the goat made a fun stop last week at the home of one of chicago’s most prized chefs, art smith.  art and i have become friends through work with his five and a half year old charity, common threads, that teaches underprivileged children about cooking and nutrition across cultures.  art’s huge heart and giving nature were evident as he welcomed me and my staff along with close to 100 guests into his home last thursday night for the third wandering goat dinner.

i think the dinner was a huge success.  art’s home is filled with paintings done by his very talented partner, jesus, which brings a very warm and vibrant feel to the space.  out back, art has built in a wood burning oven to complete the great entertaining space.  we were able to use the oven for some tasty braised goat flatbreads while using the outdoor grill for some goat sausage filled prawns and some seared beef with salted caramel and sautéed cucumber.

inside a number of us invaded the indoor kitchen and put out some other tasty treats.  sweet onion soup started the evening with its creamy texture and mild onion flavor.  gnocchi was served in true fall fashion with acorn squash puree and cranberry vinaigrette topped with fresh made ricotta.  beautiful west coast oysters in escabeche were a hit due to the rich plump mussels being offset by sweet and sour fennel and red onion.  i think my favorite dish of the night was the hamachi and braised bacon.  i had the bacon and hamachi in hand that morning and still had not decided what to do with it.  i decided to roll out some puff pastry for some fluffy crackers, make a rich carmelized shallot aioli then cut through the richness with some shaved radishes.

though all three dinners have been a blast, i think this one had the best atmosphere and the best food.  it is always exciting to try new dishes and create some that i can envision on the menu at the new restaurant.  i think most of the dishes or at least the flavor combinations will stay with me for a long time.

to finish off the evening my friend jessie came by with her fantastic black dog gelato, which is always the perfect sweet ending.

thank you again to art and jesus for having us.  i am sure it will be a night not soon forgotten by our guests.

stay tuned for more information on the next dinner that will take place some time in early december.  hoping to create a great party to celebrate the holiday season!

see you soon!