Tag Archives: wine

Provenance: Keeping us classy at home

7 Jan

 

Provenance Chicago

I’m not going to lie. In the old days, going out to dinner was part of our routine. It was an expectation. A constant to look forward to.

These days, not so much.

But, that doesn’t mean we have to give up delicious things as a result. Instead of going out for these acquisitions, we’re now bringing them home. Rather than enjoying a plated cheese platter with wine at Fiddlehead, we bring the fromage and vino to the living room.

A major aid in our efforts to do this is the amazing Provenance. Locale less than 40 steps from where I get off the train every night, Tracy, the owner, has become a familiar and friendly face as I stock up on delicious bottles and stinky cheeses.

Tracy does an amazing job of rotating in great bottles usually all under $14. On any given day she’ll have about 6-7 whites and the same amount of reds. On her back wall, she’ll have a few more options, but those are the fancy bottles, priced upwards of $25-40.

But they don’t just have wine. They also carry small batch, specialty brews that my husband loves. Whether it’s a bottle of Goose Island’s Matilda or Éphémère, he’s equally happy with their options.

There are also local made treats from B True Bakery, Sarah’s Candies and Vosges. Need some Truffle salt? They usually have at least four options. Grape seed oil? Yep. Red Hen Bakery baguette? You know it. Basically, they keep us civilized even when we’re enjoying happy hour in our living room.

B True Bakery

Provenance has two locations, one in Lincoln Square and another in Logan Square.

Pastoral’s Fall Tastings and Classes

11 Oct
Pastoral

Photo from Yelp

 

Working in a very high-paced office and industry, I rarely go out for lunch during the day. Most often, my lunches consist of tuper-ware versions of whatever I had the night before at dinner. But once in a while, when I’m really craving a ridiculously delicious sandwich with stinky, soft cheese and chutneys, I escape my desk and head to Pastoral. It’s always a treat and my only regret is I can’t spend the rest of my day sipping their wines and sampling cheeses; alas.

 

In addition to enjoying their culinary achievements between sliced bread, you can also take classes from one of their shops. I am hoping to make it to one this fall, but you should definitely check them out. In addition to how delicious and fun they sound, I think they’re pretty reasonable compared to many other wine and cheese-type classes and tastings out there.

PASTORAL’S TASTE OF ARTISAN ITALY:
CLASSES AND TASTINGS


Saturday, October 16, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. (Loop / Lake Street)
Exploring Italy
From Dolomite Alps to Venice, from Lake Como to Sicily, Pastoral is featuring all of our finest Italian delights. Resident sommelier Jill Pienta will cover artisan cheeses, small batch wines, meat and olives—and highlight pairing ideas that would make Dean Martin swoon. $45 per person; purchase tickets in advance at www.pastoralartisan.com or by calling any Pastoral store location. Includes 15% shopping discount at Pastoral on the day of the class.

 

FALL CLASS SCHEDULE
Pastoral will host a variety of new classes in fall 2010 as part of its growing in-store class and event program. Classes highlighted below will last approximately 90 minutes and include time for Q&A; reserved with a credit card online at www.pastoralartisan.com or by calling any store location. Includes a 15% shopping discount at the store on the night of the class. Cancellations must be made 72 hours in advance.

 

Saturday, October 16, 6:30 p.m. (Loop / Lake Street)
Exploring Italy

Tuesday, October 26, 7:30 p.m. (Lakeview)
Beyond Kraft Singles: Exploring American Cheese
Food culture in the United States has changed so significantly in the last 20 years that we have quality cheeses and wines being made by hand all over the country. Join resident fromager Cesar Olivares as we venture out of California and Wisconsin to discover some of the artisan gems of the great U.S.A. $45 per person.

Monday, November 1, 7:30 p.m. (Chicago French Market)
Pairing 101
Cheese + Wine = Flavor Utopia. With so many cheese styles and a myriad of wine choices available, pairing can seem like a shot in the dark. At Pastoral, the combination of wine and cheese is a lifestyle: we’ve studied the nuance, tested the theories and created philosophies on the subject of pairing that we’d love to share with you! Visit and taste with resident sommelier Jill Pienta as she introduces the classic combos, new-age ideas and avant-garde anomalies with cheese, wine and good company! $40 per person.

