Gourmet Chicago Festival

So I was so very lucky to win 4, count them, 4 tickets to the sold-out Gourmet Chicago Festival that happened this past weekend at Millennium Park.  The tickets to this event were $150 dollars per ticket per day and I can honestly say they would have been worth the cost. Although of everything is better when it's free.  My boyfriend Joe, our friend Scott Greenman (in town from Hotlanta), and Danielle all arrived promptly at the start (around Noon), and moseyed on in, where we were given a shoulder bag containing programs of the events and areas where we could find each of the different vendors, and one wine glass (see picture above) each for tastings.  The minute we walked into the event there were three different wine distributors with an array of tastings to be had, along with Labriola Cafe
serving up (as you know one of my fav go to appetizers) caprese with an aged balsamic vinegar and some of the tastiest pasta bolognese with the perfect accompaniment of crusty baguette.  Okay so this was just within the fifteen minutes of us arriving on the scene, so you can only guess that the food and drink situation only got exponentially better. 

The Gourmet Festival was ALSO where the top three winners of the Santa Margherita Great Taste Challenge were going to contend for the top prize.  Which if you remember correctly I was eked out of this event, by a mere 200 votes.  I of course went and watched, and I promise was only mildly bitter.  There is always next year, AND most importantly I won two of my tickets through Santa Margherita's facebook page (and the other two were won through Patron Social Club)! The Terlato wine tent (who distributes Santa Margherita) most definitely had one of the best, if not THE BEST wine tents at the event.  We sat on couches sipping our wine, as platters of tasty morsels were passed around. I could easily have gotten used to such treatment.

There were wine's there for all.  I of course am the quintessential lover of Reds (the bolder the better) but my friend Danielle loves her wine fruity and bubbly and was afraid that her palate would be left wanting.  Au contraire, mon frère!  There was no short supply of either.  Not to mention the enormous amount of liquor vendors that were represented.  Which was also what may have gotten me a little too tipsy towards the end of the event (when in doubt of whether you have had enough to eat, say no to the martini shots, rule of life).  If you enjoy vodka, and especially flavored than look no further.  Vangogh Vodka is now my absolute fav, hands down.  The flavored vodkas were like a martini in a bottle, no need to add anything that would water them down.  Try the Caramel Vodka with the Espresso, and BOOM, caramel macchiato is tickling your tastebuds.

Of course there was both food and booze at this event, but to be perfectly honest the vino and the liquor easily took the cake.  UNLESS you were one of the select few to watch Uncle Bub's smoke an whole pig (which of course I was, I smelled that bad boy from half way across Millennium), and then see the delicious process unfold of the juicy tender meat, just falling off the bone.  One of the women volunteering to help serve at this station, saw how many detailed questions I was asking about said process, and therefore decided I needed a whole bottle of their special BBQ sauce (I felt so honored, especially since I was the ONLY ONE receiving this delish gift, which the jealousy among my group and the folks behind me was evident), Im pretty sure joe was excited too, considering he knew he would get to eat something made with this saucy goodness.  Nothing says love like BBQ.

Overall it was an absolutely amazing day.  The only complaint that I, and others from the event, had was pertaining to the lines for food.  The lines for the liquor were small if non-existent, while the food lines were about 40 minutes deep.  Then when you got to the front you were given such a minimal tasting that it just didn't add up to enough in the end.  Needless to say, we were all a little too full of vino, and not full enough on the filler.  This is not me complaining, because honestly I came, I drank, I made friends with the vendors....life couldn't have been any better on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.  OH WAIT, it could and did, Michigan State killed Northern Colorado, oh what a day....what a day!

Beach Party Blowout: Cheese Burgers In Paradise AND Key Lime Cheesecakes

So this past weekend I ended up throwing a party, with one of my favorite themes, BEACH.  I had bought quite a few decorations from Oriental Trading Company (if you ever need decor they are a definite must, reasonably priced and ships right to your door).  The food and drink put it over the top with my homemade salsa and guac, "Cheeseburgers In Paradise", Individual key lime cheesecakes, and the piece de resistance Pink Panty Pull Downs (AKA Porch Crawlers) as the specialty cocktail.  Everything was absolute delish, and eventhough I didn't have an amazing turn out in terms of number of people (tons of peeps were out of town, including my BF who was partying the weekend away in Vegas for his brother's Bachelor Party) the quality of people who showed, is really what made the difference!

