Fun Playing With West Side Market Goodness

I'm not much of a book reviewer, but I am in love with Cleveland’s West Side Market, 100 Years & Still Cooking: The Fascinating Life and Times of an American Public Market by Laura Taxel and Marilou Suszko. The book is physically gorgeous, but the content concerning the life and times of the Market is the true must-have for anyone who has ever enjoyed an expedition to the WSM.

It took a little while to read, because there is a lot in there! Bob read it next, and enjoyed it as much as I. I recommend this book on so many levels; it is loaded with skillfully presented history, stories and gossip, and photographs old and new. But it is more than that. The authors really succeed in bringing the WSM alive on the page. I feel like I now  have a whole new relationship with the WSM, even though I've been a fan since moving to Cleveland in the mid-1990s. 

When Bob and I first dated long distance, he introduced me to the WSM; Ohio City was a regular stop for us after the airport. We later married and lived in Maple Heights, then moved further out into the suburbs. As the years went by, and we started buying much of our meat from local farmers, the WSM dropped off of our radar completely. 

By April 2010, when I won a Facebook contest sponsored by Ohio City Pasta, it had been about two years since we'd ventured to the WSM. The catch to winning this contest was that I had to collect my prize (free pasta and sauce) once a month every month for a year - at the WSM. I wrote a series of blog posts chronicling that adventure, and how the monthly journeys to Ohio City re-awakened our passion for the place.  

We returned to the WSM for the first time after reading the West Side Market book on the Friday before Easter (March 29), and it was packed under the glistening, recently scrubbed ceiling tiles! We browsed the vendors with an entirely new perspective on who they were, where they came from, and what they offered, thanks to Laura and Marilou's book. It was still pretty cold outside when we sat to eat, so I didn't snap any photos of either of our Maha's falafels, but they were hot, crispy, succulent and delicious.

WSM Haul, 3/29/13

From left to right: Basketeria Green beans (in the paper bag), parsley, red bell peppers, grape tomatoes (not pictured - organic Spanish onions), Slovenian Sausage from Edward Badstuber & Son. Behind it, sashimi grade tuna from Kate's Fish (tilefish filets not pictured). Behind that, Hominy Grits from Narrin's Asian Spice. Next to the Grits, Nicoise Olives marinated in Olive Oil and Thyme from Rita's. The thick sausage to the right is Beef Kielbasa, accompanied by smokies, from J & J Czuchraj Meats. Finally, Urban Herbs's coriander sits under a bag of their black barley.

Sashimi Grade Tuna from Kate's Fish
Photo Courtesy Edsel Little  

This was the first time I ever worked with raw fish, as 99% of the fish sold at retail in Cleveland shouldn't be eaten raw. Kate is the only fishmonger I trust, and my trust was well placed here. Buttah.

Mediterranean Deviled Eggs
Photo Courtesy Edsel Little

We made this for a Supper Club on a Spanish theme. Brunty Farms eggs (from Solon Mustard Seed), olives from Rita's, red peppers, onions and grape tomatoes from Basketeria, and that exquisite tuna!

WSM Dinner!

Beef Kielbasa from  J & J Czuchraj Meats carmelized in a cast iron pan, Basketeria's green beans and peppers sauteed in the drippings - delicious!

Slovenian Sausage

The next day, some of the Badstuber Slovenians got the same treatment!

These potatoes were also fried in the sausage grease.

Homemade garden horseradish really enhanced the tender sausage.

 J & J Czuchraj Smokies!

I still have some Nyafat (Rokeach discontinued it years ago); it it used only for making Matzoh Brei. This version wasn't very kosher, with the bits of chopped smokies in it. But it was delicious!

I discovered that black barley isn't as ubiquitous as I'd expected, but we've enjoyed one meal using it in a pilaf-style dish with veggies (and duck fat - oh, yes). If you have any great recipes for it, please post in the comments!

Urban Herbs's Black Barley made Pilaf Style with Wild Rice, Med Grain Rice & Duck Fat

This morning, we dug into the hominy grits from Narrin's Spice.

This is a dish we've grown to love, from The Chew's Carla Hall:

Eggs in Heaven

The grits are prepared with Snowville Creamery Milk, Hartzler Butter and Beecher's Flagship Cheese, then placed in the cast iron skillet. Local eggs are then cracked in, the skillet goes in the oven. A sprinkling of Basketeria parsley completes a fun playing with food breakfast!

