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I finally pulled the trigger on the ice cream maker I’ve been wanting for a long, long time — just in time for summer. It’s only a little Cuisinart — nothing fancy — but I’ve already used it a handful of times and I’m pretty much obsessed. The first ice cream I made was a […]
Apple crumble holds a special place in my heart. Not only is it one of the first things my husband (then boyfriend) ever made for me, but the story behind it also left a lasting impression that we still joke about to this day. He and I met within the first few days of being [...]
(Photo by Bloody Best) A few weeks ago, fellow foodies and ad gals Bloody Best, invited me to brunch with them at Little Goat Diner — Stephanie Izard‘s new “go hard or go home” (that’s my quote) spot in Chicago’s West Loop. See what we ate, what we thought, and why their Bloody Mary deserves 5 [...]
I love to cook. In my dream world, I’d go to the market every day and cook up an extravagant meal every night. But that’s my dream world. My reality doesn’t allow such luxuries (whose does?). In fact, it doesn’t allow for much cooking, period. So in an attempt to make the most of the [...]
One of the things that’s so appealing about travel is the ability to experience something new. New cultures. New architecture. New foods. But who’s to say that we can’t do that right in our own backyard? And last weekend, that’s exactly what I did — via a one-way ticket to Chicago’s Chinatown courtesy of Chicago [...]
I eat a lot of salad. Like, a lot. And I don’t mean sissy little iceberg salads with a few tiny carrot shreds and a tomato slice or two — boring. I mean creative, flavorful and satisfying salads. Which, luckily enough, are just about as simple to make and their boring iceberg counterpart. Which leads [...]
I eat a lot of salad. Like, a lot. And I don’t mean sissy little iceberg salads with a few tiny carrot shreds and a tomato slice or two — boring. I mean creative, flavorful and satisfying salads. Which, luckily enough, are just about as simple to make as their boring iceberg counterpart. Which leads [...]
My stomach growls in unison with the beeping of my alarm clock. It’s morning, and I’m hungry. I roll out of bed, put on my slippers and my worn-in Bradley University sweatshirt, and make my way to the kitchen. Weekday or weekend, this is pretty much my routine. I always make time for breakfast — [...]
If only the few photos I took — which, unfortunately, are grainy (iPhone) — did it justice. And yes, it was delicious, too.
This past weekend, the hubs and I walked over to The Publican, one of our favorite neighborhood spots, for an afternoon drink. I ordered a Bloody Mary, and he ordered this… The Zombie Chaser. Three Floyd’s Zombie Dust (one of my favorite IPAs), Buffalo Trace Bourbon and lemon. $*&#!? I consider myself a beer purist (AKA: [...]
Today marks the 325th consecutive day that Chicago has gone without snow. Which, according to my favorite local weatherman, is 12.6-inches below average. And as someone who grew up here my entire life, it’s hard to describe how staggeringly unusual this is. During my childhood, you were lucky if you made it until Thanksgiving without [...]
Today is cold. It’s snowing. The outside world is monochromatic and drab. Just beyond my window, Chicago’s iconic Sears Tower is mostly hidden — tucked behind nature’s overcast curtain. Inside, I sit with a mug of tea (a craft beer mug, of course), hoping it’ll a) help chase away the cold I’ve been battling and [...]
Happy New Year, everyone! Finally shake off that hangover? In the mood to talk about food? Good. As far as food and restaurants are concerned, I have a love/hate relationship with Best Of lists. I love them because I enjoy getting other people’s perspectives. I hate them because everyone’s perspective is relative. However, since food [...]
Hi! Figured I was gone for good, didn’t you? I don’t blame you — it has been a while. I wish I had a super exciting story as to why I’ve been MIA for so long, but I don’t. I did sell my condo and move, which was pretty exciting (to me, anyway), but you [...]
My husband loves baked beans. Like, LOVES them. And with all the grilling we’ve been doing these days, it seemed wrong not to at least give baked beans a whirl. But not those pre-made cans of mush loaded with high fructose corn syrup — the real deal. Dried beans. With bacon. Coffee. And of course, [...]
I just realized something. Maker’s Mark spells ‘whiskey’ without the ‘E’. There it is — clear as day in the picture. How have I never noticed this before? Have they been spelling it wrong the whole time? Have I been spelling it wrong the whole time? Is someone playing a trick on me? It’s unusual that [...]
