Spend the afternoon with Charlie Trotter

I really wish I could afford this:

Charlie Trotter's: A 20th Anniversary Celebration in his Studio Kitchen

Join us for this rare opportunity to spend the afternoon with Charlie Trotter. Take in his stream of consciousness on a variety of subjects. Pick his brain for insights on topics ranging from foodstuffs to management. Chef Trotter will prepare a five-course food and wine tasting menu to delight your palate. He will demonstrate recipes from his newest cookbook, Spa Cuisine. Check out the intimate setting in his famed studio kitchen. Charlie Trotter's is considered among the top restaurants in the world and has won every major culinary award and recognition. Enjoy one of the most provocative dining experiences and help celebrate Charlie Trotter's 20th Anniversary!

Location: Charlie Trotter's, 816 W Armitage Avenue.

Instructor: Charlie Trotter

Course Fee: $150

Date: Sat, April 14

Time: 2-3:30 pm

If any of my lovely readers attend, I would love to hear about the experience.
I blew all the money I had saved taking Nick to Charlie Trotter's for his birthday dinner.  It was far and away the most exciting meal I have ever had.  I will post in more detail about it soon.

Aquavit

The North Shore Distillery began producing Chicago's first craft liquors in 2005.  Several months ago I first enjoyed the clean and smooth taste of their vodka when my friend Harold brought some over to my house.  I soon sampled their gin and found it pleasing as well.  The hand-numbered bottles of North Shore can be found in several locations in the city, most notably Sam's and Binny's.  Nick and I learned from their website that they also offer a variety of less conventional liquors: Gin Infused with Medjool Dates, Gin Infused with Ceylon Tea, Tahitian Vanilla Vodka, and the very recently released Aquavit. 

I decided to invite Harold over for a belated birthday celebration with dinner and a bottle of one of these unique liquors.  I was quite excited about the date gin, but alas could only find the vanilla and Aquavit (it appears that this may have been a limited release, please do let me know if you find it).  I settled on the Aquavit, primarily because Harold, Nick and I had never had it before.

Harold fixed us delicious cucumber and Plymouth gin martinis while I prepared the onion tart for baking.  These simple drinks are incredibly refreshing and could be quite dangerous on a lazy summer day.  Baby cucumbers are sliced and added to the shaker with the ice and gin.  After shaking vigorously, pour into a martini glass and garnish with a cucumber wedge. The drinks take on lovely bright green hue and smell incredible.

I made an onion tart based on a recipe from Molly at Orangette.  It had been a while since I last baked one.  This tart is sweet and full of cream and caramelized onions.  Quite perfect when served warm on a blizzardy February evening. (It is also extremely inexpensive to make.)  Nick grilled us some zucchini as a side, which also helped brighten the plate.

   

(This picture is from the North Shore Distillery website, mine did not turn out well.)

We decided to enjoy the Aquavit straight in order to best evaluate the flavors.  This Scandinavian liquor is most easily identified by its strong caraway flavor and soft golden hue.  Many flavors common in gin were also prevalent in the Aquavit, especially the cardamom and anise.  The Aquavit also seemed to boast just a hint of citrus rind.  Overall, the flavors are much stronger in Aquavit and it should not simply be considered a differently flavored gin.  The Aquavit was crisp and smooth and the flavors were complex and well-balanced.  I highly recommend North Shore Aquavit as a change of pace for the gin and vodka drinker who enjoys the taste of a well-crafted liquor--not just what it is mixed with.

Dinner Party: Andean Potato Stew

Last weekend Nick and I met our friends Ben and Ruchama at the Garfield Conservatory for their annual Chocolate Fest.  We did not succeed in sampling any of the chocolate due to the huge crowds, but we were able to warm up in the dewy, climate-controlled gardens for a bit.  The conservatory is a gorgeous and easily accessible resource for Chicagoans -- the Green Line will take you nearly to the entrance.  Few places can compare in their ability to genuinely rid your body of the pervasive chill that accompanies the winter months here.  I've had fun at the Chocolate Fest in the past, but arriving when the doors open in the morning seems like the only way to  successfully consume any chocolate.

We traveled to Ben and Ruchama's house in Hyde Park and proceeded to make a fabulous dinner.

Ben and Ruchama made a beet, orange and watercress salad that was based on a similar salad that Ruchama recently ordered at the Hop Leaf.  I love watercress, but rarely buy it.  I thought this salad was superb.

