Archive for Try This is LA!
My First Fondant Cake!
A midst my packed schedule, I managed to squeeze in my very first class in Fondant last weekend at Gloria’s Cake and Candy Supply in West LA. It was freaking awesome! And, was probably the most relaxing 3 hours ever! Yes, I find cake decorating extremely relaxing- I can get into a zone, forget about everything else on my plate and just enjoy some quiet time. It was exactly what I needed, and I learned so much!
Fondant was easier to work with than I thought and I really loved the medium itself. It’s like working with clay, but without the huge mess and gross dry feeling on your hands. The outcome looks so neat and clean- a look that I generally prefer. I think after one class I learned enough to really start 
experimenting at home- and am actually considering buying a book on it to learn more techniques. But, for those of you that are brave, here are the basics for covering a cake… Give it a try. It’s so worth it!
Step 1: Knead your fondant. This is pretty straight forward- it should be warm and pliable. If it starts sticking to your hand just rub a little Crisco on your hands and keep going.
Step 2: Roll your fondant. Use a french rolling pin, or even a piece of PVC pipe, roll it out till it approx. 1/8 in thick. Use confectioners sugar or corn starch to prevent the fondant from sticking to your mat. 
In addition, you need to do a little math here… if you are covering an round cake, add up the diameter of the cake and 2 times the height. For example, you have an 8 inch round cake that is 4 inches high you’ll want to roll your fondant into a 16 inch circle (8+4+4=16).
Step 3: Cover your cake: Roll your fondant circle onto your rolling pin and the roll it out onto your crumb coated round cake. Use your smoother tool to smooth top and sides. Be careful not to pull the fondant too much, as it is prone to ripping. Trim excess using a pizza cutter around the edge of the cake.
Step 4: Decorate! Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes that can be applied to the cake with just a dab of water. You can color the fondant easily too! Take a ball on fondant and create a small well in the middle it with your finger. Add a couple drops of gel food coloring and twist and knead. Keep going till the color is well distributed. (Tip- unless you want super colorful hands- use latex gloves for this task!) Also, always cover the fondant your not using with plastic wrap to prevent drying.
Step 5: Show off and Eat! You’re friends will be super impressed with your beautifully decorated fondant cake!
No go test this out! I like seriously can’t wait to give this a try again myself! If any of you have given Fondant a try as well, I would love to hear about it!
Happy Baking and Fondant-ing!
-Kristy
It’s Almost Earth Day- Eat Cupcakes!
I receive email updates from Sprinkles Cupcakes, the most famous Original Cupcake Bakery of Beverly Hills (now around the entire US). The update today was on a great promotion centering around Earth Day that I thought was worthy of sharing. From today through the 23rd, Sprinkles will donate 100% of the proceeds of their Vanilla Cupcakes to help plant tree and benefit other local Environmental Care organizations. Fab- Treat yourself to a cupcake and treat the Earth to a tree! And not to worry, if you are not in the Beverly Hills area, just order online! For more info on the the promo, click here!
Happy Baking!
-Kristy
An Evening with Grass Fed Beef
Out of no where, my good friend, fellow Bostonian and fabulous chef Minnie invited me to join her for an impromptu evening of grass fed beef last Thursday night. She explained it to me as “a bunch of chefs cooking up grass fed beef.” My guess was that there would be lots of great food there, and I LOVE a good piece of meat, so I had no hesitation in agreeing to go!
The event was a casual, yet informative and delicious dinner 
hosted by Kevin Coleman, a rep for Estancia Beef. Basically, Coleman invited a bunch of local chef’s to his gorgeous home to test out and cook up some super fab. cuts of grass fed beef.
I felt a little out of place initially, as I am not exactly a professional chef, but with Kevin’s gracious hospitality and all the chef’s being super friendly, I was quickly put at ease. Minnie invited me to help prep her dish 
(lemon grass ginger beef served over a cold noodle salad- AMAZING!) and that at least made me feel useful! After preping, I took the opportunity to pick Kevin’s brain about what made grass fed beef so special. Here’s are few fun facts…
Fact: This beef is considered more “responsible.” The cattle are raised on free range family farms, no corns or grains ever given to the cattle and its meets the highest standards in animal 
welfare.
