Chocolate Stained Kitchen

Rolo Caramelitas

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 05:21:00 +0000

Rolo Caramelitas

Okay, so the last time I was here, I was counting down until my mini vacation at Disneyland where I got to stay at the fantabulous Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.It was so much fun that I have decided that this will become an annual event. It burned a MAJOR hole in my wallet but it was worth it. The hotel is super luxurious, the employees are really nice and provide excellent service, my room overlooked Downtown Disney, and I had a really nice view of the Sleeping Beauty fireworks show.

As soon as my sister and I checked it, we immediately headed to their pools where we setup camp in the "Adult" pool area where you can order drinks from your lounge chair, Las Vegas style. They have 3 pools, 2 of which are more kid/family friendly. I know this is weird especially since I love Disneyland so much but I am not very fond of children. Perhaps that will change in the future but right now I am quite allergic to them. A lot of them run around like crazy zombie mutants, are really loud, and suffer from jam hands (meaning their hands are sticky from god knows what!) **Please note that I don't mean to offend anyone. This is just my feelings about children right now. I am still respectful towards children and those with children.**

Anyhoo, my sister and I lounged at the "Adult" pool for awhile. She was lame and did some stuff for work while I read a trashy celebrity gossip magazine. I was thinking about ordering an adult beverage but I knew we were going to hit up 3 bars at later that night at Downtown Disney so I decided against it. I'm pretty sure I was still drunk the next morning because the room was still spinning but guests who stay at the Disney hotels get to enter the park an hour early.There was no way I was going to miss out on an extra hour of being at Disney, so I was up at 5:30 am and in line to enter the park at 6:30 am. Surprisingly I wasn't hungover. Perhaps Disney is the magical medicine to preventing hangovers?

Our first pit stop was of course Cars Land. We were hoping to ride Radiator Springs Racers first but it was experiencing technical difficulties for at least an hour. Major bust! The rest of the day was really magical though. My sister and I went on a ton of rides, ate a lot of good food and drank a lot. I also snapped up lots of pictures but haven't organized them yet. So, in the meantime, why don't I share what else I have been doing?

I introduce to you Rolo Caramelitas that was created by the genius behind Confessions of a Cookbook queen. Head on over to her blog to check out the recipe and make some right now because it is insanely delicious. You think it can't better but it does. Each bite is more divine than the last. It's super fattening because it calls for a lot of butter, like Paula Dean status but I justify the deliciousness with the oatmeal that is used.

I made this for my sister's co-workers for shits and giggles but I couldn't resist a taste. This was my umm "quality control" sample just to make sure that it tasted good. And oh my it tasted sooo sooo good. After eating this, I packaged it and left for work right away because I knew that I was not safe around it. That if I didn't leave soon, there wouldn't be any left for them. Rolos + caramel sauce + butter = deeeeeeeeelicious!

Countdown!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:45:00 +0000

Guess where I will be this weekend??

I'll give you a hint. It involves some of this.

Except this time I'll also be fulfillling one of my big Disney dreams, which is staying at the super luxurious Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

I will be spending a lot of time here when I'm not playing at the park. I've already studied the bar menu quite a bit. =)

I'll be heading over there as soon as I get off work. 3:30 pm can't come any quicker. Gosh, I love Disneyland.

Iced Coffee

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 23:59:00 +0000

I love coffee and need to drink it every morning. Without it, I basically look like this all day.

Not very pretty, am i right? (Btw, that's basically what my nose looked like all last week. Sexy, I know.)

The longest I've ever gone without it was all of last week when I was sick and discovered that caffeine is basically like kryptonite to a sore throat. Several websites suggested drinking decaf insead but what's the point in drinking coffee if it doesn't have caffeine. That's basically it's reason for existing, no?

Anyhooooo, usually breakfast routine during the week days works like this: fill up Mr. Coffee pot, make breakfast while Mr. Coffee pot is earning its keep on my kitchen counter, and happily fill up my big gulp sized Minnie Mouse mug when it's ready. But, I have been experiencing 2 problems with coffee for awhile now and I finally came up with a solution.