They also made a tasty appetizer of grilled artichoke heart bottoms with snow peas and asparagus dressed in parsley infused olive oil.  The artichoke was soaked in lemon juice before being grilled, which gave it a light flavor that complimented the dressing well.

Earlier that morning Nick and I had ventured to Oak Park to visit Penzeys spice store.  They have a few locations scattered across the United States -- but you can also sign up for their mail-order catalog on their website.  (The catalog is peppered with recipes to try.) If you have the luxury of living in close proximity to a Penzeys, I guarantee that once you visit you will never buy spices anywhere else -- or at the very least, not from a grocery store.  Their top-quality spices range from familiar standards to exotic flavors and they are always inexpensively priced.  We went in search of annato seeds for our soup and came away with a bit more than that.

In the most recent issue of Gourmet magazine, Nick and I were both quite taken with their recipe for Andean potato stew and decided to try our hand at it.  We began by heating the annato seeds in oil to make the achiote.  The seeds are strained out, leaving a bright red, flavored oil.  We added potato, onion, water, cumin, salt, and pepper and let this simple soup simmer for about an hour before adding whole milk and queso fresco.  We served the soup over avocado slices and enjoyed it with a bottle of New Glarus Raspberry Tart lambic that I had picked up in Wisconsin the weekend before.

The texture of the rich avocado provided a great contrast to the hearty potato stew.  I thought the stew was a success and the leftovers made a nice lunch the next week.  I might add more achiote if I were to make this soup again so that the flavor is more pronounced. 

We sat and talked over wine and cheese long after dinner was over and left sleepy and sated.  It was a lovely night.

Algonquin Sub Shop - Revisited

Nick and I stopped by the Algonquin Sub Shop this past weekend on our way back to the city.  If you are ever in the area and looking for a sandwich, there is no reason to stop anywhere else. 

I posted nearly 2 years ago about another visit, but ate my sandwich before I had the chance to take any pictures.  It has been about 7 years since I ordered my first sandwich here and I still get the same thing -- the Where's Waldorf: crisp apples, grilled green bell peppers, toasted walnuts, spinach, melted brie cheese and Vidalia onion dressing.  Sometimes they will add red onions, tomatoes, and pickles -- I'd recommend ordering without these additions.  Be sure to eat it warm in order to fully appreciate the messy, gooey brie.

Nick ordered the South of the Border with grilled chicken, spicy salsa, melted Jack and Cheddar, tomato, red onion and lettuce.  He at first seemed disappointed with his selection, perhaps due to the sheer volume of choices (there are nearly thirty different subs to choose from) however once it arrived he was very pleased.

The subs cost a bit more than typical fast food fare (around $7 each), but it is well worth it.  Not only is one sandwich more than enough food, but in one stop you can please lacto-ovo vegetarians and omnivores alike.

      

meat

Nick started a food blog.  It's all about meat. 
If you tire of the vegetarian fare at Pro Bono Baker, go read his first post about a very special ham sandwich.

Black Bean Soup and Cornbread

Last weekend my brother came into the city to spend the day with me before he returned to Grinnell to finish out his senior year.  We wandered around Logan Square, drank coffee in the cold, took the train down to Chinatown to eat a delicious lunch and buy tea, and stopped at the grocery store on the way home.  Nick came over and the three of us made a truly satisfying black bean soup and some cornbread with my new cast-iron skillet.

The soup was so delicious that Nick and I made a second pass at it Sunday evening, with a few modifications.

Hearty Black Bean Soup

Generously serves four or five.

Ingredients:

2 Tbl butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 habanero pepper, finely chopped (remove the seeds, if you please)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cubes vegetable bouillon
1 and 1/2 C boiling water
2 15 oz cans black beans, undrained
1 15 oz can pinto beans, undrained
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 Tbl brown sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
the juice of one lime
1 and 1/2 Tbl cornstarch

In a large stock-pot melt the butter over medium-low heat and add the onion, celery, peppers, and garlic.  Cook until the onion begins to turn translucent. Mix the boullion and boiling water and add to the pot, simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the beans, salt, cumin, brown sugar, and black pepper.   Stir well and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.  In a small glass combine the cornstarch and 1 and 1/2 Tbl of water, stir well.  Add this mixture and the lime juice to the soup, stir well.  Allow to simmer and thicken for about 10 more minutes.  You may now serve the soup or turn the heat to low and allow the flavors to muddle until you are ready to eat.  This soup keeps well for a few days in the refridgerator.  The flavors will become deeper overnight.

