Ruinart Champagne and Avec

When Nick took me to the May Street Market for my birthday last week, we picked up a flier for a Champagne tasting.  This past Monday I met my friends Paul and Margaret at the tasting to celebrate my birthday, Paul's birthday and Margaret's return to Chicago after living in Russia for a few years.

Ruinart, established in 1729, is the oldest operating Champagne house.  We had the opportunity to sample the Ruinart Blanc de Blancs and the Ruinart Rosé.  They were both delicious, refreshing and had beautiful coloring.  Both of these varieties run about $60 a bottle. 

I was glad to have a reason to return to the May Street Market so quickly and we were all pleased with the appetizers that they served during the tasting.

May Street Market Mussels.

May Street Market Maytag Blue Cheesecake.

We each drank three glasses of Champagne and enough appetizers to whet our appetites.

We decided to head east to Avec to continue the evening.  We ordered the Roasted Corn Bruschetta with fresh dill, shaved fennel and corn vinaigrette.

Chorizo-Stuffed Madjool Dates with smoked bacon and piquillo pepper-tomato sauce.

A cheese flight of Mistura Biera (raw cow, ewe's milk) from Portugal, Caciocavallo (cow's milk) from Italy and Cabrales (cow, sheep and goat's milk) from Spain.

...and we shared a delicious bottle of wine.  It was a more extravagant Monday night than I am used to, but it was nice to celebrate with Paul and Margaret -- two of the best food and beverage companions I know.

Twenty-Six

I turned 26 last Friday.  Nick met me after work and we walked from my new job in the Ukrainian Village to the May Street Market in the west loop.

Neither of us had been to the May Street Market before and I was really pleased with his choice.  The host explained to us that their menu changes frequently because they buy their ingredients from local and sustainable resources (he mentioned the Green City Market by name).

Sadly, my photographs of the meal turned out pretty lousy, but I hope you will trust me when I tell you that each one looked stunning. We ordered a 2003 Dona Paula Shiraz-Malbec to go with the following:

On the top left is the "Maytag blue cheesecake  with roasted candied beets, arugula, spiced pecans, and elderflower sorbet." Nick ordered the "roasted venison medallions in a pistachio crust with carrot purée, chive spaetzle, and lingonberry sauce."  I ordered the pumpkin risotto with quinoa and dried cherries. It was fabulous with a very fitting presentation.  For dessert we shared "chocolate-banana bread pudding, caramel ice cream, chocolate sauce, and caramelized banana."  Everything was delicious and I highly recommend a visit.

Nick also bought us tickets to Bruce Springsteen!  The show is in late October and I am very excited to see him for the first time. 

We finished up the night at the Logan Square Small Bar where we enjoyed a variety of beers and our friend Parker's company. (Well, we actually finished the night on the porch with a bit of the Basil Hayden's that Nick bought.)

On Saturday afternoon Nick and I met my parents, my brother and my grandmother at my Uncle Jack and my Uncle Dave’s house in Old Town. We spent the beautiful, sunny day celebrating three birthdays: mine, Jack’s and my grandmother Arlene’s.

Dave is one of the best cooks I know.  He made us a delicious lunch of vegetarian Portobello lasagna, meat lasagna (sauces from scratch of course), Caesar salad, and garlic bread. My mom brought a pretty fruit and yogurt salad as well.

For my birthday my parents gave me a hefty sum to aid in my new computer purchase, which is very exciting!  They also gave me a pair of beautiful earrings from one of my favorite jewelers, Studio 2015 in my hometown of Woodstock. Also, my brother bought me gemmapetrie.com!  That was sweet and thoughtful.  I will do something interesting with it soon.

Jack led us on a walking tour of Old Town where we were charmed by quaint old store fronts and left aghast by $40 million dollar concrete homes. When we returned for dessert we saw the stunning carrot cake that Jack and Dave ordered from Bittersweet. It was giant and delicious.

