Bacon, egg, and toast cups

I finally decided to try the muffin cup trend. All in all, the meal was really good, but I'll admit that preparing a meal for 2 isn't worth the muffin cup effort, (for 4, maybe), but there are easier and faster ways to prepare this food if you're not cooking for a large group. Still, it's good stuff.

Bacon, egg, and toast cups

Ingredients (serves 2):
Cooking spray
4 slices bread
4 rashers bacon
1/4 cup Colby jack cheese
4 eggs
Dash of salt
Dash of pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. In a skillet, cook bacon for 5 minutes, flipping throughout. If it's pre-cooked, skip this step. (I use turkey bacon for a healthier meal.)
3. Cut out circles in bread. (I use a cup turned upside down to create the circles.)
4. Press the bread circles into the muffin pan, then wrap a bacon rasher around the outside of each one.
5. Evenly sprinkle cheese into each cup, and crack an egg into the middle of each. Add a little salt and pepper.
6. Bake for 15 minutes.
7. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin to free it, and serve.

Slow cooker pierogies

Here's a recipe stolen from Food.com, but for 2, and my way. It's very simple!

Slow cooker pierogies

Ingredients (serves 2 generously):

16 potato and cheese mini pierogies
1/3 of a white onion
3 tbsp butter

1. Place pierogies in slow cooker on high.
2. Dice white onion, and melt butter. Then add to the slow cooker.
3. Cook on high for 3 hours, flipping and mixing the melted better to be on top occasionally.

Asiago garlic knots

Asiago garlic knots

Ingredients (makes 5 knots):

1 small tube Pillsbury Grands Jr biscuits
Cooking spray
1/8 cup canola oil
2 cloves minced garlic
2 dashes oregano
Dash of black pepper
3 tbsp asiago cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Top a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Roll and stretch each biscuit into a long rope, then tie into a knot. Place on the baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes until golden.
3. In a bowl, mix oil, garlic, oregano, pepper, and asiago together.
4. When the biscuits have finished cooking, brush them generously with the mixture, and serve hot.

New York Bagel and Bialy Corp

I found myself in the northern suburbs on Monday, and tried out the famous New York Bagel and Bialy Corp. Their bagels are the real deal. The chewiness is perfect! Also, it's very inexpensive, and they're open 24/7. Whenever I'm up that way, I'll be sure to stop in and grab a dozen to bring home. The fillings for bagel sandwiches, however, are just okay. I can't speak to the cream cheeses. Not yet anyway.

Here's a New York Breakfast (sausage, egg, and cheese on a bagel):


And 1/2 a chicken salad sandwich with American cheese (I'd already eaten the other 1/2):


A lot of reviews say that the service is rude. They weren't rude; they're just from Brooklyn.

Geja's Cafe

Geja's Cafe is a fantastic restaurant. I took my partner here for a nice dinner years ago, and ever since, it's been "our place".

Making reservations here is easy, whether it's in person, over the phone, online through their site, or through Open Table. We've always had hosts and servers that are very nice, well-mannered, and fun. The seating is sort of like having private booths, which adds to the romance. The decor is classy and welcoming, but you can feel free to dress casually. We usually dress up a bit because it's a special dinner for us, but we do that because we want to, not because they demand it. Sometimes while dining out at nice places, there's a sort of pretentious and uptight vibe, but not here. We feel very comfortable at Geja's. The cheese fondue is the best we've ever had, and the best thing on the menu, though all of the food is extraordinary. We don't always order premier dinners since it's just so much food. Sometimes we'll get the cheese and chocolate fondue. Sometimes we'll get the cheese fondue and a gourmet board of meats and cheeses. Though tonight, we went for premier dinners.

I ordered The International, which is aged beef tenderloin, jumbo shrimp, and tender boneless chicken breast. My partner ordered the Deluxe Seafood, which is plump Atlantic sea scallops, tender Gulf shrimp, and delicate lobster tail. We shared plates a bit. It was a great meal.

I'll say this: Restaurants in Chicago are happy to serve any customers, but I feel exceptionally welcome at Geja's with my partner on my arm. We hold hands at the table, and I feel safe, and not judged, and even applauded for being happy in love.

Geja's is fine dining, and therefore pricey, which can be off-putting, but there are lots of deals out there. There's often a Groupon. "Like" them on Facebook, and you can currently get a $25 gift certificate if you give them your e-mail. On Facebook, they also run a "Beat The Heat" promotion in the summer, where the daily high temperature sets the price for two premier dinners and a bottle of wine. Once you get on their e-mail list, you also occasionally get offers for your birthday and anniversary.

This is our favorite restaurant in Chicago, and it's always been worth the price.

Turkey ranch club wrap

Turkey ranch club wrap

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 large tortilla wraps
2 tbsp ranch dressing
6 slices deli turkey
4 slices cheddar cheese
6 slices turkey bacon
2 outer leaves romaine lettuce

1. Cook bacon per instructions.
2. Lay out tortilla wraps on plates. Spread 1 tbsp ranch dressing to the center of each.
3. Add 3 slices turkey to each wrap. Then 2 slices cheddar, 3 slices bacon, and 1 leaf romaine.
4. Fold tortilla sides in, then roll up, slice and serve.

