Visit - White Fence Farm

(Romeoville, IL)

This is not my first trip to White Fence Farm. I'm kind of an addict, but we don't get to go very often since it's one heck of a drive south for us (about 45 minutes). When we do go, it's very much worth the trek!

The first thing you'll notice is that it's on a larger plot of land. After parking (or maybe even during), you may notice that the building is fairly large... well, like Whovians say about the TARDIS, "it's bigger on the inside". There's a big rooster by the front entrance - so you'll know where to go.

Me and the rooster...

When you go through the doors, you'll notice a large room to your left and a check-in desk to your right. The room to the left has a couple of miniature museum rooms (which are pretty cool) - it also has a bunch of old machines in it - most of which work (there is an occasional one down). My favorite is the old crane machine. The person at the check-in desk will direct you to the middle room, which used to be overflowing with people waiting to get into any spot in any room (and all the many large rooms were open and busy). I find I usually end up getting placed into the "frontier" room, which is one of my favorites. At this point, you'll really start to notice what I meant by "bigger on the inside" - this place is huge!

After sitting down, they'll give you a menu... but if you're like me, you won't need it! "The chicken meal, dark meat." The relishes consist of coleslaw (I usually don' like vinegar-based coleslaw, but this one is pretty good), pickled beets, cottage cheese, kidney bean salad (oh yes yum) and last, but definitely not least (the winner of the lot!) - CORN FRITTERS! Fresh fried and rolled in powdered sugar, these babies are soft but ever-so-slightly crispy on the outside - making these puppies one of the reasons we go! You can also order these by the dozen during carryout or at the end of your meal.

It's perfectly cool to start filling up on relishes! The sides are unlimited - and the chicken is really good reheated at home. DEFINITELY try the chicken at the table when it first comes out, though - so delicious.

Next, the chicken:

You can't say "no" this chicken.

Just look at it.

Nom...

Taken from their website:

Fresh, never frozen chickens arrive daily to be coated with our closely guarded secret recipe for breading, milled exclusively for us in Chicago. The chicken is pressure cooked thoroughly before being flash fried for only 3 minutes. Delivered immediately to your table, always hot, golden, crispy, and delicious.

Sounds about right to me! The coating is thinner than most chicken joints, but the flavor is much better (and yes I like other chicken joints).

Click Here to go to White Fence Farm's Website

Whelp, I'm full.

Two dozen corn fritters to go, please!

-Moni

Make - Copycat Avanti's Bread

Today's recipe is brought to you by an Italian restaurant from my childhood - Avanti's.
Every time my family would drive through Peoria, we would always stop by Avanti's and get their delicious bread (if not the entire dinner).

Here's the deliciousness!

~*Makes 3 Loaves*~

What kind of bread is it?

It's basically a French-inspired soft white. It's soft and dense, slightly sweet - and is made a similar fashion as a french loaf.

Copycat Avanti's Bread
1 pack	Dry Active Yeast
1½ c.	Water, warm
1½ T.	Vegetable Oil
1½	Eggs (for half an egg: crack, whisk and divide by 2)
½ tsp.	Salt
¾ c.	Sugar
5-5½ c.	All-Purpose Flour

 

1) Sprinkle yeast onto warm water in the mixing bowl.
2) Add the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough until it is all combined and stretchy.
3) Grease a bowl with butter.
4) Form the dough into a ball and place it into the bowl. Roll the dough ball over so the bottom (now greasy) is on the top.
5) Cover the dough with a thin towel and place in a warm area. (I turned my oven on low and put the dough on the range so there was a low-heat source below it.) Let the dough rise like this for 1 hour 30 minutes or until about double in size.
6) Punch the dough down, fold it together and roll it over again. Let the dough rise (again) for about a half hour or 45 minutes.
7) Cut the tough into 3 parts. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes after this process before rolling it out (this helps the dough basically re-cooperate since you "knocked the wind out of it").
8) On a floured surface, flatten the pieces and roll them out until they are about 16" long (side to side) and about 6" to 8" wide (front to back).
9) Slightly moisten the dough so it will stick to itself better. Roll the dough up, starting from the center and working to each end (from the center). Make sure to roll tightly so as not to incorporate a giant bubble into the loaf. Pinch the seams of the roll and tuck the end. Pinch the ends. Slightly moisten the seams then pick up the loaf and drop it seam-side-down into a bit of flour on the surface (you will be using flour versus the normal cornmeal used when making french bread). Lay the loaf on the pan in the middle and straighten it out.
10) Repeat steps 8 and 9 with the other 2 parts of dough. Place them next to the middle loaf on the pan. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour.