Fact: GFB is overall healthier than the meat found at your local grocery store: its full of omega 3 fatty acids (similarly to Salmon), has half the fat and cholesterol of corn-fed beef, no added hormones and is super high in vitamins A and E.
Fact: Its cooks faster and has a more intense flavor (which I can totally 
attest too!)
So, pretty much, this is the end all be all of red meat. Awesome. The food prepared was freaking amazing- it began with Steak Tartar, Sirloin Crostinis, Mushroom and Gouda Stuffed Burgers, Minnie’s Amazing Lemongrass Beef Salad, Curried Beef, a Seared Fillet and sides of creamy risotto and crispy onion loaf.
My taste buds were uber happy! All 
the food was fantastic and I could totally taste the difference in quality in the meat. The meat was soo tender and flavor far more robust. Something that I have personally been focusing on lately in the kitchen has been the quality of the foods and ingredients I purchase to cook or bake with. And, GFB definitely fits into this category of far better quality.
I was fortunate enough to go home with a couple pieces of meat to try to 
cook up on my own and made my own version of Minnie’s dish with a slab of Flank Steak. It cooked up super fast (3 minutes east side under the broiler) to a perfect medium rare. And it was Scrumptious!
Definitely keep your eye out for GFB on the menu’s of your fav. restaurants. Its popping up everywhere here in LA. My favorite take out spot Bloom has a fantastic GFB Burger. And, I’ve heard fab 
things about the burgers at Father’s Office in Culver City.
I took tons of photos that night of all the deliciously beautiful food and decided I had to post all of them! so keep scrolling to check them out! and my apologies if it caused your mouth to water!
Happy Scrolling, and Happy Baking!
-Kristy
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A Trip to Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain!
One of the last activities I did with my parents during their recent visit here in LA was to go to the Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain in South Pasadena. This traditional and historic soda fountain was most well know in the 1920’s and 30’s when it was a very popular rest stop at the west end point of Route 66. It was restored in the 1990’s and serves traditional ice cream sundae’s and treats. I believe I have elaborated already on my love of ice cream, so was a total highlight for me!
I positively love Old Fashion Ice Cream Soda’s, so that was an obvious choice for me to order. I opted for the chocolate Ice Cream Soda, as I always do, and truly enjoyed every sip of it. It was a throw back to childhood for me. This is what I would order on every trip I took to Friendly’s with my friends or family, and it simply makes me so happy. There is really 
nothing uber spectacular about ice cream soda’s, but they are just one of those classic desserts that’s always satisfying!
Although my mother opted out of ice cream, my father went all out! He ordered a traditional hot fudge sundae, with mocha crunch ice cream and added melted marshmallow! This sundae was humongous! You can see in the picture that it had to be served on a plate in order to catch all the delightfully dripping fudge and marshmallow! Of course I had to take a bite and it was tasty and delish! Mmm… ice cream is such a happy thing!
We ate, we shopped, we reminisced and left with our sweet tooth satisfied! I love trying historical places such as these, so If anyone out there knows any other great ice cream hot spots in LA.. or anywhere in the US, please send it my way! I am always game for ice cream tasting!
Happy Baking and Ice Cream Sundae Making!
-Kristy
A Delightful Dessert After a Decandant Dinner!
My parents had many requests during their recent visit to LA, and stopping by Lawry’s Prime Rib for a satisfying steak dinner was one of them. And of course, when it comes to food, I had no problems in making this request happen! I made 7:30 reservation and we were in for quite the dinner! It began with a lovely greeting from an adorable waitress, then came a spinning salad, followed by the prime rib cut right at out table, lots a delicious sides and some English Pudding. Dinner, needless to say, was scrumptious… I love a good piece of red meat!
Surprise, surprise, my favorite part of this meal was of course dessert! We decided to split a Berry Trifle. And, despite me being ridiculously full from dinner, I easily gobbled down about half of this! The cake was light and fluffy, the berries super fresh, the whipped cream on top newly whipped. I usually go for much richer and heavier dessert, yet this trifle was light, sweet and refreshing. I didn’t feel like I had over-indulged, yet still had my sugar craving satisfied… It was surprisingly perfect after such a heavy dinner… Mmm… another delightful dessert-ing experience!
