ONODAWARE

Monday, July 5, 2010

Surprise Weekend in San Diego

Kirk was so sneaky and sweet to surprise me with a wonderful weekend in San Diego. He told me we were going for a drive to the outlets. So after some brunch, we hopped in his convertible and started for the coast. When we got to the outlet, Kirk kept saying he wanted to get some nice clothes. He bought some nice pants and shirts from the gap outlet. Then he kept saying he wanted me to get a nice dress. He insisted on going to BCBG and picking out a dress for me to try on. I found one I liked and he bought it for me. We walked back to the car and he said we needed to start on our way if we were to make our reservations. I was honestly thinking we were just going to shop and then go home. Kirk had this whole little trip planned. We ended up driving to La Jolla where he made reservations at the Hilton. He had packed my stuff (remembering pretty much everything, even my hair iron) and even packed some nice shoes. He needed to buy me a dress because we were going to have dinner at one of my favorite fancy restaurants in San Diego, called Donovans Steakhouse. We quickly got dressed and headed out to the restaurant. It is my favorite steakhouse with excellent steaks (all only USDA prime quality, apparently the top 3% of meat in the country), great service, and the best bread. Kirk remembered me saying how much I loved this place, so he made reservations. We enjoyed a lovely meal together and honestly a relaxing and special weekend. Kirk, you are the best boyfriend ever! You are truly thoughtful, caring, and always looking to treat me like a queen. Thank you Kirk!
After the awesome weekend in SD, we spent the fourth with his family. Luckily fireworks are legal in Montebello, so we bought a small box of fireworks and lit them in the backyard.

Kirk lighting one of the fireworks we bought from the store....its sooooo big!

Kirk's dad says its not the size that matters :)

I Love Torrance!!!

After living in Torrance for about 6 months, I realize that I am starting to really love this area. It has the weather of the westside with that cool, breezy wind from the coast. I open my front door or kitchen window and a gust of cool fresh ocean breeze fills my house. I hear the rustling of the maple tree leaves in the front and the smell of my fresh flowers and herbs...it is quite relaxing. Unlike the westside there is a plethora of free street parking, direct access to a garage, a backyard, three Targets within a mile, and just about every single store I need in a close radius. Of course, I miss the "hipster" trendy Westside with the restaurants and non-chainy feel. It was a foodies dreamland. Alas, I have recently realized I can no longer live that foodie life due to the costs of being a homeowner. Luckily, Kirk is ever so generous and always treating me to some delicious dinners. Ok...I totally digressed from what I originally wanted to say. I have experienced some great dining in the southbay for a deal. First place is Bistro Beaux (21605 S Western Ave, Torrance, CA 90501). This place is a quaint little restaurant with a full bar! Yes people....lots of choices of alcohol to enjoy a nice after work drink. There is a huge menu of bar food that is a mix between Italian and Japanese cuisine.

The ooey, gooey, yummy, creamy cheesy bread (their signature dish)

Ribeye steak

Carbonara Pasta....my fave!

Seared Albacore tuna salad

Marinated Cucumber...Kirk's fave

Prosciutto wrapped around Melon

The second yummy place to eat is the Torrance Farmer's Market on saturdays at the park on Crenshaw and Plaza Del Amo. I did a previous blog on this farmer's market, but will just put in a quick advertisement again. Kirk and I shared an awesome sausage breakfast burrito. We also bought some tasty gaviota strawberries. Although they are quite expensive ($15 per 3 pack), they are so worth it. Very sweet and a lot less acidity than the normal strawberry. If you love strawberries, you should try these...they are very different than your average strawberry.

The last new place I've tried is Addi's Tandoor (www.addistandoor.com 800 West Torrance Boulevard, Redondo Beach, CA 90277-3591). I love Indian cuisine so this place definitely impressed me. I think it was the best, most chewy Naan, I've ever had. This place is highly rated by Zagats and by Yelp. There were lots of Indian people eating there as well, which makes me think it is authentic.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

KIMO Bake-Off 2010

Kirk and I have been talking (trash talking) about who is the best baker in the house. Today is the day we found out....it's me!!!! Honestly it was very close, in fact only 22 point difference! And we each won 2/4 categories. So here is a run down of the Bake-Off.
We invited a bunch of our close friends and had about 23 guests and 7 kiddos. Kirk and I slaved away in our respective kitchens on 4 desserts each. The categories were: 1. I love Chocolate, 2. Cakes, Tarts, Pies, Oh My!, 3. Ooey, Gooey, Cookies, Brownies, and Bars, and 4. The Miscellaneous Club. We had official scorecards and all of our guests helped to judge on presentation, creativity, and taste. People were so serious at first....I guess they take their responsibility as a judge very seriously. Each person judged one good sample and then got to try a smaller sample of each desserts. After my friend Loc so graciously calculated the results....the winner was announced. Thank you also to all of you who brought presents for us...you didn't have to! Thanks to Joni and Kishiyama Family 4.0 for taking photos and treating us to dinner after the event.

I love this mug!

We really had a fun time throughout this entire competition

Kirk preparing his dishes

Kirk going in for a sweet tasting!

For the chocolate category I made a Pot de Creme. I used Valrhona chocolate (60% dark chocolate) and cream and baked it in a water bath. I served it with a edible shortbread spoon and fresh cream. Kirk made a Chocolate Terrine. He used Valrhona Manjari chocolate and served it with homemade Earl Gray ice cream.

Michelle's Chocolate Pot de Creme

Kirk's Chocolate Terrine

For the second category, I made a Tuxedo Cheesecake with layers of chocolate cake, chocolate cheesecake, and marscarpone mousse topped with a chocolate dipped strawberry. Kirk made a Passion fruit Mousse cake. It had layers of souffle cheesecake, passion fruit curd, and honey mousse. He served it with a homemade brown butter ice cream. That was my favorite dessert of the day...it took a lot of us back to Hawaii.

Kirk's Passion Fruit Mousse Cake

Michelle's Tuxedo Cheesecake

For the third category, I made a Smores bar served with a shot of hot chocolate. I had an excuse to purchase a torch which I used to scorch the marshmallow whip on top of the bar. Kirk made a Blackberry Financier....it was funny, but I think this cookie lost the competition for him. Good try babe....but you should have made the french macaroons.

Kirk's Blackberry Financier Coffee Cookie

Michelle's Smores Bar

For the last category I made a Japanese Red Bean Burrito. I made fresh crepes, homemade azuki beans, and homemade mochi and wrapped that together. I topped it off with fresh cream and homemade green tea ice cream. It was supposed to look like a burrito with the cream as the sour cream and green tea ice cream as the guacamole. Kirk made a fantastic Champagne Zabaglione. He made a delicious oatmeal cookie crisp and place the Zabaglione on top.

Michelle's Japanese Red Bean Burrito

Kirk's Champagne Zabaglione

We were so honored to be able to share our love of cooking and baking with all of our dear friends. It was a lot of work...but worth it to have everyone try our recipes. I don't know if there will be a next time...but I'm sure Kirk wants a repeat to redeem himself!