Downtown Fullerton - a harbor of bad reputations but now a struggling land of food revolution and hopefully renovation. Several establishments have been struggling to showcase the area's sophistication through passion and talent. Matador Cantina is one of those places. They may be popular for being open until 2AM, slinging cocktails aplenty, and their lines-out-the-door Taco Tuesday but they are also striving to serve great food and a revised mindset to visitors. Trained at the Scottsdale Campus of Le Cordon Bleu, Founder/Chef David Dennis opened Matador April 2009, focusing on Mexican flavors and ingredients with varying techniques. We were invited to visit one day to taste his talents.

Ah, the dish of many a cook-off. The man's meal. The brown steaming goop we lovingly pour over our fries with cheese as if some bastardized version of poutine that is much more representative of "AMERIKUH!" I recall not liking chili growing up because I had an aversion to beans. Now with my tastebuds refreshed, I have no qualms with these high-in-fiber edible seeds and in some cases, welcome them into my meals. When our Test Kitchen ingredient was the pink bean, further research told me that these were also called "chili beans." Since Duc has been asking me to make chili for probably a year by this point, it only felt appropriate to finally whip together a recipe for the dish after which the beans were also called. This following recipe makes use of dry beans so keep that in mind before you get started. It will take several hours and requires some overnight soaking!

If you know me closely, you would know that I'm not one to pay attention to jewelry or like adornments. However, when the practical and skillful beauty of Van Cleef & Arpels is in my face in the "A Quest for Beauty" exhibit, it's hard not to stare. I confess that I was not even familiar with the name despite its world renown; my apologies for not being as aware as I'm sure even the most closeted person is. Once I got a whiff of their importance in the history of fine jewelry today though, I was surprised to find such a stunning and well-curated exhibit in the small Bowers Museum located in Santa Ana. From October 27, 2013 to February 15, 2014, the iconic museum housed/houses a grandiose arrangement of some of the most astonishing pieces of jewelry (and certainly a rich history of those) both to showcase the beauty and remind guests of their presence. After all, February 6th will see a boutique opening of Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry at South Coast Plaza.

"You can never stop growing; it’s an ever-evolving industry with wine and food. I don’t think there’s a lifetime long enough to learn it all. So, I continue to learn as I go and broaden my horizon when it comes to wine and food and the restaurant business and the culinary arts. I like to travel because I learn something new. I try to bring that back and put my take on it."

If you can manage your temper long enough to find parking at The Camp in Costa Mesa, you can make the whole ordeal worth it with a meal at Old Vine Cafe. Our first exposure there was for dinner but the most hype that this restaurant gets is for their breakfast/brunch. Understandably so! Though they do not take reservations and getting a seat on a weekend morning is on a first-come, first-serve situation, Old Vine Cafe's outdoor environment makes for a comfortable waiting space with a woodsy feel, backyard-like seating, and chatter abound. We stopped in for a weekend breakfast on assignment for our piece in LOCALE and found ourselves learning quite a bit about everything.

[Original post was published December 25, 2010 - I am revamping some articles with better pictures] Snickerdoodle - what a whimsical name. It is a simple cookie that many seem to enjoy because it is built upon the basic dessert tastes that you want. It's mainly sugar, butter, and flour. Who wouldn't want a piece of that? While you can certainly make larger cookies to sate your sweet tooth, I opted for a smaller version that can be popped into the mouth at leisure and as a quick snack. I first started making this recipe in college when I wanted to bake from scratch. Making them small allowed me to make many which allowed me to spread the joy. These were popular with my friends when I would bring them over for study sessions (finals are rough!) so it became a recipe I did often. It's been a while since I've had a need to make them but now that Duc just changed jobs, I have to have him make a good first impression at work right? Cookies for coworkers! Anyhow, give this a try - they're easy enough to put together without much complication.

We have both eaten at The Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar several times in the past few years, and it certainly seems like a favorite for a lot of people. It had been a while since our last visit (maybe a year or two?) when we were invited to try out their new menu items which hinged on Asian inspiration and dishes showcasing a variety of cuisines that way. Chris Simms, CEO & founder of Lazy Dog, explained, "Both Executive Chef Gabe Caliendo and I have always had a passion for the intricate flavors of Asian cuisine, and wanted to build upon our current offerings with dishes that go a bit deeper into that sector. We're constantly thinking about how we can continue evolving the menu to keep things fresh and on-point with, or ahead of, dining trends, and these dishes reflect that mission." We accepted the invitation and headed off one beautifully sunny Sunday to their Huntington Beach/Westminster location which just so happened to also be the flagship Lazy Dog restaurant.

