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Locavore

It has been quite a long week, and I’m beyond thrilled that tomorrow is Friday! We have a no-students-present institute day, which are always fun. Not that I don’t love my students, but sometimes it’s nice to hang out with adults.

Sometimes, I’ll spend some time up in the main office at work and chat with our assistant principals about various issues with students, or sometimes we chat about nothing. And sometimes, we find out that we have a lot more in common than we originally thought! Yesterday, one assistant principal was in her office eating the most delicious-looking salad out of a recyclable paper box, much like the ones used at Whole Foods. I got very excited and asked her where exactly near school she’d gotten such a fantastic-looking salad. She informed me, quite giddily, that an old restaurant/bar had been bought out and converted from a typical pub into a local/sustainable and mostly organic restaurant! We then talked food and restaurants for quite some time, and she insisted that I try Duke’s Alehouse and Kitchen ASAP.

Luckily tonight, I had quite some time to kill! After school and a meeting, I had about 4 hours of free time before I got to be a judge at the regional spelling bee. I went to the DMV to get my name changed on my license, did the same at the bank, and then headed to Duke’s for an early dinner.

I was greeted by a friendly bartender who was more than happy to tell me about their menu, specials, and seemed very knowledgeable about why their menu was different than other places.

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I’d perused the menu online, and had made up my mind that I would be getting a tallgrass beef burger, without the bun, for my dinner. To say that it delighted me when Robert (I think that was his name?) the bartender informed me that their cheese choices were: 4-year aged cheddar, blue, gouda, mozzarella, feta, oh…and goat. Yes, goat cheese. Amazing fresh and soft local goat cheese. Oh, and organic broccolini (not local, as its a frozen tundra here right now.) Apparently, up in the county where my school is, there are dozens of small farms… some are more famous (Kinnickinnick and Saluté) but most I’d never heard of.

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The bottom of the menu reads “I want my farmer to be paid well, for the same reason I want my airline pilot to be.” I love it! I read that menu while I waited for my food, and loved the pride the place has in supporting local and organic farmers. So many restaurants like this are out of reach for Adam and I, as they’re downtown Chicago and price-prohibitive. This however, is the opposite! It’s relatively inexpensive (my burger was $10.50) and in the lovely suburb where my school is.

My food arrived quickly, and to say it was beautiful is an understatement:


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I think you need a closer up shot of this stuff… the beautiful baby broccoli was topped with some flavorful real butter:

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And the burger, on its soft pretzel bun with bibb lettuce, roma tomatoes, and soft fresh goat cheese… notice how that patty is uneven and not round. That means a PERSON actually made that patty, and stood there while it cooked:
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To say that it pained me to take that burger off that beautiful bun is an understatement as well. I can only imagine how phenomenal it tasted… it sure smelled good. I looked like a freak, sitting by myself at a bar table, sniffing a pretzel roll and tweeting about how excited I was to eat this burger. Oh, and taking pictures of everything while the locals were sitting there wondering why their kids’ Spanish teacher was photographing her food.

You know what this burger tasted like? It tasted like meat. It tasted the way, when you want a good burger, that a good burger should taste. So much of the ground beef that I buy is fairly tasteless on its own and needs loads of seasoning. I’m willing to bet that this burger had a sprinkle of salt and pepper and that’s it. Next time I go, I’m certainly trying the organic steak, as well as making sure that I have someone else to order a dessert so I can have a bite. Something about a “trio of artisanal brownies” and “build your own cupcake” are quite intriguing.

110 N. Main St.
Crystal Lake, IL 60014

With a pleasantly full belly, I went to judge the spelling bee, and then headed home. I was greeted with a bubble-pack envelope with a Canadian customs label on it. I immediately knew what it was and tore right in! The amazing Marianne from the blog From French Fries To Flax Seeds had sent me an Olympic care package!! There was a pair of the official red Olympic mittens, and a pin that says “Eh!” from Lululemon! (please excuse the ratty nails and tired face).

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I love them!! Thank you SO much Marianne! You’ll be getting your Chicago care package as soon as I get off my butt and remember to send it…

What are you and Adam doing for V-Day? I think we’re staying in, drinking some wine, and I’m making cheese fondue… with bread. V-day is one holiday that I feel it necessary to splurge no matter what. And you know? That’s ok! ONE day of splurging and eating bread will not make me lose all the progress I’ve made!

