Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Recipe

15 Apr 2012

Furikake Kettle Corn

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It’s high time we commence alfresco dining now that spring has sprung and summer is around the corner. These warmer months were made for breaking bread with friends and family under sunny skies and shady trees. While the burgers are grilling or the ribs are smoking, I highly recommend serving a big ‘ol bowl of Furikake Kettle Corn. It’s an addictive nibble that never fails to delight.

This recipe comes from Chef Roy Choi of Los Angeles’ A-Frame restaurant. I couldn’t keep my hands away from the bowl the first time I tried this Hawaiian-style popcorn. Every fistful of buttery kernels brought a hit of sweetness from Corn Pops, sourness from dried pineapples, savoriness from bacon, spiciness from cayenne pepper and chili flakes, and a whole lot of umami-ness from furikake. This unlikely combination of big, bold flavors had me hooked at first bite.

Making Furikake Kettle Corn requires very little preparation, especially if you’re using bagged kettle corn like this recipe suggests. The bacon needs to be fried and chopped, chives minced, and butter clarified. After that’s good and done, everything comes together in a snap. Serve the popcorn in a bowl, or better yet, channel the aloha spirit and spill it onto the table just like they do at A-Frame.

4 cups kettle corn
2/3 cup of Corn Pops
2 ounces clarified butter
2 tablespoon furikake
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoon dried pineapple
2 tablespoon chopped bacon, cooked
2 teaspoon chives or Shiso, minced

Chop and fry bacon, mince chives, and clarify butter. Note: My dried pineapple came dusted in cayenne pepper, hence its darker appearance, so I skipped the “pinch of cayenne pepper.”

My “Qwik and EZ” method for clarifying butter entails microwaving the butter in a small bowl for 20 second at a time until it’s completely melted. Let the butter cool for a minute or two at room temperature and then skim off the white foam with a spoon. The resulting clarified butter isn’t perfect, but it’ll do just fine for this recipe.

Finely chop the bacon and dried pineapple together using a food processor.

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Restaurant Review

13 Apr 2012

The Doughnut Vault – Chicago

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The Doughnut Vault doesn’t make it easy for doughnut fiends to get their deep-fried high on. The shop is only open for a teeny tiny window starting at 8:30 AM Tuesdays through Fridays and at 9:30 AM on Saturdays. The blue doors slam shut just as soon as the last ring is sold, which is usually an hour or two after opening.

The internet is flooded with sob stories penned by poor saps who were left empty handed at the hands of The Vault. Needless to say, I did not want to add to that dialogue.

The lines haven’t let up since Brendan Sodikoff opened Doughnut Vault over a year ago in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Housed in an old bank vault, the shop sells around 600 doughnuts each day.

Sodikoff, who has spent time in the kitchens of Per Se and Alain Ducasse, also owns and operates a half dozen other eateries in the city including Au Cheval Diner, Bavettes Bar & Boeuf, Curio Chicago, Gilt Bar, Maude’s Liquor Bar, and Pizzeria Cella. His diverse portfolio of restaurants helps explain how a doughnut shop that barely operates for ten hours a week can be a viable business venture.

Knowing that it might take a few tries to hit the doughnut jackpot, I made sure to pencil in a visit to Doughnut Vault every morning of our trip (See: Appendix I).

My first attempt, at 10:30 AM on Friday morning with my friend Esi, yielded no fruit. The following morning, The Astronomer and I, along with our friends Mike and Kellie, arrived on the scene thirty minutes after the shop opened. The line of eager customers stretched out the door, around the corner, and then some. Things weren’t lookin’ so good for us…

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Restaurant Review

11 Apr 2012

Margie’s Candies – Chicago

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I wish I could take all the credit for following up lunch at Hot Doug’s with dessert at Margie’s Candies. But alas, that brilliant idea was all Roy Choi‘s. He’s a self-proclaimed hot fudge sundae fiend and sent me to Margie’s for a pitch perfect specimen. Hot dogs + Hot fudge sundaes = Hot damn.

Peter George Poulos opened the ice cream parlor and confection shop in 1921 in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood. Originally named Security Sweet Shop, the place was renamed Margie’s Candies in 1933 to honor Peter’s wife. A second outpost was opened by Margie and Peter’s son Peter Jr. in 2005 in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Margie’s Candies continues to be a family-owned restaurant.

Stepping inside Margie’s Candies, it doesn’t seem like much has changed since the shop first opened eighty years ago. The space has an antique chic way about it, while the service is quick and friendly. Sliding into our brown pleather booth, The Astronomer and I admired the table side jukebox. Nifty.

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