chowchaser

{silhouette cameo: train t-shirts}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 04:57:00 +0000

i'm excited to share with you my second project on the silhouette cameo! {surprise amy and drew! i couldnt wait. hahaha} christmas is coming up and i really wanted to make some customized tshirts for my nephews, samuel and noah, and my baby boy matthew. it will be noah and matthew's first christmas. awwww!! samuel and noah were train conductors for halloween, so i thought it would be cute to make choo-choo train tshirts. each train car has the initial of their cousins, with their name spelled out as the puffs of smoke coming out of the smoke stack. i had some grey flocked and yellow flocked heat transfer paper, so i used the grey flocked paper for the wheels of the train and yellow flocked for the boys' initials and the stars. i love that it gives it another dimension. i'm looking forward to giving it to the boys on christmas day and having them all wear it together for pictures. heehee.

i used silhouette blog's great online tutorial on how to curve the letters for the clouds. remember, when you're making the shirts with the heat transfer material, you need to mirror the image. everything went quite smoothly, until i tried to mirror the curved clouds. it was flipping the letters upside down, rather than mirroring it. i sent an email to silhouette's customer service and they were awesome! within an hour, they emailed me back and figured out a solution.

Here's the solution to mirror curved words, so you can use it for transfer paper/vinyl:
1) Right click the text (not the path)
2) Select "Make Compound Path"
3) Right click the text again
4) Select "Flip Horizontally"

i {heart} my cameo!!

{salted caramel sauce: recipe}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 07:56:00 +0000

i. LOVE. salted caramel. smear some in a macaron and its like this transcendent food experience. haha. salted caramel is this lovely sweet & savory symphony for my taste buds. salted caramel has so many uses--simply off the spoon, melted over ice cream, drizzled over chocolate cake, as a filling in macarons (which i'll post about soon since i used this sauce in my fleur del sel macarons). i've always been a little afraid of making a caramel sauce because it seemed so difficult, but believe it or not, the sauce is quite easy to make.

the secret ingredient to this salted caramel is the fleur de sel. fleur de sel is this hand raked salt harvested from a region in France. it has this complexity in flavor that is hard to describe and perfect as a finishing salt.

the first batch of caramel i made, i actually slightly burned. {OOPS} i {ALMOST} threw it away, but decided to finish the recipe to see what it would taste like. i actually ended up LOVING the slightly burnt flavor since it added a hint of bitterness, which accented the sweet richness of the caramel. the second batch went perfectly and also tasted deliciously decadent. the important part of making caramel is to watch it very closely. it quickly turns from a beautiful caramel (color) to burnt in a matter of seconds. second point--although a candy thermometer is helpful, i found that it is actually somewhat misleading. i was waiting for the temperature to hit the 335 degree called for in the recipe. my thermometer was still reading the mid 200s when it started to turn slightly brown. i was fixated on the thermometer to read the 300s. but, it actually burned before it hit that temperature setting. so the point is, use your eyes and nose!!
the other important part is to not stir the mixture while it is boiling, since this can cause the sugars to crystallize. fourth, buy a kitchen scale.

this is the recipe i used {caramel fleur de sel, from the macaron chronicles}. you will love it.
the recipe was adapted from Chef Pang.

Equipment:
- Heavy saucepan or Dutch Oven
- Immersion Blender
- Kitchen scale
- Candy thermometer

Ingredients:
- 200 grams of sugar
- 1/4 cup of water
- 2 tbs corn syrup
- 3/4 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste (or 1 vanilla pod)
- 200 grams heavy cream
- 3.5 grams fleur de sel
- 140 grams unsalted butter, chilled, and cut

Recipe: (slightly modified with my own tips)
1. In a heavy saucepan (i used le creuset dutch oven), bring the 200 grams sugar, 1/4 cup of water, and 2 tbs of corn syrup to a boil
2. Once it starts bubbling, do NOT stir
3. in a separate saucepan, warm the 200 grams of heavy cream
4. Use your nose and eyes--when sugar turns a deep amber color, take the saucepan off the heat. (according to the original recipe, heat until mixture is 335 degrees)
5. Add the WARM cream, a little at a time, into the sugar mixture (BE CAREFUL! the sauce will bubble up and splatter). The warm cream prevents the caramel from seizing.
6. Add the fleur de sel
7. Stir to make sure the sugar has dissolved. (I actually turned on the heat a little to make sure the sugar melted. not sure if that is ok, but it worked for me)
8. Cool the mixture to 105 F
9. Add in the well-chilled, cubed butter
10. Use an immersion blender and blend in the butter until you achieve a smooth glossy paste
11. Transfer into glass container
12. Line the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming
13. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use
14. Spoon over ice cream or fill your macarons with this delicious sauce!

{easy beef udon soup recipe}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 01:36:00 +0000

my husband and i love udon soup. udon is definitely one of our favorite noodles because its chubby and has a great chewy texture. as i write this post, i realize that i clearly have this affinity for chewy things {udon, mochi, macarons, cookies/brownies....mmmm}.

anyways, here's an easy udon recipe since you're using mostly pre-packaged or frozen items. what busy mom wouldn't like that?? :) although the initial cost of buying the packaged ingredients may seem more costly than buying a bowl at a japanese restaurant, most of the items can be used for several meals! below i have pictured the frozen ingredients that i used, which you can buy at most asian grocery stores.

Ingredients: (to serve about 4 people)
- ~1/2 pound Shabushabu Kobe beef
- Frozen udon noodles (I used Shirakiku Sanukya Udon noodles)
- Slices of Korean Fried Fish Cakes (or use any type of fish cake)
- Udon soup base
- Soy sauce
- Chopped green onions
- Chopped Napa Cabbage

for the meat, i used a shabu-shabu kobe beef that was purchased at marukai japanese supermarket, which is sooo tender and delicious. [we use this meat for hot pot as well}.

