Pink Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

Lately I’ve been thinking about bright, pretty things that remind me of being a girl, daintiness in general, and looking at life through rose-colored glasses. My senior year has been more grueling that expected and I didn’t really get the chance to catch up on all the fall and holiday baking I had wanted to do.

Pink grapefruit sandwich cookies from one of Martha Stewart’s recipes is a nice girly cookie to counteract the rather blah constants in my life right now, like my androgynous, de facto school outfit of black workout pants and a hoodie. Admittedly, the recipe is not 100% perfect, but baking for me is as much about the process as it is about the product.

Milk and Schools Coming Together at Smart & Final (#SmartFinalSupportsSoCalSchools)

My local Smart & Final is one of my favorite places to pick up ingredients for baking. Pretty much all of my staples are First Street branded: Flour, sugar, vanilla extract, milk… you name it. Unlike flour or sugar which usually takes me around a month or two to restock (and vanilla extract takes literally forever to deplete), I probably buy milk once a week. Whether a tall glass of glossy milk accompanies a rich red velvet whoopie pie or is a necessary ingredient when preparing the most incredible blackberry ice cream, I know my refrigerator is incomplete without a good gallon of it.

Likewise, an adequately supplied classroom with well-prepared teachers requires basics like paper, working dry erase markers, and of course, books! When our teachers can’t get the supplies they need, the quality of education children receive degrades. A recent campaign through Smart & Final is going to  help ease some of the budget burdens on our teachers today. The California Milk Advisory Board’s “Help Our Teachers, Help Our Kids” promotion gives teachers an opportunity to receive 25 Scholastic books or a $25 gift card for school supplies! To help a teacher of your choice, all you need to do is collect the California Milk Advisory Board seals on First Street products. The great thing is, these seals are on products that are common household necessities: milk, butter, cheese, and if you’re in my household, ice cream. It’s not like you need to buy a random box of cereal, crackers, or miscellaneous junk food that you otherwise wouldn’t buy, instead, this is about buying something that you would ordinarily buy, and helping a great cause along the way.

Bouchon, Beverly Hills

The original Bouchon in beautiful Yountville, CA is a sort of pilgrimage site. When I was there, I had the most wonderful almond croissant, fruity macaroons, and chocolate éclair. As a part of a more balanced meal, however, my parents insisted that we also get sandwiches, which thankfully consist of more than just fat and carbs. Though the sweets at Bouchon usually get all the attention, the sandwiches are also wonderful. Thomas Keller updates the classics with carefully selected ingredients that are just a little different, ultimately creating a flavors that are memorable and completely craveable.

This particular craving compelled me to seek out Bouchon’s Beverly Hills location. I went in the middle of the week before my homework started piling up and before my extra-curricular obligations began to have time commitments more substantial than my classes. It was very sunny and and just humid enough to make dining en plein air a bit uncomfortable. But once the food started coming, the troubles disappeared as quickly as my appetizer, my sandwich, and my dessert.

Nutella Blondies

Stephen and I have finally had a chance to breathe a little, now that recruitment is over for our respective Greek organizations. This school year promises to be busier than usual; all the senior year festivities, graduation audits, and final projects have already begun to dominate my time. (And I’ve only been going to class for two weeks!) It’s my last school year at UCLA and I have high expectations for myself. Balancing work, sorority life, schoolwork, thesis research, and a healthy, committed relationship requires hearty sustenance and bottomless joie de vivre. These Nutella blondies from Martha Stewart are definitely keeping me chipper in the early mornings when I have early class and perky when the afternoon lulls sleepily in the last of summer’s warmth.

Spago, Beverly Hills

Anthony Bourdain, somewhere in his book The Nasty Bits, talks about how when he and other chefs play the last meal on death row game, 15 million course full gustation menus don’t come up in the conversation. Instead, chefs reminisce about something their mothers made, the simplest, most comforting pastas, or prime cuts of sashimi. For our third anniversary (back in August) Stephen took me to Spago to try their tasting menu. While I think Bourdain’s point about how complexity of cuisine does not necessarily translate to the food people crave or seek out for comfort, my meal at Spago exemplifies complexity done well so that each morsel is so interesting, delicious, and well-composed, that each bite truly feels like it could be “the last bite.” And when the whole dish is well, one bite, you instinctively let the flavors mingle and meld in your mouth.

Seeing that I ate here over a month ago and did not have the foresight to write down everything our wonderful waiter said about each course, there will be less detail about each flavor profile. However, I hope you get a sense of how wonderful, fun, and enjoyable our anniversary dinner was.

Umami Burger, Santa Monica

When In ‘N Out opened in Texas, people flocked as though burgers were being doled out for free. In ‘N Out makes my favorite fast food burger; this belief has remained steadfast since I first tried it in high school. Favorite restaurant burger? Umami Burger is definitely up there.

As their burger sales continue to surge, there are plans to expand to more locations, and even open a sandwich shop, Umamicatessen. (No comment on how well that rolls off the tongue…) With burgers as juicy and unique as the ones found at their five locations around Los Angeles, I think it’s only a matter of time until people start lining up outside their usually energetic and packed locations around the country.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

The original post from Brown Eyed Baker calls this cookie ”the ultimate trifecta of cookie goodness.” And indeed it is. This recipe elevates the classic (but more banal) chocolate chip cookie without the pretention of sea salt or the childishness of M&Ms… not that there is anything wrong with adding either of those things. The combination of nuttiness, oatiness, and chocolatiness yields a cookie that is sweet with a salty bite, rich and chewy, and on the outside, nicely crisp and caramelized.

It helps that the recipe is comprised of pedestrian, back-to-school type ingredients. Though I’m not due to start the fall quarter for another 3 weeks or so, I have to say it’s quite satisfying eating a schoolyard favorite without the schoolyard.

Gordon Ramsay at the London

Food is a wonderful way to travel. From delectable lemongrass chicken bánh mí out of a food truck to homey braised short rib ravioli from a TV chef’s restaurant, just a quick sampling of Los Angeles’ diverse food scene makes apparent the range of food experiences to be had. Earlier in the summer, Stephen and I drove to a posh hotel called the London on a balmy evening to try Gordon Ramsay’s tasting menu in the name of 1,000 dining points on OpenTable.

My last meal from Gordon Ramsay’s repertoire was when I was in London. Though food at the London was perhaps not quite as flawless as the food I had in London, we both an enjoyable time and would definitely return to enjoy some of the more extraordinary plates we tried.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

A few weeks ago, Bakerella posted about all of her travels to various cupcakeries and bakeries around the country. Of course, L. A. is all about Sprinkles Cupcakes, arguably the cupcakery that started the craze. With the demands of my internship and my part-time job, I haven’t been to Sprinkles in a long while. When the opportunity to bake for a collegue’s last couple of days in the department came up, I was glad to have Candace Nelson’s strawberry cupcake recipe on hand.

Though the cupcakes lack the signature strawberry frosting, I think chocolate ganache is a more refined, bold topping. Since I was transporting my creations via public transportation, I also did not want to risk any frosting mishaps.

Omakase at Sushi Ota, San Diego

For a special meal befitting of a special birthday, my family and I went to the best sushi restaurant in San Diego. As it turns out, Sushi Ota and I share birthdays. 2011 marks the restaurant’s and my 21st year. (Though admittedly, Ota has been intimate with the sake long before this milestone birthday.)

After over two decades, Sushi Ota still maintains its strict commitments to quality, hospitality, and honesty, serving food that fresh, delightful, and reasonably priced. We went for lunch on Tuesday (the freshest day for seafood, according to Bourdain) and I spent the rest of the week reminiscing.