The Best Thing I Ever Ate

Have you ever watched that show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate..."? Well, this, is the best thing I have ever eaten. There doesn't need to be a category or descriptor. This is the best thing I have ever eaten.

This dish is from Brian and my favorite restaurant in Long Beach called L'Opera.They have lots of things that are delicious there, but this takes the cake. It is called Capellacci de Zucca which is a homemade pasta wrapped into little bundles with Butternut Squash and Ricotta, a Brown-Butter Sage Sauce, Shaved Parmesan Cheese, Fresh Sage and the most heavenly Spicy Tomato Sauce.

Melts in your mouth. It is the best. End of Story.

Heaven in small bundles

Groundbreaking

I am a tea lover and this is the coolest gadget for tea I have ever seen! I recently saw this baby in action at Brian's Aunt Barbara's house and it is amazing. Let me give you the tour...

First of all, it has a basket for loose leaf tea which is the only way to go. Secondly, it heats the water for the tea to the perfect temperature and for those of you who are like me and don't have an instant hot water tap in your sink this is a huge convenience. Third, when the water reaches the exact right temperature the basket lowers like a submarine into the water and sits there for the proper amount of time for brewing. The machine asks you when you start it up what kind of tea you are making so that it knows how long to brew.

No one likes over or under steeped tea.

It is wonderful. I need to have it. Sur La Table is out of it in all three South County locations so obviously others think this thing is fab also. It is my birthday present, to me...from me. Along with some other things =) That is, if I can ever locate one of these babies.

One-Touch Tea Maker

Aunt Barbara giving me the tour. Who would have thought there was someone as crazy as me about tea? This this is "revolutionary" as the website states.

How cute are these cups to have the tea in? Do you see the heart? Adorable. I dislike heart-related things, but these are just too cute! Leave it to Aunt Barbara...

Cooking for One

This week Brian has been on a business trip in Texas and I took the opportunity to indulge myself in things I enjoy SO much: Homemade Tomato Soup and my DVR!!

To me there is nothing better than a comforting, warm bowl of tomato soup. Nothing I have ever tasted comes close to the Tomato Basil Bisque at Nordstroms. I have been trying out recipes for years that claim to come close, but none of them ever succeed. Today you are in luck, I have found a recipe that is very close. It is delicious and EASY. We can all thank Theresa for this Double-Tomato Soup that satisfies what I like to call "The Nordstom Cafe" craving.

Another thing I am constantly missing, but can never do anything about is the Buttermilk dressing from Malibu Chicken. Malibu Chicken was the best place ever. Best salads, best chicken, best salad dressing, best everything. They closed while I was in college and it was very upsetting to everyone who had ever eaten there. Such a sad day. Their buttermilk dressing died with the restaurant and I have been craving it ever since.

Today was the day I attempted to recreate it...

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix

1 cup Low Fat Buttermilk

4 tablespoons Non Fat Plain Greek Yogurt

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon Oregano

1 tablespoon Dill

Mix well and serve over cold salad.

Finished meal! Everything was great. You have to try out these new recipes!

Restaurant Review: Sibilla

Shopping is a big part of any vacation for me; naturally we went to Miami's famous walking street Lincoln Road. It was just like a Floridian 3rd Street Promenade. There were tons of out-door restaurants, boutiques and strange people. We set out at 10am for a day filled with walking, sight seeing, shopping and eating. The sun was out and it was a perfect day for what we had planned. As we were walking along the promenade we spotted Sibilla and decided to make it back around the same way around lunch time to try it.

Greek Salad

Tagliatelle Bolognese

Margarita Pizza (my favorite!!) The crust was thin and perfect!

This place was really good and I was happy the pizza was up to my standards. I never want to waste the calories if it isn't great. I ate the whole thing, so that speaks volumes!

Restaurant Review: Sushi Samba

This weekend we travelled to Florida to attend Brian's cousin's wedding in Plantation. We decided to make it into a mini-vacation and go to Miami Beach for a day or two before-hand. It was my very first time in Florida, and after hearing so much about it, I was excited to see everything with my own eyes! The timing also couldn't have been better because just as we were leaving Orange County the temperature dropped 15 degrees and the news was projecting rain all weekend. Whereas in Florida it was 80 degrees and sunny the whole time we were there! It was perfect!!

