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In the West Hood – A Provencal Spring Potluck Dinner

March 8, 2016December 11, 2016Leave a comment

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Yes, Donna Hesik and Jean True hosted the LDE networking dinner on Sunday. Jean had a home emergency, so Donna graciously invited us to her home in Oak Brook. Donna and Jean had a wonderful time planning, cooking, and, enjoying a glass of Provencal Rose when Suzanne Florek, Jen Lamplough, Julie Ratowitz arrived. We also welcomed 2 prospective members, Raeanne Sarazen and Toni Cox.

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To sit around a beautiful table with spring colors, tulips, and French Limoges china, added to the magic of great conversation while we served a five course dinner! Perfectly blanched garden asparagus topped with a poached egg and lemon zest, lamb chops and tarragon chicken with lentils and 20160306_203545 parsnips, rounded out with ratatouille, followed by a frisee-lardon salad, French cheeses, and chocolate gateau and the best macarons. Julia would have been proud!

And, network we did…. For how do we balance family, friends, and our professional lives? Age ‘ol problems for us all, but, to discuss 20160306_203600 and mentor with our culinary friends, well……..it was quite magical. We all agreed that to share our professional knowledge with other Les Dames, we will receive so much more to enrich our lives.

Dames Who Read: Gumbo Tales

February 19, 2016December 10, 2016Leave a comment

Eleven Dames found their place at New Orlean’s Table over Hurricanes and Sazeracs while listening to Jimmy Bannos relate his adventures in the Crescent City which inspired him to create Heaven on Seven. t-shirt

Sara Roahen’s “Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at New Orlean’s Table” was the perfect foil for bringing the tight knit Book Club Dames even closer together. Each meeting reveals more and more about our members’ backgrounds and passions. The food that feeds us also binds us. Who knew that Diane Sokolofski was proposed to in New Orleans and that Catherine Deevy spent two years working for the Brennans?

Each member shared a special moment whether at the renown Antoine’s in its heyday, at Galatoire’s on a Friday afternoon or brushing off the powdered sugar at Café du Monde or The Morning Call. K-Pauls served up some fond memories for other members.

chicken sausage gumbo

fried Jimmy feted us to his special rendition of Parmesano-Reggiano grits with shrimp and debris, sweet potato polenta, andouille and his fabulous chicken and sausage gumbo. No New Orleans meal could be complete without some signature desserts and this one was no exception–Peanut Butter Pie, Pecan Pie, Key Lime Pie, Warm Chocolate Pie and and Bread Pudding delighted the Dames.

signature desserts

more desserts Once again, thank you Judith Hines for matching the perfect restaurant for Nina Barrett’s perfect book selection. Laissez les bons temps roulez at the next book club set for Late April or early May.

Judith you are the best!

Happy Holidays from The Roberti Community House

December 22, 2015Leave a comment

Roberti.2015 Dear Mary, Julie, Ann and Les Dames,

The Roberti Community House extends warm holiday greetings to members of Les Dames d’Escoffier! Your generous support of our Garden to Table programming enabled the RCH to have an extremely successful 2015. We were able to involve a greater number of neighbors in the process of planting and growing healthy farm fresh produce. Once the crops were harvested, neighbors gathered in the kitchen and learned how to utilize these fruits and vegetables in the preparation of delicious, nutritious family meals.

We expanded our adult summer cooking classes to two days a week with “tastings” in the garden every Tuesday. Not only did children in the Junior Green Youth Farm learn how to prepare the foods they grew but also our new series of Junior Chef cooking classes received rave reviews!

With your assistance, we are making a genuine difference in the community. More people now have access to fresh produce during the growing season. Children who spend time in the garden are excited about watching plants grow and consequently they are more inclined to try a wide variety of vegetables. We believe that teaching families how to prepare and enjoy tasty, nutritional foods will make a lasting difference in their diet and will improve their health!

Attached are photos from our cooking classes as well as a brief snippet from a cooking video. {Click on the movie camera to watch the cooking video.} Women cooking in the kitchen are often so pleased with what they are doing that they spontaneously burst into song.

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2016!!

Maribeth Roberti
Executive Director

Dames Who Drink Holiday Brunch

December 15, 2015Leave a comment

Submitted by Karen Levin.

On an unseasonably warm winter day, nearly 20 Dames members and guests met up at the bustling Beatrix restaurant downtown for the annual holiday brunch, December 12, 2015.

Though we were a bit disappointed about being partially split up because of the busy holiday shopping crowds, everyone remarked they had a lovely time catching up with friends and meeting new ones.

To make up for the mishap, the on-shift manager started us off with heaping plates of house-baked pastries like banana-walnut muffins, chocolaty coffee cake and almond croissants, which we happily indulged in alongside our strong coffee, mimosas and more. Some opted for the lighter fare like quinoa cakes with tomato-basil sauce and poached eggs while others kept it simple with eggs over easy and sweet and savory, crispy maple syrup bacon. Standouts were Bea’s cheese blintzes with blueberry compote and lemon, and the green chili enchiladas with roasted poblano peppers, baby kale and Chihuahua cheese.

