Baked Brie

I haven't cooked in about a week and a half and I'm having withdrawals.  Solution? Cook too much food. I was at Safeway today and saw some brie. Perfect! Baked Brie. I have always wanted to make it and what is a better day than today. Man oh MAN it was SO freaking good. I had to stop myself from devouring the whole thing because that would be just be too much. However, I did indulge in this sinful appetizer-status creation. Don't let the puff pastry scare you, it is super super super easy to make.

Baked Brie

Ingredients:

- 1 round of brie cheese (I used Presidents)

- 2 tablespoons of raspberry preserves

- 2 sheets of Puff pastry

- 1 egg

- 1 tablespoon of water

- handful of all purpose flour

1. Let puff pastry thaw according to instructions on box.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

3. Using sharp knife, cut of top of brie round. If desired, cut off bottom as well.

4. On a lightly floured baking sheet, Place cheese round on 1 sheet of puff pastry. Cut 1 inch circle around cheese.

5. Spread raspberry preserves on top of cheese.

6. Place 2nd sheet of puff pastry over cheese. Press down on edges to form a seal with 1st sheet of puff  pastry.

7. Optional: Cut out shapes/designs for top of puff pastry. When attaching, wet finger with water and carefully wet area of attachment (lightly).

8. Beat 1 egg with water. Brush pastry generously with mixture.

9. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with crackers or baguette. Or even eat by itself :)

Red Mill Burger

I challenge you. Tell me what is better than grabbing a delicious burger with good people. Maybe indulging in a molten chocolate cake by the fire? Maybe enjoying margaritas in the Caribbean? Perhaps. But lets be real, good burgers just have that "it" factor. Why all of this burger talk? Three words. Red Mill Burger. Once I saw Adam Richman from Man vs. Food go to this small Seattle burger joint, I knew I had to visit.

On our way back from Vancouver, we stopped by the North 67th Street location. Cash only and no empty tables did not stop us. We ordered burgers, fries, onion rings, soda....we went all out. I mean, we were still on vacation and when your on vacation, it just doesn't count! (or so I would like to think)

My dad swooped a freshly open table and we received our food. My mom was the only one who got the Verde burger. It is their signature burger, showcasing fire roasted green anaheim chiles made fresh daily at each location. She said it was epic and I believe her. I ordered the Bacon Deluxe with Cheese (gobble gobble). I know, I know. It was so fatty of me but if you had seen "peppered bacon" on the menu, you would have ordered it too! They were seriously amazing burgers, even better than In-N-Out. My dad even saved some for Mischa the dog who thoroughly enjoyed it too :)

Next time you are in Seattle, head over to Red Mill Burger. They have more than one location and it is seriously worth it. And when you go there, don't hold back. You will be happy you didn't.

Whistler, British Columbia

The world class Whistler mountain is only about an hour and a half north of Vancouver. The winter olympics are being held here in about a month so we decided to go check it out before it gets packed with people. The drive was breathtaking and scenic. Although, it is a two lane road all the way up from the city to the mountain. I think that it is going to get pretty packed with traffic when everybody is here to watch the olympics.

When we arrived, we noticed the temperature change. From cold to freezing. Brrr!! We brought Mischa (our tiny 12 year old Yorkshire Terrier) with us all decked out in a sweater and ski jacket. My mom had been there a few months earlier with my grandparents so she suggested that the rest of us take the Peak to Peak gondola rides. She didn't give much more information so we assumed it would be a quick ride.

We were so wrong. We took a tiny gondola up the mountain and figured it that was the whole ride. Nope. We trekked in the snow to the Blackstone gondolas to go over to the other peak. These were bigger and fit about three times as many people. This ride was way longer and much higher up. We were all doing fine until one snowboarder pointed out there were no towers holding us up. We were in fact suspended between two huge mountain tops 1,500 feet above the valley floor. My dad and I are afraid of heights so this freaked us out. We safely arrived at the top of the Blackcomb mountain and tried to find the gondola down the mountain. The lady we asked said "Oh you have to take the ski lift". WHAT?! We were wearing jeans, regular shoes, no gloves, and no hats. Hello sickness! We all agreed that that would be insane and so we headed back over to the gondolas to journey down the mountain. About an hour later, we arrived to my mom quietly and warmly sitting in the lobby of one of the resorts with the dog. We needed to warm up and warm up fast.

Lunch did the trick. We ate at an Irish pub inside the Pan Pacific hotel. I got a great cup of clam chowder and a corned beef and cabbage panini. Soup is my favorite after being frozen :)

While the Peak to Peak gondola ride was truly an adventure, it was worth being scared half to death. The views were amazing and I was able to get some great pictures. Next time, I will be sure to wear layers and layers of clothing though. After all, "there is never bad weather, only bad clothing" (a new quote I just heard and loved).

Opa!

Being that San Francisco is lacking in Greek restaurants, I was so excited to hear we were going to eating Greek food for dinner. We walked around Vancouver for a while until our stomaches and freezing bodies told us it was time to dine. We stopped at a place on Robson Street that overlooked all of the shops. I had low expectations because the guy outside gave us a free coupon for appetizers but was pleasantly surprised.

I ordered the Chicken Souvlaki, a favorite of mine. We started off with some tzatziki (cucumber yogurt dip), fresh homemade pita bread, dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), and saganaki (flaming cheese). It was the perfect meal to keep me warm and to make me feel at home. What is it about Greek food that makes it taste so good? Gosh, I need to go visit Greece some day....

