Events

It's quite a busy day here in Chicago with the Taste of Chicago in full swing... especially with the free Counting Crows concert right outs...

I host neighborhood tours each month (March through October) in order to educate and share the wonderful neighborhoods of Chicago with resid...

Each summer, Chicago's Chinatown transforms their main thoroughfare into a feast for the eyes, ears and tastebuds for their Chinatown Summer...

It doesn't matter where I am... I learn about my surroundings through food. Having moved to the far north Chicago suburbs recently, I had to...

Artwork by Armando Pedroso www.armandopedroso.com This month, I took friends from What's Cookin, Chicago on a tour of Ravenswood Corridor...

Artwork by Armando Pedroso www.armandopedroso.com This month, I took friends from What's Cookin, Chicago on a tour of Ravenswood Corridor...

This, I promise you, is the easiest chicken recipe ever. Ever! It's not hard to make that claim since the only thing you need is a whole c...

This month's Chef Spotlight we highlighted Chef Rick Bayless. He's a local favorite in Chicago since his restaurants, Frontera Grill and Top...

For this month's Chef Spotlight dinner, we highlighted Spanish Chefs, especially Chef Ferran Adria . He's a well known chef in the industry...

Tonight I hosted my monthly Chef Spotlight Dinner paying homage to health conscious chefs. With the new year, many folks are making the eff...

Tonight was my monthly Chef Spotlight Dinner where friends and I got together to pay tribute to Iron Chef Cat Cora. I chose Cat because o...

This month for our Chef Spotlight Dinner, we are highlighting African American chefs in honor of Black History Month. I t was a delicious d...

March was Women's History Month and while the culinary field still is quite male dominated, it's a perfect time to highlight the wonderful w...

Being a new mom with a 6 month old, I certainly can appreciate some time to myself... even better is time with girlfriends. Thanks to my fel...

For this month's Chef Spotlight dinner, we highlighted Chef Bobby Flay . He's a well known chef, restaurateur and television personality wh...

Tonight was a special dinner as it was our first What's Cookin Chicago dinner event in our new home. This month for our Chef Spotlight Dinn...

How's this for a culinary adventure?!? Today was an exciting day because I was featured on WGN Chicago's Midday News. It's was a great oppo...

Would you like to travel back in time with me? Let's rewind back to July, in the middle of summer. This is when magazines tend to prepare f...

If you're like many folks who celebrated the official start of summer during this Memorial Day Holiday Weekend, you may have picked up a bag...

Chicago is known to be quite the urban metropolis. It's a city full of sleek glass, cold steel, bright lights, rich culture and a balan...

When it comes to the camera, I'm not shy. At all. I think part of that is due to my thespian nature from my days in grade school and...

Chicago. I'm proud to be part of the food scene here and there's never a shortage of great places to eat. Wherever you look, there's a ne...

I'm going to make a believer out of you...especially if you're not a fan of coconut. But before we get to that, it's been about three w...

The BEST pie recipes for Pi Day!

One tradition my husband and I have every year is to celebrate our anniversary by travelling. This year we decided to visit Orlando, FL since its a place we haven't been and my sister in law lives. Immediately upon arriving, we realized we were in a whole different food culture unlike Chicago. As we drove out of the airport, we were bombarded with chain restaurants. For most people it's not a big deal, or perhaps it's a relief to see familiar eats. But for both the hubby and I... well, we…

Welcome to July! It's been awhile since I posted and that's because I took a much needed break during the past Independence Day holiday weekend. I hope your celebrations were a delicious one and a memorable time as well. Since I took some time off the blog, I definitely kept busy on the culinary front. My husband and I went on a little getaway up north to Minneapolis, MN. I've never been to the Twin Cities, so Patrick played the tour guide for part of the trip and I incorporated some food…

The journey begins. Let's just say my journey to Israel started well before I even set foot at the airport. Exactly a month before my flig...

And the journey continues. Waking up to the beauty of Tel-Aviv is a pretty amazing sight. Tel Aviv is also known as the White City and re...

It's day 3 of the Taste of Israel culinary tour! Today we started the day bright and early. We headed from our hotel in Tiberias to the Ta...

