Umami Burger - Anaheim

After finishing the Disneyland Half Marathon, I was staaarving. While racing, I teased Valerie Chinn and her husband about taking them to Quan Hy Vietnamese Restaurant - Westminster for the best banh beo (Vietnamese steamed rice discs with dried shrimp) in town. But Little Saigon was too far away when they still needed to get back to their hotel to get ready before check-out.

Then I remembered that Umami Burger opened in Anaheim last year and a bit of Googling turned up that it was only 1.1 miles away. The clincher was when I told them that the burgers were made with Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce) and that people waited for three hours for tables when Umami Burger opened this summer in New York City.

Media Preview: L.A. County Fair Food - Pomona

Gourmet Pigs invited me to be her +1 at a media preview for the LA County Fair.

Deep-fried foods? Sure!

Unlike the LA County Fair media preview we went to two years ago, there were no food trucks in sight. It was a return to basics. Well, basics as far as county fair food goes, which meant deep-fried, artery-clogging goodness. Deep-fried Twinkies. Bacon-wrapped pickles. Krispy Kreme burgers.

AltaMed's 8th Annual East LA Meets Napa & Beyond (Union Station) - Los Angeles

It's that time of year again for my favorite food and wine event, AltaMed's 8th Annual East LA Meets Napa & Beyond. The "Beyond" is a new addition to the title since the event now encompasses more than just East LA and Napa, but the focus has always been on Latino food and wineries. I wasn't able to make the previous year's event, but did attend the media preview for AltaMed's 7th Annual East LA Meets Napa. The highlight for me was when Chef John Sedlar took small groups of people on the roof of Playa Restaurant to check out his garden.

You can see previous posts of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Annual East LA Meets Napa events since offerings vary each year. With 60+ restaurants and wineries, all included in the ticket price, there is always so much to try. I noticed a lot more wineries this year too.

Dessert first! I couldn't resist the gorgeous display and had to check out Flantastic. I can't remember all the flavors I tried, but they truly were "flantastic"!

Easter Barbecue to Break in My Saber Grill

Like my fancy new grill?



It is niiice! Way nicer than anything I could afford on my own. So I leapt at the chance when Monique Moffit, Director of Public Relations at The Sales Factory, asked if I would like to try the Saber Cast 500 grill. I glanced at the website to read about the grill's features: an infrared cooking system for even temperature cooking, no flare-ups, and less gas usage; all commercial kitchen grade stainless steel; three independent cooking zones; and 24,000 BTUs grill and 10,000 BTUs side burner. Sounds pretty awesome!

I decided to throw an impromptu barbecue for Easter to break in my new grill ie. to rope my guests into helping me assemble the darn thing. Luckily, my brother and cousin Q's older brother, the two grill aficionados in the family, were available and willing to help. So how does the Saber grill compare to their fancy schmancy Weber grills?

Well, let's back up a bit. That all commercial kitchen grade stainless steel that sounded so awesome? That meant a package that weighed more than 200 pounds! The grill was delivered on a pallet and required a mini forklift. This was serious business!

Gus's Barbecue - South Pasadena

I've eaten at Gus's Barbecue in South Pasadena four times over the past few years so I figured it was about time to finally blog it. The first visit was back in July 2010. Actually, it was on Independence Day. No one around me was throwing a barbecue that year, and you can't have a Fourth of July without barbecue! So my brother asked if I wanted to check out Gus's with him and his wife.

The atmosphere is pretty classic American. Red stools at the counter. Scenes of old South Pasadena on the walls. We sat at a booth in the far back.

Sea Bass with Mushroom, Cabbage, and Zucchini Stir-Fry

After cooking the filet mignon, I received as a sample via one of my advertisers, Foodie Blogroll, courtesy of Certified Steak and Seafood Company, in a French Red Wine Shallot Sauce, I was eager to come up with a recipe for the sea bass. Since the beef was so fresh, I figured the fish would be too so I didn't want to cook anything that would disguise its flavor. I simply pan-fried the sea bass and served it with a stir-fry. The fish was so juicy and flavorful that I made it again the next night. Nothing fancy, but a tasty, healthy, and quick dinner.

