Cutie pies (er, cookies).

I spotted these cookies at The Alcove last month. They always have adorable cookies.

I didn’t eat one. But it does make me want to hug a puppy.

And the cupcake cookies are having an identity crisis.

Happy Monday!

How it all starts…

I eat a lot of hummus. An expensive amount, when the Sabra hummus goes for about $5/container at my local Albertson’s. When I spotted tahini at the Albertson’s one evening, I decided to look up the Serious Eats recipe and give it a go. I knew I already had most of the supporting ingredients.

Let the fun begin.

Tahini is the probably the most expensive piece of the puzzle, at $8/jar — but the jar will last you for several batches. I was debating making my own tahini, but I couldn’t find sesame seeds.

I was confused about whether I ought to store the tahini in the refrigerator, especially because it turned out to be very much like a goopy peanut butter (which can go either way). I decided to go the fridge route, though I was worried it would get really hard and be difficult to use the next time (it wasn’t — whew).

Unfortunately I often forget that I have a smaller-than-normal food processor. By the time I realized I should have halved the recipe, things were getting a bit dicey. (And also not-so-dicey… the food processor doesn’t work well if it’s over-filled.)

I ended up having to leave out some of the chickpeas, and then tried to grind them in after a few days when the hummus could fit into the processor.

Overflow.

I also did some of the steps out of order, and almost forgot to thin the hummus with juice from the chickpea cans. It turned out all right, anyway. But it made a LOT for one person. Even without the food processor issue, I recommend cutting the recipe in half.

Like so (2nd time):

Smooth moves.

The second time around I did everything right and the consistency was what I desired — but after a couple days in the fridge, it congeals or dries out or something. I might keep the chickpea juice next time so I can stir it in as needed.

While I really like this recipe, I might look for variations just for fun… different cultures have different approaches to hummus, so I’m sure there are a million ways to make it. (I have to go back and look up Allison’s recipe…)

What do you think? Are you ready to make your own hummus? It’s not hard!

xoxo…

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Pile on the seaweed.

When you visit Vancouver, the locals will ask you, “Have you had a Japadog yet?”At first, you’ll feel awkward about it, because is Japadog a racist thing to say? (Canadians are definitely less worried about being PC…)

Later — after you’ve eaten one — you’ll find out that most actual Vancouver natives have never had a Japadog, or have only eaten it once with a visiting friend. But it’s one of those things. You have to try one. Would all of these random celebrities steer you wrong?

I take all my food recs from Ice Cube.

I think “No Japadog, No Life” is a bit of hyperbole. Especially because — is there a WORSE food for sustaining life than processed meats? (My doctor just gave me an over-the-phone lecture about meat — thanks, genetically high cholesterol and lactose intolerance. Together you are ruining my blog!)

At the end of the day, it was very a very convenient “snack trek,” because one of the stands was parked outside of my hotel.

Hello.

Apparently each stand has a slightly different menu (collect ‘em all!). I wasn’t sure if you could mix ‘n match meats and toppings, and from what I gathered the answer was “no,” so I ended up getting the beef “terimayo” (with a teriyaki/mayo sauce), even though I was having mayo fatigue. (It’s hard NOT to eat mayo in Canada.)

Choices...

And what does a Japadog taste like? It’s a beef hot dog, deeply striated along the top so that the hot dog sort of has bite-sized pieces (that was cool), grilled (I think), drizzled with teriyaki and mayo and covered with seaweed strips (I think they’re similar to the snacky ones people buy at Trader Joe’s — which they don’t have in Canada, btw). That’s what it tastes like.

I thought it had a good bun. I thought it needed a little mustard (which they had available).

So if you like hot dogs with a sushi-tasting twist, you’ll enjoy them. I enjoyed mine. It seemed to be a quality beef hot dog. But you won’t feel healthy about it. I felt a little extra-gross because I’d just been to The Infield the previous weekend. And because I typically don’t eat mayo.

A piece of seaweed is covering the bite-sized cut I was trying to capture. You can see that I took a bite along the line because the meat is very even.

So now you know everything you never knew you wanted to know about a Japadog, and you can even recreate one in the comfort of your own home.

But you should still get off the couch and visit Vancouver. It has many delights to offer.

xoxo…

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Looking MUCH more edible!

Before you read this post, read the how NOT to make meringues post. Heed my warnings!

