Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Report: 2008 Heartland Gathering in Chicago


tammylc

Recommended Posts

Thank You Tammy, Ronnie, Toby, Gary and everyone else. Ron and I had a wonderful time. We loved the planned eating, our additional stops, the Cubbies winning, the beautiful weather, Fresser and the Fressermobile, and the great cooking and company. Hoping to be able to get away next year again.

Tobi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A few pictures from the bread workshop.

Chopping olives

gallery_12922_6162_110220.jpg

Weighing the flour

gallery_12922_6162_35321.jpg

and the olive oil

gallery_12922_6162_30623.jpg

Start mixing

gallery_12922_6162_70075.jpg

Then kneading

gallery_12922_6162_84376.jpg

Check the dough

gallery_12922_6162_120659.jpg

We learned about the various types of preferment, the effect of adding fat or sugar to a dough, how to judge when the gluten is developed enough, and so much more...

This workshop was everything I hoped it would be - a practical, hands-on experience with lots of useful information. Many thanks to Tom for a fantastic workshop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Served with log cabin pure maple syrup (never heard of that before)

It's a new product that is, I believe, available only at Sam's Club (which is where nxtasy and I went for staples). From the manufacturer, Pinnacle Foods:

Log Cabin Pure Maple Syrup: Just introduced this year, Log Cabin Pure Maple syrup is made with only Grade A, Dark Amber maple syrup sourced from the finest Sugar Maple Trees during the peak season. With no additives or preservatives, Log Cabin Pure Maple is 100% all natural. You can find Log Cabin Pure Maple in Sam’s Club.

I thought it was just as good as any other standard pure maple syrup, and it was a really good value -- I think $12.99 for the quart maybe.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Before I get kicked off this tenuous wi-fi connection again...

I'd like to offer my and my mother's thanks and appreciation to all who organized the Heartland Gathering and affiliated events. We had a wonderful time meeting everyone, though I am very sorry I seem to have missed "officially" meeting some folks! (I keep reading names and thinking, "S/He was there? I don't remember that!")

I'd also like to add a special personal thanks to Marmish for offering her beautiful home for the chocolate workshop (and for introducing me to Milo :wub: ), and to Kerry for giving the workshop. My kitty is still uneaten, and is being preserved until it breaks and I have to eat it.

And I'm not sure if I offer thanks or curses to Tom for what has become of my mother. The last few days all I hear is bread, bread, bread...

"I think I need to buy this big wooden cutting board. It will be perfect for kneading bread!"

"Oh, I need those linen napkins. Tom says to use linen napkins or dish towels, and to really press the flour in."

"Tom says King Arthur is the best for bread. We should buy some."

"Tom says..."

You get the picture... :rolleyes::biggrin:

Seriously, I have heard nothing but raves about the bread workshop, and my mother is very rarely so unequivocally positive about anything, so props to you, Tom. You've got a huge fan in my mother!

And I like how there are two pics of my mom (not an eG member), and only one of 1/2 of the back of my head. :raz:

Edited by prasantrin (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd love to post a few pictures I took at TVH, but ImageGullet is not cooperating with the upload. Oh, well.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are just too many people to thank that I won't even attempt it. I just can't make a post without thanking Ronnie who went way out of his way to make sure that we had an incredible weekend. From a stretch limo food crawl of the city and ending with an incredible dinner at the same place where Anthony Bourdain was taping a new episode. (if someone knows when this is going to be aired please let me know!)

I am headed to Japan tomorrow morning and have been really busy since I came back from Chicago but I plan to comment more once I get settled back at home. I really had the most incredible time and am really looking forward to next year.

This time I will say it so that everyone will hear me, absolutely no deep frying next year! It was really hot in there with no air conditioning!

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cooking the chix was a group effort - we'd planned to grill them, but ran out of time.  So we crisped them on the flattop, then finished them in the oven.

I'm going to take partial, secondary-source credit for this innovation. There came a time in the afternoon when the small grill was still heating up and Randi's swordfish still needed to be cooked and it became clear that doing all that chicken on the grill would make the ETA on that course something like 4am. As luck would have it, however, in late June Edsel and I had been sitting at the counter at Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York City and had watched the cooks preparing chicken wings. They started the wings by giving them a hard sear on the plancha on both sides, then they transferred them to a saute pan to finish in the oven -- or at least that's what we remembered. So I said to Edsel, "Why don't you do the chicken the way we saw them do it at Momofuku?" Thus, chicken and waffles "Momofuku style" was born.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cooking the chix was a group effort - we'd planned to grill them, but ran out of time.  So we crisped them on the flattop, then finished them in the oven.

I'm going to take partial, secondary-source credit for this innovation. (...)

I saw Nancy's post earlier but didn't get a chance to respond.

We started realizing well before "show time" that the grill wasn't going to work out. We were eying the oven as a compromise solution, but that didn't sound too appealing. Besides, there was already a traffic jam of dishes going into the oven, so the timing was doubtful. I was concerned that the oven wouldn't give us the nice crispiness we were looking for.

