Kabocha: What Rhymes with That?

I came across some interesting recipes the past couple of days watching tv and browsing the internet and thought it would be a good time to do some recipe testing for Thanksgiving and at the same time feed my family dinner.

I just learned of a squash called Kabocha. It's supposedly has a starchy texture like potatoes. I came across this recipe for mashed Kabocha and thought, hmm, may be fun to make something other than my normal mashed potatoes or at least incorporate Kabocha into a mashed potato recipe to add color and a little bit different flavor. I bought 2 and prepared and mashed them according to the directions. I then added minced and sauteed garlic, butter, salt and cream. I didn't add any cheese this time.

As a garnish, I saw the White House chef on The Nate Show the other day making Caramelized pepitas which were calling my name but I used Arizona Dreaming spice mix from Penzey's Spices that my friend Kristin got me instead of the espellete powder, which is like cayenne pepper.

Pleasantly surprised I found the texture to actually be like potatoes and it's my new favorite squash for many uses. The biggest issue is peeling the darn thing. Next time, instead of preparing it by peeling and dicing it to steam, I would cut it in half, take out the seeds and bake it in a dish face down at 350 degrees for about 45 min-hour, then simply scoop it out and mash it. My blister on my finger would agree.

The "Secret Lover"

I was so fortunate to be invited last night to a dinner by my friend Kristin Ausk of Meringue Bake Shop. It was put on by Anita Lau of Mad Hungry Woman blog. If you don' t happen to know of Anita, she's a food blogger for the OC Register and Food Frenzy blog and is a world renound Yelp reviewer! I took a picture of her but her eyes were closed so I'm not posting it. I think she'd appreciate that. Lol. The setting was the Break of Dawn Restaurant in Laguna Hills which is open for breakfast and brunch, so we had it to ourselves.

The premise of the dinner was for Anita to introduce everyone to her "Secret Lover". And much to no one's surprise, it happened to be SoHo Taco's! They are a catering company that does tacos. I kept thinking how perfect that would be to hire them for a graduation party or a corporate event. Big Train provide the beverages which were Mexican themed as well; jamaica, horchata, and then green tea.

shrimp and chicken tacos and those yummy tortillas.

We were treated to 2 different types of tacos and sides initially. There were the chicken tacos and the shrimp tacos. We had chips, home made guacamole, rice and beans. Settling in to the serious task before us we began eating. The chicken tacos were seasoned so perfect. I'm typically not a chicken eater, except at home (That's another story), but these were my favorite of the night. I put a fresh mango salso on them which sent them over the moon with deliciousness.

In fact I devoured that chicken taco then realized I didn't take a picture of it. The nice picture is of Kristin's tacos prior to her getting a chance to eat them. The big draw to these tacos were the fact that the tortillas were handmade, right there. They were thick and chewy. I kept thinking I could eat the tortillas alone. They would be amazing with any topping, Mexican or not. Peanut butter even! Just give me those tortillas!

carne asada and veggie taco

After that, we were told by Rico, the publicist, of SoHo Taco, that more tacos were being prepared and that we must try them. Oh, I don't know....ok. The next course of tacos were vegetarian and carne asada. The vegetarian tacos had portobello mushrooms, onions, yellow and red peppers and spinach with a really subtle seasoning. After picking out the peppers (the only food in the world I don't eat) I was content with everything else. The carne asada tacos were good, but not my top favorite. I should have added the green sauce that Anita calls her "crack". It would have upped the flavor on those. Instead I opted for cheese and salsa.

me, Kristin, and Priscilla

And yes, there were still 2 more tacos to be tried, a mahi mahi taco and a carnitas taco. I couldn't. I just couldn't. But I'm sure they were delicious. People were smiling when they were eating them. I 'm still full this morning. I did get to catch up with friends I haven't seen like Priscilla Willis of She's Cookin and met a Facebook and Twitter friend IRL, Maryanne Wendt, finally!

Thanks again to Kristin for inviting me. Thanks to Anita for having this event, and thanks chef Gabe, the owner of Soho Taco for doing this, to Rico, the publicist from SoHo taco, who was so appreciative and happy to be there, his chefs, his tortilla maker and Jim Wendt of Big Train for providing beverages. Also thank you to Chef Dee of Break of Dawn Restaurant which to I hope to go to try his food another time because I hear it's just fantastic.http://madhungrywoman.com

Bonnin Designs Holiday Gift Guide

As an editor for Rare Bird Finds, I scour the web daily to find my readers unique home and kitchen accessories. So here, on my personal blog I wanted to share with my readers businesses and the products that they sell and I just adore in a Holiday Gift Guide. Many of these businesses, I have purchased products from, love, and therefore want to share with you these original businesses, Others, I have written reviews on and covet. And lastly, I personally know all but one of the owners of these businesses and can attest that they are great people and care tons about their products and the customers that they sell to. That's who I want to give my money to! Don't you? I hope you enjoy what I've put together. Please visit these sites and see what else they have.

Sommer Designs - Violet vines Linen Apron on Sale, plus free gift. This would make a great hostess gift.

Fiberphile - MCN Worsted True Heart Yarn. Knit or crochet a great scarf for a friend, or get the yarn for someone you know that knits. About 2 skeins would make a great scarf, one skein for a hat.

 Found and Made Designs - Owl, vintage chandelier crystal necklace. This would be the perfect gift for  a stylish friend or family member.

 Hearts and Laserbeams - Sit Happens Dog Tee. You know a dog lover and this is the gift for them. They would really appreciate that you thought of their dog.

 JustJenn Designs - Sh*t List. I know everyone has one. Give this with a set of fun pens to a co-worker. Done.

