Roasted Pepper Soup and Award

After my parents left, it turned into the use-everything-up-before-it-spoils game!

First on the list were some cut peppers from the veggie platter on Christmas. There was the equivalent of about 4 peppers that were already cleaned and cut still left over. Very convenient for snacking and cooking, but I didn't want to let them go so long they turned slimy.

Jenn of Slim Shoppin' had posted a roasted red pepper soup recipe the week earlier, so I referenced that and one from Tasty Kitchen to create my own!

Mine used:

~4 bell peppers (mixture of green, yellow, orange, red)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 onion, quartered
5-6 cloves garlic (I used 2 elephant cloves)

~3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp fresh basil
1 tsp fresh sage
~1 cup fat free half and half (leftover for mom's coffee, otherwise I'd use milk)
dash pepper

To start, mix the first list of ingredients together and spread on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes at 425°. Let cool, then peel the waxy skin off the peppers. Place everything, including the extra oil, in a soup pot.

Add everything from the second list of ingredients and use a stick blender to puree. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference. Bring up to temperature and ladle in bowls, garnishing with extra basil if desired.





Maggie of Say Yes to Salad gave me a beautiful blogger award!! I first "discovered" her blog after clicking on one of her comments left at 101 Cookbooks. I've been a loyal follower and fan ever since! She posts not just about healthy food, but also a healthy mind and body.

I'm supposed to list 7 random facts about myself and then pass it onto 7 fellow bloggers!

First, the facts:

1) I am allergic to penicillin.
2) I collect piggy banks and have close to 60!
3) I burp really loudly! (It's a trait certain members of my family and me are really proud of!)
4) I cannot stand being referred to by any nicknames of Christina (Chris, Tina, Chrissy, etc.), or being mistakenly called Christine.
5) My hair was not curly until I was about 13 or 14 years old and cut it from waist-length to a chin-lengthed bob.
6) I've never broken any bone - not even a toe!
7) I have two tattoos! (Only one has made an appearance on the blog.)

And for the bloggers:

1) Biz of Biggest Diabetic Loser who I've had the pleasure meeting in real life! I love her spunk and she's always a great source of wisdom, ideas, and motivation!

2) Sophia of Burp & Slurp~ who I honestly love! She posts with such beauty and truth, it's always a treat to see a new post of hers pop up on my reader, plus she couldn't be more of a sweetheart!

3) Laura of Hey, What's for Dinner Mom? who is one happening mama, full of spirit, an outrageous sense of humor, and brutal honesty which I LOVE. She's fantastic to e-mail and I'd love to be brave enough to live her life (garden, home-grown chickens, 365 In) for a year, but doubt I'd last!

4) Allie from Live Laugh Eat who if I had to sum up in one word, would be "energy!" Just reading her blog makes me tired half the time! She takes beautiful pics of her healthy eats and is just a joy to read with an upbeat personality.

5) Amy of Please Don't Eat Me! who I feel a special bond with and love reading her blog and e-mailing with her. Sometimes it feels like we grew up in the same family - we just get each other like that!

6) Cyndi of So Much More than a Mom who isn't a food blogger, but I love her anyways! A fellow Chicagolander I've yet to meet, she's another great e-mailer that just "gets" me and writes about some important topics!

7) Last is Mara of What's for Dinner?, another blogger I've had the luck to meet in real life! She is one happy girl and I love her healthy recipes, honest posts, and cute food Saturdays!

Chicago Daytrip!

The Monday after Christmas we took the train into the city. Really the only plan we had was to go to the aquarium, so it was a relaxed go-with-the-flow kind of day.

Have you ever seen a train station where you can just walk across the tracks!? Johnny thought it was normal, but my parents and I were shocked. In New York all the stations have an underground tunnel, or huge steps that go up and over the track. I guess they're not worried about lawsuits here?

After arriving in the city I had a quick eggroll at Union Station because I turn quite bitchy when I'm hungry and we hadn't decided on lunch plans yet. I'm glad too, because lunch turned into a little bit of a wild goose chase! On a whim we decided to take a cab to Frontera, only to realize duh- it's Monday and they're closed, plus they're closed over the Christmas break. This is Rick Bayless' restaurant and he also has Topolobampo, a high end, and Xoco, a casual walk-in eatery. Of these three (all right by each other) the only one open was Xoco - thus they received all the traffic. The line was out the door and my mom went in to ask and it was a minimum of 45 minutes! Sorry, Rick, but another time!

We looked through the guide book and I recognized Gene & Georgetti's! I totally forgot I'd asked Johnny to take me there after seeing it in a lot of airline literature while flying in and out of Chicago and also on a Travel Channel steak special. It's a Chicago Steakhouse - famous since 1941! We talked to a few locals and the mail lady to track it down. It's tucked beneath the "el" and walking in the door is like stepping back in time!

The waiters were all male and wore black pants with crisp, white shirts and bow ties. In the corner by the kitchen (no lie!) was an Italian man working with two phones and had all his food and wine brought to him without even asking what he wanted. Every waiter and staff member stopped to talk to him in Italian. The walls were filled with pictures of famous visitors that have eaten there over the years.

