Intelligentsia {Los Angeles, CA}

Intelligentsia is supposedly the best coffee in the Los Angeles area. I can't support nor deny this, simply for the fact that I am not a coffee expert. But what I can tell you is that their coffee is pretty darn good. I didn't add sugar to it at all and was perfectly happy with the fresh coffee flavor.
What I love about Intelligentsia though, is the fact that I found this AWESOME cold iced tea brewer! You simply add the tea leaves or tea bags, add water and let it brew for at least 12 hours, but sometimes it takes way less than that. You can buy it on their website too, below!

Yelp

Website

4100 Bar {Los Angeles, CA}

I love the 4100 Bar just for the fact that my friends & I had a memorable time here. But to be honest, it really is a great place for drinks and good times. It's a bit small, but when not too crowded, it's great. Drinks are a plenty and the crowd is a good mix of people.

Yelp

Website

Easy Layer Cake with Custard & Strawberries

There are many reasons why I only make cupcakes. First of all, they are undeniable cute. Second of all, they're individually portioned which make them nice and simple. But mostly, they are much easier to make undeniable cute then cakes are. I've struggled with making layered cakes ever since I can remember! Frosting them just takes a certain 'je ne sais qois.'

When my family asked me to make a cake for my Grandpa's 80th birthday, I knew I was in for some trouble. Then, I found this recipe for a layer cake that was unbelievably stunning yet loaded with tricks to help make a beautiful cake. Covering the sides in cookies and topping the cake with chocolate covered strawberries made for a VERY impressive cake that had all of its flaws hidden; score!

Since the recipe did require lots of individual components, I decided to simplify the recipe for sake of time and stress. I used a boxed mix, blasphemy I know, but it did the job fabulously and rather than making a pastry cream, I used my tried and true custard recipe that I've used a numerous amount of times (see here, here, here, here, here). Of course, making all of these components did take some time, but the results were everything I could have imagined and more.

Everyone at the party, including myself, loved this cake! It was super moist and full of yummy flavors. But I might be biased because I just simply love, love, love this custard. The strawberry filling provided the perfect amount of fruity freshness and zing that the cake needed. Also, I loved how instead of using a traditional buttercream frosting, this cake used whipped cream instead. The whipped cream was the perfect accompaniment to the cake, as other frostings would have been much too sweet. Although, since it did use whipped cream, this cake is a bit more fragile than others and needs to be refrigerated and eaten as soon as possible. Anyways, I'd say this cake was a HUGE success and my family has already asked for more!

Easy Layer Cake with Custard & Strawberries

Yields: One 2 or 3 layer cake, depending on how thin your layers are

Adapted from here.

1 box of Betty Crocker French Vanilla 'Super Moist' Cake

Pirouette Rolled Wafers, in Chocolate and Vanilla (for decoration)

Preheat the oven to 350 F, 325 F if using a dark or nonstick pan. Prepare the batter according to the directions. Grease 2 or 3 8-inch round cake pans with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and golden brown, about 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting. Let cool completely. Using a serrated knife, even the cake layers out to create cakes of even width, set aside.

For the custard:

1 small box of instant 'vanilla pudding'

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped

Mix the package of pudding, milk and heavy cream together until it begins to thicken, about 5 - 7 minutes. Fold in the vanilla or scraped vanilla beans. Let refrigerator about 10 - 15 minutes.

For the frosting:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat the whipping cream in a stand mixer until soft peaks form. Fold in the sugar and vanilla. Continue beating until peaks are stiff.

For the chocolate covered strawberries:

6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

3 oz. white chocolate, chopped

10 large strawberries

Put chocolate in separate microwave safe bowls. One at a time, melt the chocolate in the microwave in intervals of 30 seconds, stirring each time. Heat and stir until smooth. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Hold the strawberries by the stems and dip each one into the semisweet chocolate, tapping any excess chocolate off. Place on baking sheet. Dip a fork into the white chocolate and drizzle over the dipped strawberries. Let set.

For the strawberry filling:

1 1/2 cups trimmed and sliced strawberries

1/8 cup granulated sugar

1/8 cup water

1/2 tbsn. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tbsn. cornstarch

Mix everything besides 1 cup of strawberries in a medium pot over medium heat. Let simmer for 15 - 20 minutes until strawberries have broken down a little and mixture has thickened. Turn off heat and mix in remaining strawberries. Transfer to bowl and cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate until cool.

