October 2, 2010

TAKASHI!

I know it's been a couple of days since I've last blogged. I think it's because I've been consumed with breaking in a new pair of patent leather glossy black winter flats from Endless.com (my Mecca for online shoe shopping--I even purchased a pair of boots last winter, wore them once, hated them, then returned them for a full refund. I'm now a loyal customer for life).

Anyways, last Friday I went to a place called Takashi that I had never heard of before. Well, let me tell you, I've not only heard of it now, but am obsessed with it and want to go back. Plus I can't stop raving about it. Find this place, and go there. It's on Damen and Armitage in Wicker Park. It's close enough to BlackBird, which is a cute little place we ventured to prior to having dinner with two of our out of town friends (Doug's friend since he was born). I would suggest you try the same (but bring band-aids in your purse if you are wearing new shoes, it's about a 7 minute walk in between the two locations).

Now to Takashi. This place is adorable. Absolutely precious. Small seating area outside with shades of gray painted awning and entry way. It's small yet refined, don't be taken aback by the small first room you walk into where the hostess "nook" is practically sitting in the door way, there is an upstairs area, too. Side note, that's where the restroom is hidden behind an orange piece of artwork. Good tip to know if you have had too much wine and can't find the restroom.

I'm proud to say it (although we were laughing in slight embarrassment during the meal) that we found the restaurant through Groupon. It's okay, it was a great deal Doug got, so we decided to use the coupon. MAN was it worth it. I haven't had a meal this tasty in a long time. We were with "foodies" who (I have a feeling) given their past eating experience, probably tend to be "good at menus" as I claim to be (except know more about food and wine than I do). So I trust what their opinion was and plan of action included for our night at Takashi: order lots of small plates. Done.

We ordered 8+ small dishes and got an assortment of multiple hot and cold plates. It was a perfect mix of taste, presentation, flavor, and creativity in each plate we received. From the lentil curry soup, to the pork belly (we ordered two of them because the meat was just incredible) to the home made tofu plate and these scallops that were absolutely to die for. Each dish I was pretty much more impressed than the next, to be honest. Nothing was too heavy either, but was perfectly balanced. I even forgot about the fact that my heels were bleeding during the start of the meal because the soup was so fantastically prepared. A must do. Please dine immediately. Ask for a table on the second floor. Trust me!

My Favorites:
Chilled Fresh Homemade Tofu: Oba Leaves, Green Onion, Bonito Flakes, Wakame, Umami-Ginger Soy
Soy-Ginger Carmel Pork Belly: with Pickled Daikon Salad, Steamed Buns (and mind you, I don't even eat a lot of red meat, it was just THAT good).
Sauteed Main Scallops and Soba Gnocchi: Trumpet Royale, Celery Root-Parmesan Foam

Dinner:
Takashi Main Website
Menu
Wine Menu

Pre-Drinks:
Bluebird (Not to be confused with BlackBird in the West Loop)



September 26, 2010

Come Warm My House.


We had the official first party at our new home. Our housewarming party. Let me tell you, our house was warmed. It reached hot in fact. Regardless of the number of invitees, 60+ people walked into our house holding a bottle of alcohol (usually red wine for me, sometimes beer for the beer trough on the roof barn dance style) and ready to mingle (minus of course a few people like our unshaven guy friend with a 2 year old son who showed up wearing a tired smile, mono-chromatic outfit and a bottle of Jameson).

I must admit that a type A person like myself freaks out just a tad about housewarming party. And by a tad I mean I totally freaked out. I think Doug was ready to find a new girlfriend by 2:30pm on Saturday when he was trying to watch Ohio State college football and I was trying to do last minute preparation in the kitchen when all I wanted to do was run and or drink 4 tequila drinks immediately. Thank you Doug for dealing with me while I was running around at the last minute stressed (and stressed you out because of my frazzled preparation of the pears slash writing the menu on the chalkboard while I should have been in the shower antics). I finished blow drying my hair 5 minutes before the first guest arrived, and can conclude one thing: next time I have a larger scale party, no matter how much planning in advance that I do, I'm going to enlist some of my friends to help me out as far as preparation "day of" is concerned, since that was what really threw me over the edge. It seems like there is never enough time. I even took off Friday from work to cook and organize.



It was an awesome night, though. I was bustling around so much that I didn't manage to get a photo of Doug and I together, nor did I get a photo of my college ladies all sitting around my dining room table! Oh well, I certainly will next time around. I love having people at my place, so the time and energy spent is (well) worth it.


Menu: Below. All recipes that I have included below are actually the "smaller" and or "normal" version of a typical menu size. I multiplied each by roughly 3 to make enough food for the guests.

