Moto Restaurant with My Mom

As I mentioned, I recently enjoyed a fantastical dinner at Moto restaurant with my mom, courtesy of chef and mastermind of molecular gastronomy, Homaro Cantu.
When our 10s, or ten course meal, began with the words, "You may now eat your menu," it was clear we were in for an unusual evening. Had we been more strategic, we would have eaten a large breakfast and then nibbled lightly, very lightly during the day in order to prepare our bodies for this marathon of meals, ten courses at Moto.

Each staff person we encountered at Moto was either a culinary student or graduate of such a school. Take for instance, the dapper Trevor Hamblin, who gave us thorough descriptions of each course (twice), each drink, patiently answered our many questions and chatted more amicably with my mother than I did (kidding!).

After noshing on our menus, we were eager for the first course: chicaqua ("shee-cah-gwa") onions, the city's namesake. Cute, tiny, pink onions with a bulb the size of my 10 year-old son’s pinky nail served with flat bread. Delightful.
It could take as long to blog this meal as it did to eat--2.5 hours(!), so I'll share highlights.

The chef works with trained sommeliers to come up with pleasing combinations. The most interesting pairing was this German rauche bier or smoked beer. Mmm. tastes like bacon...and beer. Interesting.

The "Reuben lasagna," looked like the latter, but tasted like the former. Consisting of brisket, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut, the sandwich, I mean lasagna, smelled like a childhood memory, but I'm not sure which one. Trying to place that elusive scent, I kept sniffing, deeply inhaling to no avail, but fortunately did not draw attention from curious onlookers.
The Cuban pork sandwich was a definite win and the presentation was brilliant.
The cigar-sandwich consisted of braised pork confit and (something else), mixed with in-house pickles and white bread, deep fried, wrapped in braised collard greens then in smoked red pepper puree sitting atop a bed of ash made of black and white sesame seed ground with Cuban spices. The presentation is wonderful. It was a bit salty, but overall crisp, chewy, and satisfying.

Bubble Tea?No, watermelon soup! This got points for originality, but then again so did every other course of the evening. Dig if you will this picture, watermelon consomme with ginger and lemon, “scallop sous vide in lemon oil” with citrus peel for flavor and a bit of mint. The broth itself was intriguing, but the fish combo didn't work for my Mom or me. For what it's worth, I'm not a huge fan of Bubble Tea, either.

How about rabbit maki risotto? Looks like sushi, but it's not. This mouthful was made with rabbit loin and brussels sprouts wrapped in mushroom paper and rolled in rice, as well as sesame and poppy seeds. It was served with aoli with allspice, and daikon marinated in beet juice instead of ginger and freeze-dried peas instead of wasabi. Tasty as long I could keep thoughts of cute little bunnies out of my head.

Remember our patient waiter? He must have thought I was hard of hearing I asked him to describe this next dish over and over again. Broccoli rabe and pork belly braised in stock that starts with caramel and is flavored with lemon grass, chili, and like five other things that boil down into the glaze.

The dish was too complicated for me to transcribe (did I mention the many glasses of wine?) no matter how many times Trevor repeated it. Mushroom stems pureed blah blah and made into what sounds like a meringue version of the original mushroom. WTH? But, oh, look how lovely!
Delicious course; I especially liked the sweet and delicious glaze that had just a hint of spice.

Not quite, but close to dessert, we enjoyed this classic Italian dessert morphed into a savory Mexican one.

The actual dessert courses included Pad Thai-esque sorbet," mango cream, vanilla rice pudding, coconut sorbet, and lime slice made out of thai basil, cilantro and lime juice Mom told me she'll never look at pad thai the same way.


We ended the meal, which felt like more of an event, really, with a root beer float Moto-style. That is, a beaker of locally brewed root beer topped with a vanilla infused packing peanut dipped in liquid nitrogen, for a magical effect.


Our dinner at Moto was an unforgettable mother-daughter experience, but heck, dining partners aside, dinner at Moto is just plain memorable.

