santo_grace

We went to Aigre Doux on Saturday night for a pre-opera dinner, so we were there early at 5:30pm - the bad weather started just as we were arriving. I had forwarded nsxtasy's review to my friends, so I think we all had lamb and sticky pudding on our minds. For an appetizer I had the artichoke soup with scallops, and others had the beet salad, hamachi and the ahi tuna. Everyone was very pleased with their dishes. The soup was good and very nice on a cold night. It was a large bowl though that I didn't try to finish. For entrees, I had the bucatini with lobster. The broth was very good and light, but I should have asked for a spoon to help gather the noodles with. I ended up cutting the pasta with my knife so that I didn't splatter the broth all over me. Others had the lamb and the duck breast, which they all liked. For dessert we went with the sticking toffee pudding and the panna cotta. Both were an excellent finish to the meal. Everyone seemed please and we would definitely go back. I was curious about the bakery but didn't have time to ask when it is going to be up and running. The cabinets were completely empty when we were there. Does anyone know if they only stocked during certain times of the day?

Persuasion is one of my all-time favorites...took a class in Jane Austen in college and have been devoted ever since. She's an incredible wit, completly without cheese or treacly sentiment, but still romantic. My literary soulmate, Miss Austen is. Try Pride and Prejudice....not as mature or bittersweet a book as Persuasion, but Mr. Darcy is quite dashing. Also, the movie version of Persuasion, with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds, is excellent - you'll love it. Also fun are her depictions of food - it seems British food of the time, excepting fresh fruits/berries, were quite heavy and a bit bland. Perhaps that explains the constant berry-picking and picknicking - food enhanced by other distractions. ← These are two of my favorites as well. Couldn't get through Mansfield Park though. Tried very hard though. The Jane Austen Cookbook sounds like it would be fun - to get a glimpse into the real thing. Thanks for bringing it up. I'm really enjoying the blog Megan.

I've got an extra copy of the book. If you want it PM me with your address.

Another vote for flats for the above reasons. It's all about the skin.

I'm a big fan of his chicken sausages. Well, actually, I'm a big fan of a lot of the sausages but the chicken ones are among my favorites. Wouldn't you know that I was thinking about going on Monday since I have the day off for President's Day, but it looks like they will be closed for a couple of weeks.

Over easy egg, no butter. Chestnut honey - bought some for a dish for New Year's Eve. Very tasty. Peanut butter and bacon - it's a family tradition.

We were nervous the first time. The thought of ruining something so good was scary. We usually put the foie gras in the freezer for about 30 minutes before cutting. I think my husband also runs the knife under hot water before cutting also. He's never had a problem with the slices, so I guess it works well for him. With 1.5 pounds you have enough to experiment a little on your own with different presentations/accompaniments such as different honeys, toast vs. bread. vs cracker vs. nothing, fruit or baby lettuces, etc. You get the idea. Edited to add: Good luck and enjoy!

Megan, looking forward to your blog. Your teaser photo of the brown sugar cake looks just like the picture in Gourmet. It's beautiful.

Growing up we didn't have a peeler in the house. My mother never used one, even though it drove my father crazy. He thought she wasted too much of the flesh by using the knife. Guess he should have done the cooking then. I didn't have a peeler until I started dating my husband. Now I prefer the peeler for carrots and usually still use the knife for the cukes. The only time I use the peeler for the cucumbers is if I just peeled a carrot, and it's already out. Also, I don't know what kind I have, but it goes in the dishwasher as well.

I actually made some parsley pesto for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I'm so tired of my herbs going to waste that I figured what could be the worse thing that happened. I did a more traditional pesto combo though - parsley, walnuts, garlic and parm cheese. I like the idea of adding some stock to make it more like a sauce.

I prefer Vosges over Coco Rouge. I was somewhat disappointed with Coco Rouge's chocolates. My husband and I tried 6 different truffles, and none of them seemed to be strong enough with the infused flavor. I don't mind subtle or when something takes a little longer to reach the palate, but we honestly had a hard time telling the difference between them. Though I did enjoy two of their hot chocolates. If I was in the area again, I would definitely go back for the hot chocolates. The people were super nice also. With that being said, Vosges has never disappointed me.

