C

Life&Times All-year meal

Turkey an easy, healthy
choice at any time C4
Wednesday,
January 5,
2011

LeBlanc has new show

iMenu
Restaurants use iPads for easy ordering
Entertainment C8
Also see: Talk Show Topics, Annie’s Mailbox BY CARYN ROUSSEAU
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — The bar
is buzzing on a busy
night at Chicago Cut
Steakhouse as regulars
Keith and Peg Bragg sit
at a high table scanning
the wine list.
Within seconds, they
have all bottles under
$40 at their fingertips
using an iPad supplied
by their server.
Auto sales rise “You can very quickly
look through to see the
price per bottle,” said
Business C5 Keith, a finance execu-
tive, as he scrolled
Also see: Market Roundup, Stocks
through rows of selec-
tions. “You can read the
wine tasting note, how
long it has been aged.”
A taste of Italy The upscale eatery on
the northern bank of the AP FILE PHOTOS

Pasta maker
Chicago River has in-
vested in 40 iPads at
about $700 each for
wine selection. Since
April, when Apple de-
Keith, left, and Peg Bragg, of Chicago, view the wine list on an iPad at
Chicago Cut Steakhouse in Chicago Dec. 1. The restaurant is just one
eatery of several across the U.S. that have started uploading menus
and wine lists to the digital devices.

helps create buted the tablet, the de-

vice is now in use as a
full menu at upscale
restaurants, hamburger
vestment, but they’re
already showing re-
turns.

