Avocado Toast has been on my food to-do list since first being spotted on a restaurant menu. Though a trend, this is not its first rodeo. On their way to the New World, Europeans used avocados in place of butter. They were smart in doing so as the fruit is just as nutritious as it is delicious, proving to be a good source of fiber, potassium, and vitamins C, K and B6.

After moving to the land of avocados, sunny California, naturally, I had to craft this sensible snack. It's super simple. Cut and mash one whole avocado and spread it on crusty bread to hold the avo spread (I like Trader Joe's Multi Grain Sourdough with Sunflower & Sesame Seeds). Drizzle olive oil, squeeze fresh lemon juice and grind sea salt atop the toast. Enter perfection! The rich, but refreshing taste of oil and lemon mixed with avocado does wonders to the toast. You can get crafty by adding your own take on this dish with a poached egg, pesto, cheeses, spices and the list goes on. Boy, were those sailors onto something!

I sent this photo (of yours truly) and "red locks and bangles" in a text to my boyfriend and without looking at the photo he replied, "I'll have to try it sometime."

Rewind to a conversation we had a few days prior. I mentioned ordering deliciously fresh lox and bagels from West Town Bakery & Diner. Thus, he thought my iPhone was autocorrecting.

Now wouldn't that be a perfect title for a food and fashion blog? Hmmm...

Bites through each layer were a new experience. First you hit the sweet Baileys frosting. Next, the soft Guinness cake and last the bitter sweet Whiskey ganache filling (which balances out the frosting's sweetness).















1 cup Guinness stout
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

For the Whiskey Ganache Filling:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Irish whiskey

For the Baileys Frosting:
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

1. To Make the Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.

3. To Make the Whiskey Ganache Filling: Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.

4. To Fill the Cupcakes: Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down. Transfer the ganache to a piping back with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

5. To Make the Baileys Frosting: Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.

6. Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.

Recipe courtesy of Brown Eyed Baker.

For my champagne and cupcake themed 25th birthday party, I baked champagne cupcakes. The cake batter, filling and frosting all contained champagne. (They were pretty boozy.) Yummy! The photo and recipe are below. This month I sampled Sensational Bites' (3751 N. Southport Ave.) Strawberry Champagne Cupcake to test the competition. They were lighter--the frosting tasted of champagne but the cake had a very faint flavor. If you don't have the time or energy to bake your own batch, these moist cakes are the next best thing. I'll toast to that!


Sparkling Champagne Cupcakes
Yield:  about 17 cupcakes                   
                                                            
Cake: 
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup champagne, prosecco or your choice of sparkling wine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.  in a medium sized bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup champagne and 1/2 cup sour cream (mixture will fizz and bubble a little).  Add flour and champagne mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour.  Batter will be thick.

Fill cupcake papers with 1/4 cup level measures of batter.  Bake for 17-22 minutes.  Set aside.

Champagne Pastry Creme Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream, divided
1/2 cup champagne or prosecco
2 tbsp cornstarch 
5 tbsp granulated sugar
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla

In a medium bowl, whisk cornstarch in 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Combine the remaining heavy cream, sugar and 1/2 cup champagne in a saucepan; bring to a boil then remove from heat.

Beat the whole egg and egg yolks into the cornstarch/heavy cream mixture.  Pour 1/3 of boiling champagne mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs do not cook.  Return the remaining champagne/heavy cream mixture to a boil.  Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.  

Cut a divot into the top of each cupcake and fill with pastry cream.  Trim the cut-out cake pieces flat to make a "lid" and place on top of the filled divot.

Champagne Frosting:
1 cup plus 1 tbsp. champagne or prosecco
2 sticks of butter softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Place 1 cup of champagne in a small saucepan.  Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons.  Transfer to a small bowl or condiment cup and allow to cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream softened butter and powdered sugar together.  Once the frosting is thick and fluffy, pour in the reduced 2 tbsp. champagne plus 1 tbsp. champagne from the bottle and mix well.

Frost the cream-filled cupcakes and decorate with pastel dragees.

I ventured to new Lakeview eatery Native Foods Café (1023 W. Belmont Ave.) before an Octavarius show at ComedySportz one Sunday this fall. After a delish Scorpion Burger—homemade blackened Tempeh, chipotle sauce, romaine, carrots, avocado and onions—I ordered the Cardamom Rose Cupcake. The cake and frosting both tasted like rose. It was also very aromatic. Moreover, since our taste buds and sense of smell are so connected, the flavor was reminiscent of grandma’s perfume.