Tuesday, November 16, 7:30 p.m. (Lakeview)
Bubbles, Cheese & Chocolate
Who doesn’t love sparkling wine, cheese and chocolate?? Explore some of the most coveted foods in the world and learn why these foods are so well-known and well-loved. Resident fromager Cesar Olivares takes you on a world tour of some of the best producers of these sinful indulgences. Just in time for holiday party planning ideas. $45 per person.

Sinfully Simple Lasagna

9 Oct

 

Lasagna from Women's Day

Lasagna from Women's Day

 

Growing up, my mom was known throughout my family, immediate and extended, for her signature lasagna. I have memories of her making pan after pan for large family parties out in eastern Long Island; she even catered my uncle’s wedding with lasagna. So needless to say, the term lasagna was always one associated with much labor and ferocity. But my God was it delicious.

As I started to dabble in the kitchen, lasagna remained one of those culinary entities that intimidated the hell out of me. Visions of bubbling sauce, boiling noodles, messy aprons danced through my head. But it was the New Years eve of my sophomore year in college that I decided to embark on the quest to serve lasagna at a party with friends.

I called my mom, got her recipe and set forth. It wasn’t pretty. But, it wasn’t that bad. Once I was able to wrap my brain around it (sauce, noodle, ricotta, cheese, sauce and repeat) I realized this could be a really fun dish to improvise and play around with.

Fast forward 10 years and I still enjoy making lasagna. I love to add veggies, flavor aspects, etc… And just recently, I discovered the most amazing tool out there to even further simplify this no-longer-as-scary-as-I-thought dish: no-boil noodles. I thought they were a myth. I thought they would taste like leather (and maybe to more refined pasta pallets, they do, but not to me).  Turns out, the no-boil noodles just got lasagna back into our monthly meal rotation. This is also a great meal because you get a ton of leftovers for lunch throughout the week.

So in honor of my mother, who I love, and her famous lasagna, here is my, ridiculousy easy version of her acclaimed favorite:

Sinfully Simple Lasagna

*Please note- I don’t, ever, follow recipes to a T, so you’ll have to forgive that when I share my recipes, they’ll look like I how I prepare them- lots of guesstimates.*

  • Box of no-boil lasagna noodles
  • 2 jars of tomato sauce
  • Veggies (I like carrots, spinach, and mushrooms- but add whatever you want here)
  • 1.5-2 cups of Ricotta cheese
  • 1 large log of fresh mozzarella cheese
  • Fresh Parmesan cheese
  1. First things first: turn on the oven to 350.
  2. In a large lasagna-like dish, wipe a bit of olive oil on the pan and then put a layer of sauce on the bottom.
  3. Add noodles so they don’t overlap but cover the pan
  4. Add more sauce
  5. Add dollops of ricotta throughout, on top of the sauce
  6. Add a thin layer of shredded mozzarella cheese
  7. Add veggies (here I would add spinach and mushrooms)
  8. Add another layer of sauce
  9. Add noodles again
  10. Add more sauce
  11. (Do you see the pattern here?!)
  12. Add ricotta
  13. Add veggies (here I’d add the carrots)
  14. Add a little more sauce
  15. Layer the top with mozzarella cheese and fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
  16. Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes to an hour (the top should be browning, melted and bubbling).

VOILA!

Chicago Gourmet Roundup

27 Sep

 

Chicago Gourmet

Photo credit: Chicagoist

As much as I was looking forward to attending and reporting on this year’s Chicago Gourmet festival, a few things with family popped up this weekend and I wasn’t able to make it to Millenium Park. One of those times when life gets in the way of plans.

But it’s okay, I made up for it by drinking delicious wine at home and making an outstanding butternut squash and sweet potato bisque risotto (recipe coming soon). But, here’s a roundup from other site’s coverage of Chicago Gourmet.