For the skillet cornbread I used the recipe from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking, a book I have been quite pleased with.  The cornbread is delightful dipped in the soup or served warm with butter and honey.

Cashew Butter Cookies and Carrot Cake Cookies

My new office is having a cookie exchange tomorrow and I decided to try two new recipes for the occasion.  Nick and I went to stay with my parents this weekend and he helped me bake them in between decorating the Christmas tree and drinking hot spiced wine.

The first recipe is from Martha Stewart and can be found on her website.  The cookies call for two and a half cups of cashews which are used to make a delicious cashew butter for the batter.  A portion is also added coarsely chopped to the batter which created a lovely texture.  The only change I made to these cookies was to omit the caramel sauce.  Oddly, the grocery stores near my parent's house happened to be completely out of caramel candies. 

These cookies were fantastic.  I will definitely be making them again.  I think the caramel sauce would be an excellent complement to these cookies and I hope to try it next time around.

The second recipe, Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies, is also from Martha Stewart and can also be found on her website.  I was less thrilled with the results of this recipe.  The cookies were soft and cakey, I believe too cakey to be called a cookie.  They fell apart at the slightest touch.  However, the flavor was nice and they filled the house with a wonderful aroma while baking. 

I would do two things differently if I were to bake these again.  First, I would make the cookies much smaller.  They expand quite a bit while baking which makes for an even more unruly sandwich.  Secondly, I would recommend you ignore the recipe that is provided for the Cream Cheese Frosting filling. The cookies themselves already call for two sticks of butter.  Adding a third to the filling is not only a bit excessive, but makes for both a poor texture and taste.  Simply combining cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla would created the perfect filling.  The zing from the cream cheese that we all love in cream cheese frosting would not be muted by the butter and the resulting texture would create a more secure sandwich.

Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

We have all most likely tried our hand at dozens of chocolate chip cookie recipes.  After many years of experimenting I have finally found my favorite recipe.  Eileen and Nick have helped me keep them in heavy rotation over the last couple of months.  Last Friday we had our first snowstorm in Chicago.  It wasn't as severe as had originally been predicted, but with 60F weather fresh in our memories it was just as bitter.  The three of us stayed in watching television under a sleeping bag, drinking hot Grzaniec Galicyjski, a spiced Polish wine that I fell in love with while living in Kraków, and baking these delicious cookies. 

My cookies are largely based on the Williams-Sonoma Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from their wonderful book, Essentials of Baking. This recipe makes about 24 cookies that will stay pleasantly chewy in a sealed container for up to four days.

Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350F

1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 C firmly packed brown sugar
6 Tbl granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 C semisweet or dark chocolate chips

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with a wooden spoon or flat pastry whisk until smooth.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well incorporated.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and stir until the dough just comes together.  Add the chocolate and and stir until incorporated. Do not over-mix.

Drop the dough in large tablespoons onto a prepared cookie sheet (I use a Silpat mat on an air-bake sheet).  Leave about 2 inches for the cookies to expand.  Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.  Let cool briefly on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack.

The batch of cookies I made on Friday received a nice touch from a company in New York called SweetRiot. I used a vial of their flavor 65 ("100% cacao nibs dunked in 65% chocolate") as extra chocolate flavor and crunch in these cookies (I'm currently snacking on their flavor 50).  The results were tasty! I don't usually post about things that I am sent as the owner of this website, but this company seems sweet and I know their products are. Mmm, thanks!

Do any of you have favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes?  I'd love to try them and compare.  Feel free to email or post in the comments.

Return from hiatus with delicious muffins in tow.

Hello dear readers!  I am back in action after fixing my computer problems.  Thank you for sticking with me.  I have received many sweet emails asking if I am throwing in the kitchen towel on my blog, so to speak.  I am not.

i have at long last been offered a well paying and challenging job.  After the Thanksgiving holiday i will once again be working in the Chicago loop for a wonderful organization pursuing cancer and leukemia treatment research.  Not only does the work promise to be personally gratifying, but socially as well.  As some of you may know, I have an interest in one day pursing a joint law and public health degree program.  This opportunity will help inform my decision to go ahead with the latter.

