One of my adventures was to the Windy City with my wife and her friend since high school, Stephanie.  Stephanie lives in warm, sunny California, and wants everyone to move there.  Walking around Chicago with snow blowing everywhere, I wished for a moment that I was blessed with the warmth of the Golden State.

We drove downtown and found our way to the corner of Clark and Illinois, where Xoco is located.  If you’ve ever been to Bayless’s other restaurants, Frontera Grill or Topolobampo, Xoco (pronounced sho-ko, meaning “little sister”) is right on the corner of the same block.  Looking through the window you can see the preparation of chocolate and churros (see my earlier post on churros) for eager guests.

When you enter, the space looks very small, just enough for a small kitchen and a winding line to wait in before you order.  While waiting in line you can look at surreal images, like the one at right of children in a churro-cactus forest, or one of a woman riding a torta flying through the air (see that one in the gallery at the bottom of the post).  As you enter, there are only a few tables visible, but it turns out that there is another section of tables further back, but the total seating capacity is probably only 40.

We went in the mid-afternoon, around 3:30, since we wanted to be able to try the caldos (soups) that they start serving at 3PM.  There was already a line all the way to the door, which meant about 12 people in front of us, along with a handful of people standing near the door waiting for their carry-out order.  While in line, we saw the board displaying the numerous local farms that they source from.  This is a quick-service sandwich and soup place, but it’s still firmly rooted in Bayless’s strong commitment to supporting local farmers.  Our local Prairie Fruits Farm is listed as a source, along with Rick’s own family garden.

The ordering process got a little awkward as they handle carry-out orders separate from dine-in orders (but through the same register).  We had to wait for a table to open up before we could order.  Luckily, a table opened up just a moment after we were told to step aside.

We ordered heartily, including chips, sandwich, soup, dessert, and a delicious Goose Island beer.  You can serve yourself still or sparkling water from a pair of faucets as you leave the cash register.  We carried our water and beer and were escorted to our seats, a set of high stools at an interior counter.  It wasn’t the nicest view, but the other tables were filled.  Soon after we sat down, we got our appetizer of chips and guacamole.  We splurged for the pair of salsas for an extra buck.

The chips were fine, but nothing memorable.  The guacamole was good, nice and creamy with balanced flavors.  The salsas were great, but they are the same ones you can get in Frontera jars.  The biggest problem I had was the portion was way too small.  For $4 (5 with the salsas), I wanted more chips.

The tortas (sandwiches) and caldos (soups) are prepared to order in their small kitchen from fresh ingredients.  While in line, I saw the cooks tasting the food as they were prepping each order, which gave me high expectations for the results.  In our case, they really did deliver.

First is my wife’s torta cubana.  From the menu: “smoked Maple Creek pork loin and bacon, black beans, avocado, artisan Jack, chipotle mustard”.  I tried a bite and it was very tasty, and held together well as a sort of torta-meets-panini creation.  For $11, I don’t know if it would have filled me up, but my wife loved it.

Stephanie got what I would have had if I didn’t get the soup–the torta ahogada.  This “drowned” sandwich has “golden pork carnitas, black beans, tomato broth, spicy arbol chile sauce, pickled onions”.  I wanted to steal this sandwich, but opted only for a bite.  The carnitas were cooked and seasoned perfectly (maybe could have been crisped a bit more).  The brothy sauce at the bottom of the bowl can be ordered as mild or spicy as you like, and it is the perfect foil for the torta’s extra crunchy bread.  I did my own take on this sandwich after we returned home from the holidays, but that post will have to wait for now.

I had the pork belly vermicelli soup.  The menu says “crispy-tender pork belly, toasty-tender noodles, woodland mushrooms, zucchini, avocado, salsa negra”.  If that’s not a close enough look, here’s a spoonful of pork belly with the noodles, fideos, it’s hiding.

This was simply amazing.  The soup stock  had a depth of flavor I haven’t had in any other quick-service restaurant soups.  It had the mouthfeel of a long-simmered stock, almost thick and chewy, but it still tasted fresh and vibrant.  I didn’t see any salsa negra, so I assume it was the source of the sesame seeds floating in the broth as well as the spicy kick it contained.

The pork belly itself was thick and meaty, cooked until tender, and browned enough on the outside that it still held up to a little chewing instead of dissolving into so many porky threads in the soup.  The noodles were alright, sort of like a rustic spaghetti.  They added to the bulk of the soup, but I would have been just as happy if they weren’t there.  The vegetables offered nice variation in each bite, and each offered a flavor and texture that the soup needed.  The avocado was cool and creamy, the zucchini still tender-crisp and bright, and the mushrooms were dark and deliciously chewy.  The arugula on top wilted into the soup and performed as a slippery sidekick as it draped itself on many of my bites.  For $12, this soup is a meal that should not be passed up.  I would have loved a bit of one of their toasted bolillos to dip and crunch on as I ate.  Maybe Rick will read this and add it as an option al lado.

