It’s a toss up, but I really can’t decide which one rocked my world more.
We were all in awe of the live scallops. The shells were beautiful, and although it saddened all of us in the kitchen to steam these lovely migratory bivalves, we were anxious to taste the goodness.
We first steamed the scallops to release the adductor muscle. After the steaming, we could see that the shells popped open and the roe part was neatly wrapped around the muscle, giving the scallop a snail-like appearance. We separated the shells and placed the scallop meats in melted butter and steaming liquid to hold temperature and keep them tender.
Then we made the polenta, using some of the reserved steaming liquid broth along with butter, onions, and bell pepper. Before serving, the shell was filled with creamy polenta, then the scallop, and a splash of butter before being baked off. At plating, the shell was topped with tomato habanero salsa and radish sprouts.

Before the entree was served, Jenny Gillespie played some songs from her new album, covered some Neil Young, and also played a cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Want to Dance with Somebody” which invoked that melancholy and sadness that hits when one is solo in a room full of dancing couples.

And then there was the cheese. This was not just any cheese, no, no, no. In fact, all of those present at dinner are now spoiled because of this cheese, and no longer waste their time tasting non-artisanal cheeses. Andy Hatch, one of the cheese makers at Uplands Cheese Company in Dodgeville Wisconsin, came to dinner and brought a 10 pound wheel of their Pleasant Ridge Reserve. It was very smooth and complex, nutty like a gruyere. We served some slices at room temperature to establish the baseline flavor profile. Then we served the entree, a Melange a Trois: 3 small bundles that incorporated the cheese in different combinations:

• Thinly sliced Japanese Eggplant, Swiss Chard, and CHEESE, rolled and baked.
• Yellow Sweet Pepper stuffed with Piedmontese Beef, Garlic, Onion, and CHEESE
• Squash Blossom stuffed with Fava Bean puree and CHEESE

The trio was served over a lightly seasoned tomato and baby fennel sauce.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a Summer Aphrodisiac Menu?

If the cheese and scallops didn’t work, then Pastry Chef Stacey Whitney’s dessert should’ve sealed the deal. It was floral and rich: saffron infused custard with a thin burnt sugar top crust, decorated with dried local peaches, lavender caramel, and candied lilac petals.

Photos By Lorenzo Tassone

Check out more of Lorenzo’s photography: http://tassonephoto.com/Bio.html

Check out his slideshow from the dinner:

We had a completely empty space in Humboldt Park, which made things very convenient and much more interesting.

Tari Follett, who came out to perform last year at one of the Flower Shop suppers, delivered some powerful vocals. Designer and Artist Beth Gatza worked on a painting during dinner. Beth designed an amazing set for the Vagadu Fashion show in Chicago last fall, where I cooked along side Clandestino Pastry Chef Stacey Whitney.

This was the first night where The Crew was intact and working together in the kitchen. Stacey’s dessert was the icing on the cake. She used some ground cascabel chile to add some heat to the chocolate sauce, and she added a bit of fresh basil to her homemade raspberry sorbet which gave it that “je ne c’est quoi” quality.

I was super pleased with the beef ribs. This was my first time using the Piedmontese Beef from Heartland Meats. It was superb. The color and marbling of the beef was perfect.

The meat was first applewood smoked for 2 hours, which rendered out all the juices. I added a bottle of a white argentine wine and let it marinade overnight. On the day of the dinner, the beef was braised in its own juices and the wine for about 5 hours. Sous chef Nikki made the perfect sauce for the beef. She poured all the remaining juices into a pan, added minced red onion and herbs, reduced it by half, and finished it with butter. Um, yes, pour some of that on my potatoes please!

To see photos of the food, check out Bridgeport Seasoning.

Let’s do it again on the 27th..

We are very excited about the menu for the 27th. We got our hands on some live scallops and we are eager to cook them up.