What a great haul of food and WSM goodness! Served up with a side of history, storytelling, photography and more.

Cleveland’s West Side Market, 100 Years & Still Cooking: The Fascinating Life and Times of an American Public Market by Laura Taxel and Marilou Suszko starts as a beautiful "coffee table" book. But beneath that pretty face is delicious content that will enhance your relationship with the WSM if you have one, and will otherwise start that relationship if you don't. If you order the book from The WSM Shop, you'll get free shipping of the book and a portion of the purchase price is donated to the Market Centennial Fund. However you acquire it, though, Cleveland’s West Side Market, 100 Years & Still Cooking is a must have for any Clevelander who cares about their food!

Note - my review copy of the book was complimentary, but my opinions remain my own.

More Fun Cooking for a Crowd in Cincinnati

Actually, a more accurate title would be "More Fun Cooking Up a Shitload of Food in My Kitchen, Freezing It, Schlepping it to Cincinnati (a 4 hour car ride) and Reheating It a Day Later For 150 Hungry Mensans." We've been "guest cheffing" for the Cincinnati Area Mensa Regional Gathering for several years; we cannot say no to our dear friend and accomplice in cooking adventures, Virginia P. (Do note that someone from American Mensa recently asked me to return as Hospitality Chair for the National Gathering in 2011; I politely declined.)

The theme for the event this year was "CAM-A-Lot." Since Virginia planned to cover both Arthurian-era food and Spam for Saturday's dinner, we came up with "Lots-A-CAM" for Friday's dinner. I learned that five of American Mensa's local groups use the acronym "CAM," and I was determined to serve at least one delicacy from each place. As always, a major challenge was the lack of a real kitchen; though our improvised one works very well:

So, without further ado

Chicago Area Mensa:

Italian Beef Sandwiches

I was thrilled to have the assistance of retired Chef and dear friend Tom T., who served out the sandwiches - I was surprised at how many of the attendees weren't familiar with this Chicago-area staple!

Our Chicago-based friend (and Queen's Croquet Grillmaster) John M. was kind enough to pick up our order of 25# of beef and accouterments from Pop's Italian Beef, 7153 W.127th Street, Palos Heights, Illinois. (708) 361-0087 and drive them to Cincinnati. While not quite as ethereal as Al's or Johnnie's Italian Beef - Pop's was very good. The photo above is Pop's bread, which we cut into "half sandwich" size.

 

Pop's Hot Peppers

  

Pop's Sweet Peppers

I regret that I didn't get a photo of an assembled sandwich. I did eat one, however, and it was delicious!

Cleveland Area Mensa:

Pierogies with Caramelized Onions and Butter

These amazing potato-filled pasta morsels came from the Grandmas at St. Josephat's Church in Parma, Ohio. They make the best pierogies I've ever tasted, bar none, and I  always source from them if I want pierogies for an event.

Fresh Kielbasa

Redolent with a hit of freshly ground black pepper, we sourced 20 pounds of this goodness from Mazzulo's Market. Mazzulo's has two locations - Bainbridge and Aurora, Ohio. And while you may wonder what folks surnamed "Mazzulo" know about kielbasa - this version was fabulous, and was the first thing we ran out of. Bob pre-cooked them in our oven on Wednesday then chilled them; we reheated them Friday in a plug-in roaster, in its own juices.

Cincinnati Area Mensa:

Our plan was to re-create a local favorite: Cincinnati Style Chili, which is slightly sweet, and served over Spaghetti (or, as it is called in Cincy, "noodles") with Oyster Crackers. I think we did a fine job.

Red Beans, for a "4 Way"

  

Chili - thanks to Nora F. for the recipe!

 

The only lack of authenticity was the inability to make a "5 Way" - since one of our guests is deadly allergic to raw onion, we omitted it from the buffet. No one seemed to miss it.

Central Alabama Mensa:

 

Hopping John

This savory combination of black-eyed peas, bacon, onion and rice was well received. We pre-cooked the rice and froze it in zipper bags separately from the bean mix. The two parts were combined when heated for service.

