Truffled Cayenne Chocolate Popcorn

So I tried making the truffles popcorn with cayenne and chocolate for a snack today. Didn't turn out too bad but I think I used a bit too much chocolate. I just popped the popcorn, poured some truffle oil over, shook in about 1/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips and sprinkled some cayenne over the top. I shook it all up in the pot and poured it in the bowl. I think I need to let the chocolate harden a little. Otherwise it tastes good, but it's not as good as David Burke's version.

NAHA

And Restaurant Week in Chicago continues... NAHA.  Chelsea told me I had to try here because their whitefish is supposedly the best.  Well, I don't necessarily think it's the best but it was good.  We walked into our super early reservations at 5:30pm (the only time they had open during restaurant week) and I loved the ambiance.  The restaurant had light woods and a light airy feel to it.  The tables were all in a row with a chair on one side and a bench on the other against the wall where they had the softest pillows to sit back onto.  I was very comfortable!  The waiter, Albert, was very nice and even let me sample a couple of wines before ordering.  I chose this great Greek muscafiero (it was similar to a riesling). 

Onto the menu.  We both ordered off of the prix fixe menu.  I ordered the spring salad with beets for the appetizer.  Kevin had the shrimp over warm cheese grits.  Both were delicious.  I just accidentally tried the goat cheese even though I'm an idiot because I knew it was goat cheese because it was listed on the menu and I'm just NOT a goat cheese fan.  It took a lot for me to swallow it down.  Kevin told me I wasn't allowed to spit it into my napkin. 

For our entrees we had the Kobe beef brisket (Kevin) and the whitefish (me).  They were both delicious.  The only problem: they were super small.  I guess if we weren't Americans, we would have considered them to be enough food, but I was still a little hungry after dinner.  :( 



whitefish



beef brisket

 For dessert, I ordered this banana dish with salted caramel.  I need to make caramels immediately and add sea salt to it because it was to die for.  Kev even tried it although he's kinda allergic to uncooked bananas.  Kevin had a chocolate dish.  It was good, but I'm not a huge thick chocolate dessert fan - I like more airy stuff.  Then Albert (the waiter) brought out some little candy pieces: chocolate with ouzo and "gin and tonic" candy (gin + tonic + fruit gelatin).  They were both great!  I really liked NAHA, but the only downfall, I wish there was just a little more food.  

David Burke's Primehouse

I'm really enjoying Restaurant Week in Chicago!  Kevin, Stephan, Kerry and I had reservations last night at David Burke's Primehouse in The James Hotel.  We arrived a little bit early so we sat near the reception at The James on comfy couches.  There were a few drink ladies running around and they were super quick getting you your drink.  I tried the Mojito Diego!  It was excellent.  Plus, they had little munchies in the lounge area including truffled chocolate cayenne pepper popcorn (i'm going to try to recreate and when I do, I will post my recipe) and some good thin breadsticks dipped in chili oil. 

We sat down at our table not long after our reservation time (7:30pm) so I was happy about that and they brought out neat flaky rolls for each of us at the table.  The restaurant wasn't as swanky as I thought it would be but relatively plain.  We all ordered off of the prix fixe menu while Kevin and Stephan upgraded their ribeyes to 55 day dry-aged steak.  For appetizers, between the 3 of us there were surf and turf dumplings, lobster bisque and a wedge salad.  All great!  I chose the Steak Burker as my entree which was a 40 day aged steak burger. It was great but I was already pretty full after all of my snacking.  After my mojito was finished I tried the Lychee martini.  Not as good as the mojito.  I really really liked that mojito.  Kevin tried some rye martini of theirs - I didn't like it but Kevin did. For dessert I had the pineapple upside down cake with a sorbet on the side.  Nothing special about it, but it was good.  Kevin and Kerry both had the chai creme brulee.  I love creme brulee, but I'm not sure I liked the mixture of the two flavors. 


Lychee Martini



fancy roll :)



55 day dry-aged ribeye



Steak Burker - 40 day dry-aged

After dinner Stephan asked if we could see where they dry age the meat.  The manager took us through the kitchen and down into the room where they do this.  It was awesome.  They have an entire wall filled with Himalayan salt and then just meat on racks.  I took pics! They also have one slab of rib meat that has been aging in there since 2006.  It was hard as rock! 


Kevin in front of the on their way to 75 day dry-aged steaks



this was put in the room on 2/2/11




this steak was entered in the salt room on 10/10/06!



Stephan in front of the salt wall



HVD and other good eats!

Kevin and I have continued our Valentine's Day tradition of cooking to avoid the big annoying crowds and upped prices that day.  Same menu as last year except for a slight tweak of asparagus as a side.  I'm obsessed with crab legs and Kevin's a big meat fan, so we had crab legs with filet mignon with asparagus and chocolate fondue with fruit and pound cake for dessert.  Delicious!  Kevin made the filet and asparagus so sorry if you want the recipes and let's face it, steaming crab legs and melting chocolate fondue made it a pretty easy night for me. Great meal, romantic, easy to make for only around $50 (that's including the wine!).

 

Kevin went out of town again last weekend with his buddies so Chelsea and I got to cook again!  This time we made a recipe that Stephan and Kerry had made for Kevin and I before.  It is so delicious yet surprisingly heavy so don't eat too much if you make it!  We subsituted the Halibut for Tilapia to keep the costs down, but I highly recommend this dish as it looks incredibly complicated and fancy, but it's so simple to make!  You can even make it for one person if you're just cooking for yourself! 