Tomorrow evening, we are off to O’Hare to pick up my mom and stepdad from their trip to Mexico. We’ve been watching this adorable face all week… Stella the Goldendoodle!

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Have a wonderful Friday, and happy Olympic Day!!! I can’t WAIT to watch the opening ceremonies! What’s your favorite winter Olympic sport? Mine’s gotta be curling…


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Winner Winner Chinese Dinner

I know I swore my cooking posts would start again today, but after last week’s simple non-postworthy recipes, the subzero (yes, actually BELOW ZERO) temperatures, and the severe lack of ingredients in the house, we opted for a carry-out Chinese dinner from one of our favorite places, China Wok. I’m a slacker, I know.

Oh, and it was really tempting to not leave the house after seeing these hanging outside our front window:

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Those are approximately 5 to 8 feet long icicles, the longest of which hangs directly above our front door. SCARY!

Back to dinner…

I started with half of these amazing steamed dumplings full of spicy pork:

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And the rest of what I had didn’t photograph well… one patty of chicken egg foo young, a few bites of chicken fried rice, a bit of some spicy noodle thing, and of course:

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My fortune read: “You will be recognized and honored as an influential member of the community”.

There’s a lot of catch-up I still need to do which I’ll address in tomorrow’s post, but for now, I want to announce the winner of the MyBlogSpark and Progresso Soup giveaway. Thanks to random.org, I came up with number #3 which was a recipe for cabbage soup from Christina! I know you’ll read this, so Christina, when you do, email me your information and I’ll contact your benefactor!

I’m off to watch the Simpson’s 20th Anniversary Special and get to bed early… it’s going to be a LONG week!

OH, and I’m committing to you here: I WILL COOK A NEW RECIPE TOMORROW. It has been blogged, so it shall be done.


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On A Pedestal

Last night, Adam and I decided that it was time for an old-school “dinner and a movie” date night. Well, it ended up being “movie and dinner” as we went to the movies first.

Since we were away right after Avatar came out, we finally got on the bandwagon and contributed to its billions-of-dollars success. We saw it in Real 3D which was truly remarkable. I felt like we were there, and I actually found myself swatting away a bug that I thought was in front of me…and it was on the screen. I really loved what a beautiful movie it was, and the story wasn’t bad either! I’d highly recommend it!

By the time the movie ended, it was after 9 p.m. and my after-school snack had long since worn off, and I was super hungry! There is a new restaurant near the movie theater that I had read about on Biggest Diabetic Loser over a month ago when Biz got to visit the restaurant pre-opening. Any place that has pizza and great burgers is good with me, so Adam and I decided to try The Lucky Monk.

We walked in and I was quite impressed with the decor. It was cozy without being stuffy and trendy without being obnoxious.

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We perused the menu, and while The Lucky Monk is a brewery in addition to a restaurant, we declined to get beer. I’m not a huge beer fan, and Adam wasn’t in the mood for alcohol. Adam quickly decided on a 12″ New York Style four-cheese pizza, and I went with a burger. I really appreciated that the burgers came in two sizes: a “normal” 6 oz. burger and a HUGE 9 oz. one. I wanted to feel OK about indulging in some fries, so I went with a 6 oz. “Farmhouse” burger.

Since it’s a new restaurant, the service doesn’t quite “have their stuff together” yet. It took a while to get drink refills, and our server barely checked back, but once the food arrived, I didn’t care!

Adam’s pizza was crispy, chewy, cheesy and delicious:

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And my burger, a 6 oz. griddled patty with lettuce, tomato, red onion, dill pickle, Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese, and 2 slices of applewood smoked Duroc bacon was so fantastic it deserved to be put on a pedestal. As a matter of fact, the burger was on a pedestal! It gave me somewhere to set it down between bites and still be able to pick it up. The hand-cut french fries were actually well-done and crispy.

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Before dinner, we decided to forgo an appetizer in favor of a dessert that had grabbed our attention: skillet s’mores. Just look at this:

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This, I believe, puts Fitnessista’s favorite Pizookie to shame! It was a small cast-iron skillet stacked with layers of graham crackers, semi-sweet chocolate, mini marshmallows, and a small amount of caramel on top. It was then broiled so the marshmallows got crunchy, the chocolate melted, and everything soaked into the grahams. I can see myself dragging Adam here for dessert and coffee in the future!

I truly enjoyed our dinner at The Lucky Monk, and I love that it’s a mere 5 minutes from our house! There are quite a few other menu items I’m looking forward to trying.

