<![CDATA[PLANET of ARIF - Dining]]>Wed, 10 Nov 2021 11:42:00 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Authentic FRENCH ONION SOUP by ARIF (for starters)]]>Fri, 02 Dec 2016 17:59:39 GMThttps://www.ariferkoca.info/dining/authentic-french-onion-soup-by-arif-for-startersHere is how I cook French Onion Soup. Simple and Tasty. You can customize it the way you like and/or upgrade by adding fancy ingredients and implementing additional cooking methods. Here is the recipe for 101 students :-) 
Let's start with the ingredients ... Hmmm French Onion Soup, so there must be onions ... yeah. But, how many? Good question. Then, answer: "For how many people?" 4, 8, 10, .... etc. Then, that many large onions are needed. White and/or Yellow Onions are both fine. Today, let's prepare for 4 people. Here are the ingredients:
INGREDIENTS
  1. 4 LARGE ONIONS
  2. 4-5 CLOVES OF GARLIC (MINCED)
  3. BUTTER (1 TABLE SPOON)
  4. OLIVE OIL (4 TABLE SPOON)
  5. SPICES (SALT, BLACK PEPPER, OREGANO, THYME, ... etc)
  6. FLOUR
  7. BEEF BROTH (1 LITER)
  8. Hot Water (100mL)
SECRETS REVEALED
Picture
STEP 1
Chop the onions; no need to be precise, we just need big chunks :-) add a mixture of butter (1 table spoon) and olive oil (4 table spoons). cook onions on HIGH for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, mince the garlic and stir the onions occasionally. Add the garlic once the onions have been cooked for 10 minutes.
IMPORTANT POINTS: Butter / Olive Oil Ratio, adding garlic after 10 minutes
Picture
STEP 2
After adding the garlic, cook on HIGH for another 40 minutes (time may vary), keep stirring we do not want to burn anything! but yeah ... it takes a lot of time and it is a pretty good exercise :-)
and finally ! this is what we want to reach (see picture on left), ... not burnt but almost :-D at this point, season your mix. I use only SALT, BLACK PEPPER, OREGANO and some THYME.
IMPORTANT POINTS: Get close to the burning level but do not burn anything! We want onions to acquire a really dark brown color, but not burnt. 
Picture
STEP 3
Add the Flour (3-4 table spoons of flour would be enough, however the amount may vary according to your taste and your liking of how dense you want your soup to be). Then, start stirring for another 3 minutes, DO NOT STOP, I know it is little bit hard but this is one of the key steps. The flour has to be mixed well with onion mixture and cooked thoroughly. If you do this step right, you deserve the trophy.
IMPORTANT POINTS: 3-minute stirring of flour - onion mixture.
Picture
STEP 4
Add 100mL of hot water and let the mix absorb it. This step is crucial. Keep stirring and make sure that the mix absorbs the liquid well before you move to the next step. 

NOTE THAT THE HEAT HAS BEEN ALWAYS ON HIGH AND WILL BE ON HIGH TILL STEP 7.
IMPORTANT POINTS: The added water has to be HOT.
Picture
STEP 5
Now, here is the part where we will take our soup to a new level. Let's enhance the taste. The best way to do is to use homemade Beef Broth. Packaged beef broths may equally work for the purpose.  In case there are vegetarians in your party, you can replace Beef Broth with .... Chicken Broth (ohhhh wait very bad joke !) :-) ... with Vegetable Broth as well. Add the broth and stir the mixture gently for 2 minutes.
IMPORTANT STEPS: Add 1 liter broth slowly into the mixture while stirring it.
STEP 6
THE HEAT IS STILL ON HIGH and we added the broth and have been stirring the mixture since then. Once you start to see the bubbles on the surface, you move to step 7.
IMPORTANT POINTS: KEEPING THE HEAT ON HIGH TILL STEP 7
Picture
STEP 7
Cover the top and let it stay on MEDIUM HEAT for 15 minutes and on LOW HEAT for another 15 minutes. There are traditional ways to serve the FRENCH ONION SOUP. I will not go deep into that, but make some remarks (see below).
IMPORTANT POINTS: Based on your liking, you can add more hot water before STEP 7. The soup tastes much better the following day. I suggest that you cook this soup and refrigerate it on the night before the day you intend to serve.
HOW TO SERVE IT?
The most popular way to serve this soup is to place a bed of croutons at the bottom of a soup bowl (which is oven safe), fill up the bowl with the soup and cover the top with a generous portion of grated cheese (fontina and gruyere are two most popular options, but my favorite is apple-wood smoked provolone or gouda), then put it in the oven and broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Actually, the way you serve this amazingly delicious soup is up to your creativity. Please let me know if you find other ways of serving. It pairs perfectly with Burgundy wine, preferably those with earthy notes of mushroom.

