After months of living in Chicago, I finally got to head over to RPM Italian. I've heard amazing things about this River North hot spot (like how it's owned by by Guillana and Bill Rancic), so I was really excited to try it! I won't lie, I was a tad skeptical before going since my past experience with celebrity owned restaurants haven't always been stellar. Luckily, this time, the hype did not disappoint! Everything from the food to the service was simply perfection. If you're an avid reader, ... [ Read More ]
Easy Homemade Crepes
This weekend I was totally craving a crepe. There is something about this thin, pancake-like delicacy that makes me feel like I could never get tired of it. I've always steered clear of making them for three reasons: 1) I don't have a crepe pan 2) I'm scared to flip them 3) If I do learn how to make them, I will eat them too much and get fat After thinking hard about all three reasons and doing some research I realized that I didn't need a crepe pan, I will always be scared if I don't ... [ Read More ]
Thai Noodle Salad (Hillstone Restaurant Copy Cat)
Since moving to Chicago, I haven't missed much about the Boston food scene. To be honest, there is only one dish from one restaurant that I am missing and today I woke up and realized that I had to have it. This dish embodies all my favorite Asian flavors and it's a salad that I always crave. This dish is the Thai Noodle Salad from Hillstone! Heard of it? Making this salad was actually much easier than I thought and I think I've come up with the perfect copy cat recipe. Whether you've had ... [ Read More ]
Truffle & Pea Parmesean Risotto
Risotto has always been one of those dishes that I plan to cook, but then I wimp out at the last minute because it's SO tedious and time consuming. If you haven't made it before, a traditional risotto is made by heating up a liquid (like chicken stock) and incrementally adding the warm liquid to the rice one ladle at a time. You have to wait to add another ladle until the liquid has been almost completely absorbed by the rice. This process can take about a half hour and it's pretty easy to mess ... [ Read More ]
I’m Co-Hosting Chicago’s 1st SECRET SUPPER!
I am SO excited to announce that I have been asked to co-host Chicago's 1st ever, "Secret Supper" presented by Dishcrawl! This underground supper club launches on Tuesday, April 1st at a secret location in Chicago's River North neighborhood. Secret Suppers are an exclusive underground supper club that roams the nation. Chefs perform interpretations of various trends and themes for an intimate group of VIP guests. While there are only a few coveted tickets remaining to this super exclusive ... [ Read More ]
“Drunken” Caramelized Brussels Sprouts
To be honest, up until recently, I wasn't a huge brussels sprout fan. Overall, I think they kind of smell funny and taste strange when not prepared properly. Lately, I've been seeing brussels sprout salads and side dishes popping up all over the place. Some are amazing and some are lackluster at best. One of my favorite brussels sprout dishes in Chicago is at The Grid. They make these incredible crispy brussels sprouts with apple saba. They are incredible and last night I went on a mission to ... [ Read More ]
Watermelon and Feta Quinoa Salad
This cold weather is finally starting to let up, hooray! I can't tell you how excited I am to be losing the heavy winter jacket and gearing up for an amazing Chicago spring and summer. Since the past couple days have been nice outside, I thought I would try to keep the momentum going by sharing a spring inspired quinoa dish that I love. This dish has unique components that perfectly balance together and create something really spectacular. It's also really healthy too! Watermelon and ... [ Read More ]
Strawberry Mint Smoothie
Ever since I got a Vitamix for the holidays, I've been totally obsessed with trying new smoothies. I feel like the possibilities are endless and that continues to inspire me! This morning I was in the mood for something sweet, but we didn't really have any fresh fruit in the house. I noticed we had some frozen strawberries, but I didn't think a smoothie with just strawberries would taste good on it's own. Then I realized that we had some mint leftover some Indian food I made the other night. ... [ Read More ]
Buffalo Chicken Riggies
By now, I think most of my readers have tried my amazing Chicken Riggie Recipe! If you haven't or don't know what a "chicken riggie is, I'm here to help! Basically, Chicken Riggies are a spicy version of a rigatoni and vodka sauce. It’s made with spicy cherry peppers and the sauce is laced with heavy cream. It's a huge culinary staple in Utica NY (where I went to college). If you like pasta and you can handle a little bit of a kick, this is sure to be one of your favorites. Although this dish ... [ Read More ]
Pronto ‘Za: A Unique Twist On Pizza Delivery
Last week I got this insane craving for pizza. I didn't want the thick (and often times super dense) Chicago style pizza, I wanted something more unique. Since I haven't found that "perfect" slice yet, I decided to take to Google and Yelp to help me find a place. Then, I stumbled upon the menu at Pronto 'Za and I was sold. First of all, the fact that a plain cheese pizza isn't on their menu until you scroll all the way to the bottom tells me these people are super creative. They had some of ... [ Read More ]