Food for April Fools Day

There's always room for foodie fun on April Fools Day!

One year, I took salad plates and covered them in vanilla yogurt and topped each one with a half of a bright yellow-orange canned peach and told the boys I was serving up giant eggs. They totally fell for the surprise, much to my delight--and theirs.

Another time, we made faux sushi with Froot by the Foot to substitute for the nori (seaweed wrapper) and coconut flakes instead of rice. We didn't fool anyone, but we did have a lot of fun making it.

Last year, my boys created a lot of fun/disgusting treats with the Spatulatta girls. Click through to the videos to learn how to make a Moldy Sandwich and Kitty Litter Cake, among other delights. Did I say delights? Ewwww!

Ninja Master Blender and Starbucks VIA: A Video Review and Giveaway

When I received samples of Starbucks VIA and my Ninja Master Blender (turn down your sound before click) for review in the same week, I was inspired to try them out together in one tasty review.

Watch as I mix up a fancypants homemade coffee drink in my Ninja.  https://youtu.be/NZljZZFlKJk (

I enjoyed my iced mocha-like drink and the Ninja cleanup was simple.

I'm not one for drinking coffee straight, that is without a bit of mocha and topped with whipped cream, but I brought a few samples of VIA home from BlogHer09 courtesy of SoCal Vacation Gal Jennifer Miner, anyway. I gave them to my mom and she's now a huge fan of it. Gosh, I feel kind of like a drug dealer. The woman is now hooked.

Don't tell mom, but now I've got a few extra VIA samples to share with you along with a coupon for a can of Reddi-Wip whipped cream, so you can make your own fru-fru coffee drink.

US residents only, leave a comment by Sunday, October 12 at 1:00 PM CST . For extra entries, tweet or blog about the contest and come back to let me know in a new comment. Winner will be chosen at random.

Edited to add: After making the coffee drinks, my crew couldn't wait to try making other items with the Ninja Blender, so we followed up with guacamole and deliciously smooth mashed potatoes. The blender is a hit and I can tell we're going to be putting it to the test over the coming weeks.

Pirate Booty: My Boys are Hooked

I planned to share a treasure chest full of Pirate Booty products that the company sent me with a group of tween boys. As I imagined it, we'd do in an organized, if not sophisticated, tasting, working our way through the product line.

What was I thinking? They snarfed up the snacks right away; they practically inhaled one bag as I turned my back to open the next. I was tempted to serve up a bowl of packing peanuts topped with garlic salt just to make sure they were paying attention.

I managed to take a few quick notes during this process, though.

Veggie Booty was an old hit in our house. It was a favorite snack when my boys were toddlers during the early days of this millennium. It turns out the product isn't quite as healthy as it claimed to be back in the day, but labeling adjustments have been made. Because I had a bit of proverbial egg on my face for having been a vocal word-of-mouth promoter of the unbelievably healthy snack I wasn't a paid advocate-after all this was in the days before momblogs- but all my friends served Booty to their kids; I had talked it up as an amazing way to get some veggies and fiber into their little bodies.

Sooo, I guess I'm more unresolved about that than I realized.

Anyway, after the salmonella scare had cleared (in early 2007) we returned to the brand because damn it, my kids love the stuff.

I thought we'd sampled all of their product line-- puffy rice snacks and crunchy corn creations- until I received the pack.

Sea salt and vinegar? ("Delicious, but a bit sour, but not as strong as most chips. Goes well with the puffiness," according to my boys.)

Barbeque? ("So good! Yum!")

Onion? ("So good! Tastes like onion rings, but smells like blah.")

Who knew about all these newfangled flavors?

The Tings are crispy, like a certain "rhymes with feetos" snack, but come without the seemingly toxic bright orange gunk. In fact, they are just naked, crispy goodness. Tings are way better than "feetos" to serve to a basement full of videogaming boys. And by better, I mean less cheesy orange damage to the house and Wii remotes.

