Travels in Chicago

 No trip to Chicago, Illinois is complete without a visit to Portillo’s.  All I can say is bring an appetite!  You will want to try one of everything… and I think we did.  We were visiting for three days and visited Portillo’s twice.  Does that tell you anything about their awesome food?  This place is so busy that the line can be seen during the day out the door!  And to hear people order is a treat in itself.  Some people know the lingo of how to order while me the virgin of ordering just explained what I wanted – LOL.  On the first visit, we *had* to try an Italian Beef – loaded!  The Italian beef comes in two sizes – regular and big.  We went regular this day and still had enough to share.  It’s made with their famous thin sliced roast beef topped with sweet peppers.  And here’s a hint for you – there’s three ways to order it.  Standard with a splash of ‘gravy’; Dipped which means the whole sandwich is dipped into the ‘gravy’; or Dry with very little ‘gravy’.  “Gravy” is referred to the natural juices from the slow roasted beef.  This day, we went dry.  We didn’t want to wear the gravy all day if you know what I mean – ha!  And it was delicious!  The meat was tender, the sandwich was juicy and it felt like we belonged there eating this Italian Beef all of our lives.

The next day – yep the NEXT day – we had to come back and try some more delicacies again.  Since the beef was so delicious the day before, we thought we would try it again in a different form.  This time we split a Beef-n-Cheddar Croissant.  The same thin layers of Italian beef with cheddar cheese all over it on a nice toasted croissant.  Closing my eyes just thinking of this yummy sammy – it was that good!

Which one was better?  It’s hard to say.  Both of these were so delicious…. maybe I need to try both again before I can make a decision 🙂

 

Travels in the South

Doesn’t that look delicious?  A couple of weeks back mom/dad were craving pizza which is unusual.  Well not for dad.  He’s always craving pizza of any sort.  But mom, she never craves pizza.  So when she does, dad takes full advantage of the situation.  So today I’m going to let daddy finish this Travels with the South.

When the wifey craves pizza, I know exactly where to head to make us both happy.  There is a local pizza joint that has stuffed crust pizza.  The wife loves stuffed crust – all of that extra cheese in the crust of the pizza.  It somehow makes eating pizza seem so much more of a delightful experience.  This day I even went one step further for my honey.  This pizza place also offers seasoned crusts.  So today I got stuffed crust with a pretzel crust.  Can you say yum because that’s exactly what we both said… almost at the same time.

And we know that I’m a meat eater so I added my favorite toppings:  pepperoni, italian sausage, ham, bacon, beef and black olives.  I have to admit that this pizza came out amazing!  Even the waitstaff was drooling.

 

Travels in the South

Welcome my friends to another week of Travels in the South.  Today we wanted to share with you one of mom/dad’s favorite appetizers.  A couple of weeks ago, mom/dad was craving this delicious dish and went to the restaurant ordering and splitting just this plate.  What is it you ask?

Let me present to you Carrabbas Italian Grill Calamari.  It’s hand breaded to order and normally served with a marinara sauce.  But mom/dad, they like to get the lemon butter sauce on the side with the sliced peppers for just a little heat.

For those that don’t know what calamari is – it’s squid.  Now before you go eeww, don’t know it until you try it.  Honestly.  Even I have tried it and I like it.  Like in this dish, it’s fried crispy and is wonderful.  Sometimes it can be a little salty but for the most part it’s an awesome dish.

So the next time you are at  Carrabbas Italian Grill, give it a try.  I bet you will fall in love with it as well.

 

Travels in the South

Welcome my friends to another edition of Travels in the South.  This weeks find is something sinful.  It is something so delicious that you and your spouse will fight over the last bite.  Heck, you might even want to get your own slice of this heaven so you don’t have to share.

This week’s find is called Sogno Di Cioccolata –  translation “Chocolate Dream”  Now look at that picture.  Isn’t that the best way to describe it?  Chocolate Dream.  Are you asking yourself what is in this masterpiece?  It’s a rich fudge brownie covered with a chocolate mousse and topped with fresh whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce.  Oh, did I mention that it’s also sitting in a puddle of rich chocolate?  Mom/dad always share one of these delicious creations because it is so rich and heavenly.  But they do fight over the last bite… or should I say they play paper – rock – scissors.  Snorts with piggy laughter.

