On chickens

For dinner tonight I'm roasting a Cornish hen. Cornish hens are tricky because they're so small that cooking just one doesn't seem enough, but two is too much. In the past, I thought Cornish hens were a special breed of tiny chickens grown in Cornwall. But then I read somewhere that they're actually just baby chickens that hadn't had a chance to grow yet. And that made me feel bad. Poor baby chickens! Until I remembered that I love eating balut (a Filipino delicacy) - and then I don't feel as bad (if you don't know what balut is, I don't suggest finding out). But can anyone tell me what I'm supposed to do with the doodads wrapped in plastic that's tucked into the cavity of the chicken? I just throw them away, but I think I'm supposed to save this for something. Tonight I threw in a few cloves of garlic, white wine, and chicken stock on the roasting pan, sprinkled seasoning on the chicken, stuffed some chopped onions into the cavity (a lemon is also good here) and voila - the whole house smells heavenly.

Sunday

Been puttering around in the kitchen. A dozen yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting. And challah french toast with cinnamon, for breakfast. Mmmm.

Anniversary dinner

For our wedding anniversary, Mr Hazel and I went out to dinner to celebrate. The restaurant was inside a gorgeous boutique hotel.

Here are pics of the front room that I couldn't resist taking.

And here is what they called the library, except there weren't any books. It was still a gorgeous room, though.

The dining room, where we dined on duck, foie gras (which was to die for), steak, chanterelle mushrooms, and a chocolate pot de creme for dessert.

The front entrance of the hotel.

As we were walking back to the car after dinner, we passed by this European furniture store and I pretended it was the inside of my house. I loved the high ceilings and that staircase!

Mr Hazel also got me my favorite flowers, gerbera daisies.

New traditions

A grocery store run for pancake ingredients a few weeks ago has led to a new tradition in our household: every Saturday, Mr Hazel makes a heaping stack of pancakes for brunch, to which I usually add bacon. A veritable feast to be sure - enough to ensure me a whole week's worth of leftovers for breakfast.

My sister and I also started a new tradition where every Friday after ballet class we alternate renting a dance movie and watching it at each others' houses over dinner. Last week we saw the ballet-centric Center Stage, which I loved, and this week I chose Flashdance. Such campy 80s fun - especially the clothes.

I hope you all made the most of the last day of summer. Me? I went to the dancewear store with the female members of my family, where we proceeded to buy out their inventory. I bought a new dance skirt and tights, and a nifty hair gadget that will enable me to put my hair up easily in a bun.

Goodbye, summer!

Weekend lunch

Blogging is a funny activity because it seems to be more of a lifestyle thing than something you do at the end of the day or when you have a free moment. At least, that's how it has become for me. For instance, I now find myself toting my camera everywhere I go, even if it's just local, in anticipation of finding something cool or interesting to snap a photo of and blog about it afterwards.

Case in point, today we went to an adorable little cafe for lunch and it was so pretty that I was glad I brought the camera along.




We sat outside on the patio.


They had a pretty little garden.


Yummy sandwich.



Afterwards I had a red velvet cupcake - the main reason for coming here to begin with.


And my favorite photo of all: after lunch we stopped by the grocery store, and in the parking lot, saw the most awesome car antenna ever.


And that's what you call...ghetto chic.

Another post about food

Yesterday my friend Michele and I had lunch at a newish Belgian brasserie downtown. It was one of those casual yet hyper chic places, very similar to the ambience at Pastis in New York.

I had a bowl of their pea soup with veal cheek meatballs (it was very good, but the meatballs were so small I couldn't distinguish the veal cheek part of it, so that was a bit of a letdown) and a huge thing of moules frites. The mussels came in this gigantic pot and the broth was white wine with garlic. I ate the whole thing. The fries were seasoned and cooked just like they do them in Brussels, except the cut here was a little thicker.

We staggered out of there afterwards, barely able to breathe.

Good lunch.

Pearl cluster necklace

New in the shop! The "Ophelia" necklace, channeling the Hamlet performance I saw at Shakespeare in the Park a couple of weeks ago. A cluster of white rice pearls, a sterling silver decorative circle, and a long sterling chain make up this pretty and feminine piece.

