Saturday, July 28, 2012

Bruschetta

One of my favorites to have during the summer time! Super yummy and refreshing bruschetta. As simple as it can get: tomatoes, basil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and some olive oil. Toast some bread and boom! Super Noms! Happy eating!

Home grown

My sister's home grown beefsteak tomatoes are out of control! Super sweet and the beautiful res color when I cut into them… gorgeous!! Thankful she has an amazing green thumb so I can continue to receive the fruits of her bounty!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Oven roasted steak for the first time

The grill is out of propane and my boos wanted steak tonight. So I had to improvise and googled other ways to cook steak without smoking out my apartment. ;) I saw that oven roasting was an option so I decided to try it. It came out pretty good and was super easy to make. I don't have a cast iron skillet so I placed a glass baking dish in a 450 degree oven. I used a frying pan and seared the steaks on both sides for 30 seconds each. After I put the steaks in the glass dish in the oven to cook for 1 minute and 30 seconds for medium rare or 2 minutes each side for medium. The glass dish was hot! I heard the steals sizzle as I placed them in the dish, so be careful! Once time is up remove from the oven and allow the steaks rest for about 15 minutes before slicing into them. Super yummy and will definitely do this again! I topped the steaks with caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, and some Chinese black pepper sauce. Needless to say my belly was very happy! happy eating! :)

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Dinner inspired by a yummy lunch date and a great friend

Tonights dinner is inspired by a lunch date with my dear childhood friend at Tender Greens in Pasadena. She ordered the mixed greens with salt and pepper chicken with a side of mac-n-cheese. As I ate my chopped salad I thought to myself… that looks yummy and I could totally make that! Soooooo I did! The salad and chicken was easy. Rotisserie chicken from the market and I cut up veggies to make my salad. The mac-n-cheese was super easy too! I made a white sauce, added some cheese, put the pasta in the sauce then into ramekins, topped with some panko and broiled in the oven until the tips were nice and crispy! Super bomb and my boos LOVED it which always makes me happy! ;) happy eating everyone!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Kobe Beef Pho at Noodle Guy in Alhambra

Kobe beef pho… pretty crazy right? I thought so too, but it was sooooo good. The Kobe beef is extremely tender in the pho and the star of the show of the whole bowl. The broth is lighter then I've had at other places but pretty tasty. I would go back. The whole bowl cost around $11.00 not too shabby.

Tender Greens in Pasadena

Chicken Cobb salad with creamy dressing on the side! Yums!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Bottega Louie In Los Angeles

Super yummy lunch with friends today at bottega. Yummmms! Below is half and half sausage and bianco pizza, roasted chicken, and super yummy pork chops! Drooooool

Friday, July 13, 2012

White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce (with recipe)

I have been getting my baking fix this week.  Nutella Crack Pie earlier in the week, and now... White Chocolate Bread Pudding.  I wanted to make something sweet to bring to my Boos shift party. Initially I thought the Nutella Crack Pie was the winner, but with the record heatwave going through California right now, there was no way the Crack Pie would have survived the heat.  So I needed an alternative..... that's when the bread pudding came along.  My Boo loves this bread pudding from a local bakery and I have been thinking of making a version of it for a while now. I began doing research on bread pudding... water bath vs. no water bath, sweet vs. savory, croissant vs white bread, so many recipes are out there! I finally stumbled upon Salt and Chocolate's Salted Caramel White Chocolate Bread Pudding and decided I would make a version of this.  I did modify the recipe a little bit and the results came out super moist, spongy, and yummmmmmy! Enjoy!

Modified version of Salt and Chocolate's Salted Caramel White Chocolate Bread Pudding

6 large croissants or 12 small croissants (at least 1-2 days old, cut into small bite sized pieces)

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

2 cups of half and half 

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon 

12oz white chocolate chips 

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup of sugar

2 teaspoons of kosher salt

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray 

In a sauce pan, heat up the heavy whipping cream, half and half, and vanilla extract.  Heat this until it comes to a simmer then slowly add the white chocolate chips.  Once the white chocolate chips are completely melted remove from heat and move to the side to cool.  

