Entries associated with the tag "Blackbird":

Here's the latest Sky Full of Bacon podcast, this one on Iowa prosciutto makers Herb and Kathy Eckhouse of La Quercia, whose rare and delicious guanciale I wrote about many moons ago. The Eckhouses, whose products tend to make people fall to the ground convulsing with pleasure, talk about their forthcoming Acorn Edition hams made from, according to Mike Gebert, Berkshire/Chester White cross pigs, raised by farmer Jude Becker, and finished on--you guessed it--acorns, just like the pigs raised for Iberico hams. Since this was a rather expensive and risky experiment for the Eckhouses and Becker, who incidentally supplies pork to the Publican, they sold each pig upfront. 

Says Gebert: "Subscribers who paid around $3,000 per pig got the fresh meat and sausage at slaughter. Other stuff has been sent to them over time.  Some individual subscribers (Robert Parker, Mario Batali) bought for both restaurant and home, but mostly restaurants."

The ham is set to be released in July, and you might get a taste of it at one of four Chicago restaurants who bought into the program--Blackbird, Charlie Trotter's, North Pond, and Spiaggia.

Sky Full of Bacon 10: Prosciutto di Iowa from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

thursday19

WhiskyFest Chicago isn't till April 1, but this is probably a good time to buy your ticket--VIP tickets are already sold out. On offer are more than 200 single malt and blended Scotch, Irish, bourbon, Tennessee, Japanese, Welsh, and Canadian whiskeys, as well as beer, rum, tequila, and other spirits. Seminar topics will include bourbon aging, Japanese whiskey, and vintage malt whiskey. Wed 4/1, 6:30-9:30 PM, Hyatt Regency, 151 E. Wacker, 312-565-1234, $95.

“I only grow weird things.”--Oriana Kruszewski

Back in late 2006 I spent some time with Oriana Kruszewski, the Green City Market's Pear Angel. I got to hang out in Oriana's fantastic Skokie back yard where she grows dozens of Asian pear trees and other exotica. But I never made it out to her farm in Winslow, where the majority of her pears, black walnuts, and paw paws grow. Back then Oriana was talking about retiring, but she's still at it, as evidenced by Mike Gebert's latest Sky Full of Bacon podcast, where he visits the farm.

It also features an outtake from the mulefoot podcasts, in which Blackbird/Avec pastry chef Tim Dahl practically salivates as he describes the winey, bubblegummy goodness of a particular variety of her pears that he used for the Whole Hog Project dinner.

thursday23

Chefs Paul Kahan and Mike Sheerin cook for a Rubissow Wine Dinner at Blackbird celebrating the release of the critically acclaimed 2004 vintage from this sustainable, organic winery. Vintner and general manager Peter Rubissow will be on hand to discuss his company’s wines, which will be paired with a five-course meal. 6:30 PM, 619 W. Randolph, 312-715-0708, $135.

Fiddlehead Cafe offers a special menu of oysters prepared in a variety of ways--for example, poached in champagne and fried in buttermilk with spicy aioli. Reservations required; no set price per person. 5-10 PM, 4600 N. Lincoln, 773-751-1500. 

friday24

Prairie Moon celebrates the release of Goose Island’s 2008 Bourbon County Stout with a party where brewmaster P.J. Fischer will answer questions about the bourbon-barrel-aged beer, available on tap outside the brewpub—which is closing in December—for the first time in years. 7-9 PM, 1502 Sherman, Evanston, 847-864-8328, free.

Ristorante We launches Hip Sip, a monthly party that encourages attendees to browse through boutiques set up in the W Hotel City Center's ballroom and get advice and demos from makeup artists. This month's theme is "The Golden Era of the Sixties;" hors d'oeuvres will include fondue, crab-stuffed mushrooms, and mini deviled eggs, and cocktails will be martinis, sea breezes, and gimlets. 6-8:30 PM, 172 W. Adams, 312-332-1200, $25-35. 

saturday25

The Museum of Science and Industry's fall harvest festival, Home for All Seasons, features a farmers’ market and U. of I. gardeners offering advice on late-season plants, extending garden life, and winterizing. Designers will discuss ecofriendly furniture; kids can get their faces painted by Wicked cast members and trick-or-treat for organic candy around the “Smart Home,” a three-story modular house outfitted with the latest ecofriendly technologies. Costumes encouraged. 10 AM-3 PM, 5700 S. Lake Shore Dr., 773-684-1414, $13, $12 seniors, $9 kids 3-11.

