Bacaro is the kind of place where you can get the best seafood, local meats and produce, all prepared with great care and skill.  The seasonal menu changes regularly, and I’ve never had a bad meal there.  It’s expensive for the area, but it really is worth it.  I always look over the menu, but more often than not, if I have the time I’m going to get the tasting menu.  This time, we got the wine pairings for each course.  I can’t claim to be an expert in the realm of oenology, but I appreciate the thought that goes toward choosing wines to pair with dishes.  I don’t remember most of the wines, so I won’t go into detail on what was served with each course, but it suffices to say that they all worked very well.

I didn’t bring pen and paper, so we’re going off my recollection of everything.  I’ll try to share as much detail as possible, but if I get something wrong I’d be happy to correct it.  I tried emailing Thad with some questions about some dishes, but I got no response.  I don’t understand why a business like Bacaro would have an email address on their site if they don’t respond to messages. Edit: I got a response from him AS I was writing this post.  Go figure.  He’s been extremely busy with a Prairie Fruits Farm dinner and, well, everything else that goes with running a restaurant.

Anyway… on to the meal.

First up is the amuse bouche, a bite to entertain your mouth and get you ready for the gustatory pleasure that awaits.  Tonight’s amuse was house cured salmon with pea tendrils and radish.  Salty, fishy, with a little crunch, it made me thirsty for more.

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The first real course of the tasting menu was an appetizer course of burrata cheese with porcini mushrooms and garlic scapes.  If you’ve never had burrata, you must seek it out.  It’s cheese curds and cream encased in stretched mozzarella.  This dish sets that sweet, creamy cheese against light aromatic porcini mushrooms and the slightly pungent flavor of the scapes.  It was served with a dry prosecco, whose effervescence really brought the dish home.

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For the fish course, we have the scallop.  Bacaro, in my mind, gets some of the best seafood in central Illinois.  It’s not wasted on them either, because they cook it very well.  This succulent scallop was seared and placed atop a bed of little beets (ETA) from Spence Farm and chunks of almonds.  The combination of beets and scallops was new to me, but they did work well together.  Sweet, earthy, salty all combined fabulously.  I wish I could get scallops this good.

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For the pasta course, we have gnocchi with morel mushrooms and arugula.  The gnocchi were a bit dense and overworked, but they were crisped a bit to add more flavor and texture to the otherwise very soft dish.  The morels were very nice… I wonder how Thad gets them so late.  The height of the season is in the early Spring.

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Then we have the light entrée course, another excellent piece of seafood.  This time, it’s halibut, served over fresh fava beans and topped with a salsa verde.  He didn’t serve it with a nice Chianti, but it was served with a red wine if I remember right.  The fish, again, was browned beautifully and seasoned well.  The favas fell short, a little undercooked and bland.  The herby salsa verde on top added a punch of flavor to the dish–I remember parsley, garlic, and citrus.

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After that, we are on to meat.  This tender medallion of filet is served over chanterelle mushrooms, cubed potatoes, and spinach.  Drizzled around the plate is a fruity balsamic reduction that makes me want to throw away any bottle of A-1 that might be lying around.  The meat was cooked through so evenly I wondered if it was cooked sous vide, (ETA) but it’s just a combination of a C-Vap oven and grilling the exterior.  The even sear around the outside, which was seasoned liberally, was remarkable.  Aside from the meat and the reduction (which were expertly cooked and seasoned), the rest of the dish was not executed as well as I’d hoped.  It lacked seasoning, and the potatoes seemed an afterthought.

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As a bit of a break in the action, transitioning to post-meal conversation, we were served a cheese course.  The cheese was great, the strawberry jam was amazing, but the bread was, to my taste, a bit stale.  My wife will tell you that I am overly sensitive to staleness, but maybe it was the humidity tarnishing the otherwise-tasty bread.  It was of no real concern though, as the pungent cheese (cow’s milk, but I don’t remember what a French Petit Livarot) elated my palate.  There was one tiny downside with the house-made strawberry jam… there wasn’t enough!  Yes, it was probably the appropriate amount, but I just wanted more because it was so good and complemented the cheese nicely.

