Photo: Ellyn Rosen
The Foodies (formerly known as the Supper Club) are a group of friends who love to cook, eat, drink, and laugh together – plenty of each occur at our periodic themed dinner parties. Friends and family like to live vicariously around our feasts so we’ll share the stories, pictures and recipes here from time to time. Click here for previous Supper Club posts, and here for the group’s origin story.
Did you miss Part 1? Find it here. Here’s the menu:
We previously covered the sumptuous cocktails and appetizers that Karen and Kathleen, Dan and Greg chose to represent Chicago’s great culinary history. Today’s post will offer savory details about the main course and desserts. Who’s hungry? Well, pull up a chair and let’s dig in.
Did you miss Part 1? Find it here. Here’s the menu:
- Drinks (Karen & Kathleen) – Shikaakwa Bloody Marys; Al Capone cocktails; Assorted Chicagoland craft beer; Various wines including Ditka Cabernet Sauvignon and Monsanto Chianti
- Appetizers (Greg & Dan) – Shrimp de Jonghe; Don Roth’s Blackhawk Lodge Spinning Salad Bowl
- Main course (Ellyn) – Chicken Vesuvio a la Harry Caray; Grilled Asparagus with Green Onions; Salad with Strawberries and Poppyseed Dressing
- Dessert (Ilise & Ann) – Milk Dud Cheesecake; Caramel-Dipped Pretzel Rods with Candy Toppings
We previously covered the sumptuous cocktails and appetizers that Karen and Kathleen, Dan and Greg chose to represent Chicago’s great culinary history. Today’s post will offer savory details about the main course and desserts. Who’s hungry? Well, pull up a chair and let’s dig in.
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Let’s have a little music to set the mood, shall we? In honor of the theme, we’ll shine the spotlight on Chicago-based musicians. We featured Chicago Blues in the Part 1 playlist, so today let’s broaden the scope to include great sounds from other genres:
You don’t mind, do you? |
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Main Course: Ellyn’s magnificent Chicken Vesuvio said Hello as soon as the guests walked in the front door, with great, garlicky aroma-embraces. I mean this in the best possible way, no snark whatsoever. With just one sniff there was no doubt we were in for an Italian-American treat that evening.
This classic Italian-American dish features chicken on the bone and potatoes that are fried and then baked in a tangy, savory sauce of wine, lemon, oregano and garlic. Green peas add a colorful garnish. There are as many variations as there are Italian-American cooks but this is the heart of it.
Tying back to our theme, Chicken Vesuvio has its roots here in Chicago. Yes! The precise origins of the dish are unknown, but some (ahem Wikipedia) suggest it might have been popularized by the Vesuvio Restaurant, which operated in downtown Chicago, during the 1930s.
The dish may have started there but longtime, lovable Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray’s namesake restaurant has continued to boost its popularity right through the present day. The recipe for Chicken Vesuvio a la Harry Caray may be found here – and it is this version that Ellyn prepared for the Foodies.
So delicious and satisfying. Especially when paired with simple-but-special sides: Grilled Asparagus with Spring Onions; and a green salad with berries, blue cheese and Poppyseed dressing. Nicely done, Ellyn!
Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
This classic Italian-American dish features chicken on the bone and potatoes that are fried and then baked in a tangy, savory sauce of wine, lemon, oregano and garlic. Green peas add a colorful garnish. There are as many variations as there are Italian-American cooks but this is the heart of it.
Tying back to our theme, Chicken Vesuvio has its roots here in Chicago. Yes! The precise origins of the dish are unknown, but some (ahem Wikipedia) suggest it might have been popularized by the Vesuvio Restaurant, which operated in downtown Chicago, during the 1930s.
The dish may have started there but longtime, lovable Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray’s namesake restaurant has continued to boost its popularity right through the present day. The recipe for Chicken Vesuvio a la Harry Caray may be found here – and it is this version that Ellyn prepared for the Foodies.
So delicious and satisfying. Especially when paired with simple-but-special sides: Grilled Asparagus with Spring Onions; and a green salad with berries, blue cheese and Poppyseed dressing. Nicely done, Ellyn!
Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
Dessert: Chicago was once a leading confectionery hub with the major candy companies headquartered here: Brach’s, Fannie May, Frango Mints, Ferrara Pan, among others. Some have left over time and now just a few sweet-makers remain including Blommer's Chocolate, whose downtown factory regularly perfumes the air with luscious chocolaty aromas. As lifelong sweet tooth-havers, Ilise and I knew we wanted to feature the candy connection as part of our dessert course in some way, and we soon hit upon cheesecake as the delivery system.
