Little Goat Diner and Other Food Adventures in Chicago

by Bianca Garcia on May 16, 2013

deep dish pizza

When I found out that I was going to be in Chicago for three days for work, I made a list (I’m a list-maker at heart, remember?) of not just the things I wanted to do and places I wanted to see, but also (of course) a list of things I wanted to eat.

You can probably guess that one of those things was an authentic deep dish pizza.

I also wanted to eat a Chicago-style hot dog, check out one of Stephanie Izard‘s restaurants, plus a couple more places that are considered hot stuff by the locals.

[click to continue…]

{ 25 comments }

Key Lime Pie

by Bianca Garcia on May 11, 2013

key lime pie

Do you know how many little Key limes I had to squeeze to extract one half cup of fresh juice?

22.

Twenty two Key limes cut in half, which makes it 44 pieces. That I individually squeezed by hand using my mom’s antique juicer. 44 pieces, at least five rotations each at the tip of the juicer. That’s at least 220 times of putting pressure and squeezing each little Key lime half so I can extract fresh juice.

Did my fingers cramp? Yes. Did I regret it? Not one bit. It was all worth it for this key lime pie.

[click to continue…]

{ 34 comments }

Life Lately

by Bianca Garcia on April 17, 2013

tatte pastries

Lately my life has been fuller than usual.

Yes, it’s filled with work, (I’m still on a learning curve with my new job, schoolwork has gotten progressively harder, and of course I still manage this blog), but it’s also filled with more people, more pastries, more yoga, more events, more love.

Life lately has been busy.

At the end of last year, I decided to make 2013 my Year of Gratitude. We’re only four months in, but I’m finding more and more things to be thankful for each day. So now I want to share some of these things from the last few weeks. Think of this as a cross between my Good Eats Series and a peak into my daily life…

[click to continue…]

{ 27 comments }

Lunch at Ai Fiori, New York

by Bianca Garcia on April 11, 2013

ai fiori blue crab spaghetti

The problem with having a really fantastic first course in a multi-course meal is that everything else would fade in comparison.

This is what happened to me when I had lunch at Ai Fiori at the Setai hotel in New York.

One bite of the spaghetti with blue crab, lemon, bottarga, and chilies, and I was smitten.

Take a second to imagine those flavors melding together in a bowl: perfectly al dente spaghetti, the delicately sweet meat from the blue crab, and the brininess and saltiness of bottarga (cured fish roe) all brightened by lemon and heightened by spicy chilies.

[click to continue…]

{ 24 comments }

10 Low Carb Recipes

April 7, 2013
Thumbnail image for 10 Low Carb Recipes

I promise that these 10 recipes are as tasty as they come. You can mix and match, and you can even ignore that they’re low carb and serve them with your favorite pasta or grain. But either way, these recipes will help you feel better, healthier, and possibly less puffy. Just be careful not to spill on your white jeans.

Read the full article →

Supper Club at Steel & Rye

April 3, 2013
Thumbnail image for Supper Club at Steel & Rye

The last time I was so enamored with a restaurant dessert was nearly a year ago, when I tried the S’mores cup at West Bridge. I have a list of Top Five Restaurant Desserts in the Boston Area which I take pride in (I am easy to please but I know when to recognize a spectacular dessert); after one bite of Steel & Rye’s Chocolate Hazelnut Daquoise with Meyer Lemon, I fell hard and fast. It’s definitely going on my list.

Read the full article →

Tarte Flambee

March 30, 2013
Thumbnail image for Tarte Flambee

Tarte flambee is also known as flammekueche, but I prefer a blog title I can pronounce.

It’s an Alsatian dish of a rolled out dough and traditionally topped with creme fraiche, onions, and lardons. Lardons are strips of pork belly – essentially bacon.

So you can think of tarte flambee as a fancy French pizza. But just because it’s French and fancy-sounding doesn’t mean it’s hard to make.

Read the full article →

Craft Mac and Cheese at Church and Other Good Eats

March 26, 2013
Thumbnail image for Craft Mac and Cheese at Church and Other Good Eats

This is the fifth installment of my Good Eats Series, where I share some some of the great foods I’ve enjoyed but were previously undocumented. This installment includes the biggest slice of pie I’ve ever had, lots of chocolate, goat’s milk cheese, breakfast items, and a taste of home.

Read the full article →

Mint Chocolate Bark

March 21, 2013
Thumbnail image for Mint Chocolate Bark

I know that St. Patrick’s Day have come and gone, so the proliferation of green-tinged recipes has slowed down.

This Mint Chocolate Bark only has little flecks of green. Pale green, actually. But that doesn’t mean it’s only appropriate for Irish holidays.

It’s another no-fuss, no-bake, fool-proof recipe, requiring only three ingredients. (Just three ingredients!) Which means it’s easy to whip up during any day, holiday or not.

Read the full article →

Sangria Chicken

March 16, 2013
Thumbnail image for Sangria Chicken

I love this recipe mostly because it uses my favorite drink, sangria. I know that there are different ways to make sangria – in addition to red wine, some people may add orange juice, triple sec, brandy, club soda, lemon juice, simple syrup, etc. But my favorite sangria recipe is the most simple and most basic one that I’ve learned from my mom: it’s a combination of red wine and orange juice. That’s it, pure and simple. My mom would add chopped fruit, but when I am too lazy to do that, I just pour some red wine into my wine glass and top it with orange juice. You can be sure that I poured myself a glass (or three) while making this chicken recipe.

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries