MEET: Ashley Merriman from Top Chef Las Vegas

If any of you caught the most recent season of Top Chef Las Vegas, I’m sure you will agree with me that Ashley Merriman got voted off WAY TOO EARLY! I remember yelling at the television when Padma winced and said, “Ashley… please pack your knives and go.” WTF! I personally thought Ashley was one of the most talented chefs in the group, and I was bitter to see her get kicked off the show. Anyway, enough with my sour attitude and on to something very cool. Ashley has agreed to do a little Q&A for P&B and I’m more than freaking out because I’m a huge fan of hers. Thanks, Ashley!!!!

Hi Ashley. Being a chef (especially one who appeared on Top Chef) seems like such a high-pressure job at times. Can you tell our readers a little bit about the pros and cons of being in the restaurant business? - The pros: every day is an opportunity to get better, be creative and cook great food. The cons: terrible hours, bad pay, and no real life outside of work to speak of.

What are some of your personal favorite restaurants to dine at (they could be anywhere) and what dishes do you typically order at those restaurants? - In NYC: Franny’s, Casa Mono, Lombardi’s. In Seattle: Cafe Juanita, Tamarind Tree, Tilth, Sitka and Spruce. Elsewhere: Le Pigeon (Portland), AOC (LA).

What’s a typical day’s worth of food for you (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks) - I don’t really eat a typical breakfast or lunch – my preference is something hot and spicy like a bowl of Pho or two tacos with lots and lots of hot sauce. For dinner I usually have family meal at the restaurant but often will go out after and try and have a little snack of something light – having a salad and two meatballs at Terroir in NYC is once of my favorite things to do.

What are three kitchen essentials a home cook should never be without? - A very sharp knife, a saute pan and a good cutting board.

What’s your favorite recipe that can always impress guests at a dinner party? – I don’t really have “go to” recipes that I use at dinner parties. I think each guest is different and every occasion is different – so I try and cook what is right for the moment and the party. That being said, making your own pasta shows a lot of care and thought.

Outside the kitchen, do you pursue any hobbies? – One of my biggest pursuits is finding the best food in any given city.

If you could cook for anyone in the world (anyone famous, dead or alive) who would it be? And if you could have anyone cook for you, who would that be? - If I could cook for anyone it would probably be the Rolling Stones. And I’d have my chef, Alex Guarnaschellli cook for me.

The end.

LOVE ME SOME LEFTOVERS: Slaw Me Joe

It reads like ‘Salami Joe,’ but I (JC) am going for a play on the Sloppy Joe’s that were never really served in my household despite the hamburger helper spot that always seemed to be playing on the RCA.

After a fun weekend with friends and football, I woke Monday without a craving other than my morning coffee. By the time noon rolled around, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer to repurpose last night’s dishes into my first meal of the day.  If you could picture the US in the image below, my home of California is covered in Mel’s Pancetta Mac & Cheese, the Pacific NW buried in wild rice, and the combination of Luke’s slaw and yesterday’s stew span from Colorado through the fly over states all the way to the Atlantic. Paired excellently with even leftover Ginger Ale (so I keep a can in the fridge when I don’t finish it–don’t judge), last night started coming back to me with the cheese and slaw foundation.

Monday lunch leftovers

MNF Tacos

There you have it, my first post. In case you can’t tell, this was done by Chris, JC, whatever you want to call me. Check in for the next which will be coming quicker than this took, and check back for tomorrow’s ‘MEET.’

GET BAKED: Chocolate Chip Cookies…Not From Scratch

I know (wince!) I didn’t bake something from scratch because I was too tired and lazy. I’m not ashamed to say I went shopping at Whole Foods this weekend with the intention of picking up a box of cookie mix. I never ever do this but a holiday party on Friday night had me feeling much too exhausted (i.e., hungover) to pull out all the baking items from the pantry. Apparently, this 27-year-old just can’t party like she used to. And now…back to the cookies.

I had never heard of Dr. Oetker but decided to give the chocolate chip cookies a shot. Not bad for a 4pm afternoon pick-me-up.

I promise next week to bake from scratch.

WEEKEND RECAP: Friends + Food

We have a friend in town, Luke, who is actually the mastermind behind the name “Pastries & Bacon” – he came up with it when Chris and I professed our love for the sweet and savory side of food. So in honor of his presence, which is always such a pleasure, we had some friends over and just cooked up a medley of things including pancetta mac n cheese, ahi tuna grilled on the bbq, wild rice cooked in our Zojirushi (sweet investment if you’re willing to shell the money for one), beef roast (again!) in the crock pot, and Luke’s blue cheese cole slaw. Our friends brought over sauteed carrots and a giant bowl of delicious creamy mashed potatoes which tasted so light and fluffy despite the butter and parmesan content.

