Thursday, September 29, 2011

birthday cupcakes

My niece & nephew had their joint birthday party this past weekend. The big one! And since their mommies take on so much the aunties came to the rescue helping with the party invites, paper goods, food, desserts and babysitting :) My contribution included invite design, paper goods design, rolling egg rolls and baking cupcakes. Here is a little picture recap of the party.


The Candy Bar / Food Table / Dessert Table



Mini Donuts / Vegan Vanilla Baby Cakes / Coconut Macaroons / Shortbread Cookies / Rice Crispy Treats / Chocolate Macaroons 


Strawberry Cupcakes & Cream Cheese Frosting / Lemon & Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting / Chocolate Kahlua (recipe below) & Coconut Frosting

Chocolate Kahlua
1 package Swiss chocolate cake mix
1 small package chocolate pudding
1 pint sour cream
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
6 oz chocolate chips
1/3 cup Kahlua

Mix ingredients together and bake at 350 for about 15 mins.




Happy Birthday Malia & Myles!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

mother's bistro & bar- portland, or


For some family time and Labor Day weekend, J & I ventured back to my hometown of Portland, OR. On our drive down, we started talking about how we default to the same handful of Portland restaurants. So in an effort to get out and explore my home-city, we turned to Yelp and off to Mother's Bistro we went.


Given it was a holiday weekend, we knew we'd there would be a good wait. We waited about 45 mins and it went by rather quickly, with lots of sunshine, self-serve coffee & my niece to keep us on our toes.



On to what we ordered....


Crunchy French Toast with Bananas. This was my perfect french toast- crispy exterior, a smooth center and all lightly sweet. My personal choice & favorite :)


Seasonal Waffles- Fresh Oregon Blackberry Waffles. The berries were huge and super sweet. The waffles were so incredibly light & fluffy, they were like pancake-waffles!


Pork Apple Sausage & Cheddar Cheese Scramble. I didn't try this one, but everyone who did seemed exceptionally pleased.


Omelet du Jour- Cajun Scramble. Straightforward & done well, the roasted breakfast potatoes definitely hit the spot.

All in all we had an amazing meal and experience at Mother's. The staff was extremely friendly, the food was perfect and the prices were great!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

ginger garlic rubbed chicken with honey drizzle


I got this recipe from Week of Menus but made a few modifications to suit what I had on hand and my preferred method of cooking. It’s so simple but so flavorful! A perfect dinner idea when you don’t know what to make with chicken :)

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoons rice vinegar

Directions:

Mix garlic, ginger, paprika, salt, and olive oil in a bowl. Mix well. Add chicken and rub well so that the mixture coats all the chicken evenly. Let stand for about 30 minutes (Week of Menus didn't specify to marinate, so you can proceed if you’re pressed for time).



Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a cast iron pan on medium high heat. When the skillet is hot, drizzle with olive oil then add chicken. Sear about two minutes per side, then finish cooking in the oven for about eight minutes. Remove from heat, brush with honey-vinegar and return to the oven for another minute or two. Place the chicken on a serving dish with the honey sauce on the side. I served our meal up with rice and steamed baby bok choy with oyster sauce.