I wanted to remind you of one of my all-time favorite recipes that I have been baking in high volume recently:  Bonnie's Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins.

I usually do not use grated chocolate and never add the nuts that this recipe calls for, but rather extra chocolate chips.  For a special treat use a high percentage cacao dark chocolate with a handful of regular milk chocolate chips.  The dark chocolate will not melt as much as the milk chocolate during baking and will provide not only a deeper flavor, but a pleasing texture as well.

One other bit of advice.  I recently used a baking spray to coat my muffin tins before baking and the muffins came out a bit tough.  Ditch the spray and use the old-fashioned method of coating the tins in butter for a more luscious final product.

Ting Pop

While I receive a number of emails concerning things that I post on Pro Bono Baker, one of the most popular topics is Ting pop.  I initially posted about my love of this pop when I reported on my yearly family vacation to Waupaca, WI last year.

In an effort to assuage those of you who have written to me for more information on Ting, and for others who might be curious, I offer you all the knowledge I have.

When my family is in Waupaca we always take a short bike ride, or an even shorter car ride, to the Weller Store in Rural.  From Waupaca head southwest on CR-QQ which becomes Old WI-22.  22 jogs west in Rural and becomes Rural Rd.  This should send you past the Weller Store which sits next to the Crystal River in Rural.

A very sweet older man runs the Weller Store. (There he is above serving my father ice cream.)  Here you can find water-logged pulp novels for 10 cents, Ting pop for a quarter, ice cream cones for the same price (50 cents for some premium flavors; I am fond of the maple nut), inner-tube rentals, and fascinating conversation about local lore, river water levels, and how the community has changed over the years.

As far as I know, there is no way to contact the Weller Store.  I cannot locate a local listing for it and I do not recall having ever noticed a phone in the establishment.

While at the Weller Store recently, I learned that Ting is bottled by the New London Bottling Co. in New London, WI.  They can be reached at (920) 982-2337.  It sounds as if they will continue to bottle until they run out of bottles.  Therefore, when you purchase a pop at places like the Weller Store you will kindly be asked to consume it around town and to return the bottle. Please do.  It will be a sad day when I head to Rural and am unable to enjoy a Ting while watching the Crystal River canoe trips float by in the summer sun. Therefore, those of you looking to have Ting shipped or to take it home with you are out of luck.  Please cooperate.

Ting can also reportedly be found at Cheesie Bob's Bleu Cheese House in Waupaca proper. Follow the link for a map or contact the Bleu Cheese House at (715) 258-0900.

*Update*

Thanks to Mark for another Ting pop location, also in Waupaca:

Cas Liquor Store

226 W Fulton St
Waupaca, WI 54981

(715) 258-3127

AND for this fantastic link!

Birthdays and Broken Computers

Today is my 25th.  I had a lovely lunch at Lula Cafe with my mother, grandmother Schwab, and dearest friend Eileen.  This evening Nick and I are having dinner at the Green Zebra which I am very excited about returning to.  This will be a very delicious day indeed.

My apologies for not posting recently.  My computer isn't letting me upload any photos.  So, while I have about 2 months worth of things to post about, it will be a bit before you can see the evidence.  I will hopefully have the issue resolved soon.

In the meantime here is a photo of my family last Christmas standing in Kraków's Rynek Główny.  I love them very much.  Thanks for your care and patience these last 25 years.

Summer Spinach Pie

Eileen and I moved into our new apartment last month.  It is a tiny two-bedroom and we are still getting settled, but it is so nice to have our own place after many months of temporary housing.  A few weeks ago I had Nick over for dinner and took advantage of our glorified fire escape/porch by pulling our table and chairs out of doors.

I made this spinach pie based on a recipe in the May 2006 issue of Cooking Light.  The original recipe, Spring Greens Pie, can be found on page 152.

Here is my modified recipe:

Summer Spinach Pie

6 Tbl butter
1 C thinly sliced green onions
1/2 C thinly sliced shallots
1/2 C thinly sliced onion
10 C baby spinach (de-stemmed)
1/2 C part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 C shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 C chopped fresh dill
1/4 C pine nuts
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
8 sheets frozen phyllo dough (thawed)

Over medium heat saute the green onions, onions and shallots in 2 Tbl butter until translucent and golden.  Remove and set aside in a large bowl.

Working in batches as your pan-size restricts, wilt the spinach.

