Last year for my friend Elly’s birthday she came over to my apartment and we decided to bake something.

I pulled out my Martha Stewart Cupcakes book and tried to see what we could make with the ingredients we had on hand. We decided on the Carrot Cake Cupcakes, but swapped the golden raisins out for dried apricots, added in some crystallized ginger, and omitted the nuts. The cupcakes were delicious and just what we needed. In fact, they tasted even better the next day.

Happy Birthday Elly!

Every year around Valentine’s Day, my sister’s usually throws a Valentine’s Day party for her Girl Scout troop. Last year, she decided the theme would be “Alice in Wonderland” and asked for my help in planning a Mad Hatter Tea Party. I worked with her and my mother to plan a menu and make all the treats. Everyone showed up to the party and was absolutely thrown away — they were expecting some food and some tea, but they got a full-blown professional-style party planned down to the tee.

The menu included:

Drink Me

Assorted Teas
English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Mad Tea Party, Pomegranate, French Vanilla, CHai, Jasmine, Blueberry, Mint, Papaya Passion Fruit, Mango, Lemon Honey Chammomile
(we bought these as part of a “Alice in Wonderland” tea set from Disney)

Cocoa & Heart Marshmallows

Pink Berry Punch
(Pink Lemonade with fresh berries in it)

Eat Me

White Rabbit Burrow
Spinach and Eggs wrapped in pastry

Queen’s Garden Salad
Mixed Greens, radish & carrot flowers with choice of dressing

Pasta & Croquet Balls
Wheel, Carrot, and Bunny Pasta with marinara sauce, cheese, and mixed meat balls

Absolem’s Thyme Treats
Potatoes roasted with bay leaves, thyme, salt, pepper

Black & White Chess Bites
(brownies with confectioner’s sugar decorations)

Pumpkin Acorns
Pumpkin cakes filled with crystallized ginger cream cheese frosting

Petit Fours
Lemon Poppyseed Petit Fours with Lemon Glaze

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and White Chocolate Butterfly/Heart/Playing Card Decorations

Assorted Chocolates & Cookies
Homemade Valentine’s Truffles: Milk Chocolate Kaluha Ganache rolled in Sugar & Espresso; Dark Chocolate Ginger Spread and Hendricks Gin Ganache dipped in Semi-Sweet Chocolate and topped with Crystallized Ginger; White Chocolate Cherry Blossom Tea Ganache covered in Pink White Chocolate
Chocolate Covered Marshmallows
Red Velvet Cakelets & White Roses/Hearts Chocolates
White Chocolate covered shortbread cookies

Everything was handmade from scratch except I used store-bought sugar cookie dough for the “Eat Me” cookies, and the marshmallows and white chocolate covered cookies, which were store-bought. My sister and mother even handmade the molded chocolates!

There were games and activities planned, but I was too busy taking pictures and cleaning up to pay attention. I’ve done a few other parties with my family and hope to post those soon. They’re always so much work leading up to it, but when they come together and are appreciated, it’s completely worth it.

Last May, I saw a post by Anna the Red about making your own cookie cutters. Using this as inspiration, I bought a circle cookie cutter and tried to make my own totoro cookie cutter. It seemed to work okay, though my cookie dough was not the best. I just used store bought sugar cookie dough and mixed cocoa powder into some and matcha powder into others to make several different colored totoros, but I think the store dough is very greasy so the shapes spread and didn’t stay firm.

The occasion was my sister’s graduation from junior college (she’s now almost done with undergraduate, soon to start graduate school) — she’s as much of a totoro fan as I am! Another thing I didn’t take into consideration was the weather. I decorated these cookies with chocolate, but the hot May sun melted the totoros against the box and they ended up being all melted blobs.

The original recipe is on Everyday Food’s website–I won’t post it here since we followed it line-by-line other than halving it. The original reason for the recipe in the magazine was to use up a big leftover pot of beans several different ways, so it’d be worth checking out the whole feature! We just used canned beans instead of the ones used in this recipe.

