CHICAGO -- Utah's got lots of food-heavy festivities.
NOTES Order duck legs from your butcher. Save the extra duck fat; combined with olive oil or butter, it's a delicious medium for frying potatoes. To make the recipe with chicken thighs, in step 1, increase sugar and salt to 6 tbsp. each. In step 4, use 2 tbsp. canola oil to brown the thighs. Baking time will be about 45 minutes. Cook pasta after chicken is tender. Reduce the sauce in step 8: Pour it into a saucepan and boil until reduced to 3 cups, about 5 minutes.Stacey Kratz is a freelance writer who reviews restaurants for the Deseret Morning News. E-mail: skratz@desnews.comNikon D40x -- Many digital single-lens-reflex cameras (DSLRs) are built for pros and tricky to use. But the Nikon D40x makes it easier to learn higher-end digital photography. Its 10.2-megapixel sensor is powerful, and the price ($700 with an 18-55mm lens) is reasonable.3. Meanwhile, skim and discard fat from pan juices. Boil juices, stirring, until reduced to 2 3/4 cups, 8 to 10 minutes.PER 1 1/2-CUP SERVING 795 CAL., 40% (315 CAL.) FROM FAT; 51 G PROTEIN; 35 G FAT (13 G SAT.); 35 G CARBO (4 G FIBER); 766 MG SODIUM; 170 MG CHOL.Holiday dinner treat:NOTES For an even more substantial meal, serve with mashed potatoes.Even during hot summer days, Chicago often is blessed with the lake-borne breezes that give this "Windy City" its nickname. Grant Park, Taste of Chicago's home just a street and pathway away from the lakefront, benefits from these gusts and also from the grand old shade trees lining most of its pathways.Since then, Taste, as the locals call it, has grown to 10 days with more than 70 food vendors; a "gourmet" tent; cooking demonstrations; classes on everything from gardening to home decor and fitness; free movies; celebrity appearances; a July 3 fireworks display rightly counted among the nation's best; and so much more that it's amazing they fit it all into just 10 days.MAKES 6 servingsSmall digital camera:And every one of them owes homage to the granddaddy of all food fests, Taste of Chicago. This annual bash of good eats, relaxation and entertainment captures everything great about this most quintessentially American of cities.1. Heat a heavy, large casserole or Dutch oven (not nonstick) over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp. oil. When hot, add 1/5 to 1/4 of the beef. The first piece should sizzle when it hits the pot; if it doesn't, remove it and wait for the oil to get hotter. The pieces should not touch--you want plenty of room so the juices will evaporate quickly and the meat can brown. Cook until well browned and a bit crusted, about 5 minutes each side, adjusting heat so meat sizzles but does not burn. They're ready to turn when they release from the pot easily. Transfer meat to a bowl and repeat with remaining meat and oil, for a total of 4 or 5 batches. This takes about an hour when done properly.
2. Preheat oven to 350[degrees]. Add bacon to pot and cook until fat renders and bacon starts to brown. Transfer bacon to bowl with beef. Add onions to pot and stir in 1 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring, until onions begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Transfer onions to bowl with beef. Add flour to pot and cook, stirring, until it starts to turn golden and smells faintly of piecrust, about 2 minutes. Add smoked paprika and chipotle powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds.It's also cheap: no cover charge and tickets that, at 11 for $7, work out to about 45 cents each. The most expensive item we saw cost eight tickets, or less than $4.Canon PowerShot SD750 Digital Elph -- The PowerShot rises above the pack with an unusually large, 3-inch display. It's affordable ($250) and offers excellent photo quality (7.1 megapixels). The controls are mostly intuitive, but you'll have to crack the manual to master advanced features.Apple iPhone -- The iPhone isn't cheap ($400), but it's the best handset for those who want it all: mobile phone, Web browser, iPod, camera, video player and more. And the ingenious touch screen is a breeze to learn -- no small feat for a feature-packed device.Talk about your Midwestern efficiency.NOTES You can make this a day ahead through step 3 and chill it. Add 15 minutes to the cooking time for the potatoes, since the liquid will take longer to boil. Find smoked paprika (often labeled pimenton de La Vera) at gourmet grocery stores.As we walked, we passed families, groups of teenagers and urban sophisticates in huge dark sunglasses, all of them with that slightly dazed smile of satisfaction you normally see on people who've just eaten a really good Thanksgiving dinner.
Stacey Kratz is a freelance writer who reviews restaurants for the Deseret Morning News. E-mail: skratz@desnews.com
Author: Stacey Kratz Deseret Morning News
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