Nick and I returned home where I found these beautiful flowers from Eileen.  Note the kale, so beautiful.  This may have been the prettiest bouquet I have ever seen.  It was perfect for a late summer/early fall birthday.

We had a quick dinner at Small Bar before my friends arrived.  It was great to see so many people that I love all in one place, many of whom I do not see very often.  Harold arrived with a kitchen torch and butane for me.  We will plan some exciting gastronomic adventure soon to show it off. 

All in all this was one of my most memorable birthdays yet.  Outstanding food, family, friends, good beverages and long walks in Chicago - I don't need much else.

Herb-Roasted Hasselbacks

Last Thursday I visited the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market over lunch and came away with quite a haul: Heirloom tomatoes, purple bell peppers, sunflowers, fresh basil, smoked string cheese, a LaBriola whole grain loaf and a beautiful selection of potatoes.

These pretty yellow, red and purple potato varieties came from Nichols Farm & Orchard.  This family run farm is from Marengo, Illinois -- quite near where I grew up.  They sell their produce at several farmer's markets in the Chicagoland area.

I'm a sucker for the $5 cookbooks that can be found in piles near the register in bookstores, especially when they cover a finite topic. A few months ago I purchased Potatoes by Annie Nichols and decided to try one of her recipes.

Bay-Roasted Hasselback Potatoes

(adapted from Annie Nichols)

Serves 2 as a side dish

Ingredients:

8 small potatoes, unpeeled and scrubbed

12 fresh bay leaves

1 Tbl butter

2 Tbl olive oil

3 garlic cloves, crushed

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F

Place two chopsticks on either side of a potato and make crosswise cuts about 1/4 inch apart.  The potatoes will fan open as they cook, but you want the base of the potato to remain intact so they will not fall apart.  Insert whole or partial bay leaves between a few of the cuts and repeat with the remaining potatoes.

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a cast-iron skillet or roasting pan over moderate heat. Add the garlic and the potatoes in a single layer.  Gently move the potatoes around for about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and generously salt and pepper.

Place in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden brown and tender.

This simple method of roasting potatoes produced very delicate and colorful results.  You could substitute any fresh herbs for the bay leaves.  My favorite herb to use with potatoes is fresh rosemary, and that is what I will use with this recipe in the future.

Pasta Fresh

Last week Nick picked up some handmade pasta from Pasta Fresh for our dinner.  Pasta Fresh is located on Harlem between Belmont and Addison, so it is a bit of a hike for us normally. However, we had my parents van while they were in Alaska in order to drive Nick to school, providing us the luxury of quick transportation for a week.

Nick ordered the eggplant ravioli and we made a nice peppercorn cream sauce to go along with it.  They offer quite  a selection, but when I return I especially want to try their artichoke ravioli, asparagus ravioli and lasagna.   

With a peppercorn studded Brie, crusty bread and a bottle of Shiraz it was a very nice dinner.

Pasta Fresh
3418 North Harlem Avenue
Chicago, IL
60634
773-745-5888

Salpicón and Lookingglass Alice

Nick is returning to the University of Illinois next week.  I just bought my ten-ride Amtrak ticket and intend to see him frequently, however it will still be an adjustment.

I wanted to plan something nice before the semester started, so I arranged to take the day off from work and made some reservations.

We had been meaning to dine at Salpicón and this seemed like a fine occasion to do so.  We began with Salpicón Margaritas, made with Herradura Silver, Gran Torres and fresh lime juice. As an appetizer we ordered the special, Flores de Calabaza, pictured above.  Three zucchini blossoms were stuffed with goat cheese and epazote, dipped in a light batter, sautéed and served with a roasted poblano cream sauce.

For his main course Nick ordered the Tinga Poblana -- grilled Brookfield Farms pork tenderloin in a spicy roasted tomato-chipotle sauce with chorizo and potatoes, served with a cool avocado-tomatillo sauce.

