I Have a Thing for Ferries

I'm here in Washington state to present a dessert menu to one of our clients and it's cold. Our hosts said that it's been warm for the normal weather they're supposed to be having this time on year. Typical of a southern Californian to think that anything under the 60's is cold.

It was quite beautiful yesterday and am so thankful I didn't have to walk around in the rain.

Unfortunately, I don't have much time to do a recap of what I did yesterday. I took over 400 photos.. yeah.. seriously. So the total update will have to wait till I get back but in the meantime, here's a Day and Night photo of Seattle's famous space needle.

This one was taken on the freeway.

This one was taken on the ferry on our way to the Kitsap Penninsula. Gorgeous!!

Work, work, work

Some more dishes I took photos of for work.


Our seafood client, Anderson Seafoods, had asked us to take some photos of one of the products that they develop for Trader Joe's. They were these pot stickers. I'm not sure if they were intending on using for the packaging or what. But here are some photos we took for them.

Butterfly Kisses

Today was one of my friend's bridal shower. I was asked to make some butterfly sugar cookies in theme of the party which was "Butterfly Kisses". My Red Velvet cupcakes were requested as well.

I took all these pictures of food at the part but not of any people!! Shows what my priorities are! Haha but here's one of the lovely bride, Hanna, and one of her bride's maids, Eileena.


All of the decorations and planning were headed up by the maid on honor, one of my very good friends, April. The other bride's maids made it all possible. These girls are pretty awesome. If you guys are reading this... you guys did an amazing job! Thank you for all your hard work!

Another friend, Jeni, made these super cute water bottle labels.
Even the nutrition facts were edited!

Fun times with some beautiful ladies.

Lemons vs. Lemon Juice

A friend sent this to me. VERY interesting...

Playing with Food

During the first two weeks of January I got to play around with some dessert ideas for work. I was put in charge of creating some dishes that were a fresh and new take on something old and retro. These were for certain clients so I can't post all of them (though I REALLY want to) I'll just pick a few that I was playing around with.

Lemon Mousse with Candied Meyer Lemon Zest

Apricot and Cherry Cobbler with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches

Dark Chocolate Molten Cake

Baked Alaska made with Sweet White Cake, Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream and Swiss Meringue

They were pretty yummy. You can never go wrong with ice cream, chocolate, fruit, and lemons. YUM! My New Year's resolution to lose weight officially starts in February!!

San Fransisco Treat

I don't know about you guys but I had an awesome weekend. A friend of mine is getting married and we surprised her with a trip to San Fransisco for her bachelorette party.

Lots of great talks, walking, and oh my.. GREAT FOOD.

Most of this great food I'm referring to was provided by one of the bride's maids' mom. Seriously... the highlight of the trip. It was hearty... delicious.. comforting... and Korean.


We were on a tight budget so we couldn't go anywhere too fancy. I was kicking myself in the butt after we came back for not doing enough research on local cheap places to eat. But we did find a good Thai place right across from the Hilton, where we stayed. I forgot the name of it.

There were also chains of diners called Lori's Diner all over the city. Our hotel was a few blocks from Union Square. It was typical diner food but we were so hungry (we hadn't eaten in over 18 hours!) that it was absolutely delicious.

While we were walking around there was a man selling churros on the side of the street. After some pondering I decided to buy it. It was cold... haha I should have known! He had them underneath a newspaper sitting out in the cold windy and slightly raining weather. But.. it was still delicious. I could tell it would have been superb had it been fresh and hot.


I was looking on my Google map application on my Blackberry and saw that Fleur de Lys was within walking distance to where we were! For those that don't know, the chef of Fleur de Lys is a French chef Hubert Keller.
I'm ashamed to admit that the only reason I know of him is because he was on Top Chef Masters. His restaurant is pretty legendary.

Anyway, so I dragged one of my friends so I could see this famous restaurant. I knew it would be waaaay too expensive for my wallet so I just wanted a picture. It was closed... but I wasn't surprised since lots of upscale places only open for dinner.


It was really fun. Unfortunately, I don't get to travel much but next time... more research.. and more photos.

I almost forgot...

There was one place that I DO NOT RECOMMEND. We were looking for an Italian restaurant because the bride-to-be loves Italian food. One we stumbled upon was called Puccini & Pinetti on Ellis Street by Union Square. Not only was the service horrible (the waiter checked on our table maybe 3 times in the span of 2 hours, one of which we spent waiting for the food) but the food was NOT worth the price. One dish that was pretty delicious was the Mushroom Ravioli. My friend's weren't too happy with there only being 5 but at least it tasted good.

(Photo taken from Yelp by Kevin Y.)

I had the Prosciutto Pizza that had olives and preserved lemons. It was really salty. For me, the flavors just didn't work.

So if you're ever in San Fransisco #1. DON'T EAT THERE, #2. Do some research and search out some good, cheap places because I'm sure they have more than the small I've sampled.

Raspberry Tart

I meant to post this sooner but I got sick over the weekend. Needless to say I've been wanting to do nothing but watch TV and eat. New years resolution to lose weight is NOT off to a good start.

Here's another quick idea for puff pastry.

Cut out into a rectangle and bake off at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool and spread on a generous dose of your favorite pastry cream (my favorite recipe as follows) and top with raspberries or whatever fruit you like!

I didn't bother with a glaze because I knew I'd eat it right away but if you're not going to eat it right away then you can make your own quick glaze by getting a jar or APRICOT PRESERVES and melting it either in the microwave or in a pot thinned out just a tad with some water. But watch it carefully!

Here's my favorite pastry cream recipe by Dorie Greenspan from her AWESOME book - Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Pastry Cream

2 Cups Whole Milk
6 Large Egg Yolks
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Cornstarch
1 1/2 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
3 1/2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Cut into bits at room temp.

(This is the way I do pastry cream.)
Put the milk and a couple of tablespoons of the sugar into a medium sized pot (the sugar prevents the milk from burning on the bottom of the pot) and bring to a boil... BUT KEEP AND EYE ON IT!!
In the meantime, in a small bowl mix the rest of the sugar and the cornstarch together with your fingers ensuring there are no lumps. In another larger bowl put the yolks in and slowly mix in the sugar/cornstarch mixture until it's all incorporated together with NO LUMPS.

When the milk comes to a boil (make sure it doesn't get to a point where it spills over the top) slowly whisk in the milk into the yolk mixture.
TIP: Get a wet rag and make it into a circle. Place the bowl in the center so that when you're doing this by yourself you'll have one hand to pour and one hand to whisk.

Once all the milk is mixed in, pour it back into the pot and cook on medium heat until it thickens like pudding, about 2 minutes. WHISK NON-STOP.

Strain into a new clean bowl and mix in the vanilla. Let it cool for a few minutes then add the butter little at a time.

Transfer to a container and press a piece of plastic right on top of the cream and refrigerate until cold.

When you're ready to use it make sure to give it a good mix with a rubber spatula to get it smooth. It'll look like Jell-O if you don't!