Gimme Some Dim Sum

Alas, the last day of our What’s Cooking National Get Together Weekend was spent with an ethnic brunch of Chinese dim sum. Located in Chicago’s Chinatown, the Phoenix restuarant has been our favorite dim sum place for visiting guests.

We met up with another cooking forum member, Angela (Valeivegas) and her husband, Eduardo, who drove down from Milwaukee, WI to join us!

(L-R) Eduardo, Angela, Elly, Shanna, Joelen, Louis, Lee, Jen

We enjoyed so many dishes such as BBQ pork bun, pork shumai, shrimp eggrolls, sticky fried rice, wonton soup, etc. Sadly, we were too hungry and chatty to take pictures of our Chinese eats. However here are some pics after brunch.

After brunch we went our separate ways and concluded our What’s Cooking National Get Together Weekend in Chicago. Maybe we can do it all again next year in another city… but I’m so fortunate that I had the opportunity to host the first one and to meet so many members for the first time!

Gimme Some Dim Sum

Alas, the last day of our What’s Cooking National Get Together Weekend was spent with an ethnic brunch of Chinese dim sum. Located in Chicago’s Chinatown, the Phoenix restuarant has been our favorite dim sum place for visiting guests.

We met up with another cooking forum member, Angela (Valeivegas) and her husband, Eduardo, who drove down from Milwaukee, WI to join us!

(L-R) Eduardo, Angela, Elly, Shanna, Joelen, Louis, Lee, Jen

We enjoyed so many dishes such as BBQ pork bun, pork shumai, shrimp eggrolls, sticky fried rice, wonton soup, etc. Sadly, we were too hungry and chatty to take pictures of our Chinese eats. However here are some pics after brunch.

After brunch we went our separate ways and concluded our What’s Cooking National Get Together Weekend in Chicago. Maybe we can do it all again next year in another city… but I’m so fortunate that I had the opportunity to host the first one and to meet so many members for the first time!

Pizza, Chocolate & Sushi

Our second day of the What’s Cooking National Get Together Weekend was definitely fun! The cooking forum gals attended with some members of my cooking group. Together, we feasted on Chicago’s deep dish pizza at Pizzeria Due, the sister restuarant of the orginial Pizzeria Uno.

(L-R) Justin (cooking club member) Cheryl (Septbride),
Deniz (cooking club member), Linda (Lindad),
Elly (MrsWindyCity), Julie (LadyChicago),
Lee (MrsNukem), Shanna (LadyMcBth)

Our lunch was a belly buster with their house salad and red wine vinaigrette dressing, garlic bread and cheese bread, 5 kinds of deep dish pizza (cheese, sausage, pepperoni, veggie and deluxe). Here are pics taken during lunch with our combined group of What’s Cooking gals and my Chicago Cooks & Bakers members – a total of 20 of us attended!

To make lunch even more special, we had a special birthday surprise for Stephanie (Beebe929), who came for the weekend from Detroit with her husband Dale. Here are pics of her birthday deep dish chocolate chip cookie sundae!
After lunch, we rolled out of the restaurant and took to the streets to walk off all the food we ate. We headed up the Magnificient Mile, Michigan Ave to start the Chocolate Tour I hosted. We hit up 8 various chocolatiers in the 800/900 block of North Michigan Ave including:

– Hershey’s – Ghirardelli – Lindt
I ate them before I could take a pic so here are the wrappers – lol!
(Lindt chocolates are my FAVORITE!)
– Godiva

– Frango – Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge Pics
Elly & Linda resting in the Lounge:Shanna’s candid shot:Julie checking out Lee’s fun purchase:
– Teuscher’s – Sarah’s Pastries & Candies

We all definitely had our fill of chocolate. While on tour we even got the chance to meet up with another cooking forum member, Erin (ErinE683)…. not to mention a quick trip to Williams Sonoma nearby! Here are pics we took at WS:

(L-R) Joelen (me), Elly (MWC), Julie (LadyChicago), Lee (Mrs.Nukem)

(L-R) Shanna, Joelen, Elly, Julie, Lee

After the tour, we were EXHAUSTED. All of us went our separate ways after the tour. Later on in the night a few of us decided on a light sushi dinner at Tsuki, since our lunch was pretty heavy. There were 4 of us that got together for dinner including Lee, Shanna, my husband Louis and myself. We spent a couple of hours talking aboute everything under the sun, noshing on fabulous sushi and drinking hot green tea on the restuarant’s outside patio. It was a beautiful night in Chicago! The only thing we didn’t get a chance to do was take pictures of the gorgeous dinner we had. We were so chatty and hungry to pull out the camera!

