Dinner - Chili

One crowd pleaser on a winter day is chili and I love my chili!  So does my family, as well as my niece and nephew.  Their comments are "It is delectable, delightful and delicious" - Johnny and "It's just so delicious" - Lexi.

I call it an open and dump meal. My son, Ian, helped me make it this time. I had the butcher grind up 2 pounds of turkey.  Ian browned in with a packet (McCormick) of chili seasoning.

Once the meat is cooked through, add into the pot 1 large can of Brooks mild chili beans (there is seasoning in this, so don't drain it), 1 regular size of Cambell's tomato soup, 1 drained can of dark kidney beans, 1 drained can of black beans and 1 can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes (not drained).

Stir it all up and taste. I usually end up adding another seasoning packet as well as some salt and some shakes of Chiplote tabasco sauce (this has become my new "go-to" when I want to add just a bit of heat to a dish). Keep it on low and stir it from the bottom every so often, making sure it doesn't burn.  Sometimes I serve it with shredded cheddar cheese....and don't forget a HUGE glass of very cold milk to drink with it!!

Sprout - Every third Sunday of the month is a benefit dinner

This is Sprout in Chicago.  It is a great restaurant by Dale Levitski, who is a Top Chef runner up.  This was our second time going here.  This first time was 10.12.11.  Here is the link to that review - http://supermomthefoodie.blogspot.com/2011/12/we-went-out-for-such-special-dinner.html

They have started a new thing here - every third Sunday of the month, the dinner will do a benefit dinner.  This was their first one and it was for National Downs Syndrome Society.  It only cost $65 per person and included 4 courses with wine/drink pairings.  It started with a absinthe, strawberry and Prosecco drink.  YUM!!  Sorry for the pictures being a bit dark....the whole restaurant is dimmly lit and comfortable.  Since this was a somewhat small crowd, the service was impeccable and very personal (with that being said, last time we went and the restaurant was at full swing, the service was great!).

These were the appetizers - or canapies. I'll go from bottom and around clockwise. The amazingly cut eggs (how do they do that incredibly straight line?!?) have in them an eggnog froth with candied black walnuts.  Then there were goat cheese tarts, duck pate or rilette, and potato belini with creme fraiche and caviar.

Here is the duck rilette.  See the edible flower on this - this added to the specialness of this dish.  It is a beautiful and very tasty bite.

Lobster here.....with some vanilla mascarpone cheese (under the pile in the bowl), radishes, and a generous amount of lobster.  Then lobster bisque was pour into the bowl right at the table.  This was amazing.  The vanilla mascarpone cheese was so unique and unexpected.  These flavor combinations is what sets chefs apart.

This dish is duck with brussel sprouts and pears with mustard and the greens here are watercress.

Now here was our favorite entree of the night.  Venison - served very rare as it should be.  There was not a touch of gamey taste in here, which can easily happen with venison.  It had a root beer reduction around it and it was perfect with the meat.

This was a real treat - it is on the menu as "white chocolate, persimmon, oat and clove. It was amazing. Light, not too sweet and see this small cylindrical white shapes?  Those are marshmallows with a slight taste of clove to them.  It was made by the pastry chef from Vie - in Western Springs, IL. Dale had come over to our table to talk (which he did a couple of times during the evening) and he told us about Elissa making the dessert for the night. We love the restaurant she is usually at. Her name is Elissa Narow.  She was at the restaurant and came over to the restaurant.  We talked with her for quite awhile.  Not only was she generous with her time, but she was also generous sharing her information.  She told us that Paul Virant, the chef and owner of Vie had opened a new restaurant in the city - Perrenial Virant.  This will definitely be one of our next restaurant adventures.  She is the pastry chef at this new venture as well.

PLEASE ATTEND THESE FUNCTIONS AT SPROUT. TO EAT GREAT FOOD AND SUPPORT A SPECIAL CAUSE IS THE PERFECT COMBINATION.

Yard House restaurant, Glenview, IL

We stopped by The Glenn one early evening (4:45....is that evening or afternoon - I vote evening since it is already dark at this time of the year).

We decided to try the Yard House in the Glenn in Glenview, IL.  We were seated immediately.  It ends up it was Happy Hour, so certain appetizers, sliders and pizzas are half price. We ordered 4 dishes to be share between the two of us - perfect. The whole check (including one diet Coke) was $29. Not bad!

Here are the two I had....

 CALIFORNIA ROLL
sushi rice cake with cucumber, snow crab, tobiko, avocado fan and wasabi soy sauce

This is a close up of the California Roll.  It's about 3.5 inches diameter. It is a great idea of something to serve as an appetizer for a crowd.  I am definitely going to try to make this as well as other versions....tuna, spicy tuna, etc.

LETTUCE WRAPS

stir fried, smoked tofu, pine nuts and green onions with three dipping sauces and choice chicken, tiger shrimp, or shiitake & portabella mushrooms 
The one I ordered was the mushroom wrap. It was AMAZING! Very light and full of flavor....and vegetarian.  I have been trying to find some vegetarian options, and this one is great.  I need to try to find this recipe.

Spaghetti squash - try it, you'll like it!!

So, you've heard of it....fear it....try it, you'll love it! One promise, it won't taste like spaghetti.  But it is stringy.  The flavor is mild and slightly squashy. I added some salt, pepper and a touch of butter.  You can eat it plain, with shredded parmesan, with tomato sauce.....whatever works for you.  Experiment....you'll (and your kids!) will love it!

