The Huntington Library

We love having spontaneous outings. At 8 this morning we made plans to have lunch and go to the Huntington Library with our friends. We are so thankful for having so many dear friends with little ones that are around Keagan's age. It's been so fun getting them together. At lunch there was a lot of hand holding and many kisses being exchanged. Priceless!
Our friends treated us to an afternoon at the Huntington and we had a wonderful time. We spent most of our time in the Japanese Garden and the Chinese Garden. They are both so beautiful. Keagan especially enjoyed the Chinese garden because of the koi fish and ducks that were in the water. The Japanese garden was beautiful as always, but it's always so crowded there. They had children performing today for hinamatsuri at the Japanese Garden so it was even busier than usual.
We will definitely be back. It's a beautiful way to spend the day especially with little ones.

Apple Crumble

I always thought that crumbles were a tricky thing. If you lay on the topping too thick then it doesn't cook all the way through and part of the crumble is raw. If you lay it on too sparingly, then the fruit juices bubble up and cover the crumble causing the whole thing to sink and get soggy. If you don't cover all of the fruit with the crumble then the juices sometimes just bubbles over completely making a huge mess. I've accepted that I just didn't get it.

I saw this recipe on epicurious.com and because it received 4 wine glasses, I gave it a try and it was a great success.

I debated between using Gala apples or Granny Smith apples, but thank goodness I actually followed the recipe and used Granny Smith. DEFINITELY use Granny Smith apples. Anything else would be too sweet.

My husband helped peel, core and cut the apples. He likes doing that kind of stuff. The topping was made earlier in the day and I just refrigerated it until I needed it. There's definitely too much crumble for this recipe, but I'm saving it to make another crumble tomorrow. I'll try a different fruit though.

The butter has to be cold. You can't use soft butter or it turns into a creamy mixture and you don't want that. The end result should be pea sized crumbles. I first started out using my pastry cutter, but that was too hard. Hands were the best tool for this job. I actually laid a fairly thick layer of crumble on the apples using about 2/3 of it. I also grated a little bit of fresh nutmeg into it although this is optional as the original recipes does not call for it.

It was served warm with a side of vanilla bean ice cream. The ice cream makes the perfect pairing.

This is a great easy, simple, crumble recipe. I can only imagine the endless possibilities with it. It's going in the archives

Ingredients
* 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
* 1 1/2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)
* 1 cup all purpose flour
* 1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
*1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (my own addition-opt.)

* Nonstick vegetable oil spray
* 4 pounds large Granny Smith apples, peeled, halved, cored, each half cut into 6 slices
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon


* Vanilla ice cream

Preparation

Mix oats, 1 cup sugar, flour, and nutmeg in bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until topping comes together in moist clumps. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Make sure you chill it if you're not using it right away.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with nonstick spray. Mix apples, lemon juice, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in bowl. Transfer to dish. Sprinkle topping over.

Bake crumble until apples are tender and topping is brown and crisp, about 55 minutes. Cool slightly. Spoon warm crumble into bowls. Serve with ice cream.

Dominos Pizza

For some reason we love Pizza Hut-I know it's pathetic. There are other great pizza places, but when we're feeling bummy and not wanting to cook, we always end up ordering from Pizza Hut. We especially love their burnin' hot buffalo wings. Tommy sweats just looking at it. However, tonight, we decided to try something new. Dominos. I've heard all their commercials about how they've changed their recipe and ingredients and I've been very curious to try it out. So many times we've been tempted to order it, but we feel a devotion to PH. So tonight, we were determined. We ordered a thin crust pizza with pepperoni and pineapple and an order of their hot wings. Final verdict? We were pleasantly surprised. The pizza tasted like it was homemade and the wings were grilled which gave it a nice BBQd flavor. However, there was too much chicken skin and I can't stand that on my chicken. The crust was nice and crispy and the flavor was good. We're not full though-even after polishing the entire thing off. It still doesn't beat Pizza Hut-at least not in our books.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

It's my brother's birthday, so in honor of my alcohol-loving brother's birthday, I decided to make chocolate stout cupcakes. How appropriate is that?