Here’s Luke standing proudly next to his blue cheese cole slaw

…and here is the dish itself

Kevin and Meghann’s lovely carrots and mashed potatoes

Football was on the menu, of course!

But the best part about the weekend was getting my xmas present early from Chris. Actually, it was more like I spotted it by my desk and just ripped the box open. I know, shame on me but I guess I like to spoil things! It’s all good, though, because I was aware what he had gotten me and needless to say, I AM SO THRILLED!!!

Yep, an awesome CANON Powershot SX10IS. I am reading up on how to work all the settings because you can bet I will be playing with this forever. I haven’t had a camera for about two months now and it’s been painful.

Check you later, guys.

FOOD-EO Friday: Jill Santopietro and pizza!

As most of you know, I am a HUGE fan of Jill Santopietro, a chef and recipe tester for The New York Times. She had an amazing little series of food webisodes called TINY KITCHEN which was then named KITCHEN 4B, but sadly the series has been discontinued Thank god for YouTube! Here, Jill shows how easy it is to make a delicious gorgonzola, fig, blue cheese and bacon (whew!) pizza at home in her little New York City kitchen. Check it out. 

MEET: Gina Pell, Content Chief of Splendora Style & Culture Radar

I am super psyched that Gina Pell, the Content Chief of Splendora Style & Culture Radar (splendora.com) agreed to do a little interview for Pastries & Bacon! Thanks, Gina! Oh, and readers, go check out splendora.com – there’s something for everyone

Hi Gina! Thanks so much for being a part of Pastries & Bacon. Can you tell our readers a little bit about what you do? - I am the Content Chief of Splendora Style & Culture Radar, a free weekly email newsletter and daily blog with fashion and lifestyle intel. I oversee Splendora’s editorial department to ensure that they are finding chic, unique, fascinating things for our readers to buy and know about. My main job is to be Splendora’s style ambassador and to encourage more fabulous women to subscribe to our newsletter.

What’s a typical day’s worth of food for you? - Breakfast is usually a cup of coffee and oatmeal with dried cranberries if I have time. Occasionally I will eat a turkey and cheddar sandwich for breakfast if I am working out. Lunch is all over the map. Today I had roast chicken and frites with a glass of champagne. Yesterday I had a half a tuna sandwich with a bag of Pop Chips at my desk. I’m not a big snacker but if I’m hungry midday I’ll have a handful of cashews or worse, a salty junk food snack. I need variety so I rarely ever eat the same meal twice. I really try to make dinners healthy since I have two toddlers and eat what they eat–some kind of a vegetable or salad, fish or chicken, pasta, sushi.

Do you cook much? If so, what are some of your favorite recipes and cookbooks you always turn to? Or if you’re always eating out, where do you dine and what do you order? - I started to cook seriously four years ago before my son was born. During the summer I cook every night otherwise my husband cooks. He’s famous for his pastas. My favorite cookbook is Ellie Krieger’s “The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life”. Ellie is a nutritionist and has a show on the Food Network. She makes quick, tasty, recipes that are low in fat. I also love cookbooks by Jamie Oliver, Ina Garten, Nigella Lawson. My favorite fancy recipe (a dish to impress) is Nigella’s Beef Filet with Red Wine & Anchovies. The fillet costs a fortune at $75 but the meat is so tender and comes out perfect every time. For dessert the easiest and most impressive recipe is Brian Boitano’s Pear & Almond Crostatta. It takes no time at all and the result looks like something behind the counter at a french bakery. Here’s a link to the recipes:

Pear & Almond Crostatta and Beef Fillet

The only place I order take out from is Bluefin Sushi. I order Hamachi Kama (Yellowtail Collar), Shiro Maguro sashimi, Veggie Tempura rolls for my husband and chicken teriyaki for the kids. https://webpos.wlinformation.com/blueFinSushi/ProductList.aspx?category=MTU%3d

What do your weekends consist of? - As I mentioned I am not a creature of habit so my weekends are different adventures every time. Last weekend we went to a Victorian Holiday Fair and I also spent the day face painting for kids from homeless shelters. The weekend before that my children were sick so we stayed in, made popcorn, and took turns giving puppet shows. I also like to go places–neighboring towns, local joints or tourist attractions we’ve never been to… I always get inspiration when I go exploring. In fact, Splendora got its start ten years ago because I put my Rolodex online, which included all the shops, places, experiences I discovered during these jaunts.

