pasta w. a crunch. [egg fettuccine w. brown butter, fried sage & toasted hazelnuts]

May 27th, 2011 by | comments

I came across this recipe on Epicurious and was instantly sold. How can you say no to fried sage? I tweaked the recipe a bit, adding toasted hazelnuts cooked in brown butter. I remembered how well the hazelnuts and sage worked together in the homemade butternut squash ravioli I made (here), and thought they’d offer a nice contrast in textures.

The pasta turned out flavorful and delicious, with just the right amount of bite from the sage leaves. Adding toasted hazelnuts topped off the dish, as they provided an extra dimension of flavor. I gobbled up the leftovers pretty fast.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! I’ll be spending the long weekend at home with family, then in Palm Springs with some good friends. My boss decided to give us a half day at work today, so I’ll get an early start on the weekend–kicking it off tonight at Glee Live with my mom for her birthday. I’m sure I’ll gush all about the show at a later date. :)

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grown-up pizza party. [homemade pizzas w. prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, pineapple & mushrooms]

May 24th, 2011 by | comments

Although there’s not much of a recipe here, I thought this pizza party was well worth a post. Our friend, Jen, is visiting from New York, so instead of spending gobs of money at a fancy LA restaurant, we decided to have a relaxed dinner party, filled with pizza making, red wine and board games.

My friends graciously hosted the dinner at their apartment and had quite the setup–transforming their kitchen table into a flour-covered, pizza-making station.

All of our pies were unique, to say the least. Some were perfectly circular, while others resembled more of an amoeba shape. Everyone stacked their pizza with a heaping amount of toppings, from fresh prosciutto to artichoke hearts to sliced mushrooms.

The dinner party was an absolute blast, and a great way to spend time with Jen.

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spice up your life. [adobo-rubbed pork tenderloin w. glazed carrots & rosemary-chili fingerling potatoes]

May 19th, 2011 by | comments

I had a random inspiration to cook pork tenderloin when shopping at the market the other day. I’ve eaten a lot of chicken lately, so I thought this would be a nice change.

I wanted to work with ingredients already in the pantry, so I created a simple rub for the meat. I found a few recipes online and altered the seasonings to my liking. Although I have an embarrassingly low spice tolerance, I made sure to add a generous amount of chili powder to the rub, so the meat wouldn’t be lacking in flavor.

The slightly charred exterior of the meat from pan-searing juxtaposed the succulent and tender interior. I made some glazed carrots and fingerling potatoes, which I sprinkled with rosemary and chili powder, to compliment the meat.

Leftovers were aplenty–I’ve brought the meal to work for lunch the past two days. Yum!

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blooming w. flavor. [country ham & bread crumb stuffed artichokes]

May 16th, 2011 by | comments

Thank you so much to Natalie at Cook Eat Live Vegetarian for passing a Versatile Blogger award onto me. Please go check out her blog–both her story and cooking are truly inspirational.

Award rules: Thank the person who awarded you by linking back to their post, list 7 things about yourself and pass the award on to 15 other new or newly discovered blogs.

Newly discovered blogs:
  • Sweet Pea’s Kitchen: I thought I was the baking queen, but that all changed when I discovered Christina’s blog. Considering my huge sweet tooth, I frequent her blog often just to drool over her delicious desserts.
  • In Good Taste: I can definitely relate to Maris’ blog focus of young professionals taking the time to cook simple, homemade meals. Although, I can’t say I’ve created recipes for established companies such as Panera Bread and Starbucks, like she has!
  • Grilled Cheese Social: If you enjoy grilled cheese sandwiches in the slightest bit, you will absolutely love MacKenzie’s blog. She’s always creating inventive sandwiches, oozing with heaping amounts of cheese, of course.
  • Bittersweet: Hannah is an inspiration for all vegan chefs or bakers. Her presentation and photography is exquisite and her food always looks scrumptious.
  • YumYumYummers: Mich makes such colorful and unique food. She uses a variety of ingredients and spices, making every dish different and delicious.
  • Sinfully Spicy: Tanvi is not afraid to experiment with lots of spice in her ethnic cooking. Her food always looks absolutely delicious.
  • The Hungry Birdie: Robin is absolutely adorable and a great cook. Her photography is spectacular.
  • Savoring Every Bite: There’s no doubt that Linda’s creative and colorful dishes will make your mouth water.
  • Two Tarts: A blog with fantastic presentation, photos and recipes. Dulcie and Sarah make everything from scratch–most memorably homemade mascarpone, which they paired with fresh strawberries.
  • TasteFood: I love Lynda’s colorful, inventive and unique recipes. My stomach is always growling after looking at her gorgeous photos.
  • Chef in Disguise: Sawsan posts great recipes with delicious flavor combinations. Her apple and cinnamon streusel pizza is by far one of my favorites. Really, how can you go wrong with dessert and pizza in one?
  • Love and Olive Oil: I love this blog’s motto: cook to live, eat to love. Lindsay and Taylor are both so creative with their recipes and photography.
  • Anne’s Food: Anne’s recipes are always fresh and delicious. She often posts photos of her children, who I have to add, are absolutely adorable.
7 facts:
  • I was born in Columbus, OH and am a huge Ohio State Buckeye fan. For any football or basketball game, I can guarantee you’ll see me clad in my OSU jersey, temporary face tattoos, buckeye necklace, etc.
  • A few foods I really dislike: dark chocolate, fennel, cucumber and olives.
  • I’m a neat freak and a perfectionist, especially when it comes to food photography.
  • I’m a major Gleek, and I’m not embarrassed to say it. It’s one of my favorite shows and I’m actually going to see Glee Live in a couple of weeks with my mom–I can’t wait. A few of my other favorite shows include Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, SYTYCD, 30 Rock and The Office.
  • Growing up with an English teacher as a mother, I became accustomed to her constantly correcting my grammar. I ended up following in her footsteps and graduated with a BA in English. I often find myself mimicking my mom and correcting my friends’ spelling and grammar (woops).
  • I have a very eclectic taste in music–I love almost all genres, from indie to pop to country to rap. Current bands on repeat on my iPod: Angus & Julia Stone, The Civil Wars, The Naked and Famous, Fleet Foxes and Cold War Kids.
  • I have a Golden Retriever at home named Chloe, and I am slightly obsessed with her. She’s 11 years old, is a carb whore (she loves bread) and I’m pretty positive she has separation anxiety. But, she’s adorable, right?

