Anniversary at Spiaggia

After 11 wonderful days in MN, Bryan and I drove home to Chicago on Sunday January 2nd, which also happened to be our one-year wedding anniversary! We had dinner reservations at Spiaggia that I had been excited for for months! Spiaggia is located at the top of Magnificent Mile, across the street from the Drake Hotel and looks out onto Lake Michigan. Tony Mantuano, the executive chef, was on Top Chef Masters and I can say after finally eating his food that he is a genius! They have hosted a load of famous chefs and celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts and President Obama. After I read about all of the online hype, I knew we had to go there for something BIG. And our anniversary was perfect. We were literally blown away at how good the food was!


They brought out a complimentary truffle plate for each of us, which was absolutely incredible. We had cocktails first and then wine with the main course. For the first two courses, we ordered a couple of small plates and then enjoyed our own entrees:
Wood-roasted pancetta wrapped rabbit loin and rabbit sausage with tomato, Taggiasca olives and fried sage.
Potato gnocchi with ricotta sauce and Savini black truffles.
Bryan: Wood-roasted prime ribeye, chanterelle mushrooms, pickled red pearl onions and wild watercress.
Me: Wood grilled veal chop with sweetbreads, cipollini onions, dried Pugliese cherry tomatoes and arugula .
They also brought out a complimentary platter of pastry desserts for us to enjoy. We didn't order dessert because we had our wedding cheesecake to return to (which by the way, freezes extremely well)!


All of the dishes were incredibly delicious. The gnocchi, in particular, was to die for. There were points where we were silent because we were so engrossed in how good the food was. Our whole experience was absolutely amazing. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants to have a fancy schmancy dinner at some point while living in Chicago!

Marrakesh

Over the weekend, Bryan and I went to try this new Moroccan restaurant, Marrakesh. We are lucky enough to live on Randolph, otherwise known as Restaurant Row. There are countless restaurants just to the west of us and so many are on our list to try. We try to space them out so that we don't go broke! It helps when there is a Groupon available, which was the case for Marrakesh!

I have actually been to Morocco! Sadly, it was for only one day. While I was traveling with my orchestra around Spain, we took a short trip across the Strait of Gibraltar to Tangier. It wasn't nearly enough time to experience the city but it we tried very hard to pack in as much culture as we could. We did eat some amazing food and I was really excited to try some again!

Our date night occurred late on Saturday night after Bryan had a very long day of studying and I had been busy all day, so we were quite ready to relax. By this time in the evening, ginormous, heavy snow flakes were falling outside and we felt very cozy in the little restaurant. We ordered some red wine and falafel for an appetizer which was very good. For the main dishes, I ordered lamb kabob and Bryan ordered beef barkouk. The accidentally messed up our order, so we ended up getting one dish late. I think about 4 people including the manager came out to apologize to us, but we honestly weren't that upset. It ended up turning out just fine because it was like we had ordered  courses, so we split each one individually and didn't mind at all. The food was absolutely incredible. They served us traditional Moroccan mint tea after our meal, which was incredibly delicious. I think we will definitely go back to this restaurant, even taking into consideration the mess up. It was a great date night!

The Tasting Room

Last Friday, Bryan and I had a wonderful date night. We went to The Tasting Room, which is a wine tasting lounge and restaurant in Chicago’s West Loop. The second floor has a great view of the downtown skyline, but we didn’t get to experience that because it was occupied with a private event. This place is very popular, but luckily our wait wasn’t long. We both got a flight of red wine and we also ordered a couple of small plates, since this was our dinner also. One dish included sherry tomato soup with the tiniest, tastiest, fanciest grilled cheese sandwich I've ever had. It was literally 3 in x 1in. But those were incredibly delicious bites! The food was very good and the wine was even better! All of our selections were fantastic! We had great service and the place has a comfortable yet classy vibe going on. I highly recommend this little place! It’s a must for those who love wine, and for those who don’t, they have cocktails too.

