Labor Day Weekend!

This long weekend my family and I went to the city! We went to an amazing Italian restaurant, a Sprinkles cupcake shop, and a wonderful bakery with homemade bread and pastries!

First we went to a restaurant called Quartino! It was a very traditional Italian restaurant! The food was meant for family style eating! We ordered the Salumeria Tasting to start. It came with two types of salami, two types of cheese, apricot puree, beet salad, eggplant salad, baby artichokes, and tons of olives! It was so delicious, I loved making different combonations! Second we had the Margherita Pizza! It was made with homemade mozzarella, sweet basil, and ripe tomatoes! So good!!! Then the risotto and lasagna came! The risotto was a shrimp risotto with zucchini and sun-dried tomatoes! The lasagna was so different but still delicious! It had ricotta and a meat ragu in it. The different part about it was that there were carrots mixed into it as one of the layers! It made the lasagna sweet! This lasagna was thick and not as wet as some of the other lasagnas I have eaten before! But it was on of the best! 

The next day we spotted a Sprinkles Cupcake Shop! We stopped inside and each grabbed a cupcake! They had dozens of flavors but the one that I got was a cinnamon and sugar cupcake! I love cinnamon, and it was perfect in this cupcake! the rest of my family got an almond and dark chocolate cupcake, a red velvet, and a chocolate marshmallow cupcake! They were all fluffy, sweet, and amazing! 

Right after we indulged ourselves, with cupcake goodness, we went to another bakery called Hendrickx Belgian Bread  Crafter! We got croissants, apple turner overs, country bread, and brioche! This morning we heated up the croissant and turn overs and ate them for breakfast! They were the perfect breakfast and I wished I had more the second they were eaten! As for the brioche and country bread, I think a sandwich and french toast sounds perfect!

-Emma Lou:-)

The Early Bird Gets a Seat!

I recently went to the Taste of Chicago! I went to see a Mario Batali cookbook signing! He has just come out with a brand new book called Molto Gusto! Translation of Molto Gusto is Great Taste! Obviously it is in Italian! For those of you who don't know who Mario Batali is, he is an Iron Chef, he has 15 restaurants,and multiple cookbooks. In other words he is the ultimate chef!

The Taste of Chicago is a festival where restaurants from all over Chicago go and show off their food!  Unfortunately it was hot, crowded, and just about everything was fast food. When I got to the stage to see Mario it was completely full and I had to stand in the back. Now I am not that short but when 15 adults are standing in front of you, you seem pretty shorrt! I got a few glimses of Mario at least! But then came the best part, the book signing! So I bought a cookbook and hopped in line to see the one of a kind chef! When I got to the front of the line I got to take a picture with him and have him sign my book! He signed it " To Emma; Spaghetti is Love; Mario Batali."

Mario Batali is one of the worlds best chef! He has changed the culinary world so much! No one can forget the man with orange crocs! My favorite episodes of Iron Chef are the ones with Mario in them! He is also very funny! During the cooking demonstration he was cracking jokes! It was very fun! He also talked about one of his favorite mottos! He said that you aren't cooking unless you burn something! I think that this makes sense! I think that more flavor comes out when you burn things! Like when I burn my marshmellow for my smore!  Or creme brulee, you are supposed to burn the sugar to bring out more flavor! That is why Mario Batali is my favorite chef!:-)

Emma Lou:-)

Don't forget to vote on the poll of the week!

Who is your favorite Iron Chef?  

Chicago!!!

Chicago is an amazing city! There is so many mueseums, stores, parks, and restaurants! My family and I often go to the city to explore the many things you can see! One of the many places we have been to is a restaurant called The Chalkboard!

 It is a small restaurant in Chicago. Although it is small the flavors inside are very big! I had the most amazing mac & cheese! It was made with a smoked gouda cheese and it was fantastic! It was creamy, smoky, and very tasty! This restaurant is definitly one of my favorites!