Eataly

Eataly has multiple locations in Italy and Japan, one in Dubai, one in Istanbul, one in New York, and one in Chicago. The Chicago location opened about a year ago downtown on E Ohio St between Wabash Ave and Rush St. Eataly is a high-end Italian food market with 23 restaurants and 21 retail departments. There are lots of sights, smells, and flavors to take in. It's slightly overwhelming, but once you get comfortable in there, it's really fantastic. Every ingredient used in the restaurants in Eataly is also for sale there.

We ate at the counter at La Pizza, and watched a chef hand-stretch, spin, and pile our Neapolitan-style pizzas with toppings before cooking them in the 900° wood-burning oven for 90 seconds. I ordered the Dolce e Piccante, which is a white pizza with gorgonzola dolce, spicy salami, mozzarella, basil, and extra virgin olive oil. Perfect.

Garlic Sriracha shrimp

Garlic Sriracha shrimp

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 tbsp butter
5 tbsp Sriracha
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb large shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 tbsp fresh basil
2 tbsp fresh mint
2 tbsp lemon zest

1. Heat butter and Sriracha over medium-high heat in a large skillet, and stir until the butter is melted.
2. Add garlic, and heat for another minute.
3. Add shrimp and cook for approximately 3 minutes turning the shrimp frequently until it's finished cooking.
4. Add basil, mint, and lemon zest, and toss to coat the shrimp. Then serve!



Optional: Make a dipping sauce to go along with the shrimp by mixing 1 tbsp Sriracha into 1/4 cup mayonnaise.

Breakfast sandwich with bacon, egg, cheese, avocado, and Sriracha mayonnaise

A simple, spicy breakfast sandwich!

Breakfast sandwich with bacon, egg, cheese, avocado, and Sriracha mayonnaise

Ingredients (serves 2):

4 slices bread
6 rashers bacon
2 eggs
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 slices avocado
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp Sriracha

1. Fry bacon in a skillet on both sides, or bake on an oven rack at 425° for 10 minutes, then set aside.
2. Meanwhile, toast the bread in a toaster or toaster oven.
3. Scramble eggs in a bowl and then add to a skillet over medium heat. Add salt and pepper. Sprinkle cheese into the skillet while the eggs are setting, and fold the egg up like an omelet to finish cooking.
4. Slice avocado, and mix mayonnaise and Sriracha together in a bowl.
5. Layer each sandwich with 3 slices of bacon, half of the egg and cheese, an avocado slice, and a spread of the Sriracha mayonnaise, and enjoy.

Thanksgiving recap

We had a lot to be thankful for this year including very full plates of food on Thanksgiving.



Our Thanksgiving dinner included a simple butter and herb roasted turkey, popovers, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, pimiento macaroni and cheese, zucchini pie, and a raspberry truffle tart for dessert.

I made deviled eggs for an appetizer in the early afternoon. I love them, but my other half doesn't love them so much, mainly because of her distaste for mayonnaise. I opted to stuff some eggs with guacamole for her, and it was a hit!



Here's our zucchini pie:



And here's a slice of our raspberry truffle tart:



I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

The Old Oak Tap

Tonight we grabbed dinner at The Old Oak Tap on W Chicago Ave in Ukrainian Village. It's a casual, beautiful restaurant with high ceilings and chandeliers, but the lighting is too dark.

We started with the Pretzels that came with cheddar stout fondue and horseradish mustard sauce for dipping. The pretzels were soft and warm, and very good.



I had the Old Oak Burger medium well. It was a bit undercooked for me, but it was fine. It came with sweet onion jam, sharp Wisconsin cheddar, and a special sauce on a pretzel bun. I opted to add bacon. It was a large, juicy burger. The jam and sauce made it a little sweet. I had fries on the side, which were also good.



The service was friendly and pretty attentive.

I would love to head back and try their BLT as well as some other menu items.

Piece Brewery and Pizzeria

Tonight we tried out the pizza at Piece Brewery and Pizzeria in Wicker Park on W North Ave between Winchester Ave and North Elk Ave. There was no wait on a Monday night. The restaurant is very dimly lit. It's far too dark. Our pizza was huge! We ordered a medium red pizza (traditional tomato sauce and mozzarella) with half Italian sausage and half green pepper. It wasn't life-changing pizza, but I have no complaints about it. I would go back to this place, but I won't seek it out.

Bacon and pepper jack roll ups

If you've followed this blog for a while, you know that I like to experiment with crescent rolls and biscuits all the time. Here's my latest.

Bacon and pepper jack rolls up

Ingredients (makes 4 roll ups):

1/2 can Pillsbury crescent rolls
3 bacon rashers, cooked
2 slices pepper jack cheese
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp chives

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Lay out crescent rolls. Break apart pepper jack slices and crumble bacon, and distribute evenly on the wide side of each crescent roll. Roll each crescent roll up, tuck in the ends, place them on a baking sheet, and bake them for 13 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, heat butter until melted.
4. When crescent rolls are done cooking, remove them from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack. Brush each roll with the butter, and immediately sprinkle each one with chives. Serve warm.