Farm Dinner at Yuppie Hill Farm, Sat. 1/9/10

Got an email from a chef named Tom Cicero telling me about a farm dinner at a place called Yuppie Hill Farm in Burlington, Wisconsin. Don't know anything about him/it*, but I admire the spirit that would put on such a thing in winter...

Dinner on the Farm
January 9, 2010
6:00 p.m.

You are cordially invited to “Celebrate the New Year” with a dining experience at Yuppie Hill Farm!!

≈Enjoy a farm fresh dinner
Prepared by gourmet chefs, Tom Cicero, John Hudoc and Nate Chappell≈
≈Most ingredients are fresh and from sustainable farms in a
90 mile radius of Burlington, Wisconsin≈
≈Dinner is actually served in a renovated farm structure ≈

First Course
“Dollar Dairy Farm” (Raised Right Veal) Veal consommé with River Valley Ranch Mushrooms and Liver Dumplings

Second Course
“Yuppie Hill” Scotch Egg with White Truffle Cream and Onion Jam

Third Course
Wisconsin Cheese Soufflé with Rushing Waters Smoked Trout

Entrée
“Nettesheim Farm” Piedmontese Roasted Top Round of Beef with Parsley Mashed Potato, Roasted Acorn Squash and Red Wine Au Jus
Vegetarian Substitute: Acorn squash stuffed with mixed bean ragout and roasted garlic hollandaise

Dessert
Preserved “fruits and berries of the summer” with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Dinner - $40.00 ≈ BYOB ≈ ≈ Limited Reservations ≈
≈ Gratuity Not Included ≈

Call Chef Tom at 630-417-5799
W1384 Potter Road
Burlington, Wisconsin 262-210-0264

* he says: "We are a small farm in Burlington, Wisconsin that specializes in farm fresh eggs. This past summer we participated in 3 farmers markets here in the northwest suburbs and now that the summer is over we have been selling our eggs to restaurants that appreciate local product (Vie, Northpond Cafe, Brown Trout, Tallgrass) in the Milwaukee area(Roots, Alterra Cafes) on top of our eggs we have started "Dinner on the Farm" this past August and it has been well received with the local farmers and neighbors in the area as well with the our farmers market customers. Once a month at Yuppie Hill we do a pre-fixe menu that that highlights local farms."

I was one of Tom's Sous' back in my days slangin. We were at a place in Lincoln Square called Villa Kula (now Campagnia) and if you ask anyone who worked in the kitchen with us, we put out some pretty amazing food (As you can guess that's our biased opinion). Anyway, Tom's been out of the game for a while and I'm glad to see he's back. He's a great cook who taught me allot and I wish him and his work at Yuppie Hill the best.

Great stuff...these guys have been working hard on farm dinners, markets and tours. The word is out that a new farm is in the works as a home base for these events.

http://www.facebook.com/chapeli?ref=nam ... 220?ref=mf

Hello Mike G and a big thank you for the plug! This is a REAL casual, BYOB kind of a dinner that is meant to be tasty, fun, informal, and supporting good farmers, people and a community in southeastern Wisconsin. If you want to have a nice meal off the beaten path give Tom a call and make a reservation and join us for an evening dining with good food in a warm barn!

Just to give some a background, I have been involved with Yuppie Hill for well over a year promoting her eggs and Berkshire pigs which are absolutely outstanding! I started a program working with the Rock Bottom Brewery in Warrenville and Lombard taking their spent barley grain to feed her hogs, meat chickens and turkeys when she raises them in season. Currently, you can only get the hogs and chickens by reservation through Tom or Lynn, personal sale off the farm but she is hoping to expand at a later time through proper regulations.

Additionally, I am thrilled to be working with a farmer who is actually making a living being a farmer. As I am sure you know, many do not break even and have to hold second jobs to support their farms and for her this is just another outlet to help direct market her goods. It really does not take much to support these types of things throughout Illinois and Wisconsin as I tell many of my friends and students. Find a farm in your area and "adopt" a product be it eggs, milk, meat, vegetables but don't drive yourself crazy to go totally sustainable or organic right off the bat. Go to a farmers market, get to know the farmer, visit the farm, understand their philosophy and if it agrees with you, buy their product or move on to one that matches your ideals but PLEASE do not bash the family farms that are not this "perfect" pastoral fallacy which seems to have come from all of the recent literature that has been published and written about all over the internet.

Great site and community you have here and I am glad to have found it! Hope to visit often and thanks again for mentioning us! Let’s all hope for many great meals to come with friends, family and community in 2010 and beyond.

JohnH

The January dinner turned out to be a great dinner with over 40 people in attendance from the local Burlington and Chicago areas. The food and camaraderie made for a great winter time gastronomic experience! It was great to see that even some patrons brought wines from the local producers. Dan Netteshiem from Netteshiem Farms, Liz Yohn and Fred Krueger (Raised Right Veal) from Dollar Dairy Farm, and Lynn Lein lead a wonderful discussion about their farms and practices, along with Sue Carpenter and Jeff Worman from WFAQ 92.9 broadcasters from Kettle Moraine talked about the localvore challenge which is a regular feature on their show. All products featured on the menu except for Tahitian Vanilla, blackberries and white truffle oil were sourced from a 90 mile radius of Burlington, Wisconsin. Much fun was had by all and the next dinner is planned for February 13th, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.. Please contact Chef Thomas Cicero for reservations which are filling up fast. This meal will also be family friendly. I have posted pictures from the last meal for all to enjoy! Thanks again to Mike G for sharing our support to the local farmers and great food. Enjoy the photos!

First Course: Dollar Dairy Farm (Raised Right Veal) Consomme with River valley ranch mushrooms and liver dumplings. A great start to warm up from the cold

Second Course: Yuppie Hill Scotch Egg with Onion Jam, Truffle Cream and Hertiage Praire Market Micro Greens A real decadent second course! We prepared the sausage from Yuppie Hill Berkshire pork and eggs from that day eggs out of the barn!

Third Course: Rushing Waters Smoked Trout and Wisconsin Cheese souffle. A perfect marriage for day harvest eggs!

The entree was Sous Vide Netteshiem Farm Piedmonte Top round of beef with acorn squash, wisconson bentje potato, and some more of the spicy micro greens (we had alot of them!) and
red wine au jus.

The dessert was a classic french clafouti with preserved marcello cherries (bought at the local farmers market the past summer and soaked in brandy) and dried berries (a la excalibur this past season) with tahitian vanilla bean ice cream and strawberry rhubarb (local jam) sauce.

Our Featured Menu for Valentines Day

First Course: Wisconsin Cheese and Potato Soup with Yuppie Hill Berkshire Bacon
Second Course: Yuppie Hill Ham and Egg Custard
Third Course: Yuppie Hill Hen Terrine with Heritage Praire Market Micro Greens (yes! They hoop house them and are super fresh!) with Mustard Vinaigrette
Fourth Course: Dollar Dairy Farm Meat loaf (Crépinette) with Ela Apple Cider braised red cabbage, River Valley Mushrooms Veal jus and spatzel
Dessert: Flourless Chocolate Torte and Alterra Coffee Ice Cream with strawberry rhubard sauce (made from the local jams).
$40 per person

Vegetarian Option: House made fettuccine with river valley ranch mushrooms and white truffle cream sauce

Please inquire about a child friendly menu (local meatballs and fettuccine and preserved local tomato sauce).

Has anyone been to one of their dinners lately? I bought some of their Berkshire pork chops last week at the Naperville farmers market and they were spectacular! In talking to them today, it seems as if there may be a new chef, new owners but I'd like to try one of the dinners.