Describe your fashion style and a typical outfit you are seen in. - I’m like a bride. I always wear something old, something new, something borrowed (there’s a lot of women who work at Splendora) but something green (either sustainable or the color green). I have an inordinate amount of Christian Louboutins since my best friend Sarah and my sister Lily worked for Christian years ago in his Paris boutique. Sarah always buys me shoes from the Paris press sales so I usually get 20-30 pairs a year. Some days I wear sweats and a tee to the office but today I am wearing a blue Oxford shirt with monogrammed cuffs, a plaid foulard with vintage tie pin, a long button-less cashmere cardigan in Oatmeal, a navy drop waist skirt, a vintage leather belt with custom gold monogram belt buckle (http://www.custom-belt-buckles.com/monogram.php) and grey Loeffler Randal Cutout Booties (http://www.custom-belt-buckles.com/monogram.php)

What are three things on your current wish list? – This might sound really corny but I feel like I a very fortunate person and I really don’t wish for anything material–especially after working with homeless kids for ten years. I have a wonderful husband, my family is healthy, my kids are my joy, and I work with my best friends at Splendora. If I really had three wishes I would save them for my dear in-laws, who are both in their 80s, so that they can live an even longer and happier life.

OK if you could throw your dream fantasy dinner party (think in your wildest imagination), who would you invite, where would you have it, what would you wear, and what kind of food would you serve? – I would invite all my best girlfriends and the following women who would fit right in: Christiane Amanpour, Cat Deely, Sheryl Crow, Meryl Streep, Lady Gaga, Jhumpa Lahiri, Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Lynch (from Glee), Samantha Ronson, Ellen and Portia, Gwen Stefani and Gwyneth Paltrow. I would have my party in the summer in billowy white tents, outfitted Moroccan style, somewhere near a beach, warm, and private. There wouldn’t be a sit down dinner but a constant flow of tasty morsels, exotic fruit, French champagne, and California wine. I would probably have a theme like safari or Jules Verne. There would be dancing, group participation games, and we’d all wear period costumes. At the end of the evening there would be hair braiding, storytelling, a talent show, foot massages by handsome masseurs, and gourmet s’mores by a bonfire.

Thanks so much again, Gina! Stay tuned next week for more MEET!

LOVE ME SOME LEFTOVERS: Beef Roast

Sunday night we made a huge batch (two pounds worth) of beef roast in the slow cooker, knowing that we’d pick at it all week long and use it as a star ingredient in some of the weeknight meals. Monday night, Chris made a trio of beef tacos with cabbage and cholula chili lime sauce – very simple but nonetheless yummy, especially when paired with a glass of chilled Bodington beer.

Tonight, all I wanted was a salad so I tore up pieces of the beef roast and threw it atop a bed of finely chopped romaine, sliced carrots, and drizzled chipotle dressing from Whole Foods all over it. The hearty flavor and texture of the roast (which is WAY better when it’s been sitting in the liquid for a few days) was an exceptional balance to the lightness and crispiness of the fresh lettuce and carrots. Excuse the picture quality  - I’ve been playing around with LOMO effects in photoshop, so I’m obsessed with applying it to everything right now.

Get Baked: Eggless Sugar Cookies

I was in the mood to bake last night but completely out of eggs and way too lazy to go to the store to get some. So I found an easy recipe for eggless sugar cookies. I made my own version by adding vanilla extract and a sprinkling of cinnamon atop each cookie. Here is my rendition of the eggless sugar cookie:

- 8oz butter

- 1 cup of sugar

- 1.5 cup of flour

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp salt

- Cream the butter and sugar (I added in about 1 tsp of vanilla extract during this step)

- Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt and then mix it in with the butter/sugar combo

- Roll batches of dough into small balls and place on a non-greased cookie sheet (I used an OXO ice cream scoop to measure out perfect portions and stuck them on a silpat, which I highly recommend)

- Press each dough ball lightly with a fork, which has been dipped in sugar (I changed this step and just sprinkled a little bit of sugar and cinnamon atop each ball without pressing it down)

Here are the cookie balls pre-bake (350 degrees for about 9 minutes)

And here they are fresh out of the oven. The cookies came out super thin and super crisp with a shortbread taste and texture. Fine by me!

Get baked with me again next week! Adios.

Weekend Dinner Recap

Now that I’m eating meat again, I find myself longing for the hearty flavors of a wonderful pot roast just about every weekend, especially now that the temperature is chilly outside. Sunday morning started off with the usual dog walk to Bristol Farms, where I loaded up on a large cup of Peet’s Coffee (my absolute favorite) and any other miscellaneous groceries, like two pounds of boneless chuck roast that I planned to slow cook in the crock pot. The recipe for the roast is easy as pie: dice up a large onion, throw it into the crock pot, add the boneless chuck roast, two cups of beef broth, some minced garlic, and any seasoning you desire (in this case, it was salt, pepper, paprika, coriander, and cumin.) Then you let it sit for about, oh, eight hours to which you’ll find the most tender, juicy, mouth-watering roast waiting to be devoured.