Marilyn Pocius, author of A Cook’s Guide to Chicago, dissects the Argyle Street food markets, then leads a tour of a neighborhood grocery store to check out fresh octopus, rice noodles, durian, and “more kinds of soy sauce than you knew existed.” The group will also stop by Ba Le Sandwich Shop for banh mi and spring rolls. Registration required; you buy your own goodies at Ba Le. 1 PM, Bezazian branch library, 1226 W. Ainslie, 312-744-0019, free.

sunday26

Sheffield's hosts its first chili cook-off; $25 gets you access to six draft beers, a buffet, and of course tastes of the chili submissions. To participate, show up with a Crock-Pot of chili by 1 PM. 1-5 PM, 3258 N. Sheffield, 773-281-4989.

monday 27

Uncommon Ground on Devon hosts its own bash for Goose Island’s 2008 Bourbon County Stout, with free samples and an appearance by brewer Matt Lincoln. 6-8 PM, 1401 W. Devon, 773-465-9801, free.

It was a six-act pork circus last night at Blackbird.

I'll probably be accused of some bias when I say our multicourse mulefoot aporkalypse was spectacular, but I was surrounded by exacting, discriminating eaters. After months and months of me telling them that this was a special pig--something you've never tasted before, really, you gotta believe me--70-some folks, friends and strangers, took the bait and put their money down for Slow Food Chicago. All I had to do was look around the room as they took their first bites of Jason Hammel's braised belly to know I wasn't crazy.

It certainly didn't hurt that Paul Kahan had assembled a formidable array of talented chefs to work on these animals. Most work directly for him (or had in the past), and as Mike Gebert and I followed them around over the last week, a palpable sense of family surrounded them. I couldn't have dreamed a better team, and I couldn't be more grateful to them for allowing us to stick our cameras over their shoulders and pester them with endless questions.

I'm going to save description of the prep work of these dishes for later, and let the attached photos of the talented Ron Kaplan do the talking for now. But I have to let you know that Valerie Weihman-Rock raised some incredible animals, who produced more meat than was needed. So if you wanted a seat at the table but missed out, you have a few chances to try some yourself. Brian Huston of The Publican has an extra porchetta he'll be running as a special tonight, along with a surplus of skin for chicharrones. Justin Large, whose head cheese whole-grain mustard ravioli en brodo was my favorite course, has two extra quarts of the filling he'll be using at Avec sometime during the next three days. And Mike Sheerin is going to be curing one of the hams--you'll have to wait about six months for that one, but I'll track its progress.

One of the objectives of the Whole Hog Project (it goes on!) is to take a good look at what it takes to produce real food. Does anything in these photos resemble a living, breathing animal? Of course not. But just five days ago three mulefoots were roaming wide open, green pasture, eating quackgrass, chicken eggs, corn, oats, alfalfa, goat's milk, and Swiss chard. On November 13, in our food issue, I'm going to write about exactly what happened on the way from the farm, to the slaughterhouse, to Blackbird's basement, and finally to the dining room. The chefs have promised to contribute recipes based on their courses, and at this moment Gebert is toiling away with hours of footage he shot for an accompanying Sky Full of Bacon video podcast.

You really need to see Mike Sheerin break down a pig. He's a surgeon.

Blackbird sent along a rough draft of the menu for Sunday's mulefoot dinner. I'm speechless but for the wave of saliva breaching my lips.

Mike Sheerin- Blackbird

Braised "country style" ham with preserved plums, cippolini onions, royal trumpet mushrooms, and butternut squash-miso

Justin Large – Avec

Head-cheese ravioli with whole-grain mustard pasta, cavolo nero, pork consomme, lemon oil

Paul Virant – Vie

Roasted caillette, Tuscan kale sauerkraut, plum and pinot noir jam, country bacon with pickled onions, smoked hock pork jus

Jason Hammel – Lula Cafe

Pork belly and house-cured sardine with local honey, celery, and green apple jam

Brian Huston – The Publican

Ham chop cooked in hay with lobster mushrooms and lentils

Tim Dahl – Blackbird/Avec

Cheese & Chicharrones

Keep in mind things could change after slaughter this week.

The collected Whole Hog Project.

Earlier this week I mentioned that Mike Gebert of Sky Full of Bacon was going to be videotaping the events on the farm, in the slaughterhouse, and in the kitchen leading up to our mulefoot dinner at Blackbird. You can get a taste of what some of that footage might be like right now, as he and Rob Gardner take a pig head to Mado and watch Rob Levitt turn it into testa . . . aka headcheese.

Special cameo by My Secret Girlfriend.

Maybe Creative Loafing should have invested in mulefoots.

Yesterday I sat in on a strategy session for our October 19 six-course, all-mulefoot dinner at Blackbird with Paul Kahan and the other principal chefs. We announced it last Tuesday, and it was booked solid in two days.

"We've never sold out anything that fast," said Kahan. (You can still call Blackbird and get on a waiting list for cancellations.)