Directions for udon noodles:
1. Boil water.
2. Add frozen udon noodles until cooked (about 1 minute!).
3. Drain and place it into your serving bowl

Directions for soup:
1. 1 cup udon soup base and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce into pot
2. Add 4-5 cups of water into pot {I wrote 4-5 cups since you should make it to your liking for saltiness. I liked 5 cups, but if you like it saltier, use 4 cups}
3. Heat udon soup base and water to almost a boil
4. To cook the meat, there are 2 ways you can do it.
a) For a clearer broth, you can boil some water in another pot and dip the meat into the water until cooked. (we're talking a minute...its fast...don't overcook it!). Remove meat and set it aside.
b) The other way--which is not necessarily better, but pictured below, we dipped the meat into the broth quickly until cooked, removed it and then set it aside. The annoying part of the second method is that you have to "strain" or remove the layer of "stuff" from the meat that accumulates on the top of the broth.
5. Add the napa cabbage and the fish cakes into the broth. {I only did it for a minute since i like my napa cabbage crunchy}
6. Spoon the soup, napa cabbage, fish cakes over the serving bowl with the cooked udon noodles
7. Add the meat into the udon noodle bowl
8. Sprinkle with chopped green onions

Enjoy this on a cold night. Its delicious and easy peasy too!

{mochi cake recipe: matcha green tea, strawberry, blueberry}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 04:02:00 +0000

have you ever tried mochi? yum. mochi is this asian snack that is made from a glutinous rice flour (not gluten), prepared in a variety of ways. when i think of mochi, i usually envision this white gooey chewy rice cake, filled with sweet red bean paste. but, it is probably most well known in the US for being filled with ice cream. Someone recently posted a link on facebook about mochi cake and my interest was peaked! The recipe that I followed seemed easy enough and sounded delicious. I love me some mochi and I love me some chewy cake. So many flavors to choose from...Green tea, strawberry, blueberry.... I figured, why decide? just make all of them at once! haha!

Its hard to describe the flavor, but it reminds me of a somewhat egg-y, chewy, dense cake. what is great about these mochi cakes is that the outside is slightly crunchy and the inside is chewy, so it creates this great texture. it tasted the best right out of the oven (be careful, don't burn your tongue though!) of all 3 flavors that i made, my favorite was definitely the strawberry mochi cake. i loved how the juice of the strawberry created a slightly gooey texture to the cake and it added this lovely acidity to the mochi cake. a few friends sampled the mochi cake and also loved the strawberry the most. my second favorite was the green tea {my mom's favorite though}. if i was going to make it again, i would probably add a little more matcha powder to make it even more potent. my least favorite was surprisingly the blueberry mochi cake. i thought i would love the blueberry mochi cake since i normally adore blueberry flavored cakes, but it was weirdly bland. maybe i should try fresh blueberries next time?

Here is the base recipe below.

Ingredients to the base: (recipe i followed was from JustJenn Recipes)
1 pound mochiko (1 box) {i purchased this at Marukai in Costa Mesa, California}
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup of butter, melted (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
1 can evaporated milk
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

--For the green tea, buy matcha powder: full batter-use at least 2 tablespoons. (i purchased mine at marukai also)
{For me, since half of my batter was for the green tea mochi cakes, i only used 1 tablespoon.}

--For the strawberry mochi cake: i used fresh strawberries
--For the blueberry mochi cake: i tried frozen blueberries

To easily make all the flavors, I created the base {with no fruit and no green tea matcha powder}. I thought it would be fun to make them into little muffins, rather than a sheet cake. So, for the fruit flavored mochi cake, I spooned the base into the muffin tins (sprayed with Pam) with no liners. For the blueberry mochi cakes, I just sprinkled some frozen blueberries from Trader Joe's on the top, and just gently swirled it with a spoon to mix it in. I read to not overly mix it in, or else the color of the batter would turn a strange and unappetizing grey color. For the strawberry mochi cakes, I sliced fresh strawberries and placed them into the muffin tins. For the green tea, I used 1 tablespoon of the matcha powder and mixed it in with the remaining base.

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease muffin tin with Pam or butter. I used Pam.
3. Stir sugar and melted butter
4. Add evaporated milk
5. Add eggs one at a time into the batter
6. Add vanilla extract
7. Carefully stir in mochiko, baking powder, and the pinch of salt
8. Add either the fresh fruit/frozen fruit, or the green tea matcha powder
9. Spoon into muffin tins
10. Bake for about 20-25 minutes
11. Let slightly cool, but eat while warm!

{Bailey's Coffee Creamers: Review}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:31:00 +0000

I love drinking my "steaming" cup of Joe in the morning. I put "steaming" in quotations because usually I brew it and am all excited to drink it while its piping hot, but somehow, 90% of the time, I become distracted by work stuff and come back to a cold cup of coffee {like I'm sure most of you moms out there. haha}. Cold or hot though, I still love my coffee.

My favorite cup of coffee is actually a soy cappuccino (foam lover!), but that's not so good for the pocketbook. So, I always tell myself to save the money and drink the coffee at work and make it fun with different flavored creamers. I was excited to find out that Bailey's (the company that makes the alcoholic Irish Cream) released a line of coffee creamers via a coupon in the newspaper. It has been apparently out for some time...but I never noticed them. I'm usually a coffee-mate kinda girl. Anyways, they come in 7 yummy-sounding flavors and I had a hard time choosing which flavors to purchase: Classic Irish Cream, Caramel, French Vanilla, Hazelnut, Creme Brulee, Toffee Almond Cream, Chocolate, French Vanilla Fat Free, and Irish Cream Fat Free. I had a coupon to save $1 off 2, so I picked up the classic Irish Cream (and a Caramel, which I might review at a later date, since I haven't opened it yet). If you like Bailey's alcoholic Irish Cream, then you will love this creamer because it tastes, smells, and even has that thick consistency, like the original irish cream! They state on their website that it is ok for the lactose intolerant, but not for people with a true milk allergy. Its supposedly gluten free, alcoholic and caffeine free (of course). Would I buy another bottle of this creamer? Yes!! Go out and buy some!