Ippoglosso con Vegetali

312 Chicago http://www.312chicago.com/

Serves 2

1 cup finely chopped cauliflower

1/2 cup whipping cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 Pacific halibut fillet pieces, about 7 ounces each, skin removed

2 tablespoons chopped pancetta or bacon

1/4 cup blanched, peeled fresh fava beans or other seasonal beans

2 tablespoons thinly sliced red onion

1 bunch watercress, rinsed and dried

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, preferably from Tuscany

Combine the cauliflower and cream in a small saucepan with a pinch each of salt and pepper.  Cook over medium heat until the cauliflower is fully tender, 10 - 12 minutes, stirring occassionally.  Take the pan from the heat and let cool slightly, then puree the cauliflower in a food processor until smooth.  Return the puree to the small sacepan and keep warm over very low heat. 

Heat a medium skillet with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Season the halibut pieces with salt and pepper.  Add the fish to the skillet and cook until well browned and just a touch of translucence remains in the center, 2-4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish.  Transfer the halibut to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. 

Add the pancetta to the pan and cook over medium heat until it has rendered some of its fat and is beginning to brown, 2-3 minutes.  Add the fava beans, onion, and waterress, tossing for a few moments to just barely warm the vegetables through.  Taste for seasoning, adding salt (keep in mind the pancetta is already salty) and pepper to taste. 

Spoon a bed of the cauliflower puree into the center of individual plates.  Spoon the sauteed vegetable mixture over and top with the halibut.  Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the fish and serve. 

We had our dinner paired with Cupcake's Sauvignon Blanc which was great!  I also tried on HVD Cupcake's Red Table Wine and was just as pleased.  Good wine brand and not too pricey! 

Ok, last thing, but super amazing, I am so glad I watched Food Network pretty much all day Saturday and Sunday because I caught Melissa d'Arabian's show, Ten Dollar Dinners. She made Huevos Rancheros and they are so creatively cute!  The recipe is linked but check out my crack at it for breakfast this morning.  Not bad, right?  I can't wait to host brunch so I can make these again!

The shell holding everything is a tortilla!

Romance Novels

Candace, in Book Club #2, suggested we all read Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.  After a sad (but good!) read called Winter Garden, by Kristin Hannah, I was all about reading a light hearted girly book...or let's face it, a romance novel.  It was a quick easy read and entertaining.  It had a good story line and plot and they didn't immediately fall in love which is a huge plus in my book! 

Anyways, after reading this book because it was such a feel good, I found myself in the ROMANCE section of the bookstore! AHH! Embarrassing!  I'm often found in Fiction and Literature but Romance section?  Am I a tween?  Kevin, don't respond to that.  Well, not only did I linger in the Romance section, but I bought another Susan Elizabeth Phillips novel called First Lady, which Candace also recommended.  This one, however, is even more embarrassing than Call Me Irresistible.  First Lady is the perfect book for a nook or kindle where no one can see the cover, because it just looks like a trashy romance novel.  I will be reading this one at home. 

Thanks Candace for a new guilty pleasure.   

snOMG!

Stella LOVED the snow!  She had so much fun and completely wore herself out!  

Kevin and I did manage to trek to Filippos on Clybourn and Webster for some dinner.  I think we were both a little stir crazy (even though I work from home anyways, maybe cause I couldn't drive anywhere!?) and although he's sometimes incredibly pessimistic and t's PULLING teeth to get him to do something (the biggest thing was that it would be SO cold when we're done with dinner and we'll have to walk home, blah blah blah) it was a great decision after the wonderful food and wine or Manhattans in Kevin's case.  As soon as we sat down they brought us foccacia and bread with eggplant dipping olive oil that was delicious.  We ordered the calamari as an appetizer.  It was very tasty.  For dinner, Kevin ordered the rotolo primavera stuffed with ricotta, prosciutto, and spinach served in a light pink sauce.  I had the ravioli annarella stuffed with spinach and ricotta and sauteed in a cream sauce served with parmesan cheese.  snOMG, OMG!  I was obsessed with this dish. My mouth is salivating now.  Another place that will be such a challenge to not order the same thing as the first time.  Then Kevin mistakenly asked for the check.  Is he serious?  Has he not dated me for four years?  I need dessert!  And cannolis hit the spot.  I am truly obsessed with Filippos restaurant.  Now I have to decide which I like better, Rose Angelis or Filippos.  I think they're so different, so I choose both!  

Watch cute little Stella in action!

I Love Brunch!

I went to Yolk in the Goldcoast last weekend with my Book Club girls.  It was absolutely delicious.  It's been awhile since I've gone to a true breakfast place with old school breakfast options like skillets and omelets and regular eggs benedict.  Obviously, they have some options to spice the normal breakfast menu items up.  I got a skillet with jalapenos, bacon, and avocado.  Yum yum yum.  Carol got an egg white california omelet, Biz and Kait were too healthy ordering oatmeal (boring!) and Jess and Jennifer got eggs benedict, although I'm not sure what kind of eggs benedict.  I would highly recommend Yolk for a great breakfast in the city.  The wait was about 20 minutes for the 6 of us which was not bad at all.  I can't wait to go back, although it's going to be hard for me to change my order.   

Speaking of breakfast food, or a great snack anytime, I made my mom's banana bread the other day.  I usually make the Betty Crock's Picture Cook Book banana bread, but I didn't watch it close enough last time and it was way to dry.  I don't know why i've never made my mom's banana bread before but it was THE BEST banana bread I've ever had!  Here's the recipe.  

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup margarine softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 - 3 mashed bananas
• 3 Tbsp sour milk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 - 1 cup raisins (optional)

Mix in order given.  Bake at 325 degrees for an hour in a large loaf pan.  50 minutes for a foil loaf pan.  Incredible :)