Across the Lincoln Highway: Dixon to Clinton, IA and Home Again

Yeah, I know. Long time, no post. I have several good excuses, which range from: my kids, to the half marathon I'm training for, to sleeping, which I like to do sometimes. And back to my kids again. I also have written a couple of pieces by the request of a local TV show for their blog. (Before you picture me actually breathing on my fingernails and buffing them on my sleeve, things seem to be in a bit of an overhaul over there, and this may never get seen by anyone.) I'm only writing at this moment by the mercy of my elder child, who requested an early bedtime tonight. And I thought I should sit down and record that before the earth blew up beneath me.

Okay, so as you most likely do not remember, since it was posted two months ago, we woke up in Dixon, IL, on the last leg of our Lincoln Highway trip. Things looked much better (read, "not Deliverance") in the morning, except for this:

This mural, at our Dixon hotel, was entitled "the Illinois Presidents." If you know your presidential birthplaces, and I don't know why you would, you know why that's funny. Before you begin Googling, I'll just tell you that only one of them was born in Illinois, and probably not the one you were hoping for. (And not in Dixon, either.)

But before I get started taking away from ol' Dixon, let me build it up a little! It is the "boyhood home" of President Reagan. He was born in Tampico, but said he considered Dixon "home." Good enough for me, Mr. President.

So we had a lot of nice experiences in Dixon, but let me relate this one. We happened to get a piece of luck, for the third time on our trip, and happen on an old theater that just happened to be open. The folks that run the Dixon Theatre just happened to be giving the first presentation (before the official dedication) of a restored Barton Pipe Organ. They let us up on stage to see it up close, and told us all about the theatre.

There are only a few operating in the world, and they asked us if we'd like to meet the man that donated the organ, ha ha ha. He was very private, and he just happened to be there very briefly. Remember the suited cat that advised us that there are nicer places to eat than the Galena Steak House (but perhaps none in Dixon at that time of night?) Turns out, he was the organ donor, ha ha, ohhh, that never gets old. He gave us an official poster of the opening performance, and I corrected him on the quality of the chicken fingers at the Galena. I'm so full of sass.

We made a lot of stops in Dixon, but food-wise, we were headed for the Iowa border before our next experience. We crossed out of Fulton, IL, and into Clinton, IA.

And look, a real working windmill in Fulton! (More tours, more cool people that I won't bore you about. Plus, I do have that early bedtime.)

The windmill does grind and sell grain, so that's food-related, though we didn't buy any. I needed some food of the prepared variety.

After some browsing through Clinton, and realizing that our first choice was closed for the day, we liked the looks of Nora's Cafe.

Inside, you could sit at a booth, a table, or right in yo' chef's binniss.

I liked the looks of the "Juicy Potato Soup." I mean, how could you not order that? I figured it was a non-creamy soup, and the name was their way of telling you that. I was right. I guess Nora and I think the same way.

That was delicious, and for my meal, I got the old-school diet plate. I know you're rolling your eyes, but I loves me a diner diet plate: meat, and sliced veggies. This one was extra-deluxe, with fruit and eggs. And I loved that the friendly waitress asked me "what kind of dressing I wanted with that." Don't want to lean it out too much, do we?

Chris tried to order three pancakes. He was strongly advised by our waitress that three was a lot of food. That's okay, he said. I mean, like a LOT, she said. I really like pancakes, he said. I've never seen someone eat four, she said, but if you eat two, I'll bring you three. I saw the competitive spark (the one he denies is there) light in Chris' eyes. This is him, making the "are you kidding me?" face when two arrived. Clearly this woman is unaware of the carb-hog, and automatic gainsayer, that she's dealing with.

He horked down his two cakes, and she offered to bring another. He passed on it. Here's where I love to say that officially, he only ate two. I know this will drive him crazy, and that's what kind of person I am.

Lincoln, you were tons of fun, man. I have always said that about you.

Back to the land that was named for you, along the road that was named for you, we were glad to get home to our wee folks, and our own house.

At the beginning of our trip, Chris began to take the info sheet we had printed for each town, and as we passed through the town, crumble it up and toss it over his shoulder into the back seat. This never failed to make me laugh. What can I say? That's how two hyper-planners cut loose. Here is the product of our trip: Illinois, you have been smoked and cashed!

