Report: 2008 Heartland Gathering in Chicago

[Alex]

Here are some pics from the Maxwell Street Market Tour

fat guy and edsel   

These were great too.  I can't remember the last time I had a homeade tortilla.  They used it to make a corn fungus( formal name is?)taco.  That was a bit strange for me.

Corn fungus

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The corn fungus is called huitlacoche.

Great-looking hats there, guys, but I can't quite make out what's on them. Could you clue us in? (Nice picture, too, Randi, getting the Sears Tower in the background.)

[tammylc]

So, in the end, the amuse was two items. The first was crostini with smoked trout topped with a quail egg and garnished with some chives. The second was a plantain chip with a schmear of apricot-mango stuff, topped with smoked goose breast, julienne Asian pear and a little dill. The trout-and-quail-egg one came out as we imagined it would. The plantain-with-goose, when we did a preliminary taste test, was too sweet and not salty enough. This even though our whole premise had been to minimize the saltiness of the goose. So we wound up asking Kris to salt the plantain chips and we added the dill to the ingredients list. In the end this part of the amuse was not, in my opinion, fabulous but it was pretty good and it met the ethnic challenge. I loved the trout and egg, but there were some little bones in some portions that made it difficult to navigate.

Maybe someone can supplement with a photo.

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Thanks for the rundown, Fat Guy. I think the trout and egg would have been even better had we remembered to season them. A little salt and pepper on the eggs would have totally kicked it up a notch.

Oh, and actually, it was dill on the trout and eggs, and chives on the goose and fruit. Which I agree was too sweet and not as fabulous as I'd hoped. Ah well - it was worth the experiment.

[CaliPoutine]

Great-looking hats there, guys, but I can't quite make out what's on them. Could you clue us in? (Nice picture, too, Randi, getting the Sears Tower in the background.)

IIRC, it was cock fighting or something like that.

[tammylc]

Wow, looking at all those pictures of the market I am soooo disappointed I had to leave early. :-(

As it was, I only made it back to Ann Arbor with a half hour to spare before I had to go out to my next multi-course dinner. It was really a crazy eating weekend!

[tammylc]

Karen M - can you talk about what the topping you drizzled on the confit byaldi was? I'm not seeing it in my version of the French Laundry cookbook - is that something you came up with on your own?

[nr706]

They used it to make a corn fungus( formal name is?)taco.  That was a bit strange for me.

Formal name is huitlacoche (sometimes spelled with a c instead of an h). Also called corn smut, as in "I'm gonna go down there and get me some smut!"

[prasantrin]

I think one of the table pics is missing--my table!  It's all about me, doncha know.  

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Mea culpa. I'd uploaded it, just didn't move it over - I'd better look and see which others I missed.

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And from left to right starting at roughly 8:00, we have:

G Wiv aka Gary (still kicking myself for not getting his namesake spice blend from The Spice House and having him autograph it!)

Beth aka Marmish, owner of Milo

Pav aka Beth's husband

Dance aka Connie's husband

Connie aka white_lotus

Helen aka G Wiv's wife

KarenM's husband (can't remember his name, either!)

Karen aka KarenM

Cecilia aka my mother

Me/Rona aka prasantrin

Julie aka santo_grace

empty chair belonging to Stacy aka Julie's +1

Edited August 15, 2008 by prasantrin (log)

[racheld]

Ohhhh, Y'all!!!! This is just like Old Home Week!!!!

I'm so glad to meet everyone!!! I can tell that there was SOME GOOD TIME goin' on.

Thank you, Thank You to everyone who chimed in to name all the folks---You are all just BEAUTIFUL!

[nsxtasy]

G Wiv's wife (sorry!  Can't remember her name!)

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Ellen.

[prasantrin]

G Wiv's wife (sorry!  Can't remember her name!)

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Ellen.

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Thanks! I edited my original post. Hopefully someone will chime in with KarenM's husband's name, too!

[Alex]

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

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From Kerry Beal et al.:

1. how to temper chocolate

2. how to dip stuff in tempered chocolate

3. the wonderfulness of Portuguese "Saltcream" sea salt from The Spice House

4. the even greater wonderfulness of crème brûlée chocolate cups

And let us not forget:

5. how three days of continual eating and drinking (and cooking) tires one out. In a happy way, of course.

Oh, and I really don't like the texture of pig's ear.

