The best thing I ate today - 12/18

The best thing I ate today was the homemade dinner of butternut squash and pancetta risotto that my husband whipped up for dinner.  The combination of the bacon, squash and caramelized onions was sweet, smokey and flavorful.  But what really made this dish sing was the fact that it was finished with a sprinkle of love.  Thanks honeybee!

The best thing I ate today - 12/16

The best thing I ate today was at a Shabbat dinner hosted by our friend Merav.  The winner - her roast chicken.  Delicious, moist and perfectly seasoned, she gave Jonathan Waxman a run for his money.  Her recipe was very simple and included garlic, thyme, rosemary and lemon.  This is a must replicate for me this winter (aka roast chicken season).

The best thing I ate today - 12/10

The best thing I ate today was at a new little neighborhood joint the size of a postage stamp - Miko's Flipside.  This place sells homemade Italian ices in the summer and turns into a cozy little soup, sandwich and coffee spot in the winter.  Everything we had here was FABULOUS.  The win goes to my Black Bean soup which was outstanding.  Other honorable mentions go to the chicken chili and the grilled cheese on rosemary bread.  See you very soon Miko!

The Best Thing I Ate Today - 12/8

The best thing I ate today was my homemade French Onion soup.  I had never made this before and was delighted with the outcome.  I was able to achieve the rich, complex onion-beef flavor in just 2 hours of cooking.  I topped it with some french bread croutons and a REASONABLE amount (i.e. not enough to cover the top of a small state such as Rhode Island) of bubbly Gruyere cheese.  Overall, a much healthier way to get that French Onion it without sacrificing too much.

The Best Thing I Ate Today - 12/7

The best thing I ate today was the Stracciatella mousse at Ripasso.  This was the final course during a fun girlfriends' dinner with my friends Anita and Sindhu.  Bummed to hear that they were out of the Pistachio Mousse (http://bestthingiatetodaychicago.blogspot.com/2011/11/best-thing-i-ate-today-1112.html), we opted for Stracciatella instead and it did not disappoint.  It was like taking bites out of a pillowy, ribbony cloud of whipped vanilla and shaved chocolate.  We were in heaven.

The Best Thing I Ate Today - 12/6

The best thing I ate today was a delectable little morsel - Vanilla Caramel Marshmallow from Hammond's Candies.  I am a caramel junkie but this combination was unique to me.  The Fluffy marshmallow was robed in ooey, gooey caramel.  This made for one very delicious bite that you could really sink your teeth into (without your teeth getting stuck).

The best thing I ate today - 12/3

The best thing I ate today was a chocolate peppermint tart at the Lobby in the Peninsula hotel, over afternoon tea at a belated birthday celebration for my dear friend Elina.  It was a perfect ladies afternoon chock-full of girlfriend time, catching up, bottomless tea and lots of edible delights.  The chocolate peppermint tart took on the form of a chocolate cookie crust, filled with a fudgey, minty chocolate ganache, and topped with an adorable dollhouse-sized candy cane.  A sweet treat for sweet friends.

The best thing I ate today - 12/2

The best thing I ate today was the Friday night "let's just stay in" dinner that I made for Marc.  For me, Friday nights are all about comfort food and my go-to for this meal is chicken parmesan with pasta, and molten chocolate cakes for dessert.  The chicken is breaded and baked which gives it maximum parmesan flavor without the extra fried calories.  Our secret sauce is nothing other than bottom shelf Franceso Rinaldi Tomato Basil (who we affectionately refer to as "Francesca"), which we find to taste sweet, fresh and flavorful.  Lastly my lava cake recipe is a throwback to business school where my friend Melissa found the recipe on the Dove chocolate website at the time molten cakes were just gaining culinary traction.  Our comfort food induced bliss was a great start the the weekend.

The best thing I ate today - 11/29

The best thing I ate today was the sweet potato pancake at Snooze in Boulder, CO.  My husband and I became fans on Snooze a couple of years ago while in Denver for a wedding.  I had heard that they expanded to Boulder and there I found myself on a Tuesday morning ready to experience Boulder and hungry for pancakes.  The sweet potato pancake was a little more dense than a regular pancake, which seemed to be the perfect texture to carry the sweet potato puree baked into the cake.  It was topped with a sweet ginger butter which added an additional layer of flavor and buttery goodness.  I only wish this was the kind of Snooze alarm I could hit over and over again.