Sweets For My Sweetheart and His Sweet Tooth.

My pyro of a boyfriend decided to buy a torch one day, so that we could make crème brulée; a French dessert of custard and caramelized sugar, topped with fruit of choice. I don't typically crave dessert, but he can't go a day without having something sugary.

Since crème brulée takes about half a day to make, David made the custard and refrigerated it overnight. All we had to do after was cover it with a coat of sugar, and, as I always say, the more the better!

Thanks to our handy-dandy torch, we were well-equipped for the grueling task of caramelizing sugar! 

I thought the process was going to be daunting and complicated, but in actuality it was rather fun!

You can caramelize and personalize your crème brulée any way you want. Here are some views of the finished products:

It was fun to see the marble-like caramelization the torch naturally creates, but I wanted to see if I could attempt a shape. See my heart below <3

We were so excited, we forgot to put the cut-up strawberries on top until after the dishes were washed.

People say that you're either a baker or a cook. I say that's a load of crockpot! You'll see why in my next post :o)

Tip: Invest in a crème brulée torch and some dishes. You can make a simple custard AMAZING just by adding some fire. Oh, and don't forget the garnishments!

I Got It From My Mama

Wednesday nights are typically dedicated to catching up with some of the best women in my life: my cousins. We usually try to get on a conference call as business hours come to a close, during which time we're all either driving home or preparing dinner. Last week, I was doing the latter.

Making lemon chicken out of the breast, lemons, salt and pepper I already had stored in my refrigerator while talking on the phone was no easy task, but somehow I managed just fine :o)

Originally I had planned to make just regular chicken soup, but decided to spice things up a bit and try a recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup from Orange County Fare, a cookbook I'd recently purchased from the Junior League of Orange County.

So, with the house phone on speaker (yes, I have a LAND line) and chicken defrosting in the microwave, I engaged in the wonderfully theraputic multi-task of mingling and mixing. What came of it was nothing short of spectacular:

When Mom got home, she made ground beef and taco mix to go with our soup :o) It was delish!

Overall, chicken tortilla soup is an easy recipe. All you really need is chicken stock, crushed red tomatoes, and whatever veggies you'd like to add. I ended up finding the crushed red tomatoes and "whatever veggies you'd like to add" in our refrigerator, so I was spared a trip to the market. 


In honor of the chicken tortilla soup I had at It's All About the Cake, I decided to make mine a little spicier (or as my Dad would say, "Give it a little KICK"), by chopping up two Chipotle Adobo Peppers with the seeds and throwing them into the pot.


Then, I put my shredded lemon chicken in the soup, crushed up some corn tortilla chips from Los Golondrinas since I already had them, sliced fresh avocado, and laid it all on top of my bowl o' soup.

Tip: Work with what you've got. There's nothing wrong with substituting ingredients to a recipe, in order to save a trip to the grocery store!

Great Runs, Sick Plays, Perfect Days

I'm just going to cut to the chase. Superbowl Sunday is famous for many things. Unparalleled commercial creativity, a ridiculous halftime show, football world championship, and my favorite: the food.

I just did a post about my friend Michelle's amazing talent for cooking... but I'm going to brag once again. Driving up to Los Feliz, I couldn't help but hype up the spread we were about to feast on to both my boyfriend, David, and my friend Krit. But nothing, NOTHING, could have prepared me for the amount of food I would see prepared throughout the day.

Below is just a fraction of the dishes to which our palates were privvy:

 Turkey Sandwiches

 Guacamole in Avacado Cups with Shrimp

Tangy Ribs

Buffalo Wings and Sweet Chili Wings (Michelle did I say that right?)

And as if all of the above wasn't more than enough, our hostess accommodated special requests for international dishes as well. Before halftime, I went into the kitchen and noticed that Michelle was cutting potatoes. When I asked her what she was doing, she said she was making a dish specific to Montreal for a couple of our friends who had tried it before. 

I then watched her fry the potatoes and season them with salt, then put pieces of cheese curd, imported from Montreal, on top of the fries and slather it all with a classic French gravy. It turned out to be my favorite of the day!:

Dish of Amazingness.

Hostess Michelle with Nachos Supreme!

While the food was certainly a highlight, I couldn't help but excuse myself to take some photos of her lovely home:

To sum up, the food was phenomenal, the home was immaculate, and the game was certainly worth the wait. The absolute BEST part of the day though? The people I got to share it all with.

 Tip: For those of you whose days off are few and far between, make sure the days you can take for yourself are fun, memorable and spent with the people you love. (Oh, and stop feeling guilty. You deserve it!)

La Cuisine D'Arbour: Très Belle. Très Chic. Très Délicieuse.

After my post, It's Certainly not ALL About the Cake, my beautiful, French-Canadian friend, Michelle, was determined to show me what a true Croque Monsieur looks and tastes like. The description alone was enough to get me to her pad in Los Feliz!


The night started off with a couple bottles of Cabernet and a slice of brie cheese to spread on tiny bread. (The brie and bread were short-lived. Michelle took it away from us so we would have room for the feast at hand.)

As we were enjoying our GNI (Girls' Night In) with inappropriate banter and the slight influence of fermented grapes, Michelle was piling gruyère onto bowls of French Onion Soup. I took a couple shots of the soup going into the oven. Here is the before: 

And after... :)

As the Croque was a'cookin, the four of us migrated to the dining table to enjoy can you guess?... More cheese! We delicately (and by delicately I mean voraciously) devoured our French Onion soup while dipping small pieces of bread in home-made cheese fondue!

Wine was graciously poured by our hostess.

Needless to say, the French Onion soup did not last long. 

