My Life is Yummy

Bolinhos de Bacalhau

2011-01-28T13:39:00.001-08:00

Oh, wow. Loooong time no post.
Life gets busy with an infant around! I've still been cooking and trying new recipes once in a while, I just haven't been getting around to blogging about it.
This week I saw some salted cod at the local market. Salted cod (Bacalhau) is a Portuguese staple and it's not so easy to find in grocery stores so I was very excited when I found it. My Portuguese hubby really seems to appreciate it when I make Portuguese dishes for him.When I bought the fish, I didn't really realize what a hassle it would be to make it! I had to soak the cod fish for 24+ hours and change the water every 3 hours (or whenever I remembered).
It was definitely a time consuming dish but it turned out quite nice! Very similar to the bolinhos de Bacalhau that I've had in Brazil and Portugal.
Bolinhos de Bacalhau Recipe

Ingredients:

- 18 oz. Bacalhau (Dried, salted Cod)

- 4 peppercorns

- 1 bay leaf

- 1 small onion, quartered

- 2 cups cooled mashed potatoes

- 2 beaten eggs
- 2 tbsp. chopped green onions

- 2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley

- oil for frying

Recipe:

Place salted cod in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Place in refrigerator and soak for 24 or more hours, changing water every 3 hours or so.
Drain and cut the cod into small pieces.
In a pot, combine 2 cups water, peppercorns, bay leaf and onion quarters. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add cod and 2 cups cold water. Return to a simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Drain cod, discarding spices and onion. In large bowl and using a fork, flake the cod. Stir in mashed potato, eggs, green onion and parsley. Let mixture stand for a half hour before forming fritters.
Form cod mixture into balls. In batches, fry for 4 minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Hot Doug's

2010-11-22T06:53:00.000-08:00

"This place convinced me the Chicago red hot is, in fact, superior to the New York hot dog. And it's home to two great innovations in American gastronomy: the "foie gras dog" and the weekends-only practice of cooking French fries in duck fat. It's proof that food doesn't have to be expensive to be great." ~Anthony Bourdain Anthony Bourdain declares that Hot Doug's is one place you need to go eat before you die. This place has been featured on the Food Network and Travel Channel numerous times, that's how much this place is hyped up.
As a foodie who just moved to Chicago, I just had to try it.
This little hot dog joint is not exactly in a convenient location, it's kind of on the outskirts of the city. We got there on a Monday morning when the doors opened at 10:30. I got to order my hot dog without any wait, but within minutes there was a line out the door.
The restaurant has a retro feel to it and has lots of hot dog memorabilia all over the walls. It's a lot of fun to look around at the silly decorations. The menu is pretty hilarious with items like "The Keira Knightley" (a spicy hot dog) or "The Elvis" (smoked and savory) or "The Salma Hayek" (a really really spicy hot dog).I opted for "The Dog," a classic Chicago Dog with tomato, pickle, and celery salt. It as a good, solid hot dog for $1.75. mmmmmmmmm.
I wasn't allowed to eat processed meat while pregnant so hot dogs were at the top of my list of things I wanted to eat once my baby was out! I honestly missed eating hot dogs more than sushi... haha. Hot Doug's
3324 North California Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618-5848
(773) 279-9550

Bento Boxes

2010-11-19T08:56:00.001-08:00

Now that we've settled into our new home in Chicago and Hubby is starting to get used to his new job, I've been cooking more. Lately, I've been packing a bento box for Hubby's lunch everyday. Bentos are so much fun and I plan on continuing to experiment with Hubby's lunches! :)

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

2010-10-28T13:16:00.001-07:00

I hate to let food go to waste, so I started panicking when I saw my extra ripe bananas. I didn't want to eat the mushy things so I decided to make banana muffins with a little twist.
I'm not a huge banana bread fan, but chocolate makes everything taste so much better!

