I posted a long time ago for a recipe on chicken quesadillas and recently remade them. However, this time, I had an excellent photographer assisting me and so, today's post is just a refresh on the pictures and to remind you that the recipe post exists! Hopefully the pictures are drool-worthy as well.

I was happily told news of a beer tasting class from Stone Brewery to be held at Total Wine & More on Wednesday of last week, and of course, I went with Duc to check it out after he got off of work. It was a pretty casual atmosphere, and the rep seemed very chill and personable. We got to try a variety of beers from Stone as well as learn some of the history of the brewery. I didn't know the majority of the things that were said because Stone is still pretty new to me; however, I have quite liked their products and want to try out more!

I didn't take any pictures of the evening but I did snag some paraphernalia and keep the list of ones we tried. They were:

• Stone IPA (the most popular/brewed of their beers)
• Arrogant Bastard Ale (a bit strong but with delicious hints of lychee; apparently it holds the nation's #1 spot for single bottled beer sales)
• Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale (smoother and more caramel-y than the prior; I thought it was more manageable)
• Ruination IPA (more hoppy than the Stone IPA but I for some reason liked it better)
• Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale (the first black IPA made ever, apparently; it was a bit of a shock to me because I had never had a black ale before. I mean, who can imagine a really hoppy stout?)
• 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA (so much thicker and stronger than the previous; good but I wouldn't be able to finish off my own bottle)
• Old Guardian Barley Wine 2008 (this was very delicious and almost my favorite of the tasting due to its smooth, caramel finish and general richness)
• Imperial Russian Stout 2011 (I had had this before and it was just as good as last time. It's a solid stout.)
• Imperial Russian Stout 2008 (the aged version of the previous, this was definitely richer, smoother, and overall delicious; it was my favorite of the night and I shall have to seek this aged wonder out another time!) 

Great stuff and very informative. I'm looking forward to the new hotel they are looking to build within the next two years. I want to spend some time down by their brewery and restaurant for some limited release tastes. Also, who doesn't want to stay in a beer-friendly hotel? I'm also looking forward to any collaborations in the future; my favorite of their beers is still their Cherry Chocolate Stout despite its limited release. Nothing can match it in awesomeness so far.

9550 Bolsa Ave, Ste 115F, Westminster, CA 92683
Pricing - $ | Dining - Casual | Cuisine - Vietnamese

It's odd being away for so many years and then coming back to the area to live again. My cousins from out of the state were in town and wanted to get some good Vietnamese food. Our dinner was slated to be quite late in the evening so my choices were limited in terms of where to go. Luckily, I had a friend who suggested this place to me and it was actually pretty decent. It wasn't the best of phở places I have been to but it was pretty good. The perk is that it's open until 3 am every night so if you ever get a late night hankering, you could drop on by and expect service! It was also the cleanest and most "chic" looking phở restaurant I've been to; it was reminiscent of a contemporary art hotel lobby.


I got the cà phê sữa đá for my drink out of nostalgia from the Vietnam trip and because it seems like the proper thing to do to check the authenticity of a Vietnamese restaurant. It didn't come out with a coffee strainer actually so points are lost for that one. My drink was also already mixed! I was expecting that if I didn't have the coffee thing, I'd at least have my milk and coffee separate. Oh well. It was only so so and a bit too generous on the ice in my opinion. I had thought that the cost was cheap on the menu but in the end, it wasn't great for the two bucks.


The phở here is a tad more expensive than other places I am used to. It was $5.45 for a small and 50 cents more for a large. To be fair, there was a HUGE difference between the small and large so whoever gets a large will snag its worth if s/he can finish the bowl. One of the first things I noticed about the phở was that the broth was clean. It wasn't grimy or greasy; it actually tasted pretty good though less flavorful than really authentic Vietnamese phở. I think it was Americanized a bit with less bone in the broth. Oh well. The noodles were great and the filet mignon slices were ridiculously thin. I loved the steak! I had ordered a small of the phở tái nạm gần sạch but the tripe was quite skimpy. I think the largest serving was of the steak. Overall, a solid dish but not out of this world. It scratched the phở itch I had been having.

This little recipe came about when I was brainstorming for no-oven appetizers to make for a wine night. I can't even remember where I found this one but I wanted to give it a try and boy was it delicious! It had the right amount of "savory and refreshing" once finished.

