S'mores "Avalanche" Cake

Alright here is my other disaster from Saturday cake baking. First my dad's cake and then came my best friend's cake. Her cake was in honor of her new son Mason. She said she wanted that cake and I said as soon as she is settled at home, she will have cake! I remember the last time making this cake for my birthday the cake layers were very delicate. Putting it on the cooling rack to stacking them are the 2 most difficult things about this cake because it breaks very easily. This time around I decided to save some sugar for the egg whites and whip a meringue to then incorporate into the batter. I thought this would make the cake a bit stronger and not has delicate. Well no, the cake still was delicate. I guess since the graham cracker is the "flour" to the cake it doesn't give off much hold. What is the disaster you ask? Well cake layer 1 went on the cooling rack beautifully. Cake layer 2 literally broke in my hands. I thought it be best to put the broken layer on top and the marshmallow would hold it together. Yeah once the warm chocolate went on top everything starting falling apart. I tried to hold it together with toothpicks. LOL

That didn't help! Look it's a river of chocolate, mmm.

Again I was very upset and agitated. The only way I saved this cake was by wrapping it up in tin foil and straight into the fridge to set over night. The next day I unwrapped it and brought it to my best friend. I warned her that my cake looked prettier than her cake but it tasted absolutely great! She said, "That's okay!" She was just happy to get cake. S'mores Cake!

The chocolate didn't even coat well. I think the heavy cream again had something to do with 2 bad cakes.

Look at that crack down the middle of the cake. Man I just couldn't save that layer.

None the less the cake still tasted amazing. The original recipe comes from Baking Bites, which you can find by clicking this link here. I went over there to also do the Fantasy Football draft and afterward we all enjoyed some cake. Yes I'm doing Fantasy Football and I can't wait! My first time doing it and I'm ready to kick some butt.

Here is a question I ask my readers though. Does heavy cream and half n half make a "huge" difference when it comes to making ganaches? For instance, the S'mores cake I made for my birthday I used half n half in the ganache and check out how beautiful it melted down the cake. As you see above the heavy cream was thicker and didn't melt down the side. I thought it really didn't make a difference? Ok let's hope Fallon doesn't have any other cake disasters for a long time! I need this curse to be done!! Talk to you soon, Fal

Apricot Sacher Cake

My new thing is to bake something for friends and family when their birthday comes around. What to buy them? They can just buy it themselves! Sometimes it easy to pick up a gift for someone, but when I struggle I know something home baked is the plan! My father's birthday was back in June and I was busy with college getting ready to graduate. I promised him in his card I'd bake him a cake. I finally buckled down and made his cake. I knew what I'd be making him, just had to have time. I bought this small chocolate cookbook at Border's one day, it was $2.99! Looks like they have it on Amazon and you can check it out by clicking this link here. I skimmed through it and liked the step by step pictures and the interesting recipes. I selected several I'd like to make but the Apricot Sacher Cake was going to be my dad's birthday cake. Very simple on the ingredients list as you will see in a moment. My father is European and loves apricot. Add chocolate and it makes it even better! Apricot is not a very popular flavor when it comes to baking in the US as I have seen. I know it one of my dads all time favorite. He eats apricot preserves and bread all the time. Before making the cake I just Google Sacher cake to see what I'd come up with. Well I didn't realize it had a whole history behind it! It all originated in Vienna back in 1832. Check out this website to read up more on the history, the hotel, and their beautiful Sacher Tort they sell. So after looking at their cake it looks amazing. I'm such a lucky person and the day I decided I had to make 2 cakes, both cakes had PROBLEMS!


Here are the problems I had with the Sacher Cake:
1. The recipe tells me to mix in the warm apricot, butter and sugar mixture into the flour/cocoa mixture. It became a hard big clump! I wasn't sure if I was suppose to add it all to the cake or what? The directions weren't very clear. I added it all. hehe
2. Well the eggs had to be separated and I added the yolks to the hard big clump and it was still pretty stiff. I was thinking how in the world will I incorporate the fluffy eye whites? Well I got the egg whites into the batter but it wasn't pretty.
3. The cake is 3 layers and I wanted to go for the 3 because I think it looks pretty. Although 2 layers would of probably made my life a lot easier! The recipe tells you to flip the cake upside down on a cutting board and cut from that way. Which I did and then I realized that my top part that is pretty rounded ended up on the top! It should of been the bottom layer. Man I was pissed but it was already too late. I had layered and filled the cake as I was cutting.

Oops!
 

