Chicago Chocolate Tours

Do you ever feel like Groupon just gets inside your mind sometimes?  It's like Groupon knows there is something that has been catching your eye in emails so it just keeps emailing about it.  That's what happened here.  I kept getting Chicago Chocolate Tours deals in my Groupon emails.  And who doesn't want to walk around Chicago and eat chocolate for 3 hours?!  As I mentioned before, my office is big on team building, so (after 17 Groupon emails) I eventually organized a chocolate filled outing for all of us.

Since we were going as a group, I contacted customer service for a group rate.  They were always quick to respond and very helpful.  We decided on taking the group rate on a public tour, but Chicago Chocolate Tours also offers private tours for any event, like a birthday, bachelorette party, etc.  When 12:45PM rolled around on Monday afternoon, we were all pretty excited to partake in the Downtown Loop tour.  The first stop was Macy's (previously the famous Marshall Fields) where we tasted the signature Frango mint and also indulged in other chocolates from the world assortment.  The tour went up the Walnut Room, showcased one of the original Frango machines and highlighted a chocolate sculpture.  We stopped to admire the Tiffany's ceiling on the main floor, and then we were on our way to Toni's Patisserie.  What a cute cafe!  I definitely plan on going back there to enjoy a bite to eat.  The brownie we sampled at Toni's was rich, chocolate decadence.  After enjoying the quaint shop, the tour guided us to Fannie May, where the employees were by far the most generous with the samples.  Naturally, we tried the famous turtle, but we also tasted the new artisan line and were given a couple chocolates to take home as well.  Around the corner, the tour came to the last stop - Argo Tea.  Who would have thought, right?!  But yes, we drank chocolate chai tea and it was delish.  Overall, it was a great experience!  The guide was really informative, so we learned about chocolate, little tidbits about the city, and of course also got to try all kinds of chocolate desserts. 

Chicago Chocolate Tours has several additional routes and during the winter they offer a gourmet hot chocolate tour too, so I have feeling Carl and I may make a date night out of another tour sometime!

Cherry Beer Cookies

A little back story for you here - We honeymooned in Boston in early September of course.  By then literally all of the east coast fall beer was already on tap in the city bars.  One of our big to-dos was visit the Samuel Adams brewery, which led us to the first pub that ever served Sam Adams beer.  If you make it there, show your brewery tour ticket, and buy a Sam Adams draft, you get to keep the glass.  And that's how I tried the cherry wheat ale.  It's amazing on tap.

With that said, I bought a 6 pack the other day and unfortunately am not liking it as much out of the bottle.  I thought "Oh I can definitely bake with this then."  But cupcakes are so hard to share if you aren't planning or attending an event.. like oh hey just had these extra cupcakes laying around that I wanted to share.  So I decided to take a shot at creating my own cherry beer cookies!

Cherry Beer Cookies

1 1/2 sticks butter - room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup Splenda brown sugar blend
1 tsp almond extract
1 12oz bottle of Sam Adams Cherry Wheat Ale
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup dried cherries
2 cups chocolate chips (I split mine, 1 cup white chocolate chips & 1 cup chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whip together the butter and both sugars.  Add in almond extract and begin adding beer in small increments.  Mix in flour, baking soda, and salt until ingredients are well incorporated.  Fold in cherries and chocolate chips.  Chill dough for about 20 minutes.  Drop dough onto baking sheets in tablespoon sized dollops.  Bake for 13-15 minutes or until bottoms are slightly golden.  Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to cooling rack.

Cheers!

Accounting Chefs in the Kitchen

What do ya think about that title?  Not happening, am I right?!  But it did!  The company I work for puts a huge emphasis on team work so they encourage team events.  Sometimes we plan smaller specific team events and other times larger outings.  This time was the latter option; our entire financial services team competed in an Iron Chef of sorts!  And it was a blast!

We walked down the street to Kendall College because they offer 'Home Chef' classes for those not looking to obtain a degree.  They split us into two groups and from there into smaller sections to work on protein, starch, veggies, and (of course) dessert.  It was great!  We had an hour in the kitchen with a legit chef helping with ideas and students also helping out.  Ultimately we split the food winnings; my team taking starch (my group!) and dessert with the other team swiping protein and veggies.  The tie breaker was which kitchen was cleanlier, so we conceded the win.. womp, womp.  BUT we did get to enjoy all the food.

What I'm really excited about is finding this new college.  I looked up more of their 'Home Chef' offerings and they sound really interesting.  Classes are split between beginner, intermediate, and advanced.  Some of the beginning classes are one night, 6-9PM, while some of the advanced classes have a more 'boot-camp' type name and feel stretching over both days of the weekend.  Seriously, once we move into the city I am definitely participating in these!  Artisan pizza, beer enthusiast, and pies and tarts?!  You guys, they're about to have a regular!

{Maker's Mark} Sugar Babe Cookies

This post is a bit late...  Father's Day was a bit trying this year to say the least.  It's been over a year since we lost my dad, but this was the first time I was here in the house without him on Father's Day.  And let me tell you - I never realized how many Father's Day email/advertisements were sent out until I got a million a day like a nagging little reminder.  SO, on Father's Day I did what naturally makes me feel better.  I baked.  And I baked with Maker's Mark bourbon to remind me of Dad.