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA MUFFIN RECIPE
Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1-1 1/2 c. (3 lg.) ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
Salt to taste

Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 18 muffin tins or line with paper. Mix butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add bananas, milk, vanilla and eggs; mix well. Add flour, baking powder and baking soda. Salt if desired. Mix until moist. Add mini chocolate chips and walnuts. Fill tins 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

M.I.A

2010-09-06T14:14:00.001-07:00

Sorry I've been M.I.A from this blog. I've been missing because I just gave birth to my baby girl!!! She is one month old tomorrow. Life has been busy busy with the new baby and we've been packing up everything because we are moving to Chicago in just a few more weeks. I'm at a changing point in my life with the new family addition, a new job for hubby, new city, and hopefully lots of new friends! I promise many more foodie updates once we settle down. I'm excited to try new recipes, explore the farmers market in our new neighborhood, and try a bunch of new restaurants once we move!
xoxo

Craft

2010-07-16T10:33:00.001-07:00

I'm 9 months pregnant right now and due any day. I'm so tired of being pregnant and feel more than ready to meet our little girl.
Yesterday, hubby and I decided to go on one last grown up date before our baby arrives and the two of us make three! We wanted to go to a romantic place with good food that was close to home so we decided to have an early dinner at Craft (which is walking distance from our house). It was my first time trying this place and I was thoroughly impressed! If you watch "Top Chef" you know Tom Colicchio, and I was excited to hear that he is the chef/owner of this beautiful restaurant with spectacular food. First off this restaurant gives quite a few freebies! Yes, I said FREE. When you sit down at the table they bring you a free amuse bouche (bite-sized hors d’œuvres). The amuse bouche of the day was a cool cucumber soup with crème fraiche, which was light and a perfect way to start our meal.

For my drink I had a virgin cocktail: strawberry ginger beer with mint. It didn't have any alcohol in it but tasted like a real cocktail so I was happy! :) Everything here is served "family style" so we ordered a few dishes to share. I loooooved the potatoes gratin. I know it's not a complicated dish, but damn... how did they make it so good? The cheese on top was so crispy and fragrant. And there was a perfect amount of cream and garlic. yummmm.
We also had the mixed mini lettuce salad with radishes (which I forgot to take a photo of). The dressing and pickled radishes were so fresh and tasty. Another appetizer we ordered was the Anson Mills grits & cheddar. It was simple and went well with our main course.
For the main course: braised beef short ribs that just melt in your mouth! So soft, tender, and with the perfect amount of sauce. It doesn't look that appetizing in the photo but it was divine!
For dessert amuse bouche they served us a hazel nut panna cotta which was so creamy and yummy. I felt the need to indulge a little more since this would be our last fancy dinner in a long time so I also ordered dessert after all that food!

I ordered the corn crepes with corn ice cream and blueberries. I thought this dessert dish sounded really interesting and promising but honestly it wasn't very good. Hubby and I didn't even eat half of this dessert. It tasted like frozen corn soup and it just didn't taste like dessert. There was cream corn or something inside the crepes and it was weird... I was disappointed in this dish but the freebies to come really made up for it.
Let me just say that the service here was stellar. The waitress was really attentive and brought a pillow for my back when she saw how pregnant I was. When we told her that we were due any day now, she brought out a chocolate cake at the end of the meal with a candle in it. (and wow was that cake good!)

After we paid the bill the waitress boxed up MORE of our free dessert for us because we couldn't possibly eat any more! These amuse bouche desserts were an assortment of mini macrons, chocolate cherry truffles, and white chocolate cookies. THEN they even gave us corn bread muffins to have for breakfast the next morning. The freebies were just out of control! And I loved it.

Our last dinner as a childless couple was so special and we can't wait to meet our little girl soon!

CRAFT

10100 Constellation Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90067

(310) 279-4180

Baby Shower Food!

2010-06-21T11:20:00.001-07:00

My family threw me the most wonderful baby shower last weekend! It was a big shower with about 65 people. I had so much fun!!! I just wanted to share with you the wonderful food we had at our shower!My sister and I made our own "Edible Bouquets" in little plant pots. They turned out really cute and were a big hit. These are fun and easy to make and are great for parties and showers.The cupcakes were catered by a pastry chef and were cookies n' cream cupcakes. S0oo cute and sooo yummy!

