ronnie_suburban

Just received word of this delectable, newly-created Chef's Palate menu, by chef Graham Elliot Bowles, which will be offered at Avenues, starting this weekend. In face of the recent ban, you have to love the option to include foie gras with every single course: I just moved my next meal at Avenues from my "short" list to my "even shorter" list. =R=

I've put off curing the jowls I mentioned upthread, so I'll be interested to hear responses as well. My initial thought was to use the pancetta cure from the book, but I'd love to hear some other suggestions too. FWIW, I do plan on smoking them after they cure because while I can get jowl bacon around here, it isn't exactly easy to do so. =R=

Here is a link to the piece at Wired.com about chefg and Alinea: My Compliments to the Lab by Mark McClusky . . . =R=

Jason, when I cook on my weber with lump charcoal (using a chimney), I'm cooking within literally 10-15 minutes of ignition. Even with gas, I generally pre-heat for about 10 minutes or so, so the difference in time is slight. Afterwards, the ash is only mildly annoying. I bought a steel trash can with a lid, which resides right next to my weber. I simply dump the spent ashes into it before each cooking session. When that can gets full, I dump it into a bag and send it out with the trash. That said, I also have a gas grill and do think they're occasionally useful. But, if I had to choose only one, I'd select charcoal because not only do I think the food cooked on them tastes better, but they're also a bit more versatile as they can be used for smoking, etc. But yeah, gas is marginally faster, especially when you factor in the clean-up time. =R=

The Chicago Tribune has published their annual list of local markets in today's edition: 2006 farmers markets, list compiled by Elizabeth Owens-Schiele. =R=

May 3, 2006... From today's Chicago Tribune - Good Eating section: 2006 farmers markets...the Tribune's official list, compiled by Elizabeth Owens-Schiele. Growing a market...fresh on the heels of Chicago's foie gras ban, Robin Mather Jenkins visits Milwaukee's year-round Public Market and provides further evidence of how Chicago, for all its restaurant glories, still lags behind many other cities when it comes to the basics. Fava beans...Bill Daley with a useful guide. Shoring up your bones...JoAnn Milivojevic reports on how nutrition can help fend off osteoporosis. ===== From today's Chicago Sun Times - Food section: Breakfast with Ina...Lezli Bitterman spends some time with the proprietor of what is arguably one of Chicago's most over-rated restaurants, Ina Pinkney of Ina's. Spice girl...Maureen Jenkins spends the day spice shopping with Kristine Subido, executive chef at Wave in the W Hotel. Tastings around town...Celeste Busk previews upcoming events at Signature Lounge, Binny's, O'Donovan's, Durty Nellie's, Vinci, Shaw's Crab House, Le Titi de Paris and Globe Pub. Wild time...among other food news, Denise I. O'Neal previews RampFest, coming up this Monday at Timo. ===== From today's Daily Herald - Food section: A mover and a shaker...in her Cook of the Week installment, Laura Bianchi profiles Schley Sisson Brandt who, over the course of multiple moves over the years, has successfully used her culinary skills to help herself fit into her new communities. Food and wine classes...a comprehensive listing of upcoming area food events, tastings and classes; broken out by day. ===== In the April 28 edition of the Chicago Reader's Restaurants section, Edward McClelland takes a look at Lake Side Cafe, a vegetarian restaurant in Rogers Park. Note: .pdf pages at the Reader's web site load slowly but they do eventually load. ===== In this week's installment of Chicago Magazine's Dish, Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby report that Michael Foley, the man who was Printer's Row, has resurfaced -- in the role of consultant -- at Le Petit Paris in Streeterville, where he will slowly but surely rebuild the menu. ===== =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. <><><><><>

Welcome, Aaron! Thanks for the notes and the images. Please keep us updated on the pancettas and guanciale too. =R=

w00t!! I will definitely be there. Not sure yet if I'll be solo or with my family. That may depend on what others are doing. Thanks, Tammy. This sounds terrific. =R=

Wow! That looks delicious, Elie. As for the fat content, I've had similar issues. What I did was order 5 pounds of fat back from Niman Ranch. When it arrived, I cut it into approximately 1/2 pound portions, vacuum-sealed them and put them in the freezer. Now, when I make sausage and feel that the meat I have is too lean, I just take one of those packs of fat back out of the freezer and work it into the mixture. So far, it's been incredibly useful. =R=

Thanks, VeryApe, for the link. Here's a section from the March 15 article: =R=

Yes, definitely, with 1-day advance notice. =R=

Very interesting. I've no reason to doubt you -- and things do tend to change very rapidly in the restaurant world. I guess we'll just have to wait and see unless someone else has some credible info to add. That Pump Room news is completely new to me but again, nothing would surprise me and it would hardly be a shock. I think my parents took me there for my graduation dinner from junior high. That was in 1977 and I think it was past its prime then. =R=

Dick, you are correct about this, at least as it applies to the Wagyu at Zier's. Dave chuckled when I asked if it had been aged. At ~3% loss per day, that would be a very costly step. The tangy, minerally and intense flavor of the beef is simply innate to the variety. =R=

Rick and Gale are opening some new places in Wheeling (scheduled to open this summer, I think) but last I read, neither was planning to leave TRU. And, as far as I know, the Pump Room is still open for business. Here's a link to the most recent information I can recall reading about their upcoming plans. It appeared in the March 2 edition of Chicago Magazine's Dish. =R=