I ordered the Chiles Doña Queta -- a poblano chile stuffed with huitlacoche (earthy corn mushrooms), fresh corn and zucchini, served in a roasted poblano cream sauce and an ancho chile filled with potatoes, Chihuahua and cotija cheese with a sweet-spiced roasted tomato sauce.

Huitlacoche were new to me.  This fungus grows on corn and has a very different texture than most mushrooms.  The exterior is almost like a cooked pearl onion, while the interior is soft and mealy. Considered a delicacy in Mexico, these mushrooms are apparently considered a disease (and called "corn smut") in the rest of the corn producing world.

Everything we ordered was delicious. I think we were both mildly underwhelmed with the margaritas, but perhaps only because they are always touted as the best around.  The most outstanding part our meal was the same for each dish -- the sauces.  All were distinct, complex and complimented the dishes well.  Their website has a small section of recipes that I am interested in trying. 

(Photo courtesy of the Lookingglass Theatre website)

After dinner we walked to the Lookingglass Theatre for the play Alice. Nick has been mentioning his interest in this play for sometime.  He and I both enjoy theater quite a bit, but oddly had never been to a play together before.  The Lookingglass Theatre is housed in the old water tower pumping station and is a really neat space.  I thought it was a great production with an incredible cast.  I believe that Lauren Hirte, the actor who played Alice, may be one of the strongest women I have ever seen.  Not only did she perform incredible acrobatics during the production, but also carried full grown men in several scenes.  She was a pleasure to watch, as were the other four actors in the production.

It was a fun date and I would recommend one or both of these events to everyone.  A 5 p.m. dinner reservation allowed us plenty of time to leisurely walk the mile to the theater with time to spare before the 7 p.m. production.  We are meeting a group of Nick's friends at Small Bar this weekend for a more typical goodbye event, but I am glad we were able to find time to do something new together.

Homemade Soda Pop

Over the last few weeks Nick has been experimenting with homemade soda recipes.  A lovely article on homemade root beer in the most recent issue of Saveur provided the catalyst. These days, store bought sodas use carbonated water to provide the necessary bubbles, though traditionally yeast was used to carbonate the beverage.  However, this gives the soda an ABV of around two or three percent -- rendering it unsaleable to those under 21 in our country (you'd likely get ill before being able to consume enough to become even a bit tipsy).

The method for making soda is similar to homebrewing beer.  Nick made root beer first, using the Saveur article as a guide.  In the first photo you can see the spices wrapped in cheesecloth that steeped in the boiling water.  Sassafras root, sarsaparilla root, birch bark, licorice root, ginger, vanilla bean and molasses provided a superb aroma.

More recent creations have included ginger ale (pictured above, and my personal favorite so far) and sarsaparilla soda.  Nick has been using the book Homemade Root Beer, Soda & Pop as well as various internet sources to create recipes.  Cream soda is coming up next!

Northwest Herald features the Algonquin Sub Shop

Pro Bono Baker was mentioned in the Northwest Herald this past week.  Liz Wolgemuth wrote a piece on the Algonquin Sub Shop and quoted my description of the Where’s Waldorf sandwich.  You can read my two posts on the Sub Shop for more information.  I'd venture to say that this is my favorite sandwich in the world.

Download AlgonquinSubShop.doc

BlogHer Conference

I am listening to the keynote breakfast talk: What Humans Do with Artificial Intelligence on day two of the BlogHer Conference here in Chicago. 

Last night I met nearly 40 food bloggers from around the world at Lao Sze Chuan for dinner.  It was quite an experience to meet the authors of some of my favorite food sites in person.  I will post more on Waupaca, the food blogger dinner and BlogHer soon.

(Above: Chinese Eggplant in Garlic Sauce and Garlic Spinach)

Vacation and BlogHer

I will be in Waupaca, Wisconsin with my family for the next week. You can read about this lovely place in some older posts.  I intend to consume my fill of cheese curds, Ting pop and New Glarus beer. 

