News from North Pond


February 2008
 News from North Pond

Welcome back to the newsletter! Hope your holidays were as fulfilling, relaxing and exciting as ours.  Since the final newsletter of 2007, we've closed for two weeks to have the floors refinished (again!), deep-cleaned the restaurant and comprehensively refreshed the menu to reflect the winter season. Some other things you may have missed or might look out for:
  • On Sunday, February 10, I'll be cooking/participating in a dinner at Vie restaurant in Western Springs to benefit the Slow Food Nation event taking place this fall in San Francisco.  In addition to host chef Paul Virant, Chefs George Bumbaris and Sarah Stegner of Prarie Grass Cafe, Sean Eastwood of Isabella's Estiatorio, and Carrie Nahabedian of NAHA are all helping cook the sure-to-be-delicious meal. For reservations, call Vie at 708.246.2082.  For more information on the beneficiary, check out Slow Food Nation's website.
  • Thursday, February 14 will see (hopefully!) a packed dining room here on the pond, full of human lovebirds enjoying a special five-course meal honoring cupid. Call now and (try to) reserve one of a dwindling number of places for the evening.  But don't despair if we're already full for the night, for the food's equally delicious and the atmosphere equally romantic the day before and the weekend following, when we're still open for service!
  • If you don't get the New York Times or missed it, I was thrilled to have had a mention and recipe published in Wednesday, January 30th's Dining section.  Follow this link to check out the article and get the recipe for one of my favorite dishes from our last menu, our arctic char with ancho-shallot butter. 
  • I'm also ecstatic to report that we were re-reviewed in the current Chicago Magazine (February 2008) and awarded three stars, some very flattering prose, and one pretty stunning photo.  A few copies are still left on local newsstands, so pick one up while you can! 
  • The current issue (Winter 2008) of the quarterly academic food journal Gastronomica contains a piece I wrote on the Chef's Page. Look for it, too, on the same local newsstand, as long as you're there.
  • Last but not least, please be advised that our hours change a touch over these winter months.  The restaurant is open for service Wednesday through Sunday evenings beginning at 5:30 p.m., and for Sunday brunch each week at 10:30 a.m.  There's really no better time to enjoy and appreciate North Pond, as the restaurant is housed in a former ice skaters' warming house. When it's frigid and blustery outside, it's warm, cozy, and delicious in here.  Come join us...
Tips from the Green Market
The Humble Potato

February's a great month to consider using the impressive variety of potatoes available in the market. Everyone surely knows about Russet/Idaho potatoes for baking or gratins.  And most are probably even familiar with the creamy Yukon Gold variety that can easily be found in the supermarkets around.

But why not seek out something a little bit different and more luscious to my palate: the German Butterball.  Now here's an exceptional spud. Rich, buttery, capable of absorbing a variety of savory additions - think reduced cream, herb purees, concentrated reductions - and transforming into something deliciously greater than simply the sum of the components.

Or think instead about the options in the fingerling family. There's the versatile Russian Banana fingerling or toothsome French (Red), but there are also the prettier (and pretty cool) All Blue and Peruvian Purples available. For my money, though - as in life - the aesthetic of the beautifully-hued (spud) is not necessarily reflective of a better (tasting) product. Don't be put off or led on by a knobbly or particularly pristine exterior. The especially flavorful Rose Finn Apple or nutty Ratte are great examples of ugly ducklings with hearts of gold, if you're lucky enough to find them.

The last trip I made to a national chain supermarket, I was able to find a variety sack of some of these more interesting varieties.  Experiment with them at home. Baked, roasted, fried, steamed, mashed, pureed, boiled, confited.  Let's give it up for the humble potato!

Drink of the Month
The Honeychild

Ingredients:

1 oz  brandy
1 oz  Drambuie
4 oz  hot water
2 Tbl meyer lemon
2 tsp honey

Preparation:

Combine brandy and Drambuie in glass. 

Squeeze Meyer lemon into mixture. 

Dissolve honey in hot water. 

Pour honeyed hot water over Drambuie, brandy, Meyer lemon mixture.

Enjoy.
Charity of the Month
The Land Stewardship Project
651-653-0618

Since 1982, the nonprofit Land Stewardship Project (LSP) has been working towards a greater understanding of the ethics of farmland stewardship through its farmer-to-farmer network. It has worked to assist farms develop Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs and is currently focusing on creating new regional food systems and promoting and codifying sustainable farming through a certification program.

The Land Stewardship Project Website

Farm of the Month
Hidden Springs Creamery
Westby, Wisconsin

Brenda and Dean Jensen reconsidered their conventional careers less than two years ago to pursue a dream to make sheep's milk cheese. They showed up at the restaurant's back door round about that time with some fresh sheep's milk and the most amazingly creamy and delicious sheep's milk ricotta.