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Finally, we have dessert.  A creamy chocolate terrine crowned with cherry ice cream and drizzled with chocolate syrup.  Most of you probably already appreciate the combination of cherries and chocolate, but this was my wake-up call.  The chocolate terrine was soft and yielding, like a moldable ganache, (ETA) thanks to a slight addition of gelatin, that coats your mouth with dark chocolate.  The ice cream, studded with whole cherries, was flavorful enough to match the chocolate in intensity.

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Some of the other dinner guests in our party did not get the tasting menu and tried some of the on-menu desserts.  One seemed to have a piece of the same magical chocolate terrine as my own dessert, but topped with a chocolate(?) ice cream and macadamia nuts(?).

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Another dinner companion got a slice of cheesecake.  I have no idea what flavor it was, but here’s a picture.

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If any of the guests from the party visit this post, it would be great if you posted your impression of the meal, especially if you didn’t have the tasting menu.

The meal wasn’t perfect, but it was really good.  I have to hand it to the kitchen, who handled our large group amazingly well.  In a group of 13(!), we had 6 doing the tasting menu, two of whom requested no meat (they got a soft-shelled crab instead of the filet).  Our server, Evan, deserves a shout-out for doing a really good job of serving all of us.  I expected our group’s service to be shared across two servers, but only in delivering plates was Evan given any assistance.

The tasting menu is expensive… and that’s why it’s not something we do all the time, but even the regular menu items are well-prepared.  The food at Bacaro comes out of having the highest quality ingredients.  Some dinner companions ordered some of the fresh oysters they had on hand (served with a yuzu mignonette), and they were both smiling with delight.  If you go during the right time of year, you can get dishes with white or black truffles, ramps, or morels–all highly seasonal, prized ingredients.  We are lucky to have Bacaro in this town as a resource for those who can and want to indulge in fantastic food.

yogurt, miso porridge

Think about the foods you love and think about how they’re made.  If you’ve read Michael Pollan’s  you will already understand the difference between how modern versions of old foods like yogurt are different from what our (great-)grandparents ate.  Modern products labeled as yogurt are often made “yogurt-like” with additives that add texture or mouth-feel and flavored with artificial flavors and too much sugar.  Fat-free yogurt is a poor attempt at latching onto the public’s fear of fat, and doesn’t behave the same as the real thing.  Real yogurt, made from raw milk and natural bacterial cultures is good stuff.  There are even different types of cultures that can be used to make everything from watery to stiff yogurt to a slimy, mucus-y substance like the Nordic specialty, viili.  There’s a video showing what the texture is like… watch it if you dare.

chorizo (front L), salami (front R), sauerkraut (rear R)

The whole premise of this tasting event was to take a trip back a thousand years or so to taste foods made in traditional ways.  There was homemade miso, with some mixed into a porridge.  I really liked how the funky umami flavor of the miso dispersed into the creamy porridge.

There were two sauerkrauts on the table, provided by Dan H. Schreiber.  One was a plain cabbage sauerkraut (which I, regrettably, didn’t try) and another one made with mostly white cabbage but colored deeply with beets.  Sauerkraut is often made with unnecessary additives, rendering it much less healthful than the original fermented formulation of cabbage and salt.  Dan’s is all-natural and tasted fresh and still crunchy.  Sure it was sour from lactic fermentation, but it was a wonderful flavor unlike any sauerkraut I’ve had before.

The meats were, of course, provided by the masterful meat manipulator, Laurence, of This Little Piggy fame.  The chorizo was a solid interpretation of the Spanish cured meat, but the salami was my favorite.  I was told it was a fennel salami, but the peppercorns in it gave little bursts of peppery kick when you met one.  It’s the kind of salami I could munch on all night.

raw milk, scary!