4. Again, the recipe states to layer the top piece with apricot. I thought this was weird but I went with it. Well BIG mistake. I put the cake in the fridge to firm up and this is when I was melting the chocolate ganache with heavy cream and dark chocolate. As I poured the ganache on top the filling started to separate and melt. It looked oily and I couldn't understand. At first I was blaming the heavy cream for making the oil because it was lumpy and sliding off the cake! I then tasted it and realized it was the apricot spread. Unbelievable. I just put the cake in the fridge again to set up.

Apricot spread on top layer. Nice even slices, yeah right!!  
That small piece missing fell off, I ate it. :)
  Lumpy, bumpy :(
 

I was so upset. I didn't want to throw it away because I was already in the kitchen for several hours and I promised my dad the cake. I always follow a recipe the way it tells me to. The next time I make the cake is when I'll make adjustments to the recipe because I didn't like how something turned out the first time. Well I think I need to stop following recipes because they always make me run into problems! I did get to taste the cake and it tasted amazing. The chocolate cake was intense and blended well with the apricot flavor. The ganache that I had doubts about left a nice thick layer on the top and it was delicious! I didn't do any fancy chocolate shavings but I did dust it with cocoa powder and confectioner sugar. My dad enjoyed the cake, just as much as my mom did! He said it was amazing and wants to show me how to make the cakes look nicer. That is what I seem to be struggling in right now. Great tasting cake, but not pretty looking. :(

The garnish shows all the lovely cracks on top of the cake. Grr!
  My slice! Doesn't look too bad from this angle. 
It really did taste delicious. Thank goodness.
  This shows the nice thick ganache layer on top, 
but you can also see the cracks in the cake. 
 

Apricot Sacher Cake (From Crazy for Chocolate) 
Prep time: 45 minutes
Total cooking time: 50 minutes
Makes one 20 cm (8 inch) round cake  

Ingredients ( I used g and ml where stated):
1 cup (125g/4 oz) plain flour ( I used unbleached, all purpose)
1/2 cup (60g/2oz) cocoa powder (I used Hershey's unsweetened cocoa)
1/4 cup (80g/2 2/3oz) apricot jam (I used a special jam from the European Market. It was smooth with a slight amount of apricot pieces)
1 cup (250g/8oz) caster sugar
125g (4oz) butter (unsalted)
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup (160g/5 1/4oz) apricot jam, extra, heated  

Ganache Topping:
125 g (4oz) dark cooking chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (125 ml/4 fl oz) thick cream

Preheat oven to moderate 180 degree C (350 degree F/Gas 4). Brush a deep 20 cm (8 inch) round cake tin with melted butter or oil. Line base and sides with baking paper.

1. Sift flour and cocoa into bowl. Make a well in the center. Combine jam, sugar and butter in a small pan; stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved and mixture is smooth (I wish they gave me a time for this and they didn't. 20 minutes and it still didn't look smooth, sigh.). Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir the butter mixture into flour until combined. Add egg yolks, mix well.
2. Place egg whites in small clean bowl. Using electric beaters, beat until soft peaks form. Using a metal spoon, fold whites into cake mixture (haha yeah right). Pour into prepared tin. Bake 50 minutes or until skewer comes out clean when inserted in the center. Leave cake in tin 15 minutes; turn onto wire rack to cool.
3. To assemble cake: Place cake upside-down on board. Cut cake horizontally into 3 even layers. Brush each layer with one-fifth of the jam; re-assemble cake and transfer to wire rack. Brush cake with remaining jam.
4. To make ganache topping: Combine chocolate and cream in small pan. Stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Cool until ganache has thickened slightly. Pour ganache topping completely over the cake. Smooth top and sides with a palette knife. Allow to set before transferring to serving plate. Decorate cake with large shavings of chocolate and dust with icing sugar and cocoa, if desired.

Lesson's learned:
1. Never mix anything by HAND again.
2. Don't follow a recipe unless there is a better process known then what is described.
3. Don't rush anything, make sure to have enough time when making a big dessert.
4. Be careful when buying a $2.99 cookbook. Directions may not be clear enough to follow through on a recipe. I found several Sacher Tort recipes from Google and they are all very different. Has anyone ever made it before? Any tips to share? It is an easy and great cake to make, it would be lovely to bring over to a friends or family home during the holidays. Don't let my post discourage you. I'm just not ashamed to show my mistakes because next time it will just come out better. That what I love about baking, you keep learning each time! Cake disaster number 2 is next!

Fallon

Prepping myself..