Flub A Dub Chub's

Flub A Dub Chub's at Broadway between Barry and Wellington has hot dogs, hamburgers, and sandwiches. I ordered Greg's Hangover, which is a burger with bacon, cheddar, and a fried egg on a pretzel bun. It comes with fries, and I got some cheese for the side. The burger was a little too greasy and heavy. It's not bad, but not the best.

Sausage egg boats

This made an amazingly delicious breakfast!

Sausage egg boats

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 French rolls
2 sausage patties
3 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 slices pepper jack cheese
1 green onion
Dash of salt
Dash of pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Carve and pull out the middle of the French rolls, leaving bread at the bottom and on the sides.
3. Cook sausage per instructions, then chop into small pieces.
4. Crack eggs into a bowl, and add heavy cream. Chop green onion, and tear apart pepper jack slices. Mix green onion, pepper jack, sausage, salt, and pepper in the bowl.
5. Pour 1/2 the mixture into one French roll, and 1/2 into the other.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or set.
7. Let cool for 10 minutes, and serve.

Grilled turkey, pear and brie sandwiches

I've loved making sandwiches with brie lately. Here's another winning combo...

Grilled turkey, pear and brie sandwiches

Ingredients (serves 2):

4 slices wheat bread
4 slices deli turkey
1 pear
4 slices brie
2 tbsp butter

1. Thinly slice pear and brie.
2. Layer turkey, pear and brie between 2 slices of bread.
3. Heat each side of each sandwich over medium heat atop a 1/2 tbsp of butter. Cover while heating to help the cheese melt through.
4. Slice and serve!

Peanut butter and chocolate pretzel bites

I made this dessert as a treat for my partner intended to last a few weeks, but she's chowing through them alarming quickly...

Peanut butter and chocolate pretzel bites

Ingredients (makes about 25):

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp melted butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
About 50 mini pretzels
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup milk

1. In a bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, and brown sugar (if you have a mixer, even better, but I don't). Mix it all as best you can.
2. Sandwich a bit of the mixture between 2 mini pretzels, and so on, and set on a plate or baking sheet. Freeze for 30-45 minutes.
3. Chop chocolate. Then add milk and chocolate to a skillet over medium heat. Stir over heat until completely smooth.
4. Pour chocolate into a bowl for easy dipping, or use the skillet, and dip each pretzel bite halfway.
5. Return pretzel bites to a plate or baking sheet, and refrigerate until the chocolate sets.

Lou Mitchell's Restaurant

This morning, we ate at Lou Mitchell's Restaurant on Jackson between Clinton and Jefferson. It's at the start of Route 66, and is on the National Register of Historical Places because of it. It's a popular restaurant, and we had a short wait. On our way to our table, we were each given doughnut holes and Milk Duds. Bonus. I ordered the Traditional Eggs Benedict, and a side order of sausage. It was greasy and good. It's pretty expensive for breakfast, but reasonable when considering the downtown location.

Hot Doug's

Hot Doug's at California and Roscoe has the best hot dogs I've ever had. It's extremely popular, usually with a line wrapping around outside the building, but the line moves, and somehow, I've always been able to find a seat at a table. It's cash only with no ATM, so come prepared. The menu is always changing, and it's generally worth it to order a "special" even though it's more expensive. I've seen alligator, fois gras, pheasant, escargot, corned beef, chicken, and lamb sausages rotate through the menu, and there's always beef, too. They also serve fries, and on Fridays and Saturdays they offer duck fat fries. Feel free to order something crazy because it's all delicious and every condiment is perfect. They also have veggie dogs, which my partner raves about. Yesterday, I ordered a Philly Cheesesteak Beef Sausage with Cream Cheese Mustard, Caramelized Onions and Smoked Provolone Cheese, and small cheese fries. As always, it was awesome.

Spicy chicken rigatoni

Today's dinner (and leftovers)!

Spicy chicken rigatoni

Ingredients (serves 4):

1/4 cup oil
1/4 tsp salt
Dash of black pepper
1 tbsp crushed red pepper
3 garlic cloves
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup Marinara sauce
3/4 cup Alfredo sauce
2 tsp butter
1 lb rigatoni

1. Cook rigatoni in a pot in boiling water. Add a bit of oil and dash of salt, and cook per packing instructions.
2. Meanwhile, cut the fat off the chicken and slice into small pieces.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add salt, black pepper, 1/2 tbsp crushed red pepper, and garlic. Add chicken pieces, cooking and coating in the spices and garlic.
4. Add Marinara sauce to the skillet, and stir in. Let it simmer.
5. Add Alfredo to the skillet, and stir in. Cook until the sauce thickens and the chicken is fully cooked, stirring occasionally.
6. Drain rigatoni when it's finished cooking and return it to it's pot. Then pour the skillet mixture into the pot, and stir together.
7. Add butter and stir. Plate the pasta and garnish the top with the rest of the crushed red pepper.