We had a pre-4th of July party last night, filled with mass amounts of scrumptious food, which I’ll feature soon for some guest posts. I was in charge of dessert, so I made my go-to lemon bars (recipe here, but used lemon instead of lime), and this mascarpone cream tart topped with fresh strawberries and blueberries.

The tart was fresh and light, but I would definitely add another flavor next time, as it was somewhat bland. I’d possibly add vanilla or almond to the mascarpone, top the tart with macerated berries or add a strawberry glaze. The lemon bars were a hit though, as usual. :)

Hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July!

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My roommate and I had an urge to make pizza the other night (note why most of my photos are night shots–sorry). We were inspired by our new favorite pizza from Bottega Louie in Downtown LA–the Burrata pizza topped with burrata, Grana parmesan, rapini and Prosciutto di parma.

Though our pizza wasn’t to the standard of Bottega Louie, it was pretty dang close. The salty and somewhat crisp prosciutto was delicious with the creamy ricotta.

I included a few photos below of my roommate and I rolling out the dough, as I thought they were somewhat comical. We’re still pretty newly moved into our apartment, so we’re missing a few kitchen items (a rolling-pin in particular).

My method of simply using my hands wasn’t working well, so my roommate grabbed a bottle of champagne to roll out the dough. Initially, I doubted her idea, but surprisingly, the bottle did wonders! No, our pizza wasn’t perfectly circular, but it still tasted wonderful. :)

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Corn on the cob was my archenemy in middle school. As many people know, eating corn with braces doesn’t bode well. Therefore, my mom being the lovely mother she was (and is), always sliced it off of the cob for me. But alas, I eventually got my braces off and the eating process became much easier.

Though I love classic-style corn on the cob with salt and butter, this honey-ancho chile butter really spices things up. It’s sweet with a pleasant kick from the chile powder. This corn is a great side dish for any summer meal.

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I often prefer food and dessert in mini form. Not only is it easier to eat, but it also doesn’t make me feel as guilty about eating an entire hamburger or cupcake. :)

While home for Father’s Day, my mom and I racked our brains for new recipe ideas. We worked with ingredients already in the fridge/pantry, minus a few we had to buy at the store, and came up with these delectable grilled chicken sliders.

The bite of the aioli worked brilliantly with the saltiness of the bacon and slightly charred tomatoes . The sandwich was also great for its complexity of textures.

I’d say these sandwiches were a home run. :)

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Considering my dad’s favorite flavors are peanut butter and banana, I couldn’t think of a better dessert to serve him on Father’s Day. The recipe suggested adding peanut brittle, which I knew would excite him even more–See’s Candies peanut brittle is his favorite. So, my mom and I made a quick trip to the mall to pick some up.

Although still stuffed after dinner, none of us had a problem making room for a slice of this pie. The crunch of the peanut brittle and slightly chewy vanilla wafer crust complimented the silky vanilla pudding and creamy peanut butter layer.

Though I’ve eaten many a cream pie, I’ve never tasted one as decadent and rich as this peanut butter banana cream pie. One slice is about all I could muster, since the pie is so sweet. I know I’ll be making this recipe again very soon, especially if I’m looking to impress. :)

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Although I didn’t make these cupcakes for my birthday (which is today :)), I thought they’d be the perfect post for the occasion.

I brought these fluffy and moist almond-vanilla cupcakes into work the other day. We had a bunch of interviews scheduled at our office for one of our clients, so I wanted to have a sweet treat for the media (it was also our intern’s birthday). The cupcakes were an absolute hit.

One of the photographers told me that he had a brief relationship with the cupcake. Clearly he approved. :)

I still have a few in my fridge, so I’m sure I’ll indulge in one today to celebrate!

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This marks my 100th post on Sweet Caroline’s Cooking. Can’t believe it!

Ever since my family and I dined at The Hali’imaile General Store in 2000, located in Maui, we’ve been making recipes from its Hawaiian-style cookbook.

This is by far our favorite and most visited recipe in the book. The moist and flaky halibut coated with the chile mayonnaise and sweet, mango-lime butter sauce is absolutely divine. Conveniently, for the non-fish eaters in our family, the ingredients also work wonderfully with chicken.

I guarantee your guests will be impressed and eternally grateful if you serve them this dish at a dinner party.

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Although this ham and bean soup recipe has been in my family for years, I’ve never made it before – I’ve always left that part up to my mom or grandma. While visiting home, my mom pulled a gorgeous honey baked ham out of the fridge. Almost immediately, I decided that I wanted to make use of the ham bone, and what better way to do that than make this extremely simple, yet hearty, healthy and delicious soup. I would even call it a stoop.

I’m always tricked into thinking this soup is unhealthy, because of its thickness and heartiness; however, there’s not one ingredient in this recipe that’s unhealthy – beans, ham carrots, onions.

Even though this isn’t the ideal summer dish, it’s made for the perfect meal this week with the start of California’s June gloom.

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I’m always looking for new ground turkey recipes. The meat is much lighter than beef, but doesn’t lack in flavor. I made turkey burgers (here and here) and turkey chili (here), and wanted to cook something else with the meat.

I decided on ground turkey tacos picadillo; light with a kick of spice from the chili powder and cumin. The salty and crunchy homemade corn tortilla shells worked wonderfully with the succulent meat. Taking the extra time to fry the tortillas was well worth it. I’ll definitely be making these again for a quick, delicious meal.

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While visiting home over Memorial Day weekend, my mom and I made our family recipe for barbecue baked beans. For some reason, this particular batch was exceptionally delicious. Greg, from Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guides, inspired me to make the dish after reading his post.

Although our recipe isn’t entirely homemade (we use canned beans), it doesn’t take away from the abundance of flavor. The beans are sweet, with the perfect amount of salt from the crisp bacon strips.

We paired the beans with sweet corn, succulent turkey burgers (here) and a crisp green salad. My dad and I weren’t afraid to grab a second helping of the beans.

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