French Filet Mignon with Red Wine Shallot Sauce

Doesn't the filet mignon look marvelous? It was the most tender steak I've ever had in my life. Seriously!

I jumped at the chance when one of my advertisers, Foodie Blogroll, offered samples of filet mignon and sea bass from Certified Steak and Seafood Company. U.S.D.A. Certified Prime Angus Beef. The filet mignon is certified in the top 1% of beef, center cut, slow aged, hand cut, and hand matched. It's touted to cut like butter, and even just handling it before cooking, the filet mignon was the softest beef I've ever touched. My only other experience with online frozen beef was with Omaha Steaks and it wasn't even anywhere close to the same quality as Certified Steak and Seafood Company's filet mignon. Nowhere close.

I was trying to remember if I've ever ordered filet mignon, and all I could remember was the filet Chateaubriand at Club 33, the secret restaurant inside Disneyland, which was nowhere near as tender. But the red wine sauce did remind me of a lovely meal of steak with red wine and shallot sauce I enjoyed at Pierre Victoire Restaurant in London. So I decided that was the perfect preparation for this filet mignon.

Media Preview: AltaMed's 7th Annual East LA Meets Napa - Playa Restaurant - Los Angeles

I was invited to a media preview luncheon at Playa Restaurant in Los Angeles for AltaMed's East LA Meets Napa 7th annual food and wine event. It's my favorite food and wine event, not only does it benefit underserved communities in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, but East LA Meets Napa brings together mostly Mexican, and other Latino restaurants, and wineries. It's a great way to explore regional Mexican cuisine, and even sample pre-Hispanic dishes.

Check out my previous posts of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Annual East LA Meets Napa food and wine events.

Playa Restaurant is owned by John Rivera Sedlar, of Top Chef Masters Season 3 fame who also owns Rivera Restaurant, known for its flower-pressed tortillas. While waiting for the others to arrive, I checked out how the flower tortillas were being made.

Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer

Shortly before Halloween, I was contacted by Emily Straubel of Reed's Inc. asking if I'd like to sample its Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer. I'm a fan of Reed's Ginger Brew and Virgil's Root Beer, so I eagerly agreed to sample its butterbeer, I mean, butterscotch beer.

While Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer isn't affiliated with Harry Potter, there are plenty of allusions. The flyer said, "Taste the magic of a wizard’s buttery, vanilla, cream soda brew. Since 1374, the Flying Cauldron has been making this magical brew for under-aged wizards, and wizards who are young at heart, at their brew pub in Hogsbreath, England."

Not Hogsmeade, but Hogsbreath. Not the Leaky Cauldron, but Flying Cauldron. Not butterbeer, but butterscotch beer.

It's not affiliated with Harry Potter. Got that?

Breakfast for Dinner, Paris On My Mind, and the Last Harry Potter

On February 3, 2009, at 11:40 p.m., I made breakfast for dinner. I really have no idea why I took this photo except that I'm so used to taking photos of everything that I just do it out of habit. It's not like this picture included anything that I was going to blog.

Well, I long ago already blogged Banh Mi Op La (Vietnamese French Bread with Sunny Side Up Eggs). So the few squirts of Maggi Seasoning Sauce on the eggs and the rather craptastic photo wouldn't have had anything to do with updating that recipe's photos. I'm not even sure what recipe I used for that pancake. Singular. I hope I hadn't finish all this because that's a lot of food to eat in one sitting.

Breakfast for breakfast is just too much food too early in the day for me. Such is what I remember from someone I dated in college who was fond of breakfast for late night. Or perhaps that was more because we'd study until the library closed at midnight, and there weren't too many food options at that hour. So IHOP it was. I wonder if I had some deeper thoughts about breakfast for dinner that I wanted to impart way back when and that's why I took the photo?

