The Margarita Classica

So this is one of the best sellers for the Happy Hour up at L'Ecole. As usual we make everything we can short of the alcohol in house not only to help with teaching students like myself but also becasue it gives it a much better taste. The secret to this drink is the Lime juice.

Margarita Classica

Hardware:

Shaker
Jigger
Margarita Glass
Rimmer


Ingredients:
2 oz      Tequila
1 oz      Cointreau
1 oz      Lime Juice (Fresh)
1 splsh  Simple Syrup
Lime Juice
Kosher Salt

Construction:
Fill the shaker a little over half full of Ice and add Tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice, and simple syrup, (A splash is a splash, if there is liquid running out of the bottle and you haven't pulled up you've added to much) Cap and shake for 2 minutes.

Prep the glass by soaking the rimmer in lime juice, with even pressure set the rim of the Margarita glass on the pad and roll the stem between the thumb and forefinger giving an even coating of lime juice, repeat with Kosher salt.

Strain Drink into the preped glass, it should be a nice light green color and smell of lime and Orange. Garnish with a lime twist and serve, refreshing and light highly recommended for the Summer Barbecue.

The PBJ Grown up a bit.

There is something about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that just seems to remind you of sitting at the kitchen counter as a little kid, back in easier and  much simpler times. A perfect ratio of sweet grape or tangy strawberry jelly to salty smooth peanut butter on two pieces of white bread each bite giving you a subtle pull back to those better times.

Now lets have it grow up a bit...

PBJ Christo

Makes 4 

The Liquid 

4 eggs

1 1/2 pints Heavy cream

2 ounces Bourbon (Jack Danial's Select) 

1/2 ounce of Orange peel no pith (chopped)

The Sandwich

1 Loaf of Brioche 

Smooth Peanut Butter

Raspberry Preserve

The Garnish

Powdered Sugar 

Mint

The Hardware 

9x11 Cassarole dish

Large flat bottomed skillet or

Griddle (Better)

Platter 

Serrated Knife

Start by cutting the loaf of brioche into even 1/2 inch slices. Spread a thin layer of peanut butter on 4 of the slices and the Raspberry preserve on the other 4. Form the Sandwiches.

Mix the Eggs and Cream together slowly adding the Bourbon and orange peel. Pour half the mixture into the Casserole dish place the sandwiches into the mix with no overlap. Cover with remaining liquid and let sit for 5 to 6 minutes.

While you wait put the large skillet or griddle onto medium high heat and grease as you see fit (Butta is betta) 

Once the pan is hot place the sandwiches into griddle and let sit for three minutes or golden, flip and repeat. 

Pull from heat and allow to cool for two minutes, cut into triangles and arrange on platter, dust with powdered sugar and garnish with a chifinade of Mint, (roll the mint leaves and carefully cut making ribbons). 

Perfect for a brunch or as a late night snack if you skip the last step.

Cousin Hugo's somethings need to be kept in the family

A small building right next to Rocket Park and across from the newly redone Deercreak shopping complex Cousin Hugo's Bar and Grill has been an area favorite for over seventy years, one of my maternal Grandfather's haunts it's now one of mine. I had my first sip of beer that I can remember there, the first beer I ordered in the states was there and probably one of my last will be pulled from the tap there. The place is comfortable, that is if you're from st. Louis. Red for the Cardinals and  Blue for the Blues are the predominant decoration colors among the dark wood of the walls and deep green carpet.

The beer is always cold and the burgers are always good. If you're in the mood for a classic good burger nothing beats the Hugo Burger cooked rare topped with Cheddar and grilled onions, a thin spread of their horseradish sauce and a bit of salt and pepper. It is in my opinion the best burger in Under the Arch with a close second being O'Connell's.

Most people Under the Arch have "their" bars and haunts. I only have one that I consider mine, there are places I frequent, places I love to go, but when it comes to feeling like I'm home in a restaurant there is Cousin Hugo's.

Trainwreck, doesn't live up to the name... Thankfully

You'd pass right by this place if it wasn't for the giant Bison on a trailer in front of the place. While not a secret by any means it's one of the places that most people in St. Louis really just don't know about it. Found in Rock Hill on Manchester across from the Lumber Yard Trainwreck Saloon is the home of good burgers and like most successful places follows the Simple formula as I stated in my review of Fuzzy's Tacos.