[NancyH]

my photos from Sat. dinner:

Edsel and his Vita Mix become the hit of the kitchen

Fruits of the bread class

Amuse, p 1

Amuse, p2

Tomato-watermelon soup

beet stem pancakes

Beet salad

Salad niscoisse (pre-olives)

baked shrimp

Ratatouille

Chicken & Waffles

Gravy

Cole Slaw

Ribs

It was all yummy! I was too stuffed for dessert - so no photos. lucas mentioned that he really liked the maple syrup on his rib (which was delicious, but a bit spicy). I thought the cole slaw was a perfect accompaniment, Marmish!

[tammylc]

Great pictures, Nancy!

I agree re. Marmish's coleslaw. It rocked so much I asked her for the recipe and served it to 45 of my neighbors at dinner a couple nights ago.

[NancyH]

Thurs kick off dinner at Blackbird

We started with 2 passed nibbles during the cocktail hour:

Parmesan apricot shooter

Tartare

I remember this as lamb, but stuart said steak - who knows? it was delicious, as was the unusual shooter.

Herbed butter

bread service

Bob and I both opted for the "nasty bits" menu.

chopped chicken liver ravioli w/apple-lime puree and anise hyssop

For my taste, this was, well, too chicken-livery. Caveat - I was never a chicken liver fan. [grain of salt]

pickled beef tongue with fried bologna, cherry tomatoes, horseradish and nori

I really liked this dish, though I never cared for the tongue on deli platters I tasted as a child.

roasted hudson valley foie gras with preserved grapefruit, sea beans, and lychee-espresso

I didn't like this as much as i thought i would, though as Tammy pointed out, roasted and seared foie are very different. count me in the 'seared' lovers group, i guess.

braised rack of lamb with fresh soybeans, spring radishes, pickled feta & lovage

Although there weren't any real nasty bits in this dish, it was superb. The lamb was perfectly cooked to a bloody rare [perhaps that was the nasty bit aspect] and tasted simply amazing.

intermezzo - candied pig ear

Loved this!

Even more amazing was dessert:

crispy veal sweetbreads w/cashew butter, rye waffle, black mission figs, black olive honey, and cashew ice cream

The notion of sweetbreads for dessert was bizarre enough. but this combination of textures and flavors really worked!

This lovely dinner really revved our culinary engines up for the edibles to come!

[jesteinf]

For me, the lamb was really the highlight of the Blackbird dinner. One of the best lamb dishes I've had in a restaurant.

[maggiethecat]

We revived an old Heartlander tradition: the American Gothic shot. It might have started at Varmint's first Pig Pickin', and Im sure we posted one from Grand Rapids.

Behold Sam Iam and Lady T with knife and cognac instead of farm implements.

[Marmish]

my photos from Sat. dinner:

...

It was all yummy!  I was too stuffed for dessert - so no photos.  lucas mentioned that he really liked the maple syrup on his rib (which was delicious, but a bit spicy).  I thought the cole slaw was a perfect accompaniment, Marmish!

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Thanks! I really love that coleslaw. We can eat a whole head of cabbage between the two of us. I figured any coleslaw in a meat cookbook had to be pretty darn good! It's from the Complete Meat Cookbook, by Aidells and Kelly.

Your pics are great!

Edited August 16, 2008 by Marmish (log)

[CaliPoutine]

my photos from Sat. dinner:

...

It was all yummy!  I was too stuffed for dessert - so no photos.  lucas mentioned that he really liked the maple syrup on his rib (which was delicious, but a bit spicy).  I thought the cole slaw was a perfect accompaniment, Marmish!

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Thanks! I really love that coleslaw. We can eat a whole head of cabbage between the two of us. I figured any coleslaw in a meat cookbook had to be pretty darn good! It's from the Complete Meat Cookbook, by Aidells and Kelly.

Your pics are great!

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Can you add it to recipe gullet or post it here?

[Marmish]

Ingredient lists are not copyrighted. I usually use far less or even no onion, and lots and lots of pepper. I may sub granualated garlic or garlic powder, depending on how much time I have and what's on hand. Yogurt or sour cream, doesn't really matter. Otherwise, don't change a thing.