Tips: Here's a link to find out where they sell these Bailey's creamers

{ innobaby packin' SMART review }

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:02:00 +0000

my baby boy, within the last week, has been somewhat able to pincer grasp gerber puffs and put them into his gummy mouth, albeit with some difficulty. L.O.V.E it. i love how he sometimes grabs a puff in his hand and misses his mouth. i love how the puff sometimes sticks to his palm or the sides of his chubby fingers and he doesn't know how to move it into his mouth, so he tries sticking his whole hand into his mouth. its exciting when he actually puts the puff into his mouth. {clap clap clap!} now as i'm blogging about it, it reminds me that i need to video tape him eating puffs to capture that moment forever.

i've actually been excitedly waiting for my little man to be able to start eating those little gerber graduate puffs. why you ask? so i can put the puffs into these cute little innobaby containers that i bought a while back (and because its a source of entertainment for him when we are out at a restaurant). i first heard about innobaby through this awesome baby deals website that features a few products two times a day, called babysteals.

I purchased the innobaby packin' smart (safari pattern) line because i loved the sorbet colors and animal prints on the sides. cuteness! it comes with 5 small stackable containers, which allows you to place 5 different snacks, without them becoming crushed in the bottom of your diaper bag like they would if you used a plastic bag!! how great is that?! you can use as few, or as many containers as you want. right now, i'm using only 3. each little container has a funnel top that allows you to dump out the snacks onto a tray if you don't have the top lid in place (not sure if i really like that feature, but it has its benefits). they are quite sturdy, since just today, i dropped it on a hard tile floor and no cracks. so, i have some apple cinnamon puffs in one, strawberry yogurt melts in another, and some cheese puffs in another. the other great thing about these containers is that you can use it for other things when your baby is older, like putting in candies, spices, beads, jewelry, anything to keep you organized!! so all in all, a great invention and an item i would recommend for mommas that like to bring snacks for their kids when they are out and about. also, this would make such a great baby shower gift, don't you think?

how do you carry your babies snacks? does it work well? what snacks do you usually bring with you?

{sharing a great deal on adorable customizable books and products: paper coterie & howdoesshe}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 03:44:00 +0000

before i received my silhouette cameo, i tried to win the machine in a bunch of giveaways that occurred a few weeks ago. needless to say, i didn't win. haha. but, i did stumble upon this great website, How Does She. Recently she posted this GREAT DEAL, celebrating their 2nd anniversary. Click Great Deal to see the link and the special code. They are working with this cute company called Paper Coterie, where you get $30.00 off any purchase. Here you can find super cute books, journals, recipe books, flip books, cards, calendars, growth charts that you can customize with pictures of your baby or your family. Many of their adorable products are just under $30, so all you have to do is pay for shipping! I made an ABC book for my baby, filled with pictures of our family, like A is for Auntie A**. or N is for Nainai (grandma!). I can't wait to get it!

Hurry! The deal expires in a few days!

{trader joe's dark chocolate minty mallows review}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 08:20:00 +0000

on my way out of trader joe's the other day, these cute boxes of minty mallows caught my eye. i love marshmallows, in small quantities {and especially roasted on a stick}. gourmet flavored marshmallows are popular and can be quite expensive. so, at $3.99, i definitely wanted to give these a try! these marshmallows are quite good. i can eat maybe 1 or 2 in a sitting, then it becomes really sweet. what i enjoy about these treats is that the marshmallow is quite chewy, with a nice punch of peppermint. this is then nicely complemented with the more bitter dark chocolate. kind of reminds me of a chewy version of a peppermint patty. all in all, i would say, good job trader joe's! me likey!

{silhouette cameo: my first project, custom tshirt}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 05:22:00 +0000

hello readers! i took a long hiatus after giving birth to our beautiful spunky chunky little boy, matthew. its been a sleep-depriving, but incredibly joyful and rewarding journey. we feel so blessed to have this wonderful addition to our family and look forward to exciting challenges ahead.

so, to restart my blogging, i decided to share a little about a new toy that i recently acquired, the silhouette cameo, rather than about food :) not sure if you've ever heard of this machine, but it is amazing! it is this electronic cutting tool that can cut through different materials (papers, vinyl, heat transfer paper, fabric, etc). my hubbers was nice enough to gift me with one for my combo anniversary/christmas gift. i debated for a while whether it was worth purchasing the machine, since i could see myself tucking it away into my closet after a couple projects and having it become a pricy dust collector. but the more projects i see on blogs, the more i feel confident that this machine is a keeper and going to be well used in this home of mine.
the first thing i wanted to make was a custom tshirt for my son. {that still looks really weird when i type that out. haha!}. i finally settled on making a robot tshirt. the robot is supposed to be matthew, and the robot dog is supposed to be my dog, which is his favorite source of laughter. here is the final product!!! i'm quite happy with the result!!

i had also ordered some heat transfer paper from scrapbookexpress.com since they had a deal on free shipping and 40% off one item. the heat transfer is rather expensive though and wish there were cheaper alternatives. if any of you readers have any tips, i would love to know if there are other different brands that work just as well, or better, than the silhouette brand. anyways, after scouring the web and youtube videos to see how to use the machine, i felt ready to give my new machine a whirl. i downloaded two images (robot and a robot dog) from the silhouette online store, using my free $10 download card and imported it into my library. i then played around with the images, decided on the size of the objects i wanted, and created a master layout of how i wanted it to look on my tshirt. after reading many tips from other silhouette owners, i made sure i mirrored the images prior to printing it. after clicking the print window, set it to silhouette heat transfer paper (smooth). the good thing is that it tells you the blade setting (1--for this project). I also moved the rollers to 9" since my paper was only 9".

