Our little taste of Chicago

I figured I would share a bit about the food we ate in Chicago while the memories are still fresh in my mind! I spent a lot of time researching restaurants before we left for our trip because I knew there were plenty of good eats to be had and I didn’t want to miss out! Many thanks to my friends both “in real life” and online that shared their recommendations with us, we were NOT disapppointed! Here’s a wrap up (long, but I have trouble being brief when I discuss food), with a few pictures, some horribly blurry (although I did not go full out foodie and photograph every meal, I am just not that hardcore!)

Breakfast at the West Egg Cafe at Fairbanks & Ontario: we were quickly seated and our waiter was very nice and helpful (gave us directions when he saw us studying our map). I had the french toast, Tyler had a breakfast burrito, both were excellent! The food came out quickly and we were fed and on our way in less than 30 minutes. It was a great start to the day! This was the only breakfast we ate out since we sweet talked our hotel into putting a mini-fridge in our room for free and ate cereal for breakfast the rest of the trip to save time and $.

Lunch at Corner Bakery (many locations): we grabbed a quick sandwich, chips, drink, and a cookie to go and ate it in Millennium Park while we soaked up the sun. Delicious sandwich, perfect size for 2 people! Oh and it came with a pickle, I LOVE pickles! Better than the sandwiches at Panera in my humble opinion.

Dinner at Quartino at Ontario and State: YUM YUM YUM HEAVEN YUM YUM YUM. Yeah, we REALLY liked this place! Delicious wine, fabulous little appetizer tasting plates (for lack of a better term), fabulous mushroom risotto, and divine gelato sundae for dessert. The atmosphere of this little restaurant is so great. Love the little wooden tables and chairs, worn cloth napkins, old silverware, old movies playing on the tvs, antique appliances as decor. It just had charm, and the staff are so friendly and gave us great wine suggestions. We loved this restaurant so much we went back on our last night and had a great spinach and walnut salad, neopolitan style pizza, and mushroom bruschetta, oh and more wine of course! Everything is made to share, Italian style tapas if you will. I am just sad this restaurant isn’t in Kansas City, because we would be regulars. This was my favorite restaurant in Chicago and we had 2 amazing meals with amazing wine, who could ask for more?

appetizer plate with smoked prosciutto, fontina cheese, and other assorted goodness!

gelato with biscotti and lots of chocolate shavings!

the mushroom bruschetta!

Lunch at Lou Malnati’s at Hubbard and Wells: I had tried Lou Malnati’s before and knew it was great so I took Tyler there for his first authentic Chicago style deep dish pizza. We had a salad that was far too big for 2 people but delicious of course, and a supreme style pizza loaded with cheese, sausage, veggies, and tomatoes. Also delicious but a little heavy on the sausage for my taste, but hey, that’s Chicago. If it doesn’t clog your arteries, what good is it? The decor was a little lacking, but the pizza was stellar and that’s what counts. No picture of the pizza to share, we ate it up so fast, here is all that remained!

Dinner at Geja Cafe: I knew I wanted at least one “romantic” dinner on this trip and several people had recommended this restaurant. Tyler and I are big fans of fondue but not huge fans of the Melting Pot. I really hate how much time the waiters spend at your table at the MP, mixing up your food and explaining how everything works. Geja Cafe was much more hands off, bringing the fondue to your table ready to eat. We opted for the salad, cheese, and chocolate meal since we knew that would be plenty. The salad was simple but had a great dressing that we both commented on. The cheese fondue was our favorite course. They brought us all the bread, apples, and grapes we desired for dipping, then they brought out the flaming chocolate fondue. Yum! Tyler didn’t rave about the chocolate course, but I thought it was just fine. I was a little disappointed that the pound cake we got to dip was burned so I had to pick off the crust. Overall a great meal though and we were stuffed when we left! The drinks were fabulous too, Tyler had a glass of red wine and I had a white sangria that was divine. I should of had another! Very romantic restaurant, but DARK (don’t worry your eyes will adjust). There is only one type of cheese and chocolate fondue, not several like the Melting Pot, but they were great so I didn’t mind not having a choice. We would definitely go back for the food and the romantic atmosphere. We made our reservation through opentable.com and things worked out perfectly!

dippers: pound cake, pineapple, cherries, apples, strawberries, and marshmallows

the chocolate!

