Sno-Ball Cake

Happy birthday my wonderful hubby!

Since my birthday, I had been picking my brain trying to figure out what kind of cake I could make for his birthday. Hubby recently informed me that when he was a kid, the only kind of cake he would get (or even ask for) for his birthday was a Hostess Sno-Ball. You know those bright pink marshmallow, chocolate cake treats? Now, I've had my fair share of Sno-Balls during my youth. However, I found it a little strange to be celebrating with a store-bought, vacuum-packed little snack treat.

Then, I had a crazy idea. A while ago, I made some homemade Hostess Cupcakes, right? Why not make homemade Sno-Balls??? Hubby would totally love that! And since its his birthday, I decided to make it into a cake. I used my go-to chocolate cake recipe and the marshmallow fluff from my recent Fluffernutter Cupcakes and assemble to look like a Hostess Sno-Ball. I had some leftover batter, so I used it to make cupcakes/individual versions as well.  And the result was a yummy, moist chocolaty, marshmallow-y treat reminiscent of our youth. Hubby took his first bite and he immediately said it brought him back to the 1st grade.

1 recipe for chocolate cake
prepared marshmallow fluff
shredded coconut
red food color

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease and flour an oven-safe bowl of desired size. Set aside.

2) Prepare cake according to directions. Pour batter into prepared bowl about three-quarters full. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the cake is set and toothpick test comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in the bowl for about 10 minutes. Remove cake from bowl and invert on a cooling rack to cool completely.

3) Using a serrated knife or cake leveler, carefully slice a thin layer off the flat side of the cake. Set aside. Create a large hole by hollowing out the center of the flat side of the remaining cake. Fill the hole with a good amount of marshmallow fluff. Replace the thin layer of cake back on the cake.

4) Invert the cake on a platter, flat side down. Cover the rounded part of the cake with globs of marshmallow fluff and smooth out.

5) Place a good amount of shredded coconut and a few drops of food color in a food processor. Pulse the processor until the color of the coconut has turned bright pink and you've reached the desired consistency of the coconut. Press pink coconut on top and all over the surface of the frosted cake. Serve.

Bottega Louie to celebrate our birthdays

As you all know, last week, I celebrated another year of my existence. I baked Fluffernutter Cupcakes and Biscoff Cupcakes to commemorate the day. Traditionally in our family, if our birthdays land on a weekday, we celebrate by going out to a fancy dinner the following weekend. And because hubby's and my birthday is about 2 weeks apart, we usually go out on the weekend between our birthdays. This past weekend happened to be that weekend.

My mom asked me where I wanted to go out to dinner. Normally we go to our usual restaurants: Lawry's Prime Rib, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Fleming's, or Roy's. This year, however, I wanted to try something different. All thanks to one of my good friends who had instilled in me a new restaurant that I had been dying to visit. Bottega Louie.

A fairly new restaurant, Bottega Louie is a hip restaurant and gourmet market. Most of its clientele are yuppies. Rarely will you see a young family or that of the older generation. Its a very loud and busy establishment.

(Macaron display on the window)

As soon as you enter the restaurant, you will be overwhelmed with the abundance of dessert displays. From cupcakes to cookies to different pastries......

.....and finally what they're famous for. Macarons.

As we were seated at our table, we were served with their baked bread and a side of butter that they place directly on our table, lined with butcher paper.

For starters, we ordered their popular Portobello fries, which were strips of Portobello mushrooms dipped in batter and deep fried. Served with an aioli sauce, this appetizer had quite a unique taste that was quite yummy. We also ordered their Diver Scallops, as recommended by our waiter. The scallops were sweet and moist and so tender. A great recommendation. And of course, if a menu has fried calamari in it, you better believe we'll order it. And so we did. 

For our main courses, we all ordered different dishes. Mom ordered the Ceppo Gamber, shrimp with ceppo pasta and sauteed with garlic and olive oil.

Hubby ordered the Striped Sea Bass served on top of risotto.