So I owe 2 cakes. One for my father and one for my best friend. I was going to wake to do my best friend's cake next week but I figured if I have to do my dad's cake tomorrow and have all my baking goods out, might as well make both cakes and be done with it. So I'm gearing myself up for it. Who else rereads a recipe several times just to make sure you get the process down? You have everything set up when time is ready? It takes me at least an hour to prep everything and make sure I'm ready and prepared! Even then sometimes I'll screw something up. So the cakes I'm baking you ask? Well my father's birthday was back in June and he loves apricot and chocolate. I bought a chocolate cookbook from Borders that had this wonderful recipe called Apricot Sacher Cake. I just googled it and found this lovely website called CakeItaly. Not sure how different it is from my recipe but it always good to compare. Plus that site has a TON of awesome recipes. I'm excited!! My best friend just had her first son, first baby last Sunday!! She asked for a S'Mores cake, like the one I made for my birthday. Remember? Yes she wants that because I gave her a piece from my cake and she loved it! I told her this will be a celebration cake welcoming Mason into our world! I had some problems with the cake last time I made it and now I'm prepared to make the cake slightly different. Which I will share with you when I make it. Who knows, it may fail, but usually when I whip up the egg whites with sugar and fold it into the batter with yolks, it works beautifully! So I'll be busy tomorrow for sure. I guess it good practice for the holiday season coming up! Oh and check this out! Homemade Primal Nutella. So easy and much healthier alternative to the original nutella, although nothing will ever replace the original nutella! I'll probably wait to make the primal nutella, but that is definitely on the top of my baking to do list after I get these cakes done! It Friday night and I'm ready for BED!! At 8:30pm, LOL. Fallon

AHH-MAZING!

What is amazing you ask? Well I think Kate from A Dash of Sass was right when she said these were the best turkey burgers ever. I never give up on food, which means I still didn't give up on ground turkey meat. It is a great source of lean protein and it is a versatile ingredient for many recipes. I don't know about you but I always end up with dry turkey burgers. I would shave carrots, onions, fresh garlic, any vegetable I had on hand, to mix into my turkey burgers. I would add a dash of Worcestershire sauce in my burgers (it suppose to make them moist). In the end they always turned out dry. That when I made my first meatloaf consisting of ground turkey, worried it be dry but turned out super moist and delicious. Then I found the turkey burgers with the simplest of ingredients. A can of diced green chilies and salt and pepper. That is ALL! Along with my turkey burger I also had grilled sweet potato fries and grilled zucchini. The recipe for the turkey burgers can be found by clicking HERE.

Made 5 lovely patties. I mixed the ingredients in a bowl using a spoon, like Kate did in her video. Drizzled with olive oil so they wouldn't stick to the grill. At this point, they were VERY moist. I used my hands to put them on the grill because they started to fall apart using a spatula.

  This is smoked mozzarella. You must try this cheese, it is delicious! I didn't have pepper jack or provolone, and knew smoked mozzarella would pair extremely well with the green chilies in this burger.

 

No bun! I'm not a huge bread eater, and knew my carbs 
would come from the delicious grilled sweet potato fries!

I grilled my sides first, and the burgers last. Zucchini was a must because it is in season and tastes delicious on the grill. I tossed it in olive oil, salt, pepper and I used Mrs. Dash table blend for extra seasoning. The grilled sweet potato fries were inspired from a new blog I've been reading constantly called The Fitnessista. She had a grilled fest a few days ago and I couldn't wait to try them. I usually bake sweet potato fries in the oven, but they take forever and are usually mushy. Mine came a little more well done, I wasn't sure when they would finish cooking because they go on raw. So I figured once the grill marks came on strong, they were done! For the grilled fries I simply tossed them in olive oil, salt, pepper and cinnamon!

After they rest for a few minutes, they actually soften up even more.
  Everything together. Organic ketchup and 
sweet potato fries, delicious!
 

I had the turkey burger again for dinner tonight. It was even more moist and flavorful! I added fresh pico de gallo to the avocado and smoked mozzarella. Then I had the leftover fries and zucchini. I keep it simple! I've already shared the turkey burger recipe with several friends and they are excited to try it out as well. This is my new turkey burger staple. Thank you Kate for sharing! She also posted her first food making video using the turkey burgers! Definitely watch the video because you will pick up some good tips. I know I did!

Stay tune for this weekend. I still owe my father his birthday cake. Yes, his birthday was back in June and he still didn't get his cake. I'm a bad daughter, but I'll make up for it. ;) Does chocolate and apricot sound good? I know he is in for a surprise!

