All Things Chicago

Last night we were craving pizza. Not any old pizza, but good old fashioned, Chicago-style deep dish pie. We've tried this at home before but this time it was sooo much better. I think we've finally got the recipe down right. We cheat a little. Instead of making the dough from scratch I buy two Pillsbury thin-style pizza dough's. I line the spring form pan with the first dough and then Alex adds grated cheese, caramelized onions and green peppers, and sausage, and some more cheese. Then I put the other dough on top, shape it, cut it, and pinch the two doughs together. Alex adds the sauce and some seasoning. Here's what it looked like before we put it in the oven.

We baked it for about 25 minutes and then let it rest for about 10. Here's what it looked like out of the spring form pan.

And here's what the inside looked like after we had our first piece and were going back for seconds.

It was so tasty and it cost about $15 to make instead of the regular $28 or so that we would have paid to a restaurant.

But all this food got me thinking about the things that I miss about Chicago (other than the pizza) so here is my list of top 5 things that are unique to Chicago.

1. Dad's Cooking:

There is only one word for Dad's cooking: Yummy! Nothing can replace creativity, experience, and the secret ingredient: Love.

2. A fenced in backyard for my pup to run around in:

He was so tiny and wrinkly here. And it just so happens that he and the stick were the same length. He is a good 6 times the size now and maybe next year we'll have saved up enough for the rod-iron fence we'd like to put in our back yard so he can run free again.

3. Forest Preserves:

Chicago is filled with these little havens for rabbits, deer, and mosquitoes. Anna, my ma-in-law 2, says that they are the "lungs of the city". She's probably right. I would have liked to walk down more of the trails that had been made over the years but the mosquitoes were just to thick even when I was covered in an entire can of Deep Woods Off. Maybe next time.

4. Decorated cell phone towers/water towers:

This one from Randhurst is just one of the dozens of painted and pretty water towers scattered across Chicago-land. There's no reason why a water tower (or cell phone tower) now-a-days should be an eye sore or ugly. A good can of paint and a little creativity goes a long way. Plus there are enough struggling artists out there that would love the chance to advertise their talent. Should it matter if it's 20 stories in the sky and can be seen from space? Nah.

5. Blue fire hydrants?:

Yep, that's right. Not only are they blue but I've seen them green and yellow too depending on what village I'm in. Plus, they all don't look like the typical shape of a fire hydrant. I thought they only came in one size, shape, and were all painted the color red. I guess not.