*While the loaves proof/rise in the warm area, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.*

11) Gently rub some flour on the tops of the loaves and place into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are a beautiful golden-brown and are hollow-sounding when tapped.
12) After letting the bread cool, brush off the extra flour with a pastry brush. Turn the loaves over and take a sharp knife and scrape the extra flour off the bottom of the loaf. Brush off any excess flour as needed. Some will hang around in the creases - this is perfectly normal and makes it look even tastier.
13) Slice and serve with butter(optional; I prefer it on its own) or make something with it! One popular thing to do with it: make a torpedo (that's a type of sammich made with Salami, Ham, Lettuce, Mayo, Mustard and American Cheese).

Nom nom nom...


-Moni

Make - Mini Burgers!

Recipe time!~
Today's recipe is inspired by my father's famous burgers!
In the picture, I used ground bison meat (and for the first time, too)! They are also quite delicious with regular ground beef. (And who knows - maybe even turkey or ostrich!)

Slider Meat		Toppings
1/2 lbs.	Ground Meat	4	Slider Buns
¼ tsp.	Garlic Powder	1 Tbsp.	Butter, melted
1 tsp.	Worcestershire Sauce	½	Tomato, sliced into 4 pieces
½ tsp.	Soy Sauce	¼ c.	Lettuce, shredded
1 tsp.	A1 Steak Sauce	¼ c.	Mild Cheddar, shredded (optional)
½ tsp.	Salt	¼	Onion, chopped
½ tsp.	Ground Black Pepper
1/8 c.	Mild Cheddar, shredded (optional)	2 tsp.	2:1:1 Mix - Mayo:Ketchup:Mustard

Meat:

1.      Combine ground meat, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, A1, Salt and Pepper together in a bowl.

2.      Cook in a cast-iron skillet until cooked through (145°F or otherwise specified by customer). If requested, add a large pinch (about 1 Tbsp.) of shredded cheddar to the tops of the burgers after flipping and half-done cooking.

Finishing the Burger:

1.      Toast the buns and brush melted butter to the tops of the buns. Put ¼ of the lettuce on the top of each bottom bun.

2.      Add the meat patties.

3.      Top with a slice of tomato.

4.      Spread 1 tsp. of the 2:1:1 mix on the inside of the top bun.

5.      Sprinkle 1 ½ tsp. of chopped onion to the top of the bun and put the bun on top of the tomato.

Serve:

Place 4 Sliders on the plate; 4 “Bread & Butter” pickle slices as garnish along the side (also act as optional toppings).

You can probably use just about any red meat you want for this, too.

Personally, I have only tried two meats: ground beef and ground bison.

Happy eating!

Make - Mini Cinnabuns

Heyo! I have a new recipe to add to my cookbook!

Introducing... Mini CinnaMonis!

How do you pronounce that? (mihn-ee  sin-uh  maw-nees)
Why is it called that? Mini = Small. Cinna = Short for "cinnamon". Moni = My name. Capisce? ;)
Sweet! Yes, they can be. :P
One of my newer "nicknames" at work is "CinnaMoni" because I am constantly "playing" (get covered-in) in the cinnamon when I make the cinnamon-raisin walnut bread at work.


Ready?

Go!

Cinnamon Roll Dough		Cinnamon Filling
1/2 c.	Milk, warm	1 ¼ T.	Makara Cinnamon (Can get @ Cinnabun)
1	Egg, large, room-temp.	½ c.	Light Brown Sugar, packed
1/4 c.	Butter, melted	Cream Cheese Frosting
2 ¼ c.	Bread Flour	4 oz.	Cream Cheese, softened
½ tsp.	Salt	¼ c.	Butter, softened
2 ¼ c.	Sugar, granulated	¾ c.	Powdered Sugar, measured then sifted
1 tsp.	Yeast, dry active	½ tsp.	Vanilla

 

1) Sprinkle yeast onto the warm milk in the mixing bowl.
2) Add butter, salt and sugar.
3) Add egg.
4) Sift-in bread flour and mix well with dough hook.
5) Knead dough into a large ball. Cover bowl with loose plastic wrap and let rise (I put mine on the back of the stove by the wall between the back burners with the oven turned on). Allow to proof/rise for about an hour - or until double in size.

*While bread proofs, combine cinnamon and brown sugar to create filling.*
*Also while bread proofs, blend cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth to make the frosting. Scoop into a piping bag.*

6) I used kitchen shears, but any way you do it, separate the ball into two pieces. Re-wrap the bowl with one half in it (to keep it moist), and roll out the other half into a horizontal rectangle until very thin (1 or 2 millimeters?).
7) Spread some softened butter (not melted) all over the top of the dough, covering ever little bit - keep it a thin layer, just enough to moisten it/make it shine.
8) Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar filling all over the top except for the about half an inch (horizontally) across the top. (This will allow the dough to be pinched shut.)

(Optional: Mist cinnamon-sugar with water lightly to add a little extra moisture.)

9) Roll the rectangle up tightly, then pinch along the edge to connect the end of the dough to the roll - making a seam.
10) Using a sharp knife (I used a tomato knife), SLOWLY cut quarter-inch pieces of roll.