Christkindlmarket and Holiday Party

Last night we hosted a holiday party with a large group of friends. We started off at our place and walked over to the Christkindlmarket, the German Christmas market (http://www.christkindlmarket.com/), just 5 blocks away in Daley Plaza, downtown Chicago. We got the traditional hot spiced wine in a little boot mug and walked around to all of the little vendor booths and shops looking at all of the merchandise. It was chilly out, but the wine warmed us right up! After people watching, listening to the German language all around us, and taking in the holiday cheer, we wandered back to our place for some festive holiday drinks.

We had hot spiced apple cider with rum, hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps or Bailey's and a variety of other drinks brought by our friends including wine and limoncello! In addition to the drinks, we had some nibblies that included chocolate fondue with strawberries, bananas and pretzels for dipping. A meat and cheese plate and a cookie plate were also out. Here are the recipes for the drinks and fondue!

Hot Spiced Cider:
I looked around at a variety of recipes and made my own up based on what I liked.
For one gallon of apple cider: In a large pot, heat the cider. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar, and one teaspoon of the following: ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and ground cinnamon. Serve in a mug with a cinnamon stick and add dark rum to your taste.

Holiday Hot Chocolate:
We had a teapot full of simmering water, hot chocolate mix, peppermint Schnapps and Bailey's on the side for people to mix their own drinks up.

Chocolate Fondue:
In a pot, heat 1 cup whipping cream until simmering, stirring constantly. Turn heat off and add 16oz bittersweet chocolate - I used chocolate bars broken into pieces. Add 3 tablespoons of Amaretto. Once chocolate melts, whisk together. Pour mixture into prepared fondue pot with heat source on. Enjoy with dipping sides!

Thanks to everyone who came, brought goodies along, and made our party a success! It was such a great time and we loved having everyone over!

Easy and Tasty Weeknight Dinner

 Bryan and I are usually both up before 6am and neither of us get home until about 7pm, so on busy weeknights like these, it is really handy to have a quick, healthy and delicious meal planned. An added bonus, this meal is cheap! We had marinated tilapia with cajun sweet potatoes and green beans. It was so great paired with a glass of red wine. It only took about a half an hour to prepare, and that was just because we were waiting for the fish to finish baking!

The cajun sweet potatoes are a made-up recipe. Cook or bake the sweet potatoes however you like. Mash them with a couple tablespoons of butter, a little half and half, a little milk, Cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. They really delicious and it's nice to eat sweet potatoes with a little kick instead of all of the sweeter recipes out there. The beans were just sauteed with diced onion and almonds - always a classic. The marinated tilapia, I admit, was store bought. But I made sure that the added ingredients were not full of salt or preservatives. This meal is great that we already want to have it again! Tonight we're having a slightly different version - with steak instead!

French Market

I knew there would be a perfect time to write about the French Market that is across the street from our building in downtown Chicago.

It’s fun to stroll over to the market on weekend days when we don’t have much going on and planning our dinner on what we find. One of my favorite shops is this pasta shop that sells Pappardelle’s Pasta. This pasta is handmade, using the finest ingredients. The noodles are really loooooong, and they have all sorts of interesting flavors (including chocolate hazelnut dessert ravioli!!). We bought garlic spinach, sundried tomato, and sweet potato pasta. Our plan was to combine the garlic spinach and roasted tomato basil pasta with some lightly sautéed vegetables and make a sauce. We picked up some red and green bell peppers, tomatoes, and green onions and we were ready to go!

Sidebar: My favorite pastry shop in the French Market is Vanille Patisserie. All of their desserts are designed to perfection with layers of textures and flavors topped with accessories I didn’t even think would be edible. They have quite a few regular desserts lining the shelves and new ones pop up every now and then along with some seasonal delights.  

Anyway, back at home we got going on the pasta. As the pasta was cooking, we simply sautéed the chopped veggies in olive oil with some garlic and a variety of seasonings (we add the tomatoes at the very end). Once the noodles were drained and placed back into the pot, we started making the sauce by stirring it right into the hot noodles. We used reserve noodle water, a little half and half, grated parmesan cheese, a little butter, and freshly ground black pepper. Sometimes I’ll splash in a little lemon or lime juice too. So simple and so good. We then plated the noodles, topped them with the sautéed veggies, fresh basil and parsley, a little grated parmesan cheese, and a little freshly ground black pepper again. Delicious. We enjoyed the pasta with a deep red Malbec. Perfection. 

