Homemade German

I've taken quite the break from rating recipes. Between the 100 Days of Real Food flop, writing about all the eats in Chicago, and cooking/blogging my way through The Pioneer Woman Cooks, rating recipes sat on the back burner.

Since I rejoined the working world from my momentary unemployment, I haven't been able to cook as many gourmet meals as filled the summer and fall of 2014. We still enjoy the occasional fresh loaf of bread and a few staples that I have been able to perfect. However, at most, we experience one new dish per week.*

*As I made my menu for this month I decided this simply would not do. 

Another issue I have been facing, aside from now working and having a Hubby who works nonstop, is the want to give my blogs a face lift. Without saying too much more, I have been spending more of my time in contemplation about a way to combine my blogs rather than actually writing on my blogs.

Alright, confession time is over.

As was discovered during our trip to Chicago, Hubby has recently been embracing his German heritage. For months, I received subtle then not so subtle hints that he wanted me to explore cooking authentic German meals. Today I bring you not one, but two of what I consider to be the most traditional German meals.

Up first: Bratwurst 

Recipe: Beer-Simmered Bratwurst

Source: Food Network

Time: 45 minutes

Ease: 1

Taste: 10

Leftover Value: No leftovers! 

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

I'm going to admit something that makes many question my own Italian heritage.

I don't go gaga over sausage.

There, I said it.

This doesn't mean I don't eat sausage. I do. I have even had my moments of drooling over a particularly impressive link; however I have also had many moments of 'Eh, this is just okay, I’m not sure I’ll finish it'. 

When I searched for a bratwurst recipe, I knew I wanted something that would be full of flavor. Who could offer a more flavorful recipe than Bobby Flay, the King of Flavor? Even using a Flay recipe, as I made the bratwurst I prepared myself for the let down that sausage often is to me. This is possibly why I readied some gorgeous rainbow carrots and salt and vinegar potatoes (instead of traditional mash) as sides.

The process of making the bangers was unlike any I have ever used to make sausage before, so I put a lot of faith and hope into the accuracy of the recipe. The bratwurst is simmered with seasonings and beer for five minutes. After five minutes, the pot is removed from the heat and the bratwurst continues to sit in the liquid for thirty more minutes.

I was a little confused about whether or not anything could be done with the liquid after this point.

After a little trial and error, I think no.

When the thirty minutes is up, the sausages are grilled for 4-6 minutes per side. I did this in the broiler and it worked just fine.

I used generic bratwurst that I purchased at my local supermarket, so I’m definitely chalking up the texture and flavors created within the bratwurst to Bobby Flay’s intriguing recipe.

Even better, it was incredibly simple, something I have been seeking more often these days in recipes.

In fact, both of these German recipes were surprisingly simple. Up next is a German meal so popular, it made it into a song.

“Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels, Door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles”.

Have you guessed it yet?

Recipe: Wiener Schnitzel

Source: Bon Appetit

Time: 30 minutes

Ease: 3

Taste: 4

Leftover Value: 2 

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Down the Drain.

I read the recipe about a dozen times before allowing myself to come to the conclusion that wiener schnitzel is breaded essentially the same as chicken Parmesan. The difference lies in the way it is cooked.

Ever order chicken at a restaurant and the breading bubbles and becomes like a sheet spread around the chicken rather than a crumbly mixture?

This is achieved in the strangest of ways. The veal is placed in a heated, greased skillet and basted with hot oil heated in a separate pot.

While it was an educational process, the flavor of the schnitzel was pretty bland. I served it with a classic butter egg noodle, but was searching the entire time for richer more complex flavors.

I don’t think I have completely satisfied Hubby’s craving for food of his ancestors. It wasn’t much longer after I had made these two meals that he then mentioned he wants me to make German potato salad.

Good thing summer is almost here. 

Abandonment Issues

Do you abandon books?

Do you ever get two or three chapters in and decide, "This book is too terrible to endure any longer?"

Or, do you trudge through on principle?

Even though you recognize early on that the book within your grasp is not for you, still you power on for fear of hurting that poor book's feelings, or worse, for fear of admitting there was a book you didn't finish reading.

I know the struggle.

I liken my 100 Days of Real Food challenges to such book abandonment issues.

