Caramel Pecan Buche de Noel

Can you believe Christmas is already over? I had so much to do this year the week before that I really waited until the last minute to do all my shopping. Still, the way the holiday fell this year I somehow felt like I had more time prior to Christmas day than other years. We drove back to Cincinnati Saturday morning and I started baking pretty much from the moment I arrived. I made double and triple batches of all my favorite cookies and was contemplating whether or not to just leave it at that. 

Since I finished all my shopping Sunday, I decided I had enough time to attempt something a bit more ambitious: a buche de noel (that's yule log, for those of you who have long forgotten your high school French). I think I made one of these many years ago, but it had definitely been awhile. I was inspired by this recipe to make it a flavored log, and boy was it worth it. This recipe was pretty time-consuming start to finish, and I definitely had a freak out moment while making the frosting because it took way longer than the recipe instructed to set, but the end result was so worth it. I think the meringue mushrooms made the entire thing--so realistic, don't you think? Then I got really fancy and smushed up some gummy drops and cut out leaves and petals to make an edible pointsettia garnish.

Our dinner Christmas night was so rich, but everyone managed to eat a lovely hunk of log, drizzled with some caramel sauce and accompanied by none other than Graeter's butter pecan ice cream. 

And now, we diet.

Pork and Bean Chili

It was finally chili weather this weekend! A couple of cooler days put us in the mood to make chili for friends coming over for a party on Sunday afternoon. I thought this chili was delicious the first time around, but even better as leftovers tonight. Though pretty much all our party guests felt a little sick after leaving our house, I blame that on the ginormous bowl of guacamole, taco pie, chips and pumpkin bars I made. Or it could be the fact that while this recipe called for 1 pound of pork Peter actually used 8, even though all other ingredients were only tripled. Regardless, it was tasty stuff and I'd definitely make it again.

I'd like to dedicate this recipe to Eunice, who like me loves all things containing beans.

Ingredients:
3 Tb olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 medium celery stalks, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 pound pork sirloin, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1/2-inch dice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
1/8 tsp ground sage
1 cup beef broth
1 14 1/2-oz can peeled tomatoes (undrained, and we used the fire roasted kind)

2 15-ounce white (cannellini) beans, drained and rinsed

Accompaniments:
Grated cheddar and/or Monterey Jack cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Pat pork dry. Add to skillet, season with salt and pepper and cook until browned, stirring frequently, approximately 6 minutes.

Add pork to vegetables. Blend in chili, cumin, oregano and sage and stir 3 minutes. Add broth to skillet and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Stir into pork mixture. Add tomatoes with liquid and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until pork is tender, stirring occasionally, approximately 1 hour.

Add beans to mixture and stir until heated through. Spoon into bowls and top as desired with accompaniments.

Serves: 2 to 4 (or an army, should you happen to use 8 pounds of pork instead of the prescribed 1)

Recipe adapted from Epicurious.com

Tru

I didn't have overly high hopes for Tru. Sure, it's one of the so-called "great" Chicago restaurants but I'd heard from several people I know that it was overpriced, pretentious, and not worth the time and money. After our pretty perfect meal to celebrate our second anniversary last night I couldn't disagree more.

Despite calling a month prior, the earliest reservation put us at 9:45 pm. We took long, late afternoon naps to prepare to make sure we could fully appreciate the experience. We walked in through the lounge that's filled with lots of cool art of various sorts. The dining room is a large room with exquisitely high ceilings and the windows covered with soft white curtains. Given the late hour I expected the place to be clearing out but every table was filled and several parties were seated AFTER we were.

This place is all about the little details and they get major points from me in this area. A tiny stool just to store my purse for the evening (available for purchase online, of course). Customized menus printed to wish us a happy anniversary. The choice between white or black cloth napkins depending on what suits your outfit. Service timed such that everything happens in a synchronized fashion, from the unveiling of each course to the simple pouring of water.

We opted to try two of the tasting "collections." Peter chose the Chef's Market Collection and I went with the more seasonal Autumn Collection. Each featured nine courses, not including small extras like a delightful amuse bouche of tomato gelee and unlimited bread in three varieties. We both enjoyed nearly every course, and noted that the portion sizes were considerably larger than those we received at Charlie Trotter's. Highlights from my meal were the red and yellow beets, the almond-poached poussin (wow, this was stellar) and the homemade tagliatelli. Peter enjoyed the sashimi (it came with an unbelievable white soy sauce that had hints of pineapple) and the whipped salt cod, which I tried to eat as much of as he'd let me.

Both menus ended with a cheese course and dessert. The cheese cart featured three glorious rows of cheese separated into groupings based on the type of milk they were made of: cow, goat and sheep. We each chose three different selections and enjoyed the accompaniments of fruit and nut bread, fresh figs, apple chutney and champagne grapes. Our desserts were good but not great. I've had better sticky toffee pudding (one of my faves) but Peter's cherry coupe was a nice and light option. Each came accompanied by a homemade root beer float and were served with the painted plate pictured above wishing us a happy 2nd anniversary. Just when we thought we couldn't hold another bite, another cart of mignardises arrived at our table and we enjoyed a selection of tiny sweets including blackberry gelee, peanut butter fudge, pistachio toffee and homemade lollipops.

We didn't see a formal wine pairing option on the menu but did have the knowledgeable sommelier guide us to an extremely nice bottle of 2003 Savennieres, what I'd call an 'interesting' Loire valley chenin blanc. Its gorgeous honey color and taste to match made it the perfect complement to our courses across the board. As I'd never heard of the wine I asked our server to please write the name down for me. To my surprise and delight he went a step beyond and carefully removed the label off the bottle, taped it to a Tru notecard, and presented it to me at the end of our meal. Our other parting gifts included copies of our customized menus and an adorable mini loaf of pumpkin bread.

I found the service to be perfectly friendly and not overbearing. All in all, a truly lovely evening and way to spend an evening. Two years into our marriage I couldn't feel luckier to be married to a wonderful man and living in a city with such phenomenal food.

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The damage: at $545 including gratuity it was just shy of what we spent at Trotter's, but we felt like the overall experience was worth much more.

Food: 4 3/4 out of 5 forks - excellent, and you won't leave hungry.

Romance: 4 3/4 out of 5 kisses - maybe we were just in exceedingly good moods, but it was pretty darned romantical!

Watch out for: the length of your meal. Ours took 4 hours so it was after 1 am when we finally left! Just be sure to get up and walk around a few times to keep the blood flowing in your legs, and you'll have fun checking out the super cool sinks in the bathroom.

Tru
676 N. St. Clair
Chicago, IL 60614
(312) 202-0001
www.trurestaurant.com