Solstice Communications

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! Katherine Anne Confections, The Big O and Bread & Wine have some great gift ideas, events & date nights planned to make the holiday easy for you! These events (including the perfect way to give your Valentine The Big O!) are a sure way to have a fun-filled February!

February is definitely the month of love, so fall in love with everything from mouth-watering truffles to dynamic dishes for dinner at the tasty events listed below!

Give Your Valentine What They Really Want for Valentine’s Day:

The Big O…Truffle!

at Katherine Anne Confections

Katherine Anne Confections, a locally-focused chocolatier, has teamed up with The Big O, a hand-crafted ginger liqueur made in the Midwest, to create an amazing Valentine’s Day truffle, The Big O! These delightfully rich and complex truffles combine the complex flavors present in The Big O with honey, fresh ginger, Illinois Sparkling champagne and then bathing the ganache in bittersweet chocolate and capped with a miniature white chocolate heart. The Big O truffle has a tangy, toasty nuance that will be sure to give any Valentine the satisfaction of The Big O. Available starting today for $3 each.

Katherine Anne Confections

2745 W. Armitage

Chicago, IL 60647

A Week Of Love & Chocolate 

At Katherine Anne Confections

Katherine Anne Confections, a locally-focused chocolatier, is celebrating Valentine’s Day with several events starting on Saturday, February 9 through Thursday, February 14! Join Katherine Duncan, founder and confectionista, and other Chicago vendors for “A Week of Love and Chocolate” at the Katherine Anne Confections Confiserie. This is the perfect opportunity to support local artisans on this special holiday!                         

The Schedule:

February 9^th from 12:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

Handmade cards from Fixin’ It Up Handmade Card Creations will available for purchase at the Confiserie plus a calligrapher will be on hand to write complimentary love notes for that special someone!

February 10^th from 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Illinois Sparkling, Co. will be pouring up complimentary bubbly samples. Stop in & sip on champagne while picking out the perfect truffles, caramels & marshmallows for your loved one!

February 13^th Valentine’s Day Truffle Making Party with Champagne from 6:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a bubbly truffle-making party! As part of the week of celebrations, Katherine Anne Confections’ Confiserie will be hosting an evening of chocolate—perfect timing for delicious, love-infused treats! Katherine opens her kitchen and recipe book to the public as she demystifies the art of making truffles. This is the perfect opportunity to create delicious treats to share with your significant other (or not!).

The party starts off with appetizers, champagne and socializing. Attendees sample the chocolates, discuss pairings and taste ingredients before moving on to designing flavors and creating ganache. Participants will create classic hand-rolled truffles with Katherine’s guidance—in addition, she will share tips and tricks for designing the perfect truffle. Those who attend will create, design, melt, chill, scoop and roll truffles to completion. Each participant will leave with a sampling of the truffles created that day.

Champagne and small bites will also be served. The cost is $60 per person & reservations are required. For tickets & more information, click here http://www.katherine-anne.com/parties.

February 14^th from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Free samples of champagne will be available all day for customers! Last-minute gift-buyers can peruse the delicious treats for the perfect gift while sipping on some complimentary bubbly. Your honey will forgive you if it takes a bit longer!

Katherine Anne Confections

2745 W. Armitage

Chicago, IL 60647

Valentine’s Day Made Easy

With Bread & Wine

Bread & Wine, the neighborhood American bistro, wine bar and market on Chicago’s

Northwest Side, is excited to celebrate Valentine’s Day! Chef Curtis will bring in a

whole lamb from Catalpa Grove Farm to create some amazing specials for this

Valentine’s Day celebration. Some of the Valentine’s Day specials include:

Lamb shoulder rillet, pickled turnip, yogurt. 14

Lamb loin wrapped in lamb belly, white bean puree, ash cracker, braised leeks, romesco. 25

Each couple will be able to choose from three specials (the third TBA) or order from the regular menu and receive a shared amuse bouche at the beginning of the meal. There is no cover charge for this evening and all regular menu items will be available. Reservations are recommended! 

Thursday, February 14 (kitchen will close at 9:30, the bar will stay open)

Bread & Wine

3732 W. Irving Park Rd

Chicago, IL

Valentine’s Day might be geared toward couples—but they aren’t the only ones who should enjoy the month of February! Katherine Anne Confections, Logan Square Kitchen and Vinejoy are making sure everyone—singles and couples of every description—have a fun-filled February with great food, chocolate, beer and wine events.

February is definitely the month of love, so fall in love with everything from mouth-watering truffles to unique, hand-crafted wines at the tasty events listed below!

