Month-Long Specials and New Chicago French Market Offerings

Bello Tea has added several new fall drinks to its menu including the Gingerbread Tea Latte, the Pumpkin Spice Tea Latte, and the Pumpkin Spice Bubble Tea. Bello's fall offerings will be having you come back frequently throughout October. "The Gingerbread Tea Latte is amazingly delicious, says owner Tammy Reddy. "And what could be better than pumpkin pie flavor in a warm cozy drink? The Pumpkin Spice Tea Latte with its seasonal blend of pumpkin pie spices and other natural flavors is a yummy fall drink addition to our menu."

 

City Fresh Market has added two new items to its Tuesday lunch menu. The Chevap Sandwich includes house-made grilled Pork and Lamb Sausages, Roasted Red Pepper Relish, Butter and Parmesan Spread on homemade Pita Bread, and the Serbian Burger (Pljeskavica), made from the same meats as the Chevap but in patty form with the same toppings and pita. Both are only $5.99 and available on Tuesdays only.  
City Fresh Market also has added a fresh "make your own" Salad Bar.  Choose from a wide variety of greens, assorted vegetables, an array of toppings and salad dressings, $7.99 per pound.   

 

 

Lavazza Espression

Lavazza Espression is proud to share their new fall additions to their menu:

• Pumpkin Cheese Cake $4.50
• Pumpkin Gelato, Butter Pecan Gelato, and Sea Salt Caramel Gelato   Single Scoop: $2.60
     Double Scoop: $3.95
     Gelato Pint:  $8.95
• Pumpkin Butter Latte $3.65

A nostalgic blend of artisan crafted pumpkin butter, steamed milk, and smooth espresso.  Wrap your scarves around your neck and your hands around this seasonal specialty.

• Caramel Apple Cider $3.10-$3.90

Fresh apple cider infused with caramel and steamed to perfection.

 

 

Superior Nut and Candy has added an assortment of Halloween items to its already impressive collections of chocolates, assorted candies and fresh-roasted nuts. It also is offering Hand Dipped Caramel and Candy Apples this October.

Wisma chef/owner John des Rosier has expanded his jarred and canned product line.  Wisma is now selling 16 oz. jars of specially made Mayonnaise ($6) and Parmesan Aioli ($6) at the Chicago French Market. Ten ounce jars of Garlic Mustard and a Beer Mustard are available for $5 each. Chef des Rosier also has introduced a selection of rubs for meats and fish, $6.95 per jar.

Prairie Grass Cafe Celebrates the Fall with Delicious Pumpkin Specials

With fall at our doorstep, the scent of fresh pumpkin and autumnal spices have started wafting through the kitchen at Prairie Grass Cafe (601 Skokie Blvd. Northbrook, IL 847-205-4433). "The first batch of heirloom pumpkins just arrived," says Northbrook's Prairie Grass Cafe chef/owner Sarah Stegner. "We have our pumpkins specially grown for us by farmer Tracey Vowell from a local farm, Three Sisters Garden, in Kankakee, IL," she says. "It's a special time of year. We use between 1,000- and 1,500 lbs each season."

On the menu.

Pumpkins dishes typically run mid-September through November, as long as the pumpkins are available. Expect to find offerings including: Grilled Honey Glazed Heirloom "Luxury Pie Pumpkins" with Capriole Farm Goat Cheese and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds ($8.50); Three Sisters Garden Heirloom Luxury Pie Pumpkin Soup ($5.50); Maple Leaf Farm Crispy Half Duck with Roasted Pumpkin and Heirloom Kale with Huckleberries Sauce ($28); Roasted Pumpkin Fritters with Pumpkin Honey Butter ($8), Stuffed Pumpkin French Toast with Grilled Pumpkin Wedges ($12) and Sarah's Mom's Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream ($7.50).

Prairie Grass Cafe uses two pumpkin varieties. The first, the Heirloom Luxury Pie Pumpkin, is a beautiful pumpkin that was introduced in 1893 by Johnson & Stokes. The Heirloom Luxury Pie Pumpkin is a lovely golden fruit with white netting, typically in the 6lb range and perfect for pie making. In fact, this is one of the best tasting pie pumpkins you can use; with very sweet and smooth flesh, it's a favorite of all who use it," according to SeedSavers.org.

Sarah says it's petite and has a smooth silky texture and intense pumpkin flavor. "It's also perfect for our grilled pumpkin."
The second variety used by Prairie Grass Cafe is a large pumpkin called Kankakee Brown, says Stegner. "It's a special variety that only Three Sisters Farm grows." It has rich flavor and the meat is dense, not stringy.

About Three Sisters Farm
Tracey Vowell and Kathe Roybal worked in the restaurant industry until they grew tired of the hard work and decided on a career change. They bought their nine-acre farm in 2000, and named it after the Native American practice of growing corn, beans, and squash in the same mounds - a sophisticated, sustainable system that provided long-term soil fertility and a healthy diet then, and still does. The partners (that's Tracey on left, Kathe at right) focus on specialty vegetables like microgreens (which they grow year-round), pea shoots, heirloom tomatoes, summer and winter squashes, herbs, fresh beans (shelled at the Market) and huitlacoche, a mushroom particularly prized in Mexican cuisine.

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Three Sisters Garden Heirloom Luxury Pie Pumpkin Soup
By Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris

 

(serves 4-6 people)

"Tracey from Three Sisters Garden agreed to grow Heirloom Luxury Pie Pumpkins for me.  They are less stringy and less watery then a regular pumpkin.  They have intense pumpkin flavor.  Each year we have sold out on all her pumpkins.  This year she grew 1500 lbs for us!  They are really delicious!"

Ingredients:
3 cups pumpkin, peeled, seeds removed and cut into 2" chunks
½ cup onion, peeled and chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt
8 cups chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream

Method:
In a large soup pot sauté the pumpkin in the olive oil with the onions, thyme, bay leaves and salt.  Cook over medium heat until the onions are transparent.  Do not add color to the vegetables.

Add the chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender  and the liquid reduces by about a ¼ of it's original volume.

Add the cream and simmer another 5 minutes.

Remove from the stove.  Take the thyme and bay leaves out of the soup.  Blend well.

Serve hot with toasted pumpkin seeds and popcorn.

Hot Tamales and Pumpkin Treats Celebrate Fall at Prairie Fire Restaurant

Hot Tamale! Let Prairie Fire (215 N. Clinton; 312-382-8300) warm you up this Thursday, October 20 with fall-flavored tamales being served at 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. outside (or in the bar if it rains) of the restaurant for just $5 per tamale.

Praire Fire has partnered with Three Sisters Garden’s Tracey Vowell to offer guests three kinds of tamales: the Slow Braised Barbeque Grass-fed Beef Tamale, the Maple Creek Farm Guajillo Pepper Braised Pork Tamale and the Roasted Luxury Heirloom Pumpkin, Mushroom and Poblano Pepper Tamale, and will be joined by friend Chef Chris Djuric, making a special appearance at the event to help craft the tasty tamales.

Three Sisters Garden supplies Prairie Fire with vegetables throughout the year and has been growing 1,500 pounds of pumpkins specifically for this event. In addition to the tamales, Prairie Fire will be serving grilled pumpkin brushed with a honey butter glaze. Pumpkin fans also will enjoy Prairie Fire’s delicious house made pumpkin.

But wait, there’s more. Friend and neighbor from Chicago’s French Market, Sweet Miss Givings bakery’s famous cupcake truck will be parked in front of Prairie Fire with proceeds from cupcake sales going to the Chicago House charity providing housing and supportive services to HIV-affected patients and at-risk families.