Gooodnight,
Fallon

On- The- Fence Brownies

On-The-Fence Brownies
 

Welcome!! I'm so glad I have some time today to do a post. I always feel weird when I miss a few days!! My best friend been in the hospital because she delivered her first baby Sunday night and ended up with a c-section. So I've been at the hospital the last few days keeping company and holding the new baby. She goes home tomorrow and it looks like she wants the company so I'll be spending time there and helping her out! Last week I made a batch of brownies from my KA Cookie Companion cookbook. I needed to make sure the brownies would be able to survive being packed into a box and be shipped off to Iraq where my boyfriend is currently deployed.

You have the cake brownie, then the fudgy brownie. I thought the cake brownie be too light, and the fudge brownie be too melty for the warm climate. I'm still trying to figure out what baked goods would work best in the 130+ degree weather they have in Iraq. Send me an email or comment with suggestions! As I flipped to the next page in my cookbook they had something called On-The-Fence Brownies. It was a combination of cakey and fudgy. I said perfect! I actually prefer this type of brownie and knew there would be left overs! I decided my boyfriend needed brownies because his birthday is coming up! I feel weird not baking a cake or something for him, so I decided to see if the brownies would make it to Iraq. I know he really wants cannolis or a cannoli cake, but that would never survive. This also gave me a chance to try out my new bite-size brownie silicon mold from Wilton. This is my second time experimenting with silicon and what a disaster it is! I'm sorry but I hate silicon. I will try this pan 1 more time. I sprayed the squares, I let them cool, and they still weren't coming out perfectly. I was able to get 4 out of the 24 squares out perfectly. My original plan was to send him 24 bite-size brownies and that back fired. Well at least I had plenty of leftover batter and I had made a brownie circle in an 8 in baking pan, thinking it was for my family and I. Instead the family got the broken brownies and I saved the Big Birthday Brownie for my boyfriend. ;) Isn't that a cute name? I labeled that on his brownie when I was packing it up.

These brownies were awesome. I whisked the butter and sugar till it was well combined, which resulted in the cracked shiny top! My right biceps are bigger then my left biceps with all the whisking I do with my right arm. They had great texture, being chewy and smooth. Being they are a combination of cake and fudge brownies, they had a nice rise like a cakey brownie. For the 24 individual brownies, I filled each square with 2 semi-sweet chocolate chips, so when you'd bite into them you'd have a chocolate surprise. The rest of the chips were sprinkled on top of the Big Birthday Brownie. The chocolate surprise was great when the brownies were warm. This is when I realized they need to cool because I kept breaking the tops off of each brownie. Just gave me an excuse to eat them! I'm going to post the recipe because it is simple and the right brownie for the person who can't decide if they want it cakey or fudgy.  

On-The Fence Brownies (from The King Authur Cookie Companion) 
Makes two dozen 2 inch brownies  

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups (15 3/4 ounces) sugar
1 1/4 cups (3 3/4 ounces) Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (4 ounces) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch-pan. (I used the silicon mold and the remaining fit perfectly into a round 8in pan)
• In a medium- sized microwave- safe bowl, or in a medium saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. (So I don't know why but I did the double boiler method instead. I misread it and it was too late, but they still turned out fine!) Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it's hot (110 degree F to 120 degree F), but not bubbling; it will become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
• Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth, then add the flour and nuts and chips, again stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake the brownies for 28 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. The brownies should feel set on the edges and in the center. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

They looked so nice in their molds.
  Here are 3 out of 4 I saved. I ate the fourth one. ;)
  The rise and shiny top.
 

There is a part on the KA cookbook that asks the question, "How can I tell when my brownies are done?" They said it is like a chocolate cake, once you can smell the aroma of the brownies that will permeate the kitchen and detected the brownie is done. As soon as I smelled the brownies in my kitchen, I had my cake tester ready and sure enough at 27 minutes they were done. I think that is a really cool trick and will definitely help when I make brownies for the future. Also here is some of my own advice. Make sure you have ENOUGH cocoa when a recipe calls for it. I knew I was getting low, but I thought I'd have enough. I realized almost 4 ounces of cocoa is needed for these brownies. I ended up with 2 3/4 ounces of cocoa powder. I was freaking out for a second because I already had the butter and sugar marrying each other on the burner. I open my baking cabinet and saw I had the Baker's unsweetened chocolate squares and each one comes out to be an ounce. EUREKA! I added that to the butter and sugar until it was fully melted. I don't know if it completely changed the recipe how it should be originally, but I think everything turned out really well for the final product.

The sides pulled away from each other, the middle was slight fudgy and the brownies had a nice shiny top that rised very nicely. I hope the Big Birthday Brownie makes it safely to my boyfriend. I wish I didn't add the chocolate chips on the top because they are going to be completely melted when he gets it. Who knows how messy that can be. I should of put napkins in his box!! Oh well too late now.

