Chicago Eats: August Edition

When I first started this blog, I did so because I wanted to keep track of all the new places we ate at in Boston. Then, I started baking and stopped keeping track of where we ate. Then, I had kids and started running so the baking and eating out when down. Now that we are in Chicago and in full exploration mode, I'm going back to the roots of this blog: talking about the places I've eaten in the new city. Funny enough, my girls have gotten to the point that they know they have to wait to eat until I've taken a picture of their food. I am, however, not going to write full blown reviews of places. Instead, I'm just going to highlight the best things I've eaten in the month. With that said, here are my August favorites:

Cheesie's

Lunchtime in Lincoln Park. Cranky, hungry kids. I walked into the first place I could find that had no wait and that place was Cheesie's. I knew it was going to be a winner because everyone in the family loves grilled cheese. What I didn't know was how cheesy the sandwiches were going to be. I ordered "The Melt," a grilled cheese sandwich with chicken, bacon, Thousand Island dressing, American cheese and Chihuaha cheese. All this on Texas toast. This was so good, but oh so bad. It was delicious, but it felt like the ultimate cheat meal for me. (Cheesie's is located at 958 West Belmont Ave.)

Hoosier Mama Pie Company

A friend recommend Hoosier Mama Pie Company and told me it was the best pie on the planet. Curious, I went on a trip with the girls and we ordered their apple pie and chocolate chess pie. The pies were delicious! I loved the apple pie and the girls tore up the chocolate pie. The apple pie had apple chunks in it and the crust was so buttery. The chocolate chess pie was creamy and had a cookie-like crust. After eating these two slices and leaving, I felt guilty for not grabbing a pie to go. I have been plotting a return trip ever since I swallowed the last bit of apple pie. (Hoosier Mama Pie Company is located at 1618 1/2 Chicago Avenue).

The Pub at Mayne Stage

The Pub at Mayne Stage is another place we just happened to dine at after an afternoon of walking around a local art show. They were still on the brunch menu and I indulged just a little and ordered their Steak and Eggs. This dish came with skirt steak, onion strings, black beans, potatoes, and two eggs. Everything about this dish was amazing. The beans surprised me a bit because I have never seen beans served with steak and eggs but I was pleasantly surprised. The steak was tender and almost made me wish I eat steak more often. I think, however, that my favorite part of this restaurant was the $2 mimosas. (The Pub at Mayne Stage is located at 1330 West Morse Ave).

Mekato's Colombian Bakery

Mekato's is a bakery that a colleague recommended to Alex. Being Colombian myself and having a deep love for Colombian food, I was anxious to get out to this bakery. We went on a Sunday (free parking) and basically ordered everything they sold. What you see in the picture below are traditional Colombian foods like empanadas (turnovers), arepa de choclo con queso (corn cake topped with cheese), papa rellena ("stuffed potatoe" or fried pastry filled with meat and potatoes), and bunuelos (fried cheese balls). I was basically in love after the first bite. We cleared the table! This is another place that I can't wait to go back to so I can pig out again. (Mekato's is located at 5423 N. Lincoln Avenue).

It's the beginning of the month and I'm already eager to get out and eat. I have a list of restaurants I want to try but I love the ability to go out with no plan and just stumble on something new. If you have any recommendations please let me know!

For more on my move to Chicago and my food-finding adventures, follow me on Facebook and Instagram @thecookierunner 

Buttermilk Pie

I can't believe we are halfway through July and it's been almost a month since my last post. I feel as if time has swallowed me up. Between going to school three nights a week and having both girls at home, it's been pretty nonstop here. I try to get out of the house as often as possible because if we stay home, cabin fever and high emotions start to set in pretty quickly. Before things got busy, however, we had a BBQ to celebrate Alex's first weekend off in nearly two months. Baking has been put on the back burner so it was nice to get back in the kitchen and bake. I decided to make this Buttermilk Pie because I had always heard about "buttermilk pie" and been curious about its taste. I read somewhere that this pie tasted like a sugar cookie in pie form and that's really the best way to describe this pie so don't let buttermilk as an ingredient turn you off from this sugary indulgence. 

