News from North Pond


June 2008
 News from North Pond
  • School's out! Or it will be soon enough. What better time to head on down to the Pond to enjoy lunch, which we'll begin to serve this month, Tuesdays through Fridays, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Our (more casual) menu will feature some of the same delicious, awesome products we offer at dinner - but in a simpler, less expensive format. Check our website in a few days to see for yourself. Or, even better, call or drop in to experience it firsthand...
  • Sunday, June 15th, we'll be celebrating dads. And why not? We ROCK! We'll be sprucing up the normal prix-fixe four-course menu for a unique Father's Day brunch, to impress and treat the patriarchs among us to a special meal that will get the day off right. Check in now to secure one of the limited spaces still available.
  • This past Saturday's Wall Street Journal had a little piece in it about Chicago's repeal of the quirky foie gras ban. Esteemed New York food writer, Ray Sokolov, came in and dined with us to do some of his research. Check out the resulting article, "Foie Gras Freedom." 
  • And while we're tooting our own horn, we were surprised and honored last month to be inducted into the Nation's Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame. We were given the award at the traditional (delicious) luncheon at the Ritz Carlton during the week of the restaurant show. Click here to read the Nation's Restaurant News article on our inclusion in the 2008 hall of fame class.
  • Cubs: best record in baseball. Yes we can.
Tips from the Green Market
The Perfect Pea

Early this month, if we finally get some prolonged warm weather, the wispy tendrils from May should finally mature and fruit into tender, crisp, and sweet sugar snap peas. Among many people's favorites, snap peas are great in most stages of treatment. They're delicious and refreshing raw, right off the vine; wonderful just barely cooked and coated with a citrus vinaigrette; scrumptious fully cooked and tossed with a peppery extra virgin olive oil; and even yummy cooked and pureed, then served with delicate steamed halibut or poached wild Alaskan salmon. The versatility of sugar snap peas is nearly guaranteed to please everybody somehow. 

And shortly after we begin to see snap peas in the market, look for the close relative English, or shelling, peas. Though many associate these beauties with the freezer-burned Birds Eye variety that some of us grew up with, there can be nothing further from reality when matched with the real deal. Fresh, tender, sweet peas from the pod need nothing more - and sometimes considerably less - than a quick blanch or boil, a pat of salted butter, a squeeze of lemon or orange - and away you go. Of course, they're delicious with smoky bacon, too. But (once again) what isn't? We're currently pairing peas with our minted gnocchi, ramps and glazed chioggia beets, to get some meals off to a refreshing and oh-so-seasonal start. See this month's recipe to get you going...

Drink of the Month
Cherry Blossom

3 oz. Lillet Blonde
1 oz. tart cherry juice,
        available at finer
        food stores
1 ea. fresh cherry,  
        pitted
1 ea. orange zest
  • Combine all ingredients.
  • Shake well over ice.
  • Strain into martini glass.
  • Garnish as desired. (At the restaurant, we use a pitted cherry and orange rind.)
Watch Our Garden Grow
Our June Garden
Another Pithy Article / Think Piece

Maybe you've been paying attention to the disappearance of bees?
On Earth "Where Are All the Bees?"

But have you noticed the missing fat, too?
New York Times "As Oil Prices Soar, Restaurant Grease Thefts Rise"

Tips from the Fish and Meat Market
Great Time for Goat Cheese

This month, why not consider the many ways you might incorporate goat cheese into your life!? As the animals have made it out and about over the last two or three months, they've begun to forage on the succulent new growth in the meadows. Then they socialize.  And you know what happens next. Unh huh. Well, then they kid and thus lactate to provide their delicious, fatty goodness to the cheesemakers. Well, maybe the offspring first...

Because of this wonderful circle of life, June's a perfect time to think about patronizing and enjoying the fruits of the labor of said cheesemakers. Whether simple straightforward plain goat cheese - which can so easily and deliciously be crumbled into pasta or blended with various herbs and spread on toasted croutons - or the more elaborately cultured, flavored, and/or aged varieties to be enjoyed on their own merits, the tang and buttery richness of this stuff is a real treat.
 
Recipe of the Month
Herbed Goat Cheese Gnocchi
Yield: Approx 12-14 1 oz scoops



1  c    goat cheese, packed firmly
1  ea  farm eggs
2  tsp extra virgin olive oil
½ c    parmesan cheese, grated
¼ c    pastry flour, measured then sifted
¼ ea  lemon, zest only
1  Tbl Italian parsley, chopped
2  tsp chives, finely chopped
1  tsp mint, finely chopped
½ tsp tarragon, leaves finely chopped
salt, white pepper

Can be done day before:
  • Place cheese, lemon zest, oil, chopped herbs, and salt and pepper to taste in bowl. Mix with flat spoon or spatula until smooth.
  • Add egg and parmesan, and mix in.
  • Add flour and mix until just incorporated.
  • Scoop one dumpling into just-barely-simmering, salted water until it floats. Taste and re-season if necessary.
  • Cover mixture with plastic wrap and allow to rest two-four hours before scooping balls.
For service:
  • Poach dumplings until they begin to float. Then immediately remove to serving bowls.
  • Dress/toss dumplings with oil/condiment of choice, perhaps candied beets or soup, and grated, fresh parmesan.

Farm of the Month
Chicago Honey Coop

On the South Side of Chicago, in the North Lawndale neighborhood, Michael Thompson runs the Chicago Honey Co-op (CHC). He created the operation in 2004, in an effort to provide job training for the under-employed. And while the CHC operates on a small business model dedicated to sustainable agricultural practices, the diversity and quality of its products are second to none. In addition to the wonderful honeys they produce and sell at the weekly Green City Market, the CHC make fragrant candles and unique personal care products from the same hives and bees' efforts. For more, click here.
Charity of the Month
The Jane Addams Resource Corporation
(773) 728-9769

Each year, we accumulate donations through our wine program for four deserving organizations. Their inclusion on our list is based on their work to help preserve diverse food choices, contribute to the local community, support local farmers, and help commit to a more sustainable future. This month's selection is not currently on our list but certainly worth your consideration.

The not-for-profit Jane Addams Resource Corporation has been working since 1985 to build and sustain healthy local communities and ensure that lower-income working adults do not live in poverty. Skills training, education initiatives, and economic and human development empower individuals to achieve to their highest potential.  For more info, click here.
Bruce Sherman
North Pond -- Chefs Collaborative -- Green City Market
773-477-5845
North Pond Website