Doesn't that look good?
 

I'm about to make dinner tonight. I found a recipe that supposedly makes moist turkey burgers. The recipe was adapted from the cookbook Cook Yourself Thin and was posted Kate's blog A Dash of Sash. She says they are the best turkey burgers, so I have to try them.

Have a wonderful Tuesday evening,
Fallon

Simple Rice Bowl and Vacation Wrap Up!!

Build your own rice bowl, Fallon's way!
 

Hello everyone. You know it is Friday night and I'm at home. It is actually normal for me. I figured I had some free time and I'd make a new post tonight. I had a full work day today, came home had a wonderful NY steak dinner with baked potato (butter and Greek yogurt), steamed green beans, and sliced tomatoes. It was delicious. Then you know my mom wanted something sweet. I think it just in the "Jewish blood" to crave sweet after a meal, I get it all the time too. We ended up sharing a vanilla custard blended with caramel and pretzels from Sheridan's Frozen Custard. YUM! Of course I usually opt for something healthier like FRUIT! Speaking of healthy I always like to eat my best when possible. I just feel so much better about myself physically and mentally.

Before vacation I didn't grocery shop and did with what I had left in the house. I had carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. I knew I had brown rice in the freezer. I did one of my favorites, a rice bowl but my way! I always make it different and this time I kept it completely simple. I had leftover boiled chicken that was seasoned while cooked in its chicken broth. All I had to do was steam up brown rice in my rice cooker (about 45 minutes), and I had lunch and dinner for at least 2 days! Like I said I kept it really simple this time. I usually will have grilled chicken or steak, sesame seeds or sunflower seeds, almonds, water chestnuts, scrambled egg, red bell peppers, eggplant, bean sprouts, zucchini, chili paste or chili sauce etc. It's build your own rice bowl!!  

Build Your Own Chicken Rice Bowl By Fallon
Ingredients:
Head of broccoli and cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 serving of steamed brown rice (about 1 cup) (you can use white rice)
3-4 oz of boiled chicken (make your protein grilled or steamed)
Toasted sesame oil and light soy sauce
Green onions for taste and color

I used a steamer basket for the veggies. I'll add the carrots first since they always take longer to cook through but not fully. I would say about 10 minutes of a head start, then I add the broccoli and cauliflower. I steam for about 8-10 minutes or until they are steamed but still firm, basically not mush! I make sure my brown rice is heated up, usually in the microwave. I will heat my chicken in the toaster oven, then slice it up and put it on top of the brown rice. Once the veggies are done I load as much as I want on top of the chicken and rice. I like about 3/4 brown rice and 3 oz of chicken. Then tons of veggies. To finish it off I drizzle the toasted sesame seed oil on top and dash on some soy sauce. Top it with green onions and I dive in!!

Waiting on the rice to heat up and vegetables to cook!
 

The toasted sesame seed oil adds great flavor to the dish. A little goes a long way and I think it is the most important part of the dish! It is a really simple dish to put together. I always make extra rice and vegetables to just throw together when I'm hungry. This dish can easily be vegetarian as well. This is something I will make often when I'm keeping my weight in check. It makes me feel great and keeps me full for a long time! I like to keep the flavors simple because I want to taste the freshness of my vegetables and not have it laden with a heavy sauce.

The soy sauce and toasted sesame oil are from Trader Joe's!
 

Doesn't it look beautiful? Well it tasted wonderful too!
 

I'm not a huge Asian food eater. If that makes sense. The smell of the restaurants make me sort of nausea. Once in a while I'll go to one but I'm so picky on what I order. The flavors are strong and I know the food is soaked up in vegetable oil and the heavy sauces. Yeah not a fan! So that why I came up with my own versions and how I'd want my rice bowls to taste. My rice bowls are always different. Sometimes I want my vegetables sauteed in coconut oil instead. So it really depends on my mood! My mood this time around was keep it light and simple because vacation time was coming!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Now I'm wrapping up my vacation. I can't believe it been a week I've been back home already. It sucks!! I wish vacation could last a lifetime.

My very first baseball game! Went with a friend from 
Long Beach and had a blast.
  The stadium
  I loved the hats out front. I thought they were so cool!
  Went to Newport Beach/Balboa Island one day.
  My first time riding a beach cruiser! 
Did this 2 days in a row. A fun exercise.
  Happy hour!!! This was a mango martini. The vodka was infused 
with fresh mangoes. Delicious and STRONG!
  Don't worry I spent time near the beach for a few days too. ;)
  Love the ocean, and I grew up in a desert. hah
  I miss it so much. Love you ocean!
 

