Woooo-ee, it's been a busy weekend! Sure the 4th is great and should be relaxing, filled with tanning, etc., but mine certainly wasn't. Well, it could have been, if the weather was nice and I wasn't running around to the meat market, the supermarket, and trying to make a pie, test out several cupcake recipes, and grill multiple times. But I like being busy, and the weekend was a gigantic success.
I have to say again that I love Paulina St. Market for all things meat. Going into that shop is the only time my mind will ever see encased meats and think, "how can I get several of those in my belly?" Seriously. And the dudes are so old school and prompt and good at what they do. We actually saw a lady behind there and my
bf was almost aghast that they let that happen, until he heard he talk in her thick German accent, and then he was ok with it.
On Saturday I literally stuffed my family with cupcakes. I made 14 cupcakes of all different cake and frosting combinations and made them give me their opinion on them for which to chose for the cupcake challenge. 4 people. 14 cupcakes. They were troopers.
Sunday was pie baking day for the Pie Fest with Hugh Amano, chef and creator of foodonthedole.blogspot.com that I check religiously. Hugh had organized a pot luck at his home a few months back and now it was pie at the beach. Things kept on getting better and better. I had to have my pie in the oven by noon to be mostly cool at 5pm and the bf was making his own pie, too. I gave him shit because he was making a chocolate chip cookie crust with a pudding-y filling, which in my opinion is barely a pie. But to be fair, he made everything from scratch and his custard was quite good. And people loved it, which is the most important part.
Pie at the beach was great; there were some dudes with steel drums and
maracas near us getting down, and there was so much pie. So much pie. I sampled 50-60% of the pies, which were savory, sweet, tarts, and 'deconstructed pies' (read: berries in a bag). I left really full but happy, and I had had some great conversations with interesting new people I can only hope to see at the next event, which just may be a bbq blitz.

The cupcake competition was tonight and I won, which I am thrilled about! I was hoping, like you do when you enter a competition, and so happy to win. All the cupcakes were unique and tropical and creative. I can't wait for the August competition.
So now that I'm home and (temporarily) done with cupcakes, it's time to narrow in on the RedEye Virtual Kitchen Cook-Off that goes down tomorrow! I'll know the secret ingredient at 10am tomorrow, and you can, too, @redeyemunchtime, or at chicagonow.com/blogs/redeye/munchtime for the latest info on the competition. I love cooking as much as baking, so I'm ready to get my creative juices flowing for this one! Check back for those pictures tomorrow!