Step 1: Ingredients (serving size: 48 small bite-size pieces)

• 1/2 large carrot, grated
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, chives & onion flavored
• 2 large cucumbers

Step 2: Preparing the vegetables
You're going to need to peel both your carrot and cucumbers. Once the carrot is peeled, grate the piece to be used and place in a separate bowl. For the cucumbers, peel and slice up each cucumber into 24 pieces. You can do this by splitting in half, removing the seeds, and dividing each half into twelve bite-sized pieces.

Step 3: Finishing
This is a very quick recipe, of course. The next thing to do is to spread your cream cheese onto the cucumber pieces and top with carrot pieces! Then dig in.


Credits: Photography by Duc Duong.

When Duc first told me that he had occasional wine tasting nights, I was very excited. Then he finally set a date for one I could attend. Because I love these types of events and miss them oh so dearly, I offered to put together a few appetizers for the evening. I mean, who wants to drink wine on its own? I ecstatically brainstormed on what to make for the night because I knew that I did not have a working oven to use at his place. I also had to consider the cost of ingredients because, as you probably know, I am still unemployed for the time being. What I came up with was quite a delicious spread, if I do say so myself. I enjoy making everything look wonderful and presentable so we had a few plates to set out. We also had a beautiful centerpiece to sport on the table because he gave me flowers when I arrived at the door to get to work!


So I had to consider a few things when I thought of the food to make. It had to hit all the categories of the mouth as mentioned in my previous post on hors d'oeuvres. I had originally planned to match the food with the wines but I was informed that there would be so great a variety of wine types that it didn't matter what I made. So at least I had that freedom in food types! I ended up putting together five different "dishes" on four plates: cucumber bites, Genoa salami wrapped in Muenster cheese with pimento-stuffed olives, marinated mushrooms and artichoke hearts, bruschetta, and cantaloupe and melon slices. Other guests also brought crackers with Brie and fresh apples with a caramel dipping sauce. It was a wonderful night overall.


Apologies for the one fruit picture that is out of style of the others but I took it with my own camera instead of Duc taking it like with all the other pictures. Anyhow, I'm big on presentation because food should be eaten with all of one's senses. I wanted to make sure that the entire spread would look great once people came and taste great as well. Hopefully I managed to make it look wonderful? It pretty much all got eaten up though so that was a good sign!


As for the wines, we tried seven in total. There were three sparkling wines (Crémants), two whites, and two reds. I would go on and on about each but it might become cumbersome. I'd have to say that the crowd pleaser (and my favorite too) was the Jaillance sparkling wine that was a blend of Muscat and Clairette. It was very sweet and pleasant on the tongue. None of the wines tasted that night were utterly hated by anyone, and none of the food was rejected so I'd chalk up the evening as a success! I have always known that I love these types of gatherings but nothing beats going through setting up for one and having a good time with good friends, food, and wine. When I finally get my own place, I will gladly try to host such events of my own as well; subscribers are invited ;).

Credit: Photography by Duc Duong

French toast came up in conversation one day and from that point forward, it became a craving for Duc. So we decided that we'd make brinner (breakfast for dinner, the holiest of all meals) one night. Now, I had already made French toast in the past so I knew what it consisted of; however, he had been exposed to what I thought was French toast when I was young as well. You see, our Asian parents seemed to think that French toast consisted of bread slices (any kind, mind you) dipped in whisked eggs and fried with oil on a skillet. Sugar was sometimes added on top. Hey, it was delicious when I was younger but then I discovered what French toast actually was and it wasn't the "fried egg bread" I had had as a child.

So the mission was to expose him to actual French toast. I was curious about French toast so looked up some things online and found that some people try to stuff theirs. The idea of stuffing French toast with sausage and cheese was really appealing so we decided to experiment/ The result was delicious, and the recipe follows below!  

Note: all photos are courtesy of Duc and are obviously much more awesome than my past pictures.

