I love going to out to dinner! The problem is, I always end up eating so much, that any subsequent plans I have after dinner usually don't happen because I have no energy to make it to the next spot. A few weeks ago, I heard about this really cool restaurant called ARTango Bistro in Lakeview. I was told that it's a great place for dinner and dancing all in one (no re-locating necessary)! Now I'm not much of a tango dancer (let alone a dancer of any sort), but this sounded like fun! I liked ... [ Read More ]
Inside Everything Erica’s Bridal Shower
As I sit here and reflect on this last weekend, I can't help but feel overcome with love, a warm heart and amazing memories. As some of you know (if you follow me on social media), this weekend I had my first bridal shower (a champagne brunch) at Mistral restaurant in Boston. I feel so blessed. My shower was thrown by 3 of my fiancé's amazing aunts, Patty, Cathy and Dana and his grandmother, Ellie. Not only did they make it a special event for all the guests, but they took the time to create ... [ Read More ]
Fake Shack — A Shake Shack Burger Copy Cat Recipe
With all the hype over Shake Shack lately, I thought it was necessary to create an at home version (a fake shack) that you can make any night of the week. While I'll agree that Shake Shack has something special, it is actually really easy to recreate at home (and since you know exactly what's going in it, you're probably saving yourself a few calories). The 3 key components you need to create a copy cat version of this burger are: -The sauce -The size/shape/cooking method of the burger ... [ Read More ]
Buffalo Chicken Pot Pie
Over the last year, not a day has gone by without someone asking me how I come up with my recipes. Usually, I take inspiration from restaurant menus, farmers markets or food conversations with friends. However, every once in a while, I wake up in the middle of the night and a genius recipe idea just pops into my head. Over the weekend, this exact phenomenon happened. I introduce to you, my latest creation....the buffalo chicken pot pie (insert *gasp* here)! This dish is epic. I thought ... [ Read More ]
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
With the Super Bowl around the corner, I know you're going to need recipes for lots of delicious finger foods! From experience, I can tell you that showing up with anything "buffalo" is one of the best ways to be the MVP of your party. Over the last year, I've posted my famous buffalo chicken wing dip (always a hit) and my cauliflower buffalo wings. However, if you're looking for something new and exciting, you need to try my buffalo chicken meatballs with my creamy gorgonzola sauce. These ... [ Read More ]
5 Lessons I’ve learned in 2014
Hands down, this has been the most life-changing year for me. Between quitting my job in May, getting engaged and launching my own brand/business, I feel like I've learned a lot. I thought it would be awesome to finish out 2014 by sharing the 5 most salient lessons I've learned over this year in hopes that they will inspire you to get the most out of 2015. 1) There is always going to be an excuse not to do something: If I've learned anything this year, it's that there is never a good time ... [ Read More ]
10 Most Popular Recipes of 2014
I've had such a wonderful year writing Everything Erica! Between finally figuring out how to leave my career in Real Estate to work on this full-time and all the incredible opportunities I've been afforded, I feel truly lucky. Since there has been so many yummy dishes that have come out of my blog this year, I thought it might be fun to go through my site stats and pull out the 10 most popular recipes of 2014! Here we go... #10 - Drunken Caramelized Brussels Sprouts: Since brussels ... [ Read More ]
Balsamic Grilled Chicken & Eggplant w/ Goat Cheese Couscous
Last week, I asked my followers via Facebook to name 6 ingredients and I would figure out a way to combine them and make a cohesive and delicious dish. With-in seconds of posting, here were the first ones that I received: Chickpeas Eggplant Chicken Breast Couscous Capers Goat Cheese Here was my thought process on creating the dish... 1) Immediately when I saw the couscous and the chickpeas, I knew I had to go Mediterranean. I had been dying to make this Turkish hummus I ... [ Read More ]
Candy Cane Martini
Last week I had a super fun holiday party with some of my favorite Chicago foodie ladies. Since this was a heavy hitting group of foodies, I knew I wanted to impress. I thought, "what better what to start the evening off then with a fun and festive martini?" I recently got a bottle of Ice Fox Vodka as a gift and thought it would be the perfect base to start my Candy Cane Martini's! Since I'm not much of a mixologist, I invited my incredibly cool friend, Kelly Rizzo (www.eattravelrock.com) ... [ Read More ]
Roasted Garlic Turkish Hummus
If you're a big hummus lover like me, then you must try this delicious roasted garlic Turkish hummus. I stumbled across this variation last month when I was visiting my friend, Holley, in Philadelphia. She took me to this great Israeli restaurant called, Zahav, and we decided to start with one of their house specialities, the Turkish Hummus. If you haven't heard of it before (I hadn't), it's made with butter instead of tahini and served warm out of the oven. It's complete heaven and I would ... [ Read More ]