As I mentioned earlier, Valerie Weihman-Rock is providing three young mulefoots for the dinner, each predicted to weigh about 160 pounds when their time comes. If that's accurate, after slaughter the chefs will have about 120 pounds of pork from each pig to work with. The meeting's purpose was to assign the primal cuts (which will be broken down at Blackbird), to brainstorm some ideas for dishes and wine pairings, and to map out a few logistics.

Kahan, who has previously worked with mulefoots supplied by Michigan farmer George Rasmussen, gave Jason Hammel from Lula and Vie's Paul Virant first choice. Hammel, who took the bellies, was thinking about doing something with preserved ground-cherries. Virant, who chose the shoulders and the offal, was going to collaborate with Kahan on a dish. Avec's Justin Large got the heads and the feet, for a possible ravioli in brodo. Blackbird's Mike Sheerin is going for the hams and the Publican's Brian Huston will work with the loins. Each will get a bag of bones for stock.

Blackbird/Avec pastry chef Tim Dahl, who faces an interesting challenge in coming up with a nongimmicky pork dessert, took some ribbing from the others:

"I thought he was gonna jump right at offal."

"You're not gonna use head and feet for dessert?"

"How about the blood? You want the blood?" 

"How about making cups out of the ears?"

In the end he decided to do a cheese course, possibly based on a Spanish dish with chicharron and a spicy syrup.

Of course, at this stage, menu planning is still theoretical. If you didn't reserve a spot you can follow along here on the Food Chain to find out what happens. Mike Gebert from Sky Full of Bacon will be along for the ride, videocam in hand.

You can read the collected dispatches from the Whole Hog Project here.

Well, after nearly a year and a half, it's time to see how mulefoots perform on the plate.

Back when we bought our own mulefoot with the aim of following the care and feeding of one of these rare heritage pigs and eventually hosting a public snout-to-tail dinner, I knew there was one chef who'd make the most of it--Paul Kahan. To my great delight, not only has Kahan agreed to cook for us (even in the midst of the frenzy surrounding the opening of his new restaurant, the Publican), but he's enlisted a formidable lineup of talent to help out. 

On Sunday, October 19, Kahan will be joined at Blackbird by Paul Virant of Vie, Jason Hammel and Amalea Tshilds of Lula, Blackbird's Mike Sheerin, Avec's Justin Large, and the Publican's Brian Huston in preparing a six-course mulefoot pig dinner--and you're invited.

Tickets are $125 (including wine but not tax or tip). It all starts with a champagne reception at 6, followed by dinner at 6:30. Proceeds benefit Kahan's choice of Slow Food Chicago. 

Blackbird, 619 W. Randolph, is taking reservations now at 312-715-0708.

Note: The Reader's pig, Dee Dee--for a variety of reasons I'll get into in an upcoming post--has won herself a reprieve from the dinner table. Instead Valerie Weihman-Rock will be providing three third-generation mulefoots--possibly Dee Dee's offspring--for the dinner. In the coming weeks we'll be following the pigs and the proceedings--from the farm, to the slaughterhouse, to the kitchen--right here on the blog.

In the meantime, if you want to catch up, see the entries in the whole Whole Hog Project posted in chronological order.

Toby Maloney's influence is already spreading beyond his dark Damen Avenue lair. He and Alchemy Consultants partner Jason Cott recently designed a drink menu for the bar at Blackbird (that restaurant's Donnie Madia also has a stake in the Violet Hour). Eight classic cocktails with new twists may be rolled out as soon as Saturday according to Blackbird co-owner Rick Diarmit, who notes ruefully that he tried to introduce the same thing years ago--cocktails with quality bitters, fresh ingredients, etc.--but "nobody got it."

Today we have Maloney mixing a Southside, one of the simpler drinks on the Violet Hour menu--Beefeater, lime, mint, and Angostura bitters. There has been some chatter about the Southside having a Chicago origin, an idea that was scornfully dismissed last weekend in the Wall Street Journal. Note, the big finish on this drink is known as "spanking the mint." 

In case you missed it, yesterday's Sun-Times story about the high living priest Mark Sorvillo, busted for stealing 200-large from St. Margaret Mary parish coffers, was a collection basket of icky, sticky details about where the money went. Aside from the plane, opera, and theater tickets, the hotel rooms, the shopping trips to Tiffany's and Bernardaud, and the married male stripper, the once 400-pound Sorvillo spent almost $15,000 at Binny's, over $1,500 on candy from Fannie May, and thousands more on meals at high end restos like Blackbird, Gibson's, and Les Nomades and, less impressively, at Giordano's and Maggiano's.

But the really astounding bit of gastronomic audacity was that in August 2004--the year after Sorvillo had gastric bypass surgery--he dropped more than $1,500 over two days at New York's Jean-Georges and Le Bernardin. No word on whether he asked for doggie bags.

