the Publican

One of our first great meals in Chicago was at the Publican. This place is just fantastic, and felt like I had taken a trip back to Portland, Ore. The menu is amazing, but heavy on the meats. The booths have doors and block you in like a carnival ride.

Chicago

We have arrived. It has been a whirlwind few weeks since we moved in, but tonight we can finally relax. I am going to make my fave oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (see previous post) and enjoy a night off. There is nothing like the smell of cookies in the oven to make you feel at home.

Chicago Bound 2010

Here are some photos from our trip to Chicago. A trip to go down in the books.

Goodbye/Engagement Party

A dear friend of ours was kind enough to throw us a goodbye Portland and Seattle party/engagement party. It was a great time with a killer surprise ending: cupcakes (or Rudercakes) and champagne.
I was asked by Ruder to make biscuits and gladly accepted the challenge. I decided to go a different route with my recipe selection since my books were all packed up. I chose the Joy of Cooking Buttermilk Biscuit recipe, and must admit, was a little let down. The link to the recipe is from a blogger who also made them and seemed to have wild success. Jerk.

Mine were sort of flat and disc like. I had to take matters into my own hands and make up the rest with a box mix. This is not the last you have seen of BergerBakes, buttermilk biscuits.

However, my failed biscuits are not the most important thing here. Ian and I are so lucky to have such great friends and family to come together for such a special night before we left for Chicago. Thanks again Ian Ruder! And Ruder family!

New and Different

So many new and exciting things have happened in the past few weeks, hence the lack of posts, but the most exciting thing happened on August 3, 2010. Ian and I are an engaged couple! I can't hardly believe it, but I love it.
A few days after we got engaged, we visited one of our favorite places in Manzanita. Marzano's Pizza. I highly recommend this place. It is nothing fancy and by no means gourmet (I am looking at you Ken's Pizza), but the sauce and the crust are unbelievable. I usually order the the Garden Feast, or in other words the "salad pizza" and Ian loves the Marzano's Italian Sausage. If you are ever out on the Oregon Coast and feeling like pizza, you must try this place out.