New Years Eve Reservations - It's Time!

When I last posted about Christmas Dining reservations, I was also looking at New Year's reservations as well.  From that post to this, from a brief glance at Opentable.com, I am sorry to say that many places have already filled up.  Hence I implore you to make your New Year's rezzies as fast as you can!

The hubby and I, as I mentioned in my last post, went to Yoshi's for the 2 New Year's Eve's we spent  in Chicago.  It's a great restaurant in Boystown/Lakeview East, which has awesome food in general, a special menu for New Year's Eve, a band, and dancing.

New Year's 2011 @ Yoshi's Cafe

Home Cooking Heroes: Spotlight Peter Bunin's Scallops over Rice

Welcome to the first installment of "Home Cooking Heroes" where we talk to every day people with a knack for cooking up an awesome snack or full fledged meal in their own home kitchens.

To start out the series, I've asked my bestie to prepare a meal he made for me and my hubby a couple years ago - a meal that blew us away and was so indelible, I still find myself craving it to this day. The recipe is featured after the interview.

Without further adieu, I'd like to introduce the amazingly awesome and otherwise inestimable, Peter Bunin.

Have you found your Holiday Eatery? How about New Year's?

Yes... it's that time of year again... the time for setting up the tree (if you haven't already!) and stretching lights across your front porch...

Time for decking the halls,

and holiday cheer,
time to clean house for in-laws,
and then it's almost New Year!
Is your Turkey all basted?
Your pie stuffing gathered?
Have you reveled in carols
Till your vocal cords tattered?

Cold Weather Food: Chili

When the weather begins to turn cold, the idea of eating sushi becomes less appealing, and the desire for heartier, warmer fare ignites the imagination. When my sister and I were kids growing up in Texas, the first brisk day meant we were having chili for dinner. True, it also often meant we often had to wait till the end of November for any sign of cold weather, and that the days might still reach up toward 70; but in San Antonio, the nights would start to dip down to 40 or 50 degrees, and that meant Mom would be slaving over the stove to make sure all the flavors were on point for her particularly wonderful chili, which excited us to our core.

I remember, being 16 or so, and coming downstairs every few minutes to 'sample' the chili to make sure the flavors were just right. For my sis and I, 'right' meant tasting the beef, chili powder, and lots of heat from the jalapenos. Mom often made her chili almost too peppery-hot for herself because she knew that's how my sis, Ness, and I liked it.

A History of Caviar

The first time I tried that elusive (read: expensive) treat that is caviar, I was in my early twenties at a rather un-posh New Years Eve party an ex-boyfriend's brother was throwing (don't ask).


I wasn't exactly interested in even trying the stuff, as I, too, was rather far from being posh at the time. My sister, however, who had already begun introducing our family to the wonderful wide world of wine headed straight for the tin of caviar that had been set out on a table in the kitchen. She proclaimed it as being good, so I took a spoon of it, and found it uninteresting and far too salty for my liking.

As with so many things, tastes change over time. I hated olives the first time I tried them at the age of 17. By 22 I had changed my mind on that one - olives can be good or even great in the right instance, decidedly serving their purposes in martinis and tapenades.