"Cheeseburgers In Paradise"

(Homage to Jimmy Buffett )

Ingredients

• 2lbs of ground chuck (80-85% lean)
• 1.5 cups of Open Pit BBQ sauce, (or sauce of choice)
• 3 medium jalapenos minced
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2lb-1lb of spicy colby or cheddar cheese, sliced
• 1/2lb-1lb of American Cheese
• 8 hamburger buns (just cheap white bread)
• garlic powder/or salt, salt and pepper to taste

1. put your 2lbs of ground chuck in a medium mixing bowl, add you jalapenos and garlic, mix thoroughly (if you aren't as sissy just use your hands, everything gets much more evenly distributed that way)
2. add 1 cup of BBQ sauce, mix, if doesn't look too wet add the additional 1/2 cup and mix thorughly
3. Roll out your burgers into 8 even balls.
4. flatten your burger out, and then take the slice of colby cheese and break up so you can fit it all into the middle of the burger.  Should have about half of an inch or more of burger all the way around with your cheese in the middle.  Now bring those sides up over the cheese so that it is completely incased and no holes are showing with cheese poking through.  This is important or else you cheese will simply cook out of your burgers. 
5. Place burgers on tray, cover with saran wrap, and leave over night, they will stay together better when cooking the next day.  Sprinkle your burgers with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
6.  Simply warm up a nonstick pan to medium/high heat and start grilling your burgers.
7. When they are nice and brown on both sides place onto bottom bun, and add 1 piece of American cheese.  You can cover with tin foil and place into a warm oven so they stay warm until company arrives/you are ready to serve.

Key Lime Cheesecakes 

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Filling:

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed key lime juice
• 1 tblsp of key lime zest
• 2 eggs

Decor

• 12 thin slices of key lime
• Can of whip cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a paper cupcake liner in each cup of a standard muffin pan.To make crust: In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter until crumbs are moistened. Press crust into bottom of each muffin cup
2. To make the filling: Beat cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar, flour, zest, and lime juice, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Spoon cream cheese mixture over graham cracker crusts. Bake until just set, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving.
3. serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a slice of a key lime sticking up out of the top.

Pink Panty Pulldowns

Ingredients

• 10 12oz light beers
• 1/5th of vodka
• 2 cans of pink lemonade concentrate

1. Just mix everything together in a large punch bowl (or use a large pot and transfer part of the mixture into pitchers or punch bowl).  Make sure the concentrate is completely dissolved.
2. Serve over ice.

Marinated Flank Steak with Chimichurri sauce Tapa Style

Okay so this tasty treat was something that I happened upon when trying to come up with something different that Joe and I could cook together one Friday night a few weeks back, that was both creative, relatively quick, and tapa style.  I crossed paths with this recipe while meandering through the Food Network Website (sometimes I am just simply inspired when browsing through the recipes).  The occasion, since I am sure you very well want to know, was nothing out of the ordinary for one of our Friday nights, just dinner and a movie.  However, I wanted to make it a little bit more special and so wanted something that would tantalize the senses.  The movie we were watching was Julie and Julia (of course one of my favs) and I paid homage to Ms Julia Child, by cooking in my 1950s style purple gingham dress, heels, and pearls.

It actually ended up being quite a production starting off, as I was planning on simply taking the bus to Lincoln ave and trekking a couple blocks to get to Trader Joe's.  Alas mother nature had a different plan when she brought in a torrential downpour the minute that I was getting off the train.  Needless to say I tried to hail a cab for over a half hour (which the bus still hadn't arrive at that point either) and then had joe pick me up after I was done with the shopping extravaganza.  Trader Joe's had EVERYTHING I wanted and then some, including miniature Heirloom Tomatoes which I promptly picked up for a heirloom and feta cheese salad (doesn't that sound refreshing?).  I also grabbed a box of Trader Joe's frozen mini crab cakes and made a quick remoulade.  So without further ado, a appetizer that I will surely make again and again!

