I love Bacon, but...

I <3 bacon more than Joe the Plumber does, but this might be going a tad bit toooo far. Perhaps those with an affinity for a greasy, salty bosom would disagree with me. I have nothing left to say about this.

Well, maybe a little bit. But take a look at that craftsmanship, the perfectly placed toothpicks, it's impeccable. And it's just the right amount of bacon. Tim Gunn would approve this backless piece of lingerie, without his trademark critique "That's a whole lotta look". [via Flickr]

Move aside Anthony Bourdain

I'm done waiting for you, Anthony Bourdain. That hard-to-get game just isn't working on me. Your charm, your sexy ruggedness, your screw-the-world attitude... it's not cutting it anymore. It's not me, it's you. All you do is talk talk talk and eat strange foods and try to make me jealous on 'No Reservations'. I can't deal with you traveling all the time, leaving me by my lonesome self.

So I found someone new. Someone who didn't recently kick a drug habit. Someone who whispers French sweet nothings in my ear at night. Someone who shares his talent with me. I know he's your buddy, but that's how it goes sometimes.

Oh, Eric Ripert, how I swoon over your always perfect hair and handsome blog. Your 'Get Toasted' videos always leave my passion for you even toastier than before. Your recipes highlight simple ingredients with refreshing flavors that I can make even while you distract me with your sultry accent.

Goodbye, Tony, I need you no more.

New York bagels, Clowns, and Yarmulke (Yamakas)?

Last April I was in glorious New York for my first time. And in the spirit of New York, of course I had to have a bagel. While the bagel did not impress me and was nothing more than what Noah could deliver on the west coast, I was surprised with a free show along with my morning shmear.

I was quietly eating my bagel along the counter facing out to the street, when all of a sudden a van blaring Hebrew music out from its external speakers stopped right in front of the shop. Big letters on the van told me that they were here to celebrate the coming of the Messiah. Out of this van popped out at least 6 men, whose clothing varied from traditional garb to full on clown suits. A couple dudes couldn't decide what to wear that morning and just wore it all at once.

The guys came bursting in through the door, dancing and singing "Hava Nagila" (yes, I have been to several bar and bat mitzvahs back in the middle school days), grabbing other customers and obviously rejoicing in the coming of the Messiah. But no fair, as the token Asian, I was left alienated and alone with my mediocre breakfast. And since they had already outcast me, I decided to play to the stereotype. I whipped out my iPhone and tried to snap a decent picture. But those clowns sure did have fast feet, hence the blurry picture. Wonder what festivities will take place when the Messiah actually arrives?! I better be invited.

The world is coming to an end...

When parents no longer reward their sweet little tots with these pink and white frosted animal cookies with the tiniest sprinkles in the world, the world must be crumbling away.

When kindergarteners no longer open up their brown lunch bags or Superman lunch boxes to discover a baggie full of these sugary delights, America is failing her people.

Mother's Cookies has filed for bankruptcy, and a large animal shaped part of my heart has died with it.

A sad, sad, sad day for the inner child in all of us.

picture from flickr

everything is delicious with bacon and blue cheese

Bobby Flay lost another Throwdown, what a surprise... That guy never seems to win, even though he has a completely unfair advantage. He knows 1) there will be a throwdown 2) what the other person's specialty is and the recipe and 3) he can use better ingredients since he probably has enough money to get California out of debt.

This moules dish is from one of the guy's that kicked Bobby's ass in Throwdown... Chef Teddy at Granville Moore's in Washington D.C. I was recently in D.C. and am quite depressed that I did not manage to find this place. However I did find the Santa Monica Seafood Market and its mussels and now me and B are addicted to these things. It took us a while to find the recipe online, and I can't find it right now, but I have the recipe pretty much memorized... it's easy b/c you need 2/3 cup of everything but the mussels, blue cheese and lemons.

2lbs of mussels keeps me and the 6'3" boyfriend extremely content and perfectly stuffed by the time the last mussel is consumed. Make sure crisp skinny fries are at your side and some thick slices of bread for dipping in the broth. The broth is amazing by the way, we also did the same kind of broth with shrimp. Delicious, but the mussels still are the champions.

2 lbs mussels
2/3 cup applewood smoked bacon
2/3 cup shallots, sliced thinly
2/3 cup white wine (I think we used Chardonnay)
2/3 cup baby spinach
1/2 cup blue cheese
juice of 2 lemons


Heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and 3 tablespoons canola oil in a pan. The recipe gave this weird ratio, so we are going with it... Dice the bacon and render the lovely pieces of pig and fat until kind of brown (we like it a little crispier). Throw in the shallots and mussels and mix it all around. Add the white wine and lemon juice.

Keep tossing all the ingredients together. When the mussels start to open, drop in 1/2 of the blue cheese. Some mussels are more eager to open than others, so put the stubborn ones deeper in the broth. When all the mussels are opened, add the spinach. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Dump everything in a really large bowl and sprinkle with the rest of the blue cheese.

Forget forks! Use an empty mussel shell to pry the meat from the other shells.

tomato tomahto, blue cheese bleu cheese?

B and I went to the Hollywood farmer's market... it seems that Los Angeles can't decide what season it's in right now since there seemed to be an abundance of squishy tomatoes yet a whole plethora of peaches as well. We were on a mission for figs, but alas only a few straggling boxes of mushy figs were to be found. We did manage to find two heirloom tomatoes on the firmer side, a whole bag of green beans for 90 cents (!) which B tossed with the garlic and almond and butter concoction below, and some sweet corn.

B made those tomatoes up there....
Just mix together shredded parmesan, 2 garlic cloves per tomato, blue (bleu?) cheese (more than you think is necessary), extra virgin olive oil, and cracked black pepper. Cut the tops off the tomatoes and core them too. Drizzle some olive oil over the tomatoes and sprinkle with sea salt. Generously stuff the cheese and garlic mix into the tomatoes. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and put on the top rack of the oven (I think we put in on low broil) until the tomato skins burst a little bit and the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.
Ridiculously easy to make and ridiculously easy to devour.

for a more sensual experience...

my pictures are usually taken around 10pm to 1am, so needless to say lighting is not at its optimal state and smears my images with an ugly yellow tint. it does help if you click on the picture to see its full-size. you can pretty much smell the garlic and butter in the picture below, you might even feel a hot pop of butter hit your face.

Heaven better smell like this

Sightly tamed garlic and almond slivers getting cozy in a bath of bubbly butter.

Cupcakes have identities, just like us.

The perfectionist.
Annoyingly adorable.

Spunky.

Pleasingly plump.

This one has its own entourage. Don't mess.