Fall Ready-to-Wear 2009

The latest and greatest from the NYC tents for Fall 2009 (much more to come soon):

Though his gorgeous gowns are my favorite, Carlos is far from a one-trick pony:

A complete wardrobe for the uptown girl:

Modern day romance:

Perfection found in cocktail dresses:

Boho chic paired with bright tones:

Strong silhouettes and shoulders, the epitome of Posh:

Jenni Kayne photos by: Don Ashby. All other photos by: Marcio Madiera.

Eggs in a Hole

I love eggs. I love bread. I love quick. I love easy. That's why eggs in a hole are perfect for me! They make a quick and delicious lunch, not to mention healthy too. A definite keeper.

My love for these things is undoubtable!

Eggs in a Hole

Yields: one serving

Yep, this is as simple as it gets!

1 slice of whole wheat bread

1 large egg

1/2 tbsn. butter

salt and pepper, to taste

fresh herbs, whatever you have on hand is fine (optional)

salsa (optional)

Burning love.

Heat a medium sized pan on medium high heat. Using a cookie cutter or a knife, cut a hole in the center of your slice of bread. Add the butter into the pan, once melted, lay down the slice of bread. Next crack your egg into the center of the hole and cook until the bottom is set, about 1 - 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the toast and cook the other side until done, about 1 -2 minutes as well. Toast your extra bread in the flame (because I hate wasting food). Remove from heat, top with herbs and fresh salsa. You can use any herbs you liked, I'm not even sure what I used here but that's what I had on hand. Enjoy!

Nothing beats a perfectly cooked, perfectly gooey yolk! (P.S. taken in my new light tent)

Tailored Tuesdays

Hello and welcome to my new Tailored Tuesdays! When I was a young girl, my friends used to always tease me about how I was so boring. Rather than spending my nights partying like the usual high school kids, I liked to scrapbook, collage, and craft. One of my favorite hobbies was to peruse through gorgeous images of clothing and piece them together into outfits. I would literally spend hours upon hours glued to the beautiful details and lush colors. Ever since college happened, I've been neglecting my so loved hobbies and I think it's time for a revival.

1. Balmain "Embroidered Mini Dress"

2. Rick Owens "Washed leather biker jacket"

3. Marni "Leather slingback sandals"

4. Philippe Audibert "Raphaelle flower bracelet"

all images can be found at net-a-porter.com

Light Tent

I've been having trouble taking photos in my house whenever I cook something. I usually cook at night when the lighting in the kitchen is horribly orange and dark and even in the daytime my kitchen barely has any windows in it, so it's hard to take step-by-step photos. I often have to resort to waiting until the morning while lugging my confectionaries out into the backyard to get a decent photo since I especially loathe using the flash. 

The light tent B built for me:

B provided the solution to my woes: a light tent. He followed the instructions here. He said it took him longer than he had expected but it wasn't too hard to follow the directions. The results were magical!  A light box is ideal for nighttime-crappy-lighting situations. Just pop the subject into the box, hold a lamp against the muslin walls and snap your photo! You can even change the setting by using different poster boards as backgrounds for a professional setting for your food. Needless to say, I love it!

A closer look:

A picture of my cupcake in my new light tent:

Another sample picture:

One without the light bulb:

Mochilato {Irvine, CA}

I hope that everybody's Valentine's day went well. My Valentine's was quiet and relaxing; spending my time cooking, scrapbooking, getting an amazing light tent from B, and enjoying an intimate dinner with him too. What a lucky girl I am!

Valentine's Day heart bokeh:

On our down time, we stopped by Mochilato. I've heard many good things about it and B & I recently discovered that it was just a second away from his house (literally). We ordered the single shaved ice combo that came with a "Single" sized shaved ice along with 2 mochis. I chose tiramisu and creme brulee mochis and their "Mochilato Way" shaved ice.

The various kinds of Mochi they have:

The mochi was soft and chewy on the outside and filled with creamy, smooth gelato. The tiramisu, in my opinion, was just mere coffee and the creme brulee was just a caramel flavored vanilla. Though they didn't live up to their expectations, I think if I had not known what flavors they should have been, I would have enjoyed them just a little bit more. Besides that, the gelato and mochi were delicious none the less.

Our "Mochilato Way"shaved ice:

The shaved ice was HUGE! It was meant to be a single, but B & I barely dented the thing and we had tons to take home too. It consisted of fresh shaved ice, with a plethora of fruit mounded on top; basically a mountain of kiwi, mango, strawberry, mochi, and other delights. Though each component on its own was delicious, I think everything together was a little overkill. Next time, I think I'll stick to the various flavors of Mochi they have or keep my shaved ice simple.

Tiramisu on the left, Creme Brulee on the right:

Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcakes

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! 

Hope you're spending it with someone special (romantic or not).

For this Valentine's Day I decided to try a recipe that I've been oogling for weeks now. I thought Candace Nelson's strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting would be the perfect treat! I've loved Sprinkles for a while now, so getting a chance to make her recipe was exciting. The cake turned out super moist and the frosting was perfectly speckled with strawberry puree. My favorite part about making these cupcakes were the fact that I could control the amount of frosting, since sometimes Sprinkle's tends to overload the sweet factor. 

Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcakes

Yields: approximately 12 - 15

Slightly modified from the original recipe, which can be found at Martha Stewart.com, from Candace Nelson

For the cupcakes:

3/4 cup of fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, sifted

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. coarse salt (I used regular)

1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature (I used 2%)

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup or 1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

2 large egg whites, room temperature

For the frosting:

4 tablespoons of strawberry puree (from remaining puree above)

1 cup/ 2 sticks of unsalted butter

pinch of salt

3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside. Place the strawberries in a food processor and pulse until pureed, it should measure up to about 1/3 cup of strawberry puree. Add a couple more strawberries for extra puree for the frosting. Set aside. 

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, combine the milk, vanilla extract, and 1/3 cup of the strawberry puree. Using a mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Next, slowly add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Slowly add the egg and egg whites until combined. Next, gradually add half of the flour mixture until blended, then the milk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture. Make sure everything is well blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling them 2/3 full. Bake until golden brown and when an inserted toothpick comes out clean, which will be about 20 - 25 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them. 

While baking, you can make these super cute candy melt hearts! Just melt them at 30 second intervals until smooth. Use a toothpick to shape the hearts on a piece of foil. Wait until they harden and top your cupcakes with them:

For the frosting, puree the strawberries in a food processor. Using an electric mixer,  whip the butter and salt together until nice and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar until well combined. Add the vanilla and 3 tbsn. of strawberry puree, mix until well blended. Now time to frost! Enjoy!

Nutella Oatmeal Thins

I decided to shower her in my baked love - so she'd never forget me! So in addition to the wonderful earl grey cupcakes from my previous post, I also made these Nutella Oatmeal Thins. Hopefully all of this sugary goodness will keep her tummy at bay until another visiting opportunity comes by.

These cookies turned out to be wonderfully crisp and almost as thin as a piece of paper! Though they were delicious on their own, I wanted a richer Nutella flavor so I tried sandwiching a layer of Nutella between two crisps and I hit the jackpot! This cookie reminded me of one of my favorite treats, Ferrero Rocher, with the gooey hazelnut chocolate center and a crispy outer layer. Though it wasn't as complex as the many layers in a Ferrero Rocher, the flavor was ALL there!

Nutella Oatmeal Thins

Yields: About 24

Original recipe can be found at Baking Bites

1 cup + 2 tbsn. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup butter, room temp

6 -7 tbsn. Nutella

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg + 1 egg yolk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup of quick cooking oats

Preheat to 350 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl cream the butter, nutella, and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and egg yolk, then the vanilla. Gradually blend in the flour mixture and the oats, slowly. Drop teaspoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart to allow them to expand. Bake for 10 minutes, and let cool completely. Enjoy! 

Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

I haven't seen my best friend, Cherish, in quite a while. Though a drive lasting only a few good songs is the only thing that separates us, we both have completely overwhelming schedules that has dwindled our time together to mere phone tag and sometimes, if we are lucky, 10 minute conversations. This weekend, I'd thought I'd spend an early Valentine's day with my other lover! And my sister! And maybe a handful of these deliciously sweet cupcakes! A day well spent indeed.

These earl grey cupcakes were light and delicately sweet. Although I halved the recipe, I used the full amount of tea leaves in the original recipe because I wanted a full tea flavor, and I definitely got it. The earl grey was so fragrant! I don't like oozes of frosting so I layered a thin base layer to cover the tops and then a little dollop for extra sweetness. I would suggest to eat these little beauties with a nice, steaming hot cup of tea but well, it's a two for one. The lemon buttercream also paired wonderfully with the bergamot notes within the tea itself.  

Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

Yields: 12 - 15, I halved the original recipe

Original Recipe can be found at Desert Candy

For the cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups of flour

2 tbsn. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2  bags of earl grey tea

For the frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 cups of powdered sugar

zest of 1 lemon

1 1/2 tbsn. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F. Fill a cupcake pan with liners. Beat the butter until creamy, then add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure that they are incorporated thoroughly. In a bowl, combine the rest of the dry ingredients, including the tea leaves. Next, add half of the dry mixture. Add the milk then the remaining flour, stir until combined. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, rotating halfway to ensure even baking. Let cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting, cream the butter until nice and smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar. Next, add the lemon zest and lemon juice, making sure it is well incorporated. Frost the cupcakes and enjoy!

* You can also add some loose tea leaves into the frosting for a stronger earl grey flavor. 

To frost my cupcakes, I  flattened the cupcakes by shaving off the tops. Then spread a thin, smooth layer of the frosting over the cupcake and dip them in a bowl full of clear sprinkles. Using a piping bag, fitted with any desired tip, pipe a small rosette in the center of the cupcake and you are done. Enjoy!

FFF (Friday Flickr Favorites)

A friday of cupcakes from stefHope. Enjoy!

Poladroid

Something I am totally obsessed with is an application called Poladroid. It's absolutely free and absolutely ingenious! I was definitely saddened by the news a while back of the discontinuance of Polaroids. Although we might never get it back, the creators of Poladroid have given us some joy back. As of now I think the program is only Apple compatible, but basically by dragging and dropping your pictures into the "polaroid camera" it spits out a polaroid look-a-like, complete with wait time to develop. It even operates on "cartridges" and "runs out" after every 10 photos you drop into it. Here are some sample photos of my favorite foods and random items:  

P. S. You can find the application here. All recipes for the food below can be found by clicking the hyperlink.

A chandelier from B's house.

My sister's famous Chocolate Chunk & Banana bread pudding. 

Blueberries and Blackberries for an Almond & Mixed Berry Cobbler.

The best and easiest Almond Croissants ever!

A bee doing its job.

My mom's Tofu with Ground Pork and Shrimp, my favorite!