So, uh…how’s everyone been? It’s been a while since I’ve posted here, but I assure you I haven’t forgotten. The past few months have been spent adjusting to a new job, traveling to San Francisco, enjoying the beautiful Chicago weather and of course, eating and drinking. And while I haven’t documented my recent foodie escapades [...]
It’s a shame that this blog has gone so long without a beer bread recipe. Considering all the other beer-focused recipes I’ve featured on these pages (pancakes with stout, chili with lager, risotto with double IPA…you get the idea), it’s hard to believe I’ve bypassed such a simple beer recipe. Let’s change that, shall we? [...]
Anything wine can do, beer can do better. Yep, I went there. Picking favorites? Probably. As someone who loves cooking with (and drinking) beer, adding it to risotto was one of those “no duh, why haven’t I been doing this all along?” cooking moments. I chose a double IPA (local favorite Half Acre Beer’s Double Daisy [...]
Whew — it’s been busy around here. New jobs (more on that soon), new accomplishments and a few other things that deserve to be celebrated. And what better way to celebrate than with my favorite cocktail — the Old Fashioned. After much at-home Old Fashioned experimentation with less-than-perfect results, I accepted the fact that my [...]
It’s rare that I take an actual camera with me to a restaurant, but if there ever was a meal that deserved to be photographed from beginning to end, it was this one. NEXT Restaurant’s tribute to El Bulli — Chef Adria’s amazingly innovative restaurant in Spain’s Costa Brava. I remember the No Reservations episode in which [...]
Today was the perfect day. I woke up late (partially due to losing a hour because of Daylight Savings, but who’s counting), enjoyed brunch at home, took a long walk (sans coat — yay!) around the neighborhood with my man, and came home to the scents of this braised beauty slowly cooking away in the [...]
While I love crazy desserts as much as the next gal, sometimes simple is best. And this cake, which can be made in one bowl and only takes 30 minutes to bake, is proof. In fact, it’s my new go-to recipe. (And it has wine in it! Go figure.) I’ve made this cake a few [...]
This sandwich was inspired by one of the best things I ate last year — the Wild Boar Sloppy Joe from Longman & Eagle. But as it turns out, wild boar is pretty hard to find in Chicago (unless you want to buy 10+ pounds of it, which I didn’t). In fact, I went to [...]
I realize that there will be two reactions to this post. 1. “Beer in pancakes? Really? She’s such a lush.” Or… 2. “Bourbon County Stout in pancakes? Really? What a waste.” And yes, I have a response for both. For those of you who think beer in pancakes is crazy, I encourage you to think [...]
My husband and I aren’t big Valentine’s Day people. In fact, in the past we’ve been known to order a heart-shaped deep dish pizza (hey, we do live in Chicago) from one of the local pizza joints and call it a day. But this year, since he already surprised me with a box of my [...]
I’m pretty sure mussels come nestled in those cute little spoon-like shells for a very specific reason — to help you slurp up every last bit 0f the delicious broth they were just swimming in. When it comes to mussels, broth is definitely king. And this is a really good broth — sweet, spicy and creamy. [...]
New Year’s resolutions be damned. Sometimes you just need (and want) butter and sugar for breakfast. There’s something about a good ol’ crumb cake that reminds me of being a kid. My mom used to buy the Entenmann’s version and although I haven’t had it in probably 15 years, it still holds a special place [...]
Happy New Year, everyone! I realize I’m a bit late on this, but 2012 got off to a fast and furious start that left me scrambling to keep up. It’s gonna be that kinda year! Before I completely leave 2011 in the dust, I want to recap a few things that made it an awesome [...]
I started writing this post on December 31st, 2010 — exactly one year ago. It was blank at the time. Throughout the year I added to this post in an attempt not to forget some of the amazing things I’d eaten. In all honesty, though, the reason these dishes are on the list is because [...]
This isn’t really a recipe, but rather an idea. Everyone knows how to make French toast, right? I love Panettone (the one from Whole Foods is especially good) and every Christmas morning I make Panettone French toast for my family. The other morning I was feeling festively creative (I guess I couldn’t wait until Christmas) [...]
Sometimes things don’t work out as planned. Take these beautiful swirl cookies, for example, which I intended on bringing to a holiday cookie party last week. Due to my hectic schedule, I broke up the steps over the course of a couple of days. Monday: make dough. Tuesday: make filling and complete cookies. Wednesday: attend [...]
Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to meet and create friendships with some amazingly creative, talented and inspiring people — my friend Dre being one of them. She’s 110% fabulous 110% of the time and she makes it seem effortless. We met several years ago while working at Leo Burnett, and I can easily [...]
