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As
we shake off the last vestiges of winter -- or is that "wash off"
(since it seems like it's been raining for weeks!), we're gearing up
for a very busy month.
We're
scheduled to finish shooting all the Chicago scenes for Season 8 of One
Plate at the end of the month which means lots of recipe testing and
tastings plus the actual shoot days.
We're
moving into high gear for the benefit, taking care of logistics,
soliciting for the silent auction and raffle. See the Frontera
Farmer Foundation article below for more details.
NRA
starts on Saturday, May 21st and Rick is demoing at the World Culinary
Showcase at 1:00pm with a book signing immediately following.
Don't forget to submit your recipes to the
recipe contest. Recipes and photos are due by May 27th.
Mexico One Plate at a Time - Season 8 in Baja
Rick
and the crew are back from shooting in Baja, but there are still new
"Behind the Scenes" videos being posted. My favorites are
Episode 2 at the beach house with all the chefs and
Episode 5 where
you get to meet the crew. They shot so much footage during the
shoot, that Rick is talking about releasing some of it on YouTube.
Details to follow once that decision is made.
Meet our Staff
Jill
Gubesch is our Sommelier and Director of our wine program. She
joined the staff 10 years ago. A good part of her wine education
came from her experience as a server in many of the best restaurants in
Chicago and their excellent wine programs. She calls this her free
wine education.
Who was the first person to inspire you?
Kevin
Moran from Scoozi. Listening to him talk about wine in our server
meetings inspired by thirst for wine knowledge.
What was the biggest challenge you overcame to get to this position?
Finding that first person to give me a chance.
What's the most challenging part of your job?
Trying
to get and keep Mexican wines on our wine list. It's nearly
impossible to get the good Mexican wines. They tend to be very
small production, hand crafted wines and they go to the restaurants in
Mexico City for the most part. Very little of it comes to the
US.
What's the favorite part of your job?
I
would have to answer that two ways. First, it's getting the
chance to meet and work with the wine makers and sommeliers that I've
studied about. Second, it's exposing our guests to the concept
that wine pairs well with Mexican food. It's up to me to prove to
them how well wine works with our food. If I can make them
believers then I've done my job.
Explain how you approach pairing wines with a new dish.
I
like to taste the dish with the chef that created it to make sure that
my choice highlights the elements that are important to them. From
there, I'm looking for the pairing that elevates both the food and the
wine. That's when I know that I've made the right choice.
Here's the update on the benefit which will be on Sunday, June 12th.
Advance tickets to the Farmers Market Fiesta
are $50 per person, $25 per person for children under 12. Tickets
at the door will be $60 per person. This part of the event runs
from Noon until 3pm.
Tickets for the "Dinner Like No Other" are
$165 per person which includes a 5 course meal, tax and gratuity.
Space is filling up quickly for this event. To make a reservation
for either event, call 312-661-1434.
On-Line Auction
will go live on Wednesday, June 1st and will close on Monday, June 13th
at noon CST. We're still finalizing the items that will be
included, but I can give you a preview of a few of them.
Tequila Tasting with Carlos Alferez for 10 people
Private Demo in our Test Kitchen with Rick for 15 people
The
Trip of a Lifetime. You and a guest will accompany us on our
staff trip to Mexico in 2012. All expenses paid including airfare
from Chicago, hotels, transportation in Mexico and meals.
Frontera chef coat autographed by Rick along with a set of autographed cookbooks
Don't
forget to submit your original recipe for a chance to participate in
one of the demos Rick will be doing during the Farmers Market
event.
Contest rules are posted on the web site. Recipes and photos need to arrive by May 27th.
Gadget Adventures
After
watching Episode Three of "Behind the Scenes" and seeing all those
amazing cocktails, it made me think about mojitos which made me think
about muddlers. This one is my favorite because it does a great
job on both herbs and fruit. It has a stainless steel handle with a
polypropylene pestle. The handle is water tight and is weighted
to give it good balance. It comes with a lifetime guarantee and it's
made by Rosle. The muddler is available in two sizes: 6 1/2-inches
and 9 3/4-inches long. I prefer the long handle which retails for
around $20. Their web site has a
listing of locations that sell their products.
Recipes from Deb's Test Kitchen
Although
most people are aware of our local, sustainable philosophy when it
comes to the food we serve in our restaurants, many aren't aware that we
have carried that mindset over to our bar. Over the past year, we
have made a concerted effort to source many of our beers and spirits
from local and/or artisan brewers and distillers. Not only do we
feature locally produced spirits, but we now have 11 local craft beers
including our signature beer, Marisol.
I've picked three of our bar's most popular cocktails to feature this month. The first is the
Oaxacan Gold,
a mezcal cocktail made with Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal, wood-grilled
pineapple, vanilla and fresh lime. The second is
Sunshine made
with a locally produced gin (Northshore # 6), grapefruit juice, St.
Germain Elderflower liqueur and fresh thyme. The final drink is
called
Sparkling Passion
which features Marisol beer combined with passion fruit puree, jamaica
and lime juice. So here's to summertime entertaining.
Cheers.
Hurray, our patio opens next week!
See you next month.
Sincerely,
Test Kitchen Director/Web Site Culinary Director
newsletter@fronteragrill.net
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