Columbus Area Mensa:

  
Buckeyes

Bob made about 500 of these peanut butter and chocolate confections.



We also served 3 types of GFS soup and a salad bar (thanks to Virginia  for the latter), and  an additional dessert:

 
Chocolate Mess


This crockpot cake of chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding, eggs, oil, sour cream, and chocolate chips never fails to please, especially when served with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream (which I almost forgot to serve - oops - cranberry sauce!).

And so, we succeeded in feeding another large group.

Now - a word about the Cincinnati Style Chili I made. I began by having a "research" lunch at the local Skyline Chili outlet.






 
5 Way (Chili Over Spaghetti with Beans, Onion and Cheese)

 

Since we brought some of my chili home with us after the event, I was able to photograph the assemblage, which I'd neglected to do at the event:









I think we did pretty well with this - we've certainly enjoyed playing with the leftovers!

This should be our last major feeding project until spring. Until then, we'll be playing with our food on a slightly smaller scale. Which makes me both a little happy, and a little sad.

By the way - today is Terra Madre Day aka Slow Food Day- so please celebrate by eating something local or enjoying a slow cooked meal with family and friends! We're ordering in Mister Brisket sandwiches for lunch at the office today, and enjoying a Meet the Farmers' Dinner at Greenhouse Tavern tonight!

Fun Playing With Singapore Noodles

Inspired by a recent post by fellow Cleveland food blogger Maybelle's Mom, I made Singapore Noodles for dinner Saturday night. I was overly generous in scaling my ingredients, so I also made it for breakfast this morning. Savory fried noodles are common breakfast food throughout Asia.

Singapore Noodles, called by this name in every corner of the world except Singapore (according to cookbook authors Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman), are named for the use of curry in the dish (Singapore is known as "Star Country" - though the connection with the curry is unclear, according to the late, great Barbara Tropp). After reading Maybelle's Mom's post earlier this week, I just started craving the dish. Then, I stopped at Heather's Heat & Flavor to replenish a number of spices, and resupplied our curry powder jar. While most good cooking authorities will tell you to make your own curry powder, the product at Heather's is as good as mine - which is why I no longer make it myself!



We had a bit of sauteed Kielbasa left over from the previous night's dinner, which had come from Mazullo's Market in Aurora. And, despising all forms of processed shrimp, I took a chance on some frozen bay scallops from Giant Eagle in Solon, after the fish counter lady, of her own initiative, showed me the box they came in that said "dry" (she had no idea what "dip" or "wet pack" or "dry pack" meant; it was my question about this that prompted her to offer to fetch the box - thank you!). And I have to say - they weren't the best scallops I ever ate, but they didn't smell or taste of chemicals, either.


Bay Scallops Tossed With Cornstarch and Crisped



I had picked up a red pepper, freshly packed mung bean sprouts, and surprisingly crisp snow peas at Heinen's, which had been my first Saturday shopping stop. [And - here's a "Not Fun" to you, Heinen's - the fish filet I almost purchased smelled horribly of chemistry, so I gave it back.] The scallions were better at Giant Eagle. I also chopped up half a roasted Garden acorn squash from Friday night's dinner, and gave that a saute in some rendered pork fat. Yes - the flavor did improve. I also chopped some carrot from the fridge, and onions and garlic, and two yellow hot peppers from our garden/freezer.

Once I organized my mise, I realized that I had enough food for two full woks. To avoid overloading the wok (and our stomachs) - I decided to split things in half, and make the second half for breakfast today. I decided this once all the veggies (except bean sprouts) were in the wok, Bogarting the space:



This was the second, Sunday morning breakfast mise:



The tub at 10 o'clock is the rendered pork fat. At 9 o'clock is some chopped banana, which I decided to add this morning because the banana wanted to be eaten, and I thought another sweet note would be a nice counterpoint for breakfast. The sauce is a combination of dark and light soy sauce, prepared curry paste, sesame oil, chicken stock, sherry, and a little sugar. The small plastic cup to the left of the bowl of noodles contains curry powder, tumeric and cayenne pepper.




Soaked Rice Noodles


Bean Sprouts


Friday Night's Finished Dish, With A Wedge of Lime


Saturday's Breakfast


Fun!

Even though I'm normally not a big fan of savories for breakfast - for Curried Noodles, I'll make an exception!