We also had a gourmet taco truck catering company at the party. OMG. The tacos were so good. I highly recommend SOHO taco catering if you live in SoCal.

Not just the food, but the company, decorations, and games were all so perfect! Our baby shower was spectacular and is something I will never forget.

MILK

2010-06-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

My friend told me about a cute little ice cream parlor in LA called Milk. She spoke of an ice cream sandwich with a big glob of ice cream in between two macaron shells. I had to try this place for myself.

This place is a fat kid's (my) dream come true. Supposedly they have sandwiches and salad here too, but I wasn't paying attention to any of that stuff. They got a big selection of baked goods, milkshakes, ice cream, bonbons and other sweets!

I figure since I only have about a month of pregnancy left, I might as well take full advantage of it and eat the fatty stuff while I can. Once I have the baby, I need to whip myself back into shape you know?

The ice cream sandwiches were pre-made and waiting patiently in a glass freezer for me to gobble up. I had the cookies n' cream sandwich with the chocolate macaron shell. OMG... why have I not been here before? This is seriously the best ice cream sandwich I've ever had. The chewy shell with the creamy ice cream is pure genius. Genius, I tell you.

MILK
7290 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Tel: (323) 939-6455

Tea Time in Tokyo

2010-05-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

I still haven't gotten around to posting everything from our trip to Japan last month. One thing I love about Tokyo is that there are cafes everywhere. And not just boring places like Starbucks or Coffee Bean. There are plenty of cafes that offer a variety of cakes, pastries, teas and coffees. We wandered around for a little shopping in Ginza and took a break for high tea at a fancy little cafe called Tsubakiya. I just love having tea with dainty & elegant tea cups. I was excited to have my freshly brewed tea served in Royal Copenhagen china.

This cafe was no joke. They were very particular in the way they brew their coffee and tea. There was a professional barista behind the counter looking like he was conducting science experiments. The cafe has a retro European feel to it and was really calming after a day of walking.

With my lemon tea I had a cherry blossom chiffon cake that was so modestly scrumptious. It was light and airy with a floral undertone to it. Hubby of course had his favorite, rare cheesecake. Everything was so perfect and delicious! I wish we had more cafes like this back home!

TSUBAKI-YA

東京都中央区銀座7-7-11 管原ビル　２Ｆ・３Ｆ

Tokyo, Japan

Tel: 03-3572-4949

Mother's Day Dinner

2010-05-15T10:01:00.001-07:00

Sunday, May 9th was mother's day. It's become a sort of tradition in our family to cook mom dinner on mother's day. I know it's usually breakfast in bed for mom on mother's day. But a fancy homemade dinner just seems more special to me since dinner always takes more time and preparation than breakfast usually does. Hubby, bro, and I spent the afternoon slaving away in the kitchen that Sunday. It was the least we could do for the best mom ever.

This mother's day, hubby came up with the fabulous idea to pamper my mom with fancy caviar and champagne!

So for appetizers we had a cheese plate, mini toast crackers, caviar, champagne, and Grey Goose vodka. Very fancy indeed.

For our side dishes we had artichokes with garlic butter, french bread, and cheesy mashed potatoes.

The main course was ginger-scallion crusted salmon with ponzu butter sauce, served on a bed of cucumber salad. I didn't really know what to make for dinner so I simply googled "best salmon recipe ever" and this recipe popped up on allrecipes.com. The recipe did not disappoint. It was a fusion dish with a Japanese twist and tasted like something you might order for $20+ at a restaurant (if I may say so myself). Only the best for mom!