If you couldn't tell from my first post on this subject, I do take a little issue with the obsession with real food. I think it is important to eat healthy and necessary to be aware of what we put in our bodies, but I feel like the trend now is to be so concerned with healthy living that it becomes an unhealthy obsession.

I was starting to grow that way with this challenge. At the start, I said I wasn't going to be an insane stickler to the rules. Still I found myself anxious over maintaining each week's guideline. I was crossed between getting annoyed at myself for wanting to be a rebel and getting annoyed at such over the top rules including my two least favorite: only natural sweeteners and 100% whole grains.

When we went to Chicago I told myself ahead of time that there would be no Real Food concerns that week. This was with every intention that I would bounce back into the 100 Days of Real Food challenges when my vacation ended.

I could blame that week. I could say it threw me off. I could say that I'm just now getting my eating habits back together and regaining focus of the mini challenges. But instead I've chosen to be realistic.

This book stinks.

So, I am abandoning it.

While this was never a diet, I feel that too many people struggle with diets because they choose diets/ways of eating that do not match their reality. Instead of living a balanced way of eating, people are torturing themselves to follow unrealistic and unnecessary diets in hopes of results and possibly even happiness.

For me, it is about the experience, the challenge of it all. I wanted to eat healthier, so I chose to follow an extreme program, one that overall I didn't agree with and couldn't stand. I knew from the start that giving up all sweeteners was going to be an issue for me; I knew that going 100% whole grain only was going to drive my palate insane, but still I said I would do it.

Thank God I went away for a week. Was it the bakeries, the burgers, or the pizza that set me straight? I’ll never know. I just knew I wasn't going to continue with something that denied me of flavors and culinary masterpieces a moment longer.

100 Days of Real Food? Filled with rules and restrictions that could make your head explode?

No way!

Instead I’ve chosen to have a Lifetime of Good Food. This can’t be accomplished by starving yourself and it can’t be accomplished by setting insanely strict standards. Because ‘good’ doesn’t merely mean good-for-you, no it covers far more than simply the healthiness of food.

To maintain a Lifetime of Good Food, here are a few of my standards. A few noteworthy elements of the 100 Days of Real Food mini pledges (challenges) have been reworked to match a lifestyle that promotes happy healthy eating.

A Lifetime of Good Food: 

Happy Healthy Eating Habits

1. Stop eating when you feel full. 
2. Incorporate fruits and vegetables into meals as often as possible.
3. Drink mostly water, but you know you’ll never pass up a cookies n’ cream milkshake if it’s staring you in the face.
4. Try new foods! Never cooked with fresh artichokes? Grab one and try it out! Don’t feel compelled to do it with every meal, but do it as often as you can.
5. Eat locally grown/raised food when you can. Can you buy your eggs at the Farmer’s Market down the street? Do it! Does the house around the corner sell tomatoes? Buy ‘em there! But don’t go out of your way or cause yourself more stress on a weeknight shopping trip just for the sake of eating local.
6. Read labels. If there are tons of things listed that you don’t know, look for a different option.
7. Don’t read labels. If you really want Doritos, you better go buy some Doritos!
8. Plan ahead. The best way to ensure you aren't scrambling to throw something together at each meal is to plan ahead. 
9. Make good choices. Sugary drinks, decadent cakes and cookies, deep fried foods, sure they all spell L-O-V-E for me. But they also spell health problems and thick thighs. Keep ‘em to the minimum.
10. Cheat. Regularly. At least once a week. Pick one day/meal that you are going to throw care to the wind and indulge. Then get back on track with your Lifetime of Good Food habits.  

Note: This post is not meant to condemn anyone who is a fanatic about eating healthy. It is simply meant to lift the spirits of quitters like myself who are seeking the best plan for their lifestyle. This is my best plan. And even this plan, as simple and lacking of every possible get fit quick formula there is, requires dedication and determination.*

*And the occasional bag of Doritos.**

**Sorry, I desperately wanted to further emphasize the alliteration I started there.

Butter, NYC

A restaurant named Butter, no question about it, is going to be out-of-this-world, write home to your momma amazing. Add in that the head chef is Alexandra Guarnaschelli, famous Iron Chef and Food Network chef, and guaranteed, it will be a meal to remember.

After looking up the menu beforehand (because that's what true foodies do, right?) Hubby was dead set on ordering the Homemade Ricotta Crostini as an appetizer. He told me about it as we were driving into the city and was instantly annoyed that I didn't share his excitement.