Our plan was to make beef tacos dinner but after watching Jill Santopietro’s video on fish tacos the other night, we decided to go big and add fish tacos to the menu, too. We used cod and dusted it lightly in flour so we could pan fry it for a crispy texture. Jill Santopietro advises to fry the fish in both oil and butter. Sounds a little excessive, doesn’t it? Yes, but it is oh so good.

I opted for feasting on the roast and fish over a bed of leftover rice and beans from an awesome Brazilian restaurant close to my house called Bossa Nova. Chris went the taco route and heated up corn tortillas (always a must for tacos – no flour tortilla nonsense here), chopped up some cabbage, and made a plate for himself.

Here’s my plate: a nice helping of the roast, a portion of the lightly fried cod, and some yummy rice and beans (which, to be perfectly honest, I barely touched because I was so full after eating the roast.)

And here is Chris’ plate: fish and beef tacos plus a scoop of the rice and beans

Pastries & Bacon 1.2

Yo! We’re taking Pastries & Bacon to another level…it’s about five steps upwards Check out our new schedule – it’s a fun little project we’re dabbling in, so please bear with us because we want to make this as fun for you as it is for us! Enjoy!

Team Michael Voltaggio

I apologize in advance if you didn’t catch the finale of Top Chef: Season Las Vegas last night and are reading this right now because the ending has just been spoiled. But how ecstatic am I that my kitchen hero and all around badass mofo, Michael Voltaggio, took home gold? It was between him, his brother (who, I’m sure you agree, doesn’t open his mouth wider than two inches when he talks) and Kevin (who is just so lovable it was hard to watch him lose). Michael V showed amazing skill, culinary creativity, kitchen intensity, and true passion for food from Day One so I wasn’t surprised at all that he was the Top Chef winner. And for some odd reason, I found his cocky attitude and at times downright rudeness in the kitchen somewhat amusing.

Lucky for me, I live in Los Angeles, which means I’ll for sure be visiting Michael Voltaggio at his restaurant, The Dining Room inside the Langham Pasadena. SCORE!!

Meet: Alex Kotsias

I’m getting tired talking about me, me, me so I’d like you to meet Alex Kotsias, the beautiful publicist for shoe designer, Rupert Sanderson who I love, love, love. I thought it would be so fun to interview someone else (because, quite frankly, who wants to read what I’ve been eating day in and day out ha!) Not only does Alex have one of the most glamorous jobs in the fashion biz, she also resides in London (and she was so gracious to grant me this interview so thanks Alex!)

1. What are your favorite eateries in London? - China Tang (Chinese), Delfino’s (Italian), Asakusa (Japanese).

2. Do you cook much at home? If so, what are some of your favorite recipes that you like to bust out every now and then? - Me? Cook? Those 2 words hardly ever come together. I have to admit that I don’t much like cooking! That’s not to say I’m bad at it though… My favourite recipe to cook is probably a pork and red wine stir fry, although I only make it about once a year.

3. Describe a typical day of Alex’s eats. - Not very impressive I’m afraid. I usually eat natural yogurt and Dorset Cereals muesli for breakfast. If I go out for a press breakfast I always have poached eggs and toast because that is my ultimate favourite dish to eat in the morning – I wish I always had the time for a cooked breakfast! For lunch I usually have a sandwich and fruit – nothing majorly exciting. If I’m running late in the morning and I don’t make my own lunch, I usually buy sushi. I try and eat out for dinner as much as possible… when I’m at home though, I usually eat a salad with chicken or fish. I generally stay off carbs in the evenings. I have a terrible sweet tooth: I snack on chocolate during the day and I eat ice cream every evening for dessert without fail. At the moment I’m obsessed with Carte D’Or Chocolate Inspiration. Actually, as I write this, I am munching on some mini Turkish Delights that a lovely journalist from Turkish Harper’s Bazaar just bought for Rupert. Unlucky for him, they landed on my desk.

4. What’s your daily work uniform? – working in fashion means that I can pretty much get away with wearing anything to the office. I don’t have a set daily uniform as such. At the moment it varies from leather pencil dresses to high waist silver cigarette pants and fur trimmed tops, with a few vintage dresses thrown in as well. One thing you can always be sure of, is that I never fail to have a pair of killer Rupert Sanderson heels on my feet!

