Peach Melba (Serves 4)

When Chez does retro he doesn’t mess around. This dessert was an excellent trip down the “1960’s Memory Lane” and brought a level of flavor that was [sadly] missing in most of today’s ‘retro’ dishes.

(Hey, is it Chez fault that the 60’s were a little light on flavor?)
Well, trust me on this one. This dish makes up for it.


Ingredients

For peaches:

• 2 medium firm-ripe peaches
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 vanilla bean
  

For raspberry sauce:

• 1 (12-oz) package frozen raspberries (not in syrup), thawed
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  

Serve With…

• 2 pt super-premium vanilla ice cream
  

Preparation

Poach peaches:

1. Cut a shallow X in bottom of each peach with a sharp paring knife and immerse fruit in a 4-quart heavy pot (preferably wide) of boiling water 30 seconds, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Transfer peaches to a cutting board and peel, starting with cut end, then cut in half, discarding pits.
   
2. Combine sugar and water in cleaned pot. Halve vanilla bean lengthwise with a paring knife and scrape seeds into pot, then add pod and bring mixture to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
3. Add peaches, pitted sides down, to sugar syrup, then reduce heat and poach, covered, at a bare simmer 6 minutes. Turn peaches over and continue to poach, covered, until tender, 5 to 6 minutes more.
4. Cool peaches in poaching liquid in pot, uncovered, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
   

Make raspberry sauce while peaches cool:

1. Force raspberries through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on solids.
   
2. Combine sugar and water in a small heavy saucepan. Cover pan (so condensation will wash any sugar crystals down side of pan) and bring to a boil, then remove lid and boil 2 minutes.
3. Immediately stir sugar syrup into raspberry purée and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Stir in lemon juice.
4. Serve peaches over ice cream and drizzled with sauce.

Blue Devil (Serves 2)

Chez needed a ‘blue’ cocktail for his BMG-themed dinner of 9/13. Oh sure, he could have taken the easy road and opted for a Zombie but this one was more of a taste challenge and ventured into that unknown area of Flavorland that often yields gratifying results. In this case, the floral elements of the gin married well with the almost ‘tea-like’ flavors of the Maraschino.

[NOTE: This is definitely not the juice in the Maraschino Cherry bottle. Don't even try to substitute! Go visit your liquor store… and if it doesn’t carry Maraschino… well, keep looking!)

So, get out your pony and your shaker and take this treat out for a test drive. It is, in a word... INTERESTING (In a good way). Chez says that you won't be disappointed.

- Chez

• 4 ounces dry gin
• 2 ounces maraschino*
• 2 ounces lime or lemon juice
• Dash blue vegetable coloring
• 3 or 4 ice cubes
  

Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Stir well and strain into a chilled martini glass.

*Maraschino (pronounce marr-ə-SKEE-noe, as in Italian, or marr-ə-SHEE-noe) is a bittersweet, clear liqueur flavored with Marasca cherries, which are grown in Dalmatia, Croatia, mostly around the city of Zadar and in Torreglia (near Padua in Northern Italy).

The liqueur's distinctive flavor comes from the Marasca cherries, and the crushed cherry pits lend an almond-like flavor to Maraschino. Honey is also part of the ancient recipe. The distillate is allowed to mature for two years in Finnish ashwood vats (because this wood does not lend its colour to the liqueur even after many years of maturing), and is then diluted and sugared. It is typically bottled in a straw-coated bottle.

Café Ba Ba Rebba

Sheb and I have been to Café Ba Ba Rebba before and while we have been to quite a few other Tapas Bars in the ‘burbs’, when we are in the city this one is our favorite venue. It was also a chance to share this local eatery with my daughter and son-in-law from Waukesha, a location lacking in the tapas experience.

As is our custom, the four of us each ordered 3 dishes, all designated for communal consumption. Rather than listing each and every dish, I will just hit the ‘high notes’ of the evening… based on the joint consensus of the group.

In the Appetizer Section, two are notable mentions. The first is the House Marinated Olives – these jewels are sublime and worth the trip into Chicago all by themselves. Heaven in a brine and herb flavored green orb. YUM!