GINGER SCALLION CRUSTED SALMON RECIPE

(borrowed from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

Cucumber Salad:
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup mirin (Japanese rice wine)
1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
2 cucumbers, halved, seeded, and cut into very thin slices
Ginger Crust:
1/3 cup minced fresh ginger root
4 green onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup peanut oil
Salmon:
2 tablespoons peanut oil
4 (8 ounce) center-cut salmon fillets
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons honey
Ponzu Butter:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons ponzu sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Kosher salt to taste

Directions:

To make the cucumber salad, stir together sesame oil, dill, rice vinegar, mirin, and sesame seeds in a glass or plastic bowl; add cucumber, and toss until well coated. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
To prepare the ginger crust, stir together the ginger, green onions, and garlic in a sturdy, metal bowl; set aside. Heat 1/4 cup peanut oil in a small saucepan over high heat until it begins to smoke. Remove from heat, and carefully stir in the ginger mixture; set aside.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in a large, ovenproof, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season salmon fillets to taste with salt and pepper. Sear salmon until golden brown on both sides, 30 to 40 seconds per side. Transfer to a plate, and wipe excess oil from skillet. Spread honey over top of fillets, then evenly spread with reserved ginger crust.
Replace salmon into the skillet, and place into the oven. Bake until the center of the salmon turns opaque, 6 to 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir in shallots, and cook until softened and translucent, about 2 minutes. Pour in white wine, then simmer until nearly evaporated. Add the ponzu sauce and heavy cream, reduce by 1/2. Remove from heat, then whisk in cold butter pieces until dissolved; season to taste with kosher salt.
To assemble the dish, season the cucumber salad to taste with salt. Divide the salad evenly onto four plates, spreading it out into a 4 to 5-inch circle. Drizzle the ponzu butter onto the bare area of the plate, around the cucumber salad. Place a salmon fillet, crust-side up, on top of the salad, and serve.

Al Dente

2010-04-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

While in Japan, hubby must have his "Al Dente" fix. Al Dente is his absolutely favorite pasta restaurant since he was a kid. This is where his carbonara spaghetti obsession all began.
It's a tiny little place that is on the 6th floor of the Sony Building in Ginza. The restaurant probably only seats up to 20 people or so. You get to watch the pasta chefs whip up your dish as you sit at the bar.
The green pea salad is simple and yum. I tried to recreate this dish at home once but failed miserably. I don't know how I messed it up, but I think it's basically garlic, olive oil, green peas, salt and pepper. I have to try making this again.
Without looking at the menu, hubby knows that he must have his carbonara. He usually orders the "oomori" which means extra large portion! This is the dish that he dreams of and craves when we are back home in the states. After he slurped it all up he said that it wasn't as good as he remembered. I guess after hyping it up after all this time he expected more? haha. The carbonara here uses minimum amounts of cream and maximum amounts of egg so it's quite different from the carbonara we make at home. Still, I thought it was pretty darn good.
I had to have the spaghetti in meat sauce. For some reason, spaghetti in Japan tastes very different than spaghetti in the states. I think it's a little sweeter and a little lighter. Preggo me, always hungry, slurped the whoooole plate up.

Sakura

2010-04-01T19:26:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Japan just a few days ago as the pale pink flowers of the cherry blossom trees in Tokyo began to bloom. Japanese people love Sakura (cherry blossoms) because of their fleeting beauty, a reminder of how short and fleeting our very own lives on earth are. Sakura are in full bloom for probably just about a week, so I was extremely excited that this year I would get to see them during our trip to Japan! I've been to Japan dozens of times but I've only experienced the glory of the cherry blossoms once before, so it is very special to me that I get to see them again this year. We took a nice long walk around the Tokyo Imperial Palace yesterday. The parks and areas around the palace are said to have one of the most picturesque cherry blossom scenes in Japan.
Not all of the cherry blossoms were completely blossomed yet, but it was pretty close! The parks were packed with people enjoying the pretty pink flowers.
Everywhere I looked was insanely gorgeous! gorgeous! gorgeous! It's no wonder this country is so obsessed with Sakura.

