Entries Tagged as 'lincoln square'

Chopping Block Totally Hands On Cooking Class :: La Cocina Mexicana

October 24th, 2011 · 4 Comments

A few friends had gift certificates for a hands-on class at the Chopping Block, so we set up a date to go. Limey was one of the people with a gift certificate, so it became one of his going away events, now that he’s leaving the country after his work visa expired. Jen had an extra class certificate, so she let me use it. Limey had one extra that he gave to his friend Natalie.

The class we took was La Cocina Mexicana taught by Chef Carrie Bradley. The menu was Wild Mushroom Queso Fundido; Taqueria-Style Tortas with Grilled Skirt Steak and Tomatillo Salsa; Pozole Rojo (Pork Braised with Red Chilies and Hominy); Mexican Flourless Chocolate Cake. (Recipes here.)

While Chef Carrie introduced herself and let us know how the class would go, she gave us each a little cup of fresh tomato, cucumber and herb gazpacho that she made earlier. It wasn’t on the menu, but anytime you want to give me bonus soup, I’ll take it. I have not eaten a ton of gazpacho, but I thought this was delicious. Light and fresh. I found this recipe for the soup on the Chopping Block’s website.

The first thing we started making was the pozole rojo because it was a soup that needed to cook for more than an hour. Limey volunteered to be pork hands in our group and to mix the raw pork with the seasoning.

While the soup was simmering we went ahead and worked on the rest of the meal. The Chopping block sets out pre-measured ingredients for each dish. Limes was super excited when he saw the bowl of chocolate for the flourless chocolate cake, so we let him do the chocolate melting. This was a mix of butter, bittersweet chocolate, Mexican chocolate, cinnamon, ancho chili powder and Kahlua.

Natalie learned how to crack eggs like a one-handed pro! At first she was muttering “what the %@$&” but once she got it, she got it and didn’t even break a yolk!

To make salsa verde, we roasted tomatillos, garlic, jalepenos, and onions then blended it in the food processor. Add a little salt and pepper, and that’s all there is to it. I normally make salsa fresca, but now I can’t wait to try this new recipe. This salsa was eaten with tortilla chips and also was part of the torta recipe.

Limey didn’t know this was chorizo. It looks like poo! This was for the fundido.

Natalie still working on the chocolate cake. Aside from melting the chocolate, she did everything else to make these cakes.

This is a view of our class room from the opposite end of the room. There was a couple with their parents, a couple on a date, 2 friends and us. I think it was 14 total, plus Chef Carrie and her assistant.

Kristin digging into the fundido. This was one of our favorite dishes. It was so rich and delicious. Maybe because it had both beer and tequila in it!

Jill learned how to grill the skirt steak for the tortas and fell in love with the stovetop grill!

Mexican flourless chocolate cake that Natalie made. Later on we topped each one with a dallop of Mexican crema (sour cream, basically). So fudgy and rich. The sour cream helped to cut the richness and was a good contrast to the sweet and spicy cake.

Chef Carrie showing us how to cut skirt steak across the grain.

Jill was finding it hard to cut the steak for some reason!

Here’s me putting what I learned to good use.

I don’t think this is what the torta is supposed to turn out like, but this is what mine looked like. Inside the bread I stuffed steak, avocado, onions, salsa, refried beans, Mexican crema, and queso fresco. It was kind of hard to eat, but totally incredible.

The roja & pork posole soup. Probably my least favorite dish at our table, but others loved it.

Here we are as we sat down to eat everything we made. I should point out Kristin’s finger. She got a knife injury somewhere along the way. Totally expected, I guess, since the six of us went through six bottles of wine that night. It should also be noted that Kristin did not cut her own finger, someone else did!

Limey finishing off Jill’s cake. She was too stuffed to eat it all, but Limey is never too stuffed to eat more sweets! Notice we are the last people there.

As a side note, I took a hands-on cooking class at the Chopping Block just about one year ago as part of my Bachelorette celebration weekend.

[Read more →]

Tags:··········

Benefit Beauty Bash

June 3rd, 2011 · No Comments


Benefit Boutique


Benefit Boutique


Benefit Cosmetics


We had red wine, white wine, cheese, crackers, and fruit.


Benefit Cosmetics


Janice getting her makeover.


I took a photo of myself in the bathroom after my makeover.


Memory Aid: Some of the products used in my makeover.


Memory Aid: Some of the products used in my makeover.


Jessica after her makeover.