"It has crispy Brussels sprouts!" he said.

"And ricotta…which you don’t like.” I reminded him.

                                  

Nevertheless, we ordered it.

If you have never experienced crispy Brussels sprouts, make it a priority to try them today! Brussels sprouts aren’t exactly a popular vegetable; to me they are highly related in taste and smell to cabbage. In this appetizer, they are transformed from an icky vegetable that gets avoided on the dinner plate, to the star of the show. I was curious how ricotta would blend with earthy Brussels sprouts, but the crispy sprouts, the creamy ricotta, and the crunch of the bread beneath it all married together beautifully. It was like a bite-sized vegetarian flat bread.

Here is how much we loved this appetizer. The next weekend, I recreated our dining experience at home by following Alex’s recipe. 

For dinner, Hubby ordered the Creekstone Farms “Butter Cut” Beef Filet with a side of Gnocchi Mac and Cheese. Butter Cut is the right word choice when describing this filet. It was tender, juicy, and smooth as butter. Turning gnocchi into mac and cheese was clever, and delicious.

I ordered the Roasted All-Natural Chicken Breast with sautéed sunchokes and black truffle butter. It was the sunchokes that really decided my meal. You might recall how I first met and fell in love with them during our Valentine’s Weekend (LINK) in NYC. However, I almost didn’t order the chicken for fear that the chicken wouldn’t be cooked properly. The last two or three times I have ordered roasted chicken (at different restaurants) I have either received super dry chicken or chicken that simply lacked flavor. Thankfully, Butter does chicken right. The skin had the necessary crisp to it, and the chicken was juicy and had absorbed the sweetness of the sherry it cooked in. The sunchokes continued to impress, but I couldn’t finish them because I had lost all self-control and also ordered a side of Roasted Red Norland Potatoes with rosemary sea salt.

We decided these potatoes also needed to be recreated at home, so I dug around and found a super simple recipe that in the end matched almost perfectly to the presentation and taste of Butter’s potatoes.

The desserts certainly were tempting. I was particularly intrigued by the Frozen Toasted Marshmallow “Mallomar”, but we decided to refrain from ordering.*

*This could possibly be because we had popped into Magnolia Bakery only an hour before dinner and grabbed a few cupcakes. It could also have been because we had plans to head to Le Pain Quotidien for French Crème Donuts.

Butter was exactly the kind of restaurant I want to spend the rest of my life with and in this case, I’m not so sure if a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Don’t get me wrong, the food was what overall made this place a winner, but there was something about the name mixed with the atmosphere and environment when joined together with the food that made it perfection.

Along with an alluring name, bite, and décor what I loved most about a place like Butter is that from street view it gives off the facade of being a hole in the wall. A plain, seemingly small entrance with the word “Butter” can be easily missed, but behind the door lays an underground dining experience perhaps not meant for the entire world. Thankfully, we had the opportunity to partake in it.

A Burger on Every Corner

Chicago is not lacking for burger joints. Beforehand we had chosen a few recommended by Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, but soon realized that each burger joint we encountered had something special to offer. After all, burger joints aren't just about burgers. They're about the kind of meat used, the fixings, the French fries, and my personal favorite, the milkshakes.

Every other street we went down had a different burger place...the key word there is different! There wasn't one burger chain infecting the entire city. Instead every which way we turned we had a wide selection of enticing burger choices. If we hadn't planned our meals beforehand (remember, we are over planners here!) we wouldn't have suffered for lack of burgers or for lack of quality.

In fact, our first burger stop, The Butcher and the Burger ended up being a not planned lunch. The original lunch plan was Kuma's Corner (more on that in a minute). But after a late start, a morning spent shopping Armitage Avenue  and eating pastries we found ourselves not thinking of lunch until 1:30 pm. It would have taken us at least 30 minutes to get to Kuma's so we decided to try something right where we were.

Why hello, Butcher and the Burger!

First at all, how adorable is that name?

I'll tell you. Stinkin' adorable.

I went with a classic grass-fed beef burger, with the Chicago steakhouse spice rub, a split-top butter egg bun, and all the American style fixings. Hubby mixed it up a little by adding bacon and egg.

