'Celebrating Chocolate' at Morton Arboretum
Satisfy your sweet tooth with a truffle-making class, a chocolate-and-beer pairing lesson or a chocolate pizza-making party during “Celebrating Chocolate” events happening throughout the month at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.
“We're actually celebrating trees and the many products and benefits they give us — like chocolate,” says Marilyn Baysek, arboretum special events manager.
Every day this month visitors to the Arboretum's Visitors Center can view the “Chocolate Exhibit” that highlights the growing, harvesting and production of chocolate and its relationship to trees.
Special events planned during the celebration include:
• Truffle workshop: 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Thornhill Education Center. $25 a person.
• Valentine's Day brunch: Seatings at 9:30 a.m., noon, and 2:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Ginkgo Restaurant. $30-$42, plus taxes and fees.
• Kids' chocolate pizza party: 1, 2, and 3 p.m. Feb. 20. $15 a person.
• Beer and chocolate tastings: 3-5 p.m. Feb. 27. $30 a person.
To register for classes or events, or to make reservations for brunch, visit mortonarb.org/chocolate or call (630) 725-2066. Arboretum members receive price discounts.
Powerful antidote: Yes, chocolate has medicinal properties, but can it mend a broken heart?
The folks at Baskin-Robbins bet that it can, and have introduced Heartbreak Healer as its February Flavor of the Month.
Citing Valentine's Day not just as the day for lovebirds, but as a time when people re-examine their relationships and might opt to walk away (not that I'm talking from experience or anything), they've come up with a decadent pairing of red chocolate hearts and chocolate chunks mingling in delicious chocolate mousse ice cream.
Hey, it might not patch the hole but it will dull the pain, if only momentarily. Oh, Heartbreak Healer … where were you on Valentine's Day 1990?
Home cook cook-off: If you know your way around the kitchen and can take the heat of competition, the Hyatt Regency Woodfield-Schaumburg has an opportunity for you to win a prize valued at $600.
Through Feb. 18, the culinary team at the hotel's Fresh 1800 restaurant is seeking original recipes from home cooks for an “Iron Chef”-like competition they're calling the Chop, Simmer and Saute Cook-off. Hotel chefs will select the top six recipes and those cooks will be invited to test their skills before a panel of judges on March 3.
The evening of the competition the finalists will have to prepare a dish from ingredients they find in the Chop, Simmer and Saute pantry. A panel of judges, including me, Fresh 1800 chef Hagop Hagopian and other local chefs, will select the winner. At stake are a $300 cash prize and a professional knife set valued at $300. While the contestants prepare their entrees for the judges, guests can enjoy a two-hour cocktail and hors d'oeuvre reception and cooking demonstrations. Admission for the cook-off is $25 per person and each contestant will receive four complimentary passes. For event reservations, call the Hyatt at (847) 517-6920.
For your chance to compete, friend the Hyatt Regency Woodfield-Schaumburg on Facebook at Facebook.com/hyattschaumburg. Then click the link by the Chop, Simmer and Saute posting.
Meatless Monday: Curried Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Green Peas is a mildly spiced mix that's a perfect winter warmup. Created by George Black for Veganopolis, his now-shuttered Portland, Ore. restaurant, it became an instant favorite among customers.
Black and partner David Stowell have relocated to Chicago and plan to open Veganopolis Cafeteria in the city later this year. In the meantime, pick up “The Veganopolis Cookbook: A Manual for Great Vegan Cooking” (2010 Surrey Books) and try some of their recipes in your own kitchen.
• Contact Food Editor Deborah Pankey at food@dailyherald.com or (847) 427-4524. Listen to her discuss food and restaurant trends on Restaurant Radio Chicago, 5 to 6 p.m. Saturdays on WIND 560 AM.