I ordered the popular dish on the menu, the Trenne, which is trenne pasta, fried to a crisp, with braised prime rib eye and kale. I know why this dish was popular because it was delicious.

I didn't get a chance to photograph my sister and brother's meal. But my sister had the Lasagna Bolognese and my brother had the Hanger Steak Verdura, which they both enjoyed. My brother even had a few bites of my sister's lasagna, because it was apparently super delicious. 

As an added bonus, we were seated right in front of the pizza making station where we (mostly my daughter) were thoroughly entertained by the pizza tosser.

For dessert, my brother decided to order the chocolate souffle with Tahitian Vanilla Bean sauce and a side of vanilla bean gelato. 

I decided to order something outside of my normal creme brulee and settled on the Le Grande Macaron, which was a vanilla macaron stuffed with vanilla ice cream and fresh berries. Yummy!

After we had eaten our meal, one of the managers came by and asked how our dinner went. Mom mentioned that it was hubby and my birthdays, and so they served us each a scoop of gelato that I couldn't eat much of because I was stuffed.

Of course, we couldn't leave Bottega Louie without purchasing any of the Macarons they're known for. So I bought a small box, along with some sprinkled pretzels that my daughter, of course, wanted to have.

All in all, I was very pleased with my experience at Bottega Louie. My parents and hubby loved the food, but weren't too keen about how noisy the place was. Its a marketplace, so its what's expected. I'm not sure if hubby would want to return here again. But I'm hoping he'll allow us to return, because I heard they also had an awesome brunch menu :)

Fluffernutter Cupcakes

Do y'all know what today means? Its a reason to celebrate and bake cupcakes. Yup, its my thirty-something birthday. And every year when my birthday comes around (or any one's birthday, for that matter), I always like to bake something. Especially a cake or cupcakes. This year, I actually wanted to try out two new cupcake recipes.

Have you ever had a fluffernutter sandwich? If not, you are totally missing out. I have to admit that I didn't learn of this kid favorite until I became an adult. Its a simple sandwich of peanut butter and marshmallow fluff. Simple, but oh so yummy. I came across this recipe for Fluffernutter Cupcakes from the Novice Chef a while ago that I had saved up for a special day. And today is as special as it gets, dontcha think?

The cupcake is a dense peanut-buttery goodness, paired with a light and airy marshmallow frosting that any peanut butter lover would enjoy. So as I celebrate my thirty-something birthday today surrounded by those I love most, why not have yourself a Fluffernutter Cupcake to celebrate with me :) And tomorrow, I shall continue with my cupcake celebration with another recipe.

Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cup peanut butter
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups milk
Chocolate Hazelnut spread for the filling

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. Set aside.

2)  In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat together brown sugar, oil, and peanut butter over medium speed until light and fluffy.   Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla extract.

3) In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Add dry mixture into batter, alternating with the milk. Scoop batter into prepared liners about three-quarters full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick test comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes before cooling completely in a cooling rack.

4) Make a cone-shaped hole on the top of each cupcake. Pipe in chocolate hazelnut spread in the hole. Set aside.

Marshmallow Frosting
8 large egg whites
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water (double boiler). Whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and the egg white mixture is warm to the touch, about 3-4 minutes.

2) Transfer egg white mixture in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on low speed, and then gradually increasing to high speed until stiff, glossy peaks forms, about 5-7 minutes. Add vanilla extract and continue beating until well incorporated. Immediately frost prepared cupcakes.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's day to all you great mothers out there. We do a helluva job managing our families along with school, work, and other things. So be proud of yourself. Its tough being a mom and wife, but I am loving every minute of it and wouldn't change it for anything. I have a wonderful husband and a beautiful daughter that I work hard for and absolutely love and wouldn't have it any other way.