It took us awhile to order because we arrived for lunch, but could order from either the lunch or dinner menu so we had a lot to contemplate. Basically you order the steak you want (which comes with cottage fries), then the rest of the food is ordered "family style."

I ordered a medium-rare petite sirloin strip and it was delicious! I love when restaurants cook steak correctly and they really knew what they were doing. The outside was charred and tasted exactly like a smoky grill.

My 2nd try of cottage fries! These were SO much better than the ones in D.C. from the Irish pub!

As a table we decided on spinach, which was garlicy and tender.

Also, the fungus eaters had mushrooms! I tried one and it was not as mildewy as usual, but I still didn't help myself to anymore!

We spent a few hours at the aquarium seeing the main area. It's so big you could easily spend a full day there, (even more than one day if you're like me)! My favorite are the seahorses! Luckily they have a whole section devoted to them!

The last thing we did was venture to the top of the Sears Tower!! (Notice at the top, those clear little boxes protruding from the building!?)

103 stories above the city! What a view! I've been both during the day and night, and I have to say I really like night time with all of the city lights!

Ok, remember the little clear boxes!? Well - those are new! "The Ledge" just opened this summer with 4 plexi glass boxes extending 4 1/2 feet from the building. They're 1,353 feet above the streets below!! This my parents' first time atop the Sears Tower, as well as both Johnny's and my first time seeing this new addition!

The first step out was a little terrifying - really disorienting to step out onto a clear floor and see the ground so far beneath you! I was gripping Johnny's hand (who was standing on "solid ground") in case it fell, he promised he'd catch me!

Then I got a little braver and went for it! It really looks and feels as if you're floating above the city!

A view straight down, the side of the building is along the bottom of the picture, for reference.

Then Johnny had the idea to lay flat and look down!

I wanted to see it from that view, but I wasn't that brave to lay all the way in the box - so I layed with my body on "solid ground" with just my torso looking down! Freaky!!!

Have any of my fellow Chicagolanders been to "The Ledge" yet!? If so - what did you think of it!? I thought it was such a unique experience, I could have stayed up there for hours more!

Italy Night

I think it's been easy over the course of my blog to conclude that I'm Italian. 75% to be exact.

My mom is currently a little obsessed with Italy. Her first trip was March 2006 with her sister (my aunt) and she's since gone back twice with different small groups of girlfriends. Her latest trip was in November, when Johnny and I were in D.C.

To prepare herself for these trips, her friends and her have "Italy Nights." They'll listen to Italian music, cook Italian food, they've taken Italian lessons and overall just broaden their knowledge and love for everything Italy! They've even given each other "Italian" nicknames!

From her recent trip, she brought back special grade 00 flour from Italy. This is the finest ground flour, it was like baby powder! She also brought her grandmother's (my great-grandmother's) pasta press and ravioli mold I used earlier this summer at her house. We invited Johnny's sister, Di and brother in law, Rob over and the 6 of us had our own "Italy Night" here at my house! This night's theme was "pumpkin!"

First, Johnny and Rob made two batches of dough for us. Once you make the dough, it needs to be wrapped in plastic and sit for about 20 minutes. While this was sitting we had our appetizers.

We had bruschetta with olives, fresh basil, pepperoni, and balsamic marinated tomatoes as toppings. Toast the bread in the oven on a sheet pan. Once it is warmed, remove it and brush each piece of bread with a raw piece of garlic. Place your toppings and drizzle each piece with a little olive oil. Put back in the oven for a few more minutes to crisp up.

Also served was an assortment of cheeses my mom brought back from Italy. The "star" of the cheese platter was this white truffle cheese. She went to a truffle festival and came home with coveted goodies. We were glad she shared this with us. It was creamy, velvety delicious with an earthy undertone that made me truly understand the definition of "umami."

The last appetizer was a classic prosciutto-wrapped melon, which we dressed up with cute little toothpicks for easy grabbing!

By now the pasta was ready to be rolled out. Di and Rob tried their hand at the pasta press and did a great job for their first turn! It takes a bit of practice to get a steady crank and passing process down, but they picked it up right away.

My mom and I whipped up the batches of filling. We had to do 2, to make one whey-free for Johnny. We used homemade pumpkin puree my mom made, roasted garlic, ricotta cheese (cottage cheese for J), sundried tomatoes, and seasonings. (Doesn't it look like I have Padma's scar in the above pic!? Weird- must be the reflection!)

Just like this summer, we filled the ravioli molds and then rolled a rolling pin over to release the extra dough.

Out popped plump little dumplings of goodness!

My dad made a light soup of broth with garlic, fresh spinach, and white beans. We ate this while waiting for the pasta water come up to a boil.