On Thursday night we took the concierge's recommendation from the Mondrian and set off for SUSHI SAMBA. When we walked in we instantly fell in love with the upbeat atmosphere of the restaurant and the menu's interesting blend of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine.

Brian ordered so much food, way more than we could eat, but it was a ton of fun because we got a taste of everything pretty much.

Blackberry Mojito=AMAZING

Yellowtail Crispy Taquitos

Sea bass and Miso Anticuchos served with Caribbean Corn

Yellowtail Seviches with Ginger, Garlic and Soy

Samba Dromo Roll (lobster), Bobo Brazil (Kobe Beef, Chimicurri), Ezo (24 hour marinaded Salmon), Vegetable (Sweet Potato)

Warm Chocolate Banana Cake

I would go back to this place any time. I left feeling sad we don't have one near us. The good news is you can visit this place at any one of their 7 locations in Miami, New York, Las Vegas and Chicago! You better believe we will be going back to this place when we are in New York in May for Andrew and Karen's wedding!

Valentine's Day

Brian has always told me that he was the cook in his previous relationships. If you have gathered anything about my husband you should take note that when left alone he survives on "In and Out", frozen Trader Joe's pasta, and everything he can possibly eat from the pantry. As you can imagine, I really was surprised he can cook! Who knew?

Last year for Valentine's Day I was working and thought it would be the perfect opportunity for him to cook for me. He always talked about "his FAMOUS salmon", so I couldn't wait to taste it! Let's just say, it didn't turn out how he remembered...

Archived picture from Valentine's Day 2010

This year I wanted to do something really special instead of just going to a restaurant which we do all the time. On our honeymoon this summer we got all these really special things during our travels. Some of the things are so special that I am afraid to use them! I thought what would be a more perfect time to use them other than our first married Valentine's Day!

I planned my whole menu around the special ingredients that we brought back.

The menu ended up being simple and beautifully highlighted my precious 20-year-aged Balsamic Vinegar and Black Truffles.

Caprese Salad with Burrata Cheese, Watermelon, Tomatoes, Fresh Basil and Balsamic Vinegar

Linguine with Garlic, Black Truffles and Parmesan

Balsamic Steak with Goat Cheese and Asparagus

Brian was in charge of dessert. He picked up 4 slices of his favorite pie from Marie Calendars. So funny and cute. I didn't post all 4 flavors, just my favorite: Banana Creme Pie.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone out there, hope you had a wonderful day!

Restaurant Review: Gulfstream

My sis' friend Sarah is in town this week and I am just sooooo lucky they wanted to hang out with me the other night. Brian is out of town and although I love having the channel changer to myself, I do miss him stealing my pillows and my part of the down comforter at night and leaving the TV on all night till I wake up at 4 am to turn it off....

Point being, I was happy to go to dinner with them for a little girls night! We went to Gulfstream because I am so sick of hearing people rave about it while I can see the front door from my desk at work. I love their Tri-Dip appetizer and their menu full of food with simple flavors. I had the Roasted Chicken (I did not upload the picture because it doesn't look pretty) with some steamed broccoli. It was the perfect meal for a weeknight! I actually had a glass of wine (I know, I know...it is unbelievable) and had a great time with the girlies!

Hummus, Guacamole, and Trout Dip

Warming my Soul

All week I have been feeling like comfort food or no food at all. The idea of eating something cold seems unappealing which is so weird because it has been so beautiful outside. Don't know, but I thought Italian Beef Stew would be the perfect cure. Of course, with Stew you need hearty noodles of some kind and some bread to dip into the juices...Sounds good huh?

Half-way through making the dough for my Challa

Just in case you need a visual of the dough ball

Look how Beeeautiful my Cheese and Chive Challa is!

All Done! This is the perfect thing to make on a day when you have enough time to prepare the stew and let it simmer. It was great served over bow-tie pasta and of course with the bread. The big pieces of carrots were my favorite part, they made a perfect compliment to the juicy meat pieces. Brian went back for seconds...and thirds!

Superbowl Sunday

Superbowl Sunday to me is like the equivalent of Arbor Day. Actually, Arbor Day may be more interesting because it actually promotes planting trees for a good cause. In fact, when looking for the perfect mate back when I was dating, one of the attributes on my "must have" list was: Someone who is not obsessed with any big sporting event.

Nothing is more unattractive to me than someone who doesn't want to go anywhere because they "have to watch the game". Fortunately, my husband is only a pretender. I worked Sunday, and when I got home the Superbowl was on in the living room, but he was in his office studying.