Problem 1: I like my coffee super strong, so I use a wasteful amount of ground coffee every morning. In order to make myself feel better about my gluttonness, I make another pot of coffee with the same grinds. The thing is that the coffee isn't as strong the second time around for obvious reasons, which means it doesn't taste as good. So, my taste buds and my very necessary caffeine intake level are both left unsatisfied.

Problem 2: During the summer or basically whenever it feels like summer, I like to drink iced coffee to combat with the heat and humidity. I have always made iced coffee with plain old iced cubes, which unfortunately becomes coffee flavored water if I don't drink it quickly enough.

Solution:

During my week of withdrawls, I came up with a brilliant idea. Coffee cubes! Now, I know that realistically I am not the first person to have come up with idea but it made me feel pretty smart and awesome, so I'm just going to pretend that I am the mastermind behind this creation.
Now, at first I was planning on using my regular iced cube tray...until I remembered that a few months ago I bought this really cool Mickey Mouse silicone muffin pan.

Second pot of coffee gets reycled as iced cubes, which helps prevent my iced coffee from turning into coffee flavored water. 2 problems solved and the solution comes out pretty damn cute too. Oh, and the coffee that I'm drinking right now is Chocolate Hazelnut flavor, which is very delicious. Can't wait to try the Cookiedoodle flavor next! =)

Beer Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 03:06:00 +0000

Sooo I first came across this recipe last December but never had the balls to make it because it seemed a bit out of my league. But, it's been several months and after making pizza dough from scratch I feel a little more confident of my cooking/baking skills. I'm not gonna lie though. I was still kind of scared about working with self-rising flour since I've never used it before. But I was bored and figured worst case scenario I would be stuck with something inedible. So, what is it that I made?

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Beer Bread

from Bake at 350

Bridget, the mad scientist behind this blog, developed 4 amazing beer bread recipes - cinnamon chocolate chip, orange nutmeg, gruyere and rosemary, and classic. Of course, I immediately found myself drawn to her and these recipes because (1) beer is awesome and any reason to include it in my diet is a win and (2) she came up with 4 different recipes for beer bread, which officially makes her my hero. Although all 4 types of beer bread appear to be mouth-watering, there was no way I couldn't make the cinnamon chocolate chip beer bread first. Chocolate + beer = no brainer.

Headed for the oven

Fresh out of the oven slathered with some honey butter and cinnamon sugar

Now, head on over to her blog while I loosen the belt and get working on the other 3 beer breads. Mmmmmm

Avocado Celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 19:21:00 +0000

In my previous post, I mentioned that this July 1 - July 7 is California Avocado week and in honor of that, I bought a bag of California grown avocados with the intention of making a dish focusing on it. Sadly, it seems I suck at picking avocados because they aren't ripe yet and won't be until after California Avocado week is over. Oops.

But, I will still be celebrating tonight at Downtown Disney. All week Disney has been celebrating all week by having several chefs do a cooking demonstration of dishes with avocado as the shining star. Each demonstration is held in front of a particular restaurant with its executive chef in charge of the demonstration and afterwards everyone gets a sample. So, tonight, I will be at Catal with the hopes of watching and maybe tasting tartare of Hamachi with Shisho, Micro Cilantro and California Avocado and Jalapeno Sorbet. Afterwards, I will be eating at Catal because the head chef has put together 2 special avocado dishes. Neither of these dishes are posted on Catal's website so it will be a surprise.
My love for avocado is kind of funny because I absolutely hated it up until last year. I hated it since the first time I tried it in kindergarten. Everything about it disgusted me - the mushy texture, the awful green color that reminds me of bird poo, and how it browns very quickly. People often could not fathom that I was grossed out by avocado and would always ask me if I ate guacamole. Um no because it's made out of avocado???!!! But then, I gave it another chance last year and fell in love.