I didn't have a recipe to share for this special day, but I did want to post about these cute matching aprons I just got for me and my daughter. I love being in the kitchen with her. She's my little helper, especially whenever I bake something. She's already shown a trait of being a foodie like me. When baking, she loves to help put the vanilla or vanilla extract in the dough or batter because she loves the smell of vanilla. She always claims that it was her favorite part of the baking, because she loves the smell. I love how she is starting to appreciate her sense of smell to explore great food using her nose. Now her sense of taste? That's another story. If it doesn't have pasta and cheese, or the name "macaroni and cheese," you'll have to practically force her to eat it. But once she gets a taste of it, she's usually okay to eat it. Begrudgingly, but she'll eat it. My hope is that she will someday explore all the different types of foods out there and not limit herself to macaroni and cheese. That was one of the goals of this blog, to explore and chronicle different recipes, new and old, for my daughter to experience.

Cooking and baking is a huge part of our family. And my kitchen, I believe, is the center of our home. It is where I spend time with my daughter. It is where I prepare great meals to feed my family. It is where I find comfort. I enjoy buying cool things for my kitchen. And these aprons were just an addition to our kitchen that will bond me with my daughter.

Happy Mother's Day and Happy cooking/baking!

Happy 4th Birthday to my little Princess

I can't believe my daughter is 4 today. I know its cliche, but time did go by so fast as I watched her grow up. I don't think I even remember anything before she was born. But I do remember every moment the day she was born and it was an absolute miracle. She's our miracle and I'm thankful everyday that God has blessed us with our sweet baby girl. She's growing too fast, but she always assures me that she'll always be my baby. I hope she remembers that when she's 16 and we won't allow her to stay out late. lol!

Every year, I usually give myself about 6 months to plan for her birthday. This year is a little different because she's in preschool now, and I have to plan for cake with the kids in her class on top of her birthday party. I wanted to make some cupcakes instead of a whole cake, because it would be easier to distribute among the kids in her class instead of cutting cake. Last week, we asked the school director if it was okay to bring in some cupcakes. She just asked that the cupcakes be the mini size because it would be less messy.

Now that we got the okay, I had the idea of making a pull-apart cake made out of cupcakes in the shape of a butterfly. I decided to make Vanilla Cupcakes because I felt its a neutral and safe cupcake to serve the kids. I made the shape of a butterfly using the cupcakes and placed a small dollop of frosting on the bottom of each cupcake to secure them to the cake board.

Then I placed a mound of frosting on the top and smoothed it out as much as I can.

The coolest part was when I spray painted the color on top of the frosting with a Wilton Color Mist Spray that I found at the craft store. I then outlined the shape of the butterfly with a gel icing and affixed some edible flower candies to decorate the butterfly. I'm actually impressed with myself, because I'm by no means a cake decorator. I struggle with frosting a cupcake, let alone a whole cake.

I also wanted to have a cake for her at home to celebrate with my folks, so I decided to buy the giant cupcake mold and make a giant vanilla cupcake.

It didn't turn out as pretty as I had hoped, but it looked okay.

We have a huge party planned for her this weekend. And I can't wait. I hope my daughter can someday appreciate the effort I put into planning her birthdays because she's so very special to me. I love you my little munchkin!

The Boiling Crab

Its been quite a hectic week this week. Which is why I haven't cooked anything new. Aside from not being home due to a few birthday celebrations we attended this weekend, we literally haven't slept in our house for a few days. You see, we were out of water for a few days due to a plumbing problem. So we stayed over my parents' house for 3 nights. Long story short, we ended up having to re-pipe the whole house due to the plumbing leak. What a nightmare that was. Unexpected expense, and unexpected trashing of our house. Hubby had to pull everything out of our kitchen and bathroom cabinets to make room for the plumber to open up holes all over the house. After all was said and done, all we have left are unfinished walls to paint (the plumbers patched up the walls, but didn't paint), a mess of things to put back in the cabinets, and an empty wallet :(

Our spirit is still up, however, and we're now trying to look past this whole ordeal, because for one, hubby has some major reviewing to do for his upcoming board certification exam. So to help lift our spirits, we decided to help celebrate 2 birthdays this weekend. A surprise birthday party for one of my cousins held at one of my aunt's house. And afterwards, we headed to Koreatown in the Mid-City of Los Angeles for an 18th birthday celebration for one of our nephews at the Boiling Crab.