The uncooked noodles

Cooked noodles with our homemade sauce

With all the veggies and toppings

The pasta tasted great! The combination of the garlic spinach and the sundried tomato flavors were really awesome together. I highly recommend giving these a try. I’m really excited to try a new recipe with the sweet potato pasta!

Chicago History Museum, Navy Pier, and Hancock Building

Another busy weekend in Chicago! We had more friends come to visit us, Rob and Sarah!

Saturday was a busy day. After a lazy morning, we started the afternoon off at the Chicago History Museum. It was interesting to learn just how big the Great Chicago Fire really was back in 1871 and how the city re-built itself. After working up quite an appetite, we decided that some Chicago-style hot dogs were in order. We headed on over to Navy Pier so satisfy our craving and take a ride on the Ferris Wheel!

Our late afternoon plans were to enjoy the sunset at the Signature Lounge in the John Hancock building. It's one of our favorite places to take out-of-towners! For the price of a cocktail, you get a spectacular view!

To finish the evening off, we had a great dinner planned: Grilled steak, garlic mashed potatoes, and grilled asparagus. YUMM!

Thanks for coming to visit us! Come back again soon!

Millenium Park Bean, Pops for Champagne, and Braised Short Ribs

On Sunday, it was Harriet and Calhoun’s one year wedding anniversary! Can you believe we were so lucky to spend such a special weekend with them?! To help celebrate, we wanted to make something special for them. My husband wanted to take charge, and came up with this great recipe for braised short ribs. While the beef was marinating, we had time to do a little city exploring. We walked over to Millennium Park to take some photos by the bean, which happens to be the top image on my blog and my favorite item in the park. This sculpture is actually named the Cloud Gate. It was inspired by mercury and the artist wanted to engage the Chicago skyline with it. You can take some seriously artistic photos using the mirrored curvature of the enormous sculpture! If only I was so artistic.

After taking fun photos at the bean, my husband and I surprised our guests with a stop at a champagne bar, Pops for Champagne, to celebrate their anniversary (thank you Groupon)! It was a great experience to try some amazing champange!

Once back at home, we were able to continue the cooking process of the short ribs which consisted of a couple hours of baking and broiling. It was worth the wait! The beef was incredibly moist and tender and the flavor was incredible. My husband chose to serve it with Cajun sweet potatoes and grilled asparagus. It was a delicious meal to end an awesome weekend with friends. Love you guys!

Lincoln Park Zoo and Grouse

We had wonderful friends come visit us in Chicago this weekend, Harriet and Calhoun (Mostly Minnesotan). On Saturday, we had a lazy morning followed by a delicious pumpkin pancake brunch. Mmm! Those pancakes are never going to get boring – they are so delicious! That afternoon, we explored the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is free! It was a gorgeous fall day, and we all enjoyed wandering around the zoo and getting a little people watching in as well. After working up an appetite, we were excited for the evening’s dinner plans. This is also when we got to take full advantage of Calhoun’s (and Sogn!) hunting skills. They had so graciously brought some fresh grouse all the way from Minnesota! I can’t claim to know the entire recipe, since Harriett and I enjoyed wine while the men prepared the food. The grouse was seasoned, breaded, and baked perfectly and was served with a garlic butter reduction alongside braised kale and a thick whole wheat loaf of bread. I’d never eaten grouse before, and it was so delicious! It looks and tastes a bit like chicken, but more gamey. MMM! Oh, and I cannot forget the chocolate mousse dessert that lasted us all weekend! Thanks so much, Harriet and Calhoun, for providing and preparing a wonderful meal!

Date DAY in Chicago

We have been so busy lately that it has taken me two weeks to post about this wonderful day that my husband and I had together. Since my husband now has more of a realistic schedule, it has been easier to go on dates and hang out more regularly!

It was a wonderful summer morning and we got up and went for a run together along the river to the lake, one of our favorite routes because it's along the water the whole way. After working up an appetite, we made a big pancake breakfast with bacon and smoothies. A favorite around here!

