1500 Adams Ave, Ste 100A, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Pricing - $/$$ | Dining - Casual | Cuisine - Indian
www.tandoorifreshonline.com

My friends and I had some bad cravings for Indian food so after a week or so of looking at various schedules, we finally made our way here one Thursday night. I felt like parking was a tad easy to miss because you don't expect the restaurant to be right on the edge of a sketchy street. My GPS led me the wrong way anyhow. When I finally made it and we walked in, I noticed that it just looked like a casual takeout or sit down (but eat quickly) kind of place. The menu had just a few selections but they have a $9.99 deal with an entree, a side of veggies, a soft drink, rice, and naan - pretty slick.


I ordered the chicken tikka masala with saag paneer (I never change, do I?). Instead of getting a soda, I asked for mango lassi, and I'm glad I did. The food was spicier than I was accustomed to. In fact, I was tearing up for most of the meal but trying to seem a bit stronger by not letting any tears fall. The mango lassi helped with cooling my tongue down. It was interesting that the place made all of the food to order and served it in small bowls reminiscent of handis (the Indian bowls). Unfortunately that did mean that our food took a while but at least we weren't in any rush. I really liked the saag paneer because the cheese was just delectable. There was a nice fresh, cilantro-y taste to the saag, and the tikka masala was not overly sweet. The chicken in it had been slightly blackened, giving the whole dish a nice edge on its taste.


I would knock off half a star merely because their naan makes it pretty low on my list of good naan. It was very bready and thick. There was a tad too much dough for the whole thing. Was it really naan? Anyhow, the service was nice though, especially since it was just one guy the whole time. Great food overall - I'd definitely come again if I were in town. Costa Mesa is a bit far...

2626 W La Palma Ave, Anaheim, CA 92801
Pricing - $$ | Dining - Casual, To-Go | Cuisine - Kenyan
http://www.kenyancafeandcuisine.com/

So I actually came upon this restaurant not because I was searching for Kenyan food but because I was looking for a way to take advantage of the free $10 I got from Groupon for my first Groupon Now! purchase. Kenyan Cafe and Cuisine was the only place nearby that had a deal worth $10+, so I decided to give it a shot. I had had Kenyan food before and thought it was pretty good. This place was located in a dinky area where I wouldn't normally go. In pretty much an alleyway, it was the only one of the stores open except for the liquor mart at the end. Talk about sketchy. I had called ahead to place my order so I walked in and out pretty quickly. It's quite a modest looking place.


The first dish I got was the Mbuzi Choma (barbecued goat) with Wali which is Basmati rice. There was also a side of collard greens with it. I thought that it was pretty good albeit chewy. I wondered where they got the goat meat and how long they've had it; the texture was harder than other goat I've had. The seasoning on the goat was good though, and the rice was delicious. I'm still not a fan of collard greens however.


The second dish was the Mbuzi Karanga (goat stew) with Chapati which was a sweet naan/tortilla-like bread. I was not a fan of this one actually. The stew wasn't very flavorful, and though the meat was soft because it had been stewed, it was still incredibly chewy. There was also a lot of fattiness left on the meat and too many shards of bones. Not a fan at all of the stew but the chapati was delicious. I don't have a comparison point but I liked it a lot. Would I go back to the restaurant? Probably not because it would've been expensive had I not had the Groupon Now! certificate.

Merry Christmas to you! Happy birthday to me (the blog)! Has it reaaaaally been a year since I started this blog? How crazy is that? I mean, I guess it seems like it's been so long ago because there have been daily posts. So sorry that in my first year, I have managed to get behind at some points (the longest time period of which was about a month's worth of posts) but I am trying to be more proactive by posting some things ahead of time. I'm also going to try and get more recipe posts up here on the blog because not all of you are interested in reading about food news (though I do try my best to find things that would be good to read). Some cool changes since the beginning of the blog include bigger pictures on the posts (thanks to suggestions by both Conan and Duc, you photogs!), making an excuse to buy a better camera so I can have better pictures on the blog (heh..heh), a rating system for restaurants, adding ads to the site, and posting up on Twitter (this included giving in and getting a Twitter account).

So what's in store for the second year of this bloggity blog? I'd like to take a bit of time (when I get some) to fiddle around with the layout. I think I will keep up with the daily posts but am going to try to incorporate more recipe posts. Someone suggested to me that I ought to get a Facebook fan page but I'm a little iffy on that one - I'll leave that up as a question to you readers. I want to have more guests posts on here since I do know that some of you readers COOK! Gimme gimme your knowledge so I can share it with the world! I'm also going to try and learn how to take better food pictures, so y'all can justifiably drool. If you've got any suggestions for me, lend me your comments! I'd love to hear them. Otherwise, happy 1st birthday blog! I might celebrate by indulging in some cookware from my wish list...

