#machack

As we arrived in Chicago I couldn't help but think about what spin I could put on our delicious mac n' cheese to really grasp the local flavor.  Everyone knows about the Chicago style hotdog (more on that later) but I wanted something lesser known, something coveted.  Thats when I heard of this specialty known as the Italian Beef sandwich.  Quite simple in its construction, thinly sliced beef with giardiniera on an Italian style hoagie bun dipped in jus.  After trying one for myself I knew this was what I was after.

While at the grocery find the deli counter and tell them you want a pound of good roast beef.  You are looking for the roast beef that is pink in the middle, medium rare, not grey/brown. This should be enough to top a party size tray of mac n' cheese. If you are anything like me and you eat half of it while you are fussing around in the kitchen get more than a pound. Have them slice it very thin but not shaved. Pick up some quality beef broth too, a low sodium variety.  If you want to go All-Star with the flavor skip the broth and head into the meat department and get a heap of beef scraps: stewing strips, shin, oxtail, meaty soup bones, neck bones, whatever is cheap. You will need this to make your own jus.  Now to find the giardiniera, it will be by the pickled vegetables.  You are looking for a combination of peppers, onions, olives, and vegetables in oil not vinegar.  You may want to try the salad/olive bar too. With your roast beef and giardiniera in hand its time to get to cooking!  At home put the stock on a low simmer.  You are looking to reduce it by half.  This is why you need a high quality stock.  If you were to reduce a lower quality stock by half it would become much too salty. Once the stock is simmering add a couple cloves, three or four bay leaf (this is the main flavor here so don't be shy), and a teaspoon of black pepper corns.  If you want to make your own stock season all the meaty scraps and put them into a pan ontop of some chopped carrot, celery and onions.  Set this pan in a hot oven >400° and keep an eye on it!  You are looking for deep brown with a little black on the edges not mostly black with some brown spots.  You may need to do this in batches or toss the pieces around a bit periodically so all surfaces have a chance to brown.  Once complete turn the contents of the pan into a pot being certain to scrape all the goodies stuck to the bottom of the pan into the pot.  Cover with water by a couple inches, add the aforementioned spices and set to simmer for four hours or so.  Now its time to address the surplus roast beef in the fridge :)  Once the jus is ready take the remaining roast beef and dunk it in the hot broth to absorb all the flavor and warm through. Once heated top the mac n' cheese with the beef, giardiniera, and a few spoonfuls of jus.  

Since you have gone to all the trouble of finding the giardiniera and making the jus try a sandwich!  Same as above, dunk the meat, stack it on a hoagie roll with the giardiniera, close it up and dunk the whole sandwich making certain to leave it submerged for a couple seconds so the bread soaks up that liquid love. Your mouth will be happy, the front of your shirt will not.

As we travel from city to city I create a new menu item to sample that represents the local fare.  In Pittsburgh I was caught between two good ones.  Everyone I asked said one of three things: pierogie, haluska, and chipped ham (specifically Islay's).  Being from Cleveland, and Eastern European decent, the haluska and pierogie were quite familiar.  The chipped ham on the other hand was not.  I found some at the local grocery and had a try.  It was good but needed something...I heated it up in a pan till the edges started to get crispy and brown.  That were the real magic starts.  I consulted the Islay's website as I had heard bbq sauce was a favorite addition, sure nuff was! I have to say I can certainly understand the draw to the ubiquitous "chipped ham".  

The next hack was the haluska.  For those not familiar haluska is a sort of casserole of cabbage, sausages, other meats, and wide egg noodles.  This type of food makes me miss my grandma!  

First off find some good, olde world style, smoked kielbasa.  The type that fills the air in the kitchen with its smoky richness when you open the package.  Slice that into nice sized chunks and pitch into a pot with a little hot oil to brown.  Not too much heat here, mid-low is fine. As the sausage browns slice up a head of green cabbage in thin slices.  Once the kielbasa has browned and rendered nicely transfer it to a bowl to await its return.  At this point you should have a relatively hot pan with alot of brownish black crusty stuff stuck to the sides.  Thats good!  You get that goodness working for you by turning up the heat a nudge and adding a half cup or so of chicken stock, water or a semi-dry Riesling. This is called "deglazing" whats happening is the steam is causing the brown "fonde" to release from the pan.  Use your spoon to scrape the sides a bit.  Dont agonize over it though, you wont get it all and more will come off during the remaining cooking.  Toss the cabbage into the pot and give it a toss with a spoon. you want to get the rendered fat from the sausage and the fonde mixed in with the veg.  Toss the kielbasa, with all its juices, back into the pot with some roast pork or ,dare I say, cooked BACON if you so choose and a couple Tbsps of butter.  Toss this through one more time, add some more liquid to come 1/4 up the side of the pot, cover and let simmer till it looks like:

Finish it with salt, pepper and a little bit of some good Hungarian paprika.