5. What’s the most treasured item in your closet that you’ll never part with? – That’s a tough question and I’m sure if you ask me the same question next week I’d give you a different answer. At the moment it’s this pink satin all-in-one jumpsuit that I bought at Beacon’s Closet last time I was in New York. Think Crystal Carrington x 100 and that pretty much sums up the outfit perfectly!

6. What’s the best part about doing PR? And the worst? – The best part is definitely all the events I attend and meeting really inspirational people every day. The worst? Probably the very long hours.

7. If you could eat only ONE cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? – I’m torn with this question – it’s a tough one! It’s either Chinese or Japanese – please can I just say Asian cuisine?!

My Love of Asparagus

Words cannot express how much I love asparagus. My favorite way to eat them is to roast them for about 20 minutes with plenty of celtic sea salt and pepper. That’s it. They come out perfectly seasoned and soft on the inside yet crisp on the outside. I could seriously eat a pound of roasted asparagus for dinner any night. PS: see that nonstick silpat beneath the asparagus stalks? It’s a must have for lazy people like me who hate having to scrub a cookie sheet clean. Awesome.

The Curious Case of the Extra Thin Cookie

One of my most requested desserts to bake are my white chocolate chip salted cookies. I made them last holiday season and they were a HUGE hit. I mean, HUGE. Epic almost. In fact, I got so many requests for them again this year that I felt a little obliged to make some for a mini shindig we hosted at the house last weekend. But something went awry. They came out looking like they lost about twenty pounds while sitting in the oven. Super thin and super crispy, they were. I was quite disappointed and (like all the guys on Top Chef would do) refused to serve them to our guests just because I didn’t feel they were perfecto. Lucky for me, Chris loves super thin crust pizza, so these were happily gobbled up by him this past week. “It’s like super thin crust pizza, only better!” He said with a huge grin. “Coz they’re sweet!”

True dat.

Here are the cookies prior to losing twenty pounds in the oven.

Post Jenny Craig: super thin!

Meet: Chris

Chris, my amazing and supportive boyfriend, has finally posted his ABOUT page! Yeehaw! Check out his details here.

The Morning After

Bobby Flay says, “The best part about Thanksgiving is the day after because of all the leftovers” and I wholeheartedly agree. This morning was a great excuse to throw in some leftover turkey into breakfast, which was enjoyed by Chris, my mom and I. Chris made his rendition of Thanksgiving Hash, which was a medley of potatoes, sweet peppers, egg, spinach and turkey. Then he slapped on (what else) bacon to finish the dish. Bon appetit!

PS: I captured him cooking this morning on my Flip camera, so I plan on editing and posting a video very soon! Stay tuned.

Thanksgiving Recap

So how stoked am I??? We have a brand new Canon digital camera in the house! Yep, Chris purchased one so he’d be able to capture 2009 Thanksgiving memories – yay! With that being said, let’s move on to the most important topic: the food. I’m not going to dilly dally over the prep work that went into it, so I’m just going to skip ahead to the end product of what we indulged in.

Chris’ mom made some light and healthy apps (she found the recipe in Sunset Magazine): endive leaves topped with white beans and some herbs.

Cranberry from the jar. Chris’ mom also made her own (not pictured)

Gobble gobble. The turkey was stuffed with onion, rosemary and sliced lemon. I opted for the breast…and only had a little bit of it. Nice sepia filter on the picture, eh?

Here’s my plate at the table: a tiny bit of turkey, braised ‘n glazed carrots, sweet potato mash, a whole wheat roll, UH-mazing stuffing with mushroom and heavenly goodness, and a dollop of homemade cranberry sauce

Dessert was by me! Brioche bread pudding with raisins. I was way too lazy to make the recipe as it was stated so I eyeballed it which I know is (gasp!) a big no-no to eyeball when baking but you know what? It turned out soooo good. I also had it for breakfast this morning hehe

Get outta here and enjoy the rest of your holiday!!

A Love For The Fizz

If I were to choose between regular water and carbonated water, I would pick the fizzy H20 any day. There is something about fizz that makes water taste extra yummy (personally, I find water to be very boring unless it’s chilled to perfection with lemon juice squeezed in it.) This week I’ve been experiencing the weirdest cravings: fizz and sashimi. The other night, I had a beautiful plate of raw ahi tuna, salmon sashimi, and yellowfin tuna for dinner along with another love of my life, the Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat Beer (yes, it’s called the Beer and Sashimi Diet.) And then just a couple days before that, I was craving fizz so bad, I popped open a mini can of Diet Coke and drank it chilled. The Diet Coke was disgusting and reminded me A) why I don’t drink soda and B) what chemicals taste like. Yuck yuck yuck! I don’t know how people can chug Diet Cokes all day…I guess it’s an acquired taste maybe??

