Long Live The Art of Brunch

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This is a season of re-adjustment for me, as we have moved to a completely new city and I have begun a new season of my career. 

Part of my adjustment, thank God, has involved lots and lots of brunch.

When we were living in Chicago and life was a lot more hectic, brunch was undoubtedly a 'thing.' Warm or cold, we would venture out to some of our favorite brunch spots and take our seats to be served a delicious meal. It was always a highlight of the weekend.

But, as I am growing into my new life, I am learning something.

 There is something incredibly intimate about a leisurely brunch at home, 

whether it is just you and your significant other, 

or you are hosting for family and friends.

I love it...

...the silverware and bowls that are uniquely yours, gifts from loved ones and significant people in your life

...the prosecco cork still sitting on the table, adding to the experience of knowing you are in a comfortable and private place 

...the bacon that is prepared just the way your loved ones like it (...hopefully)

...the coaster with your monogram on it

...the entire bottle of bubbly sitting at your table, allowing you to serve yourself - or choose not to - without fanfare, and without finding a server to place an order

...the ability to completely disregard time, to talk about whatever you want without having strangers nearby, to have intimate conversations uninterrupted by a water refill or being handed the check

I don't want the art of brunch to die. 

The art of hosting, of creating an experience for the people you love. 

The time invested in a delicious table full of food, 

and the leisurely experience of taking as long as you freaking want to eat it. 

Cheers to that.

Herbed Two Potato Home Fry Hash, AKA Breakfast Crack

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You are reading my blog, so clearly you trust my ability to identify something that is seriously freaking good. Here you go:

You know how some restaurants have the most delicious home fries? I did not truly discover this magical madness until my husband and I started frequenting The Breakfast Club. They have created the most amazing home fries using large chopped potatoes and tons and tons of herbs. (P.S. Live in Chicago? Go there. It is understated and unassuming and DECORATED LIKE IT'S STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BREAKFAST CLUB MOVIE.

Anyway. Moving on in 3... 2... 1...

I recently was in a bind to make a side dish for four people, but only had half of the amount of potatoes I really needed. So, I chopped up some sweet potatoes as well, and made this two potato home fry hash. It was delicious, herby, and yumstown.

Herbed Two Potato Home Fry Hash

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups yukon potatoes (or any regular potatoes)
• 1 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• Green onions or chives
• 1 tbsp Olive oil

Directions:

1. Cut ingredients into 1/2-1 inch thick pieces.
2. Toss potatoes and chopped onion with olive oil and italian seasoning.
3. Sautee for 10 minutes over medium heat. 
      
4. Add as many chopped green onions and/or chives as you'd like.
5. Increase heat to high and let sit for a few minutes until the potatoes are browning, then stir and do the same thing again, until most sides are browning or beginning to burn. 
6. Serve!

Notes:

• This is DELICIOUS with some eggs and meat mixed in. Try using leftovers with some chorizo or taco meat and a few scrambled eggs, topped with cheese for a delicious breakfast!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Any recipes people have told you are so amazing they are crack-like in their ability to keep you coming back for more? I've been told that about this chickpea cookie dough dip (and it also happens to be the recipe that brings me the most search results hits, so people must be spreading the word!).
• What's your go-to breakfast side?

Frozen Lake and Thai Food - 6 Things in 6 Days

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We're six days into 2014, and I've got six things I'm loving about life so far.

(1) Brunch. Did I mention it is my favorite meal of the day (like 1000 times)? I have tried a lot of the staple breakfast nooks in Holland, but I am sure there are many more for me to try.

P.S. Brunch staple? Lipstick on a white mug. I may not always have time to get ready for breakfast, but I personally am convinced there is no excuse for a lack of lipstick. ;-)

(2) Frozen lake. I am amazed by how pretty it is to look out on the frozen and snow-covered lake. This lake is kind of a bay area off of Lake Michigan, and Holland is sandwiched around both of them. Despite having Lake Michigan water, it is just small enough to freeze over. I watched a coyote (I think?) prance its way across the lake yesterday, so I'm going to state that it's entirely frozen with certainty.

(3) Overload of cuteness. My dog naps. Like all day. The most pampered of them all...

(4) Snow. Holy Snowpocalypse, is it really coming down. I know this is happening everywhere, but I still can't get over it. I have that excited feeling of "Maybe we'll get a snowday!"

Yeah. Right. Ain't no snowdays in online marketing...

(5) Fire. Likely as a consequence of (4) Snow.  When it's cold outside, is there anything better?

(6) New restaurants. This is thai food, which my husband randomly suggested. It had been a year probably since my last thai adventure, and I have no good excuse for having waited. I am a sucker for curry dishes, but I am trying to reign myself in after a laundry list of holiday indulgences, so I went with some lighter fare (Pad Pak) and split chicken satay with my Mister.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• What is your food of choice at thai restaurants? I am looking for some new options!
• Do you live somewhere that is being hit by this snow storm? How much have you gotten?

