Since moving to Chicago, I haven't missed much about the Boston food scene. To be honest, there is only one dish from one restaurant that I am missing and today I woke up and realized that I had to have it. This dish embodies all my favorite Asian flavors and it's a salad that I always crave. This dish is the Thai Noodle Salad from Hillstone! Heard of it? Making this salad was actually much easier than I thought and I think I've come up with the perfect copy cat recipe. Whether you've had ... [ Read More ]
Truffle & Pea Parmesean Risotto
Risotto has always been one of those dishes that I plan to cook, but then I wimp out at the last minute because it's SO tedious and time consuming. If you haven't made it before, a traditional risotto is made by heating up a liquid (like chicken stock) and incrementally adding the warm liquid to the rice one ladle at a time. You have to wait to add another ladle until the liquid has been almost completely absorbed by the rice. This process can take about a half hour and it's pretty easy to mess ... [ Read More ]
“Drunken” Caramelized Brussels Sprouts
To be honest, up until recently, I wasn't a huge brussels sprout fan. Overall, I think they kind of smell funny and taste strange when not prepared properly. Lately, I've been seeing brussels sprout salads and side dishes popping up all over the place. Some are amazing and some are lackluster at best. One of my favorite brussels sprout dishes in Chicago is at The Grid. They make these incredible crispy brussels sprouts with apple saba. They are incredible and last night I went on a mission to ... [ Read More ]
Watermelon and Feta Quinoa Salad
This cold weather is finally starting to let up, hooray! I can't tell you how excited I am to be losing the heavy winter jacket and gearing up for an amazing Chicago spring and summer. Since the past couple days have been nice outside, I thought I would try to keep the momentum going by sharing a spring inspired quinoa dish that I love. This dish has unique components that perfectly balance together and create something really spectacular. It's also really healthy too! Watermelon and ... [ Read More ]
Strawberry Mint Smoothie
Ever since I got a Vitamix for the holidays, I've been totally obsessed with trying new smoothies. I feel like the possibilities are endless and that continues to inspire me! This morning I was in the mood for something sweet, but we didn't really have any fresh fruit in the house. I noticed we had some frozen strawberries, but I didn't think a smoothie with just strawberries would taste good on it's own. Then I realized that we had some mint leftover some Indian food I made the other night. ... [ Read More ]
Buffalo Chicken Riggies
By now, I think most of my readers have tried my amazing Chicken Riggie Recipe! If you haven't or don't know what a "chicken riggie is, I'm here to help! Basically, Chicken Riggies are a spicy version of a rigatoni and vodka sauce. It’s made with spicy cherry peppers and the sauce is laced with heavy cream. It's a huge culinary staple in Utica NY (where I went to college). If you like pasta and you can handle a little bit of a kick, this is sure to be one of your favorites. Although this dish ... [ Read More ]
15 minute Cheese Blintz Pancake
Growing up, my Dad would always go to Costco and buy the best cheese blintzes. These thin, crepe-like pancakes are filled with delicious cheese and usually topped with fruit preserves or jam. Frankly, they’re one of the most delicious things ever, but they are time consuming to make. The other morning I was flipping through EveryDay with Rachel Ray and I saw a recipe for Cheese Blintz Hotcakes. The recipe made me nostalgic (my Dad became a vegan a few years ago ergo we haven't had too many ... [ Read More ]
Spaghetti Squash w/ Tomatoes & Caramelized Onion Gorgonzola Sauce
Last night I invented a delicious dish using some of my old standby recipes and combining them together. Let me explain how it all went down... I had a spaghetti squash that I needed to use up before it went bad. When I told Dan what I was making, he said he didn't want a standard red sauce. Since I literally had nothing else to pair it with, it got my wheels turning. I noticed I had some heavy cream and gorgonzola cheese in my fridge and knew that my gorgonzola sauce would pair perfectly ... [ Read More ]
Erica’s Detox Green Smoothie
Happy Monday! I don't know about you, but every monday I feel like I need to detox. Maybe it's the excessive amount of food I ate over the weekend or the lack of motivation to get up and go to the gym. Either way, I need a boost to get me back on track. Today I am going to share a smoothie that will change your life. Not only is it unbelievably delicious (I swear), but it's so good for you. If you start your day with it, I bet you'll end up eating great the rest of the day. Erica’s ... [ Read More ]
Cauliflower Crust Pizza
Let's be brutally honest here, cauliflower isn't everyones favorite vegetable (I know it certainly isn't mine). Lately, I've been hearing people talk about using this white, brain-like looking vegetable to make pizza crust. When I first heard it, I thought no way. Not only would this make pizza a low-carb, healthy option, but it could potentially give me a use for a vegetable I'm not a huge fan of. So, I gave it a try. It was delicious! It was crunchy and nutty and honestly, I didn't miss the ... [ Read More ]