My best friend is going to have her baby any moment now!! So I may be hanging out near the hospital tomorrow. My boyfriend's birthday is coming up September 6th and I have his package ready for him which I'm bringing to the post office tomorrow. I put a little something special in there for him, which I will talk about soon!

Good night y'all!!
Fallon

Holi- Cannoli

Alright I'm still talking about my trip and will be wrapping it the next time! One night we had Italian at Luggatti's Italian Grill. We never knew this place existed because it was somewhat hidden. When you walk everywhere you eventually find some neat places! The place smelled wonderful from the outside. We knew that we had to try it one night. Being my father use to work in a specialty restaurant catered towards true Italian food, he is a picky eater when it comes to Italian. So I was surprised he was willing to try it. We all ordered.. PASTA! They also have their own pizzeria in the back and it looked/smelled wonderful. We were going to go back to try a calzone, but we ended up forgetting about it. They brought a bread basket to our table with a basil pesto dipping sauce. AMAZING! Best part of the entire meal. It was a Parmesan focaccia bread. Dipped into the pesto was like heaven. I ate most of the bread. hehe! I didn't take pictures of the food because the lighting wasn't the best. Our entrees were huge. My mom order spinach, mushrooms, with a garlic and oil sauce with chicken. My father had fresh tomatoes and basil with shrimp, and I had a variety of vegetables and a garlic and oil sauce with chicken in my pasta. I was somewhat disappointed in my dish. It was under season and I didn't have any garlic flavor!! The vegetables were cooked al dente like the pasta which was a good thing. I never like soggy pasta. My parents enjoyed their dishes though. Unless they were just being nice. ;) We also ordered dessert. I love cannolis. It kind of my boyfriends thing and he got me hooked since I never had one before last year! I always have to try a cannoli from each new place I visit because I've been practicing making my own cannoli filling as well! So it good to taste the different varieties. Good excuse right? ;) They had an interesting cannoli. They called it Luggatti's Holi- Cannoli. This dessert was definitely unique, especially with the list of ingredients it came with. My father was somewhat picky on everything that came with it so we had to special order ours. They topped it with a vanilla balsamic drizzle, which I thought was really interesting but alas I didn't get to try it! We ordered it with the cannoli, spumoni ice cream and drizzle of the caramel sauce. If you click the link above it will tell you what else it came with, plus a list of their other desserts. When I saw it I said, "That isn't a cannoli!!!" The shell was like rolled and baked. It reminded me of pirouline wafers. It was good, but I expected one of those fried cannoli shells! The filling was amazing. I remembered it had a bit of cinnamon and in the shell it had like a lemon essence, not so much orange. As for spumoni, wow I'm not a fan at all! The pistachio was way too sweet for my liking, the cherry had pieces of cherry in it and again way too sweet. Only the chocolate was good, in my opinion! Chocolate is always good though. ;) But it wasn't the cannoli I expected.

It was a nice presentation! Now these are my cannolis and that what I expect!!

Would I eat there again? Probably not. I'm like my father in the sense that I want real, authentic Italian food or I don't want it at all. The cannoli was disappointing too. Time for my afternoon workout!! Have a good Thursday, Fallon

Cupcakes, Sprinkles Cupcakes!

Well here is the second posting about my vacation to California. After spending almost 6 days at Huntington Beach we went down to visit our family for a day. The adults split up and my cousin and I headed to Beverly Hills. We had it planned, we knew we'd be having lunch and for dessert cupcakes from Sprinkles! We both have heard of the place and people rave of how it is so "good." So we had to try it. Just the name is cute! Well for lunch her Aunt mentioned a french type of restaurant that specializes in sandwiches and salads. We said perfect because we wanted something light and dainty. The place was called Le Pain Quotidien. They are everywhere like Australia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Spain, and several other places internationally. I must say it was a very cute place inside. I loved the fact that the middle of the restaurant is 1 long table. Something you'd see in Italy at their Trattorias. Then they had several tables that served 2-4 people. It was unique because they also sold their own baked goods, jams and spreads. I noticed a spread that was a praline spread. I really wanted to get it but I knew when I got back home, it was time to focus on being healthy and cutting out added sweets! So I behaved. Plus I knew I was having a cupcake. At lunch we both ordered tartines, which are open faced sandwiches. They have a delicious whole wheat bread they use made fresh in their own bakery inside the restaurant. My cousin ordered their Grilled Chicken and Smoked Mozzarella tartine with arugula and basil pesto. As for a drink, she ordered their homemade lemonade. I took a taste from her and it was so delicious! The lemon flavor wasn't overpowering and it was sweeten perfectly. Very refreshing. I ordered from their special menu the Turkey, Avocado and Sprouts tartine. They were both delicious, but I liked mine a bit more because I'm not a huge arugula fan (weird huh?), but if that wasn't present then it would of been a tie with mine! Both our plates came with cantaloupe, cucumber, and radishes. My cousin plate had these cute little pickles on them, which were really good. I can't remember the last time I had a pickle!! I wish I had a place like this in Las Vegas. We felt so healthy and not bad about anything we ate afterwards. We figured our cupcakes would even out everything. ;)