I almost don't want to share this recipe. It's THAT good. It's ridiculously good. It's the best chocolate cupcake recipe-EVER. The crumb is fine, it's super rich and moist, but it's not dense. The flavor is subtle yet deep. It's not overly sweet. The stout just enhances the flavors somehow, someway. I could eat it plain. They say it's more of an "adult" flavor because of the beer, but I don't think so. You can't taste the beer. I asked 13 of my guests that ate it and none of them could taste it. My 2 year old nephew scarfed it down without any trouble and he is probably one of my most honest critics!

HOWEVER, I served it with a beer float. Not a root beer float, but a beer float. I used vanilla bean ice cream and topped it off with Guiness beer. It was the perfect compliment to the cupcake.

I honestly think my mission to find the ultimate chocolate cupcake is over.

This is yet another recipe from epicurious.com. The recipe is actually supposed to be a cake, but I made it into cupcakes. I also halved the entire recipe and it still made 24 cupcakes. Here's the original recipe which will make 48 cupcakes or 3 layered cakes. The original recipe does not include instant coffee, but I think coffee brings out the chocolate flavor so I added it. When you pour the batter into the cupcake tins, fill it about 3/4 of the way up. No more than that-or it will overflow and stick together. Make sure it's evenly poured into the liners or they will rise crooked.

As for the frosting, I didn't cut the portions in half. I made all of it and had some left over, but I piped it on pretty thick. If you don't plan to use a lot of frosting, then half of it would do fine. You must let it set for at least 2 hours. I left it in my fridge for about 4 hours and it set up perfectly.

Cupcakes
serves 48 cupcakes or 3 round layered cakes

* 2 cups stout (such as Guinness)
* 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
* 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
* 1/2 tsp instant coffee (My own addition)

* 4 cups all purpose flour
* 4 cups sugar
* 1 tablespoon baking soda
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 4 large eggs
* 1 1/3 cups sour cream



Icing

* 2 cups whipping cream
* 1 pound bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

For cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 48 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Bring 2 cups stout and 2 cups butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter equally among cupcake liners. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 19-22 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack; cool 10 minutes. Take cupcakes out onto rack and cool completely.

For icing:
Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Refrigerate until icing is spreadable, stirring frequently, about 2 hours.

When icing has set, pipe onto cupcakes. We chose to top it with a strawberry slice which was a nice balance.

You must make this cupcake! Enjoy!

Tonkatsu

Tonkatsu is a deep fried meat cutlet. It can be chicken or beef, but the classic version is pork. My mom brought over 4 pieces of beautiful pork tonight so I prepared tonkatsu for dinner. (This is the second time my parents brought over food for us this week. I think each time they drop food off they have the inner hopes of being able to see their grandson! Fail. Both times. He was already sleeping!

Back to tonkatsu. Salt and pepper the meat on both sides. Pound it out to about 1/2 an inch thick. Then dredge it in flour first, then eggs(beaten), and finally with panko (Japanese bread crumbs).

Heat up the pan. Add oil (I used canola oil) and make sure the oil is hot enough-to test it, you can throw in some panko and see if it sizzles right when it makes contact with the oil Fry on both sides for about 4 or so minutes until it is nice and brown. Usually when the oil bubbles are smaller in size, then the tonkatsu is ready. When you take it out of the oil, let it rest on some paper towels to absorb some of the oil.

Serve it with tonkatsu sauce and some shredded cabbage-my husband will have it no other way! He must have cabbage!

Strawberry Cupcakes

This is supposedly the Sprinkles' strawberry cupcake with strawberry frosting
adapted from Candace Nelson's recipe on MarthaStewart.com. But most likely they left out a few ingredients and added some other things too...I mean why would they give out their secret recipe? My husband's mad because I didn't follow this to a T. I made a few changes. I didn't use all purpose flour. I used cake flour. I added 4 tbsp of strawberry preserves to the strawberry mix and I used strawberry milk instead of plain whole milk. Whenever I make strawberry cake, there's just not enough strawberry flavor so I feel like it needs to be amped up if possible. I think these few changes made a difference. I hate strawberry cake that's really just a vanilla cake with the essence of strawberry.

cupcakes

2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted (I used cake flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt (I used kosher salt)
1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature ( I used strawberry milk)
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon grated
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, lemon zest and strawberry puree; set aside. My own addition was 4 tbsp of strawberry preserves to this mix.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 19-22 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

sprinkles' strawberry frosting

1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold (I used room temp)
Pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted ( I used 3 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

I piped these using a star tip and I learned a new piping technique-the rose! Actually, it's really simple. It's stupidly simple, but isn't it pretty?

