County Line Orchard

Apple picking is one of those classic autumn activities. Including, of course, all the things that go along with apple picking - cider, donuts, caramel apples, tractor rides, and throw a few pumpkins in for good measure. I don't get the I-forget-that-nature-exists syndrome in Chicago as much as I did in New York, but it was really nice to get out of the city and breathe some fresh country air for an afternoon.

After much research, I found that County Line Orchard in Hobart, Indiana is the closest to downtown Chicago, has cider/donuts/goodies, and is open on Mondays.



We paid our $1 admission, got our bags for collecting apples, and jumped on the tractor ride.



The driver explained to us what was currently ripe and what wasn't ready yet. Good for picking - Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Gala, Jonathan, Jonagold, and Honeycrisp. Not ripe yet - Fuji and Suncrisp.




There's a cute little sign in front of each row of trees indicating the variety, time period of ripeness, and a row number.



So...what should we pick? Hmm.



We picked about 15 apples, equal parts Gala, Golden Delicious, and Jonagold. Here's some pretty Golden Delicious. The tractor driver told us to look for just a tinge of red to know that they're ripe.



There were lots of beautiful flowers along the way, too. A field of sunflowers, plenty of mums, and some wildflowers mixed in with the apple trees. See the bee in there? Bzzzz.




Next up, pumpkins. How fun is this pumpkin house?



I got a small pumpkin, and a little white and orange striped pumpkin. And one other mini pumpkin jumped into my bag, too.



Last but not least, the treats. They had the basics I was looking for - apple cider, and apple spiced donuts. They also had pies, kettle corn, jams, honey, marinades and dressings, breads, and I'm sure plenty of other things I didn't even see.



Here's my delicious apple spiced donut with cinnamon and sugar. Perfect end to the day. Now, time to make something with all those apples...

New York Weekend - Eataly

Walking into Eataly last weekend is how I imagine my 10-year-old self would have felt walking into Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, if it really existed. I always compare Italian import markets to BuonItalia in Chelsea Market, but Eataly is like BuonItalia x 1000. No offense B.I., I still love you.



Eataly is the brainchild of Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, Lidia Bastianich, and Oscar Farinetti. The 50,000 square foot Italian food emporium is across the street from Madison Square Park, and just opened last week.

Upon entering on 23rd street, we first walked through the produce section.



As we were slowing walking through and taking everything in, a guy from Baldor cut open a fresh fava bean pod and gave me one. Yum! And take a look at these mushrooms:



Next we came upon a big open area with tall tables to stand at, and waiters/waitresses serving meat and cheese plates, raw bar items, and wine. Right by the tables were the fresh mozzarella counter, and this:



I think next year for my birthday I just want a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. There's nothing better than eating a fresh piece just cut from the wheel...and did that guy give us samples? Of course! Soft and crumbly with little crunchy spots of salt...mmmm.

We then took a right past the tall tables and came upon a couple aisles of meat and cheese. So many wonderful kinds of cheese. I must have been walking through there with a huge grin on my face, looking like a fool. Cheese makes me so happy. Not to mention these guys:



Past the meat and cheese are the coffee and sweets. A tiny little espresso bar with room for a few people to stand, rows and rows of chocolates and candy and jams, a pastry counter, a gelato counter, and past that a bigger coffee bar with some tables.



Making a u-turn, we walked back past the tall tables to take a look at the butcher and seafood counters.



It was a really beautiful display - Manila clams, langoustines, in-shell scallops, huge shrimp...not to mention all the filets of fish in the other counter.

Near the fish and meat was the pasta department. Rows upon rows of dried pasta, an unbelievable variety of types and shapes I had never seen before.



There was also a counter with fresh pasta and ravioli priced by the pound. There were a couple guys working with this big, crazy ravioli maker that had huge rolls of pasta dough being cranked through a machine and little raviolis popping out the bottom on a mini conveyor belt.




And of course, there's a bakery too.



