Special Occasion Meal Didn’t Disappoint
Barb and I were married on March 25, 1985 in my hometown of Yonkers, New York. It doesn’t feel like it could possibly be that long ago, which I take as a good sign of a relationship that never gets old.
Since it’s an occasion, I’m going to keep today’s issue short and food-focused. In Saturday’s issue, I detailed my crosstown foraging for the ingredients that went into the anniversary dinner I prepared last night (just easier on a weekend than a workday). The components:
A dry-aged strip steak from Slagel Family Farm (Fairbury, Illinois), purchased at Publican Quality Meats. Simplest prep possible: I sprinkled each side with kosher salt, melted a few pats of butter in a pre-heated cast iron pan, and cook the steak on medium for four minutes on each broad side and 1 minute on each of the side edges. The result was a medium-rare steak with a lovely crust and a memorable flavor.
Roasted mushrooms from River Valley Ranch (Burlington, Wisconsin). I cooked these whole in the convection oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.
Champ, a traditional Irish mashed potato dish with onions, which I reprised from last week’s St. Patrick’s Day dinner.
When I began my shopping round robin on Saturday at the indoor Green City Market, my expectations for the dish involved Yukon Gold potatoes from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois) and tiny young scallions from Jacobson Family Farms (Antioch, Illinois). But to my surprise (and delight), I happened upon the first ramps I’ve seen this year, seen in the photo above, at the stand of Kajers Greens (North Judson, Indiana). So while I steamed the potatoes for the champ, I sautéed the scallions and a few leaves of ramps together in butter, then added them to the mashed potatoes with nothing but some of the potato cooking water and some more butter. So easy, delicious and filling.
Alas, we’re still a bit of time away from the arrival of the much-awaited local asparagus season. I had to settled for organic asparagus from Mexico purchased at Whole Foods Market. The stalks were roasted with a little olive oil and salt at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, which gave them a little crunch (sort of like asparagus fries). I have said often that roasted asparagus is just about the easiest delicious thing you can cook.
There are some leftovers for tonight’s dinner. But we continued the celebration today with a breakfast out that was rich in tradition.
Here’s the happy couple by the sign outside 3rd Coast Cafe, at the corner of Dearborn and Goethe in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. This place, which by coincidence opened in 1985, has been a favorite stand-by for many Chicagoans (and visitors).
We can’t find when we first visited 3rd Coast, though we likely stumbled on it during one of our visits from Washington, D.C., when we happened to stay at the nearby Ambassador East hotel. It became a favorite stop over the many years before we moved here, and it was here that Barb and her iPad discovered the apartment building where we have now lived for almost 13 years.
This place has always been reliably good for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our favorite, though, is breakfast, and since we don’t eat out often, our visits almost invariably involve a short stack of two blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup (trust me, unless you have starved yourself for days in advance, two of these beauts is enough) and some extraordinarily tasty bacon.
The restaurant has a laid-back, unrushed bistro feel to it. Here’s my BFF either toasting me with a last cup of coffee, or urging me to take the dang picture already.
Local Food Forum will be back with real news tomorrow.
Thanks, Annette!
Congratulations!