Payment for room & board (Chicago)

It's only fair that I give something back to Steve and Michelle for graciously allowing me to stay here for a few days, so I made dinner tonight. It's my first real fall day (since it's still summer in DC), so I went full autumn with the menu.

First course: roasted butternut squash soup with shallots, garlic and cayenne pepper, topped with crispy red kale. Liked the kale with the thick soup, basically serving the purpose of crackers or popcorn. I'd do less shallot next time, but overall a very tasty start.

Second course: spinach salad with goat cheese, sliced almonds, slivers of shallot and balsamic vinaigrette (made with the sage-infused oil, which was a delicious byproduct of the main). No reason to change anything about this course, it was excellent.

Main course: sweet potato cream sauce with crimini mushrooms and toasted sage over conchigliette. The base for the cream was made with pecorino-romano and almond milk. It turned out pretty well. Needed more salt, but good potato flavor. The added body from the sweet potato and the nutty almond taste went well together. Ended up a little cold, though, since we were eating in stages. Decent idea, probably could be more refined. I'll consult a chef.

That's all for tonight, folks! Look for more cooking adventures during the trip, it's my favorite form of payment!