Also, sorry for the crummy pictures lately. The lens on my camera is broken and I have yet to get a new lens. That's another thing on my to-do list that I hope to get around to doing soon!

Buttermilk Pie
Source: Sing for Your Supper
Yields 1 9-inch pie

1 9-inch pie crust, unbaked (homemade or store bought)
1 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate.

Mix together the sugar, flour, and salt. Beat in the eggs, butter, buttermilk, and vanilla until well combined. Pour into the pie crust. 

Bake for 1 hour or until no longer jiggly – check after about 45 minutes. If the top is getting too brown, cover loosely with foil. 

Remove from oven and let cool one hour before serving.

My First Official Order!

I am so beyond excited to post this. I have sold cookies to friends before, but this is the first time that I have been asked to bake something for an event by someone who is an acquaintance and hasn't been subjected to me shoving sweets at her all the time. I was asked to make vanilla cupcakes and mini apple pies. I used my favorite vanilla recipe and my new favorite buttercream recipe for the cupcakes and the cupcakes were decorated with gum paste flowers bought from Etsy seller tinydiesel.

The mini apple pies were a slight variation from the apple pie pops I made for Cati's birthday. The variation? No stick! I also made the pie crust this time and, oh my, it was so easy! I always thought I hated making pie crusts but I guess the truth is that I hadn't found the right recipe. I bet you're curious now! I used this Crisco recipe and let me just tell you that it was flaky and buttery. Yum!

Thankfully, Cati was a good baby while I spent most of the day in the kitchen. I used to wonder why I had so many bowls, two sets of measuring cups, and three sets of measuring spoons. Now I know why: so I can give them to Cati to play with while I bake! It's amazing how entertaining those things are.

Special thanks to Jackie for hiring me. I hope the sweets taste better than they look!

Slow Cooker Shepherd's Pie

I am always looking for a reason to use my slow cooker. I love the idea of throwing things into the pot and letting it cook, slowly, for an entire day. I can across this recipe for Shepherd's Pie and jumped at the chance to make it. It came out delicious but was different from other Shepherd's Pies I've had in the past. Everything kind of melted together and the corn gave the dish a sweet taste. The meat actually burned a bit because it cooked longer than it should have; I think three hours on low would have been more than enough time.

Shepherd's Pie with Creamy Corn Filling
Source: The 150 Best Slow Cooker Recipes by Judith Finlayson
Serves 4-6

1 lb lean ground beef
2 onions finely chopped (I omitted)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp paprilka
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup condensed beef broth
2 Tbsp tomato paste (I used puree)
1-8.5 oz can cream-style corn
4 cups mashed potatoes, seasoned with 1 tbsp butter, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a skillet over high heat, cook beef until meat is no longer pink. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to slow cooker stoneware. Drain off liquid.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onions and cook until softened. Add garlic, paprika, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for one minute. Sprinkle flour over mixture, stir and cook for one minute. Add beef broth and tomato paste, stir  to combine and cook, until thickened.

Transfer mixture to slow cooker stoneware. Spread corn evenly over mixture and top with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle cheese on top, cover and cook on Low for 4-6 hours or on High for 3-4 hours, until hot and bubbly.

Dessert Table Sweet: Apple Pie Pops

Here's another dessert table favorite. And really, how could it not be? Everyone loves apple pie, especially ones that are cute and bite-sized. These were the most time intensive of the desserts I made but the effort was worth it because they were beautiful and delicious.

Other Dessert Table Sweets include Easy Oreo Truffles. 

Apple Pie Pops
Source: Our Best Bites
Yields approximately 30-2" round pops

2 sheets of  store bought pie crust dough
6" lollipop stick
Small bowl of water
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Course sugar or sprinkles for top
Apple pie filling
Cutter: I used a shot glass to cut out the circles


Apple Pie Filling (combine all ingredients below):
1 medium tart green apple, peeled and grated
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cold butter, grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat if desired.