These were really good...and I don't throw that phrase around too loosely when it comes to cupcakes. My husband (who is super picky) really liked them too and he's usually really critical of my baking especially when it comes to cupcakes. But he has to be because he knows that I'm on a mission to find the perfect recipe. The cupcake was moist, and the strawberry flavor really shined. I love the speckles of real strawberry that comes through in the cupcake and the frosting. This one is a keeper.

Happy Birthday Mika!

Chocolate Cupcakes

They're called the "Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes" from Cook's Illustrated. I was waiting to be blown away. I told my husband that they would be the best thing he ever had just because Cook's Illustrated doesnt mess around when they say it's "ultimate". Usually I'm pressed for time and I tend to rush through things, but I was determined to take my time with this one. The cupcakes were pretty good, but the ganache was totally unnecessary. It made the whole thing way too sweet in my opinion. And the biggest mistake was not making the frosting they recommended. I went with a different recipe just because the frosting in the Cooks illustrated edition wasn't quite what I was looking for. I wanted to pipe on the frosting, but all in all it was just too sweet. I'll definitely use the cake recipe, but I'll omit the ganache in the center and try their actual frosting recipe. I'll post the recipe a little later...

Tagine

It was the best Valentine's yet...but maybe I say that every year. My husband picked Tagine for our evening out and made plans to leave the little one with my parents. Tagine is located on Robertson in Beverly Hills and they serve unbelievably delicious moroccan food. It's a little hard to find because it's so small. It's located next to a liquor store and the valet is across the busy street. I took a picture of the door of Tagine because it was so beautiful. The restaurant was very small and dimly lit. The walls are painted in a dark green color and there were candles lit at each table. Both walls had benches alongside them covered with pillows. It apparently only seats 12 couples at a time. We chose the tasting menu and it consisted of 6 dishes. I was sad after I finished each dish-I don't think food has ever left me wanting more.
As a starter we had hummus which was served with grilled berbere bread, marinated olives and a beet salad.
1st course - lemon sorbet served on top of a bed of a cucumber, pepper salad
2nd course - cornish hen and Moroccan spices placed between sheets of crispy phyllo dusted with powdered sugar.
3rd course - Scallops with mushrooms
4th course - sea bass with a potato puree and buttery mushrooms.
5th course: lamb with honey sauce, peaches, dates
6th course - apple tatin, raspberry sauce, homemade ice cream topped with chocolate soup.
The chocolate soup was amazing...liquid chocolate served tableside poured over the ice cream. Delicious...

I definitely want to go back. Right now.

The Dumpling Truck

I've seen this truck all over South Pas. Mostly by Garfield Park. We went for a stroll today through South Pas and happened to pass by the Dumpling Station and we decided to finally give it a try. They have a few different kinds of dumplings: veggie, pork and leek, pork and veggie, kimchee and beef, kimchee and pork, and a few others. We decided to go for their combo deal: a drink, 8 dumplings and a side for $9.75. You can have your dumplings steamed, pan fried or deep fried-your choice. We got the kimchee and pork deep fried and pork and veggie pan fried with a side of garlic wasabi fries. The dumplings were good. They use a thick skin which I personally like. The kimchee dumplings were a little spicy mixed with pork and glass noodles. The pork and veggie dumplings were good, but I couldn't really taste it after eating the kimchee. It was served with a sauce-not sure if it was soy sauce of ponzu-I wasn't really paying attention. The fries were crispy, covered with wasabi mayo. Overall, the food was good and I would definitely try it again. Next time I want to get the banana nutella wontons. Doesn't that sound good?

Auntie Ems Kitchen

We had brunch with Auntie Thea today at Auntie Em's Kitchen in Eagle Rock. Keagan didn't look like he was feeling too well so we decided to get our food to go. I love their steel cut oatmeal with strawberries. It's got such a great texture to it and when it's topped with cream and syrup, it's delicious. I needed something salty to go along with it so I got their waldorf salad which was just okay. Nothing memorable. Auntie Em's is known for their cupcakes and desserts. They had heart shaped sugar cookies frosted with phrases like "sexy me" or "U R cute" in honor of Valentine's Day. They also had red velvet heart shaped cakes also decorated with the typical Valentine's day phrases. They were on "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" a while back for their infamous cupcakes and Auntie Em's won. Their cupcakes are really tasty and moist. I like the homemade look they have...no piping-just frosted by hand. Sometimes it just works well that way. We had a few cups of coffee and packed it all up to go and we spent our morning back at home just hanging out with Thea.

