Fancy Chocolate Cake

Okay, it may sound really immature to call this a "Fancy Chocolate Cake", but the recipe that I used really turned out to taste fancy! It tasted so fancy that I didn't even want to put sprinkles or decorations on top.

Holiday Care Package

Over the weekend I wanted to make some treats for some of my beloved family and friends for the holidays. I couldn't make up my mind of what to make, so I pretty much made everything that was in my head... cookies, brownies, chocolate,  etc... It literally took me all day to bake everything, but no complains, it was fun!

Items that were in the holiday packages- sugar cookies, brownies, rice krispy treats, "crack", and cake balls (I thought it was be funny to write on their cards "hope you are enjoying crack and balls!")...

Here are the packages- I bought them from Michael's, they were made by Martha Stewart. The pretty boxes include the box itself, tissue paper, ribbon, and a name tag sticker. They were so easy and cheap after coupons that I found online!

White Castle Sweet Potato Fries

I love sweet potato fries and I love White Castle, so as soon as I heard about the limited edition of White Castle sweet potato fries, I knew God loves me.

I ordered a medium size from drive-thru, the fries came out crispy and hot, perfect. However, as much as I want to love these limited babies, I still gotta be sensible and tell the world my honest opinion- these fries have no taste! :( I know... I know, it hurts me to tell you that too. Though the texture was good, the fries themselves are bland with just a tiny hint of sweet potato taste. The good thing is that they came with a cinnamon dipping sauce, the sauce was really sweet and overpowering, but it did make the fries taste much better.
.

I know, they look so good, it's really too bad...

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I had always thought cheesecake is one of those desserts that a regular baker like me can not easily conquer. However, one cheesecake recipe changed my whole perspective completely. The recipe was fairly easy, and the result was beyond delicious.

I cannot take credit for this recipe, not one bit. I first read about it on the Food Network Magazine two years ago, and I have been making it for Thanksgiving and Christmas since. Every time, the cheesecake turns out with the perfect sweetness level, silky texture, and all the fall spices just warms you up. It is really the perfect ending to a great holiday meal.

The recipe can be found here-
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/almost-famous-pumpkin-cheesecake-recipe2/index.html

I must apologize, though, I gave my cheesecake away before taking a picture of it! Not to worry, I used the leftover batter and made mini individual cheesecakes, and here they are-

Apple Crumb Pie

Have you ever tried to make a homemade apple pie from scratch? yea, too time consuming, I agree. Unless you are a master baker, getting the right consistency of the dough, cutting the dough into strips and all that stuff just gets too complicated on a busy week schedule.


Well, I've got a great recipe for you! I made it before dinner on Thanksgiving Day and it only took 15 minute to put together! Everything is homemade, no store bought dough or filling (truthfully, I don't really like that kind of stuff unless I am beyond desperate). This apple crumb pie tastes so yummy, especially with a huge scoop of quality vanilla bean ice cream!

Banana Crumb Muffins

Alright, how yummy do these babies look?!

Thanksgiving setlist

Thanksgiving is only a day away! What are you making?!

This year I am in charge of desserts, I will be making a pumpkin cheesecake and an apple crumble (with ice cream on top)... pictures and recipes to follow!

Tastespotting

Alright, I have a confession. I am addicted to a website. No, not Facebook (how dare me, I know)... The website is www.tastespotting.com, and I check it way too many times a day.

Okay, so please don't judge me after you click into it. The website contains more than 3000 pages of pure beautiful pictures of food... God I sound like SUCH a fatass right now and probably need a therapist with such a strange addiction, but the high quality pictures on the website are just so irresistible!!

In my defense though, beyond the pretty pictures of food, Tastespotting also provides recipes of pictured dishes. What I love the most about this website is that the pictures and recipes are submissions of "foodies"(or fatasses like me) from all around the world- they call themselves a virtual potluck, how cool is that! So in additions of luscious pictures of hamburgers and cookies, they also contain pictures/recipes for dishes from Singapore, Italy, Ireland, Malaysia, and all that.

So go ahead, check out the website. Please don't hate me if you become addicted too...

Blue Blueberry Muffins

A couple of days ago, I decided to make my own twist of the classic- blueberry muffins. My version turned out to be blue! No, I did not use any food coloring, the beautiful indigo is all natural from the juice of the blueberries :)


Other than the special color that I accidentally created, I also topped them off with a nice crumble to give these muffins a sweeter taste and texture. The muffins were moist and "bouncy"... sooo good with a nice cup of tea.

White Man(n)a

Last night, The Boy and I were extremely excited about my dentist appointment in Hackensack, NJ. No, we were not excited to see the dentist, it was what was after the dentist that we were thrilled about- we were going to White Manna!

Alright, for those of you who don't know about this whole White Mana/White Manna business, let me just explain it real quick- White Mana/White Manna are two rival slider joints in NJ. They've been featured on the Food Network and the Travel Channel many times. They both claimed to be the best, the oldest, the original (some might even say the origin of the chain, White Castle).

The Boy was always loyal to White Mana in Jersey City since his father AND grandfather have been going there since they were kids. However, after watching Food Feud on the Food Network (of which White Manna-Hackensack won), he was eager to try the White Manna in Hackensack.