The second was the Artisanal Cheese and Quince cubes. Who knew that these flavors went together? Well, the chef for sure. Nice pairing!

In the Salad Section, there is a single star. It was the Endive Salad. This one was much better than I had expected and I was pleasantly surprised by the melding of the many distinct flavors and textures.

In the Standard Tapas Fare Section, you just can’t go wrong with either the Baked Goat Cheese in Tomato Sauce or the Stuffed Mushrooms. What the lack in ‘new and cutting edge’ they more than compensate in pure, unadulterated taste.

In the Seafood Section, the scallops were once again outstanding. Sweet, flavorful and pleasant to both the eye and the palette.

In the Challenge Yourself Section, the quadruple offering of traditional Spanish sausages was a star player for the guys. The gals were a bit squeamish once they learned that there was a Blood Sausage on the plate. Their loss, we guys say… and more for us!

Overall, the meal was pleasant, the company exquisite and the evening a fine example of the Chicago nightlife. This one is a ‘FOR SURE’ repeat.

-Chez

Chike Endored with Lombard Mustard

Medieval chicken bites with a honey mustard sauce called Lombard Mustard. (And you thought that chicken tenders and honey-mustard is a new invention!)

This delicious appetizer was the winner of the coveted Star Status for the week on 8/30 and was created in honor of our trip to Bristol. Keep the memory alive and give it a try... This one is a real 'keeper'.

• (Marinade)
  
  
• 3 chicken breasts, skinless
• ½ tbs salt
• ½ tbs pepper
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp Angostura Bitters
• 1 tsp turmeric
  
  (Batter)
  
• 6 egg yolks
• 4 - 5 Tbsp. flour
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tbs turmeric
  

1. Cut chicken in approx 1 inch pieces.
2. Add ½ tbs salt, ½ pepper and bitters and turmeric.
3. Massage meat and allow to rest for 3 hours covered in refrigerator.
4. Soak skewers in water for 3 hours
5. Preheat oven at 350
6. Skewer chicken and place on wire rack (on a baking sheet) and bake for 25 minutes.
7. Remove chicken from oven and allow to cool at least 2 hours.
8. Preheat oven to broil – 10 minutes.
9. Mix batter ingredients to form a thick batter.
10. Coat chicken with batter and broil until coating is just turning golden. (4-5 minutes)
11. Turn the chicken over halfway through broiling and continue broiling (4-5 minutes)
12. Serve with Lombard Mustard
    

Lombard Mustard

• 1/3 cup honey
• 4 Tbsp. prepared mustard
• 1/4 cup red wine

1. Mix ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a low boil.
2. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
3. Serve warm.

Farmhouse Butternut Squash Soup

Chez often chooses the soup course as his star and today is no exception. Here is a soup that screams "I'm rural and I'm proud!" Maybe it might have been better if he had waited until Autumn, but since it won Star Status anyway... why wait for harvest to enjoy harvest-time flavors.

Green apple and a dash of balsamic vinegar provide just the right amount of tart balance in this slightly sweet, down-home soup topped with homemade bacon bits. This was the Star Winner from our dinner of 8/23. Give it a spin and see if you don't agree that this one is a keeper.

• 8 bacon slices
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1/2 pounds carrots, chopped
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cups water
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  

Preparation

1. Cook bacon in a 4-to 6-quart heavy pot over medium heat until crisp.
2. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.
3. Add garlic and caraway seeds to fat in pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is pale golden, about 1 minute.
4. Add squash, carrots, apple, thyme, bay leaves, broth, water, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and boil, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Discard thyme and bay leaves.
6. Purée about 4 cups soup in a blender, in batches if necessary, until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids).
7. Return to pot and season with salt, pepper. Serve topped with vinegar and crumbled bacon.
   
   

- Chez

Rouladen

After an evening at the theater watching 'Church Basement Ladies' Chez used the concept for his 8/16/09 theme. Here is his offering from that meal.