• Grape Truffles
• New England Scallops on the Half Shell, Baked with Polenta, Seasonal Salsa w/ Herbs and Chile, Microgreens
• Purple Haze Carrot and Jicama Salad w/ Cinnamon and Chile Piquin, Lime Vinaigrette and Watermelon
• Grilled Romansco Squash and Avocado Soup
• Melange a Trois: Eggplant stuffed w/ Local Cheese and Swiss Chard, Sweet Pepper stuffed w/ Ground Piedmontese Beef, Spring Onion, and Green Garlic, Squash Blossom stuffed w/ Local Cheese and Fresh Favas, Grilled Fennel and Heirloom Tomato Concasse
• Saffron Pot du Creme, Lavender Caramel, Dried Peaches, Candied Lilac Petals

The Roof Top continues to elude us…

I was hopeful about setting up the dining roof on the rooftop of our friend Arthur’s supermarket in Lincoln Park, but the looming dark clouds to the West forced me to make the decision to move the party inside the store.

Some of the dinner guests sat under meat hooks in the loading dock next to the meat counter. Another group sat in the cheese aisle forced to occasionally pass the cheddar to late night shoppers. And others sat next to the the big fridge near the produce section.

The rain never came, so we decided to take the party to the roof for dessert. Pastry Chef Stacey served her Juneberry Black Forest Cheesecake w/ cocoa jelly petals. Our wild juneberries were picked near the UIC medical campus just a couple days before dinner.

Special thanks to Michael at the Chicago Honey Co-op for letting me pick some escarole and onions for the pasta. Aside from operating an urban “bee farm”, the co-op also maintains an organic garden where volunteers grow everything from peanuts and sweet potatoes to leeks and garlic.

My favorite dish of the night had to be the Gazpacho. I used ripe heirloom and beefsteak tomatoes from Indiana, roasted bell peppers, and cucumbers. I used a ribbon slice of tomato as a coaster for the shrimp, which were seasoned with green garlic and achiote.

The next Clandestino dinner is coming up on June 27th. It is sold out, but you can still check out the menu HERE.

This weekend though, there are a couple of great festivals happening:

On Saturday, The Heart of Chicago Festival in Pilsen. You can take the Pink Line and get off at the Damen stop. Some good live music and food. Make sure to stop and check out Liquid Couture fashion by Wanda Cobar. Wanda is one of Chicago’s up and coming designers and has designed clothing for Aerosmith and for prom queens.

Make sure you save some energy for Sunday. It’s A Day in the Country at the Hideout near Wicker Park. I will be there cooking some championship BBQ with Pittmaster Willie Wagner of the Honky Tonk BBQ. There will be some awesome country western acts playing all day. Stop by and say howdy.

The Garden dinner on Sunday goes down as one of my favorites. We worked hard all week getting the garden ready so when the storm went south of us, we were all very excited. Thanks to Josh Copeland for these photos.

Guests arrived at the gallery to check out Marcos Raya’s mural while we worked on grilling the skirt steak and plating the salad. Urban started his set early and played as the salad was getting started.

It was a great menu to put together. I was able to get all the produce at the Green City market, and the remaining few things at a grocery in the neighborhood. The mexican grocery always has the best skirt steak.

And then there was the fish. I got my hands on some Cobia from Belize, not really knowing what sort of fish it was. I knew it was a good “grilling” fish so I expected something firm like swordfish. The Cobia flesh was very firm, almost like a pork roast. I decided to marinate it with bitter orange juice for about 20 minutes before grilling to soften it up, and then I seasoned it with salt and pepper. The result was a very flavorful and delicate fish unlike any fish I’ve ever eaten. The big texture also made it perfect for the grill.

I served the fish over arugula and sliced russet potatoes roasted with a Poblano chile pesto made with toasted pine nuts, black sesame seeds, olive oil and vinegar. On top there is shredded red radish and black sesame seeds.

Pastry Chef Stacey Whitney used just-picked rhubarb, strawberries, and spearmint from the garden for her dessert. She used a touch of citrus oil in the pastry crust. The homemade vanilla ice cream was the perfect complement.