Sweet 16

2010-03-28T20:14:00.001-07:00

It was a picture perfect, sunny California day today so we decided to take our dogs to the beach. My parents and I collectively have 3 loving dogs that bring happiness into our homes everyday. Today we just took two of our dogs, Xabi and our old family dog Sandy to the Huntington Dog Beach.Sandy is a Golden Retriever and a senior citizen. This year, she will be turning 16 years old! Do the math 7x16= 112... In human years, that would make her 112 years old! I grew up with this sweet dog. She is the kindest and calmest dog you would ever meet. Even though she is a wobbly old woman, she is 16 (in dog years) at heart. She runs, smiles, and plays like she's still a puppy. Her hind legs are getting weak, and she falls over often but that never seems to stop her. We believe she might make it to be the oldest living dog in history. At least we hope so :)
Xabi is our rambunctious pup. He loves to swim and will go no depths for his beloved ball. Today he swam until he was POOPED! At the end of the day he was drooling and blowing bubbles from his mouth because he was so exhausted. haha. It was too cute, I couldn't help but laugh at his foamy mouth.

Homemade Pasta SUCCESS!

2010-03-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

My first time making pasta from scratch was a success! (Quite the confidence booster after that homemade bread fail). I had some help from a friend who is a experienced pasta maker, so that made a big difference. I envied her Kitchen Aid attachment for rolling pasta, so my siblings bought it for me & pasta drying rack as a Christmas gift! It was so sweet of them, but I just didn't get around to trying it out until now.Making pasta was surprisingly easy and so much fun! Unfortunately, I didn't have a pasta cutter so we cut the pasta with a knife. It didn't really matter because it doesn't change the flavor and it made it that much more homemade-y. Only 4 basic ingredients go into making pasta.

BASIC PASTA RECIPE
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water

Directions:
Basically, you just knead all of the ingredients together until consistent. If the dough is too dry, add a little more water. Roll through the pasta roller, cut, boil and bon appetite! Having a pasta drying rack is so helpful because otherwise the noodles would just clump and stick together. The pasta came out delicious! It tasted so fresh, and elegant. I had my pasta noodles covered in artichoke tomato sauce with scallops and shrimp. I don't know if I'll be making homemade pasta every time I want spaghetti, but I'm definitely going to be making good use out of my pasta roller from now on. I'm thinking lasagna and ravioli next!

Homemade Bread FAIL

2010-03-08T18:15:00.001-08:00

They say that all you really need to make bread is a little bit of milk, butter, yeast, and flour. Lies... all lies... My little homemade bread making experiment was pure failure. The dough was as hard as a rock and would not rise even after waiting for hours.
The end product, although looked edible was the weight of a softball. Hard on the outside and still raw on the inside. Is it truly possible to make a nice loaf of bread at home without the assistance of a bread making machine? I am determined to succeed one of these days.

Trader Joe's Pizza Dough

2010-02-25T10:07:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've really been into pizza. It's been one of my top pregnancy cravings. You just can't go wrong with a good crust, sauce, and cheese! I've thought about making my own pizza dough but it just seems like such a hassle. Why go through all the time and trouble to make dough when they sell perfectly good dough at Trader Joe's? They have a plain dough, a whole wheat dough, and a garlic herb pizza dough in the refrigerated section of the store & it's only 99 cents! I think pretty much everything at TJ's is fabulous and tasty.
It's really simple to use this dough. It's just pretty sticky, so I made sure to put flour on my working surface. I'm not a professional pizza tosser, so I just stretched the dough out into a rough circle shape.
The best part about making pizza at home is that you get to play with the toppings. This time, I added some pizza sauce (also TJ's), shredded mozzarella cheese, slices of fresh mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, and sun dried tomatoes.
We had arugula lettuce on our pizza for the first time in Brazil last year, and hubby just loves it. So after the pizza came out of the oven I sprinkled some arugula on top. The crust was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. This pizza is semi-homemade cooking at it's perfection!

Been Busy Baking...

