Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

a tiny ted talk about friendships and a restaurant review

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and a great start to their week!

Between birthdays, family events and catching up with old friends it has been a whirlwind of a month so far. This past Friday I got to go to dinner with some old girlfriends. We had a reso at Brasero, a latin inspired wood fire focused restaurant. I will get into that in just a bit. (it was so good!).

It only took us three months of rescheduling but we finally got the dinner plans out of the group chat. Mind you, one is in law school, I moved an hour away and the other just got a job promotion. We seem to get busier and busier as the years go by. But I couldn’t be more grateful for these friends because we pick up right where we left off.

When it comes to friendships,

If you’re in your late 20’s or 30’s, this is a pivotal time for friendships. Dynamics start changing, some get married/move in with a partner, some have kids, and some start new chapters for themselves. We’re no longer all on the same page of our story. We’re all navigating our lives a little differently and that is OK. You don’t have to have identical trajectories to your friends, life isn’t linear. Best piece of advice I can give is to support each of your friends endeavors and give yourself and your friends grace when friendships morph and change. Growing pains are normal.

Okay, that’s the end of that ted talk!

Brasero Restaurant in West Town (Chicago)

If you are a Chicagoan and familiar with El Che (west loop), I highly recommend checking out their new-ish sister restaurant Brasero. Similarly to El Che it’s a wood fire concept. It has classic South American flavors with the use of aguachile, moqueca, Brazilian garlic sauce, and of course an incredible Caipirinha.

We ordered a Moqueca-Style Shrimp, Clam and Mahi Stew with ramen -this was a true flavor bomb. The whole grilled branzino with marinated grapes and red onion was cooked to perfection. The sides/appetizers were also stellar. The stand out of the side/app was the tempura kabocha squash with brown butter honey. For not being a squash person, this dish totally enlightened me on just how good squash can be.

The restaurant’s ambience was gorgeous. You can see the kitchen from the dining room with the fires in the back. If you’re a foodie or looking for a date night spot I couldn’t recommend this place enough.

low quality pics, high quality experience

This place gave me a ton of inspiration and introduced me to new flavor combinations, I’m already recipe testing a few new ideas!

The real reason you’re reading this, the soup recipe^^

This soup was one of those recipes where you hope and pray that your vision will come to life, and it certainly did. It’s got a crunchy topping and filled with hearty ingredients that make for a perfect cozy meal on a chilly night.

Thoughts and Choices behind the soup:

1. bone in-skin on chicken thighs and bacon were used so the fat would add a nice flavor to intensify the soup.

2. Homemade Chicken Stock - I’ve been on a kick lately with making my own.

3. cannellini beans to naturally thicken the soup