Flank Steak Crostini with Chimichurri and Vidalia Relish

 Ingredients

Steak:

 Buy pre-marinated steak from Trader Joe's, I got the Carne Asada Style and let me tell you it was divine.  One package was plenty for the two of us OR you can marinate your own however you would like it.

nocoupons

• 2 cups red wine
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (2 to 3-pound) flank steak
• Kosher salt

Chimichurri Sauce:

nocoupons

• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 cup Basil
• 1/2 cup mint leaves
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 3/4 to 1 cup olive oil
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Vidalia Relish:

nocoupons

• 3 Vidalia or other sweet onions, skin on, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• Canola oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1 serrano chile, minced with the seeds or use Sirachi (Rooster) spicy thai sauce (about a spoonful)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 to 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

To serve:

nocoupons

• 1 baguette
• Olive or canola oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steak:

Directions

Mix the wine, oil and black pepper in a nonreactive dish. Add the steak, turn to coat, and marinate at room temperature 1 hour.

Sauce:

Pulse the herbs and garlic in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add 3/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup vinegar and salt and pepper, to taste, and pulse to make a soupy vinaigrette — it will look a bit creamy until it settles. Add more oil and/or vinegar if too thick. Set aside.


Preheat the grill to high. Remove the steak from the marinade and season with salt and more pepper. Grill, covered, until nicely charred and medium rare, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from the grill and rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing across the grain.  If you don't have a grill/want to take the time, use a George Foreman OR simply pan fry on the stove.

Relish:

Brush the onions with some canola oil and season with rub, salt and pepper. Grill the onions, turning, until charred and soft. Remove from the grill and chop coarsely. Chop again with the green onions and then stir them together with the chile, oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper.
**I have also made it without grilling the onions, while grilled onion are super delish, if you do not wish to take the time the relish with raw onions was still quite good.


Slice the baguette on a diagonal 1/4-inch thick. Brush with oil, season with salt and pepper and grill briefly, until just starting to crisp (can also throw in the oven for a few minutes). Top each piece with some sauce, a slice or 2 of steak, more sauce and some relish.

Santa Margherita Great Taste Challenge

So it has been a REALLY long time since I have gotten on here to post anything.  In the meantime I have still been cooking up a storm, and more importantly entering the Great Taste Challenge. I entered the contest last year as well.  How it works is that you have to create an original recipe that you feel pairs well with on of the three Santa Margherita Wines (Prosecco, Chianti Classico, or their Pinot Grigio).  Create a 3 minute or less video talking about what you made, your inspiration for the dish, and why it pairs well with the wine of your choice.  I of course chose the Chianti to pair with (since I am a red wine lover) and I decided to share my recipe of Goat Cheese and Artichoke Stuffed Raviolis, in a Creamy Citrus Mushroom Ragout.  The very same recipe I featured in one of my past Blogs, for Valentine's Day.  So I made the video, turned out great, and made it into the semi final round, where unfortunately it then became a popularity contest.  They are only taking the top three contestants with the most votes, where anyone from any computer can vote up to three times a day.  Needless to say I am not in the top three (sigh*), but I am SECURELY locked in at number four and have gotten lots of compliments on my recipe.  I personally know that if the contest was based on the merit of the recipe and not simply on how many people vote for you, well I would definitely be in the running.  I am currently 700 votes behind third place, and though trying to be positive me thinks it might be over.

Below are some pictures from the night that I made the meal and had it video taped.  My friend Adrian was nice enough to bring over his camera and help me figure it all out.  Also Joe (the BF) came over and helped direct and brought some tasty wine.  Overall it was a really fun night, and this has been a really great experience.  I can't help but be happy with whatever the outcome may be (though would be ecstatic if somehow I still made it in!).  If you are reading this and it isn't past July 15th yet go to this website and vote for me! VOTE FOR ME!

My constituents were famished, so made an appetizer of Caprese (fresh mozz, roma tomato, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar all on thinly cut baguette)

Chicken Cordon Bleu

So for all of you lovers of this tasty dish, I guarantee you this meal is neither hard to make nor expensive.  I know that we all generally think of this dish associated with weddings and therefore on a fancier note, but this honestly makes quite the perfect Sunday dinner, anytime of the year.  This past weekend my friend Adrian came over and I taught him how to make this tasty creation, but with a Kirsten twist (shhh the secret is always in the sauce).  We also enjoyed some absolutely wonderful desserts that he picked up from Lutz Bakery just down the street from my place on Montrose, if you are on a diet or are easily persuaded to eat too many sweets, I do NOT suggest stopping in here.  The aroma alone will "have you at hello". 