So on Friday night I’d made terrible, terrible meringues for Passover. On Sunday morning I decided to try again. Beat my losing streak. And I happened to be going to an Easter soiree, so I wanted to make good ones and not poison the whole group. Party foul.

First of all, I wanted to avoid using coffee in my new recipe. I was scarred. So I consulted one of my favorite cooking blogs, Smitten Kitchen. Her recipe is for a crunchier meringue (not my bag), but luckily it directed me to the traditional baking directions for a more pavlova-esque meringue. (They had me at pavlova.)

I didn’t think Smitten Kitchen’s yield would be large enough (just 2 egg whites), so I sort of combined the two sites’ recipes. This involved purchasing cream of tartar, parchment (not just for Torahs!), another baking sheet (no Pyrex unless called for) and crushed pecans (I already had chocolate chips).

The key ingredient: Parchment.

I was a little worried about bending the rules again, but this worked out okay (and yielded about 36 meringues).

-3 large egg whites

-1/4 tsp cream of tarter

-1/8 tsp salt (in case the extra cream of tarter was salty?)

-1 tsp vanilla extract (I think)

-3/4 cup sugar (both recipes called for that amount)

-1 cup tiny chocolate chips

-About 1/4 cup pecans? I forget. Maybe more.

I added the vanilla when Smitten Kitchen directed — when you add the cream of tarter and salt. I also liked that they didn’t tell you times and settings after all — it’s easier to just go by, when the eggs are foamy, do this. Or when they have soft peaks, do that. And you can definitely tell when it’s done, because it’s hard to keep mixing.

Wheee.

This time I folded in chocolate chips and pecans, hoping nobody was allergic.

Love this spatula thingy.

And then I scooped them onto parchment, and 3 egg whits turned out to be so much that I needed all sorts of backup pans.

Call in the backup pans!

They came out looking like beautiful, beautiful clouds. Mission accomplished.

Ready to float away.

Another shot! Just to celebrate them not poisoning me this time!

Yay.

They were melt-in-your-mouth. And while they weren’t exactly HUGE competition for Funfetti cupcakes with really adorable frosting, I will say that my friends were VERY impressed that ALL those meringues came from just THREE egg whites.

Inside view! Where the mix-ins are hiding.

I ate the leftovers for breakfast for several days (I thought they were better 2nd day), because — hey! Egg whites! They’re what’s for breakfast. I will say that the meringues did smell a little odd. Like — eggy? So I tried not to take any big whiffs. They still TASTED good.

Today I made a smaller batch for yet another party (for my friend who goes to PASTRY SCHOOL — COOL!), and I used the Smitten Kitchen proportions/recipe, but replaced the nuts (nut sure if anybody had allergies) with a little more than a tablespoon of instant coffee. So it’s a mocha flavor, I guess. The yield for 2 egg whites was 24 — not bad! (I actually counted these, and did the math from to approximate the 36 from 3 egg whites.) I still did the 1.5 hour bake at 200 degrees.

Just one manageable tray!

That was pre-baking. This is post:

Are you gonna be edible?

This batch seems a bit overcooked, but they haven’t had a chance to sit for an hour. Maybe the coffee just isn’t a good idea… or maybe it’s too bitter for my taste. Or maybe all of the above. (EDIT: They needed to sit for a while. Baking science!)

Friend or foe?

We’ll see how I feel in a little while…

xoxo…

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Wrong.

It started out innocuously enough. My mom emailed me, asking if I wanted to bring some dessert element to our Passover Seder. She suggested I pick up a can of Passover (NOT French) macaroons, but since nobody actually LIKES those, I decided to bring meringues. And then I decided to MAKE meringues.

I blame it on my brand new electric mixer. I wanted to try it out.

So I consulted the googles and found this recipe for coffee-flavored meringues.

None of these ingredients are actually poisonous.

I liked the recipe because it said EXACTLY what mixer settings to use, and for how long. And the making of the batter was REALLY fun. It’s pretty awesome, how a few tiny egg whites swell up into a whole bunch of batter. (This recipe called for 4 egg whites, which out of the 3 times I’ve now made meringues is the most.)

Poof!

And then it makes all these pretty patterns and peaks as it really meringues up.

FOUR EGG WHITES!

And then I folded in the instant coffee flakes, because my family likes coffee with/for dessert (I used decaf).

Everything was fine up until the baking portion. I will now list what I did wrong.