This year, I’ll have been a Girl Scout for 20 years. After all those years of eating, selling, and buying Girl Scout cookies, I’ve never thought to bake with them. The most I’ve ever done is pop some thin mints into the freezer. I saw a lot of recipes for Thin Mint, Samoa, and Tagalong-inspired recipes on Pinterest and decided I was going to do something creative this year. I can’t usually wait long enough to save a whole box for baking, but this time I bought extra and forced myself to wait to make something special with them.

We had a celebration at work for someone’s promotion so we surprised him with some treats. I made the little “Congrats!” flag the same way I did on the mini whoopie pies, a toothpick and decorative washi tape.

I used a cake recipe (found through Pinterest) I baked Peppermint Mocha cupcakes with in December that everyone declared “the best cupcakes ever.” I then combined two other recipes for the ganache and frosting. Another great discovery I’ve made is that the perfect vessel for cupcake duo transport is a tea box! I’ve used this method multiple times to give friends and family two cupcakes and it works like a charm.

Chocolate Thin Mint Cake (makes 24)

• 2 c. (4.5 ounces) all purpose flour
• 2 c. plus 4 tablespoons (7.3 ounces) sugar
• 2/3 c. plus 4 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) Valrhona Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and warm
• 4 large eggs
• 1  tsp.  peppermint extract
• 2 tbsp ground Kopi Luwak coffee (sub with instant espresso or instant coffee)
• 1 c. hot coffee
• 1 ½ c. chopped Thin Mint cookie crumbs (sub with grasshopper cookies)

Dark Chocolate Mint Ganache

• 4 oz Valrhona dark chocolate chips
• ½ tbsp. unsalted butter
• ½ c. heavy cream
• 1 tsp. mint extract

Mint Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 oz. softened cream cheese
• ½ c. butter, slightly softened
• 8 oz confectioners sugar
• 1/4 tsp. mint extract
• 2-3 drops green food coloring
• 1/8 c. Thin Mint Cookie crumbs for garnish

Mix together the room temperature cream cheese and butter until combined and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar in small batches until frosting is smooth. Add the mint extract and food coloring and mix until incorporated. Frost cupcakes with frosting and sprinkle with cookie crumbs.

I used to have a feature on here called “Show and Tell” where I would share a few of my favorite things found on the internet that  caught my eye. After a few installments, I found out about Pinterest. It basically accomplishes the same thing as my feature was and it’s a one-stop-shop to ‘pin’ things that inspire you, or to remind you to make those recipes that you see floating around the internet. The great thing about it is that you can share or ‘re-pin’ things on it very easily and it always keeps a main picture and original source link.

I introduced my sister to Pinterest and she found about about these Funfetti cookies and shared them with me! Before meeting up with my sister for an event we put on together for local Girl Scouts, I made these as a surprise treat for her.

These cookies use funfetti cake mix, but you also have to add flour, eggs, butter, and… wait! It sounds like I’m making cookies from scratch? The amount of work needed for these cookies and the fact that they only use part of a box of cake mix makes me think that I won’t make them again. They do have that nostalgic “kid’s birthday party” taste, but they are a tad flat. The recipe makes a lot of cookies, but I think it would be worth it to double the recipe just to use up the full box of cake mix.

Regardless, my sister was happy and so was my office since they got to eat the leftovers. I ate quite a few myself, so I can’t complain too much!  For the source of inspiration and recipe, visit Lovin’ From the Oven.

In November 2010′s Food & Wine magazine there was a great article about an Asian-American Thanksgiving that included recipes such as Soy-Sauce-and-Honey-Glazed Turkey, Sweet-and-Spicy Sesame Walnuts, Cranberry, Ginger and Orange Chutney, Red-Miso-Glazed Carrots, Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Five-Spice Marshmallows, and Sticky-Rice Dressing. I really empathized with the article, written by Joanne Chang, a first-generation Asian-American married to a meat-and-potatoes East-Coaster. Right from the beginning, I knew I was going to like this feature.