(Optional: Stick a lollipop/cake-pop stick into the side on the pinched bottom seam.

11) Place mini buns onto a greased cookie sheet and wrap lightly with plastic. Let proof until nearly double in size again.
12) Bake at 400 degrees F for 6 minutes.
13) Transfer buns to a cooling rack immediately and let cool. Pipe cream cheese icing on buns as desired.

*If you want the mini buns to be softer, instead of transferring the buns to a cooling rack, pick them up when manageable and place into an airtight container.
You can also cook them for a little less in the oven for a slight under-baked/chewier texture.*


That's it! Hope you like them!

I know my Steven did. :)

-Moni

Visit - County Donuts

(Schaumburg, IL)

Yay! My first post on donuts! I love donuts. :D

This. Place. Is. Awesome.

24 hours of deliciousness just north of the Roselle exit off Thorndale.

They make their glaze themselves with a bit of honey included in the mix. Delicious.

I'm not sure, but I think their best seller may be the "Honey Dip," which is a glazed, raised-ring donut. It is a bite of bliss. A puffy, slightly crunchy cloud of heaven, the Honey Dip is.

Another donut worth noting would be the glazed chocolate donut. A-maz-ing. :) I personally ask for the "glaziest" of them when I get them because they are just delicious.

Some of my other favorites are the "Old-Fashioned Sour Cream" (with powered sugar dusting on top). - A crunchy, beautifully made donut that just the right amount of sweetness to it; their black-raspberry filled donut is wonderful, too - as well as their sugared raised ring donut.

Pictured below are three of the above mentioned. I will take a picture of the glazed raised soon (clockwise from top sugar raised, chocolate glazed and black raspberry filled).

They even get customers that come from out-of-state at all hours just for these little scrumptious cakes.

Bonus? They have coupons online you can print out and save a buck or so.

County Donuts - Click here for their website. :)

Mmmmmm, donuts...

-Moni

Visit - Café la Cave

(Des Plaines, IL)

To celebrate my 21st birthday, my fiance (at the time boyfriend) treated me to a delicious meal at Café la Cave. I have been hooked ever since.

Café la Cave is a more formal place to eat with a cave-like dining atmosphere. It is a family-owned business right next to O'Hare. They have an extremely attentive and friendly staff - and their food is amazing.

We will start off with the starters/appetizers. Now, personally, I have had escargot and oysters and I don't like them just because of the texture. I do try everything anyway so I can appreciate the flavor, but I simply do not care for their textures and refrain from eating them (but I do try them first). The escargot and oysters are delicious. Save the escargot plate and enjoy the butter sauce with some table bread! :) The "Oysters on the Half Shell" are also quite delicous - and even though I couldn't stomach the actual oyster, my fiance ate that as I tried a crunchier bit with some of the sauce. *amazing*

Next up is the soup and salad. I have never had a better French Onion soup than the one they serve here. The bread at the bottom, the crunchy cheese on top, the soup brothy while still being the perfect amount of chunky. Delicious.
The Caesar Salad served there is the best I have ever had. The wedge is pretty dang good, too. :)

Entrees
If you like steak, the first thing you have to try -and get spoiled with- is their "Steak Diane." Steak Diane is made with tenderloin medallions - gently sauteed with garlic, shallots and mushrooms - finished off with cognac. Get the garlic mashed potatoes to go with. Just trust me - the sauce and the potatoes is heavenly. (Picture below is of the Steak Diane.)

If you are more of a seafood lover, and it just so happens to be on the specials menu, get the "Seafood Bake." It is the most amazing seafood dish I have ever had. I don't remember how they described it, but it had mashed potatoes along the outside of the circular dish, shrimp and scallops and more with a cream sauce inside - all baked so the mashed potatoes had some golden brown tips.... oh, man, I was in heaven when I had this dish.

If the Seafood Bake is not on the specials - get the Atlantic Salmon off their menu. It is pan-seared and served with braised spinach and a champagne-tarragon sauce that is so smooth and delicious you will want to savor every bite. (Picture below is of the Atlantic Salmon.)

Save room for dessert!

Their Bananas Foster is served tableside and is astounding. The Créme Brulee, if you like Créme Brulee, is the best I have had. Silky yet firm texture and the perfect amount of crunchy sugar on top. Raspberries too, to top it all off. Delicious. (Top picture is the Créme Brulee, the bottom is the Bananas Foster.)

Café la Cave is also the place I learned I love cognac. My favorite one at the moment is the Belle de Brillet Pear Cognac, which I like to enjoy -at least one- with each visit. :) They also make a very delicious White Russian.

The best part is that if you haven't yet gotten to try this wonderful restaurant, they do a lot of Groupon supporting and that is an excellent way to try it out!

Cafe la Cave - For their website, click here! :)

Signing off for now!
-Moni