Happy Baking and Tasting All!
-Kristy
Mexican Sugar Skulls!
Last night I spent well over 4 hours in the kitchen… it was delightful yet completely exhausting! I made fresh butternut squash soup, roasted a chicken and potatoes for dinner and made some Mexican Sugar Skulls… well actually, Mexican White Chocolate Skulls!
I was so excited to finally try out the mold that I got while exploring Olvira Street with my parents. There were many different kinds of sugar skull molds for me to choose from… big ones, little one, skulls on a sticks and even skull accessory molds like sombreros! But I opted for the Frida Kahlo Skull Molds. Frida Kahlo was a famous Mexican painter who was well known for her amazing self-portraits. I studied her work in grad. school while getting my degree in art therapy, mainly because her work was seen as highly symbolic; she used her art work to express her person pain or struggles. Anyways, that’s a discussion for anther day and another time, but these Frida Skull Mold’s were freakin’ adorable, so I absolutely could not pass them up!
The packaging for the molds provided a
recipe for creating the sugar skulls, but last night I was looking for simplicity, so I opted to use white chocolate that I had on hand instead. This made the process super simple… I melted the chocolate gradually in the microwave (50% power, 30 second interval and stirring in between each). I gently spooned the melted chocolate into the molds, tapped them on my countero t remove any air bubbles and then into the freezer they went for 30 minutes and… done! The white chocolate Frida Skulls popped right out and looked great!
I kept them in the fridge until my frosting was ready. I used Royal Icing to frost on some details to high light the skulls detail. Royal Icing in known for setting up super hard and should stick well to the skull… well in theory anyways… (Random Baking Tip: NEVER put Royal Icing down your kitchen sink… always throw any extra you don’t need in the trash first, then clean up your icing bowl… Royal Icing can do a number on your pipes!)
So I had some icing issues last night. After I had colored the icing the consistency changed a bit, then my kitchen was so hot from all the cooking I was doing that the frosting was becoming super soft and warm, then the chocolate skulls were sweating from the heat, preventing icing to stick to the skull. Also trying to see all the lines and details was almost impossible… I swear I almost went cross-eyes! After quite a bit of frustration and lots of trial and error I had one skull that turned out something like what I had wanted it to and here it is! Super cute huh?!?! These eyes on this skull kinda look like how mine felt after I finished with them! I think the next time I try these I am going to pick up some dusting sugar. The sugar may stick better to the skull and may provide color in many of the little detailed lines that I had so much trouble seeing! No more going cross eyed for this semi-pro. baker!
My skulls were super simple, yet felt so impossible at times to complete! After seeing all the crazy-intricate art work that has been created on these sugar skulls on the Mexican Sugar Skull Website, I have a new found respect for anyone who makes these for a living! Its amazing! The coloring are stunningly bright and the detail on some of them is freaking awesome! Check them out for yourself by clicking here!
Happy Baking, Chocolate Molding and Piping Frosting!
-Kristy
Mexican Candy and Day of the Dead Festivities!
Wow, I can’t belive my last post was almost a week ago! Again, my apologies for my absence, but since my parents have returned to the east coast one again, my life can return to normal and will continue to post daily. Although I have been away, I have TONS to report after many So-Cal adventures with my parents! I’ve been racking my brain all morning to decide what to tell first… the trip to an old fashion ice cream shop, the home-made bread or my delicious discoveries from a stroll down Historic Olvera Street here is LA. Since today is still considered to be part of the Day of the Dead celebration in the Mexican Culture, The trip to Olvera Street seems most appropriate.
My mother is a ham for touristy places and my dad loves discovering new foods (hmm… maybe that’s where I get my passion for food!) Olvera Street seemed like a place where we could spend an enjoyable few hours. For those of you not from the LA area, Olvera Street is a gathering of traditional Mexican shops, buildings and eateries smack in the middle of the downtown area of this big metropolis. There’s lots to discover, see and learn about the Mexican Culture. While my mom went nuts in the shops (she legit had to go into every one and wanted to buy just about everything!), my father and I explored the food and candy shops. After a bit of window shopping with our mouths watering, my dad decided to try two different traditional Mexican treats, Jamoncillo and Jamoncillo Nuez. This translates to Milk Candy, and Burnt Milk Candy.