CB+GF=RS

In the top ten of the better burgers under the arch the half pound beef patty can be substituted with a bison burger for a small up charge, well worth it if you're a fan of medium or above cooked burgers, sadly I like mine rare as can be. The fries are good, seasoned in as one of my friends stated 'like they were coated in Lay's Barbecue flavored chips' a surprisingly apt comparison actually.

A solid meal at a fair price with good friends after hitting up a movie (Captain America: Winter Soldier) I can happily say that the Trainwreck Saloon is anything but.

Sunday Picnics

As I sit on the stoop enjoying one of the beautiful spring days that we don't get often enough in our fair city I remember back to an old family tradition that we sadly don't do anymore, picnics on Art Hill. A sunny day, people running around and good food. Sometimes in today's food scene we get so caught up with what the hot cuisine is, with the coolest bars and biggest secrets are that we forget that really all you need to make a good meal is good food and good company. That's not to say that there is anything wrong with wanting to hit the bars, to check out the 'best kept secrets', just that we need to remember the simpler things when it comes to food and what it means to have a good meal. 

We had the same tradition for about three years, then I started High School and for some reason we started having those picnics less and less, we used to run by Mom's Deli on Jamieson, grab some subs (Poor Boy for me) and a few bags of chips and head up to Art Hill, spread out a blanket and set up the lawn chairs. Eat, run around, crash on the blanket, those were good Sundays ones that I plan to repeat when I have kids of my own.

Every family Under the Arch has their own traditions, for some it's a sports game, for others it's Sunday dinner at Grandma's. It's those small things those seemingly little traditions that ground us and make us who we are.

And this little piggy was Delicious How to Finish the Hog

So you have your pig prepped, trimmed and wide open, injected and hooves, ears and snout covered? What? You mean that you don't have those three important pieces covered? Well get some tin foil and cover them! Doing this helps ensure a more even cook time and leaves the skin and delicate bits a nice even color with the rest of the hog... instead of blackened pork rind scented charcoal.

Is you're cooker prepped? if you're using a smoker do you have a good pile of coals and decent wood? Great now then gently slip the pig into the cooker and make sure that you have a good amount of space between the smoker walls and the pig make sure that it's not over the coals or else the parts that are will get dry and disgusting. Remember that we're going for a nice Mahogany finish on the pigs skin with tender and juicy. Make sure that it's in position, close the smoker door... and wait...

and wait...

Seriously at this point the process takes a while so crack open a few cold ones and sit down to play a few rounds of Magic The Gathering... or is that just me and my friends?  Anyways, the golden ratio for the pig is 1 hour for every 10 pounds of pre-preped hog with the cooker of choice going at about 200 F. So that 60 lb pig had 6 hours in the smoker, remember to flip it at the halfway mark of the cooking process ensuring that nice and crispy skin.

The time has passed, you and you're compadres have the hog out of the smoker and have let it rest for about an hour, now take off the skin with the boning knife get the bones out and start chopping the meat, sauce it if you want, remember that the jowls and the belly are going to be two of the best parts. Mix the meat together and lay it out on a plater about the shape of the hog, cover with the skin and serve.

Here Under the Arch we might not have the best seafood, our chicken might be about average, but there is one thing that we do know, and that's the hog. Tomorrow will have some pictures as well as a few recipes for the injections and rubs that are good. Stay Hungry my friends.

Here Piggy, Piggy Piggy...

As a warning this post will be a little different then the rest...

I have a fascination with using knives to cut up dead animals... it's kind of Therapeutic...

But seriously, butchery is a dying art, that is a skill driven and can be impressive to those who don't know how to do it... and it's wonderful stress relief. OK I'm done with the slasher humor, for now. I spent about an hour yesterday on cleaning a little 60 lb pig, so cute, for a whole Hog roast for today. I've always enjoyed Anatomy even when I was younger. Things go together in a logical way and taking them apart is just the reverse of knowing how it's put together. There is an art behind cleaning a hog, it's more then just sticking a knife in a hog, that's how you ruin a perfectly good chunk of meat. Patience and a sharp knife are the two most important parts of working with a whole animal, dull knives cause accidents and impatience will ruin the animal causing a total waste of product.

The first thing you need to do is split the sternum, cut it out entirely saving it for stock, I recommend starting with a clean sharp boning knife to go through skin and meet to show you where the ribs meet up with the sternum then switching to a small hacksaw to slice right through the bone removing it with clean cuts. Save it as well as the rest of the trimmings to come the pork stock you can make is Delicious. After the sternum is gone you and whoever you're with grab a side a piece and pull down sharply separating a few of the ribs giving you more wiggle-room.