Ha! I agree. I see this as a good afterwork option, a place to take newcomers to the city to sit by the water, or if general I just want to lounge somewhere. I would still stick with some of the less expensive items. Did you have the colossal tater tot? Is it just one large tot? Seems like that's not a 'tot'. Edited for grammar.

After spending last Monday night discussing the Oyster Whisperer article, we got a taste for some oysters. We went to Fulton's on Friday night for Happy Hour. It's 4:30-6:30pm with $1/oysters and sushi rolls. We only ended up getting the oysters and martinis. Both were very nicely chilled. The oysters were all very good. We ordered all the ones that were offered (sorry, can't remember any of their names). We would definitely go back for the oysters. We sat in the bar upstairs, which has a very nice view. I can't say that we would go back for dinner though. I had a bowl of clam chowder and the crab cakes. Both were OK, pretty non-descript and not good enough to want to go back for them. My husband and friend had the stuffed Mahi, which I they liked. We sat downstairs and the room was freezing, so we didn't stay for dessert or after dinner drinks. The space downstairs is so large I'm not surprised it was freezing. There weren't many people there, so there wasn't much body heat to warm the place. And it probably isn't worth the money in trying to heat the place. On the way out we did see the Oyster Whisperer himself talking with a table and seemed very happy to be discussing the oysters with them. He had a pipette with him, I'm not sure what was in it and how he was using it. Overall, we would go for the oysters again.

I made the Duck Ragu this week. Started it on Tuesday night and finished it on Wednesday night. It turned out really well and was a fairly easy recipe, but I had to make a couple of modifications on Wednesday night because even though I turned down the oven after I realized it was simmering too much after 30 minutes, I still managed to simmer away all the liquid. (That's what you get for having a sleeping cat on your lap and not wanting to get up to check on it again.) So on Wednesday night I added enough beef broth to make it liquidy enough to throw in the blender, and a little over a tablespoon of tomato paste to give it some more tomato flavor. It was still a nice, thick sauce and I'm very glad I blended it. I mixed the shredded duck meat in. I also sauteed some mushrooms and threw those on after the ragu was spooned over the pasta. I'd make this again and probably do the same thing. Very tasty. Sorry, no pictures.

Sararwelch, Roasted tomatoes are the only way I can eat tomatoes in the winter since it's pretty hard to get a decent one in Chicago this time of year. Can you tell me about the toasted orzo? Is that two types of orzo in there? One looks darker than the other.

Bumping this thread back up! I'll say...pie crust (from my steak and kidney pie).

Bacon Candy! This really got me thinking about our New Year's Eve dinner. We were thinking of doing a bacon wrapped date stuffed with parmesan sprinkled with a little cinnamon as our amuse. It's good, and the cheese is a nice addition to the traditional bacon wrapped date, but it seems a little lackluster. However, I'm wondering what you all think of a piece of bacon candy, slice of cheese (open to suggestions on the kind), with some date or fig spread. Sort of a deconstruction of above. Any good bacon candy recipes to be had? I searched recipe gullet and didn't see any. I read the bacon candy thread but I'm not sure how people feel about the recipes listed there. I did see a bacon dipped in butterscotch reference on a blog (from their dinner at Alinea). How would home cook (not a professional chef), go about creating that? Cook the bacon, dip in butterscotch when done and let it cool? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I like to put HARD-BOILED EGGS in my spinach salad.

Thanks everyone. I've never seen whole canned lobes...I wasn't really looking though, since we would just go to F&O and have a piece cut for us. How big are they generally? I guess I can call also. Evanston looks like my best/easiest bet.

Well, New Year's Eve is coming and we are going to serve foie gras. We generally get it from Fox and Obel, but they obviously aren't selling it anymore. I called to make sure since restaurants are defying the order, and I was hoping they would be also. The woman politely informed me that it is "banned in the United States." Long pause. My response: "No, not the U.S., but thanks for your help." Anyhow, does anyone know of any places in the north suburbs that I can buy it? I know I could go online, but I thought I would ask around first. Thanks in advance.

I once had a good kiwi salad with some meringue.

