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ronnie_suburban

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    Heartland Artisanal Cheese

    in The Heartland: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    A related story appeared in today's Chicago Sun-Times...

    Cook's Gran Canaria, a Parmesan-style hard sheep's milk cheese aged for more than two years and marinated in olive oil, won best in show out of more than 700 artisan, specialty and farmstead cheeses at the American Cheese Society's 21st annual competition. ACS winners sported ribbons at Saturday night's gala "festival of cheeses."

    Wisconsin cheesemaker shreds the competition

    =R=

    Digest: Chicago Food Media Round-Up

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    July 28, 2004...

    From today's Chicago Tribune - Good Eating section:

    Global Players...Nancy Maes reports on the increasing use in the U.S., of condiments from other origins. eGullet members will see many of their favorites covered in this story.

    Wisconsin cheesemaker shreds the competition...Robin Mather Jenkins reports on Sid Cook of LaValle, Wisconsin's Carr Valley Cheese and their recent wins at the American Cheese Society's 21st annual competition.

    An island in uncharted waters...3 areas chefs are doing their part to revive the floating island, taking the classic technique from sweet to savory. Andrea Vayda reports.

    Ready for stardom...in Uncorked, Bill Daley reports on a rising star out of Argentina, malbec, which he describes as the "queen of Argentine wine."

    Nutrition Makeover...it was inevitable, right? JoAnn Milivojevic files this story about how folks are paying upwards of $350 for 'experts' to come into their homes and purge them of all the unhealthy food items therein.

    Santullo's Eatery...Judy Hevrdejs files a Cheap Eats review of this Italian eatery at North and Damen.

    Kendall on the air...Christopher Koetke, associate dean of culinary arts at Kendall College, is bringing his cooking expertise to WGN-Ch. 9 in a weekly segment, In the Kitchen with Kendall College.

    =====

    From today's Chicago Sun Times - Food section:

    Flip side of burger image...Re-invent the burger? Sara Fiedelholtz reports on Rebecca Bent's new book, Burgers: 50 Recipes Celebrating an American Classic, which attempts to do just that.

    Food News...Here's proof that absolutely everyone has a cookbook; Denise I O'Neal reports on d.j. Kevin Matthews' new effort. Also reported here are details of a fundraiser (tonight), featuring several local chefs such as Shawn McClain (Spring) and Bruce Sherman (North Pond), which will benefit Green City Market

    All American...Marian Betancourt interviews David Rosengarten as he discusses his Beard Award-winning cookbook It's All American Food.

    Chicago star...Shawn McClain (Spring, Green Zebra) will appear on NBC's The Today Show this Friday during the 9:30-10:00 a.m. segment of the show.

    =====

    From the Chicago Reader...What's New...mini reviews of Rockit Bar & Grill, GP Franklin's and Acqualina.

    =====

    From today's Daily Herald - Food section:

    Cooking classes...a comprehensive listing of the week's upcoming cooking classes, tastings and culinary events around town, broken out by day.

    =====

    And, in this week's installment of Chicago Magazine's Dish...Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby break yet another story, as they report on renowned pastry chef Mindy Segal's upcoming departure from MK. She's leaving to start her own venture, HotChocolate, which is slated to open in Bucktown, by the end of 2004.

    =====

    =R=

    <><><><><>

    Media Digest Notes...

    Updates from some Chicago media outlets, which do not 'go to press' on Wednesday mornings, will be edited into each week's post as they become available.

    For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host who will be happy to do it for you.

    Le Lan - Chicago

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    More about Le Lan today, this time from Metromix--which is also owned by the Tribune Company--but with a decidedly different take on it...

    But if the stellar chefs who designed Le Lan's menu-and demand premium prices, as this place does-aren't on premises, who's working the wok? They don't have Rocco's mama as back-up, but they do have 28-year-old chef de cuisine Andy Motto.

    "For two huge chefs to put you in that position, it's an amazing opportunity," says the graduate of New York's Culinary Institute of America.

    It's Motto's job to execute the founding chefs' grand vision and "make sure quality is always respected," he says. But what makes him qualified? In addition to working as Liccioni's protégé at Le Francais, Motto also has worked the line at Napa's haute French Laundry, as well as serving brief stints at Tru and Charlie Trotter's. Most recently he was sous chef at Les Nomades.

    Stepping up to the plate

    =R=

    Green Zebra Opening

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    We had a fantastic dinner last night at GZ. Almost everything we ordered was spectacular. Here is a brief run-down of the items we tried...

    First, we were served 4 amuses...spicy-roasted peanuts, edamame, Indian-Spiced popcorn and pickled wax beans. Very nice stuff, beautifully presented and our tastebuds were suitably awakened.

