(K)new

On Saturday night, Michi, Meg, Cindy and I had dinner at a new-ish restaurant in Logan Square, (K)new. The executive chef, Omar Rodriguez, used to be the chef at the (now-closed) Think Cafe on Western. I loved Think and when I heard Chef Rodriguez had moved onto a new restaurant I immediately knew it was a place worth checking out.
I was a little concerned on my way to the restaurant because right before heading out I checked on Yelp and found mixed reviews for the place. So that left me feeling a little unsettled but I am happy to report the restaurant was superb!
The ambiance was fantastic. Beautiful, minimalist decor with friendly staff and the music at the perfect level (not too loud, not too soft).

As for the food, well it was delicious to say the least. For starters, the complimentary bread basket came with a whipped butter with shaved black truffles and white truffle oil! In the free bread basket! Immediately, I was impressed.
For an appetizer I ordered the seasonal beet salad with orange segments, goat cheese, and a citrus vinaigrette.
For the main course I ordered the pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon with dates and mashed potatoes in a port wine reduction.
For dessert I had the dark chocolate brownie with mint chocolate gelato and white chocolate mousse.

I loved every bite of it. And it was BYOB with no corking fees, which was also fantastic!

The only thing I felt could have been improved was Michelle's dessert: the cranberry, orange creme brulee. The top wasn't crunchy enough and the custard wasn't thick enough (it was a bit soupy). The flavor was amazing but the texture wasn't quite right.

Other than that, the restaurant was amazing and I would highly recommend dining at (K)new.

PinkBerry

So I'm back from "sunny" California. And by that I mean it rained every day I was there. Oh well, at least I came back to Chicago and the snow had all melted (I guess it was plenty sunny here in the midwest...go figure.)

I had a great time visiting Karla and her family. We ate at In-N-Out burger (yay!) and I got to eat PinkBerry twice on my visit! Once, Matty B and BJ brought me over a sweet treat. Then I saw the location in LAX on my way home and couldn't resist another scoop.

Their seasonal flavors are a-maz-ing and I splurged on a mixture of pomegranate and blood orange fro-yo with toasted almonds. Holy cow that was delicious.

I miss LA already but it's nice to be home. But I am now campaigning for a PinkBerry in Chicago. :)

In-N-Out Burger

I'm going to Los Angeles next week to visit my friend Karla. I'm so excited to see her, and meet her 2 small children. I haven't been back to Cali for at least 5 years. It will be good to get another dose of sunshine and warmth. And there will be at least 1 trip to In-N-Out Burger. Yay!

Blueberry Muffins

What does one do when snowed in during a blizzard? Well, if you're me you take the time to try out a new recipe. Another winner from ATK! I swear, they can do no wrong!
AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN: BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
INGREDIENTS:
Blueberry Compote:
1 cup blueberries
2 tsp. sugar
Lemon-Sugar Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
Muffin:
2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
2 large eggs
1-1/8 cups (8 oz.) sugar
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk (I used skim milk and it tasted fine)
1 cup fresh blueberries

Make the compote: Combine berries and sugar in small saucepan over medium heat. Break berries with spoon and cook down to 1/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Let cool.



Make the topping: Mix sugar and zest together in small bowl. Set aside.

Make the Muffin: Heat oven to 425F (400F for dark or coated pans). Set baking rack to upper middle of oven. Grease muffin tins. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in large bowl. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar till light, about 45 seconds. In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, oil,vanilla, and buttermilk. Add egg mixture and continue to whisk till well combined. Fold wet mixture into flour mixture with a spoon or spatula. Mix lightly and leave the batter slightly lumpy. Fold in remaining blueberries.

Using an ice cream scoop, divide batter evenly among tins. Spoon about 1 tsp. of compote onto tops of standard muffins.



Swirl the jam into the muffins using a skewer or chopstick and a figure eight motion. Sprinkle each muffin with some of the lemon-sugar mixture.




Bake minis 10-13 minutes (they won’t brown). Bake standards 16-19 minutes, or till tops are set and toothpick inserted near center returns with just a few crumbs. Cool in pan 5 minutes before transferring to rack to finish cooling.

Winner of this year's Best Superbowl Ad

How flippin' cute is that kid?

(stupid blogspot won't let me upload the link to the commercial, so cut and paste the web address below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0