We had some time to kill before heading to his cousin's going away party, so we decided to just walk around the area. It was quite hot out, so we stopped at the French Market across the street to get some gelato. YUM!! (This market is so cool, I'm sure one day I'll write an entire post about it!) It was relaxing to just wander around our city neighborhood and nibble the creamy and fruity goodness.

As we were wandering, we remembered that the wine shop nearby has free tastings every Saturday afternoon. Just Grapes is a very modern wine shop with many rows of wine! The people working were super nice and very helpful. It was also fun to see people come in who were clearly regulars. All I could think was, we buy a lot of wine, so wouldn't it be nice to have a regular place to go where people know what kind of wine we like and can recommend new ones or promote awesome deals? Yes! However, we have to watch the budget, so I think we'll try to make it a semi-regular thing to stop by for the free tasting and maybe get a bottle of wine every now and then :)

Later, after the going-away party, we got to our dinner plans. I had a Living Social (similar to Groupon) deal at a restaurant called One. Six One. I was interested in going to this restaurant because their philosophy is all about balance and sustainability, their menu looked great, and they got pretty good reviews on Yelp. This restaurant just opened in late July, so I wasn't expecting too much, but I was pretty impressed! The owner even came out and welcomed us! We sat outside on the patio among the tiki torches and candles. And the food was excellent! I think this restaurant is going to become very popular in just a short time. It was a great dinner and it was fun to check out a new area of the city, Little Italy.

I love exploring this city! There are so many adventures around every corner! It was a day of great dates!

My Husband is the Sandwich Man

I think one of the first things I learned about my husband is that he loves sandwiches. He eats them everyday for lunch. No joke, everyday... unless there is some delicious leftover placed aside ahead of time, then he will make an exception. And, he can eat the same kind of sandwich everyday if he wants - he never gets tired of them (I do after a while...). However, he usually gets complimented on them because they are so immaculate. We're not just talking about your regular meat and cheese between two slices of bread. There is usually yummy deli meat topped with some fresh sliced cheese, yes, but on top of that includes a multitude of veggies like onions, all colors of peppers, tomatoes, avocados, mushrooms, mixed greens and spinach (all of these veggies coming in a variety of raw to sauteed/caramelized) and a variety of sauces to top it off even more. He is the sandwich man.

I had to work this past weekend Saturday through Tuesday, and it was pretty exhausting by Sunday already. I happened to have some time to come home for a quick lunch on Sunday and requested he make me dinner because I knew I'd be too exhausted to even think about making anything. I didn't even have any requests, just a nice dinner please.

I came home and he let me just lounge on the couch and read while he made me dinner. It smelled sooo good and I was curious, but he said it was a surprise. Not long after, he called me over to eat. I should have known, he had prepared super fancy sandwiches!! And they looked delicious!!! He seasoned and grilled steak strips, placed them on a bed of mixed greens, topped them with shredded mozzarella, caramelized onions, tomato then avocado with chipotle mayonnaise on a market fresh baguette. MMM!!! It was served with a mixed greens salad with dijon vinaigrette and yummy flavored Kettle chips, and a large glass of red wine. It was the perfect nice but simple dinner on a hot summer night.

Chicago

I’m from Rapid City, SD – a small town with a population of about 100,000. Currently, I live in downtown Chicago – a city of about 3 million people in the city and about 10 million people in Chicagoland (which is just a fancy name for the whole city including the suburbs). It’s a pretty big contrast. Good thing I learned how to parallel park in college. Nope, they don’t require that skill in SD. Traffic is awful in Chicago and I have had to experience a little too much of that! Now that I live downtown, my driving stress level has decreased to almost nothing since I can walk practically everywhere I need to go. Now that I’m used to living in a large city, I have found that I quite enjoy the city life. There is always something going on, friends to hang out with, fun things to do, new restaurants to try, and new adventures around every corner.

I’ve taken up running as a new hobby. It feels so great to be in shape again! Well… getting in shape at least. I run downtown, on Wacker drive, by the river, and north and south along the lake shore. It’s fun and interesting to explore the city on foot! Here is the general area where I run:










Cooking is my other recent hobby. I love creating new dishes with fresh ingredients. I’ve recently been introduced to some great food blogs where I think I’ll be spending a lot of my time. I love most anything about food in general. I am an amateur coffee snob, and a recreational wine-o.