2010-02-22T18:38:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been missing from the food blogging world for the past few months!!! I've been busy baking... a baby in my oven! This is our first child and we are beyond the moon excited. Right now I am about 4 and a half months pregnant and our baby girl is due in July.
I would have been food blogging... but morning sickness has been hell. I've had so many food aversions and had no interest in looking at food, eating food, or smelling food during my first trimester. I was so sick and nauseous all day that I ended up losing a total of 7 pounds. Now that I'm halfway through my pregnancy, morning sickness has finally let up and I'm interested in eating again! I even gained back the weight I lost. I've been avoiding cooking but I feel like I'm ready to get back into the kitchen again. I feel like I need to practice my cooking skills more than ever, now that I'm going to be a Mama! <3

Strawberry Short Cupcake

2009-11-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

It was my friend's birthday the other day, so I decided to bake something to celebrate. The strawberry shortcake I made for hubby's birthday in August was such a hit that I decided to make something along those lines. I decided to make strawberry short cupcakes!
They turned out really cute! I topped the shortcake with fresh whipped cream, mini jelly candies, and a strawberry. They tasted nice, but honestly... I think when you put the airy cake batter inside the small cupcake paper, it deflates a little and loses a lot of its soft airyness.
Still, they were very cute and my friend appreciated them! :) I used my original shortcake recipe to make these cupcakes. The recipe can be found on my past post HERE.

Trails Cafe

2009-11-11T09:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Hubby and I took our dogs hiking in Griffith Park. It was a beautiful and sunny November day, perfect hiking weather. We let the dogs run around off leash and we all got a lot of exercise.Of course, all that hiking got us hungry so we had lunch at the The Trails Cafe located inside Griffith Park. It's a cute little shack that looks kind of like a log cabin where you order and pick up your food. There are plenty of picnic benches in the shade around the cafe where you can enjoy your meal. It was perfect for us, because we had our two doggies with us.
The cafe offers a mostly vegetarian menu with fresh homemade food, and everything is so tasty! I absolutely adore this rustic little cafe.
I had the vegetarian avocado sandwich with tons of sprouts, avocado, tomato, cheese, onions, and vegetarian bacon bits. This vegetarian sandwich was surprisingly filling and delicious! I'm going to try making this at home!
Hubby had the "snake on a dog" which is a hot dog wrapped in puff pastry. This dog came with a side of cabbage salad. It was one of the few carnivorous items on the menu. It was warm out of the oven and yummy as well.
We got a mini rhubarb strawberry pie for dessert. The crust was crunchy and sweet. Loved the mini pie!
This place is definitely worth a visit if you are ever around Griffith Park.

TRAILS CAFE
2333 Fern Dell Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90068
(323) 871-2102

The Chicago Dog

2009-11-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

We were set on having some Chicago style hot dogs while we were in town, so our friend took us to a local hot spot called The Wiener's Circle.

The place was pretty disgusting, small, and dirty. The people working there gave us nasty looks and were completely rude to us, hubby didn't even get what he ordered... but that's what makes this place so fun!

Even the tip jar is rude... Notice the bottom of the jar that says "Shakes $20"?
See that big, mean looking lady behind the cash register?
Well, if you put $20 in the tip jar, you will get a chocolate milk shake... meaning that the lady will lift her shirt and shake her ginormous boobies at you. I wasn't in the mood for a milkshake so I skipped on that one. Maybe another time...

Everything was deliciously greasy. And I'm not being sarcastic, I loved the dog.

Ohhh, look at all that oozing cheese and oil. yum! I will be back for the food, and the service! :)On our way back to LA, at O'Hare airport we decided to have one last hot dog at the Jodi Maroni's stand. Chicago dogs are so awesome, having those veggies in my hot dog makes me feel a little less guilty about eating a super processed and fatty snack.

WIENER'S CIRCLE
2622 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60614-1523
(773) 477-7444

FALLing in Love with Chicago

2009-11-10T13:28:00.001-08:00

We experienced wonderful weather and beautiful fall colors during our trip to Chicago recently. I really love this city.