Step 1: Ingredients (serving size: 4 sandwiches/8 pieces)

• butter, for pan
• 1/2 lb. ground breakfast sausage
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 loaf of sourdough bread (or other thick bread), sliced
• 4 large eggs

Step 2: Preparing the custard and meat
We actually ended up using almond milk instead of regular milk because it wasn't available. It added a nice taste to the custard but wasn't necessary. Combine the cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, milk, and eggs in a bowl and mix thoroughly. At the same time, heat up a skillet for your breakfast sausage. Cook that completely because it will not cook well between the bread when made.


Step 3: Preparing the bread
For our bread, we happened to get a loaf that had already been sliced thinly so we had to fold the slices in half to create the pockets for the stuffing. However, if you bought a fresh loaf that hasn't been sliced, make sure the slices are thick! You'll want to slice about 3/4s of the way into each slice in order to create a pocket for the meat. It will make it easier for stuffing later. Heat up another skillet and add on some butter.

Step 4: Cooking and stuffing the toast
Dip the bread slices into the custard one at a time, giving a few moments for the egg to soak a little into the bread. Then place the slice onto the buttered skillet and fill the pocket with sausage and shredded cheese; the reason for not stuffing it before dipping is that you don't want uncooked egg to be stuck on the inside. You don't have to use Monterey Jack; I believe the recipe I had thought about used Swiss instead. Once one side is cooked (crisp on the bottom), flip it over and cook well. You want all the egg to cook and the cheese to melt inside to hold the sausage together.


Step 5: Finishing
Once both sides are a nice golden brown, transfer to a plate and dig in! The recipe actually can be done without the sausage and cheese as well. If you do it without, you don't need to stuff the bread with anything. It will just be regular French toast, which is delicious as well (I topped our slices with sugar). The great thing about this delight is that the sweetness of the bread itself is contrasted very well by the saltiness of the sausage and cheese. As for the butter situation, you are free to cook the toast without buttering the skillet every time but it does taste better when fried in butter!

9062 Trask Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92844
Pricing - $ | Dining - Casual | Cuisine - American

You know, it's funny how I've always heard about people coming here late night (it's open 24/7) since high school but have never been. I went once before during National Root Beer Float Day just to find a root beer float late at night at few days ago but didn't have any food. However, after not having that fantastic of dinners on our own, Duc and I dropped by late-ish at night to have some eats. The service was quite nice as always but it was surprisingly busy around 11pm on a Saturday. That's what a diner gets though I suppose.


My entree was the fish and chips with a side of chicken noodle soup. I actually liked the soup because it wasn't overly salted. I could tell that it was made there on site instead of just being bought or kept too long. The broth was warming and the noodles, though a bit fat and oddly shaped, weren't too firm or soft. I can't say such good things about my actually entree unfortunately. The batter was quite salty, and the fish itself was probably frozen fish. The pieces weren't even fillets but seemed more like mushed fish that wasn't cooked thoroughly. When I got to the middle of one of the pieces, it was very hard and not flaky whatsoever but stringy. I believe I only ate one of the three pieces before pushing the plate again. The fries, though, were pretty good; they were simple and filling. For my drink, I couldn't resist getting root beer because it had been so good the previous time I visited and yes, it was great again.


Duc ordered the Mae's melt which had turkey breast, onion, cheddar cheese, and avocado. I wouldn't have thought to include avocado in a hot sandwich to be honest but it worked out pretty well. As with diner food, the melt was quite greasy but fulfilling. The turkey breast was slightly overbearing and dry because of its quantity but hey, props for quantity right? Overall it was what one would expect at a diner for a melt but with its own twist in terms of ingredients.

Apologies for the bad pictures. As aforementioned in a previous recipe post, I sometimes like to make things late at night without proper lighting so pictures turn out badly/with flash. SO! Apologies! Anyhow, this recipe came about when a friend's birthday was coming up; I felt like making something so asked for a request. "Strawberry banana muffins" was the answer so I searched the brilliant internet for a recipe and came across this one here (muffin only; streusel topping is separate) I adjusted it just a tad bit and after making the muffins, have learned that there are some things to consider when making this. I will note them in my instructions.