Roll out pie dough on a floured surface about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shapes and place them on your baking sheet. Place about 1 tsp of filling on one cut out, keeping it away from the edges. Place 6 inch lollipop stick in center of shape, with the top of the stick near the top of the shape. Wet your finger in a small bowl of water and wet the edge of the pie dough shape. Wet the edges of a 2nd pie dough shape (one without filling) and place on top of the other. Press together gently with your fingers to seal the pieces together. Use a fork to crimp edges, being careful to seal edges around the stick. Poke a fork into top of pie one time so steam can vent. If desired, brush top of pie in melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake pies for 15-20 minutes until barely golden brown. Cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before packaging. If desired, place in cellophane bags and tie with ribbons and labels.

Seasons 52: Pumpkin Pie Mini Indulgence

Day two of Seasons 52 recipes. I made this Pumpkin Pie Mini Indulgence over the weekend and it was delicious. I did, however, cheat a little. I have this thing about not liking to separate eggs and having to store the unused parts so instead of a baked mousse as the recipe calls for, I made my own mousse. I used (almost) the same measurements for the pumpkin, maple syrup, and spices and that was my pumpkin base. Then I took 1/2 cup of heavy cream and beat it with a tablespoon of brown sugar until it held stiff peaks and that was my whipped cream base. I folded the pumpkin into the whipped cream and voila! instant pumpkin mousse. The dessert was delicious, light, and full of spicy flavor. I really think I would have been just as happy smelling the dessert as I was eating it.

Pumpkin Pie Mini Indulgence
Seasons 52 recipe
Served 6-8

For the Pumpkin Mousse
1½ cups pumpkin puree (see below)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ginger powder
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
3 oz egg white, pasteurized liquid
½ cup milk
¼ cup cream
1 box of ginger snap cookies

Preheat oven to 325°F

To make mousse filling, combine all the ingredients except the egg whites in a large bowl, and mix them well to incorporate.

Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into the filling mixture. Pour into a greased glass baking dish and bake until a toothpick inserted halfway between the center and edge of the pie comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Put cooled pumpkin pie mousse filling into a bowl and stir until smooth. Add filling to pastry bag and set aside.

Grind ginger snaps in a food processor to a granular consistency. (Save a few whole cookies for decorations.)

Take your favorite shot glass (cordial glass or miniature glass serving vessel) and add some ginger snap crumbs to the bottom.

Grab the pastry bag and pipe some mousse filling over the ginger snap crumbs. Add more ginger snap crumbs on top of the filling to make a second layer. Garnish with whipped cream and a whole ginger snap cookie.

Pumpkin Puree
Cut a small pumpkin (3 lbs) in two pieces and scoop out the seeds and strings. Place cut side down on a greased baking tray and bake at 325°F for one hour until tender (cooking time depends on pumpkin size). Let cool. Scrape out the pulp and place in a food processor. Puree until smooth.

TWD: Caramel Pumpkin Pie

Are you ready for this? I never thought I'd say this but here it goes. I like pumpkin pie. All these years I thought I disliked it when the truth is what I disliked was the filling to crust ratio. I figured it out this past weekend when a friend told me that she didn't dislike pumpkin pie as a whole but she disliked the amount of filling. She said the texture was what turned her off of pies. As I ate a slice of the mini caramel pumpkin pie I made I realized I felt the same way. I ate half of one of the pies and the filling-crust ratio was just right. It also helped that the pie reminded me a lot of eating gingersnap cookies.

Thanks to Janell of Mortensen Family Memoirs for making this week's selection. Make sure to head to her blog for the recipe and to the TWD site to see all the other great pies.

Notes: I used whiskey instead of rum/cognac/apple cider. I also used a store bought pie crust. Halving the filling recipe yielded enough filling for 3 mini pies and the 3 mini pies used up one whole pie crust. Baking time was 25-30 min.

Apple Pie

My apologies for not making the Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie. I won't lie. I didn't even look at the recipe for this week's TWD. Just didn't have it in me. It looks like delicious though. Don't know how well it would have gone over in this house because of the coconut but it still looks like a great dessert. Make sure to check out the recipe on Spike Bakes.
Instead, I kind of made an apple pie. I used store bought pie crusts but made the filling myself. The pie was really good, but I cut the apples too thin and sprinkled the top with turbinado sugar so the pie tasted more like an apply pastry than your typical apple pie. Can't complain much when served with ice cream :)

Apple Pie by Grandma Ople
Source: All Recipes (here)

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

TWD Birthday: Tarte Tatin

I can't believe it's already been two years since Laurie started Tuesdays with Dorie. Two years ago I didn't even know who Dorie Greenspan was and didn't know how to make about 3/4 of the recipes in her book. To say that I love Baking: From My Home to Yours is an understatement. If I'm ever in a need of a recipe that will surely be a hit, Dorie is the first resource I check. I'm so glad I joined TWD when I did because not only has my baking improved but my confidence in the kitchen has also improved.