My mom had a chestnut sauce while in Italy and seeing how light that was, realized that a white or red sauce with the delicate flavors of the squash would over-power this. So, we went with a really, really light "sauce," just enough to wet the ravioli. It was made with chicken broth, white wine, garlic, sundried tomato oil, chestnuts she brought back from Italy, fresh sage, and a dash of cream with a hint of mozzarella cheese. (my mom's picture)


After boiling the pasta (only for a few minutes because it's freshly made!) we stirred them around the sauce pan with a wooden spoon, just enough to coat them with the sauce. We garnished with crispy fried sage leaves, which I'd been dying to try since seeing them all over the Food Network and the blog world. Kind of like a furry, herby potato chip!

Then, to bring pumpkin full-circle, we had Johnny's homemade pumpkin ice cream for dessert! He used my mom's homemade pumpkin puree in his usual recipe, which he adapted from a sweet potato recipe in The Perfect Scoop. This was served alongside warmed homemade panettone from one of my mom's piano students. We also munched on some pumpkin seeds my mom had roasted.

Needless to say, we were stuffed! It was a fun night learning new things and having everybody help have a hand at making dinner! It makes it a little more interesting than the usual dinner party! Just make sure guests arrive early enough to accomodate for all the cooking time! We had Di and Rob come at 4 to start, with the appetizers and soup during so we weren't famished, and ate the finished pasta around 6:30.

Christmas Day!

It actually works out really well for Johnny and I that his family celebrates on Christmas Eve, and mine celebrates on Christmas Day! The past three years we've had Christmas Eve at his parents' and then flown out really early Christmas Day to spend with my family.

This year, since my parents were in town, we had Christmas dinner at my house! This was the first time I'd ever hosted a holiday dinner!

First, Santa came!

My dad gave us a pressure cooker (unpictured) that I hope to master and show you a few recipes with. My cousin got me the Top Chef Cookbook! My mom gave me some cheese she brought back from Italy! And I think that's all the foodie related presents. Except that big one in front! Johnny's never been able to surprise me with a present, so this year he tricked me! He told me he didn't think he'd be able to afford my present, would I mind waiting?! Of course I said - no worries! Well, there it was Christmas morning! It's a natural lighting set-up so when I take my pictures at night they won't be so washed out! I've already tested some "before and after" shots, and the difference it makes is awesome! (Can you guess which picture in this post was taken with the new light!?)


We brought in some banquet tables with Christmas tablecloths, a centerpiece, and set the TV to be a fireplace with Christmas music!


The appetizers were a fresh veggie platter by my mom. She also put out an assortment of pickles and olives. My dad made shrimp cocktail and unpictured scallops wrapped in bacon. I made stuffed celery and Johnny made the croissant wrapped baked brie!

This time instead of using a brie wheel, we used a brie wedge. (Thanks, Laura for the coupon!) Johnny had an ingenious idea to turn it into a Christmas tree with an angel atop! I think it turned out terrific!

Dinner itself was lasagna with mini meatballs and sausage, made by my dad. There was a whey-free option for Johnny. This was served with extra Parmesan for on top, extra sauce, and homemade garlic bread by my mom.

I contributed rolls with sliced beef and homemade gravy with mozzarella for on top and horseradish mayonnaise.

Dessert was an assortment of trays filled with homemade candies, breads, and cookies, with a couple chocolates thrown in for good measure!

Christmas Eve Dinner

Happy 2010 everybody! I feel a bit out of the loop because I didn't do a recap or resolution post, but I just have too much back-tracking to catch you guys up first!! I hope you won't mind returning to Christmas with me!

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Johnny is Polish, so his family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve. We all head over to his parents' house for a big Polish dinner and then everybody opens their presents.

This year since my parents were in town, they came with us, too! We'd had an ice storm the night before, so my mom and I spent a lot of the morning snapping pictures outside our house and Johnny's parents' house!



The beginning of the meal is always uszka (oo-ska), which means "little-ears." They are homemade dumplings filled with a mushroom mixture, served in borscht (bore-sh), or beet broth. This is Johnny's favorite part of the meal and he had about 3 bowls, plus extra uszka.

Next, everybody grabs their plates and serves themselves family style, which is traditional in Polish cuisine.

I didn't get a picture of everything, but my mom did! Sorry it's a little blurry and dark, she's not a food blogger! ;)

Traditionally, the Christmas Eve dinner is meat-free. Starting in the top right was a breaded white fish (I forget what type), home-made pierogi filled with mushrooms, mixed veggies, a corn casserole thing, kapusta (ka-poo-sta) which is cabbage, pasta, homemade blueberry pierogi, the little eggroll looking things are filled either with mushrooms or kapusta, homemade sweet cheese pierogi, and baked salmon just barely in the pic. In the center is a cold pea and hard boiled egg salad, along with three little deli salads - I think potato, cole slaw, and beet.

Here's a picture of my mom's plate. Trust me when I say we all had seconds and thirds! Johnny and I required an entire 2nd platter of the blueberry perogies ourselves! Those are our favorite and we usually only get them once a year. Everybody was putting their coats on to leave and we were shoveling the last pierogi in our mouths so they wouldn't go to waste!