So back to the Fizz. I was hanging out at my friend’s house last night and she offered me a can of club soda. Oh man. I know all the carbonation in club soda might not be good for you, but DAMN it was so delicious, I had a second can…and a third. And now I feel like I may be addicted because I woke up this morning craving a can of cold club soda. At zero calories, it’s a guiltless pleasure and gives me the same satisfaction I get out of drinking my Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat beer. Not too shabby!

Homes…Continued

I’m giving food a break because for my meals today, I honestly ate the weirdest bunch of snacks and it’s just not worth posting. Having said that (did anyone catch the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale last night?? If you did, you’d understand why I said what I just said), I might as well list what I ate: ginger chews for breakfast, string cheese for lunch, a spoonful of peanut butter, half a cup of yogurt, a small cheese/salami plate (which was UH-mazing! My mom got a ton of goodies from the famous Cheese Store in Silverlake, CA yesterday and we feasted Italian style), and sashimi from Bristol Farms. Oh, and I had a Samuel Adams cherry wheat beer for dessert.

So back to what I’m posting about: home styles! For your information, I live in a tiny studio in Los Angeles. Rent is so ridiculous out here in SoCal and it’s even more expensive when you get into the Brentwood/Santa Monica area where I live. Luckily, unlike other studio apartments I have seen, I actually have a full kitchen that is walled-off (gasp! unheard of in studio apartments!) and a nice-sized bathroom closet. Plus I get a parking space which is also (gasp! real hard to get in my neck of the woods. So many people have to park on the street and risk getting a ticket if they sleep in on street washing day.)

I came across this adorable studio apartment in NYC belonging to Thakoon wholesale director, Stacey Caldwell, who also runs a home decor blog called Caldwell Home. Talk about making the most of her space! I love the combination of white with the dark chocolate walls and the wood floors. Little feminine touches here and there make me want to move in ASAP. Oh, and how cute is her bicycle parked next to her bed Hey, not bad for a pint-sized pad! I’m going to start taking notes and applying them to my own little bachelorette.

Home Is Where The Heart Is

There’s just something about the details in Julia Restoin-Roitfeld’s NYC apartment (she of Carine Roitfeld fame) that I love, especially the skull. Photos from theselby.com

Another home that is quirky yet chic belongs to Laetitia Crahay, accessories designer for Chanel. I’m oddly attracted to the mishmash hodgepodge of items she has scattered artfully about.

A Different Kind of Breakfast

Well, I wouldn’t really call it breakfast but this is what I ate this morning around 10am and it really hit the spot. A whole tin of Chimes Gourmet Ginger Chews, which are perfectly spicy, chewy, gummy and yummy. They have just the right amount of spice and zing to wake you up in the office and keep you alert. If you’re a ginger fan, I urge you to try these. I know for sure that Bristol Farms and Cost Plus carries Chimes Gourmet Ginger Chews but you may be able to find them elsewhere.

Addicted to Peanut Butter

This is going to gross some people out but I have an addiction to peanut butter. I have a jar of the 365 brand crunchy peanut butter from Whole Foods sitting on my desk with a spoon in it at all times. Every ten minutes, I take a teeny itsy bitsy amount and nibble on it. It’s sooo good but kind of disgusting at the same time (when you calculate how many calories I’m ingesting per hour.) I really need to mix things up by bringing in sliced bread and jam so I can have a toasted PB&J at the office.

Beer Lady

I’ve never liked beer. Ever. If I had to get a drink at a bar, it would be a vodka tonic or tequila shot. I love wine during the week night but really only sauvignon blanc to be more specific. On hot weekends, I normally throw back a couple of homemade margaritas, which consists of tequila, fresh lime juice and some agave syrup. Or maybe a martini when it gets colder.

But beer? Nah, no thanks. It’s too filling, makes me bloated, and tastes gross. That was always what I thought.

Until now.

I’m totally going to get bashed for this but I LOVE SAMUEL ADAMS CHERRY WHEAT BEER. I first tried it a couple weeks ago when an office mate brought it to me at work (um, yeah, we have something called “Beer Thirty” when we bust open a bottle around the 4:30pm to 5:30pm hour. Not bad, right?) I had a sip and instantly fell in love. So much so that I went out and bought it to keep a six-pack at home. It’s got this sweet, cherry aftertaste and somehow does not make me balloon up in the stomach. The downside is that if you have a boyfriend, he probably won’t like this  but the good thing about that is you get to have it all to yourself!!

