Chicago marathon Archives - Proud Italian Cook

He Did It!!!

As promised, I said I was going to share some photo’s of my son Tony running in the Chicago Marathon yesterday. 26.2 miles through the city of Chicago. There were 4500 runners and over
one million people attending the event. This photo was taken right before the race was about to begin.

The horn blew and we cheered him on! He gave us a wave as he took off!

Because the route was 26 miles, we had to jump on the elevated trains, the subways and taxi’s, to get to the different cheering stations, we were walking or riding on public transportation throughout the course. You couldn’t possibly move your car.

He wore a chip, that would give us a text message on our cell phones to tell us what mile he just passed through, so it was easy to figure out when he would be arriving at a certain mile marker, because we all knew how fast he could run a mile. Very high tech stuff!!!

Here he is at the 12 mile marker, my DIL, had two star balloons attached to her backpack so he could spot us as we were all yelling ” TONY!!!” He’s still smiling at 12 miles and looking good!

Here he is at the 21 mile marker, high fiving us all, as we were cheering him on. Still looking good with only 6.2 miles to go!! Needless to say he finished the race! I have no pictures of him crossing the finish line, as you couldn’t even get near it with the mobs of people around. Fortunately he’ll get a professional one taken from the marathon.

This is the shirt my Granddaughter wore, and it really sums up how we all felt! Great job Tony,

You kicked butt!!!

Thanks everyone for your well wishes, it was much appreciated!

Roasted Carrots and Shallots, w/ Olives and Gremolata!!

This recipe really takes the humble carrot and makes it the star of the show! It’s a perfect autumn side dish, and great for any holiday table. I actually saw this while flipping through some magazines in Border’s one day. What caught my attention, was the use of a parsley, garlic, and lemon zest gremolata, which you use as a garnish. The gremolata gives the carrots and shallots a depth of flavor that makes the whole dish pop!!

Cut your carrots length wise and place on a baking sheet along with your shallots that have been peeled and cut in half. Drizzle it all with olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme. Bake at 425F for around 30 min’s, they will start to caramelize but still have a little bite to them.

For the GREMOLATA

I used my micro plane to zest my lemon and also my garlic. I just used one clove and it was enough. Chop up some parsley and put it all together with a drizzle of olive oil and pepper.

When the carrots and shallots are finished roasting and all is still warm, toss in the gremolata and some good green olives. That’s it!!

Buon Appetito, and have a great weekend!

I want to take this time to brag a little about my son Tony. You know, us mothers need to do that every now and then. This Sunday morning he is running in the Chicago Marathon, 26.2 miles, he has trained all year for this! This will be his first. The transformation of him has been phenomenal, he is now a lean, mean, running machine!!! This weekend we’re all going to cheer him on in this enormous test of endurance, I’ll be sure to take some photo’s to share with you all. Wish him a great run!