Don’t forget to enter the Souper You soup and jumprope giveaway by tomorrow!


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Bachelorette Party Recap!

Only a food blogger… I swear, only a food blogger would do what I did at her bachelorette party.

There was much drinking (as was expected) and a great time was had by all… There were quite a few embarrassing pictures taken of me, mostly involving odd facial expressions and looks of shock while opening gifts. There was one photo, actually, that one Meghan said she’d give me $100 if I put it on the blog. I deleted it. I guess I can share one goofy one with you…

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I should rewind a bit. My sister Leigh(my Maid of Honor) did a fantastic job planning a very “Mara” night out. Thanks to some cool chef people my sister knows, she was able to get reservations at The Bristol, a restaurant that does not take reservations. It’s a very cool restaurant with interesting food and a focus on sustainable ingredients.
Lizz and I got there early (a RARE occurrence for us) and went up to the upstairs bar while we waited for the rest of the party to arrive.

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While we waited, we ordered drinks. Little did I know that the drinks we ordered would be some of the best I’ve ever had, EVER.

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This was called a Dardanian Cocktail. It contained gin, muddled pear, elderflower and sour. It was un-freaking-believable. I drank oh… 4 of these.

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This was called a Cu-Cui, which had pear vodka, cucumber puree, and something else I don’t remember. Lizz kept saying it was like someone took a salad and put it in a drink. It was also amazing.

Before we sat down at the table, I made it a point to get a picture with Leigh and Lizz

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The rest of the party finally arrived, and we headed downstairs to the table

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We perused the menus and decided to share a bunch of appetizers and each get our own entrees. Now, you all knew that I’d take pictures of my food. I actually debated blogging about the night, but then Lizz reminded me that if I didn’t, I’d probably regret it… so, here goes (some of the pics are blurry…I did my best!):

I ordered another pear cocktail, and my friend Erin proceeded to order me drinks.


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Another pear cocktail as well as a cocktail with Patrón silver tequila and citrus

Then the appetizers came… duck fat fries (the BEST I’ve ever had, hands down)


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These came with homemade ketchup and horseradish cream sauce… SO AMAZING!

And, there was savory monkey bread with dill butter… which luckily, Leigh remembered to take a picture of with one piece remaining while I scolded myself… bad food blogger!

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There was an apple and manchengo cheese salad

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And Leigh and I split fresh radishes with butter and salt. An amazing combo if you’ve never tried it!

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Then the entrees came out. Not only did I take pictures of MY food, but I passed my camera around and made everyone else take pictures of THEIR food. I’m really not positive of what all this stuff was… I’ll label the ones I’m sure of.

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Half chicken with mustard spaetzle and apple salad (there were about 5 of these at the table)


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Goat meat ravioli type things. Thanks for the great picture Meghan!

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Raviolo. A HUGE ravioli filled with fresh ricotta cheese and egg yolk. Still smacking myself for not ordering this myself!


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Fresh noodles with something called mojama. It’s a Spanish delicacy of cured tuna, grated over the top


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Organic grass-fed beef with sweet potatoes (they’re in the background!)


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No idea… greens of some sort?


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Leigh and I split this whole roasted Pompano fish. I’ve never had more buttery fish, ever!

There were also desserts that were devoured before a picture could be taken, but I assure you, they were FANTASTIC!

After dinner, the group split up and a bunch of us headed north to a quasi-improv show called Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind. I say quasi-improv because while true improv isn’t rehearsed, this is… it’s 30 plays in 60 minutes, the cost of admission is $9 plus whatever is rolled on a 6-sided die, and if they sell out, they order pizza. We’ve been going to this show for the better part of the last 15 years, and it was the PERFECT thing for us to do. The doors didn’t open for another 45 minutes when we got there, so we went around the corner to a favorite bar, Hopleaf, for another drink. I got a raspberry Lambic.

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We then went back, got in line, and took a final group picture.

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From Left: Me, Lizz, Leigh, Leah, Mom, Anna, and Kristin

It was an amazingly fun and perfect night out! Thank you SO MUCH to Leigh,, all who came, and everyone who helped make it a night I’ll never forget! I love you all!

I spent the night at Lizz’s house, and we had the luxury of going to IHOP for brunch… there’s something about breakfast food cooked by someone else that’s just so great! Dinner has yet to be decided…





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A Wedding Feast

Tonight was a very exciting night!

