Celebrity Chef Gale Gand Makes Cholocate Majic at Curt's

Sure you may still be stuffed from your Thanksgiving Dinner but that doesn't mean you can't start planning ahead to a fabulous Holiday meal in a couple of weeks.

That's why Celebrity Chef Gale Gand stopped by Curt's Cafe today to demonstrate how to make a yummy peppermint chocolate mousse today for a crowd of Curt's guests. The highlight, of course, was eating the spoils! 

Here's a few things we learned along the way: 

1. Don't melt chocolate chips. They are made to keep their shape and include a bit of paraffin wax, which makes melting them more difficult. Use chocolate bars. Gand recommends Ghiradellli.

2. Heavy cream has more butter fat than whipping cream. Choose heavy cream, unless you're trying to reduce the calories in a recipe. Then whipping cream is okay.

3. When a recipe calls for eggs, the industry standard is large eggs. Not extra large. Don't ruin a recipe by using extra large eggs.

4. Egg whites whip up better at room temperature.

5. Nielsen Massey vanilla extracts and other Nielson Massey flavor extracts are the best in the world--and made right here in Waukegan!

If you weren't able to attend here's Gale's recipe for you to enoy:

Chocolate Peppermint Mousse

by Gale Gand

6 ounces bitter sweet chocolate, chopped (70% if possible)

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

In a large bowl over simmering water, melt the chocolate and then remove from the heat to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whip the cream to stiff peaks and refrigerate. Then whip the whites till soft peaks, drizzle in the sugar and continue whipping till glossy and the sugar has dissolved. Add 1/3 of the whites to the cooled chocolate and whisk them in quickly and thoroughly. Add a second third of the whipped whites and fold them in till most of the streaks are gone. Add the final third and continue to fold till a few streaks remain. Then add all the whipped cream and fold it in. Add the extract and fold it in. Pipe into serving glasses and chill.

Makes 12 servings

  

FYI...Gale Gand is the pastry chef and partner at Spritz Burger, with the Hearty Boys and partner and founding executive pastry chef of the renowned one star Michelin restaurant Tru in Chicago, host of Food Network’s “Sweet Dreams”, and author of 8 books, including Gale Gand’s Lunch out earlier this year. Gale has an artisanal root beer company, Gale’s Root Beer, has received an Outstanding Pastry Chef award from The James Beard Foundation, and been inducted into the Chicago Chefs Hall Of Fame. For more information about Gale go to www.galegand.com 

We Can All Be Leaders

Susan was recently asked to speak to a group of women of all ages about Leadership at the Frances Willard Weekend. Here is what she had to say.

When we were asked to speak today I quickly agreed because I had read about Francis and thought she was a creative and effective leader.  When I was asked to speak as a leader myself I was much more reluctant because I have never considered myself a leader.  But as I learned more about Francis I learned that in fact I was a leader, just a different kind of leader. I realized that life is like a race with a great deal of hurdles, some twists and turns and some long stretches that can feel good or harness pain. Some of us lead in the front of the race and some of us lead by pulling up the rear but I have learned that all the leaders participating in the race are doing one thing.  They are using the gifts they were given to run the race the very best way they can!

My race began when I was at 8 years old selling eggs door to door with my Mom after our Dad died, to waitressing full time at 13, opening my own food service company at 25 with two partners that I loved and then going to college at 48 years old after the loss of one of my business partners, and now here celebrating more than two years as founder of Curts Café.  A race I couldn’t have mapped out early in life, one that had many hurdles and twists and turns but one that always required me to be myself, do the best I could, and enjoy the race I was on.

Many think of me as a leader in my race, and I am very honored by that, but I am just doing what I have spent my lifetime training for.  I took a leap of faith, and perhaps was pushed a little by the voices of very desperate young adults that needed help and didn’t know who to turn to, by opening a Café, one that few thought would work and even more thought it wasn’t worth the effort.  I had good business sense and a big heart but I was shy and preferred to be in the background – I have recently learned its called leading from the rear!  It was a bold step for me but honestly I was supported all along the route – just as Francis was – by a strong determined Mother who allowed me, as Mrs. Willard told Francis to “grow as a tree grows, naturally and unhindered” so that we could become the best “us”. 

My Mom, like Francis’s Mom, did not do anything to make social change, did not open a non-profit or start a women’s movement, or even run a committee meeting for that matter.  She was not an athlete or a politician, her gift and form of leadership was to be a Mother and she demonstrated that and did an amazing job sharing it.  In my eyes our Mothers are one of the best kind of leaders.  They lit flames under Francis and under me and they stoked the fire of our spirits and our possibilities, as Francis said “allowing her to simply be herself”.