Lunch at Phoenix (in Chinatown): Tyler and I went to this restaurant per the request of our sister-in-law who LOVES dim sum and came down from Milwaukee with her family to spend the day with us at the Shedd Aquarium. Tyler and I had only had one experience with dim sum before and it was okay but not amazing so we weren’t sure what to expect. The Phoenix was far and away better than the dim sum restaurant we had tried in Kansas City. We got there around 11:30 and there were many carts going around so we had lots of choices as to what to try. The potstickers were AMAZING, I also loved the spring rolls and the pork buns. We tried several steamed dumplings too and some broccoli greens (I did not try the chicken feet, for I am not that brave.) It was all delicious and the waitstaff was friendly and the restaurant was run very well. It was surprisingly not that crowded for a Saturday. Oh the custard pastries we had for dessert were so delicious. My sister in law is Chinese and knew exactly what to ask for, I was grateful for her assertiveness and ability to speak Chinese with the waitstaff. This was Tyler’s favorite restaurant/meal in Chicago. We would absolutely make it a point to go back the next time we’re in Chicago. Thanks to Joelen for her write up on this restaurant on her blog recently, it helped me have a good idea of what to expect!

Dinner at Portillos at Ontario and Clark: This restaurant was recommended to me over and over again so I knew we had to try it. Tyler had the hot dogs and I had the beef sandwich and we shared some fries and a root beer, heaven! Very very good food and not pretentious! Huge restaurant too, we sat up on the second floor with a good view of the gigantic McDonalds across the street, nice for people watching!

Lunch at Zapatista at 13th and Wabash (near the Museum Campus): we ate here between visiting the Planetarium and the Field Museum. We are always on the hunt for good Mexican food and this place delivered! It was a nice day so we sat out on the patio enjoying our Coronas and margaritas (can you tell we did a lot of drinking on this trip? lol it was great!) I was a little disappointed they didn’t make the guacamole at the table for us like I thought they would, but the guac was excellent so I got over my disappointment. Tyler had a sampler of three different kinds of tacos, the pork was his favorite. I had a combination of a chicken enchilada and a steak taco, both were so good! The black beans were also great, and I usually leave those untouched when I eat Mexican. Their chips were thick and crunchy and their salsa was just spicy enough. We ate and ate and ate some more, it was a fantastic lunch. Although we ate a lot the portions were NOT ridiculously oversized like many restaurants these days, we thought the portion sizes were perfect, left us room to gorge ourselves on chips and salsa and guacamole

Tyler and his Corona

Me and my strawberry margarita, on the rocks!

Dessert at….The Cheesecake Factory (underneath the Hancock Building): okay I know I know I swear I said like 2 weeks ago I would never eat at CF again but we didn’t actually eat THERE, we got cheesecake TO GO and ate it in our room after our adventure to the top of the Hancock Building. That place was packed and we stopped in around 10pm! The cheesecake was predictably delicious as usual. We got a slice of chocolate raspberry truffle and a slice of lemon raspberry and ate it in bed while watching The Colbert Report. We made fun of all of the tourists that were actually eating dinner at CF while we waited in line at the bakery for our cheesecake, oh we are such hypocrites, lol!

Seriously though, I’m glad we avoided the pitfalls of chain restaurants (for the most part) on this trip and tried so many great Chicago restaurants. Thanks again to everyone that gave us recommendations, we enjoyed the food and drinks as much as the sights we took in around Chicago. It was a fabulous vacation!

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Snickerdoodles

I’ve been in the mood to make cookies recently and even though I have several partial bags of chocolate chips and nuts begging to be plucked from their shelf in the pantry, I opted for a simpler recipe that I knew Tyler would go nutso over.  I’ve never really seen the appeal in a cookie with no chips, no nuts, no NOTHING but wow these were AMAZING.  Best part is the recipe doesn’t call for shortening, which many snickerdoodle recipes do.  The last time I tried to make snickerdoodles with no shortening they came out hard as rocks.  This recipe produced soft and chewy cookies and Tyler raved over them.  So glad I opted to try it!  I know Tyler will be asking for these cookies again in the near future!

Snickerdoodles (from the Sweet Melissa Baking Book as seen on Made by Melissa’s blog! )

Ingredients:
For the Dough:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tarter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Cinnamon Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined. The dough will be soft and too sticky to roll. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Position a rack in the top and bottom thirds of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

For the cinnamon sugar: Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.

Using a 1-ounce cookie scoop, or a tablespoon, shape the dough into balls and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar.

Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Flatten them slightly with your fingertips so that they stay put. Bake for about 12 to 13 minutes, or until the bottoms are slightly golden in color. These cookies are supposed to be chewy, so do not overbake. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Snickerdoodles keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. For longer storage, freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Do not uncover before defrosting.

