Grand Lux Cafe- Chicago

 I spent the most wonderful vacation with my sister Hannah and her kids. Our road trip destination was Holland, Michigan where each day we lived it up to the fullest. Since Chicago was only 2 hours away we made a day trip out of it filled with amazing food and shopping on Michigan Avenue. Our first stop was Grand Lux Cafe- oh my was the food absolutely stunning to look at but also quite delicious.

Porcini Mushroom Risotto with Arugula and Prosciutto

Risotto, a classic Italian gift that allows simple ingredients to beautify themselves into a sublime dish. This dish utilizes a very starchy rice, arborio which is commonly found in grocery stores. In order to capture the essence of this dish patience is required. Rich and savory porcini mushrooms and prosciutto, tender arugula, and distinctive parmigiano-reggiano are used in this recipe.

Baked Pears with Marsala Custard

I'm a strong believer in living to learn. Though I may be passionate about cooking (and at times think I know all the ins and outs) I still have much to learn. This past weekend I enjoyed an amazing cooking class with some of my closest girlfriends. We traveled to Memphis for a Tuscan Dinner Party offered by the Viking Cooking School. The menu was pure perfection. I'll be sharing more of the tasty recipes in posts to come. Fresh pears are baked in red wine until tender and then sauced with zabaglione (zah-bahl-YOH-nay). Warm and frothy zabaglione is a legendary Italian dessert that resembles both custard and sauce.

Pork Belly: Part Five

Another episode of the pork belly but this time it's larger and thicker, just my type. It's glorious when the pork belly is thick because it's extra juicy and flavorful. Once again this is a non marinated korean bbq dish. I usually grill it on both sides then cut into bite size pieces then dip it into seasoned sesame oil. The seasoned sesame oil is just half salt, half pepper, and a drizzle of sesame oil just to coat the two. Dip your grilled meat into the oil, Mm Hm!