That said, I take issue with the "nutritious" on the front of the bag. To me nutritious suggests a food loaded with vitamins and fiber (think, a tangerine). I mean, you could do worse than Tings or Booty puffs for a snack and I like my boys to enjoy a "chippy" starch in their lunches or as part of an after-school snack, so I do buy these for my family, but let's not pretend they're nutritious.

Overall, the new flavors were a hit with the kids. With a little more truth in labeling (especially considering their--our-- history), they'll be a hit with mom, too.

Oh, and based on experience, the Booty products go stale quickly; you'll want to finish the bag within a day or two---fortunately, this is rarely a problem in our house. If you're serving them at a party it's best to wait until the last minute to empty them into a serving bowl.

Yes I can...make horseradish

Amy over at MomAdvice writes up what she calls a weekly notebook experiment where she often tries making this or that new food. I channeled her as I decided to whip up a batch of horseradish for this week's Passover seders. Horseradish is the condiment of choice for gefilte fish, which itself is the traditional Passover appetizer. If you click on this link, you will understand why I chose to try the condiment, rather than the fish.

When I Googled for a recipe, I found one from my blog sister Andrea from Andrea's Recipes. I know she knows food, so I gave her recipe a try. I noticed that she made hers outside, but from what I learned on Google, sensed I could try it indoors without overwhelming my senses.

Unlike what you see on her blog. I began with one long, firm horseradish root. It was so huge, it resembled a femur (but feel free to insert a phallic or dildo joke in the comments if you're up for it).

In my kitchen, I chopped it by hand into 2 inch bits and tossed it into a blender with water and cider vinegar, per the recipe. I'd also roasted a few pieces of beet and added a handful of those to the blender. It gives the prepared horseradish a nice pink color and adds a hint of sweetness.

I decided to run the blender on our porch because I'd read that this is where the smell can start getting unbearable. A few minutes later, my pink condiment was almost ready. I lined a colander with paper towels and drained my mixture.

After draining it for a minute or two, I spooned the mixture into storage containers. That's when the fumes became intense. My eyes stung and began to water as I scooped up the prepared horseradish.

I called DH in for a taste test (I'll wait to eat it at seder). It didn't make him cry, but I don't know if that's good or bad. He likes intensely spicy foods that give him a near-death experience. Me? Not so much.

On a related note, do you include a Miriam's Cup as part of your seder? Click through for ideas on how to incorporate this. After all, a little Girl Power is a good thing. Unless you ask my niece (just click).

Also, you don't have to be Jewish to love this amazing Passover dessert that's good all year long.

Cross-posted to Hormone-colored Days.

Spatulatta Filming: April Fools!

Earlier this month, my boys filmed a webcast for Spatulatta.com, the award-winning by kids/for kids cooking show. They were filming for the April Fool's Day show and made faux gross, that is, foods that look disgusting, but are quite tasty. April Fools!

Here a few a few photos from the shoot to tide you over until the webisode goes live.









Photos include making a "moldy" sandwich, doggy-doo fudge, and kitty litter cake (yum!).

Family Farmed Media Meet-up

Cross-posted from my personal blog, Hormone-colored Days.

Later today I'm taking part in an exciting private media event for the farmers and producers who will be exhibiting their goods at the upcoming Family Farmed Expo.

The Family Farmed folks have assembled an impressive panel of traditional media folks to share advice on how to these producers can effectively connect with media and share their stories. And I'm going to be part of the panel as well! I'll be offering tips on connecting with new media types and using social media.

As you read the list of panel members below, you'll quickly see why I am proud to be a part of this event:
Monica Eng, reporter at Chicago Tribune
Ann Flood, editor-in-chief of Edible Chicago
David Hammond, founder of LTHForum.com, contributor to TheLocalBeet, WBEZ radio, Time Out! Chicago and Chicago Reader, among others
Kim Moldofsky, blogger and social media consultant
Cassie Walker, senior editor of Chicago magazine

I sent out a quick tweet asking for ideas about how farmers can use social media and got back several interesting ideas. I'll be back with the tweets and more details after the event.