I wanted to give my friend, Danielle, a personalized gift for her birthday; so, I told her I’d make a homemade dinner of her choice–wine included, of course. :) She chose these mini chicken pot pies and boy were they delicious, with a few tweaks to the original recipe. Though the individual ramekins held more than enough food, we both liked the idea of personal pot pies. One thing is for sure–this meal is hearty.
Since Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow, what better way to celebrate than to indulge in mass amounts of Mexican fare? I’ve had a bag full of Serrano peppers sitting in my fridge (don’t ask me why) and needed to put them to use. These particular peppers were pretty spicy, so unfortunately, I was only able to get rid of one. Eat the salsa plain with tortilla chips, or throw it in a taco or burrito.
For those with a low spice tolerance, just have a few extra margaritas close by. If you’re looking for more tequila drink ideas, check out Donna’s roundup at The Slow Roasted Italian. While we’re on the subject of tequila, you may as well make these margarita cupcakes. ;)
This past Saturday, food bloggers across the country hosted and participated in Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale to end childhood hunger. Thanks to Chung-Ah at Damn Delicious and Geni at Sweet and Crumby for hosting the Los Angeles bake sale. The 30 plus bloggers who participated raised $700 for the organization. :)
It was so nice to finally meet Geni, whose blog I’ve been following for over a year, and meet some new bloggers–Samantha at The Little Ferraro Kitchen and Gerry at Foodness Gracious. After the bake sale, the four of us got to know each other over a delicious lunch at BLD, where the event took place. I can’t wait for next year!
I’m almost embarrassed to share this recipe today because it’s so simple; however, the minimal ingredient list doesn’t seem to affect its popularity. Whenever I bring this artichoke dip to a dinner party or gathering, it’s gobbled up in minutes. But honestly, how can you go wrong when the ingredients are Parmesan, mayonnaise and artichokes? OK, I know you would disagree on the mayonnaise part, Greg, but I’m sure we could find a substitute. :)
It’s back to reality for me, after an amazing, yet exhausting weekend in the desert at Coachella. I got to see some of my favorite bands/artists perform for the first time–Radiohead, Bon Iver, Miike Snow, The Shins, etc. I’m already looking forward to next year.
Though I’m still catching up on sleep and work, the weekend was completely worth it. One thing is for sure–it’s time to get back to healthier eating, so this quinoa salad should do the trick.
Here’s some photos from the weekend:
La Quinta Villas
Swedish House Mafia
Coachella sunset
I know I’m late to the game since I didn’t post this deviled egg recipe on Easter, but nonetheless, here it is now. :) My family doesn’t do Easter baskets, egg hunts, etc. anymore, so my mom and I figured we’d be somewhat festive by whipping up some deviled eggs.
We’d never added avocado to the filling before, so we wanted to give it a try. Though the avocado flavor was subtle, it was recognizable–and delicious! Of course, traditional deviled eggs never fail, so we used my grandma’s recipe for the rest of the eggs.
If you’re looking for more deviled egg inspiration, head over to Egg Me On.
Hope everyone has a great weekend. I’ll be spending the weekend in the desert at Coachella. Crossing my fingers it doesn’t end up raining!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! I spent the weekend at home with my family–my oldest brother, Andy, was even able to fly in from Atlanta. We had a delicious brunch on Sunday at the country club, then went home to soak up some sun by the pool. You could say I resemble a lobster right now.
Since my brother, Matt, had to work on Easter, we had a family dinner on Saturday night. We ate this pork tenderloin with grilled pineapple salsa, and Andy made these unbelievable Brussels sprouts cooked in bacon grease and topped with bacon crumbles and golden raisins. Now that’s one way to get me to eat Brussels sprouts! I wasn’t able to snap a photo since we gobbled them up so quickly, but I’m sure I’ll make them soon. :)
Petting zoo at the country club. Couldn’t resist.
Thank you everyone for your kind words last week. I can’t express how much that meant. Though I’m sure it’ll be tough for a while, my family is doing much better.
It’s finally starting to warm up in LA again, so I decided to make my mom’s Chinese chicken pasta salad. Growing up, I remember my family and I eating this cold pasta by our pool on warm summer days. But since I’m limited to eating the pasta at my work desk now, I’ll just have to pretend that I’m on a comfortable pool chair, clad in my bikini, soaking up the sun. A girl can dream, right?
I apologize for the lack of posts this week. My family lost our 12-year-old golden, Chloe, last weekend. So, needless to say, it’s been a bit rough. This is the first time in 20 years that my family won’t have a pet in the house. We’ll miss Chloe so much, but I know she’s in a better place in doggy heaven. RIP <3
“Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.”
We’re celebrating my friend Ashley’s birthday tonight, so naturally, I wanted to bake cupcakes. When I saw this recipe for Blue Moon cupcakes on Spoon Fork Bacon, I knew exactly what I was going to bake. Seriously…how could anyone pass these up? I knew I couldn’t, considering Blue Moon is my favorite beer and cupcakes are my favorite dessert. Let’s just hope Ashley feels the same way. ;)
I also wanted to give this recipe a test run, as I’m planning on baking these cupcakes for the LA Food Blogger Bake Sale. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, I’d love you to join me, Geni at Sweet and Crumby, and your fellow LA food bloggers on Saturday, April 28th from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at BLD Restaurant (7450 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036) for the third annual LA Food Blogger Bake Sale to end childhood hunger.
If you want to help bake, please send an e-mail to chungahrhee@gmail.com. Hope to see you there!