With our happy bellies full of sushi, we headed home and called it a very wonderful night and day with the group!

Pizza, Chocolate & Sushi

Our second day of the What’s Cooking National Get Together Weekend was definitely fun! The cooking forum gals attended with some members of my cooking group. Together, we feasted on Chicago’s deep dish pizza at Pizzeria Due, the sister restuarant of the orginial Pizzeria Uno.

(L-R) Justin (cooking club member) Cheryl (Septbride),
Deniz (cooking club member), Linda (Lindad),
Elly (MrsWindyCity), Julie (LadyChicago),
Lee (MrsNukem), Shanna (LadyMcBth)

Our lunch was a belly buster with their house salad and red wine vinaigrette dressing, garlic bread and cheese bread, 5 kinds of deep dish pizza (cheese, sausage, pepperoni, veggie and deluxe). Here are pics taken during lunch with our combined group of What’s Cooking gals and my Chicago Cooks & Bakers members – a total of 20 of us attended!

To make lunch even more special, we had a special birthday surprise for Stephanie (Beebe929), who came for the weekend from Detroit with her husband Dale. Here are pics of her birthday deep dish chocolate chip cookie sundae!
After lunch, we rolled out of the restaurant and took to the streets to walk off all the food we ate. We headed up the Magnificient Mile, Michigan Ave to start the Chocolate Tour I hosted. We hit up 8 various chocolatiers in the 800/900 block of North Michigan Ave including:

– Hershey’s – Ghirardelli – Lindt
I ate them before I could take a pic so here are the wrappers – lol!
(Lindt chocolates are my FAVORITE!)
– Godiva

– Frango – Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge Pics
Elly & Linda resting in the Lounge:Shanna’s candid shot:Julie checking out Lee’s fun purchase:
– Teuscher’s – Sarah’s Pastries & Candies

We all definitely had our fill of chocolate. While on tour we even got the chance to meet up with another cooking forum member, Erin (ErinE683)…. not to mention a quick trip to Williams Sonoma nearby! Here are pics we took at WS:

(L-R) Joelen (me), Elly (MWC), Julie (LadyChicago), Lee (Mrs.Nukem)

(L-R) Shanna, Joelen, Elly, Julie, Lee

After the tour, we were EXHAUSTED. All of us went our separate ways after the tour. Later on in the night a few of us decided on a light sushi dinner at Tsuki, since our lunch was pretty heavy. There were 4 of us that got together for dinner including Lee, Shanna, my husband Louis and myself. We spent a couple of hours talking aboute everything under the sun, noshing on fabulous sushi and drinking hot green tea on the restuarant’s outside patio. It was a beautiful night in Chicago! The only thing we didn’t get a chance to do was take pictures of the gorgeous dinner we had. We were so chatty and hungry to pull out the camera!

With our happy bellies full of sushi, we headed home and called it a very wonderful night and day with the group!

Celebrate Chicago with Friends!

“What’s Cooking” has a special meaning to me and quite a few women all over the country. To us, it is the cooking forum we gather on everyday to talk about daily life, food, cooking, baking and all things food related. The forum helped form some special bonds with food enthusiasts and as a result of our growing friendships, we decided to come together for a weekend of food, fun and friendship here in Chicago. We had women representing Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, California and of course, Chicago attend throughout the weekend.

As a resident of Chicago, I offered to host our first What’s Cooking National Get Together Weekend here in the lovely city of Chicago. With so much food history and food culture, Chicago served as a perfect place to indulge on some good eats.

Tonight was the first night of our weekend together. To welcome them to Chicago, I hosted a “Celebrate Chicago!” dinner that included foods that were special to Chicago and Chicago history. Here are some pics from our dinner together:

Strawberry Spinach Salad w/cinnamon dressing
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Chicago Style Hot Dogs & Maxwell Street Polishes
& Condiments:
spicy brown mustard, chopped onion, yellow mustard,
green relish, sport peppers, sliced tomatoes,
sliced cucumbers, caramelized onions, celery salt
Papa Charlie’s Italian Beef w/Turano bread rolls
Jay’s Chips – a Chicago original!

Wheat Beer Bread w/Bacon Garlic Dip
Crudite Platter w/Garlic Onion Dip

Affy Tapples Caramel Apples

Eli’s Cheesecake – cherry & plain

Table Shots:

Lee (MrsNukem) – Houston
& Shanna (LadyMcbth) – Pittsburgh
Linda (Lindad) & her DH – St. Louis
Jen (bride7/15/05) & Wayne – new to Chicago from Ohio
Nickie (Mrs.Liberto) – new to Chicago from California
Where there is food, we will follow…
Lee & Shanna
(L-R) Linda, Stephanie (beebe from Michigan behind the flowers),
Nickie, Jen, Wayne, Shanna)

(L-R) Stephanie, Lee, Shanna, Linda, Linda’s DH
watching the games to appease the husbands
(L-R) Linda, Wayne, Jen , Shanna, Lee,
Dale, Steph (behind Dale), Nickie
(L-R) Jen, Wayne, Dale, Stephanie, Nickie

Celebrate Chicago with Friends!