The guest of honor? Monsieur Croque. Michelle had explained to me that a true French Croque Monsieur is a sandwich made with sliced bread spread with dijon mustard, some folded smoked ham, a TON of gruyère cheese, toasted to melted perfection and topped with a fried egg, salt and black pepper. 
Ummm YES PLEASE? It's not that expensive to make either. Check out her masterpiece below:

And what meal would be complete without the greens? After all, something had to break up all that cheese! I had told Michelle that the only thing needed to break up cheese is wine, but of course, she already had something else in mind. With our Croque Monsieur came an amazing salad with arugula, thinly sliced pears, onions, avocado, and champagne vinaigrette dressing (made from scratch, of course).

Finally, staying true to French custom, we enjoyed some pressed croissants with nutella and strawberries. Jo and I had bought an assortment of pastries from Il Tramezzino, an Italian cafe in the heart of Beverly Hills. Below is just a portion of the desserts we savored:

Chocolate Cannoli and Tiramisu

Classic Cannoli with Strawberries and Cream

So, while I stick to my guns about the Croque Monsieur du Jour at What a Dish, I will take my girl's home-made cooking ANY DAY.

Tip: French food can be fun, inexpensive, and easy to make. All you really need is cheese, bread, spread, and any protein you want! Oh, and a (cheap) bottle of wine.

The Perfect Temperature for OC

Hot enough to bake, cool enough to take.


I'm sitting here, eating a breakfast pastry with my coffee, watching Valentine's Day and I can't think of a better way to spend my Saturday morning. Mind you, in about thirty minutes I'm going to have to get up and get ready for work, but it's nice to take twenty minutes for myself sometimes. 


The pastry I'm eating, (this would probably work a lot better if I knew its name), has a parmesan and powdered cheese with toasted almonds on top. It's the last of the pack, as I've already eaten the others since I visited 85 Degrees Bakery Cafe a few days ago. Take a look at some of the items I bought below:

These pastries range from $1.50 to about $3.50 each. Everytime I go, there's a HUGE line of people waiting with their trays and tongs to go through the maze-o-bread which will be piled into a mountain of goodies. Then, there's an equally long line to get to the cash register to pay and order one of their cozy tea drinks. My favorite is the hot almond milk.

I know, I know. All of the above looks uh-mazing. I haven't shown you the best part yet, though. One of Irvine's best-kept secrets! Are you ready? Imagine a puffed up pastry, topped with black sesame seeds, and inside, dried cranberries and a cream cheese-y filling. One time I went to the bakery and they told me it was sold out, and wasn't going to be available for a few months. What is this incredible pastry, you ask? That, my friends, is the Rose Cheese:

 I can't even say more about it! You'll just have to go and see for yourself. 


85 Degrees Bakery started in Tai Pei in 2004 and became Taiwan's most popular cafe by 2005. They opened their location at the Diamond Jamboree plaza off Alton and Jamboree a couple years back, and I have no doubt they will continue to expand in South County.

I LOVE little patisseries like this! There's another one in San Juan Capistrano that has more hispanic-influenced pastries. Maybe that will be my next post...


The choice? Taiwanese pastries and almond milk, or Mexican pastries and a horchata? I'll let you decide.

Tip: When you've got hectic mornings and no time for breakfast, pick up a few of these pastries to take on the go. You'll spend less than ten bucks on breakfast for the week and be happily satisfied! Until lunchtime ;)

It's Certainly Not ALL About The Cake.

My friend Jo and I decided to grab lunch before I headed out to do the not-so-glamourous part of my job (dropping letters off at doorsteps... fun!) We decided to meet at What a Dish/It's All About the Cake since it's right along the DP Harbor next to my office. We made friends a couple months back with the owners of the bakery, Jordan and Alex, who are brother and sister and incredibly business savvy.


Jordan runs What A Dish, the restaurant and catering realm of the business, while Alex runs It's All About the Cake, which is of course, the bakery.


If you're looking for the perfect place to grab lunch with a girlfriend, this place has the most adorable ambiance and incredible food! It's All About the Cake sits adjacent to the harbor, far enough where you can enjoy the sun and close enough where you can smell the ocean.

Jo and I enjoyed refreshing, unsweetened iced tea and I had my ritual cringe as I dropped in a packet of Splenda.

Unsweetened Iced Tea

For lunch we both had the Croque Monsieur de Jour recommended by our server, with a nice cup of chicken tortilla soup. I've got to say, I don't normally expect much out of tortilla soup because it generally tastes the same, but this soup was incredibly delectable! In this cup was nothing but freshness. Tomatoes, tiny rizotto, tender chicken, and crunchy tortilla chips. The best part? It's spicy!

The Croque Monsieur was also a delight. The tomatoes, though softened, had amazing seasoning and the bread had the perfect combination of crunchy outer shell and moist inner body. 

Croque Monsieur De Jour with Chicken Tortilla Soup

By the time we were finished, our plates had nothing but a few crumbs and the toothpicks from the sandwich. Stuffed as we were, we knew we couldn't leave without dessert. So, we went inside and picked from their wonderful selection of cupcakes and brownies, and landed on this: 

Petit Fours with Lemon and Raspberry Filling

I will let you imagine what kind of heaven the inside of these cute little cakes brought us. Now, I will be the first to admit that I am not as much into the fondant as I am into more creamy frosting, but these petit fours were the perfect way to end a wonderful winter lunch. 


Oh, but I can't forget the most adorable part! My little friend below... her name is Kisses!

Kisses

Our server was such a treat, she gave Kisses one! She also brought out a bowl of water so large she could have bathed in it. So, Kisses was in little doggie heaven while Jo and Auntie Kristle enjoyed their own scrumptious meal. We will definitely be going back!

Tip: Make friends with restaurant owners as often as possible and bring them new business... who knows, you may get a free cupcake out of it! Au Revoir :)

Sara Flynn Photography