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.

Creamy Tomato Italian Chicken and White Bean Soup - Recipe

I love those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store. They're deliciously juicy and they lend themselves to a broad range of recipe functions from chicken salads to buffalo wing dips to no-hassle soups.

I'm getting more and more busy, and the weather is getting colder. When I saw that my local grocer was offering a sale on the rotisserie chickens this weekend, I just had to buy one and make a soup I could freeze, making an easy dinner some night when I don't have any time or patience to cook.

This recipe is incredibly simple and completely improvised. It basically is a combination of common kitchen ingredients that I had on hand, and I was able to make it in less than 30 minutes. It's a healthy, hearty, time-saving meal! Enjoy the recipe! I'm certainly going to be making this in the future.