The gallery dinner series was developed together with artist Vicki Fowler of the Mutherland gallery in Bridgeport. We serve dinner in the artist’s studio, and create a seasonal menu in collaboration with the artist, many times using elements from the artwork in the design and styling of the menu. Our last gallery dinner was in the studio of local artist John Himmelfarb.

On June 27th, we were at the home studio of artist Elizabeth Coffin Buchanan.

It was a challenging menu, conceived with Elizabeth’s tastes in mind, also playing on the theme of symmetry that was prevalent in some of Elizabeth’s recent work.

For the main course, the halibut was pan fried in duck fat and the beans were cooked in a “sofrito” of ginger, fennel, garlic, shallots, onion, lemon, and sherry vinegar. I picked perfectly ripe juneberries in the South Loop on the day of the dinner, a perfect berry for the buckle cake.

The menu:

1. Hamachi tartare, Lake Superior whitefish caviar, pickled carrot, radish, beet
2. Beet greens and morita fettucini, snow peas and oyster mushrooms, Saxon creamery Meadows
3. Heirloom Tomatoes 2 ways, Tomato Galette, Tomato Salad
4. Pacific Halibut, baby bok choy, white beans
5. Juneberry Buckle, creme fraiche custard

• carrots, radish, beets from Nichols Farm, Marengo, IL
• Beet green and lettuce from City Farm, Chicago
• Heirloom tomotoes from Iron Creek Farm, St. Joseph, MI
• Snow peas and baby bok choy from Green Acres Far, North Judson, IN
• Cheese from Saxon Homestead Creamer, Cleveland, WI
• Shitake mushrooms from River Valley Ranch, Burlington, WI
• Eggs from Janey’s Farm, Dyer, IN
• Juneberries from Chicago, circle campus
• Sustainable fish from Bill the Fish Guy