Ugly but Delicious

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:17:00 +0000

My cold isn't getting better. If any better. If anything, I think it might be getting worse? I've had a fever for the past few hours, my throat is still sore and I've developed a smoker's cough. I popped a few Tylenol but it's not really working. I knew should have just drunk some alcohol. After all, that's what our ancestors used for medicine and it seemed to work out well for them right? But since you're not supposed to mix alcohol with pills, I decided to try one last kind of "medicine" that wouldn't be affected by the Tylenol. I baked a batch of the Peanut Butter Rocky Road Bars from Confessions of A Cookbook Queen. I'm definitely still making the other 2 recipes at some point though!

Naked Bar

Dressed with marshmallow creme

Uglified with delicious chocolate frosting

But was oh so delicious!

And since it's a holiday and I'm sick, I figured that I'm entitled to eating a giant block of this Rocky Road Bar. And btw, it's delicious both fresh out of the oven and frozen =)

Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 23:42:00 +0000

I am currently experiencing weekend blues for 2 reasons. It's the last weekend of celebrations for my birthday, I have been struck with a sore throat and fever, my Internet is not cooperating which is making it very difficult to upload Disney pictures to a certain blogger friend whom I desperately want to share these pictures with, and I also have to prepare for a week of work. Luckily, it's going to be a short one because I get Tuesday and Wednesday off in honor of Independence Day. Hip hip hooray!!! I plan on taking full advantage of these 2 precious days off by relaxing and getting myself reacquainted with my kitchen. I am having trouble deciding among 3 recipes though so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Option 1: Peanut Butter Rocky Road Bars

http://www.confessionsofacookbookqueen.com/2012/05/peanut-butter-rocky-road-bars/

Option 2: Peanut Butter Drizzled Chewy Milk Chocolate Chunk Cookies

http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/06/peanut-butter-drizzled-chewy-milk-chocolate-chunk-cookies/

Option 3: Cookie Dough Filled Cookie Cups

http://cookiesandcups.com/cookie-dough-filled-cookie-cups-2/

Also, I think I'm going to make a few adjustments to this blog. Here is my tentative weekly plans to make my blog a wee bit more exciting and save it from its boring old self:

(1) Pick a recipe from a fellow blogger and attempt to recreate their magicalness
(2) Come up with a recipe of my own - chocolate and non-chocolate related
(3) Make a dish based on a food that is being honored nationally and/or locally (e.g. July 1 - 7 is California Avocado week)
(4) Post a random Disney fact or pictures from my regular Disney outings.

Thoughts?

IT'S MY BIRTHDAYYYYY

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:15:00 +0000

Ok so maybe it's been more like a birthday month considering I've been celebating with different groups of friends and family since the first week of month. But here is a recap of some birthday desserts I've had so far with of course more to follow this weekend when I celebrate 3 more times. Yeah, this particular birthday has been pretty awesome.

S'mores Sundae from the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop at the Grand California

Fried Banana Split Monte Cristo Sundae from the Carthay Circle Restaurant at CA Adventure

"Birthday Cake" at Seasons 52

I opted for the Chocolate Peanut Butter cake

And I leave you with a short birthday song, "This is your birthday song, it isn't very long..."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEE!!

Birthday Celebration #3

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 13:39:00 +0000

I'm off to Disneyland again but this time with my sister. I LOVE going with her because she basically let's me have my way for the whole day. Here is a breakdown of our usual schedule:

5:30 am - I wake up SUPER BEYOND excited
6:00 am - I give my sister her first wake up call
6:30 am - Last wake up call or no time for coffee until we get to the park
7:00 am - We leave for the park
7:30 am - Waiting in front of the gates for the park to open
8:00 am - 12 am - RIDESSSSSSSSS
12 am - 1 am - perusing the shops on Main Street

Today's agenda: Must Check out the new candy store

And persuade my sister into buying this awesome tire hat for me. That's right. A TIRE HAT!

I'm Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 04:11:00 +0000

It's been soooo long since my last post that I feel like I'm doing my very first post all over again. I still don't know the direction of this blog. My new job and schedule is much different now so I won't be able to cook as much but I will still very much focus on my love for chocolate, sweets, food, and Disneyland. So, if I still have any readers (I would like to give a special shoutout to The Management especially) please bear with me.