Oh and one more thing, apparently the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat only hits us for a limited time during the holiday season. So drink up and be merry! AND DON’T DRIVE (sorry, had to insert the safety statement there)

Bread Puddin’

What do you do when you have leftover Kings Hawaiian sweet bread, a handful of chocolate chips, and cream? You make an individual-sized bread pudding dessert. I pulled together some measly scrapings of the bread that we had sitting over from burgers, whipped up an egg with sugar and whipping cream, tossed in a small amount of chocolate chips and let the thing bake in this pint-sized ramekin (small size = less guilt!) Serve with decadent vanilla ice cream and share it with a lover. (Blackberry photo below = poor image quality)

PS: speaking of photos, we sent one of the broken Canon cameras in and they quoted us $110 to fix. How ridiculous is that?! Might as well spend a  little extra money and get a brand new one…which is exactly what we are going to do. Hopefully we’ll have a newbie in time for holiday season.

A Burger Of My Own

I had Fatburger earlier in the week and was inspired to make my own this weekend. I’ve been too tired to cook during the work week so I’ve been eating on the go recently: grilled cheese sandwiches, Fatburger, falafel wraps from The Hungry Pocket, tuna melts from Whole Foods…I’m about to exhaust all possible lunch options in my work neighborhood of Santa Monica soon!

I wanted to make burgers for lunch so I picked up ground beef with 10% fat content from Whole Foods (on sale for only $3.99/lb) and I got a small pint-sized roll for my burger and a larger panini roll for Chris. When eating meat, cheese and bread, I definitely try to exercise some sort of portion control. A good example is Fatburger, who offers something called the “Baby Fat”, a 2.5 oz burger that weighs in at 400 calories. Considering it fills me up for about 7 hours until dinner time, that’s not too shabby.

Back to my burger. I made the patties by combining 1lb of the ground beef with 1 egg, 1/2 cup of chopped onions, a handful of minced parsley, salt and pepper and a few tablespoons of Panko breadcrumbs. I formed patty rounds and grilled them on the stovetop for about 4-5 minutes per side.

To assemble the burgers, I toasted the rolls then slathered them with mayo, ketchup, BBQ sauce and layered spinach, sliced cheese, tomatoes and the burger patty on top. Such a tasty and filling lunch!

Pure Decadence

What better way to end Saturday night than with a few back-to-back episodes of Flash Forward, a couple glasses of merlot and a decadent dinner of juicy steak with blue cheese sauce and buttery braised carrots. I was in the mood for steak so early in the morning, I headed over to Whole Foods to check out the butcher section to see what specials were going on. I hadn’t been in this department in Whole Foods in so long, it all looked foreign to me. But Mr. Butcher Man was kind, and recommended a sirloin cut that was on sale for only $6.99/lb. Not bad, considering the normal price was $10.99/lb. I love sales.

“I like my meat well done. How should I cook this steak without it being too tough?” Sure, I’m eating meat again but it has to be cooked to the millionth degree, and I won’t touch chicken or turkey just yet. White meat still gives me the shudders. To all my carnivore friends, it’s baby steps! Let me start with the red meat…and maybe I’ll move on to the other stuff

“Sear it then bake it in the oven for awhile!” Mr. Butcher Man replied. “You can’t go wrong with that!”

Noted.

After googling numerous recipes for a blue cheese sauce to accompany the steak, I finally settled on this INCREDIBLE one from The Pioneer Woman, which I have to say, is fast becoming one of my favorite blogs right now. Awesome photography, awesome pics (makes me want to buy a new camera right now and not waste another minute using the iPhone and Blackberry to take my crappy pics. Booooo!!) The sauce recipe was too simple: butter, onions, blue cheese, cream. Yeah, boy. You basically caramelize the onions, stir in heavy cream and cook it down so it thickens slowly, then add crumbled blue cheese.

Oh.

My.

God.

Chris simple seasoned the steak with salt and pepper and took care of grilling, then baking it. As for the braised carrots, I followed another simple recipe from Mark Bittman of  The New York Times. Rather than printing out the recipe, I just watched his video short, which you can view here for the “Braised & Glazed” carrots. Again, super simple: sliced carrots, butter, orange juice, and ginger.

Oh.

My.

God.

The carrots smelled like nothing I had ever smelled before and tasted divine. It was somewhat sweet with a ginger tang and the butter added a rich, tasty, filling edge to the dish. We didn’t have dill (which the recipe called for) but a squirt of lemon juice at the end provided a refreshing citrus shot that cut through the butter and was the perfect complement. What can I say, butter is heaven sent. Check out the dinner below. It’s an iPhone picture, but kudos to Chris for trying to capture it in a more artistic angle.