Today, they officially sell that dreamy cheese under the "Driftless" brand, named for the beautiful section of Wisconsin on which they milk their East Frisian and Lacaune dairy sheep. We're currently incorporating it into one of our winter salads featuring prosciutto, pine nuts and pomegranates, as well as into a savory rosemary almond "cheesecake".  The cheese is available locally at Pastoral cheese shops in Chicago and Marion Street Cheesemarket in Oak Park.

Hidden Springs Creamery's Website
 
Another Pithy Article / Think Piece

With global meat production creating more greenhouse gasses than even transportation creates, perhaps it is time to re-consider meat's time-honored place as the focus of our dinner plates.

The New York Times "Re-Thinking the Meat Guzzler"
Tips from the Fish and Meat Market
Hearty Game for the Frozen Season

This month we talk about big game - and not Sunday's Super Bowl.  Venison and elk are on the current menu and many might not understand the characteristics of either or their differences. 

First of all, both are delicious.  But the term "venison"- from a Latin root meaning "to hunt"- refers to the flesh of (game) animals used for food. Technically, the word refers to all of the meats from hunted, antlered animals (including antelope, caribou, elk and moose).  Today, however, "venison" is more likely to be used in reference only to the meat from deer. So while all deer are necessarily venison, not all venison are deer.  Elk, meanwhile, are the largest living deer, typically with very large horns.

Most, if not all, of the commercially-available venison available in this country is farmed or ranched. Though some is raised in this country, most (85%) served in restaurants is raised in New Zealand.  Our venison currently comes from Wisconsin, though the market is particularly tight with recent years' detection of CWS in some of the domestic production.

Those partial to hunting know the wonderfully gamy flavor of the real deal, from animals foraging to survive in the wild. The farm-raised variety is still deliciously complex though, with hints of juniper and berries. As the elk is a larger animal, the flesh tends to be deeper red (from larger muscles) and the flavor more intense than its less-mature relative.  All venison meat tends to be quite lean, which is good for the (American) dietary concern, however it makes it a touch more difficult to preserve moisture and its associated nuance in cooking. We're currently serving our venison with red wine cipollinis, maple-glazed squash, and a coffee sauce; and our elk on the tasting menu with gingerbread-crusted risotto and bittersweet chocolate.

View North Pond's Winter Menus
 
Recipe of the Month
Potato Waffle, Smoked Trout, Candied Beets, and Apple Salad
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 lb   russet  
        potatoes,
        peeled
1 c    crème
        fraiche or
        heavy
        cream
1 ea  egg
1 ea  yolk
1/2    tsp    salt
fresh grated nutmeg
ground white pepper

1  lb    medium red beets, 2" diameter
½ lb    large yellow beets
½ c     water
1  c     orange juice
¼ c     red wine vinegar
¼ c     honey

4 port. salad greens (mesclun mix, frisée,
          endive, etc.)
8 oz    smoked brook trout filets, skinless
2 ea    firm, sweet and tart apples (Gala, Fuji, or
          your favorite heirloom apples)

2  Tbl  apple cider, unfiltered if possible
1  Tbl  whole grain mustard
1  tsp  sherry vinegar
1  tsp  walnut oil
¼ c     canola or sunflower oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:
  • Wash red beets, place in small pot with water, orange juice, vinegar, and honey.
  • Bring to boil then simmer and cook slowly, 45 minutes or until easily pieced with knife or toothpick. Remove from heat and cool in cooking liquid.
  • When cool, peel beets and cut into ¾" wedges around the center.
  • Place another medium saucepan - full of water - on fire to bring to boil.
  • Peel yellow beets with vegetable peeler, then cut into 2.5" long ¼"x¼" strips.
  • When water in second pot boils, add generous amount of salt.  Place yellow beets in water and re-boil.  Count two minutes then remove beets and place in ice water bath.
  • Whisk juice, mustard, and vinegar together.  Add in the two oils while whisking and season with salt and pepper.  Reserve.
  • Preheat waffle iron.
  • Whisk egg, yolk, cream, nutmeg, and white pepper together in bowl large enough to eventually hold the potatoes.
  • Grate potatoes on coarse-holed box or hand grater.  
  • Use cotton napkin or dish towel to wring out excess moisture in potatoes.
  • Mix potatoes in egg mixture, add in salt and stir to incorporate.
  • Lightly brush waffle iron with oil, carefully and evenly place potato mix on hot iron.  Close and cook 5-6 minutes, until waffles color evenly and potatoes cook through.
  • Cut 1/8" slices of apple in an up-and-down direction, avoiding core.  Then cut these into 1/8" matchsticks.
  • Toss apple sticks and yellow beet batons in vinaigrette. Season to taste.
  • Place squarely-cut portion of trout at eight o'clock on plate, a pile of 3-5 beet wedges at six o'clock, and dressed apples and gold beets at four o'clock.
  • Place finished waffle piece in center back of each plate.
  • Lightly dress salad greens and place atop waffle and serve.

Bruce Sherman
North Pond -- Chefs Collaborative -- Green City Market
773-477-5845
North Pond Website