This restaurant has been popping up all over the San Gabriel Valley and Orange County. Its a Louisiana style seafood restaurant where you eat all the seafood the natural way - using your hands without utensils including a plate. You use your table as a plate. Sounded fun. So I've been dying to give them a try and was excited to hear that they opened one up closer to our area and that we were invited to eat dinner there for our nephew's birthday.

Knowing that we had a large party, I should've also known that the wait for us would be super-duper long. My brother had previously warned me that the wait for this restaurant is pretty long. 45 minutes, maybe? But a 45 minute wait is pretty standard in many restaurants nowadays. So it didn't bother me. After 45 minutes, then an hour had past, we still weren't seated. It was cold, and we were getting hungry, and other parties were being seated before us. My daughter had to go to the bathroom and even that had a long wait, because, guess what, they only had one stall. As busy as this restaurant was, and that everything was eaten with your hands (ie; peeling shrimps and crabs), you'd think they'd have more restrooms if they're choosing to provide restrooms for their customers so they can wash their hands. Almost everyone coming out of the restrooms were there only to wash their hands. Maybe they can add handwashing stations instead for those patrons and leave the restrooms for those who really need to use the bathroom. Just a suggestion.

When we were finally seated (after an hour and a half-long wait), we were greeted by this:

We left it to my brother-in-law to do the ordering. While waiting, my daughter had to go to the bathroom yet again. And because the wait was so long, the food had started to arrive. We started with the fried catfish with a side of fries and tartar sauce, which was quite yummy.

And of course, we can't go anywhere without having calamari. Unfortunately, this was what was left when we got back from the restrooms. But that, too, was really good, with a little kick to it.

And finally, for the main course, we had the shrimps, flavored with "the whole shabang," but mild. Although I thought it was still a little spicy. Apparently it wasn't as spicy as what the restaurant considers "medium" that the other side of our table had. The shrimps were served in a plastic bag, that included some corn that we ordered.

Despite our long wait, the food was quite good. Messy, but good. My daughter was even wondering why we got to eat messily with our hands and no plates. It was a pretty good experience overall. But I don't know if it was worth the hour-and-a-half wait though.

We left our with our stomachs full and our tables looking like this:

Congratulations to the PTA Class of 2011

Its been 2 long years, and its finally here. Hubby's graduation for a 2nd degree in Physical Therapist Assistant. I know it was hard for him, juggling a full time job, full load of classes, and then manage to come home and spend time with his family, while getting good grades. He even managed to get straight A's. But it was tough on us too. Having him come home late at night and not being able to spend much time with our daughter. A lot of weekends were spent apart from him, at my parents' house so that he can stay home, undistracted, while studying for exams. But its a small sacrifice we made for a better future for our daughter. And I'm so proud of him for this accomplishment.

Today was his Class Pinning Ceremony. Many of his classmates, such as himself, are already Bachelor's Degree holders. So they mostly opted out of the graduation ceremony and attend the more intimate pinning ceremony. If you've been following my previous blog entries, I decided to volunteer myself and make cupcakes for the small reception they're having after the ceremony. Its the least I could do after all that he had been through these 2 years. But I also wanted to challenge myself and see if I could handle making that much. I decided to make almost 200 Red Velvet and Bananas Foster mini cupcakes that they used to display "2011."

And from what I heard, everyone seemed to enjoy them. I even overheard a group at the table next to ours go back for seconds and thirds. And when I went back to get myself a cupcake, they were all gone. I'm glad everyone liked them.

After the reception, we decided to have a late lunch/early dinner with our families who attended the ceremony at Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que.