If you're looking to spoil yourself in Orange County, take a long drive down PCH on a sunny day and enjoy the beautiful sight of the surf and sand on one side. It's a reason to love living in southern California. This view is also a main draw to snagging brunch at Motif at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort. We spent a lot of my brunch visits checking out restaurants that had set menus from which one could order but Motif was the first on our list to have a buffet. When I mention buffet, I am not talking about long lines around heat lamped tables or sneeze-guarded salad bars. Given the space and the gorgeous hotel itself, Motif featured sumptuous buffet stations, some with chefs customizing your dishes live and some with multiple tiers of offerings to pick as you waltz by. The brunch at the restaurant can be enjoyed by both hotel guests and the public, and having started in 2002, it has gained a popular following. Not only are the dishes presented lavishly but the patio dining offers a breathtaking Pacific Ocean view.

[Originally posted December 2010] I have started to go through my previous recipe posts (the ones that started this blog!) to update them with newer pictures and content revision. In the process of recreating some of these dishes to be photo-ready, Duc is also learning how to put them together. It only makes sense why these would be good starters - they were the dishes I made when I first began to cook!

So here's one that is simple and generally loved by people unless tomatoes aren't their thing. My mom had never had bruschetta before I made it for her, and it's something she asks me to make often! Fun fact though: bruschetta refers to a dish made from grilled bread, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper. What we think of (and what this recipe is of) as bruschetta is this tomato mixture which is just a variation of the dish itself...but for the sake of this audience, we'll keep the recipe name as bruschetta.

Even on a Tuesday night, Canaletto was fairly busy with plenty of diners in the bar area, patio, and main dining room. Conveniently located across the way from one of Fashion Island's parking structures, this Italian restaurant is easily recognizable on evenings by the amassing of high-end cars along the curb. Valet service seems like it would be necessary on the busiest of Newport Beach nights as assuredly the shopping center and growing hub of quality dining establishments attracts flocks. Upon invitation, we ventured to this Italian restaurant (of the Il Fornaio conglomeration) and chose what we thought would be a less busy night; however, Canaletto's popularity was apparent. Most guests were still dressed in business clothes, suggesting that this was a go-to for nearby corporate buildings, and one look at the steal of a Happy Hour menu confirmed it. Luckily, the main dining room only became busier towards the end of our meal so we were able to enjoy the cozy and welcoming warmth for the majority of our dinner.

Our first experience with Sandy's of HB was during the To Live and Dine Chef Challenge in August 2013 where they offered up a sample of a variation of their layered seafood cocktail (lobster, shrimp, orange chili sauce, and avocado) in a cucumber cup with shiso leaf. A gorgeous little morsel, it gave us an insight into what to expect when we came out by invitation to try the food at Sandy's. It was the perfect weather for a late morning/early afternoon visit, and the restaurant's location on the beach was superb. If you know where the Huntington Beach pier is, you'll easily find Sandy's. It rests just below the pier (take the stairs to the left of it) so you have an eye-level view of the surf and sand. The outdoor dining area where we sat was protected by the comfort of a wrapping windguard so we were also able to people watch without breeze blowing sand in our eyes. Our server that morning was Kimmy who happened to be familiar with these type of visits - her own grandmother used to write about food too with her tagging along as the guest at times. How fun is that?

So fresh cranberries huh? That was the latest Test Kitchen ingredient, and I can see why people don't really eat them fresh. I popped one in my mouth and was met with bitter unpleasantness. No wonder they get cooked in some shape or form. As an update to this Test Kitchen series, we're actually shifting frequency to be every other week now instead of every Tuesday. You'll still be able to submit suggestions on Facebook though and thanks for doing that! This particular recipe was something done quick and simple to add to a rotisserie chicken we snagged from Costco one night. It's just a quick roast of cranberries in the oven to accentuate the bird's goodness. Try it out yourself.

"The food in this country went into a dive in the last 50 years - it was the Industrial Revolution when everything was getting bigger, better, and faster which is great for machines and automobiles but not food."

