Eating on the Runway

Zucchini Lasagna

2011-08-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

My veggie lasagna is my most requested recipe from people. I think the one thing that scares people the most is the long ingredient list, but it really is easy to put together. Here is a simple recipe that is a bit healthier than your normal lasagna. I just emailed this recipe to someone so I thought I'd copy and pasta it as a blog post as well.

4-5 zucchini's depending how big or small they are, sliced lengthwise
1 container of low fat ricotta cheese
16 oz shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
1 jar of pasta sauce
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
dried Italian herbs seasoning (optional)
Salt & Pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
2. Thinly slice your zucchinis lengthwise. Make sure they are uniform slices and not too thick since they'll need to cook evenly
3. Mix 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 tbsp Italian herbs, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and ricotta cheese
4. In a 13x9 baking dish, spray cooking oil on the bottom and sides. Pour about 1/2 cup of sauce on the bottom, enough to coat.
5. Put a layer of zucchinis, enough to cover the bottom, then sprinkle with salt and pepper
6. Spread 1/2 ricotta mixture across the zucchinis. Then sprinkle half your bag of mozzarella cheese
7. Put another layer of zucchinis, don't forget to sprinkle the zucchinis with salt & pepper.
8. Spread the rest of the ricotta cheese, then pour all your sauce on top. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top and put a dash of the Italian herbs across the top
9. Spray aluminum foil with cooking spray and cover the baking dish loosely.
10. Cook for 50 minutes, more or less depending how cooked you want the zucchini.
11. Remove aluminum foil and broil for 5-6 minutes on high

Enjoy!

Homemade Chipotle Bowls

2011-06-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

It is no secret I love Chipotle. Maybe it's the convenience or maybe it's the delicious cilantro rice. Thanks to Kristen over at Iowa Girl Eats, I decided to make my own Chipotle bowls at home. It seemed easy and I had most of the things on hand already.

Here is what you need to feed 4 people:

Cilantro rice:
4 cups cooked rice
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
lemon

Mix everything together

Filling:
2 chicken breasts diced into small pieces (or whatever meat you want)
1 packet taco seasoning
green bell pepper-sliced
onion-sliced

Marinate the chicken with the taco seasoning and cook in an oiled saute pan. Set aside. In the same pan, cook the veggies

Corn Salsa:
1 1/2 cup frozen corn
2 tomatoes -chopped
1/2 onion- chopped
1/2 red bell pepper-chopped
cilantro
lemon

Mix together

Other accompianments:
shredded cheese
shredded lettuce
salsa (preferably Trader Joe's garlic chipotle sauce)
sour cream (or Greek yogurt for a healthier option)

Now turn this..

...into this...

..and enjoy! Quick, easy, and delicious.

Crab Cakes

2011-06-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

I was craving for salmon cakes, but found a can of crab meat in my cupboard instead. I looked up a couple of recipes and decided to combine all of them and make my own.

This is an approximate measurement of everything, since I never measure my spices.

Crab Cakes

1 can crab meat (6.5 oz)
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1 egg
1 tbsp mayo
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 juice of lemon
lemon zest
1/4 cup green onions-chopped
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian herbs
S&P to taste

Mix together the egg, mayo, dijon mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, Italian herbs, and S&P. Add into crab meat, mix in panko crumbs and parmesan cheese. Mix all together, be careful not to break up crab meat.

Oil up a pan and drop in a quarter sized ball of the mixture and cook on each side for about 3 minutes. It should be golden brown on both sides. Taste to see if you got all the seasonings right. If so, this makes about 3 medium sized patties. Cook at medium to high heat for the first 3-4 minutes on each side. Then change it to low heat so the inside heats through.

I whipped up a simple dip with what I had on hand.
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup greek yogurt (or sour cream)
a pinch of Italian herbs seasoning
a squeeze of lemon
lemon zest

Whisk together and you have a simple dip made in no time.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2011-06-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

The boy loves BBQ chicken pizza, so in an effort to make him happy, I scrapped together something easy. It's cheaper than any pizza you can get from a restaurant and customizable to your liking

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pizza crust (I used the Boboli thin pizza crust)
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 sliced red onion
1/2 cup corn (I buy the frozen roasted corn from Trader Joe's)
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 chicken breast- shredded (cooked however you want, I had left over roasted chicken)

Preheat your oven according to the packaging details on the back of your pizza crust.
Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray.
Spread the BBQ sauce on, sprinkle with cheese
Pile on the rest of the toppings and stick in the oven for about 15 minutes

Enjoy!

San Diego: Taste of Gaslamp

2011-06-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the boy and I did a quick weekend trip to San Diego. The main reason for going down there was Taste of Gaslamp. I had heard such great things about it in previous years and made it a point to make it down there this year. During our short trip, we spent a lot of time in Little Italy and downtown. Our hotel was conveniently located between the two. We discovered the Little Italy Mercato Farmer's Market on Saturday morning and browsed around while we waited for Taste of Gaslamp to begin. This farmer's market has to be one of the best one I've ever been to. I would make the drive down to San Diego on Saturdays just for this.

Moving along to our main topic: Taste of Gaslamp. $30 for a sampling of foods from 30 places around Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego. Best $30 I've ever spent. You have 3 hours to take your little punch card to a map of restaurants to try their different dishes. Here are a couple of my favorites in picture:

Crab salad on a wonton chip from Nobu

NY Steak from Palms

Scallop with pearl potato from Airr Supper Club

Scallop over pea risotto from Soleil K

I am already looking forward to going again next year.