Walk into the Roscoe Village spot (1955 W. Belmont Ave.) and you'll find cupcake-shaped tables, associates clad in "Shut Up and Bake" shirts and a bathroom with graphic graffiti art of people, human hearts, brains and cupcakes.

I ordered a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. I was pleased at the amount of sugar; it was not overly sweet as to make my teeth hurt. The peanut butter frosting had much flavor and the cake was heavy but had a slight bitter dark chocolate taste. Unfortunately, I could not savor the flavors because both parts of this Bleeding Heart treat were as dry as a bone. The frosting was even hard. I tried to enjoy but just couldn't shake the dryness.

For more information, visit http://www.thebleedingheartbakery.com/. 

Let's talk turkey! Larry Donahue, executive chef of yummy eatery Mity Nice, located behind Water Tower Place's foodlife, tweaked the restaurant's turkey burger recipe (coined Dr. Bob's Turkey Burger) for at-home cookin'. Donahue offered the recipe to Chicago Sun-Times. I tried my hands at cooking the dish and it was delish!

1. I made six smaller burgers with the recipe, versus four which the recipe calls for. This makes the most of your ingredients, plus you eat less. 
2. I did not chill the meat in the frig and the burgers turned out great.
3. Here's another tip: grilling on an electric grill will cook the meat faster but cause it to become drier and less flavorful than on the stove.

To make 4 (or 6 smaller) Mity Nice Turkey Burgers:

In 2 tablespoons olive oil, saute ¼ cup chopped yellow onions, 1 teaspoon chopped, peeled garlic and 1/8 cup chopped green pepper until vegetables are light golden.

Cool and mix with 2 pounds ground turkey, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper.

Form into 4 patties; place on sheet pan and refrigerate until chilled, 30 minutes to 1 hours. Season patties with salt and pepper; fry, broil or grill patties until well-done (165 degrees) but not overdone. Lightly toast 4 buns.

On my second visit to Lakeview's yummy eatery Bakin' & Eggs (3120 N Lincoln Ave), I indulged in a peppermint cupcake. The sweet, yet cool flavor is perfect for a pre- or post-holiday season treat.

The chocolate cake was moist and dense. It was the least sugary cake I have tasted and thus, I was pleasantly surprised. The buttercream frosting was also a shocker--light and fluffy and not too sweet! AND it was 50% off. Can't beat that!

For more on Bakin' & Eggs, click here to read my savory review.

Our next cooking adventure? Stuffed peppers—easy and simple! You can use anything you have in your kitchen. We opted for whole grain rice, a blend of shredded Mexican cheese, mushrooms, onions, garlic powder and pepper. It was simple and delish!

Steps: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prepare bell peppers (remove and discard the tops, seeds and guts), make rice, stir all the ingredients in a bowl, scoop into peppers, top with cheese, place on cooking sheet/pan, bake for 1 hour and voilà! You can use tomato sauce or salsa for added moisture and flavor, which you add to the mix, and spread on top of peppers every 15 minutes in the oven.

The dish makes for a great evening delight.

Pizza, Pizza! One Wednesday night after work my boyfriend and I were struggling to create a dinner that was inventive, yet took under an hour to prepare. We decided to make our fave dish--pizza--from scratch. (Well, we didn't make the crust or sauce, so it was technically Semi-Homemade.)

Our next task: purchasing ingredients.  We chose as follows.

Pizza #1: Basil Marinara Sauce (Trader Joe's), Mozzarella, Feta, Old Taylor Street Cheese Sprinkle (The Spice House), Orange Peppers, Onions and Mushrooms.

Pizza #2: Vodka Cream Sauce (I recommend Trader Joe's or any equivalent sauce at Jewel), Mozzarella, Parmesan, Old Taylor Street Cheese Sprinkle, Mashed Potatoes (mash a baked potato) and Rosemary.

After taking the pizzas out of the oven, we let them stand for about seven minutes and then they were perfect.

I would highly recommend getting creative with the ingredients. Delizioso!

The Thursday before Halloween I received surprise TipsyCake cupcakes in the office from my mother (how "sweet"). Their specialty is custom cakes, such as the spooky lava cake below. The cupcakes were chocolate and vanilla with a thick whipped cream center. They were the moistest cupcakes I have ever tried and contained much frosting, but cannot be compared to the complex flavors of the treats made by the custom cupcake shops that have popped up all over the City.