tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19274452121030545182024-03-13T03:51:32.309-07:00The Coffee BreakerThe Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-40674584872998429732014-10-18T11:00:00.000-07:002014-10-18T11:00:46.507-07:00Madison Farmer's Market<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fall is supposed to be a season for change. So I guess it makes sense that I made a big change in my life recently.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I moved! To Madison, Wisconsin!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yup, that's right. I now reside in America's Dairyland. A place where fried cheese curds and bratwurst are diet staples, craft beer is never more than a short stroll away, and a lot of towns are named after their Northern European heritage (which my Norwegian mother greatly enjoys). Also, since the town is surrounded by two lakes, it has some great running paths with awesome views of the town (like the one posted above).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But while most of those facts may be pretty common knowledge about Wisconsin, there's one part of Madison in particular that I did not know before coming here. Namely, that the city has one of the best farmer's markets in the country. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every Saturday from 6am to 2 pm, vendors line up on the sidewalk surrounding the gorgeous capital building selling everything from fresh vegetables to baked goods and cured meats.</span></div>
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Of course, cheese curds can be found in abundance. While I prefer them fried, many people are find just eating them straight out of the bag!<br />
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One of the most popular merchants, the Brunkow Cheese tent, smells heavenly as pieces of their thick and delicious cheese spit and sputter on a hot griddle. Interested shoppers fight for toothpicks to sample some of the tiny pieces of thick, yet melt-in-your mouth pieces. As a frequent customer, I can attest that their cheese pan-fries beautifully at home and should be enjoyed with generous amounts of crackers and wine.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My favorite raw honey vendor features a large glassed-in beehive. If you look closely enough, you can even spot the queen!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Baked goods are always in abundance, and particularly tempting on chilly mornings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, samples must be tried whenever the opportunity arises. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unlike many other farmer's markets I've been to, the prices of vegetables are often unbelievably cheap. I can always count on being able to purchase squash, eggplants, onions, and peppers for $1 or less.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's difficult to tell from this picture, but the cookies shown here are ENORMOUS. Easily 6 inches in diameter. Note the size of the M&Ms in the cookies on the bottom row.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And one of the main talking points of the market is Stella's bakery. Always busy, this stand churns out warm pull-apart spicy cheese bread that's a favorite of UW-Madison students and locals alike. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I prefer their mini-breads, smaller versions of the large loaf, because they have more cheese. And it's very likely that I'll be posting a copycat recipe soon, so stay tuned!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll keep you posted on the goings-ons of Madison as the leaves begin to fall and the beer changes flavor.</span></div>
The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-9136308952575815672014-07-11T12:47:00.001-07:002014-07-11T12:48:23.206-07:00The Best Mocha Brownies<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello everyone!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's summertime, which means as the heat ramps up, the food cools down. As families and friends gather to grill up some hot dogs and hamburgers, these main dishes are generally served with a crisp salad, juicy fruit, and a chilled dessert to combat the summer heat wave. Which means that during my family's Fourth of July barbecue, I needed to bring out the big guns.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I made the BEST Mocha Brownies EVER.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now I know what you're thinking - are these really the best?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The answer to your question is yes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The base is made of simple boxed brownie mix which is topped with a rich and fluffy mocha and Oreo mousse blend. The brownie is then finished off by a quick piping of whipped topping, which really ties the light and cool theme together. An absolute MUST if you're a coffee-lover looking to enjoy your favorite flavor in chilled dessert form.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you're feeling a bit skeptical, I guess you'll just have to make some for yourself to try. It takes a few rounds of work to assemble, but it uses fairly basic ingredients that can be picked up on a quick trip to your neighborhood supermarket. Trust me, one bite of these and you're never going back to regular brownies again (and you'll be the star of any summer party if you bring these along with you!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To make these brownies, you will need:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 package brownie mix, plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies (eggs, water, oil)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 cup milk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 cup instant coffee granules</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">16 oz frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided into halves</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 packages Jell-O cheesecake flavored instant pudding</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">20 Oreos</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Start off by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees and greasing a 9x13 pan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Begin by assembling your brownie base. As mentioned in the instructions, it's important to choose a boxed brownie that has the option to cook cake-like brownies. Usually, this means adding an extra egg to your batter, but each boxed mix is different.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Follow the instructions on the box and stir your ingredients together. Scoop them into your pan and place them in the oven to cook for as long as your package says.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This next step takes some patience on your part - when the brownie base has finished cooking, remove the pan and set it somewhere to cool completely before moving on to the mousse step. Otherwise, the whipped topping will melt into a soupy mess. This usually takes about 2 hours, but if you're in a hurry you can place the partially cooled pan into the fridge for the second hour to speed up the cooling time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When your brownie base is ready, it's time to begin assembling your mousse. Start by mixing your instant coffee and milk in a large bowl until all the granules are dissolved. Then, add your cheesecake pudding mix.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next, stir in 8 oz of the thawed whipped topping until fully combined into a light and creamy coffee mousse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now it's time to add the Oreos. If you have a food processor, you can blend them up into roughly chopped 1/2-inch crumbles. If you don't, place your cookies in a bag and crush them into pieces with a rolling pin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add these cookie pieces to your mousse and fold to combine. Then spoon the mousse onto your brownie and spread this heavenly layer across the surface. Be sure to lick the spatula after you're done - there's no use wasting any!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next comes the additional whipped topping. If you're feeling fancy, you can use a cake decorator attachment for frosting to pipe your topping in fancy lines. If not, you can always use the eloquent and foolproof put-it-in-a-bag-and-cut-the-corner method.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Using whatever method you've chosen, pipe the whipped topping in diagonal lines across your brownies. Switch sides and pipe another set of diagonal lines going in the opposite direction, creating a diamond lattice pattern. Finish by piping a ring of whipped topping around the whole dish, covering up any stray ends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Take a moment to admire the beauty of your coffee-cookie mousse...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">...before digging in and cutting yourself a hefty slice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cool and creamy, infused with chocolate and mocha. Is there really anything else you need in life?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-12669030048478333612014-06-20T19:27:00.000-07:002014-06-20T19:27:03.236-07:00Heading West (in Ireland)<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While the group and I spent our first couple of days in Dublin, the rest of our time was spent on the west side of the country. We took an afternoon train out of the city and spent time catching up on work and enjoying the beautiful countryside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We spent some time in Limerick, splitting our attention between castle-gazing and frequently dining at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cornstore.limk">The Cornstore</a> (honestly one of the best restaurants in Ireland IMO).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We then spent an early morning driving even further across the country to visit The Cliffs of Moher, a sight which I honestly believe none of us were fully prepared for. The seaside wind was sharp and cold, spraying mist in all of our faces while we trudged up the enormous hill from the parking lot. After a quick detour in the visitor center's cafe, we finished our climb and were greeted with the largest drop I've ever seen. The dark rocks had been jaggedly cut by the wind and water for years, looking like giant stacks of plates on the verge of teetering over and crashing into the sea below.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But I digress, let's get back to the food. After all, this is a food blog!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the advice of a trusted mentor, we beelined for the <a href="http://www.burrensmokehouse.ie/">Burren Smokehouse</a> visitor center, where the lovely owner Birgitta explained exactly how the shop makes its famous salmon. After sampling pieces of her hot and cold smoked salmon, I promptly purchased a 700g pack to take home to my parents.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We then headed several yards down the road to the smokehouse's famed restaurant. Fortunately for us, we'd arrived on the first day of the spring season that the restaurant was beginning to serve lunch. Call it the Luck of the Irish, eh?