CHICAGO - One could argue that Monroe and Chicago are a world apart.
Yet for years, the two shared a bond that has tied all manner of otherwise unrelated parties together: beer, specifically Berghoff Beer.
The Berghoff, the historic restaurant that was for generations considered an institution in Chicago's Loop, closed its door in February 2006.
The Berghoff originally was founded in 1898 by Herman Joseph Berghoff, who had immigrated from Dortmund, Germany, in 1870. Berghoff and his three brothers originally began brewing beer in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1887. With his eyes set on expanding his market, Berghoff sold his family's beer at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.
The brew proved to be a hit, and Berghoff opened a cafe to showcase the beer. According to the Web site berghoff.com, he sold his beer for a nickel and sandwiches were free.
The restaurant survived Prohibition by becoming a full service restaurant, offering near beer and soda pop. Its reputation continued to grow, with notoriously brusque waiters, dark wood-paneled interior and men's-only bar staking a prominent spot in Chicago lore.
Enter Monroe. In 1960, the Joseph Huber Brewing Company won the contract to brew Berghoff beers. The brewing company acquired the Berghoff name in the 1990s, and produced a full line of Berghoff varieties in bottles, while the restaurant began its own microbrewery on premises to serve in the restaurant.
The restaurant's closing saddened loyal customers. Blogs and chat rooms on the Internet still mourn the loss of what many consider Chicago's most famous restaurant.
Not long after Berghoff's closed, Chicago restaurateur Carlyn Berghoff, great-granddaughter of Herman, opened 17/West at the Berghoff. She's also authored "The Berghoff Family Cookbook," which shares some of the family's best-known recipes.
Here are two offerings from the book:
With a fabulous combination of cream cheese, chopped garlic, basil pesto and fontina cheese, this pre-dinner nibble will look and taste professionally made. This original Carlyn Berghoff recipe goes back 20 years, but it's still a family and customer favorite. It's inexpensive to make and a great buffet item that looks good, tastes good, and holds up well. It can be made in advance and refrigerated for a week.
PESTO CHEESECAKE
Makes one 10-inch cake/Serves 8 to 12
Nonstick cooking spray, as needed
2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small diced white onion (1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
4 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup prepared basil pesto
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
11/2 cups shredded fontina cheese
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a 10-inch springform cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan.
In a small skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper, and sauté for 4 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, gently mix the cream cheese, pesto, eggs, lemon juice, flour, and salt until smooth. Gradually fold in the fontina cheese and the onion mixture, and mix until blended. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan and smooth the top with a metal spatula. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until slightly golden on top and set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before loosely covering and placing in the refrigerator to chill until ready to serve.
To serve: To add some pizzazz to your cake, decorate it with sliced seedless red or green grapes, chopped and seeded plum tomato confetti, fresh chopped herbs, or any other colorful vegetable. Leave the cake whole and serve on a cake stand or decorative plate. This makes a great accompaniment to sliced baguettes, crackers, or flatbread. Serve at room temperature.
First introduced on its menu in the 1940, creamed spinach was a Berghoff tradition. It's recalled fondly in many online blogs for Berghoff enthusiasts. It was the only menu item not made completely from scratch - due to the volume of creamed spinach served, it was prepared using packaged frozen spinach.
CREAMED SPINACH
Makes 5 cups/Serves 8
Ingredients:
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons chicken base, or 1 cube chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic (see Note)
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (see Variation)
Salt and ground white pepper, if desired
Ground nutmeg, for garnish
Crisp, cooked, crumbled bacon, for garnish
Preparation:
In a medium-size saucepan, heat the half-and-half, milk, chicken base, Tabasco, and seasonings to a simmer. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
In another medium-size saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk well to combine. Cook this mixture for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often. Slowly whisk the heated milk mixture into the butter mixture, a little at a time, whisking constantly until smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens. The sauce will be very thick.
Stir in the spinach and simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Serve while hot.
• Note: Granulated garlic is dried granular garlic, not the same as dried minced, dried chopped, or garlic powder. It has the best flavor of all the dried garlic products, in our opinion. Some supermarkets carry it in the gourmet spice section, and it's available from spice shops.
• Variation: To make the recipe with fresh spinach, you will need 4 (10-ounce) bags trimmed, washed spinach (not baby spinach).
Working in four batches, wash one bagful of spinach at a time in a basin of cold water. Drain in a colander. Place the batch in a 6-quart pot over high heat, cover, and steam. While the spinach is steaming, repeat the process for the other three bags, putting each on top of the spinach in the pot (it will shrink down considerably). Cover and steam until the spinach is wilted and cooked. Drain in a large colander. Press down on the spinach with a spatula to extract as much as possible. Transfer the spinach to a cutting board and chop finely.
Line the colander with a lint-free, clean kitchen towel. Put in the chopped spinach, bring up the ends of the towel, and, as soon as it's cool enough to handle, twist the towel to form a sack and squeeze dry. You should have 2 1/2 cups of cooked, chopped, squeezed spinach.
Stir the spinach into the cream mixture and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring to mix. Adjust the seasonings. Serve hot.
