Happy Birthday Jeannie!

She's gonna hate me for writing that.

Oh well. MB>MC.

Last Friday was my roomie-of-8-year's (gasp!!!) birthday. 26th, to be exact. Jeannie's not too big on bdays...blame it on the old age, so this year, she opted to have Vietnamese 7 Style Beef for dinner.

Pause.

Huh? You've never had 7 style beef? Well, it's pretty much what it sounds like...beef prepared in 7 different ways. But how are they prepared is the better question...

Well first the waiters bring you a plate of leafy herbs and lettuce.



I have no idea what any of this stuff is...but I do know that the vine-y leaf thing is perhaps the most abhorrent leafy green I have ever tasted. And I luv leafy greens! But this one was not my friend. It made the left side of my tongue numb, and my mouth was extremely dry.

And this is what I had to wash it down.



33 Beer. Tasted like Bud Light. Maybe it was. Hmm...

On to the beef!

Style 1: shabu-shabu



It looks like pho...but not. I found that the beef was easily overcooked in this method.

Styles 2-5: Grilled assortment



Steamed meatballs, grilled beef rolls with onions, grilled beef rolls wrapped in grape leaves and grilled meatballs. The underlying flavor in this series was cinnamon and anise. Interesting. The little grilled meatballs were my fav.

Style 6: Beef broth soup




The lightness of the soup was a nice change of pace from the previous meatball extravaganza. Interesting enough this soup had star shaped pasta. Random.

Style 7: Grilled beef with lemon juice and red onions



I liked this one because it was lighter and the lemon juice tenderized the beef and was pretty refreshing.

So how do you eat all these 7 styles? Well, along with the herbs and such, the waiters bring you mounds of dry springroll wrappers and a dish of warm water. It's like build your own springrolls.

But what would a birthday be without cake? Or...a cake eating contest?



One bite...



Two bites...

I don't think I've seen 2 pieces of cake disappear so quickly...or messily.

BFF Setup!

Whaaaa?

Was my reaction. Verbatim.

So here's the deal...or the "gist" of things, as my old BHS World History (Sandy) would say. And I use the course title "World History" very loosely. Unless you, unlike me, consider crossword puzzles and word searches world history. Ever tried doing a word search for homework only to find out that some of the words had spelling errors? Something like...

Student: "Hey miss" (that's what we called our teachers) "I found all the words except 'Africa'. I found 'Afica'...but it's missing the "r".

Sandy (teacher aka miss): "Oh that must be it. I don't think I spelled all the words right".

Yeah. In such cases, I just started highlighting randomly. Hashish? Inside joke.

But I digress.

Tonight, my first negotiations class was excused ridiculously early...8PM as opposed to it's scheduled 9:30PM. Not that I'm complaining. That would be ungrateful. Just as I found a nicely lit bench to unfold the mysteries of entrepreneurial finance, I decide to check my email. And thank goodness I did because I received an email with the subject line "BFF setup".

Entrepreneurial finance got fat cancelled real quick.

Ashlyn of The Heusens (heusen.blogspot.com) and mother to perhaps the most adorable child ever (cutie little Saya) is the BFF matchmaker at hand. And I have complete faith in her...she did set up Maryn and Brian after all...and poof! happily ever after.

The second half of my BFF setup is Marsha, who although I haven't met personally, I have met vicariously through Ashlyn and Maryn. And we share many similarities that I find interesting and yet strangely coincidental.

We luv baking and all things food. I like her already. We're both from Hawaii! A fellow islander! My heart skipped a beat. Basketball luv. With any luck, Lakers basketball. And with even more luck, hopefully Celtic disgust...ahem...I mean...nope, I really meant disgust. We both have younger sisters. I wonder if she is also thought to be the younger sister. We both luv Mozza! Yay! And finally, and perhaps most interesting...our dads luv Tiger Woods. Mine luvs Tiger more than me and my sister...put together. I have deduced this based on the number of Tiger Woods pictures in our home to the number of family pictures. We're severely outnumbered. Hopefully Marsha's dad isn't that crazy...ahem...I mean obsessive...ahem...I mean devoted. Much better.

