out to enjoy a beautiful day today with a nice run through Lincoln Park Zoo and along Lake Michigan. Spring came early today! Close to 60 degrees,

We followed up with a trip to Stanley's Fruit's and Vegetables for smorgasbord of tasty treats to bring home for our meals this week. It's not the farmer's market but still awfully good. 

Also. we made a stop at the fish market for tonight's wonderful meal. Started out with fresh oysters with a yummy mignonette sauce from a recipe in House & Garden magazine-1964-found on Epicurious' website. We added some garlic and served with horse radish as well.

Then, for our main course, we went with blackened grouper that I cooked in a cast iron skillet- heated for 30 minutes before adding the fish. Want to send out a shout out to my sister-in-law Angie who provided us with the blackening Jerk-spice from Penzy's Spice Company.Thank you Angie!! Cooked the Grouper for 3 minutes on each side over high heat and then let it sit in pan for 3 minutes with flame off. Along with the Grouper, we served grilled asparagus (such a warm night--why not) and a watercress and cucumber salad with a dijon mustard dressing (thanks Martha Stewart). 

As you can see we tried a few different presentation styles.  Overall....AWESOME! This was a very easy meal to make. Some say easy peasy!!!  Everything came out great.

We are starting our preparation for tomorrow's 'Night at the Oscar Feast'.  I will end with.......braised pork shank....to be continued.........

Weekend getaway to Madison

Headed up north to Wisconsin for the weekend. On Friday night we enjoyed a fish fry at Angelo's http://angelosrestaurants.com/ in Brooklyn, WI. There we dined on fried cod and baked cod, along with some killer cheesy hash browns!

On Saturday we started out with a nice adventure drive in Wisconsin and made it to Sun Prairie, WI when we decided to turn our drive into a quest, which we coined "Operation Find the Best Bloody Mary in Madison". I have to say it was a successful mission.

Best Bloodies at Bluephies in Madison

We ended up at Bluephies http://www.bluephies.com/ located on Monroe St. in Madison. There were three in our group and we went with 2 of The Fat Boy's and 1 Meaty Mary.....both excellent choices. No food for us while there. They had a 30 minute wait for a table at 1;00 on a Saturday. Seems like we need to eat there at some point, but for now the bloodies did their job....they were a lunch unto themselves!

From there we headed back for the grilling of pork chops with rosemary served with basmati rice and steamed broccoli. Came out quite nice! 

Here is the chef prepping his grill in extremely out of season warm temperatures as the full moon begins to rise above him.

Sunday morning finds us cooking an old favorite of ours that we have not made for quite some time oxtail soup.

 This is one of my favorite meals from my childhood. My dad made this many times for us and was always a favorite! That's it for now hope everyone had a great weekend cooking and enjoying food and fun with family like we did!

Sunday funday with Chef Cheryl

The weekend ended yesterday with a great meal that we started prepping on Saturday. Quite the process to get this meal cooked but it was well worth the wait! The meal was prepared by my wife Cheryl as I played the role of sous chef. It was

Braised Duck Legs with Polenta and Wilted Chard yum yum yum!

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/braised-duck-legs-with-polenta-and-wilted-chard 

It was delicious we devoured this amazing meal Sunday night!

We had this superb meal after watching our lovely niece perform in her high school play Bye Bye Birdie. "We love you Conrad, oh yes we do!"

Great weekend! Look forward to more Ultimate Love for Food adventures soon!

Ultimate Love for Food Blog is Back! Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm baaaccckk! Long time no see Ultimate Love for Food followers. Where have I been? Well actually been quite busy. Finished my degree in business last June, 2015 from DePaul University and been busy with my family, work, and of course food. It has been two years since I last posted on here and now am ready to revisit. Who is ready to blog food with me?

Happy Valentine's weekend to all. Love is in the air, so might as well cook, dine and enjoy all things that bring people together, which food is all about! :)

This weekend on Friday started with a wonderful date with my wife! We went a nice happy hour at Frontier restaurant http://thefrontierchicago.com/  located in West Town neighborhood on Milwaukee Avenue and owned by fellow Rogers Parker Danny McCarthy and his group that own The Pony and Lottie's. I highly recommend their happy hour from 5-7 where we enjoyed Prosecco, along with oysters, duck hearts and beet salad. Sorry to say no photos.Then followed this up with a night at the opera.

Now let's talk about today, Saturday February 13, 2016. We took a journey to Local Foods http://localfoods.com/ the new home of one of Chicago's best butcher shops "The Butcher and the Larder". https://www.facebook.com/The-Butcher-Larder-150638594982815/ 

While there we purchased a 2 LB 55 day dry aged Porterhouse Steak. OMG! Just finished this fine meal and as my wife said "it was the best steak I have ever had!"

Cooked this Porterhouse in my cast iron skillet with rosemary, thyme, garlic, red wine, broth, butter, and oil. Yes it can be heart healthy. Not sure if many of you know this but I have lost 30 lbs since I last blogged and am very focused on a healthy eating lifestyle! Served with green beans and couscous! Hope my followers are still out there! Let's keep in touch. Happy 2016!

Great day yesterday cooking with the wife!

It's been way too long since my last blog! Have been to many great restaurants and cooked many magnificent meals over the last month! Yesterday Cheryl and I got back to cooking at home in a big way after we went for a great walk along the snowy lakefront in Chicago! I am blogging at O'Hare Airport on my phone on my way to Dallas for the week. Here are some pics and recipes from our day! Hope everyone has a great Super Bowl Sunday!

Great Meal at Found Kitchen and Social House in Evanston last Friday night!

We celebrated my niece the newly honored Dr. Liz M. whom recently received her PhD. in Art History from Indiana University! We took her out to spoil her with great food and wonderful ambiance at Found restaurant http://www.foundkitchen.com/ in Evanston. This was our second time their and Liz and her husband Matt's first time. I must say we were all thoroughly impressed with all the goodies we had!

At Found they have shared plates and there were no picky eaters in our crew so we were all open to whatever the guest of honor Dr. Liz wanted! She was kind enough to let us assist on the picks. We started off with a Kale and Swiss Chard Salad with Nuts, Seeds, and Pears....what a great start to the meal! We followed up with Roasted Squash and Brussel Sprouts with Harissa Sauce, Cilantra and Pepita another outstanding choice! Next up another amazing dish Fried Butterball Potato Salad with Aioli, Celery and Pickled Peppers.....yo you gotta try dis!

Our final main course was the evening menus special and the picture below says it all!

New York Strip Steak on the bone with Bearnaise Sauce and Leeks, Mushrooms, and Bacon yum, yum, yum! I believe the Liz enjoyed her wonderful celebration meal!

 We finished up at our home for dessert for some cheeses and death by chocolate!