Naveen's Cuisine

Ordinarily I love celebrating my birthday, however lately I've been getting a little more uncomfortable with the ever-increasing number. So to combat these adverse feelings, this year I decided my birthday needed a little reboot. Birthday dinners in the past have involved places that are amiable to big groups such as Japonais, Andies Restaurant, Jin Jiu, Folklore or Greek Islands (now just seeing the ethnic food pattern). We always have a fabulous time, but the one thing that I've always disliked is the long table and inability to "really" talk with everyone. Connecting with people is really what this life is all about. After all, how could we get through the highs and lows without our people who surround and support us? But getting to those people, squished against the wall and 20 feet away from you, can create an obstacle toward intimacy.

Naveen's Cuisine on North Avenue helped solve this problem and combined three of my loves on this day - family, friends and cooking. Instead of booking a reservation at a restaurant, I booked a private Indian cooking demonstration at Naveen's. A cooking demonstration is where a chef shows you the ins and outs of making certain dishes - in our case 4 courses: Veggie Tikka Masala, Daal Makhani (lentils), Chicken Boti and salad. (This was not a hands-on cooking class where you make the dishes yourself.)

 

 

This is how it went down. Naveen made everything, we watched in rapt attention, he gave lots of tips, we asked lots of questions and then we ate all the delicious food - every last morsel. Some of his tips were to juice limes or lemons against a sharp knife (see picture above), use a pressure cooker (this is so on my birthday list for next year) to cook the lentils in 25 minutes versus 1 hour plus in a regular pot, employ a dough scraper to scoop up large piles of chopped veggies to transfer them into a bowl or pot instead of the side of a knife (I've totally starting doing this and it is so much more efficient and safer.) Additionally Naveen extended knife cutting techniques and acquainted us with Indian spices. Who knew that I could make my own garam masala and that all the required spices were already in my cabinet?


More pluses to our night. We had plenty of space to mingle and we were not confined to one big long table (as there were several highboy tables throughout the room). It was BYO...cheers! The price was competitive with a normal sit-down dinner and included 4 courses. We came away with all the recipes to attempt at home (made the chicken boti last month and it rocked). But the real gem is Naveen. He was so funny and cracked jokes the entire time. He kept everyone engaged with his great anecdotes and gregarious personality. Everyone kept exclaiming that he should be on TV and how the Food Network should be knocking on his door!

 

So how do you book your next cooking adventure at Naveen's? Simply go to his website and look at his calendar to see regularly scheduled cooking classes or demonstrations. He often offers Thai classes in addition to Indian. So grab a couple friends and make a night at Naveen's - bring an appetite because there will be plenty of food :) If you want a private personal or business event, contact him separately. Naveen also does Grab 'n Go meals too.

 

Birthday = success! It was great in so many ways from the educational and entertaining cooking demo in a relaxing venue to time spent with family and friends. And to top it off, we had fudge chocolate cake from Bittersweet Pastry. Should you ever have it, and I do encourage you to have it, you will never want another cake but this one again. You can and will thank me later. (As an aside, I had a sample of this cake many years ago on their sampler platter. It blew me away. I couldn't stop thinking about it. However, it took me a couple years of trying different chocolate cakes before I found "the one" because they seriously have like 12 different chocolate cakes.)

Chef Andrew!

What do you get for your best friend's wedding? You want the gift to be thoughtful, memorable and special, right? 

For a couple that already has their home fully stocked, another knife or household gadget doesn't seem appropriate. When my husband's best college friend got married, these were the thoughts that flooded our heads. We wrestled with different ideas for such a LONG time, unfortunately, our gift was given well after the wedding (I dare say well over the acceptable amount of time), but judging from our friends' reactions, I think the wait was worth it. 

We settled on an in-home private chef experience where you can interact with the chef, find out how he makes the food, watch him make it, ask questions, etc. It's interactive, it's personal, it's a shared experience, you don't have to shop, prep or clean up - it's brilliant! 

