a night at the chopping block

i'm in the middle of working on a different kind of piece compared to what i've been doing—hopefully the good kind of different—that i'll have finished tomorrow, but in the meantime i wanted to get something up before the day closed out on me.

a couple weeks ago stephanie asked if i wouldn't mind taking pictures at an event she was doing downtown. if you read about our first event together, you know i rock out at these things, pretending i know what i'm doing when asked to help out in the kitchen. but pictures? no problem.

we were at the chopping block, which is on the first floor of the merchandise mart on wells. for those versed in chicago architecture, you know the merchandise mart has the most square footage of almost any building in the world—so much footage that the thing has its own zip code. and the chopping block itself is the closest thing to a cook's chuckie cheese you'll ever find. a retail store semi-resemblant of williams-sonoma dorns the front, and down below are glass walls that stretch from floor to ceiling, showcasing the enormous test kitchen where classes are held ritually. the appliances are new and sparkling and the tile work is immaculately laid, its sandstone hue emitting something like old world charm to a place so modern and fabricated. like something out of a dream. and across from this, secluded by thick rolling partitions, was the demo kitchen, where steph played host for the night.

fifty guests paid a pretty penny for the event, and in turn sat down to a printed menu showcasing five courses, each course broken down step by step for the guest to not only take home, but to follow along with as steph prepared each dish throughout the evening. and to boot, appliances called for with each dish were marked at a discounted price for everybody there. not such a bad marketing scheme, eh?

dave wound up needing my hands in the kitchen, and as the night progressed, the photo taking slipped farther and farther away. and no, this time no arugula was harmed by my hands in the making of the dinner. though maybe a tomato or two didn't find as much luck...

the menu:

mini bacon yorkshire pudding with smoked salmon and mascarpone
•
chilled yellow tomato and vanilla bean soup with lump crab and basil
•
seared diver scallops with heirloom tomato and truffle-poblano vinaigrette
•
roasted pork tenderloin with savory oatmeal, fig sauce and fig tapenade
•
frozen nougat with peach and tomato coulis

and shots that made the cut...










like i said, tomorrow i'll be rolling with something a little different. keep your eyes peeled. and in the meantime, i'll soon begin a routine guest commentary portion to the site, and you'd do me a huge thrill to show interest in pitching an idea on a piece for it. comment with interest, or shoot me a more detailed email: johnnyauer@gmail.com!

and check out steph's post about the night, as well (we both have an informality with capitalization).