 

Arepa, Arepa!

One of my most favorite food blogs is At First Bite NYC, which is run by Lucky magazine editor, Noria Morales. A girl who loves her food and fashion? Now that’s what I call a Perfect 10! In addition to a writing style that brings the food to life (no wonder she’s a fashion writer), Noria also has an awesome approach to food. She pretty much eats everything and takes the reader on a culinary journey through all sorts of NYC eateries. I don’t eat meat, but reading some of Noria’s posts makes me want to feast on some prosciutto or juicy steak. (Once again, I’m a pescetarian – I eat NO meat except fish and eggs - because of health/digestive reasons, NOT because of animal rights), so don’t be surprised if I blog about a breakfast of scrambled eggs and pancetta down the road. I was going through AFB the other day and Noria’s post on arepas totally caught my attention and had me looking up places on YELP to find arepas in my neighborhood.

Mission accomplished! Apparently, there’s a place in Santa Monica (perfect!) called Cafe Bolivar, which got rave reviews from patrons about their arepas. Before I go any further with my story, if you don’t know what an arepa is, according to WIKI it’s a type of bread made from corn (so wheat-free + gluten-free) originating from South America but it’s more known as a type of Venezuelan mini-sandwich (and do I mean mini. The arepas from Cafe Bolivar were seriously the size of my palm, which makes them perfect for portion control.) So, of course, I had to try. Fast forward to today and I called ahead to place an order for pick-up. Since their arepas are made to order (as most are), it would take about 20 to 25 minutes. Minimum order is 2 for $6, so I ordered the tuna salad (solid white albacore tuna with bell peppers, tomatoes, red onions, extra virgin olive oil and mayo) and the one with Mango, Avocado, Panela cheese, rosemary and roasted garlic aioli. On the side was a little container of what tasted like cilantro pesto. YUMMY! I thought that the two pint-sized sandwiches weren’t going to fill me up but believe it or not, I couldn’t even finish my second one. I’m definitely going back here for more arepas. So sorry for the sucky quality of my pictures (taken with my Blackberry). I need to get my camera fixed, I know.

The tuna salad arepa

The mango/avocado arepa

In case you happen to be near Ocean Park and 17th in Santa Monica, stop by here. This is the full menu of arepas, so choose as you please:

1. Black beans and panela cheese
2. Plain cheese with your choice of gouda or panela cheese
3. Solid white albacore tuna with bell peppers, tomatoes, red onions, extra virgin olive oil and mayo
4. Jamon cooked with our choice of panela cheese or gouda
5. Mango, Avocado, Panela cheese, rosemary and roasted garlic aioli
6. Chicken breast and avocados with rosemary and roasted garlic aioli

Loving Lavash

Remember that $1.99 pack of lavash I told you about? 18 pieces of tasty lavash from the farmers market store made from only four ingredients: whole wheat flour, salt, yeast and water (I love this. I always try to buy things that contain ingredients I can pronounce or something my grandmother would recognize. The sight of ingredients that end in “-ide” and contain an “x” in the name makes me shudder.) Anyway, I pulled out the lavash to make some tasty greek wrap appetizers served up with a side of tzaziki (purchased at our Saturday morning farmers market) and stuffed with basil and sundried tomato hummus, sprouts, and feta cheese. Obviously, that wasn’t enough for me so I made a simple quesadilla with gouda cheese, again using that versatile lavash flatbread. Awesome!

Birthday Muffins

My dad’s birthday is tomorrow night and I wanted to bake him a birthday cake to celebrate. The only thing is that he has to watch his diet big time after a series of heart, cholesterol and blood pressure issues so that means no chocolate, not much sugar and not too much butter either. So instead of baking a traditional cake, I decided to make him carrot muffins since carrot is one of his favorite flavors for a dessert and I found a healthy recipe that calls for no butter and just a smidge of olive oil. To top it off, I used frosting to decorate “I <3 U” as opposed to the standard “Happy Birthday”…hope he likes it!

Thai? Oh My!

Ayara Thai Cuisine is by far THE best thai place in the ‘hood. If you live around the Westchester area near LAX I urge you to go there. Service is impeccable and food is amazing. The curry dishes especially are not heavy at all, which is usually the case with Thai and Indian food at times. We ordered delivery because we wanted to enjoy the dinner in our own backyard, sipping on wine and taking our time without worrying about having the table turned over by a waiter. We got sticky rice (of course), a shrimp and veggie curry dish, sauteed vegetables (incredible!) and the green papaya salad. Sooooo good.