MAGIC

2011-02-17T15:42:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Vegas all thanks to the ladies of Boutiquing. If you don't know what Boutiquing is, hop on over to their site to see what they're all about (shameless plug).

We left on Sunday, which happened to be my birthday, but the girls made sure I was well taken care of. We sped down I-15 just in time to get to the Mirage to watch The Beatles. I've never been a huge fan of shows, but this is a must see. All the music and acts were beyond amazing.

The whole point of the Boutiquing Brigade being in Vegas for Magic was for the 1st even Teen Vogue Blogger Lounge. We were asked to come to be the birds eye view for everyone that couldn't be there. We Tweeted and Facebooked our way through the floors of Magic about everything and anything fashion related.

I had gone to Magic the previous year, but this year was definitely slower than last. The crowd just wans't as big and the energy wasn't quite there. I did love the excitement that the bloggers showed throughout the entire event. I loved seeing how different girls portrayed their best styles in 3 short days. The bloggers came from near and far, some as close as LA and others as far as NYC and Canada.

I had an amazing time with my Boutiquing girls. Even though we were there during my birthday and Valentine's day, I was with great company.

See you next time Magic

Hash House A Go Go

2011-02-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

After hearing so much about this restaurant, a couple of us made the drive down to San Diego to try Hash House. They are epically known for their chicken & waffles. Apparently, people are saying it's better than Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles. I split an order of Andy's Sage Fried Chicken w/ mash potaters and a BIG blueberry pecan flapjack with the boyfriend.

The flapjack went unpictured, but it was the size of a giant dinner plate. We barely even made a dent in it.

Their infamous fried chicken wasn't all that great. I'm a big fan of dark meat chicken, so this just didn't do it for me. The whole meal just felt too heavy for me and didn't sit well.

I declare: HYPE

Knott's Berry Farm

2011-02-06T14:07:00.000-08:00

The best part of Knott's:

Funnel cake w/ half strawberry and half boysenberry topping. EXTRA POWDER SUGAR PLEASE!

Mesa

2011-02-01T12:53:00.000-08:00

The only two reasons why anyone should ever go to Mesa in Costa Mesa

Reason #1: Lychee Martini

Reason #2: Cast Iron Skillet Mussels

The two things that are actually worth going for and paying the $$$ for. The only great thing about this lounge is the retractable roof that pulls back at 11pm. Otherwise, you're paying to cram into a small space and fight off douchebag bouncers. Since when did this place get so crowded they needed security at the door?

Go early, get the mussels and lychee martini. Then leave and hit up a more affordable bar.

Wine & Cheese Pleae

2011-01-26T13:48:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been craving a little of this...

I love all things wine and cheese. Pour me a good glass of white wine and feed me endless amounts of cheese & salami.

How to: Roasted Vegetables

2011-01-20T12:51:00.000-08:00

Over the past several years, I've really grown to like vegetables. When cooked perfectly, I can eat them by the pound. I've found that the best way to cook them is by roasting. It is the easiest, but take so long to cook. It is a set it and forget it way of cooking, easy enough for me.

How to go from this...

..to this

Chop up whatever vegetables you want to roast. Make sure you chop them all about the same size so they cook evenly. Coat them with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Toss them in the oven for 45-50 minutes at 375 degrees. Half way thru, stir them around.

Feel free to get creative with what you toss the veggies in. Sometimes I do garlic salt instead of regular salt, Italian herbs, chili powder, or whatever you have in your spice cabinet.

In the picture above, I roasted brussel sprouts, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, and bell pepper. Feel free to toss in any veggies you like. If you live in Orange County, be sure to stop by Grower's Direct in Costa Mesa. They have a ton of fresh produce at insanely low prices. I've never found any bad produce there.

Enjoy!

Old Vine Cafe

2011-01-15T13:16:00.000-08:00

I've had Old Vine Cafe bookmarked for a while now and finally got around to trying it for lunch. I'm a bit against spending $20 for lunch, but their 3-course set lunch was well worth it. I stalked their menu beforehand so I knew exactly what to order when I arrived.

1st course: Porcini Bisque with a crostino

2nd course: Porcini Mac & Cheese

3rd course: Grandma's Cheese Cake

I'm sure you can sense the theme I went with for my lunch. I'm sure if they offered a mushroom dessert, I would've went with it. The porcini bisque was nice and creamy with the perfect subtle taste of the mushroom. It wasn't too heavy which I hate in a bisque. The pocini mac&cheese had the perfect blend of cheeses.

Let's talk about the cheesecake. I die. When they first brought it out, I couldn't believe how small it was. This thin little sliver on this ginormous plate was the biggest tease. I don't normally eat desserts, but this was hands down the best slice of cheesecake I've ever had. The graham cracker crust and the berry jam did it for me.

Overall, Old Vine Cafe was well worth my $20 spent on lunch. I'd be happy to even order the cheesecake for all three courses.

Recipe: Easy Bruschetta

2010-12-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

This recipe is so easy to throw together. I took me about 10 minutes from start to finish.

Easy Bruschetta:

5 Roma tomatoes, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup of basil, chopped

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

S&P to taste

Combine the first 4 ingredients and mix. Then mix with the rest of ingredients. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. To make it even better, you can reduce a cup of balsamic vinegar and drizzle it over the top when you're serving. Serve it with toasted French bread. It makes for a easy appetizer to throw together.