Coleslaw from the Complete Meat Cookbook, Aidells and Kelly

4 cups shredded green cabbage

2 cups shredded red cabbage

2 geen onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

Dressing

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

[CaliPoutine]

Ingredient lists are not copyrighted.  I usually use far less or even no onion, and lots and lots of pepper.  I may sub granualated garlic or garlic powder, depending on how much time I have and what's on hand.  Yogurt or sour cream, doesn't really matter.  Otherwise, don't change a thing.

Coleslaw from the Complete Meat Cookbook, Aidells and Kelly

4 cups shredded green cabbage

2 cups shredded red cabbage

2 geen onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

Dressing

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Thanks!! The next time I make coleslaw for the seniors, I'll try this one.

[Alex]

Here's one of the four different "cocktail stations" at The Violet Hour. The ones we sampled -- all gin-based -- were Juliet & Romeo, Aviation, Martinez (precursor of the Martini), and something I can't remember (help, please). The Juliet & Romeo was by far my favorite. It recently was named one of the 20 best cocktails in America by GQ (#3 on the slide show). Toby (Alchemist) posted the recipe here on LTH, although I believe he used Hendrick's gin at TVH instead of the Beefeater specified in the recipe.

Groups rotated through the stations, and Toby would stop by for an instructional session on how and why each cocktail was constructed. For example, if I remember correctly (someone correct me on this, if needed), when we sampled the J & R, we started with just the main liquids, then in succession added the mint leaf, bitters, and rose water.

Clockwise from the far left, there's tammylc (Tammy); two people I recognize but am absolutely blocking out their names (help, again, please); nyokie6 and spouse (Toby and Ron); HeatherM (Heather); someone I don't recognize; and jesteinf and spouse (Josh and Marisa). I'm pretty sure this was the Martinez station.

And this is how things looked after sampling all four cocktails. That's Ronnie (ronnie_suburban) on the right.

Edited August 17, 2008 by Alex (log)

[LuckyGirl]

Great pictures, Nancy!

I agree re. Marmish's coleslaw. It rocked so much I asked her for the recipe and served it to 45 of my neighbors at dinner a couple nights ago.

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Tammy, if you or Marmish would post that recipe I would be much obliged. That for me, was the quintessential slaw, just how I like it.

TIA,

Diane

Nevermind... I didn't read far enough into the thread...

Edited August 16, 2008 by LuckyGirl (log)

[santo_grace]

Here's one of the four different "cocktail stations" at The Violet Hour. The ones we sampled -- all gin-based -- were Juliet & Romeo, Aviation, Martinez (precursor of the Martini), and something I can't remember (help, please). The Juliet & Romeo was by far my favorite. It recently was named one of the 20 best cocktails in America by GQ (#3 on the slide show). Toby's posted the recipe here on LTH, although I believe he used Hendrick's at TVH instead of the Beefeater specified in the recipe.

Groups rotated through the stations, and Toby (Alchemist) would stop by for an instructional session on how and why each cocktail was constructed. For example, if I remember correctly (someone correct me on this, if needed), when we sampled the J & R, we started with just the main liquids, then in succession added the mint leaf, bitters, and rose water.

Clockwise from the far left, there's tammylc (Tammy); two people I recognize but am absolutely blocking out their names (help, again, please); nyokie6 and spouse (Toby and Ron); HeatherM (Heather); someone I don't recognize; and jesteinf and spouse (Josh and Marisa). I'm pretty sure this was the Martinez station.

And this is how things looked after sampling all four cocktails. That's Ronnie (ronnie_suburban) on the right.

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The people you are missing are Neil (Amy Viny's husband), Amy Viny, and then me (Santo_Grace). The person next to jesteinf is my guest Steve. Also, judging from the serious look on Marisa's face, I know what she was talking so intently with Tammy about.

[Alex]

Clockwise from the far left, there's tammylc (Tammy); two people I recognize but am absolutely blocking out their names (help, again, please); nyokie6 and spouse (Toby and Ron); HeatherM (Heather); someone I don't recognize; and jesteinf and spouse (Josh and Marisa). I'm pretty sure this was the Martinez station.

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The people you are missing are Neil (Amy Viny's husband), Amy Viny, and then me (Santo_Grace). The person next to jesteinf is my guest Steve. Also, judging from the serious look on Marisa's face, I know what she was talking so intently with Tammy about.

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Me, too, but I'm not telling...

[nyokie6]

Ah,yes.

I agree, the Romeo and Juliet was my favorite also, and I enjoyed the info on garnishing(?).