All you need to do is poke it all over with a fork.  Then microwave it (whole) for about 12 minutes. You want it to be squeezable....then it's done.  I had told one of my co workers how to make it and she said it felt like forever and she was worried it wasn't working. At 10 minutes, it was still hard.  All of a sudden - a few minutes later - it's soft. She loved it and you will too. Once it is soft, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds and the darker threads (trust me, you'll see it).  Then just take a spoon and scoop out the inside of the half.  It just shreds on its own - as you see above.

I made it the other night with pork chops.  It goes well with any entree, but I like the kind of winter feeling of this meal.

Soup

This soup was delicious!  Very rich and filling.  Just follow the directions and it hits the spot.  I used the miso and no salt besides that. I doubled it as well - which was very easy to do with this recipe.

Hearty Mushroom Barley Soup / Stew

·         1 Tablespoon Oil (I used grapeseed, but Olive or Vegetable will do)

·         ½ Medium Onion, slivered (about 1¼ cups)

·         ½ Cup Dry Barley, rinsed (I used the inexpensive pearl barley)

·         2 Large Garlic Cloves, Minced (or about 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic)

·         1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme

·         8 Ounces Sliced Button or Cremini Mushrooms

·         4 Cups (1 quart) Beef or Mushroom Broth

·         1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste

·         1 Teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar

·         1 Bay Leaf

·         ¼ -1 Teaspoon Salt to Taste

·         1 Teaspoon Miso Paste (or simply more salt to taste)

·         Freshly Ground Black Pepper to Taste

Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the onions, and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until they are translucent. Reduce the heat just a touch, add the barley, garlic, and thyme, and sauté for another 3 to 5 minutes.  Stir in the mushrooms, followed by the broth, tomato paste, vinegar, bay leaf, and I would start with ¼ teaspoon of salt and the miso if using. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and allow the soup to simmer for at least 1 hour, or until the barley is nice and tender.  Season to taste with additional salt (see my notes in the post above) and black pepper to taste.

Yields 2 hearty, meal-sized servings

Dinner party - no kids allowed!

I have really be wanting to have a grown-up dinner party.  No kids, no paper plates, wine and great food.  I think I accomplished all I set out to do.  The timing of the dishes were right on.  Everything for our main course came out the perfect temperature. 

 I started with a cheese tray served with sparkling Moscato. I had gone to Bed Bath and Beyond looking for a cheese tray.  There weren't any I liked (all too small), so I looked at cutting boards. I found this beautiful board and bought a cheese knive set and awhalla! a cheese tray.  I bought 4 kinds of cheeses at Whole Foods, tasting each kind.  I tend to like strong flavored cheeses, so I made sure to get a more mild cheese as well.  The only problem.....was the cheese was sitting out in the kitchen to get to room temperature (which is what you are supposed to do to get the full flavor of the cheese), my dogs was 2 of the 4 blocks of cheese.  I luckily had a delicious cheese in my fridge, which I added to the two remaining cheeses.  At Whole Foods I also bought a scoop full of olives.  I made sure to get pitted olives so that my guests wouldn't have to deal with the pits.  On the tray I also put out genoa salami, crackers and honey.  Have you every had blue cheese (really good, creamy blue cheese) with honey on a cracker??  Weird, I know, but tastes amazing!  Creamy and crunchy, salty, sweet, strong.  Perfection!!

 This picture is the roasted vegetables I made.  Yukon gold potatoes, red skinned potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower and brussel sprouts. The guests were coming at 6.  At 5:00 I preheated the oven to 450 degress.  I put in the vegis around 5:15.  I needed to put them on two trays due to the large quantity.  I rotated the shelf in the oven they were on and occasionally moved around the vegis. At 6 I turned off the oven, but left them in the oven. At 6:45 I put the oven to 400 degrees and let them heat up.  When they were ready (7:15), I sprinkled them with sea salt, then straight to the table.

 These are the pork chops I made.  At 4pm I rubbed them with bacon salt and chipolte seasoning salt.  At 6:45 started the grill and put the chops on once it was hot.  I put all the burners to the highest level.  Once the chops had been on there for about 5 minutes, I turned them over and turned down the grill, to medium. As you can see, these were so juicy and tasty.  I served a Reisling wine and a red wine with the supper.

 I made a onion and apple compote.  I put this recipe together on my own.  I very thinly sliced 2 granny smith apples and 2 large sweet onions.  For the apples, I peeled most of the outside, but I did leave bits of  peel for texture and color.  I put both the onions and apples in a saute pan with about 1T of butter.  I put them on low heat and stirred it around about every 10 minutes.  I did this for about 1 hour.  Then I added apple nectar and chicken stock, along with a few shakes of cinnamon and nutmeg.  I added 2T of apple cider vinegar also.  I just let it sit on low for another 30 minutes, stirring every so often. I turned off the stove and reheated it (needing to add some more stock) about 5 minutes before serving. It was SO delicious of the spicy pork chops.  The spicy chops with the sweet apple onion compote.  YUM!!

 For dessert I took out one of our precious ice wines from our anniversary trip to Toronto last year. I made chocolate fondue - one milk chocolate and one white chocolate.  This was decided by taking a poll of my guests to make two choices - dark, milk, or white chocolate.  I took out my two electric fondue pots, heated them up and put the chips right in there.  Once the chocolate started to melt, we added half and half cream, just enough to thin out the chocolate.  We did this all at the table.  I served pound cake, bananas, strawberries and chocolate chip dunkers (cookies made long and thin for dunking into coffee or milk).

Chocolate heaven on a plate!

Lucky egg

Don't you love when this happens?  You just feel lucky.....and who couldn't use some more luck?!?