Before we suddenly find ourselves in the middle of winter, I better share one of my favorite fall experiences this year! A few weeks ago, friends and I took a road trip to an apple orchard in Indiana, just outside of Chicago. It was a beautiful autumn day and one filled with some great food finds along with lots of apples. We started our day at 10am where we met up in downtown Chicago at my place. From there, we took our caravan of cars on an hour drive to Hobart, Indiana. Our first stop was…

Blogging. Food blogging specifically. What's the big deal about it anyway? Well, it is a big deal... a big deal to those that love food, photography and the community it brings! Nearly five years ago, I started this food blog and it's evolved quite a bit over the years. Little did I know that it would lead me to some amazing opportunities. However the most exciting part of blogging is the chance to meet amazing people who share the same joy I have with food and blogging. This past weekend I…

It's been a week since I've been in Texas and I already miss the wonderful people I had the opportunity to meet and work with. So in an effort to re-live the fun I had, here's some pictures and commentary of my Frito Lay Flavor Kitchen Webisode Adventure! The adventure starts off with an email from the lovely folks of Time, Inc. They are the company behind magazines including Real Simple, All You, Southern Living, Cooking Light, etc. One of their clients, Frito Lay, was looking to do a…

This year my husband and I have been taking a few weekend trips and while on our travels, we've enjoyed exploring the food scenes of the places we visit. One city we enjoyed recently was Madison, Wisconsin. The capital of Wisconsin is a couple hours drive away and makes for a perfect weekend getaway. I didn't realize how much great food was available here! We visited in mid-March and although a bit cold, we loved the vibe and all the city had to offer that time of year. I already have plans…

Fresh cranberries deserve to be used in fun, delicious ways... so go beyond the usual cranberry sauce this year. How? Use them in a desser...

8 Local dishes to try when you visit The Bahamas - The UnboXXed

A blog sharing culinary adventures in and out of the kitchen.

Do you know what today is?! Today is a pretty special day. Maybe not here in Chicago. Maybe not in New York City or even Los Angeles. But for my wonderful friends in Cordova, Alaska, today marks the opening day of Copper River Salmon season! What does that mean for everyone else? That means the first Copper River Salmon of the season will be available by the weekend at restaurants around the country and perhaps even in your local supermarket or fish monger. For this season, I'll be keeping a…

. Food. It ties every one of us together. And this past weekend, I flew out to Orlando, Florida to gather with others who embrace food in a similar way that I do... as food bloggers. From the looks of the photo above, I can assure you each and everyone of us are now tied to each other for simply experiencing the weekend together. I'm so happy that my suggestion to have a group photo of all the attendees during the conference was made into a reality. Isn't our group photo great?! The Food…

I recently came back from a little jaunt out in the Pacific Northwest,.. Seattle! It was my second time out there and I had a blast. As a brand ambassador for Krusteaz's Baker's Dozen, I had the opportunity to visit the Krusteaz headquarters, meet up with fellow brand ambassadors and also attend the International Food Bloggers Conference (IFBC). I can't tell you how amazing it was to experience it all... We visited the Krusteaz headquarters, located just outside of Seattle, and had an…

It's been somewhat quiet here lately and that's because life has gotten hectic! Work has been busy, leaving little time for me to dedicate to kitchen fun. However, our family took a much needed getaway where we headed south for Spring Break. Our destination? Marco Island, Florida. It was a wonderful time where we relaxed, took in as much warmth and sun that we could and more importantly, had our fair share of culinary adventures! Here's one of the gorgeous sunsets we enjoyed during our…

A blog sharing culinary adventures in and out of the kitchen.

I'm here in Beantown and it's a fabulous city! I'll admit the first time I came here it wasn't quite a great visit but this little vacation...

Excellence Playa Mujeres offers an irresistible line‐up of nine international all‐inclusive dining options that never require a reservation. The food and beverage program at Excellence Playa Mujeres (EPM) is one I am most impressed with, considering my background and I'm excited to share all this delicious information with you. If you get through this entire post, I hope you strongly consider visiting this glorious resort just for the culinary experience they are able to provide! I've broken…

Life has been quite hectic over here the past week or so. With long hours working at the pharmacy, recently hosting a successful Filipino pop up dinner, Joel getting pneumonia shortly after and caring for my mom who has had multiple doctor visits, I needed some space. I needed to get away. And I am so thankful I had a chance to head to Seattle. I couldn't back out of my trip since I was on my way west to work with Krusteaz and to also attend the International Food Bloggers Conference (IFBC)…

For our second day in boston, my sister joined me early in the morning from Virginia. She flew in and it was great being able to spend time...