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I opted for a bowl of seafood chowder, which was delectably creamy without being too rich. The accompanying homemade Irish soda bread was equally impressive, and I'm determined to re-create it after doing some research on proper bread recipes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But the p</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ièce de résistance of the Burren Smokehouse was the salmon entree, a perfectly cooked piece of fish atop an herbed mash mound and decorated with an herb cream sauce. This dish could easily be proclaimed as the best salmon in the world. Ever. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And while I don't normally do dessert with my lunches, the fact that the smokehouse has a Michelin star decorated pastry chef working in the kitchen was easily enough to persuade me. I chose the coconut macaroon layer cake.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QlOCj0QbKQQ/U6TmMJLsoJI/AAAAAAAAFcw/ElD7wIiM-gU/s1600/IMG_2745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QlOCj0QbKQQ/U6TmMJLsoJI/AAAAAAAAFcw/ElD7wIiM-gU/s1600/IMG_2745.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let me put it this way: I don't even like coconut, and this dessert was DELICIOUS. The mark of a truly impressive chef is one who can make literally anything taste good to even the pickiest eater, and I can honestly say that this chef won my complete and total respect.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you ever find yourself in Ireland, I highly recommend a morning trek to the cliffs followed by the best salmon meal you'll ever have. And if you can't get across the pond, feel free to order salmon online <a href="http://www.burrensmokehouse.ie/burren-smoked-irish-salmon-1/burren-smoked-irish-organic-salmon.html?___SID=U">here!</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-53221004601847771662014-05-27T14:45:00.003-07:002014-05-27T14:47:46.358-07:00Guinness, Guinness, Guinness (and Prison)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't let the title disturb you - I promise that my group's second day in Dublin was completely thrilling and decidedly legal. But we'll get to that part later.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After sleeping off the majority of my jet lag, I woke up with Sylvia and Neha in the hotel room to a bright Dublin morning. While Neha got ready to take on the day, Sylvia and I beelined to the breakfast bar. She opted for a light and healthy breakfast of granola and yogurt, while I opted for the full spread.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What can I say? "When in Dublin..."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The group gathered our bearings and headed out for one of the major tourist attractions in the area - the legendary Guinness factory. Sure, some might question our decision to go get beer at 11 am, but we feel we were simply trying to economize our time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The tour was self-guided, which definitely cut down on the wait time. Not to mention, like most things in Europe, having a student ID gives you a generous discount on ticket prices. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While we walked through various waterfalls and barrels, we stopped into an optional part of the tour - the tasting room. Surrounded by barrels of beer-scented aromas, we were explained the four primary flavors that go into creating the complex taste of a Guinness. Then, to fully appreciate this combination, we were given mini glasses of beer and instructed how to appropriately taste them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After becoming true taste connoisseurs, we headed for the big boy room - the pouring station.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joined by another group of travelers from England, we each got to try our hand at the pump in order to pour the perfect pint of Guinness. Spoiler alert - you need the Guinness glass to really get it right!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With perfect pints in hand, we headed for the elevators to enjoy our beers in the skybar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A full glass of Guinness, tasting and pouring lessons, and a tour of the factory certainly make the ticket price worth paying. But what really seals the deal is the phenomenal view of Dublin from the top of the factory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Downing our pints, we headed outside to hop onto a tour bus and find the nearest restaurant. Although Guinness is filling, it couldn't replace a meal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After detouring through the park and seeing several prominent political buildings, we stopped off at a strip of restaurants and stumbled into the first one that sounded good and could fit our large party.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let me just say that we made the right decision. I promptly ordered the Guinness pie (I know, I said Guinness wasn't a meal but just go with it), and was given this delicious platter of goodness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Flakey pastry filled with pot roast and topped with a Guinness-infused gravy, plus a side of buttery mashed potatoes. Absolutely heavenly, and a meal I hope to re-create soon using <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/steak-guinness-and-cheese-pie-with-a-puff-pastry-lid">this recipe</a> by the masterful Jamie Oliver.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After our meal is when the prison portion comes in. Our party split up, and I went with the portion that chose to check out a restored Klimainham Gaol Prison. Not only did we end up on the last tour of the day, but the student price was a fantastically affordable 2 euros.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mZNlKNSNjeA/U4UCf_B143I/AAAAAAAAE-4/24hiaM_iWlc/s1600/IMG_0828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mZNlKNSNjeA/U4UCf_B143I/AAAAAAAAE-4/24hiaM_iWlc/s1600/IMG_0828.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beautiful architecture and a phenomenal tour guide made this a great stop on our trip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The evening consisted of downing fish and chips, then accidentally stumbling into the biggest tourist bar in Dublin - Temple Bar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Which, of course, involved more Guinness. Gotta love Dublin!</span></div>
<br />The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-38950135346182761892014-05-08T20:37:00.003-07:002014-05-08T20:37:50.281-07:00Top 'o the Morning Dublin!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello everyone!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just wanted to let you know that I am still here - I've just been completely SWAMPED with school, recruiting, and projects.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of those (though I'm not saying which one) took me to Ireland this spring. It was my first visit, and I had an absolute blast. Of course, one of the best parts of the whole thing was the food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But I'm getting ahead of myself. I promise you will have a full-fledged food tour of Dublin, Limerick, and London by the time I'm done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We arrived in Dublin jet-lagged and fairly exhausted, but definitely hungry. And we were fortunate enough to have our hotel situated across the street from this beauty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Neha and I quickly snapped a picture, which began the week-long photo album that I dubbed "Neha's Face with European Backgrounds."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Famished, the group searched for food through the rainy streets of Dublin. After passing through several pubs, I set my sights on the Holy Grail.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sZ-0RBLldos/U2xHt7Fs0xI/AAAAAAAAE7w/15IZ6LA9zkU/s1600/IMG_0847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sZ-0RBLldos/U2xHt7Fs0xI/AAAAAAAAE7w/15IZ6LA9zkU/s1600/IMG_0847.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gourmet Irish burgers? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Enough said.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We were quickly seated and placed our orders for possibly the most gargantuan and delicious-looking burgers we'll ever have in our lives.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm pretty sure Neha's face says it all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pails of chips were also an absolute necessity after such a long journey.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While many opted for the traditional burger, Sylvia and I went rogue. She, being vegetarian, opted for a bean burger, while I splurged on the fish and chips combo burger.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bjbrNBZld1s/U2xLEhmRoKI/AAAAAAAAE9E/ju2dENcD6b8/s1600/IMG_2596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bjbrNBZld1s/U2xLEhmRoKI/AAAAAAAAE9E/ju2dENcD6b8/s1600/IMG_2596.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two pieces of cod, grilled onions, tartar sauce, mushy peas, and lettuce with a side of crispy salty chips. This dish exemplifies the warm welcome of Ireland.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After having our fill, we went on to explore the town a bit more and develop our own mental maps. After a few hours, we needed an obligatory caffeine break to keep us going (and some wi-fi to assist in our evening planning).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The latte art bear was a nice touch, which Sylvia promptly archived.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The rest of the evening was more exploring, and galavanting, but before I end this post of Dublin Day One, I must implore you to recognize a hidden gem in downtown Dublin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Around 10 pm, Neha and I started to feel a little peckish, but were worried about trying to locate a bar that served food that late. It seemed that after 9 pm, alcohol is the only thing on the menu in Dublin. Fortunately, a very kind waitress pointed us across the street to this joint:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know what you're thinking: shawarma in Dublin? Not a good idea. But it was our only option. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I ended up being not only pleasantly surprised, but enamored by the deliciousness that I was served for a mere <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525;"><span class="Unicode">€</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chips topped with Shawarma topped with garlic sauce and red spicy sauce. Couldn't finish the whole thing if my life depended on it, but truly one of the greatest surprises I had while in Dublin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And so ended day one of our journey. Don't worry, there's much more food where this came from!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-80292988046075084442013-12-17T17:07:00.002-08:002013-12-17T17:07:14.728-08:00Nutella Banana French Toast<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the midst of finals season and crazy holiday shopping, there are two things that undeniably offer salvation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nutella.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And Bananas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During an especially stressful weekend, I decided to mix the two together. I've done this before (example: <a href="http://thecoffeebreaker.blogspot.com/2012/09/crepes.html">Nutella Banana crepes</a>, <a href="http://thecoffeebreaker.blogspot.com/2012/10/nutella-banana-muffins.html">Nutella Banana muffins</a>), but this recipe was a play off of a Jamie Oliver original. In his cookbook <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jamies-Dinners-Essential-Family-Cookbook/dp/1401301940">Jamie's Dinners</a>, which I highly recommend, by the way, he offers up a suggestion for an easy morning meal - turning basic French toast into a sandwich.