This was our first time at this restaurant. I've always wanted to try it after a co-worker of mine raved about their strawberry lemonade, of all things. We were having lunch at another chain restaurant one day and we both ordered strawberry lemonade. She mentioned that Lucille's had the best strawberry lemonade. I said I'd never heard of Lucille's. "You've never heard of Lucille's???" Well, there isn't one near where we live, and when I found out there's a branch near hubby's school, I vowed to someday go before he ends school. So I decided to take our family on this special day.

The theme of the restaurant is a laid back, backyard BBQ atmosphere. Complete with the plastic table covers. We started off our meal with their onion straws served with an aioli sauce.

We also had the spinach & cheese dip.

We decided to order the Backyard Family Feast that fed 4 or more people. It included chicken, baby back ribs, and 4 sides. We ordered corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, shoestring fries, and coleslaw.

It was quite a feast and with the 7 of us, we still had leftovers to take home to my parents (who couldn't make it to the ceremony because mom had to work).

To wash it all down, I ordered the, what else, strawberry lemonade. The reason I wanted to come here in the first place. It was served in a mason jar. So cool.

Our overall experience here was really positive. The food was delicious and I loved the laid back atmosphere. I'm just bummed that we may not be back here for a while because it is quite far from home. Since hubby won't be out here for school anymore, there isn't much of a reason to make it out this far. Although I have cousins that live out this way. Maybe its time for more visits to the cousin's house.

Congratulations boo. I'm so proud of you. I love you ♥

Neapolitan Layer Cake

Happy Easter!!! And of course, Happy 3rd birthday to my sweet baby girl! I can't believe how time flies. Because today is Easter, we decided to celebrate my daughter's birthday next weekend. So we'll be taking her to the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland. However, we still wanted to commemorate her special day. So aside from the festivities of Easter and the Easter Egg Hunt, I wanted to make something special for her. I came across this Neapolitan Layer Cake from Annie's Eats about 2 months ago. The first thing I thought when I saw this was how beautiful the cake looked and how my daughter would love it because its pink! I had to make it a point to make it for her birthday.

This was quite a complicated recipe that consisted of 5 components: the chocolate cake, the vanilla cake, the strawberry cake, the vanilla buttercream that went in between the layers, and finally the strawberry buttercream that topped off the cake. When I studied the recipe, I started to get intimidated. So I wanted to do some sort of practice run by making the strawberry portion of this cake and made them into Strawberry Cupcakes. When the cupcakes turned out well, I became relieved and even more excited to make the cake.

It actually took me 2 days to make this cake. One day was used to bake the cakes and layer the cakes with the vanilla buttercream. The other day was used to frost the whole thing. I tackled the cakes by baking them all at the same time because the temperature and amount of time it required to bake were the same. And then I used a lot of butter for both buttercreams. So this cake is, by no means, for the diet-conscious. Like me and hubby. But it was for our daughter. So a few more calories won't hurt.

I was very pleased with the way the cake turned out. It looked so pretty with all the different layers of cake. I'm not a cake decorator, so the cake did have a few rough edges as far as the exterior appearance, but it was still delicious. It was well received by everyone who had it. The birthday girl didn't have much of the cake. She was busy with the Easter Egg Hunt and all the gifts she received today. But I hope someday she'll appreciate all the little things I do for her. Happy Birthday, my little munchkin! I love you ♥

Chocolate Cake

3/4 cup, plus 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

6 Tbsp. cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 large egg

1/2 cup black coffee

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Grease and flour the edges of a 9-inch round pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a piece of round parchment/wax paper.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugar, oil and egg. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated. Blend in coffee, buttermilk, and vanilla extract just until smooth. Add the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Pour into prepared baking pan and set aside while making the other cakes.

White Cake

2 large egg whites

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup very cold water

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1) Grease and flour the edges of a 9-inch round pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a piece of round parchment/wax paper.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to medium high and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Transfer eggs into another bowl and set aside.

3) In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and butter and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Lower the mixer to low speed and beat in dry ingredients just until incorporated. Blend in water, vanilla and almond extracts. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients just until incorporated. With a silicone spatula, stir in about a quarter of the egg whites to lighten the batter. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites until the batter is smooth and no streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and set aside.

