Yes, Chef. The Bear Cookbook: Season 2, Unofficial: The Bear Cookbooks, #2

By Hank Finnegan

Every second counts.

We love The Bear and reckoned some others may too. Hank wrote the Season One cookbook as a gift for his brother and sister; seemed like there was some appetite to see the recipes, restaurants, book recommendations, soundtrack and travel tips from Season Two.

 

Is this associated with the FX and Hulu hit? Nope! It's totally unofficial and only exists because the real deal does not. Are the recipes real? Yes!

 

This cookbook has recipes for (almost) all of the food featured in Season Two of the FX and Hulu tv program, along with tips about Chicago. Mom's Honey Bun? For sure! The Michael Cannoli? Absolutely. Every dish from the seven fishes? We're just nuts enough to do it. Need a little primer on Copenhagen hotdogs or Chicago architecture? Looking for a tour of Chicago restaurants? Yes, Chef!

It's made for home cooks, not Michelin-starred baddies.

 

If anyone other than me purchases this, proceeds will be donated to serve people dealing with alcoholism and addiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kid Sister Books
• Release date: May 24, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224120192

Book preview

THE PROLOGUE

I made this cookbook for family and friends because the real deal doesn’t exist yet. I hope I’ve done it justice.

If you’re looking for chefs who developed recipes for the show, please check out Matty Matheson and Courtney Storer. Out of respect, I didn’t refer to their recipes or videos when building out this book and honestly, I can’t wait until FX gets on it and puts out an official cookbook for the show. Inside you’ll also find the names of some of the chefs in restaurants featured during the show or chefs with cookbooks you may be interested in (e.g. exploring Filipino cuisine.)

Food wise, Season Two is all about the team building out the chaos menu and getting The Bear live; it includes a lot of talk about recipes and flashes of unnamed dishes I’ve tried to include as much as possible and I’m sure there’s worthy debate about my interpretation. I’m a home cook, not a Michelin-starred genius, so these recipes are written with home chefs in mind if the version on The Bear required a cotton candy machine or a sphericator, I’m afraid that’s not the version that’ll be in this book. 

We’ll also get into some of the books referenced, songs from the show, a list of restaurants featured and filmed in, as well as a couple fun hits about Chicago.

Chicago is America’s Hometown and an all-around all-star: there’s nothing not to love about that city. Heard?

CHAPTER 1

BEEF: SEASON TWO, EPISODE ONE

RICHIE’S BOOK

Cousin Richie talks seeking purpose and says he’s been reading a lot.

He talks about a book about a man who has no purpose beyond watching trains, a man whose friends have outgrown him. I found it such a moving way to address where Richie feels he is in life and some of the loneliness of (sort of) middle-age. It makes his story all the more moving and maybe even a little inspirational.

The book seems to be Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami. If you’ve never had the chance to read Murakami before, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Kafka on the Shore and Norwegian Wood are each spectacular entry points. Of these, Colorless.. and Norwegian Wood have really accessible lengths.

FOODS MENTIONED OR SEEN ON DRY ERASE BOARDS IN SEASON TWO

Mostly we’ll do recipes, but episode one and two are particularly heavy on listing random ingredients or dishes, including those just written on a dry erase board without context. It’s fun to look at what the creators thought Sydney and Carmen would want to be play around with as they start to build the menu out.

S2E1 Charred Octopus

S2E1 Mostarda is a sweet and spicy condiment of candied fruit and a mustard-flavored syrup from Northern Italy. Candied fruit, like oranges, quince, figs, or cherries, are suspended in a syrup flavored with mustard. It’s often served with boiled or grilled meats, on cheese plates, or with charcuterie. (Also strongly recommend adding a little on a sandwich, even a grilled cheese.)

S2E2 Frozen Concord grapes with beef consommé and smoked bone marrow Syd’s idea which comes to life in the finale.

S2E2 Hamachi Crudo: Very thinly sliced raw Japanese amberjack (aka yellowtail) tuna, often dressed in a light citrusy sauce like ponzu or yuzu juice, sometimes with complementary ingredients like sliced radishes, scallions, or a touch of chili oil for a hint of heat. Hamachi is a young Japanese amberjack; whilst hamachi is a type of yellowtail, not all yellowtail or amberjack are hamachi.