Here is a tip {learn from my mistake}---under the page tool settings, make sure you change it to "LETTER size" (rather than the default 12x12) and that the cutting mat is set to "NONE". The other important thing to note is that after you click "send to silhouette", you'll see the image and the arrows pointing in the direction of how you would load the picture. well, note that the orientation is different! although the screen is top/bottom, the image would print at a 90 degree orientation to the left. soo i changed the orientation of my images to save my heat transfer paper. so with a little trial and error, i printed out my images, after a few trials of pausing/reloading/and a few screeches of "OH NO, its cutting the machine instead of the paper!" {which happened to be practically every time, my husband laughingly pointed out, yet true!!} haha.

for my project, i actually had to do 3 separate print outs for the 3 colored papers (1--for inside of robot body since i wanted it white and the name, 2--yellow dog, 3--teal robot shell). this required "subtracting" the image. my font was the "american typewriter". ironing the images on was quite difficult!! it took me about 2-3 hours of ironing and ironing and ironing. the white ironed on quickly (1 minute tops, like it is supposed to...). the teal robot arm and yellow dog would just. not. stick, no matter how much pressure i used, heat level on the iron, or thickness of cloth that i used....finally, in a last ditch effort, i picked off the image slightly with the silhouette hook tool and then ironed again and that seemed to help. then after removing the transfer paper, i ironed it again with just a thin cloth separating the image from my iron. and voila! tshirt was done! have to say overall, i really loved how it turned out. can't wait to put it on my little monkey!!

although i'm no expert by any means, if you have any questions about what i made, send me a comment and i'll try to give you any tips i've learned.

{bar tartine, review of the pork belly sandwich}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:15:00 +0000

my husband and i recently took a vacation up to northern california {cambria, san francisco, napa}. for part of the visit, we visited my friend lydia. she had mentioned to one of her bosses (a foodie) that i was coming, he was super kind enough to come up with a list of recommended places to eat! since much of the vacation centered around food (my husband kindly obliged), i have much to blog about! (although i did not forget that i need to share with you my eating adventures on abbott kinney soon)....

one of the restaurants highly reviewed was bar tartine in san francisco, famous for their open faced pork belly sandwich. the picture of the sandwich looks quite delicious right? pork belly can be amazing and i've had a few in my life. but, i sadly have to say that after slicing into the pork belly, it looked more like the fried by-products of liposuction sitting on a piece of bread. {ok that is a disturbing image buuut it seriously was 3 large greasy chunks of fat with a faint sliver of pork, and i mean sliver}. where was the PORK? i do realize that pork belly can be quite fatty, but this was above and beyond in my opinion...

i'm not that health conscience and adore bacon and fries, but this was a plate serving a heart attack, with a side of a coronary artery bypass. i'm not sure if we had unusual pieces (although we ordered two of them and it was the same) since i'm surprised that anybody could comfortably eat that dish without getting grossed out, even if it tasted good. maybe the people who enjoyed the dish had more pork on the pork belly?? granted, the flavor of the sliver of pork was delicious.... and there were other redeeming parts of the dish--the yummy shoestring fries and the avocado, egg salad, and pickled jalapenos and onions on the bread. needless to say, ordering 2 of those dishes was not ideal for the pocket & arteries and we left most of the "fat" belly on the plate. booooo...

i'm sure there are other great dishes at this restaurant and the ambience is nice. i think i'll give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt and say that the dishes we received that day were just a mishap....but i must say that i must missed the boat on what is so great about this pork belly sandwich.....

interestingly, they added a 4% surcharge to the bill to provide healthcare for their employees. apparently, not unusual in restaurants in san francisco so i was told?

{adventures on abbot kinney road}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:15:00 +0000

i saw some pictures of Abbot Kinney Road in Venice California posted on a blog recently and decided to venture there with my husband this past weekend. uber cute street with cool architecture, trendy restaurants, and unique boutiques. i'll review each place i ate at over the next few weeks, but i'll give you a little taste of our adventure in venice! :)

the night before, we had planned on trying one of the restaurants along Abbot Kinney, but as we started walking, we immediately noticed a parking lot filled with food trucks! the koji truck!! a hot dog truck! a vietnamese sandwhich truck! i had been wanting to try the koji truck! i just never mustered the energy to drive into LA to try it. fun!

developing quite a thirst after eating at the koji truck, we wandered into the store lemonade for a quencher. along one wall was a glass bar filled with these delicious looking unique ready-made salads and potroasts. in the back, i saw a row of colorful liquids dripping down these containers. yeees, so many flavors of lemonades to choose from!

after sipping our lemonade, we gave our tummies a break and started strolling through the streets. there was a store called bountiful, lined with vintage furniture that quickly caught my attention. when you step into the store, you'll see the ceiling dripping with sparkly chandeliers and shelves overflowing with beautiful vintage cake stands of all different sizes and colors. i L.O.V.E. cake stands.

i had read about this well-reviewed bakery that sold macarons, called Jin's Patisserie. if you've been a follower of my blog, you'll know that i love macarons. so, that was a must-try....after purchasing the macarons, we stopped at one last place. N'ice Cream gelatos and sorbets. ooo, i'll blog about that later, but...drooool....

after a day of fun, we drove off to our friend's house who just had a little baby boy, with a bag of macarons as a gift. cute hungry yet sleepy little man!

{review of the alcove cafe & bakery in los angeles}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:53:00 +0000

meandering down hillhurst in los angeles, you'll see nestled into the street, this cute old bungalow called the alcove cafe and bakery, with a large outdoor patio filled with lively chatter, colorful chairs, and the look of happy people eating brunch. walking up, you'll see a long line out the door and quickly discover that you're standing in line to place your order for the food. when you finally are able to grab a menu, you'll see a lovely offering of everything from farm egg omelettes, french toast, freshly squeezed juices to a display case of freshly baked goods. it was definitely a little hectic inside to try and squeeze your way through the crowd, but once you place your order, you grab your number and find a seat indoors or outdoors.

as i stood there staring at the menu, i began to have the recurrent epic brunch battle in my mind--sweet or salty? sweet or salty? heehee. do you have that debate as well?

i usually have to tell myself, make a decision girl! so i did. sweet won that day (sort of). so i chose the brioche french toasts topped with blueberries with vermont maple syrup and creme fraiche. great thing about it was that the french toast was not smothered in butter. the blueberries-as you can see from the picture, had the appearance of thawed out frozen berries. (not sure if thats how it was prepared though) overall, the french toast was well made and it was a good dish, but, not mind blowing, especially for the hefty price tag of 10.95 with no sides.

ok ok, so the sweet did not totally win that day. i caved and ordered a side of salty. i chose the side of two potato pancakes with caramelized apples and.... creme fraiche (it appears again!!) for $3.50. yay for salty. the potato pancakes were a yummy version of hashbrowns. the "caramelized apples" were...an "interesting" flavor combination with the potato pancakes . it tasted like dehydrated chewy apples seasoned with cinnamon and maybe brown sugar? the potato pancakes sat on a bed of arugula, which was a nice compliment to the salty crunch of the potatoes.