In the meantime, let's recap on my latest activities. Last Saturday, Cars Land at California Adventure had its grand opening and everyone was super excited considering it was 5 years in the making. I made sure to arrive at the park an hour early because I knew it was going to be packed. The vibe was pretty awesome because I was surrounded by hardcore Disney fans. 45 minutes before the park opened, people were chanting "Cars Land! Cars Land!" and were doing the wave. And 10 seconds before the gates opened, people were counting down New Year's Eve style.

Despite getting to the park early, the major ride at Cars Land, Radiator Springs, already had a pretty long line. I think I waited for a total of 2 hours (40 min were due to technical difficulties). I heard that later in the day, the wait time increased to 5 hours! The rides awesome but not 5 hours awesome.

I also had to visit the Ghirardelli Chocolate and Soda Shop. LOVE LOVE LOVE this place! As soon as you enter the soda shop, you are greeted by a Disney employee who has a basket full of Ghirardelli chocolate samples. Not only do they give you samples, but the package is opened for you and pushed out about 1cm so all you have to do is eat. Now that is service!

The inside of shop is extremely detailed, beautiful, and breathtaking.

They also give you the option of buying 80 count bags of chocolate squares. YUM!

The menu was pretty extensive and I spent a lot of time deciding on what my first Ghirardelli treat would be. In the end, I found myself drawn to the Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Sundae.

I was only able to eat half because it was so sweet and rich but it was heavenly. It definitely surpassed my expectations.

I can't wait to go back to Cars Land and the Ghirardelli Chocolate and Soda Shop to go on more rides and eat more goodies. Luckily, I don't have to wait too long because I'm going again this Saturday for my birthday. =)

Ojai Trip Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 03:38:00 +0000

My Ojai trip was pretty fun and adventurous. The hotel was kind of weird. It had a hostel meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre feeling to it. The overall vibe was kind of scary at first but it got better later on.

My first time eating chicken mole or any savory dish with chocolate. It was good!

One of four wine flights

The aftermath of 4 wine tastings: 9 new bottles at home.

My new Michael Kors babies purchased at Camarillo Outlet on the way home.

Aloha

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:09:00 +0000

So, today is my last day at work. I got a new job and I start on Monday. The problem is that my work hours will change and I'll be starting a lot earlier. This is a good and bad thing. It's a good thing because I'd rather start earlier and get off earlier. But it's a bad thing because I'll no longer have time to bake in the morning. Up until now, I have gotten up at 5 am to bake cookies, cupcakes, and brownies. But now, I'm not sure what my plans will be in terms of baking. I for sure won't be able to bake cupcakes anymore, which is a major bummer. This leads me to my second predicament. Since I won't be able to bake as much, I'm not sure how this will affect my blog since this is mainly a food blog. I'm either going to have to make adjustments to this blog or create a new one that incorporates other aspects of my like rather than primarily chocolate and sweets. I don't know. We'll see.
Moving on, this weekend will hopefully be a fun one. After work (crossing my fingers that my boss will let me out early), I'm meeting my sister in LA for dinner and then we're heading up to Ojai for some wine tasting and olive oil tasting. So, Aloha for now! =)

Cozy Cone Motel

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:52:00 +0000

June 15th is a big day for Disneyland and California Adventure because Matterhorn will FINALLY re-open after undergoing major rehab and Cars Land as well as the Carthay Circle Restaurant will both be making its official debut. I've already made two reservations for the Carthay Circle Restaurant so I can try both of their lunch and dinner menus. Countdown till June 16 and 23rd!! Another restaurant that I cannot wait to try is the Cozy Cone Motel, which is located in Cars Land.
According to the Disney blog, here are some of the dishes that will be featured on the menu:

