My girl

I love Ellie Krieger. She is wrote my favorite cook book. I make her things all of the time and yet again she pleased me. Her book is called The Food You Crave. I have made many many things out of it and some of them several times. This time was a pasta. Super amazing and super simple. Linguini with shrimp.

Trying

I am trying to make things out of what we have and to be honest with you, we have some good things to work with. I have a pablano pepper in the fridge that is calling out to me. I think I am going to make a salad of it with some jicama, mango, red onion, black beans, chipotle, some adobo, cilantro, garlic maybe, red pepper maybe and some lime. Whoa. Sounds amazing. I just came up with that in my mind right now. Yummy. Maybe leave out the black beans. We shall see. I am going to a shin dig this weekend; a family picnic affair and maybe I could take it to that. Yum. It's always good to bring something you really love, that way if there is nothing else you would like, you are home free eatin on your dish.

So I just came up with something and have it in the oven as we speak. It's roasted potatoes. I had some red potatoes and one sweet potato just sitting there and half a red onion. So I cubed up the taters, sliced up the onions, tossed them with two tablespoons of evoo, 1 tsp Adobo seasoning with cumin, and one teaspoon of chipotle pepper. It is going to be really yummy I have a feeling. I can't wait to give it a try. They are roasting away and I will save them for later tonight. I have to try and do more cooking while the little one sleeps, that way I have more time for her when she is awake. I will let you know how it comes out. You know, it's so easy to come up with your own recipes if you cook a lot. Use recipes and then once you learn the flavors that go well together, it makes it easy to come up with your own recipes with what you have on hand.

I am also concocting a recipe in my mind. You don't really see too many cold salad recipes that are Asian. So I think I am going to do one with some brown rice, edamame (soy beans), green onion, mushrooms maybe, cilantro maybe, crushed peanuts maybe, some sesame oil and rice vinegar maybe some ginger. We shall see. I love Asian and I love healthy foods so this salad may be just what I am looking for. I will let you know as soon as I get it perfected.

Something new

Yesterday I had been feeling a major meat overload from eating pork tacos all weekend so I need to have some veggies. I decided to come up with something on my own. This is what I came up with.

1 box of whole wheat cous cous (you can make less if you wish)
1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
3 small shallots minced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 bunch of asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
2 small zucchini cut into 1/2 in cubes
1 yellow pepper chopped
1/2 cup basil chopped
olive oil
two lemons
salt/pepper to taste

Prepare the cous cous according to directions. Place in a large bowl and fluff. Meanwhile heat a large skilled and add 2 tablespoons of evoo. Add the shallots and garlic and cook about a minute, before adding zucchini. After about 5 minutes, or when the zucchini is softened somewhat, remove from the pan and place in the bowl with cous cous. Add the asparagus to the hot pan adding more oil if needed. Cover and cook about 2 minutes or until slightly tender. Don't over cook. Add the cooked asparagus, halved tomatoes, yellow pepper and basil. In a small bowl place the juice of two lemons, zest of one lemon, one clove garlic, salt, pepper, and 2 T evoo. Whisk together and drizzle over the top of the salad. Toss together and enjoy. You can eat if warm, but it will be much better after it's cooled in the fridge. Enjoy.

Rick Bayless Obsession

Me and Jason have the most major Rick Bayless obsession. Well, Jason's is a little deeper than mine, but I too love him. He is ranked one of the best chefs in the country and we are so lucky to have him in the great city of Chicago. We have been to his restaurant Frontera Grill two times and his more casual Frontera Fresca in Macy's more than a handful of times. We were so happy to discover that he added tacos to the menu. I have tried the shrimp, chicken, and pork. There are also vegetable and a steak.

Recently Rick was on the Morning Show cooking one pot dishes. After seeing him make this one, I had to try it. We made it the other night and not only was it super simple, but fast and amazing in flavor. This dish is a prime example of two things. One, great food doesn't have to be difficult to put on the table and two, simple ingredients are the best ingredients. This is a dish that anyone and everyone should try to make. I have to say, my beef turned out a little tough. I am going to try making it one time with rotisserie chicken and maybe once with pork. I loved this dish.

I served it up with my new favorite rice and beans recipe. Such a simple recipe, again, yet so so good. I could live off this stuff. And the Adobo seasoning is my new favorite spice mix. I have been putting it on everything. It comes in different varieties. The one I got is with cumin. I love it so much and highly recommend it. It may be found in your Mexican food section of the grocery store.

The recipe is for Spicy Chipotle Beef. It's the first recipe listed and you can also enjoy a video of him cooking it live on the show. Please try this one and enjoy.

Urban Belly

My parents were in town and they offered to watch Lucy for us so we could go out. One place came to mind and that was Urban Belly. I had already read so many things about this place that I knew this is the place I wanted to dine. You know, when you only have one chance every so often to get out, it's always scary knowing that it may not end up being that great. This was not the case with Urban Belly. This place was amazing. I have not stopped thinking about it since that night.