As you can see, I'm quite intrigued!

And as a side note/disclaimer to Marsha: Hi Marsha- If you're reading this...I apologize in advance for this random blog entry devoted to you. But honestly, how often do you get an email like that? Definitely blogworthy. Hope you understand! Thanks for being a good sport! Yay Lakers!!!

Oh, and PS. Have you heard of something called Shoyu Chicken Manapua? My friend in Honolulu raves about it. It sounds wonderful. She also eats malasadas and tells me about it while I'm at work. The humanity.

Pre-Fall 2.0

Because Pre-Fall 1.0 just wasn't enough.

Spending a weekend in school on perhaps one of the sunniest weekends in August was umm...

not as bad as anticipated.

Comparatively speaking, of course.

For starters, it was only one weekend. And Voigt-less. And cold-calling-less. And some of it was even...dare I say...interesting!

Entrepreneurship, mostly. I mean, who doesn't aspire to be their own boss? If I could wake up every day and bake batches and batches of cookies and cakes and toss endless pasta creations and salads, I'd be pretty peachy.

But I need money. Or I need success...to get money? So far, I'm my only customer.

Sigh.

Yet as much as the classes improved, the food was still status quo inedible. For real. I don't mean to be snobby or ungrateful, but the food is terrible.

Day 1 "Italian Day"



Emphasis on the " ". Mario Batali and Giada de Laurentiis would be horrified to know that this was being passed on as "Italian food". The icing on the cake? Cold. Grilled. Vegetables. Cold! And not seasoned. Did I mention they were cold?? Big thumbs down.

Thankfully, Maryn saved me with these little gems.



Pink raspberry marshmallows! From Dean and Delluca! All the way from Napa! Who needs "Italian food"? Not me.

Day 2: "Mexican Day"



Which at first taste was not as bad as "Italian"Day. Until...



I sampled the completely dehydrated tortilla.



And this strangely sweetened tomato soup that they called "gazpacho". I still have no idea what this was, but gazpacho it was not.



So I tried to fix it...but it was a lost cause. It still got two thumbs up. For effort.

But what the USC meals lacked, we made up for at dinner. On Day 2 (aka Saturday), I dragged the posse to where else but Pizzeria Mozza.

Squeal!!!

I luv this place...but you know this already. Just about my fav place to go eat. And not without good reason.



Shrimp salad with cantaloupe, mint and chili. So refreshing! The salad is lightly vinegared and slightly spicy from the red chili flake. The mint was barely detectable, except for a light refreshing taste. Amazing! We also had the fried squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta cheese...but we ate these too fast.



Magherita Pizza. The crust is like nothing I've ever had. So thin, crispy and structurally stable. It's seasoned perfectly! And the baby micro basil!!! Adorable!



Strawberry gelato pie with cinnamon spiced almond brittle! I was full and drunk by the time this came around. But I still happily ate it.

But of course, Pre-Fall 2.0 was not without its party fouls.

Party Foul #1

I managed to somehow re-sprain my slightly sprained ankle. Those darn curbs. I manage to navigate through all the crazies on Jefferson, Vermont and Exposition, but it's some curb in USC on McClintock Way that takes me down. Go figure. Needless to say, I'm hurten today. And I needed some ice to get me through the morning. The helpful kitchen staff at Town and Gown were more than happy to help. And provided me with this...



Pleae note the peach and water bottle for scale purposes. I swear this thing came with the attached note, "If found, please return to the polar ice caps". But it did the job. I guess 20 lbs of ice is effective after all.

Party Foul #2

Spilled soda at Five Guys Burger.



Big thumbs down. Yay for self serve.

Five Guys is pretty big (ok huge) on the East Coast. It's like their version of In-n-Out. Like the Mid-West's White Castle. The cool thing about Five Guys is that you can completely customize your burger. And...it's only $5. Two all-beef patties. Who needs a Big Mac. Or Big Carl for that matter.



I got a cheeseburger with grilled mushrooms, lettuce and tomatoes. And I gotta say, it's not In-n-Out, (none of that indescribable something) but it's quite yummy and a good deal. The beef patties are hand formed and cooked really well and juicy.