Adam and I went to our wedding venue to finalize numbers, the menu, and make a payment and all of a sudden, its REAL… we’re getting married 2 weeks from tomorrow!!!

One of the best things about our venue (besides the fact that its GORGEOUS) is that their food is stellar. In fact, last year when we booked, we were asked to have our food tasting before we even signed a contract because they pride themselves on how wonderful the food is. Even at the wedding reception, each dinner is cooked to order, and guests get a choice THAT NIGHT of what they want to eat. There’s a restaurant attached to our venue as well, and we decided tonight to treat ourselves to a wedding feast (since we hear that the bride and groom don’t really get to eat much the night of their wedding!)

Each and every item at the restaurant is house made from the bread, to the pasta, to all the soups, salad dressings, and sauces. There was tomato-topped focaccia and fresh Italian bread on the table, set to be enjoyed with herb-infused olive oil and parmesan cheese:


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Then, we got steamed crab claws in a basil-white wine broth


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Next was a mixed greens salad with a white balsamic viniagrette


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My entree was quite possibly the best steak I’ve ever had. It was a bone-in filet with an herb sauce, potato croquettes, and steamed baby bok choy:


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Adam got a bowl of house-made rigatoni with tomato-vodka sauce, topped with some absolutely enormous, lobsteresque shrimp… unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good picture of it… Last, but certainly not least, we got coffee and shared a piece of carrot cake. It came out with a surprise on it!


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The ambiance made for a very romantic (albeit early) evening


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We took a romantic stroll around Best Buy after dinner where I searched for a new camera case (any suggestions???) and we’re now home relaxing. Tomorrow night is my bachelorette party, but never fear! It will still be Cute Food Saturday!

Have a wonderful Friday night everyone!



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Epic Food

*This post was written last night at about 9:30 p.m, but my blog host was down and it wouldn’t publish! So… pretend it’s last night!*

I left work today excited for two main reasons: one, I was going for my next to last wedding dress fitting, and two, my BFF Lizz was coming with me, and we were going to a new favorite place for an early dinner.

The dress fitting went swimmingly, and I really can’t wait to share pictures with you… but you’ll have to wait a couple weeks!

Afterward, we headed up the street to a place that my friend Heidi (you know, Quin’s mom?) had been bugging me to go for months. Adam and I went not too long ago, and fell in love… what is this place?


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Baloney’s is a Barrington, IL landmark, attached to the Catlow Theater, an old-style movie theater. They are famous for their kitschy decor


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And even more famous for their remarkably huge and delicious sandwiches. The first couple times we went, I got a Dagwood sandwich, and I only got a phone picture of it.


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Yes, it was delicious…and yes, I ate the whole thing! Tonight though, the girl behind the counter was making suggestions to Lizz and I decided to take her advice. I got a Reuben. Usually, Reubens disappoint me, as the corned beef isn’t as good as I think it should be, or there’s not enough cheese, or the sauerkraut is too sour… but not this Reuben. Oh no. This…well, this was epic.

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Oh, but you can’t see how HUGE this was… let me help you out:


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It was, quite possibly, the BEST sandwich I’ve ever had. Seriously. I’ll never be able to eat a Reuben again without comparing it to this one. Lizz agreed with me that they were amazing sandwiches. She got a beef and cheddar sandwich:


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She kept saying “I’m never going to Arby’s again!” We both agreed that these were truly epic sandwiches. I got Adam a Dagwood sandwich, and if you don’t know why it’s called a Dagwood, this is why:

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This is Dagwood Bumstead, of the “Blondie” comic strip, and he was famous for eating enormous sandwiches!

What made my evening of food even more epic?

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Oh yes. That would be Früz. But more specifically, one of their Nü Naturals mixes which was (get this, are you sitting down?) Key Lime Pie with graham cracker crumbs! It was the BEST Früz I’ve ever had! Lizz and I shopped a little bit, and once I got home, I was about ready to crash… but I had to share this evening with you all!

I’ll be cooking again tomorrow, and I’m determined to try a new recipe! Do you have any ideas for me?



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L’Eiffel Creperie

Today was quite an exciting day! First, at 12:07 p.m, my friend Heidi gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Quinlan! He’s 8 lbs and 21 inches, and apparently has a full head of red curly hair! Hopefully I’ll get to meet him tomorrow!! I love babies…can you tell?