Don't know why I didn't think of using the flat-top. It was barely a month ago that Steven and I were sitting at the counter at Noodle Bar commenting about how incredibly efficient their flat-top-plus-oven technique is. So credit Chang and company for the idea, but credit Fat Guy for remembering it when it counted. :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's cool! What other things did folks learn at the Gathering?

I learned that you dont need a microplane to grate lemon zest. All these years, I always avoided the small holes on the box grater because I never saw the zest. Little did I know, that It does come out underneath the grater. Kerry told me to put some plastic wrap on the side where the small holes were, but I never saw the zest. I turned it over and voila, it was all there. Wow, that was a total revelation to me.

Btw, I just got home from MI. Kerry and I showed up for our train on Tuesday afternoon and we were told there were NO trains running as all the tracks in MI were being worked on. They put us on a charter bus for the ride back. We spent the night in Port Huron today, did some shopping and now we're home.

I'm going to work on my pics on Friday as I have to work tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some other things I learned:

Quail eggs are really hard to crack without breaking or getting shell chips into the egg. Cracking four dozen is a real hassle. So crack them into little ramekins before cooking. Better, get two pretty girls to do it for you.

Goose just doesn't taste all that great, even when you smoke the heck out of it and slice it thinly.

The Vita-Mix is one of the greatest kitchen tools imaginable and truly can pulverize anything.

Randi's Nicoise-esque salad really redefined the Nicoise possibilities for me. I'm hoping someone posts a photo because it was such a spectacular dish.

Leah and Dick distributed some informative literature about the shrimp dish they prepared. Maybe they'll post it. They also distributed a ton of literature to accompany the Niles tour.

Dave Hammond was a veritable font of information regarding the Maxwell Street Market. I'd love to get some links to work he's done on that topic and post them here.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I posted a picture of Randi's salad way back on the first page. :rolleyes:

gallery_12922_6162_65390.jpg

The Vita-Mix is a champ. I've brought it along to the last three Heartland Gatherings, but this is the first time it really got noticed. It sped up Alex's gazpacho process considerably, and it saved me a lot of work making the aromatic paste for the coconut sauce.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, well since you asked.....

gallery_25969_665_160073.jpg

gallery_25969_665_718830.jpg

gallery_25969_665_81472.jpg

I took the picture before I realized I'd forgotten to add the olives. Once the platters hit the tables, I ran around with the olive container and added them.

I chose to make this because I knew the produce from the farmers market would be top notch( and expensive!!). I used baby arugula for the base. I saw those gorgeous french breakfast radishes and decided to use those instead of tomatoes ( cause I dont like raw tomatoes). I also bought heirloom fingerling potatoes( an assortment). There was this one stand that had great potatoes, I wish I'd taken a pic of the stand. I brought homeade tarragon vinegar( white wine) from home and used that along with a shallot( thanks Kerry), dijon vinegar and 365 brand EVOO from Whole Foods.

The biggest departure from a traditional nicoise was my use of swordfish. I dont care for raw tuna and I LOVE swordfish( and its pretty scarce where I live). I used McCormick's seafood spice( it came with its own grinder)( thanks to Hwa for bringing all those great spices) and some oil. I grilled it along with Fresser's help and let it sit at room temp until it was ready to plate.

I'm glad everyone enjoyed it. I'm not sure how I'll top that next year.

Edited by CaliPoutine (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I was helping Randi prep for her dessert I realized I hadn't handled a clingstone peach for years -- those delightful little buggers were hell to section.

I further realized that I hadn't made Salade Nicoise for way too long -- thanks to Randi's inspiration we made it Monday night.

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll start with a couple of pictures from the chocolate workshop.

gallery_34671_3115_2337.jpg

Rona (prasantrin)making little piles of the spiced nuts that Beth (Marmish) served us. She then went on to put some dulce de leche on top and topped with tempered chocolate.

gallery_34671_3115_23477.jpg

Our little mess. We cruelly left most of the cleanup for Beth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are a few pics to start.

gallery_31539_1218_194636.jpg

Kerry and Rona

We loved the Spice House. So much so that Kerry and I went a second time because we forgot a few things.

gallery_31539_1218_262542.jpg

CI's Peach Blueberry Crisp before baking.

gallery_31539_1218_556653.jpg

NYokie6's husband( Ron) fresser, lucky girl, nyokie6

gallery_31539_1218_251554.jpg

This was the best cheese plate I've ever eaten. We need to convince NyOkie6 to visit Paris again next year before the gathering. She also bought some amazing butter made with the whey leftover from making Parmesean Reggiano. I went to Fox and Obel so I could bring some back to Canada.

gallery_31539_1218_44114.jpg

Kris frying away, Gary, Fat Guy

gallery_31539_1218_290606.jpg

Pigs in the blanket made by Gary.

Edited by CaliPoutine (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is not a "what I learned" thing, it was reinforcing something I've known forever: Pigs in Blankets get inhaled.Fie on fancy cocktail food: PIBs rule.