Cheers to what sounds like a good event (despite long lines) and looking forward to watching this event continue to grow.

Grub Street Chicago:

“…it was hard to discount the incredible number of big name chefs that made it out to this year’s Chicago Gourmet. That included home town chefs like Rick Bayless, Stephanie Izard, and Graham Elliot along with food personalities like Art Smith, Ted Allen, and even Marcus Samuelsson. All told, there were over a hundred chefs on the premises, not counting the sous chefs and the many culinary students that helped staff the event.”

Chicagoist:

“…With the addition of Bon Appétit magazine as presenting sponsor, the increase in the number of larger sponsor branded tents was obvious. The difference is that this year’s festival had so many tents shoehorned into Pritzker Pavilion, there was little room for walkways or ways to make the queues more manageable.”

GapersBlock:

“With the addition of Bon Appétit magazine as presenting sponsor, the increase in the number of larger sponsor branded tents was obvious. The difference is that this year’s festival had so many tents shoehorned into Pritzker Pavilion, there was little room for walkways or ways to make the queues more manageable.”

 

Lazy Cook Crazy Cook

“…There were dozens of pavilion tents of food and wine tastings and there were also food demonstrations, book signings and seminars by noted chefs and foodies including Bon Appetit magazine’s Andrew Knowlton and Barbara Fairchild, Cat Cora, Table 52′s Art Smith, Marcus Samuelsson, Tony Mantuano and many more.  We attended one food demo by Sunda’s Rodelio Aglibot and Todd Stein, formerly of Cibo Matto and now of the soon-to-open The Florentine. ”

 

South Beach Wine and Food Festival Blog

“After a successful judging of the Hamptons Burger Bloodbath this summer, I decided to take my hamburger judging skills to Chicago for the Hamburger Hop competition. 15 different entrants from all over the country competed for the title.”

Sit At The Table With Morton’s The Steakhouse And The Mondavi Family

20 Sep

I used to work for Morton’s managing their P.R. and social media. This is a class-act company, and not just because they serve amazing steaks. No, Morton’s is a company that strives to pioneer all things fine dining and wine and they are putting on a very exciting event this October.

Morton's The Steakhouse

Morton's The Steakhouse

On October 7, 2010 at Charles Krug winery, this gathering, the first of its kind in Mondavi family history, will celebrate the Mondavi family’s more than 90 years in growing and crafting wine and will be broadcast simultaneously to 54 Morton’s private dining rooms. This will also be a fundraiser benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a wonderful and worthy recipient.

Mondavi Family Blending

Mondavi Family Blending

The evening’s esteemed hosts will include Michael Mondavi of Folio Fine Wine Partners, Tim Mondavi and Marcia Mondavi Borger of Continuum Estate, and Peter Mondavi, Sr., Peter Mondavi, Jr. and Marc Mondavi of Charles Krug Winery.

The event will kick off an online auction of the first-ever red wine produced by the extended Mondavi family – Siamo Insieme, which means “We are Together” in Italian. The Mondavi family has collaborated to produce a 27-liter bottle (called a primat); a unique blend of Napa Valley grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, produced and blended by the second and third generation of the Mondavi family especially for this event. This bottle will be auctioned online on Hart Davis Hart Wine Co.’s website October 7, 2010 through October 30, 2010,with 100 percent of the winning auction bid benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

For more information about this historic and exciting event, visit Morton’s Prime Events. Tickets are $175 per person and the event will begin at the following times in each time zone:

EDT: 8 P.M.

CDT: 7 P.M.

MDT: 6 P.M.

PDT: 5 P.M.

On a personal note- I will say that I had the opportunity to work on this event before I changed careers and I was honored to have been somewhat part of the early process. Morton’s The Steakhouse and the esteemed Mondavi family are two staples among their industry and I couldn’t think of a better pairing. Is this thing on?

Chicago Gourmet: Everything you ever wanted to know…

20 Sep
Chicago Gourmet

Chicago Gourmet

With Chicago Gourmet less than a week away, I thought I’d share some information about this amazing festival, going on its third year in Chicago.

