The Walnut Speakeasy, Elgin, IL

Looking for fine dining establishments in and around the Hemmens Theater for the purpose of pre-symphony dining, Chez stumbled upon The Walnut Speakeasy in Elgin, Illinois. From their website (http://www.thewalnutspeakeasy.com/), their advertisements in the Elgin Symphony Orchestra Program and the reviews gathered from a host of locations, things looked promising.

The menu offered delectable choices, the pictures from the website documented the chef’s eye for culinary detail with his creations and the only negative that Chez could find from the reviews was the scarcity of suitable parking. Well-armed with this information, Chez and his dinner companion ventured forth to see if the ‘hype’ about this place was well deserved…

Sadly, it was not. The noise level of the placed had passed the ‘vibrant’ stage many dBs ago and was now operating in the ‘painful’ range. The background music and its over-amped bass setting was no doubt made all the worse by the presence of the plethora of televisions that festooned the walls, each on their own channel and adding to the cacophony.

The staff, who must have thought that it was still Halloween and all had decided to go as The Addam’s Family, did all of the ‘right things’ but from the demeanor of the host to the black fingernail adorned, waitress, to several of the clientele who wandered in during our stay, it gave the whole place a decidedly creepy feel.

Cocktails, our standard fair – the Martini, rated only a C-, due to the pronounced lack of ‘chill’ on the drink and the rather lackluster presentation… a bane of this establishment that was to permeate the entire evening.

The appetizer for the evening, the Saganaki (Flaming Cheese) was the savory highpoint of the evening and its distinct flavor won the day, but it too was lacking any panache in its presentation… so sad.

The salads, looking like refugees from the local Denny’s, failed to achieve any culinary points in either the taste department or in the presentation category. Now that I think about it, this statement might be doing a great disservice to Denny’s, since they DO NOT offer themselves out as a fine dining establishment.

For the main courses, Chez opted for the New York Strip with Au Ju and when it arrived, it did so:

a) Fatty and gristly,
b) Sans the Au Ju,
c) Served with over cooked veggie garnishes (no presentation points here),
d) And served with cold, limp, greasy French Fries.

The meal was a great disappointment and when you juxtapose this steak to the steak featured on their website… well, I am considering filing a Truth in Advertising Suit against the establishment, but I think my wife will talk me out of it.

For her main course, my wife chose the Chicken Piccata and she said that it was acceptable but hardly worthy of Star Status. (She is so much nicer than me.) I found the sauce to have a flour-taste reminiscent of library paste and it too lacked any beauty in presentation. No dessert course here. No sense adding insult to injury and besides… we were both getting a headache from the noise.

So, what is the bottom line evaluation? This one is easy…

The establishment may be a local hot spot and ‘The Place to Be’ in Elgin, but as a fine dining establishment, Chez warns you to steer clear of this place.

All it gets from him is the Big Raspberry!

Pork Wellington (serves 6)

On this spooky evening of Halloween 2010, Chez finally got the opportunity to try out Alton Brown’s spin on Beef Wellington, namely Pork Wellington. This dish really is super-easy and produces results that will 'wow' your audience with both the outstanding visuals as well as its excellent flavors. Chez served his with Ghostly Mashed Potatoes… but that’s another show.

- Chez

Ingredients

• 1 whole egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1-ounce dried apple rings
• 1 whole pork tenderloin, approximately 1 pound
• 4 1/2 ounces thinly slice prosciutto ham
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed completely
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