Maria, Jamie, Janice


Maria, Jamie, Rachelle, Jen, Jessica

Quinn’s school had a big fundraiser and Jen “won” a Benefit “Beauty Bash” in the online auction. She got to invite a dozen guests to be treated to an after-hours private party at the Benefit Cosmetics Boutique on Southport Avenue. Benefit served us red and white wine and Jen also brought cheese, crackers, and fruit for us to snack on. Everyone was treated to a complimentary brow shape and lash tint and then the “Beauty Artists” made each of us over.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this party. I was having flashbacks to when I was a teenager and went to Mary Kay or Avon parties. I think they used to give you like teeny, tiny sample packs of things and then everyone just had to try to follow along to the instruction. At Benefit, we all kind of mingled around drinking and eating until it was our turn for the lash or brow services or our turn to personally get our makeup done by someone else. It was so much fun. And I was impressed that so many people were free to attend, given that it was Memorial Day weekend. We had Jen, Caroline, Jamie, Jessica, Janice, another Jen, Maria, Jill, Lynn, Kristin, Abby and me.

I got the brow shaping with threading, not wax. And I loved how my makeup looked after they redid it. I bought a few Benefit products, but definitely not everything. We’ll see if I go on to buy more. I thought the products were of a good quality, I loved the store’s vibe and the product packaging. The prices were not cheap, but also not the most expensive I’ve seen either. One funny thing was that they didn’t use any blush on me because they said I was already perfectly flushed. I think what they were really telling me is that I should drink 3 glasses of wine before leaving the house every day.


Tank Sushi extravaganza!

After we got all dolled up, we all headed to dinner at Tank Sushi in Lincoln Square. Sushi extravaganza! Also, some people kept on with the wine but a lot of us switched to lychee martinis. Multiple lychee martinis!

After dinner, everyone kind of went their separate ways. Jess, Kristin, Lynn, Abby, Caroline and I headed for Tiny Lounge for more cocktails. I was feeling sleepy so I had the espresso cocktail made with handmade vodka, kahlua, tia maria (Jamaican coffee liqueur), espresso and cream. Delicious drink, but I had two and was still sleepy. Maybe it was the fact that the makeup party started at 4, so wine drinking started at 4, and by then it was 10 or 11 pm. Yeh, that’s a lot of cocktails. We ended up calling it a night after 2 rounds, but what a fun time!

[Read more →]

Tags:···················

Martha Stewart’s Butter Pecan Cookies

November 6th, 2010 · 2 Comments

I love this butter pecan cookie recipe because there are only 6 ingredients and they are common things that I probably have in the pantry at any given time.

I made butter pecan cookies for Emily’s dinner party. I wasn’t sure how many people would be there so I decided to make them mini. To do this, I just used a smaller cookie scoop. I also rolled the cookies in Sugar in the Raw before baking. This gave them a nice crisp texture on the outside and also made them look pretty and sparkly. I love Sugar in the Raw for baking.

By making the cookies mini, I was able to get about 3 dozen cookies from this recipe.

Now the important part: How did they taste? They were a big hit at the party. There were maybe 10 people in attendance and my cookies were all gone by the end of the night. Always a good feeling when something you made is completely devoured.

Butter Pecan Cookies
From: MarthaStewart.com

These delicate, buttery cookies, which get their crunchy texture from toasted pecans and a sugar coating, practically melt in your mouth. Makes 12.

3/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar, plus more for coating
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a baking sheet, toast pecans until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Let cool completely; finely chop.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until light, about 1 minute. Beat in vanilla, salt, and flour, scraping down sides of bowl, just until dough comes together. Fold in pecans.

Separate dough into 12 pieces; squeeze dough to shape into balls. Roll in sugar. Place, 3 inches apart, on a baking sheet. Gently flatten with the bottom of a glass (reshape sides if necessary). Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake until golden brown, rotating sheet halfway through, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with more sugar. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

[Read more →]

Tags:······

Ricochet’s Tavern

October 30th, 2010 · No Comments


Dallas’s side of the family – Caroline & Cory

After our cooking class at The Chopping Block we headed out to go to a bar in Lincoln Square. I’d sort of intended to go to Tiny Lounge in North Center, then someone suggested that we bar hop our way there. As we walked down Lincoln Avenue all of the bars were so packed that we could hardly walk in, let alone sit all 10 of us together. And then we walked past the dive bar, Ricochet’s Tavern. No one had really intended for Ricochet’s to be our after-party, but it wasn’t packed and there was plenty of space for us to all sit together. It did the trick.


Jessica & Kelly – Dangerous Duo!


Jess set up a game. Kelly kept score.


Jess G asking questions


Jeannette got me a vodka + lemon shot. She obviously wasn’t there during the vodka lemonade Summer of Rachelle!


Vodka & Lemon wedge. Blech!

Jess G surprised me with a game that she planned ahead of time. She asked Dallas 20 questions and got the answers. The game was for me to answer the questions and see if our answers matched. Or, more like, to answer the questions in the way I thought Dallas would have answered them. Each of my friends was to say how many answers they thought I’d get right. The winner got to do a celebratory shot with me. Oh. And? I had to drink a shot for every answer I got wrong.