Chicken Cordon Bleu

 preheat oven to 425 F

•  4 good size chicken breasts, (butterflied and pounded out thin with meat mallet)
• 1 cup italian bread crumbs (or seasoned panko bread crumbs)
• 3 cups flour
• 2 large eggs scrambled
• 1 cup milk (maybe more)
• 1 lb deli ham sliced thick (smoked is the tastiest)
• 1lb baby swiss sliced
• 2 cups mayo
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup of fresh basil
• 6-8 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup of dry white wine (pinot grigio is my favorite)
• 1/2 cup of butter melted
• salt and pepper

1. In pie plate or good size bowl add together your italian bread crumbs and flour, mix well
2. in separate pie plate or good size bowl add together your eggs and milk.
3. take your chicken breast (make sure that when you use meat mallet you thin it out as much as possible but without creating holes in the chicken, the more holes the greater the likelihood that your innards will melt out) and dip in egg mixture, then transfer to flour/bread crumbs.  Really only one side has to be well drenched.  Return same breast to egg mixture and again to bread crumbs.  Set breast on plate/platter with side with majority of bread crumbs face up.  Repeat with other four breasts, and make sure to lay them so that they do not lie on top of each other (if they do, the bread crumbs will get mucky and fall off).
4. now take one of your breasts and flip it so bread crumbs are counter-side down.  Take three peices of ham and lay them so they overlap eachother horizontally.  Then take two peices of swiss and break them into small enough peices to place in middle of ham.  Fold up ends of ham onto the swiss (sort of like wrapping a present), and roll the ham so the cheese is snugly inside.  Basically you want to create a casing for the cheese with the ham so that when it melts it stays within the confines of the ham and therefore within the chicken.
5. Now place ham/cheese bundle on chicken breast, best if it is placed so it is close to the center of the chicken breast but still fully on one side of the butterflied filet (this makes it easier to roll).  Now take the other side of breast and roll it over the ham/cheese bundle.  Tuck edges in/under so as to secure everything to the best of one's ability.  You can then use a few toothpicks to make sure things stay secured (make sure to remember to tell you guests about the toothpicks, or take them out before serving).  Also if it now looks like you have some cracks in your breading, add some more breadcrumbs at this point so that you don't see any of the actually chicken)
6. Place into a 9 X 13 glass pan that has been greased with some of the melted butter. 
7. Repeat process with the rest of the chicken.  Once all the chicken has been rolled, lightly spread/dab the butter over the outsides of the breasts (using a pastry brush), soaking it into the breadcrumbs (this will get your cordon bleu's crispy without frying them). Lightly salt and pepper the tops of chicken.
8. Place in oven at 425 for at least 30 minutes, may want to go longer in order to give a more crispy golden brown coating.
9. While breasts are cooking, using a food processor or blender puree together your mayo, sourcream, garlic, and basil.  Make sure there are no chunks.  The sauce should be a light to medium green color and smooth.
10. Now in a small or medium saucepot, pour in the blenders contents.  Bring up to temperature over medium heat, do not let burn, stir every so often.
11. Once hot all the way through, turn up heat to high, bring to a boil stirring constantly so does not burn on bottom.  Add your 1/4 cup of white wine, stir for 2-3 minutes, then bring down to simmer over low heat.  At this point add salt and pepper to taste. Take off heat and put lid on pot, place to side.  (You may want to reheat a little later before serving, but better to take off heat so it doesn't burn/over cook).
12. Once chicken is golden brown, take out of oven and place on plate/platter.  Let sit for couple minutes, then serve with the sauce drizzle (or drenched) over the top of it.

**I like to make broccoli, cauliflower, or mixture of the two with this meal because the cordon bleu sauce tastes excellent atop this as well. Also serve this with a nice dry white wine, will bring out the flavors of your meal! (even though I still will of course drink red with mine)

Often the sauce is placed inside the chicken but I like doing it this way for two reasons: 1)  sauce may run out of the chicken breast and although everything will still be tasty, will not look nearly as good, and 2)  this way you can use as much sauce as you like, and trust me you will want to put this on everything!