Tonight, at the restaurant formerly known as the Berghoff, there's a five-course Berghoff beer pairing with a menu that includes mussels, salad, pulled pork, sauerbraten, and chocolate raspberry mousse cake. It's $49.99.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness is having a $150 Artistry of Wine fundraiser Friday at 6:30 at the Peninsula, 108 E. Superior. The event features wine pairings to go with dishes from Avenues, NoMi, May St. Café, and more. 

Northwest-suburban Long Grove's annual Strawberry Festival starts Friday and runs through Saturday, featuring all manner of berry-related edibles, including a chocolate dipping station and strawberry donuts.

The Mid America Japanese Club is holding a Japan Festival Saturday and Sunday in Arlington Heights that includes a "Taste of Japan" component with sushi and chicken teriyaki. It's at the Forest View Educational Center, 2121 S. Goebbert.

Culinary Historians of Chicago present David Joachim and Andy Schloss, authors of Mastering the Grill, Saturday at 10 AM at The Chicago History Museum; it's $10.

There's an intriguing event happening Monday at Timo, 464 N. Halsted, called "Play Restaurant," part of the city Office of Tourism's Art of Play summer campaign. "People who attend the Play Restaurant event will be give a "job" upon arrival," says the city's Brooke Vane. "So, for instance, you might be a bartender. My job as a patron might be to try and trip you up by asking for a specific wine or unusual cocktail.  If you come with someone, they might be assigned as a line cook and work along side Chef and Owner John Bubala. Half way though the night, you will trade and dine outside at Timo." It's $45. Call 312-226-4300.  **This has been canceled.**

Also on Monday Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation fund-raiser for local food charities goes down at the River East Art Center at 5:30. It's $150; among the more than 30 attractions are stations from mk, Blackbird, Le Lan, and an "interactive mojito bar."

Erwin hosts one in a series of workshops and three-course dinners Monday night featuring some of chef Erwin Dreschler's favorite purveyors, in this case the Spice House. It's $50. Call 773-528-7200.

". . . these fighters sit down around a table where they are first served 'Drum Roll of Colonial Fish' then some "Raw Meat Torn by Trumpet Blasts.'"

Say what you will about the excesses of celebrity chefdom, I'm happy to live in a world where people will pay $300 to see Mario Batali sonorously narrating those words from The Futurist Cookbook, accompanying a new music sextet's playful, jarring, and discordant performance of Aaron Jay Kernis' La Quattro Staggioni dalla Cucina Futurismo ("The Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine").

That was the scene early Thursday evening at Flatfile, where the hometown ensemble eighth blackbird was raising funds to launch a concert series at the Harris Theater. The gallery's folding chairs were filled with musical patrons and curious food nerds like myself eager for a look at Molto Mario, but perhaps more anxious about the five-course dinner at Blackbird to follow (OK, I was anyway).

The intentionally lowercased eighth blackbird, which takes its name from a Wallace Stevens poem, has been around for 11 years, the last seven of them in Chicago. You'd think with all the love they've received (The New Yorker, The New York Times, NPR, tons more), they'd have a higher local profile, but that's not the case. "We're trying to change that," said pianist Lisa Kaplan, who invited me to the event. 

Kernis, who was in attendance, based the piece on Marinetti's delightfully absurd, but scary, late Italian Futurist text that proposed "a complete revolution in the nourishment of our race," part of which, sweet mercy, involved a repudiation of pasta. This wasn't the first time the group had performed the piece with Batali. They did it five years ago at Lincoln Center, with dinner at Lupa afterward, and have remained friends ever since.

Batali played his role with mock gravitas, looking, in his chef's whites and orange clogs, like a giant bearded pumpkin. He barely broke character to utter such lines as "Each mouthful is divided from the next by vehement blasts on the trumpet blown by the eater himself" or, after the musicians broke in with a series of barnyard noises, declaring that they "seduce all the beasts of springtime."

Afterward he climbed aboard a trolley with the audience for the short ride over to Blackbird, sitting in the back and chatting amiably with guests about his dinner at Schwa the previous night (he liked it). The menu prepared by Batali and Paul Kahan was supposed to be inspired by the piece but that seemed a stretch. (Click on the thumbnails below for pics of the dishes.) The first course was a poached egg with salt cod (colonial fish?), sea beans, and green garlic broth. Next was homemade orecchiette (memorably detailed in Bill Buford's Heat) with broccoli rabe pesto. Third was beef cheek ravioli with crushed squab liver and black truffles (a sensational dish, on the menu at Babbo). Next, braised pork belly and knackwurst 'choucroute' with fingerlings, crunchy sauerkraut, and celery root puree, a pretty plate brought around by a surprising blast of vanilla in the puree. Desert was toasted cornbread with blood oranges, medjool dates, and Sicilian pistachio ice cream.

Music and food should always be this much fun.