Eli’s cheesecake is legendary in the Chicagoland area, created as the crowning glory of the dessert menu at Eli’s the Place for Steak, a popular Streeterville restaurant since the 1960s which closed its doors in 2005. Although New York style cheesecake has many fans, there’s a diehard contingent that prefers Chicago-style, which is said to be firmer on the outside and with creamier insides. A modified version of the Eli’s recipe became the basis for our dessert.
So how to work in the candy? Well, for us these dinner parties always involve a process of advance testing, trial and error. So we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. Our first attempt was a Frango Mint inspired cheesecake, with two layers of ganache on top: mint and rich Blommer’s chocolate. It looked beautiful and sliced like a dream but taste-wise it did not quite ring the bell. Plus the crust was way too buttery. No problem, that’s what a test is for, we knew just how to fix things up for the main event.
Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
Eli’s cheesecake is legendary in the Chicagoland area, created as the crowning glory of the dessert menu at Eli’s the Place for Steak, a popular Streeterville restaurant since the 1960s which closed its doors in 2005. Although New York style cheesecake has many fans, there’s a diehard contingent that prefers Chicago-style, which is said to be firmer on the outside and with creamier insides. A modified version of the Eli’s recipe became the basis for our dessert.
So how to work in the candy? Well, for us these dinner parties always involve a process of advance testing, trial and error. So we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. Our first attempt was a Frango Mint inspired cheesecake, with two layers of ganache on top: mint and rich Blommer’s chocolate. It looked beautiful and sliced like a dream but taste-wise it did not quite ring the bell. Plus the crust was way too buttery. No problem, that’s what a test is for, we knew just how to fix things up for the main event.
Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
For the main event, we swapped out the mint layer for melted Milk Duds and a scattering of toasted pecans, emulating a Fannie May pixie candy.
So why am I sharing the recipe for an unsuccessful (and unphotogenic) dish? Because the core of this recipe is quite good and definitely bake-worthy. I will make this again, probably just the cheesecake and a thick layer of dark chocolate ganache to top it. Ilise still thinks the caramel-pecan layers could work, and she’s probably right. Please learn from our mistakes and then go forth and test for yourself!
- Good news: The flavors were quite good and we fixed that crust issue.
- Bad news: Errors were made. We should have sliced the cake while it was cold from the fridge, but we were concerned the Milk Dud caramel would be too hard to slice through. Oops. Too much time at room temperature resulted in a sloppy mess on the plate. Fortunately we had all drunk enough wine that evening so no one cared very much and we ate it anyway.
So why am I sharing the recipe for an unsuccessful (and unphotogenic) dish? Because the core of this recipe is quite good and definitely bake-worthy. I will make this again, probably just the cheesecake and a thick layer of dark chocolate ganache to top it. Ilise still thinks the caramel-pecan layers could work, and she’s probably right. Please learn from our mistakes and then go forth and test for yourself!
| Printable Recipe- Chicago Style Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache and Optional Milk Dud Caramel |
Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
Because we in the Foodies Group have been known to enjoy a spot of decadence, Ilise and I made a second dessert – Caramel-Dipped Pretzel Rods with Candy Toppings – which is pretty much as it sounds. Once again melted Milk Duds provided the caramel layer, Blommer’s chocolate (white and dark) coated some of the pretzels, and the candy toppings are all Chicago favorites from local factories: Lemonheads, Red Hots, even Cracker Jacks.
These would be a great treat for children’s parties – even the grown-up kids among us!
These would be a great treat for children’s parties – even the grown-up kids among us!
Because too much is never enough, Ilise also led a rousing game of Chicago candy trivia during our dessert course. The prizes were … samples of the candies in question. No sugar overload was had that evening, nosiree! You’ll have a chance to test your knowledge of Chicago candies in an upcoming post.
Piper is ready for the next trip to market. Photo by Karen Wollins.
Okay, that’s it for our staycation dinner in Sweet Home Chicago. It’s nice to explore our city’s rich culinary tradition, and even better to taste, bite, sip and savor it! The next Foodie Group dinner is coming up next month – we’ll keep you posted.
Want more stories about our Foodie Group theme dinners? Find them here.
Do you have a cooking/dining/gourmet group? Tell us about it in the comments.
Photos by Ann Johnson and Ilise Goldberg unless otherwise noted
Want more stories about our Foodie Group theme dinners? Find them here.
Do you have a cooking/dining/gourmet group? Tell us about it in the comments.
Photos by Ann Johnson and Ilise Goldberg unless otherwise noted
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