Dinner at Abby & Sam's

Before I left for the holidays I finally managed to meet up with an old college buddy, who with his wife, is responsible for their blog: Abby & Sam. He had purchased eight pounds of pork belly and called some friends over for a fantastic dinner.

First up homemade pork rillettes with a little bit of mustard and sliced cornichons, topped with some sea salt. I literally pigged out on these, and just had to deal with the fact that I was make a gluttonous impression on Sam's wife.


The evening introduced to me how easy it is to make gnocchi. I copied portions of this evening's menu for a Christmas Eve dinner I whipped up for the family and for the annual New Year's fest.

Sweet Potato Ricotta Gnocchi in a Brown Butter Sauce topped with Crispy Sage. Hello goodness.

Isn't this the cutest little thing? It's a blackboard that hangs above their stove.

Our fantastic spread. I love Sam and Abby's home. Abby is very interested in doing work in developing countries, and altruism aside, this means that they have some amazing textiles and decorative objects.

Just seeing this dish reminds me that there are people in Chicago with sympathetic food priorities.

Collard greens. Steaming. Mouth watering.

Cured Pork Belly. Look at the fat on that! The Bastard Consultant would have loved to have wrapped his lips around these. Oh my that reads strangely, but these were really really porky and fatty and wonderful.

It was an evening of good food, great wine, and even better company, which is the most a dinner can ever aspire to accomplish. Thank you Abby and Sam. It warmed my heart on a very cold Chicago winter evening.