Not that my eating habits in college have much to do with anything except that July was a busy month. And on busy days, sometimes all I have time to make for dinner are a couple of eggs. But these days, they tend to be quickly scrambled and eaten with rice.

I've been thinking about my undergrad experience a lot lately. That and some of the places I've been. Partly because of the loss of a former student this month and thinking about everything that I experienced that she'll never get to. And partly because I miss Chicago. And traveling. I miss traveling a lot.

I'm halfway through a year of chronicling every day of my life now. Well, between Day 182 and Day 183 is the halfway point anyway. And all I have to show for it is what I already know. I like food, books, and naps.

Italian Roast Chicken with Basil, Rosemary, and Thyme

I've made my Basic Salt Pepper Lemon Baked Chicken so many times that I can't believe I haven't blogged before the variation of adding Italian herbs such as basil, rosemary, and thyme.

I've made baked chicken often enough that it's beginning to be, well, not that special anymore. But on this evening, my darling niece was joining me for dinner, well, and my brother too. And you know I only make my roast chicken for those I love.

While I was prepping the salads I was serving with dinner, a freebie bottle of wine from d'Alessandro Winery was delivered. A nice bottle of wine to go with my roast chicken? Could the timing be any better?

AltaMed's 6th Annual East LA Meets Napa (Union Station) - Los Angeles (Downtown)

After the fun I had during the 4th and the 5th Annual AltaMed East LA Meets Napa event, I was excited to be invited back again by Nerissa of NRS Public Relations. No +1 this time though so I was on my own. Not that that mattered too much since I ran into a dozen LA food bloggers. I told ya, it's a popular event!

And not just with food bloggers as you can tell by the crowd.

RA Sushi Bar Restaurant - Tustin

In early February, I was invited by Lauren Campbell of Beach House | Penthouse PR to dine at RA Sushi Bar Restaurant - Tustin to taste their new menu items. When I said I couldn't make it down to Orange County in time for the blogger dinner, she let me schedule it at a more convenient date and time.

Perfect. Because then I was able to invite my friend DP since she works nearby. Except, she was working at home that day and had to drive down for our dinner. Doh! I got to RA Sushi first and noticed that the bar and restaurant areas were packed. Good thing I had a reservation. While waiting for her to arrive, I ordered a Ginger Blossom drink, Hendrick's Gin, St. Germain, muddle strawberry, pink grapefruit juice, lime juice, and a splash of ginger ale. Girly, fruity, and yummy.

Princess Party Cookbook by Annabel Karmel and Giveaway

Did you stay up late or wake up early to watch Prince William marry Kate Middleton?

Did you pretend to be a princess when you were a little girl?

That would be yes and yes for me. :)

Several months ago, I received a review copy of the "Princess Party Cookbook" by Annabel Karmel and knew right away that it was perfect for a giveaway.

Seasons 52 - Costa Mesa

After lunch at Kappa Ramen - Anaheim, lil' sis and I went to South Coast Plaza to do a little shopping before an early dinner at Seasons 52.


I was actually invited to a blogger preview luncheon back in late August, but couldn't make it because of work. I was intrigued by the fact that the restaurant boasts that nothing on the menu is more than 475 calories. No oil. No butter. Nothing fried. How good could the food possibly taste then? Well, according to Gourmet Pigs and Tony of SinoSoul, who both attended the luncheon, it was one of the better media meals they've eaten.

So bummed I missed out. But, the very gracious Marguarite of Marguarite Clark Public Relations, who arranged for my Kappa Ramen lunch invited me to dine here too. I figured since I had to drive down to Orange County for one, why not both? It served as a great half-way point to meet up with lil' sis. Early November was the best time for both of us. I forwarded her the menu and links to both restaurants, and lil' sis eagerly anticipated what she wanted to order.