 Mareike Auer - Dog Lover print. The clean simple lines of this art would be appreciated by any dog loving artsy friend.

Meringue Bake Shop - Cupcakes! They are available in so many flavors. These are available in Southern California and delivered fresh. What a perfect corporate gift, order some for a holiday party, or get some for yourself.

Michelle Caplan - Norah6 Mixed Media Collage Portrait. She also does amazing commissioned pieces. You know a dancer? Perfect gift!

 Mud Puppy - Modern White Baby Head Vase. Give a little humor to anyone! I have one of these and people love it!

 Nan Lawson - Love is a Book 8x10 print. A reader would love this hanging in their home.

19 Years Married

19 years married. Happy Anniversary to us. That's just amazing to me. Not the fact that we've been married to each other for 19 years, but that we have been married that long. Seems like yesterday that my daughter was born and a week later, not looking or feeling my best, wearing a nursing bra and a big outfit, we went out for a quick romantic dinner to celebrate our 1st anniversary before Emily needed her next feeding. Now she's in college and my son is in high school. Where has the time gone?

But, the best part of an anniversary and especially this one, is dessert. We were surprised by my dear friend Kristin and her wonderful husband Lyle with this anniversary cake that she made for us. Seriously! We are so lucky to have a friend as a baker. Though, known for her cupcakes, I was blown away by this beautiful cake!

And how did Kristin know my favorite flavors? This is a pistachio 3-layer cake filled with apricot gelee' and marzipan. On top is chocolate ganache. Whoa! It was delicious and very much appreciated. Thanks again Kristin!

LA Cupcake Challenge

 

This past Saturday I was privileged to be part of Meringue Bake Shop's Team at the LA Cupcake Challenge. My friend Kristin Ausk, who is Meringue Bake Shop asked me to help her for this event. I took part in helping with picking the flavors for the cupcakes (my favorite task). As did a few other friends. Also I helped with the table display, the huge raffle giveaway prize, and the display signs. Plus I donated a Cupcake Ring for the raffle that she had at the event. At the event we all helped at the table with giving the cupcakes away, describing and hyping the cupcakes and making sure Kristin was going to get known for all of the hard work that she put in slaving over these amazing cupcakes! 

What were the flavors? First was Pretty Woman: a Champagne cupcake with a strawberry topping and Pop Rocks on the top that burst in your mouth like the bubbles do when you sip a glass of champagne. Clever!

Next was Pigs on Tap: A Chocolate Stout cupcake with Bacon and a Bourbon Buttercream Topping. The Stout really makes the chocolate fudgy and yummy and the bacon gives it a little salt. Amazing! People were coming over to the table telling us they had to try it because people were telling them about it. (people were talking! Awesome).

 

Here is Kristin finally relaxing after getting all of her cupcakes iced. This is Clara of I Heart Cuppycakes with Kristin. She is our Twitter friend and Cupcake blogger. So glad to finally meet her IRL! We also saw more friends like Elise of Cupcake Activist and others  that are camera shy like Just Jenn and @foodlibrarian but that's ok. Read Jenn's Blog post about the Challenge. It will crack you up. She is hysterically funny.

So overall, it was a fantastic event for Kristin. She got a lot of exposure and a lot of positive feedback. I think this girl is going places!!!!

Edited to add: oh and how could I forget: when we got there and got off the service elevator  we were loudly told to move aside "crowd coming through" and whoosh, inches from me walked Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. With both arms, I was carrying this massive basket for our raffle. My camera in my purse which was hanging from my right shoulder. I knew this but I could do nothing. Johnny looked at the cupcakes expressed an "ooh", looked at the basket with interest (yes Jenn, he probably saw your "Bacon Love" cards and said hi to me. I said "hi". It's all I could do. He walked by so fast. I wanted to stop him. I needed to take a picture. But he was gone. As soon as I got around the corner all I could do was Twitter it. At least Kristin's husband Lyle was there. So I know it wasn't a dream.

And. Yes he was hot. Yes he looks as good as he looks on film. Yes he isn't super tall but not short either. No I didn't smell him. There was really no bad or good smell or I would let you know. He was wearing a beret type hat and small sunglasses. I'm still melting....

When You Have Lemons - Bake Something!

I'm definitely not the baking type but when my friend Kristin said she used the Meyer lemons I gave her from my tree and baked a Lemon Sponge Pie with them, first I drooled, then I had to know more. Well, Kristin is known for her cupcakes because she owns Meringue Bake Shop and makes the most delicious cupcakes. I had to trust her. I was a little nervous though because she's an expert baker. Turns out Kristin used this vintage recipe from the Bakespace Blog and used a frozen pie crust. Why not? These days frozen crusts are just as good as most regular homemade crusts (ducking daggers now) I assume. I can do that too!
Wouldn't ya know. I sort of failed on my first attempt though. It looks ok (above). But I needed perfection so I had to make another one the next day. After all, I had the lemons and I had the will to finish off another pie. Hee hee. I learned to cream the butter and sugar better. I don't think I did that well the first time. I believe I may have just combined it. Bleh. Also I folded in the egg whites a bit less to make it more fluffy. And third, I used the convection oven instead of the regular oven since I never use it and really need to more. It was perfect! Light and fluffy and set well.
So thank you Kristin for giving me a kick in the rear to do something with my lemons other than use them on salmon. I now am a pie baking mama!

Cupcake Earrings!

Cupcake Earrings!, originally uploaded by kristin_a.

My friend Kristin Ausk owns Meringue Bake Shop. She makes the most amazing cupcakes and so I made her some cupcake earrings to match her logo that she can wear when she's on the job. What do you think? Custom cupcake earrings.