WE'RE HOME!

view from our room - Trump Tower

Friday, Saturday, Sunday...

We love the Hotel Monaco. Very fun decor and ambiance. Hot chocolate in the lobby in the afternoon, and wine and hot toddies from 5 - 6:00pm. Our room is smallish, but perfect with views of the Chicago River and the new Trump Tower.

We have lunch at the South Water Kitchen which adjoins the hotel, and dinner at Harry Caray's just north of the river. Both restaurants are lovely, but the food is mediocre. We walk to Borders after dinner and stay until closing before heading inside for the night.

On Saturday morning we brace for the cold with coffee in the lobby and then walk across Wacker, up Michigan Avenue, and across Illinois Street toward Navy Pier and the Fox and Obel Market Cafe. We've had breakfast here in the past and look forward to a hearty one today. I love my Cobb omelet and CA enjoys his Eggs Benedict.

We wander the market for awhile--very high end food here--and by the time we walk back to the hotel it's been two hours. After a bit of time in the lobby and our room, we decide to head to Macy's. Our bankroll is mostly safe, and by the time we enter the hotel lobby the hot chocolate is available near the fireplace.

For dinner we decide on Mercadito at 118 W. Kinzie, but waffle a bit as we near Rick Bayless's three restaurants on North Clark. Guess what? Rick B. has closed all three from January 1 to 11, so we cross Clark and walk the half block to Mercadito. Little do we know what a special dinner this will be.

Chicago Tribune photo by Jason Wambsgans

Chicago.metromix.com

Chicago.metromix.com

VA-VA-VOOM!!! The tacos are outstanding. The steak tacos are perfect and melt in the mouth. Next, we have the Mahi-Mahi Baha tacos and they are equally wonderful. CA presses for an order of shrimp tacos, so we go for it. They are wonderful, but not as devastatingly so as the steak and Mahi. We will come back here. And, did I mention the Margharitas? Deadly.

Did I say how freezing cold it is in the City this weekend? And, someone stole my red leather gloves in the hotel lobby this afternoon, so I keep my hands deep in the pockets of my warm, warm coat. Back at the hotel we settle into the lovely ambiance and continue to congratulate ourselves on selecting this particular hotel for our weekend getaway. Perfect.

SOUP AND SALAD

Cream of mushroom soup.

My take on the wedge salad CA and I enjoyed last
week at Outback Steak House.
(This was obviously not styled. I decided to take the photo after plating
our salads in the most size-appropriate bowl choice. I realize the
combination of the real food  and the china pattern looks like
someone threw up! But, other than that, isn't it a gorgeous salad?)

It's cold and wintery. Soup is all that's on my mind. Cream of mushroom and the Pioneer Woman's Hearty White Chili. I spend a bit of time looking for a Cream of Mushroom soup recipe that I remember from somewhere recent... In the end I find one on the Internet and adjust it just a bit.

As I prepare the mushrooms I default to a technique MK demonstrated to me the first time we met in 2000--peeling them!

Use a dry paper towel and rub away from and all around the stem

 to loosen the top layer, and peel away.

One down and a pound to go.

See, they're spotless!

I've always had an adversion to the little black bits that cling to fresh mushrooms, and I refuse to deal with any but the freshest, whitest, cleanest. Kitchen wisdom says not to wash mushrooms, but YUCK! They are grown in manure! Peeling them solves this issue entirely for me. Then, all you have to do is trim off the stems.

GIFTING

RvH's 2009 birthday gifts for me!

"Women love to gift the women in their life. And when they do, they don't just want a gift, they want the "gift." I love that about women, they know that the presentation can be the best part of the gift for women: the gift wrap, the ribbons, the wait, the slow unwrapping, the beautiful gift treasures just for her, and then the re-wrapping so they can admire it all over again. Just the specialness of it all."

Sande Chase ~ A Gift Wrapped Life blog

This website and quote remind me so much of RvH...

ESCAPING WINTER... KIND OF

Tomorrow's plans with girlfriends are on hold due to our current weather--accumulating snow, up to 12 inches by tomorrow morning. CA and I are ready for a getaway and Chicago is a world-class city. After some intensive Internet surfing, we ended up booking this one directly--using Expedia's rate as a bargaining tool. We'll take advantage of Metra's $5 weekend fare and avoid the whole parking expense piece.

We are hoping our hotel choice fulfills our expectations, and we know we will find great food throughout the city.

REPURPOSING

Another favorite gadget I got at Williams Sonoma many years ago--a citrus zester. Up until today I thought it had just one use, but KF was rummaging in a drawer for her own cheese grater this morning. I did some safety-first quick thinking and offered her the zester. Turns out it's the perfect tool to get to the cheese closest to the rind. Voilà!