Then, after work, I went to the tailor shop to have my first wedding dress fitting! The woman at the shop was wonderful, and while most people would’ve looked at my dress and said it was “fine”, she’s going to make it PERFECT! Sorry I’m not going to post dress pictures here… but I will show you one of my favorite things: my turquoise wedding shoes!

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My sister endured insane traffic to come to my fitting, and we decided to go for an early dinner and a mini shopping trip afterward. After a short trip at Sur la Table (where I avoided spending ANY money!), we decided to go to a new area restaurant, L’Eiffel Bistrot & Creperie.

I’d seen this place a few times before, and the curiosity finally got the best of me. We walked in, and it was quite a bit prettier and more classy than I was anticipating (I don’t know what, exactly, I was expecting)


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The tables were set with sweet little plates


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Which were soon topped with fresh hot bread and sundried tomato tapenade:

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We perused the menu and found that, lo and behold, there was a crepe named for our mom, Mimi!


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We started with a caramelized onion and black olive tart:


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For my entree, I got the Country crepe, which had fresh spinach, brie, pancetta, onions and mushrooms, as well as a delicious side salad topped with beets and a great vinaigrette:


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Leigh’s looks almost the same as mine, but hers had chicken, goat cheese, and ratatouille on the inside:


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Both of these were amazingly fresh tasting, delicious, and VERY satisfying. The flavor combo of the spinach, pancetta, and brie was something that I’ll be duplicating at some point soon!

We finished off our meal with a delicious sweet crepe filled with nutella:


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Now THAT is something that I will NOT be replicating because I could eat however many there were. This was something that I’ll seriously dream about!

Leigh and I then went on to go shoe shopping (one of my favorite pastimes) as well as stopping in a couple other stores, but no purchases were made!

Don’t forget to enter my Blogiversary Giveaway!!! The winner will be announced Sunday!

Have a great night and a happy Hump Day!

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365 Days (Giveaway Post)

359 Posts

6,077 Comments

over 100 recipes

5,930 Tweets

245 Google Reader followers

402 FeedBurner subscribers

715 Twitter followers

ONE YEAR OF WHAT’S FOR DINNER!

Did anyone figure it out? The theme for yesterday’s Cute Food Saturday was “birthday cakes”. Not because any human was having a birthday, but because the blog was! I cannot believe it’s been a year already. I’ve met some of the most amazing people, both virtually and in real life, and had wonderful experiences, fun times, and great food.

I’ve discovered new foods


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Indulged addictions:


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Drastically improved photos:


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Then and Now

Eaten at amazing restaurants:


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Tru thanks to FoodBuzz, Frontera Grill

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The Publican, and Red Mango/Yogen Fruz

And through all this, we’ve been planning our wedding, which will be in 41 days!

To celebrate my Blogiversary, I’m going to give one lucky What’s For Dinner reader a “favorite things” prize pack including, but not limited to:
  • One foodie charm of their choice
  • One coupon for free Oikos yogurt (16 oz)
  • One 32 oz. jar Tropical Traditions Extra Virgin Coconut OIl
  • One coupon for free Alouette spreadable cheese
  • One package of Matt’s Cookies (a Chicago favorite)
  • Three pieces of Fannie May chocolate (another Chicago fave, individually wrapped of course)
  • Two Cherry Pie Larabars
  • A Food-Themed bracelet by my ColorHungry friend
  • One Chicago-themed travel mug

That’s not all, but I haven’t figured out the rest yet! Due to shipping costs, entry is limited to US residents only. How to enter? The usual!

  1. Leave a comment below for one entry
  2. Link back to this post on your blog, or email me for a second entry, AND leave a second comment that you’ve done so..
  3. Tweet about the contest mentioning @imadedinner AND (this is the key for the third entry) leave a second comment to tell me you’ve done so

Only comments will be counted for entry!! The contest will run the whole week, and the winner will be announced on Sunday, October 25th.

I spent today at the apple orchard with Lizz and Skylar, and then we went to Asian Noodle House…enjoy the pictures!


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Thank you all for continuing to read my little blog, and for being such wonderful additions to my life. I’m truly grateful for all of you!


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Sushi Bender

I have been looking forward to dinner tonight for about two weeks now. Why? Well, for the first time since our insane dinner at Tru, I got to hang out with Jenn, a.k.a. EatingBender! We talk fairly often, and have been planning a “suburban evening” for some time now.