In a bowl or standing mixer, mix egg yolks, sugar, salt, and cinnamon together.  Once combined add a ladle full of the cream mixture to the egg mixture and mix on medium speed.  Once mixed add the rest of the cream mixture to the bowl.  Mix on medium speed until well combined.  

Place the croissant pieces into a bowl and pour the custard mixture onto the croissants.  Let the mixture stand in room temperature for 15 minutes consistently mixing and getting all the croissant pieces moist.  

Cover bowl in plastic wrap and soak overnight in the refrigerator.

The next day, take the soaked croissants out of the refrigerator and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes in room temperature before pouring the soaked croissants into a lightly greased baking pan.

Once the soaked croissants are in the baking pan, place the pan into a roasting pan and begin to get the water bath ready.  Boil some water and then slowly pour the hot water into the roasting pan.  Be careful to not get any hot water into the croissant mixture.  (I think the water bath kept the bread pudding extra moist!)

Carefully place everything into the oven and bake for 55-60 minutes.  I baked mine a little longer since the croissant mixture was soaked overnight, but you can always check it at 50 minutes. If the top is golden brown and the custard has set, it's ready to go!

Once it is out of the oven, let the bread pudding cool for about 30 minutes.  After pour some yummy caramel sauce over the bread pudding.  I used the store bought kind or you can make your own! :) I say serve this baby warm with a small scoop of ice cream on top..... sooooo gooooood!

Enjoy and Happy Eating!

<3 Julie

A small slice of goodness! Super moist and yummy!
Packed and ready to go to the party! 









Lomo Saltado Sandwiches

Lomo saltado sandwiches for dinner! Instead of fries in the sandwich I made roasted hassleback potatoes to be served on the side. Super super yummy! :)

Monday, July 9, 2012

Chicken Molè

Slow cooked chicken molè for dinner! Super super yummy and I will be making this again later in the week! :)

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Nutella Crack Pie (recipe linked)

I have been itching to bake for the past month and have been looking for a reason to make something sweet.  My boyfriend recently informed me of an upcoming work engagement and asked if I could make something sweet.  With a big smile on my face I immediately began looking through all my "go to" sites for foodie porn.  I think I spent at least 3 hours looking and reading through various sites like tastologie, serious eats, and my favorite, foodgawker.

I came across a few recipes on Momofuku's Crack Pie.  I remember reading about Crack Pie and even seeing it be featured on Cooking Channel, but it did not catch my eye until I saw Showfood Chef's Nutella Crack Pie.  OMG... I love Nutella so much... I couldn't resist myself... I need to make this! So I did... and it is a tasty sugar bomb! Don't get me wrong... it is so good I wanna make it right ALL the time.. But keep in mind.. they are very decadent, so make sure you have lots of friends, family, co-workers or people to give these yummy slices to.

I followed the recipe that is linked above, and the results were a gooey chocolate bomb of goodness.  The only thing I would change is to cut the sugar in half for the Nutella filling.  I just found it too sweet for my liking, but overall yummy.  I suggest serving it cold and with a fork... or with lots of napkins because it will get messy!  :) Enjoy!

A photo of the Nutella Crack Pie I made last night :)

A sandwich for my heart

My homemade version of Sequoia Sandwiches Roasted Turkey Sandwich. Super yummy! I scored some sqaw bread from the farmers market and decided to make this sandwich. My version: sqaw bread, mashed avocado, peppered turkey and prosciutto from the deli, tomato, lettuce, and Swiss cheese. I have a very happy mouth right now! :)

Friday, July 6, 2012

Eggy dinner

Dinner for me and my boos! Chinese sausage, steamed kale, and over easy eggs with hot sauce and wild and brown rice. Super yummy!