    Avocado Panna Cotta, with tomato gelee, creme fraiche and sweet corn chips.

    --This was among my favorite dishes of the night. It was so tasty and all the components worked together in perfect unison. Lot's of 'oohs and ahhs' as this got passed around. I was stunned and pleased by the bright green color of the panna cotta--how did they do that? :smile:

    Chilled Cauliflower Soup, with baby mustard greens, creme fraiche and Osetra caviar.

    --Another great dish; smooth, rich, tart and wonderful.

    Fresh Hawaiian Heart of Palm, with kaffir lime, thai basil and chile.

    --Very nice but my least favorite of all the dishes. Fresh heart of palm cut into julienne strips and positioned on the plate, beautifully, like a flower. This was very good but it was trumped by the other dishes on the table at the time.

    Cave-Aged Gruyere Cheese Souffle, endive, verjus and Seedling Orchards apricots.

    --Awesome, inspired and truly delicious. The salad served on the side provided a great contrast to the richness of the souffle.

    Pleasant Hill Farm Baby Carrots, carrot cake, black truffles and aged balsamic vinegar.

    --Amazing dish...as we were seated, we could smell the truffles in this dish, as it was being served at the table next to us. :shock: The perfect combination of flavors here was new ground for me.

    Braised Chicken, with cannelini beans, haricot vert, roasted red peppers and sage.

    --A great little stew/soup. This was the one 'meat' selection we tried and the fresh sage really made the dish. Again, a great combination of ingredients.

    Prospera Farms Chicken Egg, spinach puree, lentils & country sourdough.

    --Probably my favorite dish overall. The soft-cooked egg was served on bed of intensely flavorful spinach puree. Around that lay another ring, of lentil puree dotted with whole-cooked lentils. The generous plank of country sourdough was toasted, buttery and delicious and it had a hole cut into its center so that the egg could fit perfectly through it. Wow!

    Grilled Wild Mushrooms, silky white corn polenta and herb emulsion.

    --another great dish that really satisfied. Lovely combination of flavors and the herbed emulsion tied it all together.

    Nonna Zanella's Potato Gnocchi, with garlic scrapes and shaved Reggiano parmesan.

    --Fantastically light gnocchi. The garlic scrapes and shavings of Reggiano took this dish to unforeseen levels...deeply satisfying, delicious and comforting.

    We had a few wines with our meal. The first, courtesy of guajolote, who brought this from home for us, was a 1990 Pol Roger Rose that was amazing. We also ordered a bottle '99 Gigondas, Montirius Rhone that was very good.

    With desserts, which I will list below, we enjoyed glasses of '01 Knoll Riesling BA, Wahcau Austria and '01 Mission Hill Eiswein, BC, Canada.

    Desserts were quite wonderful and I agree with the Chicago Tribune review by Phil Vettel (linked above) that the ice creams at Green Zebra are outstanding. We sampled the following...

    Tastings of ice creams.

    --4 flavors...carrot cake (my fave), tarragon, hot chocolate and black raspberry.

    Spiced ginger Baba cake, roasted banana ice cream and fresh coconut.

    --Fantastic ice cream, delicious cake, judiciously-applied coconut all combined to make this a great one.

    Artisanal Cheeses.

    --served with planks of toasted raisin (or was it date?) bread and roasted almonds. We tried one of each of the cheeses (all American-made) and we were told that we were the first party to try them all :shock: :

    Velvet Rose, Jersey cow, Sweet Grass Dairy - GA

    Canasta Pardo, sheep, Bass Lake Cheese Factory - WI

    Sally Jackson Grape-leaf wrapped Goat, Organic, raw - Oroville, WA

    Benedictine, cow, sheep & goat blend, Carr Valley Cheese - WI

    Weston Tomme, raw sheep, Woodcock Farm - VT

    Gabriel, goat, Bittersweet Plantation Dairy - LA

    Golden Ridge Blue, organic cow, Golden Ridge Cheese Co-op - IA

    Colorouge, cow, MouCo Cheese Company - Fort Collins, CO

    I really loved Green Zebra. I'd go back there without hesitation. Not only was the food out of this world, but the service was excellent. The room itself is stylish and comfortable. I think this place is going to be a huge hit and it won't be too long before getting a table at Green Zebra will be a difficult thing to do.

    Green Zebra

    1460 W. Chicago Avenue

    Chicago, IL

    (312) 243-7100

    =R=

    Le Lan - Chicago

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    Sayeth Ms. Nunn (in the review linked above)...

    People tend to swoon whenever you mention Arun Sampanthavivat of Arun's, the highly touted temple of Thai, and Roland Liccioni of Les Nomades. I half expected the sidewalk in front of Le Lan, their new joint venture, to be littered with supine, smiling bodies.