and, finally, my hubster ordered the smoked salmon breakfast stack, which included two potato pancakes, topped with smoked salmon, poached eggs, and....wait for it...wait for it.... Creme Fraiche (!!!) and fresh dill, and a side of seasonal fresh fruit. haha. who knew creme fraiche could be soo versatile...(or not!). he enjoyed his dish, except wishing that there was not creme fraiche poured all over the dish. i unfortunately, did not take a bite of it, so i can't comment on it other than the fact that it looked delicious.

overall, i would say the place has a wonderful ambience and an enticing menu list. its a great place to go on a date or to hang out with your friends over brunch. my dishes were good, but probably not on the top of my list for brunch food. i would definitely go back though to try a few other dishes and to just enjoy the lively atmosphere.

{review of Kellogg's Fruit Crisps}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:30:00 +0000

As a perpetual snacker and always on the hunt for new snacks, I've been noticing the commercials for these Kellogg's Special K Strawberry Fruit Crisps. Anything with the word "Crisp" in the snack catches my attention. I happened to find a coupon for these babies and decided to buy them. When i ripped open the package, each crisp looked amazingly similar to another favorite 100 calorie snack packs of mine (Newton's Fruit Crisps - Apple Cinnamon), except for the frosting drizzled across the top. I enjoyed it. Crispy outer shell. Sweet strawberry filling. It reminds me of a crispier, healthier, lighter version of a strawberry pop tart. I personally wouldn't have minded if they left out the frosting, but I'll bet that most people prefer it since it makes it a little more decadent and its still delicious. So all in all, a great snack. I would buy it again :) (I think the hard part is just limiting yourself to one pack in one sitting, which would defeat the whole purpose of limiting your calories for a snack if you opened a few packs at once. hehe.

{paulette's macaroons review}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:09:00 +0000

macarons, oo how much i love thee...why? its this delicious round cookie with a crispy outer shell, chewy inside, and a delicious filling. what is the best part of these lovely creations? the flavors!!

over the holidays, Alice mentioned a little gift was coming my way. {ooooo-what was it?! so exciting! i love surprises!}. after receiving the gift, i gently untied the ribbon to discover a giant box of macarons from Paulette {a macaron bakery in Beverly Hills that i've been meaning to try}. can we say thoughtful?! {big nod-nod} it was a box of 24 cute little vividly colored macaroons that were like powerful flavor explosions for my tastebuds-framboise, carribean chocolate, coconut, caramel, lemon, columbian coffee, madagascar vanilla, sicilian pistachio, earl grey tea, violet cassis, passion fruit, and rose. wowie!! the fun part, was taking a bite of each macaron and guessing what flavor it was...{its like eating a box of chocolates and biting each one to see what flavor it is!} my favorites? ooo so hard to choose, but i loved the caramel, earl grey tea, coffee, coconut, violet,...oh wait...am i listing all of them? heehee.

i attempted making these bad boys once a few months ago and found it to be labor intensive but well worth the work. {but, it is definitely a skill to make macarons and to have them come out perfect. needless, to say, its a skill i need to work on. {grin}. here's the link for pistachio macarons {link: Chow Chaser} if you're interested in attempting to make some. :)

thanks alice, my dear friend, for this wonderfully satisfying gift!

{cold wintery nights with a steamy bowl of chipotle-chocolate chili}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:12:00 +0000

as the days become colder, the more i begin to crave a big steaming bowl of chili for dinner. i've made chilis a few times in my life, but, there's always something lacking...although don't get me wrong, they were quite tasty. i've tried ones with beer, ones in a slow cooker, ones over a stove top... i can never seem to get it quite to my liking. in my continual quest to find new chili recipes, i stumbled upon this recipe for chiptole chocolate chili on a food blog...exotic sounding. hm! I figured i would try the recipe and review it on my blog.

now this chili is quite spicy. be prepared! so, for the faint of heart, consider cutting down the spicy ingredients {chipotle sauce, chili powder, cumin}. I used nearly the exact amounts the recipe called for, except that i left out the red wine vinegar since i didn't have any on hand and made notes along the side of the original recipe if i made any changes. the only other thing i changed was that i added a smidge of a 1:1 flour/water mixture to thicken the sauce and then cooked it for a bit to get rid of the raw flour taste. why? because i love thick chili and despite cooking it for a long time, it never thickened.

i actually really enjoyed the recipe, as well as my family. there is depth to the flavor profile of this chili. the chocolate is a subtle note on your tongue. and honestly, it is not something you would notice immediately if noone told you that it was in the recipe. the heat from the chili is powerful. and it tastes even better with time. i'll definitely make it again...maybe for care group? :) if you serve this, i recommend making it with a side of the Trader Joe's Cornbread mix. Easy and a-must-compliment to the chili!

if you have any recommendations of other awesome chili recipes, please leave me a comment with a link to the recipe. i'll give it a whirl!

Chipotle Chocolate Chili {taken directly from Our Best Bites}

1 lb. lean ground turkey {i would consider making it with beef next time}
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans {no salt-added} diced tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can beef broth
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. chili powder {i added only 1 to 1.5 Tbsp}
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (NOT Nesquik! That would be very bad!)
1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
Chipotle sauce (from the can of chipotle chilies) {i could only find the san marcos chipotle peppers in adobo sauce}
1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (1/2 unsweetened baking cube), chopped (optional; use to taste as needed; be careful, because too much will make your chili bitter)
Light sour cream
Chopped green onions
3-4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
Shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions
-Heat some olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, bell pepper, and ground turkey until meat is cooked through.
-Add salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder {i would add the seasoning first to the meat, before you add the liquid. i'm not sure if it flavors the meat more..but in my mind, it would}
-Add tomatoes, beans, and beef broth.
-Add all of the chipotle sauce from a small can of chipotle chilies. Heat to boiling and then reduce to a simmer (uncovered), stirring occasionally, until thickened as desired (I like it about 30-40 minutes). If desired, add some chopped chipotle chilies.
-Add 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar and a small amount of chopped chocolate at a time until desired richness is reached. If necessary, add more red wine vinegar to cut the sweetness of the chili. This is where you can play around a little with the flavors.
-When thickened and seasoned as desired, serve with chopped onions or green onions (green onions, though not pictured, are better, in my opinions!), sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese.

