Category Archives: Food

Sunday Brunch at Little Goat

Posted on by under Dining Out, Food

It is just as amazing as you imagined.  Stephanie Izard, Top Chef champion and genius behind Girl and the Goat, has nailed it again with Little Goat Diner in Chicago.  She’s so good that when you eat anything she has created, you think, “I thought I knew what great tasted like, but I was so wrong.  THIS is great!”.  And you are sad for a minute because you know she has ruined you, but your plate of heaven quickly distracts you from this miserable thought.

Little Goat 1 blogClockwise, from top left: (1) Husband to the rescue with lattes from adjoining Little Goat Bread.  (2) Kids loved the rotating goat sign.  (3) Smoked Corned Beef Hash with Poached Eggs.  Trust me when I say no hash will ever compare to this.  (4) Waiting for our table with mini-me.  (5) Hannah’s Smoked Pork and Toffee Crunch Milkshake.  Yes, you read that correctly.  (6) A glimpse of the inventive comfort food menu.

Little Goat 2 blogClockwise, from top left: (1) The best 14-year-old on the planet, our son Will.  (2) Chicago el tracks and blue sky.  (3) Leftover hash.  We had to save room for dessert!  (4) Clever check-holding magnet board and the remains of a warm butterscotch caramel-topped banana gelato sundae.  (5)  I wasn’t kidding.  (6) Tempting treats to go at Little Goat Bread.

all photos via the aesthete and the dilettante

Little Goat Diner: 820 West Randolph Street, Chicago, 60607.  Sadly, no reservations.  Open breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night.  Click this link for hours.

Farmers Market Friday: Part II

Posted on by under Cooking, Food

Last weekend at the farmers market, the sweetest elderly gentleman was selling white fish he had caught and filleted the day before.  He was much too cute to refuse, so I purchased four fillets along with green beans and corn from another stand and brought it all home for that night’s dinner.

After dredging the fish in flour, egg, and well seasoned cornmeal, I pan fried it and served it with a simple sauce thrown together in less than two minutes.  The best part was the kids loved the sauce so they devoured the fish!  Using the fish taco lime crema recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook* as a starting point, I added a few ingredients and ended up with a recipe you could use with just about any fish.  I think it would also make a great dip for shrimp in place of the typical red cocktail sauce you see on every party buffet.

Lime Crema with Garlic and Cilantro

  • 1/2 cup Vegenaise (You can find this in the refrigerated section at most grocery stores near the eggs and dairy.  If you can’t, regular mayo works but Vegenaise is super creamy and worth looking for.)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro (basil or dill would be yummy too)
  • a liberal sprinkle of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Stir it all together and enjoy!

*I have made quite a few recipes from her cookbook, My Father’s Daughter, and have been pleased with all of them. They are incredibly simple to prepare and seem to appeal to adults and children equally.

Apologies for the less than perfect photo, but I was starving!

Farmers Market Friday

Posted on by under Cooking, Food, Nature

This morning I made a quick trip to the Lake Bluff Farmers Market and could not resist snapping a few photos.  I, without fail, spend every bit of cash I have on hand whenever I go.

DSC_0195From the fresh squeezed lemonade/limeade stand.

I can’t wait to put some of these in an omelette.

This is always my favorite flower stand.  I had them make up this bouquet of peonies and cornflower:

which matches the outfit.  Not on purpose.  SO happy my hydrangeas are blooming!  I know, we need mulch.  Don’t get me started on the landscaping.

Cast Iron Cooking

Posted on by under Cooking, Entertaining, Food

I love cooking in cast iron and have used my Le Creuset dutch oven to make everything from slow-braised osso buco to thick, rich bolognese.  The problem is that my trusty little pot, while still in great shape, is too small to hold dinner for a crowd.  So I was thrilled to find this beauty on sale at Williams-Sonoma yesterday:

Cast iron heats evenly, allows you to create a perfect sear, and it lasts forever.  This enamel coated 7-quart Staub Oval Cocotte is big enough to roast a large chicken or braise a ton of short ribs.  I know what you are thinking.  It’s JUNE!  Who wants all of that heavy cooking in the summer?!  But I have a plan.  This weekend I will make either the Mussels with White Wine and Butter (see first image) or Clams with Jalapeno, Lemon, and Basil (below).  Summery, right?

I know I will not last it until fall without testing this Red-Wine Braised Short Ribs recipe at least once, though:

And these Rosemary Lamb Chops with Swiss Chard and Balsamic Syrup look pretty fabulous too…

Decisions, Decisions!!!

