ronnie_suburban

No Tammy, I don't think either has a site. =R=

There's some great information about the foie gras situation in this week's Daily Herald, reported by Leah A. Zeldes: The fuss about foie gras Also by Ms. Zeldes, in today's edition: Foie gras primer: Where to dine on foie gras in the suburbs: Temperature is the key to cooking foie gras: There's all sorts of great information provided but check out the links promptly because, unfortunately, they will go 'dead' a week from today. =R=

Chicago's "Dine Out 2006" begins on Monday September 18. It's sponsored by San Pellegrino and will benefit Share Our Strength. Here is a listing of participating restaurants: For more information, click here I hope to hit a few of these places during the 'event' and will report back on the dedicated threads if I do. I hope that anyone else who participates will also report back about their experiences. It seems like a great chance to try some new places -- at a great price -- and also benefit Share Our Strength, a terrific organization. =R=

September 13, 2006... From today's Chicago Tribune - Good Eating section: Oregon ascendant...Bill Daley reports on how Oregon-produced Pinot Noir not only shares the stage with Calfornia pinot but also that it often steals the show. Tasting notes are included. Seafood central...Colin McMahon checks in from Santiago, Chile where he visits the Mercado Central, a fresh seafood mecca. Running hot and cold...in this week's Prep School installment, James P. DeWan walks us through the often-paired tasks of blanching and shocking. Shop suits visitors to a tea...Elizabeth Owens-Schiele visits Teavana, at the Woodfield Shopping Center in Schaumburg, which is part of an Atlanta-based chain. A culinary candid camera...in this special to the Tribune, Chris McNamara reports on how one local shopper unwittingly became a participant in The Learning Channel's reality tv series, Take Home Chef. Cipolline...Renee Enna with a useful guide. New cooking-class listings online...the staff at the Tribune have rolled out a useful, new, direct link to their Annual Cooking School Guide: 2006 Cooking School Roundup ===== From today's Chicago Sun Times - Food section: New kid on the block...a brief look at Flourish Bakery Cafe in Edgewater. Tastings around town...Celeste Busk previews upcoming events at Adobo Grill, Park Grill, Binny's (Des Plaines), Va Pensiero, Carnivale and Salud Tequila Lounge. Food news...Denise I. O'Neal reports on Chicago's 'Dine Out' program, which is sponsored by S. Pellegrino, will benefit Share Our Strength and starts on Monday September, 18. ===== From today's Daily Herald - Food section: The fuss about foie gras...It's the Leah A. Zeldes show at the Daily Herald this week. First, she reports that even though many suburban chefs think the City of Chicago's foie gras ban is ridiculous, they're excited to be the only folks in the area who can legally serve it. Ms. Zeldes also provides a Foie gras primer, some tips -- from local chefs -- on how to prepare it as well as a solid list of places in the suburbs where foie gras is served: Where to dine on foie gras in the suburbs. He savors his journey from immigrant to chef...in this week's Chef du Jour installment, Melissa Allen interviews chef Leobardo Servin of Bacchus Nibbles in Kildeer. Food and wine classes...a comprehensive listing of upcoming area food events, tastings and classes; broken out by day. ===== From the September 8 edition of the Chicago Reader's Restaurants section: The focus is on African cuisine. Edward McClelland reviews Asmara Cafe in Rogers Park and additional listings are provided for bevy of other African places which include "Ethiopian, Moroccan, Ghananian, Egyptian, and more." ===== In this week's installment of Chicago Magazine's Dish (available at the moment via e-mail only), Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby report that Timothy Dahl, formerly the pastry chef at NaHa, has joined the team at Blackbird; replacing Tara Lane who recently left. Replacing Dahl at NaHa will be his current/former assistant there -- and fiancée -- Elizabeth Buettner. ===== =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. Please do not reply on this thread. For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host or digester who will be happy to do it for you. <><><><><>