{i heart red velvet cupcakes}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:26:00 +0000

red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. {drool}. i served them at my wedding in lieu of wedding cake because of my love for red velvet cupcakes. the proverbial question is "what is in red velvet cake?" i like to see it as a hybrid between a vanilla and chocolate cake. its composition includes cocoa powder, vanilla extract, buttermilk, red food coloring. there is a frightening amount of red food coloring that is used...brushing your teeth after eating one of these babies looks like your spitting out blood. hehehe. ok, maybe thats a little dramatic. but, here's an interesting factoid though-red dye (natural food coloring) can be made from extracting a dried female cochineal insect. {will you ever think of red colored foods the same again?}

A friend, Natalie C, received a tin of Sprinkles red velvet cupcake mix as a gift. Delightfully, she decided to come over for the holidays and make this with me, using my trusty fire-engine red KitchenAid mixer. Surprisingly, the mix turned out exactly like the ones at Sprinkles. It is a little cheaper than going to Sprinkles, but you have to buy quite a bit of ingredients. And why do their cupcakes taste so yummy? Butter! A little twist on their frosting recipe was that I added a touch of vanilla bean paste to the cream cheese. Not only yummy, but also looks nice with the bean specks! Anyways, its a fun gift and the results were...delish! and they even come with those adorable colored dots that taste like cardboard!! :)

{gift idea-recipe book}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 06:03:00 +0000

as the holiday season is fast approaching and for the procrastinators out there in need of a quick gift idea for someone who enjoys cooking....

i use to have random sheets of recipes scattered about my apartment. when i cooked with a recipe that i tore out from a magazine, the article would become spattered with all the ingredients from the recipe. {oops}.

solution? the best thing i found was to place the recipes into binder sheet protectors. this allows you to protect the recipes from the occasional spatter. and, if a little oopsie occurs, wiping with a damp cloth takes care of it! with clear view binders, you could put in a myriad of beautiful colorful papers that can match any kitchen! here is one that i made for a friend as a bridal shower gift...

so, to make this lovely and personalized gift, you can buy:
- a packet of sheet protectors
- 1 inch binder that has clear view pockets that allows you to place in sheets of paper in the front/back/spine
- few sheets of pretty scrapbook paper that coordinate with your gift receiver's kitchen (buy at local crafts store)
- letter stickers
- 1 sheet of plain scrapbook paper
- few of your favorite recipes

instructions:
1. measure out size of paper that fits into the clear pockets/spine {if needed-create a template paper - and make sure it slides into the clear view pockets before you start cutting your pretty scrapbook paper}
2. using a paper cutter, cut the pretty scrapbook paper to size
3. insert pretty scrapbook paper to back/spine
4. cut "recipes" background on plain scrapbook paper to whatever size you prefer using your paper cutter
5. stick letter stickers onto the plain scrapbook paper {i just put the word "recipes", but you could personalize it with the person's name}
6. glue "plain scrapbook paper with the stickers" onto the "front page of the pretty scrapbook paper" with a glue stick
7. insert this sheet into the front of the binder

voila! a personalized practical and handy recipe book that will be used for years to come. i use it frequently in my kitchen and find it quite indispensable. if you have any questions, leave me a comment. hopefully, someone will enjoy this gift as much as i have!

{mom's apple cake from the smitten kitchen}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:31:00 +0000

i was chatting with my long-time friend lydia about ideas for thanksgiving desserts and she shared with me that a friend of hers recommended a famous recipe by the smitten kitchen blog. now that is one great blog with an amazing following!

the recipe was called "mom's apple cake". there were hundreds of raving reviews about this recipe so i had to try it out. anything with the word {mom} in the recipe makes me want to give it a whirl in the kitchen...

{ok, i have to share how much i love that i learned how to post these larger pictures for my blog!! yay! its almost like you can eat it off the blog page!}

overall, i have to agree that it is a delicious cake and a great dessert for thanksgiving. baked apples? cinnamon? coffee cake base? mm..lovely combination. the cake was very moist and flavorful and tasted delightful when it was warm and right out of the oven. and while it was baking in the oven, {the smell} was just. heavenly. my only qualm, because i tend not to enjoy super sweet desserts, was that the dessert was super sweet. i couldn't get a good sense of whether the guests really loved it or were just polite. heehee. if i would make it again, i would definitely cut the sugar by half or at least to only about 1 1/4 cups. and, since the tube pan that i had ordered from amazon to make the apple cake was sitting all lonely, locked in my apartment building's front office on thanksgiving day, i decided to pour most of the batter into a springform pan and small amount of it into a loaf pan out of uncertainty as to how high the cake would rise, it turned out just fine as you can see from the pictures. all of it would have fit nicely into the springform pan.

here is the recipe below. depending on your love for sweets, adjust the sugar accordingly in the batter :) enjoy!

Mom’s Apple Cake (recipe link from the Smitten Kitchen)

6 apples, Mom uses McIntosh apples
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar

2 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar (like i mentioned above, the dessert was sweet to me, so if i was going to make it again, i would cut it to either 1 1/4 cup or 1 cup)
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.

{would i make this again? yes}

{new design}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:31:00 +0000

hello readers, as you can see, i have decided to use my new blog site design for this website. keeping up the two blogs seemed...well, senseless. so, with the new and coming year, i figured, why not change the site with a little more freshness...