What a Weekend to be Waited On

As much as I absolutely love cooking, and generally speaking I take this time to center my chi, sometimes it is nice to just sit back, enjoy a delish meal, and be waited on. Most importantly to me, when I am in this particular type of mood, is that the meal I have in front of me is superb.  That I'm not simply satisfied in terms of my appetite, but my palate is not left wanting.  So Friday night my friend Danielle and I had a girls night out and decided to try the Italian restaurant right down the street from me, Manzo's (corner of Kedzie and Irving Park, and you wouldn't even notice it unless you knew it was there).  Now I usually do not make it a point of going out for Italian food.  There are VERY VERY VERY few places that I don't think are a rip off, unauthentic, or of course both.  But if there was one person who I would take their opinion on Italian for fact, it would be Danielle, since she is even pickier in terms of this factotum since she is 100% Italian, in fact her mother is straight off the boat from Sicily.  Needless to say we were both more than pleasantly surprised.  The service was absolutely wonderful (our waitress Cheri was sooo incredibly appeasing it was a breath of fresh air, since often my number one complaint out is not the food, but the service).  The food was tantalizing, they had everything an Italian restaurant would normally have on the menu, and also quite a few more "authentic" items that you do not want to miss out on, like the Aranchini (rice ball with a meat center, fried, and served with marinara on the side).  I could have just eaten this for dinner.  Instead I thoroughly enjoyed the Veal Saltinbocca (veal filets stuffed with proscuitto and served in a white wine and citrus sauce), while Danielle went with a pasta dish of homemade cheese raviolis with meat sauce.  Both our meals came with either soup or salad, crusty bread and butter, and if you don't get a pasta dish you are offered a side of spaghetti or mostaccioli (with marinara or meat sauce), baked potato, side veggie of the day, or even french fries (which I thought a little odd, but to each there own).  Essentially we both took well over half our actual meals home.  Of course dessert was a must (just one of those weeks).  Danielle ordered the italian ice, which was so creamy I would have thought it was gelato, and I devoured a cannoli that was most undoubtedly one of the best I've ever eaten.  We also partook in multiple potent potables that were ridiculously well priced.  They do not have an extensive wine menu, but they have one of each of the major varietals.  I chose the chianti and was NOT disappointed, and was even more excited once I saw that it was a mere 5 dollars a glass!!!  Everything else on the menu was more than reasonable, and although I walked in there planning on indulging in terms of what I ate,drank, and how much I spent, I walked out of there having spent only 35 dollars on a 4 course meal, and three glasses of wine.

The very next day I played three and half hours of competitive indoor volleyball and my friend Adrian and I decided to go grab foodage since we were of course famished, and Danielle and Adam (her BF) were going to meet us wherever we decided to go.  I had yet to go to Kuma's Corner, which has been labeled by many as having the BEST burgers in Chicago.  I had also seen it featured on the Food Network on three separate occasions (so of course I was dieing to try it!).  You can't just walk in and think you will be seated immediately, be prepared to wait at least an hour and half, that way if its less you will be more than pleased.  The nice thing is that while you wait, you are welcome to order from a very tasty, and uncommon, beer list, that will both wet your whistle and keep you from extreme pangs of hunger (try the Alagash White, it's a keeper).  Although, since I had next to nothing in my stomach, two 16 oz drafts made me a little bit tipsy to say the least (half the fun of the experience).  The decor of Kumas is not by any means trendy.  It is filled with artistic variations of masochistic/sadistic/border line pornographic paintings and background music that you would normally be head banging to, or maybe starting a mosh pit.  The individuality of this place, of course heightens the experience but really, at the end of the day, it's the burger that keeps you coming back.  Each of their burgers is named after a heavy metal/rock genre band.  You will not find a burger with just ketchup, mustard, and pickles, NOSIREE.  The Mayhem was my burger of choice, containing 16 oz of 100% angus beef, cooked to perfection (for me that means practically still mooing) and topped with thick cut pepper jack, fried pancetta, slices of fresh jalapenos, and Gardinera mayo, all on a mouthwatering pretzel roll bun (lettuce, tomato, and red onion also on the side), and served with either tater tots, waffle fries, or side salad.  There are no words to describe the tastiness of said burger.  Yes the accoutrements were delish, but the burger in itself, that 16 ounces of indescribably juicy, tender, tasty meat, would have simply been enough.  I was in heaven!  I finished my entire burger, and was so completely stuffed, I had to leave the fries to the wayside (though they were in themselves awesome and perfectly seasoned).  I will definitely be slowly but surely making my way through that menu.

