Garlic Scapes

My husband and I certainly enjoy splurging when dining out, but we also enjoy cooking at home quite a bit. What really catapulted us into cooking was signing up for CSA (community supported agriculture). Every week, we pick up a box of fresh organic produce that was picked from a local farm. The CSA has changed our lives...we were introduced to a lot of vegetables that we normally wouldn't buy, we were forced to cook, and we also had to learn how to prepare quick delicious meals (since we both work quite a bit...gotta support that dining out habit of ours!).

Last weekend was our first CSA delivery, and we were introduced to garlic scapes! These beautiful curvaceous tendrils packed a punch in the garlic scape and green onion pesto that I made. All in all, the pesto was a winner...we wound up finding several uses for it. The pesto was amazing on the hot italian sausages we had. It also made for an tasty spread for crusty french bread. Diluted with extra virgin olive oil, it served as a spicy salad dressing.

Here's the recipe for garlic scape and green onion pesto:

2 garlic scapes, coursely chopped

2 green onions, coursely chopped

1 teaspoon honey

2 teaspoons dijon or brown mustard

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

dash of salt

ground pepper to taste

approx 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oils - use as much/little as you like for the desired consistency

Throw it all in a blender and go! Substitutes are super easy. You basically just need ingredients that are garlicy, oniony, sweet, spicy, sour and salty. For example, we didn't happen to have honey, so I used agave. Enjoy!

Alinea

Given that this post is almost 3 months late, I apologize in advance if I won't remember as many details about our Alinea dinner.

The husbando and I went in early October for our 1-year wedding anniversary. I won't list every single dish out (there were 23 courses!), but I will say that each one was very creative in both presentation and taste. The execution of each dish was also very carefully done. Many of the dishes were fun and whimsical too...which shows me that they aren't taking themselves too seriously.

We also did the wine pairing. Do not be scared of the wine pairing...I was a little afraid that with 23-courses, I would be wasted by the end. But they do about one wine every two courses and the pours are 1/2 pours. I think you end up having about 6 glasses of wine over the course of the 4-hour meal; so it was very manageable.

I had heard from some friends that they were totally stuffed and could barely make it through the tasting. I disagree. Given how long you are there, you have plenty of time to digest as you go. I found the amount of food to be perfectly satisfying.

The service was impeccable; it was by far the best I have ever had at a restaurant. I think there is someone what cleans up the bathroom after each person, because every time I went, the towels were perfectly laid out, the toilet paper end was folded, and the trash was empty. They changed our napkins every time we left the table, they even changed our water glass mid-way through the meal. The servers were also very knowledgeable about the food and I enjoyed chatting with them a bit.

It was certainly a very unique and fun experience and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys food adventures and is willing to shell out $500/person for food + wine. Would we do it again?...probably not. If we wanted to spend that kind of money on food, I think we'd want to try a few different places first.

a quick and belated post on Avec

I had meant to write about Avec a while ago. It's kind of sad because I don't remember every dish that we had now, so this post will not be very informative. But the point is, Avec is amazing. They do tapas, but not exclusively Spanish.

I do remember an amazing prosciutto with apples dish that was fantastic. I don't think I would have thought of putting those flavors together, but it was refreshing and delicious and I guess the acid in the apples really stripped the saltiness from the prosciutto. We also had a great asparagus dish that I was expecting to be pretty average, but ended up being one of my favs of night.

My only complaint was the seating. You share a long table with a bunch of other people, so at first I felt a bit strange sitting so close to people I didn't know. But I got used to it pretty quickly. Despite that, going to the bathroom was still a pain since everyone in the row would have to get up.

Daniel in NYC

I always forget how much I love New York City. What a great mix of culture and cuisine! Husbando and I were there this past weekend for a wedding and decided to take advantage of the trip by taking Friday off work and enjoying the city.

First stop was 5th Avenue. I had to convince myself not to buy too much stuff since it would not fit in my luggage...so walked away with just a purse. We stopped at Chef Colicchio's Witchcraft for lunch, which was pretty tasty as far as sandwiches go. I was most impressed with how reasonably priced it was, considering it was NYC.

Then it was off to the Guggenheim for the afternoon. They had an amazing Kandinsky exhibit. I had only been familiar with his work in the middle of his career and it was really great to see how his paintings evolved over time. The format of the Guggenheim makes touring an artist's work in chronological order very pleasant. I hate when museums have a crazy floor plan and I have to spend a lot of time back-tracking where I've been. Plus they had free audio tours, which was key to making the experience meaningful.

After the museum, it was back to the hotel for a quick change before dinner at Daniel Boulud's Daniel. We actually spotted Daniel in the waiting area, which was fun since he owns so many restaurants and decided to be there that particular night.

Let's talk about the food. We were brought a canape of beets three-ways. My husband hates beets, but loved this dish. I love beets, so no complaints. My favorite was the beets with hamachi.

For appetizers, I had a seared foie gras and husbando had abalone. I think liked his better. My foie gras was paired with a pear puree and it was delicious, but my only issue was that it was such a huge portion...way too big for an appetizer. I would hate to waste foie gras, so I ate the whole thing and by the end, I was glad it was done because it was just so rich. I don't remember the details of the abalone, but it was delicious (and appropriately portioned).

Both of us got beef for the main course. My husband had a short rib and rib eye duo. I had a beef cheek prepared two ways. No complaints there...I love every taste of it. The beef itself was very rich but paired with the sides, it was perfect.

Dessert was blueberry vacherin and chocolate and peanut butter ganache. The blueberry vacherin was mediocre. Good flavors, but nothing gave me that warm feeling on the inside like with an amazing dessert. I did not taste my husband's dessert, but he promises it was very good. Our server then presented us with freshly baked mini lemon cupcakes and I think they might have been the best part about dessert.

