Chow Down Chicago: Good Eats from the Windy City

Krupnik (pronounced "kroop-neek"), or honey vodka, is a Polish drink that can be served warm or cold and is traditionally imbibed on Easter, Christmas, and other special occasions. It was also used by Polish soldiers in World War II as a medicinal disinfectant; that's how you know it's good.  Krupnik originated in 1600s in what is now Belarus but what at the time was known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The original recipe for the drink is believed to have been created by Benedictine monks at a monastery in Niasviz.  And while there is no official documentation of this, I think it’s safe to say that Wojtek, the WWII Soldier Bear who served alongside humans in the Polish 22 nd   Artillery Supply Company in the Battle of Monte Cassino, probably found his way into some krupnik at one time or another. Wojtek (pronounced "voy-teck"), whose name means "happy warrior," was known to smoke and eat cigarettes, drink coffee and beer, salute, march, ...

The pepper and egg sandwich was created by Italians who immigrated to Chicago in the late 19 th and early 20 th century. The owner of Fiore’s Delicatessen in the West Town/Ukrainian Village neighborhood claims that his establishment was the first to start selling the sandwich over 40 years ago. The sandwich was created out of the need for meat-free alternatives to Chicago standards like hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. Chicago’s Italian-American community is largely Catholic, and since 1965 practicing Roman Catholics are required to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter. (Before 1965, Catholics were not allowed to eat meat on Fridays all year.)  The pepper and egg sandwich is simple but extremely rich. Basically, you take French or Italian bread—the same kind that’s used in roast beef sandwiches—and add to it anywhere between about 3 to 6 eggs that have been scrambled with bell peppers. Some restaurants add giardiniera or cheese t...

  Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and brunch is even better because it's like breakfast on steroids.  A day on which brunch is eaten is almost always a good day because it means you've likely slept in, had a lazy morning, and probably don't have much else you have to do for the rest of the day. It's even socially acceptable to have a little late-morning/early-afternoon booze. A day with brunch is usually a day taken slowly and savored. I for one say we need more days with brunches.  When I'm looking for alternatives to my usual first-meal-of-the-day fare, I often find inspiration in Southern-style cuisine. Buttery grits with lots of milk, salt, and pepper make a satisfying breakfast when I need a break from oatmeal and want to start my day with something savory rather than sweet. But brunch demands something sweet.  On that note, here is a recipe for corn meal pancakes, which are also known as johnnycakes . They offer a slight twist on the usual pancake: t...

  One good thing, maybe the only good thing, about March weather in the Midwest is that it's prime time for making maple syrup. Maple trees are tapped to make syrup in late February and March, when temperatures consistently rise above freezing during the day and drop to below freezing at night. This weather pattern causes sap to flow throughout maple trees, allowing them to be tapped. The sap is then boiled to make syrup, which can be used for many delicious purposes.  Native Americans were the first to convert maple sap into sugar and syrup. Early settlers in the Americas also learned to convert the tree sap into a sweetener. At this time, honey was rare in the area and both molasses and cane sugar came all the way from West Indian plantations. Many settlers decided to make their own sweetener rather than support slavery and pay the high shipping costs for molasses and sugar. The 1803 Farmer's Almanac advised settlers to "make your own sugar and send not to the Indies for...

Carnival is celebrated all over the world in places like Brazil, the Caribbean, Spain, and Italy. In the U.S., New Orleans has Mardi Gras and Chicago has Fat Tuesday, also known as Paczki Day. Paczki (pronounced “poonch-key” or “punch-key”) is a Polish doughnut filled with fruit or some other type of sweet filling. The tradition of making paczki came about from people trying to use up all the butter, sugar, and booze in their house before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Christians typically observe Lent, the 40-day period before to Easter, by fasting or making some other type of personal sacrifice during a time of solemn reflection. But just before Lent begins, revelers celebrate by eating lots of rich foods, drinking alcohol, and partying. Pre-Lenten festivities go down a little differently in Poland. In Poland, The Thursday of the week before Lent begins marks the beginning of Carnival. People celebrate by eating paczki and other treats, drinking, and partying al...

  Ah, February in Chicago. The time of year when a girl’s thoughts turn to those of a soupy nature. And borscht is the perfect soup for this time of year. Usually, by the time February rolls around, I've grown tired of chicken soup. Regardless of how good it may be for the soul, I’ve been eating it since November and I’m ready for something different. Plus, borscht’s lovely deep purplish red hue makes it suitable for Valentine’s Day. And what better way to say "I love you" than with a nice, steaming hot bowl of beet soup? The word borscht comes from Yiddish, and Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe first brought the hearty soup to the States. ­­Jewish, Polish, Russian, and other Eastern European immigrants began to put down roots in Chicago in the early twentieth century. My grandparents were among them. You can read more about the early immigrant experience in Chicago   here . The borscht I tend to find in the Polish or Jewish sections at my local supermarkets is usua...

The name Chicago comes from shikaakwa , a word for "wild onion" used by the indigenous Miami and Illinois peoples. The French explorer and fur trader Robert de LaSalle is believed to have been the first to refer to the site where Chicago now stands as Checagou . In 1688, French explorer Henri Joutel described in his diary a place called Chicagou, which was so named "because of the quantity of garlic which grows in the forests in this region.” You can learn more about the earliest known days of Chicago here . On that note, and because winter ain't over yet, here is a recipe for fire cider, a traditional folk drink and herbal remedy that covers all the bases by using both onions and garlic. In fact, fire cider is packed with ingredients that are known for their antiseptic, antiviral, decongestant, and digestive properties—perfect to help you get through another Chicago winter. Some herbalists recommend fire cider to prevent colds, flu, and other seasonal maladies. I...