Eataly, Chicago- A Gourmand’s Dream Come True

At August 7, 2014
By megan
In Asparagus, olive oil, pizza, raisins, Restaurant Review, risotto, seafood
0

You walk in to a gourmet fresh produce market with raisins dried on the vine, exotic fruits, fresh vegetables, and a free vegetable butchering service. Turn to the right and approach a coffee bar, then a snack bar, an ice cream shop, chocolate shop, and home goods specialty shop. Head up to the second floor and enter a brewery, winery, olive oil shop, bakery, cooking school, pizzeria, vegetable restaurant, fish market and restaurant, cheese shop, fresh pasta shop, butcher counter, salumi shop… I’m definitely forgetting a number of “shops” under this two-story department store sized restaurant and marketplace. But, hopefully you get my point if you haven’t had the pleasure of visiting EATALY in NYC, Chicago, or any of its other European, Middle Eastern, or Asian locations.

Sean and I did a really quick reconnaissance after enjoying The Publican, and decided to return the next day for lunch.

We chose to dine at the Verduri restaurant, and started with their Bruschetta del Giorno.

And a couple glasses of rosé in EATALY glasses (available for purchase, of course).

Next came the Asparagi dish with a beautifully fried egg on top.

We followed that with Verdure Piastra, which was essentially a big serving of farro topped with roasted veggies.

And chef had to try their Green Pea Farrotto, as he’d just been talking about wanting to put a Farrotto on his own menu at Zeal.

The verdict? The Farrotto, which is essentially a risotto-style dish made with farro rather than rice, seemed to be rapidly prepared rather than slowly cooked the way this labor intensive dish is best made for a creamy, delectable experience. It seemed like pre-cooked farro was added to a pea broth rather than cooked in a broth over a long period of time. But, the flavor was good. The Verdure Piastra was a HUGE portion of food, yet priced the same as the Farrotto. This seemed off to us. And in the end, lunch cost $130 including tax and tip. That’s a pretty expensive lunch!

A Bolder Table’s Aussie Bites for Taste & Create

At April 23, 2010
By megan
In coconut, cranberries, cream, muffins, oats, raisins, taste and create
2

I was really glad to stumble upon this recipe posted on The Bad Girl’s Kitchen for this month’s Taste & Create because I had some of these famous Aussie Bites a couple years ago. I liked them so much that I wrote down the ingredients from the package and that little piece of paper has been in my kitchen drawer ever since.

So, I took out that paper, compared it to the recipe posted, and adapted it a little according to what I had in stock. I think they turned out nicely.

Here is the link to the Aussie Bites recipe from The Bad Girl’s Kitchen.

Here is my ingredient list:

1 cup whole oats (I toasted mine for 10-15 minutes on a baking sheet while preheating the oven)
1 cup oat bran
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup grated coconut (unsweetened)
1/3 cup sunflower kernels
1/3 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup dried apricots (I had some California apricots) coarsely chopped
1/4 cup raisins, coarsely chopped
12 TB ground flax seeds
1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
1 TB cinnamon
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup honey
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup warm water
1 tsp baking soda (I live at high altitude, so I used 3/4 tsp baking soda)

Preheat oven to 350. I baked at 375 since Boulder is a higher altitude city.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl except the baking soda.

In a large measuring cup, measure 1 cup of cream, add the honey, and slowly mix with a wire whisk until well combined. Then add the eggs and mix until combined. In a separate measuring cup, combine the warm water and baking soda. Let this cool a few minutes before adding it to the cream, honey, and egg mixture. Mix well, add to the dry ingredients, and pour into muffin pans.

I don’t have mini-muffin pans…yet… so I used regular muffin pans and lined them with unbleached baking cups from If You Care. My Aussie Bites took 20 minutes to bake.

They came out delicious, and I will play with this recipe in the future to make a few variations.