I still didn't pull the plug though. I got cold feet (I'm not even the bride!) after reading 5 star after 5 star review of Chicago in-home chefs. How could every chef be so amazing? I started questioning the reviewers' taste palates. Then some friends (thanks VanWagners) raved about their recent private chef dinner which led me to Chef Andrew of the Crying Onion. 

Chef Andrew helped us create a Bordeaux-inspired, 5-course meal plus starter to imbibe our friends' annual trip to Bordeaux, France. The event was all a big surprise. The bride's sister slyly investigated our friends' favorite Bordeaux meals to help with the menu planning; I spent some time looking up Bordeaux menus online. On the big night, our friends thought we were taking them out, but we arrived with the menu chalkboard in hand (first picture of the post) and Chef Andrew in tow. 

Charcuterie & Fromage Plates

We began with cheese and charcuterie platters. Two of the charcuterie Chef Andrew made himself - a smoked duck and cajun-spiced pork shoulder. He explained how each took several days to make which was fascinating. I think I sense a winter project!

Wild Mushroom Soup

The first course was a wild mushroom soup with a little truffle oil, cream and garnish on top. This was absolutely delicious and beyond my expectation! The flavors all melded together beautifully and the texture was perfection. My husband deemed it the best course of the whole dinner. 

Beet, Arugula, Parmesan Salad with Fried Shallots and Citrus Vinaigrette

The second course was a beet, arugula and parmesan salad. The citrus vinaigrette was bright and really woke up the salad. The fried shallots (in the foreground) were such a surprise and a nice accompaniment.

Duck Confit on a Puff Pastry topped with Fried Oregano Sprig with Haricots Verts in a Pomegranate Reduction Sauce 

The third course consisted of duck confit with green beans and a pomegranate sauce. The twist here is that Chef Andrew put the duck on a puff pastry and topped it all with a fried oregano sprig. The pomegranate sauce, he explained, was reduced down from a simple bottle of sparkling pomegranate juice.

Petite Filet with Duck Fat Fries

The sensational meal continued with the fourth course of a filet mignon, duck fat fries and compound butter. The steak was succulent, tender and perfectly cooked. The compound butter melted over the top was to die for. It had so much flavor! Chef Andrew explained how easy it is to make. Check out this recipe or Alton Brown's recipe. The duck fat fries were pretty scrumptious too. When it comes to eating, all I need to hear is "duck fat", you can stop there, I'm in. Fyi: you can usually buy rendered duck fat at your local butcher should you want to make them at home.

Chocolate Souffle with Creme Anglaise and Mixed Berries

Not to be outdone, Chef Andrew topped off the meal with a chocolate souffle with creme anglaise and fresh berries. Oh heaven! Had I not been so full, I would have gone back for seconds and thirds of this. The chocolate souffle was light, airy and delectable (another definite thing to make on my winter to-do list). Chef Andrew mentioned he hadn't made chocolate souffle in a long time, but no one would have been the wiser. Also, we could not get over the deliciousness of the creme anglaise; sans guilt, a few of us put our spoons directly into the container just to eat that over and over again.

At this point, we all headed into the kitchen to wash the dishes and clean the stovetop. Just kidding! Chef Andrew did all that too! So we continued our lovely evening with some more of our 1988 Chateau Leoville Las Cases Bordeaux wine. 

There are so many reasons to hire Chef Andrew. He is professional, amiable, easy to work with, creative, reasonably-priced...oh yeah...and he makes amazing food! The list goes on. Now I understand why he has a 5 star rating on Yelp. So if you're looking to give a special, experiential kind of gift for a birthday, anniversary, or wedding or need a caterer for a party or want to have a dinner party with friends without all the work, look no further than the Crying Onion. And if you don't live in the Chicagoland area, look up a private chef in your city :) It is a delightful experience!  

http://www.cryingonion.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/crying-onion-chicago-2