I'm on the fence with the fries. A little over-fried for my idea of french fry perfection, but the Cajun option was something new.

But anything beats "Italian" and "Mexican" food.

My Life on Sports

And just as a warning, it's not all pretty.

Well, let's be real. Most of it isn't.

As much as I luv to cook, bake, frost cakes and cupcakes and sprinkle sanding sugar on just about anything I can get my hands on...all that sort of falls by the wayside during the height of sports season.

Exhibit A

My dinner last some time last week during the NFL Preseason.



Umm yeah. So that would be an English muffin (fat free thankyouverymuch)...some left over marinara sauce with some spinach mixed in for vitamins...a sunny-side up egg (nice and runny), some leftover corn...oh yes, and a side of canned baked beans (organic, no less).

Mouthwatering, I know. Those beans were pretty good though. Not gonna lie. Reminds me of the pork and beans (read: vienna sausages and Van De Kamp Baked Beans with a few squirts of mustard, ketchup and a couple shakes or Worcheshire sauce...all microwaved to perfection).

But that's for another entry at another time.

Exhibit B

Lunch on Saturday.



I guess I could call it a deconstructed hummus of sorts? Maybe? More canned beans. Garbanzo this time. I've been reading food blogs preaching the gospel about cooking your own garbanzo beans. And let me tell you, this is a highly over-rated process. Low ROI. I don't know about you, but simmering dried beans for hours on end (depending on how old your beans are...but then again, how are you supposed to know that you bought old beans? Not til it's too late. And therein lies the problem), is not my idea of a fun summer Saturday.

I found that if you buy a can of trustworthy garbanzo beans, preferably no salt added, and plunge them into a pot of boiling salted water (much as you would pasta) for 1-2 mins, you have pure bean bliss. Bean. Bliss. Imagine that. They taste just like home-simmered, I swear. And better yet, if you've never subjected yourself to bean simmering, you will never know the difference.

But enough about beans. I mixed my garbanzos with some tahini, lemon juice, pasted garlic, mint, parsley, a seeded tomato, cumin and paprika. Garbanzo bean sandwich, anyone?

After all this canned business, I had this craving to make something somewhat involved. Something that involved butter.



Enter Hazelnut Brown Butter Cake. Emphasis on the browned butter. The magic maker. This cake is insanely rich, nutty but most of all yummy. If you luv hazelnuts. And if you luv browned butter. Which I do on both counts. And topped with a milk chocolate glaze? Really. To quote the Barefoot Contessa, "how bad can that be?" Not bad at all.

A word about hazelnuts. I just wanna come out and say that I cannot stand blanching hazelnuts. It's futile. Either that, or I'm a failure. I can never get those silly brown skins to come off. Rub them in a clean kitchen towel. Place them in a colander and scrub them with a vegetable brush. Honestly? Here's the deal. These skins are stubborn and very attached to the hazelnut. I say, leave them alone. Definitely try to take them off, but the ones that don't do what's natural...just cruise. More vitamins, as my mom would say.

Which brings us to tonight's dinner. And yes there was football. Soooo...

The garbanzo bean salad of Saturday might have made a comeback as...



Pizza? I know. I fail at creativity when sports are around. But if you had a pizza stone, you would also have the urge to make pizza just about every chance you got. This one's got a wheat crust, tahini spread, the garbanzo salad, feta and arugula.

But thanks to this super fast dinner, I didn't miss the game winning action.



The ball slipped out of the Panther's hands and right into the hands of the Giants who as you can ran for the winner. The game was tied...and I was secretly, well not so secretly hoping for some OT.

But, where I have let myself go in terms of cooking, others have kept it up.



My co-worker and dear friend Lindsay made the most lovely and delicious poundcake (dusted with powdered sugar and a side of raspberries...my fav) for work today. It was amazing and exactly what I needed on this Monday afternoon.

She puts me to shame. I need to step up. Stay tuned.

Happy Creamsicle Day!

It's legit. I swear.