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I took his suggestion and jumped it up another level.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This sandwich is delicious, comforting, and phenomenally easy. And it starts with these few ingredients:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 slices good bread</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 banana</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 large egg</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon water</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pad of butter</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">as much Nutella as your heart desires</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Start by making your egg wash. Blend the egg, sugar, and water together in a shallow bowl (make sure it's big enough to fit your whole sandwich in). Set aside.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then, place a pad of butter into a pan and heat to medium.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next, mash up the 1/2 banana and spread it onto one piece of bread. Cover with the other slice and press down to form a solid sandwich.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This part is tricky - pick up your whole sandwich and dunk it into the egg wash, covering it from all sides. Then place your sandwich onto the sizzling skillet and cook until golden brown. Flip the sandwich once, and cook it on the other side until golden brown.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, take whatever sized spoonful of Nutella you deem necessary to get you through the day, and scoop it into a bowl. Heat the Nutella in the microwave for 30-40 seconds, until softened. Drizzle your Nutella over your sandwich until it's covered with the perfect amount of chocolatey goodness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Admire your creation momentarily before digging in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-14430585744829650382013-10-30T07:43:00.002-07:002013-10-30T07:43:50.017-07:00Vinology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few weeks ago, I went out with my family to celebrate my birthday at a restaurant downtown called Vinology.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'd heard about this place for years from various friends who all said it was amazing, but I'd never really worked up the strength to pull myself over to Main Street and try it.<br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When my birthday rolled around, I decided it was finally time to see what it's all about.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I need a fellow food adventurer with me, so I brought Matt along.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The restaurant was surprisingly a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Only twenty or so tables inside, with an enormous bar and some quaint decorations. It was clear from the beginning that this place is focused on creating a small and intimate dining experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, a round of appetizers was necessary to start. We went with a white cheddar cheese plate with crackers and an arugula and strawberry salad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perfectly smooth cheese, crispy crackers, and a touch of sweetness from the berries. I tried my best to pile everything together, as you can see, to appreciate the blend of flavors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When it came time to order entrees, I went with something new and adventurous. The bison steak.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Several slices of rare bison steak on a bed of spicy greens with a side of sweet barbecue sauce. Complimented by a few sticks of fried okra and a blackberry blue cheese tart. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The flavor mix was phenomenal. The bison tasted fairly similar to steak, and the heat from the sauce underneath the meat was instantly complimented by the sweetness of the barbecue sauce. Never having tried okra before, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the taste. And I don't even like blue cheese, but the tart was creamy, tangy, and delicious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My dad and Matt got the same dish - salmon on a bed of veggies with fried goat cheese balls.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To be honest, the goat cheese alone would have been enough to draw me into this dish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My mother went for a classic dish revamped - seared ahi tuna with a bed of stewed cherry tomatoes and veggies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I may be a bit biased, but I think my choice was definitely the best.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QoBLMl-xqJw/UnEW-rTgh6I/AAAAAAAAE2I/h5gj6OS2zy8/s1600/IMG_2074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QoBLMl-xqJw/UnEW-rTgh6I/AAAAAAAAE2I/h5gj6OS2zy8/s640/IMG_2074.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite going through that huge plate of food, trying dessert was an absolute necessity (particularly considering the occasion). I glanced at the dessert menu, but my mind was made up as soon as I saw the Nutella bread pudding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Easily one of the best desserts I've ever tasted. Fluffy, yet creamy, chocolatey yet not too rich, swimming in a pool of caramel sauce and sprinkled with peanuts. If dinner at Vinology seems a bit too adventurous for you, I'd recommend coming in for coffee and a slice of this bad boy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All-in-all, a great dinner and a great birthday. And the next day I made sure to wear my favorite present....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A new pair of Hunter boots to tackle the rain and snow!<br />Nevermind that it wasn't raining the day that I wore these....</span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-76094947304668762332013-10-02T18:51:00.001-07:002013-10-02T18:51:44.451-07:00Pumpkin Butterscotch Scones<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since the leaves are starting to turn and the wind is getting chillier, it's time to unveil the perfect fall recipe.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pzQrYGha-sM/UkzHODM39NI/AAAAAAAAEy8/XviQpWcQGFk/s1600/IMG_9758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pzQrYGha-sM/UkzHODM39NI/AAAAAAAAEy8/XviQpWcQGFk/s640/IMG_9758.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These delightful beauties are from a joyofbaking.com recipe that I altered to fit the ingredients I had in my kitchen. Needless to say, waking up on a Sunday morning and whipping up a batch of these will sooth your soul with cinnamon and pumpkin (and make your house/apartment smell phenomenal).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To make a batch of 8, you will need:</span><br />
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="value">2 cups all-purpose flour</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="value">1/3 cup light or dark brownsugar</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg</span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="value">1/2 <span style="position: static;"><span class="kLink" style="position: static;">teaspoon </span><span class="kLink" style="position: static;">ground </span><span class="kLink" style="position: static;">cinnamon</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="value">1 teaspoon baking powder</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="value">1/2 teaspoon baking soda</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 teaspoon salt</span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="value">1/2 cup cold unsalted butter</span>, cut into pieces</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 cup butterscotch baking chips</span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="value">1/3 - 1/2 cup <span style="position: static;"><span class="kLink" style="position: static;">buttermilk</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="value">1/2 cup canned pumpkin (no spices added)</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract</span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="value">1 largeegg</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tablespoon milk</span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.</span></span></div>
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<span class="bod"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Start by combining all of your dry ingredients into a large bowl and mixing them together. Add your butter pieces.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next, work the butter into the dry ingredients by mashing the two together with a fork. The effect will look something like this:</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SqWuBP5fgiE/UkzHf_ps9LI/AAAAAAAAEzE/wOJvUUofcK0/s1600/IMG_9740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SqWuBP5fgiE/UkzHf_ps9LI/AAAAAAAAEzE/wOJvUUofcK0/s640/IMG_9740.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Continue doing this until all of your butter has been mixed in and the powdered mixture looks like crumbled pie crust.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vAg6-I-FcrM/UkzIGEgmKMI/AAAAAAAAEzU/f1ZYWUD7nYs/s1600/IMG_9741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vAg6-I-FcrM/UkzIGEgmKMI/AAAAAAAAEzU/f1ZYWUD7nYs/s640/IMG_9741.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next, stir in your chips.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-83wtoq9cgwU/UkzIVbPzspI/AAAAAAAAEzk/m15nfFsB4ls/s1600/IMG_9744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-83wtoq9cgwU/UkzIVbPzspI/AAAAAAAAEzk/m15nfFsB4ls/s640/IMG_9744.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a separate bowl, combine your pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--li091IiUdA/UkzIQvhf6fI/AAAAAAAAEzc/XNuSl2584Zg/s1600/IMG_9745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--li091IiUdA/UkzIQvhf6fI/AAAAAAAAEzc/XNuSl2584Zg/s640/IMG_9745.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When it turns into a smooth orange puree, you're ready to add it to your main bowl.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LICJVahaWgc/UkzI3JOMgdI/AAAAAAAAEzs/Va7Ob-_XXRY/s1600/IMG_9746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LICJVahaWgc/UkzI3JOMgdI/AAAAAAAAEzs/Va7Ob-_XXRY/s640/IMG_9746.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stir the pumpkin mixture into your other ingredients until the dough just comes together. Transfer to a floured surface and knead it 4-5 times. Carefully pat your dough down into a circle. Next, turn your hand into a sword and slice your dough circle in half. Then, slice each of the halves in half. Finally, slice each of the quarters in half. This should give you 8 relatively uniform triangles.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tyTdB7s11-A/UkzJET0ne5I/AAAAAAAAEz8/JUNM6YprVhQ/s1600/IMG_9747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tyTdB7s11-A/UkzJET0ne5I/AAAAAAAAEz8/JUNM6YprVhQ/s640/IMG_9747.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lay these out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. In a separate bowl, mix your egg and milk together. Using a pastry brush (or your fingers), cover the tops of your scones with the egg wash.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Heat for 20 minutes and make yourself a nice big mug of coffee. When your timer dings, take these beautiful golden treats out of the oven.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z1g2fs7E83o/UkzJwBZd4-I/AAAAAAAAE0E/0FTh9r0kpNc/s1600/IMG_9756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z1g2fs7E83o/UkzJwBZd4-I/AAAAAAAAE0E/0FTh9r0kpNc/s640/IMG_9756.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The proper thing to do would be to let them cool for 10-15 minutes before digging in. But let's be real - they look WAY too good to wait.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pair with your hot mug of coffee, a thick sweater, and falling leaves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy autumn!</span><br />