We all gorged ourselves on our main dishes, accompanied by Goose Island Matilda, a Belgian-style beer brewed in Chicago.  It was an expensive 22 oz. bottle ($13), but shared among three people, it paired perfectly with the rich food.

Of course, with the fresh chocolate being made here, we couldn’t pass up dessert.  We were given the option to order chocolate and churros with our meal and they would serve them to us later after we finished our food.

The pacing at the end of the meal was the low point.  As we were finishing, a couple staff members checked if we had ordered chocolate or churros.  After being left with nothing in front of us for what felt like forever, a plate of three churros arrived.

They are, dare I say, perfect churros.  Crispy, soft, light, warm, coated liberally with sugar, cinnamon, and ground cacao.  I could have eaten a dozen of these, even after the huge portion of soup.  What I wanted, though, was my chocolate in which to dip it.  I ate slowly, bite by bite, savoring each bit of the churro, but no chocolate arrived.  Finally we saw the chocolate man come with his tray of dark cacao goodness.

No table-side preparation, really, just pouring already-prepared chocolate into mugs.  There is a wide array of choices on how you want your chocolate prepared.  We tried three different choices, the authentic, made with water, the classic with 2% milk, and the almendrado, made with almond milk.

The chocolate was good, and had all the fresh vibrant flavor you’d expect from Bayless’s bean-to-cup operation.  If you click through the gallery of photos at the bottom of the post, you’ll see pictures of their chocolate grinding away in the same machine that local chocolate maker, Dan Schreiber, uses.  The almendrado, made with almond milk, was perfect for my wife, who loves chocolate and almonds.  The main difference between the authentic (water) and the classic (2% milk) is the milk tempers the bright flavors of the ultra-fresh chocolate.  Neither is “better”, just different.  My only disappointment was the portion, which seemed undersized for the mugs they serve it in.  The photo above is before drinking any, and it shows that my mug was only about 2/3 full.

Overall I HIGHLY recommend Xoco.  Try everything you can and bring your friends.

If you haven’t entered the Taza chocolate contest, do so now.  The entry deadline is now this Saturday, January 9, at noon Central time.  The winner will be announced shortly after.

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Many recipes call for some sort of flavorful liquid.  Sometimes it’s wine, juice, or pureed vegetables, but often they call for broth or stock.  The main difference between broth and stock is that stock contains bones, where as broth can be made from just vegetables and/or meat.  These tasty liquids add flavor, color, and body to the dishes they are added to.  Stocks, in particular, will contain gelatin and collagen from the bones used to make them which can make a soup or sauce feel heavier or silkier in your mouth.

Many Western recipes, especially those from French cuisine, frequently call for beef, veal, or chicken stock.  In Japan, one of the most important cooking liquids is dashi, a broth made with only two ingredients (okay, three if you count the water).  Dashi is a component of, or is the base of many Japanese sauces and soups.

As important as dashi is, its simplicity is a refreshing reminder of how great things can be made from just a few very basic ingredients.  In the case of dashi, the two ingredients are kombu, a type of kelp, and katsuobushi, flakes shaved from dried, smoked bonito (a variety of fish similar to tuna).

These ingredients are easy to find at any Asian market, like Am-Ko, but these ingredients are also becoming more available at regular grocery stores.  The bonito flakes look like pink wood shavings, and are normally packed in puffy plastic bag packaging (see picture at right).  A 1.5 ounce package will cost under $4 and is about enough for two batches of dashi.  Bonito flakes are edible on their own, and are commonly sprinkled on dishes as garnish and flavoring.  One popular dish commonly covered with them is okonomiyaki.

The kombu (kelp) you need will probably also be packaged in a plastic package.  Look near the other dried seaweed products.  Frequently you will find it labeled “dashi kombu”, which makes it even easier to spot.  It will be rectangular, flat, and green, with a white powder in the surface.  This is not a defect.  According to some sources, it’s just dried salts from the ocean.  Whatever it is, most experts tell you to wipe the surface gently so as to remove some, but not all, of this flavorful residue.  If you’re feeling industrious, wipe it.  If not, just run it under cool water.  It doesn’t seem to make a huge difference.

Kelp contains a lot of glutamic acid, the natural form of MSG.  It makes food taste better, and gives the food more umami.  This is the fifth taste sensation, often described as “tasty” or “savory”.  This flavor is also abundant in seaweed, fermented foods, mushrooms, and meat stocks.  This is one of the main reasons so many recipes call for some sort of stock or broth–it makes your food taste better.