This post is dedicated to my friend Annette. I know she reads my blog and she’s probably noticed that this is my second soup post in just a few short weeks. Why would she notice, you ask? Because I’ve always told her that I didn’t like soup. (Get your gasps of disbelief out of the [...]
I love spices. I could spend hours browsing the aisles at my local spice shop and have enough jars in my own kitchen to prove it. Everything from chili and curry powders to truffle salt and Szechuan peppercorns — you name it, chances are I have it. But one of my favorites in that drawer [...]
I have a question. Why is it that pecan pie is almost exclusively reserved for the days that fall between Thanksgiving and Christmas? It’s not like pecans are seasonal. And it’s not like people don’t like pie year-round. So really — what’s up with that? Once you have this pie you’ll want to make it [...]
Tired of turkey? I thought so. After Thanksgiving, the weather really took a turn for the worst here in Chicago. It’s rainy, windy and cold, and I have a feeling that we’ll be dealing with snow any day now. The North Face jacket and Sorel boots are ready…but I’m not. Like most Chicagoans, I still [...]
While some people may say that no brownie is a bad brownie, I disagree. I happen to be pretty picky about brownies and in my opinion, not all are created equal. My awesome brownie checklist includes the following: Chewy edges (corners prefered) with a slightly undercooked center Fudgy texture rather than cakey NO nuts (I [...]
November is a big month around here. On November 11th, my husband and I celebrated our five-year wedding anniversary. The next day, we celebrated his 31st birthday. And on November 15th, this blog turns one. I think celebratory cupcakes are in order, don’t you? My husband and I are huge craft beer nerds, so it [...]
Back in the summer of 2008, my husband and I travel to St. Louis for the wedding of two of our very good friends. While there we dined at Niche, a lovely spot in the historic Benton Park neighborhood. It’s also the home of chef Gerard Craft, one of Food and Wine’s best new [...]
Just when I thought I’d exhausted every side salad recipe known to man, I randomly came up with this one. Crunchy and licoricey fennel tossed with a crispy and tart apple, then coated in a lemony vinaigrette with salty parmesan cheese. A bright, summery and light salad that can be enjoyed even when the weather [...]
Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t like s’mores? If there is, I certainly haven’t met them. Last month when I visited Big Sur with my husband and friends, we ended each day by making s’mores in the wood fireplace. It was Jen’s idea, and it was a good one. The sound of the [...]
Meatloaf gets a bad wrap, but let’s face it — often times it’s for good reason. It’s not that attractive on the plate, has a tendency to be dry and bland, and come on — it’s called MEATLOAF. Not appealing. Growing up, my mom made a pretty decent meatloaf. She used ground turkey and shredded [...]
The only thing better than a cookie is a BIG cookie, and this chocolate chip cookie cake is just that — a big cookie. When I was younger, my mom would make me a big cookie cake for my birthday instead of a traditional birthday cake. I think she used a pizza pan rather than [...]
The blogosphere is a weird place. It can make you feel as though you know someone when in reality, you’ve never even met. So today, myself and many other food bloggers are celebrating the wedding of one of our blogosphere friends — Steph from Steph’s Bite by Bite — with a virtual bridal shower. We’ve [...]
As the crispness of fall begins permeating the air, it’s hard to resist the urge to sit down with a steaming bowl of something soul-warming after a long day at work. So the other night I was inspired to whip up a veggie curry using the abundance of farmers market veggies I had stockpiled in [...]
Pierrot Gourmet (Gold Coast, Chicago — 118 E. Superior) October in Chicago means Bears football, falling leaves and Oktoberfest. And as someone with a smidge of German in their blood, I never turn down an opportunity to indulge in cold beer and encased meats. So when I was invited* to attend a special Oktoberfest menu [...]
As an advertising writer, I spend countless hours slaving over words. Not just any words, but the perfect words – ones that’ll trigger a desired feeling or reaction. This is much more of an art than most people would realize, and my brain has been trained to think about words in a certain way. Long [...]
It’s almost that time of year. You know what I’m talking about. Fall. Oh, and crock-pot season. I have to admit that I’m not crock-pot crazy like some other people I know. I’d much prefer to slow cook something in the oven for 8 hours in a beautiful Le Creuset dutch oven, but let’s be [...]
I eat a lot of pasta. Probably more than I’d like to admit. But in my defense, on nights where I don’t get home until 8:30 (which happens more often than not), it’s an understandable go-to — the easiest and quickest option after a 12-hour work day when I’m starving and have little patience for [...]