Must you keep recommendations for good places a secret? =R=

Thanks, Mark. I appreciate the recipe info very much, as future tweaks are definitely on the horizon. I was actually shooting for 2 hours of smoke time but I was so delighted when I saw how my rigging was working, I just decided to let it keep smoking until the chips burned out. I wouldn't say the final product is too smokey but definitely smokier than what I'm accustomed to. Next time, I promise. That said, it was very simple and straightforward. I just placed some of the cure in the bottom of an oval, ceramic baker, placed the fish (skin side down) on top of that, splashed it with some dark rum and then covered it evenly with a bit more cure. After that, I placed a piece of plastic wrap over the fish and placed another, smaller oval on top of that. Into that 2nd oval I put a couple of #10 cans and then put the whole contraption in the fridge for 36 hours. It's definitely possible (I think ). It really comes down to vent/damper control. As long as you can find that "setting" where the embers still smolder without dying out or growing a flame, you'll be ok. And there should be room in the Weber for a tray of ice to help keep things cool Nope, I never even turned it on. My only real complaint is, in spite of what the pics show, that the fish was a bit drier than I am used to. Lox, as I know it, is much oilier. I attribute this to the use of curing salt but I'm not sure that's accurate. What I do know is that the fish's texture changed very little after it had been smoked. After 36 hours of curing, it was much stiffer than I am used to when I make gravlax, which contains only Kosher salt. Next time out, I will almost certainly omit the pink salt and see how it affects the final product. =R=

Late last week I was at Foodstuffs (Evanston, IL location) when I saw a beautiful, 3.5-pound piece of Wild Coho Salmon in the fish case. I decided right there on the spot that I'd finally try my hand at cold-smoked salmon. I also happened to pick up a 1.5-pound piece of farm-raised salmon at Costco later in the day. Later that day, I made a quadruple batch of cure, basically following the recipe in the book for Smoked Salmon. I did cut back on the cloves and the bay leaves a little bit and since I had 2 ounces of fresh dill in the fridge, I included it. I halved the amount of pink salt, as well*. I cured the pieces of fish simultaneously for 36 hours (also weighing them down, per the instructions in the book) and then, after rinsing them thoroughly, dried them on racks in my fridge for about 24 hours. After the drying, I manipulated my gas-powered smoker into what I hoped would become a cold smoker. I filled the tinder box with apple and cherry wood and filled the water bowl with ice. I then started a half chimney of lump charcoal in my Weber grill. When the lump charcoal became red hot, I removed 2 very small embers (about 1 square inch each) from the chimney and placed them on top of the wood chips in the tinder box. I closed the 2 side dampers and top damper on the smoker almost completely, leaving them only about 1/4" open. Miraculously, the embers smoldered very slowly -- and evenly -- for about 4 hours while the temperature inside the smoking chamber never went above 90 F. After the smoke finished its run, I retrieved the fillets and was delighted with the results, which actually approximated (or maybe even were) cold-smoked! Cold-smoked salmon fillet. A closer look at the flesh, still supple and oily. In lieu of freezing the smoked salmon first, I found that my cheese knife was the best one for the task of slicing the finished product. Cold-smoked salmon on toasted blackbread with chive cheese, aka Dinner Part 1. Cold-smoked salmon on a toasted sesame bagel with chive cheese, aka Dinner Part 2. FWIW, the piece from Costco also turned out very tasty. However, it started out much 'fishier' than the piece of Wild Coho from Foodstuffs and it ended up about the same. The finished product made with the fish from Costco also lacked the sweetness in the piece of wild fish. But, in either case, I'm delighted with the results and can't wait to make another batch. I've got a few tweaks in mind -- including removing the curing salt entirely -- and hope to give it another whirl very soon. =R= *Edited to add/correct info about pink salt quantity

LOL --hey - but he's still here..... ← LMAO . . . well, yeah. And clearly, I didn't need to remind everyone about it either! =R=

