Last Chicago Weekend: Purple Pig Round 3

Greek yogurt smear...absolutely to die for!

The Purple Pig on Michigan Ave is my happy place. Good food is always accompanied great company and conversation. So for my last weekend in the city for the summer (Hello, South Carolina!), amidst finals and moving woes, I made one last trip to The Pig with my friend McKenna. It was a beautiful night, and dining out on the patio, it was the perfect sendoff to a great year.

Stress-Baking: Hot Cocoa Cookies and PB Chocolate Chunk - Recipes

So finals are here, so what do I do? Study? Write my essays? Do some research? Finish my report? No, I'll bake cookies.

I stress-baked two delectable types of cookies this weekend--a peanut butter chocolate chunk, and hot cocoa cookies. They're delicious, and the perfect little pick-me-up for a study break! I'm linking to the recipes, and let me tell you, they're both winners. 

I rolled my PB cookies in coarse sugar, and added some chocolate morsels for extra deliciousness. I followed the recipe for the hot cocoa cookies to a T, and they're excellent. Next time you need a cookie fix, these were easy, required very few ingredients, and sure satisfy my sweet tooth. 

Peanut Butter Cookies (Fourless) - Claire Robinson (Food Network)

Hot Cocoa Cookies - A Few Shortcuts (blog site)

Aloha Sola - Dine Out Chicago

Loved the atmosphere here! Quiet and warm on a
cold Wednesday night!

My friend, McKenna and I decided to tackle a different restaurant every few weeks, and with the help of a great deal on Groupon, we decided to check out Irving Park's Hawaiian Fusion restaurant, Sola, for our first place.

A Religious Experience: The Holy Trinity (of beef) at Eataly

When my boyfriend came to visit last weekend, we planned to dine at BIG and little's, a great gourmet diner, after going to a matinee performance at The Second City. We hurried to the train after the show, fighting the bitter winter wind, and luckily, hopped on the brown line to go one stop south for some Foie Gras Fries or a Porkbelly Po' Boy.

From the train, we could see the restaurant, however, and the windows looked black. It must have been closed on Sunday, but not having a plan B, we scrambled to think of something for dinner, and Eataly it was.

RPM Italian: A Petit Feast

My boyfriend came to Chicago this weekend, which means three things: restaurants, museums, and restaurants.

After spending a full day at the Art Institute of Chicago, checking out some of the classic works of Monet, Degas, and some really weird modern "art," we were starving, and made our way downtown to grab a bite to eat.

With no reservations, we decided to see what the wait would be like at RPM Italian, celebrity TV personality Giuliana Rancic and entrepreneur husband, Bill Rancic's chic River North restaurant. I had been there once before with my mom over the summer, and was impressed. Since it was early, we decided to see if we could get a table. And with luck, we did.

Girl & the Goat: A Must-Try

Ever since I moved to Chicago, I've heard people talking about Girl & the Goat, TopChef Season 4

Winner Stephanie Izard's West Loop restaurant…mostly about how it was impossible to get a reservation there. But I've also heard that this trendy spot is a must-try, and so it has been on my food list for a long, long time.

So in wishful thinking, I had been checking OpenTable every few days for a reservation to pop up that wasn't at 10:30 or 11:00 at night, but to no avail. 

Until Friday.

Flourless Chocolate Chunk Cookies - Recipe

I made these yummy chocolate chunk
cookies for Valentine's Day!

I made these awesome and incredibly simple cookies for Valentine's Day, and they may be one of my new favorites. With so few ingredients, and taking very little time to make, they're a college student's stream, and satisfy any chocolate craving! No flour, no butter. Give this recipe a try! I know you'll be hungry for more!