<br />The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-65934419558641315672013-09-18T15:01:00.000-07:002013-09-18T15:01:13.093-07:00Spicy Southwest Quinoa Salad<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you're one of those people who eats a salad for lunch and gets hungry 3 hours later (or 2 hours later if you have my appetite), this recipe is for you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not only is it extremely delicious and quick to put together, it's packed with protein from the chicken and quinoa, making this salad a meal that will truly last you through the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was inspired to make this salad after my summer in Chicago. I regularly visited a restaurant called The Protein Bar, which was famous for stocking its entire menu with protein-heavy and quinoa-filled burritos, bowls, and salads. After having their burrito (or Bar-Rito as they call it) several times, I opted for a southwest salad one day, but requested to have buffalo dressing instead of the much spicier Cholula hot sauce doused on top. What emerged was a delicious combination of flavors that come together quickly to make an easy and filling meal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After re-creating it myself several times, I feel it's finally ready to be shared with the public.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To make this salad, you will need:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 chicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">olive oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 cup uncooked quinoa</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 container Trader Joe's Super 8 Veggie Mix (or bagged salad)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sprouts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 avocado, cut into chunks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Start by making your quinoa. Follow the directions according to the package (I generally boil 1/2 cup of quinoa with 2 cups of water until the kernels crack)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">heat a glug of olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Add your chicken and toss on some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">until chicken is browned.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next comes the layering. You'll start with your veggie mix as the base. I went with Trader Joe's version because it gives you a nice variety of pre-chopped nutritious veggies for only $2.99. (Side note: I've found this veggie mix to be extremely versatile in other dishes as well - I'll add a cup or two into salads, a stir-fry, a noodle dish, etc. I highly recommend it for new veggie recipe experiments.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then add on your sprouts - I went with organic pea shoots for this part, but you can choose whatever is most convenient for you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next, add your quinoa.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then your chicken.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then your avocado.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now here comes the fun part. Grab your bottle of buffalo sauce and toss on as much or as little as you'd like, depending on your spice preferences. Give the bowl a stir, sample your creation, and add more if you need to. Enjoy your hearty salad with a glass of cold water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-31006068295822115262013-08-31T08:38:00.003-07:002013-08-31T08:38:54.256-07:00Elephant & Castle<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hi guys.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Alright, I've been a pretty awful blogger this month. I think this is the longest I've ever gone without making a post. But rest assured - this certainly doesn't mean I've given up stuffing my face with delicious things and cooking up a storm in my kitchen. It just means that sometimes your responsibilities overshadow your hobbies (unfortunately).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The good news is, I'm now back at school and ready for another year of kitchen experiments and favorite restaurants. But before I do, I have a few Chicago posts on my hard drive that I'd like to get out here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of them is this post about a fantastic gem of a restaurant I found near my place in the city called Elephant & Castle. It's a British/Indian fusion restaurant with everything from traditional fish and chips to butter chicken and naan. It's also a great little place to grab some beers with your friends after work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My guest started off with some Ale & Onion soup.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For a long time, French onion soup has been one of my favorite foods. If the broth is well-made and the cheese is melty, we're in good shape. This soup (which I've had on several occasions) has a touch of beer in the broth for added flavor, and the bread on top is chopped into little cubes so that you don't have to struggle to cut it into manageable pieces. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next came the appetizer of 'mini yorkies.' This is a delightful little bowl of mini yorkshire puddings filled with roast beef and gravy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not gonna lie - I ate about half of this and dipped some of my fries in the gravy. It was just SO GOOD. If you visit an Elephant & Castle, you HAVE to try this dish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I went with the classic fish and chips...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One huge piece of haddock, a pile of fries, delicious tartar sauce, fresh lemon, and malt vinegar. An oldie and a goodie - definitely a dish that won't let you down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, the next time I'm in town I might have to try this little beauty I found on the menu after we ordered....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">^This just brings hot dogs to a whole new level. For real.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I highly recommend visiting an Elephant & Castle if you live near one. You can find your city <a href="http://www.elephantcastle.com/">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All in all, a delicious dinner, followed by....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The funniest and best musical I've ever seen. This is another thing that I cannot recommend enough. If the show comes to your town GO SEE IT.<br /><br />Your abs will hurt from laughing, but you won't regret it.</span></div>
The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-24313695174614062552013-08-03T09:22:00.000-07:002013-08-03T09:22:05.491-07:00Grand Lux Cafe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you've been to or live in the US, you've probably heard of The Cheesecake Factory.<br />Well, as grand and magnificent as The Cheesecake Factory is, I'm a much bigger fan of the franchise's little brother - Grand Lux Cafe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My friends Courtoon and Sirene (of cosplay fame) first suggested this place to me when I asked them what their favorite restaurant in Chicago is. I had to trust their good taste and made sure to pop in for a visit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My first impression of Grand Lux Cafe is that this place is BIG. Huge ceilings, huge tables, huge EVERYTHING. It's very impressive and beautifully decorated.<br />We sat by the waiting area, carefully seated right next to the kitchen, and watched waiters whizzing by with sizzling plates being weighed down by pounds upon pounds of delicious goodies. Needless to say, by the time I sat down, I'd worked up quite an appetite.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fortunately, minutes after we sat down, an order of Double Stuffed Potato Spring Rolls was plopped down in front of my face.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let me deconstruct these beauties for you:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A crunchy spring roll wrapping<br />Filled with creamy and delicious mashed potatoes and green onions</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fried<br />Topped with melted cheddar cheese</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Topped with bacon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.....Are you drooling yet?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let me just say, this whole plate would have satisfied me for lunch (in true Grand Lux/Cheesecake fashion, all portions are ridiculously large). But of course, there was still a main course coming.....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Including this mammoth of a turkey, apple, and brie sandwich on ciabatta with a side salad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Trying to be relatively healthy, I got this asian chicken salad, which ended up being about the size of a basketball.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0Yk3c3FmlmU/Uf0qSbc6UFI/AAAAAAAAEAk/qzG219GunCg/s1600/IMG_1531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0Yk3c3FmlmU/Uf0qSbc6UFI/AAAAAAAAEAk/qzG219GunCg/s640/IMG_1531.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A delicious mix of greens, carrots, lettuce, chicken, crispy rice noodles, all smothered in a tangy Asian dressing. I've had cravings for this salad ever since the day I got it.<br />If you're in Texas, Florida, New York, or Nevada, I highly recommend checking out Grand Lux Cafe.<br />Because Cheesecake Factory is <i>so</i> overrated. ;)</span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-2119251146774195422013-07-20T10:46:00.001-07:002013-07-20T10:46:06.212-07:00Taste of Chicago<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This post is coming a bit late, but all good things come with a wait, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let's pretend that's a legitimate saying and move on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, last week my friends and I decided to check out something called Taste of Chicago. It's the world's largest outdoor food festival that combines local flavor, nationally popular music, and fun.<br />All you needed to say was largest food festival and I'm in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, I snatched up a few of my friends and we headed out on Saturday evening to see what all the fuss was about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Neha and Hillary had their tickets in hand and were ready to scour the booths for something tasty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And Tiffany gave a boost of enthusiasm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While Neha and Hillary parted from the group in search of something spicy and delicious, Tiffany and I beelined for the Cafe Vienna German food booth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5 tickets for a Schnitzel sandwich = well worth it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Clearly a fried chicken sandwich was not enough for me, so I stopped off at The Green Room @ The Abbey.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nothing like a steaming plate of curry fries to brighten up your evening.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We regrouped on the lawn to hide from the sun, relax, and enjoy our finds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Neha grabbed what looked like the best purchase of the evening - a chicken, rice, and veggie mixture that I believe was chicken madras masala (but don't quote me on that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Regardless, I want the recipe.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yAKyNfAO2jA/UerHQ-Pm15I/AAAAAAAAD-I/-41xwFWys6M/s1600/IMG_2240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yAKyNfAO2jA/UerHQ-Pm15I/AAAAAAAAD-I/-41xwFWys6M/s640/IMG_2240.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is Neha's 'someone's been dating for over 2 years' face.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, we had to finish our meal off with some dessert. Fortunately for us, there was a gelato stand very close by.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bacio gelato a.k.a. hazelnut flavored a.k.a. Nutella flavored.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Definitely a successful food day.<br />If you find yourself in Chicago next summer, be sure to check out the taste! It's free to enter and costs $8 for 12 tickets (most meals are from 4-8 tickets). Definitely enough to get a good fill.</span></div>