Yet for years, the two shared a bond that has tied all manner of otherwise unrelated parties together: beer, specifically Berghoff Beer.
The Berghoff, the historic restaurant that was for generations considered an institution in Chicago's Loop, closed its door in February 2006.
The Berghoff originally was founded in 1898 by Herman Joseph Berghoff, who had immigrated from Dortmund, Germany, in 1870. Berghoff and his three brothers originally began brewing beer in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1887. With his eyes set on expanding his market, Berghoff sold his family's beer at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.
The brew proved to be a hit, and Berghoff opened a cafe to showcase the beer. According to the Web site berghoff.com, he sold his beer for a nickel and sandwiches were free.
The restaurant survived Prohibition by becoming a full service restaurant, offering near beer and soda pop. Its reputation continued to grow, with notoriously brusque waiters, dark wood-paneled interior and men's-only bar staking a prominent spot in Chicago lore.
Enter Monroe. In 1960, the Joseph Huber Brewing Company won the contract to brew Berghoff beers. The brewing company acquired the Berghoff name in the 1990s, and produced a full line of Berghoff varieties in bottles, while the restaurant began its own microbrewery on premises to serve in the restaurant.
The restaurant's closing saddened loyal customers. Blogs and chat rooms on the Internet still mourn the loss of what many consider Chicago's most famous restaurant.
Not long after Berghoff's closed, Chicago restaurateur Carlyn Berghoff, great-granddaughter of Herman, opened 17/West at the Berghoff. She's also authored "The Berghoff Family Cookbook," which shares some of the family's best-known recipes.
Here are two offerings from the book:
With a fabulous combination of cream cheese, chopped garlic, basil pesto and fontina cheese, this pre-dinner nibble will look and taste professionally made. This original Carlyn Berghoff recipe goes back 20 years, but it's still a family and customer favorite. It's inexpensive to make and a great buffet item that looks good, tastes good, and holds up well. It can be made in advance and refrigerated for a week.
PESTO CHEESECAKE
Makes one 10-inch cake/Serves 8 to 12
Nonstick cooking spray, as needed
2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small diced white onion (1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
4 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup prepared basil pesto
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
11/2 cups shredded fontina cheese
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a 10-inch springform cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan.
In a small skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper, and sauté for 4 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, gently mix the cream cheese, pesto, eggs, lemon juice, flour, and salt until smooth. Gradually fold in the fontina cheese and the onion mixture, and mix until blended. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan and smooth the top with a metal spatula. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until slightly golden on top and set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before loosely covering and placing in the refrigerator to chill until ready to serve.
To serve: To add some pizzazz to your cake, decorate it with sliced seedless red or green grapes, chopped and seeded plum tomato confetti, fresh chopped herbs, or any other colorful vegetable. Leave the cake whole and serve on a cake stand or decorative plate. This makes a great accompaniment to sliced baguettes, crackers, or flatbread. Serve at room temperature.
First introduced on its menu in the 1940, creamed spinach was a Berghoff tradition. It's recalled fondly in many online blogs for Berghoff enthusiasts. It was the only menu item not made completely from scratch - due to the volume of creamed spinach served, it was prepared using packaged frozen spinach.
CREAMED SPINACH
Makes 5 cups/Serves 8
Ingredients:
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons chicken base, or 1 cube chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic (see Note)
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (see Variation)
Salt and ground white pepper, if desired
Ground nutmeg, for garnish
Crisp, cooked, crumbled bacon, for garnish
Preparation:
In a medium-size saucepan, heat the half-and-half, milk, chicken base, Tabasco, and seasonings to a simmer. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
In another medium-size saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk well to combine. Cook this mixture for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often. Slowly whisk the heated milk mixture into the butter mixture, a little at a time, whisking constantly until smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens. The sauce will be very thick.
Stir in the spinach and simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Serve while hot.
• Note: Granulated garlic is dried granular garlic, not the same as dried minced, dried chopped, or garlic powder. It has the best flavor of all the dried garlic products, in our opinion. Some supermarkets carry it in the gourmet spice section, and it's available from spice shops.
• Variation: To make the recipe with fresh spinach, you will need 4 (10-ounce) bags trimmed, washed spinach (not baby spinach).
Working in four batches, wash one bagful of spinach at a time in a basin of cold water. Drain in a colander. Place the batch in a 6-quart pot over high heat, cover, and steam. While the spinach is steaming, repeat the process for the other three bags, putting each on top of the spinach in the pot (it will shrink down considerably). Cover and steam until the spinach is wilted and cooked. Drain in a large colander. Press down on the spinach with a spatula to extract as much as possible. Transfer the spinach to a cutting board and chop finely.
Line the colander with a lint-free, clean kitchen towel. Put in the chopped spinach, bring up the ends of the towel, and, as soon as it's cool enough to handle, twist the towel to form a sack and squeeze dry. You should have 2 1/2 cups of cooked, chopped, squeezed spinach.
Stir the spinach into the cream mixture and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring to mix. Adjust the seasonings. Serve hot.