I will be returning this weekend for the BlogHer Conference here in Chicago.  I only have the time and money to attend the second day, but I am quite excited to meet so many other bloggers, especially food bloggers that I have been reading for quite some time.  I will be sure to post about the conference while I am there.  You can still sign-up if you are interested in attending. 

Chicago Botanic Gardens

Last Friday Nick and I both took the day off from work and traveled north to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. We took the Metra Union Pacific North line to Braeside and walked about a mile down Lake Cook Road (there are sidewalks).  The area had a large cicada population which made the walk quite entertaining.

The gardens are truly stunning and we had the perfect weather to enjoy them.  Of particular note, we most enjoyed the Fruit & Vegetable, Japanese, Bonsai and English Walled gardens.  As we entered the Fruit & Vegetable garden a woman gave us a tiny potted zucchini plant to take home.  I am happy to say that the zucchini has sprouted and appears to be happy sharing the planter with our tomatoes and basil.

I highly recommend a trip to the gardens this summer for all of those that live in the area, especially those in Chicago proper.  It is a simple trip, and an inexpensive one too (they ask for donations, but there is no real entrance fee). 

Kuma's Corner

Last night Eileen, Nick and I went to Kuma's Corner for dinner.  I just returned from a business trip to Baltimore (more on that in a future post) and Eileen is departing for a 20 day trip to Ireland, Spain and Morocco this evening.  After the insane storms in the afternoon that left many of the streets flooded, knocked trees onto unsuspecting parked cars near my house and flooded and closed Eileen's school, the subsequent calm and balmy evening provided perfect weather for Kuma's patio.  They gave us a lot of "if you sit out there, it is at your own risk" talk when we sat down, but by the time we left the patio was completely full.

The server informed us that the taps were super warm and not recommended that evening.  Turning instead to the bottle menu, we attempted to order about six beers that they were out of.  Fairly annoyed, Nick ordered a Coke and I wound up with a decent, but certainly not new or exciting Great Lakes Elliot Ness amber lager.  It seems like bars and liquor stores are consistently out of what we want lately.  But the real reason for this trip was the incredible food at Kuma's Corner.  Famished, we got to ordering.  Eileen ordered the "Iron Maiden" with chicken breast, avocado, cherry peppers, pepper jack, and chipotle mayo (I forgot to photograph hers). I ordered the "Neurosis" with a veggie burger, cheddar, swiss, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions and horseradish mayo. 

Nick ordered their stunning flagship burger, the "Kuma Burger."  A half pound black angus burger with bacon, cheddar and a fried egg on top.  A truly beautiful and impressive item.  As Nick pointed out, it's like putting the "whole barnyard" in your stomach. All of their burgers are served on delicious pretzel buns that are made by Labriola Baking Company in Chicago.  Sadly, Labriola only provides their artisan breads to restaurants and hotels at the moment.  Though, there seems to be talk of an eventual retail space.

As you can most likely gather from the assortment we ordered, the burgers can be made with traditional beef, chicken breast, chicken fingers or a veggie burger.  They run between $10 - $12 and come with homemade chips or fries.  Their ketchup is noteworthy as they add some subtle spiciness to it.  Aside from the lack of a beer selection on this visit, Kuma's has consistently impressed me with their food and beers.  I keep meaning to order their "Make your own mac and cheese," but with 16 different burgers to choose from I always seem to end up on that side of the menu.

Hot Doug's and Broken Bones

Last weekend Nick and I made plans to finally eat at Hot Doug's together.  However, when I woke up that morning my right hand was twice it's normal size.  I determined that I must have broken my wrist the night before when I tripped over the television that isn't normally in the middle of our kitchen whilst carrying two deck chairs in the door, backwards.  Knowing that the impending emergency room visit would take at least 5 hours, I decided that enjoying a fried veggie corn-dog (which they only offer on weekends) would make the gloomy looking end to the weekend somewhat rewarding (to much protest from Nick, I should add). 

