We had several of my cousins over, as well as my parents, uncle and grandma. My grandma is one of seven kids so my mom is like one of 100 first cousins. When she was growing up, they did everything together. Of the second and third cousins (confused yet?), I’m closest to these guys and that’s who we had over. It’s always fun for us younger cousins to sit around the table and hear the stories from their childhood, and of course, my grandma, for 94, can remember everything and every date that has ever happened so listening to her talk and share is easily one of my favorite things. We have such a large family and every time we are together, it not only makes for a wonderful time and good laughs, but I also realize just how fortunate I am to be part of this – and also a little sad that we don’t get together more often.

The Meal
Since it was a big group, I wanted to make an easy meal that I could prep most everything ahead of time. Pretty much everything on the menu I’ve made before, so that definitely helped. The exception to this was the beets I served first. I absolutely love beets but have never attempted to make them before. My favorite beets anywhere are at Lolita, and thankfully, the man behind those beets, Chef Matt Harlan, helped me attempt to recreate that dish.

Lolita’s beets are drizzled with a mixture of honey, red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Then, topped with a mixture of ricotta, salt/pepper and lemon zest, then finshed with chives, toasted almonds and orange zest. It’s absolutely delicious.

Matt was cool enough to give me some tips on making this dish. I did a practice run earlier in the week and frankly, they came out like crap. After talking to Matt, I realized where I messed up and mixed everything together with the ricotta and therefore totally botched this dish. Luckily, my second attempt came out much, much better. They weren’t as good as the real thing, but I must admit they weren’t bad and I think my guests enjoyed them. Either that or they are fantastic liars.

As for everything else, I made:

–My famous stuffed date appetizer, inspired by Avec, my favorite restaurant in Chicago. Seriously, this is the best appetizer ever and always a big hit. Click here for the recipe.

–Chickpea bruschetta, a staple at Mario Batali’s Babbo restaurant. For this dish, you need:
1 C chickpeas
4 T olive oil
2 T black olive paste
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T chopped basil
dash red chili flakes
dash fresh rosemary
1 clove minced garlic
Kosher salt to taste
toasted bread

Combine everything and serve over bread. Can be served either as an appetizer or with the meal, which is what I prefer.

–Peas, but not just any peas – another Mario Batali classic. Super easy and again, a sure crowd pleaser. Even the non-peas lovers enjoy this simple dish.

–Pasta with summer amatriciana sauce (adopted from Fine Cooking). Not as good as Battuto’s version, but definitely a winner.

2 T olive oil
1 red onion, diced
2 – 5 thick slices of pancetta (about 1/4 in thick), cut into short strips (I prefer the pancetta at Chef’s Choice Meats, but because of distance, I often just pick it up at Miles Farmer’s Market)
1.5 lbs cherry tomatoes, halved
1/8 tsp cayenne
Kosher salt to taste (I often omit this depending on how salty the pancetta is)

Heat the oil and onion over medium heat until softened but not brown, about 4 mins. Add pancetta and cook until both are a muted shade of purple, about 6 mins. Add tomatoes, cayenne and salt. Simmer until the tomatoes have been reduced to a thick, pulpy sauce – about 15 – 20 mins.

You can either serve as is, which is great, or take it one step further and mix with an immersion blender (my favorite tool in the kitchen), which is how I prefer.

–Bone-in pork chops. The key here is the brine, which we learned from Mario himself. Soak the chops in a mix of ¼-cup kosher salt and ¼-cup sugar in 2 quarts of water for at least 12 hours or overnight. Then brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and grill. You can also serve with grilled shallots or peaches, but I was lazy and we just served with really good balsamic. Trust me, the brine really does a number on these chops and they are simply wonderful. I could never eat chops until I discovered the beauty of brine.

This trip was pretty much all about Paul Kahn, who owns both Avec and Blackbird. Every time I go to Chicago, I always have to sneak in at least one Avec visit – it’s one of my all-time favorite restaurants. And since I was traveling with a coworker who has never been to Blackbird, we went to Avec’s big brother the following night.

It’s hard to believe that there is someone who lives in Chicago that has yet to experience Avec (which focuses on Spanish, French and Italian small plates), but there is – and she happens to be a good friend of mine. After hearing me talk about Avec for years, she was excited to meet me there for dinner. A lot of pressure was on Avec (and me) that night. After all, her husband isn’t a fan (which is why she has never been) but has heard me rave about it so she knew it was time to see for herself. Not only did she love it, she’s planning to take her mom when she visits in a few weeks – and was still thinking about those dates the next day.

To start, we shared three cheeses (all delicious, but no idea what I had), the famous Medjool dates stuffed with chorizo in a spicy and smoky tomato sauce, duck confit with sweet potato-parsnip hash and the braised chickpea special with lots of herbs and a sunny side up egg on top.

As usual, everything was delicious – especially the dates and cheese. I just love this spot and wish we had it here. From the atmosphere and decor (think long and narrow sauna-esque tiny space with open kitchen, communal tables and cool staff) to the food and wine menu and reasonable prices, it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in town. The only drawback is they don’t take reservations. Lucky for us, it was the St. Patty’s Day parade earlier in the day so most of Chicago was still celebrating.

On this visit, I learned Avec is also a favorite destination for Mario Batali. In fact, the host told me he usually sits at the first table with his entourage and drinks wine until sunrise.

Blackbird, which is literally right next door and focuses on contemporary American cuisine, I assume must also be a favorite spot for Mario. The last two times I ate at Blackbird, I saw him there (he also attends the housewares show to support his line). This time however, I didn’t – but Emeril was there the night before.

I like Blackbird, a lot. The food is consistently good, inventive and tempting. It’s the overall atmosphere of the restaurant and often pretentious attitudes of the staff I don’t care for. But being a Sunday during a busy show when reservations are hard to come by, the food outweighs the cons.

For starters, we split the scallop appetizer with banana puree, black truffles and candied oats. For dinner, I ordered the striped bass with fennel brandade, Brussels sprouts and cocoa nibs while my coworker had the cod with butternut squash, ciopinnillini onions, miso and pancetta; we swapped a bit of each.

My biggest regret of that meal is that I split the appetizer. After one bite, I knew I wanted more and came close to putting in a second order. These scallops were hands down the best I have ever had – anywhere. Usually I find people make scallops a bit too salty for my taste, not these – they were cooked and seasoned perfectly. Add the banana puree was creamy, not overly sweet and provided great flavor to the scallop and truffles. I’ve never had anything like this and can’t wait to try to experiment at home.

The fish was also good, but not nearly as good as the scallops. I enjoyed both dishes – maybe even the cod a little more. Each was very different, but equally satisfying. And while our server fit the profile of the typical Blackbird attitude, it was still a great ending to a successful work trip and an enjoyable experience.