So that's the last post on this little fall trip. Not long now before I'm blogging about our recent trip to Napa, CA! If I play my cards right, this blog may not involve any actual cooking on my part for quite some time.

Across the Lincoln Highway: Geneva Ale House

For "Chapter Two" of our trip along the Illinois portion of the Lincoln Highway, I'll rewind a bit back to Joliet, where I left off. We had gone into Toy Town and the Chalkboard, because 78% of what you do on a vacation to get away from your children is shop for things you think will make them squeal, and talk to each other about them constantly. And this place has a lot of very unique toys, and was a lot of fun.

This guy, this guy is everywhere along the highway, and the Chalkboard is no exception:

I mean, can we talk about somebody else? (I guess it's his road, after all.)

Chris had printed out lots of helpful guide sheets for every town we were going to be in. Some of them were mysterious leads, containing only a name and an address for an establishment. We just had to check out the "Dragon Light," since we're not just nerds - we're fantasy nerds - and we couldn't imagine what it could be. Something with a costumed dungeon-master greeting us with fliers, and wall sconces in the shape of claw hands holding torches, I was sure. When we arrived, there was a collective, "...Oh."

Chinese restaurant. Hadn't thought of that.

Took this one because it reminded me of Pops, of course.

We drove on through Plainfield, where there were man-made heron nests on the Lake Renwick forest preserve, and signs advertising some service called "slabjacking." (Not sure what that is, or when I might require it, but it doesn't sound minor). We drove through Aurora, which we were well familiar with, so had decided to spend some time elsewhere. Noteworthy establishments, however, included a Tastee-Freez (original 1967 signage intact), and a Doggie Diner that I'd love to check out another time. A time when I don't care what encased meats I put into my body. "Hey-ohhhh!"

We cruised (that's what you do on the LH) into Batavia and St. Charles, where we had reservations to spend the night at a deep discount (thank you, Nicole, for telling me to get on that Priceline train). There was hey! Another Tastee-Freez! And also, a namesake for me:

We didn't go into Gina's, but headed out to the Geneva Ale House that night. On walking in, I didn't think too much of the atmosphere: the place was mostly small tables, and had a lunch-place kind of a feel. But when we sat down, we were greeted with quite a warm and friendly selection of beers.

Chris had the Tripel Karmelict, which we both thought was delicious. Hey baby! Cheers!

(He was happy not to be driving). I ordered the Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat, which I liked, but not so well as Chris' beer. Good thing we swap spit.

One final disappointment was with the onion straws, which weren't cooked in hot enough oil, and were on the limp and greasy side.

But the burgers? Oh my. The burgers. Served on my beloved Labriola pretzel buns (which I can find at local grocery stores here, halle-loo!), I really could not have added anything to, or taken anything away from them.

And as I always say, if you weren't the biggest fan of your beer, try, try again! (And if you liked it, you should order another one of the same. Either way, you pretty much end up with another beer). This time I tried what I believe was a beer from BridgePort brewery in Portland, Oregon. But you know, after the first drink, my documentation falls off a bit. Anyway, I liked it (another benefit to being the second beer. It always tastes better than the first did).

One more funny note about the Geneva Ale House is that they have the nerve to give a famous figure, other than Lincoln, a bit of time. Here is the "Most Interesting Man in the World" in a place of honor: on the wall opposite the toilet in the ladies' room.

Our next culinary adventure takes place in Dixon, Illinois! Stay tuned for the nervous breakdown I had in getting there.

Flank Steak Tacos

Don't fear the flank steak! I had to talk my bro into buying this inexpensive cut of meat for fajitas a couple of years ago... But it was a friend of mine (Katherine, sup girl!) who started me buying it. Lots of people think it's gonna be a stringy piece of meat. But if you cut it the right way, you won't have to spend extra time with the Waterpik because it won't stick in your teeth. (Promise).