As each batch is wilted set aside in a colander to cool.  Press out any excess moisture and transfer to the large bowl with the onion mixture before draining the next batch.

Preheat the oven to 375F

Add the cheeses, dill, nutmeg, pine nuts, salt, and pepper to the onion/spinach mixture.  Toss to combine evenly.

Place one sheet of phyllo dough over the surface of a buttered glass pie pan.  Melt 4 Tbl butter and distribute a thin coat over the phyllo dough sheet using a pastry brush. Repeat with the remaining sheets of phyllo dough, arranging the sheets in alternating directions to cover any gaps.  Spoon the filling into the center of the pie dish and gently distribute evenly.  Fold the phyllo dough towards the center of the pie and brush with the remaining melted butter.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the phyllo dough is golden brown and the center is firm to a gentle touch.  Cool slightly before serving.

This was a fairly hearty and basically healthy dinner pie.  It was filling without sitting too heavily in the stomach for a warm summer day and went nicely with a slightly chilled red wine.

7th Annual Feast of the Senses: Part 2

The second half of our evening at the 7th annual Feast of the Senses.

The Catherine Edelman Gallery hosted Butter and their Liquid Guacamole and Chips.  This offering was easily the most exciting of the night.  This was a lovely example of a dramatic deconstruction of a common dish that worked perfectly.  The focus was on flavor, temperature, and texture rather than simply presentation.  The top layer, the "chips", consisted of warm milk and cream infused with tortilla chips and then strained creating a liquid corn chip.  The bottom layer was a cool, creamy, and lightly salted guacamole.  The texture of both layers was silky and the temperature difference aided in the delightfully confusing sensation of tasting a familiar dish, while tactilely experiencing something completely different.

In zg Gallery we sampled meads from Wild Blossom Meadery.  Harold and I have at various times frequented the lovely Bev-Art store, a superb home-brew store on the south-side of Chicago, which sells these meads.  If you have any interest in home-brewing yourself I highly suggest the attentive and expert service provided by this supply store.

The Andrew Bae Gallery hosted the ever delicious and generous Goose Island Brewery. Young women gave away full bottle samples of six of their most popular beers. It was perhaps a shame not to find some more exciting offerings than the standards.

Fox & Obel offered Dry Rubbed BBQ Shrimp on Quinoa Salad.  The Shrimp was perhaps salty to a fault though the salad was quite good boasting well balanced flavors and perfectly cooked quinoa.

Across the street at the Martha Schneider Gallery we sampled a truly delicious and delicate Chilled English Pea "Veloute" with Vanilla, Pistachio, and Shallots from Courtrights Restaurant. The fresh flavors bursting from the chilled peas and the palate warming vanilla and pistachio made for a fantastic soup. If I ever find myself out in Willow Springs, I know where to dine.  In this gallery we also sampled Evolution wine from Sokol Blosser, which was nice but unremarkable.

Vie served Caveny Farms Turkey and Sweet Cherries in the Marx-Saunders Gallery.  This house-cured smoked turkey served with sun-dried sweet cherries, wood-grilled chicories, and herbs was quite good. My father spoke with the owner of Caveny Farms for a bit and he was a very sweet man.  I would love to recommend that you order your Thanksgiving turkey from his business, you will not be disappointed.

In this gallery we also sampled Kobrand Spain wines.  Each of us fell in love with Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial.  This wine from Sardon de Duero was certainly one of the best I have had the opportunity to taste.  I highly recommend it.

Sadly, this brought us to the end of our night.  As we found last year there are far too many enticing offerings at the Feast of the Senses to get through in the few hours of the event. 

We all had an amazing time and I would like to offer my many thanks to Portia Belloc-Lowndes for inviting me once again.  Check out the fantastic book she co-authored, The Slow Food Guide to Chicago.

7th Annual Feast of the Senses: Part 1

The Chicago Art Dealers Association: Feast of the Senses.  Food, wine, art & music.

On June 22nd I met Nick, Harold, and my father in river north to attend the seventh annual Feast of the Senses.  John and I attended this event last year and had a lovely time.  The proceeds from this event were used to benefit three not-for-profit organizations: New Orleans Gumbo, Farm Aid Hurricane Relief, and Purple Asparagus.