Check out more pictures of Ophelia at the shop.

Today I was very excited to discover a Mexican/Spanish/Peruvian restaurant and carry-out place by my office. We tried it out for lunch and I got some chicken enchiladas and plantains. It was a good day.

Cupcake time

This weekend, thwarted yet again by my quest for red velvet cupcakes, I gave in and made them myself. I've been too cowardly to taste them after they were done baking, but according to my two taste testers, they turned out pretty decently.

Here's the batter all mixed, looking scary and blood-red.


All ready for the oven.


And here they are all baked and frosted. I ended up nixing the cream cheese frosting I had made and using regular vanilla frosting instead because the cream cheese tasted really good but came out all clumpy and weird. I need an electric mixer.

Best chocolate ever

I just discovered these.

I am in love.

And not just because the name of it closely resembles Yoda's home planet.

The flavor I got - xocolatl - reminds me of the Mayan Chile hot chocolate I had in Santa Fe. It's 74% cacao (dark chocolate), with chilies and nibs. It has a hint of a spicy aftertaste. Heavenly.

Dagobas also come in different flavors, including my favorite, lavender.

Now excuse me while I continue scarfing down...happy Memorial Day weekend to all you Americans out there!

Briolettes

I scored these pretty, pretty clear glass briolettes in the same style as the Elizabeth and Bella. The brios are really clear and pure. This pair is "Portia" after a character from Merchant of Venice, and she also dangles from gold-filled earwires that I made by hand.

Portia is now up at the shop!

At last count, it has now been raining for more than 24 hours. And every Sunday and Monday for the last five weeks (except, ironically enough, the week we were away on the cruise), it has poured. And it has been chilly.

Granted, my front yard looks very lush and the azalea bushes I nearly killed from neglect are now thriving again, but I am heartily sick of this rain. I've barely even had a chance to break out my new linen dresses because it's been too cold.

I had a major craving for a red velvet cupcake today. As all the bakeries that had them would have been closed by the time I got there, we settled for Cinnabons instead. But I'm still dreaming of that red velvet cake I had at Doughboys in L.A. a couple of years ago.

The owls are back

I can't get over the cuteness of these little guys. Every time I look into their tiny little faces I just want to squeeze them silly.

The owls are back in the form of the "Joy" necklace. Paired with white jade beads and sterling silver rings, this piece is a fun way to greet the new season. More details and pictures of the Joy necklace are available at the shop!

PIGS HAVE FLOWN
1. After years of resistance, Mr Hazel finally got a cell phone.

2. I went to the gym today. And instead of watching TV there, I actually got on the treadmill. My coworkers were shocked.

FOOD
The dinner surprise last night was to a fancy French restaurant. It was very Frenchy. Mr Hazel had the onion soup and then the duck confit, and I had the smoked salmon (lox!) with caviar, and then the rack of lamb. I requested it rare and it was as good as can be. I was vacillating between that and the Dover sole, because in every single one of my Regency novels they are always eating Dover sole with a sauce boat. And I wanted to taste what they ate in England in 1815. They also had squab on the menu, but I don't know if I can eat a pigeon (this from the girl who eats anything and everything). Pigeons are rats with wings.

For dessert, we shared a crepe with strawberries. We staggered out of there afterwards and it was a good thing I was wearing a dress - no constricting waistbands to deal with.

TV
We finally got around to watching season 6 of the Sopranos. And I had forgotten what an excellent show this is. Nail-biting moments, laugh out loud dialogue, heart-in-your-throat scenes. In fact, it's so good that we can't just watch one episode a night - tonight we watched two in succession. It's impossible to stop. We have 3 more episodes to go on this DVD set and then we start on the final half, which includes the series finale!

New shop item: blue and white necklace

I found this pretty, blue enameled chain and thought it would look nifty paired with a white flower and a glass pendant. And the "Michele" necklace is born, named after one of my friends! More details and pictures are now available at the shop.