Chef Bill Kim is the former chef of Le Lan and the legendary Charlie Trotters. He was born in Korea and graduated from Kendall College here in Chicago. I have to say, this man has got it right. I have read some say that this is his response to David Chang's Momofuku in New York City, which we have also dined at several times. I have to say, this is what made me worried about eating somewhere like this. David Chang is the man. He makes the most incredible food. I must say though, this was just as good, if not better. I hate to say it but it's the truth. Sorry David. Although, you do have it going for you with the pork buns.


We ordered the pork and cilantro dumplings which were out of this world. You know that moment when you taste the first bite of something and you know, well, I knew. I knew that what was about to happen under this roof was going to be memorable and beautiful and tasty. The food was hot, which was nice and the dumplings were packed full of tender pork and cilantro with a very nice dipping sauce that was reminiscent of hoisin sauce. A little sweet and salty with deep Asian flavors. It was perfect.

Because it was communal seating, we ended up sitting next to a younger couple and got talking with them. The guy was cousins with one of the cooks. Jackpot. We ended up talking quite a bit and as the waitress brought out an order of duck and pho spiced dumplings, they kindly offered us a taste. I did the usual, refusal, but after them insisting we try one, I couldn't resist. How could you pass that up? They too, were amazing. I knew that nothing could go wrong here.



Jason really wanted to try the pork and pineapple rice, so we decided to share that and a order of the Urbanbelly Ramen which was full of pork belly, shitake mushrooms and pho broth. I must admit, I am now obsessed with pho broth. It was so robust with the perfect amount of spice. There was a surprising amount of pork belly. I felt like just as I thought it was gone, another piece was discovered lingering at the bottom. The noodles were excellent and there was plenty of them for the both of us.

The rice: heaven. This was the most delicious rice that I can remember ever having. It was loaded with bits of pork belly and sweet tender bits of pineapple in addition to fried egg and cilantro. This rice was phenomenal. I am so happy that we ordered one of each and shared because it was the perfect amount.

I must say that there isn't anything on the menu I wouldn't try. There were some bacon and squash dumplings that I wanted to try. Later seeing other people's food, I would like to try the lamb and brandy dumplings. They were served over a bed of edamame and drizzled with some Asian sauce. Looked really yummy. A rice I would love to try was organic pea shoots with Thai basil. Yummy. I don't know if I could ever get enough of this place. It makes me sad that it's all the way in the city, but you know what, I would drive there anytime, any day to have a taste of that deliciousness.

Whoa!

I feel like I have been missing in action on here. Sorry about that. I have had a wild summer so far and been really busy. It doesn't mean I have stopped cooking and baking. I just need to get my butt in gear and post some stuff.

This weekend I am making a lot of new things. My little sister is having a baby so we are having a party today for her. I had made a couple new things actually and am really excited about it. I think it made them a little nervous but I think they are going to love what I have done.

I chose to make a bean dip from Rachael Ray. It turned out really yummy after trying several devices at my mom's house to try and puree it without a food processor. That was interesting. Leaving the comfort of your own kitchen can sometimes be challenging. All in all though, it turned out great. Here is the link to that recipe. I am just serving it with a veggie tray and pita chips.
http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=323

The other recipe just happens to be from Rachael Ray as well. What can I say, I like the girl. She has some amazing things, and of course some not so amazing things, but why would I make those. This one is a potato salad with roasted corn and jalapenos. No mayo folks. I try to avoid that stuff at all costs but when I do use mayo I always use Smart Balance Mayonnaise . Here is the link to the recipe. http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-index/salad-recipes/Grilled-Corn-and-Red-Potato-Salad

The the other two recipes are dessert. Well and the chicken salad which I stole from my favorite bakery in Oak Park. The chicken salad is as follows:

1 rotisserie chicken pulled apart and cooled
5 T of Smart Balance Mayonnaise (or whatever you like)
1 T dijon
half of one red onion minced
three apricots diced
3 stalks of celery minced
2-3 dill pickles minced
salt and pepper to taste
Fridge and enjoy. Yummy. I must say this was a tuna salad I had and I turned it into a chicken salad for the party. It's amazing. My sister wants me to make another batch for leftovers.



So for dessert I am making two fruit tarts and smores cupcakes. The smores cupcakes come from Martha Stewart and the fruit tart from another cooking site.

Baloneys

My parents had stumbled upon this little sandwich shop in Barrington, Illinois on there way to visit us. It's located in the little downtown area in one of the historic Catlow Theater storefronts. They make the hugest sandwiches you could ever order. One of their specialties are the turkey salad and tuna salad. The other sandwich that is popular is the Reubenesque a corned beef
sandwich that is "gigantic". Maybe one day I will be brave enough, or hungry enough to order it.

Here's mine. I went with creating my own. Turkey, onions, tomato, lettuce and mustard. I keep it basic but man, I ate it all too. My belly was busting.

Last time we went we were cracking up at my aunt who just couldn't let it go to waste, so she finished it all. I couldn't believe it. When they first got their turkey salad there was no way they were going to finish it. They could have each eaten half and been full. I have no idea how she did it but in my eyes, she is a champion.http://www.boloneys.com/Boloneys/Home.html