So tonight was the night! I picked Jenn up at the train station (luckily, Chicago and its surrounding areas have amazing public transportation!) and we pretty much made a beeline for my absolute favorite sushi place, Daruma. I’m always so excited to bring anyone there because the food is so great, but I was beyond excited to bring Jenn. This would make time number 3 that Jenn and I have had sushi together, and I really think this was the best. Granted, I’m biased because I love the place, but you can judge by checking this post and this post. The meal tonight trumps them all!

Jenn was awesome, and totally went with my suggestions… so we started with agedashi tofu. It’s a lightly tempura fried piece of soft tofu in a mushroom-soy broth


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Then continued with four of my absolute favorite rolls. On the top left is a special spicy tuna called “harumaki” with 2 kinds of spicy sauce, scallions, and fresh tuna. On the right is the crazy roll, full of salmon, tuna, yellowtail, cucumber, avocado, masago (fish eggs) and spicy sauce. On the lower left is the caterpillar roll with eel and egg, then topped with avocado.

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Then, the best roll came. I believe I described this roll to Jenn as the “holy grail of all rolls that are sushi.” This roll is a tempura shrimp with spicy sauce rolled up in rice, then topped with tempura crunch, dried seaweed, and eel sauce (like teriyaki). It Is. So. Good.

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Oh, and sesame seeds. I forgot the sesame seeds. I swear, I could eat nothing but this roll every day and be happy. Well, this one and crazy rolls…

It was so nice to sit and chat with Jenn about all sorts of things that many other people in my life just don’t “get”. We asked the host, Thomas, to take a picture of us before we left, and he insisted we take it in front of the restaurant’s namesake: the daruma. It’s a Japanese doll designed for good luck and wish-keeping. The right eye is usually filled in, and the left is filled in when a wish is fulfilled.


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Thank you SO MUCH for making the trek out here Jenn! I can’t wait to hang out again, and soon!

As for me, I need to get to bed.

Just a reminder to check out and donate your pennies to the A to Z Literacy Project... every little bit helps!


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Porkin’ Out

Have you entered the Jewish Cooking Bootcamp Giveaway yet? Jump on over to yesterday’s post and leave a comment!

Today was a big day on the wedding front! We met with our venue coordinator to set our wedding menu! This is a HUGE step in planning, and I can’t believe that it’s here already. About a year ago when we booked our venue, and the coordinator said “we’ll meet two months out to finalize a menu”, it seemed like FOREVER. I’m so excited! I’ll post our final menu once we have more of an idea of numbers…

After our meeting and all the talk about food, Adam and I were ravenous. We headed back towards home and Adam decided where we were going.

Any guesses?

No. Not sushi… I know you thought that’s where I was going with this.

Here’s a hint:

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Yes, that’s me with a 12-foot tall red Weber grill.

We went to the Weber Grill Restaurant! It’s this great place where they cook everything (well, the proteins and some veggies) on well-ventilated indoor Weber charcoal grills! It’s a favorite of ours that we tend to forget about. They have some truly excellent food, as well as one of my favorite side dishes ANYWHERE. More on that in a minute.

First of all, this place has pretzel rolls and cheddar butter. Need I say more?
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There were two of those rolls eaten… then our appetizers came. Neither of us could make up our mind as to what we wanted, so we got an appetizer combo. We each got one beef skewer, one rib, one grilled chicken skewer, and one BBQ shrimp skewer…oh, and some onion strings.

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I decided on something a bit healthy for my entree so that I could enjoy my favorite side without guilt. I got the grilled cajun catfish with all butter and sauce on the side, sauteed spinach, and…wait for it… maple whipped sweet potatoes.

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Adam got a BBQ combo of Midwest-style BBQ pork and brisket… hence the title of the post. Check out all that BBQ pork!

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I may have helped polish that off as well. It was just SO good, and much better than any BBQ pork I could’ve made!

We sat in gluttonous blarginess after we finished eating for a few minutes…this really is a true Tale of Expansion… and then went to Best Buy to pick up a replacement remote for our upstairs TV. I’m going to attempt to stay up for Top Chef tonight, but I have a feeling my night will be interrupted by sleep. Can you believe tomorrow is already Thursday!?!

Some Bloggy News:
Check out Allijag at Green Dog Wine’s Blogiversary Giveaway!
Congrats to Jenn at Eating Bender, Miss Gliding Calm, and Kath at KathEats on being named one of Fitness Magazine’s Favorite Health Blogs!

That’s about all I’ve got for now! I’m quite beat…
Happy Thursday!


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