Enjoy!

xox,

Recipe: Balsamic Cream Chicken Pasta

2010-12-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

I had dinner at Mona Lisa's in Huntington Beach a couple weeks ago and absolutely loved their Rigatoni Con Petit De Pollo. It was a rigatoni pasta with a light balsamic cream sauce. The sauce had the perfect tang to it that I fell in love with. The boyfriend also raved about the dish so I knew it was something I wanted to recreate. I searched high and low for a good recipe and came across one from AllRecipes.com. I used it as a guide and adjusted it to my liking. The recipe is just for the sauce, but I made it to put over pasta and chicken. I'm sure it would be good over a variety of things.

Balsamic Cream Sauce:

2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp butter
1/2 onion, minced or chopped
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp chicken bouillon granules
1 1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil and butter in a saucepan. Add onions and saute on low/medium heat for 10-15 minutes. You want to caramelize the onions, not saute them. Make sure you're stirring it constantly so you don't burn them
2. Add the balsamic vinegar and let simmer for about 1-2 minutes. You'll see it slightly thicken up.
3 Add heavy cream and chicken granules. Bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes until you see it thickening.
4. Add in the parmesan cheese and stir around until it all melts. Freshly grated parmesan will give you the best results. The canned and pre-shredded stuff will make your sauce lumpy.
5. Add salt/pepper to your liking

All done! This sauce was an easy 20 minutes. The only long part is waiting for the onions to caramelize. This was the perfect serving for 4 people.

Here is my go-to easy chicken marinade:

1 big piece of chicken breast, sliced or however you plan to serve it
1/2 cup of Italian salad dressing
2 cloves of garlic-minced
a dash of Italian herbs
S&P

Combine it all and let marinate for 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes depending how big your pieces of chicken are.

I served this with some roasted broccoli, I prepared it the same way from my Beer Can Chicken post.

It was a very delicious dinner and boyfriend approved. This is definitely going on my monthly rotation of meals

NYE Contest

2010-12-23T10:15:00.000-08:00

The people of OC Fairgrounds graciously gave me two general admission ($70 value) tickets to giveaway for the NYE Block Party. I thought it'd be fun to do a little contest here on my blog.

Here are some tidbits on the event:

* 4 stages featuring tribute bands from 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. Personally the Journey tribute band is my favorite.

* 2 DJs spinning today's hottest music

* Demolition Taxi Cab Derby

* Comedy Hypnotist

* Carnival Rides

* 50 gourmet food trucks (try Burnt Truck, it's my favorite!)

Tickets range from $35-$75. They even offer VIP admission for those of you that want to do New Years in style.

So for the contest, you have a couple ways to win these tickets:

1. Leave me a comment and tell me what one perk of having VIP tickets is.

2. RT this on Twitter "I want to win the @OCFair NYE Block Party tickets from @CindyWang10"

3. @ reply me on Twitter and tell me one thing you did nice for someone for the holidays. My twitter handle is @CindyWang10

*If you're leaving a comment on my blog, please don't forget to leave your email address so I can get ahold of you for the tickets.

I will be choosing the winner on Christmas morning. Winning the tickets will be like an extra present under the tree :)

Goodluck!

xox,

Union Rescue Mission

2010-12-21T15:22:00.000-08:00

I don't recall Orange County raining this much since El Nino 10 years ago. The rain put a damper on my Big Bear cabin trip this past weekend and has made Christmas shopping more dreadful than it already is. I love the cold, but with the heavy rain, it has made the freeways a war zone. Accidents every few miles, flooding, and cars driving 30 mph.

Between all this complaining, I'm thankful I have a car to get me places, a jacket to keep me dry, and a warm bed to sleep in at night. There are hundreds, even thousands, of people out there that don't have any of the mentioned. Last night at 10pm, Cole posted this on Twitter and I quickly jumped on it.

Every year around the holidays, I always want to volunteer or donate. It's tough for me to donate money since I don't make much. So assisting Cole was the next best thing. Everyone has extra clothes, shoes, blankets, etc that they don't want or need. She had plans to take all the clothes to the Union Rescue Mission at noon today. I posted on my Facebook late last night to see if anyone could donate clothes. To my surprise I got a great response. By 10am, I had two people leave bags of clothes on my doorstep and arranged to pick up from 5 other people. It amazes me how many people, some I don't even talk to, got in contact with me to donate to a good cause.

I battled the rain, slow drivers, got locked inside a friends gate (ended up having to jumping over) and ended up with about 20 huge bags of clothes. I didn't expect to collect as much as I did so when I saw it slowly piling up in my car, I got a bit nervous. I still had a couple more stops and wasn't sure whether it would all fit in my car. In the end, I made it work and fit everything in my car to drop it off at Cole's.

Thank you to the people that quickly acted on this and got these bags together. It's such a good feeling at the end of the day knowing that you can help out the less fortunate. I'm lucky to have a roof over my head and dry clothes to change into every day. Some just aren't so that's where you step in and help in every which way.

For those of you that still want to donate, Cole is holding another pick-up tomorrow morning at Brea Mall at the Macy's parking lot at 10am. Let me know if you would like more information and I can link you over to her.

xox,

NYE Block Party

2010-12-08T15:52:00.000-08:00

Year after year, I try so hard to find something fun to do on New Years Eve and year after year, I fail to do so. I always have such high expectations for NYE and am always let down because what I end up doing isn't as much fun as I hoped it to be. Being in my early 20's, I've always wanted to party hard and get completely trashed on NYE because that's what people do right? Not this year. This year I plan on kicking back and enjoying myself surrounded with my boyfriend and some good friends. Thus, when I found out about the OC Fair NYE Block Party, I figured it to be fun and relaxing. What really caught my eye was the 50 food trucks that are going to be there. All those trucks in one place? Sign me up!