Marinate the steak overnight (or for a few hours) in a gallon Ziploc bag with soy sauce and olive oil... You can add chopped garlic if you like. That's it! Then grill it for a few minutes on each side, according to how done you would like it. Let me say, however, that not letting it get past medium insures that it will be the most tender. Then let it rest for about ten minutes on your cutting board. (If you don't let it rest, the final product will be drier because the juices will run out.) Then, it's all about the cut. Slice the meat thinly, and at a 45 degree angle. Most importantly, make your cuts with your knife perpendicular to the fibers in the meat. In other words, cut across the grain. At this point, if the meat is much rarer than you would like, you can put the slices in a pan and the thin pieces will cook further rather quickly. (However, try and get it right on the grill, because it will be more juicy if you don't have to do this.)

Since I was putting these into tacos, I cut the slices into smaller pieces so no one had to gnaw as they went on a long slice. The hard part for us is making sure the meat makes it into the tacos, because we tend to eat it as we slice it!

Asian Meatball Soup

I've been way into soup lately, especially with noodles. (By the way, I think you should enter that as a sexy response on your next singles' website chat: "So, like, what are you into?" "Soup.") And I happened to read somewhere that you can use a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter in place of the egg to bind meatballs. So I thought that would lend itself nicely to an asian-inspired meatball soup.

I mixed the meatballs with frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry), some Chinese five-spice seasoning (go easy, it has clove in it), seasoning and a little ginger. I used ground turkey meat as usual. Then I sautéed carrot, onion, garlic and celery, and added the broth and the meatballs, then noodles. I simmered it until the meatballs were cooked and the noodles were done, then I garnished with some chive and red bell pepper.



I had my buddies Katie and Marshall over, and served them this soup. Katie said it tasted like soup she'd had as a kid in Singapore, which flattered me... Must be the five-spice. It also helps to serve dinner around 9 pm after everyone has had several beers.

Cod in Parchment Paper

I think the name for cooking in parchment paper is cooking "en papillote," but you know, it's my mom and my brother that speaks the French, murky bo cups. I based this dish on one I saw Rachael Ray do, which of course, she calls "Spanish Fish in a Sack." (Okay, maybe you CAN dumb something down a bit too much.)

I just love cod, and olives too, so this looked mighty fine to me. I didn't check Rachael's recipe for anything but the cooking time (400 degrees for 20 minutes). I put cod, grape tomatoes, green and black Greek olives, onions, garlic, thin lemon slices and parsley in mine. Then I seasoned the stack and drizzled it all with extra virgin olive oil. I think fennel would have also been good... But I put the fish on the veggies so that it would cook down over those, and the lemon on top of that so it would go down into the fish.



Oh, and I put them all on parchment paper. Then I folded them over on the top seam, and up at the ends. I put them all in a glass baking dish.



I opened the bags, and drizzled each with more lemon juice. Delicious.



I made extras for leftovers, as I usually do, but I wouldn't recommend it. Just buy what you are going to eat that night... The leftovers were not as tasty as they were fresh from the bag. I served them with a little pasta, and I would definitely do it again, especially when I'd like to be "faux fancy" for company.

Wayne's Pizza

About six months ago, I found out my cholesterol was slightly high. That was the wake-up call that I needed to lose the last fifteen pounds of pregnancy weight. Coming off Thanksgiving weekend (okay, week if I'm being honest), I'm back to eating big salads and righting myself again. But the week sure was fun while it lasted! And hey... Now that the weight is off, it's all part of the maintenance plan. (Meaning, I can hog out now and then.)

When one of those times comes around, one wicked place to eat is Wayne's Pizza in Arlington Heights, IL. They have a great thin crust pizza (my favorite is spinach and mushroom), and their "nibbles" are amazing. I love the cauliflower bites. I could drink a liter of their ranch dressing (yeah, if that sounds disgusting, try it... And then you tell me). And recently (dammit), I discovered that their chicken wings are my favorite (even over Hooters' wings, which I heard a rumor that they have changed, anyway). This place isn't paying me, so believe me when I say that if you eat here all the time? Your health is gonna suffer. But if you eat at Wayne's now and then... I think it might make your life better.

Acorn Squash

Dad used to make acorn squash now and again, and it was always like getting dessert for dinner. He slathered it with all kinds of butter, salt, cinammon, and a handful of brown sugar. Everyone got their own half to scoop out with a spoon.