12 Perfect Pairs at Katherine Anne Confections

Friday, February 10

5:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

Katherine Duncan, founder and confectionista of Katherine Anne Confections, a locally-focused chocolatier, is excited to host the unique tasting event, “12 Perfect Pairs”! Enjoy an evening of perfect pairings featuring six different Vinejoy wines, cheese-focused savory bites by FIG Catering, three awesome brews by Half Acre Beer and brand new truffles, caramels and marshmallows from Katherine Anne herself. There will be 12 carefully paired combinations for attendees to try…and try some more! All products will be available for purchase, so those delicious, flavorful experiences can be recreated at home.

Check the event Facebook page for a list of the mouth-watering creations: https://www.facebook.com/events/293950260653139/?notif_t=event_invite

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Buy your ticket online at http://www.katherine-anne.com/parties.

Katherine Anne Confections

2745 W. Armitage Ave.

Chicago, IL 60647

Valentine’s Day Pastry Market at Logan Square Kitchen

Saturday, February 11 and Sunday, February 12

10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

Logan Square Kitchen presents its 3^rd Annual Valentine’s Day Pastry Market—a delicious event that gives attendees a taste of some the best sustainable, small-batch, pastry, cake, ice cream, handmade confections and culinary gift items available in Chicago. Many of the artisans found here are not widely available outside the LSK and local Markets.

Attendees at this delectable event will discover amazing handmade pastries, candy, chocolate and more. This is the perfect chance to shop for your Valentine or linger around the kitchen and enjoy your own savory creation over a great coffee, warm cider or hand-crafted cocktail.

Among the artisans, you will see emerging talent next to the familiar faces that make Chicago a great food town. Vendors make unique creations for each Market.

For an up-to-date list of vendors, visit http://www.logansquarekitchen.com/events/lsk-presents

Tickets are $1 for adults and kids are free.

Logan Square Kitchen

2333 N. Milwaukee Avenue

Chicago, IL 60647

Valentine’s Day Truffle Making Party at Katherine Anne Confections

Sunday, February 12

2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Katherine Duncan, founder and confectionista of Katherine Anne Confections, a locally-focused chocolatier, will be hosting a February Truffle Making Party—just in time for Valentine’s Day! Katherine opens her kitchen and recipe book to the public as she demystifies the art of making truffles. Instead of buying your Valentine another box of chocolates, make this year something special by creating your own unique, delicious truffles!

Tickets are $50 and include wine, light appetizers and truffles! Reservations are required and space is limited, so sign up today! http://www.katherine-anne.com/parties.php

Katherine Anne Confections

2745 W. Armitage

Chicago, IL 60647

Already have a special someone? Celebrate at a unique wedding event presented by the Chicago Green Wedding Alliance. Details are below.

Wedding Event Presented by Chicago Green Wedding Alliance

 Sunday, February 26, 2012

12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

Want to create a zero waste event? Committed but don’t fit into conventional molds? Looking for the fairy tale wedding with a twist? Don’t want to wear a dress? You both want to wear a dress? Want an amazing dress? LGBT? Straight? We have you covered…

The Chicago Green Wedding Alliance is excited to host Committed, an avant-garde, green wedding show housed at the newest eco-venue in Chicago, Greenhouse Loft. This isn’t your typical wedding show, as it will be geared towards committed couples—couples of any description—men + women, women + women, men + men. This wedding show will be dedicated to couples who are committed to each other, committed to the environment and committed to throwing the best party Chicago has ever seen.

The show consists exclusively of members of the Chicago Green Wedding Alliance, a thoughtful group of local Chicago vendors that make “being green” an important part of their business models. The Committed show will feature sustainable and organic food tastings, local beer, wine and cocktail demonstrations, wedding dress and tux models, DJs and bands, photographers, venues, invitation makers, salon nail and make-up demonstrations, sustainable and organic confections and cake samplings and much more.

For more information and a list of vendors, visit http://www.committedlovechicago.com/

Tickets for the show are $10 for singles and $15 for couples. To buy your tickets, visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/217073

Greenhouse Loft

2545 W. Diversey

Chicago, IL

Logan Square Kitchen is presenting a Valentine’s Day Pastry Market—a delicious one-day-only event (February 13th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) that will give Chicagoans a taste of the underground, small batch, sustainable pastry, cake, ice cream and handmade confections scene.

All the local food artisans showcased at this unique event are dedicated to delicious pastry and confection creations. Attendees can purchase treats to take home for their Valentines or simply devour these amazing sweet and savory creations on the spot!

WLS-TV’s Steve Dolinsky offered viewers a sneak peek of this delicious event and talked about it on his WBEZ/Vocalo blog

Janet Fuller at the Chicago Sun-Times also gave the Pastry Market a mention

Jacky Runice thought it was worth the trip for her suburban readers

Hope to see you there!