Afternoon Tea at the Seasons Lounge at Four Seasons - Chicago, IL

My friend Yeena took me out for afternoon tea for my birthday a few months ago.  How can you not love little sandwiches and plates of scrumptious desserts?  

Classic Gougeres

I have been eyeing this recipe for awhile, so I made this for one of the random dinner get togethers we had with Aleen and Gook.  Don't these look amazing?  They are quite tasty.  :) 

Hot Doug's - Chicago, IL

This summer, Mary and Jeannie came to visit me and so did my cousins.  That meant lots of trips to Hot Doug's for me.  They are only open from 10:30 to 4 pm on Saturdays so that means you have to go right as it opens if you don't want to spend 2.5+ hours in line.  I think we got there around 11 am one time and we ended up waiting exactly 2 hours.  We tried the second time to get there right as it opened, and there was still a crazy line.  I think it shaved off 30 mins of our wait.  Next time I'm getting there at 10 am!!

We ordered a bunch of hot dogs to share.  I picked the Turducken Sausage with Smokey Bacon Sauce, Pate de Compagne and Brie-Blue Cheese.  Jeanie picked the Sonoran Dog that consisted of Jalapeno and Cheddar Beef Hot Dog with Jalapeno Mayonnaise, Jalapeno Bacon, Pinto Beans, Tomatoes and Onions.  I think she asked for it with just the hot dog and cheese.  

Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

These are unbelievable easy to make, especially if you have a  food processor.  

Graham Elliott - Chicago, IL

We celebrated our friend Gook's birthday at Graham Elliot months ago.  We happened to go when they were revealing their spring menu, so that just goes to show how long ago this was.  Sorry guys!  

I've always wanted to try Graham Elliott, but I had heard some mixed reviews.  I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised and ended up leaving the place a bigger fan of Graham Elliot than before (if that's even possible).  Everything was so whimsical yet at the same time delicious. 

Seadog Sushi - Chicago, IL

I've been eyeing this sushi restaurant since it opened near our neighborhood and was so happy that there was a sushi restaurant near by.  Within the past six months, I've only been there twice now and it's not because I didn't like it, I just keep forgetting that it's there.  I failed to take pictures the first time, but here's what I had for dinner with Aleen awhile back.  

Aleen loves gomaae, spinach with sesame dressing. so we got an order of that.  It came in three little mounds of steamed spinach with sesame dressing on top.  

Roasted Garlic Bread and Compound Butter

A perfect compliment to the cioppinio is roasted garlic bread.  This is pretty fantastic.  All you do it cut off the tops of the garlic, pour some olive oil on top and bake in your oven until the garlic gets soft.  I used 1 garlic bulb and one stick of butter, but you can use more or less depending on your preference.  

Let butter come to room temperature and mix with the roasted garlic pieces.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

I added chopped herbs I had on hand, like rosemary and thyme.  

Slice a loaf of french bread lengthwise.  Generally spread the garlic butter mixture and bake in the oven.

I was too busy devouring this to take pictures.  But trust me, it's delicious!

I went overboard and made a lot of garlic butter, but fear not, you can use the excess to make compound butter.  All you have to do it put a blob on it on parchment paper and roll it up into a log.

Twist the ends together and you can freeze it.  It's a great way to get rid of extra herbs you have on hand.  I just slice off a slice of compound butter to flavor any dish I'm making.  It's great!