First off, OC Fair is having a preview party next Thursday, December 16th. It's free to get in and it'll be a good taste of what the NYE event will be.

I'll be there stuffing my face at my favorite trucks. Come say 'hi' if you see me!

Food Trucking

2010-12-07T15:01:00.000-08:00

Food trucks have been all the rage around OC and LA lately. It all started with the infamous Kogi BBQ and their outrageous 2 hour lines. Now there are well over 50 trucks roaming around So Cal with all different types of menus. From fusion tacos to bakery sweets, there is always something from everyone. Here are a couple of my favorites:

The Burnt Truck is my all time favorite. They serve different types of sliders, with a menu that changes weekly. I like a truck that can keep things fresh and not constantly serve the same thing. They serve about 5-6 different sliders each week and sometimes keeping a couple of their best sellers on the menu. They are regulars at Food Truck Fare Thursdays and OC DinDinAGoGo on Wednesdays at Irvine Lanes.

The Korean BBQ slider and Cheeseburger slider

My favorites are the Fried Chicken, Cheeseburger, PBJ, and Vietnamese Pork. They also serve tater tots and fries.

The Bakery Truck is a truck that my boyfriend loves. Their cream puffs and dessert shots are to die for. I'm not a huge fan of sweets, but their mini banana nutella cream puff has a special place in my stomach.

A couple other trucks that I love, that I don't have pictures for are:

The Lime Truck for their Carnitas Fries. 10 hour pulled pork, guacamole, slaw, crema, and cotija. The chipotle-honey slaw that tops it off is what makes the fries that much better. Their menu is a bit pricier, but the quality of the food can't be beat. You would never guess their food came off a truck.

Dos Chinos is a Latin Asian Cuisine truck serving tacos and burritos. What sets them apart from Kogi's is that each taco is different from the last. Their Bolsa BBQ Pork is hands down their best taco. The only downside is that their service is slow and their tacos are sometimes inconsistent.

Tropical Shaved Ice, the name says it all. I've only ever had their fusion shaved ice and there's no reason to try anything else. Shaved ice with your choice of bananas, lychee, or strawberries (when they're in season) all drenched in sweetened condensed milk.

Taco Dawg is known for their tacos and hot dawgs with a fun twist. I really can't pick a favorite because all of their tacos and dawgs are pretty good. A must try is their Apple taco dessert, you won't regret it! Don't forget to grab one of their punch cards and say "waddup dawg" to the guys on the truck.

All of these trucks can be tracked down via Twitter and Facebook. The best way to track their updates is from Twitter and some trucks post their weekly menu up on Facebook. Take the time to attend one of the meet ups so you can choose from different trucks all in one area.

Lust

2010-10-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

Love Affair

2010-10-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

I have a love affair with shopping. Actually, it's more of a love/hate relationship. Love the new closet, but hate the dwindling bank account. To find a happy medium, I've decided to limit myself to what I can afford each month. Here are my recent picks

GAP Corduroy Trimmed Utility Jacket

Nordstrom Military Sweater

Forever 21 Blouse in black

Forever 21 Striped Sweater Tunic

DSW Madden Girl Maliboo Flats

DSW Mia Biscuit Wedge Boots in black

China Glaze: Heart of Africa

China Glaze: Blue Paradise

OPI: Suzi Skis in the Pyreness

xox,

Chicago Part II

2010-10-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

The third day of our Chicago vacation consisted of more good food. We started off at the infamous Hot Doug's for lunch to kick start our day.

Foie Gras Duck Sausage, Ribeye Steak Sausage, Jack Daniels Pork Sausage, Merguez Lamb Sausage, Chicago Dog, and Duck Fat Fries

All of this was split between 3 people and it was delicious. I regret not getting the Foie Gras Duck Sausage for myself because it was the best dog I've ever had. The duck fat fries were all right, but better with the cheese sauce. Doug was even at the counter ready to take our order!

After lunch, we had a 1:30 reservation for the Wendella Boat Chicago River Architecture Tour. It was neat to see all of the amazing buildings along the Chicago river. A ton of great views and information about Chicago itself.

After the boat tour, we did tons of shopping on Miracle Mile. I had to hunt down this watch that I've been wanting for a while...now it's all mine :)

After all the shopping, we were exhausted and headed back to my cousins for a late nap before walking to dinner. We had dinner at Hot Chocolate and it has to be my top 5 meals.

We started off with two appetizers that I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of. We got the Pate and Shrimp&Grits. Both were really good. Then came my amazing meal.

Mac and Cheese to share: elbow macaroni and a creamy cheese sauce made with Rothkase gruyere and Carr Valley mammoth cheddar

Special of the day: mushroom risotto

Holy yum it was so good. I've never had a good mushroom risotto until Hot Chocolate. The macaroni and cheese was one of the best I've ever had. The cheese sauce was to die for. Must go back again! We also had dessert and of course hot chocolate, but that went unpictured also.

Saturday was Chicago Gourmet, the whole reason of our trip to Chicago. I'll let the pictures tell it all

Met some celebrity chefs

Elliot Graham

Michelin Man (yes, he's a celebrity)

Cat Cora

Ted Allen

On top of all the food and celebrities, there were hundreds of wine, beer, and liquor tents. I came for the food, so didn't indulge in too much alcohol.

