Wildfire

While in Chicago for the weekend, we met up with my husband's college roommate and his wife for dinner. I love when my husband and his friend get together because they are hysterical. My husband has a great sense of humor and so does his old roomie, so the time together is always guaranteed to be fun!

They suggested that we eat at Wildfire which is a 1940's style steakhouse. It has been voted Chicago's favorite restaurant 3 years in a row! We had late reservations and the place was bustling! I usually order seafood when I go out but since Wildfire is known for it's steaks, I ordered the Chef's Trio. It was three filet Mignon steaks with a choice of toppings. I chose blue cheese and panko, mushrooms and panko and a Bearnaise sauce with a side of au gratin potatoes. The steak was cooked to perfection and the trio was a great way to sample some of their famous toppings. My husband had the halibut with a side of creamed spinach. His halibut was moist and tasty. I am not a big fan of spinach and never had creamed spinach before but even it was delicious! It was easy to see why this restaurant was voted a favorite 3 years in a row!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Time to celebrate the best country in the world!

I love how festive my cupcake wrappers and cake toppers make my cupcakes look! To make the cupcake toppers, design your own on your computer or download the many free printables that are available online. Print on heavy card stock and cut them with a 2 inch round or scallop paper punch and attached them to a toothpick.

Cupcake Wrappers

When I first saw the fancy wrappers for cupcakes I fell in love! I love presentation and when I realized that I could make them for a fraction of the cost, I thought of the possibilities!!



MY TIP: I searched online "how to make a cupcake wrapper" and got directions. To buy them online, they wanted $1 each which is $12 for a dozen and that seemed really pricey to me! (Come on ....these are.... cupcake wrappers!!!) So for a mere 75 cents (and a quick trip to Hobby Lobby which was having a sale on scrapbook paper), I was able to make 12 and it took me less than 10 minutes to make!

Sex (I knew I got your attention) and the City II

I rarely watch television! Five hours a week is excessive for me! (And I take some pride in that, as it is amazing how you can fill your time otherwise!) Nieilsen probably hates me and we have filled out their stupid forms twice now! I have never seen Lost, ER, CSI, Grey's Anatomy, etc. I have even told my husband that we don't need cable, but he can't miss the"Cubs" in real time! But my daughter got me into watching Sex and the City with her (definitely not a dad/daughter activity!), so of course I couldn't wait to see the movie!
So we gathered up some other moms and daughters and headed out for our night on the town and got "Carried" away by dressing for the occasion and going out afterward for cosmos--of course!

1 1/2 oz vodka
1 oz cranberry juice
splash of fresh lime juice
Garnish: Lime wedge

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lime.

Cobb Salad

This is one of my all time favorite summer salads (even though I make this year round!). It is truly a classic salad with a great flavor combination. Plus, you can make the ingredients ahead of time and assembly them right before serving so you can spend more time with your guests!

Ingredients

• 1 package bacon
• 6 eggs
• 1 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 1 lb. of chicken breast cut into same size cubes
  
• 2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup blue cheese, crumbled
• 2 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
• 3 green onions, chopped
• homemade vinaigrette
  

Directions

1. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover completely with cold water. Bring water to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let eggs stand in hot water for 20 minutes. Remove from hot water, put in ice cold water to cool, peel and chop.
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
3. Cook chicken in bacon grease until the inside of the chicken is no longer pink. Remove from pan.
   
4. Evenly divide and arrange chicken, chopped eggs, diced tomatoes, blue cheese, crumbled bacon, chopped avocado and diced green onions in a row on top of the lettuce.
5. Serve with vinaigrette dressing.

MY TIP: This salad can also be served with ranch or blue cheese dressing. Although I prefer to make my own dressings, bottle dressing can be substituted if in a hurry!

Asian Salad or Appetizer

This Asian salad or appetizer could not be prettier!!! It sits on a won ton bed, which is easily made by putting won ton wrappers in a mini muffin pan that has been spritzed with Pam cooking spray and then baked for 8 minutes until lightly brown. Then topped with a chiffonade of butter leaf lettuce, diced cucumber (with the skin on for color), diced carrots and diced jimaca marinated in a light ginger dressing. Then garnished with a green onion.

MY TIP: If you want you can chiffonade some leaf lettuce and set the wonton with the vegetables on top for a more substantial salad and add a slight drizzle of ginger dressing.

MY OTHER TIP: If just serving as an appetizer, serve on the chiffonade of leaf lettuce for a pretty presentation but omit the dressing on the lettuce, so the won tons do not become soggy.

Go Black Hawks!

Chicago was bursting with excitement over the Black Hawks winning the Stanley Cup! A sea of red and black was seen everywhere as over 2 million fans swarmed the downtown! Even the lions guarding the Art Institute decide to take a day off and join the celebration! The crowds were so thick, it reminded me of Saint Patrick's day in Chicago! The excitement and confetti was everywhere! It even spilled over into the Chicago Blues festival that was held in Grant Park.