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The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-37588368020340556422013-07-11T21:17:00.002-07:002013-07-11T21:23:06.390-07:00La Frasca<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You know those moments where you're scrolling through your phone pictures, searching for that one you wanted to send or upload, and you happen upon something that completely slipped your mind?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, that happened to me today. And what I found was something I meant to blog about weeks ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remember when I said that Emily joined me in Chicago for the summer? Well, a few weekends ago she invited me for an impromptu dinner up on the north side to watch the Blackhawks game. She promised the restaurant we were going to would bring back joyous memories of scrumptiously authentic Italian food. It was called La Frasca, and I was happy to see that it was a short train ride away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also brought my friend Neha with me, but she was difficult to catch on-camera. </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s84ukAJeOaY/Ud9_s5-TdOI/AAAAAAAAD68/Ozo6YNuBKuE/s1600/IMG_1649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s84ukAJeOaY/Ud9_s5-TdOI/AAAAAAAAD68/Ozo6YNuBKuE/s640/IMG_1649.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I tend to snap when people least expect it. My bad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We started with some Sangrias, which came in a generous serving for only $6.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I quickly perused the menu for the tastiest options. It was difficult to choose when the pizzas all looked scrumptious and the pasta menu included mouthwatering gnocchi.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We decided to start with some appetizers. La Frasca has an extensive and generous bruschetta menu. For $8, you pick 3 types, which gives you plenty of wiggle room to sample different flavor combinations.<br />We went with the traditional (basil, mozzarella, and tomato), mushroom & goat cheese, and apple with brie. They were even kind enough to cut the bruschetta into three pieces for us.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dfb5rxeyz4g/Ud9_u4B-cAI/AAAAAAAAD7g/s6LSkkdf0T4/s1600/IMG_1654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dfb5rxeyz4g/Ud9_u4B-cAI/AAAAAAAAD7g/s6LSkkdf0T4/s640/IMG_1654.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The grand finale, however, was the pizza.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Emily was exceedingly happy about her beautiful pepperoni pizza.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Neha kept it classic and went with a simple but chic margherita pizza.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bdvhgx-2MPQ/Ud9_uApu_wI/AAAAAAAAD7Q/J1HuZVIQbic/s1600/IMG_1652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bdvhgx-2MPQ/Ud9_uApu_wI/AAAAAAAAD7Q/J1HuZVIQbic/s640/IMG_1652.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As for me, I went with a fantastically delicious-sounding pizza called the rustica. Authentically Italian thin and crunchy crust covered with smoked cheese, prosciutto pesto, and tomatoes. </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HMZ5WGotxxY/Ud9_tm0p0HI/AAAAAAAAD7I/FO5qlf6Qnek/s1600/IMG_1651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HMZ5WGotxxY/Ud9_tm0p0HI/AAAAAAAAD7I/FO5qlf6Qnek/s640/IMG_1651.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let me just say it took all of my willpower to not eat the entire delicious concoction in one sitting. Just look at that fresh flavor.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TAqn_4GzFK4/Ud9_vE5wvdI/AAAAAAAAD7o/KYND1hi171I/s1600/IMG_1655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TAqn_4GzFK4/Ud9_vE5wvdI/AAAAAAAAD7o/KYND1hi171I/s640/IMG_1655.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you find yourself in Chicago with a craving for real pizza, not the pounds-of-bread-deep-dish staple usually found in this city, I cannot recommend La Frasca enough. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-24394037674419949272013-06-30T09:52:00.002-07:002013-06-30T09:52:10.056-07:00Spritz<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I was in Italy, wine was cheaper than water. Seriously, that's not just an expression. A glass of house wine cost 1 euro, while a bottle of water cost 1.50. Which was a nice change from the U.S. where ordering a drink can easily double the cost of your entire meal.<br />Since wine was so cheap, I often tried a lot of different drinks while in Italy (I mean, when in Rome....) One drink in particular, called 'spritz,' was native to the Veneto region of northern Italy and could be found at nearly every restaurant I went to. It was a light fizzy beverage that became the perfect afternoon drink on a hot day. There were two types: Aperol and Campari, or, more simply, orange and grapefruit. Orange was a lot sweeter, but both were equally delicious.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, spritz is a lot harder to find back in the US. Fortunately, all of the ingredients can be purchased. Which is why this is my new go-to summer drink recipe and the perfect recipe to wow your friends on 4th of July.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LT77-9uneUM/UdBes7-_G_I/AAAAAAAAD4Q/4Jrp3jjU0-I/s1600/IMG_9609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LT77-9uneUM/UdBes7-_G_I/AAAAAAAAD4Q/4Jrp3jjU0-I/s640/IMG_9609.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To make enough spritz for 4 people, you will need:<br /><br />1 bottle Aperol (difficult to find, but a grocery store or liquor store with a large selection will probably carry it)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 bottle prosecco (try to get </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Conegliano-Valdobbiadene if you can)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 bottle pellegrino or other sparkling water</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4 wine or rock glasses</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Start by lining up your ingredients</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TTC3ojrHrAA/UdBeonqJzVI/AAAAAAAAD4A/dhOjTPY71FQ/s1600/IMG_9601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TTC3ojrHrAA/UdBeonqJzVI/AAAAAAAAD4A/dhOjTPY71FQ/s640/IMG_9601.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lYGnK55AT9w/UdBeomtQy9I/AAAAAAAAD4E/8i891lLwDZg/s1600/IMG_9602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lYGnK55AT9w/UdBeomtQy9I/AAAAAAAAD4E/8i891lLwDZg/s640/IMG_9602.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Starting with the Aperol, then the prosecco, and finally the sparkling water, fill each glass with 1/3 part of each liquid. Add some ice if your beverages aren't already chilled and toss in an orange slice for a garnish if you want to look extra fancy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">See? Isn't that easy?</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0NidBdvNp8w/UdBhFYGlEgI/AAAAAAAAD5A/p_uhVnUX2XU/s1600/IMG_9607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0NidBdvNp8w/UdBhFYGlEgI/AAAAAAAAD5A/p_uhVnUX2XU/s640/IMG_9607.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdNTobe_LDE/UdBe3ZiWIuI/AAAAAAAAD4o/rDOxkgkXf9s/s1600/IMG_9613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdNTobe_LDE/UdBe3ZiWIuI/AAAAAAAAD4o/rDOxkgkXf9s/s640/IMG_9613.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perfect for picnics, pool parties, or balcony get-togethers, particularly during the upcoming holiday season. Just put on your fancy pants and get ready to wow everyone with your amazing and exotic cocktail-making ability. Or just wear jeans and a t-shirt and make everyone thing that effortless class just comes naturally to you.<br />Your choice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-29106986322518989332013-06-29T10:56:00.000-07:002013-06-29T10:56:03.517-07:00Creamy Quinoa and Peas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lately, I've been into a lot of substituting when it comes to making recipes. Call it being creative, or call it being lazy and not having the correct ingredients. Either way you swing it, sometimes you stumble upon something that ends up being pretty dang good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today's happy accident? Creamy Quinoa and Peas. Altered from a risotto recipe by Rachel Ray, this easy dish is now packed full of protein with the same delicious taste. Not to mention it's probably one of the quickest and least fussy meals you'll ever make. Perfect for those nights when </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To make enough for one, grab these ingredients:</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pad of butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">¼ red onion, chopped</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 cup quinoa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 cup chicken or vegetable broth</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">¼ cup grated parmesan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/3 cup frozen peas</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/2 lime</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">salt and pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Start by heating the butter in the bottom of a small pot on medium. Add your onions and saute until softened. Next, pour your chicken broth and quinoa into the pot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and cover, cooking for 15 minutes or until all the broth has been absorbed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />When the quinoa is cooked mix in your parmesan cheese, frozen peas, zest from the lime, and salt and pepper. Heat for several minutes or until the peas are warmed. Serve and enjoy your super-quick dinner!</span></div>