Serve the dish with mashed potatoes and green beans and you'll be a hit in and out of the church basement. (Disregard the plastic ware. That was just in keeping with the evening's theme. Chez really has dishes...honest!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs round steak, 1/2 inch thick1 1/2 tsp salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• Dusseldorf mustard (Don't skimp on this and don't substitute.)
• 8 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 large or 2 medium size dill pickles
• 3 TBS butter or other fat
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 Tbs butter
• 1 Tbs flour (plus flour for dredging)
  

Preparation

1. Pound steak to 1/4 inch thickness.
2. Cut into 8 serving pieces.
3. Season with salt and pepper and brush with mustard.
4. Top each piece with some of the chopped bacon, onion, and thin slices of pickle.
5. Roll firmly and fasten with thin white cord or small wooden picks.
6. Melt butter or other fat in a heavy skillet.
7. Dredge rolls with flour and brown on all sides over moderate heat.
8. Add broth and wine and simmer until fork tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
9. Transfer to a warm serving dish.
10. Combine remaining 1 Tbs of butter with flour and blend.
11. Add to pan drippings and cook and stir until thickened. [If mixture is too thick, thin to the desired consistency with a little water.]
12. Pour over rolls and sprinkle with minced parsley.

The Rox City Grill at the Hotel Baker

After the theater last evening we managed to find a dinning establishment that was still open. (Okay, we cheated and did a little research first... but face it, it sounded like we 'just bumped into it, right?)

Well, back to the review...

The location: The Rox City Grill [http://www.roxcitygrill.com/] in St. Charles, IL.

The time: 10:20 PM (reservations were for 10 PM, but coming in 20 minutes late didn't dissuade them from giving us good food and excellent service.

The staff: Our waiter (we had one all to our selves... gee, I wish we knew his name) was more than excellent and was a real 'find'. The wine steward (a.k.a. "The Wine Guy - Marcello) was great too and we will not speak of the Dirty Martini misstep... but it was REALLY BAD!

The ambiance: The restaurant is located within the historic Hotel Baker and it reeks old, classic, posh and upscale. (Note to self, we should make plans to spend a long weekend there... just because! (Rumor has it that the hotel is 'haunted'... well, that is just what Marcello said, that the Irish Bus boy said he saw those couple of times... Man, this gets so confusing.

The meal: For the both of us, we opted for the Lobster Martini. This was the evening star by unanimous choice. Light tempura batter covered chunks of lobster (Big Chunks!) served on a bed of wasabi mashed potatoes with edamame and a killer drizzle of soy cream and a orange-tangerine glaze. The tasty morsel make the whole evening worth it and is worth a return trip all by it self!


The next course was soup. Sheb passed on the offerings but I opted for the Lobster Bisque. Once again I was not disappointed. The dish was creamy, flavorful, with just a hint of delicious butter, chunks of the soups namesake and a glorious dollop of chive creme fraiche. Yum!



For the main course I went the for the Rox City Skewers, shrimp chicken and filet mignon along with veggies, served on a bed of coconut rice and drizzled with a sweet Asian BBQ sauce. This one was a bit of a disappointment. The shrimp was overdone and as a result... a bit rubbery. The beef was fair, bordering on poor (it was almost gamey) but the chicken was tender and flavorful and the rice was KILLER!
Sheb had the Heirloom Pork, panko encrusted pork medallions served on a bed of Ginger-Yams and a balsamic reduction. The dish was garnished with a deep-fried root of unknown type. Sheb scored the overall dish as good (the pork could have been a bit more tender and the balsamic reduction was almost too overpowering) but the ginger-yams was a real 'keeper' and moves the overall dish from fair to good.

I completed the meal with a dessert of Pot de' Creme, a dense chocolate custard with mandarin orange sections and a orange water syrup. It seems to have been missing the promised vanilla bean... well, it was overkill anyway and I sure didn't need the extra calories. It was fair but I would order something else the next time.

The final evaluation: We both agree that we would go back. I would revisit the appetizers and the soup courses but I would go a different direction on the main course and dessert. Sheb would repeat the Lobster Martini (unless they have scallops) but for the main course she would try another of the menu's choices. Rox City Grill is a definite 'Do over'!