The wait staff was very attentive throughout the meal and finishing up, was kind enough to honor separate checks. It was a great way to kick off the holiday season. We look forward to reuniting at Julie Chernoff’s holiday potluck and other upcoming Les Dames events.

Dames Who Read: Tomorrow There will be Apricots

November 20, 2015December 11, 2016Leave a comment

Submitted by Dame Toria Emas

Straight out of Persia, Noon-o-Kabab was the perfect location for last week’s Book Club discussion of Tomorrow There will be Apricots by Jessica Soffer. The Book Club is like a family we choose; much like the characters in the book who mentally wrestle with their given family and seek the comfort of others to replace the family that they were given.

This time, poignant stories from “sister” Dames reflected the central character’s desire to be needed, valued and loved. Food is the medium that brought us together. Over shared platters of Persian salad, Kash-Ke-Bademjan, Dolmeh and Masgout with two styles of rice, the twelve Dames in attendence felt the soothing, healing powers of food and the bonds that family brings to the table. Continue reading “Dames Who Read: Tomorrow There will be Apricots” →

2015 New Member Reception

October 22, 2015Leave a comment

Returning Cheryl Lucas.Donna Pierce, and Carol Haddix — Returning member Cheryl Lucas with Donna Pierce, and Carol Haddix

On Monday, October 19, over two dozen Dames gathered at President Julie Chernoff’s landmark Evanston home for the annual New Members Reception, attended by some of our newest Dames (classes of 2014 and 2015), board members and past presidents.

It was an uncharacteristically warm October evening as we enjoyed fascinating conversation and some beautiful wines (courtesy of Catherine Koelling, Carol Haddix, Veronica Hastings and Josh Chernoff), including an impressive magnum of Miraval Rose that didn’t linger for long!

Conversation flowed as we nibbled on Three Bean Salad (Margaret Laport), Kale, Pear and Cashel Blue Salad with Marcona Almonds (Jen Lamplough), Charcuterie and Cheese Platters (Julie Chernoff), and a lovely olive selection (Carol Haddix). Continue reading “2015 New Member Reception” →

2015 Scholarship Recipients Reception

September 23, 2015Leave a comment

Mike Riley and his team at Le Cordon Bleu culinary college hosted our Les Dames Scholarship reception Tuesday September 15. They provided an enticing assortment of charcuterie, assorted vegetables and sauces, augmented by several member’s donations of exquisite cheese, seafood, and fabulous pastries. All of this was complemented by a thirst quenching Prosecco cocktail, made with raspberry cardamom syrup. Thanks go out to Patty Erd, Sofia Solomon, Anne Kauffmann, Melissa Yen and Veronica Hastings.

Many Dames turned out to congratulate the scholarship recipients, all of whom attended except one whose kitchen duty had not yet ended. Many of the newly assigned mentors were also present and it was a festive evening. Patty Erd made nice certificates which she handed out as she introduced this year’s recipients and they each spoke for a few minutes about what they hoped would happen in their future in the culinary world. This year’s group is comprised of many interesting international components. One lady is about to embark on a 6- month stage in France; another is a Russian national who plans on settling in Chicago to establish a career in hospitality. Another is American raised in China and is inspired to fuse both cultures into her love of cooking, and yet another lady originally from Mexico is tempted to do further studies for baking in Italy before opening her own store in Chicago. Compared to past years the applications, this year’s were not many, 30 in all. Eleven applicants stood out and after the interviews seven scholars were chosen. All of the Scholarship committee members were inspired to choose a recipient as a mentor, which was a great natural progression in the whole process.

One of our ladies, Jessica Pamonicutt, had just given birth to a baby, premature by five weeks, and has been in the hospital with her baby every day. She was determined she was going to make it in spite of that. During the reception we received a call that she could not make it. Imagine our surprise, when right as Patty was introducing the ladies, she walked in with her husband. They had been living at the hospital for the last week, and told us how happy they were to eat some good food, because the hospital food was just awful. We asked the chef to pack up a big goodie bag for them, and when Anne saw Patty adding a few pastries to the bag; she went back to the kitchen and got them a whole tray of beautiful macaroons to take along. Jessica’s husband, Antonio, works third shift at a hospital near where their baby is, and was so excited to take those to work and share them.

Our favorite moment of the party was when Anne handed him the tray and he said “I knew I was gonna love these ladies!” Jessica wrote this to Patty: “It was a well needed break for both of us… walking into an applause was a priceless moment for me. It really made me feel good after a really hard day at the hospital. You ladies are amazing. And I am so honored to have been selected and to be part of your group.” Jessica Pamonicutt really caught the committee’s attention through her passion to pass on healthy and tasty food habits to her Native American Reservation, as if having a pre-mature baby was not enough she is already developing this program for her Reservation.

Veronica Hastings will head the Scholarship Committee next year, if you are interested in working on this rewarding committee, or would like more information please call or email her: 773-366-9463 or Veronica@H2vino.com.