So we walked in the tiny diner joint, ordered  a couple of sliders with cheese and onions, and immediately, our decision was clear-White Manna Hackensack wins! by far! Let me just say that potato rolls make such a big difference (Jersey City uses regular buns- can be too doughy), though Jersey City White Mana has thinner and tastier meat patty, the overall bite at Hackensack just tasted soo much juicier.

Here are some pictures that I took with my phone-
 

 Here is the tiny grill and the impressive cook who remembers the never-ending amount of orders

 Here are my burgers- sorry, took a bite, just couldn't wait...

Yums... I cant wait for my next visit to the dentist next month :)


Update- 12/29/2010

Went to White Manna again last week and took better quality pictures, don't drool on your keyboard.

Farmer's Market

I was in Ithaca, NY this past weekend visiting my cousin in school. She took us to the local farmers market on Saturday morning and boy, was I in love...

First of all, I have always loved farmers markets... growing up in a semi-developed country, my mother went to the local farmers market daily for her groceries. Everything is loud and busy, but I just love the idea of local grown, organic food.

What I love the most about the Ithaca Farmers Market this past weekend was its atmosphere- fresh, prepared food, raw organic meat and vegetables, cheese, apple cider, wood carving, etc... all under a long cabin. Every vendor was genuinely pleasant and helpful, and that was what I appreciate the most.

Being a food lover, of course I took the opportunity to try all kinds of food that they had offered. We shared a flatbread margarita pizza, Cambodian coconut based curry- amok rice, apple cider, and a special breakfast burrito. Everything was so "clean" and delicious. We ate and hung out along the lake behind the market on a beautiful fall Saturday. It was wonderful.

Here are some pictures by the lake that I took with my phone-

Stand Mixer

I love to bake, it's been a hobby of mine for quite some time now. I've always wanted one of those fancy stand mixers that star chefs have on TV. They are so beautiful, elegant, and they look so fun to play with!

So after deliberating for quite a while, I finally decided to treat myself for one just in time for the holidays so I can make tons of goodies for my family and friends, and here it is----

Isn't she BEAUTIFUL?! I was soooo happy when I finally bought her online, it was the best decision ever! I have also decided to name her Lilac- I know she is not even close to a soft purple color, but that was just my gut feeling for her, and I think it's perfect. :)

Alright enough of this geeky talk about a ridiculous obsession over a mixer, I actually put her to use the day I got her! I made my famous banana bread and of course it turned out perfectly! (oh and by the way if you are interested in placing an order for my banana bread, please inquire within... kidding! not really...) hahah.

So I have been compiling a list of recipes that I will be using Lilac for. I plan to make pumpkin cheesecake and apple crisp for Thanksgiving, blueberry muffins for fun, and other small things here and there. I am beyond excited!

Stay tuned for my creations with Lilac, I am sure I will be posting pictures!

McRib

McRib... where do I even begin...

If you know me, you would know that I LOVE food. I try to watch what I eat most of the time, but I loveeee myself some McDonald's once in a while.

So, once I found out McRib is in the market (for a limited time!!), of course I had to get myself one to try! First of all, I would like to say that compare to all foods, I don't really eat ribs that much, they are just okay to me. I mean, I eat them, but I never seem to crave for them. With that said, here is my McRib experience-

I was so excited to try it for the first time after hearing and reading so much about it! When I receive my precious McDonalds paper bag from the drive-thru window, I could feel my heart pounding, I was just too excited.
It came with a longer bun, looks like a roll, but the texture is just like a hamburger bun. The first bite was juicy- I could immediately taste the sweet/tangy/smoky BBQ sauce that the patty was slathered in. The patty was flavorful (bc of the sauce) and tender...not too bad... Then the next bite I got a good balance of the patty, onion, and pickles, even better. The sandwich was devoured between my cousin and I within 3 minutes. Okay, I know, I KNOW, trust me I KNOW that it doesn't make any sense to have a rib sandwich without bones. But come on now, it is McDonalds overall, the whole sandwich was probably processed and injected with chemicals, pork flavoring concentrate, and I don't want to know what else... but hey, sometimes you just gotta live a little, try new things, you know?

Overall, I thought the sandwich was okay, it was good as a fast food chain sandwich, but not exordinary enough(probably because I am not that into ribs). But the weird thing is that I can't stop thinking about the sandwich ever since... I don't want it, but I do...it's like some kind of drug that McDonalds has inserted in my last sandwich to keep me coming back for more.

Alright, I think I've had enough of this McRib talk this early in the morning, it is making me crave for another McRib... hmm....lunch?

Life, Love & Laughter

Well... here it is! my blog! I have wanted to do this for so long, but I didn't realize how EASY it is to start a blog!

This is most likely going to be like a journal for me. No theme (though I suspect there will be LOTS of postings about food, restaurants, desserts...), basically my daily life, perspectives, and inspirations.

The title, Life, Love & Laughter is actually inspired by one of my favorites-- surfer-turned-artist, Donavon Frankenreiter. I LOVE his laid back music and positive outlook on life.

So here we go, thank you for joining me on this journey!