After checking in we went directly to the Belloc Lowndes Fine Art Gallery in pursuit of Alinea.  Chef Grant Achatz was serving Chewy Balsamic Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil. I have yet to dine at Alinea due to the prohibitively high cost for my currently empty pockets.  The opportunity to sample this small offering was highly appreciated.  As you can see in these two photographs the item was served on long movable skewers resting on the bar.  The patron was then invited to taste the sample hands-free.

The texture was superb while the flavor was a bit heavy on the balsamic.  You can see the cube of chewy balsamic in the first picture on the bottom of the stack.  Overall this dish was quite delicious, but perhaps the novelty of the presentation won out over taste.

Also in this gallery we sampled Eli's Cheesecake shooters which were good but uninspired. The Abita brewery had samples of several of their beers.  We sampled the Restoration Ale and Purple Haze.  The first was nice and balanced while the second was too fruity and thin, definitely a novelty beer.

We then made our way to the Stephen Kelly Gallery to find ristorante we which was serving one of my favorite dishes from the last Feast of the Senses: Chilled Roasted Garlic Soup with Olive Oil Croutons and Spicy Greens.

The unfailingly nice Mark DiDomenico presided over the table and subsequently invited me to a fantastic Champagne tasting at his hotel a few weeks later. The velvety-smooth texture of the soup is punctuated with the resoundingly clear flavor of the garlic and the cool temperature is both suprising and pleasant.  I highly recommend dining at ristorante we to sample this incredible soup.

Also in this gallery we sampled ciders from the Fox Valley Winery. An unpasteurized and unfiltered Christian Drouin Poiré Pear Cider from Normandy, France at 4.0% ABV and an unpasteurized and unfiltered Lauriston Cidre Bouché Brut de Normandie, an apple cider also from Normandy. Both of these were excellent though Harold and I preferred the pear due to the lower final sugar content.

At the Judy Saslow Gallery Collins Caviar served Bloody Mary Gazpacho Shooters with Caviar, Pepper, Lime Sour Cream Float & Fresh Celery. These were good, but it was difficult to taste the caviar.

Heaven on Seven served jambalaya which was delicious though the rice it was served on was quite overcooked.

PRP Wine International served a variety of wines.  Harold was not thrilled with any of them, though I enjoyed their Oligitum Reserva, Cab Blend 2000 from Navarra, Spain.

To read about the second half of our evening head to this post.

Chicago Tribune: Food Porn

Pro Bono Baker was featured in a Chicago Tribune article recently!  Also mentioned is one of my favorite Chicago food blogs Bunny Pie.  To read this article on food porn follow the link above or download the article below.  Thanks to Trine Tsouderos for putting together a great piece on one of my favorite hobbies!

Download ChicagoTribune-WhataDish.rtf

Cavatelli Pasta with Morel and Asparagus Cream Sauce

John and I shared a lovely dinner with Mindy and Ken using the last of the morel mushrooms a few weeks ago. We walked over to Hyde Park Produce to purchase fresh pasta, asparagus, and ingredients for a cream sauce.  There are a multitude of things that I will miss about Hyde Park when my eventual move to a new neighborhood occurs, but Hyde Park Produce vies for the top of the local establishment list (contending only with the Florian Caffe).

For the pasta we chose long, plump strands of fresh cavatelli.  This thick pasta perfectly complemented the asparagus both visually and texturally.

We wanted to create a cream sauce that would complement the luscious taste of the morels without overpowering them.  Through a bit of research we concocted our own recipe.

Morel and Asparagus Cream Sauce

3 large and fresh morel mushrooms
1 1/2 C dry white wine
1/2 C finely chopped shallots
3 Tbl fresh lemon juice
1 lb thin asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 C heavy cream
3/4 C plus 3 Tbl cold and unsalted butter cut into tablespoons

Rinse and chop morels.  Melt 3 Tbl butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add morels and saute until water has leached out and mostly reabsorbed.  Remove morels from heat and set aside.

Blanch asparagus in boiling water for a few minutes, remove when just undercooked (before turning bright green.) Set aside.

In a large and heavy skillet simmer 1 C of the white wine, lemon juice, and shallots until reduced to a few tablespoons. Add the cream and simmer for one minute.  Add 1/2 C of white wine, the morels, and asparagus and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add 3/4 C butter and whisk constantly over medium-low heat until creamy.  Remove from heat once incorporated.  Do not over cook.   Salt and pepper to taste. 

Cook 1 1/2 lbs pasta as directed and cover with the warm morel cream sauce.  Serve and enjoy.