There we go hard part done. Take a pair of garden sheers, clean and preferably unused, and snip along the spine where the ribs connect, you'll know when you get them all because the entire pig will lay flat like a book with the spine of the pig acting like the spine of the book. From here on out it's really just being patient and confident with your knife skills, everything that's not a pretty pink color needs to go, using you're trusty steel hone you're knife until it's as sharp as you can before using the tip of the knife to slip under the silver skin, carefully so you don't pierce the flesh, and run you're knife down the piece of silver skin separating it from the meat. Go back and get all of the glands and organs out of the head they'll be a different color then the fat and meat and be squishy to the touch.

Now all you have to do is inject the pig with your flavoring agent, (Apple juice is a good choice) and throw it into you're cooking apparatus of choice (in my case the trailer smoker with Oak wood) and wait...

Easter Dinner, Good Food and Good Friends

As I've stated before, on several occasions actually, my family does food. Mother is a chef instructor, Father runs a food ministry and I work in the industry, we have a black sheep, but shes a foodie despite going for an engineering degree so we tend to forgive her. This combination of minds can sometimes lead to holiday or other meals becoming unique... a prime example would have been last Sunday's Easter Late Lunch, early dinner... Linner...

Did I mention that my father recently decided that curing meats was the new family hobby, No? Well trust me I'm not against this at all. We (meaning he) cured the hams for the Easter Meal, we also had a duck that was stuffed with Kamut (a grain from the middle east), figs, and sausage; a Rabbit Porcetta that was herb rubbed and fired in a hot oven giving it a lovely crispy golden skin; Asparagus lightly sauteed with good olive oil and red pepper flakes; Scalloped potatoes with butter, cream and fresh grated Cheese; and a blackberry crisp that was perfect with a scoop of Vanilla bean Ice cream.

Hungry yet?  Well here Under the Arch we might be proud of our restaurants and shops... but then again what can really beat a well done meal made with love for friends and family to enjoy together? Recipes are forthcoming from this meal... maybe for when I'm hungry again... like Thanksgiving...

Cuba Libre: History never Tasted so Sweet

I'm sorry for the delay on the Friday post, Easter like most Holidays at my house hold are... energetic, but anyways the drink for the week is a simple one, but simple is often deceptive. Cuba Libre, one of the iconic drinks of the twentieth century it was the symbol of a peace, of cooperation between the USA (Coke) and Cuba (Rum). Personally I enjoy a rift that replaces the Coke with Vess and using Bacardi Superior as the Rum.


Cuba Libre

2 oz  Bacardi Superior (or other clear/light Rum of your choice)
1/2    Lime, Juiced
Vess Cola (or Coke if you're outside of St. Louis)


Fill a pre-chilled Highball or Collins Glass with ice
add Rum and Lime Juice
Top with Cola
Stir until fully mixed
garnish glass with Lime segment and a pair of stir straws

The trick to this drink is the pre-chilled glass, by starting with the glass cold it delays the Ice melting into the drink keeping the drink stronger for a longer amount of time, with the lime juice use an actual lime, don't use a mix or bottled juice it really does affect the flavor no matter what you might have been told before.

Fuzzy's Tacos: A look at a basic Formula.

It's late night, you and you're friends are hungry, you need a cold beverage, and you have the distinct need for meat wrapped in tortilla. In my mind there is only one place to go, Fuzzy's Tacos on Watson near the corner of Laclede Station Rd and Watson.  Home of heaping nachos, delectable tacos and monstrous burritos it is also one of the neighborhood hangouts, with the walls decorated with Webster University and Webster Groves High School (my old school by the way, Go Statesmen) sports gear and always filled with the sound of laughter and conversation it is the prime example of one of the simplest formulas to run a restaurant by...

 CB+GF=RS.

 Cold Beer + Good Food = Restaurant Success. Laugh if you will it is the truth, look at your favorite food hangout, is the food good? I'd hope so if it's a place you visit repeatedly. Is the Beer or drink of your choice good? Alcohol is expensive so I'd hope so if you keep putting money down on the table. The secret to Fuzzy's success lies in the food, simple, cheap to make and cheap to buy... until you start craving a cold beverage to wash that Shrimp Taco, or that mound of Pork Nachos down with, then bam with out realizing it you've downed a pitcher of the Goose Island or Dos Equis XX Amber and had another full plate of Nachos. Or perhaps you've decided to go with one of their many kinds of Beerita's that they have, a margarita with a beer turned into it, when you're drink gets low simply lift the bottle a bit and you're margarita fills up with the bottled beverage of choice.

