Marmalade Restaurant

This past Friday, my dad drove to Chicago to spend the day with Jeremiah and myself (Unfortunately Brad was working). Another unfortunately, Jeremiah was crankier than...well, I don't even know what to compare it to. In the moment, we thought it was a teething issue but since then we've come to discover that he was fighting off some virus that he picked up somewhere.

My breakfast dates, neither ready for a picture

Nonetheless, we packed up the car and decided that we would try to go out for breakfast anyway since Jeremiah is normally much better when he is out and about than when we try to keep him at home. And really, what's a visit with my dad without trying something new?

So after browsing through Chicago Magazine's Best Breakfast Places, we decided to try out Marmalade. One of the draws of this place is that it was started by a former chef of m. henry which we fell in love with earlier in the year.

 

And I, for one, am so glad that we did. I mean really, they had me at "Nutella". I tried the Dolce Vita; Nutella filled crêpes with fresh seasonal fruit, drizzled with chocolate syrup, topped with hazelnut cream, and sprinkled with mixed nuts. I could have done without the nectarines or whatever one of the fruits was in there. It wasn't quite ripe yet hence the indistinguishable taste and it changed the whole texture a bit since it was harder than the strawberries and bananas that were already in it. But those nuts! Loved their crunchy addition to the plate. 

I have to admit, I forget what my dad ordered. I know that he was between the Artichoke Omelette and one of their specials for the day and I'm fairly certain he went for the special. He also substituted fruit for the original side.

 

We also ordered some sausage from the kids menu because, despite the same amount of pieces on both the adult and children's menu, it was a dollar cheaper to order it from the kids. And since it was mainly to supplement our meals for Jeremiah I figured it was okay. The sausage was pretty good though too. Something I would be willing to order again.

I'm happy to report that Jeremiah did well the entire time and also made a friend towards the end, another baby in a high chair behind him that wanted to share his spoon.

Homemade Granola

Earlier this year, we were responsible for bringing snack to our small group, a responsibility that I look forward to to say the least. Anyway, I knew that one of the girls in our group did not care for sweets and also didn't eat gluten. It took some proding but I finally found out what her guilty pleasure was...granola.

And who knew that granola was so easy to make! Especially after seeing how much it can sell for in the grocery stores, this was definitely something I knew that I could do on at least a semi regular basis. So easy, so tasty, and definitely capable of variation. Success!

Granola
by Alton Brown


3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins

Directions

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar. 

• In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.
• Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.

 

m. henry

Yes! My dad and Barb finally made it to Chicago for a day trip! My favorite tradition of course is trying out new restaurants and this time we traveled up to the northside to "chow for now" at m. henry.

Jeremiah trying out his menu options...literally

Tony and Angela beat us there and just so happened to walk in at the right now to secure a table for us right away despite the large amount of people who were gathering behind them. And luckily, we were able to get there before they gave the table away.

The decor and storefront was charming, as if the restaurant itself should be in France. But what impressed me more was that the waitress, without asking, brought Jeremiah a small bowl of cut bananas, strawberries, and candied cranberries. Granted, he isn't able to eat finger foods yet but the gesture was much appreciated anyway.

Rustic peasant quiche & mixed field greens

The menu was tempting. I think all of use had at least two menu options that we were debating on up to the last minute. And with the exception of my dad and Brad trading dishes (My dad's eyes lit up at the large amount of fresh mixed greens on the plate and Brad was surprised by the size of the quiche), everyone was very pleased with what they ordered (with Brad and my dad at no exception, both were very pleased with what they ended up with). Another win? The fresh squeezed orange juice. You know, the kind that transports you to a Florida orchard and tastes like you just bit into a freshly picked, ripe orange? Yep, it was that good.

fannie's killer fried egg sandwich

Unfortunately, not all the photos came out but I hope you get the gist. It was delicious and one that we would definitely recommend to others.

raspberry & rhubarb blisscakes with vanilla marscapone cream

Apple Muffins

It's been a while...I know, I know. I have been baking and cooking I promise. Sometimes I remember to take pictures, and sometimes I don't...who would have thought that it would be so "difficult" to keep up a blog with a newborn :op

Anywho, the three of us went on our first vacation the other week to New York where we got to lounge around, explore western New York, visit Niagra and...go apple picking! Of course we got a ton of apples and I couldn't wait to get them home to bake something! Now, last year I had tried to make apple cinnamon muffins and they turned out pretty horrific. And this year, I vowed to try again.