Chicago Gourmet is a premier epicurean experience aimed at promoting Chicago’s impressive culinary community. It was created by the Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA) to celebrate and honor both Chicago’s culinary achievements and the creative vision of the chefs, Master Sommeliers and wine and spirit makers who are participating. It also highlights Chicago as an international culinary destination via its unparalleled epicurean talent. ‐day event, presented this year by title sponsor Bon Appétit, will offer attendees the opportunity to sample hundreds of wines, beers, spirits and culinary creations; attend celebrity chef demos and book‐signings, educational seminars and tastings conducted by Master Sommeliers and wine, beer, and spirit makers; and learn about today’s most interesting epicurean trends first‐hand from the culinary innovators who are creating them in Chicago and nationwide.

 

Q. When will Chicago Gourmet take place?

 

A. On Friday, September 24, from 6 to 9 p.m., Chicago Gourmet will kick off the weekend with a cooking competition – featuring 15 of the city’s top chefs – to find the best burger in Chicago. Hosted by

 

On Saturday, Chicago Gourmet will run from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. On Sunday, the event will begin again at 12 p.m. and close to the public at 5 p.m.

 

Chicago Gourmet will take place Friday, September 24, through Sunday, September 26, 2010. Bon Appétit Executive Chef Cat Cora and Chef Art Smith, and presented by Allen Brothers Steaks and MillerCoors’ Blue Moon, this lively, interactive event will take place at the Harris Theatre’s Rooftop Terrace in Millennium Park. The event is open to the public and entry is $75 per person. Tickets may be purchased at www.ChicagoGourmet.org.

Q. Where is Chicago Gourmet being held?

 

A. Chicago Gourmet will be held on the grounds of Millennium Park. General admission to Chicago Gourmet includes full access to the festival area, including live cooking demonstrations presented on two stages at 30 minute intervals, premium wine and spirits tastings and seminars on epicurean trends.

 

Q. How much does it cost to attend Chicago Gourmet?

 

A.  A one‐day ticket for either Saturday, September 25, or Sunday, September 26, costs $150.  A weekend pass, good for admission to both days of the festival, costs $250.

 

Q. What is the Grand Cru and how much does it cost?

 

A.  2 to 3:30 p.m. each day, will offer attendees tastings of the finest wines in the world, as selected by our Master Sommeliers. During these exclusive 90

 

The ultimate Chicago Gourmet wine experience, the Grand Cru Tastings, which take place from ‐minute events, the Master Sommeliers will be on hand to present and discuss their selections. The Grand Cru is a separate ticketed event that costs $175/person and requires a general admission ticket. Attendance is limited to 200 people per day.

Q. Where can I purchase tickets for Chicago Gourmet?

 

A. For up‐to‐date information about Chicago Gourmet, and to purchase tickets, please visit www.ChicagoGourmet.org.

 

Q. What’s new for Chicago Gourmet in 2010?

 

A. The The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade will bring to Chicago Gourmet a Fancy Food Show consumer retail event. The Fancy Food Show Pavilion will feature 60+ specialty food and beverage purveyors that will showcase and sample their products in the sprawling South Promenade Tent.

 

This year, the event will feature two new attractions: the Bon Appetit Marketplace Tent and the Fancy Food Show Pavilion. Bon Appétit Marketplace Tent will offer guests the opportunity to meet and mingle with the magazine’s top editors and Executive Chef Cat Cora while enjoying sips, bites, and special promotions from our favorite brands.

