dineLA: Blue Stove

happy october!! went out for an early birthday dinner with a couple of my friends.  we decided on the Blue Stove located inside Nordstroms in Santa Monica.

first course:

topped with tangy goat cheese and tomato jam.

Ahi Tuna Stack with Ponzu & Crisp Wontons
 Ahi una, Ponzu, scallions, avocado, mango, Napa cabbage, champagne vinaigrette, fried wontons

Shrimp & Asparagus Tempura with Lemon Soy Dipping Sauce
 Butterflied shrimp, asparagus, lemon soy dipping sauce, toasted sesame seeds, scallions

Lump Crab Cakes with Remoulade
 Lump crab cakes, Remoulade sauce, Frisee lettuce, quince vinaigrette

second course: eaten in this order

Lemon scented risotto with seared scallops & French beans
 Scallops, French green beans, parmesan risotto

Braised Pork Shoulder with roasted parsnips & pickled raisins
 Braised pork shoulder, oven roasted parsnips, picked golden raisins, rosemary

Crisp and spicy dark cherry glazed beef
 Boneless braised short ribs, red & yellow bell peppers, Chinese chili peppers, dark cherry glaze, snipped chives

 third course:

Chocolate banana crème Brulee
 Vanilla bean custard, bananas, warm chocolate sauce

Local cheese plate with quince jam & natural honeycomb
 Chef daily selection of two cheese, toasted croutons, quince jam, honeycomb, port wine reduction, rosemary

(bleu cheese and midnight moon cheese)

little close up of the honeycomb

Butterscotch pot de crème
 Butterscotch custard, fine sea salt

beautiful food with beautiful people. 

happy eating!!

mini fruit tarts

people buy clothes, i buy kitchen items...

I walked into Williams and Sanoma this past weekend and found myself buying a mini tart pan. It comes with a dough cutter and mold shaper which makes the crust making/baking procedure super easy.

anyways, semi homemade project i guess:

followed the recipe on the box for the crust (not sure if i want to share the recipe...might give you a heart attack)...but on a side note: i'd add maybe 1tbsn more to the recipe.

bought instant jello pudding mix (cheesecake flavor) -mixed with heavy cream and milk. chilled.

fresh fruit.

diana and ray - august proposal

proposal story:

we received an email from mr ray asking if we'd help with some simple decorations "streamers and balloons" and to plan something to get diana to the park.

an email was sent to the girls for a "finer things club" meeting. sara asked if we'd help her make decorations and help with a mini photoshoot.  all agreed and some (even diana) went over to help with the last minute prep.

day of the proposal was super fun and exciting.  prepped all the baked goodies and headed to corona.

here is the finished table:

desserts and champagne.   

face masks by handmadebysarakim

green tea macarons

strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream

coconut macaroons

green tea macarons

enjoy my friends!!

congrats to diana and ray ^^ love you guys!

photo credits - hudson lim

homemade jam

this past weekend, i baked some macarons with fresh berries in the center.  yesterday, i opened the fridge only to find my left over berries staring at me.  didnt know what to do with them...so thought it'd be nice to make some jam.

i placed the left over berries, and sugar into a pot (1 pound fruit to 1 cup sugar).

in low heat, allow berries and sugar to merry.  i smashed the berries a little. once all the sugar is dissolved, place in high heat and allow for mixture to come to a boil.

liquid will start to evaporate and mixture will start thickening.  place spoon in mixture and take out.  when the jam mixture drops off the spoon in slow thick drops, turn off heat.

please jam mixture in jars and use when ready.

enjoy~

coca cola chocolate cupcakes

baked cupcakes for my dear friend Sarah this past weekend.

coca cola chocolate cupcakes.

i topped it off with cola candy.

enjoy!

bbq pork loin ribs

had a bbq with the family a couple weeks back.  I wanted to try something different, so we decided on some pork ribs.  


A couple weeks ago, I received a bottle of KC Materpiece BBQ Sauce through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program.  Thought it would be perfect with my ribs so I decided to use it.

Its called "southern style" so what possibly could go wrong right?

This BBQ sauce is pretty flavorful.  Perfect for people who enjoy tart with a mini kick.

Heres what I did.

I placed the rack of ribs in a baking tray.  

dust it lightly with salt and pepper.  

spread 3 tspn of diced garlic (more or less depending on preference).

thinly slice 1 lemon and place slices of lemon on the ribs

pour a thin layer of water into the baking dish, cover with foil, place in a preheated oven (300F) and bake for 2 hours.

drain liquid, brush ribs with bbq sauce, lower heat to 275 cover and bake for 25 mins.

take the foil off, brush with bbq, bake for 15 mins.

one more picture from the bbq:

enjoy~

lemon bars

I can honestly say that I LOVE creating dessert bars. From the baking of the desserts, to the strategically packing everything into my car, to the setting of the table; the stress and rush is totally worth it.

This past weekend, I had a dessert bar order (photos to follow ...in another post).  A childhood friend of mine was having a HUGE wedding and wanted a HUGE dessert bar to match.  So much emotions flowed through my body the first hour or so I was there....THEY TOTALLY FORGOT THE DESSERT TABLE...AND THE TABLE CLOTH!!!! -_____- ... seriously, panic mode. I felt a mini break down coming.... I rushed on over to speak with the coordinator (quick cap: i shared with her the situation ...asking for help...and she responded with "what do you want me to do about it!")....SERIOUSLY!?!??!??? (slap her in the face...jk...but she totally deserves one)  but anyways, all in all everything came together in the end. I'm mighty glad it did.  I was able to attend the wedding ceremony and celebrate with the bride and groom.

even with that kinda stress, I still see hope to be in this industry one day (full time).  I'd take this kinda stress any day over a desk job...

10 year goal. still counting down....

on the brighter side, I baked some lemon bars ^^

Its a bit on the denser side.  I think i'll try the same recipe but maybe whip the egg whites and fold the lemon mixture into it to see what it'll do to the texture.

after some trial and errors, i will share the recipe and how each of them came out.

until then, enjoy a lemon bar under the sun ^^