Now about the wine. We did the wine pairing with the menu and I think they hit the spot for appetizer and main course. The dessert wine was good, but I guess I'm just not very good at discerning what makes the pairing work.

All-in-all, it was a great experience. The food was definitely creative and delicious. When I dine at fine-dining restaurants, I don't expect to absolutely love every single dish. It's more about appreciating the flavors and work that went into creating the dishes. And Daniel is definitely a worthwhile experience.

Nothing glamorous about being on a boat

Ever since The Lonely Island came out with the I'm On A Boat music video, I jumped at any chance I could to be on a boat, so I could make my own rendition of the video.

Given that Chicago has a beautiful little lake right at its front door, my wish was easily fulfilled. Our friends Valerie and Jay had bought a boat last year and was (as any boat owner should) going out on the lake just about every weekend.

I have to preface this story with the fact that I was feeling a bit ill this weekend to begin with (sore throat, sinus pressure, headache, etc). To add on top of that, we were running late to meet with Valerie and Jay, so we decided it would be a great idea to scarf down our Subway sandwiches in the 20-min car ride there.

Upon arrival, I popped some Dramamine and prayed for the best. Well, I guess praying doesn't work for a non-believer and the demons in my stomach started churning. I was mostly ok when we were riding around, but as soon as we stopped, it was the worst version of an amusement park ride ever.

And thus began the vomiting. I didn't know the right boat etiquette, but I figured that since there was a bathroom, I would use it (instead of going overboard). Well, the whole experience was quite embarrassing as I also didn't know how to operate the weird little boat toilet flusher. My husband was of no use, so finally Jay had to flush it for me. So not sexy (though I was debuting a new sexy little swimsuit)

Lucky for me, my hosts were quite accommodating and offered to drop us off early. Thank goodness! I was more than happy to have my feet on solid ground.

So lessons learned? 1) do not eat right before boating; 2) take Dramamine well in advance of getting on the boat; and 3) do not go boating when sick

I haven't given up on the boat...maybe another time. This is only strike one.

Quartino

I don't know why I keep going back to Quartino with such high expectations. I have certainly had better wine, better food, and better service without having to deal with crazy crowds and long waits.

I'll start with the good; don't worry, it won't take long. The appetizers are the best part of the whole experience - their salumeria has a yummy choice of cheeses and meats. They also have an awesome cheese fondue (which I never think of getting) and a tasty heirloom tomato salad (which unfortunately looks unappetizing and sad).

Now onto the bad (really more sad than bad). The entrees always sound pretty amazing by their descriptions on the menu, but always arrives looking pretty lame on the plate. Seriously, they really need to work on presentation! How about using plates that don't look like they came out of a frat house kitchen. Looks aside, they don't taste all that hot either. My husband's risotto was undercooked, our friend's gnocchi was a weird mix of chewy and crispy, and my pork ravioli was a skimpy 5 pieces of ravioli swimming in a sauce that was overpowered by bacon.

The service experience was comical at best. Our server couldn't hear or understand half of the things we were saying; though, I should give her the benefit of the doubt since the place was louder than a bar in Wrigleyville after a Cubs game. She also had no clue what was on the menu...and made gawking facial expressions when we wanted to order more food (since the plates are so small). I have to admit that it made me feel like we were pigs. At least she had a good sense of humor and recognized that she sucked at her job.

I just don't get why the place is so popular. It was so crowded that the table next to us had 7 girls crammed around a tiny table the same size as ours (and the 4 of us were struggling to fit all our plates on it). Hopefully those girls plan on just getting drinks.

So my recommendation would be to go to Quartino and only order from their salumeria and the appetizers. If you have a small party, opt for sitting in the lounge/bar instead of the dining room since it is smaller and will not be as loud. I know a lot of people rave about how reasonably priced it is, and I do have to agree with that...so maybe you get what you pay for.

At Home with Home Bistro

A few weeks ago, my husband and I went back to one of our all time favorite restaurants, Home Bistro http://www.homebistrochicago.com/. I was immediately reminded why we loved that place - cozy, delicious, great service, and to top it all off, it's byob!

Chef Joncarl Lachman has put together a menu that is interesting, but still feels comfortable and homey. It's one of those places where you can spend 20 minutes staring at the menu because everything just looks so amazing.

We finally decided on:
appetizer: shrimp cake
husbando: Compart Family Farms Loin of Pork served with braised collards, smoked sausage, scalloped potatoes, sautéed apples
me: Smoked Duck Sausage with Brandy served with warm white bean and artichoke salad, candied bacon, dijon mustard
dessert: their famous bread pudding
wine: we brought a 2003 Arger Martucci Odyssey (small 325 case production from Napa that is scrumptious. The complex layers of chocolate, cherry, and pepper come together so smoothly and richly that you find yourself smiling with each sip.)

So how did the meal come together? The appetizer was a delicious alternative to crab cakes. It's not as mayo-y as I find come crab cakes can be. It could use a little more citrus, in the form of some kind of fruit, but nonetheless tasty.

The pork loin was pretty tasty, but was slightly (and only a tiny bit) tough and on the bland side. The sides, however, were well seasoned and cooked. Their textures and flavors worked really well together and could possibly have been the best part of that dish. The duck sausage was pretty amazing. I cut mine up and blended it with the bean salad and it was delicious with every bite. My only criticism is that they could have given more mustard. What can I say about the bread pudding dessert? Best bread pudding ever.

As usual, the servers were very personable, prompt, and made good recommendations. Really, that should be the standard for all restaurants.

Another satisfying meal at HB. We'll be back...especially after I saw their take on a Philly Cheese Steak at the table next to ours.