{Grandma Louise's Tomato Sauce from Chef Academy}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:18:00 +0000

have any of you watched the new bravo tv show-Chef Academy? the show features a renowned Michelin award-winning Chef Novelli, who opens a culinary academy in Los Angeles that teaches/trains aspiring cooks to cook like professionals {would love to learn how to cook like a professional!}. it is not a competition perse, but, if the students {major characters} fail 3 challenges, they then fail the academy. anyways, the reason i enjoy watching the show is because each episode, Chef Novelli briefly demonstrates a classic technique/recipe or cooking method.

the one episode that caught my attention was "Grandma Louise's Tomato Sauce". i've always wanted to know how to make a kick-butt tomato sauce. honestly though, i've never even thought of trying it, especially with inexpensive jars of tomato sauces available at the market in every imaginable flavor. i did venture once to try and make it with canned tomatoes--it turned out ok, but not better than the ready-made sauces. but, since i've been married, i've been made aware that my husband has a mild aversion to jarred tomato sauces {wah?!}. in all fairness, the acidity of the tomato sauce is sadly reminiscent of a bad bout of gastroenteritis. {share too much? heehee. eeew...} anyways, so my quest has been to find a way to make a tomato sauce that he enjoys since i want to make my husband's tummy happy and also because i personally adore tomato based foods. hence, i decided to try and make this tomato sauce. as you can see from my photo of the dish below, it has a deep, rich color with chunks of tomatoes. mmm....now how good would that be over a plate of pasta?

My personal thoughts on the recipe: it is actually more expensive to make this tomato sauce from scratch compared to the jars without question {3 dollars for a jar on sale versus 6 dollars for just the tomatoes (excluding the anise/vanilla/basil)--although maybe i paid too much for the tomatoes at trader joe's}, i only used 2 anises since i'm not a super fan of licorice-y foods, i used vanilla bean paste since it is less expensive instead of a fresh vanilla bean, and added 2-3 chile pods for spice. The flavor is quite intense and one must be patient for it to develop into that paste-like consistency {1.5 hours!}. my sauce ended up being a little bit tart in the end, so i probably should have added more sugar for balance.

the wonderful thing about the sauce is not only the multiple layers of flavor with the anise, vanilla bean, chile, garlic, and basil, but the incredibly intense showcase of the tomato. {it sings tomato} ultimately, i felt like the sauce was quite lovely and am willing to make it again, with a couple more tweaks.

making a tomato sauce from scratch? {check!}

The link for the recipe is here; Grandma Louise's Tomato Sauce
The Original Recipe for "Grandma Louise's Tomato Sauce" {with my side commentary}

Ingredients:
6 lb (2.7 kg) Beef or Heirloom tomatoes
4 Star anise {i only used two}
1 Vanilla pod {used vanilla bean paste-purchased at Sur La Table}
Sea salt & cracked black pepper to season
White sugar
2 Sprig fresh thyme
1-2 Bay leaves
{i added 2 dried chili pods}

Infusion:
Fresh garlic
28gm bunch fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS
1. Place a heavy cast pan to heat up.
2. Wash the tomatoes and halve roughly.
3. Place into the hot pan and season with salt, pepper and a touch of sugar.
4. Add the anise and vanilla.
5. Allow the tomatoes to start to cook then press them gently with a masher to help them to release their juice.
6. Reduce the heat down to just simmering and continue for about 1-2 hours until a thickened paste. This slow evaporation of the moisture from the tomatoes will produce a deep color concentrated flavor without any bitterness.
7. Crack the garlic and add along with the basil which is just halved and throw in.
8. Combine with the warm paste and finish with a good amount of olive oil to finish the infusion. Allow to cool before storing ready for use.

NOTES
• If you have added too much sugar to start this can be balanced out with a touch of vinegar.
• Always taste the tomatoes uncooked to determine their natural sweetness before you add the sugar.
• The amount of garlic to infuse with greatly depends on its strength; again make your own judgment.
• Additional seasoning such as cumin, fennel seeds, chili etc can be added this is of course personal taste again.

{Newton's Fruit Crisps {Apple Cinnamon} - Snack Review}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:26:00 +0000

I adore these as snacks. I always have a couple stashed away somewhere in my snack bag/backpack. The great thing is the crispy outer shell. I love the crunchiness {crunch crunch crunch} and the perfect amount of apple cinnamon filling that is not too sweet. I always found the nutrigrain bars to be waaay toooooo sweet. (obviously personal taste opinion). The other great thing about the snack is that its only 100 calories...

Now the caveat to this snack - not filling! I could eat a few packs in one sitting, hence eliminating the low calorie benefit. heehee.
Give it a try and let me know what ya think!

Tip: Buy it at Target! Cheaper than the sale price of grocery stores...at least in SoCal...

{Juicy Asian T Bone Steak}

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:39:00 +0000

I'm a steak and potato lover. I could eat a steak and potato meal at least once a week. Drooool. How I adore slicing into a large piece of steak that is juicy, tender and full of flavor... and then scooping into a hot and buttery salted baked potato. oooohhh....soooo good. I could eat one again right now.

This recipe is an Asian-flavored T bone steak, especially with the sweet soy sauce and green onion based sauce. I love how tender the steak is because of the time spent pounding out the meat with the tenderizer (got stress? this recipe is for YOU!). Now if you notice from the picture, the recipe is slightly modified. Instead of green onions, I used regular onions this time since I ran out of green onions. Also, I added to the sauce an aged balsamic vinegar (which I reduced). Not sure which I like better. The tangy sweetness from the balsamic vinegar is nice and more reminiscent of an American type steak than an Asian style steak. Whatever suits your fancy....But the recipe below is for the Asian-flavored steak sauce.

