Not at all. It's actually a recipe passed along by a friend after I'd enjoyed the dish at her home. And I don't think it was originally hers either.

Same here (Chicago).

You may be able to reserve the smaller dining area at that Malnatti's exclusively for your group. (When you enter that Malnattis, there is a small dining room off to the right, that is often closed, except when they are busy, and there main room to the left.)

Johnb,
In theory, the requirement that glasses are loaded on a slight angle may make sense in terms of elimination of water that might pool in a concave bottom (like you, I never use the heat-dry feature). In practice, in the first few weeks that we had our new KA (2+ years ago), we lost a couple of glasses to breakage because we'd not placed them in a stable position and they toppled over when the DW was in operation. I did 2 things to correct that issue: (a) I became more adept at loading the DW in a manner to be sure that glasses were placed in a stable manner; and (b) a bought new a set of everyday glasses that had thicker side walls so they were less susceptible to breakage.

Still, I would prefer to have the configuration of the top rack on the KA DW that this one replaced (purchased in 1989); regardless that the angle for the glasses resulted in a bit of water pooling in some occasions, I liked that rack better because the glasses were more stable and because it had more usable capacity. Really my only complaint about my new KA.

(Yes the cycle on this one takes longer but only about 1 hour, compared to 1/2 hour, if you don't use the heat-dry. As Johnb states, the longer cycles is the result of energy-efficiency improvements and is true of all modern DWs.)

I think she is speaking of the feature with some of the premium KAs where there is a flat basket-like receptacle that lies horizontally at the top of the DW, above the top shelf which is intended for large utensils, especially with plastic handles that you might not want to place in the bottom shelf. Like you, I have a more basic model, with a flatware basket on the bottom only. For plastic handled utensils, I just fit them in the top shelf, or sometimes place them in the basket on the bottom as I never run the Heat-dry cycle.

I do agree that the angle of the dividers on the top shelf complicates how glasses are placed.

Here you go:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped in food processor (or finely with a knife)
4 tsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 red & 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped fine
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 cans of chicken broth (14-15 oz each), topped off with enough water to equal 1 qt liquid, total
2 cans (15 oz each) white beans
1-1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 can chopped green chilis
1/4 cup corn meal
1 tsp Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
Chopped cilantro
For garnish: grated cheddar or jack cheese, and tortilla chips

1. Add 2 tsp olive oil to large pot, over medium heat. Sautée onion, garlic, sweet peppers, chili powder, and cumin for about 5 min.
2. Add remaining olive oil and chicken, and sautée for another few minutes.
3. Stir in broth, beans, oregano, salt, chili peppers, and corn meal. Bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
4. Stir inTabasco and cilantro.
5. Garnish with cheese and chips

It's not a high sheen. (Sorry, can't be more precise as to the technical description.)

Never had a chest freezer and always had plenty of room to shop the sales for meats, etc., and freeze and hold in the freezer compartment of our fridge. But, our freezer is used for little else -- no convenience foods like frozen pizzas or microwaveable entrees, and no home-cooked meals made in advance to hold for later consumption. Other than various raw meat, fish, and poultry frozen in meal size portions, the only thing in our freezer are a few bags of frozen vegetables, ice cream, coffee beans, bread products (bagels, tortillas, burger rolls, etc.), and a very small number of items stashed in the freezer to prevent spoilage when they are near the end of their fridge life (berries, chicken broth, leftover pancakes or waffles).

And, if the goal is shopping the sales to save money, you need to factor in the energy consumption of a separate chest freezer.

We've had maple flooring in our kitchen since we remodeled it 24 years ago. About every 7 years we've had the floors re-sanded, and had a new polyurethane finish applied. Leaks are a problem, although we've never had the kind of slow leak that went undetected -- rather, we once had a complete melt-down of the contents of our freezer, resulting in puddling on the floor that lasted for about a week because we were gone on vacation, resulting in some warping of the boards next to the fridge. Also, we've had occasional leakage from the DW when we've had a blockage in the pipes (because it's an old house, not that the DW malfunctioned).