(In case you are interested I am pic 1 eating The Mayhem, describe above.  Pic 2 is Danielle eating The Neurosis: Cheddar, Swiss, Sautéed Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, and Horseradish Mayo. Pic 3 is Adam, monstrously enjoying his The YOB: Smoked Gouda, Bacon, Roasted Red Peppers, Roasted Garlic Mayo)

So next time you don't feel like cooking, but still want food that inspires, either of these local haunts will do the trick, and then some!!!!

Joe's Birthday and His Favorite Meal: Pork, Wrapped in Pork, Stuffed With Pork

The birthday events for Joe actually began early Saturday April 24th morning (his bday is April 25th).  I put together a paintball private game at CPX in Joliet Illinois.  14 of us ended up going.  I always thought paintball would be fun, but this was on beyond my expectations.  Although I currently am harboring multiple bruises from being pegged, it was worth it.  We got there at 8:30 in the morning, and played til about 12:30 in the afternoon.  Split off into two teams (randomly chosen), and played on 5 different courses.  If you have never played before, I highly recommend it!  That night we were having everyone over for birthday party.  By the time I got home and showered I had about half an hour to sit back and relax before having to get up and get things ready.  While I cooked in the kitchen, joe cleaned up.  Most people arrived around 7pm, and were greeted by a bevy of drinks, pizzas, and other culinary concoctions.  I ended up making my homemade salsa and guac, along with my buffalo chicken tartlets (made them with mozzarella cheese instead of bleu), double chocolate cupcakes with strawberry jam filling and chocolate buttercream frosting, and something I like to call Dikta Wraps (in honor of the old Bears coach Mr. Mike Dikta).  Basically it involves smoked polish sausage, bacon, cheddar cheese, all wrapped in a crescent roll.....they must have been good cause we didn't put any away that night.  There was lots of poker being played, along with rock band, and other card games that were explicitly designed for drinking.  By the end of the evening I was absolutely exhausted, but I think Joe had an amazing time, which makes it all worth it!

The next day was his ACTUAL birthday.  We woke, cleaned up the place with the help of the other roomies, got some food (which actually consisted of left over pizza), and sat down to relax for a bit.  To my dismay Sean had brought over Avatar, which I had yet to see.  The movie doesn't seem like its that long while you are watching it, but by the time it ended it was close to two o'clock and Joe's family was coming over for dinner at 4:30!  This wouldn't have been too much of a problem considering dinner wasn't going to take that long however I was making Tiramisu for dessert (Joe's favorite) and that takes at least three hours to set up in the fridge......Thankfully I was able to get the tiramisu put together in about an hour, and started on the rest of the meal which included bacon wrapped pork chops stuffed with chorizo cornbread stuffing, with roasted Parmesan broccoli and cauliflower, and garlic mashed potatoes.  I already had made the cornbread a head of time, so it didn't take long to get everything done.  I was able to dash into the bedroom and change out of my festive, though dinner inappropriate, penguin pajamas and into something a little nicer JUST as everyone arrived.  The meal was a success, and I received the best culinary compliment I've ever had, when Joe's mom said that my Tiramisu she felt was better than that of Cafe lucci, in Glenview (which Joe constantly raves about being his favorite).  I would have to say Birthday celebration an absolute success.  And if you decide to make this meal and are looking for good wine pairings, try Q vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon with dinner, and with dessert Santa Margherita's Prosecco it's absolute perfection!

Bacon Wrapped Porkchops, 

with Cornbread and Chorizo Sausage Stuffing 

Oven to 400 degrees F

Ingredients

• 6 double cut, bone in, porkchops, butterflyed (double cut refers to the thickness of the chop, and you can ask the butcher to give you these, including butterflying them)
• at least 18 slices of bacon (thick cut, preferably peppered)
• 4 cups of cornbread
• 1 medium sized red bell pepper (diced)
• 1 medium white onion (diced)
• 1 cup of celery (diced)
• 4-6 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 lb of chorizo or hot italian sausage, taken out of casing
• 2-3 cups of chicken stock
• 3-4 dashes of cayenne pepper, plus more to season outside of chop
• 1 tsp ground black pepper, plus more to season outside of chop
• 1 tsp creole seasoning (or simply seasoning salt), plus more to season outside of chop
• 2 tsp cumin, plus more to season outside of chop