So my friends, if you have a Carrabba’s Italian restaurant near you, make some plans to try this delicious creation.  It’s on their dessert menu ❤

 

 

31 Days of Spook – The Italian Bride

Julia Buccola Petta died at age 29 while giving birth to her stillborn son, Filippo.  Julia was buried in her wedding dress and given the nickname of The Italian Bride.  According to legend, Julia’s mother, Filomena, began having dreams in which Julia was telling her that she was still alive.  Years after her death, Filomena received permission to have the grave opened and her daughter exhumed.  Her mother then took a picture of Julia in her casket which was then placed on the monument.  The picture is still there on her grave at the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

Story courtesy of FIND A GRAVE

 

31 Days of Spook – Poveglia Island

I saw a special on my television about this island.  It’s called Poveglia Island.  It was so spooky, foggy at night and mysterious.  Would you stay on the island overnight?

 

Shopping Around the World

Thanks to everyone for another great edition of Shopping Around the World last month.  It’s so awesome to see the various prices around the world – and the pictures with recipes!

This month we have a suggestion from my brother Easy.  This month we are highlighting PASTA – what is your favorite PASTA dish?  How do you make it?  What kind of noodles do you use?  What is in your PASTA?  There is no limit count on ingredients – Share your recipe and picture!

I’m going to let mom take care of this recipe this month – she mumbled something to me about not being around while she cooked it.  So we all know what that means.  It must contain P.O.R.K.  Snorts with piggy laughter – take it away mom.

---

One of our favorite pasta dishes to make here at the Hotel Thompson involves Cavatappi pasta – which translated from Italian means corkscrew.  As you can see by looking at the shape of the pasta – it does have the twisted look.

So we take a box of Cavatappi and put it on to boil in a pan (a box of Cavatappi is $1.00 for the entire box and that’s a lot of food!).  In doing this so we add salt to the water and a little oil so the pasta doesn’t stick.  Now some peeps will argue about the oil and the salt – you do what you think is best.  Here I prefer to do this.  While the pasta is boiling, you are going to fix the base of the pasta.

In a skillet you are going to add some thick cut chunked pancetta – which is an Italian bacon made from the pork belly that is salt cured and seasoned.  If you don’t have pancetta, regular chopped up bacon or chunks of leftover ham will do.  Cook it until brown.  (Pancetta can be a little pricey – we always keep some in the freezer.  We usually will get two pounds at a time at $10.99 per pound.  For this recipe, we will use an entire pound – $10.99)

When finished, add some chopped tomatoes, pepper, a few pepper flakes and oregano (or any other seasonings you want) to the party.  (Seasonings are something we usually keep on hand and tomatoes run us $0.99 a pound – a pound for this recipe).  Let this all marry together and by this time, your pasta should be al dente.  Drain your pasta and add it straight to your skillet.  Mix all of these ingredients together and let simmer for about 5 minutes.  Right before serving, top with freshly grated parmasean cheese (we also keep this on hand and it ranges $4.99 for a pound – use as much as you want)

Total cost for the meal is around $14.00 and this meal will last us several nights for the two of us.  In the long run, the price far outweighs the servings.

 

31 Days of Spook – Poveglia Island

I saw a special on my television about this island.  It’s called Poveglia Island.  It was so spooky, foggy at night and mysterious.  Would you stay on the island overnight?

 

31 Days of Spook – The Italian Bride

Julia Buccola Petta died at age 29 while giving birth to her stillborn son, Filippo.  Julia was buried in her wedding dress and given the nickname of The Italian Bride.  According to legen, Julia’s mother, Filomena, began having dreams in which Julia was telling her that she was still alive.  Years after her death, Filomena received permission to have the grave opened and her daughter exhumed.  Her mother then took a picture of Julia in her casket which was then placed on the monument.  The picture is still there on her grave at the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

Story courtesy of FIND A GRAVE