The Roberti Community House, Les Dames d’Escoffier Chicago’s community service project, has become an integral part of the community of Waukegan, providing a haven for its neighbors.
In addition to providing opportunities for learning, the RCH offers a respite from personal struggles and the joy that comes from simply being among friends. One of the primary tenets of the RCH is to encourage and develop the strengths and leadership skills of our neighbors.
See the video here!
Sunday Dinner Club chef/owners Christine Cikowski and Josh Kulp welcomed us in to their private dinner club with open arms, and we left with full stomachs. The four-course meal was paired with beverages from Vinic Wine in Evanston, hand-selected by owner Sandeep Ghaey especially for Les Dames.
Once up the steep staircase into the second-floor dining space above the delectable Honey Butter Fried Chicken (also owned by Cikowski and Kulp), guests were greeted with a welcome drink, the “Haroset,” a tasty blend of Virtue Cider, Dead Arm Shiraz and Bellota acorn liqueur (from my recent Spanish trip), served cold with a cinnamon stick garnish. This started off the Jewish-themed menu with a kick!
After a debriefing on the history of Sunday Dinner Club by our hosts, we enjoyed the piping hot “liquid gold”(as Ina called it): Homemade Chicken Soup with organic chicken breast, root vegetables and fresh egg noodles. The second course was “Lox and Bagels,” or in this case, silky smooth House-Cured Salmon with everything cream cheese, preserved lemons, radish sprouts and BroBagel chips. These two courses paired beautifully with the Bertrand Crèmant de Limoux Rosé ($16/bottle), a crisp, clean bubbly. Continue reading “Dames Dine at Sunday Dinner Club”
The Annual LDEI Conference, this year held in Boston at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, was a tremendous success, with the highest conference attendance in years. There was representation from all chapters, including Canada and London.
For those who arrived by Thursday, there were terrific and intimate tours of Boston’s many neighborhoods and attractions, including the Italian North End (led by Dame Michele Topor) and the Best of Beacon Hill (led by Dame Judith Ackerman). Following the Opening Reception at the hotel, many opted to participate in the Restaurant Dine Around, which included Dame Jody Adams’ Rialto Restaurant, Dame Lydia Shire’s Scampo, and Dame Mary Dumont’s Harvest.
Friday’s keynote, “Women in Whites: Where Would the Food World Be Without the Women?” was delivered by chef and TV personality Sara Moulton, who spoke to the complex issue of why female food professionals receive less media attention than they deserve. A roundtable on Women, Food and the Media followed. Well-concepted concurrent sessions were held both before and after the Partners’ Showcase luncheon. The evening ended on a high note—literally—as buses whisked the Dames and their guests to the Prudential Center Skywalk Observatory for “Spirits, Soul and Season,” a Halloween celebration up on the 50th floor. The panoramic 360-degree view of Boston was spectacular, as were the costumes, the cocktails and the food, an updated New England-style clambake. Continue reading “The Best Begins in Boston – 2014”
In what has become an annual tradition, the 2014-15 Board Members and Past Presidents welcomed new members to a reception at President Julie Chernoff’s Evanston home. Delicious appetizers, tasty wines and great conversation were the order of the day, all capped off by Mary McMahon’s homemade pie.
Here’s a super-easy recipe for Julie’s “Cheater’s Cheese Soufflé,” best served with whole-grain crackers and crudités.
Cheater’s Cheese Soufflé
Ingredients
Three 8 ounce packages cream cheese
1 pound grated Gruyère/Emanthaler cheese
4 eggs plus 2 egg whites
Salt & pepper
Method
1. In bowl of food processor, combine cream cheese, grated Gruyère/Emanthaler cheese, eggs and egg whites, salt and pepper.
2. Pulse to combine, then purée for 4 minutes until fully incorporated and fluffy, scraping down sides as needed.
3. Pour into buttered soufflé dish and refrigerate one hour.
4. Place in a cold oven and heat to 350°F. Bake for one hour until deep brown crust forms and soufflé is set. Serve immediately.
Sue Gin was a long time member of the Chicago Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier having been inducted in 1984, when the group was only two years old.
Sue Gin (1941-2014), Founder and CEO of Flying Food Group for over three decades, died September 26 at Rush University Medical Center, after suffering a stroke earlier in the week at her Chicago headquarters. She was 73.
Sue founded Flying Food Group in 1983 at Chicago’s Midway (International) Airport, with one airline catering kitchen and a single domestic airline customer.
With Sue at the helm, Flying Food Group has grown to a $436 million global enterprise with a network of 20 production kitchens stretching from Honolulu to New York City. Customers include over 70 of the world’s leading airlines—primarily international—and retail partners, including Starbucks.
If you’d like to read more about Sue’s, go to the Chicago Tribune.
A lovely champagne reception was held September 2 at Kendall College to introduce our membership to the recipients of the 2014 Scholarship Awards. We were very proud to be able to offer $30,000 in scholarships this year due to our successful Swank-a- licious fund raiser this past spring. Eight ladies from seven different schools were chosen and happily, all were present. We had a nice turnout of about 40 and it was an enjoyable opportunity to mingle with our recipients and each other. A big thank you to Barbara Glunz for the delicious wine, Sofia Solomon for her stellar cheese selection, Julie Chernoff for the antipasto platter, Anne Kaufmann and the French Pastry School for their sweet treats, Patty Erd for organizing and Kendall College for hosting. The Scholarship committee was made up of Patty Erd, Polly Peters, Melissa Yen, Sofia Solomon, Dana Benigno, and Portia Bellow-Lowndes, we thank them for their contribution.
If anyone has a desire to be on this very rewarding committee for the 2015 scholarships, please contact Patty Erd at spices@thespicehouse.com. Thank you also to our scholarship recipients for having the courage to take the microphone and tell us a little bit about themselves. In addition to the scholarships we are providing, it is also our goal to provide each woman with a mentor. If you have any interest in taking up one of these important mentorship roles, please contact the Mentor Chair, Melissa Yen, whose email is melissa@josnowsyrups.com. For those of you not in attendance, below is more information about each of these talented ladies who are sure to go far. Congratulations to each of them.
Kristin Gleeson is enrolled in the Patisserie and Baking program at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. Continue reading “2014 Scholarship Recipients”
For their summer reading, Dames Who Read chose Molly O’Neill’s book MOSTLY TRUE, A Memoir of Family, Food and Baseball and met at the perfectly appropriate restaurant to hold the discussion: Harry Caray’s 7th Inning Stretch in the Water Tower.
Dame Shannon Kinsella, who chose the book, began the evening by telling of her personal friendship with the author and several amazing similarities the two share, including growing up with a house full of brothers and changing career paths along their way to the world of food.
Along with a discussion of the many family dynamics in the book, there was much lively discussion of our own family relationships and each Dame recounted her personal career path, revealing that our group has many hidden talents and backgrounds: would-be lawyers, writers, interior designers, marketing and communications gurus and one commercial food equipment specialist were all present to celebrate their happy landings in the culinary industry.
After a tasting of sliders, eggplant parm and chicken vesuvio skewers and bacon-wrapped scallops –and all of that lively discussion– the group ended the evening in the Chicago Sports Museum where their athletic sides were Continue reading “Mostly True by Mollie O’Neal”