We've been happy to accept that trade-off, as wood flooring is far softer than porcelain tile, so it's easier on the feet if you are cooking (and/or cleaning up) for extended periods. And, we like the warmth that the wood imparts to the overall look of the house. It's more in keeping with the style of a house built 100 years ago, than tile, for example.

Even without the flooding, the floor would need re-sanding about every 7 years from wear in high traffic areas.

(NB, Bosch DW's have a feature that automatically cuts off the machine and prevents flooding if it detects any failure to drain. If you get wood floors, this is a DW feature you might want.)

We do it just to get a head start on prepping dinner, when we've got a lot to do, and to keep the cut potatoes from browning once they are ready. When I am making mashed potatoes immediately (e.g., for dinner on a weeknight), as soon as the potatoes are ready, I start them on the stove.

I believe that the only adverse impact is that it might cause water soluble nutrients to leach out. On Thanksgiving, it's not unusual for our potatoes to be peeled and cut-up, sitting in the pot in water, hours before we cook them. No adverse taste consequences that we've ever noted.

As Nsxtasy has suggested, Lawry's and Carson's are well past their heydays. I've not eaten in either in over 20 years. But, if it's where your in-laws have heart set on eating, you may want to indulge them.

In any event, it sounds like they are meat and potatoes types, so if you don't go to Lawry's or Carsons, you probably should include a restaurant that features steaks, etc. You've not indicated your budget so, if high-end steak houses are within your reach, consider David Burkes or Gibsons, to indulge their red-meat tastes. If that's too high-end, then Wild Fire is a more moderately priced restaurant with lots of steaks and other red meat options (ribs too, if I recall correctly).

As to casual Italian, you might want to consider La Scarola, which is an old-school Italian restaurant with reasonable prices and good food. (Some of Nsxtasy's Italian suggestions, while serving excellent food, do not have what I would call a "casual" vibe -- e.g., Tesori, Vivere, and the Piccolo Sogne restaurants, which have good food but perhaps "fancier" than you have in mind. Casual attire yes, but not "casual" in terms of atmosphere.)

It would probably help us guide you if we knew where you live and the price range that you had in mind. For example, while Nsxtasy is certainly correct that Chicago is not particularly standout when it comes to ribs, if you have your heart set on eating them because you can't get them in your neck of the woods, then we can certainly recommend some rib joints.

Don't sweat too much about exact pairing of what you bring to Schwa, especially if you have a late seating. When we were there, for one course they brought us glasses of a wine leftover from someone else's dinner ( I think a sweetish white) as they thought it paired better than any of the 4 bottles we'd brought.

I buy the pre washed torn (or usually spring mix) purely to have it available for salads to take to work for lunch. I find that not having to spend the time of washing and tearing lettuce in the morning makes it much more likely that I'll pack a salad for lunch -- still cheaper, healthier, and tastier than most lunches I'd otherwise buy.

For the 2 of us for dinner, I buy leaf lettuce -- typically red leaf but sometimes romaine. I find that a head of red leaf will keep for about 1 week in the fridge and romaine for 10 days to 2 weeks (might have to discard a few outer leaves) so we generally manage to consume it before it spoils.

As an alternative to chili made with ground beef, you can use ground chicken to make a white chili -- no tomatoes, but made with chicken broth, corn, white beans, onions, jalapeno (I've got a recipe somewhere but I don't make it often so can't do it by heart.)

There may actually be Luddites who don't know how an Ipad works. This happened to me the first time I was handed one, in lieu of a printed wine list, a few years ago. I inadvertently touched or swiped the screen and I could not figure out how to get it back to the red wines by the glass page. Now that I know how to work an Ipad, I'd still prefer paper.

As I said, I've never made it. I had it at a restaurant. My guess is that they shaved the raw stalks and then blanched the "pasta" very briefly.

Never made it but once had a delicious "fettuccine" made from shaved asparagus stalks.