Are you ready to be mindblown? I sure was when I read all of this. Are you also ready to accept that a part of your life is a corporately-created lie? Okay well it really isn't too big of a deal but the traditional Santa Claus that you know and love (big guy in a red suit with a ruddy face lined with a full white beard) was not always the image of Santa that everyone conjured when they thought of Christmas. In fact, it was Coca-Cola which created this "traditional" Santa!

This year marks the 80th year since the inception of Coca-Cola's Santa as drawn by artist Haddon Sundblom. Before that, Santa's look was undetermined; he was represented in a large variety of ways from "big to small and fat to tall. Santa even appeared as an elf and looked a bit spooky." The differences in appearance had been because of the various countries which celebrate the holiday. He has appeared in a bishop's robe but also animal fur. From 1862-1892, Santa was elfish and supported the Union (drawn by Thomas Nast); his coat went from tan to red and remained red from then on.

To boost winter season sales, Coca-Cola decided that they needed to promote their drink more aggressively. Many consumers thought that it was only for summertime as it was refreshing when ice cold. Santa began appearing in the 1920s but in a fashion similar to Nast's Santa, harsh and gaunt. Their 1922 slogan was "Thirst Knows No Season" and tried connecting Santa with winter and Coke. It wasn't until 1931 that they commissioned Haddon Sundblom to create a wholesome, realistic Santa who was a portrayed as man and not just a man dressed as a symbol.

"For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (commonly called "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"). Moore's description of St. Nick led to an image of Santa that was warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human."

The ads for the next 30+ years gave us the iconic images of Santa delivering and playing with toys, reading letters, playing with children who stayed up late, and raiding fridges. They shaped how Santa is perceived today and were so important to customers that slight discrepancies would lead to mass letters scrutinizing the changes. What's neat is that the images used in the ads were based off of people in Sundblom's life - Santa's model really was a person. For more information about the history of the Coca-Cola Santa, you can check out the source here. How mindblown are you right now...or did you already know this and I'm super behind in common knowledge?

So Christmas is soon, and all I see are Facebook status updates about how crazy shopping is. Well of course it's crazy - Christmas is in two days! Why do y'all decide to go out and buy things so last minute? Sounds like you'll just be grabbing whatever you can find instead of putting a huge amount of thought into gifts. You should just spend that time making desserts or something. Everyone loves desserts! Here's a recipe adapted from here for peppermint bars that are quite the mintily-refreshing treat. They also look so festive. Yum!

Step 1: Ingredients (yields 12-16 bars)

• 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips/chunks
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 peppermint candy canes, coarsely chopped
• 8 peppermint candy canes, finely crushed
• 8 drops red food coloring

      Notes:

• Candy canes - this actually was the most time-intensive part of the process because I didn't have any equipment to properly crush the candy canes. I had my brother figure it out, and he basically stuck the end of a glass jar in a bowl to crush the canes. It took a while so make sure you plan accordingly.

Step 2: Making the dough
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream your butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg, peppermint extract, and food coloring. I ended up having to use 8 drops though the original recipe called for 5. Add your flour and salt until everything is blended together well. Then add in the crushed candy cane.


Step 3: Baking the dough
Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Press the dough evenly into the pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until firm. You can chop your other candy canes at this time. I actually just smashed them with the end of a heavy butcher knife.



Step 4: Creating the topping
Remove the pan from the oven when done and immediately put on the chocolate chips or chunks (I used chunks). Cover the entire thing with a cookie sheet for a few minutes until the chocolate has melted. Then spread the chocolate evenly on top.



Step 5: Finishing
If you didn't manage to spread the chocolate super evenly, the candy cane chunks will help hide your mistakes like I did with mine! Sprinkle these on as evenly as possible until you've got a delicious dessert in front of you. Cut when cool and enjoy!

Who doesn't love make holiday colored desserts? I was thinking that I hadn't made lemon bars before but when I looked in the fridge, we only had limes. So that got me to searching to see if lime bars were a possibility. Lo and behold, they were. How perfect too - I could bring a green dessert for a Christmas-centric party! I adapted the recipe from here and had a fun time seeing everyone eat them all up. Seriously, everyone and their mothers liked the lime bars. I consider a dessert a success when my mom likes it because she is sensitive to things that are overly sweet. She gave me the thumbs up, yay! The recipe is actually very basic and easy so enjoy making these.

Step 1: Ingredients (yields 12-16 bars)

• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (and extra for topping)
• 1 dash salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cold
• 2 drops green food coloring
• 2 tsps lime zest
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs

I went nuts when I realized that I got to bring desserts for a holiday party. This was just one of three I made, and I found it to be relatively simple actually. It could even be a great dessert to make for young children since it has familiar elements that they would like; I mean, who doesn't remember (and like) the classic peanut butter & jelly from childhood days? The recipe comes adapted from one from Bon Appetit Magazine.

Step 1: Ingredients (yields 16 bars)

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 
• 3/4 cup peanut butter, smooth
• 3/4 cup golden brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup jam
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

So I heard about cookie cups from a brief blog one day and thought that it would be so neat to make them. I mean, the concept is so simple - all you do is use the backside of a muffin tin! My friend and I thought that they would make good holiday gifts so I set my mind on making them. I did a test batch first though lest my cookie cups turned out like the ever-present cookie cup meme on the day when I needed them. The test batch came out pretty well so here we go with some cups!