“What’s Cooking” has a special meaning to me and quite a few women all over the country. To us, it is the cooking forum we gather on everyday to talk about daily life, food, cooking, baking and all things food related. The forum helped form some special bonds with food enthusiasts and as a result of our growing friendships, we decided to come together for a weekend of food, fun and friendship here in Chicago. We had women representing Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin and of course, Chicago attend throughout the weekend.

As a resident of Chicago, I offered to host our first What’s Cooking National Get Together Weekend here in the lovely city of Chicago. With so much food history and food culture, Chicago served as a perfect place to indulge on some good eats.

Tonight was the first night of our weekend together. To welcome them to Chicago, I hosted a “Celebrate Chicago!” dinner that included foods that were special to Chicago and Chicago history. Here are some pics from our dinner together:

Strawberry Spinach Salad w/cinnamon dressing
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Chicago Style Hot Dogs & Maxwell Street Polishes
& Condiments:
spicy brown mustard, chopped onion, yellow mustard,
green relish, sport peppers, sliced tomatoes,
sliced cucumbers, caramelized onions, celery salt
Papa Charlie’s Italian Beef w/Turano bread rolls
Jay’s Chips – a Chicago original!

Wheat Beer Bread w/Bacon Garlic Dip
Crudite Platter w/Garlic Onion Dip

Affy Tapples Caramel Apples

Eli’s Cheesecake – cherry & plain

Table Shots:

Lee (MrsNukem) – Houston
& Shanna (LadyMcbth) – Pittsburgh
Linda (Lindad) & her DH – St. Louis
Jen (bride7/15/05) & Wayne – new to Chicago from Ohio
Nickie (Mrs.Liberto) – Chicago
Where there is food, we will follow…
Lee & Shanna
(L-R) Linda, Stephanie, Nickie, Jen, Wayne, Shanna)

(L-R) Stephanie, Lee, Shanna, Linda, Linda’s DH
watching the games to appease the husbands
(L-R) Linda, Wayne, Jen , Shanna, Lee,
Dale, Steph (behind Dale), Nickie
(L-R) Jen, Wayne, Dale, Stephanie, Nickie

30 Minute Eats

It was a busy weekend and this Monday I’m still tired. After getting home from work, I fell asleep for a 2 hour nap… until I realized I have yet to make dinner! Tonight’s dinner was definitely a 30 minute meal. Here’s what we had:

Chicken Fried Italian Chicken Breasts

1/4 cups plain breadcrumbs

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon water
italian seasoning, salt & black pepper to taste
2 chicken breasts, halved horizontally

canola oil for frying

Prepare for dredging by combine breadcrumbs and flour a shallow container.

For egg wash, beat egg and water together in another shallow container.

Heat your pan with cooking oil to prepare for frying.

Butterfly your chicken breasts (cut horizontally) all the way through so you have 4 pieces total.

Season chicken on both sides with salt, black pepper and italian seasoning.
Dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture.

Dip coated chicken in eggwash.

Dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture again.

When all chicken pieces have been double coated with the breadcrumb mixture, carefully place in hot oil.

Fry chicken until golden brown.

I served this with a Mushroom & Onion Brown Rice Pilaf and Fruity Spinach Salad

Fruity Spinach Salad

Fruity Spinach Salad

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

1 cup shredded chicken (I used leftover port glazed chicken)
1/8 cup cranberries
1/8 cup chopped walnuts

1/8 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/4 cup chopped apple
1/4 cup chopped pears

Combine above ingredients.
Toss with following dressing:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon italian seasoning

Mushroom & Onion Brown Rice Pilaf

Mushroom & Onion Brown Rice Pilaf

2 cups cooked brown rice

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced

In a saute pan, add olive oil.

Heat pan and add mushrooms, garlic and onion.

Cook until mushrooms start to caramelize and onions become translucent.
Add cooked brown rice.

Toss and cook through until heated.

Fruity Spinach Salad

Fruity Spinach Salad

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

1 cup shredded chicken (I used leftover port glazed chicken)
1/8 cup cranberries
1/8 cup chopped walnuts

1/8 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/4 cup chopped apple
1/4 cup chopped pears

Combine above ingredients.
Toss with following dressing:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon italian seasoning