Chris and I found some acorn squash at one of this year's last farmer's markets. I was going to pass them up, because I thought that the last time I made them, he wasn't so crazy about them. But he said, "Hey, do those again! I loved them!" Oh! Okay!

I just cut them in half, dotted a little I Can't Believe It's Not Fabio on each one, and brown sugar, salt and pepper. I got a little fancy with the spices, but afterward I wished I had just done a little cinnamon. Keep it simple. Oh, and also I think they are better when covered: about 400 degrees for 40 minutes, or until soft when pierced.



I served each one (1/4 is actually a big serving) with the shepherd's pie I had cooked right out of the freezer. (Which, by the way, came out very well: 350-375 degrees for about 1.25 hours or until the very middle is warm).

I! Have Made! Pasta! (Spinach Gnudi)

I've already admitted to the whole universe, here on this blog, that I'm not the greatest Italian in the world because I don't ALWAYS make my own sauce (that's because that world that I live in? It's the REAL one. Join me, there are babies here... Messy, but worth it!) Anyway, now I'll tell you another purulent, grotesque truth: I don't make my own pasta.

The last time I tried to make homemade pasta was when I was in grade school, with my father (who was Sicilian, and from New York, and bought his pasta from the store like most other Italian-Americans). We tried the same ravioli roller thingie that everyone else purchased during the time in the eighties when Julia Child, the Galloping Gourmet, and Jeff Smith were at the height of their popularity, and Dad sat with a pad and pencil next to our 13-inch black-and-white TV set every Sunday, trying not to miss any ingredients. (See if you can name all the technologies I pre-date with that sentence... It's fun!) We tried it once and only once. We kneaded and re-kneaded, rolled and re-rolled, cooked fillings, pressed and patted, and created a gigantic mess that culminated in the two of us declaring "Oh, eff this" and going to Arby's. Our roller thingie, along with all the other roller thingies from the eighties, ended up in a garage sale. Perhaps we aimed too high.

That's why I knew that when I saw this recipe from Giada (Yes! Yes, I AM the Everyday Italian!) it was ju-u-ust right. I had never heard of gnudi. They are a ricotta and flour dumpling that is larger than gnocchi, but smaller than... I dunno, a big meatball. I made mine smaller than hers, about the size of a Chicken McNugget (that way there is more sauce per bite). It came together so quickly, and just worked. No special knowledge or equipment needed. And it was filling yet light. It was just delicious. One thing you should know: the mixture may be kind of wet in the proportions she states... Just add a tiny bit more flour at a time until the dough is still moist and pliable, but not sticky. Then be sure to dust each in flour before dropping in the water. Simple enough to make on a weeknight.



I stored the leftovers with the sauce, and they re-heated beautifully. I printed this recipe, cut it out, and glue-stick-ed it into my recipe index file. Now with THAT commitment, you know I loved it!

Baba Ghanoush

Baba ghanoush is an Arabic dip made from eggplant that I'm thinking most of us have had by now. Don't worry if you can't pronounce it. Just make it, and eat it.



I've purchased baba ghanoush in a can that was, believe it or not, fairly decent. But it is so inexpensive to make, like, a metric ton of it. Like dude: a TON. Anyway, I froze several containers of it for later. I'll let you know how that goes.

Ingredients:

4 eggplants
olive oil
lemon juice
3 or 4 garlic cloves
beans or tofu
salt and pepper

Here's how you do it: I use a simple 4/40/400 rule: put four eggplants on a cookie sheet with foil for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Turn them over once halfway through cooking. Let them cool. Then peel the skin off and put the "meat" into a food processor with three or four cloves of garlic (yes, this plan of mine will yield a strong garlic flavor. If you want less, use less, but honestly just thinking about that makes me a little sad). Use salt (plenty, keep tasting) and pepper and a little something to thicken the mix: I use either a rinsed can of white beans, chickpeas, or about 3/4 cup of tofu (whatever you have). Then I add lemon juice, and I use the concentrated stuff if I don't have fresh ones on hand.