It's on Wikipedia! (Under Holidays and Observances)

And why not? Creamsicles/Fudgesicles were two of my fav ice cream goodies from small kid time.

Your's too? No? Ok...second favorite? Top 5?

So in honor of National Creamsicle Day, I made...what else? Creamsicle Cake. Oh? You haven't heard of it? Well, it's pretty big in Hawaii, as are most desserts with Cool Whip and pudding. Every time I make these Hawaiian desserts for my co-workers, one of them always says, "Wow, I can't remember the last time I had Cool Whip!"

Tragic.

So what exactly is Creamsicle Cake?

Well, there's nothing really homemade about it. A box of Duncan Hines white cake mix, a box of orange jello, a box of vanilla pudding and a tub of Cool Whip. I can't remember the last time I opened so many boxes to make a cake.



I didn't feel right about buying all this pre-made stuff. But, anything for Creamsicle Day.

Basically, you bake the cake according to the box directions (9x13 pan, please). Then you make plennyyy pukas in the cake, and pour the dissolved jello over the cake. Yes, all of it. I know, it seems like too much, but you'll be sad later if you don't use it all. Then you make the pudding with some milk, add the vanilla and orange extracts and fold in the Cool Whip. Frost away and chill.

So a few boxes and 1 tub of Cool Whip later...



And poof! Creamsicle Cake!

Confession time. You may have noticed this is obviously not a 9x13 inch cake. Well...see...I like round cakes. Especially the layered kind. It just seemed more celebratory. I would recommend that you do the same. 8-inch round. Layer. But...this cake is a delicate thing....resisted my layering attempts. The addition of the jello (even though I let it cool for over 30 minutes) made the cake extra moist (read: bad conditions for layering). Did the top layer collapse along the little fault lines made by my fork? Yes. (tear) Luckily, the frosting not only tastes yummy, but it's also great glue.

Feel free to layer if you wish. Just have extra frosting handy.

Creamsicle Cake

Note: This cake is a sweet one. Very sweet. Almost cloying-ly so, but hey, give it a break. It's supposed to taste like a creamsicle.

1 box Duncan Hines White Cake Mix
1 3-ounce box orange jello
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup cold water
1 3-ounce box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. orange extract
1 8-ounce container Cool Whip

1. Prepare the cake according to box directions. (Don't you luv that?)
2. Cool the cake for at least 15 minutes.
3. Dissolve the jello in the hot water. Stir in the cold water.
4. Make pukas (holes) in the cake with a fork. Try to make them in a little rows.
5. Pour dissolved orange jello over the cake. (all of it...don't be scared, it's just jello)
6. Mix the vanilla pudding and milk. Add the extracts. Fold in the Cool Whip.
7. Top the cake with the frosting.
8. Chill for at least 4 hours...but overnight is best.
9. Serve cold.

Another note: This may seem like a lot of frosting, especially, if you, like me, don't care for frosting. But you'll want to use every last bit of it. Because it's good. That good. And plus, whenever I contemplate not using it all, I hear my mom saying, "Just put em all already. It's good. Everybody likes it. No waste." She's very persistent.

After making/eating/talking about this cake, I suddenly feel quite homesick. I miss all the Cool Whip and layered jello desserts at home. Which I won't be able to sample until December! December!!! My sister is going home tomorrow. Tomorrow!!! She was supposed to go home on Monday, but well...it's amazing what $200 can get you nowadays. In just a few short days, she's going to be nicely tanned like a certain salted butter caramel I've been wanting to make.

And I'll be well... just salty.

I know I've posed this question before...but, is it Christmas yet?

Oh well. Until then, Happy Creamsicle Day!

Who Burned the Biscotti?

Oh that was me.

Heehee.

Just slightly though. I like to think of them as extra-dunk-able.

This was my first "cookie" attempt without butter (intriguing), and I gotta say that I much prefer my regular buttery cookies. Surprise, surprise. I like the texture, the crumb and well, the fat. I'm just being honest here.

But butter or not, these biscotti were quite the adventure to make. And sticky, too. Mostly sticky. The recipe said that you "cannot have too much flour" when rolling the dough.



