Snap, Crackle

For you non-Chicago folk, you should know that specialty popcorn is a pretty big deal here. You should see the lines outside Garrett Popcorn Shop during all four seasons – rain or shine, wet, cold, snow or sweltering heat, there is always a crowd lining up outside the door for a bag of caramel corn, cheese corn, [...]

Dessert of Champions

This is an ending to all endings. This is a dessert that’s gonna make you go ‘ooh la la’. This is a dessert that makes you happy for spring and the arrival of those summer days sandwiched in between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Icing on the Cupcake

My (pound cake) gramma’s house, the house where my dad chased rattlesnakes, cured tobacco in the barn throughout his summers, and where he to-this-day parks his 1984 Nissan pick-up truck (the same pick-up truck in which I learned to drive stick shift, and the same one I stole Doral ultra-lights from in high school) is [...]

My Name is Puddin’ Tain

Yes, I’ve been to culinary school. I like to consider myself a pretty decent (alright, a damn good) cook. Sure, I know how to make pizza from scratch, and I can achieve the creamy custardy consistency required to make ice cream taste so smooth it feels like silk in your mouth. Heck, I can even [...]

the Chik

is a city girl from the South,
counselor of genetics, wife,
feline mom, friend, sister,
daughter, gastronome,
traveler, culinary graduate,
and blogger.

the Pastry

was born 'n raised on Southern fare: cornbread, pound cake, pe-can pie, chicken pastry. a move to the Second City led to discovering a passion for food. that love, trips home, and epicurean travels coalesced. here I am.