Blend it all up, and while it is whirring, drizzle in about a quarter cup of olive oil. Serve it with chips or pita, and drizzle it with more olive oil and some paprika. So, so good, and good for you (unless you have a date or a job interview). My friend Lynn recently made me aware of "sale produce" at our local Italian grocery, where they sell produce in big bundles that has only a day or two left. So I made this quadruple batch for about $1.29. What a thrill!

Pizza Stone and Pizza on the Grill

Lookie my new toys!



I've been messing with this all summer. I bought a pizza peel (the big paddle), and a large rectangular pizza stone on Amazon.com. I went by the ones with a high rating. I have been buying the whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe's, and I've had a lot of success with that. But you could make your own. I tried Pillsbury refrigerated dough on the stone once, and it scorched on the bottom and was raw on the top. I had to throw it out. But at a lower temperature, it might have worked.

I started this because I've never had a crispy bottom crust in the oven, ever. Sure, Boboli work, but I wanted real pizza: chewy inside, floury on top, and crunchy on the bottom. Well, turns out you need a stone. And it could not be easier.

You build the pizza on the paddle, and you're supposed to use corn meal. Well, I've used Italian breadcrumb, and that seems to work okay. The purpose of this is just ball-bearings... You know, to move the dough off of the peel easily. The stone gets pre-heated on the propane grill (or in your oven). Mine gets up to just over 400 degrees (medium-high works pretty well). Also, you MUST use room temperature dough. Otherwise, it's like trying to roll a rubber band. Also, it won't puff up while cooking.



I use marinara out of a jar, but I've found it can be watery. You can mix it with tomato paste and heat it, or barbecue sauce. Or, just touch a paper towel corner to the watery parts when it comes out, and the water will wick up into the towel.



I've made all kinds of pizzas this summer, but all a little bit healthy. Turkey sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella... Take my advice and use the shrink-wrapped cheese, not the kind in water. Too much water on your pie. And I dunno about you, but I've never sat on Santa's lap and asked for a watery pie.



After some trial and error (and a lot of blackened dough), turns out these babies cook in about four minutes! (Lets see Domino's beat that). But you want to burn it just a LITTLE bit... This is supposed to simulate the coal or wood-burning pizzeria oven, after all!



I also bought a honkin' pizza blade to cut the pizza with, shaped kind of like a saber and a mezza luna combined (they have them at Bed, Bath and Beyond). Your little wheel just isn't ready for this kind of crunch.

Swiss Pita Burger

If you put spinach on something, it's "florentine," and if you put mushrooms on a dish, it's "swiss." Those are the rules, I don't make them. (This burger isn't so much of an alternative burger, but I did put it on pita bread. So there's your alternative.)



I sautéed and seasoned the mushrooms in the pan that I cooked the burgers in. I put the 'shrooms on the burgers, melted the swiss on top, and added Country Bob's steak sauce. If you're not familiar with Bob's, you should get there. Like Tracy Morgan says, "I'm down" with Bob's "like four flat tires." If you put Bob's on a bank vault, I think I'd gnaw through the steel door. This sauce would make me eat my mother's pork chops.

I liked the whole-wheat pitas on these, because the bread was basically a vehicle for what was between it: the meat, cheese, mushrooms, and the Bob's. In fact, with those toppings, you could easily use turkey meat or a veggie patty, and it would still taste good. (Not as good, but that's just my opinion).

Lamb and Feta Burger

Did I say I was doing these burger posts beginning July 4th? My, how time flies! Well, it might take me until next summer, but I'll get the rest of these alternative burgers up. I'M BUSY. In fact, the dedicated reader will spot the backdrop in this next picture: the kitchen I moved out of in January of 2008. But I remember how good these burgers were!



This ground lamb burger is based on a recipe I have printed in Bob Sloan's wonderful book, "Great Burgers." I based it on his "Lamb and Feta Burger with Cumin-Yogurt Dressing." I'd reprint it here for you, but A) I'm not sure I have permission to do that, and B) I didn't really follow it closely anyway. I found ground lamb at Joe Caputo's (but any real butcher is likely to have it, just probably not "the Jewel's," as Dad would say). I seasoned it simply, added a packet of crumbled feta, some toasted pignolis, and dried Italian seasoning. The yogurt dressing was greek yogurt with cumin and lime juice, and I sautéed the spinach with some simple seasoning, and finished it with some red wine vinegar at the end. And I didn't measure anything.



