The Rundown v. 5

As summer comes to a close, it seems like everyone has been fitting in as many events and activities as possible. For me, wedding season is in full force. I was in Maine two weeks ago for a wedding, and today I am heading to Washington DC for another. August kept me busy. Beyond busy. But I loved every moment. Here is the rundown.

My friends Anne, Alexis, and I took a pizza making class at Le Pain Quotidien. We learned how to make Neapolitan style pizza, and it was seriously good. I loved the format of the class. First we learned how to make a really simple, no cook sauce, then we were handed dough and topping and we assembled pizzas. While those cooked, we learned how to make our own dough from scratch. We all sat at the communal table and ate our pizzas and drank wine. At the end of the night we were all send home with enough dough and sauce to make four personal pizzas. It inspired me to have a pizza dinner party! Two days later my friend Erin and her husband came over for dinner.

The Windy City Blogger Collective hosted its August Happy Hour at Chicago Q, which is most certainly the best place in Chicago for barbecue. The eatery spoiled us with homemade barbecue chips, a trio of sliders – one of my friends said that she had never tried brisket before and that the brisket slider was so good she almost died. My personal favorite was the fried green tomato with a ranch sauce- just unbelievably good. And, the word on the street is that Q is going to be opening up a cigar lounge in the upstairs of the restaurant. How fun is that?

I attended the Bad Martha Beer Chicago launch party with several friends from the Windy City Blogger Collective. The beer was seriously good and I can’t wait for it to hit shelves in Chicago. The launch party was on an Odyssey cruise on Lake Michigan, and a traditional New England lobster boil was served for dinner. We absolutely loved the Bad Martha Beer, the Vineyard Ale was my favorite.

My friend Samantha and I went to a really fun cocktail making class held at Paramount Events‘ space The Smith on Lake and hosted by Femme Du Coupe. During the class we learned how to mix three different drinks: one with bourbon, one with gin, and one with tequila. The class seriously upped my cocktail game, and I have created by own version of the blackberry bourbon cocktail we made in the class.

I spoke at the Foodseum/SoFab Institute event Culinaria Query: Re-Setting the Family Table along with Monica Eng from NPR, Bruce Kraig a food historian and hot dog enthusiast, and Jimmy Bannos owner of Heaven on Seven. The event was held at Scubas and I loved both meeting attendees and engaging in conversation with the fellow panelists. I also got a chance to sit down with Kyle of the Foodseum and I am so excited to see the food museum come to life.

Charles and I went to Jazzin at the Shedd Aquarium with friends. Jazzin at the Shedd had been on my Chicago summertime bucket list for years and I definitely want to go again next year. At the event we sipped drinks and toured many of the exhibits. We especially loved the shark and jellyfish exhibits.

Some fellow members of Chicago Food Bloggers and I attended Shine & Dine, a event benefiting Step Up Women’s Network which focuses on supporting the future success of girls through mentoring and after school programs. The goal is to keep girls in school, encourage them to go to college, and inspire them to build a career. Cat De Orio, the host of Check, Please! was honored at the event and it was fascinating to hear her talk about how we made her way in the food and tv industry.

Plus, my favorite salon, goldplaited is featuring me as their Gal Pal of the Week, and I recently did a fun interview with Honey & Birch.

I hope that everyone has a fantastic long weekend! I am heading to DC and you can come along by following @thekittchen on Instagram and Twitter!