I must have been around 10 when I realized that my Thanksgivings were not quite like everyone else’s.

Before recycling the magazine, I ripped out every single page related to this feature and tucked them away for safe-keeping. Sure enough, soon after I boiled up a big batch of eggs to make these Sriracha-Wasabi Deviled Eggs. These eggs are a marriage between Chinese Tea Eggs and traditional American picnic fare. I brewed them too long in the marinade so they were extra salty, but otherwise were a nice, rich snack. The only problem? A plate full of deviled eggs and only two people to eat them! Sad to say, I don’t think that deviled eggs keep long in the fridge, especially after plating them. But, I definitely recommend this for an appetizer for a group of people with more adventurous taste buds.

Have you heard of “Magazine Mondays“? It’s an informal round-up of recipes reproduced from magazines, by Cream Puffs in Venice. Just like me, she has a heap of magazines and this non-event event gives incentive to delve into the cooking magazines that seem to pile up and to justify their continued purchase. I always enjoy seeing what magazines people are reading and what they’re making from them. This is my first time participating in Magazine Mondays and I hope to be contributing more in the future!

In the fall I went berry and peach picking with my boyfriend at a local orchard (post to come later!) I originally had also planned to pick apples, but by the time we went to the orchard it wasn’t apple season. So, we went to our local farmers’ market and picked some apples up there!

With the apples, we made an apple pie but there was a lot of apple filling left over, so I used it to make mini apple pies and mixed the rest into pumpkin muffins.

There’s no real recipe for the pumpkin muffins. I used a Pillsbury Quick Bread/Muffin mix from the grocery store and added the apples, a 1/4 cup of apple cider (also from the market), and 1-2 tablespoons of rice protein powder to get the mix back to the consistency it was before the apples. I love this mix and stock up on it when it’s on sale. It’s only sold at certain grocery stores in my area and it’s a good go-to when you need to make something and only want to dirty one bowl. Before baking, I topped the batter with some granola and followed the baking directions on the package. Since I added ingredients, it made a few extra muffins.

Everyone loved the muffins at work and at home–maybe they tasted better because they knew they were a little bit better for them?

These past weeks and months have been filled with a lot of holiday prep, baking, and cooking. We usually spend Thanksgiving at my Grandparent’s house, but since they were out of the country we had to host ourselves. It has been such a long time since my family had to plan, cook, or execute a Thanksgiving meal that we didn’t really know where to start. My mom wanted to make a traditional turkey with traditional sides, but I wanted to take this opportunity to try something new. We decided on two smaller turkeys and we had a few sides.

This was my first time ever cooking a whole animal, let alone a turkey! I decided to use Bon-Apetit’s Cider-Brined Turkey with Star Anise recipe and purchased a locally raised, heritage breed turkey to go up against my mom’s Butterball to see if there really was any flavor difference.

To go along with the cider turkey, I opted for an alternative stuffing. Food & Wine’s Sticky Rice Dressing was complex, earthy, and delicious, and though a bit time-intesive, was pretty straight forward. I also made a side of curried quinoa with balsamic roasted brussel sprouts and my Grandmother’s pumpkin chiffon pie. I haven’t been able to perfectly re-create the pie using my Grandmother’s recipe, so I’ll hold off on posting it here until I can refine it further.

For Christmas, we went to our Grandparents’ and had a sort of second Thanksgiving/Christmas mash-up.