Rachelle & Jess


Long distance apple pucker shots from Ted


More questions!


More shots!

Also? A bunch of the questions were really obscure. How old is Dallas’s oldest pair of underwear? And a bunch of the questions he answered “I don’t know.” Or said the answer then said, “She won’t know this.” Meaning I drank a lot of shots. At one point the bartender said “You’re going to kill that girl” because every 5 minutes my friends were up at the bar buying another shot.


Hilarious!


Something is hilarious!

Interspersed with the questions, I had to do a bachelorette scavenger hunt. First I had to find a guy in the bar named Phil. There weren’t any. I even asked the bouncer who was checking IDs. But funny thing…. right after we asked him, like the next guy coming in was named Phil!


Asking some dudes if anyone is named Phil. They lied and said YES.


Looking for a guy named Phil.


PHIL!!


Kelly made me drink Irish whiskey.

Then? I had to find a penny from the year that Dallas and I met: 2004. Funny thing… Phil had the penny! I found out later on he was set up. It was really Amanda that had the penny. What a let down! I thought Phil was my go-to guy.


Amanda setting up a trick!


Asking guys if they had a penny from 2004. The year Dallas and I met.


Penny from 2004?


No, but this guy had funny stories.


Everyone wants a photo with the bachelorette


See?


Jill made me drink butterscotch schnapps


And peach schnapps.


I think I had 7 shots total. The bartender told my friends they were going to kill me.

When I had to find an unused condom, guess who I asked? Phil, my go-to guy! But he didn’t have one. And get this, I talked to every guy in Ricochet’s. No one had a condom. We were not asking to take it… we just wanted to see one. Not one guy!! Shame, shame.


Help me find a condom


Sean? I put him to work trying to find a condom.


Do you have a condom?


Do you have a condom?


Do you have a condom? No, but I’m flattered you asked.

At the end of the night Kristin and Jill tied at guessing how many questions I’d get right: 7.


We asked Dallas 20 questions. How many do you think Rachelle will answer correctly?

Kristin couldn’t drink any more because of her medication so she somehow recruited Amanda to drink her celebratory shot for her. I have never seen Amanda drink before this night and I surely had never seen her do a shot. Luckily, Cory took a quick video of this momentous occasion:


Winning Shots. Jill and Kristin tied for the win. Amanda drank Kristin’s shot for her. Pigs flew.


Leftover shot!


Leftover shot for the game-leader

[Read more →]

Tags:···············

The Chopping Block Totally Hands-On Cooking Class

October 29th, 2010 · No Comments

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do on Saturday night of my girls’ weekend. I knew what I didn’t want to do. I didn’t want to dress slutty and drink from penis straws and barhop around downtown. No way. So what do you do? I started researching a few alternate things and decided to do a cooking class at The Chopping Block.


Who could it be now?


Jess?


Jess?


Jeannette, Jessica, Rachelle


The recipes


Jessica, Jeannette & Amanda picking out a wine


This was really good! Gougenheim Malbec 2009

















































Cooking is something I’m really interested in and that I do a lot, so it was fun to do it with 8 of my closest friends. The class we took was actually supposed to be a couples cooking class, but we totally crashed that. The Chopping Block was awesome. They gave us two large tables in the class and pushed them together with 4 people working at each table. Kristin, Kelly, Amanda and Caroline were working at one table and Jessica B, Jeannette, Cory and I were at another table. Jessica G. brought the magic to both teams, helping out wherever needed.

For dinner we made:

  • White Bean and Swiss Chard Soup With Sage
  • Sweet Potato and Gruyere Cheese Gratin
  • Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Dried Fruit and Port Wine Reduction
  • Spiced Apple Bread Pudding

Here is a link to all of the recipes (PDF).

By “we,” I mean, most of the rest of my team! I did stuff, but Jess and Jeannette really held it together while I talked a lot, floated around and drank a lot of wine out of whatever glass was the nearest to my hand.

Luckily The Chopping Block made it easy by pre-measuring a lot of things and by having 3 instructors going around making sure everything goes smoothly. At the end we all got to sit down and eat the meal we prepared. I loved the potatoes we made. The soup and pork were very good too.

Most people did not really care for the bread pudding, though. I don’t know if we made it wrong or what. At the end of the night we were getting our group photo taken and Jess G said “bread pudding face!” and we all made a horrible face!
The Chopping Block class was a great time. Everyone was saying how much fun they had. I think it’s good for parties or couples or anyone. Any occasion .. or even just a random night. Check it out.

[Read more →]

Tags:·············