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TWD alternate recipe: Orange Berry Muffins

Tara from Smells Like Home chose this week’s recipe for TWD. As intrigued as I was to try my hand at madeleines, I knew our tiny kitchen could not hold yet another pan, so I took the offered out and made a recipe that had previously been made for TWD before I joined. I needed something that I could make in a short period of time since we are leaving for our vacation to Chicago this week and life is a bit hectic right now. Muffins fit the bill, and since I was so over the moon with Dorie’s lemon poppy seed muffins I figured these would be just as good. Sadly they were not.

Tyler ate the first one and when I asked how it was he said “it doesn’t taste like anything.” Sure enough. It tasted kind of like a bland corn muffin with some blueberries thrown in the mix. The orange flavor was almost completely absent and it is not a sweet muffin so it was left with very little flavor. What a bummer! The culprit is likely the orange I used. I searched through bins of oranges to find the brightest, orangest one, but it still wasn’t very orange. It was juicy inside, but the zest was not as fragrant as I had hoped it would be. It is just not a good time for oranges! Most of the ones at the store looked very sickly. I may try this recipe again when good oranges can be found!

Head on over to the blogroll to see the madeleines and other alternate TWD recipes!

Orange Berry Muffins (from Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours” p. 3)
Ingredients:

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
About 3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 Tablespoons honey
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries – fresh, preferably, or frozen (not thawed)

Decorating sugar, for topping (optional)
Directions:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the blueberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes. When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

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Easy Mexican

I’ve been craving Mexican a lot recently, in fact I have a date with a friend to go out for Mexican food tomorrow night, free espinaca dip, mmmmm! Love those coupons Clearly my cravings were acting up when I made our meal plan for the last week. Chicken enchiladas (I’ll post those later) and steak fajitas! Tonight we made the fajitas and they were delicious and really easy to whip up. So much cheaper than the ones you’d pay $10-15 for at a Mexican restaurant too! I made these with a side of cilantro lime rice which was good but not excellent. I went ahead and put it in my fajitas (Chipotle style!) since the rice was a bit mushy and not very appetizing as a side dish! Fajita marinade was great though! Thanks to the hubby for cooking them up! We cooked the meat and veggies in our wok since the grill pan smokes up the apartment! I found this recipe by doing a search within my Google Reader, I love love love Google Reader! I can always do a search there and find great recipes by other food bloggers that I know and love and this was no exception!

Steak Fajitas (adapted from Joelens Culinary Adventures)

Ingredients:

1 lb beef skirt steak or round, cut in thin strips
colorful bell pepper slices of your choice (We used red pepper)
1/4 large red onion, sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
pinch of kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste
olive oil for cooking

Directions:
In a grill pan, add a touch of olive oil.
Add beef strips and all ingredients except the bell peppers and onions (We marinated the steak in the sauce for 2 hours, then added the steak and the marinade to the wok for cooking)
Allow the beef to cook through.
When beef is almost cooked, add onions.
When onions have slightly softened, add bell peppers.
Season with additional salt & pepper to taste.

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TWD: Florida Pie

I finished the pie!  And we’ve already eaten most of it, lol.  It is SO good!  Florida Pie is basically key lime pie with several bursts of coconut.  There is a coconut layer between the crust and the lime layer, then some mixed in with the meringue, and I decided to add some toasted coconut to the top in lieu of browning my pie under the broiler.  I LOVE coconut!  And really I think the coconut makes this pie.  The key lime flavor is good but I love the sweet touch of the coconut, and I really like the texture of coconut too, although I know many hate it.

I made the graham cracker crust myself since I’d heard the pre-made crusts you can buy at the store are too small to hold all the filling.  I used a springform pan but maybe I should of added more butter to the crust because it was pretty fragile and started to pull away from the filling.  This recipe was very easy, and I’m really glad I finally got around to finishing it!  It will be gone by the end of the day most likely!  I will definitely make it again though.  I love the mini florida pies that Blenders Galore made.  Next time I may try that and take some to my family and friends!  Tyler rated this recipe a 9, same as last week’s peanut butter torte!  He is definitely a Dorie fan after these last two successes   Next week I will probably try one of the old TWD recipes since I don’t have or have room for a madeleine pan.  I’m thinking the orange berry muffins, something a bit healthier before we go on vacation and eat tons of rich food in Chicago!

To see how other TWD bakers fared with this week’s challenge head on over to the blogroll.

Florida Pie (from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

1 9-inch graham cracker crust (page 235), fully baked and cooled, or a store-bought crust
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
4 large eggs, seperated
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh Key (or regular) lime juice (from about 5 regular limes)
1/4 cup of sugar

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment of a silicone mat.

