PEARS AND PORK! I don’t normally eat at the dinner party, too much cooking going on, but this night I made an exception. I snagged a bowl of the pear and pork dumplings in broth and savored it thoroughly which involved both licking the bowl and my fingers. “True to Life” Sketches were on display […]
Read moreOnce the meatpacking capital of the world, this neighborhood evolved into one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Chicago. Our Dinner this time was served at an old sink factory that once supplied nearby meat processing plants. These days, the building houses artist studios and residents. Resident artist, G. Vincent Gaulin, performed as Wrinkledy Kinkledy, […]
Read moreIt was time for a meat break. It seems I had been pork obsessed for quite some time. I blame Chef John from Entre Underground and the Mangalitsa pork for causing my overdose. (And what a glorious overdose it was) Not to mention I had over 100 pounds of tomatoes from my garden that I […]
Read moreFor this dinner, I paid homage to my fav Lolla bands, assembling a 5-course face-melting tribute menu that Gaga and Spoon would love. Chef Lauren Parton worked on the desert. My favorite part of this meal had to be the jams. And specifically the tomato jam. Who knew that when you cooked down some tomatoes […]
Read moreA little summer in your life. Our latest adventure brought us to a riverside home in Albany Park in the Chi. I was worried about mosquitos but we got lucky and no bites! Hot Jazz was served fresh by The David Moulthrop Gipsy Trio This was not one of our usual dinner parties. It was a […]
Read moreBzzzz, the infamous bee dinner in Pilsen… There are two beehives on the property, maintained by Beekeeper Willie Jr. Honey was harvested twice to compare late spring and early summer honey. Pastured halal chicken and turkey from Whole Earth Meats, a local start-up dedicated to developing a high quality supply of sustainably raised and processed, […]
Read moreOne of the best wines I’ve tasted in my entire life, a Forlorn Hope Suspiro del Moro Alvarelhao, got me thinking about putting together a wine dinner. I got in touch with Andrew Grossman, owner of Lagniappe Beverage here in Chicago. Andrew works directly with the wine maker, Matthew Rorick, to bring these wines to […]
Read moreIf there’s such a thing as a strawberry overdose, I like to think we came close. Not every dish had berries though. The walleye dish contained NO berries. It was grilled Ontario style (wrapped in a tinfoil pouch with butter – grilled over hot coals). Colorful artwork and balloon art by Alexis Nido-Russo. New Discovery: […]
Read moreA primitive act, cooking up and serving the whole hog, never tasted so good, but then again, it’s nothing new and so easy a caveman could do it. Our 140lb pig came via Gunthorp Farm, a Duroc and Berkshire cross breed that spends most of its time outside foraging and socializing. This makes for leaner […]
Read moreMarch 25th, 2010 Ok we have to do this again. This menu is pretty solid now. I tried it last year for the first time, with the help of Garland Green, then chef of Quench the Experience soul food (now cooking at XOCO). By the way, as you can see from the photos, we were […]
Read more