Here is the Braised BBQ Shortribs recipe I suggested. Also, here is a nice soup we have used before - very, very easy and tasty. It's a nice soup to pair with a white wine, which would get the meal started off nicely. Sorbet is always a great idea. When we serve it, I actually dish it ahead of time. I have votive candleholders for this. They were fun to buy, mixing and matching styles, and sit in the freezer ahead of time nicely, not taking up much room. I do it maybe 30 minutes before the guests are supposed to show up. It doesn't seem like it would save much time, but by the time you get around to serving them, you will be glad you have an easy course that you put on the tray and and carry them out to dining room. Also, in case you are wondering - the sorbet doesn't get icy. I also have all my salads plated in the refrigerator with plastic wrap on top. Another easy thing to do so I can just remove the wrap and put on a tray to carry out. One year for New Year's we did a salad where we gave everyone only the lettuce and passed the toppings in separate bowls so they could do their own toppings. This was primarily because one of the guests was pregnant, so I didn't have to worry about what she would put on it; and another guest is a little pickier than the others. Everyone seemed to have fun with it. Another good dish we have done before is a blue cheese, pear, and fig napoleans. It's another one you can make ahead of time. When we do multi-course meals the goal is to have more courses that are made ahead of time, and either plated already or very easily can to the plate (such as soup) than those you have to prep. This way we don't mind having one of us stir the risotto or watch the pasta boil because the others courses were fairly easy. Having recipes that you can easily time (if they can't be made ahead of time) or that can sit on the stovetop/in the oven staying warm is also useful. My husband and I will also switch off on who is in charge of the course (even though we both carry plates to the table). The first multi-course meal we did, I had a little too much wine, and by the time we got to the last few courses, I was no help to him.

Maybe a braised shortribs with a bbq/chili sauce base (instead of a wine or beer version). I have a good recipe adapted from a local Chicago chef (can't think of her name right now) that I could PM you if you like. That might be good with the biscuit. One question thought - Do you think the biscuit would be too much after the starch from the gnocchi? Another idea that I'll throw out there (of course it has a starch in it also) is seafood potpies. Doesn't have to be lobster but could be scallops or shrimp or fish. Whatever you do - have fun!

Braised barecued short ribs Serves 4 as Main Dish. This recipe was adapted from one used by Sarah Stregner adn George Bumbaris of Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, IL. I've modified it from the version they provided to the Chicago Tribune. It's great to make the day ahead and reheat. It's very good with polenta, noodles, or potatoes. 4 beef short ribs, 14-16 oz each 1/2 tsp salt freshly ground pepper 2 Tbl olive oil 2 onions, chopped 1 each, chopped: carrot, celery 3 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) chicken broth 1 cup chili sauce 1/4 cup Worchestershire sauce 2 Tbl dark brown sugar 2 bay leaves 1 Tbl fresh thyme leaves Heat over to 300 degrees; season ribs with salt and pepper. Brown ribs in oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook ribs in batches if neceesary, until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside. Add the onions, celery and carrot to Dutch oven, cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken broth, chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, bay leaves and thyme. Return meat to the pan; cover. Put in the oven and cook until meat is tender (2 1/2 - 3 hours). Remove bay leaves. Remove the meat from the bones. Strain the sauce through a strainer, pushing down on solids, getting as much sauce as possible. Return to pan and skim the fat from sauce. Thicken sauce by adding a little cornstarch slurry, and cooking until desired consistency. Return meat to Dutch oven to combine/reheat meat. Serve with desired starch. Keywords: Beef, Easy, Main Dish ( RG1887 )

Grape Harvesters Soup Serves 4. A friend gave me this recipe. It's always a big hit at parties, and is so easy to make ahead and reheat. The perfect, light start to a meal. 1 medium onion - thinly sliced 3 Tbl olive oil 4 chopped garlic cloves 1/2 tsp salt 3 plum tomatoes - seeded, chopped 1/2 tsp sugar 5 cups vegetable stock 1 cup white wine salt Sautee onions in olive oil until soft. Stir in salt, garlic, tomatoes and sugar. Cook 10 minutes. Add stock and wine, and boil until reduced by 1/4. Simmer 30 minutes. Keywords: Soup, Easy, Vegetarian ( RG1886 )