Then there were the dairy products.  This is where the crazy regulators get all antsy in their seats just wishing they could barge in the door and tell us how un-pasteurized milk is dangerous stuff and pour bleach all over everything in sight.  Fortunately this is purchased directly from a farmer who cares about preserving the 1000 year old food that comes out of his cows’ udders.  I was able to advocate for raw milk that night, convincing another attendee that she could drink raw milk just fine, despite her lactose intolerance.  You see, raw milk still has all the stuff that is needed to digest it, including some bacteria and enzymes like lactase (which is what LI folks can’t produce enough of).  I was really happy with the milk, and will definitely be obtaining some in the future.

raw milk cheddar

The other delightfully raw dairy came in the form of a raw milk cheese made by the same aforementioned farmer.  It was a cheddar style, and was by no means a refined, commercial product.  I imagine this is cheese that he makes with extra milk he has for his family to enjoy.  With some age, maybe heavier salting, this could be great cheese.  As it was, it was amazingly light from lack of age, but the flavor of the milk was concentrated.

There are no pictures of it here, but there was a selection of Dan’s chocolate as well as a mint fudge prepared by his business partner, Bill.  If you haven’t heard, Dan is already in the process of finding the right equipment and the right space to start up his own micro- (nano-?) chocolate factory right here in Urbana.  He’s already started making certified (i.e. by the health department, so he can sell it in retail stores) chocolate, drawn up business plans, and by the time I’m writing this who knows what else he’s accomplished?  Keep an eye on his blog to find out all the latest.  Congrats Dan on all that you’ve accomplished so far, and all the success that is sure to come!

This event was “sponsored”, supported, and publicized by the newly resurrected Prairie Table organization.  Prairie Table plans on holding more events like these, tasting excellent locally available products, as well as many other community-building opportunities.  I am already involved with them and hope to be a part of bringing more local food opportunities to the community.  If you’re in the Central Illinois area and are interested in hearing more, go to the website and look around.

EDIT: Of course there are so many things that I’ve nearly forgotten, like home-brewed beer (the stout was tasty).  If anyone in attendance remembers something I didn’t, please let me know!

I found a simple recipe for ricotta online, entitled Ricotta Making Illustrated.  It’s a great reference for new ricotta makers, but it’s not terribly necessary.  Ricotta is probably the easiest cheese product to make, since there’s really only 4 steps

1. Make some cheese and save the whey.  I made mozzerella.
2. Let it sit overnight to ferment a little and acidify slightly.
3. Bring it almost to a boil, then let it cool down.
4. Drain off the newly-formed curds.

It really is that simple.  If you really want to complicate things you can follow the extra-detailed 8 step process at the above link.  Since the first cheese I made was mozzarella, the recipe only called for me bringing the milk to 90 degrees, which isn’t enough to denature or cook all the protein (mostly casein) in the milk.  Some of it was left dissolved in the whey (along with the riboflavin, which gives it the greenish-yellowish tint).  Bringing the whey up near a boil denatures those remaining bits of protein, which glob up into the tiny curds you get in ricotta.

Here’s my illustrated ricotta making process:

This is the whey left over from mozzarella.  You see a few curds left over that I didn’t scoop out.

This is what the why looks like when you’ve heated it almost to a boil.  You can see a big raft of cheese on the top of the whey.

This is what happens when it reaches a boil and breaks apart the curds.  You’re not supposed to do this.  You should only go to 95 degrees C (in case you don’t remember, boiling is 100).

This is a fine-mesh sieve lined with a couple layers of cheesecloth, ready for the ricotta.  Drain and squeeze a little, and you get the finished product, below.

From a gallon of milk, I got a good amount of mozzarella (didn’t measure, I’d guess somewhere between 1-1.5 pounds) and 4 ounces of ricotta.  It may not sound like much, but from one gallon of milk I got what could easily cost me more than $10 in a store.  It’s fun, requires little investment, and you learn a little about how cheese can be made in your own kitchen.

