Never heard of scrambled eggs in a quesadilla, but I’m intrigued. Thanks Greg. I love croquettes, but never have made them before. I might start with this recipe from SweetSmart. This article peaked my interest. Does anyone else belong to a Co-Op? Mmmm … Vanilla. These Princess Cupcakes are beautiful. The Beantown Baker held Cupcake Week and shared these yummy looking Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes.
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YUM-O: How we crashed Rachael Ray’s Big Block Party
Never a dull moment in Chicago. Yesterday, it was all about crashing the taping of Rachael Ray’s Big Block Party. A few of Dave’s friends who live in Wrigleyville received letters about the taping on August 21. The event was invite only, and residents would be allowed to cross the blockades to get into their apartments, but only with an ID showing a valid address. When I got wind of this, I immediately called Doug (who also happens to be enjoying Furlough Fridays) and roped him into being my party-crasher partner-in-crime. We had another good brunch with Liz at Kitsch’n and set out on our mission. First, we snuck around…
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A tribute to Rick Bayless
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that Rick Bayless is officially my new favorite celebrity chef. Sorry Paula. I love you too, it’s just that Rick has really won me over during his rise to the finale, and subsequent win on Top Chef Masters. Is it just me, or does he truly seem like one of the nicest, most sincere and passionate people you could ever want as a culinary idol? Of course this would mean nothing if his food wasn’t PHENOMENAL. Joe’s wins as my favorite Chicago restaurant, but only by virtue of their stone-crab stronghold. But Bayless’ Frontera Grill is right up there as…
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Sugar-shortage suffering
Glad to see someone’s taking this whole sugar-shortage thing as hard as I am. Stephen Colbert dedicated an entire five minutes of his show last night to the topic: [hulu:http://www.hulu.com/embed/VfZl6SdANCVFMjBmK4o5rw]
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Jamaican me hungry
It’s my belief that when you go to a good, unique restaurant, especially an ethnic food place, you MUST order the house specialty at least once. Case-in-point: The whole red snapper, escovitch-style (marinated in vinegar and spices and lightly fried) at Ja’Grill in Lincoln Park. If the head freaks you out, they’ll even cut it off for you. They do red snapper filets as well, but the only way to really order this dish is bones, eyeballs, skin and all. Am I freaking you out? On to the appetizing portion of this post. The fish is incredibly tender, juicy and light. The spices from the marinade deliver a slow-creeping heat…
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Crispy pizza crust: part two
I applied the rolling-pin approach to my leftover pizza dough today. It’s definitely the way to go for a thin, crispy crust. I used my great old-fashioned wooden rolling pin. None of that silicone crap. I cooked the crust first, as with before, and poked a few holes in the dough with a toothpick to prevent the giant balloon effect that I got before. Worked like a charm. Then I topped it with pesto, minced garlic, some of my leftover fried eggplant, a tiny bit of shredded mozzarella and grated parmesan. I popped it under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Then I sprinkled it with…
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Mystery ingredient revealed
Time to reveal the mystery ingredient: Ta-da! It’s Eggplant! And this concoction is an eggplant parmesan panini. I haven’t had eggplant parmesan in a very long time. Perhaps because I tried to make fried eggplant a few years back and it was awful. I blame a bad eggplant. This beauty, on the other hand, can do no wrong. Aren’t eggplants funny? Dense and spongy, almost like a nerf ball. Cutting into them is so much fun. I digress. Anyway, I saw this one in the grocery store and thought, what the hell, Eggplant Experimentation Round II, here we go. Not sure what I did differently, but these fried eggplant slices…
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Challah back
I was at Trader Joe’s AGAIN today on a bread/bagel run (love TJ’s breads) and I spotted this Challah (for all you non-jews out there, it’s pronounced HA-LA). I was debating between this and some brioche rolls, and then I thought, who am I kidding? I LOVE Challah! Of course this loaf probably won’t compare to the fresh Shabbat Challah from the Tucson JCC. Candice knows what I’m talking about. Not quite sure what I want to do with it. Challah french toast is pretty amazing. I was also daydreaming about a tuna melt, which in my opinion are best on soft, fluffy breads. Maybe I’ll get really crazy and do both.…
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Mystery Panini
This mouth-watering panini has a secret. It’s harboring a cleverly disguised, rogue vegetable. Dave wouldn’t eat this sandwich if he knew what was nestled between it crispy exterior. Can you guess the sneaky ingredient? I’ll tell you after Dave takes his first bite.
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Heaven on Crust: prosciutto, arugula and parmesan pizza
This, my friends, is pizza the way it was meant to be: I first tried this delicious combination in a small trattoria in Turino Italy. The crust was thin, crispy and warm. The flavors and textures of the uncooked toppings mixed PERFECTLY together: paper-thin slices of rich, salty prosciutto, generous shavings of parmigiano-reggiano, crisp, peppery arugula, a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh ground pepper. If I’m ever lucky enough to see a similar menu item stateside, I plead with my fellow diners to split it with me. Most people aren’t into it. Maybe the arugula and prosciutto turns them off. Or the fact that this isn’t anything close to…