The last two days will be my last Chicago post. You'll have to wait for those because one of the restaurants fell into my top 3 places I've ever eaten at.

xox,

Chicago Part I

2010-10-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, I took the BF to Chicago for his birthday. Actually, let me rephrase that, his birthday happened to land on the same weekend as Chicago Gourmet. I've been planning this since May when my cousin got the pre-sale tickets. Perfect time to visit my cousin & his fiance and to celebrate the BFs birthday.

Day 1:

Our first stop on our foodie trip was Kuma's Corner

Southampton Pumpkin Ale

I got the YOB: smoked gouda, bacon, roasted red peppers, roasted garlic mayo on a pretzel bun

The BF got the Mastodon: BBQ sauce, cheddar, bacon, frizzled onions on a pretzel bun

Kuma's was the perfect way to start off our trip. I absolutely loved the burger I got. The pretzel bun is what made it so delicious. I later found out that Kuma's was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.

Later that night, the four of us walked down the street to a bar. The thing I love about big cities is being able to walk everywhere. It was a 5 minute walk from their house to any nightlife. We went to Big Star for a late night beer.

Started off with a Schlitz. It's Chicago's version of a PBR or whatever cheap beer people drink. It was actually quite tasty

To continue eating my way thru Chicago, we ordered some tacos

I had the Tacos de Panza: crispy pork belly, tomato guajilla sauce, queso fresco, onions, and cilantro

It was so delicious! Perfect way to top off my night.

Day 2:

Chicago is known for their deep dish pizza, so I knew I had to try it when I was there. Per my cousins recommendation, we went to Lou Malnatis. My cousin met us up during his lunch break and we all split the 'The Lou'

The Lou: fresh spinach, mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, sausage, and a blend of mozzerella, romano, and cheddar cheese all on top of a butter crust.

This picture does this pizza no justice at all. The pizza was so beyond delicious, I wanted to eat the whole thing. It was different from normal crust pizzas and packed with flavor. The butter crust was an option, but definitely worth the extra ~~500~~ calories.

After lunch, we walked down to Millenium Park for our 2:30 segway tour. I thought segways were completely dorky until we actually started to use them. They were so much fun and we covered so much ground in 2 1/2 hours. The tour guide was amazing and told us about some cool Chicago history. We had previously bought a Groupon from Bike Chicago and highly recommend it.

Do you recognize this fountain? It's from the intro to Married with Children. So neat to see in person.

We segwayed along the lakefront and got some amazing views of the city

When we got back to my cousins, Cecile had bought us some desserts from Bake.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

After we had dessert, we went out to dinner at Buona Terra. We had so much dessert during those five days, it was ridiculous. I no longer want to hear "but it's my birthday month" ever again

I did their prix fixe meal which included a full size appetizer, any entree, and dessert for $21.95. Such a great deal.

Crispy calamari with a spicy tomato sauce

Rotini di la Nona: corkscrew pasta, proscuitto, mushrooms, peas (yuck), and parmesan cream sauce.

Unpictured: bread basket with the most amazing garlic spread and my peach & pistachio gelato

Another amazing meal.

Writing this post is making me very hungry and wishing I was back in Chicago. We got so lucky with meals because every single meal was perfect and I wouldn't have changed anything. Part II will be posted soon. Don't want to overload you on pictures.

Back Again

2010-09-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

After a couple months of not blogging, I've finally decided to start up again. The reason for the long hiatus was because I didn't know what direction I wanted to go in. After reading a blog post from The Pioneer Woman I decided that I don't necessarily need to write only about one thing. Therefore, my blog will be a mix of everything I love. Food, fashion, and travel. I have a couple of trips coming up and will hopefully get back into the swing of blogging all about it.

This past summer has been full of sending out resumes and 2 weeks of living out of a suitcase (lake cabin, SF, and Vegas all within 2 weeks). Its gone by pretty quick and I still don't have a full time job. I'm not completely bummed out by it since I'm experimenting with a couple of different things. I'm not quite sure what I want to do yet, so internships are the way to go.

Here's a recap of this past summer fun:

First and foremost, I graduated. YAY ME!

San Francisco fun with Vy

Serendipity in Vegas

Kim and Nhi's wedding

Some other things I didn't get pictures of was lake cabin with good friends and Del Mar racetracks.

Here are some good eats throughout the summer:

The Todd burger made it to my top 5 burgers I've ever had.

From San Francisco Ferry Building

Cave Aged Gruyere from Cowgirl Creamery Artisan Cheese

Salami Pepato from Boccalone

Green Onion Loaf from Acme Bread

Fried Catfish w/ mac&cheese and mashed potatoes and gravy from Hard Knox Cafe in San Francisco

I'll leave you with that. I'm excited to start blogging again :)

xox,

Cindy

Wine and Cheese Please

2010-04-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I scored myself two tickets to the Zinfandel Grand Wine Tasting at The Island Hotel in Newport Beach. I won these tickets from a little contest that Griffin Eats OC held on his blog. This was my first wine tasting event and didn't know how it would be set up. I've only ever done wine tasting at Napa and enjoyed it so much, I thought I would like this event also.

Upon arriving at the event, we were given a wine glass to walk around for pours. We walked into a big room and there were tons of tables set up with each winery giving out pours. My wine of choice has always been white wines, but by looking around the room I realized it was only red Zinfandels. Bummer. I sucked it up and tried tons of different wineries. I knew I wouldn't remember my favorites so I took a picture of them

Of all the wines, the Barefoot Zinfandel was my favorite. I find this funny because that is the only wine that cost under $10. Cheap and good? I'll take it!