Put the cream and 1 cup of the coconut in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly.  Continue to cook and stir until the cream is reduced by half and the mixture is slightly thickened.  Scrape the coconut cream into a bowl and set it aside while you prepare the lime filling.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl beat the egg yolks at high speed until thick and pale.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the condensed milk.  Still on low, add half of the lime juice.  When it is incorporated, add the reaming juice, again mixing until it is blended.  Spread the coconut cream in the bottom of the graham cracker crust, and pour over the lime filling.

Bake the pie for 12 minutes.  Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes, then freeze the pie for at least 1 hour.

To Finish the Pie with Meringue:

Put the 4 egg whites and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, whisking all the while, until the whites are hot to the touch.  Transfer the whites to a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer in a large bowl, and beat the whites at high speed until they reach room temperature and hold firm peaks.  Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining 1/2 cup coconut into the meringue.

Spread the meringue over the top of the pie, and run the pie under the broiler until the top of the meringue is golden brown.  (Or, if you’ve got a blowtorch, you can use it to brown the meringue.)  Return the pie to the freezer for another 30 minutes or for up to 3 hours before serving.

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TWD: Peanut Butter Torte

Yum! What a delicious torte! This recipe gave me the chance to use the springform pans I got for my birthday for the first time. I used the 9.5 inch springform which made for a more level torte, not “domed” like the picture in the cookbook. Tyler and I love the combination of chocolate and peanut-butter and thought this torte was excellent, he called it “a giant Reese’s Cup.” On a scale of 1-10 Tyler rated it a 9, just below his mom’s apple and blueberry pies! Tyler requested I not pawn this torte off on friends and co-workers, he wants it for himself! Since I was running short on daylight hours to photograph on Sunday I let the torte refrigerate overnight and added the ganache on Monday when I got home from work. Made for a great dessert on Cinco de Mayo! We actually ate it BEFORE dinner, it was just so tempting!

This week’s recipe was chosen by Elizabeth over at Ugg Smell Food. To see a roundup of all the TWD bakers check out the blogroll.

Peanut Butter Torte (from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours.)

Ingredients:
1 ¼ c. finely chopped salted peanuts (for the filling, crunch and topping)
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder (or finely ground instant coffee) I omitted this ingredient since we don’t have it in our house and it would be a waste to buy it.
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
½ c. mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semi sweet chocolate)
24 Oreo cookies, finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Small pinch of salt
2 ½ c. heavy cream
1 ¼ c confectioners’ sugar, sifted
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ c salted peanut butter – crunchy or smooth (not natural)
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped

Getting ready: center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch Springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Toss ½ cup of the chopped peanuts, the sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chops together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put the Oreo crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan (they should go up about 2 inches on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.

Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Crape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you have one, or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, ¼ cup of the chopped peanuts and the milk.

Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Scrape the mouse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms.

To Finish The Torte: put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan.

Bring the remaining ½ cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and , working with a a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.

Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining ½ cup peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.

When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Springform pan; it’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel damped with hot water around the pan and leave it there for 10 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Menu Plan Monday (May 5, 2008)

Well things are starting to be a little less crazy around here. We have a routine with the dog and I’m no longer an anxious mess, so cooking and eating are actually appealing again I haven’t found any new recipes to try this week but stop in on Tuesday to see my latest TWD baked treat!

Monday: Mexican Lasagna in honor of Cinco de Mayo

Tuesday: blue cheeseburgers

Wednesday: chicken salad sandwiches

Thursday: homemade pizza w/veggies and goat cheese

Friday: haven’t thought that far ahead yet

See what’s on the menus of other food bloggers by going to the weekly roundup post here.

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A quick dish

Despite being extremely preoccupied with the latest addition to our family, I did manage to get food on the table a couple of nights this week!  I haven’t had much time to read through the latest issue of Cooking Light, but this recipe did catch my eye and I put it on our weekly menu.  I really liked the flavor of the turkey sausage and the cherry tomatoes were a great fresh addition to this dish.  Photographing food with a puppy in the house is my latest challenge, he is into EVERYTHING!

Three-Cheese Baked Penne (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups uncooked whole wheat penne (about 8 ounces tube-shaped pasta)
Cooking spray
2 (4-ounce) links sweet turkey Italian sausage
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
10 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 garlic clove, minced
Dash of salt
1 (8-ounce) can garlic-and-herb tomato sauce
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add bell pepper and next 6 ingredients (through salt) to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until bell pepper is tender. Stir in tomato sauce. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add pasta to pan, tossing gently to coat. Spoon pasta mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Stir in mozzarella and goat cheese; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes or until bubbly and top is browned.

Serves 6

WW pts per serving=7

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