-I used tin foil instead of parchment, because I’d seen other recipes that called for foil, dull side up. Obviously, foil conducts heat MUCH more than parchment would. Growing up I always learned that parchment was made from lamb skin — the TORAH was written on parchment — so whenever I read about baking on parchment I’m just like, WHAT? Where the F am I supposed to get parchment? ANCIENT ISRAEL? (Turns out they sell it in rolls at the store, next to the wax paper. It’s basically… waxy-ish paper.)

-I thought I had two cookie sheets but I only had one, so I used a glass Pyrex dish for the overflow. Probably also stupid.

-I cooked the meringues at 250 degrees F, which was definitely too hot under the circumstances (even with parchment, my new recipe calls for 200 degrees– my oven isn’t marked low enough for that, but luckily I have an oven thermometer– GOOD INVESTMENT.) (Thanks for the Sur La Table gift certificate, Sam’s parents!)

Another thing I did wrong that didn’t actually affect the outcome was that I totally screwed up the piping-with-a-Ziploc-bag, because I didn’t CLOSE the top of the Ziploc bag. So it came out both ends. Blurp.

Abandoned piping bag. Gluey.

So I just scooped the rest of them out with a tablespoon.

In retrospect these look totally wrong. And like poops.

During the cooking process I thought the meringues looked a little strange (like dinosaur eggs?), but what could I do?

Don't hatch!

So they cooked until really late at night, and in the morning I ate half of one, and it was really… crusty.

Crags?

I remembered meringues being “melt in your mouth,” and these were not. After a bit I started feeling really nauseated and got a terrible headache, and I thought maybe I was just too sensitive to the decaf coffee in the meringues.

It was like, a bad sickness. Sweats. Hangover-level gross feelings. (I tried to barf and it ALMOST worked.)

Then I had a poorly timed text conversation with my mom about it.

Mom always knows what to say.

Luckily I rallied enough to GO to the Seder. Crazy enough, I brought the meringues, but just to show that I made them before I trashed them. My mom took one bite to be nice, then ran to the trashcan to spit it out.

I couldn't tell they were burned.

Diagnosis: Super, super burnt. So I think I basically got sick from eating, like, the burned-est coffee in the world.

Next up: I fix my mistakes and avenge myself.

xoxo…

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Yum.

I noticed this “fine print” on my bag of ketchup chips last night. Haha. It probably says this on chip bags in America too, but somehow the added “u” makes it more charming.

Also wanted to report: There is a flavor of chips here called something like “All Dressed,” which is a mish mosh of flavors, apparently. Like, a little bit of everything. Oil, spice, vinegar? I’ll try to grab a picture if I can. My phone blacked out yesterday as I was about to snap one.

One interesting thing I’ve noticed about Canadians is that they seem to be conscious of health concerns that nobody seems to take particularly seriously in the US. My friend told me that they run commercials here warning about the dangers of sodium. And when I commended a woman for choosing licorice all-sorts out of a big array of candies, she said, “Oh, but these are really bad for me. So much dye.”

She has a point.

I’ve actually been trying to quit licorice for a while. It’s just so… I mean, you know it can’t be good for you. It’s the consistency of rubber. But it’s an uphill battle…

OH! You know what just made me feel a little better? Canadians really seem to love their mayo. So apparently they didn’t get THAT memo. (Well– to be fair I’m sure a lot of Americans love their mayo MORE, but somehow I keep forgetting to say “no mayo” around here and ending up stuck with it. I guess Los Angeles is a low-mayo zone.)

xoxo…

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Happy ketchup.

It may surprise you to know that I am in Canada right now. Vancouver, to be specific.

Vancouver is a funny place because just when you start to feel like it’s a lot like home (but with prettier views of snowy mountains, for one thing), somebody says “a-bote” instead of “about,” or you pay for a $3 drink with a $10 bill and get a bunch of (heavy) $1 and $2 coins for change.

Food-wise, there’s a lot of maple, tea, and seafood to be found– which makes me really sad that Sam is not here to partake. I think he’d love all that, plus the Euro-charm of things.

One of my favorite aspects of the Canadian food scene is that ketchup is a FLAVOR of things here. Especially chips…

Lay them on me!

Please note that Cheetos Puffs are called Souffles (for the French-Canadians, at least). I find that adorable.

And if you prefer Baked Lays, no worries…

Welcome to last night's dinner.