This previous Saturday, they expanded their offerings by adding hot food, prepared by the highly talented chef Alisa DeMarco. They had a few offerings, a frittata, an egg sandwich, and a yogurt parfait. I had one of the frittatas, featuring Blue Moon Farms spring greens, potatoes, Prairie Fruits goat cheese (Moonglo I think?), all set in a frittata made with some of the fresh eggs from Tomahnous Farm. I got some of these eggs the first week, and they were so fresh, with vibrant yolks. It was served with some toast, I’m guessing it was from Stewart Pequinot, the bagel and bread guy in Mahomet (try the egg bagels, they’re great). It was gooey, soft, and deliciously hot on an unseasonably cold Saturday morning. They also had fair trade coffee for sale.

In a splurge, brought on by long months without the farmer’s market, I picked up a little of everything. I got spinach, kale, some potato sourdough bread, some Moonglo cheese and some of the sheep yogurt. They were extremely busy this past weekend, but they still offered tastes of the cheese and yogurt. The yogurt is full-fat, and there is a thick layer of cream at the top. The taste is sour, but it’s mellowed by the sweetness of the milk and the fat content. For the health-conscious out there, keep in mind that despite the higher fat content of sheep’s milk, it also has higher nutritional value. It’s ready to be paired with berries, or flavored any way you like.

I was inspired by the frittata to do something with the spinach and some cheese. I thought a stuffed chicken breast would be a great idea.

Pre-Market Stuffed Chicken

2T olive oil
2-4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 bag Blue Moon spinach (mine was 7 1/2 oz. after picking, washing, and draining)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted

4 chicken breasts
a 2-4 ounce chunk of Moonglo cheese
kitchen twine

To prepare the stuffing:

1. Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium high heat.
2. When hot, add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds
3. Add the spinach, season with salt and pepper. Stir and toss to gently wilt the spinach, only a few minutes.
4. Add the lemon juice, stir.
5. Remove from heat, and add pine nuts to taste (eat the rest).
6. Drain any excess liquid, and allow to cool to room tempurature

To prepare the chicken:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butterfly the chicken breasts. Here’s a tutorial if you’ve never done it before.
3. Divide the spinach stuffing into 4 portions and put some on each piece of chicken.
4. Take a chunk of the cheese and mold it into a log and place on the spinach.
5. Fold/roll the chicken up, enclosing the stuffing.
6. Tie it up with twine to help it stay together, look nice, and cook evenly. I like using the classic method.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Not all my spinach fit in my chicken, so I cut squares of the potato sourdough I got, sliced some of the cheese, and made a couple little treats for my wife and me.

Chicken Velouté sauce
I used some on-sale supermarket chicken for this, so there were some bits I had to trim (fat, bone, tendon, etc). I added the trimmings to a pot with

• 1/2 a carrot, chopped
• 1/4 of an onion, chopped
• a clove of garlic
• some parsley stems
• covered with about 3c of water

I simmered that while I was doing other things (about 30-45 minutes) to make a quick broth.

In a small sauce pan, I heated 1 1/2 T butter, tossed in 1 1/2 carrots, diced fine, 1/2 an onion, diced fine, and sauteed them slowly (no browning) for 5 minutes. Then I added about 1 1/2 T flour, stirred it in and cooked to make a very light roux. I tossed in a bay leaf, some parsley, and the broth I made. I cooked that down and then strained it. This was all about using up some of the bits that would have otherwise been thrown away.

I served mine with some quinoa (flavored with onion, garlic, parsley, and lemon) and sauteed asparagus.

I urge you join the Prairie Fruits mailing list to find out the details, and to come to the on-farm sales. It’s a great opportunity to get some great food and meet some cute animals. Maybe you’ll see me there, and maybe you’ll be inspired to come up with your own creations.