Q. Who are the participating chefs for 2010?

  Rodelio Aglibot, Sunda New Asian

  Ted Allen, Food and Wine Ambassador for Robert Mondavi

  Jerome Bacle, Courtright’s Restaurant

  Jimmy Bannos, Heaven on Seven

  Jimmy Bannos Jr., The Purple Pig

  Rick Bayless, Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, XOCO

  Carlyn Berghoff, Berghoff Catering & Restaurant Group

  Graham Elliot Bowles, graham elliot

  Frank Brunacci, Sixteen

  George Bumbaris and Sarah Stegner, Prairie Grass Café, Prairie Fire

  Niall Campbell, Firefly Grill

  Gregory Carso, The Metropolitan Club

  Michael Cisternino, Tavern at the Park

  John Coletta, Quartino

  Federico Comacchio, Phil Stefani’s 437 Rush

  Judy Contino, Bittersweet Pastry Shop

  Cat Cora, Bon Appétit

  Chris Curren, Blue 13

  Christophe David, NOMI

  Radhika Desai, English

  Stephen Dunne, The Paramount Room

  Dirk Flanigan, The Gage/Henri

  Jo‐Marie Frigo, Nonna Santiʹs Biscotti

  Klaus Fritsch, Morton’s The Steakhouse

  Terry Opalek and Michael Frontier, Terryʹs Toffee

  Dirk & Terry Fucik, Dirkʹs Fish & Gourmet Shop

  Gale Gand, Tru

  Jose Garces, Mercat a la Planxa

  Luigi Garcia, RIVA at Navy Pier

  John Gatsos, Tavern on Rush

  Carlos Gaytan, Mexique

  James Gottwald, Rockit Bar & Grill

  Elvia Granados, Francescaʹs Restaurants

  Laurent Gras, L2O

  Koren Grieveson, Avec

  Mark Grosz, Oceanique Restaurant

  Kevin Hickey, Seasons, Four Seasons Hotel Chicago

  John Hogan, Keeferʹs Restaurant

  Sandra Holl, Floriole Bakery & Café

  Tony Hu, Lao Szechuan

  Brian Huston, The Publican

  Stephanie Izard, Girl & The Goat

  Randal Jacobs, Elate

  Paul Kahan and Michael Sheerin, Blackbird

  Gene Kato, Japonais Restaurant

  Paul Katz, Harry Carayʹs Italian Steakhouse

  Bill Kim, Belly Shack, Urban Belly

  Diane Kochilas, Avli Restaurant, Pylos Restaurant

  Eddie Lakin, Edzo’s Burger Shop

  Mariano Lanfranconi, 5411 Empanadas

  Bernie Laskowski. Park Grill

  Chan Le, Le Colonial

  Dale Levitski, Sprout

  Joshua Linton, Aja

  John Manion, Branch 27

  Tony Mantuano, Spiaggia

  Shawn McClain, Spring, Green Zebra

  Michael McDonald, one sixtyblue

  Jason McLeod, Balsan at the Elysian Hotel

  Nathaniel Meads, Fritz Pastry

  Mario Navarro, Gene & Georgetti

  Martial Noguier, Café des Architectes

  Chris Nugent, Les Nomades

  Chris Pandel, The Bristol

  Nicole Pederson, C‐House

  Ryan Poli, Perennial Restaurant

  Tony Priolo, Piccolo Sogno

  Thierry Rautureau, Rover’s

  Toni Roberts, C‐House Restaurant

  Alain Roby, Hyatt Regency Chicago

  Arun Sampanthavivat, Arunʹs Thai Restaurant

  Marcus Samuelsson, C‐House, Red Rooster

  Patricio Sandoval, Mercadito Restaurants

  Mario Santiago, May St. Café & Catering

  Mindy Segal, Hot Chocolate

  Carol Wallack and Alex Shalev, Sola Restaurant

  Patrick Sheerin, The Signature Room at the 95th

  Jackie Shen, Red Light

  Bruce Sherman, North Pond Restaurant

  Michael Shrader, N9NE Steakhouse

  Kerry Simon, Simon at Palms Place, Simon LA

  Art Smith, Table Fifty‐Two

  Mark Sparacino, Prosecco

  Chad Starling, aria

  Todd Stein, cibo matto

  Giuseppe Tentori, Boka Restaurant

  Jacques Torres, Jacques Torres Chocolate

  Rick Tramonto, Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood, RT Sushi Bar & Lounge