You see, I believe we are all leaders – or we all have the capacity to be.  It will look, feel and be recognized in different ways but if we do as Francis showed us, if we are true to ourselves and the gifts we hold we will all be leaders in our own special ways.  I know so many women that are leaders by participating in PTA meetings or cheering their children on at sporting events, and I know women who run multimillion dollar companies and powerful non-profits – all of them are leaders in their own way, doing the best they can, using and sharing their unique gifts. 

In a wonderful book that Francis wrote in 1878 called “How To Win: A Book For Girls: she wrote, “We are human spirit lamps, whose rays should be directed and intensified by the blow pipe of an unceasing purpose.” 

So I challenge you to find your gift and purpose, hold it in your hand and see where the light will lead you.  Be an amazing mother, a special friend, a cherished child, or be an Olympic runner, a business owner, or a social activist. If you do that one simple thing you were meant to do you will be a leader of your own destiny and a leader in our community – and you and all of us will benefit from the light from your human spirit lamp. 

Also in that book Francis said – which I believe is more timely now than ever:

“I was a daring sort of girl; you are the sort of girls who dare, I had aspirations; you have opportunity."                 

I hope you take time to find your opportunity and personal gift and dare to unwrap it and share it with all of us.  I’ll be cheering you on and will meet you at the finish line.

Stopping to Smell the Flowers

Curt's has a new Chef named "Q" who loves gardening and fresh food. She has shared this love with our students by regularly taking them out back where we are lucky enough to have an urban garden that was planted by the wonderful Yellow Tractor Project. Tomatoes and peppers and herbs and  edible flowers all at Q's fingertips as she creates our daily lunch specials and platters of delicious food for catering.

Recently, while preparing trays for a catering order she took our student Lorenzo out to the garden to pick a few flowers to use as colorful accents to compliment the summer fruit tray. "I don't want to pick no flowers..." Lorenzo said at first, but he went along, bent down over the flower pots and gathered a few edible yellow and orange nasturtium.

Today, while Q was busy in the kitchen working on more catering trays she noticed Lorenzo slipping out the back door. Without him saying a word she instantly knew what he was doing. She walked to the door and opened it quietly. She caught Lorenzo in the act -- sweetly taking a sniff of  a handful of the delicate flowers he just picked.

Q noticed the poinency of those little flowers held in Lorenzo's big hands at the end of his tatoo-covered arms ...and the fact that Lorenzo had taken the initiative to use the flowers to make our catering...and the world....more beautiful.

Coffee in the mugs & Art on the Walls

(photo or left by Anthony Parker, and photo on right by Doug Haight)

If the walls at Curt’s Café could talk . . . but wait: they can, and they do. Since the café opened a little more than two years ago, nearly 30 exhibits by local and regional photographers have been telling tales of nature, animals, cityscapes and national heroes, to name just a few subjects.

Howard Frank of Skokie has shown his landscapes and nature images twice at Curt’s. That’s allowed, and besides, he’s the curator at the friendly coffeehouse. Frank, the man behind Howie’s Images (howiesimages.com) uses the latest digital techniques on familiar scenes to give his photos either a surreal or painterly look.

Anthony Parker, whose striking photos of Muhammad Ali and JFK currently grace the walls at Curt’s, also takes artistic license with his images. The Evanston resident, who also teaches art and is a certified art therapist, sketches famous photos, then does an overlay using pastel colored pencils and charcoal to create images with a heightened reality – still lifes with life, if you will. Other images feature gray tones on black paper, or faces partially outlined in vivid color that give the works geometric zing. Look for more of Parker’s work in his one-man show at Curt’s in the fall.

The “living room” – the large, second room at Curt’s -- comes alive with vibrantly hued images of Cuba, taken by Evanston photographer Doug Haight, who traveled with a photography group to the island that was off-limits to Americans until recently.

Haight captures Cuba’s “lost in time” aspect – vintage cars, guys playing dominoes in the street, a driver pedaling a bike taxi. “Cubans tend to live a lot of their lives in the streets,” Haight says. “There’s a tremendous sense of community."

All the artwork at Curt’s is for sale, with a percentage going to the not-for-profit coffeehouse. They’re reasonably priced, says Howard Frank, and they appeal to Curt’s eclectic clientele. “Something for everyone,” he says.

Guest Blog from Volunteer Extraordinaire Jeff Mackevich

On my first day working as a volunteer at Curt’s Café, a non-profit training program for at-risk youth, I washed dishes for almost four hours.  I was hooked. 

The dish sink at Curt's is the nerve center of the Cafe. It's where I connected with the students. Everyone opens up and talks about anything and everything while they do the dishes. Plus the sink is between the kitchen and dining room so things are popping all around you the whole time. Needless to say it was a lot different than my job where I sit at a desk basically figuring out math and logic problems 24/7.

