PF Changs

Cocktails!

Hot & Sour Soup

Steamed Pork Dumplings

Soooo much food. Pepper Steak, Garlic Noodles, Sweet & Sour Chicken, and Kung Pao chicken

Tiramisu

PF Changs is my favorite restaurant so I was really excited that my friend wanted to celebrate her birthday there. If you haven't been, you must try it. They have the best chinese food I've ever had. So Yummy!

The Panini Place

Last weekend we tried to go to Eggs N Things for breakfast but the wait was way too long. So, we headed to old town Camarillo and decided to try the Panini Place. It was quite yummy. The inside is really cute and they have a awesome menu. We sat outside and sipped delicious lattes while we waited for our order. My honey got the ham & eggs omelet and I got the waffles with fresh fruit and cream. And can I just say, the whipped cream was freshly made and soooo delicious. We will definitely be going back for breakfast, lunch or maybe even some gelato. Yum!

The Getty Center- new exhibit for foodies

I'm so sorry to have been so neglectful of my blog. I've been reading everyone else's awesome posts, but have been unmotivated to post my own. I think I'm getting my blogger mojo back though, so I'll be posting more soon.
In the meantime, I'm so excited for a new exhibit at the Getty. All you southern CA bloggers need to make a trip to see In Focus: Tasteful Pictures. It's all about food photography. Yay! Here is the link for more information:
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/focus_tasteful_pictures/
I'll be there this weekend and will report back with a review.

Random Eats

Barefoot Contessa Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars. These are fantastic and make a huge tray for sharing. I topped mine with cashews instead of peanuts.

Nigella Lawson's Cupcakes. I use her recipe anytime I need a quick cupcake batter. It so simple since you put everything in the food processor. I use a basic milk, vanilla and powdered sugar frosting recipe colored pink with a few sprinkles. Yum!

Barefoot Contessa TriBerry Muffins- oh so yummy, although I think they would have been better if I hadn't used frozen berries. Plus, I was on the phone while I was making them and had to add sugar at the last minute cause I forgot while chatting. No more cooking and chatting. LOL Mine definitely do not look like the photo in her cookbook.

Pesto Chicken Tortellini- really really easy. I use leftover roasted chicken that I shredded, pesto and tortellini already made from Trader Joes, a can of sliced olives and some toasted pine nuts. Dinner is ready in less than 20 minutes and there's enough left for lunch the next day.

I've been neglecting to update my blog and now I've got more photos than I know what to do with so I'm titling this one "random eats." I love the part of Julie & Julia when Julie says that cooking is a way to get away from what she does all day. I totally agree. There is something so comforting up being in your kitchen and being in total control of the slicing, stewing, baking and stirring. The wonderful smells of my kitchen are better than any scented candle I've ever lit.

Mama Ritas- Thousand Oaks

Pomegranate and Fuzzy Navel Margaritas. yum!

Chips and salsa...also yum!

Albondigas soup was really yummy.

Special of the night- chicken empanadas.
I really didn't care for them but the rice and beans were super yummy.

Chile Relleno was tasty and my hubby said he would order it again.

We tried Mama Ritas in Thousand Oaks with some friends on Saturday night. It was featured on Kitchen Nightmares so we were excited to see what Gordon Ramsey had accomplished. The restaurant was crowded but it wasn't so noisy that you couldn't hear each other talk. The decor was really cool and there were lots of TVs with sports playing which made my honey happy. He likes to keep tabs on the Lakers score. All the food tasted very fresh and the service was excellent. We will definitely be returning. yum!

Cloudy with a Chance Of (Barefoot Contessa) Meatballs

Cesar Salad

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Girl Scout Cookie Ice Cream, with Thin Mints and Chocolate sauce......yum!

This last weekend we had a movie night with some friends. We rented Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It was cute but only worth watching once. Have you seen it? I heard it was made from a really popular children's book, but I haven't read it. I made the meatballs from my Barefoot Contessa cookbook and our friends provided the rest. The recipe was good but the sauce was a little watery. Next time I'll try pureeing the tomatoes. Also, I used 1 lb beef and 1lb pork. I can't bring myself to buy veal. I know some of you major foodie will scold me....but those poor baby cows.
Anyway, I hope everyone has stocked up on Girl Scout cookies since it will be a whole year before they come back.

Chocolate Cake

I've been saving this post (it's from March) in the hopes that I would find the photo I took of the cake. I still can't find the photo, may have accidentally deleted it....oops, but the recipe is so good I must share it anyway.

For my hubby's birthday, I made him chocolate cake from my new cookbook. It was delicious. We've been having a slice every night after dinner and it's totally worth the calories.

I will share that I had frosting disaster. I bought organic powdered sugar and it made huge lumps in the frosting. On my second try I started sifting the powdered sugar to get all the lumps out (and since I'm very clumsy) I dropped the sifter and sugar went everywhere. Luckily, I had enough sugar to try again but I was really frustrated to waste so many ingredients.

Luckily, I was in a good mood and laughed about it rather then cried. Sometimes, I can't help but shed a few tears when my food doesn't turn out right.

Here is a link for the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe/index.html