The restaurant. My cousin took this photo on her camera. Here with my cousin and I waiting and chit chatting! Here was my plate. Definitely not cheap on the avocado! As soon as I got home I made this again but without the turkey. Just as good!

After lunch we walked around! The stores were very expensive but we found some affordable stores like Coach and Juicy Couture. We even ended up going into Tiffanys. Can you believe I've NEVER been into a Tiffany's store before? This one was huge, I think it was 2 or 3 levels. I found a cute silver peace sign charm. I love jewelry, I can never have enough! Of course I emailed a picture of it to my mom. ;) We walked some more, took pictures with the beautiful flowers and just pretending to be like "tourists." Then I saw another bakery. Crumbs! Now silly me I thought they were known for their compost cookie that has like potato chips, pretzels, and coffee grounds in it. Cookie Madness would talk about the cookie on her site, well I ended up remembering it is a bakery in New York called Milk's bar. So I went into Crumbs asking about this cookie and they looked at me all weird! I checked out their cupcakes and they looked delicious. They had fun ones like twinkie, ding dong, and such. They were a nice size for their price as well. I overheard the people working there that the cookie is described would actually make an interesting cupcake! Sadly, we had our heart set on Sprinkles and decided next time we would try Crumbs!

I'll be back!

Once you get to Sprinkles you know you made it because it always has a line outside the store! The place is small inside and only so many people can fit. Also they don't want their door to constantly stay open because it ruins the freshness of their cupcakes. We waited for about 10-15 minutes. It didn't seem long at all really, plus the weather was great outside! So I can't complain. We had to get 6 cupcakes because everyone in our family heard we were going and wanted us to bring some home for dessert that night. My cousin had her heart set on a red velvet cupcake and I had no idea what I wanted! We finally got in and this is what they had for the day: black and white, chocolate coconut, chocolate marshmallow, cinnamon sugar, dark chocolate, ginger lemon, peanut butter chocolate, pumpkin, red velvet, strawberry, vanilla and vanilla milk chocolate. We ordered a box of 6 and were only saving 4 cupcakes for that night. My cousin got her red velvet and I decided on chocolate marshmallow. I've been on this marshmallow kick lately so that wasn't a hard decision at all for me. The remaining cupcakes we ordered was another chocolate marshmallow, dark chocolate, peanut butter chocolate and vanilla milk chocolate.

Sorry for the blurry words, but I think you can figure it out! ;)

We stayed inside and ate the 2 we chose for ourselves. I never had red velvet before so my cousin let me try her cupcake. The cake was moist, good flavor and held well together. The cream cheese frosting, delicious. I really liked the red velvet but I don't think it is something I'd ever make at home. I think it is too messy!

They gave a nice cake to frosting ratio. I don't like when frosting overpowers the cake.

The chocolate marshmallow cupcake was good. It was like one of those hostess cakes with the marshmallow creme filling. It had a chocolate ganache top that was very rich. Being a chocolate girl it was my favorite part of the cupcake! I spilt the cupcake open and it had a nice filling of marshmallow. It was light, just like the chocolate cake. It was good, but I thought it would be different. I guess I was expecting s'mores!

I wish I could have one now! Only 5 hours away. LOL Beautiful!

My overall thought of Sprinkles. It something we had to try because everyone raves about it. They had a line out the door. They are cute! Were they the most amazing thing in the whole wide world? No, but they are good. Are there better cupcakes out there? I can't say yes, but I'm sure there are. I'm sure I could come up with my own cupcakes and they would taste just as good. Afterwards I kind of wished I tried a Crumb's cupcake! They were bigger and they had different flavors than Sprinkles, kind of felt like a candy shop when we were inside. Out of 5 stars, I give Sprinkles a 3. Average cupcakes, in my opinion. Later on, we spilt the remaining cupcakes into 4 slices each so everyone could taste each one once. My favorites were the peanut butter chocolate and the dark chocolate. Those were amazing! I enjoyed it more then the red velvet and chocolate marshmallow. The peanut butter chocolate had chunks of peanut butter cups and a peanut butter cake which was dense and had a firmer hold. The dark chocolate one was heavenly. This was my cousins favorite one out of the bunch. The frosting was dense and rich, and the cake was moist packed with chocolate flavor. The vanilla milk chocolate was also good. It was light and the milk chocolate frosting pair well with the vanilla cake. We had fun and that what matters! I can't wait to get back there and have another day with my cousin. Being so far apart it hard to get together. We are 3 years apart and now that we are both older we can talk about anything! We try our best to keep in touch. Usually facebook and email works best. It is better then nothing. What can I say, I love my cousin and if she lived closer to me I would spoil her! I tend to spoil the people I love. I'm good like that! Goodnight, Fallon