Step 1: Ingredients (serving size: 12 thick cookie cups)

      Dough

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

      Coating

• 2 tbsps white sugar
• 2 tsps lavendar vanilla bean sugar

      Filling

• 1 bag gingerbread man-shaped marshmallows
• 2.5 lbs mix of yogurt chips, almonds, cashews, dried cranberries, dried blueberries

Step 2: Making the dough
So actually the dough is the same one I used for my Snickerdoodles recipe. To be quick, combine flour, salt, and baking powder in one bowl; cream sugar & butter in another. Add eggs one at a time to the sugar & butter and then add the vanilla extract. Combine both bowls into one until a good dough forms. Stick dough into refrigerator for 10 or so minutes after covering the bowl with plastic wrap.


Step 3: Setting up the pan
Turn a muffin pan upside down and cut out pieces of foil that will adequately cover the tins. Cover every other so that you give space for the cookie cups to expand when baking. Grease the foil with oil or non-stick cooking spray. Pre-heat  your oven at 400°F.


Step 4: Making the coating
Mix together your sugars. I used lavendar vanilla bean sugar because I had it from the awesome trip I took to the Savory Spice Shop but you can use cinnamon for a Snickerdoodle-like taste. Take your dough out of the fridge and divide into approximately 12 discs. Flatten and spread over the foil pieces (there will be 2 batches); stretch down to the bottom without making holes in the dough. Coat with sugar mixture and put in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Step 5: Prepping your gift bags
I opted to use cellophane bags to present my cookie cups. Pull out your first batch and let it cool before trying to remove the foil lest they break from being too soft. In retrospect, I should've taken completed pictures with the lighter ones than one that looked slightly burnt. Make sure you watch your cups!

Step 6: Finishing
So at the bottom of each bag, I did about 2 spoonfuls of the trail mix and 7-10 marshmallow men (found at Ralph's!). I then placed the cookie cup on top of the marshmallow men and filled it with about 3 spoonfuls of the trial mix and 1 extra man. Tie it up and pass around for holiday cheer!

I just had a fantabulous time with friends at a small holiday shindig yesterday night. We agreed that it would be a dessert & appetizer-centric gathering in terms of what people were bringing (the hostess had plenty of food at her house). So what did I do? I went a little crazy. I ended up making three different kinds of dessert bars as well as an edible holiday party "favor," if you could call it that. I'm going to go ahead and post all those recipes in the coming days seeing as we are nearing Christmas when you might be thinking of baking desserts to bring. I hope you like them all. Also, check out that cake picture above! My friend made that himself, and it was just oh-so-delicious. I mean, red velvet cake covered in modeling chocolate with adorable Rice Krispies shaped appropriately as a tree and presents? A snowman that had a real carrot nose? Props for all the hard work put into this utterly delightful dessert! Ah, aren't gatherings awesome because of all the food people bring?

Duc asked me if I wanted walnuts because an owner of a winery had gone to Duc's workplace with a bag of organic walnuts he had grown. I didn't see an immediate need for it but I said sure since I figured I could bake something with them. Then I came upon a recipe through Bon Appetit that had me eager to give it a try. I definitely adjusted the recipe so I'll link you to the original here but post all my changes in this recipe below. The chocolate cherry walnut biscotti is quite delicious and just a fun crunchy thing to snack on. Perhaps I should pick up a habit of drinking coffee just so I'll have something to dunk these into. By the way, who knew that dried tart cherries were so expensive?!

Step 1: Ingredients (serving size: 40+ pieces)

• 1/4 kosher salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chunks
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 2/3 cup dried tart cherries
• 3/4 tsps baking soda
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 2 tsps almond extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs

Step 2: Combining the wet ingredients
Beat the sugar and eggs together with a hand mixer until the combination is thick and a nice even yellow. Then add the oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract.

Step 3: Combining the dry ingredients
In a medium bowl, stir together your flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. It is important that you don't just use regular table salt as you won't get the right consistency. When well combined, add to the wet ingredient bowl and beat until a dough is formed. Then add the cherries, walnuts, and chocolate.



Step 4: Baking
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a large baking sheet well. Divide the dough you have in half and create two logs evenly sized in length and width on the baking sheet. I actually had problems spooning anything out so I just made long globs with my hands. Set out a wire rack for when you pull out the biscotti loaves. Place into oven for 25 minutes.

Step 5: Cooling and making the shape
Pull the loaves out of the oven after 25 minutes and set onto a cooking rack for about 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 325°F. Slice the loaves diagonally about 1/2" thick and place the cut sides down on the baking sheet.



Step 6: Finishing
Bake the slices for approximately 5 minutes. Then take the sheet out and flip over all the biscotti. Bake for another 5 minutes. Then take out and let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!