Directions

• Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat to 400 degrees F.
• Whisk the egg and water in a small bowl and set aside. Place the apple rings into the bowl of a mini food processor and process for 30 to 45 seconds or until they are the size of a medium dice. Set aside.
• Trim the pork tenderloin of any excess fat and silver skin. Slice the tenderloin down the middle lengthwise, creating 2 separate pieces. Lay the tenderloin pieces next to each other head to tail, so when laid back together they are the same size at the ends.
• Lay out a 12 by 16-inch piece of parchment paper on the counter and arrange the pieces of prosciutto in the center, overlapping them enough to create solid layer that is as long as the tenderloin. Top with a second piece of parchment, and using a rolling pin, roll over the prosciutto to help adhere the pieces to each other. Remove the parchment paper and sprinkle the prosciutto with the salt, pepper, and thyme. Set the tenderloin down the middle of the prosciutto. Spread the dried apples in between the 2 pieces of tenderloin and push back together so the apples are held between them. Using the parchment paper to assist, wrap the prosciutto around the tenderloin to completely enclose in a package.
• Sprinkle the counter with flour and roll out the pastry to 12 by 14 inches. Spread the mustard thinly in the center of pastry and lay the prosciutto wrapped tenderloin in the center of the pastry on the mustard. Fold the puff pastry up and over the top of the tenderloin, then roll to completely enclose, brushing the edges of the pastry with the egg wash in order to seal. Turn the tenderloin over so the side of the tenderloin with the double thickness of pastry is underneath. Pinch the ends of the pastry to seal.
• Brush the entire pastry with the egg wash. Place the tenderloin on a parchment lined half sheet pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of at least 140 degrees F.
• Remove the tenderloin from the oven, transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Cauliflower and Stilton Soup (serves 8)

It was an abbreviated meal we enjoyed on the second to last Sunday of October, but it was all good, nonetheless.

With our choice as today’s star, the funk-factor of the Stilton is mellowed by the creamy cauliflower of this dish and the result blends together to make it an excellent accompaniment to any sandwich I can think of… except maybe PB & J.

Here at Chez Geoffrey’s, we served our soup with a big-boy version of a BLT, using pepper bacon, arugula, tomato and avocado on a whole wheat wrap, but feel free to expand your own horizons and try it with your favorite sandwich.

- Chez

• 1-pound frozen cauliflower florets
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 leek (white and pale green parts only), chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3 cups canned vegetable broth
• 1 cup milk
• 5 ounces Stilton cheese, crumbled
• Ground white pepper
• Fine chopped chives (garnish)
• Crouton Round (optional garnish)

Thaw cauliflower florets in medium pot of warm salted water, drain well. Reserve 1 cup of florets.

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, leek, celery, and remaining cauliflower. Cover and cook until onion is tender but not brown, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes. Add flour and stir 2 minutes. Gradually stir in vegetable broth.

Add 1 cup milk. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover partially and simmer until vegetables are very tender and soup thickens, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Puree soup in blender in batches until smooth. Return to same saucepan. Bring soup to simmer, thinning with more milk, if desired. Gradually add Stilton, stirring until melted. Add the reserved cauliflower and season to taste with white pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with chives and crouton and serve.

Quiche Lorraine with Mushroom and Asparagus (serves 4)

So... on this day in history, the Year of our Lord 1610, Louis XIII celebrated his coronation as the King of France, and through this event ushered in the Age of Gilded Opulence for France. What better way to commemorate this event than having an 'All French' day.

So, it could have been the Vichyssoise that won the star... but it wasn't. It could have been the Grand Marnier Soufflés with their light, ethereal cloud-like texture with the heavenly Crème Anglaise... but it wasn't. Instead, it was a Quiche Lorraine with Mushroom and Asparagus, served with a simple side salad dressed with a mustard vinaigrette. Ooo la la, this one won the day. Here's how you can do it at home.

- Chez

Ingredients:

• frozen pie shell
• 8 slices bacon
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1/2 pound Swiss cheese shredded
• ½ cup sliced mushrooms
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• dash pepper
• 6 asparugus spears, top-half only

Preparation:

• Bake pie shell 10 min in 400F
• Reduce oven to 375
• Saute bacon till crisp and drain on paper towel
• Saute onion till clear in bacon grease
• Put bacon and onion in bottom of pie pan
• Add cheese
• Add mushroom
• Beat remaining ingredients and pour into crust
• Place the asparagus sticks on top
• Bake 40 min or until knife is clean at edge of quiche
• Rest for 3-4 minutes, slice and serve

Cherry Tomato Pizza Margherita

It was a day of 10s, but what did you expect on 10-10-10?

