Hello Dolly

Lately I've been enjoying baking things for people. I love this blueberry crumb bars recipe from Smitten Kitchen and have made a couple times now. They're super easy to make, and any fruit can be substituted. Also made some chocolate chip peanut butter cookies for my screen printing class with a version of this recipe. So good...I need better descriptors.

Looking for new baking recipes, I knew I wanted to make something that wasn't quite a cookie, maybe a bar, maybe contained no fruit, maybe some nuts... I stumbled upon Hello Dolly bars, or seven layer bars, which are apparently a sort of old classic that many people grew up with. (?? - not sure, first I'd heard of them) You can use whatever you like with these...almonds, walnuts, or pecans. Many people use a combination of chocolate chips and butterscotch or white chocolate chips. I used coconut, pecans, and white chocolate chips. The base is crumbled graham crackers, and sweetened condensed milk is poured over the top to keep everything together. Next time I'll pour the milk over each layer to bind them together a bit better and also layer some of the chocolate chips on the top. Many reviewers said these were way too rich and sweet, but I actually think they were just right.

These guys are now in transit.

P.S. New bamboo cutting board from the 99-cent store for $4.99. Fingers crossed it doesn't fall apart in a month. The pastry brush I got from there was practically disposable; the bristles came out completely after one use.

Dinner with Mack & Ami

Mismatched mix of bowls/plates and forks/spoon. Paper napkins, water bottles instead of cups (where did my cups go?). Knowingly unrefined but definitely delicious/necessary condiments.


Garlic knots! Or garlic blobs? I was impatient and didn't do a great job of tying the dough into knots, but you know...who's counting. (these look kind of horrible! haha)


Rigatoni with a combination of sweet and spicy Italian sausage (because Mack can't handle the heat) and wilted arugula in tomato sauce. Yum...I will be making this again. (Weekly, even?)



Ami!

Date with Myself: Jamie Oliver's Spaghetti + Meatballs Recipe

I've been watching Jamie Oliver's Oliver's Twist and decided to try out his recipe for meatballs tonight (featured in season 1 episode 4).

Not hungry yet? If that photo didn't whet your appetite, maybe this one will:

Still no? Alright, I give up. (I like how I write as though I have an audience.)

All in all, I'd give the meatballs a four out of five. Quite good! A bit too much rosemary for my liking. They also weren't quite salty enough for my taste, which was probably due to my underestimation of what a "good pinch of salt" is. Otherwise, the tomato sauce was 'spot on', and who can fuck up spaghetti, really. I will definitely make this again with some tweaks.

Good thing I liked this, since I'll be eating it for the next hundred days trying to eat it all.

Spinach Artichoke Dip + Pesto Pasta

Here's what I made for dinner last night!


Ingredients for spinach artichoke dip...


...served with pita chips and pesto fusilli with sun-dried tomatoes.

Credit for dish washing goes to Mack of course.

glory

chipotle's been crushing it these days!

Jakarta, Indonesia

Favori

Noorani Halal Restaurant

On Brookhurst in Garden Grove, CA

3.5/5 overall. Don't mind the subpar photos and my inarticulate descriptions.

Not the best samosas evs. Almost just tasted like fried pastry with a hint of potato filling.

Great naan!! Crisp at the bottom but soft and pillowy on top. Sometimes naan is just crispy layer - air - thin/crispy top. This was more bready/dense, which I like.

My mom's biriyani

Chicken tikka masala. The chicken itself didn't blow my mind. Great sauce, though greasy.

My dad's mixed tandoori- yuuum!

DIY pho bar at Whole Foods? Wonder if it's any good!

Day 2: California!

My grandparents' living room...my favorite room to photograph!

My mom's entree

My entree - SO DELICIOUS.

Desserts.

Lotus seeds.

Mung bean/coconut. Not sure of the name.

BK Flea

Mack and I went to the BK Flea a couple of weeks ago. Saw some really great items; I now know where to scavenge for furniture and knick-knacks when I eventually have my own apartment, You can get a sense of vibe if you watch this video. The number of appealing food vendors was overwhelming! It was too hard to choose one, so we sampled a few places.


Pork & chives dumplings from Good Fork. Deliciousss.

Frankly, I can't remember what these are. Fritter things...I think cheese was involved. Also from Good Fork. Possibly even tastier than the dumplings. Very light, not greasy at all.

Mack's Bulgogi Burger (Korean BBQ style) from Asia Dog.

My Vinh Beef Hotdog (Vietnamese banh-mi style: aioli + pate + cucumbers + pickled carrot and daikon + cilantro + jalapeno), also from Asia Dog. I like the concept of Asia Dog more than I liked the Vinh itself... I don't normally mind pate, but it didn't seem to do much for the hot dog besides adding a weird pasty/soggy texture. I'd like to give Japadog in Vancouver a try some day. Same concept but possibly light years better - ?

Sliced baguette topped with Salvatore Brooklyn's ricotta, freshly sliced prosciutto, arugula (I believe?), and salt & pepper. Olive oil optional. Mack liked this so much he went back for seconds.

Not pictured: Mack got a pork sandwich from Porchetta. I also tried chocolate raspberry and red velvet mini cupcakes from Kumquat Cupcakery. (After reading this Serious Eats article "The Best Cupcakes in NYC", I've been keeping my eyes open for their top 12 bakeries.) I have a mild aversion to red velvet cupcakes; I think it may be the cream cheese icing. However, Kumquat's mini red velvet cupcake was just right.

I'm looking forward to going back and trying some other food! The branding of all these places is so aesthetically pleasing. Let's be honest...Brooklyn knows what's up in terms of appealing products.