Mama's {San Francisco, CA}

Ah the joys of a good breakfast. I'm not normally a breakfast person, so when I do eat breakfast, I like to go all out. At Mama's, you can definitely do that and more!

To start, you simply wait in line, place your order, scramble to find a table and then they bring your food out to you. While you wait, you can play around with the homemade jam set on the table, ummm delicious!!! Oh, and you can sip on some delightful libations.

Our picks were the mimosa and bloody mary. The mimosa, small may it have been, packed quite the punch. I shared one and still felt a bit woozy, but at the same time was not heckling because of an overly strong alcohol taste - a mimosa done right. The bloody mary, beastly as it looked, was delicious as well.

My absolute favorite dish was the Northern Italian omelette. Yes, you can find eggs everywhere but you can't find them done well everywhere. This omelette had it going on, stuffed with all kinds of goodness and saltiness.

The Kugelhuph french toast was a sight for sore eyes, bathed in fresh berries and just a touch of powdered sugar.
This was my friends: the Huevos Rancheros. I didn't try it but I really can't imagine it being anything less than spectacular.

Yes, we wiped our plates clean, it was all worth it. Overall, Mama's is a great home-y breakfast nook that serves straightforwardly delicious food.

Yelp

Website

Katana-Ya {San Francisco, CA}

Ramen is essential to the health of the body. Ha, it's actually not but I'd like to think it breeds good things for the mind. On a cold day in San Francisco, there's nothing more comforting than a bowl of hot soup that's been made with love and that you've been waiting in line for, for 30 minutes. Seriously people, this place always has a line!

I got the Kara-Age Ramen with the miso broth. Everything about this ramen was delicious. I definitely would not call myself a ramen connoisseur by any means, but for me, this ramen hit all the spots. The miso broth was comforting and the noodles were slightly chewy, just how I like them. The fried chicken pieces were good as well, nothing spectacular although something new to say the least.

Ramen + friends = a good lunch.

Yelp

Bob's Donuts {San Francisco, CA}

Bob's is, in my book, the best donut shop. There's no fancy schmancy stuff here, no knick nacks or 'haute' donuts. These are the donuts you grew up eating, but the best versions of those that you will ever have.
To be honest, I might be a bit biased. Being wooed by the charming staff always has a way of upping the 'flavor factor' but believe me when I tell you that these donuts are g-o-o-d and bonus, the charming staff!
The optimal time to get these donuts are at their freshest, when they are being plopped into the hot grease for their daily bath and then placed warm and fresh right in front of your face, about 11 pm - 1 am. I mean why wouldn't you NOT want to eat a donut that has just freshly been fried? Yes, I know you do.
Ahhh... the joys of the cruller! Perfection. But I have to say my favorite thing to get here are the fresh apple fritters. These are by far the best apple fritters I've ever had in my life, and that's saying something, because I've had my fair share!
Mmm, simple yeasted donut with chocolate glaze. This will never get old...

Yelp

Fleur de Sel Caramels

I've been obsessed with salted caramel lately. First, I encountered some through a friend, who gave my sister and I a load full of them. Needless to say, we polished off those babies in well under two days... then I made these Salted Caramel Cupcakes, which fueled my obsession even more!

Those cupcakes were probably one of my favorite cupcakes I've made so far; the perfect combination of salty and sweet which is perfect because I hate when cupcakes are too, too sweet. That's where the salt comes in. Salt is added to almost every baked good imaginable because it heightens the flavor and cuts down on the sugary-high.

These caramels were simple and delicious! The only real special thing you need is a candy thermometer but other than that the ingredients are simple and so is the process. And the end result? Well, let's just say I'm going to have to visit my dentist reallllll soon and he won't be too happy with me!

Fleur de Sel Caramels

Yields: 30 caramels

Original recipe can be found here.

Printable Recipe

Vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 cup heavy cream

5 tbsn. unsalted butter

1 tsp. fleur de sell, plus extra for sprinkling

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then brush the paper lightly with oil, allowing the paper to drape over two sides. In a deep saucepan, stir together 1/4 cup water with the sugar and corn syrup and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil until mixture is a warm, golden brown color. Don't stir - just swirl the pan to mix. Watch carefully, as it will burn quickly at the end. In the meantime, in a small pan, bring the cream, butter and 1 tsp. fleur de del to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat and set aside.

When sugar mixture is a warm, golden color, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Be careful! It will bubble up violently. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 F (firm ball stage) on a candy thermometer. Very carefully pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate until firm.

When caramels are cold, use the parchment paper to pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board (the caramels will be supple and easy to handle, if too stiff, allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes). Cut into 1-inch squares, taking care not to tough the caramel with your finger. Sprinkle each with fleur de sell and wrap individually in glassine or parchment paper. Store in refrigerator and serve caramels chilled.

Mmmmm salty goodness!

Tailored Tuesdays

1. Mike & Chris "Maurice washed leather jacket"

2. Marios Schwab "Embellished twill dress"

3. Chloe "Paraty python tote"

4. Christian Louboutin "Pigalle 100 studded pumps"

5. Dannijo "Jacinda silver plated ring"

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

Coconut Mochi Cake

This summer I attended a little party. Everyone brought a little something to contribute. I brought my Ferrero Rocher cupcakes and Empanadas, which were delish but not as delish as this Mochi cake. Of course I knew what mochi was, but mochi cake!? I've never tried it or even heard of such a thing before! Well thank gosh I did because it's now one of my favorite cakes ever!