The burger had the perfect char to the outside, yet magically maintained the light pink center I love. While the burger was packed with flavor and culinary mastery, it was the bun that was the showstopper. The bun was soft, sweet, and what I want to eat burgers on for now and forever.

Most days, by the time we decided to eat lunch my hunger demon was already on the rise, causing me to only be able to respond to questions in grunts and making my vision a swirl of grays and reds. Thus was the case when we entered Big & Little's. Relieved is a poor choice of word to explain how I felt when I realized that Big & Little's wasn't a proper sit down restaurant, and that they had items ranging from $2.65 tacos to $5.95 burgers and burritos. For a little more they also had po boys for $6.95. With a menu of this sort, and the appetite building within me, I was ready to order one of everything.

This is the way to do food, I'm convinced. Small portions with bold flavors--it's the only way I want to eat anymore!

On our last day in Chicago, we wanted to squeeze in one more burger joint. We thought Kuma's Corner would be the perfect choice. A place with burgers named after rock and roll groups had to be legendary, right?

The second we walked through the doors, the answer glared in our faces. Head banger music was blasting, no, correction, it was screeching at a decimal level that would've prevented any discussion from occurring during our meal. The place smelled like burnt burgers, not charred--burnt. In my world, that isn't a good thing. Still we went up to the hostess and asked to be seated. When we were quoted a 45 minute wait, we paused to catch our surprise and then turned out the door.

Thank goodness we did. Because if we hadn't we never would have experienced the burger joint that is DMK Burger.

We wanted to go to DMK on our first day in Chicago but because of just getting our bearings of the lay of the land, we weren't able to enjoy their burgers on that particular day.

We started with drinks and I don’t think I landed from the high the food gave me until somewhere in the air between Chicago and Trenton. Joel ordered a Pineapple Basil Soda, Lance ordered a Vanilla Ginger Soda, and I ordered a Peanut Butter Shake which I forced Mallory to share with me.

I don’t ordinarily drink soda, but these are the kinds of sodas I can get behind. The flavors matched to their names perfectly and the blend of sweetness wasn't overpowering at all.

I was a little too excited about my milkshake to give the boys’ drinks anymore attention after my first sip. Ordinarily I don’t order peanut butter milkshakes because Hubby strongly dislikes peanut butter.

But today, I was so, so glad I went with my gut. DMK’s peanut butter milkshake is heaven. The flavor of peanut butter is there, but it isn't thrusting itself obnoxiously in your face. It blends beautifully with the ice creams used. I could have downed the entire thing before our burgers arrived, but I’m so glad Mallory and Joel helped.

Jealousy overcame me, and I ordered a burger topped with an egg…and I was so glad I did. But even better than my over easy burger were the French fries. We ordered Wisconsin Cheddar and Scallion fries and Parmesan and Truffle Cream fries. We go big, and then we go home here! My favorite was the Parmesan and Truffle Cream fries. The Truffle Cream was a fun dipping sauce alternative to the standard ketchup.

While the bakeries of Chicago were my hands down favorite part of the trip, the burger joints of Chicago are something I’m going to long for on nights when I’m craving a burger made to perfection. We don’t have non-chain burger joints on every corner in New Jersey, and that simply will not do.

A Night of Authentic German Food at Chicago Brauhaus

I said it in my bakeries of Chicago post and I’ll say it again. Food has an extraordinary way of bringing people together. We all have to eat, right? We might as well eat and have a good time, too. That seemed to be the philosophy at the heart of Chicago Brauhaus.

Joel described the restaurant best by likening it to the lodge/pub that Gaston frequents in Beauty and the Beast. Even though I have not a strand of German in me, I felt like I was home. The atmosphere was welcoming, laid back, and familial. Our waitress, who if I had to guess was probably in her sixties, spoke to us with tenderness equal to a paternal grandparent.

After a few minutes of looking around the room, I would estimate that half of the tables had a boot of beer at them.

Boots. Not mugs. Boots.

Before I proceed to tell you whether or not a boot wound up at our table, let me tell you this; Hubby hates beer. Over the almost eight years we have been married he has continuously tried all the popular names, and each time his reaction has been the same: “It tastes like dishwater.” I’m inclined to agree with him, although there are a few brands of which I can manage to endure an entire bottle.