I served them on pitas as Bob recommended. They were a bit rich (the lamb has a rich flavor), but nice for a new option.

Turkey Marinara Burger

What better time to post a run of burgers than the week of July 4th? Most of these are "alternative burgers," since I thought perhaps this might be the only time of the year when we all might be a little burnt out on the regular kind. In the last week, I've seen a thick, juicy looking, Grade A veggie burger at not only J. Alexander's steak house, but Wrigley Field as well. It's a beautiful time to be alive, friends.



I'm starting things off with something simple (it IS a holiday, and I've had a long day of rainy ball games, dinners out, baby baths and two Old Styles, though not all concurrently). This is a ground turkey patty, having seasoned the meat with Italian seasoning and garlic, salt and pepper. I topped it with melted mozzarella, marinara, and put it on a toasted, buttered roll. I also had some leftover pesto, and I shmeared that on the bottom part of the roll, though you don't necessarily need that part. Deliziosamente sciatto! Which means, "deliciously sloppy." I think.

Beata's Hoot Owl Cutlets

These are bad. BA-A-A-AA-D. But they are so good, you know? (I sound like a guy in a leather beret from a 1980 cop movie explaining to the uptight lead, "Naw, man. Bad means GOOD.") These are definitely in that "meat candy" category: sweet and savory, and fried and cheesy. In short, the perfect food.



Remember the meat-a-riffic baby shower that I went to for my friend Beata? Well, here is yet another entry on something fun she had there. She made these breaded cutlets from pork, but I used chicken (pounded out). I asked her how she got such a great breaded crust, and she said she double-coated them in Italian breadcrumb. So that's flour, then beaten egg, then breadcrumb, then egg again, then breadcrumb. Then she fried them, and put pineapple slices on top, and American cheese and put them under the broiler for a minute or two. Is she brilliant, or what?

She didn't call them "hoot owls," but that's what they looked like to me. (Now you know what you're bringing to your next Harry Potter party.)



I'm not usually an American cheese fan, but it just seemed right on these. They have that feel of a recipe you'd get from a 1950s cookbook, called "Luau Chicken" or "Hula Pork," where a ring of canned pineapple counts as an exotic ingredient from the south Pacific. And you just need American cheese for that.

These take a TON of breadcrumb, and I can only eat about half of one at a sitting. Which is probably advisable, since I don't want to know how much fat is in one of these. I'm calling it special occasion food, when you're "feelin' kinda cutlet." Or maybe when one of the kids gets glasses, and needs a little giggle!

Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken and Rice

Okay, my posts have gotten a bit shorter. But there's a good reason for that. My time has gotten shorter, too! And I figure if my time is shorter, then other people are probably short on time, too. Since, you know, I only have the one kid, and/or I don't work full time. So hopefully other people will be interested in dinners that are as fast as I'd like them to be. And if not, have you read dooce.com lately?



Oh, and sorry about the lousy picture. Again: time crunch.

First you drop four to six chicken breasts into the slow cooker. Or hell, just use two, I don't care. Sometimes you get through those giant Costco packages of chicken and all you have are two left over. Or maybe you just bought two, and that's a little bit sad and lonely for you, but I'm not here to make you feel worse. (But really, you should make more and plan for leftovers. I'm not your mother but I'm just sayin'.) I was about to add "then lightly season the chicken," but who am I kidding? I didn't do that.

Then you drop a can or two of cream of mushroom (or cream of anything) soup on top. Also add wild or brown rice, and enough liquid to cook the rice (I like to use chicken broth). Cook it for six hours or so, and the chicken will break apart easily with two forks, so you can s-to-the-hred it. Then add a liberal amount of hot sauce (I like Red Hot), and some salsa, and stir it again.

This can be eaten with a salad or veggie on the side, but it's also really good inside tortillas with taco fixings.



The best part about this dinner is this: not only did you barely cook today, but you don't have to cook tomorrow, either!