Gelato

What is gelato? Well it means "frozen" in Italian. It is a frozen dessert made with all natural ingredients like milk, sugar, fruit, and water. It is a healthier alternative to ice cream because it has less milk fat and has no cream. The texture of gelato is also creamier then ice cream because it contains only 30% air content, and ice cream is almost 60%. Let's just say... I love gelato. I experienced gelato my first time in Venice, Italy when I was 9 years old. I remember it being the best ever! I had chocolate in a cone and I was running around chasing all the pigeons in the square feeding them my cone. When I would have gelato in America, I always said nothing compares to the gelato in Venice. Then I went to the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to experience their gelato cafe. I thought it was amazing. I compared it to Venice and said this is good gelato and compares to Venice. WELL.. times have changed. I came back from my vacation in Huntington Beach, CA. My family and I love it down there. The beach is wonderful, the restaurants are great and inexpensive, and it is a fun environment. Walking down their famous Main St. a new store opened up. Mangiamo Gelato Caffe. The first night there, we had to try it. We all had our own cup and for the price we had so much gelato. They weren't skimpy! But the taste? Amazing. The flavor? Fantastic. This was the BEST gelato I've had. It was better then Venice and Bellagio. I was in heaven. I couldn't believe a place in Huntington Beach could have such a wonderful gelato caffe. While we were there, we had gelato everyday, if not twice a day! I always wanted to try something different and being it was warm outside, it was the best thing to cool us off. I said it was worth it to gain a few extra pounds if I kept trying different gelatos! The service was also amazing. I'm usually scared to ask for a sample of something, but they KEPT asking me if I wanted to try this flavor or that flavor. I couldn't believe it. Once after I finished my gelato, I went back to the ice box to see what else they had for next time, and again offered me a sample! One night the owners were in and I talked to the wife. I knew right away someone was Italian and had spent time in Italy because the quality of the gelato was superb. She told me their story and I knew it. I knew it! So yes, I had gelato almost every day if not twice. They had the original flavors, as well as their own flavors they had created themselves. So if you are planing a beach getaway somewhere, I recommend Huntington Beach because it is inexpensive, clean beach, great environment, and the gelato is the best I have EVER TRIED! Here is their website again so you can check out all their flavors and more.

Nutella. One of the best. Very creamy and packed with flavor. Anything with hazelnut, I think is the best! S'mores. The marshmallow gelato wasn't overpowering. The waffle cones are made fresh and are delicious! You can smell them outside the shop. Nutella and Vanilla. The vanilla was AMAZING! I had it several times. This time we had a cute heart waffle. Strawberry Sorbetto and Stracciatella. The sorbetto was the best. I love strawberry ice cream, and even though this had no dairy, it was delicious! Didn't miss it at all. So creamy and full of strawberry flavor. Stracciatella was good, it was light in flavor like the s'mores. Vanilla and Bacio. In Italian Bacio means "Italian Kiss." It is chocolate and hazelnuts mixed into chocolate ice cream. We thought nutella was the best? Bacio is even better! Vanilla (underneath) and Hazelnut. Vanilla, MMM! The hazelnut gelato was amazing. It reminded me of the hazelnut gelato Haagen Dazs use to sell in the grocery stores. Which I miss dearly. I had to wait for this waffle cone as they were making more. Chocolate Peanut Butter and Sea Salt and Caramel. Chocolate and PB are meant to be, the flavor was very rich. The sea salt and caramel was very different and one they created. I like it but it is very sweet on its own!

Told you I ate a lot of gelato. Since the portions were rather large, we would share. I already miss this place and I look forward to my next trip now. My goal is to try to each of their flavors. I set strange goals sometimes. LOL Well I'm glad I finally got a post out. I feel weird not posting everyday or every other day. I'm still here! Just been busy and now a full week of work is ahead of me. I have more to share from my vacation but I will leave you with the best for now.. GELATO! Mi piace il gelato! Fallon