Last night I had the pleasure of learning more about the versatility of Sherry, thanks to the Sherry Council of America . Join...

Brazilian cuisine is one that the Baron and I are particularly fond of. We love our share of grilled meats and other Brazilian fare such a...

We dine out fairly often - at least once a week. Usually for our weekly Friday date nights, we'll hit up a local independent restaurant...

Restaurants come and go... and for many of us, it may not even phase us. We may have fallen comfortable knowing that there will be a new c...

It's no surprise that The Baron and I love our steaks. It's always fun for us to check out local steakhouses that are in the area but aft...

Brunch. It's a meal I enjoy on weekends but not nearly enough as I'd like. But I finally had a chance to enjoy an awesome brunch with my f...

Chicago's culinary scene encompasses a broad spectrum of individuals who dabble in the world of food. Aside from the obvious industry folk...

Rum. What's the first thing that comes to mind? Pirates and Captain Morgan? Pina Coladas? Rum & Coke? Well, whatever it is, I'm sure I thoug...

One of the great things about Chicago is the abundance of amazing places to eat. There is never a shortage of delicious food all around town and the variations of how so many cuisines are presented. Recently, I dined at El Mariachi Tequila Bar and Grill and well, let me tell you how that all went.... We were warmly greeted and shortly thereafter, seated to a table that provided optimal views of the restaurants beautiful interior. It was warm, cozy and spacious inside with decor that made you…

Last week, my husband and I went out on a dinner date and dined at Sullivan's Steakhouse . We were given the opportunity to check it out, c...

Not too long ago, I had the pleasure to visit The Palm Restaurant here in Chicago to check out their new Modern 1 Hour Power Lunch menu....

Last night was a fantastic evening with David Mirassou of Mirassou Winery from Monterey California. The Mirassou Winery is America's Oldest...

Steak. Both The Baron and I are big steak eaters and we've had our share of visiting local steakhouses to get our fix. Recently Sullivan's...

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Where in Chicago can you get a taste of New Orleans? Let me tell you... the House of Blues! Don't expect any beads, big colorful floats or...

Hump day. This is yet another busy week for me and I'm anxious for things to settle down so I can relax and breathe some. Despite how ...

Date nights... We are definitely a family who loves them and we do them weekly. In fact, we have a family date night every other weeken...

Figs were once deemed the most hated fruit in the U.S.... how could that be? Perhaps this was due to the lack of knowledge of fi...

Chicago is known for many wonderful foods. It's quite a food loving city with so many cuisines, styles and tastes. One famous food we're kno...

The Baron and I have a lot of fun in the kitchen together a couple nights out of the week, but we enjoy checking out local restaurants abo...

Now that I've been settling into the suburbs nicely from living in the urban jungle of Chicago, I've been loving the suburban life more an...

Girls night out. I absolutely love the opportunity to get out and enjoy some girl time! For a recent girls night out, my friend Melissa an...

After a long day, both Joel and I grab a snack before dinner. In fact, one of Joel's favorite snacks is yogurt which combines his need for...

Because my kitchen is currently in boxes for the next 8 days (and I am unable to participate in this week's Tuesdays With Dorie baking chal...

I've been checking out a few new things this fall, both in and out of the kitchen... yet foodie related nonetheless. Here are some foodie finds that I enjoy and maybe you'll find something that interests you too! Rumiano Non-GMO Cheese Every month or so, I stop over at my local health food store for specialty items such as gluten free flours, ingredients and organic foods. I have been in a cheese loving mood lately and picked up this organic cheese made by Rumiano. It was deliciously creamy…

What will make me get up at 6am on a Saturday morning? The Wilton Tent Sale of course! The Wilton Tent Sale is an annual event that takes pl...

Happy Friday! We've made it through the work week and so far I'm enjoying my new position at a new firm. It's been quite a week full of ne...

A few weeks ago, my husband and I had dinner at our favorite local sushi restaurant. While there, we sat at our fave seat in the upper balco...

Because my kitchen is currently in boxes for the next 6 days , I figured I would use this time to share some fun foodie finds from the recen...

Because my kitchen is currently in boxes for the next 7 days , I figured I would use this time to share some fun foodie finds from the recen...