If you've never tried mochi or mochi cake, it has a pleasantly chewy and dense texture. I warn you, to some, this might seem odd, but to me it's utterly delicious. Well I begged my friend for the recipe and here it is, so enjoy everyone! I knew I would have to, have to make this cake for my family on Thanksgiving and I guess you're wondering WHY on Thanksgiving? Seems odd doesn't it?
Well my family hates, loathes, protests overly-sweet baked goods. Never will I ever make them a cupcake or other baked goods for them! Well I was right, this cake was perfectly sweet but not overly so. The texture really resembles some Vietnamese bakery goods as well so I knew that that would also be familiar to them. Anyways, I love this cake! Plus, did I mention how easy it is?! Just mix and bake, and you're done folks!

Mochi Cake

Yields: 1 large bundt cake

Original recipe from Kim, my friend.

Printable Recipe

1 stick butter, melted

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, beaten (or 3, if you prefer a more dense cake)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 16 oz. box Mochiko flour

1 12 oz. can evaporated milk

1/2 cup water

1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk

Mix everything together and put in a greased baking pan. Put in a 350 F oven for an hour, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely then enjoy.

Mmmmm my favorite!

Obsession of the Moment

Winter is here (well not really because it's still a high of 70s in the day bleh) and just the thought of Christmas makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

I'm craving all of these beautiful things.

Oh. so. beautiful.

Don't you just die for anything Anthropologie?!?!

All images from Anthropologie.

Basil Limeades/ Soda Chanh

This recipe is a twist on the traditional Vietnamese drink called Soda Chanh, which is essentially a carbonated lime-ade. At the restaurant I work at, they add some torn basil leaves on request and it's really delicious.

Don't be thrown off for a loop! I was kind of shocked about the idea too... basil in my lemonade?! Sounds kinda weird to me, but I was intrigued, took a sip and what do you know? I actually liked it, I really, really liked it! I think you guys will like it too! The basil flavor is just a subtle note in the background that adds great depth in flavor. Mint would work well as too, I'll have to try that next time. I love this drink especially in Summer because it's so refreshing but since it's never quite Winter in California, I can enjoy this baby all year round!

Basil Limeades

Yields: about 4 servings

Printable Recipe

For the simple syrup:

1 part water

1 part sugar

1 part simple syrup (1/2 cup)

1 part fresh lime juice (1/2 cup)

5 - 6 parts carbonated water (2 1/2 - 3 cups)

small bunch of basil leaves, torn

To make the simple syrup, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until all of the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and store in a container (simple syrup is essentially a 1:1 ratio of water to sugar, so you can make as much or as little as you want). To make the limeades, mix everything together. Serve over ice and enjoy!

Sweet simplicity at its best:

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Mmmm pumpkin cheesecake.

I've been wanting to make this for so longggg and what better time than Thanksgiving itself?

I tried cutting down the sugar on this recipe because I kept seeing various recipes that called for a range of 1/2 cups to 2 whole cups of sugar in similar recipes and I was so confused! How could one recipe have 1/2 a cup and another one have 2 cups with the same amount of 4 blocks of cream cheese? I figured I would compromise and use 1 1/2 cups of sugar, which sounded reasonable.

Results? Although the cheesecake was good it wasn't great. The pumpkin flavor was just a bit lacking and I think it's because of the missing sugar. The original recipe is below, 2 cups and all so I suggest using the full amount so that the sugar can bring out the full pumpkin flavor. But I really did love the pepita brittle on top of this cheesecake! A nice added layer of texture (you can find the recipe here).

A mini cheesecake fresh out of the oven (although it looks pretty big here huh?):

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Yields: 2 large cheesecakes

Slightly adapted from this recipe, which can be found here.

Printable Recipe

For the filling:

4 8oz. packages cream cheese

2 cups sugar

3 tbsn. flour

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp. salt

1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree

5 large eggs

1 tbsn. vanilla

For the crust:

1 cup pecans

2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 2 9-inch diameter springform pan with nonstick spray. Grind the cookie crumbs, pecans, and brown sugar until finely ground. Add butter and process to blend. Split the mixture evenly between each pan and press the crust into the bottoms. Bake until set and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Keep oven at 350 F for the pie. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in pumpkin, add eggs 1 at a time, beating on low speed to incorporate after each addition. Add flour, spice and salt and beat to blend. Beat in vanilla. Transfer filling to cooled crust. Bake until filling is just set in the center and edges begin to crack (filling will move slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool 1 hour. Run knife around sides of pan to release the cheesecake. Chill cheesecake uncovered in pan overnight.

Tailored Tuesdays

Mmmm classic basics in classic colors. Reminds me of the lovely style of Olivia Palermo.

1. Chloe "Asymmetric silk blouse"

2. Chloe "Wool blend cropped pants"

3. Marni "Fabric frame clutch"

4. Lanvin "Patent leather peep-toe pumps"

5. Dannijo "Carmela silver plated spike necklace"

all images can be found atnet-a-porter.com

I love, love, love EVERYTHING that this girl wears. Especially those silver brogues! She puts things together so nicely and is never afraid to take a risk. She wears classics but incorporates trendy pieces to keep things fresh. I would love to mingle around in her closet for a while.