Step 1: Ingredients (serving size: 12 muffins)
Topping

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsps butter, softened
• 3 tbsps flour

Dough

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsps sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2/3 cup bananas, mashed (approximately 2 large bananas)
• 1 cup strawberries, sliced/diced
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 2 tbsps vegetable oil
• 2 egg whites, large
• 2 cups flour

Step 2: Preparing the ingredients
I chose to dice my strawberries because I didn't want huge slices in the muffins. Do this in its own bowl and toss with the 2 tbsps of sugar you have. Leave to the side as you mash the bananas in another bowl. If they are too hard, you can microwave them a little bit to soften. In a separate bowl, put your flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together.


Step 3: Making the dough
Using a hand mixer, thoroughly mix the bananas, remaining sugar, milk, egg whites, vegetable oil (less fat than using butter), and vanilla extract. Once that is nice and smooth, add in the dry ingredients. You want to make sure that it all is very smooth because banana tends to make dough quite hard when cooked. I learned this with the first batch I made because it wasn't nearly as fluffy as muffins ought to be. Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.

Step 4: Making the topping
You can actually make this at any point before baking the muffins. Mix your topping ingredients together roughly until large pieces appear.


Step 5: Finishing the dough
Once your dough has been mixed thoroughly, gently fold your strawberries into the batter. To fold, place about one third of the fruit in the middle of the dough and using a flat spatula, "fold" the dough over the fruit from the bottom over so as to help create air pockets for a fluffy finished product.


Step 6: Completing the muffins
Pour your batter into a greased muffin pan or a muffin pan with muffin cups. I learned that the more pieces of strawberries I had in a cup, the more holes there would be inside because the fruit made the dough mushy and expanded. This would result in collapsible muffins which aren't all too fun to try and eat. Avoid it! Be conscious of the dough-fruit ratio. After you have poured the batter, put on the toppings and pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes. To check when they are done, stick a toothpick through the middle of one; if it comes out clean, they are ready.

550 N Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, CA 92832
Pricing - $$ | Dining - Casual to Dressy | Cuisine - Italian
http://www.angelosandvincis.com/

A while ago, Duc told me that he wanted to check out a location for a client for a future wedding so we finally went to this Italian restaurant in downtown Fullerton. It looks fairly dinky from the outside but once inside, you become immersed in everything that one might think is old Italian. The interior was very cluttered with traditional Italian representations such as old paintings, figurines, jesters, and so forth. There were multicolored lights everywhere, and everything was quite cozy. I liked the atmosphere a lot. We were promptly seated and given large menus to peruse.


Bread came out first. It was quite some heavy stuff. I enjoyed it but could not have more than half a piece after I saw how huge the appetizers were when they arrived (service was quick!). For drinks, we tried their Italian soda. I wanted to give hazelnut a turn and my oh my was it fantastic! His cherry Italian soda was a nostalgic trip to happy childhood days too.


The appetizers that were ordered were the triple combination platter (onion rings, battered mushrooms, and fried zucchini) and their garlic bread topped with tomatoes, pesto, pine nuts, and parsley. The appetizers were fairly standard but not overly greasy. I really liked the onion rings because of how clean they were. The zucchini's batter was light, giving more flavor to the vegetable itself which I appreciated. As for the bread, wow. It was an entire loaf of just tantalizing smells and tastes. Since it was so huge, we only managed to have one piece each before digging into our entrees but it was just divine. I'd be excited about coming back to see what the other garlic bread toppings are like seeing as they had quite the variety!


For the entrees, I unfortunately cannot remember the exact names of our dishes. They were in Italian which was awesome because I got to speak Italian briefly again, hah. However, it was a few nights ago so the names escape me. I had a baked mostaccioli with pepperoni, baked ham, and homemade sausage (on top). It was pretty good but not out of this world. What DID sate me was the sausage because it was just perfect. I could even tell it was homemade. The pepperoni was impressive as well. Duc's dish was a hodgepodge of goodness. I recall there being roast beef, asparagus, tomatoes, red onions, and loads of mushrooms in it; all was doused in a creamy, cheesy sauce. The intensity of flavors hit me hard when I had a bite but it was really good. It definitely hit all the spots one could think of and probably even all the food groups!


What was great about this place aside from the food and atmosphere were the prices for the portions! These were intense portions; blame the American mentality. We had to take four takeout boxes home (well, we split everything) and those fed other people for full meals too. Next time I'll make sure to split an entree and have maybe just one appetizer. At less than $45 before tips, this was a very nicely priced place as well.