South Pasadena Farmer's Market

This farmer's market is open on Thursdays from 4pm-8pm. It's located on Mission street right next to the metro station. This farmer's market is so quaint and charming. They have everything from fresh produce, nuts, flowers, honey, fresh breads, and fresh seafood to amazing cooked foods. We went for dinner and deciding what to eat was not easy. They have BBQ, pupusas, tamales, samoussas, Mexican food, Indian food and the list goes on. We love the fresh grilled corn that you can slather with butter and different seasoning salts. We chose Mexican food tonight from Nana's. Their carne asada super nachos and burrito were decent. We probably won't get it again. I did enjoy their salsas however. You can truly taste the freshness of the ingredients. I was very impressed by the Indian fusion food which I got to sample at one of the stands next door. Their naan stuffed with spinach and dipped in tzitziki was amazing. It was delicious so I think I'll go with that next time. We bought some great pita chips and garlic hummus which was so good. What a great way to spend the evening.

The Arboretum

We spent the day at the arboretum with our friends and had the most amazing time. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. There's a sense of calm and serenity there. The Lees are not first timers here. They were fully prepared with 6 loaves of bread for feeding the ducks and fish, bottles of water and a blanket to sit on. We, on the other hand, had nothing...now we know! We spent a lot of time feeding the catfish and geese and sitting out on the lawn just watching the kids play. After 3 hours of being there we sat under the waterfall and decided to get a membership. It's $70 for the family and we hope to be going back very soon.

Baby Toys

For the learning to crawl stage-these toys are perfect. They move/glide around and your baby has to chase after them. The look on Keagan's face was priceless when he saw them at home. He was so excited to play with his new toys. Boppy has the snail and Keagan loved to play with it so we knew it would be a good buy. The inchworm won an award for toy of the year so we thought we'd give it a try. Keagan likes his toys, but low and behold, he ended up playing with a water bottle. The inchworm and the snail both fall over and then it's kind of pointless, whereas the water bottle rolls and crinkles when it's on its side. Go figure it's the simple things the kids really like.

Chúc Mừng Nǎm Mới! Gung Hay Fat Choy!

I need to be more in touch with the Lunar Calendar-especially since my son is part Chinese/Vietnamese! This is Keagan's first lycee, laisee, lai-see...red envelope from Uncle Alan and Auntie Lu! Hope everyone had a wonderful Chinese New Year!

Double Gulp

I had to post about the insane size of this drink. I told my husband that I was REALLY thirsty and that I wanted a BIG drink with LOTS of ice, so he graciously offered to go to 7-11 for me. He came back with this mondo thing. I think I drank a quarter of it...that's a lot! It's so big that you have to use two hands to carry it. Can you believe that someone could actually drink this thing? I had to compare its size with Keags.

Brioche

I recently purchased the Cooks Illustrated Holiday Baking magazine. I can't stop looking through it. I initially wanted it for the red velvet cake recipe, but after looking through it there were so many other recipes that sounded amazing. I decided to make the brioche. It's a 2 day process because it has to proof overnight in the fridge. When I got home I baked it and there's nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread that fills your home. I couldn't wait to slice a piece of bread and eat it warm, slathered with butter. The crust was flakey and the inside was soft and buttery-it has a hint of sweetness from the sugar and it paired nicely with a cup of sweet cream tea. I'm eager to make another loaf today, but now I find myself exhausted-just wanting to sit in front of the TV and watch my favorite show-Modern Family.

Milestones

He's 7 months and 3 weeks and it's been so much fun watching him grow. He's skirtin' around all over the place and he's making these funny sucky faces. He's using his right leg and left arm to army crawl around. He's got 2 teeth on the bottom that came in @ 6 months. He's eating mostly pears, avocados, mangoes, brown rice, and sweet potatoes. He sat up on his own @ around 6 months, but he'd rather be on his belly. Just wanted to document some of these milestones...this post is probably more for me than for anyone else that might be reading this...