(Dolmas with lemon sauce)

(Saganaki, sorry I forgot to take a picture before we devoured it)

Winter Solstice Lantern Festival

On Monday night, we checked out the Winter Solstice Lantern Festival at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden. It started at 6:30 and we entered to look at hundreds of lanterns lit up with real candles. It seemed a little dangerous considering the lanterns were made out of paper but beautiful nonetheless.

My favorite lanterns were the roses floating in the water. The picture does not do them justice. They were seriously beautiful. I had a hard time taking pictures with my camera in the dark without a tripod but below you can see a picture of them. Absolutely stunning in person.

After we walked around the garden, we saw some drummers jamming outside. Everyone was happy and dancing, even though it was so freaking cold. Vancouver's Chinatown seemed a little different from the one in San Francisco. It looked more business oriented compared to residential. However, this observation might be completely wrong because we only saw it at night time.

All in all, I had a lot of fun going around looking at the lanterns and attempting to take pictures. Now that I think about it, I've never heard of a Winter Solstice Festival before. Maybe I've been living under a rock? Are there other places that have them?

Costco Obsession

We just got back from a 3 day adventure to Vancouver. I didn't bring my computer so get ready to read tons of posts which will definitely cause information/picture overload. However, it was a great trip SO I'm hoping that means you will want to read about it all :)

First up? Costco, duh! So of course our first stop in Canada was Costco. Sad? Maybe. However, I think it is amazing. Their food court menu changes by geographical location. In Japan, they offer bulgogi. In London, they have baked potatoes with various toppings. Well, in Canada, they have french fries, Montreal smoked meat sandwiches, chicken fingers, chicken teriyaki, various sundaes, and hamburgers. Sadly, my family and I notice these differences and get probably way too excited to decide what to order.

  

We all chose the smoked meat sandwiches (being that we were in Canada) and french fries. Hello deliciousness! The meat was similar to pastrami but way less fatty. It came on a triangular roll and came with a pickle. Fabulous! The fries were like deep fried mashed potatoes sticks, some of the best I've had. Ok, you might be judging us due to our Costco 'obsession' but who doesn't like cheap and good food?

Don't worry, we ate 'real' food in Canada too but this was a must-see on our excursion. If your a member, I suggest you go to a Costco next time your away from home. It is fun seeing all of the different products.

Quick Trip

*Image via

I'm off to Vancouver early tomorrow for a quick trip. I won't be around my computer so please excuse my lack of posting :) I promise to take tons of pictures and write a whole bunch when I return! Happy Holidays!!

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Being that it's Graham's birthday today, I decided to make him a cake. I flipped through How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson. It seemed fitting as my blog is called Culinary Goddess :) Well, my friends, I have found an epic recipe. I strayed from the recipe a little but would recommend following the original. I hope Graham's coworkers like chocolate and hazelnut because they will be getting the leftovers tomorrow!

Torta Alla Gianduia (Chocolate Hazelnut Cake)

*From How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson

Cake Ingredients:

- 6 large eggs, seperated

- pinch of salt

- 1/2 cup of soft, unsalted butter

- 14 ounces of Nutella (I got the large 26.5 ounce jar and used about half of it because the smaller jar only has 13 ounces)

- 1 tablespoon Frangelico, rum, or water (I used water because I didn't have the others)

- 1/2 cup of ground hazelnuts

- 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, melted

Icing Ingredients:

- 4 ounces hazelnuts (peeled weight)

- 1/2 cup heavy cream (I used 1/3 cup of milk and 3.5 tablespoons of butter. It didn't work as well and the ganache ended up being slightly runny, although it still worked. Next time, I will be sure to use heavy cream.)

- 1 tablespoon Frangelico, rum, or water (Again, I used water)

- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, whisk egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry. (This is where I had trouble, make sure you don't let any egg yolks break in the whites or you will never fully get peaks. I didn't get peaks but was awfully close. It still turned out moist and super tasty, thankfully.)

3. In a seperate bowl, beat the butter and nutella together. Add the Frangelico, rum, or water, egg yolks, and ground hazelnuts (I ground whole hazelnuts in a food processor)

4. Fold in the cooled, melted chocolate. 

5. Lighten the mixture by adding a large dollop of egg whites, which you can beat in as roughly as you want. 

6. Fold in the rest of the egg whites gently in a third at a time.

7. Pour into greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake in over for about 35 minutes. (Original recipe says 40 minutes but I did 40 minutes and it was slighlty burnt on one edge. I would say start checking the oven at 30 minutes and it is done when the cake begins to come away at the sides of the pan.) Let it cool on a wire rack.

8. If your hazelnuts have skin on them, bake them on a baking tray at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Place in towel and rub skin off. Place into dry frying pan and toast them until they are golden brown in some parts.

9. Transfer to plate and let cool. (I put them on a plate in the fridge for about 10 minutes and they were cooled.) Don't put them on the ganache when they are hot, they will make it turn oily.

10. Melt chocolate, cream, and Frangelico, rum, or water in a sauce pan or double boiler. Once the chocolate is melted, take it off the heat and which it until it is the right consistency for spreading on the top of the cake.

11. Top ganache with cooled hazelnuts.

*Serves 8 

Side note: Nigella suggests that if you use Frangelico, it is nice to put shot glasses of it on the table to serve with the cake. 

Happy Birthday Boyfriend!

Happy Birthday Love! Today is your 5th Annual 21st Birthday because we all know that birthday is the best! It's too bad you have to work on your birthday BUT it's almost vacation :) xoxo

*Taken on my 21st Birthday