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<br />The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-23591267703348936142013-06-24T20:51:00.001-07:002013-06-24T20:51:24.499-07:00Indian Spinach & Tofu<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've always considered myself someone who couldn't really cook convincing Indian food. I always found the spices to be a tad too unfamiliar for my taste buds, and I never trusted myself to re-create something that would taste as good or better than what I could buy at a nearby takeout joint.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fortunately for me and my budget, this recipe happened.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Introducing deliciously tasty and ridiculously easy Indian Tofu & Spinach. I developed this recipe quickly when I needed to use up some leftover spinach and tofu, and it's become one of my new favorites.<br />To make enough for one, you will need:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vegetable oil</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 small block of tofu (about 1x4'), sliced into 1-inch by ½-inch blocks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon cumin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">¼ cup red onion, chopped</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1-inch piece of ginger</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 teaspoon white pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">salt and pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">¼ teaspoon cayenne</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">¼ teaspoon smoked paprika</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 big handfuls of spinach</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">¼ cup greek yogurt, plain</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">garlic salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Heat the oil in a pan until it's good and hot. Add your tofu and fry until brown on both sides.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While it's cooking, use a food processor or blender to blend red onion and ginger together until finely minced.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When the tofu is done, remove it from the pan and set it aside. Add the cumin to the pan (and add additional oil if needed). Fry for several seconds. Next, add the ginger and red onion mixture and heat for 2 minutes. Add white pepper, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Stir. Add the spinach in batches,
letting each round wilt. Next, place the tofu back
in the pan and sprinkle in the smoked paprika, heating for 1-2 minutes. Finally, add the greek yogurt and mix until combined. Heat for 1 minute, then scoop onto a plate and serve. Top with garlic salt to taste.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Simple, healthy, and low-cal. Not to mention quick. Can you say go-to dinner recipe?</span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-7435663708081319672013-06-20T17:22:00.000-07:002013-06-20T17:31:31.658-07:00Intelligentsia Coffee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since coming back from Italy, I've been very attached to good espressos and cappuccinos. What can I say? I was spoiled rotten while I was there. Deliciously dark and creamy espresso for merely 1 or 1.5 euros. It was a dream come true.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now that I'm back in the US (and in Chicago), I'm determined to find at least one coffee bar that matches up with the taste and quality of what I had in Italy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fortunately, Chicago happens to have a few Intelligentsia coffee shops scattered about the metro area. I popped in the other day to give it the once-over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The black bags are their espresso, called Black Cat Espresso. I just love that name.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I went with my usual test - a cappuccino.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Detailed latte art.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Time for the taste test.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dark, frothy, and very very bold. Exactly how I like it. Not a replica of what I had in Italy (probably because the beans were from Africa and roasted in Germany) but still an excellent cappuccino. I can see why the place always seems to be full to the brim with patrons lining the bar. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also, I just found out that my new job serves Intelligentsia coffee. I think I may have found my favorite workplace ever..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh, and did I mention Emily was there?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Apparently Chicago is the place to be this summer for all the cool kids since she's here too. We spent the afternoon shopping and galavanting about town before we popped in for a quick recharge. And boy were we glad we did.</span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-27350724757818046672013-06-16T21:21:00.002-07:002013-06-16T21:21:48.834-07:00Big & Little's<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Guess what?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I moved to Chicago for the summer!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Which means tons of food, food, and food.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And my first main stop when I came over was a place I'd seen on The Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's called Big & Little's, a.k.a., fancy fried food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's a small building on a really not built-up street, but boy is this place packed for lunch.<br />And why is it called fancy fried food, you might ask? Well I'll tell you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because the menu features things such as duck fat fries, foi gras and fries, fried soft shell crab sandwiches, and beer battered burgers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You get in line, head up to the counter, and order what you want. Cash only folks. Then you wait by the side until your name is called and your delicious food crackles its way onto the serving side of the bar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Take a look at the fish and chips.....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's basically an entire cod filet, battered in a deliciously crispy coating and served with a platter of fries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I, however, had to go for the original wonder that I saw being made on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. The pork belly po boy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A mountain of delicious salty fried pork belly piled onto a bed of lettuce, slices of pickles, hot sauce, and maple mayo on a toasted sub bun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My face for scale.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I managed to eat the whole thing, and I'm currently craving another one. And more fish and chips...</span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-11190822760257871462013-06-11T08:52:00.001-07:002013-06-11T08:52:43.603-07:00Bologna, Day 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next day in Bologna, Emily headed off to one of the churches while I made my way down to the piazza to explore. Apparently, the entire town was out for a run that day. It was also sponsored by Parmigiano reggiano, which I found ironic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Naturally, I took this as an opportunity to explore the city a bit. If I followed the runners, I'd never get lost.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I meandered along in search of some caffeine when I found a rather popular caffe at the edge of this smaller piazza. I quickly ordered myself an espresso macchiato at the bar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I looked back up at the menu and saw something listed that I'd been meaning to try for awhile, but hadn't found in any cafes yet (mainly because most cafes don't have menus on the wall). It's called a spremuta d'arancia, which is a really eloquent way of saying freshly squeezed orange juice. I quickly ordered one along with my macchiato and snapped a shot of it being made.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was then served the freshest and most delicious cup of orange juice I've ever had. It literally felt like eating an orange.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After another hour of exploring, I met back up with emily and we continued meandering around the city. When we decided to stop for lunch, in the interest of saving money, we chose to grab some sandwiches from one of the many caffes around the city. Brown bags in hand, we stopped at a small monument with benches to dig in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Emily opted for a piadina, a.k.a. a flatbread sandwich stuffed with prosciutto and cheese. This specific sandwich is native to the northern-ish region of Italy, so don't expect to find it in Rome.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I decided to try something new. It was called an erbazzone, and it looked a bit like a really large spinach puff to me. I looked up the recipe later, and it seemed to be a mixture of mixed greens, sometimes spinach, depending on the chef's decision. Regardless, it was delicious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had to catch a 4 pm train, so we didn't have time for another fabulous dinner in Bologna. Fortunately, we did have time for another gelato...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Caffe amaro will always hold a special place in my heart...</span></div>
The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-1743137605598462012013-06-06T15:48:00.001-07:002013-06-06T15:48:13.672-07:00Bologna, Day 1<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our trip to Italy included a free weekend where we could travel wherever we want so long as we were back in time for class on Monday morning. And since I'm an obsessive planner, this means me and Emily booked our trip 4 weeks in advance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We started out mulling over where we should go - somewhere close, but different enough to be exciting and fill two days of our time. Florence was throw out as an idea, but quickly rejected when we realized how long the transportation would take. We thought about Verona, but figured that we might be able to see the whole city in a day or less. Finally, we came up with the perfect destination.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bologna.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Home to the oldest university in the world and the gastronomy capital of Italy, this red-bricked city was perfect for us. Emily quickly took care of the hotel reservation while I ordered our train tickets, and we were set to go.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On Saturday morning, we grabbed an excruciatingly early 7 am bus from Paderno del Grappa to Bassano del Grappa, hopped across the street to the train station and took a regional train to Padua. A quick connection and a much-needed cappuccino and chocolate muffin got us on a high speed Frecciargento for a quick 170 km/hr ride into Bologna.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ever the reliable navigator, Emily quickly got us down the street to Via dell'Indipendenza </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">where we found our hotel, I Portici Hotel Bologna. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We couldn't check in until 2 pm, but the hotel staff allowed us to check our bulky bags at the front desk and come back later.