We walked to Hot Doug's from Logan Square, and after a spell where I had to take a break on their lawn because I was sure I was going to faint, we sat down with our selection. 

Nick ordered an elk sausage with a mustard sauce and mustard seed cheese, I enjoyed the aforementioned veggie corn-dog and we split a giant basket of duck-fat fried french fries. 

It was all very greasy and very good.

We also bought celery soda.  I had never tasted it before.  It was definitely sweeter than most things I enjoy, but the taste was so unique that I hardly minded.

We then traveled to my HMO approved hospital where we spent the next many hours. (Conveniently located next to Binny's at least!)  Nick was sweet and put up with the crazy old men and poorly behaved children in the ER waiting room while those tending me decided I might have a novicular fracture. I spent this last week at appointments with my general practitioner and orthopedic surgeons, getting enough x-rays to take a year off of my life, and the verdict is still out.  They basically told me to wear a wrist brace and if it hurts in a few weeks it is broken, if it doesn't hurt in a few weeks it isn't broken.  Ah, modern medicine.  I'm glad I ate first.

      

Logan Square Farmer's Market and the Chicago Honey Co-Op

Last weekend Nick, Jerry and I made it over to the opening day of the the Logan Square Farmer's Market.  I was really excited for farm fresh eggs but alas, it will apparently be a few more weeks before they available.  However, we did buy some incredible unfiltered honey from the apiary I have been curious about.  The Chicago Honey Co-Op not only produces fantastic products, they are also a great organization.  Located in the neighborhood of North Lawndale, they provide community based training for non-profit social service organizations.  The Co-Op aims to "help residents who are locked out of the traditional labor market due to criminal records or other barriers to employment."  For more information, please visit the Chicago Honey Co-Op website.

Blogger's Choice Awards

I was nominated for best food blog! 

It is probably clear to all that many of the other blogs nominated are far and away better than mine, but feel free to cast your vote for me if you so desire.

Thanks!

Farmer's Markets

I missed the first day at Federal Plaza on Tuesday, but I did manage to wander over to the opening of the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market today.  These markets are a welcome change from the otherwise uninspiring loop lunch options.  Today I enjoyed the live music and came away with a basil plant and a mint plant ($2.50 each) and baguette for dinner tonight ($1.50).  Other items of note:  Fresh mozzarella, honey from a northern Illinois apiary, asparagus that was harvested yesterday evening and crates of assorted potatoes.  I will be sure to have more cash on me when I visit next week.

You can find a comprehensive list of Chicago farmer's markets here (the sidebar has the markets divided into downtown, weekly and other).   I am anxiously awaiting the Logan Square market opening on June 3rd.

Additionally, for those not in Chicago the USDA has a listing of farmer's markets by state or you can search by zip code at Local Harvest.

Wandering through the Daley Plaza offerings today made me miss my old garden in Hyde Park so much!  If only my new neighborhood had such a thing. . .

Avocado and Black Bean Tacos with Homemade Tortillas

Saturday afternoon Nick and I met some friends to map out the 2007 CUDGEL urban golf route.  We are holding the event Sunday, May 27th (the day before Memorial Day).  Check out our soon to be updated CUDGEL webpage and Myspace page for more details and to sign up. 

The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so upon returning to Logan Square we wondered what we would do with the rest of the day.  We had two perfectly ripe avocados that needed to be used in our dinner, but past that we didn't have many ingredients.  Thanks to my new tortilla press, all we needed was a cup of masa harina, a can of black beans, and some rice to make a fabulous meal.

Tortillas
Makes about 8 6-inch tortillas

1 C Masa Harina
1 C warm water
2 tsp salt

In a medium sized bowl combine all of the ingredients.  Work together with a wooden spoon or with your hands (easier).  Don't worry about over-mixing, but the dough should come together easily.  Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let sit for about 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile heat your cast-iron skillet or heat your frying oil.  Divide the dough into 8 round pieces.  As you work with each ball of dough, add a few more teaspoons of warm water with your fingers and work through the dough. I have found that adding a bit more water than called for makes the dough much more manageable and reduces the dry, split edges that sometimes show up after pressing. 