Of course there are more Traditional Mexican eats Under the Arch, and I mentioned in yesterday's post my near fanaticism for true authentic cuisine. That being said I'm a St. Louisian, I bleed Blue for Hockey, Blue and Gold for Football, and every year is the Red Bird's year for the World Series. Another aspect of that heritage is my love for a good bar, and good bar food. So gather you're friends draw straws and pray you don't draw the short one and head over to Fuzzy's Tacos, have a drink for me.

Korean soul Food to Italian Pastries: Delmar Loop

So just for reference, I'm a fan of authentic food cuisine. In fact I'm almost a fanatic about it, finding food from a culture that is made properly and traditionally, nothing better. I'm lucky that not far from my house is Delmar Loop, one of the better culinary areas Under the Arch in my opinion. Let me take you on a little tour...

We Start with the U-City grill right on the corner (mentioned in last Wednesday's post) good Korean, small menu, cheap prices cash only. Wrapped around the U-City grill is Cicero's Known for their extensive beer selection as well as Beer University offered periodically through out the year it's also home to one of my favorite sandwiches Chicken Parmisan Sandwich on Garlic Cheese bread.... so good when paired with a Fat Tire from New Belgium or a Apple Cider from Fox Barrel. Corner 17 home of delicious Boba Milk Tea and Delectable treats of the Chinese variety  I highly recommend the Spicy Eggplant with a Taro Milk tea and matching it with a Taro Fluffy Ice for dessert. Speaking of dessert if you continue down, past Fitz's and Blueberry Hill, past Three Kings and Ginger Bistro, down at the end of the loop lies some of the best pastries in St. Louis, Piccione. With seasonal cannoli's and pastries as well as steaming hot coffee and to die for Hot Chocolate (not coco, actual Hot Chocolate) there is only one place in St. Louis that does baked goods better but since Missouri Bakery isn't open until 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays the Pigeon takes the... well takes the cake.

If you're looking for good eats Under the Arch then there several places you can go. But for a wide variety of Delicious Restaurants and Great Bars in a small area head down to the Loop, there's something for everyone.... I mean come on they have a restaurant completely devoted to Mac and Cheese... by the way food's good there too....

Cocktail for the Next week: Old Fashioned

So I volunteer at my culinary school most Fridays as the bartender for our weekly happy hour. If you're in St. Louis or a St. Louisan, feel free head up to L'Ecole Culinare's Presentation Room between 4-8 pm on Fridays for a weekly changing menu and drink specials, great food and drink for a low cost. Shameless plug over and done with moving on, this means that Friday Posts will not only be later at night, but also on the favorite cocktail I mixed that night. And luckily we get to start off with one of my personal favorite cocktails to mix, Old Fashioned, considered by most to be the Original  Cocktail. I was making them for one of the out of town Chef's who is from the Memphis branch of L'ecole, everyone else at the table was having a Boulevardier, basically a Negrino made with whisky instead of gin, (both of which will likely be in later Friday posts, both are fairly popular drinks at the Presentation Room) unfortunately or in my case fortunately the Chef didn't like the bitterness of campari and another Chef declared that he should have an Old fashioned, when the Out-of-town Chef looked confused at the Cocktail name I sprung into action with my Jiggers and a muddler.

Old Fashioned (Le'cole Style)

 2               Orange slices
 3               Dashes Bitters
 1 1/2 tsp   Granulated Sugar
 1       oz    House made Sweet and Sour Mix
 3       oz    Jack Daniels


Squeeze Orange slices into a Rock Glass, add Sugar and Bitters, muddle until sugar is dissolved into a smooth liquid.
Add Ice.
Add House made Sweet and Sour mix and Jack Daniels, use stir rod to mix until a consistent color through out.
Garnish with a Bourbon soaked Cherry and stir straw, Enjoy responsibly.

Under the Arch we enjoy as my mother endearingly puts it, "The occasional adult bevey..." make sure that you enjoy your drinks responsibly and make sure to toast the bartender.

Soul in St. Louis: What Soul food is and Sweetie Pie's

Soul food, for most people who hear the word images start to drift into their minds: fields of fried chicken, mountains of collard greens, oceans of rich brown gravy with islands of mashed potatoes. But that doesn't meet everyone's requirement of soul food, one of my friends idea of soul food is a bowl of rice covered with vegetables and bulgogi, his mother happens to be Korean. Everyone has their own idea of soul food it reaches far into our past to sitting at MeMaw's, GramGram's, Bubeleh's, or in my case Grandma Honey's kitchen table and the home cooked meals that just make you feel loved. I'm by nature weary of soul food places, especially ones who are known for their mac and cheese because that IS my soul food, sitting around Grandma Honey's table meant one thing fro me, that the mac and cheese is coming, creamy and rich with a cracker crumb top makes my mouth water just thinking about it... ... ... sorry lost in a memory there.


