Corn Soups around Chicago

Now, these corn soups are truly upscale! I think I'd rather have these chefs make any one of these than try them myself. I guess it's my mood today--cloudy, chilly, blah.

Corn is piled high on market tables, sweeter than its early summer counterparts. And across the city, chefs are turning to the stockpot to highlight the season's abundance of ears. At The Drawing Room, Nick Lacasse's corn soup ($11) holds a triple corn threat. Lacasse roasts the cobs with fennel, onion and marjoram as a base for stock, which is puréed with raw kernels. The soup is poured tableside over fried kale, tomatoes and bacon-fat-fried potatoes, and topped with corn-spiked mascarpone. James Toland of The Black Sheep infuses his organic white corn soup ($8) with the scent of the grill, burning and grinding husks and sprinkling them like pepper. Blueberries and peppercress color the bowl; their accompaniments, pearls of bourbon and pickled kernels, create sharp, lively bites. Naha's Carrie Nahabedian cooks her sweet yellow corn slowly, until the kernels release their milk. Her corn soup ($13) is studded with Sungold tomatoes and basil and punctuated by an island of corn flan, with a dip-worthy oxtail-and-bandaged-cheddar sandwich on the side. For the simplest iteration ($9), visit Ceres' Table, where Guiseppe Scurato cooks stock with corncobs and thyme, thickening it with corn kernels, cream and onions. In it bob agnolotti for all seasons, rich with ricotta and truffles.

Garden Surprise

So, we have been on our new abode for two weeks. And it has taken so long to post much. With some big events, in addition to the move, behind us, I wanted to post some pictures of the lovely things we found growing in our back yard.

 These peppers were too hot for the hot tongues in this family. Darn.

I don't know much about gardening and vegetables. My friend Charlotte told me the cucumbers were curling because they haven't had enough water. Oh. I thought I had been checking on them...we did get 3 cucs from the garden- such a delicious texture! We're hoping we can still get some more.

And, tomatoes- they are so good and there are at least two different kinds. They needed my help in staking and I made some makeshift stakes. We'll see if it works.

Monday's Mention

A restaurant in our hood called, The Noodle, has the best cream of Tomato and Basil soup. I have attached a picture of it with their garlic toast. BUT, ALAS! We found another place that serves up an equally delicious Tomato Basil Soup: Baker's Square! Clientele is different but when you crave the soup so much, get a carry out!

Monday's Mention

Monday's Mentiontakes us to a pig roast! Our church is having all sorts of events to mark our 75th anniversary and two weeks ago, it was a block party with Mr. Pig!

Forno Restaurant

I am posting this a few days early because I wrote something on FB about this restaurant. My husband and i drove to the City last night to take some books to a resale shop. We were starving and took a walk on Milwaukee Avenue, in search of a restaurant. The first one we came to was a tapas place. One look at the menu and we both realized the menu was too light for my husband. The hostess kindly directed us to a place a block away on Milwaukee Avenue.
It was a treat! I didn't realize how much I liked where we sat-right next to the open air kitchen. Chef Larry stopped by our table and chatted with us. Before we left, my husband and I were treated to a limoncello cocktail! And I didn't get a picture:(
But here is what I did get:

I had the chicken with arugula -so yum! Couldn't eat it all!
And here is a picture of one of their potato garnishes!

Parker's Breakfast

Parker sent me this picture of a breakfast he made for himself and his new wife, Katie. It's on a tortilla. It looks very good. Can you imagine what a goose egg would look like? And maybe some bacon crumbles??? Nice picture Park!

Thursday's Thought

Color is my daylong obsession, joy and torment.
Claude Monet