My favorite part was the cheese. I think I enjoyed the cheese a little more than the wine. When they brought out the tower of cheese, people swarmed over as if 100 dollar bills were scattered all over the table. It was definitely a fight just to get a couple of pieces.

Overall, it was a good experience to go wine tasting. I enjoyed the red wines a lot more than I thought I would. I am always open to trying new things and who knew I would take a liking to red wines.

Restaurant Review: CPK

2010-04-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

Last week we decided to head out to Downtown Fullerton with a couple of friends. Before heading out, we stopped for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen at Main Place. This wasn't our first choice, but when we saw the wait for Olive Garden we quickly turned the other direction. I've never been a big fan of a sit down CPK, I prefer CPK ASAP at South Coast Plaza.

We started off with the Crispy Artichoke Hearts from their Small Cravings Menu. It came with a remoulade sauce which was delicious. I am currently obsessed with artichokes mixed in everything.

I had the Portobello Mushroom Ravioli with a tomato cream sauce. You can choose either a tomato sauce or the garlic cream sauce. I decided to have the best of both worlds. I prefer mushroom ravioli over and other type. I also loved the strands of basil in the dish, it added a nice touch. I would definitely get this again.

Boyfriend got the Garlic Cream Fettuccine. It was a bit too heavy for me, but I loved that you could actually taste the garlic in it. I am pro garlic and tons of it too :)

Steve got the Chicken Lettuce Wraps. He gave me a piece and it tasted like lettuce wraps you can get anywhere, nothing too special

Hoang got the Broccoli Sun-Dried Tomato Fusilli. I really liked this because it was light. Sun-Dried tomatoes adds such a great flavor to pastas.

Hoang and Daniel shared a half order of the BBQ Chicken Salad. It was your basic BBQ salad, nothing too fancy. I like that there wasn't too much dressing covering it.

After our dinner party, we headed over to a friends house to do some pre-partying before heading to Downtown Fullerton. We started off at Matador Cantina where we had a couple of drinks. Some friends tried meeting us up there, but the line was too long so we left and headed to Cherch Lounge. The line was not moving at all so we walked on over to Heroes. I love that bar for their laid back atmosphere and unlimited peanuts. They have tons of beers on tap and peanut shells covering their floor. It was definitely my kind of bar.

Beer Can Chicken

2010-04-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

Whoever came up with 'beer can chicken' is genius. My dad bought a whole chicken and I wanted to try something new. I remembered I had this recipe bookmarked for a while. I decided to roast it instead of bbq and changed it around a bit to adapt to my liking but the basic concept is there.

Ingredients:

one chicken cleaned (about 4-5 pounds)

1/2 cup butter

1 tbsp paprika

1 1/2 tbsp Mrs Dash seasoning

1 tbsp garlic powder

lots of pepper

a little bit of salt

one can of beer (but you're only using half the can, so feel free to drink the other half)

*I kind of eye all my seasonings, but this is about how much I use.

A couple hours before I started cooking the chicken, I rubbed it with salt&pepper, Mrs Dash season, and a bit of garlic powder. I let it sit and marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours before cooking. Also, if you can peel back a bit of the skin of the chicken, season under there also. I do that since I don't eat the skin of the chicken and I still wanted it to be seasoned.

When you're ready to cook it, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

1. Pam spray your casserole dish and the beer can so it's easy to pull out when you're done

2. Melt the butter and add the garlic powder, paprika, Mrs Dash, and the S&P. Pour half of this concoction into the half empty beer can. Set the other half aside.

3. Put the beer can into the chicken and stand it up in the casserole dish. Make sure your chicken is not hanging over the sides of the casserole dish. You don't want the juices dripping out onto your oven

4. Brush the rest of the butter mixture onto the chicken. I saved some to brush on half way thru the cooking process. Make sure you brush underneath the wing and in every single crevice of the chicken.

5. Cook the chicken for an hour, depending how big your chicken is. Its about 15 mins per pound or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

This is the chicken pre cooked:

I forgot to take pictures of the final product right when it came out the oven. By the time I had remembered my mom had hacked into it. But I leave you with the picture I snapped of my plate

I love how golden brown it got. It was nice and moist, even the white meat part! The boyfriend gave me a two thumbs up on this :)

I also roasted some broccoli while I had the oven on. If I could chose one vegetable to eat for the rest of my life, this is it.

All I did to roast it was toss it in some olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon pepper. Throw it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Dinner was done and ready in about an hour. I having a whole chicken because you can use it in various meals. The next day, I used the chicken to make a delicious sandwich.

I've been super busy lately with school so I haven't had a chance to cook. I'll be posting some restaurant reviews soon so stay tuned!

SATC2

2010-04-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

I think this deserves its own post:

Aidens back!!

Spring Break recap

2010-04-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

School has been consuming my life lately, thus the lack of posts. There have been a couple of highlights in the past two weeks. Be warned...this is a long post

My spring break kicked off with a little adventure to LA for Twestival with Kim and Shannon.

This year, Twestival around the world was able to raise over $460,000 for Concern Worldwide. We drank, danced and watched Kim collect her numerous raffle winnings, which included 4 Justin Bieber tickets.

Shannon, me, Kim

(via politeinpublic photobooths)

(taken by BigHeadAsian)

#1 sugarmama ;)

Overall, it was an amazing event with great music, strong drinks, and amazing company.

For Spring Break, me and the bf took my parents to Vegas for a couple of days. They hadn't been there for a while, so I got them a room and let them roam the strip and gamble to their hearts content. My dad had quite the time and it puts a smile on my face when I see him so happy.

