Evolved Dinner Recap and Event Reminder
Chicago Chefs Cook local-focused fundraiser is a week from today
Using Ramps Doesn’t Get Easier Than This
I wrote the other day that the best thing to do with ramps, our region’s wild onion early-season specialty, is to keep it simple. And it doesn’t get much easier than this.
Toasted sandwiches are basically my almost everyday breakfast. Take a couple of slices of good artisan bread and then top it with what’s in the fridge. It never gets boring because I seldom make exactly the same sandwich on consecutive days.
For this one, each slice of bread is topped with a little Havarti cheese, a ramp leaf and some leftover pork shoulder. Pop it in the toaster oven, toast until the bread starts to brown, and eat. I closed the slices together and ate as a sandwich, but you can certainly eat it open-faced.
I used the leaves here but you can use the bulbs for this too. I did yesterday and it tasted a lot like garlic cheese bread.
Evolved Network Dinners Give Your Money’s Worth
If you’re a frequent reader of Local Food Forum, you know I’m a big fan of The Evolved Network, a visionary Chicago non-profit — created by Sebastian White, a clinical psychologist turned chef — that works to help underprivileged youths through food education and training.
Sebastian is currently providing food and cooking lessons in several Chicago schools while he raises money to achieve The Evolved Network’s ultimate goals: to build out a restaurant and urban food garden to provide students with restaurant, farming and business training, while providing therapeutic services for those who need them.
One of the organization’s main methods for raising money is in the form of a series of dinners in which Sebastian collaborates with chefs of note. I’ve had the pleasure of attending some of these delicious meals, the latest of which took place Tuesday (April 18) at Demera Ethiopian Restaurant in the city’s Uptown neighborhood.
The amazingly complex menu was a collaboration between Sebastian; Tigist Reda, Demera’s chef-owner; Sarah Stegner, chef-owner of Northbook’s Prairie Grass Cafe and leading advocate for The Evolved Network; and Natasha Daniels, corporate chef administrator for Rational, a sponsor of the dinner that creates cooking systems for commercial kitchens. Casey Doody, pastry chef for the GT group of restaurants, created the indulgent chocolate dessert.
The photo above features the third course, a fusion collaboration (created by Sarah and Tigist) of sea scallop, lemon, orange and misir wat (Ethiopian spicy red lentils), with beets on the side. The photos below provide a look at the rest of the evening.
Gougere with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and chives (left) and a pb&j (pork, beans and jam) cracker made with bean chicharron, pork liver/mushroom mousse, cherry jam and pickle salad (created by Natasha Daniels).
Flatbread with fried clams, bacon and salsa verde, accompanied by spring salad (Sebastian White and Sarah Stegner).
Sebastian describing The Evolved Network’s mission as Sarah looks on.
Whole filleted halibut with tostones (fried green plantains), chile gremolata and morita adobo, created by Sebastian. This was an extraordinary dish, with the fish cooked until just firm and super juicy, complemented by the creative flavorings.
A fusion collaboration created by Sebastian, Sarah and Tigist: gomen (Ethiopian collard greens), siga wat (beef stewed in spicy berbere sauce), blue oyster mushrooms, and Ethiopian-crusted all-natural prime strip steak.
Last but certainly not least was this Valrhona chocolate gianduja (a blend of chocolate and hazelnut paste) with a mango entremet on the side.
Next Week, Chicago Chefs Cook’s Ina Pinkney Salute
OK, so if you missed Tuesday’s dinner, you can participate in another good-cause fundraiser a week from today (Wednesday, April 26) that promises to be an even more over-the-top food experience.
Chicago Chefs Cook, a fundraising culinary collaboration that first appeared in March 2022, is holding its fifth pop-up event, a fundraising 80th birthday celebration for legendary restaurateur Ina Pinkney, known as “the Breakfast Queen of Chicago.”
While the previous Chicago Chefs Cook events benefited international humanitarian causes, next week’s walk-around event is focused right here at home. The beneficiaries of this fundraiser are the non-profit Green City Market, widely regarded as Chicago’s premier farmers market and an advocate for increasing access to local food, and Pilot Light, the nonprofit, created by leading Chicago chefs, that helps schools build education about food into their standard course curriculum.
Prairie Grass Cafe, Demera Ethiopian Restaurant, GT Prime Steakhouse and The Evolved Network, all participants in Tuesday’s fundraising dinner described above, will be serving. Members of Chicago Chefs Cook core team, Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe, Tony Priolo of Piccolo Sogno and Jodi Fyfe of Eden, will be sharing tasty bites, as will restaurants run by Pilot Light co-founders Jason Hammel (Lula Cafe), Paul Kahan (Avec, Publican Quality Bread) and Matthias Merges (Mordecai).
And that just scratches the surface. Scroll though the list of participating restaurants slowly or you might get the vapors. There’s a button below for you to buy tickets. It’s definitely going to be one of the culinary events of the year, and ticket proceeds will help two of our great non-profits.