I consider myself to be very fortunate. I have been a financial advisor for over thirty years, and took advantage of an opportunity to take a six-month sabbatical. This is a common practice of educators and clergy, but rare for professionals. I'm a logical guy so before I started my sabbatical, I made two lists of activities to consider. The first was of things I had been doing my whole life that I wanted to do more of --competitive tennis, jazz saxophone performing and recording, working out, and anything else with my wife and three daughters.

The second list was made up of new things I wanted to add to my life. Other than reading more novels, taking Internet college courses, and sleeping more, I decided to volunteer somewhere to help minority youths. I got lucky. I wandered into my neighborhood's Curt's Cafe during my first week off, and the very next day I was working in the middle of the organized chaos of a restaurant, catering service, and social service agency.

I started to get to know the staff, students, and other volunteers, and they immediately accepted me into their community, which was different from anything I had ever experienced. For every job I did at the café I had a student partner in order to have as many “teachable moments” as possible. We could open up to each other while repairing a door, doing a catering delivery or just washing those dishes.

I quickly learned that Curt's is fueled by volunteers and community support. Susan Trieschmann, the founder and Executive Director, opened Curt’s (Cultivating Unique Restaurant Training) two years ago with her own hard work, experience, and money. She and her small staff and more than 25 volunteers train students in culinary technique, high school academics to pass the GED, life skills, and job readiness. Thirty-five youths have completed the program so far and all but a few are working at jobs around Evanston at places like Starbucks, Office Depot, Edzo's, and Northwestern University.

One of the things that was great about my role as volunteer is that my work at Curt’s changed every day. Susan would prepare lists of assignments for me. The students would see me jump into projects without being asked; especially if it meant helping someone else. This behavior becomes infectious. My tasks included washing dishes, food preparation, cooking, baking, repairing everything in sight, and packaging and delivering large catering orders. 

After my first month, it became apparent to me that Curt’s needed some financial controls and strategies. Together Susan and I computerized the revenues and accounts payable, installed a modern point of sale terminal, Streamlined food orders, eliminated bank fees, and reviewed the insurances.

There has been tremendous improvement in a short period of time, but we still have work to do in marketing, fundraising events, and grant writing.

The survival of any enterprise depends on the efforts of its people and its financial resources. Nonprofits need donations of peoples’ time and money, and Curt’s is no exception. The costs of opening and operating a restaurant are very high. Fixed costs including rent, utilities, salaries, and insurances are added to variable costs of daily food deliveries, ingredients, and packaging.  Curt’s also pays a daily student stipend and there is a separate fund to help students with other needs (like emergency housing, a new suit for an interview, or eyeglasses).

The most important characters in this story are the kids. They start by being welcomed into a loving and supportive environment. Of course they are expected to get up to speed with the program quickly. Rules are enforced like showing up on time ready to work and no distractions (like cell phones). Most of them start with no confidence and low self-esteem. They don’t speak clearly or make eye contact.

Some of these kids have had a very rough start. The nature of their crime is not important. The students realizes that they have been given a second chance, and it could be lost if they revert to old behaviors.

The most exciting part of Curt’s is watching each student grow in their confidence and abilities over the three months they are in the program. They can perform and manage every aspect of the café and have more poise and social skills. All of this effort is in preparation for job interviews. Hats off to all of the local employers who hire Curt’s’ kids fully aware of their criminal records.  A few weeks ago three students graduated from the program and got great jobs (Chef, construction, counter service, and a security guard). 

“Teaching moments” work both ways. I taught Curt’s kids about taking initiative, customer service, repairing anything, jazz, making bank deposits, basic accounting, and the stock market.They taught me about the harshness of their lives, frustration and anger, technology, rap, and more than I wanted to know about tattoos.

As a volunteer it was easy to see the need for support and untapped potential in our students, and understand why Susan was compelled to open Curt's Cafe. Her background is a very long and successful career in catering, first at the Pump Room in Chicago, and then the prestigious “Food for Thought” catering company. Susan was also one of the founders of Restorative Justice Evanston, a non-profit that “works with youth and community on peaceful dialogue around harm caused, celebrations, and conflicts.”

She had seen a pattern in kids getting arrested because they had nothing better to do. They had few resources and limited options available to them. After any confinement they had very little chance of landing a (entry level) job. Many of these kids end up living on the streets and return to destructive habits. Most of those released (82%) are back in the court system within a year.

This result is bad for everybody. It is more expensive for a taxpayer to incarcerate a youth than to send him or her to a private university. Susan explains “For our sake and theirs’ it makes sense to direct these young people toward a secure and productive future, where they can contribute to their community instead of undermining it. These young people all identify one essential thing that would help them turn their lives around: a job.”

That's where Curt's Cafe can help. I know because I've seen how it works and even though I an headed back to my day job and won't be doing dishes at Curt's I will stay connected to the organization. I'm leaving the sink but I'm joining the Board.