- Chez

Cuban Black Beans

A Cuban-themed dinner graced the table at Chez this week and the star of the evening was the mighty flavorful, Cuban-style Black Beans. The key to this dish is the cumin seeds, roasted in a cast iron frying pan and then doing a fine grind in either a spice grinder or a coffee grinder. If you never had fresh ground cumin, you have to give it a try. It blows 'store bought' cumin out of the water and has a level of smokiness that has to tasted to be believed.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 6 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tbs freshly roasted and ground cumin
• 3 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
• 1 cup minced smoked pork chop
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  

1. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic and oregano and sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
3. Add 1 cup of beans to pan. Using back of fork, mash beans coarsely.
4. Add cumin, remaining beans, pork chop, broth and vinegar and simmer until mixture thickens and flavors blend, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
5. Season beans to taste with salt and pepper and serve

Double Star Status from Camping

Chez went out to explore the wilds of Illinois the last weekend of July but while he was there he had to eat... and thus two Star Recipes made their debut under the trees. The first is a veggie must that is so simple as to be laughable and yet so good as to be the ONLY way you will ever eat corn on the cob ever again and the second is our new favorite way to do bacon...Mmmmm, bacon.

Chili Lime Corn on the Cob

Ingredients

• 4 ears corn, in husk
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 1 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions
In a small bowl, combine butter, lime zest and juice, chili powder, garlic and salt and pepper and set aside. Carefully peel back husk from the ear, without detaching from the bottom, remove silk from corn, fold the husk back around the ears and soak in water for 30 to 45 minutes.
Make sure to weigh down the ears so that they are fully submerged.
Preheat a grill to medium, indirect heat. Remove ears from water, drain, open husk, dry ears with paper towel and spread butter mixture evenly on corn. Fold husk back over corn and grill, turning often, for 35 minutes (change heat to medium-high for the last ten minutes of grilling).
Serve immediately.
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Brown Sugar Cayenne Bacon

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, 8 slices

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mix brown sugar, cayenne, and black pepper together in a medium bowl. Add bacon and toss. Line a baking sheet with a wire rack and lay bacon on the rack. Pat any remanding spice mixture on the bacon. Put the baking sheet on the top rack of the oven and bake until crisp, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven to a serving dish and let cool slightly before serving.

Mushrooms & Egg in Crispy Ham Cups

This one was an incredible brunch treat and while it was a bit labor intensive it was well worth it. Giving this one a try is a must!

- Chez

Ham Cup Ingredients

• 3/4 lb mushrooms, finely chopped


• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallot


• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper


• 1 cup sour cream


• 1 tablespoon thyme


• 12 slices Black Forest or Virginia ham (without holes; 10 oz)


• 12 large eggs
  

Garnish: Fresh chives and fresh thyme sprigs
Accompaniment: Hot Sauce Paste (recipe below)
Special equipment: Muffin tin with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Prepare mushrooms:

Cook mushrooms and shallot in butter with salt and pepper in a large heavy skillet over moderately high heat, stirring, until mushrooms are tender and liquid they give off is evaporated, about 10 minutes. Lower heat and stir in sour cream. Reduce volume by half.

Assemble and bake:

Fit 1 slice of ham into each of 12 lightly oiled muffin cups (ends will stick up and hang over edges of cups). Divide mushrooms among cups and crack 1 egg into each. Bake in middle of oven until whites are cooked but yolks are still runny, about 15 minutes. Season eggs with salt and pepper and remove (with ham) from muffin cups carefully, using 2 spoons or small spatulas.

Hot Sauce Paste

• 1/4 stick butter
• 5 tbs hot sauce
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flake
• 2 tbs flour
• 1 tbs milk
  
  1. Melt butter over medium heat
  2. Add flour and whisk into paste
  3. Add hot sauce and pepper flake, stirring constantly (sauce will thicken)
  4. Remove from heat, stir to cool slightly and add milk.
  5. Allow paste to cool at room temperature before serving.