Enter Sweetie Pie's: Upper Crust, the second of the Sweetie Pie's locations, cafeteria style service with the Grandma's behind the counters. It all looked good, smelled good, and most of it was pretty good, most of it. I'm usually a sucker for neck bones... usually... the texture was decent, the taste was salty... really salty. The mashed potatoes tasted like they were either pearled or flaked, the dried potato taste was still there and the gravy tasted, no joking, like there was chocolate in there somewhere, or as my father who I was dining with was apt to say after trying the potatoes and gravy, "Boxed potatoes and Yoohoo gravy." Then there was the mac and cheese, it was good don't get me wrong, it was good solid mac and cheese, but I'll be the first to admit I'm a mac and cheese snob and I'd give it a 7 out of ten. But there were good points to it, some really good points: The candied yams are candy sweet and perfectly cooked, the cornbread is made in house and perfectly crumbly dense, the green beans while canned were 'bammed' up a couple steps with bacon and onion, the sweet tea was delicious, and the fired chicken was golden, fresh and juicy. Then there was the Carmel coated white cake.... that slice of cake by itself will probably be why I hit Sweetie Pies again.


 Since this is St. Louis Baseball is kind of what we do, just growing up here almost forces baseball analogies onto you, when it comes to restaurants I have a three strikes you're out policy. That piece of cake was the twist in the swing needed to change the would be strike to a base gain. The current verdict for Sweetie Pie's Upper crust, I recommend it but be careful what you order, the portion sizes are large so you'll either have a giant pile of succulently sweet candied yams or a mound of Yoohoo gravy covered instant tasting mashed potatoes.  And definitely save some room for dessert. As another sunsets Under the Arch I find myself reminiscing about my Great-Grandmother, tomorrow I might make a batch of her Mac and Cheese, sorry guys no recipe for that one, that stays a family secret.

The Expansion of Eastern Cuisine Under the Arch

St. Louis has in the past ten years experienced a culinary boom of Eastern Cuisine, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Korean have all come to grace our city. For those who are around my age  (21) we've grown up with this boom and most of us have embraced it, love it even that we have all of these new choices. Even so I here people talk about how even ten, fifteen years ago that when it came to food choices they weren't limited by places to go but in variety of types, how there was your Chinese restaurant but that looking back the proper term would be oriental. Now when you crave eastern cuisine there are options beyond the local take out (My personal haunt, Dingho on Watson Road, combination plate with an added  Egg roll is about $7 recommend the Crispy Cashew Chicken No vegetable with fried Rice One of my favorite meals, period warning doesn't take plastic) there's Korean (U-City Diner, cash only but so worth an added trip to an ATM) Vietnamese (Pho Grand is king but Mai Lee is better if you want a simple bowl of noodles) Japanese (try Corner 17 right down the road from U City Grill if you have a Ramen itch that needs scratching or craving a Bobba Tea). We aren't New York, Seattle, or San Francisco on the spectrum of Eastern diversity in the culinary world but here Under the Arch we are beginning to hold our heads high when it comes to our choices, sure you might need to travel to parts of the city you might not be familiar with but trust me sometimes a little adventure is a good thing.

An Intro: The Reason for Under the Arch

For those who aren't familiar with St. Louis it can be confusing, from the misunderstanding of the age old question of "Where'd you go to school?" (hint: The question is for high school not college) to the city made of small town layout. Few things are odder though then the food: Toasted Ravioli, a bar staple and Italian restaurant must have in St. Louis doesn't exist outside of our fair city; The Cracker crust of a St. Louis Pizza, (Fortel's should be your go to, DON'T choose Imos, just don't I'll go into why in a latter post); and of course the sweet treat that has no compare, Gooeybutter cake, that silky smooth creamy and rich square of diabetes inducing goodness. But even to the St, Louisian, thanks to the small town make up of St. Louis many don't know some truly delicious eats, sinfully sweet treats, and just good dives. I aim to change that, to guide the out of Towner and show the natives places they ussually wouldn't think of. My Name is Tom Shuman, and welcome to Under the Arch.