Strawberry Cake

1 1/4 cup, plus 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 packet of strawberry gelatin

1 stick butter at room temperature

2 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup sweetened strawberry puree (fresh or frozen strawberry that is pureed and sweetened with a little sugar

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease and flour the edges of a 9-inch round pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a piece of round parchment/wax paper.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugar, butter and strawberry gelatin. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat eggs into the sugar mixture, one at a time , mixing well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Blend in the milk and vanilla extract. Add the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Blend in the strawberry puree.

3) Pour batter into prepared pan. Place pans with chocolate, white and strawberry cake batter in the oven and bake for 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Cakes are done when toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen from the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack to cook completely. Once cakes have completely cooled cut the cake horizontally into 2 thin layers. Set aside.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

pinch of salt

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

1) In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter on medium-high until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add vanilla extract and continue beating for another 15 seconds. Lower the speed to medium-low and slowly add confectioner's sugar and salt until most of the sugar is moistened. Add cream and beat on medium-high until it becomes light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl periodically as needed.

1) Combine egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl and set over a pot of simmering water. Heat, whisking frequently , until mixture reaches 160 deg F and sugar has dissolved.

2) Transfer mixture into bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes (mixing bowl should be cool to touch).

3) Reduce speed to medium and add butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated. If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until thick and smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more (or longer. It will eventually come together). Blend in strawberry puree until smooth and completely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

To assemble cake

1) Place one of the cake layers on the bottom of a cake board or cake platter. Top with a thin layer of vanilla buttercream. Place a layer of strawberry cake on top and top with a thin layer of vanilla buttercream. Place a layer of white cake on top and top with another thin layer of vanilla buttercream. Repeat the process with the remaining strawberry and then chocolate cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the strawberry buttercream. Transfer the remaining strawberry buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip for detailing as desired.

Thanksgiving Feast 2010

For the preparation of last year's Thanksgiving feast, I only had one day to prepare. I decided that that was too stressful to prepare a whole Thanksgiving meal by myself. So this year, I decided to take 2 days off from work to prepare. And I'm glad I did. It gave me plenty of time to clean the house, take out all the good china and serving platters, prepare the food so that all I had to do on the day of Thanksgiving was assemble everything together. I made myself an itinerary so that I can make sure I get everything done and not miss anything. I was much more organized this year and I think I executed it very well.

Just like every year, we had our Thanksgiving lunch at my brother-in-law's place. Everyone usually brings a dish or a dessert. Hubby requested that I bring my Creamy Taco Mac, which the kids really liked. I also brought a Buttermilk Pie that I wanted everyone to try out and received positive feedback on. Once finished with the celebrations with the in-laws, we headed back home to prepare Thanksgiving dinner with my side of the family.

As usual, I made my now infamous Deep Fried Turkey and had the usual sides of Mashed Potatoes, my brother's favorite Scalloped Potatoes, Creamed Corn, and of course, Dressing on the side. This year, however, I decided to make the dressing with Sourdough bread rather than the cornbread that the recipe called for because not everyone liked the sweetness of the cornbread in the dressing. But the sourdough taste, I felt, overpowered the dressing. So next year, I'll use plain french bread. For dessert, I served another Buttermilk Pie and French Silk pie. My mom also brought her famous potato salad and ordered some Spam Musubi to top off the meal.

It was another successful Thanksgiving celebration, with lots to be thankful for again this year. I think my plan of action worked out well this year. I think I may have started a tradition of taking off 2 days from work. It made my preparations so much easier.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Pre-Anniversary

Its the day before our 7th Anniversary. Unfortunately for us, hubby has to be at work and school the whole day tomorrow. So we decided to celebrate our special day a day in advance.

Seven years ago, hubby and I honeymooned in Hawaii. We absolutely LOVE Hawaii. Before our daughter came, we used to visit Hawaii every year. We plan to take her there and go back to our tradition of yearly trips to the islands. But for now, all we have are memories from photos and videos of our trips there.