Favors: Sunglasses from Amazon.com (yes I bought favors like it was a 5 year old birthday party). Big League Chew. Tootsie Rolls.

Drink: The 2136 Division Signature Paloma

Time: 5:00pm (i.e. 5:25, thank God, because I wasn't ready yet) until 10:00pm (let's be honest, people were still getting Iced at 12:05am, while I took another back of dripping garbage to the back landing area of our stairs).

Outfit: J Crew Black Strapless Dress, Gap Flats, Pink J Crew Cardigan, Kate Spade studded earrings

MVP: Molly McMahon. Tthis breaks my streak of not mentioning people's names as much as possible on my blog, but she was just so helpful, I couldn't help but to mention her fantastic cheese plate, the platter she gave me for keeps, or that she ran across the street to get Diet 7 Up when we needed to make another batch of Palomas). Thanks fellow co-worker, life coach, fashion adviser, and Dailey Method motivator! You are such a supporter, woman! Mazel Tov!




















MENU

Cilantro Citrus Shrimp
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 16 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

Chicken Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each), thinly sliced lengthwise into 12 strips
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • Vegetable oil, for pan

Directions

  1. In a bowl, toss chicken with sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, and teaspoon red-pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Thread each chicken strip lengthwise onto a skewer.
  2. Make dipping sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, and 2 to 3 tablespoons water.
  3. Heat grill pan over high. Working in batches, brush pan with oil, and cook chicken until opaque throughout, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Serve chicken skewers with dipping sauce.



Mini Meatballs with Mint Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

  1. 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  2. 1 pound ground lamb
  3. 1/2 cup minced onion
  4. 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
  5. 2 extra-la rge eggs
  6. 2 tablespoons chopped mint
  7. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  8. 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  9. 1/4 cup chopped dill
  10. 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  11. Salt
  12. One 8-ounce container Greek yogurt or plain whole milk yogurt
  13. 1 tablespoon milk

Directions

  1. Preheat the broiler. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with the olive oil.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the lamb with the onion, bread crumbs, eggs, mint, lemon juice, cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of the dill, 2 teaspoons of the garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt; knead until combined. Form the mixture into 1 1/4-inch meatballs. Arrange the meatballs on the oiled baking sheet and broil as close to the heat as possible for 6 minutes, turning the pan halfway through, until firm and lightly browned.
  3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the yogurt with the remaining 3 tablespoons of dill and 2 teaspoons of garlic; whisk in the milk and season with salt. Transfer the meatballs to a plate and serve with the sauce.

Potato Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds potatoes (I used red ones)
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons coarse-grain mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup Basic Vinaigrette
  • 1 Bunch Tarragon (s mall about 1 t

Directions

  1. Place the potatoes and salt in a medium pot and add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and transfer to a serving dish.
  2. Whisk together the vinaigrette and mustard in a small bowl. Pour half the mixture over the hot potatoes, toss, and let stand for 1 hour. Just before serving, drizzle the remaining vinaigrette mixture over the potatoes, add the tarragon and pepper, and toss.

Pears with Blue Cheese and Prosciutto

Ingredients

  • 2 pears
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 3 ounces blue cheese, cut into small pieces
  • 6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut in half lengthwise

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, toss the pears and lemon juice.
  2. Layer a slice of pear, an arugula leaf, and a piece of cheese on a piece of prosciutto and roll up.

Treats

Double Marshmallow Treats

Ingredients

  • 11 cups miniature marshmallows
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), plus extra for buttering the spatula and dish
  • 8 cups puffed rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies

Directions

  1. Coat the bottom of a metal spatula and a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with butter; set aside.
  2. Combine 8 cups of the marshmallows and the butter in a medium pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth, about 8 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and stir in cereal until well coated. Add re maining 3 cups marshmallows and stir just until mixed. Immediately turn mixture into the prepared baking dish and use the buttered spatula to uniformly flatten.
  4. Let set up until room temperature and firm, about 45 minutes. Cut into 15 (2-1/2-inch-by-2-1/2-inch) squares and serve.

Cream Cheese Frosting Cupcakes

Frosting Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
  • 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Frosting Directions

  1. Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth. Frosting can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; before using, bring to room temperature, and beat until smooth.
I also made chocolate cake cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. I used store bought (on sale) Pillsbury mix, and then used dark coco powder (HERSHEY'S) and then peanut butter with the sugar and cream cheese. It was absolutely fantastic. I highly advise to change it up as much as possible.

What I used to Decorate the Cupcakes: Bake it Pretty Website

Palomas
Ingredients:
Tequila
Lime Juice

Grapefruit Crystal Lite (Ruby Red)

Diet Squirt