    Which is why I'm almost frightened of being labeled a crank or, worse, an iconoclast, to report that the food didn't knock my socks off. The truth is it barely unlaced my shoes, and then it stole my wallet (appetizers range from $9 to $14, and entrees from $25 to $32).

    I guess she didn't like it very much. :wink:

    =R=

    Pickle recipes

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Thanks for the comments on the pickling spice. I just don't have enough experience at this point to determine whether or not I like the blend I bought. Clearly, some additional field research is needed and on that note, I'm pickling, everything in sight, just as fast as I can. :smile:

    =R=

    Digest: Chicago Food Media Round-Up

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    July 21, 2004...

    From today's Chicago Tribune - Good Eating section:

    Sprouting tastes...Betsy Noxon reports on tips and techniques for getting children excited about healthy eating.

    Coming to your senses about wine...Bill Daley explains how learning to enjoy wine requires not only your mouth but also your nose and eyes.

    America's Dog...a 'Cheap Eats' review of the Buckingham Fountain hot doggery.

    Frozen treats get a tropical twist...Heather Shouse reports on Miami Flavors, a Humboldt Park ice creamery with a tropical flare.

    =====

    From today's Chicago Sun Times - Food section:

    Charlie Trotter program exposes youth to excellence...Delia O'Hara reports on Chef Trotter's Excellence Program through which he educates young people, at his own expense, about the glories of excellent cuisine.

    Flagging nutrition...Beverly Levitt drafts an environmentally-friendly "Foodie Platform" to coincide with the upcoming political conventions.

    France, Vietnam intersect on Clark Street...Denise I. O'Neal files this round-up which includes reports about Le Lan; the hot, new joint venture between Roland Liccione and Arun and the opening of Bluegrass, David Teichman's new, Southern-influenced, family-friendly eatery in Highland Park.

    Tastings around town...notes and information about upcoming events at Bin 36, Rhapsody and Chief O'Neill's Pub and Restaurant.

    =====

    And, in this week's installment of Chicago Magazine's Dish...Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby update on the continued unraveling of the Ritz-Carlton, as they report on its latest defector who's headed to Vegas.

    =====

    =R=

    <><><><><>

    Media Digest Notes...

    Updates from some Chicago media outlets, which do not 'go to press' on Wednesday mornings, will be edited into each week's post as they become available.

    For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host who will be happy to do it for you.

    Lemon juice in quantity

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Not even flash-pasteurized Lemon Juice NFC (not from concentrate) will be as good in quality as fresh and the problem with tyring to source it through an industrial supplier is that you aren't likely using enough to make it worth their while.

    If you absolutely want to purchase it (at a price more reasonable than retail), I'd contact a restaurant supply house, which is more likely geared toward filling orders of the size you would make. Otherwise, find the best juice extraction tool you can, and start juicing. :smile:

    =R=

    Paprika

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Fifi - I made your crockpot paprika chicken last night for dinner.  Needless to say, it was fantastic!!  It's even better the next day on toast as a sandwich! 

    Thanks for the great idea!

    Oooo... The sandwich idea is growing on me. I am thinking putting some shredded chicken and drained onions on a hollowed out French or Italian loaf, brushed with olive oil. Then do a pressed sandwich and slice it for serving. Maybe add some cheese? What kind? Provolone?

    I love making sandwiches out of this too. Sometimes I even make a mayo/dressing using the onions to go with it. :shock::smile:

    =R=

    Paprika

    in Cooking

    Posted

    100% smoked. I made it again yesterday. Still great!

    Very nice. I definitely must try this. :smile::cool:

    As for the pricier stock, just think of it as orange gold...orange gold :biggrin:

    =R=

    Paprika

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I have done this slow-cooked paprika onion/chicken several times now. After doing it with the hot and sweet Szeged in various ratios, I tried Santo Domingo Pimenton de la Vera, an exquisite smokey Spanish paprika. The best yet.

    I also picked up a tin of another Spanish Pimenton de la Vera: La Dalia by Jose M Hernandez, S.L. I have not tried it yet, but will report back when I do.

    I got these last two at CookWorks in Dallas, but have seen Pimenton de la Vera on websites. If I can find a link I'll post it.

    Richard,

    Did you use 100% smoked paprika this last time out, or a blend?

    =R=

    Green Zebra Opening

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    A very positive, 3-star review from Phil Vettel at the Chicago Tribune (published July 16)...

    what criteria does mr. vettel use when giving out stars? blah blah blah blah blah :wink:

    It is noteworthy how little controversy there is over restaurant ratings in Chicago. Since I generally agree with Mr. Vettel in most cases, I'm even more excited about our upcoming meal at Green Zebra, than I would have been otherwise.

    =R=

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