That said he didn't hesitate in ordering a boot of Julius Echter Weiss. While I probably wouldn't order it if a German wine was also on the menu, this German beer was far better than any beer I have experienced. Upon ordering ‘the boot’, our adopted grandmother waitress told him she would need his credit card.

I guess glass boots filled with 2 liters of beer don’t always survive until the end of the night.

I tried to help a little, but couldn't commit because I was more interested in enjoying a German wine. My choice for the night was a Riesling made, naturally, in Germany. 

We also noticed many tables getting a colossal sized pretzel as an appetizer and quickly realized these were not just pretzels, but imported Bavarian pretzels.

An absolute must in our night of authentic German food.

With the pretzel being the size of my head, it wasn't difficult to split it four ways.

Hubby's appetizer is hiding behind my delicious pieces of pretzel.

For dinner, Hubby ordered the Brauhaus special (more on that in a moment) which came with a Sülze appetizer. I was weary at first, but Hubby insisted that I taste it. In later research I discovered that Sülze is head cheese. Cheese sounds good, but this wasn't cheese. On further investigation, I learned that head cheese isn't cheese at all but rather a European cold cut. But don’t think American cold cuts—no that would be too simple. This is a meat jelly made with flesh from the head of the animal (cow, pig, sheep, etc).

Makes you feel a little better about eating hot dogs now, doesn't it?

For dinner, I couldn't resist ordering Goulash with Spätzle. Though I don’t have a lick of German in me, I am half Hungarian. My family has an amazing Hungarian goulash recipe, among other Hungarian delights including the best chicken paprika you will ever taste in your life, so I needed to have theirs to compare.

I’m going to be honest.

The meat was perfectly tender, which is of utmost importance in goulash. You can have all the flavors spot on, but if your meat isn't tender the dish is ruined. The noodles were on point and were certainly a step above the bagged egg noodles I usually use. The flavor, however, didn't compare with the subtly sweet flavor of my family goulash.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved it. I wanted their secret to keeping their meat tender during the cooking period (our goulash is best when it cooks for at least two hours), but I also felt a little bit of Hungarian pride as I ate.

The Brauhaus special was a sampling of German bratwurst, Sheboygan bratwurst, Kassler rippchen, with potato and sauerkraut. It was essentially everything that is amazing about Germany on one plate. It was definitely a man’s meal, as Hubby was pushing himself towards the end.*

*There was no way he was going to leave any of that delicious meat behind.

Joel and Mallory ordered what Guy Fieri ordered when he covered Chicago Brauhaus for an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. We also learned that the Triple D crew had just recently been there to feature the Brauhaus again on an upcoming episode. It will be on in May, and we’re excited to see what new tasty delights Guy recommends.

Mallory had the Rindsroualde, which is a beef rouladen. In a nut shell, it is German beef, all rolled up. Delicious!

Joel’s meal, however, would probably be my meal of choice if I find myself in Lincoln Square, Chicago again. The Suerbraten is a braised, marinated beef. Something magical happens when beef is left to sit in liquids for a few days. I found myself sneaking as many bites from Joel’s plate that my stomach would allow.

The experience of Chicago Brauhaus was not just centered on the food. Don’t get me wrong, the food was outstanding. In one meal, I experienced more of Germany than I could ever learn in the same amount of time from reading a textbook. This wasn't just a place that people go to for a quick meal. This wasn't just a place that people go to once a month. This was somewhere people went, often, to laugh, sit back, and enjoy life. This was seen by the permanent dance floor that the room was built around. By the musical entertainment of accordion, guitar, and piano, some German, some popular American songs, that adults and children alike rose from their seats to enjoy. 

As the music calmed, the accordionist slowly released the first few notes of Edelweiss and Joel tilted his head and nodded at me in recognition to the song. 

I've always loved how music can send you back to a specific time and place in your life. This simple, beautiful song sent us to our childhood. Without words or images, we were back in our parents’ living room watching “The Sound of Music” for the thousandth time. Somehow Rodgers and Hammerstein managed to make a song about a flower give all who know it a connection to family and their homeland whenever it is played.

We went to Chicago Brauhaus expecting the food to be the primary part of our night, but I would venture to say that anyone who enters their doors will find that the food, though deliciously unforgettable, is not the element of Chicago Brauhaus that keeps it in business. It is the heart, the sense of family, and the gushing of homeland pride that echoes within and spreads to anyone who crosses their threshold.