Eating and Drinking My Way Through The City

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As I gathered my pictures from the weekend, I realized that the majority of my photos are of food. Go figure. Apparently I ate and drank my way through the city of Chicago.

Before my condition worsened...

We kicked off Friday with Delirium Day at Paddy Long's. The Irish restaurant is known for its bacon laden menu, so we combined delirium tremens with everything bacon. I had a bacon quesadilla. It was delicious and filling.

As luck would have it, I have developed an allergy to some beer (Dear God, don't let this spread to Guinness...). So, thirty minutes into the event, I was suddenly a snot ball (glamorous, I know) and could hardly breathe. We stayed as long as we could, but when our friends decided to change venues, we had to call it quits and cab it home. 

Handsome husband :)

The next morning, we were feeling lazy. After our weekend in Holland, we still hadn't had the time to properly grocery shop, so we were out of supplies. The logical answer? Breakfast date.

Entirely mismatched. The Carly Brunch Special.

After a delicious (read: HUGE) meal at The Breakfast Club, we walked around for a bit and ended up stopping to by a chocolate bar. After said huge breakfast. At my behest. Because I apparently needed it at the time. It's not what you think.

A few hours later, after I realized how much junk I'd put into my body, I decided to get some fresh air and took the dog on a jog. We headed toward Wicker Park, spent some time drinking from the fountain there (just her... not me), and eventually came home about an hour and a half later.

It's fall, isn't that enough of an excuse?

...which was just in time for me to put more food into the machine. I made gluten free, upside-down apple pie and topped it with organic vanilla bean ice cream. Recipe coming tomorrow...

How much leopard is too much leopard?

Sunday morning, I woke up to a clean apartment. No, the cleaning fairies didn't visit during my slumber -- we spent a few hours cleaning the day before. We headed out on a walk with the dog, and I continued to shamelessly wear my leopard print Aerosoles. Seriously, it's like walking on a cloud.

Husband-made. Wife-approved.

My wonderful husband (are you reading this, babe?) had gone grocery shopping during my jog with the dog (dogjog, anyone?), so we had all the supplies we needed for a delicious breakfast. He made me egg whites with sauteed veggies, and I sprinkled nutritional yeast on top. Compared to the day before, I was getting an A+ for nutrition.

New specs!

A few hours later, after a run at the gym and, yes, more cleaning, we headed back to Wicker Park to meet my parents for dinner at Mana Food Bar. It was amazing the first time I went (after a girls spa day), and I was still impressed this time. The men weren't quite as excited, but it was a meatless dinner, so I don't know what I was thinking bringing them there.

Pineapple and Ginger Sake Cocktail at Mana... and my dry cleaning label that I didn't realize was on my jacket until we arrived! Oops...

My mom and I both tried their Pineapple Ginger Sake Cocktail, and it was amazing. I also love their Coconut Water and Lime, but this may have been better. It's hard to say. Either way, that's a good tie in my opinion!

Last but not least? We stopped by Shit Fountain. Pardon my French... but it is engraved on the fountain!

What about you?

• Have you ever been to a Vegan restaurant?
• Do the men in your life require meat for their meals?

Memorial Day Weekend

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After a couple of eventful and exhausting weekends, Justin and I were pretty thrilled to have a long weekend to relax at home. I worked from home on Friday, and was done working by 3, so I decided to take the pup on a run over to Wicker Park.

I shamelessly stopped at Six Corners to take a "selfie" with my dog in front of strangers.

There's something really energizing about running with my dog. That huge happy grin she's got in the picture above? It is pretty much glued to her face any time she is taken on a walk or run. For some reason, it makes me really happy to see her so happy. Plus, she's a fast one, so it makes me push myself a bit harder.

"Mom! Can't I get in?!"

Once we got to the fountain in Wicker Park, she wanted to drink and get in. Let's just say I only let her do one of those things.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, cut your damn hair.

When we arrived back home from our run, Justin was already home from work, so I hopped in the shower and got ready as fast as I could. This included half-blow drying my hair.

We went back to Grange Hall, because they are known for their huge burger selection and my fiance loves burgers, so I wanted to take him there. It's about a 15 minute walk, so we headed over and got seats at the "bar." I ordered the summer salad and had a side order of baked navy beans. Both were delicious.

You're tasty and I love you.

My fiance got a really good burger on rye (he informed me that this is actually called a "Patty Melt?" I had no idea). The burger, I hear, was very good... but the comical part of it is that it doesn't come with fries. $13 for a burger with no fries. So, we paid the extra charge and bought a side of fries and guess how big it was? Get ready...

Why are you so small?