Cone #1: Churro bites with cinnamon-chocolate sauce, regular or cinnamon-spiced hot cocoa, and Ramone’s Pear of Dice Soda (desert pear and mojito flavorings topped with Sprite).
Cone #2: Soft-serve ice cream and “route” beer floats.
Cone #3: Breakfast features the bacon scrambled egg cone and scrambled egg verde cone. Lunch and dinner is chili “cone” queso and a chicken verde cone. Sip one of Fillmore’s Fuelin’ Groovy Ades (all-natural lemonade with wild berry foam, or pomegranate limeade with lemon-lime foam).
Cone #4: Pretzel bites with cheesy sauce. To drink, Red’s Apple Freeze (100% frozen apple juice with Red’s special flavoring topped with a hint of toasted marshmallow flavor, and passion fruit-mango foam)
Cone #5: With two flavored popcorns daily, you might find salt and vinegar, pickle, bacon and cheddar, sweet and spicy or nacho cheese. Also serving Doc’s Wild Grape Tonic (Sprite with wild grape syrup and wild berry foam).

I think this one is cone # 1? Either way, it looks mighty tasty and I can't try all of the cone selections.

Disneylandia

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 30 May 2012 21:07:00 +0000

Random Disney Fun Fact for the Day

Despite the security systems installed in all Disneyland's attractions (and the monitors being watched by park employees hidden from view) couples will still try to have sex while on the "dark" rides (such as Pirates of the Caribbean or It's a Small World), apparently not realizing that the cameras are infrared and can pick up their every move. On occasion they are stopped with a warning over the speaker; other times, as they exit, they are met with applause from knowing cast members.

Chocolate Whiskey Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 30 May 2012 04:39:00 +0000

When it comes to alcohol, I drink like a dude. I like to drink wine but I'm really into whiskey, scotch, and recently, gin and tonic. My friends often tease me about my alcohol choices because those three drinks are usually drunk by old men. And whenever I drink with them or tell them what I'm drinking, they jokingly say that all I'm missing is a red satin robe and a cigar. Har Har. Anyways, I'm sharing this story because this morning I made chocolate whiskey cupcakes. I've made cupcakes with whiskey before, like when I made Chocolate Whiskey and Beer cupcakes. And since those were pretty tasty, I decided to make another kind of whiskey cupcakes. I found this particular recipe on Annie's Eats, which is a super awesome blog btw. I followed the recipe pretty closely. The only change I made was that I used my own vanilla buttercream frosting instead of her Swiss meringue buttercream. I don't have anything against meringue. It's just that I suck at making meringue, so I opted for vanilla buttercream instead.

Chocolate Whiskey Cupcakes

by Annie's Eats

Normal Cupcake Size

Bite Sized

Cupcakes packed for the road for my usual group of taste testers =)

I left my brain at home today

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 May 2012 20:06:00 +0000

Here's what happened:

I woke up at 4:50 am this morning to bake some cupcakes; chocolate whiskey cupcakes to be exact. I took pictures when I was done frosting, put my camera into my purse and lallie da'ed to work. I wrote my post and was about to upload my pictures when my camera cord was nowhere to be found in my purse. The horror right?! Stupid me uploaded pictures over the weekend and left the cord on the floor in the family room. So, now my original post is in draft and will stay that way until I get home tonight. Major bummer dude.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 May 2012 20:06:00 +0000

A year ago, I stumbled upon a famous New York Time's Chocolate Chip Cookitie recipe. Many people claim that this recipe produces the best of its kind. Now, I really love chocolate chip cookies because I LOVE chocolate and I think it represents the ultimate cookie. However, I was hesitant to give this recipe a try because it requires the use of chocolate drops as opposed to the usual chocolate chips. Chocolate drops are different because they are much larger than standard chocolate chips and the chocolate itself is of a higher quality. This means it's much more expensive and are harder to find. The recipe calls for 1 1/4 lb of chocolate drops and an 8 oz bag costs $8.00. Ouch to my wallet. Another daunting requirement is to allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours. I usually don't plan on making cookies that far in advance, thus this isn't exactly your spur of the moment cookie recipe. However, after baking these cookies, I have learned two things: One, Ghirardelli chocolate chunks or chopping up a chocolate bar will work just fine as a substitute for the chocolate drops, and two, the 24-36 hour rest time is totally worth the wait. This was definitely the best chocolate chip cookies ever!
To view the recipe, check out Kirbie's Cravings blog. She tried out the recipe twice and offers other helpful tips and suggestions as well. Oh and btw, this is the actual size of the cookie. No zooming or anything. This baby was HUGE.