To assemble the cake, place one layer of cake on the surface you want your final cake to be on. To prevent a frosting mess, you can put pieces of parchment paper around the edges to 'catch' the excess frosting. Use the whipped cream to pipe a 'barrier' of frosting around the top edge of the cake. Spread half of the custard on the cake in the ring, then top with the stewed berries. Top with the next layer of cake and repeat until you have your last layer on. Spread the rest of the custard on the top of the cake. Frost the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream, covering the custard as well. Decorate the top of the cake with the chocolate covered strawberries and the sides of the cake with the straw cookies.

I made two, and frosted the other one this way: dusted in cocoa powder:

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal

I love oatmeal.

But of course, you already know that,

judging by the many oatmeal recipes, as seen here, here, and here.

So this is just another oatmeal recipe. One that is incredibly hearty and incredibly healthy. Oats that stick to your ribs and keep you fueled the whole morning. Mmmm nothing beats a warm bowl of oatmeal! This oatmeal takes a bit more time, since it's all steel cut oats but there's something about slow cooking a nice bowl of oatmeal that calms your nerves and starts your morning off to a good mood.

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal

Yields: 1 serving

Original recipe here.

2/3 cup water/ soy milk/ almond milk/ rice milk

pinch of salt

1/2 cup dry steel-cut oatmeal

1/4 medium zucchini, finely grated

handful of chopped pecans

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg, if desired

pinch of ground ginger, if desired

1 heaping tbsn. almond butter/ any nut or seed butter

2 tbsn. brown sugar

Maple syrup, to serve

In a heavy bottomed pot, bring the water and salt to a boil over high heat. Add the oats, lower the heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice (if the bottom begins to scorch, add a bit more liquid). After 15 minutes, add the zucchini, nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Stir well, then cover again and cook for another 5 minutes (if oats are dry, add a bit more liquid). Remove from heat, stir in the almond butter and the brown sugar. Serve with an extra dousing of maple syrup more milk, if desired.

Tailored Tuesdays

I love that necklace. Love love love.

1. Falconiere "Klimt peacock necklace"

2. Jason Wu "Flecked tweed dress with belt"

3. Miu Miu "Quilted leather shoulder bag"

4. Lanvin "Leather ballerina flats"

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

Braised Sea Bass Claypot/ Ca Kho To

Of course, you all know I love food. I love baking, I love cooking, I love eating, I love gawking, I love just the smell of it all. My ultimate favorite type of food though, is Vietnamese. It's probably because I am Vietnamese, but hey, we have some good eats.

This dish is one of my absolute favorites! It's fish that is caramelized in a claypot so it's sweet and salty at the same time; the ultimate combination, I think. Traditionally it is made with catfish, but at my work they upscale it and make it with Chilean Sea Bass so I decided to give that a try. It was still just as delicious and uberly buttery and rich. The perfect accompaniment with rice, especially with all that deliciously sweet sauce.
Braised Sea Bass Claypot/ Ca Kho To

Yields: 4 servings

For the caramel:

1/4 cup water

2 tbsn. sugar

For the sauce:

1 tbsn. oil

2 shallots, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup fish sauce

1/2 cup coconut water

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 lb. sea bass filets, about 1/4 inch thick

Black pepper, to taste

3 - 5 dried thai chilis

1 green onion, julienned (for garnish)

Clean the fish filets and pat dry. Rub the filets with black pepper, to taste; set aside. In a medium saucepan, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and lightly brown, about 1 minute. Add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce and heat over medium heat until begins to bubble and reduces slightly, about 5 - 7 minutes, then turn off the heat and set aside.

In a medium sized pan, combine the sugar and water for the caramel sauce. Heat over medium heat until sugar dissolves and starts to brown. As soon as the sugar mixture turns a light brown, add the filets and sear the fish on each side for 1 - 2 minutes. The sugar mixture should be darker in color and caramelized on the fish filets.

Remove the fish and add to a claypot (which is traditionally used but not necessary) or keep in the same pan. Cover with the braising sauce then add the thai chilis and cover. Cook on medium high heat for 5 - 7 minutes or until fish is cooked through and flakes easily. Top with the green onions and serve with rice. Enjoy!

"The Chewy"

I've never made a chocolate chip cookie before, and did I mention that I call myself a baker? Pshh what was I thinking! I think to call yourself a baker you have to have at least baked one batch of chocolate chip cookies from scratch. Well, after today, I can now happily and without a doubt call myself a baker.

My favorite type of cookies are the chewy type, so it just seemed appropriate that I try a recipe called, most blatantly, "The Chewy." These cookies were definitely yummy, and yes chewy as their name described but I don't think that I can call these my go-to CCC recipe. They were good just not out of this world delicious and when it comes to a CCC, I think they deserve to be just that.