And if you don’t like Lays brand?

Let's go Dutch.

Full disclosure: I didn’t actually try those ones. Yet.

Maybe you’re more of a healthy snack person? Say… some rice cakes?

Let's do this.

(Note the SunRype cameo. They’re a much bigger brand here. And they have fruit snacks shaped like SEAHORSES. Among other things.)

I must say that when I ate the rice cakes right after the Baked Lays, the rice cakes tasted blander in comparison. The Baked Lays are very well seasoned. And ketchup tastes a little different here (not as sweet?), so I might have preferred the ketchup chips plain. (In case I haven’t mentioned recently– at home I actually DO eat Baked Lays with ketchup.)

My Canadian friends here seem divided on the ketchup chips. Some told me that in variety packs, it’s always the ketchup that are left behind. Others really like ketchup flavored snacks. I guess it’s one of those divisive flavors. Like grapefruit. And papaya.

At the grocery store, I noticed other flavored chips that we don’t usually see here– dill pickle, for one. I wish they would sell a variety pack of odd flavors in single portions, just for curious visitors.

What I don’t understand is– we HAVE Lays and Quaker in the States. WHY are they keeping this ketchup option from us?! (Well, in stores at least… looks like Amazon has a few options.)

I guess so it can be a delightful novelty when we go to Canada.

xoxo…

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The neighborhood hot dog stand.

I have been wanting to visit Papaya King since it came to LA (partly for the curly fries), despite the supposedly lethal nature of hot dogs. Today Sam pitched (pun!) that we walk over to much-closer-to-his-place hot dog stand The Infield when a predicted thunderstorm didn’t pan out. (Their website is daw.gs, which confused me until Sam pointed out that it’s “dawgs.”)

I can see why baseball-loving Sam is a fan of The Infield… it’s very committed to the baseball theme. A speaker was broadcasting an Angels vs. Dodgers exhibition game (they kept mentioning one of my high school classmates, who is on the Angels… always kind of crazy to be like, I know that guy!), the seats are sourced from baseball stadiums… it was a cool vibe.

Most of the red ones are from Anaheim Stadium. The blue is the foreground is Toronto, not Dodgers.

Not to mention– they had hot dogs in the style of many different baseball parks. Very cool! Including Sabrett hot dogs, which I believe is the hot dog served at Papaya King. The Infield’s website claims they have Nathan’s, too, which are my dad’s favorites.

The scoreboard/menu.

I ordered the first hot dog my eyes hit on the menu– the Deli Dog. Sabrett, spicy mustard, and sauerkraut. Nice and simple. Sam ordered a New York Dog, and later a Dodger Dog. (Next time I might have to try the Chicago Dog… poppy seed bun!)

Sam doused his New Yorker with ketchup (some of that is red onion sauce)…

Lookin' good.

Whereas I decided to do the mothers proud and eat my Deli Dog sans ketchup…

Okay, I added relish.

My hot dog was good! I’m glad I only ordered one, because I went into a bit of a food coma shortly after I ate it. Even thought it wasn’t super heavy. I had a bite of Sam’s Dodger Dog, which (whoops) turned out to have Swiss on it, so maybe that was part of the problem.

Big dog.

This was a fun and delicious hot dog experiences. Sam thinks they boil their hot dogs, because most stadium dogs are boiled. I’m more of a grilled fan, but I’ll let it slide this time… get it? Baseball pun?

If you’re in the Sherman Oaks area, choose this place over Carney’s. I still can’t get over their weird sauerkraut. (I would definitely take my dad to The Infield over Carney’s… although I still want to try Papaya King.) (Curly fries!)

And if you’re interested, The Infield had some kooky desserts… including deep fried Twinkies. That’s territory I just don’t tread. I know my limits.

And here’s a tribute to my St. Louis sister, who is headed back there today after visiting us during her spring break.

Spirit of St. Louis.

Happy Sunday! I think we avoided a stormy, rainy day? Thus far, at least… it’s getting windy as I speak.

xoxo…

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Drink up.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. I never really observe it (I mean… is it a Catholic holiday? An Irish holiday? I’m neither…), but… hey, it’s here.

I guess it’s a drinking holiday, but the last few times I’ve had anything to drink it didn’t feel so great. I had a beer-ish the night before my terrible stomachaches started. And a few weeks ago I had HALF a rum and Coke and felt vaguely nauseated the whole next day. So… I was not designed for drinkin’. Or I have to put in more practice, but the results are never fun.