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Get pizza.

This is the comment just about everyone makes when they hear you are going to Chicago.

Duh.

Of course I’m going to get pizza. I've only heard for my entire life that Chicago style pizza is unlike anything else in this world and I also happen to come from a state that is arrogantly proud of the pizzas it has to offer. Oh yes, I’m going to get pizza when in Chicago.

The stuffed pizza, to me, is a difficult concept to explain with words or pictures. I say that only because it wasn't until I actually had the pizza before me with fork and knife to plate* that I realized the depth and true culinary mastery that is the stuffed pizza.

*Yes, I ate it with a fork and knife.** You would too if you had been walking around the city all day.

**No, I do not always eat my pizza with a fork and knife. Especially not in Jersey.

What I can tell from just a brief amount of searching on the topic of ‘Chicago stuffed pizza’ and 'Chicago deep dish pizza' is that there are a few contenders for number one. They all have some famous name to back their claim at being the “best”, or the “oldest”, or the “famous” Chicago stuffed pizza. Me, I look at this in two ways. Part of me sees the glaring sign of “BEST” like Buddy the Elf saw the “Best cup of coffee" sign in NYC. Or perhaps I should say, the way Jovie saw the best cup of coffee that Buddy had her try.*

*If you don’t get this reference, please watch the movie Elf today. It doesn't matter that it isn't Christmas time. You’ll thank me later.

Anyone can write that they are the best. Anyone can get some type of celebrity to back them. I need you to show me you’re the best.

But the other part of me does want to know the history of your pizza. I want to know that you have been crafting your recipe for 200 years (Giordano’s) and that you just so happened to end up in Chicago, the city of stuffed pizza, to sell it. I want to know that you are just so good that you now have over 40 locations (Lou Malnati’s) spanning to cities outside of Chicago. I also don’t want you to be so big that you leave the state of Illinois. (Hello Uno Pizzeria and Grill, I’m talking to you!)

One day I think I may take a trip to Chicago based completely on pizza. I’ll try a different place every day and make my recommendations at the end of the trip.

However, I have yet to take a Pizza Tour of NYC, so naturally that must happen first.

Pizza from Giordano's is not for the impatient. Even their thin crust pizza takes 30 minutes from ordering to plating.

We ordered the thin crust as our "appetizer" since the well-known double stuffed pizza would take fifteen minutes longer.

I know, I know, you don't go to Chicago and order thin crust pizza, but Hubby couldn't resist. It was not at all like a Jersey thin crust pizza. A Jersey thin crust pizza is crisp and only millimeters thick (translation: not thick at all). Giordano's thin crust pizza was equal in thickness and texture to a typical Jersey pizza, if not even a hair thicker.

The taste, however, was perfect. We ordered a simple cheese so that there would be nothing to distract from the elements of their thin crust. The sauce was subtly sweet and the cheese---oh, the cheese was amazing, the perfect amount covering a perfect lining of sauce. Extra thin pizza options were listed on the menu with the heading "lighter versions with less cheese". Though extra thin sounded like it would be more like a Jersey thin crust pizza, "less cheese" can never, ever be a good thing.*

*Except in the case of Kate and Al's pizza. I don't know how they do it, but they make a scattering of cheese taste the way angels sound.

Heavenly.

When compared to an authentic Jersey pizza with greasy* cheese and sauce and crust that tear flawlessly away with each bite, this thin crust pizza is the underdog. But remember, sometimes underdogs come through to win it all.

*A good thing.

We ate two to three slices each despite knowing that the main attraction was just moments away.

Naturally, we couldn't order just one pie. We ordered: Cheese (because, again, we needed a pure, unadulterated version of Chicago’s famous stuffed pizza) and the Chicago Classic (pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, & onions)

Take what you know about an ordinary pizza, blow it up to about ten times its size, in thickness, and turn it inside out. You might not have Chicago's famous stuffed pizza, but you'd be on your way.

I'm not a big fan of mushrooms or veggies with my pizza, so the Classic wasn't my favorite, but I could appreciate the culinary thought behind it.

The cheese though---oh my word!