On a whim, we popped into NaHa for dinner last night. I'd been wanting to get back there for a while and some plans we had to do so back in December were thwarted by weather. So, last night armed with a last-minute babysitter, we got in the car and headed south. When it was clear that there was almost no traffic, I dialed them up and asked if they had an opening for 2. Happily, they did and we were rewarded for our spontanaeity. I started with a delicious composed salad of radicchio and romaine. The lightly dressed, similarly-sized leaves were stacked alternately into a neat, short tower which dazzled on the plate. It was a simple, logical and functional preparation which I immediately realized I could "borrow" and prepare at home. Atop the stack was a generous pile of shredded Serrano ham, shaved Manchego cheese and roasted peppers. I believe there was some other cheese on the salad as well, perhaps some mild goat cheese, but I forgot to ask. In any case, it was one of the best salads I've had in a long time. My wife had the Canneloni with Acorn Squash and Oxtail. It was delicious. I wish I could describe it better, but I only had 1 small bite as she pretty much hoarded it for herself. With the appetizers we had a half-bottle of 2001 Gagnard Montrachet which was absolutely terrific. A real highlight for us. My main course was Ocean Trout and Kurabota Pork Belly. The trout was served atop a heap of soft-but-not-mushy beluga lentils and topped with shreds of melted leeks. The ocean trout, which resembled salmon in many ways, was cooked perfectly: nicely-salted, a lightly crisp exterior and soft and slighty fatty and moist on the inside. On the other side of the plate was a nice mini-brick of braised and pressed pork belly. The belly paired with a cold salad of "celery root remoulade" and wild mushrooms. It was terrific. As good as my entree was, my wife's topped it. She ordered a Brace of Quail (2 semi-boned quail) perfectly roasted and topped with thinly-shaved sheets of prosciutto. It was served with swiss chard, red onion and fingerling potatoes. The sauce with this dish, a rich (veal?) reduction was sublime. As good as my entree was, this one trumped it and because it was such a huge portion, there was plenty of it for me to try. As with previous trips to NaHa, the sauce here was so good, we were happy we had some bread on the table with which to sop it up. With this course, my wife finished the Montrachet and I had a glass of the Au Bon Climat/NaHa special house Pinot Noir. It was quite tasty. Desserts, by Timothy Dahl, were transcendant. I loved my Espresso Panna Cotta which was served with a rich, home-made coconut gelato, slices of fresh tangerine, and some crispy ribbons of sugared pastry. My wife had the NaHa Sundae (caramelized "Lady Anne" Apple and Butterscotch Sundae, Pecan Praline, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Shagbark Hickory Nut Shortbread), which was also amazing. With the desserts, we split a crisp, cool glass of Moscato d'Asti, which was also terrific. All in all, it was a delicious and very satisfying dinner. Service, by Terry K (and team), was terrific too. He started by asking us our time frame. When we explained that we were in no hurry whatsoever, he gave us our space. We never wanted for anything but we never felt rushed or intruded upon. Pacing was perfect. When we had questions, he provided great, detailed information when answering them. At the end of the meal, he even took care of the valet ticket for us. It's no wonder to me that chef Carrie Nahabedian has been nomintated for a Beard award. She's so talented and turns out her refined Mediterranean fare in a truly distinctive manner. The food at NaHa is as comfortable as one could possibly desire and completely delicious. The dishes are comprised of premium ingredients and are plated beautifully. The food at NaHa really speaks to me and I already cannot wait to return. =R=

LOL! Nothing says "I love you" like a tuna and spam combo-pak. =R=

Thank you for the heads up, Priscilla. I love Keith Floyd! =R=

No sympathy for Scott or Scott whatsoever. If you choose to incorporate a reality tv show into your wedding reception, you relinquish all rights to be disappointed. =R=

This sounds like a great idea. I can't imagine it not turning out well. If you try it, please report back. =R=

Make sausage! =R=

Still, those look great! Did you use a recipe from the book? If not, recipe, please? Susan, these sound delicious and the links look good. I can't wait to hear how they turn out. Will you cook them on the weber? Around here in north-suburban Chicago, I can generally get grocery-grade pork butt for anywhere between $0.99 - $1.29/# and good, co-op pork for about $3.00/#. Speaking of pork butt, last night when I was recording a recipe, I wrote down on a note card "5# fatty pork butt." Moments later I couldn't find the card, so I started over on a new card. I never knew what happened to that first card (figured it probably ended up in the garbage) . . . until tonight. Somehow, that card found its way into my son's backpack. When he got to school this morning, he found it in there, took it out, and read it. Apparently, it was quite the moment when the words "fatty pork butt" were uttered in his 3rd-grade classroom. According to my son, his teacher said something along the lines of "well, that's certainly not good," as the class burst into laughter =R=

Thanks, CM =R=

I thought it was a bit ironic that she made what was essentially the only positive comment about the entire reception -- praising the "sweeping" of the room -- and that Stephen, who conceived it was nixxed. That said, he clearly abdicated the kitchen too frequently to have been considered a "Top Chef." =R=

Not to get legalistic or technical... so this wouldn't preclude a chef from presenting a foie course as an complimentary amuse? u.e. ← Perhaps a restaurant could offer a serving of toast points for $10-20 and offer foie gras as a complimentary accompaniment for the toast points. =R=

So, has anyone besides me written or emailed Mayor Daley encouraging him to somehow nullify the City Council's well intentioned but hugely misplaced concern for poultry? ← No. I have and I know several others who have, as well. =R=