I made three sales yesterday - the Sophie necklace that was reserved by my sister (thanks sis!) and the Lisa and Stephanie earrings, purchased by my friend Lisa. The exciting part is that Lisa, who is a television personality, would like to wear the Stephanie on air! I am hoping this will be great exposure and that her viewers will want to know where she got her earrings. A huuge thanks, Lisa!

On my way home today I stopped by Trader Joe's to pick up a few items, and couldn't help but stand there and admire the profusion of spring flowers they now have on display - pink and blue hyacinths, daffodils, and several buckets of tulips in pink, white, and red. I almost bought the entire lot. And, a very exciting thing happened - I bought a bottle of red wine to use for the chicken cacciatore recipe that I made for dinner tonight, and the cashier did not card me. This is the second time in a row I didn't get carded - the restaurant on Saturday also did not card me.

I must finally look like a grown-up.

New shop item: sky blue earrings

Ooh, I love how these turned out. It's very rare that I work in gold, but these stones definitely called for some fancy gold components. And blue and gold remind me of Versailles.

These earrings are the "Stephanie," named after another good friend of mine. She is made of sky blue quartz briolettes, gold-filled wire, and gold vermeil earwires.

More details and pictures of Stephanie are available at the shop!

My sister also requested "Sophie" with a chain instead of the blue ribbon, so I'm happy to say the revamped Sophie is now available on reserve.

Mr Hazel took me to a fancy new steakhouse downtown for dinner last night. I ordered raw oysters for my appetizer (I love me some oysters) and requested some vinegar to go with it. I expected them to bring out a bottle of plain old vinegar like they do at Red Lobster (yes, I admit, in addition to the high brow, we also do low), but instead they brought out this fancy aged vinegar dressed in chopped garlic. It was to die for. Oh, and the steak wasn't too bad, either. For dessert, I had the crepe souffle, and a grapefruit martini for my cocktail.

Yum.

A fancy schmancy evening

Mr Hazel and I finally celebrated our anniversary. He wouldn't tell me where we were going, and it turned out to be to a fancy schmancy restaurant right beside a lake and man-made waterfalls, in a gorgeous tall-windowed dining room. I had foie gras and venison. The chef gave me an extra portion of foie gras because he thought the one he originally sent out was too small.

Anyone who gives me extra foie gras is my best friend forever.

The staff was incredibly friendly, and when I was exclaiming over the gorgeous silverware, especially the steak knife with the lacquered handle, our server overheard me and remarked that it was "a fancy knife for a fancy girl." It must have been my red dress.

And the best part? After dessert, they serve complimentary cotton candy to every patron, a frothy cloud of pink on a white dish. It's supposed to send you on your way from dinner with a memory of childhood.

I thought it was a whimsical touch.

Hot chocolate survey

Inspired by an old post of my brother-in-law's where he ranked his favorite fast food restaurants, I subsequently decided that there needs to be a similar one for one of my favorite drinks of all time, hot chocolate. I've sampled the hot chocolate offerings of many an establishment, including the cafes in France where they melt an actual chocolate and serve it in tiny cups (to die for!) - but since the Paris cafes will probably win hands down, I will limit my rankings to establishments in good ol' America.

Starting from worst to best, we have the following:

6) Starbucks: surprisingly, this coffee mecca serves mediocre hot chocolate. It's very watery and too sweet. I try to avoid it whenever I stop by there.

5) Au Bon Pain: normally I would rank ABP much higher on the list, but that would've been when they served their amazing spiced hot chocolate. It had red peppers in it, and its gooey chocolatey goodness was out of this world. I used to have one almost every morning. Alas, this was discontinued, and what's left is another mediocre hot chocolate similar to what Starbucks offers. Thumbs down!

4) Carabou Coffee: This place has a really, really good white hot chocolate, that isn't too sweet and tastes very "cozy". I've only had it once, but I will definitely go back for more. I give their offering props for being different.

3) 7 Eleven: never let it be said that I am a hot chocolate snob, 7 Eleven serves hot chocolate in different flavors. I always look forward to going there to buy one because I never know what kind they will have that day. My favorites so far have been the mint-flavored hot chocolate and the Snickers-flavored hot chocolate.