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summer in sight. [chicken piccata]

May 12th, 2011 by | comments

As I’ve mentioned before, I love hosting dinner parties on week nights. They break up long work weeks, and offer a chance to hang out with friends sans the bar scene. Selfishly, dinner parties also give me an opportunity to post something on my blog. :)

I thought it fitting to make Ina Garten’s simple recipe for chicken piccata, since summer is approaching and I already had most of the essential ingredients–lemon, capers and chicken. My roommate made a delicious artichoke and goat cheese strata to compliment the chicken, which unfortunately, I forgot to photograph.

Our dinner party was complete when my roommate discovered the country music channel on TV. If you would have asked me one year ago, I would not have approved of her finding–I despised country music. But, all thanks to my friend Dana, I listen to the music genre on a regular now.

Overall, the night was a success, filled with heaping amounts of delectable food, generously poured glasses of red wine and a little Blake Shelton to set the mood. :)

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just for mom. [strawberry & blueberry-topped lime mousse tart]

May 9th, 2011 by | comments

Happy belated Mother’s Day to the much appreciated mothers out there. My family and I celebrated my mom yesterday with a delicious brunch at Opah, followed by a relaxing day at home. Our original plan was to have my brother and I cook a gourmet dinner, but unfortunately, my other brother had to work. However, I was still able to bake a little something for my mom.

Since she loves citrus desserts, and didn’t want to eat anything too heavy, I decided on this strawberry and blueberry-topped lime mousse tart. I found the recipe on Epicurious, and made a few minor alterations.

The slightly salty shell from the crushed, toasted almonds worked perfectly with the refreshing tart filling from the lime juice and zest. The variation of textures was also pleasant–a buttery and crumbly crust, silky mousse layer and succulent and tender strawberries and blueberries.

My mom approved. :)

Other tart recipes you might enjoy here, here and here.

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one tequila, two tequila, three tequila… [margarita cupcakes w. tequila-lime meringue buttercream frosting]

May 5th, 2011 by | comments

Happy Cinco de Mayo! In honor of the holiday, I baked margarita cupcakes topped with a tequila-lime meringue buttercream frosting. Initially, I wanted to feature tequila in a gourmet margarita drink, but decided to get a bit more creative with the liquor.

These cupcakes turned out moist and delicious with loads of flavor. The lime juice and zest in the cake worked brilliantly with the tequila and lime infused frosting. I think these will be a hit with my friends tonight!

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ole! ole! [succulent carne asada w. Mexican rice & grilled red pepper & onion]

May 3rd, 2011 by | comments

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I visited my family this past weekend and conveniently when I got home and hadn’t eaten lunch, my mom had plentiful amounts of delicious leftovers to serve. She bought carne asada from Albertson’s and I was extremely surprised by the abundance of flavor and tenderness of the meat. The carne asada was delectable alongside homemade Mexican rice.

When I got back to LA, I decided to buy some of this pre-marinated, thinly cut carne asada as well (from Ralph’s). Not only was the meat a great deal, but it was juicy and full of flavor, with a distinct taste of cumin. I paired the meat with the same Mexican rice my mom made and some grilled red pepper and red onion. Since all three components of the meal were so flavorful on their own, added calories such as cheese and sour cream were not necessary.

Happy early Cinco de Mayo!

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pasta minus the carbs. [spaghetti squash w. red wine marinara sauce & sautéed chicken breast]

April 28th, 2011 by | comments

After making spaghetti squash a few weeks ago (here), I wanted to cook with the vegetable again and make it the star of the meal, instead of just a side dish. I used ingredients I already had in the pantry and fridge to make a homemade marinara sauce. Conveniently, I had a bottle of my favorite pinot noir on hand to add to the marinara.

I actually prefer substituting spaghetti squash for noodles such as penne, linguine or farfalle. The vegetable changes the standard heavy and carbohydrate-filled pasta dish into a much lighter, and of course, healthier, meal. The variety of textures in the dish is also pleasant, from the slight crunch of the squash, to the softened tomato chunks to the small bits of onion and garlic.

I’m now on a mission to find other unique ways to use spaghetti squash. If anyone has recipe suggestions, I’d be happy to hear. :)

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