As I mentioned, dashi is used in lots of Japanese recipes.  So, if you like Japanese food, and want to make something a little more authentic, make up some dashi and save it in the freezer.  It will keep for a very long time there.  I’ll share some recipes next week to give you some ideas on how to use dashi.

There are two recipes here.  Ichiban (first) dashi is made with the initial ingredients and has a stronger, cleaner, more refined flavor.  If you want to taste the dashi, this is what you want.  When I make a simpler dish, maybe drop in some udon and tofu, I’d use this.  You can re-use the same ingredients to make niban (second) dashi, which has a cloudier appearance and less flavor.  This is perfect for making things that are going to contribute a lot of their own flavor, like if you were going to make a miso soup or a sauce.  If you are vegetarian, you could make dashi with just the kelp and use it the same way as regular dashi.

Ichiban Dashi (on left in the picture)

• 2 quarts of water
• 5 pieces of kombu approx. 6″ square
• 1 cup (packed) bonito flakes

1. Clean kombu as described earlier and add to water in a large pot.
2. Heat over medium-high heat.
3. Just before it reaches a boil (approx. 10 minutes), remove the kombu and reserve for niban dashi.
4. Add bonito flakes, bring just back to a boil, then turn off the heat.
5. Let stand for 2 minutes to develop the flavor, then strain, reserving the bonito for niban dashi.

Niban Dashi (on right in the picture)

• 2 quarts water
• kombu and bonito from making ichiban dashi

1. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce to simmer, and simmer for 10 minutes, then strain.

Dashi doesn’t last long in the refrigerator, but it freezes well.  If you really want to plan ahead, freeze in different sizes from ice cube trays up to quart containers.

Butternut squash, like its cousins the acorn, pumpkin, or kabocha, is very easy to handle and cook, and their sweetness is usually understated, allowing them to meld with a variety of other flavors. Aside from another favorite dish I usually make with pumpkin, I always bake my squash. It draws out some of the water content and browns the edges of the fruit. Some people say you can bake them whole in a slow oven (too hot and they’d explode), but I always cut them first. It allows for more surface area to season and get browned in the oven.

Butternut Squash, baked

I cut the stem and blossom ends off, cut them into pieces, scraping out the pulp and seeds. I lay them flesh-up on a sheet pan lined with parchment.

If I’m making a sweet dish, I’ll sprinkle them with brown sugar. If it’s savory, I’ll drizzle them with olive oil and give a heavy sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper.

Turn them over, flesh-down (metal conducts heat better than air), and bake at 350 for 1-2 hours, until tender. This will give a light carmelization to the flesh that will complement the flavor of most recipes. You could bake it hotter or longer to bring more carmelization to the party.

Once it’s cooked and tender, let it cool until you can handle it and simply scrape the flesh away from the skins. You could mash this and serve as-is as a simple yet tasty side dish.

We’ll go beyond that, adding some spice, some heat, and a little coconut milk to make a dish that could stand on its own as the star of a meal. I used a recipe that I found a few months ago while looking for other Indian recipes. I made some heavy edits, so if you’re interested in the raw original, please click through to their site.

FXcuisine’s Indian Butternut Squash Soup

3T Butter, ghee, or oil
2T Fresh ginger, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, sliced
1-3 green chilies, diced

4# Butternut Squash, baked as above
Pepper
Salt

12-15 fresh curry leaves
1/2 of a 14.5 oz can coconut milk

1. Heat butter or oil over medium heat in a medium pot.
2. Add ginger, onions, garlic, and chilies. Sauté for a few minutes until softened and barely browned.
3. Add the squash, salt, and pepper, and mash to combine. Add water to cover, bring to a simmer, and simmer on low for 10 minutes.
4. At this point, I like to get out my immersion blender and blend it until relatively smooth. You can use a regular blender, or a potato masher. If you want an even smoother texture, strain through a sieve.
5. Return the puree to the pot and add the curry leaves and coconut milk. To fully get the flavor from the curry leaves, I like to simmer the soup for another 10-20 minutes on very low heat.

The curry leaves are not really edible, nor do they blend well. You could pick them out before serving, or count on guests to handle them. I garnished mine with a sliver of jalapeño.

This is a really great example of how a real curried soup should taste. It has deep flavors from the aromatics, and the curry leaves give it a very special flavor. The sweetness of the squash mellows the heat of the chilies. Your typical, yellow, turmeric-laden, grocery store curry powder can’t replicate this.

Curry leaves can be very hard to find. Locally, I’ve found them at Am-Ko, but I’m sure you could find them online. They are not a part of curry powder, which is simply a blend of dry spices, they are an herb to themselves. Their aroma and flavor is hard to describe, and they don’t normally keep long. I’ve found that they stay usable if you freeze them in a zip-top bag. Find them fresh, locally if you can, and try them in all sorts of dishes.