Laurie gave us the choice between two recipes to celebrate TWD turning two: Tarte Tatin and Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake. I went with the Tarte Tatin because the thought of warm, caramelized apples sitting atop a flaky crust made my heart sing. This dessert is so beautiful and easy to put together that you wonder what took you so long to make it in the first place.The past two years have been great and I look forward to what year three has in store.
For the recipes for the Tarte Tatin and the Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake head over to Laurie's blog Slush.

TWD: Pecan Pie

Oh boy. I am late with this one. I made this last week and it was served with dinner on the 24th. I meant to post about this on the 25th but I got distracted in doing other things. The past few days have been crazy and full of lots of interesting and unexpected events. I don't want to go into some of the things now because I'm still trying to process it all, but let's just say it was life changing.
Anyway, back to the Pecan Pie selected by Beth of Someone's in the Kitchen with Brina. I don't even know what to say about this pie. I guess the first thing I should say is that I did not taste it. I couldn't bring myself to eat it after the mission I went through in trying to get it together. It wasn't a complete disaster because I did have a pie at the end, but the pie tried me in so many ways. My pie dough melted down the pan into a goopy mess, I spilled the melted butter all over my counter top, I almost dropped the entire thing in my hot oven, and the crust stuck to the bottom of the pan because I had way too much pecan filling. I was so disappointed in how it looked and how much trouble it gave me that I couldn't stand to eat it. I just didn't feel proud of this pie. Has that ever happened to you? Alex ate it and said it tasted good, so I guess this is a good pie.
Thanks to Beth for making last week's selection. I'm sure there are plenty of TWD bakers who had a completely successful pecan pie making experience, so make sure to stop by their blogs!

TWD: Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie

Sigh...I really am turning into an unreliable blogger. I want to blog, trust me I do, but something always happens to delay my blogging. This week the excuse is one word: Router. Do you guys have a router? Does it affect your ability to connect to the internet? Alex set up our router this week and it has totally killed my laptop's internet abilities. I can't check my blogs, I can't upload pictures, and I can't even send emails. What's the point of internet then? When the internet was hooked up directly to my laptop it worked like a dream, but with the router it sucks. Any techies out there know why this is happening?

Anyways, this post shouldn't be about my computer issues. It should be about the deliciousness that is the Creamiest Lime Cream Meringue Pie. My taste buds exploded with this dessert. I followed the recipe almost to a T except I didn't drain out the lime zest and I topped the pies with whipped cream instead of the meringue. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to enjoy this treat if I did the meringue topping because I didn't trust eating the meringue with the pregnancy. This was a great substitution and I think it made the dessert just a little more sinful. The lime taste is so soft and delicate and yet it's so vibrant and tart. It was just delicious.

Thanks Linda of Tender Crumb for choosing this week's recipe. Make sure to check out her blog for the recipe and the TWD site to see what the other bakers did this week.

Plain and simple.

All done up.

YWPWT: Martini Pie

This month Mary of The Food Librarian chose Literary Pie as the theme for You Want Pies With That? I had little trouble deciding what books I wanted my inspiration to come from, but I did have trouble coming up with a pie that would reflect that inspiration. After thinking about it for a few hours, it came to me. Martini! Duh. That's a no brainer when you consider who my favorite author is and the countless movies his books have inspired. Who is this author? Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, 007. I have read and own all the Bond books and I have seen and own all the Bond movies. It is quite the obsession. I figured making a martini pie would be such a perfect way to create a pie that represents such an iconic character. This pie is a basic lemon cream (recipe adapted from Dorie Greenspan) with a vodka whipped cream. Alex said the whipped cream was the best he'd ever had and I would have to agree. I wasn't sure if it would work, but it totally did. Everything together tasted amazing, but I will admit that this dessert would have been better as a trifle since you can't get a nice slice of pie cut.