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

gallery_31539_1218_556653.jpg

fresser, lucky girl, nyokie6

gallery_31539_1218_251554.jpg

This was the best cheese plate I've ever eaten.  We need to convince NyOkie6 to visit Paris again next year before the gathering.

I'd never worked before with fromage that actually had crossed Customs. It reminded me of Fat Guy's piece entitled Cheesy Does It.

I met "Pierre" at a rest area near the Canadian border at midnight. I handed him a $100 bill and he handed me a brown paper bag. "Don't you want to count it?" I quipped. He folded the bill, put it in his pocket, backed away from me (never breaking eye contact and never speaking), slid into his Pontiac Bonneville and drove back north to Quebec. I drove south for seven hours, through Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut, to my home in New York City. I drove the speed limit. I didn't want to get stopped. I was transporting illegal cheese.

If you've never read the entire piece--and find yourself in need of a belly-laugh--do so now.

There are two sides to every story and one side to a Möbius band.

borschtbelt.blogspot.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is not a "what I learned" thing, it was reinforcing something I've know forever: Pigs in Blankets get inhaled.Fie on fancy cocktail food: PIBs rule.

In my neck of the woods, PIBs are fancy cocktail food. Sheesh!

Chris Amirault

eG Ethics Signatory

Sir Luscious got gator belts and patty melts

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is not a "what I learned" thing, it was reinforcing something I've know forever: Pigs in Blankets get inhaled.Fie on fancy cocktail food: PIBs rule.

In my neck of the woods, PIBs are fancy cocktail food. Sheesh!

Damn uppity Heartlanders! :raz:

Given our luxe collection of fromages, I think a Stilton-filled puff pastry would be edible ecstasy.

Edited by Fresser (log)

There are two sides to every story and one side to a Möbius band.

borschtbelt.blogspot.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So while I was doing a few things in the kitchen on Saturday I handed my camera to Stacy - a friend of santo grace - and asked her to take pictures while we prepped and cooked. I finally had a chance to look through them tonight - and picked out a few to post. She took some wonderful pictures.

gallery_34671_2649_27567.jpg

Early in the day - Calipoutine, prasantrin, Alex, Bob (spouse of NancyH), and Tino27 plotting.

gallery_34671_2649_24427.jpg

gallery_34671_2649_1424.jpg

gallery_34671_2649_15074.jpg

gallery_34671_2649_27172.jpg

The 4 tables of revelers.

gallery_34671_2649_20357.jpg

Ratatouille.

gallery_34671_2649_17641.jpg

Tomato watermelon soup under construction.

gallery_34671_2649_7753.jpg

Tammylc and Alex dishing out his wonderful concoction.

gallery_34671_2649_1647.jpg

gallery_34671_2649_19720.jpg

Struggles with quail eggs.

gallery_34671_2649_7626.jpg

FG frying the quail eggs.

gallery_34671_2649_27780.jpg

Tino27's friend laying out the bread. Edsel looking quite serious in the background.

gallery_34671_2649_33015.jpg

The gang presiding over the ribs.

gallery_34671_2649_31987.jpg

Ronnie's ribs.

gallery_34671_2649_1859.jpg

Connie (white lotus) and Hwa doing some prep work.

gallery_34671_2649_23877.jpg

Frying is serious business.

gallery_34671_2649_19020.jpg

The proper footwear must always been worn in the kitchen.

gallery_34671_2649_10968.jpg

Torakris and Fat Guy frying - never again to be repeated - until next time!

gallery_34671_2649_24751.jpg

Edsel applying his spice blend to the chicken.

gallery_34671_2649_10000.jpg

The wonderful collection of herbs brought by elfin.

gallery_34671_2649_3045.jpg

NancyH basting her peaches. Smiling much more than while she was waiting for the

ambulance the next day.

gallery_34671_2649_21788.jpg

Fresser with some of the cheese.

gallery_34671_2649_4717.jpg

Calipoutine learning her new trick for grating lemon rind - thank you Cook's Illustrated!

gallery_34671_2649_21002.jpg

Tino27's collection of breads. Aren't they gorgeous?

gallery_34671_2649_2669.jpg

That would be me washing the overabundance of raspberries from the farmers market.

gallery_34671_2649_14587.jpg

Had to have a couple of pictures of Rona - not to allow her to be upstaged by her mom Cecilia.

gallery_34671_2649_21599.jpg

One of my pictures from the river architectural tour (thank you Rona for telling us about this).

Edited by Kerry Beal (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Early in the day - Calipoutine, prasantrin, Alex, ?name not coming to me, and Tino27 plotting.

The unidentified individual is Bob, spouse of NancyH.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Early in the day - Calipoutine, prasantrin, Alex, ?name not coming to me, and Tino27 plotting.

The unidentified individual is Bob, spouse of NancyH.

Thanks for that - I was thinking Bob but didn't want to say in case I was wrong. I'll correct it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...