Well, the day’s Star pick came from the appetizer course, a small pizza for two, but filled with big taste. Below, I have up-sized the recipe in order to serve four…

… Unless you don’t want to share any of it! Now, where is my Chianti?

- Chez

• 1 frozen pizza dough
• 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, stemmed
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1 4-ounce ball fresh mozzarella in water (ovoline), drained and cut into chunks
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves plus small leaves for garnish

Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Roll dough on heavy large baking sheet; pull to about 14-inch disk, pinching any tears to seal.

Heat large skillet over high heat 2 minutes. Add oil and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until tomatoes are charred and beginning to break down (about 6 minutes). Transfer to large bowl and mix in fennel and crushed red pepper. Using a potato masher, crush tomatoes in bowl leaving some chunks intact. Return to skillet and cook over high heat to drive off excess liquid (2-4 minutes).Season mixture with salt and pepper.
Ladle sauce evenly over dough, coming to within ½ inch of edge. Scatter the 1/3-cup of the basil over the sauce and add the cheese, leaving some space between the chunks. Bake pizza until crust is crisp and brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Loosen pizza with metal spatula and slide onto board. Garnish with remainder of basil leaves and serve.

Ratatouille Stuffed Bread (serves 8)

For the 46th Anniversary Weekend of the invention/discovery of Hot Wings at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, one would expect a killer Hot Wings recipe to mark this day... or perhaps a tangy, new version of a blue cheese dressing. But as far as Chez is concerned, it is the new addition to the Anchor Bar Lunch menu that earns the coveted distinction of Star for the Week.

Chez has taken a few liberties with the 'official recipe', and added a few tasty items that enhance the savory nature of the dish, but it is still true to the spirit of The Anchor Bar. Good job, Ivano Toscani, Executive Chef and Host at the Anchor Bar.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 large Spanish onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbs ground black pepper
• 1 small/medium eggplant, sliced into rounds about ½ inch thick
• 1 small zucchini, trimmed and sliced into coins
• 1 yellow squash, trimmed and sliced into coins
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 small red pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
• 1 pint button mushroons, roughly chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• ½ tsp granulated sugar
• ½ cup hot wing sauce (If you want to be true to the recipe, use Anchor Bar Medium Sauce, but any wing sauce will do just fine. http://www.anchorbar.com/catalog/sauces/.)
• 1 tbsp shredded fresh basil
• 1 loaf frozen bread dough
• 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 2 tbs butter, melted

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the onion, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring often.

2. Add the remaining vegetables, mushrooms the garlic, sugar and hot wing sauce. Stir well. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for about 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender but still retain their shape. Stir gently from time to time.

3. At the end of cooking, drain mixture into colander, reserving ½ cup of liquid. Check the seasoning and sprinkle with the shredded basil. Toss to combine and set aside to cool to room temperature.

4. With a prepared dough ball that you have thawed in refrigerator overnight. Let rise, punch down and roll out into 9x5inch piece. Set aside.

5. Mix two cups of the cooled ratatouille mixture with cheese. Add back enough of the reserved liquid to maintain a moist mixture.

6. Place the mixture down the middle of dough. Brush all edges of dough with a small amount of water. Fold top flap onto bottom flap about 1in from the bottom. Press and seal with your finger. Lift bottom inch and fold over top and seal with your finger. Fold in both ends and press with your finger.

7. Apply melted butter to top of dough. Bake in a 350°F pre-heated oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Country Captain Soup (Serves 6)

Chez commemorated the Battle of Chickamauga from an all Southern perspective and for the brunch, Chez picked Country Captain Soup… a zesty soup that is based on a chicken and curry stew popular in the South. The origin of its name is unclear, but according to one account, it was brought to Savannah in the early 1800s by a sea captain who traveled the spice route from India. Give it a try but stick to the recipe. All of the ingredients are important and bring something to the dish, even the apple and the currants.