Beer Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:14:00 +0000

Tonight, my sister and I are heading over to Downtown Disney for a very exciting beer dinner at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. I think this will be my fourth time eating there? It's hands down one of my favorite restaurants and I'm super excited for this beer dinner. I would LOVE to go on some rides afterwards, but unfortunately she doesn't have an annual pass. Bummer. Speaking of which, Disneyland pulled a very shady move by increasing their prices by the bucket load. Last year, the premium annual pass (the highest level) was $500. Now it's $649! So much for it being the happiest place on earth. Not cool.

Coca Cola Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:03:00 +0000

So, I've had a bottle of Mexican Coke hanging out in my fridge for the past few months because I don't know what to do with it. I know the simple answer would be to just drink it or make a jack and coke with it. But the problem is that I'm not really a soda person because all the sugar in it makes my teeth hurt. My solution? Make coca cola cupcakes of course =). I found an awesome recipe on Adrianna's blog, A Cozy Kitchen. I made a few changes along the way due to ingredient availabilities in my kitchen, but for the most part I really liked her recipe.

Coca Cola Cupcakes

from A Cozy Kitchen

Here are the following changes I made:

The recipe states to use 2 cups of coke. The bottle is only 12 oz so I substituted the remaining 4 oz with Jameson Whiskey.

Also, I didn't have any unsweetened cocoa powder left, so I used cacao powder instead.

Finally, I made vanilla buttercream frosting instead of her whipped cream frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

by me =)

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

1 lb of powdered sugar

1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

3 tbsp of heavy whipping cream

Cream the butter in a mixing bowl until it's nice and fluffy. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Meanwhile, add the vanilla extract and heavy whipping cream. Continue mixing until the frosting is thick and whipped.

This recipe makes a lot of cupcakes. I was able to make 24 cupcakes and had enough batter leftover for one more cupcake. Since I didn't have any cupcake pans left, I decided to pour the remaining batter into a mug and microwaved it for 1 minute and 30 seconds. It worked out beautifully and made for a perfect snack while I was waiting for my cupcakes to bake in the oven.

When the cupcakes were ready, I frosted them and immediately gave one a try. It was delicious!

And then packed them all up to give away to my usual group of guinea pigs.

Sorry for the picture being so dark. The sun had not woken up yet.

Git in mah bellyyyyyyy!!!

Disneyland Moments

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:33:00 +0000

The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite rides at CA Adventure. I was there for opening day I think and went on it three times in a row. Later on I found out that the ride was shut down for half of the day due to it overheating. Hope I was part of the blame? Oh well. Here are the best parts of the ride, in my opinion:

"There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don’t got a lot to say
But there’s something about her
And you don’t know why
But you’re dying to try
You wanna kiss the girl ..."

I like this part too because it's so romantical but at the same time I find it kind of funny because it looks like Prince Eric is choking Ariel as he's snogging her.

Royal Wedding!!!

I personally wouldn't mind having my own royal wedding in front of the Castle during Christmas time.

With reindeer serving as the ring bearer.

Can't forget about the necessary sign to protect my ring bearer. =)

Churro Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:52:00 +0000

On Friday, I went out to some creepy dive bar to celebrate my friend's birthday. When it comes to bars, I prefer nice lounge bars where you get dressed up and sit on pretty couches or seats. Think Gossip Girl. I know that probably sounds snobby, dramatic, and ridiculous but I can't help it. I like the whole process of getting dolled up and drinking/relaxing in a nice setting. This place, however, was more of a like a dirty hole in the wall where I was fearful of getting shanked or catching an STD. Think peanut shells on the floor and every guy wearing imitation Ed Hardy t-shirts. Eww

But I'm getting sidetracked. Okay, so after work I rushed to the supermarket to pick up flour, butter, and powdered sugar (completely ran out!) in order to make CHURRO CUPCAKES for the birthday boy. Like many of the cupcakes I bake, I really wish I could take credit for this magical creation. But, unfortunately, it was created by the genius Lindsay Ann, who I believe was the first winner of Cupcakes Wars on Food Network and owns a few cupcake stores. I've baked these cupcakes before and they always prove to be a winner with friends, family, and my usual group of taste testers. I would go so far to say that they are the all time favorite for whoever I make them for. I follow the recipe pretty closely. The only difference is that I add cinnamon sugar to both the batter and the frosting to enhance the churro-ness. Okay, enough chit chat. Here is what these glorious cupcakes look like.