Place a ball of dough on a plastic lined tortilla press (recycled plastic bags work fine).  Hold the dough away from the handle and then slowly press the dough between the metal pieces.  Peel back the top piece of plastic and remove from the second piece just before you add the tortilla to the hot pan or oil.  Keep the other dough covered while you make each tortilla. If cooking in a pan, give each side 1 and a half to 2 minutes.

A tortilla press is certainly not necessary to make homemade tortillas, however it does make the process quite a bit easier. In the past I have always cooked my tortillas on a hot cast iron skillet, but this time Nick fried them and folded them into shells.  They were very tasty.  They turned out to be a surprisingly bright yellow.  We decided that next time we might cook them briefly before frying, though this isn't necessary.

We sat outside on my porch while we ate and enjoyed some Pabst.  This was a very simple and satisfying meal or a lazy weekend day.

Limoncello, Frittata, Cookbook Expo, Hervé This, John Vanderslice, Twin Peaks, Bloomingdale Trail and Gnocchi

Last night I visited my friend Ellen.  She lives a matter of blocks from me, yet somehow it was the first time I had managed to take her up on an invitation.  I concocted a new cocktail for the occasion.  A few years ago Hospitality Club provided my roommates and I the opportunity to host a guest named Guillermo from Columbia.  He arrived bearing this incredibly sweet liquor.  As I recall, Molly and I made quick work of it. 

I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so the idea of mixing the Limoncello with other ingredients appealed to me.  I decided upon the following:

Lemon and Rosemary Spritzer
Serves 4.

2 lemons
2 C Limoncello
2 C seltzer water
8 rosemary sprigs
ice

In a tall glass put two rosemary sprigs and fill with ice cubes.  Almost fill the glass with equal parts Limoncello and seltzer water.  Squeeze half a lemon into the glass.  Stir and serve.

The rosemary was nice, but next time I am going to try basil.  This was my original intention, but the grocery store was out.  For the basil variation, I would suggest muddling the leaves a bit before adding the liquid.  This will help the flavor permeate.  Whichever herb you choose, this is a perfect summer drink. Sadly, it still feels like February in Chicago.

For dinner, Ellen made a gorgeous frittata.  She lined a cast-iron skillet with slices of potato and piled cherry tomatoes, onions, garlic, feta and asparagus on top.  After pouring the egg over these ingredients she baked the frittata.  Oddly, I had never considered baking a frittata and instead have always made them on the stove.  Her method is clearly superior.  The frittata was perfectly cooked through and came out tall and airy.  The potato "crust" was particularly ingenious.

In other news, this weekend was more culinary-centric than most.  On Friday, Harold and I went to the IACP Cookbook Expo.  I met Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks in person and purchased her gorgeous new cookbook.  I have been hungrily reading through it and highly recommend it.  Congratulations Heidi! 

That evening, Nick and I went to see John Vanderslice.  The show was quite good.  We were particularly impressed with the opening act, St. Vincent. 

The next morning we roused ourselves earlier than most weekends and headed to the Union League Club of Chicago to hear Hervé This speak.  The event was thought provoking, yet the question and answer session was a bit lacking when it devolved into some pretty egotistical Chicago chefs debating when their skill was craft vs. art.  We took the stairs on the way out and enjoyed perusing the ULCC art collection (the second largest private collection in the U.S.).

That evening we stayed in, ordered a pizza, and finished the second season of Twin Peaks which I finally own a copy of.  It was Nick's first time through and he seemed fairly upset about the last episode. 

For the past few months we have been fairly obsessed with the Bloomingdale Trail, and finally went up for a walk (from Milwaukee to Elston).  I really hope the city decides to support the proposal to turn these old rail lines into a park.  It would be a truly unique addition to the city. 