- Chez

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs (about 1 1/4 pounds), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 4 cups (or more) canned chicken broth
• 2 cups canned diced peeled tomatoes with juices
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup orzo (rice-shaped pasta; also called riso)
• 2 tablespoons dried currants
• Fresh cilantro
• Sour cream

Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic; sauté until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, curry powder, ginger and crushed red pepper; stir 2 minutes. Add 4 cups broth, tomatoes and apple and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Stir orzo and currants into soup and simmer until orzo is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with cilantro and dollop of sour cream.

Sweet Potato Chips (8 Cups)

We had this on NFL Kick-Off Sunday for dinner and found these super-simple treasures to be a real 'keeper'. Unfortunately, we mated this with the wrong dip, but that doesn't decrease the Star Status of this dish! Give this one a try and see if you don't agree that this is a great alternative to to 'plain old potato chips'... and they're healthy too.

- Chez

What you'll need:

• 2 (about 1 3/4 pounds) sweet potatoes or yams scrubbed clean
• 2 quarts canola oil for deep-frying
• coarse salt to taste

How you'll use it:

With a mandolin or knife cut the potatoes into 1/16-inch slices and pat them dry with paper towels.

In a deep fryer or cast iron Dutch Oven. heat enough oil to measure 2-4 inches to 380°F and in it fry the potato slices in batches, turning them, until they are golden brown.

Transfer the chips with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain and sprinkle them with the salt.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill of Canton, MI

Our last evening in Canton, MI brought us to Carrabba’s Italian Grill, conveniently located in our hotel parking lot (I do so love it when I don’t have to strain myself too much after a meal!) and while it is true that Carrabba’s is indeed a chain (and Chez tends to shun chains), it is also appropriate to note that Chez has done reviews of chains before… so the precedent does exist. On to the review!

We begin with what must be the most outstanding attribute of this particular establishment… namely the service. From the time we entered into this enterprise we were warmly welcome, made to feel at home and treated like an amalgamation of royalty and family. From our entrance and greeting by our hostess to our ‘adoption’ by the bartender (whom we later found out was the proprietor – Kim Janes, who mixes a mighty fine Dirty Martini, mind you) the ‘anticipation’ bar was set very high for the evening.

As already mentioned, Sheb once again chose the aforementioned martini, I went for the Vodka Tonic with lime and my daughter went for the Watermelon Martini. Sheb loved hers (I had no worries there), I found mine quite refreshing but Jenni thought that hers was a bit too sweet and way too ‘watermellon-esque’. Well, such is to be expected with frou-frou drinks. Stick to the old standards, is what I say.

Our dining started with the simple and the sublime. Carrabba's (well at least this Carrabba’s) has an excellent bread and oil herb dip. The bread, served warm, is a slightly dense white bread with a hard (but thin) crust. It a word, delicious! The herb mix with the oil was a great combination and while it was on the slightly salty side, the two complimented each other quite well.

Our appetizer course was the Antipasti Plate, composed of breaded and fried Calamari, Bruschette and Fried Mozzarella with Marinara. I found the calamari to be done quite well, with neither the excessive ‘breadiness’ nor the rubbery texture that I have been accustomed to. Great job on this one! The Fried Mozzarella was acceptable but I thought the marinara to be a bit bland… and as for the bruschette, well this one gets a big ‘thumbs down’, for it was far too oily for my tastes.

My dining partners then delved into the land of salads (a house salad for Sheb and a Caesar for Jenni) but I went forth and sampled the Tomato Basil Soup. The soup had a good tomato-tang, as I was expecting but what it didn’t have was that ‘basil punch’… in fact, I failed to note any basil at all, save a few flakes floating in the sea of red. In all, good… but not GREAT!

Main courses for us were composed of Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (Sheb), Lobster Ravioli (Jenni) and Baked Manicotti with a side of Italian Sausage (Chez). Sheb greatly enjoyed her dish and the rich, robust flavor of the dish was offset by the al dente of the pasta. If there were a negative (and I am not saying there was) it would be the lack of artistry in the presentation of the dish.

Jenni’s choice of the Lobster Ravioli had both flavor as well as the aforementioned ‘missing artistry’ and was a joy to behold, both for the palette as well as the eye. You can’t go wrong with a creamy white wine sauce. The Baked Manicotti with Italian Sausage (my choice) was also flavorful but it too was missing a certain flair that would have garnered it more presentation-points on Iron Chef America. Suffice it to say that in the taste portion of this competition it scored very high and there were no left-overs.