2) Chocolate Maven: this restaurant/cafe/bakery in Santa Fe, NM serves what could only be described as one of humankind's greatest inventions: Mayan chile hot chocolate, with actual red pepper flakes. We discovered this gem of a place through the Food Network's Giada de Laurentiis. I dreamed about their hot chocolate for weeks after I got home from New Mexico.

1) Dunkin' Donuts! Yes, you read that right! At first I couldn't believe it either, that Dunkin' Donuts would beat out Chocolate Maven, but it had to be done - Dunkin' Donuts has really good hot chocolate. A day doesn't go by that I don't feel the urge for a hot chocolate run at my neighborhood Dunkin', with its rich, dark, bittersweet flavor. I think all the world's problems would be solved if everyone had just one cup of Dunkin' Donuts' hot chocolate every day.

Biz'ness plans

Big step - I set up my storefront on Etsy, the mecca website for all things handmade. I am very excited! I can't give the link away yet because the store is still essentially empty, but I will most certainly do this once I have everything set up.

My inventory has slowly but surely grown - the goal is at least twenty pieces ready and finished before I open up on Etsy, and I'm almost there.

In addition, before I can open up my store to the public, I have a long list of things I need to first do, some of which include:

1. Applying for my business license.

2. Assembling a portfolio, including marketing and promotional materials (my sister, who is a marketing guru, will be a big help with this).

3. Pricing my jewelry for retail: this step is actually a ton of work because according to the business class I took, there is a formula for retail pricing that is highly dependent on many factors, most of which involve meticulous record-keeping.

Finally, I am also playing around with the idea of holding a trunk show, but I may have to shelve that until I have a lot more pieces to sell.

And today's dinner report:
My coworker taught me a wonderful recipe for slow-cooked pork chops, using the dregs at the end to make a luscious gravy sauce. The chops just fall off the bone by the time they're ready. I paired this with wild rice.

TV report:
The Office was pretty good tonight...Jim has that nerdy, bashful, adorable thing down pat and it just makes you want to both kiss him and ruffle his hair at the same time.

Wanted: Sugar Daddy

I've been kept endlessly entertained over the story of the spectacularly beautiful gold-digging woman who posted an ad on Craigslist New York searching for a rich husband. Preferably one who made more than half a million a year because any less wouldn't even get her to Central Park West.

The woman has since pulled off her ad because of the infamous attention it has garnered, but if you haven't seen it yet, then click here. The ad itself, classic as it was, was not even the best part. Oh, no. The best part was the response she received from a male investment banker, which appears below her actual ad.

Granted, I should be fair and at least give the gold-digger props for her brutal honesty. No beating around the bush, that one. But the smackdown she got from the banker made me laugh so hard tears started coming out of my eyes.

He sounds like he might be a huge jerk in his relationships and could probably win worst boyfriend awards, but, man, when I got to the part where he calls her a "depreciating asset," I thought I would surely pee my pants.

Dinner report:
Tonight I made broiled lamb chops with a butter and onions sauce, served with orzo. Mmm, mmm, good.

TV report:
I scared myself silly watching Ghost Hunters on the SciFi channel. They were investigating the Sprague Mansion in Rhode Island during this episode, and inside the mansion was a tiny room filled to the brim with creepy, ugly dolls. I am certain those dolls come alive at night when the house is silent. I was so terrified after the show that I couldn't move from the couch until Mr. HD came home.

Colorful dinner

The other night I made this easy yet tasty dish for dinner. It was angel hair pasta cooked in chicken broth, and topped with red onions, grape tomatoes, basil, and shrimp (stupidly forgot the garlic). The results were so pretty and colorful that I couldn't resist taking a picture to post. It almost looks like we should have been eating this outdoors on a red checkered tablecloth with a jug of wildflowers and red wine.

I take inspiration in everything around me, but especially in things that I love - like yummy food. In fact, I am so enamored of food that practically everyday I dream about what I'm going to have for lunch, and during lunch, I dream about what I'm going to have for dinner. I wouldn't be surprised if one day a necklace made up of tomatoes and pasta shells makes an appearance on this blog...Hey, that's actually not a bad idea...