I'd eat it without hesitation, as long as it smelled ok. I think Mr. Ruhlman posted upthread about pates being good even a couple weeks after being made. =R=

Ok, one place comes to mind. It's not exactly right near U of C (it's in the Bridgeport neighborhood) but it's relatively close: Healthy Food Lithuanian Restaurant 3236 S. Halsted Ave., Chicago (312) 326-2724 Also, here's a link to a thread about some other places in Bridgeport: Chicago trip with family - Bridgeport neighborhood, Need recs around Bridgeport & south side =R=

Having been to Ikea very recently, I thought the cinnamon rolls were somewhat pre-fabby and a bit of a disappointment. They do smell great, but seeing the employees cutting open plastic capsules of pre-made icing and drizzling it over the rolls was a big turn off. Nonetheless, I ordered one and thought that it was very ordinary tasting. That said, I did enjoy the Swedish meatballs and the yellow pea soup, even though they aren't typically considered to be breakfast items. I wish I could come up with a suggestion of my own but that's just not an area with which I'm very familiar. I'll keep thinking and maybe something will come to mind. =R=

Agreed. Your inaugural bacon looks terrific, NYCMike. Welcome to the thread =R=

Sam, I'm sure your palate is far more seasoned than mine when it comes to spirits. But after trying rhum agricole for the first time, I was instantly reminded of cachaca. =R=

This gets a little complicated. Yes, there is a huge difference between rhum agricole and cachaça. They are both distilled from fermented sugarcane juice, but there are large stylistic differences. There are, of course, variations within the two categories but if I could widely generalize I'd say that cachaça is distilled to lower proof than rhum agricole and that cachaça therefore tends to be a rougher, less refined spirit. I should hasten to point out that this isn't a judgment of relative quality, but rather a generalization about stylistic approach. ← I'm certainly no expert when it comes to spirits but strictly from a flavor perspective, I find them to be very similar. =R=

Apparently, this story has legs. More from today's Chicago Tribune: Lovers of liver may taste victory after all by Gary Washburn and Mark Caro. =R=

More on the reversal by Fran Spielman in today's Chicago Sun-Times: Natarus, Stone seek repeal of foie gras ban =R=

The worm has turned. From today's Chicago Tribune: Aldermen seek repeal of fois gras ban by Gary Washburn. =R=

Abra, when I brine ribs -- which I do like to do -- I go very easy and use only about a half-cup of Kosher salt and 1 gallon of water. In this solution I'll brine 3 slabs of ribs, membranes removed, for about 6 hours. After that, if there's time, I let them dry, uncovered in the fridge for a few hours before rubbing them. Do you plan to pre-rub the ribs you're not going to brine? If so, I'd be very curious to hear about how the 2 methods compare. =R=

Mark, I'm drooling over the guanciale and the 'jowl bacon.' Absolutely beautiful stuff. And yeah, in that one shot, it does look like turkey -- but I'm sure it's a whole lot better than turkey. =R=

Welcome aboard, Wurst Case. Thanks for the link. Love the handle, btw =R=

Some additional information about Tallgrass Beef Company's grass-fed beef from Kansas.com: New ranching techniques borrow from old-school methods by Doug Armbruster. =R=

Thanks for the invite, chef Santos. Ryan and his team have always done great work. As I posted above, our last meal there was fantastic. I've been trying to plan a return trip to Butter and will do my best to get back in asap, hopefully before the end of the month. =R=

Dish reported last week that she was leaving to take a position at Common Threads. I don't know if it's happened yet. For whatever reason, Dish was not updated at Chicago Magazine's web site last week (or this week, for that matter) but it did arrive by e-mail last week: =R=

Thanks, Abra, for the terrific information. It's much appreciated -- as are the great, illustrative pictures. BTW, how do you like that Ken Onion multi-chef knife? I bought one about 2 years ago and it instantly became one of my faves. =R=

Not too far east of Des Moines are the Maytag Dairy Farms in Newton, IA. =R=