Steak
1. Pound out your stress on the T-bone steak with a meat tenderizer
2. Rinse the steak off with water and pat dry
3. Season with black pepper and salt
4. Mix 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 cup water. Pour over the 4 steaks in a pan.
5. Fry the steaks in a pan with olive oil

Sauce (can use a separate pan if you would like or scrape off the yummy steak pan bits that you used earlier)
1. Chop green onions
2. Saute in olive oil
3. Add 2 T soy sauce
4. Add 1/4 cup water
6. Add 1 T sugar

After fry steak, let the steak rest before slicing it to allow the juices to be absorbed back into the meat. Drizzle the sauce over the steak when ready to serve

Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:52:00 +0000

My husband and I just celebrated our 1 year anniversary. Yay! What a quick and wonderful year it has been for both of us! In celebration, we each separately planned parts of the day. For lunch, I planned a little pseudo-picnic on our patio. I layed out a beach blanket, topped it with some seat cushions, used some boxes and covered with it with some fabric, few candles, music...voila! Pseudo-picnic! Why did I have it on our patio? Well, because....food....is...important. I felt like the food would have been compromised if I packed it into a basket. Silly me! :) I ended up making lobster roll sandwhiches, roasted fig, gorgonzola, and arugula salad, and brie cheese with crackers. I didn't take any pictures...why oh why! I actually loved the roasted fig salad and will definitely make it again. The lobster roll was wonderfully reminiscent of Maine. After eating, we exchanged our gifts and read our mushy love notes to each other (ahhh...my readers must be rolling their eyes..haha). At night, my hubbie took me to a spanish tapas restaurant in Long Beach called Sevilla (review later with no pics since it was really dark in the restaurant) and then we rented a movie and snuggled on the couch. Being married to my husband is absolutely wonderful and am looking forward to many more years ahead!

Lobster Roll Sandwiches
- Asian white bread - toasted. Smear with a little bit of butter. Sprinkle with garlic powder. (this is what i thought would become compromised if I packed it. Bread would not be nice and toasty and warm!)
- Freshly steamed lobster, chopped into moderately sized pieces
- A tiny spoonful of mayo mixed into the lobster
- Fresh pepper

Roasted Fig, Gorgonzola, and Arugula Salad
- Organic Arugula from Trader Joe's
- Gorgonzola cheese from Trader Joe's
- Fresh black mission figs
- 18 year aged balsamic vinegar (My favorite is Oliver's brand from Sam Clemente)
- Dark Brown Sugar
- Olive oil

1. Chopped off tips of figs and sliced in half
2. Drizzled figs with olive oil, black pepper, balsamic vinegar
3. Sprinkled tops of figs with dark brown sugar
4. Roasted in oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes
5. Set out to cool
6. Lay figs on top of arugula salad and sprinkle with gorgonzola cheese
7. Dressing: Balsamic vinegar, Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, A little mustard for binding the vinegar and olive oil

Marche Moderne Review - South Coast Plaza

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:48:00 +0000

I was wandering through South Coast one day and stumbled upon this cute restaurant located upstairs, near the Nordstrom Department store. I took a peek at the menu out of interest and the tasting menu caught my eye. $20 for 3 delicious sounding courses. So, when I arrived home, I performed an internet search to see what reviews existed about the restaurant. Generally, really great reviews and people felt that it was a well-valued meal.

I was meeting a friend who was pregnant to look for some maternity clothes (fun!) and decided to meet there for lunch. After much debate, we decided to pass on the tasting menu since it didn't sound as appealing that day (the tasting menu changes daily) and not to mention, its hard to justify in my mind to spend that much for just lunch. We decided on sharing the "Cured & Homemade Teriyaki Confit Pork Belly with Chinese long beans, demi-glace a l'orange, and star anise jus" off the "Unusual" category of the menu and the "Merguez Sausage and Shrimp Tart with Fennel and Caramelized onion jam, Mint, and Fennel greens with an Emulsion of Cumin-Harissa" under the "wood-burning oven tart" category.

The pork belly was...okay. It reminded me of something my mom cooks on occasion, except, not as tender and delicious. The pork belly was a little bit dry/firm around much of the edges with a few small areas of really tender meat. It was flavorful but nothing special, nothing amazing. I'd prefer mom's pork belly any day because its not as pricey! haha. Moving on...

The tart -- well lets call it what it was...it was a small pizza cooked in a wood-burning oven. The pizza had bold Mediterranean flavors. The sausage was likely lamb based so you'll have to like lamb with mediterranean spices. The shrimp in my mind, was a bit weird for a pizza topping, although it was well seasoned and tender and a good size. I know shrimp exists as a pizza topping and some people love it, but it just confirmed in my mind that its not my cup of tea....Although I was only sharing half of the small pizza with my friend, I could only eat about 2/3 of my piece before my palate was just overwhelmed and I could not swallow another bite. We both agreed that the dish was definitely not something we could finish off by ourselves because of the heavy flavors and were glad that we shared it.

To finish it off, I ordered 1 rose-flavored macaroon. I was still on my macaroon kick and it looked so cute in the jar from afar. i knew ahead of time that there was no way I could fall in love with this macaroon because flower-flavored food does not fit my idea of yummy, but, I felt like, why not give it a try despite my mild aversion. Why an aversion? Flower-flavored foods remind me of eating perfume/soaps...hehe. Anyways, thankfully it was lightly scented rose, so it was ok. The filling was nice. But I wouldn't order it again...(completely personal preference).

Bottom line-Would I eat there again? Maybe...I would try some other dishes (tasting menu). I'm willing to give it a second chance because its not that the food was bad...it just wasn't amazing for the price...but I am open to the fact that maybe we chose the wrong dishes.

Warning: Pork belly and Tart appear larger than actual size.

WHAHAHAHHA!

Carving Pumpkins!

noreply@blogger.com (yc) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:15:00 +0000

Don't you just love the fall season? The pumpkins fill the fronts of stores, spiced cider bottles are on the grocers shelves, maple cookies, pumpkin pies....love it......This past weekend, the in-laws, my husband and I spent a crisp evening out on the patio carving pumpkins. I have to say, my hand was deformed like the claw-hand from Liar Liar with Jim Carrey for the rest of the evening, but well worth the final product. My brother-in law carved Jack, the Nightmare before Christmas, the hubster carved the boy in the bed, the sister-in law carved the little monster (the cutest!), and I carved the haunted house. Thank goodness for pumpkin carving tools. Pumpkin meat was flying all over the place with my carving style (i'm talking on the glasses, down the shirt, across the table), and hence, a good reason why I am not a surgeon. Heehee! After we carved our pumpkins, we sprinkled the insides generously with cinnamon, lit the candles, and ahhhhh.....it smelled like.....Pumpkin Pie........delightful....

The best part of it all, was that it was reminiscent of the second date I went on with my husband before we were married. He planned this wonderful date where we picked pumpkins from a pumpkin patch and then went to his place and carved pumpkins. Good times....

I think we'll have to maintain this as a yearly family tradition