I didn't even get pictures of the Italian craft beer section, the kitchen supplies and dishes, or the Kartell chairs and lamps they also sell - the same chairs used in the restaurants. Oh yeah, did I mention there are restaurants inside? 7 of them! And a rooftop beer garden opening in November.

Ok, time to eat! We went back to the tall tables. It was a little busy. Just a little.



After some stalking and careful maneuvering, we got a table. We ordered a meat and cheese plate, as well as a separate order of housemade mozzarella and prosciutto.




You can barely see it in the picture, but the meat and cheese spread comes with another little plate of honey, figs, and candied orange peel. Pecorino + honey = perfection. The mozzarella was amazing, drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Our trip to Eataly was a really amazing experience. Except, ughhh...why does this place have to open when I don't live in New York anymore? All the grocery items, except for some of the beers, are imported from Italy. It's as authentic as you can get. Eataly really lived up to all the hype...actually it more than lived up, it totally exceeded any expectations I had walking in. Just when I thought it couldn't possibly get any better...look who showed up!



WHAT?! Anthony Bourdain?! We had perfect seats to see Bourdain waiting in line to buy some cheese with his wife and daughter. I kind of felt like a stalker taking pictures, so I snapped just a couple. But then...Mario Batali came over too. Worlds were colliding. And we were all legitimately freaking out. So Peter grabbed my camera and got a couple more shots.



Batali left for a minute, and came back to present Bourdain with a meat and cheese plate.



Does it get any better than that? Well done, Eataly, well done.

Eataly
200 5th Avenue, New York NY (between 23rd and 24th Streets)

Isaacson & Stein Fish Co.

I'm sorry Rubino's, but I'm in love with a new fish market...and its name is Isaacson & Stein. Isaacson isn't new, just new to me. It's in the West Loop, where I don't venture during the day all that often.



It still has a wholesaler feel to it, as does Rubino's, but it's not so much of a warehouse. They sell to both restaurants and the public. Their fish is really excellent quality, a lot of sushi-grade fish, and fantastic prices. They have a lot of whole fish, which they will filet for you if you ask.



They had so many types of fish I had never even heard of, one that's sticking out in my mind was a Pompano fish. I hope that's what it was called, I can't remember. I'm sorry, I'm not being very eloquent here. They sell fish. I like fish. Fish yummy.



They also had a whole row of filets and a great assortment of shellfish, plus lots of frozen things like lobster tails, crab meat, and frog legs.



That thing was big enough to be Ursula the Sea Witch. They also sell fish bones to make stock.



I ended up buying a pound of beautiful, deep red sushi-grade tuna, and a pound and a half of PEI mussels. For $20. Whaaaat? Yes,$20 for everything. Isaacson & Stein is my new favorite spot, next time I'm in the West Loop I'm definitely going back.

Streeterville Farmers Market

Streeterville is a little neighborhood just east of Michigan Avenue, right along the lake. It's just a few blocks from my apartment, and on Tuesdays they have their farmers market...and today was the first time I was able to go! The market is set up on the plaza in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art. It's a pretty small market, not as many tents as Division Street or Daley Plaza. But today they had some really great things.

The first thing that caught my eye were zucchini blossoms at the Nichols Farm tent. Aren't they so pretty?



They also had raspberries, red and white currants, and blueberries. Strawberries are already pretty much done for the season, but I was excited to see some other berry choices.



And lots of different varieties of onions, beets, and carrots.



Moving along...Scheeringa Farms had a huge pile of sweet corn. I couldn't pass that up.



The day's purchases - I did get some of that corn. I also got tomatoes and a bunch of fresh basil from Scheeringa. I bought raspberries and blueberries from Ellis Farms in Michigan:



I got some flowers from Wichert Gardens again - this time zinnias.



And...drum roll please...zucchini blossoms from Nichols. That's the fresh basil I bought from Scheeringa next to them.



As I write this, I have a belly full of zucchini blossoms. How did I cook them? How did they turn out? You'll just have to wait and see. I'm sure the suspense is killing you.