So glad that I did because the recipe that I used this time is definitely a winner. LOVED it! I haven't been able to stop eating them and neither has Brad. I made them this past Saturday, and in the past 3-4 days, just the two of us have eaten 19. Yikes. Oh, and my brother ate 1 when he came over this morning.

The recipe was simple enough. I didn't do anything different except kept the peels on the apple only because 1) I didn't read that you were supposed to peel them until after I cut the first one and 2) You never know when the "Big Boy" is going to wake up so I was trying to be as fast as possible and peeling would have just created an extra step. Also, the recipe said it would make 18 but I ended up with the 20. Definitely didn't mind having the extra two! And two of our apples yielded 3 cups, but we picked pretty large apples. Oh, and 24 mins wasn't long enough for me but perhaps that was due to high moisture content of orchard apples? Not sure, just don't be alarmed.

Apple Muffins
found on The Girl Who Ate Everything (recipe by Marissa Pinon)

 
2 cups sugar 

2 eggs
1 cup oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups peeled, cored, diced apples (around 3 apples)
Brown sugar for topping (around 1/2 cup)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners.
• Cream together sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla. 

• Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.

• Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix until combined. The batter will be very thick. Add the diced apples.

• Fill paper liners almost to the top, about 3/4 of the way full. Sprinkle with brown sugar.

• Bake at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes. Makes 18 muffins. 

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

So what do you do when you have some bananas that are overly ripe and strawberries that are on their way out? Make Strawberry Chocolate Chip Banana muffins of course!

I don't even remember when and where I first saw this recipe, but I must have bookmarked it thinking that it looked intriguing. And then it was forgotten about in the depths of my internet bookmarks...until Jacob came over one day asking if I could take some black bananas off his hands. So I dove into the archives and rediscovered this recipe.  

I have to admit, I was slightly apprehensive about this concoction the more I thought about it. Strawberries and Chocolate? heavenly. Chocolate and Bananas? Excellent. Strawberry Banana? Perfect. But all three? together? at once? But I decided to take the plunge anyway, and I am oh so glad that I did.

 

Perhaps it is just a phase, but these are probably one of my favorite muffins right now. I've made them a couple of times since first trying out the recipe and they have never lasted more than a few days, even with just Brad and I! And the great thing is, is that others enjoy them as well, so I know it's not just me and my funky pregnancy hormones. :op Plus, it only makes 12 muffins, which is a perfect amount I would think.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
by For the Love of Cooking

• ½ cup of butter, softened
• ¾ cup of brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 overripe bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• 10-12 fresh strawberries diced
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees then coat a muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.

Add the eggs, bananas, and vanilla then continue beating until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together, mix well. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir until just combined.

Add most of the diced strawberries and most of the chocolate chips then gently mix them into the batter.

Spoon the batter evenly into each muffin tin. Place the remaining strawberries and chocolate chips on top of each muffin. 

 

Place into the oven and bake 18-20 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

 

 Let the muffins cool on a rack. Slather with butter and enjoy!

Strawberry Scones

When people come to visit and spend the night, I LOVE making them breakfast. Back in July, my in-laws were staying with us for one night and I knew I wanted to make something new and something incorporating strawberries since we were in the lovely season of summer. I browsed through my saved recipes and nothing really jumped out to me. But then it occurred to me, what about scones?!

