Vegetarian Chili

Vegetarian Chili

Wicker Park - Home

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Hot Chcolate

Hot Chocolate - New American

Bucktown - 1747 N Damen

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Mado

Mado - Italian and Mediterranean Influences
Wicker Park - 1647 North Milwaukee

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We recently had some friends visiting from DC for the weekend and wanted to get out for a big dinner with them and some of our other great friends. We decided to go to Mado because it was an A la Card location, we had read some great reviews on Yelp, heard great things from people we knew, and really appreciated the aim of the restaurant. They're committed to using fresh and local ingredients, as well as using "the whole animal."

As with many other dishes, this one was nothing too special. The sauce, a sort of spicy mayo, was quite good but the pork skins themselves were quite boring. They were cooked well and were surprisingly not-so-greasy but there was little pork flavor. I was hoping that homemade pork skins would have a robust porkiness to them, but alas, the chicharrones from 7-eleven would be about as good.

Hot Doug's Round II

Encased Meat Emporium
Avondale - 3324 North California

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Lentils & Tofu

Lentils, Tofu, Scallions, Carrots, Peanuts, & Peanut Sauce w/ Broccoli
Home - Wicker Park

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Crescent-Wrapped Brie

Crescent Rolls w/ Brie
Home - Wicker Park

This is one of my favorite appetizers to make because it's easy and a definite crowd pleaser.  I originally got the idea from Miss Annie Koday, and I decided to make it for book club last month and for a dinner supplement tonight with Jim.  The recipe can be found here, at Pillsbury.com. 

You get to cut out fun shapes in the extra dough, which is always a good time.  I chose B <3 J this time around, but I've learned quickly that I need to invest in some cookie cutters because Bs are far too difficult to cut out of dough.  It can be served with apples (my favorite) or crackers (carb on carb).

When I made this for book club, I used regular crescent rolls and regular brie.  But this time, because I knew I was eating it for dinner with just one other person, I used low-fat crescent rolls and low-fat brie.  Although the flavors were still nice, I found the high-fat stuff to make for a better dish.  The brie wasn't as melty and the crescent rolls weren't as buttery.  I ended up eating most of it myself, so my arteries were probably thanking me.

I suggest this as a quick and delicious appetizer for any occasion.  It's easy to prepare and easy to eat.  How can you go wrong with cheese and crescent rolls?

Posted by Brittney

Butternut Squash Gratin

Butternut Squash Gratin with Onions and Sage

Wicker Park - Our Place

For dinner tonight, we searched through our many cookbooks to find a good recipe for the enormous butternut squash we've been meaning to eat.  We found a great fall dish--butternut squash gratin.  We've tried our hands at gratins in the past and been less than successful, but we were confident that the liquid ingredients in this one would make for a much better dish.

The gratin is comprised of onions sauteed in olive oil, sage, and thyme on the bottom of the dish, which we them topped with cubed squash tossed lightly in flour and sauteed.  The liquid ingredient is an herb broth, which we basically made with skim milk and vegetable stock.  We didn't have any gruyere or fontina cheese, which the recipe called for, so we used a combination of fresh parmesan and cheddar cheeses and sprinkled that on top.  After cooking for 25 minutes, you top everything with bread crumbs and cook for about another 20 minutes.  It smelled amazing!

We paired it with a staple in our house, a salad of mixed greens, pickled beets, and walnuts with balsamic dressing.  The nuts and beets complemented the squash very well.

It's hard to plate a gratin beautifully, but it was delicious!  We recommend this as a great fall dish that requires very little technique and few ingredients.  It's vegetarian, of course, but it's hearty enough for even the hungriest omnivore.  So grab a butternut squash, turn that key on your gas fireplace, and enjoy a great November meal!