  Jared Van Camp, Old Town Social

  Paul Virant, Vie

  Randy Waidner, Gibsons Restaurant Group

  Stephen Wambach, EPIC

  Michael Wisner, Zapatista

  Takashi Yagihashi, Takashi

  Shelley Young, Chopping Block

  Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia

  Randy Zweiban, Province

 

Q. Who are the participating wine, spirit, and beer experts?

 

A. Master Sommeliers participating in Chicago Gourmet 2010 include:

  1. Serafin Alvarado,

Southern Wine & Spirits of Illinois

  1. Fred Dame,

Heirloom Wine Group

  1. Doug Krenik,

Loosen Bros. USA

  1. Geoff Kruth,

Guild of Sommeliers

  1. Alpana Singh,

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises

There will also be a wide variety of mixologists, winemakers, master brewers and master distillers taking part in Chicago Gourmet, as well as in the Dine Around program.

 

Q. What is the Dine Around?

 

A. The Bon Appétit and Chicago Gourmet Dine Around extends Chicago Gourmet beyond Millennium Park into the city’s best restaurants. From August 30 through September 26, dine in five participating restaurants, save your receipts, and redeem them for a complimentary one‐day Chicago Gourmet ticket at registration. Enjoy the special prix‐fixe meal or simply dine from the regular menu; either receipt is valid toward the free ticket. For complete offer details visit ChicagoGourmet.org.

Bad Apple is no Kuma’s Corner

18 Sep

Photo from The Bad Apple

I had high hopes for Bad Apple. Despite their terrible logo (what can I say? I’m married to a former designer, I take these things into account), a co-worker told me about their Wednesday Kobe burgers and said their other burgers were on par with Kuma’s Corner. In my recent dining experience it was all fine, but it was no Kuma’s Corner.

I went with some girl friends for one of those semi-spontaneous week-night gatherings and this was a good spot in the middle for everyone.

I was coming from a stressful day at work, so I immediately reached for the drink and beer list, and I was impressed. They have a lot, like a lot, of beers on draft, bottles, etc… I got an Alagash White on draft. It was delicious.

As a table, we ordered the goat cheese fondue to share. It was…fine. Not bad, I mean, with goat cheese it’s hard to royally screw it up, but it wasn’t memorable.

For my entrée, I got the veggie burger served as their El Dorado (chili cumin burger, spicy corn & black bean salsa, avocado, shredded lettuce). It came with fries which I upgraded to Truffle status.

The burger was made in-house and it was good. Sometimes when restaurants venture to make their own veggie burgers it can go very wrong. That wasn’t the case here. It was filling, robust and had good flavor, if a bit messy. The fries were good, but that’s because they had truffle oil on top. My friends’ got plain fries and there weren’t great. Also, I’m pretty sure they make their own ketchup, which kudos for trying, but it was gritty, acidic and not good.

All in all, this wasn’t a bad meal, after all I was with wonderful company, but I wasn’t going to write home about it.  I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: Chicago’s Lincoln Square and North Center are over saturated with gastro-bars and too often they all fall short. If someone opens up another cookie-cutter bar joint, let’s try to make it spectacular.

The Bad Apple

The Bad Apple

Gourmet lunch in the Loop? Pastoral it is

11 Sep

Photo credit: In Good Taste Blog

I work downtown and while in theory there are a lot of lunch places to grab a good bite, in actuality, it’s mostly made up of Au Bon Pains, Jimmy Johns, Panda Expresses and the likes. Which is good for me because it encourages me to bring lunch to work (my insanely busy days and constant lunches at my desk also help with this!). However, once in a while I’m reminded that among the soup-in-a-bread-bowl chains, Chicago has delicious gems sprinkled throughout the mundane Loop.

Yesterday my friend Carrie Becker and I decided to grab a quick bit. Carrie works for another company in my same building and it’s always fun catching up with her over lunch. She suggested we go to Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread and Wine after my initial recommendation fell flat (they didn’t serve sandwiches, oops). I had never been to Pastoral despite hearing about it forever, so I was game. I also didn’t realize just *how* close it is to my office. This could get dangerous.