I
great meals
“I’ve already seen an
eateries and quick- ser- increase of wine per
vice chains like Au Bon customer of 20 per-
Pain. Restaurateurs said cent,” Flom said. “I
that’s just the beginning. can’t say that the iPad
Chicago Cut part- commanded 100 per-
know I said I’m going on a diet this month, but nered with a technology cent, but I can say it
rather than doing anything extreme, my goal is firm to create a custom commanded a signifi-
to have balanced meals and let the exercise I’m app that looks like a vir-
amping up get me back to my pre-holiday stats. cant portion of that.”
tual wine cellar. It lists Technology is becom-
To me, balanced means still being able to eat the the restaurant’s more
foods I want, but limiting their portions to about ing increasingly impor-
than 750 wines, includes tant to restaurants and
half of the amount I really want to eat, and then
using vegetables and photos of bottles on tabletop ordering de-
salad to fill me up wooden shelves and al- vices only stand to mul-
the rest of the way. Carroll Kitchens lows for searches based
on variety, price or re-
tiply, said Darren
Tristano, executive vice
So for example,
while these winter gion of origin. Diners president at the
months have me re- can also access infor- Chicago- based restau-
rant consulting firm Chicago Cut Steakhouse managing partner
ally craving carbs, mation about a wine’s Matt Moore browses the restaurant’s wine
instead of trying to taste, composition and a Technomic.
stay completely “It’s cool and trendy list on an iPad in Chicago Dec. 1.
Google map of the vine-
away from them, if I yard. and kids love it,” he said.
make risotto, I can “It paves the way for has an iPad with a menu vices, including Android
“Eventually the bottle loaded in it and they’ll and Blackberry plat-
have about ¾ of a Carrie Ann Knauer is going to spin around
other opportunities with
cup of it per meal, applications.” take your order,” forms. Customers order
and you can read the Au Bon Pain uses Frechette said. “You still and enter credit card in-
versus filling up one
of my huge salad bowls with it. And if I want pizza, back label,” said iPads at six of its 220 lo- see a menu board with formation into the iPad
I can have two slices, but only if I eat a plate full of Chicago Cut Steak- cations, with plans to all the information on it. to pay. Managing partner
salad first. house managing part- expand. Ed Frechette, We have handheld lami- Adam Kidron said or-
All this is leading up to the one food I am most ner Matt Moore. In the the company’s vice pres- nated menus for a refer- dering food electroni-
excited to eat because I’m going to be making it for future, programmers ident of marketing in ence, but all the paper cally will eventually be
myself for the first time thanks to a Christmas gift could add video or let Boston, said diners usu- pads are gone.” the norm.
from my mother — pasta. I am now the proud customers e- mail them- ally fill out pieces of At 4Food in New York, “You’ve just got to
owner of a pasta roller, the hardcore kind that selves the name of a paper with their orders where diners can build imagine that this is
comes with a vise to clamp it onto your countertop, new favorite wine. at the cafes, but iPads and name their own something that won’t
so that you can use both hands to crank out and Moore’s partner, have simplified the burgers, iPads are at just be considered to be
feed the dough through the machine. David Flom, said the process. eight kiosks with plans
I had planned to make my first batch of pasta on iPads were a large in- “One of our employees for as many as 30 de- Please see iPad, C2
New Year’s Eve, not for any party, but for my hus-
band and me before we went out for the night.
However, reading over the instructions, I didn’t feel
very confident. It’s an Italian pasta maker, and the
translated directions really seemed to lack the level
of detail that I was hoping for, so I took time to do
some more research.
I looked at recipes on a number of different web-
sites and even watched some videos on YouTube
and now I’m feeling much better about it. However,
it’s also become clear that this isn’t something you
can do on a weeknight, so I’m going to have to hold
off for a while until I can really try it.
My sister-in-law has a pasta maker, and I have
had her lasagna with homemade noodles, so I’m
Putting a twist on a classic soup
thinking that might be my first dish. If you want to BY J.M. HIRSCH
try to make homemade pasta but don’t have a pasta ASSOCIATED PRESS
maker, you can always roll the dough out with a
rolling pin and cut it with a pizza cutter. But I’ve al- Never one much for tradition, I wanted
ways been terrible with a rolling pin, which is why to see what would happen if I took a
I’ve always wanted one of these machines. backward approach to a classic Italian
Here are the recipes I plan to use, enjoy! soup.
Bread and tomato soup — known as
Homemade pasta dough pappa al pomodoro — is a wonderful
way of using up stale bread and overripe
1Ð cups Italian “00” flour (or half Italian “00” tomatoes. It produces a richly savory
flour and half Farina di Semola) soup that is thick and satisfying enough
2 medium or large eggs to make a meal of.
1 tablespoon olive oil It typically is made by sauteing onions
A pinch of sea salt and garlic, then adding tomatoes and
cooking. Just before serving, cubes of
stale bread, chopped fresh basil and a bit
Making the basic pasta dough: of chicken broth are stirred in. My ap-
Sift the flour onto a clean work surface and proach reversed the order, pan-frying
make a well in the center with your fist. the cubes of bread in olive oil until crisp,
Break the eggs into the well and add the oil then adding the tomatoes.
and a pinch of salt to the well.
Gradually mix the egg mixture into the flour Pan-fried sourdough bread AP PHOTO
and tomato soup Pan- fried sourdough bread and tomato soup is shown. By pan- frying the
Please see Pasta, C4 3 tablespoons olive oil bread cubes first this recipe results in a unique taste twist from the
1 pound sourdough bread, cut into more traditional Italian classic soup.
CALLING ALL COOKS 1- to 2-inch cubes (about 8 cups)
In a large saucepan over medium- Add the tomatoes and chicken broth,
Select your favorite recipes to share with ¼ cup white wine high, heat the olive oil. Add the bread then mix well but gently. Continue
our readers. To submit a recipe, e- mail it to ½ teaspoon dried thyme and toast, stirring frequently, for 5 cooking until heated through, then stir
Carrie Ann Knauer at carrie.knauer@carroll ½ teaspoon dried oregano minutes. The bread will quickly absorb in the cheese.
countytimes.com, or mail it to Carroll ½ teaspoon garlic powder the oil. Keep the bread moving in the When the cheese is melted into the
Kitchens, c/o Carrie Ann Knauer, 201 Railroad 28-ounce can diced tomatoes pan so it toasts, but doesn’t burn. soup, season with salt, pepper and
Ave., Westminster, MD 21158. Include your 1 cup chicken broth Add the wine, then continue toasting balsamic vinegar.
name, phone number, address, e- mail address ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese the bread for another 5 minutes. Add
and the best time to reach you. Salt and ground black pepper the thyme, oregano and garlic powder, Start to finish: 20 minutes
Balsamic vinegar, to taste then cook for another for 2 minutes. Servings: 4