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After that, our exploration down the main street commenced. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, after making our way almost down to the main piazza, my asthma started to get the better of me (Bologna is a very smoky city). Emily and I haphazardly ducked into the nearest restaurant that had a downstairs, and boy did we pick a good one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At Ristorante da nello Al Montegrappa, we each got big bottles of water and chugged them while looking over the menu. I ordered the tortelloni verde (which I initially pronounced tortellini, but was corrected by the waiter) and was given this delectable wonder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Homemade pasta stuffed with veal and cheese in a gratuitously creamy sauce. Truly one of the best things that I've ever eaten. Emily grabbed some basic pasta in pomodoro sauce, but agreed that it was much better than a similar version of the dish that we'd been having in the cafeteria for the past few days.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After our quick break, it was nearly 2 pm, so we went back to the hotel to check in, get situated, and make a game plan for the rest of the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our two-bedroom suite in the heart of the city was a bargain for 95 euros a night (hotel link <a href="http://www.iporticihotel.com/en/i-portici-hotel-bologna">here</a> for interested travelers). And yes, the painting on the wall was titled "My Sexy Little Pony." It led to a 10-minute conversation about what exactly makes this pony 'sexy' as compared to a regular My Little Pony character.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyway, after we mapped out our day, we headed back down the main street to the piazza.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There were multiple demonstrations, street shows, and what looked like an MMA tournament going on in the square, bookended by some of the oldest buildings I've ever seen. Large speakers blasted popular Top 40 music as Emily and I strolled around soaking it all in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Haphazardly wandering, we followed some tourists into an enormous brick building at the end of the piazza. We figured it was a museum, the signs said it was an observation desk, and we were fairly confused but chose to dive in anyway.<br />What we found was the fifth largest church in the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cameras (particularly flash) seemed to be frowned upon, but Emily and I couldn't resist snapping a few shots of the impressive ceiling and the incredibly ornate side chapels like this one:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After our unexpected church scouting, we filled our afternoon with shopping, shopping, and eating. We headed over to Brandy Melville so Emily could get some new leggings, and then beelined over to Cafe Terzi, supposedly the best in Bologna. My macchiato with a touch of chocolate shavings certainly didn't disappoint.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, a gelato stop was necessary. We opted for a place fairly close to our hotel, and boy did we make a good decision.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This little beaut, called Caffe Amaro was a creamy zuppa inglese base with swirls of cocoa and cocoa nibs, and it was definitely some of the best we've ever had. Which is a big deal coming from Emily. You see, she works at a gelato shop back in Michigan, so she's a bit of a gelato connoisseur. She knows the tricks of the trade and can tell just by looking at the stuff whether or not it's going to be quality. This gelato definitely got her seal of approval, which means it's top-notch on the quality scale.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After our run around the city, which included running into a second group of travelers from our trip, we headed out to dinner at a little nearby trattoria.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reasonable prices and filled to the brim with locals - we felt that we'd picked a good spot and promptly ordered water and a half liter of wine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It true Italian tradition, we decided to try multiple courses. First, the pasta: I had been longing to try traditional tagliatelle al ragu (a famous bolognese original), so that was a no-brainer for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Emily got this delicious looking pile of gnocchi:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And we split a large platter of grilled sausage and veggies</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eggplant au gratin, grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, and boiled potatoes. Delicious.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The meal was extremely fresh, extremely filling, and cost a total of 34 euros for everything we got. A bargain for right downtown. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After dinner, we strolled back across the street to our hotel and passed out from food comas by midnight. For us, nightlife means heavily eating and relaxing in bed. I'm cool with that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-43976453845617514962013-06-04T19:08:00.002-07:002013-06-04T19:08:43.624-07:00Caffe Pedrocchi, Padua<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On Friday, our class was supposed to spend the day in Venice touring the glassblowing factories, taking gondola rides through the canals, and enjoying the sunshine. And we were all very excited (except one guy named Max, who hates Venice).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, the rain from our trip to Bassano lasted a little bit longer than we would have liked, and after just having a seminar on the recent floods desecrating Venice and its tourism, our trip leaders decided to postpone the Venice trip until the weather dried up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, instead, we all woke up and had a three-hour class on patent law (which had me craving multiple cappuccinos) and were given a one-way train ticket to jumpstart our free weekend of travel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since Emily and I had already booked our tickets from Bassano to Bologna for Saturday and Sunday, we decided to take advantage of the free ticket and free ride to the train station to spend the day exploring another city. Our choice? Padua (or Padova, in Italian). Armed with Rick Steeve's "6 Hours in Padua" pages, courtesy of Emily's mother, and some insider information from my Italian-American friend Sylvia, we set off.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A small miscalculation ended with us walking the wrong way from the train station, but we quickly turned it around and headed in the correct direction towards the city. While I might be a bit directionally challenged, Emily could navigate her way across a foreign city while blindfolded, so she quickly got us to the right spot in the middle of all the action.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We made some necessary shopping pit stops at H&M, Zara, and La Rinascente (where I saw these adorable espresso cups:)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But our goal was to find Caffe Pedrocchi, a famous and historical spot seated right at the base of the University of Padua. When we went inside, we thought Jay Gatsby had invited us to a party at his mansion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Established in the 18th century, Caffe Pedrocchi has three unique rooms built into it with a coffee bar in the center. The rooms are all themed after different colors, and the green room is where people go if they don't want to order anything. You tend to see old men reading their newspapers in there, along with, I'm sure, the occasional college student during finals season. I couldn't help but feel jealous of the Padua students while I was in here - the decor certainly beats the Starbucks on South U!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The large caffe only had two waiters working, which gave me and Emily plenty of time to peruse the menu.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We split a bottle of sparkling water and peeled our eyes away from the amazing selection of alcoholic coffee beverages just in time to order a sensible dinner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We were quickly given a lovely tray of pre-dinner snacks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And our sandwiches came quickly afterwards. Emily chose a dainty sandwich filled with meat and asparagus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I opted for "toast," which, in the US, means a crisp piece of bread, but in Italy means a delectable ham and cheese sandwich. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perfectly crisp with delicious cheese. Gotta hand it to Italy to jass up a piece of toast the best way possible (and would you believe that most restaurants offer this for a mere 3 euros?).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While the sandwiches were delicious, our main reason for going to Caffe Pedrocchi was so that Emily could order the famous Stendhal</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">zabaglion<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">e. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A marsala wine custard served with a bowl of whipped cream and a handful of fig cookies. Apparently this is the way that the writer Stendhal liked his zabaglione, so the cafe has been serving it this way ever since.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although I didn't order dessert, our waiter brought me this cup of coffee on the house.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What looked at first like a basic cappuccino ended up being a chocolate and mint creme espresso drink covered in froth and cocoa. Absolutely phenomenal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We spent two hours in the cafe enjoying an extremely relaxing dinner before heading back to the train station at 8 pm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although the cafe was slightly pricey, Emily and I only ended up spending 20 euros on our meal (and I'm pretty sure the waiter undercharged us a bit on purpose). By the end of the day, we were both wondering whether or not the University of Padua had a graduate school.</span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-6761208938316688652013-06-02T19:09:00.002-07:002013-06-02T19:09:37.986-07:00The Agriturismo<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When you go to another city, there's usually one meal in particular that you remember. Maybe it was super-delicious, maybe you had great service, or maybe the venue was spectacular.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The local ristorante agriturismo at Paderno del Grappa had all three of those qualities.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you're not familiar with the term, a ristorante agriturismo is a combination of agriculture and tourism that provides people with lodging in a rural area and food that's predominately from the establishment's farm. Think of it as a bed and breakfast with incredibly fresh food.