Sugar Babe Cookies
adapted from the Maker's Mark That Special Touch cookbook

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 orange rind, grated
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
4 Tbs Maker's Mark
3 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 egg white
Granulated sugar (for topping)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream butter and add sugar.  Add egg yolks, orange rind, cinnamon, vanilla, and Maker's Mark; mix well.  Gradually add in the flour and mix until well incorporated.

Roll dough into tablespoon sized balls and place on baking sheet.  Press down with a fork, brush with egg white, and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake 13-15 minutes or until the bottoms barely begin to brown.  Watch carefully!  Let sit a few minutes and then transfer to cooling rack.

Enjoy with some bourbon; Cheers!

Restaurant Review: Stacks

Everyday as I scroll through my Facebook, so many local friends have 'liked' Stacks that it inevitably shows up as one of those wonderful 'recommended posts.'  After seeing pictures of their specials for literally the past month, Carl and I headed to Valparaiso to check this place out and we were not disappointed.

Photo by Stacks

Little did we know, downtown Valpo actually had a free concert taking place, so everyone wanted to eat outside or stop into Stacks.  This caused a small wait and we were able to look around the place.  It's decorated with old stacks of books (of course), old computer monitors used in libraries, etc.; just a great decor scheme in general.  Once seated, the large list of beer, wine, and specialty cocktails is actually bound into an old book, just adding to the vibe.

Cocktails up first, I have finally found a place in Northwest Indiana that makes a mean Moscow Mule.  Yes, please.  As an added bonus, they also had hefeweizen for Carl.  Pretzel bite appetizers were a hit, but we're pretty easy to please on that front.  The true test: dinner was absolutely delicious.  We both got the specials; prosciutto wrapped shrimp with Tuscan roasted potatoes, asparagus, & pineapple-mango salsa for me, and a cheese steak burger (prime beef burger topped with sautéed green peppers, melted cheddar, sliced steak, melted provolone, onion straws, & chipotle aioli) for Carl.  Naturally I finished by following up our fabulous meals with the bourbon grilled peaches.  You guys, dinner was great.  If you haven't tried Stacks, we both definitely recommend it!

Tooty Fruity Sangria Cupcakes

One can only wander through airport bookstores for so long without buying something.  And let's be serious, for me that 'so long' is not really long at all.  While traveling to Hermosa Beach, CA for a work trip, I stumbled upon a Kitson shop with all kinds of odds and ends, thus scoring the amazing cookbook Intoxicated Cupcakes: 41 Tipsy Treats by Kate Legere.  This cookbook is dynamite.  I want to try every single one of the recipes!

Tooty Fruity Sangria Cupcakes
adapted from Tooty-Fruity Sangria Cupcakes in Intoxicated Cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 16.5oz box yellow or white cake mix
2 3.4oz boxes instant vanilla pudding mix
3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sangria/red wine
4 large eggs
1 Tbs red food coloring (if desired)
1 cup canned fruit cocktail, drained (I used the 100 calorie version)

Icing:
8oz (2 sticks) salted butter (at room temperature)
2/3 cup chunky orange marmalade
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 Tbs heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange extract
2 tsp sangria/red wine used for cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake baking tins with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, mix all cupcake ingredients together until well combined.  Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.  Bake for 19-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.  Let cool in cupcake tin for at least 5 minutes and transfer to wire cooling rack.  Let cupcakes cool completely before icing.

For the icing, cream the butter and sugar together.  Add marmalade and mix until well combined.  Gradually add in the confectioners' sugar and then the remaining ingredients, mixing until everything is well incorporated.  Ice the cooled cupcakes.  I used a bag and tip to ice mine, and the frosting didn't hold as well as I expected.  If this is how you plan on icing your cupcakes, I would recommend placing the icing in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set before icing.

I chose these as my dessert to take along to a summer barbeque and they were a hit!  The cupcake is moist and delicious while the icing wonderfully compliments the cake.  You could probably even argue that the icing steals the show because it is also just that good.  Seriously.  Make these & enjoy them with a glass of your favorite sangria!  Cheers! 

Brew Review: Hunter's Brewing

Always on a search to try new breweries and wineries, we checked another off our list.  Hunter's Brewing is a relatively new nanobrewery in Chesterton, open Thursdays through Saturdays (and occasionally now on Sundays too!)  There are high top tables, a couple couches, and the bar to sit and enjoy beer.  They have prepackaged snacks and lately The Rolling Stonebaker wood-fired pizza food truck has been there on Thursdays.

Of course you know I tried a flight, which was 8 beers, just over $11.  It seems that Hunter's doesn't offer any light summer beers yet, so they were all relatively heavy.  The Khao Hom Mali, a jasmine rice cream ale, was probably the one I liked most.  It's definitely creamy and the jasmine gives it quite an interesting taste.  Mild Child, the English brown ale, was also good.  Even though I do love a good flavored stout, the others were a bit too heavy for me.  Of course that doesn't mean we won't be back to try more.  The owners were extremely nice and they participate in all of the local brew fests so we will see them soon at Beers Across the Wabash!