Churro Cupcakes

create by Lindsay Ann

For the birthday boy

For the chef. Gotta try one for quality control =)

Attack of the Sweet Tooth

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:24:00 +0000

Nothing exciting going on in the kitchen today BUT I am pretty excited to be going to Disneyland tomorrow where I plan on indulging on sweets galore. You know how people say they have a sweet tooth? I think I have sweet teeth. My love for chocolate, candy, desserts, and anything sweet is pretty hardcore. I never tire of sweets and make a point of eating dessert first whenever possible because by the time you finish eating your main course you are too full to eat dessert or fully appreciate it. So, whenever possible, I try to stick to my personal golden rule: Dessert First. Everything else second. Dessert, Appetizer, then Entree.
Anyways, I cannot wait to re-stock on some Disney candy and gobble up lots of glorious, delectable treats. Here is a preview of what I plan on eating and buying tomorrow.

Beer for Breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:23:00 +0000

Sometimes people (ahem, not me) want to drink beer for breakfast but can't because it's kind of socially unacceptable. Luckily, for these individuals (once again, not including um me), there is a magical dish called Beer & Brown Sugar Pancakes created by Jackie Dodd on Tasty Kitchen. I did make a few modifications though to somewhat healthify it and based on the ingredients I have in my kitchen. Ready? Okay, here we go.

Chocolate Beer & Brown Sugar Pancakes

adapted by Jackie Dodd on Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients

1 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C brown sugar
1/4 C cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 whole egg
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)
1 C chocolate stout

Directions

Whisk whole wheat flour, brown sugar, cacao powder, cinnamon and baking powder in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg, egg white, and vanilla paste. Combine the egg mixture and chocolate stout with the dry ingredients. Heat up a pan and grease it with butter or oil. Pour 1/4 C of batter into the pan. Flip the pancake when the top starts to bubble and the edges appear dry.

Mickey Mouse head shaped pancake

Shooting Star

Chomp Chomp! MMMMMM

I topped my pancakes with cacao nibs, unsweetened shredded coconut, and honey. If you make this on the weekend or your day off, feel free to serve this with a glass of beer. Otherwise, it's a great way to satisfy that beer craving without the judgement. =)

I Don't Share

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:03:00 +0000

I am the youngest child in my family and therefore occasionally suffer from the coveted youngest child syndrome a.k.a selfish, spoiled brat syndrome. For example, I often use this as an excuse to not share or in an attempt to get something I want from my family. If they scold me for being spoiled I simply respond that if I am spoiled than it's really their fault since it is they who are spoiling me. So there.

Don't get me wrong. I am actually really nice and I do share for the most part. If I like you, I will spoil you and be generous with you. In fact, I often express my love through food. I try to find out your favorite foods and make them for you if the dish is within my limited culinary capabilities.

But in any case, I saw this during one of my many trips to the wonderful world of Disney. And this pretty much explains why I love Disneyland because this message was clearly meant for me.

Disneyland Fun Facts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:14:00 +0000

Disneyland's original Tinkerbell was Tiny Kline, a 4 foot 10 in tall circus performer and aerialist who was seventy one years old when she first flew down a zipline from the top of the Matterhorn to start the "Fantasy in the Sky" fireworks Show.

Crunching the Numbers

- $41,000 cost, per night, of the fireworks show above Sleeping Beauty Castle.

- 100,000 light bulbs outlining the buildings on Main Street

- 54 full-time electricians employed by Disneyland