S2E2 Veal Chop with Demi-glace: A fancy way of saying tender veal chop with a rich brown sauce. It's a classic dish that combines a juicy veal chop with a luxurious, concentrated demi-glace sauce. Imagine a perfectly cooked veal chop drizzled with a deep, savory sauce. I’m not writing a recipe for this, since I don’t screw with veal. Based on the dry erase board in this episode, it seems possible that the demi-glace would be based on a porcini mushroom reduction. 

S2E2 Sardine Piri Piri: Presumably sardines dressed in a piri piri sauce, which would would provide a nicely complex heat; piri piri is usually a little sour and salty, with a hint of sweetness and smoke this flavor profile would pair nicely with the richness of sardines. 

S2E2 Topo Chico Carmy has bottles of the good stuff in his fridge door; it’s sparkling mineral water originally from Mexico. Topo Chico is known for its fine bubbles and being super fizzy.

S2E2 Tenderloin, perhaps with a cherry vinegar; the sharp acidity of the vinegar and the sweetness of the cherry flavor profile would be a nice complement to the richness of the pork.

S2E2 Marciana I can’t figure out what Carmy is referencing here; it could be a shortening of amatriciana?

S2E3 The good cake from Weber’s: Cousin Richie’s daughter mentions the good cake from Weber’s, likely referring to Weber’s Bakery on Archer. If you’re in Chicago, you can visit the shop itself. If you’re further afield, you could always check out Goldbelly they carry rad Chicago cakes from Brown Sugar Bakery, as well as The Goddess and The Grocer.

CHAPTER 2

PASTA: SEASON TWO, EPISODE TWO

BIRTHDAY DINNER FOR SYDNEY’S MOM

Sydney and her Dad celebrate over dinner at what appears to chocolate cake.

Based on the gray booths and the RAV* sign in the background, Sydney and her Dad celebrate her Mother’s birthday at Alexander’s on 6158 North Clark Street in Edgewater. The RAV sign looks like the sign for the Raven Theatre, which is across the street. They don’t currently have cake on the menu, but you can’t go wrong with the diner food and pies.

Alexander’s:

6158 North Clark Street in Edgewater.

https://www.alexanderschi.com/

THE LAST DINNER AT SHERIDAN ROAD

AKA Fresh Pasta (or King’s Hawaiian Rolls) with Lamb Ragù

Sydney says this is the last thing she cooked for Sheridan Road, her catering business. She was cooking for a demanding lady and when the final furlong came, Sydney’s fresh pasta crumbled and she had to serve the lamb ragù over King’s Hawaiian Rolls. Apparently this incident is what caused her business to fold and for her to move back in with her Dad, but honestly, that sounds like it’s maybe better than the pasta?

Before the recipe, let’s talk about Sheridan Road for a minute. It's the name of a very well-known street in Chicago and the Chicagoland area; it runs from just north of Wrigley, stretches up through the city, extending into the northern suburbs, making its way through Northwestern University and beyond you can travel that baby all the way north into Wisconsin to Racine! It begins parallel to the iconic Lake Shore Drive, but around the Edgewater neighborhood, Lake Shore Drive ends and Sheridan Road takes over.

This recipe is broken into three parts the ragù, the pasta and the rolls. The pasta is designed for people who don’t have pasta makers; if you have a pasta maker, you probably already know what you’re doing.

THE PASTA

Serves 4

Total time: 1 to 1.5 hrs, includes mixing, kneading, resting, rolling, cutting and cooking

Ingredients

2 cups (250g) semolina flour

3 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt

1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil

Instructions

To make the pasta, mix the semolina flour and salt on a clean work surface. Create a well in the center and crack the eggs into it. Add the olive oil.

Using a fork, beat the eggs and gradually incorporate the semolina flour from the sides of the well. Once the dough comes together, knead it for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. It may feel a little dry at first this is normal; if you keep going, it should all come together.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour. This allows the dough to fully hydrate and the gluten to relax.

After resting, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Using a rolling pin, roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface until thin (about 1/16 inch / 1.5mm thick). Cut the rolled-out dough into desired pasta shapes, such as fettuccine or tagliatelle.

When you’re ready, cook the pasta in salted, boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes. Nice advice for pasta water