A Taste of Chicago

2009-11-03T19:42:00.001-08:00

We visited Chicago for the first time this year. I immediately fell in love with the city.
We did all of the touristy things that people do in Chicago. We went to a Cubs game at the famous Wrigley Field and watched the Cubs win.
And of course we had Chicago style stuffed pizza!
We went to Bacino's Pizza in Lincoln Park. Basically, it's pizza with a thick heavy crust with TONS of cheese stuffed inside.
Every slice literally had one brick of melted mozzarella cheese inside... I'm sure of it!
Aside from the fact that you feel sick and bloated after eating just once slice... it's pretty decent. I still prefer the traditional pizza. But when in Rome... right?
BACINO'S PIZZA

2204 N Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614

Tel: (773) 472-7400

Kiss My Bundt

2009-10-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

I heard about Kiss My Bundt from a friend and I read on her blog about how fabulous this place was. When I saw online that they offered baking classes, I jumped on the opportunity.
It was a hands-on baking class with the owner, Chrysta as the instructor. She was such an upbeat and friendly person who offered me so much new information on baking.
The class had about 10 people and we split up into two groups. Each group worked from a "Blank Canvas" recipe for Chrysta's bundt cake and added our own unique flavors to make a new bundt cake creation. Unfortunately I can't post her famous recipe due to copyright reasons. :(
My group made vanilla cappuccino bundt cake with Baily's Irish Cream frosting, (pictured below). The other group made a raspberry, Guinness beer bundt cake with Belgium chocolate frosting. It was all so unique and yummy! I had such a great time meeting new people, baking together, and trying all sorts of great bundt cake flavors at Kiss My Bundt!
I highly recommend all of the cakes and classes at Kiss My Bundt. I even follow them on Twitter because they have discounts and special flavors all the time!

Kiss My Bundt Bakery
8104 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-0559

Dragon Fruit

2009-10-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

My friend was serving this beautiful and exotic looking fruit at his house warming party that I attended. I have never seen or eaten anything like it!
He told me that it was called Dragon Fruit. Dragon fruit, formally called Pitaya is the fruit from a cactus originating in South America. This fleshy fruit was amazingly sweet with crunchy little black seeds like the kiwi fruit.
On my recent trip to the Farmer's Market I discovered another variation of Dragon Fruit with a hot pink flesh! Dragon fruit contains high levels of vitamin c, calcium and phosphorus and lots of antioxidants. I don't know why I've never had this fruit before, but I'm officially hooked!

Fugu Me!

2009-10-15T18:25:00.001-07:00

We went out to eat Fugu (Puffer Fish) a major delicacy in Japan. It's not everyday you get to eat Fugu, and it's very hard to find in the states so I was excited about our full course fugu meal.
We went to eat at Torafugu Tei, which just so happened to be celebrating their 2 year anniversary with 50% off the entire menu! Still... Fugu is not cheap!
The beverage of choice: Hire Sake, hot sake with a puffer fish fin inside. The traditional way to drink this is to light the sake with a match and let the fin steep in the sake.
It tastes like a hybrid sake/fish soup.
The course started off with Fugu skin sashimi.
We also had Fugu Nabe (hot pot). The hot pot was a basket with a thick piece of paper and boiling water inside. I thought it was really neat!
Now the creepy part was that the pieces of cut up fish were still twitching on our plates before we immersed them into the boiling hot water.
So you boil your pieces of Fugu and veggies and dip them in Ponzu sauce before devouring.My favorite Fugu dish is Fugu sashimi. It is so delicate yet has a crunchy texture to it. Some people say that the small traces of Fugu poison leaves your lips and tongue tingling. If you ever saw that Simpsons episode where Homer is about to die from Fugu poisoning, you know that Fugu contains lethal poison (Tetrodotoxin). Fugu poisoning is very rare, especially in Tokyo but my best friend in Japan ended up in the emergency room on life support due to Fugu poisoning. So be very careful that to eat Fugu at a proper restaurant with licensed Fugu chefs.
Ohhh, Fugu kara-age is deep fried Fugu. So yummy! Tastes like chicken!
At the entrance of the restaurant there was a huge tank of Fugu swimming around, but at the end of the night after all of the guests ate the little guys, the tank was nearly empty...