I think you need to put this in perspective. Kids who grow up in urban environments are obviously going to have less of an understanding of the provenance of their food than those who grow up on farms. Kids who grow up in poor or working class families with no stay at home parent and no household help are going to be exposed to less cooking from scratch and gardening than families where there is a stay at home parent and/or domestic employees who do the drudge household chores (laundry, cleaning,etc), freeing up the working parent to still find time for cooking.

I say this from a personal perspective, having been raised in the 60s by a single mother who worked outside the home in an era when this was so rare that the terms "childcare," "latchkey child," "stay at home mom," etc. were not even in the lexicon. While we were not poor, we certainly were not affluent and there was no domestic help (and no clothes drier or dishwasher either). Mom got dinner on the table every evening after a full day at work. The range of convenience foods then -- in a pre-microwave era -- were far fewer than now so we probably had more exposure to real cooking than today's kids. But vegetables, with the exception of farmstand corn in the summer, almost always were from a box pulled out of the freezer. Birthday cakes were courtesy of Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker mixes. And, my mother was probably one the earliest buyers of Pillsbury slice and bake chocolate chip cookies. Of course, in those years, schools taught home ec, so I learned about cooking and baking from scratch there, as well as from a friend in high school whose mother was an avid cook and baker.

Anyway, I think it's great that you are exposing these children to lessons about real food, but I think you need to be less judgmental about their ignorance. Schools have largely ditched home ec in favor of devoting their limited resources to hardcore skills like reading and math. As a largely self-taught cook, I can attest that reading and math are pretty necessary to cooking too (as well as a lot of other life skills).

Another +1 on entrée salads. I typically add cut-up warm grilled boneless chicken breasts (marinated in vinaigrette first) or shrimp (just dressed with seasoned olive oil before grilling). In addition to fresh greens, I often add blanched string beans or asparagus cut-up on a bias. Also, I sometimes make "oven-baked" red potatoes on the grill and add them into the salad. I'll try to vary the salad dressing, sometimes replacing the vinegar with lemon juice, or a citrus-mayonnaise dressing that goes especially well with shrimp.

There are no really "stand out" Food Trucks in Chicago because the city ordinance forbids cooking food on board. So whatever you purchase was prepared elsewhere and is just being kept warm in the truck. Somewhat convenient for office workers but certainly not destination-worthy for visitors.

If you want "street food," rather than food trucks you should just go to storefront restaurants that feature foods like Italian beef, etc.

In case you do want to try another alternative pancake recipe, this one is made with oatmeal and blue berries:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/hea...&

So glad you took the time to let us know how it turned out. Congratulations on your success.

My son -- who was a good eater -- loved going to Indian restaurant buffets at 2. He did not eat anything spicy at that age -- just the basmati rice pilaf, naan, and tandoori chicken, with rice pudding for dessert. That form of rice pilaf is pretty easy to cook at home, even if you are not otherwise accomplished at Indian cooking. The OP may want to consider that as an alternative way to present rice to her toddler.

I make my apple sauce with no added sugar -- just water, apples, and cinnamon. Uncooked apples may be healthier in that the heat may reduce the vitamin and fiber content, but it's still a healthy food. And, the apple sauce is an additional food that can be added to the repertoire -- e.g., as a sauce to dip pieces of pork or chicken or a topping for pancakes or waffles -- not to replace raw apple.

Also, once his starts eating apple sauce, you can then modify it by adding in some other fruits into the puree that me may not otherwise eat -- pears, peaches, or berries.

My mother is so progressive in so many ways that I was rather surprised by her comment.

If you use a potato masher, he can help make the apple sauce after it has cooked.

Yes. At 2 my son had his play stove set up over in a corner of our kitchen. He'd happily pretend cook there while my husband was doing the real thing across the room. (My mother thought we were taking my feminism too far when he got a stove for Christmas but he was already pretend cooking before that, using his toy workbench as his "stove," and it just reflected his desire to emulate his father, who did 100% of our cooking at the time, in every way.)

Have you tried making the pancakes healthier -- for example by incorporating rolled oats or other whole grains (I've got an oatmeal pancake recipe somewhere) and including fruits in the batter?

You can use cookie cutters to cut out the PBJ sandwich into fancy shapes, which might appeal to him.