1. In large pan or medium size pot, over medium to high heat, add your sausage.  Break up so it is in small pieces.  Cook til browned.
2. If look to be too much grease drain some out of the pan.  Over medium to high heat add your red pepper, white onion, celery, and garlic.  Stir, and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Add your cayenne pepper, ground black pepper, creole seasoning, and cumin.  Stir til everything is evenly coated.  Cook for additional few minutes.
4. Add your 4 cups of cornbread.  Make sure you do not have big chunks, but your cornbread is more like breadcrumbs.  Mix thoroughly, and add 2 cups of chicken stock.
5. After mixing, if looks to be too dry, add half to 1 cup more of stock.  You do not want your stuffing to be too wet and mucky.
6. Now take your butterflied chop and add about 1/3-1/2 cup of stuffing into the middle.  Make sure you get it push back towards the bone really well, so that you can bring the edges of the chop so they almost close over the stuffing.  If you can still see the stuffing don't worry, thats what the bacon is for.
7. using all of the spices you had before, salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne.....season the outside of your chop.  Then using 3-4 peices of bacon (more if you think it needs it), wrap them around your chop so that the stuffing is no longer visible.  If you want you can use a toothpick or too to make sure the bacon stays.
8. Then in a large frying pan, add about 4 tblsp of olive oil.  Bring up to medium/high heat and sear both sides of your pork chops until the bacon is browned.  Once done, put over onto a baking sheet, that has been lightly coated with Pam.  
9. After you have seared all of your chops, and placed on baking sheet, put into a 400 degree F oven for 45 minutes-60 minutes.  Depending on how thick your chops actually are. If you cut into one and it is completely white, no pink, the chop is done.

Oven Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower

• 2 lbs of broccoli, stems cut off, and cut into florettes
• 2 lbs of cauliflower, stems cut off, and cut into florettes
• 4 tblspn olive oil
• 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

1. place broccoli and cauliflower in 9 X 13 baking dish.
2. drizzle the olive oil, evenly over the top
3. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the top.
4. Place into the oven at the exact time you put your Chops in.
5. Flip ever 20 minutes so your florettes do not become overly browned.
6. Done when tender.

Seasoned Mashed Potatoes

• 4-6 lbs of red skin or yukon gold potatoes, washed well.
• 1 stick of salted butter (cubed)
• 8 oz bar of cream cheese (cube)
• 2 tblsp of creole seasoning
• 1 tblsp of ground black pepper
• 6-8 cloves of fresh roasted garlic (substitute with garlic powder or the minced garlic in oil you can buy in the store).

1. In large pot, quarter your potatoes, and cover with cold water.
2. Place over high heat, and cover, until they boil.  Once boil turn down to medium/low
3. Once fork tender, pour off water, get as much as you can out of the pot or else you will have runny potatoes.
4. using a hand mixer, whip in your stick of butter, and cream cheese.  Once it is all thoroughly mixed together, whip in your seasoning.
5. Taste....may need more seasoning but is up to you!

Tiramisu

 Ingredients

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 3 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 1 teaspoon,
• 1 1/4 cups dessert wine (I prefer to use either a coffee liqueur, godiva chocolate liqueur, or grand marnier instead)
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup cooled brewed espresso, or other strong coffee blend
• 1 cup ricotta or mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8-10 ounces ladyfingers or Margherite cookies from Stella Dora work well too
• Cocoa powder, garnish

1. Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
2. In the top of a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, beat the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of sugar until pale yellow and frothy. Add 1/2 cup of the wine and whip until thick, being careful not to let the mixture boil (may not look like a thick custard at this point, but will once chocolate is added). Remove from the heat and fold in the chocolate (make sure to mix quickly so you don't get chocolate chunks). Cool to room temperature.
3. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and fold into the cooled custard mixture.
4. In a bowl, combine the coffee, and ricotta and set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the remaining teaspoon of sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.
6. Dip the ladyfingers into the remaining 3/4 cup of dessert wine (may need more) and arrange them in the bottom of a square 9-inch baking dish OR I like to use individual ramekins. Cover with half of the ricotta, half of the custard, and half of the whipped cream. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, starting with lady fingers and ending with whipped cream on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours.
7. To serve, sift the cocoa powder evenly over the top

**you may want to let this sit for longer than three hours, OR make the night before.  Make sure to not sift the cocoa powder until you are ready to serve, or else you will get mucky chocolate topping (does not look pretty).

Tiramisu