Clearly an avid sports fan.

Even though I don't care much for professional football, I do care about Sloppy Joes! When I think of Sloppy Joes it brings me right back to 1st grade at Chadwick. It was the one day a month my mom didn't make me lunch and I got to eat from the Cafeteria. Her lunches were always great and involved hand drawn flowers on the bag with cute notes inside, but I still looked forward to Sloppy Joes every once and awhile!

It seemed like the perfect thing to make Sunday night!

Super Sloppy Joes Simmering. Love this recipe because it had tons of great flavor and no ketchup involved at all! Sorry Jack...

I served my Sloppy Joes with some Roasted Corn and Blue Cheese Cole Slaw. I came up with this recipe after having something very similar and amazing at the Crow Bar in Corona del Mar.

My adapted (less caloric and fattening) recipe is the following:

-1 Bag Shredded Cabbage (or 1/2 head of Cabbage Shredded)

-1/2 cup Shredded Carrots

-3 Tablespoons Plain Reduced Fat Greek Yogurt

-2 Table Spoons Crumbled Blue Cheese

-2 Tablespoons Reduced Fat Blue Cheese Dressing

-1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

-Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and Chill Before Serving. Done! Easy! Tasty! Enjoy!

Going Bananas!

I love bananas. I can't understand why a lot of people don't like them. They are full of nutrients and are a great way to have a snack that actually fills you up. I do my best to make food with ingredients that are in season, even though in California we are lucky that we can pretty much get anything all year round.

This recipe for Monkey Bread looked good, is fairly healthy and I bet you have most of the ingredients in your cabinet! I had everything, including the squishy banana!!

As you can probably see, those little dark brown things are not wrinkly like the raisins should be...they are chocolate chips. I have to give Brian some incentive to eat it!

Bananas aren't his favorite...

How good does that look? It tasted great too. The whole pan lasted 24 hours.

Looking Pretty

For months my sister and I have been trying to think of the perfect thing to do for my mom for her birthday. It is not so easy trying to plan something special for someone who is so wonderful, always doing things for everyone else and who has everything! After racking our brains, we finally felt like she came up with the perfect plan!

After Brian and I's wedding my mom had been complaining about her normal makeup routine and felt like it needed a sprucing up. I always like to learn new tricks, find new makeup colors and change things up also. I think most woman just always want to feel good about themselves and most of all pretty...a Makeup Party seemed like the perfect answer!

What goes better with makeup than great appetizers?

Pea Pesto Crostini

I would make these again and the left over pesto would be great on pasta!

Goat Cheese Stuffed Dates

OUTSTANDING.

Endive Stuffed With Walnuts and Cheese

Very refreshing and the citrus really cut through the cheese and nuts nicely.

Carina from Flawless Faces demonstrating her techniques!

Afterwards my dad took us all out for dinner to Seasons 52...another favorite restaurant. This is a great pic of my mom and Linda! Looking beautiful!

Restaurant Review: Haute Cakes Caffe

Haute Cakes has become Brian and my Sunday morning ritual. It is tucked away in a strip mall on 17th street, but it is not exactly a secret. There is a big reason for the long line to order, fight for tables and people sitting outside in the pouring rain. The food, especially the breakfast, is fabulous. You do not find great breakfast and comfort food often in Southern California, but what I like most about Haute Cakes is that they put a "California Twist" on traditional breakfast foods.

Even though there is a long line most of the time and not too many inside seats, I can assure you the line goes fast and you can usually snag an inside table. I am not a fan of sitting outside unless is a perfect sunny day with no breeze, but we always manage to get a table inside. How? Why? Because Brian and I start off waiting in line together and decide what we want, meanwhile I closely keep one of my eyes on the tables inside, as someone gets up to leave I dart over and take the table regardless of whether it has been cleaned off or not.

I then text my choices to Brian to order.

This is a very carefully mastered task...

attempt at your own risk of getting accosted by a Newport Mom or Man Cougar.

Hot Chocolate

Vanilla Carmel Latte

Amazing Custard Slice

Amy's Breakfast Special: Egg White Omelet with Kalamata Olives, Pine Nuts, Feta Cheese and Peppers. Served with Fruit and Whole Wheat Toast. Mmmm. It is huge and I can never come close to finishing it, but it is so interesting and tasty!