I've
had the pleasure this month of talking to all the farmers from this
year's grants. I've heard their stories of how they got started, the
trials and tribulations of life on the farm, how much the grants have
meant to them and in turn to their customers. We are creating a brochure
for this year's benefit that highlight all this year's grantees. It
will be available the day of the event and we'll also post it on-line
under the Foundation tab. Check out
last year's (2010) grantees and see what your donations have accomplished.
All
of this is just my way of encouraging all of you to come to this year's
Frontera Farmer Foundation benefit or to go on-line and bid on any of
the items from the auction list.
This year's benefit is on Sunday, June 12th. For reservations call 312-661-1434.
You
and a guest will join Rick, Deann and our staff on their annual 4 day
intensive trip to Mexico. This is a one of a kind trip which will
explore the culinary and cultural specialties in one of Mexico's many
regions. Trip includes airfare from Chicago, all transportation in
Mexico, hotels and meals.
Throw
an amazing event for 14 of your closest friends. Rick will
demonstrate several dishes in our Test Kitchen and you'll be served a
tasting of each dish.
Join
Carlos Alferez, our resident tequilla expert, for an informative
journey through the fascinating world of Tequila. This package includes
a margarita and appetizers.
Join
me in my test kitchen for the day. Learn some new techniques while
working on recipes for the web site, upcoming books and Rick's TV show.
Just
click on the item that you're interested in and you can post your bid
along with your email address. Bidding will close at 10:00am CST on
Monday, June 13th.
Jill Gubesch - Sommelier Part Two
What source material would you recommend for learning about wines?
Oxford Companion to Wine, Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia, World Atlas of Wine and
Jancis Robinson's web site where
you can find a lot of free information based on her published articles.
For more detailed information, you can subscribe to her Purple Pages.
Up and coming wineries or regions?
The
smaller wine regions in Spain, in and around Valencia and the southern
portion of the country, Oregon for their Rieslings and California for
their Chardonnays. Many California Chardonnays are moving away from the
over oaked butter bombs towards becoming more balanced, more elegant and
are very food friendly. It's worth going back and giving them another
try.
Favorite wine gadget
I like the old fashioned pulltaps wine key.
How do you recharge your batteries?
By
dining out in other restaurants to see what they are doing with their
food and wine and traveling to wineries all over the world. I feel that
it's very important to see where the wines come from, to meet the people
who are making the wine, to absorb the essence of the place. It
definitely reboots me and I come back energized.
Favorite junk food
Chili dog with hot peppers and cheese fries.
(I had to ask what she would pair with that combination - the answer, a dry rose).
What would you do if you weren’t doing this?
If I wasn't doing wine, I'd probably have become a chef or a musician which is another passion of mine.
Gadget Adventures
I
love when I find a gadget that I've had for many years that has come
back to the market so I can turn people onto it. Last week at the
National Restaurant Show, I came across this timer that CDN has brought
back. It's a two event timer with a built-in clock. It counts up and
down on both channels simultaneously. The numbers are extra large
and it has a last count recall. The alarm rings for a long time and can
be heard from several rooms away. Last, but not least, it's very
easy to program. Model TM9 retails for $21.95.
Recipes from Deb's Test Kitchen
(by way of Season 8 of One Plate)
Between
testing and shooting Season 8 of One Plate and getting ready for the
Frontera Farmer Foundation benefit, I didn't have time this month to
create any new recipes, so I'm sharing one of the new recipes from
Season 8 as a preview of what's to come. This recipe was inspired
by Rick's trip to Baja,
Chipotle Cream Shrimp. You'll have to wait till September for the rest of the recipes from this year's shows.
The 2011 Frontera Farmer Foundation:
The Festival of the One True Taste
Sunday, June 12th
Reservations: 312-661-1434
Farmers Market Fiesta: 12pm to 3pm
$50 per person in advance $25 for children under 12
$60 per person at the door
2011 Staff Trip to Mexico
We
leave for our annual staff trip on July 3rd which means that the
restaurants will be closed from July 3rd through July 6th. We'll
reopen on July 7th.
See you next month.
Sincerely,
Test Kitchen Director/Web Site Culinary Director
newsletter@fronteragrill.net
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