Tag: erikadudley

Spring in Chicago

Spring in Chicago

The first two weeks at our local farmer’s market have been a parade of the fattest asparagus. The bigger, the better for us when it comes to this vegetable, in sharp contrast to how we like most of our food. This composed salad celebrates spring. 

Going Green: Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Going Green: Happy St Patrick’s Day!

I went to the Emerald Isle fifteen years ago and had the time of my life. From tasty Irish salmon, lamb, and every kind of potato dish to stone circles, castles, and peat. We started in Dublin and spent a couple of weeks exploring seaside 

The Big Apple is Pretty Sweet

The Big Apple is Pretty Sweet




Each visit to New York has always included popping into a sweet shop for a little bit of chocolate, pastry or cookie. So much so that I’ve contemplated writing a little black book on sweets alone in NYC. Some desserts trend so much that there are legions of fans lined around the block of celebrated shops. Anyone else enjoys the cronut from Dominique Ansel? There’s a lovely version in the image above.


Other desserts are old classics like flaky croissants, palmiers or lemon tarts with delicious examples found in the most unlikely places. We’re here for it all.


Here are a few beauties from the last decade.



The Big Apple is pretty sweet
#newyorkcity #erikadudley


The Big Apple is pretty sweet
#newyorkcity #erikadudley


The Big Apple is pretty sweet
#newyorkcity #erikadudley


The Big Apple is pretty sweet
#newyorkcity #erikadudley


The Big Apple is pretty sweet
#newyorkcity #erikadudley


The Big Apple is pretty sweet
#newyorkcity #erikadudley
The Big Apple is pretty sweet.




Spellbound

Spellbound

Last spring, I was honored to be an artist in residence in the Pullman neighborhood in our beautiful city of Chicago. I initially had made plans to map the many blocks around my space as I considered the ravages of the built environment in the 

Teatime Valentine

Teatime Valentine

Happy Valentine’s Day! This Onion Dip for Breakfast pair had an early start in celebrating Valentine’s Day by having afternoon tea at the Drake Hotel over the past weekend. In the Palm Court, the hotel’s strikingly opulent and beautiful restaurant, we sipped tea, champagne, ate 

Super Bowl and Chicken Wings, Always.

Super Bowl and Chicken Wings, Always.



What are you having? The Super Bowl is this Sunday and we’re getting our menu together. We can’t help but think of our family favorite, chicken wings, whenever we get together for the big game! Here’s a look back to a great day.

———

The game starts at 6:30 in the evening, yet in my excitement, I wake up in the wee hours of the morning. I hurry to the kitchen to start preparing for our game-day festivities. Never mind that it’ll be just the two of us, it’s still a super bowl party, and the main event is the wings! Trying out a new recipe, I start with my dry rub: dried garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. As I add each ingredient, I imagine the layers of flavor. While I marinated mine for several hours, an hour is sufficient to pack in flavor. It will be a while before the big game starts and my anticipation heightens.


There’s turkey for Thanksgiving,black-eyed peas for New Years, BBQ for the 4th of July, and then…there’s wings for Super Bowl! It was estimated that 1.42 billion wings would be eaten on Super Bowl Sunday. Even though I love and look forward to watching the game between two teams who have played valiantly to become contenders, I’m just as excited about the menu. Shall we have pizza or guacamole or any number of other foods? Perhaps. However, when it comes to wings, the answer is always a resounding YES!


We have no idea who’ll be the teams at the Super Bowl next year, we do know that there will be lots of parties with food galore and more than a generous amount of chicken wings.


Cheers everyone!


Barcelona, Revisited

Barcelona, Revisited

[The second time around🎶🎶] We love Barcelona so much that we’re back drooling over these images. Shall we return to this vibrant city? Yes! “Ooooh, what’s over there?” That question has been my mom’s mantra for as long as I can remember. She’s the one 

San Salvador, El Salvador!

San Salvador, El Salvador!

We just returned from an eight day trip to El Salvador. There was so much to see and do in this Central American country which we’ve never visited before, but are already making plans to return. This post will concentrate on our time in San 

Art All around Us

Art All around Us


We never miss an opportunity to enjoy art in the galleries and on the table. How wonderful was it to engage with both! First, there was a terrific retrospective of Faith Ringgold’s body of work.


And then there was the art of the table. Chicago Restaurant Week is in grand fashion with the museum’s Marisol delighting us with delicious courses. The cod was my hands-down favorite. Courses included a zesty hummus with lovely crackers, radicchio and citrus salad, an extraordinary bouillabaisse-style cod, and a parsnip-cardamom cake.



More and More

More and More

We all were in favor of a relaxing holiday week with plenty of food, drink, conversation, and song. After almost three weeks of travel and landing in Chicago on Christmas Day, being still was a gift itself. Half of Onion Dip had been in the