WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

Julia Child would have been 100 years old today. I interviewed her in 2001 while she was on book tour for the 40th anniversary edition of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. After our long tête-à-tête, I decided to attend her alma mater, Le Cordon Bleu in Paris — and became obsessed with finding her a cow udder.

Why cow udder? I asked her what foods she had yet to eat and she said udder; she'd always wanted to try it. She said, in her very practical Julia way, that it seemed like something one should try.

…Read Full Entry

• Comments
• Send
• Print
• Share
• Recommend
• Tweet

Monday, August 13

Have you seen the big, new, beautiful, airy addition over at Hopleaf? Well here's the excuse you don't need to head on over there on a Monday night. Edible Chicago presents The Quarterly Carousal, the release party for their fourth annual summer issue (always full of thoughtful writing and gorgeous photographs) plus the local debut of Fiat Lux from Brooklyn Brewery's Brewmaster Reserve series (said to be summery, citrusy, and aromatic) — and yes, it's all going down at Hopleaf. But wait, there's more! Cheese pairings by Hopleaf, Asian influenced food pairings by New Rose Catering, BBQ wings by Grandpa Boo's BBQ sauce, the release of Baking Spice Beets by Stu's Sour (pickles, just for the event) and fun surprises.

…Read Full Entry

• Comments
• Send
• Print
• Share
• Recommend
• Tweet

Sitka, Alaska: How does your garden grow? With seaweed beds and salmon jawbones...

I mentioned previously that Sitka has a farmers market, but it's actually more of a gardeners market. Sitka has no farms, but they do have St. Peter's Fellowship Farm, an organic communal garden, as well as a network of gardens in town. What seems incomprehensible to us in the Greater Midwest, is that in Sitka, they don't have dirt. Down at the farm, they grow in raised beds, filled with a base of fish carcasses, covered with sifted earth, and topped with seaweed.

…Read Full Entry

• Comments
• Send
• Print
• Share
• Recommend
• Tweet

…Read Full Entry

• Comments
• Send
• Print
• Share
• Recommend
• Tweet

And the winner is...oh wait, let me explain. Last Friday, I announced the giveaway of two tickets to Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation. We received some heartfelt, inspiring nominations, but after careful consideration, I'm awarding the tickets to Alan Lake. As his nominator wrote, "Chef Alan Lake does significant work with Chicago's Asian Youth Services, a safe haven for underprivileged immigrant children. Daily meals, enrichment programs and scholarships are all part of the mix." Full disclosure: I know both the nominator and Lake through LTHForum, and I knew about his work with AYS. But I'd forgotten about his work until the nomination reminded me.

…Read Full Entry

• Comments
• Send
• Print
• Share
• Recommend
• Tweet

Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation returns next Wednesday, August 8 to Navy Pier's Grand Ballroom (nearly next door to WBEZ) with the crème de la crème of Chicago's chefs, mixologists, and sommeliers — and we're giving away two tickets!

But there's a catch.

Share Our Strength is national non-profit working to end child hunger in America by 2015 — that's three years.

…Read Full Entry

• Comments
• Send
• Print
• Share
• Recommend
• Tweet

I scream, you scream, we all scream for paletas in Chicago, right? Come to think of it, they just might be the next hot dessert trend, with the rise of Latin American flavors across this country.

But what about mangonadas?

…Read Full Entry

• Comments
• Send
• Print
• Share
• Recommend
• Tweet