Some food porn ;)

This is from the Studio B buffet at the M Resort. It's a bit away from the strip, but by far the best seafood buffet for $30 (weekends only)

The Spazmatics at Harrahs Casino. They are an 80's coverband that dresses up in some nerdy get-up. Hilarious to watch and we caught a good 20 minutes of their show.

And what's Vegas without having a drink by the waterfall

Other than Twestival and Vegas, my spring break was spent working and resting. I also did a little shopping, but I will save that for another post. School has been torture this past week and doesn't end 'til mid next week. Hopefully I'll have time for some quickie posts before you forget about me.

Vegas to OC

2010-03-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't go to Vegas this weekend, but I do have a trip planned for March 28-30 :)

Recap of the weekend-

Thursday: I decided to skip class and go to Steve's Match Day at UCI. Match Day is where med school students find out where they do their residency.

Steve opening his letter. I would be such a nervous wreck if I had to open a letter that determined the next several years of my life in front of a huge crowd!

His mother is VERY excited he's doing his residency at UCLA.

I'm so extremely proud of him. Friends for 9 years :)

We all went to Sam Woo for lunch, then Yard House for some afternoon drinks.

Later that night I met up with some OC Tweeters at Claim Jumpers for Debbie's LLS fundraiser. It was great getting to meet and talk to new people.

Friday: Worked til 6, then Gyu Kaku for the return of our favorite Vegas couple, Carlo and Andrea. We were celebrating Carlo's belated birthday and decided to do happy hour at Gyu for their cheap eats and drinks.

Happy Belated C-Lo

The BF decided to go in for the kill

Saturday: Worked til 3. Picked up another acai bowl from Banzai Bowl

So delicious!

Went bowling. I finally broke 100, but still lost. Had dinner with Vy and Vince at a new Peruvian restaurant that just opened near my house called DX Peruvian. It was alright, but I still prefer Inka Grill in Costa Mesa.

Sunday: Work til 4 and just relaxing for the rest of the night.

Quote of the day-
Friendship with one's self is all important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world --Eleanor Roosevelt

New Recipe: Spaghetti Squash

2010-03-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

I actually made this meal last week, but finally found a way to upload my pictures from my camera. So from now on, you'll be seeing tons more pictures :)

In hopes of finding ways to cut my carbs, but still eat the dishes I love, I stumbled upon spaghetti squash. After baking the squash, the scrapings on the insides tastes and looks like spaghetti. I didn't want to believe this at first, since I am a HUGE pasta lover. After months of wanting to try it, I finally ventured out of my pasta bubble

First off, set your over at 375 degrees.

Cut the squash lengthwise and scrape out all the seeds and stringy stuff in the middle

Rub the inside and rim with some olive oil and season with some salt and lots of pepper. I also added tons of crushed garlic all over the insides and around the rim. I used about 6 cloves.

Then, Fill the baking dish with 1 cup of water and put into oven for an hour

This is what it should look like after an hour of baking. Let it cool down for 20 minutes then take a fork and scrape out the spaghetti strands. It should start to look like the one on the right.

This is your final product. A bowl full of healthy spaghetti instead of a bowl of carbs.

You can serve it however you like. I had mine topped with sauteed mushrooms, zucchini, and broccoli, then all topped with some marinara sauce with a sprinkle of parm cheese.

I give this recipe two thumbs up. Both healthy and filling. Enjoy!

St. Patty's Day

2010-03-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

Remembering back to when I was a kid, St Patty's day meant that you HAD to wear green or you'll come home with bruises. Some years I would forget to wear green and told people I had on green panties. When they asked to see, I was quick to tell them my mother wouldn't approve of that ;)

This morning, I busted through my History midterm and went to TJ's to pick up some pizza stuff all before 11am. I came home to make my very first green monster. In my attempt to be healthy, I decided to add some spinach into my breakfast. I blended up a small banana, 1/4 cup of milk, ice, and filled the rest of the blender with spinach. For this being my first time making it myself, it was quite delicious. You can't taste the spinach at all, I promise. From what I hear, drinking this helps with your skin, gives you energy, and super healthy. This is definitely a keeper, especially since I bought a huge bag of spinach.

Have a great St. Patty's day and don't forget to wear your green! Don't drink and drive either!

For A Good Cause

2010-03-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine is having a fundraiser event at the Claim Jumpers at South Coast Plaza this Thursday night. She's running her first marathon through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. 15% of your bill will go towards her fundrasing so come out and enjoy a good meal or a drink at the bar with friends. This applies for all happy hour items and take-out orders also. The fundraiser is all day so come out for lunch or dinner. Don't forget to print out the flyer and give it to your server. I'll be there around 6:30, so drop by and say hi :)

Click here to get more information about the event

Shaking Things Up

2010-03-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

It amazes me how people make a minor quake seem like the end of the world. Then again we do live in SoCal where a little bit of rain prevents people from stepping outside.

For breakfast I created quite the yogurt mess. I topped my Dannon Vanilla flavored yogurt with Pomegranate&Blueberry Clusters cereal from Trader Joe's and topped off with some slices of banana. I find it weird that I don't enjoy eating my cereal with milk, but rather dumping a bunch of cereal into my yogurt. Does anyone else do this?

My grave attempt to study in the library failed this afternoon. I just can't seem to focus these days. I brown bagged my lunch for school this morning. It consisted of half a pita with Trader Joe's veggie burger topped with spicy black bean hummus and feta cheese. Do you see the trend here? Trader Joe's is taking over my fridge. In my attempt to eat healthy, I find that Trader Joe's has great inexpensive options. I think it's much cheaper than regular grocery stores and they have great prepackaged food items for people on the go.