In my experience, scones are more or less a hit or miss. They are either sweet, moist, and flavorful, or crumbly and dry. I scoured the internet for some recipes and then with the help of my father in law, narrowed it down to what we thought might be a "winner" from And Then I Do The Dishes. And lucky for us, a winner it was. My mother in law rarely takes leftovers and she made sure to take a couple slices home for my sister-in-law Catie..though sometimes I wonder if they ever made it the 3 hr trip to MI ;o)

So why am I just posting the recipe now? Well that is due to my not remembering if the recipe I saved, was the recipe that we in fact decided on. This past week, I was craving strawberries despite the fact that I knew they would be expensive and not as flavorful as they are in the summer. I ate about half of them and then I got the urge to use the rest for breakfast...so Strawberry Scones, here we come!

I have to say, despite the fact that these strawberries were not as plump and juicy as the first...the scones still turned out delicious. Knowing that the strawberries this time around were not top notch, I made sure to sprinkle them with sugar and let them sit for a bit before folding them into the batter/dough. And as always, I don't keep buttermilk in our fridge so milk and vinegar combined makes an adequate substitute (1 Tbsp per cup of milk).

Strawberry Scones
from And Then I Do The Dishes

2 cups flour 

1/4 cup sugar 

3 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp salt 

1/2 cup butter 

1 cup fresh strawberries, diced
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
Coarse or granulated sugar, for sprinkling

• In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

 

• Add strawberries, and mix carefully to coat them in flour. 

• Add buttermilk, one egg and one egg yolk (reserve the white). Mix until blended, trying not to crush the berries. Drop dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead delicately, just until the dough comes together.

• With floured hands pat dough into a 1/2 inch thick circle. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and with a sharp knife, score dough into 12 slices (as with a pie).

• Brush top with reserved egg white and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake in preheated 425°F oven for about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Yum...Cinnamon Rolls...

The past couple of weeks, I have been crazing Cinnamon Rolls off and on. So one day I decided that I was just going to dive in and make them. But then I went to our pantry and realized that it was down to bare bones because of all the baking I have done lately so instead I went to grocery shopping. The following day I was working until 5 but then after making dinner, running a couple errands, and before I knew it, it was 10 o'clock and I was not about to put baking cinnamon rolls off for another day.

This recipe was super easy.. Though the original recipe has it titled as "Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls" I have to be honest and tell you that I haven't had too many Cinnabons so I have no idea how closely these resemble the popular chain but what I can tell you is that it is taking every ounce of my self control to not eat more than one right now ;o). As far as the recipe goes, I made a cinnamon and granulated sugar mixture and then sprinkled a little brown sugar on top of that.

I also decided to let the rolls rise a second time after placing them in the pan so that they turned out a bit larger and got that support they needed from their neighbors. Finally, I prefer a powder sugar and heavy cream/milk icing only because that I what I grew up on. But I will include the cream cheese icing just for reference.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

 by Lightly (from Toasted Todd Wilbur's MORE TOP SECRET RECIPES

  Ingredients

• 1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast 
• 1 cup warm milk 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/3 cup margarine 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs 
• 4 cups flour

FILLING

• 1 cup packed brown sugar 
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon 
• 1/3 cup margarine, softened (or melted in my case)

Directions

1. For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.
2. Add sugar, margarine salt, eggs, and flour, mix well. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour.
3. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
4. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approx 21 inches long by 16 inches wide. It should be approx 1/4 thick.
5. To make filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
6. Spread the softened margarine over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the surface. 

     7. Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge.

     8. Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch slices, and place in a lightly greased baking pan.

(At this point, I allowed the rolls to rise a 2nd time, about 30-40 minutes)

    9. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.

  10. Ice and Enjoy! 

 


 Cream Cheese Icing for Cinnamon Rolls (I have yet to try this, I used Powdered Sugar Icing)

• 8 tablespoons margarine
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 

1. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.
2. When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing.