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was eager to experience this unique part of Italy's dining and tourism culture, so at the end of our first full week of classes at CIMBA the entire group dressed up and piled into a Tonka-sized bus for a harrowing ride up the Italian mountainside. When we arrived at the top of the hill, we walked inside a little brown house and immediately soaked in the warm atmosphere and the smell of sausages being grilled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Heaping piles of bread and liters of water and wine awaited us as well all took our seats. After meeting the owners and the grillmaster, we had a little bit of downtime before the courses came rolling out of the kitchen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our first round was a deliciously creamy pasta with cheese and vegetables...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shortly afterwards we were treated to the most mouthwatering gnocchi I've ever had in my entire life...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a light sauce with mouthwatering veal, this melt-in-your-mouth dish is something I would buy a plane ticket back to Italy for. I wonder if they cater...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a quick few courses of salad and french fries (paying homage to our heritage, I expect), the meat trays started to appear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Piles of grilled polenta, ribs, steaks, and sausages. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It all tasted delicious, but the sausage was my favorite part. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since some members of the party chose to fill up on wine early in the meal, Emily, Patricia, and I ended up with three full trays of meat at our end of the table. Which was perfectly alright with us!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After everyone had their fill, the owners brought out three bottles of Prosecco and a huge cake to celebrate the four birthdays that were occurring during the two-week trip. The rest of the evening died down with drinks and laughs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-26414597235354549432013-06-01T08:20:00.000-07:002013-06-01T08:20:00.581-07:00Caffe Cremas and Bassano Chillin<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Near the end of our first week, our entire group took a trip to the nearby town of Bassano del Grappa to check out their twice a week outdoor market. The night before we left, I was excited about getting the chance to barter in Italian and find some unique gifts for my friends and family back home. Plus the food, because where there's an outdoor market, there's at least one food truck.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To my dismay I woke up that Thursday morning to freezing rain and whipping winds. It was so bad out that Emily and I couldn't even make it down the street to the little cafe for our cappuccinos. And considering the fact that I hadn't exactly packed for a chilled monsoon, dressing for a day outdoors was going to be a challenge.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nevertheless, our trip went underway as scheduled. After a chilling walk to the town's main piazza, where half of our group (*cough*the boys*cough*) didn't have umbrellas and ended up soaked, we parted ways to explore the city. Emily and I followed a few friends into a nearby caffe to soak up the warmth and get our much-needed coffee.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once we felt sufficiently caffeinated and ready to brave the day, we pulled our jackets on, armed ourselves with our umbrellas, and went exploring.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, several minutes in the piazza looking for the market led us to the realization that we were standing right where the market usually is - and it was closed today due to bad weather.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tough luck, eh?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fortunately, we made the most of it by checking out local shops and even making a few small purchases for ourselves. I ended up snagging a white purse, and Emily found a pretty blue scarf for her sister.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When it was time to wait for the bus, we found ourselves, again, in another caffe waiting out the rain. And boy am I glad we did.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unbeknownst to us at the time, this place, called Caffe Danieli, is one of the best in Bassano. And I quickly realized this after my coffee came.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Layered espresso, a hint of chocolate, thick foam, and cocoa powder on top. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Picturesque perfection infused with mocha flavor. A.k.a. my kind of drink.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The star of the show, however, was Emily's caffe crema.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let me take a moment to explain to you the love that goes into this little beauty right here. The bottom layer is thick chocolate. The center could be best described as a thick espresso milkshake, but without random chunks of ice or ice cream floating around in it. And the top? A few simple espresso beans. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Emily was in love with it, and our entire table was regretting that we hadn't had the foresight to follow her lead and order the same. So much so that when we ended up in Bassano later that week, we purposely went out of our way to make it back to Caffe Danieli to order a second round!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If there's one thing I will sorely miss after this trip, it's this drink right here. Mainly because I've scoured the Internet trying to find instructions on how to make my own with no avail.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh well, I guess this will just have to be my next project!</span></div>
The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-72031177411321207092013-05-29T13:09:00.001-07:002013-05-29T13:10:45.859-07:00To The Bar!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While in Paderno del Grappa, my friend Emily and I made a near daily routine of heading to the local bar at 8 am every morning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And before you think that Europe turned us into raging alcoholics, let me explain a little further.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In Italy, a 'bar' is the equivalent to an American 'cafe.' Although they do serve alcohol, Italian bars are mainly coffee bars, pastry, and sandwich shops. And since the coffee machine in the CIMBA cafeteria churned out less-than-desirable cups of jo, I was incredibly thankful that there was a local bar just down the road.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The shop is owned by a woman and her husband. He speaks some English, she doesn't speak any. But the language barrier didn't bother her one bit. In-between me and Emily's orders, she would keep talking to us in Italian about anything and everything (the weather, our lives, etc.), well aware that we could only understand parts of what she was saying. We spoke back in broken Italian phrases (probably sounding like two year-olds) as she whipped up some deliciously steaming cappuccinos and delivered them with a huge smile. For a mere 1.3 euros, this little beauty was worth every penny.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While our usual order was two cappuccinos, one day we decided to skip the dorm breakfast and try some of her homemade croissants.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Which was one of the best decisions I ever made, simply because they were each filled with delectable chocolate cream...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My apologies for the blur, but really, did you expect me to stop eating for long enough to take a decent picture?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nope. No way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On our last day, she made me and Emily cappuccinos with cocoa, a delicious treat that I've been missing since my time at home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And now I'm certain: if there's one thing that will draw me back to Italy in the future, it's the bars. </span>The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1927445212103054518.post-34314598778045841692013-05-27T06:26:00.003-07:002013-05-27T06:28:10.454-07:00Asolo, Italy<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I must apologize profusely for abandoning this blog for 2-3 weeks now. But, I promise, I have a very, very, very good reason.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the past two weeks, I've been in Italy taking a short course on Intellectual Property Law. And, of course, eating everything in sight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My lodgings didn't have a very strong internet connection, so blogging while I was there was a bit out of the question. BUT, I'm back now to relay the culinary adventures of the Veneto region.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the stunning view from my dorm room. Yes, I know, the mountains look photoshopped. To be completely honest, they looked photoshopped in real life too. I promise they're real, and they happened to be extremely clear during my first full day in Italy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since jet lag had everybody pretty much out of commission on our first day, we didn't have many plans other than exploring the campus and the surrounding town of Paderno del Grappa. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The second day, however, we went to the nearby town of Asolo for some exploring and pizza making.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The view from the undergraduate campus building in Asolo. If you hadn't already guessed, it's a medieval city on a high mountain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me and my friend Emily enjoying the view. You'll be seeing a lot of her on here for the next couple of days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had some free time before the pizza making class started, so we all headed into the town square and visited Caffe Centrale, the congregation spot for locals and tourists alike. If there's gelato involved, me and Emily are there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After we got our gelato fix, the whole group headed down the road to Astoria Lounge for some prosecco and introductions by the owner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had some quick instructions on how to prepare the best quality dough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And then it was time to get down to work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me and Patricia had our game faces on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First you roll...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then add your toppings...</span><br />
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<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/p480x480/969441_10152879164310093_662598612_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/p480x480/969441_10152879164310093_662598612_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And then pop it into a stone oven for 3-4 minutes until you get something like this little beauty.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fresh pomodoro sauce, pepperoni, ham, grilled zucchini, arugula, and onions. Pour a little spicy oil on top and it's the closest you'll get to heaven on earth. This pizza here is the reason I can't look at Domino's the same way again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*sigh*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One day I'll try to re-create this beauty....if I can ever get my hands on a stone oven.....</span></div>
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The Coffee Breakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00679899308388480050noreply@blogger.com0