After a quick google search, I learned this candy is made from stirring evaporated milk with sugar for a very, very, very long time. The result is a delightfully sweet confection very similar to a piece of fudge, minus the chocolate. Just one bite was enough for me, because this bar was seriously sweet, yet creamy, smooth and just melts in your mouth. The Burnt Milk Candy had a somewhat more intense flavor compared to the plain Milk Candy, but the flavors were super similar. My dad totally loved these candies, and gobbled them up in no time.
We just happened to go to Olvera Street this past Friday, as preparations for the Day of the Dead were in full force. The Day of the Dead is a celebration for those who have passed on, and are honored and their Spirits invited back into their families homes with the creation of intricate alters. The alters are decorated with flowers, speciality foods, candies and sugar skulls.
I totally fell in love the with sugar skulls. They came in all sorts of sizes and were decorated with vibrant colors and intricate designs. Although they are completely edible, almost everyone I spoke with said they didn’t taste very good. Despite that information, I bought a couple, one to display at home and one to taste. Being a little hesitant, I opted to give one skull a good lickin’ rather than taking a huge bite. And to be honest, I didn’t find it to be bad tasting. All its really made out of is sugar, flour, meringue powder and water, so it tasted like sugar. I am sure if I took one big bite the pure sweetness would have been overwhelming and would have sent me into an immediate sugar high followed by a serious sugar coma. I can see how children would positively love these, and how adults might find their pure sugar taste to be unappealing. All in all, a great $1 investment to discover something from a culture other than my own.
As we continued to meander along this historic road, I came across something even more exciting than the sugar skulls themselves. Many of the stores sold the molds to make your own sugar skulls at home. Perfect and right up my alley! My parents graciously offered to purchase a mold of my choice so I could attempt to make my own at home. For about $10, I got a mold that made 6 skulls and it included 2 recipes and multiple directions on how to make different kinds skulls. I have some skulls in the freezer as I am write this and can’t wait to see how they come out! Check back in later today too see the final product!
We left Olvera Street after three hours or so with full bellies and lots of purchases. It was really a wonderfully delightful afternoon of treat tasting and cultural exploration. I look forward to another trip thier again soon.
Happy Baking and Skull Making!
-Kristy
A Wonderful Event at Surfas!
Last Friday I went to a talk and event at Surfas, a wonderful kitchen store/cafe/teaching kitchen. Lisa Baker Morgan, a personal chef and owner of catering company Ciao Yummy presented on Halloween Treats featuring incredible in-season eats. Lisa was a wonderful presenter. She was knowledgeable, funny, engaging and made it clear what a great chef she was. I couldn’t believe I forgot my camera, but the pic to the left was taken with my phone… not bad but just please note how cute and festive she made the teaching kitchen at Surfas!
Before I delve into the awesome recipes Lisa presented, I first need to let you know what a seriously inspiring person she is. During her talk, she let on to that fact that she was a runner. When I later checked out her website, I learned she runs marathons, is a single mother of two and runs her own catering and event planning business. AMAZING! In addition, Lisa was a lawyer in her past, but later went back to culinary school and made a huge but very exciting career change. That was especially appealing to me since I have recently begun my project, Will Bake For Tuition and am essentially considering a career change myself. In Addition, Lisa is all about making healthy choices, eating all natural and passing along these healthy eating tips to others. As much as I eat sweets, eating as natural and healthy as I can is super important to me as well. I totally love Lisa’s eating philosophy and am totally in aww of her all accomplishments since I am new to the culinary world.
So on to her delightful recipes. What I liked so much about the treats she presented was that she steered away from using the typical candy corn garnish or pumpkin-shaped-what-not. All of her treats featured the seasons best ingredients, but had an spooky Halloween undertone. One treat she presented was Ghoulish Puff Pastry Fingers… Pistachio puff pastry dough, stuffed with sugared dates with a pistachio ‘finger nail.’ So super cute and sooo delicious! There was also an delicious apple souffle and a robust pumpkin soup with a cream cheese spider web garnish. Lisa also made one hearty dish which was an apple braised pork shoulder which was so flavorful and moist. We got to try everything, plus some extras she had available like brownie cookies and curry macaroons! OMG everything she made was seriously tasty. I was super impressed with everything she made and if I ever need a catered event I would not hesitate in the least to give use her service! She also made me feel comfortable trying all these recipes… many of them used techniques that were new to me but she made the seem so simple. They are all on my to-try list over the next couple weeks!