I took this to heart. Floured myself, the dough and my iPhone.



Tell me that's not too much flour. It wasn't, actually. The dough kept sticking to my rolling pin.



Slicing the biscotti for their second trip in the oven is a delicate process. And I am not a delicate person. Some biscotti were smushed in this process. It was inevitable.

So how did they burn? Wellll...I may have been watching the Travel Channel...and there may have been a new episode of Man vs. Food where he was challenged with this:



The NASCAR B3 Bad-Ass Burrito!!!

Certainly not to be missed! Well, at least for a few minutes...just in time to see food win! And also in time to make biscotti extra crunchy. (oops)

But I'll have to be more focused...especially now, with football starting up. There's a whole afternoon schedule of pre-season football tomorrow!

Including...

Patriots @ Eagles. Hmm...not too interested in this one. Negative fan on the Patriots. But Kobe is from Philly...but just watching that Andy Reid character makes me feel unsettled. I'm torn. Andy Reid reminds his team that they're not ultimate fighters, and that they're football players. Not a good sign.

Redskins @ Ravens. I like the Ravens...ohhh but how I wish they were playing the Steelers!



Classy, huh?

Cardinals @ Steelers. I jumped on the Card's bandwagon last year. I should've listened to that Madden dude on KROQ.

Cowboys @ Raiders. No Jessica Simpson? Check. No T.O.? Check. Raiders favored by 1? Blame it on the off-season. We'll revisit this at Thanksgiving in Dallas. $60 pizza, anyone?

True, none of the players we luv/hate will be on the field for very long...but hey, I've been without sports for way, way too long.

Pizza Pizza!

Yes please!

Who doesn't like pizza?

Definitely no friend of mine.

What's not to like? It's a complete meal that you can eat with your hands...you can eat standing up...the perfect compliment to beer...and therefore the perfect compliment to any sports watching situation...and topping possibilities (and now crust possibilities) make pizza happiness possible for everyone!

Pizza for peace?

Possibly.

My pizza making career can be divided into two distinct eras: B.S. (before pizza stone) and A.S. (after pizza stone).

The B.S. phase was so-so. I got pretty creative with the toppings, which was the highlight of the whole thing. The downside was the crust. It never got crispy and blistery. Which is really my favorite part of the pizza. You can imagine my disappointment. Over and over again.

But my how one very heavy square stone has changed all that! I always thought that perhaps this supposed pizza stone that I read about on my food blogs would be the pizza magic maker. It made sense. Super hot stone = crispy crust. Room temp baking sheet = floppy crust. Now I know, that there are dissenters out there who say that you don't need said pizza stone to achieve pizza perfection. You can achieve the same results with a heated baking sheet. Blah, blah, blah.

To that, I have the following questions:

1. Can your cookie sheet evenly hold the high heat of the oven for even baking?

2. Can your cookie sheet pull away the moisture to make that crispy crust?

I didn't think so.

Just get the stone. It's amazing. Pizza changing. Serious stuff here.



This is the one I have from Williams-Sonoma. It's wonderful.



Zucchini and goat cheese pizza. And no, this is not homemade dough. I have been highly discouraged from yeast after previous cinnamon bun fiasco. Maybe next time.

But it hasn't all been cooking for me. Yesterday was (gulp) ear-piercing day. Third time's the charm. And I don't mean my third attempt at going. I mean, my third time getting them pierced. Yup. I let them close. Twice. For those of you that know me, you already know that I have a very low tolerance for needle pain...bordering on being allergic to it. So the thought of having to sit on display at Claire's was unsettling to say the least.

But it had to be done.



After a few "Just give me a minute", I finally got them re-pierced. I had a 12-year-old girl watching me. I had to be brave.

At least I got a lollipop. Green flavor.

After all that excitement I needed to do something soothing. So I made a batch of pineapple scones. First things first. They're terribly unattractive. I had problems forming the dough into little triangles because it was so darn sticky! So I over-handled it, and still didn't get my little triangles. Go figure. But they are quite yummy, light and fluffy. A success, in my opinion.