Cheese Dinner

So we had this dinner.  We originally set it for max of 32 people and for the first two weeks we offered tickets, we only sold like 14 or something.  Then in the last week, we actually had to turn people away!  That was crazy.  Actually Craig took down their info as a waiting list.  We decided that we would just take them all and we did.  We ended up with 45 people and it was great. The people that came were a mix of regulars that are fun and interesting people and new people that were intelligent and enjoyable as well. It was  like a big party with a great group of people.  The cheese from Carr Valley was great and the wine was even better.  One of our wine reps came-Damian Castin (spelling?) and two of the wines were his.  He was gracious enough to chat about those wines.  If you are ever looking for a wine, Damian is your man!

The dinner was also fabulous, but I am only a little biased...We had the grilled veggie pizza which is so yummy with applewood smoked cheddar that just melts in your mouth.  and the ricotta cheesecake was delicious as always.

We are having another dinner in September-on the 24th-but this time we invited my second cousin Rufus to come down and bring some produce and then we are cooking it up and he is going to chat with people as is Gary Cuneen from Seven Generations Ahead. I am excited, as the food will be great, the wine perfectly paired and the company, if it is anything like the first dinner we had, will be warm, fun and inviting!

Liz

Cheese dinner

We did a cheese dinner on Wed, July 30th that I meant to discuss, but have let myself be distracted!  Before I discuss the fun time we had at the dinner, I want to share why we did the dinner in the first place.

Let's start with some background.  I teach full time and have my summers off.  This past year I went for a National Certificate, which was a great deal of work and kept me from helping as much at the restaurant. Craig worked hard throughout the year.  After I finished the work for my certificate, I committed to Craig that I would work to help relieve the pressure on him and I did throughout June. Then I decided that he needed to actually leave Oak Park to relax because even on his 'days off' he worked and I was worried it would burn him out (which would be a nightmare to fix!).  As I result I sent him on vacation. The rules were that I didn't care where he went, but he was not allowed to go to the restaurant or home for 48 hours. Originally he tried to play golf, go fishing and a few other things but they fell through, so finally he settled on exploring Wisconsin and sampling cheeses. That was something that we wanted to do together, but he decided he would check it out first.  

Craig wandered the countryside, armed with a map from the Wisconsin Cheese Association and he visited a few cheese places.  He had a BALL-music on, windows down, beautiful weather!  He met Sid Cook at Carr Valley and they chatted about cheese, cows, life and eating.  Sid sent Craig off with lots of tasty items for his cooler.  Craig also went to Brunkow (they come to the Oak Park Farmers' Market every Saturday) and several other places.  He came home with his huge cooler packed with cheeses in every shape, color and size, with sheep, goat and cow milk cheeses.  It was awfully fun to open and taste!

He wanted to go to...I think it is called Fantom Cheese but just couldn't coordinate it.  They are these two ladies that make fresh goat cheese (my personal favorite) and it is phenomenal. Some day we are going to get up there and visit them, learn about their operation and ideas and buy some goat cheese-probably lots of goat cheese.  

So, that is the reason we did the cheese plate, but also the reason we held the cheese dinner. I will have to write about the cheese dinner later, because it is time to relax before bed!

Pat Bruno

Well, it happened.  We were reviewed!  The Sun Times called us about a week beforehand saying they had reviewed us and needed to come out and take pictures.  Well that set my belly a'rolling!  They couldn't tell us what kind of review it would be...did he like it? was all I really wanted to know!  Then, I was reading the Trib and their review of Graham Elliot's new place and he was remarking that the restaurant reviews are not as focused on the food as he would like--that in order to receive a certain ranking, you had to have expensive plates and heavy silverware and fancy outfits...and I guess I never thought about it like that. But then again, atmosphere is important. I am pretty sure I would have a hard time dropping $150 per person at a restaurant with peanuts on the floor, regardless of the quality of the food. But then again, maybe not?  I don't know exactly how I feel about all that, but I do think it is an interesting question, and I think it would be eye opening as a restaurant owner to get ahold of those checklists!  I know we are not a 4 star restaurant-our food is simple and we focus on the ingredients speaking for themselves, not intricate food preparation. But I also think that our food is damn good, especially when it is prepared properly.  Every once in a while a dish comes out not done as well as it should, and even though it is rare, it still disappoints me. I want everyone to experience and enjoy the food the way it should be done! I should take solace in the fact that our errors in food preparation are few and far between and everyone makes mistakes! If we were perfect, well, that would be pretty cool.

Anyway, here is the link to the review. He seemed to enjoy his experience and get what we are trying to do. The only thing that really disappointed me is the lack of mention about our involvement in the local, green and organically minded movement. It is such a huge part of why our food tastes so good, that I feel as though it warranted mention, but you can't get everything you want. :~)

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/dining/1096419,WKP-News-brunotrat08.restaurantreviews

Liz

off topic

So I went to a play last night at the Shakespeare Theater.  I know, it is not often that I get out, but I took my girls to see Funk it up!  I have to tell you it was phenomenal!  It was clever, funny, intelligent, dirty...all those things I love...my kind of humor.  It incorporated all kinds of musical inside jokes, and the lyrics were ...well clever!  If you get a chance, you should go see it.  Beware-the language is harsh at times, as were some of the topics but I thoroughly enjoyed it, as did my girls who are 13 and 16 and one loves rap, the other loves lyrics and intelligent humor. I don't know how long it is around, but go see it and have fun!

more cheese

On Sunday of last week I went to a sale that the American Cheese Society held after their awards ceremony.  It was pretty unreal.  First of all, I have NEVER seen so much cheese in my life!  There were huge blocks of cheese, little tiny servings of cheese, cheese in jars, cheese in tubes...more forms than I have seen in one place.  I volunteered to help coordinate the sale, so I wandered around and assisted people in the check out process. To be honest, Bob gathered us all together and told us our duties and said, "ok I am going to let them come up.  get ready."  None of us quite knew what to expect and we were, in essence, mobbed with people.  They were buying pounds and pounds of cheese left and right.  In the back of my mind, I was wondering, what are these people going to do with all this cheese? as well as thinking, oh that one looks good or what is this one? It was quite an experience! After an hour or so, all that was left were huge blocks of cheddar, jack and other orange cheeses. Again, what does a person do with all that cheese?

I met some great people while I was there. I can't remember their names, but they also love food and doing it right.  It is somehow satisfying to chat with people that have some of the same thoughts about food.  If you feel like food should be enjoyed and great care should be taken in its preparation, you should join Slow Foods, or at least check them out.  They try to promote people, companies, businesses that endorse that way of life.  They also work with other organizations like 7 Generations Ahead to facilitate that lifestyle, bring farmers and their buyer closer together...making those connections with your food.  Pretty cool.

Liz