When we arrived, the line was decent but not outrageous. We each took a look at the menu and shortly thereafter someone came to us in line to take down our order. Right off the bat I was impressed with how friendly everyone was especially considering at most high-brow wine and cheese shops, they usually aren’t. I also appreciated the fact that the guy taking our order had a Vermont hat. What can I say, I married good stock.

I ordered the Sinfully Healthy (roasted turkey on cracked wheat spread with tangy mango chutney, dijon mustard, field greens and fromage d’affinois) and a side order of the fromager’s salad (field greens, tomatoes, goat cheese, spiced almonds and balsamic vinaigrette). It was also very reasonable; only $11 even for both.

The sandwich was amazing. The mustard with the mango chutney paired amazingly with the fromage d’affinois (heaven) and the turkey was well flavored and light. The salad was a little over-done with the goat’s cheese, but better more than too little. I did have to restrain myself from browsing the cheese selection, though I will be back (soon!) and will give it a whirl then.

It’s exciting to find a really good spot that I can go to now when I want to take a little walk and break from the office. For the same price I’d spend on some mediocre sub and chips, I can get a delicious artisan sandwich and pairing.

Thanks, Carrie, for this great suggestion. What about lunch on Monday?

Saturday Night in the Kitchen

6 Sep

Since having our son in March, my husband and I have had a chance to go out on a  decent amount of dinner dates (perks of living in the same city as my parents) but it dawned on me this past Saturday afternoon that I hadn’t done what I love to do as often: cook an amazing meal at home.

While suffering through Eat Pray Love (sorry, Julia), I plotted through our Saturday night feast at home. After much back and forth, I decided to make an Italian dinner. So, with those main objectives in mind, I decided to do a truffle-infused mushroom and pea rigatoni with an heirloom tomato salad and a cheese plate dessert. And of course wine was on the menu (but when isn’t it?).

In exchange for the meal I was set to prepare, I asked my husband, an amazing photographer, to do a simple task and document the preparation, execution, and consumption of the meal. Below are his photos of our wonderful Saturday evening.

The fixings

The makings for our feast.

Wine

The sips and bubbles to accompany our eats

Bubbly

Gruet is an amazing sparkling wine from New Mexico. Pop!

The Pour

First things first, let's get those flutes filled, shall we?

Sauteeing the mushrooms

Sauteeing the mushrooms

Fig spread, basil and heirloom tomatoes

Fig spread, basil and heirloom tomatoes

Flutes

With all the delicious cooking, lest us not forget the bubbly

Stove top

Lots going on...

Basil

Basil prep

Tomato slicing

Slices for the tomato salad

Plating

Getting ready to serve

Our kitchen

This is our kitchen in a nutshell

Pasta

Final touches...

Dinner is served

Eat. Drink.

pasta

Truffle infused mushroom, pea rigatoni

Heaven

Perfect way to spend an evening

The meal

The meal

Plated and ready to eat

Eat now

Dessert

Cheese course: Manchego, drunken goat and tripple cream Brie

Scrabble

Post-feast Scrabble game (I won)...

Thank you to my darling husband, Ian Merritt, for documenting this wonderful evening. It felt good to be back in the kitchen.

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The dinner party is back: Backyard style!

30 Jun

I read somewhere that the new *trend* in going out to dinner is staying in for dinner. That’s right, in these recessionary times, the dinner party is back. I for one am thrilled!

Growing up part of a large family, big dinner parties have been instilled in me from a young age. I remember my mom’s famous Lasagna Parties on my grandparents’ porch in eastern Long Island with about 45-50 of our nearest and dearest aunts, uncles and cousins. Kind of a go big or go home entertaining mantra. I love it!

A few weeks ago we hosted a lovely party with some friends, old and new. On the menu was: cheese, honey and water cracker spread, featuring Manchego and Drunken Goat cheese,  smoked salmon wedges, baked onions with Gruyere cheese, truffle French fries and USDA Prime steaks. For dessert we had an amazing raspberry creme tort (Patrick, one of our guest’s made and brought). (more…)

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