That evening we decided to make gnocchi from scratch.  I had tried my hand at it years ago in high school.  After a fair bit of hard work, the gnocchi completely dissolved into the boiling water.  My research informed me that I had been too timid with the flour. 

It turned out quite well this time and Nick made an excellent garlic and cream sauce.  The recipe I used made a huge quantity.  We fed three with half of it.  I froze the rest and am hoping it will keep well for future use. 

Dinner with a Food Blogger and Mark Bittman's No Knead Bread

I recently had the opportunity to dine with a lovely fellow food blogger, Alanna from A Veggie Venture.   Alanna was in Chicago on business and we decided to meet at a restaurant near her hotel, the Basil Leaf Café.  The restaurant was quiet and the food was quite good.  I ordered the Butternut Squash Ravioli with Fresh Spinach & Roasted Garlic in Basil Oil and would recommend it.  We sat and talked for nearly three hours.  It was a very enjoyable evening. 

During our conversation Mark Bittman's No Knead Bread came up.  I haven't been baking bread very often lately, but this reminder encouraged me to throw together this very simple dough on Monday night. 

When I returned home from work on Tuesday I took the bread through the final rise and baked it in my new cloche.  Nick and I made a nice dinner of goat cheese and roasted tomato ravioli with a garlic cream sauce.  The bread turned out wonderfully, with a gorgeous crust and a light sour taste.  We enjoyed it warm with dill havarti cheese while we finished our wine and watched episodes of 30 Rock.

It seems every food blogger has made this bread, so I won't bother reposting the recipe here (you can also find a video).  I would recommend that bakers, both new and seasoned, give this bread a try.  The results are great.  I do find it a bit funny that the absence of kneading should make bread making so much more accessible.  I actually really enjoy kneading bread.  Rather, it is my impatience with letting dough rise for hours (or days) that is the most bothersome.  However, this recipe provides some great instruction for the home baker, particularly when it comes to creating a good oven environment.  Putting the dough inside of a well preheated container, be it a cloche or heavy pot, will offer dramatically different results than simply placing the dough on a sheet pan.

Thanks for looking me up Alanna, and for reminding me of this great recipe!

Hervé This

I just reserved two free tickets for Nick and I to see Hervé This speak this Saturday, April 14th at the Union League Club of Chicago.  Email or call to reserve yours if you would like to attend.  I doubt seats will be open for long.

Thanks to Movable Feast for the heads up and for the following information!

RSVP ASAP to Michael Garbin at garbimi@ulcc.org or 312-435-4822. Please note that business casual attire or chef's coat are requested. (No jeans please.)

WHEN
Saturday, April 14, 2007
9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.: Continental Breakfast
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: Molecular Gastronomy Seminar
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.: Book signing (Hervé's book, Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor, will be available for sale)

WHERE
Union League Club of Chicago
65 W. Jackson Blvd.
5th Floor Crystal Room
Chicago, IL 60604
312-427-7800

Tomatillo Salsa

Nick took me to Frontera Grill last year to celebrate my (then) new job.  Among the many Rick Bayless dishes we enjoy, his roasted tomatillo salsa is high on the list.

I bought Nick Mexican Everyday for his recent birthday and decided to try my hand at the salsa recipe this evening.  This salsa is a step away from the standard, quite simple and very quick.  Most well-stocked grocery stores should carry tomatillos and serranos.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Adapted from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless

Ingredients

5 Medium tomatillos, husked, rinsed and halved
4 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 serrano green chile, stemmed and chopped
1/2 C loosely packed cilantro, chopped
salt

In a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, place the tomatillo halves (cut side down) and garlic cloves.  Let brown for about 4 minutes.  Rotate with tongs and brown the other side.  The tomatillos will become quite soft.

Scrape the tomatillos, garlic and any browned pieces into a food processor.  Let cool for about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare the cilantro and chile.  Add these to the food processor along with a small pinch of salt and 1/4 C water.  Blend well and chill. Serve with tortilla chips.