Speaking of the stomachaches and the lactose avoidance (sorta) that ensued, the one thing I really miss and really try to avoid (because it’s pretty much all milk) is frozen yogurt and ice cream. Thank goodness for soy alternatives, or I’d really go nutty. Tofutti ice cream sandwiches. Soy Frappuccinos (green tea flavor pictured above). Soy-based smoothies. (Sam makes smoothies in his haunted blender… today it just turned on, out of the blue.) (Comforting?)

Apparently soy isn’t that great? Like maybe it causes cancer? As does red meat? And… living in America? I don’t know what to make of it all… a girl’s gotta eat. (And… die?)

Oh, and while I was at Starbucks I was mistaken for a member of the Louis-Dreyfus family. And was begged not to dance.

Claim to fame.

xoxo…

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Do you believe in magic?

You guys! That picture was taken with NO flash in a dark-ish restaurant! How do you like THEM apples? And how gorgeous is that cheesecake? (Camera+ on the iPhone, in case you’re wondering what I used to take it.)

But let me back up a bit. We didn’t start with dessert. (Not that I would object to such a thing.)

Sam’s aunt (K) was visiting LA and happened to be staying Downtown, so he made a reservation at Colori Kitchen based on some Yelp research. As we walked to the restaurant from the car, K was asking where we might find a hip, happening place around here. And then we walked into Colori. And it was pretty hip and happening. Score.

Colori is an intimate-but-not-too-small place, with the perfect noise level for conversation– not too loud, not creepy quiet. We sat in the back, which was good because– as I mentioned in the post before– I frequented the bathroom. That’s what happens when I attempt to stay hydrated for once.

We started out with the panzanella salad. I THINK the name is a play on words, because pan is bread, ‘ella is mozzarella, and zan might be a veggie. I know in Spanish zanahorias are carrots. Whatever it means, I’m glad to have been introduced to this AMAZING creation. Bread, cucumbers, gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, basil, etc? I’m IN! With bells on. (I gave my cheese to Sam.)

Is that a tomato or a bitty watermelon?

I want to make panzanella the next time I cook for more than just myself. It’s easy, delicious and impressive. The perfect intersection of descriptors. (Seriously– how did I not know about panzanella until now?)

If you like seafood, Colori won’t disappoint. Sam ordered the cioppino (fish stew), which was still boiling when it came to the table. In terms of presentation… it was pretty impressive. (I stood up to take this one… I think we all did.) (Sam’s aunt likes to take pictures of food and interesting street signs… I think we’re kindred spirits.)

Hey guys, I'm the prawn on your dinner.

In case you’re having trouble interpreting the picture– that’s a big bowl of stew, covered by two large crusty pieces of bread, topped off by a chillaxin’ prawn.

Here’s my meal, handmade tagliatelle pasta (really thick linguine, basically) with beef bolognese sauce.

Meet my meat sauce.

Sometimes I give the Yelpers a hard time, but oftentimes they’ll clue me into the best things a restaurant has to offer. People on Yelp RAVED about the cheesecake. I don’t typically like cheesecake and am not really supposed to be eating cheese, but I was compelled to suggest that we order it– even though they also had tiramisu, which is my favorite. (And also technically verboten. Sigh.)

This was like no cheesecake I’d ever had. First of all, it looked like THIS. (Break out the close-up.)

Beautiful, but not too beautiful to eat.

It was ROUND. Genius! And the crust– which was sort of bready, in a good way– was on TOP. The cheesecake itself was so soft and fluffy and light, almost like a mousse or a pudding… and those plate-sauces added a perfect pop of vanilla/berry flavor.

I guess I do like cheesecake, sometimes. It just has to be the RIGHT cheesecake.

Depending on who you take to Colori, I would say one serving of cheesecake was enough for two or three people to share. Maybe four. Maybe one, if you have a big appetite. (We were all being “good,” and we were pretty full before dessert.)

So color me impressed on several levels– atmosphere, food, and my camera worked like a DREAM without flash. The pictures aren’t all 100% perfectly in focus, but it’s good enough for blogging. And I feel a lot less obvious, when I can just take a quick snap sans flash.

Do you guys like Italian?

(Sam sent that to me when he asked if Colori sounded good.)

What’s your favorite Italian place in LA?

xoxo…

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