{grandma louise's tomato sauce-chef academy}

have any of you watched the new bravo tv show-Chef Academy? the show features a renowned Michelin award-winning Chef have any of you watched the new bravo tv show-Chef Academy? the show features a renowned Michelin award-winning Chef Novelli, who opens a culinary academy in Los Angeles that teaches/trains aspiring cooks to cook like professionals {would love to learn how to cook like a professional!}. it is not a competition perse, but, if the students {major characters} fail 3 challenges, they then fail the academy. anyways, the reason i enjoy watching the show is because each episode, Chef Novelli briefly demonstrates a classic technique/recipe or cooking method.

the one episode that caught my attention was "Grandma Louise's Tomato Sauce". i've always wanted to know how to make a kick-butt tomato sauce. honestly though, i've never even thought of trying it, especially with inexpensive jars of tomato sauces available at the market in every imaginable flavor. i did venture once to try and make it with canned tomatoes--it turned out ok, but not better than the ready-made sauces. but, since i've been married, i've been made aware that my husband has a mild aversion to jarred tomato sauces {wah?!}. in all fairness, the acidity of the tomato sauce is sadly reminiscent of a bad bout of gastroenteritis. {share too much? heehee. eeew...} anyways, so my quest has been to find a way to make a tomato sauce that he enjoys since i want to make my husband's tummy happy and also because i personally adore tomato based foods. hence, i decided to try and make this tomato sauce. as you can see from my photo of the dish below, it has a deep, rich color with chunks of tomatoes. mmm....now how good would that be over a plate of pasta?



The link for the recipe is here; Grandma Louise's Tomato Sauce

My personal thoughts on the recipe: it is actually more expensive to make this tomato sauce from scratch compared to the jars without question {3 dollars for a jar on sale versus 6 dollars for just the tomatoes (excluding the anise/vanilla/basil)--although maybe i paid too much for the tomatoes at trader joe's}, i only used 2 anises since i'm not a super fan of licorice-y foods, i used vanilla bean paste since it is less expensive instead of a fresh vanilla bean, and added 2-3 chile pods for spice. The flavor is quite intense and one must be patient for it to develop into that paste-like consistency {1.5 hours!}. my sauce ended up being a little bit tart in the end, so i probably should have added more sugar for balance.

the wonderful thing about the sauce is not only the multiple layers of flavor with the anise, vanilla bean, chile, garlic, and basil, but the incredibly intense showcase of the tomato. {it sings tomato} ultimately, i felt like the sauce was quite lovely and am willing to make it again, with a couple more tweaks.

making a tomato sauce from scratch? {check!}

{swooning for macarons}

macarons, oo how much i love thee...why? its this delicious round cookie with a crispy outer shell, chewy inside, and a delicious filling. what is the best part of these lovely creations? the flavors!!

over the last week, Alice mentioned a little gift was coming my way. {ooooo-what was it?! so exciting! i love surprises!}. to my wonderful surprise over thanksgiving, i received the package. i gently untied the ribbon to discover a giant box of macarons from Paulette {a macaron bakery in Beverly Hills that i've been meaning to try}. can we say thoughtful?! {big nod-nod} it was a box of 24 cute little vividly colored macaroons that were like powerful flavor explosions for my tastebuds-framboise, carribean chocolate, coconut, caramel, lemon, columbian coffee, madagascar vanilla, sicilian pistachio, earl grey tea, violet cassis, passion fruit, and rose. wowie!! the fun part, was taking a bite of each macaron and guessing what flavor it was...{its like eating a box of chocolates and biting each one to see what flavor it is!} my favorites? ooo so hard to choose, but i loved the caramel, earl grey tea, coffee, coconut, violet,...oh wait...am i listing all of them? heehee.



i attempted making these bad boys once a few months ago and found it to be labor intensive but well worth the work. {but, it is definitely a skill to make macarons and to have them come out perfect. needless, to say, i do not have that skill. {grin}. check out my other blog {link: Chow Chaser} if you're interested in attempting to make some. :)

thanks alice, my dear friend, for this wonderfully satisfying gift!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

what a wonderful holiday. a delicious spread of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and endless sides - but more importantly, its a special time spent with wonderful family - and sharing of all that we are thankful for (which is something we should do every day though since there are endless blessings that God gives us). yesterday, after dinner, we went around the table reading a verse in the Bible that relates to giving thanks and then shared something that we were thankful for. incredibly encouraging and inspirational. what a wonderful tradition. happy thanksgiving.