After eating this pizza, everything I've ever known about pizza suddenly made sense. I now knew why we refer to pizza not as pizza but as 'pie'. I instantly understood what Mama Giordano was thinking when she called this pizza, "Italian Easter Pie". The crust is flaky and thick. Think, Thanksgiving pie, but for pizza. The sauce is everywhere, enveloping itself around crust, cheese, and incredible flavors.

Knowing I wouldn't be back in Chicago anytime soon, I made sure to push the limits. Should I have eaten three of these ginormous pieces of pizza?

Probably not.

But I did, and I regret nothing.

Bakeries of Chicago

The city of Chicago won me over with its amazing shopping, museums galore, and distinct cleanliness but if I had to pick an absolute favorite part of the trip (aside from the obvious answer--seeing family) it would be the bakeries, not only the bakeries but the event we made of each and every one.

Baking is about as 'in' right now as photography, and if you've only ever spent ten minutes on social media you know exactly what I mean. Every other girl is dreaming of starting her own little bakery in a special place tucked away from the mindless chugging of mass produced products, in a pathetically romantic setting marked with Victorian houses, a sun that always shines, organic restaurants, and flowers, lots and lots of flowers.

Meanwhile, I'm over here like, ‘Can I just come and eat it all and then write about it?’

While I do favor baking over cooking, I'm learning that I favor eating over baking any day. Writing about it only further commits the experience to memory, making me want to go for a second visit…and I’m totally fine with that.

Though I may sound a little sarcastic towards bakeries, I promise, I'm not. I love them so, so much, and might be a teensy bit jealous that I'm not independently wealthy enough to quit my job and spend my mornings in such an environment, latte in hand, nibbling* away at a pastry as I write.

A girl can dream, can't she?

*I used that word for your benefit. Realistically speaking the word would be chomping, or inhaling, at the very least.

It was desperate circumstances which led us to our first bakery, Bravo Bakery in Mt. Prospect, IL. Bravo is an authentic Mexican bakery, visit their site: www.bravobakery.biz for a list of all their pastries.

The precedent for how we would behave towards bakeries was set with this visit.

The coolest thing about Bravo is that you get to help yourself. Grab a shopping basket lined with wax paper, drool over the rows and rows and baked goodies, then load your basket with no less than five items.

At least that’s what we did.

When the cashier told me that our five monster sized pastries would be $6.00 (total!) my valley girl came out and I said, "Shut up!" She blinked at me, smiled, and nodded that the price was correct.

We brought our treasures back to the hotel room and then cut each pastry into four pieces so that we could all taste everything. This seemed the only natural thing to do and we proceeded to continue eating this way at every bakery in our trip. If you've never shared baked goods in such a way, I highly recommend it. We didn't have to go through the "eyes bigger than your stomach?" experience because we were able to go wild ordering four to six items, sometimes maybe more, which we then shared (making it as though we all had only eaten one...or two...pastries each.

It is not only my most delicious memory of this trip, but my fondest. Food has a natural way of bonding people together and bringing about natural joy. Some of my best memories started around the dinner table or over a decadent dessert made to share with loved ones.

I'm going to attempt to pick a favorite pastry from each bakery, but just know that there wasn't one thing I ate that I disliked.

At Bravo, the sugar donut was it. While in Mexico--goodness, over 12 years ago--for my senior class mission’s trip, we had fresh baked donuts available to us every morning. They were the best donuts of my life. Hubby and I are always on the lookout to find something similar in America. The closest we've come are these glazed donuts in Atlantic City.

Do you ever get a pastry filled with cheese, fruit, or creme and when the filling runs out you aren't interested in the rest because it is often too dry or lacking flavor? With the pastries from Bravo not one had an 'I don't want any more of this' quality.

We discovered Le Pain Quotidien out of, yet again, a desperate need for coffee and sweets. While shopping on Armitage Avenue we ran smack dab into three completely different coffee/bakery choices: Starbucks, a cute little macaroon shop, and Le Pain Quotidien. Starbucks was an obvious no. As much as I love my local Starbucks, when I have the opportunity to get something that isn’t ten minutes away from my house, I take it. The macaroon shop seemed too specific so we charged into Le Pain Quotidien.

Here’s what we got:

cheese almond Danish
French cream donut
chocolate croissant (pain au chocolat),
lemon tart
chocolate chip cookie

And cappuccinos, of course.

