season's eatings

My six days at home went by so fast!  I wish I could've stayed until after the new year, but I can't complain when I have a full-time job waiting for me to get back to.

As soon as I got off the plane, we stopped by Wonton Gourmet for potstickers and my favorite broccoli beef chow fun (ask for it extra crispy!).  My mouth is watering.

The next day, we ventured downtown for some good eats and sightseeing, despite some blistering cold winds. 

As a bonus, we caught a free show at the Millennium Park ice rink, featuring six skaters performing to "Silent Night."

 New York Style Pizza at the Ogilvie Transportation Center filled us up...

...but the Montreal-style smoked pastrami from Fumare Meats & Deli stole the show.  We ordered the sandwich on white bread (they were out of rye) with mustard on the side.  Before we knew it, we had eaten half the sandwich, even though we were already full from the pizza.  In fact, it was so good that within ten minutes, we were in line to buy a pound of the pastrami to bring home.  The peppercorn crust made this melt-in-your-mouth pastrami one of the highlights of my trip.

Not pictured: We picked up a Burrata/Fresh Basil/Prosciutto/EVOO waffle sandwich and Banana/Nutella sandwich from Bel 50.  Kind of like Chicago's version of Bruxie.  It was very tasty but a little hard to find.  My mom kept confusing it with Agency|51 and called it Bel 51 haha.

For dinner, my mom made her famous Mango Chicken and Salty Egg Yolk Shrimp.  Both were hundreds of times better than restaurant quality food.

At Mitsuwa, we stopped by Gabutto Burger for some green tea stuffed pancakes.  Perfect breakfast!

Then we had dim sum in Chinatown at Cai.  It's always more fun to go with my mom because she's an expert at uncovering the delicious dishes that aren't on your average dim sum menu.

For dinner, we had the ultimate hot pot including beef, chicken, squid, fish, jumbo shrimp, pork, and lots more.

My graduation dinner was in Chinatown in a private room at MingHin.  I've never seen a lazy susan that big before!!

On Christmas morning, my mom made black sesame mochi.  Seriously, when is her cookbook going to be published?!  Maybe that should be our next project!

And of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without my mom's famous cookies.  She spends days and weeks combing through the best recipes, gathering ingredients, prepping the dough, and baking a variety of cookies to please every palette.

Like I said, the six days went by so fast!!!  As my mom was dropping me off at the airport, I felt less and less ready to leave.  I even cried when I hugged her goodbye...but, springtime will come soon enough and then I'll get to enjoy more Mommy & Me time!!  Woo!