Kappa Ramen - Anaheim (Closed)

Kappa Ramen opened in a sleepy strip mall in Anaheim back in September. And unless you live near it, or in Orange County, you might not have known. So when Marguarite of Marguarite Clark Public Relations invited me to dine there, I figured it'd make a good halfway point for me to meet up with lil' sis.

Did I really need a free ramen meal? Probably not. But, would I have ventured into Anaheim if I hadn't been invited? Probably not either.

That's how it works sometimes.

Pasadena Wine Festival (Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden) - Arcadia

 
When I queried my Facebook friends to see who wanted to be my +1 for the Pasadena Wine Festival, my friend Don got first dibs. Actually, he was supposed to be my +1 for the 5th Annual AltaMed's East LA Meets Napa event, but he got held up at work and couldn't make it. Too bad because that was my favorite food and wine event. Nonetheless, he was excited at the thought of any wine festival. I warned him to keep his expectations low since I anticipated long lines and wasn't sure whether I was getting general admission or VIP tickets.

Earlier that day, I picked up oldest nephew's childhood friend from the airport and we stopped off for a late lunch/early dinner at Bamboodles Restaurant - San Gabriel. Don joined us at the tail end of our meal so we filled up on green tea pork noodles, spicy beef stew spinach noodles, and spicy wontons before heading out to the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden.

Most people parked across the street at the mall and walked over, but I had injured my foot earlier this month and was still hobbling around, so Don offered to spring for parking at the arboretum. $13! We met up with the middle '87 and older '88, who decided at the last minute they wanted to go.

After checking in, I found out that I got complimentary VIP tickets after all. Thanks Nick and the folks at Pasadena Wine Festival!

We got there around 5 p.m. and the lines were already pretty long. But early October in Southern California is usually so nice -- still warm, but cool and in the shade of the arboretum's trees, the Pasadena Wine Festival looked to be a pretty popular event.

The Berry Bible by Janie Hibler and Giveaway

Earlier this summer, I was contacted by Sarah at AmazonEncore, who asked if I would like to review a copy of “The Berry Bible: With 175 Recipes Using Cultivated and Wild, Fresh and Frozen Berries” by Janie Hibler. She won the James Beard award for a single subject for her other cookbook, "Wild About Game: 150 Recipes for Farm-Raised and Wild Game - From Alligator and Antelope to Venison and Wild Turkey."

I love berries so I was quite excited there was a whole book on just berries. In “The Berry Bible,” Hibler talks about picking berries after she moved to Oregon, which immediately reminded me of my childhood when I sometimes tagged along as my parents picked berries on weekends to supplement their income. Hibler traveled the world to learn about all kinds of berries from the Saskatoon berry found on the Canadian prairie to the best strawberries at markets in Europe.

Pasadena Wine Festival Giveaway

Recently, I was contacted by Nick of the Pasadena Wine Festival who asked if I would like to attend and to give away some tickets to my readers.

The Pasadena Wine Festival, which takes place from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on October 9, features more than 125 wines, food samples, and live music, all underneath the towering trees of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.

I have to admit, admission to the arboretum and a tram tour of the 127 acres were the biggest draws for me. But I figured some of my readers might be like some of my friends, who immediately clamored to be my +1 because they were more interested in drinking wine, eating food samples, and listening to live music. Check out the video on their website for highlights of last year's event.

According to the organizers, what can you expect at the Pasadena Wine Festival?

Oh! Nuts and "Life as We Know It" Giveaway

I was recently contacted by Sam of Oh! Nuts, who asked if I'd like to sample some of their nuts and dried fruit products. I chose pinenuts, pistachios, and cashews, and dried cranberries.


I've always wanted pinenuts to make Italian pinenut cookies or even to top a Korean persimmon drink, but could never justify the expense for myself. So yay! Be prepared for some recipes.

Anyway, so since I got something, I decided you should get something too.