Today, hubby surprised me by taking me to a Hawaiian restaurant Back Home in Lahaina. I always feel nostalgic whenever we eat Hawaiian food. This place did that for me. Walking in the restaurant, you already start to feel the "aloha," when you are greeted by Hawaiian music and friendly staff.

The menu is very much Hawaiian. We started our meal with the Hawaiian nachos.

I ordered the Kalua pork with macaroni salad and steamed rice. A common plate lunch.

Another common plate lunch is the Loco-Moco, also with macaroni salad and steamed rice. Its a hamburger patty topped with fried eggs and brown gravy. This is hubby's favorite, so its what he ordered.

We each ordered a side of Lomi-Lomi Salmon, often found at luaus in Hawaii. Yummy!

For my daughter, we ordered her Saimin. A ramen noodle soup which she absolutely loved and ate up.

Our overall experience here was a very pleasant one. The food was delicious. The only thing missing was the poi. lol. But I can do without that. We'll definitely go back here again when we start to miss the islands.

Happy 34th to me!

For the past week, everyone's been reminding me of how old I'll be getting. I still say that I don't feel old. But I still love to celebrate :) I've been trying to guess what plans hubby had for my birthday this past Friday the 16th. My only request was for him to take me some place for carnivores. lol! I mentioned a few places, like my favorite Argentinian place, Buenos Aires Grill, or perhaps try a new place called Fogo de Chao, which is a Brazillian Churrascaria in Beverly Hills that I've been dying to go to.

Hubby surprised me by taking me to another Brazillian Churrascaria in LA - M Grill. I was so proud to hear that he got this recommendation from Yelp, which is my go-to website when I need to find reviews on certain places, particularly restaurants. I was happy to hear that hubby is becoming a "foodie" like me.

Hubby confessed that he did plan on taking me to Fogo de Chao until he learned that it cost $56 per person. So he went on Yelp and found that M Grill was comparable to, if not better than, Fogo de Chao, based on everyone's reviews. I don't know how Fogo de Chao is, but M Grill was an awesome place. Its easy to miss this restaurant among the many Korean BBQ restaurants its surrounded by - being that its in "Koreatown."

If you're familiar with a Brazillian Churrascaria, you know that its an all-you-can-eat meat menu, perfect for carnivores. Your table is equipped with some type of device or card that signals the servers to keep piling on the meat when they come around you, or stop serving you the meat. Aside from that, they also have a buffet of other side dishes that compliment the meat they serve you, such as rice, fried yucca or plantains, pastas, salads and salsas.

Our meal started with a basket of cheese-stuffed bread that was to-die-for. My daughter couldn't get enough of it and neither could we.

At the buffet, I started off with a salad and some potato salad.

Then the meat started rolling in.......

I was too busy eating and enjoying my food and my company that I couldn't keep up in photographing all the meats they served - skirt steak, ribeye steak, sausages, lamb. The only thing they didn't have was chicken.

The also served us a grilled pineapple wit a hint of cinnamon. All that was missing was ice cream.

And to wash it all down, hubby and I shared a Caipirinha, which is the Brazillian equivalent to a Mojito.

Hubby and I "shared" this drink, meaning I took a few sips and he took the rest. I have very low tolerance for alcohol, but still enjoy the flavors of certain drinks like this one.

It was a great night to mark my 34th birthday. Hubby did a great job surprising me ♥

The next day, my parents and siblings surprised us by taking us to dinner at yet ANOTHER buffet - Cafe Sierra at the Universal Hilton. This is a favorite of my family's. They serve an awesome array of foods from around the world - Chinese, Japanese, Korean, American, Mexican and Italian.

But better yet, they have a great dessert bar.

Even complete with a chocolate fountain

and cotton candy which my daughter LOVED.


All in all, this was a great birthday. I even got some nice gifts to go with it :) But it was great to spend this special event with the ones that I love ♥ Now its time to plan for hubby's birthday in a little over a week.