Tonight I'm planning on making some spaghetti squash. My first try at this and hopefully it turns out well. I'll hopefully post some pictures of this later on, if disaster doesn't strike in my kitchen.

Thought of the day:

Do you have a mentor? Someone that has helped guide you through life. Is there a certain person that you look up to?

My professor asked this in class last night and only a couple of students put up their hand. I was with the majority on this one and realized that I don't have a mentor. I've never really had anyone that I truly look up to for help in life. This isn't just a person that you call when you get into a fight with your bf/gf, but someone that helps guide you through life.

It's just another manic Monday, I wish it was Sunday...

2010-03-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

...cause thats my funday
my I-don't-have-to-run day
It's just another manic Monday...
-Manic Monday-Bangle

My Monday consisted of the following:

-made it to my 9:30 class (yay me!)
-lunch at Full Moon sushi w/ my dad
-being a CHAMP and sitting through two back to back 3 hour classes.

The weather was amazing today. I'm glad its starting to look more like Spring. Although I'm bummed I spent the first real day of Spring sitting in class. Maybe I should lightly mention to my professors to have class outdoors on the grass. I wonder if any of them would go for that, worth a shot right?

I wish I could find my camera cord so I can start taking and uploading pictures again. It really is a pain in the ass when I have a perfectly good camera, but no way of uploading pictures. Sigh...I guess I can start taking pictures with my blackberry, although the quality won't be nearly as good.

And here is another spring time picture, just because I love sunflowers so much :)

Breaking the Bank

2010-03-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

After a weekend filled with shopping, here are a couple of things I talked myself into:

(F21 Patent Leatherette Canvas Tote $24.80)

This is definitely gonna be great for school. It fits my laptop and other junk I drag around campus.

(F21 Ponte Capsleeve Dress $11.50)

Such a cute LBD and for $11.50, how can anyone pass this up!

(F21 Linen batwing sleeve top $22.80)

I love the way this flows when it is unbuttoned. Great for spring nights with a cute floral tank. I'm pretty sure I'll go back to get this in black.

 (F21 trinket charm necklace $5.80)

(F21 Maritime necklace $5.80)

(Payless, Kendal Canvas Knot Wedge on sale $19.99)

Surprisingly comfortable and great to wear for spring. I needed a pair of basic black wedges and you can't beat the price on these.

(DSW, Ven Rosette Platform Wedge $39.95, in black)

When I saw these bad boys I knew I had to have them. I absolutely love the rosettes, they add a bit of oomph to the shoes. I'm considering exchanging the black and getting the yellow.

And two tops very similar to these:

(F21 Silk blend floral top $16.90)

(mine didn't have the ruffle, F21 woven calico floral top $17.80)

Both of these tops will be so great for spring. I love the florals and the light colors. I'm super excited to pair these tops with my new cardigan.

It's (always) Sunny in California

2010-03-14T23:21:00.000-07:00

It is official, Spring is here in OC. The weather is warm, the sun is shining, and girls are prancing around in little girl shorts. I can't wait to play hooky from class, go to the beach and tan. Maybe I should take note from Jersey Shore and get my GTL on. Rewind back to the weekend:

Friday:

We had free tickets to the Ducks game thanks to the BF's dad. Seats were 3 rows up from the glass with free VIP parking, alcohol, and food. No fights=uneventful game. Ducks lost to Nashville 1-0.

Saturday:

It was spent doing tons of shopping. It started off at the Boutiquing sale at 10am. Me and V were able to make it there early enough to get a swag bag full of goodies. We had a 2 for 1 admittance coupon, but later to find out the lady never gave me my $10 change. I was way too caught up in my swag bag to even notice she hadn't given me my change. Bummer. It's ok because I made out with more than $30 worth of stuff from Foot Petals. What can I say, I love free stuff and it really eased my $10 loss.

After the sale, we hit up Banzai Bowl down on 17th St in Costa Mesa. Their acai bowls are AMAZING. Our acai bowl was topped with blueberries, fresh strawberries, banana, coconut shreds, granola, and drizzled with honey. Don't tell me this doesn't sound delish!

(picture taken from Greers OC)

Shopping continued after lunch. Off to the new Forever 21 at Cerritos Mall where I spent my life savings a little more than I could afford. What I bought this weekend will be a separate post :) After all the shopping, we took a much needed nap. Met up with the BF and some other friends and off to dinner at Banana Bay in Rowland Heights. Sorry, but no pictures of dinner. We were gonna attempt to bowl at Fountain bowl, but we didn't want to pay the $22 for Cosmic Bowl. We decided to head over to Silkys for some drinks. The night ended pretty late and with the time change, we knew we were in for a rough early morning.

Sunday:

I had another slumber party with V and woke up early to head out to the OC Marketplace. Walked around and dropped by Trader Joes for some week eats. Had some lunch of pita bread and a newly discovered spicy black bean hummus that I picked up at the Marketplace. After lunch, we headed out for some more shopping at Metro Pointe. Spent some more money that I didn't have and snatched up two pairs of summer shoes (will show you in another blog). Dinner was Korean BBQ at Shik Do Rak in Garden Grove with the BF and some others. Exhausted after another shopping filled day and calling it an early night.

It was a wonderful and expensive weekend. I'm glad I did my shopping early and pretty sure I won't shop again for a very long while. Now I'm in bed about to catch up on some McDreamy & McSteamy :)