Everyone agreed, our very favorite was the French cream donut, but the lemon tart was a close second. We added the tart at the recommendation of the gentleman serving us. The crust of the tart was light and crumbly; the lemon was tart, but not overpowering, with a rich creaminess that made it divine.

Now, the donut. I’ll explain how amazing the donut was with this: after splitting it four ways (and having eaten all the other amazing pastries listed) Hubby and Joel both went up and bought another donut—each.

I’ve recently discovered that Le Pain Quotidien has locations in LA and NYC. I’m not sure how we ever missed it in our many travels to NYC, but I’ll be looking for it next time, for sure!

Now, please don’t judge me. But about an hour after we had wolfed down the amazing aforementioned pastries we ran into this building:

I knew it was of utmost importance that we try a donut from this glorious place regardless of how full we all were, the gentlemen especially.

I went simple and ordered a Vanilla Bean Glazed donut which was pretty darn close to the mission’s trip donut mentioned earlier. As we were all sharing bites, Mallory asked the girl behind the counter which one was her favorite. She pointed to a massive chocolate donut which I had immediately wanted, but my full tummy said no way! Go here: https://www.goglazed.com/product/4 to see this monster. When I realized that underneath all the chocolatey frills was a chocolate glazed donut (my favorite!) I contemplated buying one.

But I was strong and decided it was better that I didn’t.

I would have been too tempted to eat it then and there.

Are you keeping score? We’re up to two, technically three, bakeries. That’s not even counting a quick trip we made for coffee to Caffe Bene on day two.

In addition to loving the selection of treats at the bakeries we visited, the customer service was above average. In spite of the ridiculously large number of items we ordered each time, and the speed at which we made our decisions (slower than average, I’m sure), the employees at every bakery were cheerful, if not excited by our excitement over their goodies.

This was especially the case at Floriole. After we ordered an obnoxious amount of pastries, the girl who took our order brought over a pineapple upside down cake and told us it was her favorite, and that we had to try it.

Here is what we shared:

Hot cross bun
Poppyseed cookie
Peanut butter cookie
Pain au chocolat
Gateau basque (almond butter cake)
Citrus tart, Coconut
Lime Tart
Pineapple upside down cake

The winner (which almost brought Joel to the counter to order another) was Gateau Basque. This almond butter cake was moist and subtly sweet throughout—the best possible cake one could have without icing and candles. The pineapple upside down cake was very close in texture and flavor.

We squeezed our last bakery stop in right before we needed to head to the airport.

We don’t mess around. We live our vacations to the fullest.

Molly's Cupcakes is a previous winner of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, which means, duh, they’re awesome. When we ordered, the question wasn’t whether or not the cupcakes would be good, but which of the many flavors lining the cases we should choose. With little room to move around, people in front and immediately behind us in line, and no open table or chairs we had to crane our necks to try and get a peek of the case of cupcakes.

At Molly’s you have the opportunity to make your own cupcake instead of ordering from their premade cupcake selection.

By the time we were ordering a table cleared out and Joel ran over to claim it. As soon as his bottom hit the chair, one of the employees put a sign on the table letting us all know that we had 30 minutes at the table and that there needed to be at least three people in our group.

I’m guessing Molly’s is often packed.

Here are the cupcakes we ordered:

Cake Batter
Nutella
Cookie Monster
Choco-ccino

The éclair cupcake was interesting (it was essentially an éclair on top of a cupcake), but we decided to order two chocolate covered Oreos instead of a fifth cupcake.

Because, seriously, five cupcakes is just out of control.

The cupcakes were tough to share because they all had fillings, but we did so regardless.

And I’m so glad we did.

I can’t pick a favorite. I’m sorry. I loved them all, but cannot choose between Cake Batter and Cookie Monster. Cake Batter had raw cake batter inside and Cookie Monster had cookie batter inside. This wasn’t a squirt of basic icing inside of a cupcake. It was specific fillings, perfected to marry beautifully with each unique cupcake flavor.

I knew the bakeries were my favorite part of the trip as we finished off our cupcakes and I felt a tug of sadness over knowing I’d be leaving my brother and SIL soon and not able to so easily share in such experiences for a while.

Other than the definite need for you to immediately take a trip to Chicago to discover the amazing bakeries the city is home to, hopefully this post will excite you to grab your significant other and two of your favorite people and share in a similar bakery experience.