Yeah. I was a good wife-to-be and managed to not steal his fries as I usually do. BUT, this move on my part meant that we were still a smidge hungry. We decided to turn it into an excuse for a long walk, so we headed from West Loop over to Michigan Avenue, where we walked around for a while before popping into the Forever Yogurt on Chicago Ave.

Where have you been all my life?

They had a new flavor - salted caramel popcorn - and it is not a joke. I seriously cannot stop thinking about it. Hint hint, Justin. #TakeMeBack

Let the Pain Begin

The next morning, we slowly ramped up to the day, and then I went over to take a class at The Mercury Method in Wicker Park. Since it was a pilates class, I decided to just run over there and get some cardio in. As it turned out, I got an awesome 15-20 minute run in going there... but then on the way back, I was so freaking tired (the class is almost 100 degrees, so it's draining) that I just walked crawled home.

I speed showered and then got ready for book club, which was just around the corner at Lindsay's house.

As usual, the spread of food was delicious. Generally, there is some very healthy stuff, and some naughty (but still fairly natural) stuff. This time, as it turned out, everyone kept it pretty light and low calorie. Which meant it worked out perfectly that I brought CHOCOLATE CHILI TRUFFLES! Recipe coming this week. They are #yumstown.

One thing that beats good food? Good company.

After book club deteriorated into a few of us playing Fruit Ninja on Kinect (I'll spare you the action shots, but I have them for future reference blackmail), I went home to retrieve my fiance, and we walked to dinner.

You know how sometimes, it's just impossible to find a place to eat? That's what happened. I suggested Lush, Jaipur, Mana, Habana Libre, and Shaman, before my fiance finally agreed to FatPour... which, as it turned out, had an hour long wait once we got there. Unwilling to wait for that long, we called Old Oak Tap and they said they could get us in immediately. Good decision, for sure.

I went with Shrimp 'n Grits for my meal and it was absolutely delicious. I cannot recommend it enough. The shrimp was perfectly tender and had its tail removed (I hate doing this myself because, quite frankly, I just find it to be too slimy and gross and I don't like touching my food).

I also went with our server's suggestion and had the Champfleur to drink. It's champagne with elderflower liqueur. It was like a slightly sweeter and more floral champagne. #chwinning.

Watching the chefs prepare your meal = My Jam

On Sunday morning, we headed over to Jam in Logan Square to meet my fiance's cousin for brunch. There are so many brunch spots in Logan Square that we want to try, so it was hard to choose just one, but we made it happen.

I had the server's suggestion (apparently this is a habit of mine) and ordered smoked salmon with poached eggs and potato latkes. The eggs were poached perfectly and the salmon was wonderfully smoked.

There was a farmer's market right outside the restaurant, so we walked around for a bit after brunch. I almost bought asparagus and heirloom tomatoes, but we only had a few dollar bills and didn't want to deal with credit card machines at a farmer's market, so we ended up coming home with one thing: dill cheese curds. Priorities...

Once home, I changed and went to the gym for a Ballet Burn class. It was awful and boring and made me really crabby, so, once I got home, I decided to go on a run  (and make my puppy happy).

Best friends should run together, that's how it ought to be

Apparently, she now associates my running shoes with happiness, so as soon as I picked my shoes up, she got excited and started grinning and walking around in circles. So happy.

After my run, I realized that my parents were going to be downtown very shortly, so I hopped in the shower while Justin did a CostCo run. Send that man to CostCo and what does he come back with? Flowers. I am so blessed.

Once my parents arrived, we walked over to Randolph Street Market. It's like the pop-up-shop Disneyworld of vintage and DIY furniture and decor.

How many Carlys does it take to send a text?

I didn't make any big purchases, but there are a few items I'm interested in. They are there every month, so I figure there's no rush. My mother did buy some fresh potted herbs and a topiary, though.

After dropping my mom's purchases off at the apartment, we hopped in a cab and headed over to Southport. We put our name in at Tango Sur and then had a drink at Deleece.  

The drinks were wonderful, and dinner was filling. For the most part, everything was delicious, apart from some issues my dad had with his steak (first it was red and screaming on the inside, then they tried again and brought him a super fatty piece).

By the time we left, we were tired (red wine = zzzzzz) and ready for bed. I slept a solid eight hours before waking up to head to the gym for a Spin class and Bodypump class. After eating a Quest bar at an alarming speed, I made us a nice, healthy spread to chomp on as we marathon'ed a few of the new Arrested Development episodes.

Sabra Hummus, Wasa Crackers, Veggie Straws,
and tons of strawberries.

After more cooking (meals for the week) and TV watching, we finally watched the Blackhawks vs Red Wings game. I was really not into it, so I got ready for bed early. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Happy pup. Sleepy pup. How are you so flexible?

What did YOU do over Memorial Day weekend?