Martini Pie
Yields two 4-inch tarts

Lemon Cream:
1/4 sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup lemon juice
5 Tbsp butter, at room temperature

Whisk together the sugar and egg in a bowl that can be set over a pan of simmering water. Add the lemon juice and continue stirring until the lemon cream reaches 180 degrees F. The cream will thicken the closer it gets to 180 degrees F. As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and let the cream stand until it cools to 140 degrees F.

Pour the cream into a blender and slowly add the butter a Tbsp at a time. Pulse until the butter is completely incorporated. Pulse for another 3 minutes until the texture is light and airy.

Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Graham Cracker Crust:
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two tart pans with cooking spray and place on a cookie sheet.

Combine all ingredients until moist and crumbly. Divide the mixture into the pans and, using your fingers, press onto the bottom and along the sides of the pan.

Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

Vodka Whipped Cream:
1/2 heavy cream
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vodka

Beat the cream until it holds soft peaks. Add the sugar and vodka and beat until cream holds firm peaks. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Putting it all together:
Spread some of the whipped cream over the crust. Then spoon on the lemon cream and top with more whipped cream.

Serve and enjoy!

So tempting.

The pie just couldn't hold up. And a picture of Boston's beautiful library.

Guess Who's Coming??

Santa! One of my favorite Christmas songs is "Here Comes Santa Claus." Back in the day my mom, sister, and I would sit by the Christmas tree and get lost in the lights because not only where they colorful but they also played the tune of "Here Comes Santa Clause." We were naughty kids though. Every time my mom would leave us alone with the tree we would pick up the gifts, shake them around, and then very slowly remove the tape and try to take a peak inside to figure out what the gift was. Over the years, my mom learned about our little antics and the wrapping got more complicated and she would delay putting the gifts out until the very last moment. I remember one Christmas, about 15 years ago, we were at home sitting by the tree and there was a knock on the door. My mom said we could open the door so, of course, we rushed to the door and when we opened it, Santa Claus was there! We were so excited to see Santa; he was round and jolly and came with gifts! To this day I don't know who the Santa was, but I was so impressed with my mom's sneakiness in making such a grand gesture. Maybe she wanted to make Christmas extra special since it was the first after my parent's divorce. Either way and whatever her reasons were, that Christmas is forever burned in my memory and every time I hear "Here Comes Santa Clause" I think of that Christmas.

So, in honor of my favorite song, I made a Santa Pie for this month's You Want Pies With That? Anne of Anne Strawberry made the best decision when she chose holiday songs as this month's theme. I absolutely loved the theme because it allowed for so much creativity. The pie was supposed to be inspired by your favorite holiday song and it took me about 28.7 seconds to decide on a pie that in some way incorporated Santa's favorite cookie. The filling was easy because I figured if Santa loved chocolate chip cookies he'd had to love all things chocolate too. The pie was a lot of fun and so easy to make. This pie would be perfect for Santa because it would give him a sugar rush that would get him through his millions and billions of stops.

Santa Pie
Source: Me!

1/2 Recipe for chocolate chip cookies (I used this recipe)
Chocolate Mousse
Whipped Cream
Crushed candy cane for decoration

Crust
Butter the bottom of a 7-inch springform pan. Use about half of the cookie dough to cover the bottom of the springform pan. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. (Bottom)

Make small, round cookies with the other half of the dough and bake for about 10 minutes. (Sides)

While the cookies are warm, stick the round cookies into the bottom. Let it cool completely.

Chocolate Mousse
6 oz of bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Set aside and let it cool slightly.

Place the heavy cream in a medium bowl and beat with an electic mixer on medium high until it holds soft peaks.

Slowly fold the melted chocolate into the heavy cream until well blended.

Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Whipped Cream
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Combine the cream and sugar in a small bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium high until it holds soft peaks. Place in fridge until ready to use.

Assembly
Once the crust has cooled completely spoon the mousse onto the cookie and spread evenly.

Then, spoon the whipped cream and spready evenly.

Top with crushed candy canes refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

All together.

A slice.

The layers


I love chocolate chip cookies!