I had the incredible opportunity to accompany my very best friend and local Wedding Planner, Miss Sarah Keeker, (she's also a BIG foodie for anyone who knows her) to such a cool event this week! We took a break from all the Wedding madness and made our way up to Chicago for an event called Outstanding in the Field.
Outstanding in the field is a farm to table dinner that is put on all over the country on farms of all shapes and sizes. The dinner invites local chefs to use the wonderful produce and local ingredients to create a beautiful menu for all of the attendees, so each dinner is unique. We had the very cool opportunity to attend one in the heart of Chicago at place called City Farm which is literally an acre of vacant land, that used to be a gas station, that was turned into a place to grow the most wonderful organic fruits and vegetables for restaurants and farmer's markets around Chicago. My first question after hearing this was "If it used to be a gas station, how the heck is there healthy soil here?" Well the farmers at City Farm put down a layer of thick clay about 6-12 inches down and brought in soil and compost to fill the ground with healthy soil for the plants. The city lets the farm reside on vacant lots, but if the land is bought then the farm has to move, which is the case for City Farm here soon. They will be moving next Spring (and bringing all of their soil with them) down the street. So cool right!
ok, so the reason we went....the food!!! Everything was prepared by local chefs from Homestead on the Roof, using local ingredients and organic vegetables from City Farm as well as some other local farms around the Michigan and Illinois. IT WAS INCREDIBLE! There was also a wonderful beer and wine pairing with each course with locally brewed beer from Moody Tongue Brewing Co, but unfortunately being pregnant I had to enjoy that with my eyes :) So take a minute and scroll down to enjoy some of the beautiful photos from our amazing dinner. We waddled home with very full bellies and made some new friends as well! All in all an absolutely fabulous evening!

The skyline view from the farm...not bad right!

On the left we have a lamb merguez sausage with City Farm green coriander

Some garden Kale and a cool shot of one of the chefs manning the grill

Salad prep was a site to get your belly rumbling that's for sure!

Here we have a City Farm patty pan & zucchini salad with pickled dates, smoked goat cheese, radishes, and harissa vinaigrette.

In the middle we have coppa wrapped figs, sabba & spruce sea salt.

Sweet corn agnolotti, 'nduja sausage, tomato jam and City Farm purslane & pecorino.

Egyptian spiced mussels with pickled fennel, sumac-compressed apples, calvados cream & ras el hanout.

Rasberry galette with whipped creme fraiche, buckwheat shortcakes with vodka-roasted plums and chantilly cream, and lemon-sage shortbread cookies with blueberry compote.

Outstanding in the Field - Farm to Table Dinner