With my boyfriend, I made four different types of cookies to dish out to friends and family. Of course, we made the traditional milk chocolate espresso cookies (with Valrhona cocoa, one of my Christmas presents!) and linzer cookies filled with blackberry preserves and lingonberry preserves, plus two other types. It’s tradition for my boyfriend and I to look over the Washington Post’s Christmas Cookie Feature and this year we chose Cardamom-Brown Sugar Snickerdoodles and Salted Nutella Thumbprints. The Snickerdoodles (half recipe) were *awesome* and, to me, were a chai-inspired spin on the traditional. The thumbprints were very similar to the espresso cookies, so I wouldn’t make them again (just put nutella on the originals!).

This year I also made truffles with my friend Stephanie and also tried my hand at homemade vanilla extract. Last year we made many different types of truffles (base recipe to come in a separate post), so this year we simplified and made only two types of truffles and peppermint bark. Stephanie’s truffle was: Horchata – Milk chocolate ganache with egg nog, rice protein, dipped in white chocolate and drizzled with dark chocolate, sprinkled with nutmeg. Mine was: Christmas Cookie Truffle – Speculoos Cookie Butter Semi-Sweet ganache, dipped in dark chocolate, sprinkled with ginger crackers.

My family always celebrates Chinese New Year on New Years Day and this year was no different. We find it easier to have visiting relatives extend their Christmas stay by a few days and gather again for New Year, and members of the family in school always have the time off and are available. Chinese New Year changes every year, from January to February (this year was 1/23), so it’s easier for everyone this way. For the new years, we had two delicious roasted long island ducks, char siu chow fun noodles, potato stuffing with duck liver and many other delicious things. Unfortunately, I was so excited about the food that I neglected to take any pictures! My Grandmother’s cooking is so good, can you blame me? Since my family is from Hawai’i, we also ended the night with a delicious slice of Guava Chiffon Pie, using guava concentrate from the islands.

Lastly, on Martin Luther King Day I took the extra time off for the holiday to try out my mini-donut pan that I received as a gift for Christmas. I used a gingerbread cake recipe from Everyday Food January 2012 which subs pumpkin puree for most of the fat to make them healthier. Since I was baking them in a mini-pan, I followed the cooking directions on the back of the pan’s packaging and greased the pan, then baked them for 9 minutes, letting them cool a bit. These donuts were cute and tasted delicious, though they didn’t look as pretty after transport to the office. Also, the pan only holds 12 donuts, so I had to make *many* batches.

Do you make any special foods for the holidays?

Curried Quinoa with Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

• brussel sprouts, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 tablespoon ancho chile powder

Combine all quinoa ingredients (last 7) in a rice cooker on quick setting, open, stir, allow steam to dissapate. If you don’t have a rice cooker, simmer all ingredients in a covered saucepan for 20 minutes.

For the brussel sprouts, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut off the ends of the brussels sprouts and then cut them into quarters. Place sprouts in a medium bowl and toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sprouts on a baking sheet and roast 30-35 minutes or until sprouts are tender. Make sure you stir them a couple of times while they are roasting so that they don’t burn.

Mix together quinoa and brussel sprouts, serve warm.

Happy 2012! As you may have noticed, I’ve made a New Year’s resolution! Or maybe you haven’t noticed because I haven’t been posting as frequently as I should have.

Well, my resolution for this year was to be less lazy/more motivated, and that includes updating my blog more often! I hadn’t changed the layout for a few years, sometimes just changing the header. Not only was it hard to find the time to update my site, but I was also lacking inspiration! Web Design used to be a hobby, but now it’s my profession. As such, sometimes I feel that all my creative juices get sucked out 9-5 and when I get home the *last* thing I want to do is design something or type on the computer.

For Christmas my Grandma gave me a cookbook I have been lusting after since it was first published: Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented. Not only did I get inspired by the stunning photos and typography, but I was also aligned with the book’s philosophy. With a new color scheme (including Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2010) and a new outlook, I played with the design for a few days and then spent a day implementing it.

So, here’s to out with the old and in with the new!

More detailed specifics on the new layout will be found soon under the About section. Please feel free to share your thoughts, or let me know if something is broken or doesn’t look right!