Also, I was just wondering, do any of you guys ever bake cookies and get those thinned out crispy edges? Most of my cookies always come out that way and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. If you guys have any tips on this problem, help a girl out?

Alton Brown's 'The Chewy'

Yields: 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Original recipe can be found here.

1 cup/ 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/4 cups bread flour

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tbsn. milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 F. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda, set aside. Pour the melted butter into a large bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, milk, and vanilla, then mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment paper lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Tailored Tuesdays

1. A.P.C. 'Quilt detailed cotton parka'

2. A.P.C. 'Merino and cashmere blend sweater'

3. Current/ Elliott 'The moto skinny jeans'

4. Belstaff 'Barkmaster ankle boots'

5. Miu Miu 'Canvas and leather tote'

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

"Kogi" Korean BBQ Tacos

I've mentioned the Flying Sams before, but if you didn't know or are new around here, it's a club that I am involved in. We are a completely student run organization that operates a clinic in El Testerazo, Mexico once a month. It's the best club I've ever had the chance to be involved in and I love it dearly! More info here.

Well, every once in a while we have fundraisers to help us keep our clinic running and to provide the necessary medications for the people of our clinic. Sometimes we sell cupcakes and sometimes we sell Korean BBQ. This time we decided to kick things up a notch and try our hand at "Kogi" Korean BBQ Tacos. If you've never heard of Kogi you probably don't live around Southern CA, cause it's definitely all the rage around here. We used this AWESOME recipe from Kevin of Closet Cooking and boy was it a hit!

We kind of changed it up a bit by using prepared bulgogi meat rather than Kalbi that Kevin used. You can get prepared bulgogi meat from Korean markets, which are relatively cheap. It is already marinated and delicious by itself, but when topped with the SUPER, SUPER spicy Korean Salsa Roja, wow! Everything was delicious and so full of flavor. If you have the time, definitely make this.

Topped with some juicy limes, and you're set!

Mmmm juicy bulgogi.

"Kogi" Korean BBQ Tacos

Yields: 12 tacos/ 4 servings

Adapted from this recipe.

12 small corn tortillas

1 1/2 lbs. prepared Korean bulgogi

1 cup Korean style salsa roja (recipe below)

1 cup onion cilantro relish (recipe below)

2 cups shredded lettuce in Korean sesame vinaigrette (recipe below)

Toasted sesame seeds

Heat a medium sized pan over medium-high heat. Cook until cooked through, about 5 - 8 minutes, set aside. To assemble the tacos, heat the tortillas over an open flame until lightly toasty and warm. Top each tortilla with some meat, hot sauce, relish and lettuce. Finish with some sesame seeds and enjoy!

Korean Style Salsa Roja

Yields: 2 cups

Original recipe here.

1/2 lb. plum tomatoes

1/4 lb. tomatillos

1 cup water

1 oz. (about 20) dried chilies de arbol, toasted

1/3 cup onion, chopped

1 tbsn. garlic, grated

1 tbsn. ginger, grated

2 tbsn. gochujang

1 tbsn. sesame oil

1 tbsn. sesame seeds, toasted

Roast the tomatoes and tomatillos until charred on all sides, about 10 - 12 minutes. Place the tomatoes, tomatillos, water, chiles de arbol and onion in a large sauce pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until the onions and chiles are tender, about 20 - 30 minutes. Drain the water, reserving it. Place everything, other than the sesame seeds in a food processor or a blender and puree, adding some of the reserved liquid if needed. Strain the bits from the salsa and mix in the toasted sesame seeds.

Onion and Cilantro Relish

Yields: 4+ servings/ about 1 cup

Original recipe here.

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 bunch green onions, sliced

1 handful cilantro, chopped

1/2 lime, juiced

Mix everything together.

Shredded Romaine in Korean Sesame Vinaigrette

Yields: 4+ servings

Original recipe here.

1 tbsn. sesame oil

1/2 lime, juiced

1 tbsn. soy sauce

1 tbsn. gochugaru

1 tbsn. sesame seeds, toasted

1/2 heat romaine lettuce, shredded

Mix together all of the ingredients except the lettuce. Toss the lettuce in the sauce.

Tailored Tuesdays

Simple but just a little bit sparkly.

1. Maison Martin Margiela 'Cotton blend tuxedo jacket'

2. T by Alexander Wang 'Jersey pocket tank'

3. Citizens of Humanity 'Avedon slick legging fit jeans'

4. Lanvin 'Happy metallic lambskin leather bag'

5. Burberry Prorsum 'Vintage house studded ballerina flats'

6. Mawi 'Multi strand swarovski and heart locket necklace'

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