As the dessert cart made its way to our table we asked ourselves, “Do we really need more?”
Well, as you might have guessed, the answer was in the affirmative!

For Jenni it was all about the Limóncello Bread Pudding; a baked Brioche bread pudding, topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with a Limóncello liqueur sauce. Jenni found it a bit too lemony and a bit too ‘boozy’ for her tastes. I can respect that point of view since Limóncello is an aperitif that one must tread softly with, since the line betwixed too much and not enough is a very thin one indeed and one should always err on the side of caution. In this case, the chef erred in the opposite direction and a lower rating was the result.

For Sheb and myself, we went with ‘the old standard’, Tiramisú. Having it presented to us freshly prepared and ‘homemade’ rather than recently thawed and store-bought was a most pleasant experience and the addition of dark rum rather than Marasla was an interesting albeit non-traditional presentation. Rather than the coffee/cocoa dusting, as is also traditional, Carrabba’s garnishes this dish with shavings of milk chocolate… which I at first scoffed at, but then came to enjoy.

The two criticisms of this dish (small ones that they are) would be that I did indeed miss that coffee-flavor and I wish it could have found its way into the dish more prominently. As for the chocolate… call me an elitist but I think that a very dark chocolate (70% cocoa) shaving rather than milk chocolate would have better served the dish.

In closing, the evening at Carrabba’s was a pleasing dining experience, made all the better by the personal touches provided by the staff. Our server (Emily) was engaging, interesting and personable, with a gift for conversation and an abundantly cheerful attitude. Emily, you are hereby forgiven for forgetting my lime!

So, would Chez go back? Most certainly!

- Chez

O'Sushi of Canton, MI

Another long weekend (this one in observance of Labor Day), and another opportunity to get out and explore our ‘options’… This time we went ‘East’ and ventured to Canton, Michigan to visit our youngest daughter and our oldest grand-daughter, delve into the world of the Michigan RenFaire and of course dine at a few local hot-spots.

Our journey began in the ‘culinary far-East’ with a trip to O’Sushi, an eatery of Japanese roots despite the somewhat Irish sounding name. As we entered the store front establishment I was surprised how cramped it was. To call it cozy is to take great liberty with that word and for any groups of four or more, well… seating is a bit more than problematic. Since our party was five adults and two children (high-chairs) I think we taxed the proprietor to her limit and our accommodations (despite our previous reservations and forewarning that out party consisted of seven) was a hastily assemblage of tables and chairs close to the door. This resulted in harried wait-staff and a poor first impression. Not a stellar first act but I am open-minded, so on to the feast!

We opened our flavor-excursion with the appetizer round, consisting of traditional Edamame, Agedashi Tofu – a fried tofu in Ginger Bonita sauce, and according to the menu an Ahi Tune Tartare. The edamame were good but it hardly rates high praise, the Agedashi was excellent with just enough ‘tang’ to keep it interesting and the tofu’s creamy inner texture was in perfect balance with its crunchy outer skin.

The tuna tartare on the other hand was a bit of a disappointment. To begin with it wasn’t a tartare at all but planks of tuna done up in a ceviche. It would have been marginal at best had it been what was ordered but it certainly wasn’t what was advertised and in truth… the quality of the tuna was lacking. It struck me that in this dish the proprietor had found a place to use the sushi tuna that was no longer at its prime.

Our sushi course was also composed of three parts; a traditional sushi sampler platter of sashimi and nigiri (but sadly no maki), a vegetarian sushi platter and an interesting assemblage called Sunday Morning Sushi – a tempura coated maki with a spicy sauce. All three dishes were good, with plenty to go around. The only negative on any of the dishes would have to be that the carrots on the vegetarian sushi were on the wilted side and not very palatable.

So… what is the final verdict? Well, O’Sushi is a fair, (not good & certainly not great) addition to our dietary repertoire, but I don’t think I would venture back.

- Chez