Orange, With a Peel Restaurant (an update at the end!)

It was always my intention to post some of the restaurants Brad and I have gone to throughout the city but I have yet to actually do that. But hey, it's never too late to start right?
Yesterday Brad and I decided we would check out Orange, With a Peel- Contemporary Brunch after leaving Lincoln Park R.E.I.'s garage sale. It was in fact, quite contemporary. Definitely part of the Hipster/Artsy scene. We entered and found that there would be about a 30 min wait before we would able to be seated however we could head over to their Butterfly Bar a couple doors down to wait if we didn't want to stand around. We decided to forgo that option and just waiting in the small lobby which was nice because we got to see their super cool orange juice press. I should have taken a picture, or better yet a video. Maybe next time.
Anyway, our wait ended up being maybe only 15 minutes or so. We were then seated in the restaurant which was minimally (but tastefully) decorated and full of natural sunlight from the full length windows. Our waitress explained their Pancake Flights, Frushi, and Fresh Squeezed Juice bar then allowed us to pour over the menu to decide on what we might try that day.

For drinks Brad ordered Orange Roasted Coffee (it had a hint of orange flavor, nothing overpowering and a nice change of pace, and it was "Bottomless"!) and I had Freshly Squeezed Orange Carrot Lime juice from their Juice Bar. I have to admit though that the carrot juice kind of covered up a good portion of that yummy fresh squeezed orange juice taste but hey, at least now I won't be going blind ;o). We both also received Cucumber Water.

Brad decided on the Omelet 11.5- "Stuffed with chopped bacon, sweet leeks, and creamy brie cheese, topped with avocado mousse".
It came with 2 slices of (Multigrain) Toast and a serving of their House Potatoes. Their house potatoes had a nice Rosemary flavor to them though they may have used a bit more salt. Brad was a little disappointed with the avocado mousse, only because he wished that there was more. Other than that, he was quite pleased with his selection.

Though I am not a French Toast fan, the French Toast Kabobs really caught my eye. "Coconut Infused French Toast skeward with fresh strawberries and pineapples, topped with honey and served with Coconut-Mango Salad" and an extra side of "well done" bacon to share with Brad.
As I said previously, I don't really enjoy French Toast but I just could not pass this up. I mean coconut, strawberries, pineapple, and mango? Even if it was soggy, the fruit alone may be worth it. Let me say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that the French Toast was not soggy at all! It had a nice crunchy exterior while still being soft inside. The egg flavor was not overpowering and it was just a home run all around. Best. French. Toast. Ever!
Brad and I hadn't been on a date in a long time so we splurged a bit with this outing. Our total was $31.61 plus tax. To be fair though, it was good service and we did walk out of there extremely full. Final thoughts? Brad thought it was a unique experience, good food, and it is a nice place to go 1-3 times. I thought it was great and would love to go back when my brother and his girlfriend come into town. I'm already dreaming of how to recreate their french toast at home.

Orange, Take 2
This time with my brother and his girlfriend in tow for their "Welcome to Chicago" breakfast. On the meal ticket this time...

Fruishi!

Coconut infused rice rolls with delicious sweet fruity mango, strawberry, and kiwi pieces and flavors...another one added to the list of "must try to recreate at home". difficult to pick up in one piece but oh so delicious.

 

 Brad's Chai Infused French Toast:

Baked, Chai infused French Toast, stuffed with Ricotta cheese, served over a chai latte reduction and topped with honey and caramelized apples.

Angela's Orange Rosemary French Toast:

French Toast infused with Orange Juice then baked until warm and crisp. 

Topped with a sweet Rosemary cream reduction and sliced almonds. 

Garnished with rosemary, oranges, and powdered sugar.

Tony's Jelly Doughnut Pancakes:

Buttermilk pancakes stuffed with homemade jelly and topped with preserve citrus butter.