This was my first talk at Surfas, and since it was such as wonderful experience, I know I will be making an effort to check more of them out! If you are in the LA area, this is a total must for any foodie! For more info on Lisa and her company, click here!
Happy Baking!
-Kristy
New And Hip Cupcake Hot Spot!
During a recent stroll through Beverly Hills, I happened to stumble upon the grand opening of a new cupcake Hot Spot on Beverly Drive, Famous Cupcakes. I was shocked that I didn’t know about such event, but figured it was fate that I happened to be there at the right time and one the right day. The grand opening event was adorable. There were enthusiastic people on stilts, lots of eye catching decor, a red carpet and a line out the door! When it comes to cupcakes, I don’t mind waiting! It gave me a chance to really scope out the bakery, check out the menu and made friends with the adorable 1-year old boy in front of me dawned in a New England Patriots Baby Hoodie! Clearly for a 1-year-old, he has great taste in Football!
The bakery is super sleek, modern and hip. White shiny walls, lots of cupcakes displayed in funky shelving and flat screen tv’s running a promo by the Kardashian’s. There was ample seating for you and a friend to enjoy a latte and cupcake, which was a total plus. I’ve made my way to quite a few cupcake shops and my one big complaint generally is lack of seating… but that is no issue with this place!
Cupcake time… I decided to get a Red Velvet Cupcake to go. I placed my order, they called my name and handed me this adorable little box with an adorable little cupcake on the inside. I swear, that was the longest 10 minute ride home from BH ever! As soon as I got home I tore 
open the box and took a bite… ahh.. pure heaven! It was so moist, sweet and tasty. I was half way through my cupcake (and positively loving it!) when I noticed a little something on the side of the box… a small label that stated “All natural and organic!” How freaking exciting and seriously impressive! This cupcake was awesome as is, but just when I learned that it was organic, I was blown away! Awesomely intense flavor, delightfully smooth and creamy cream cheese frosting… and organic! Fabulous! OMG…my mouth is watering just writing about them…
These are a must try! And some happy news… if you are a far away reader you can order them online and still try them youself!! Check out their website to read all there flavors and more about the company!
Post Cupcake… a little bit of food-coma set in… a little power nap and a dream about more Red Velvet Cupcake from Famous Cupcakes… mmm I can’t wait to try another flavor! Will keep you updated on my fav flavors!
Happy Baking and Cupcake Tasting!
-Kristy
Birthday Re-Cap!
Despite my confused feelings about turning 26, I had a wonderful birthday celebration with some great friends who completely spoiled me! After work, the evening began with Sushi and my fav. sushi bar in LA- Crazy Rockin’ Sushi. One spicy caterpillar roll, shrimp tempura and a couple glasses of white wine later, we were off to Amalfi Ristorante and Bar. We wined and dined on Pinot Noir- my fav. red wine, a huge delicious cheese plate and fresh brick oven pizzas. Nothing beats wine and cheese… next to desserts… it might be my fav. cuisine (yes, I consider that a cuisine all it own!)
Before the night was over… there was lots more excitement… we had a singing waitress, had a Halle Berry siting (BTW… she is STUNNING!) and of course had dessert and champagne! My buds ordered me this AMAZING Brownie Sundae! If only I hadn’t eaten so much pizza I would have been able to indulge even more. The brownie was so rich, luscious, moist and gewy. The vanilla ice cream on top was smooth and velvety… you could tell it was freshly churned! After a couple bites I was stuffed, but of course shared the remainder of my bodacious brownie with my buds… and it didn’t last too much longer! I would so return there for more wine and desserts!
By the end of the evening I was of course of a bit tipsy, but had a huge smile on my face! It was so nice to spend an evening with great people, having great conversation’s, drinking amazing wine and eating scrumptious desserts! Special thanks to all those who made my big day so exciting!
Happy Baking and Birthday Celebrating!
-Kristy
