Custer's Last Stand Evanston June 16-17

This is happening this weekend. There will be some cooking demonstrations.


Food Networks Michael Chiarello on Sat and Rick Bayless on Sunday.

It's on Chicago Ave between Washington and Kedzie

http://www.custerfair.com

Thanks for the tip. I had no idea about the demonstrations. I'll be making my way back from Wisconsin on Sunday, but maybe I can catch some of Bayless.

We were out running around all weekend - did anybody check it out? Was Norka there?

I watched a few minutes of Chiarello, but he didn't really grasp my attention, which was drawn to funnel cakes and fried plantains.

I sat right in front for Rick Bayless, and it was a great demo, and he was his standard informative, charming self, and seemed to be loving playing to a Chicago crowd. We even got to sample the dish he made, and it was SO good, I made it for dinner tonight. Here's the gist of it:

De-seed and toast 5 ancho chiles, then reconstitute in water for 15 minutes. Blend the anchos with a can of fire roasted tomatoes a dash of water, a half tsp of cumin. Strain the sauce, and pour into a large saute pan with a can of drained beans (I used pinto), and heat on medium heat, adding some water or stock if you need to loosen, and finishing with a dash of salt and sugar to balance the flavors.

Grill up some steak (I used 2lbs skirt, Bayless used Ribeye), along with some nice slices of onion. Remove the steak and onions and cube it up, then fold into your ancho/bean sauce, and serve!

We garnished ours with diced avocado and cilantro, and served with some brown rice and a salad. Best part - we've got plenty of leftovers for lunch this week!