I HOPE YOU WILL ALL ENJOY!

If you want to make your loved ones (wife, husband, kids, guests, friends, ... etc) happy, this is a great recipe you can try. Please share your comments and let me know how we can improve this recipe. Hence the above introduction is just "FRENCH ONION SOUP 101"  :-) I believe you can do much better than this.
]]><![CDATA[AMAZING KOKOREÇ in TURKEY]]>Sun, 10 Jul 2016 21:14:12 GMThttps://www.ariferkoca.info/dining/amazing-kokorec-in-turkey

Some intro ...

Being very popular in the Balkans, Greece, Azerbaijan and Turkey, KOKOREÇ is a type of dish consisting of lamb or goat intestine. "The origins of KOKOREÇ are traced back to ancient Greek sacrifices to god, where intestines were broiled over the altar, as depicted in numerous ancient Greek ceramic pottery" as stated on the web :

I had first met this unique taste when I was around 10 years of age, and I have been eating since then. And here, I will mostly refer to my experiences from Turkey. Thanks to its fame as a perfect hangover food (which may be very true), KOKOREÇ is usually served by street vendors rambling around the bars at nights. However, there are also restaurants (especially on busy streets in touristic cities) with fixed locations where KOKOREÇ is the main item on the menu. This review is devoted to one of these very places where you can have the BEST KOKOREÇ ever in Turkey; SOSYETE in Kuşadası. 

Hangover Food ? Not quite ...
@ SOSYETE you should be totally sober to enjoy

SOSYETE in Kuşadası (situated right across the municipality building in city center) is the place where you should try this unique taste. I have tried KOKOREÇ at so many different restaurants including the street vendors. But the one at SOSYETE is by far the BEST I have ever had in my life. As mentioned above it is sometimes considered as a hangover food, however at SOSYETE you should be totally sober to enjoy this tender, delicious, juicy and succulent piece of meat. It is an extremely clean and neat place, and has been operating for many years.

No Prejudice at SOSYETE

Even if you have prejudice for eating KOKOREÇ, please trust me and try it at least once in your lifetime at SOSYETE in Kuşadası.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR KOKOREÇ EXPERIENCES
in the COMMENTS BELOW
]]><![CDATA[Best WINE CAFE in CHICAGO DOWNTOWN]]>Sun, 03 Jul 2016 07:33:43 GMThttps://www.ariferkoca.info/dining/best-wine-cafe-at-chicago-downtownTwo thumbs up for
ENOLO WINE CAFE
Do you want to indulge yourself after a long business day, or are you looking for a place to try the best selection of wines in downtown Chicago? About a year ago, nobody would know about this place but now is quite popular. It is also one of the very few bars where they serve WINE FLIGHTS. They usually rotate the wines in the menu so as to surprise you with new tastes each time you go there, while keeping the most popular ones.
The place is cozy and has a very friendly atmosphere which is probably due to the staff who are all trained exceptionally well, providing you with an impeccable and fast service. There were even times that I was at this place all by myself and spent hours reading and drinking. 

IS IT ALL ABOUT WINE? I DON'T THINK SO ...

ENOLO WINE CAFE is not all about wine. They also have delicious appetizers that make perfect pairings with any type of wine you choose. This place literally makes you feel spoiled. All pasta dishes and pizzas are delicious. But can you guess my favorite food? Here it is : 
TRUFFLE FRIES
is NOT-TO-MISS
ENOLO WINE CAFE has the world's best TRUFFLE FRIES !!! I have tried truffle fries at so many different places and the one at ENOLO WINE CAFE is the BEST so far. About a year ago, the chef also invented an amazing dipping sauce for the fries as well. They now serve the TRUFFLE FRIES with Caramelized Onion Aioli. This combination definitely takes you to a different dimension.

What may disappoint you at ENOLO WINE CAFE?

As may be the case for any place, we should not expect everything to be perfect at ENOLO either. To me, the dessert items served at ENOLO WINE CAFE are not that great. They used to serve Tiramisu which was amazing, however last time I was there, I was told that it was no longer on the menu. Among other dessert items, especially, "bread pudding" was disappointing. But in the end, I wouldn't expect too much for the dessert at a wine bar.
If you ever happen to be in Chicago Downtown and would like to taste some good wine and delicious appetizers; ENOLO WINE CAFE is the place. There is no other alternative. This is by far the best WINE BAR in Chicago Downtown.
]]>