Italian restaurants and I have a tricky relationship. It’s because I make REALLY good Italian food. I’m better at some cuisines than others, but Italian is easily the one I understand the most completely. Because of this I find a lot of Americanized Italian food bland, often salty, and usually end up saying “My lasagna/ravioli/pesto is better.”

However, there’s one dish that they make at Basilico in Norridge, Illinois, that I crave regularly called “Pollo Bella Vista.” It’s “Breast of chicken topped with prosciutto, eggplant, mozzarella, tomato, and artichoke hearts; baked in a light marinara and wine sauce” and it is absolutely divine. I decided to try to create the flavor at home and while I didn’t get it exact (lacking the eggplant and didn’t use wine), what I created is definitely going to be a new favorite in this house. So, in honor of Basilico’s delicious recipe, I call this one “Baked Pasta Bella Vista.”

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 chicken breasts, diced or sliced
• 4 slices prosciutto, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 4-6 sundried tomatoes, softened and chopped
• 1 can artichoke hearts, drained but left in can; set aside
• 1 jar good spaghetti sauce (Classico Spinach Florentine is my absolute favorite)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 lb penne pasta, cooked al-dente and rinsed

Preheat your broiler to HIGH. In a large sauté pan or flat-bottomed wok, sauté chicken, prosciutto, onion and garlic in a little olive oil until cooked through. While this is going, take each artichoke heart and squeeze the juice into the pan. It’s a little labor-intensive but it’s worth it for the flavor. Then, chop all the artichoke hearts. By now your chicken should be cooked through, so you can add the artichokes.

Cook down until the sauce this creates reduces a bit. Now add your jar of sauce and toss it all until combined.

Put the cooked pasta into a casserole dish and cover with 1/2 of the cheese. Spoon the sauce over this and stir it all until combined. Top with the remaining mozzarella. On a shelf in the middle of the oven, broil uncovered until cheese is browned and bubbly (about 10-15 minutes). You can skip the broiling step if you don’t have a broiler, but the burnt cheese on the top just adds to the flavor.

CONFESSION: We’ve eaten out every day for nearly a week. Crunch time at work means not a lot of cooking gets done in this house lest my husband cooks for himself. So when my craving for great buffalo chicken got the best of me today, a bottle of Buffalo Wild Wings Spicy Garlic sauce kept us eating at home.

Even better than the Naked Tenders (grilled strips of chicken) are the chicken breasts that I grill up on my Mario Batali Cast Iron Grill Pan. I add a bit of Penzey’s Southwest Seasoning, grill it up and slice it into strips. I serve this alongside the Spicy Garlic sauce for dipping, and some bleu cheese on the side.

I also sautéed some fresh spinach with onions and mushrooms and made some Whole Grain Garlic Texas Toast (in the oven for 5 minutes and it’s done!). Not the healthiest meal of all, but definitely a step up from fried chicken fingers and french fries. When the sauce is what I’m truly craving, it’s great to be able to buy my absolute favorite buffalo sauce in a bottle from the restaurant.

Surrounding the area where I’m currently working in Chicago’s Loop — across the River from the Theatre District, a block away from the Magnificent Mile — are very few cheap and delicious eateries. The area is heavy on the tourist traps and light on the value, so I was overjoyed to learn about Wow Bao.

Plus, it’s fun to say.
Bao are delicious steamed asian dumplings, often the tastiest part of a Dim Sum meal, and Wow Bao makes them right.

My husband and I ate at the Theatre District location on our way to a taping of Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! (an NPR comedy/news show) and were blown away by everything we tasted. Choosing what kind of delicious steamed dumplings to order was a challenge, but after much deliberation I chose a 2-bao combo with a classic BBQ pork bao and a thai yellow curry bao and a cold pad thai salad. And while this is essentially fast food (we had our order in mere moments), the flavors haven’t been dumbed down. The curry and kung pao are spicy, the vegetables fresh. The “homemade” ginger ale was almost too spicy for my ginger-loving palate! Dinner for two with drinks and dessert came out to under $20.

But my favorite part, surprisingly, were the dessert bao. We picked up one each of the apple cinnamon and the coconut custard bao. This wasn’t a canned apple filling — the apples tasted like grandma’s pie with perfect texture. The coconut custard, however, is where it’s at. Joy floods through you as you taste this perfectly balanced custard in a handy little bun.

And, bonus, they sell frozen bao for steaming at home. Bao is on the list of items that are so not worth making from scratch, and with as delicious as these are… YUMMY.

In general I’m a big fan of self-contained food, and Wow Bao doesn’t disappoint. As long as I’m at this gig, this place will remain one of my favorites for lunch.