{the chocolate chip cookies *pink* photo shoot debut}

{applause, applause} {blush}

ah, the classic chocolate chip cookie, with hundreds of recipes with its own unique twists. so, why stop now right? as a lover of adding new twisties, lets add another one. if you're a purist, then this is not the recipe for you!

Recipe softly twisted from kissmyspatula and jacques torres
Ingredients
8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup, plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 + 1/8 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt {other recipes call for more salt}
1/2 + 1/8 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cups chopped almonds
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 bag of 11.5 oz Ghiradelli 60% cocoa chips
chop up some werther's originals caramels
coconut flakes (handful)
marshmallows (handful)

instructions
1. sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. use mixer to cream together the butter and sugars. add egg (if doubling recipe, add in one at a time). stir in the vanilla.
3. reduce your mixer to low speed {unless you want to be covered in flour. hee}, add the dry ingredients and mix for a couple seconds. add in the rolled oats, almonds, coconut flakes and orange zest.
4. hand mix the chocolate chips, marshmallows, and caramels
5. press plastic wrap against the dough and refrigerate for 24-36 hours {still haven't figured out what that does...}
6. when ready to bake, preheat your oven to 325 degrees. remove the cookie dough from the fridge and allow it to sit for 15 minutes or so.
7. scoop the mounds of cookie dough onto the baking mat. i would flatten the cookies before baking since i found that the mound tends to rise and is a little bit too thick/puffy to my liking...bake for about 10-15 minutes. let cool slightly and serve the cookies while warm with gooey chocolate, {alongside a glass of milk or cup of coffee}



tip: a fun way to make different flavored cookies - grab one mound of cookie dough and smash in coconuts in one cookie. grab another mound and smash in some caramels. grab another mound and smash in some caramels, coconuts, and marshmallows. etc. finished product: different flavored cookies. {as cookie monster would say: yumumumumumumum}

{lemony and sea glass colored cake pedastals, desserts, and flowers}

i found these lovely photos on my wedding photographer's blog, Stephanie Williams. these aren't my wedding photos, although gosh, i would have loved these colors also! this caught my eye and i couldn't help but share these with you. {future brides! beautiful wedding palate inspiration!} she took these photos for an online magazine (e-zine) called Utterly Engaged, with the table and floral designs by JL Designs and the desserts by the Sweet and Saucy Shop. how fun! i'm going to have to wander over to that dessert shop one day since its right in Long Beach! they offer classes...but way out of my budget....maybe some day if i win the lotto...{wake up!}.

Now how much do you love those cake pedastals and vases? loooove it!

{my wedding pictures have arrived!}

i've been eagerly awaiting for my CD of wedding & engagement photos from my awesome photographer, Stephanie Williams, and they have arrived! we were married at the La Venta Inn, a beautiful inn overlooking the ocean on the Palos Verdes peninsula. what was most important to me on that day {other than the obvious of professing our love and commitment to each other in front of God and our friends/family}? well good food of course! i wanted happy guests with happy tummies and happy memories and i think La Venta Inn fulfilled all of these wishes. the site is catered by the New York Food Company and the food was awesome for wedding food! haha. our appetizers included beef short ribs, lamb lollipops in a soy apricot glaze, and mini cups of tomato soup topped with a grilled cheese {cuteness! um, can i say that about my own wedding? *giggle*}. our 3 course lunch including a mixed green salad, chilean sea bass, and chicken roulade, and finished with a red velvet cupcake and candy bar!


getting married to my hubs was one of the most wonderful days of my life {so cliche right? but so true for me}. the best combination possible: a beautiful wedding day, surrounded by friends and family whom i love dearly, and the most wonderful blessing of an amazing man that i will be sharing the rest of my life with...{tear}

if you have any questions about my vendors or anything about the wedding as i continue to post pics, send me a comment and i'll be more than happy to share my experience with you since most of our stuff was do-it-yourself :)

my dress: Renella de Fina (Loved it!!)
bridesmaid dresses: Ann Taylor
photographer: Stephanie Williams (beautiful pics)
site: La Venta Inn (their website is a bit antiquated...)
videographer: Elysium (check out their demo video. mind blowing)
florist: Be Buds (the nicest florist ever! i loooved my flowers that day)

{thoughts of a new blog}

Because I have loads of free time....{ok, not really}....but truth be told, i was quite bored with my prior website design, so I have ventured to redesign my blog. Now, the big question is, will it be a better blog because of the new design?