Updates

I had to take a break after my last blog.  Finishing that one was like finishing a marathon.  I wanted to make sure it was perfect, just on the off hand that Chef Cantu and his staff read it, and with good fortune, they did.  So, no more pressure, for now, just relaxed writing and eating.

Over the last few weeks, I've taken a few road trips, did a quick cleanse, continued to learn Italian, had some really great Salume at my Italian class, and cooked a few things(which I don't have photos of).  In the near future, I have a few trips to make and a lot of food to eat, all while simultaneously cleansing and prepping for the Chicago Marathon.  So, a full plate, yes, but well worth it.  I hope I can continue to entertain, maybe educate, but definitely get you interested in trying new things.

Now, a few weeks ago, we went to Michigan, a little town called Buchanan.  First stop was Tabor Hill Winery and Restaurant.http://www.taborhill.com/index.html  This is a quaint little stop, very scenic, and very friendly.  By the time we got there, we were famished, so we went straight for the restaurant.  The main dining area, well, it's not cozy small, but it's warm and welcoming, the fireplace and view helped.  You have a great view of the vineyards and to add to the scenery that day, it was snowing and there was a roaring fire in the fireplace.  We started off with a little wine, of course, but dove right in for some sandwiches.  On their menu, they have a bit of everything, but sandwiches were really what sounded good at the time, I mean they had a burger, had to try the burger.  And we also had the Cubano.

The burger at Tabor Hill was a Kobe Beef Burger.  On the burger, Berkshire apple wood smoked bacon, chipotle mayo, smoked cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and fried pickled red onions, and on the side house made jalapeno white cheddar potato chips.  I have to be honest, this burger didn't suck.  I really didn't want to share, but I did because that's what I do.  Standard, it's cooked medium, but didn't loose any juice.  You could actually bite through the bacon when you took a bite, so one piece didn't come out in one bite.  The chipotle mayo and smoked cheddar complimented each other, and the friend pickled red onions, added a sweet kick.  The chips, well, they were house made.  Anytime I have house made chips, they could be covered in dust bunnies and I would still eat them.

The cuban sandwich, well, it was ok.  It's hard to beat a good cuban sandwich that I can find here in Chicago, unless it's my own of course.  This one was good, but I wouldn't get it again.  The salad on the other hand-grilled fruit salad, with peaches, watermelon, apples, and pineapple, arugula, honey pomegranate mustard dressing with pecans and bleu cheese.  I'd kill for that salad, plain and simple.   

I failed at getting a photo of the salad, so here is the Cuban sandwich. 

The goods from the day.

I also had the opportunity to knock off another dish from the list of Time Out Chicago's list of 100 best things eaten last year.  And I can honestly say I wasn't impressed with this pick.  Number 76 on the list was the Baccala frittole from OMBRAhttp://www.barombra.com in Andersonville.  Baccala is cod, which is been preserved by drying after salting.  Sounds like a bitter pill to swallow and that is why it took me 40 years to try it.  But if Time Out says it's one of the best things they ate, then it must be good.  Lies!!!!!  So, brought out to the table were a couple of fried balls of salt cod and filler, sitting on a bit of lemon aioli.  Looked innocent and tasty anyway.  I cut into one and, yeah, looked like fish and filler and it smelled really good.  The aioli tasted great also!  But then, I took my first bite.  I was sad, immediately saddened by the salty, fishy flavor, I sobbed.  I couldn't believe that my heritage could make something like this.  But, I sucked it up and ate it.  The addition of the aioli didn't help although it mellowed the fishy flavor.  I choked it down, vowing never, ever to touch baccala again.  We also had a salad of roasted beets, apples, almonds, and goat cheese which was a great palate cleanser.  Finished off the meal with a bruschette(broo skeh tteh), please practice that, say it over and over, and please correct your server if they don't pronounce it properly, thanks!:)  So, the bruschette, we had the mele:roasted apples, gorgonzola, walnuts, and balsamic.  It's so nice to try something a little outside of the box.  I will go back to OMBRA, just keep me away from the baccala!

La baccala frittole

La Baccala frittole

Apples, Roasted Beets, Almonds, and Ricotta insalata

Mele bruschette

I'm going to wrap things up with last nights Italian Class.  We had a cena(dinner) for class last night since we are ahead of our lesson.  It was nice, relaxed and everyone brought something.  One fella in our class owns a salumeria in the West Loop, West Loop Salumi.  He recently took a work trip to Italy and was able to bring back a few things, which he chose graciously chose to share with class last night. We did have to skip over the apertivo, because the prosecco was not chilled, so we went for the antipasto.  We had parmesan, but not just any parmesan, no.  This parmesan was aged for 25 years, so it had time to develop little crystals of salt that binds with the cheese to add a bit of texture.  And to add to this awesome cheese, were a few drops of Balsamic vinegar from Modena.  This balsamic was aged 100 years, so it had a very thick consistency and sweet flavor.  It was very intense, so a few drops is all you need, but you could drink this by the spoonful.  We then had prosciutto, and I'm sorry, but I don't remember what type it was  I don't believe it was di Parma, but I could be wrong.  What I can tell you that, and this may sound cruel, but the last few months of their lives, they pretty much go without liquids, but are fed some of the best parmesan cheese and believe it or not, you can really smell the parmesan in the meat.  Mama mia!  Also on the menu for antipasti was a brilliant tartufo salume, salume calabrese, and lardo.  Lardo is a type of salume, made by curing strips of fatback with rosemary and other herbs and spices.  And yes, it's as good as it sounds.  Finally, our last cheese was Stracchino, which is a very soft, cow's cheese.  Typically served in square form, this particular cheese last night was in a small glass, canning jar.  It was pourable, with a very smooth texture and mild flavour.

Of course, as traditional Italian meal structure goes, our Primi came next.  Which was a simple pasta with tomato sauce, sausage, peas, and cheese.  Traditionally, meat is not served on the same plate as la pasta, unless it is a meat ragu, like this was.

For the secondo, I dropped the ball, so I made an insalata di uvo.  Included in the salad was arugula, grapes, cucumber, tomatoes, and toasted sesame seeds.  This salad was dressed with a white wine vinegar, shallot, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sea Salt, and Pepper dressing.

We wrapped things up with dolce, of course, everyone's favorite Tiramisu.  I think it was a hit, even though I did not use rum.  Instead, I used a coffee liquer that I picked up in Costa Rica.  I love my Italian class!!  Multilingual Chicago is such a great place to learn!

Our classroom activities

25 year aged parmesan 

Everyone has their own opinion of what art is.

Almost everything on the antipasto.

  Ok, time to wrap it up.  There will be more soon, I promise!

Ciao, ciao!!