Cook Au Vin

Almost a year ago I had bought a Groupon for Cook Au Vin, a french cooking class company.  It was a bit pricey for a Groupon (our generation is so cheap and always looking for a deal), but I am so glad I bought it.  One of the ladies in my pasta making class a couple months back had emailed me saying that the class at Cook Au Vin was very much into drinking and not so much into the cooking aspect, but I had a totally different experience.  Our instructor was incredibly informative and demanded our attention.  Although it said on the email to bring 2-3 bottles of wine per couple (!?!?!) I'd say no one was absolutely blasted, though the class was from 7-11pm - a four hour cooking class! 

There were a total of 5 couples that took the class, so it was a small intimate class which I really liked.  Everyone had their hand in making everything. We learned how to make French Onion Soup, Potatoes au Gratin (although they were cream based rather than cheese based), Coq au Vin (famous French dish with Chicken in a burgundy wine) and Creme Brulee.  I've been wanting to make French Onion Soup for a long time so I'm so glad this was part of the menu!  The instructor reprimanded Kevin for his cheating way of making carmelized onions (he adds brown sugar) and taught him the correct way to carmelize onions.  Instead of putting the bread in the middle with lots of gruyere cheese, we just added a slice of bread on top as a crouton and used parmesan cheese.  We also used chicken broth instead of beef broth as a way to lighten it up.  Bottom line, French Onion Soup is better not healthy - load in the bread and cheese and beef broth for me please! For the potatoes au gratin we used cream instead of lots of cheese.  We also added in nutmeg.  They were very creamy and moist, but I think I would cut back a little on the nutmeg.  The Coq Au Vin was very good.  It's the first time I've had it and I think I would definitely make it for a party or small gathering.  They used rotisserie chicken (they make it there) and you can put the chicken in with the wine anywhere from a couple hours to up to 3 days.  The instructor told us that she recommends two days for the best flavor.  Finally we had our dessert.  We actually had made the creme brulee at the very beginning of class, but it was a FANTASTIC ending to our meal.  Kevin and I definitely want to make creme brule at home! We got to torch the sugar and everything. It's the little things that make me happy. 

I feel a Julia Childs night coming on!  Who wants to come? 

Also, if you are thinking about taking a cooking class, I would highly recommend Cook Au Vin.  Their menus look fantastic and the experience I had there was great.  Cook Au Vin or Chopping Block are great places to take full menu classes.  For learning individual dishes, like pasta making, I really liked Cooking Fools in Wicker Park. 

 

 
If you would like any of the recipes, please email me! :)

Abiquiu Cafe

My older sister Erin is getting married in New Mexico this June! Yay!  I'm so excited because I've never even thought to go visit New Mexico, but will be now.  Everyone says it's a ton of fun and beautiful.  Can't wait!  But Erin has been talking about how great New Mexican food is and that we're all going to love it, etc.  I was at Krisers (the swanky dog store from which I buy Stella EVERYTHING) and noticed the Thai restaurant across the street had closed (thank god! Ashley and I had gone there and I think I had a mild case of food poisoning from there).  In it's place was this restaurant called Abiquiu Cafe.  I had no idea what type of food it was, but Biz and I were trying to decide where to eat one night and I had remembered it and found it on the internet (http://www.abiquiucafe.com/).  When I saw it was New Mexican I got incredibly excited because I wanted to try out a sopapilla (deliciousness Erin has been raving about!). 

We went that evening and had a wonderful experience.  We are definitely going back there.  Everything on the menu looked fantastic and it was hard narrowing down our choices.  For a starter, we ordered corn cakes.  AMAZING.  My mouth is watering just thinking about them.  For our entrees, I chose the chile rellenos (one of my mom's favorites) and Biz had the pulled pork.  Sopapillas came with our entrees.  They were incredible and tasty with a little bit of honey. 

 

Everything was delicious.  The service was great.  It wasn't that crowded in there - just a few tables seated so I hope it does well.  Try it out if you're in Chicago!  We want it to succeed!   

Happy Birthday Kelly!

I had to write about my favorite sushi place and of course Kelly's birthday (sorry this is being posted a few weeks after!).  I love Rise sushi on the corner of Southport and Roscoe.  Not just because it's super close to my apartment, but also because it has amazing food, and it's the only place I've managed to become friends with the staff.  Biz and I go to Rise randomly and always sit at the bar to talk to our favorite bartender, Josh.  So I took Kelly there because first of all, she's obsessed with sushi, but also, I got her a "Happy Sushi to You" card for her birthday, so sushi was on our minds!  Kelly and I sat at the bar and Josh suggested that Kelly try the pomegranate martini.  It was awesome.  My mojito was ok, but paled in comparison to the martini.  For dinner, we ordered rolls only: the Akuma roll (special roll with shrimp tempura, cream cheese and pecans...tasted like dessert - incredibly delicious!), Yellowtail and Jalapeno Roll, a Red Dragon Roll - also incredible, and a Unagi roll.  I LOVED the akuma and red dragon roll.  Would definitely order both of those again.  The honey roll is also delicious there and the spicy salmon and avocado is my standard order at Rise.  We both loved the sushi and Kelly got a birthday shot free too!


Side note: I hated my first experience at Rise.  There's this awful waitress there, she's an Asian girl, incredibly bossy and rude.  Try to avoid her because she could cause you to never go back and that would be terrible because the food is so good!