7th Annual Feast of the Senses

Food, Art, & Wine! Tomorrow night!

Last year I attended the Feast of the Senses and wrote a two part post on the event. You can find the archived articles here and here.

John and I met wonderful people, visited beautiful galleries, spoke with talented chefs, sampled superb foods, and drank our fill of wine and beer. Judging by the list of restaurants participating this year, I fully expect the event to be better than ever.

If any of you dear readers end up attending, please do say hello to me.

More information can be found at Chicago Cooks.

Thursday, June 22nd, 6pm-8:30pm
Galleries of River North
Tickets sales/Program Pick-up at Allens American Cafe
217 W. Huron at 5:00pm.
The event begins at 6:00pm.

Ticket Price $50 before and
$60 at the door.

Flux.

It has been a while, huh? I have had a lot of changes occuring in my non-food life over the last few weeks--some good, some bad. I have several posts to put up and many new posts from food blogging friends that I have yet to view and comment on. When I have more regular internet access I will be sure to get back in the game. Thanks for your patience during the interim.

Above is a photo from our widly successful first round of CUDGEL- Urban Golf. Check out this fabulous music video that my friend Peter put together with video from the event. We will be holding the next round on July 15th. Details can be found on our website.

Morel Murshrooms

Last weekend John, Paul, Mindy, and Ken went up to Paul's farm in Wisconsin to pit-roast a lamb and sample the home-brew Paul and John made most recently.  In addition to these culinary delights they also foraged for morels. Morel season has been upon us for a few weeks now, and thanks to a recent rain, my friends were able to find handfuls of these beautiful things.

They dined handsomely on them while at the farm, but were kind enough to bring some back to share with me.  The unctuous taste of the morel is subtle and full.  When preparing the morels it is important to remember to pair them with flavors what will not over-power their unique taste. 

To prepare:

Clean, trim, and chop the morels.
Melt a hearty amount of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
When the butter begins to foam add the morels. 
Stir often.
Moisture will leach out of the morels.  Continue to cook until most has evaporated. 
The morels should cook just a few minutes in total.

Thus far we have enjoyed them on toast as well as in an omelet with dill Havarti cheese.

Formerly Known as the Berghoff Bar. . .

Tuesday night I had the luck to be invited by my friend Paul to the private grand re-opening party of the Berghoff Bar, or as it is now to be called -- 17/West.  Name changes aside, my worries were assuaged to a large degree when we walked in.  The west wall has been taken out and café style seating installed.  The lunch counter is still just ahead of this area and otherwise things are fairly intact.  The expansion feels a bit strange, but it does make the business feel airy and bright (oh, they also put in big windows, or rather, took the dimming shading and foliage off the old).

That glorious wooden bar is still as beautiful as ever.  The old brass Berghoff taps are gone and have been replaced by tacky plastic and the liquor behind the bar has been removed and replaced with white table cloths and empty clear glasses.  This last feature made the place feel a bit like an office party in an unfinished board room, but I'll live.

A nice woman named Nancy who is helping to run things took us for a small tour of the premises.  Above you can see the old back dining room which is currently set up for a catering event.  In case you haven't heard, Carlyn Berghoff has started a catering business out of the old site.  (Paul's sister is getting married in a week and they have the rehersal dinner planned for this location, I will report back on his comments.)

Just off the main dining room is their new 'tasting room' for more intimate gatherings.  It is a nice idea, but I would curious to see if they use both spaces simultaneously, that could become bothersome.

(My apologies for the poor picture quality.)

The bar area has a new menu of German fare, tapas, and desserts.  Many of the items from the German menu sounded similar to their old offerings so Paul and I had to try our favorites.  Paul was happy to report that the sauerbraten tastes as good as ever.  I ordered the new version of their mushroom strudel. It was tasty, but made me yearn for the old days.  The phyllo dough is somewhat dry tasting and stuffed with goat cheese, not mushrooms.  The mushrooms come in the form of a puddle on the side that you supposedly dip the cheese stick in.  Not what I am looking for. Oh well.  We gave Nancy our input and hopefully we will see some of it put to use.

In any event, it was great to be back in there and to see that the old wood bar I love hasn't become full of chrome and leather.  The staff is completely different, but the regulars were all back and seemed pretty content. I will definitely be re-frequenting the Berghoff. . ahem. .  I mean 17/West when it reopens to the public soon.