Click each image for sources, links and recipes.

The Top Ten (May Edition)

Posted on by under Fashion, Fitness, Food, Shopping

Ten things I am loving this May…

1. The gorgeous color and heady scent of lilacs in bloom.

2) Nars Super Orgasm Illuminator.  I have never been a big make-up girl, but when I tried this and saw the nice (ahem) glow it gave me, I was sold.


3) My Garmin Forerunner 310XT.  Attractive it is not, but essential to my current life as it keeps track of rides, runs, and swims.

4) J Brand Luxe Twill Skinny Jeans in soft lilac.  AMAZING.  They look great with navy, grey, white, aqua, blue chambray, heels, sandals….pretty much anything you pair with them.

5) Paris in Color is a magical, fresh, cliche-free voyage through the most beautiful city in the world.  Fair warning: perusing this book will induce pangs of desire to travel immediately.

6) Farrow & Ball paints.  We are planning a major color change for our home’s exterior, and we love these high quality, naturally derived English emulsions.  Right now I am thinking a light stone/cream on the wood siding to match the stonework, and a deep, rich, dark green on the trim, windows, frames and sills.  But check back because I have already changed my mind at least half a dozen times!

7) Siggi’s Icelandic style yogurt (skyr).  It has a blissfully low sugar content and is super thick and creamy.  I do not love it plain, but doctored up with granola, almonds, chopped dried fruit or fresh berries and a good dose of honey or agave, it is luscious.

8) My snakeskin iPhone case from J.Crew.  (I found it in a fabulous French blue not available online anymore, but it is still in stores.)

9) Stripes in any form.  It’s an obsession.  My favorite is the one below from chance co.  It really is embarrassing how much I have worn it.

I also fell for this one because she looks amazing, no?  So somebody please tell me why, when I wear it, it reads Seussian rather than sexy?!

10) My new summer fragrance, Hermes un jardin sure le toit. It is light, summery and undeniably sexy.  Kind of like the girl in the striped shirt.

What to Make: In Season

Posted on by under Food

Cooking is one of my great passions, so when the local farmers markets open in late spring, I am over the moon.  Meals are prepared throughout fall and winter from cookbooks and recipes I have collected over the years, but these are happily abandoned during the warmer months when I love to pick up the locally produced vegetables, fruits, and cheeses (and nuts and olives and honey and…) at our neighborhood farmers market and wing it. The ease and informality of these meals fit perfectly into our fluid summer schedules.  There is very little preparation involved – I either tweak a simple recipe to fit what we’ve brought home or I throw together a salad with blue or goat cheese and an herb vinaigrette and simply grill the vegetables we’ve chosen alongside fresh fish or steak.  Dessert is a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream served with whatever fruit or berry is in season.  (Another great ending is my fuss-free “crisp” made by grilling peaches or nectarines and topping them with a drizzle of honey, ice cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and granola from the farmers’ market.)

Epicurious, one of my go-to sites for recipes, has a great peak-season map feature (here) where you click on your state and it tells you what ingredients are in season in your area.  Even better, you can then click on the ingredient and it will give you a list of recipes featuring what you have chosen!  Below I have highlighted a few of my favorite currently-in-season ingredients and included links to simple recipes I love.  Bon appetit!

Roasted asparagus topped with a poached egg and sea salt (via simplybreakfast).

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (via foodnetwork).

Creamy Spring Peas with Pancetta (via foodnetwork).

Mesclun and Cherry Salad with Warm Goat Cheese (via epicurious).

image 1 via Ashlee Rezin for redeyechicago

What to Give

Posted on by under Entertaining, Food

Last weekend we had the pleasure of entertaining good friends from out of town, and they arrived with a beautiful basket overflowing with goodies for the whole family.  Their gift reminded me of something cookbook author and consummate hostess Ina Garten once said – that the best gifts are those that can be used and subsequently discarded (tickets, soaps, flowers, candles, for example) or consumed (chocolates, wine, cookies, etc).  The Barefoot Contessa is on to something!  We have enjoyed the basket all week, thinking of our lovely time together each time we’ve dipped in.  Truth be told, I’ve saved the last scrumptious treat for myself.  So if you will please excuse me, I have some chocolate to attend to…

image 1 via theimportanceofsalt.com, image 2 via me, moments before consumption.  How gorgeous is that packaging?!