Primal Pastures - their name bespeaks their purpose, and their purpose is a valiant one. With more and more people starting to care (publicly) about the foods they put in their body, it was no surprise that a farm had cropped up with the intent of delivering the best and most natural products they could. What the surprise was, however, was that there aren't more of these establishments yet. We had heard of Primal Pastures through several venues before, followed them on social media, and kept updated on their farm's activities. If you don't know who they are yet, you should get to know them and their mission (it started with chicken by the way!). Though we were checking in through social media with what they were doing, we didn't unravel the complete story until we hopped onto a tour they had in November that was open to the public and everyone's curiosity. Our first sign that we were at the right place: meeting their sheep Wanda out front, named because she wanders, hah.

We parked around the back in the small empty lot, wondering when they would become busy enough to warrant the use of their "Complimentary Valet Only" sandwich board. Was it brunch that many flock to or was it the lunch/dinner service? Apparently both. For more than six years, Crow Bar & Kitchen has been serving brunch to their regulars from this Corona del Mar spot that could have easily turned people away due to parking. However, if you have something people want, they will come. We had arrived prior to opening to make sure we wouldn't disrupt service by shooting the dishes and taking up one too many tables but it was fairly set for brunch already, complete with iconic crow platters. Focused on fresh ingredients and seasonal trends, the restaurant aims to bring quality to traditional American breakfast favorites as we soon saw.

I never quite understood the fascination with carrot cake when I was growing up, and it really was not a dessert I preferred. Sure it was moist but the ones I had always seemed to be saturated in spices and smothered in too much cream cheese frosting. Why did it always have to be cream cheese anyway? Well, after stocking Duc's fridge with carrots, I noticed that he was being slow to eating them and with a baking itch straining at me to do something, I decided to make a carrot cake. However, no frosting for me!

"But what about the flavor then? It needs something." True - so I opted to add cocoa in the mix and hey, it was actually a pretty tasty cake. Since there was some Elli Quark in the fridge as well, I chose one that seemed befitting of a cocoa cake - the red velvet flavor. Of course you don't need to use that specific one when you bake yourself this cake too but I liked that it highlighted the cocoa. Give this one a whirl why dontcha? The ingredients make it seem a little "healthier" than other cakes may be but who doesn't need a little healthy in their life?

This recipe actually comes not from sudden inspiration but rather from a sort of necessity. As someone who works in marketing for her career, I am always interested in the trends that flow in and out of our world, and social media has been a constant for the past few years. When the occasion arose for a group of people to gather a slew of bloggers together for a Google+ (G+) case study on hashtags, I was so in. I'm curious myself about the findings of pooling the content and promotions of food bloggers all over for the term #KraftyCooking on G+ which will showcase all of the posts everyone will be generating before tomorrow's end. One of the options was to create a dish using either Kraft Mac & Cheese or Cracker Barrel cheese of which I chose the latter. More precisely, I opted for the Vermont Extra Sharp White Cheddar. Please note that I was not compensated for this recipe post nor were my ingredients sponsored.

We had an abundance of potatoes in the kitchen because they tend to come in large quantities when purchasing from the store. Duc had a craving one day for my roasted potatoes so we ended up with a bunch. Luckily, cheese and potatoes go well together so the idea for making gratin came easily. It was a savory, cheesy delight of a dish. Hope you'll enjoy making it!

After finding ourselves a curb to park against on the narrow street alongside the restaurant, we walked up the quaint neighborhood sidewalk to sidle up along a stucco wall and find our way to SideDoor's entrance. Or at least, I believe it was the entrance we came to - a side door on a building only visible if you dared peek your head up an enclosed walkway. The overhead sign showcased the name of the restaurant with a key emblem, attached to the same building the houses Five Crowns. There isn't a door or wall that separates the two though, and it makes sense. They are both part of the Lawry's family of restaurants. A spanning full bar greets us upon entry and looking around, we spotted the crackling fireplaces and cozy feel of the dining rooms. It almost seemed like a hunting lodge that others would relax in. Wooden furniture, plush chairs and dim lanterns - one could get used to it. We were there to check out their brunch and were glad to explore their menu with its rotating items.

[I originally posted this recipe in December 2010 - this is the updated version] My first exposure to dolmades was back in freshman year of college; there was a Whole Foods across the street from campus and a curiosity for foods from other cultures led me to purchase a container of stuffed grape leaves (I wouldn't learn the term "dolmades" for several years after that). I loved the tanginess of the leaves and the savoriness of the filling. My first ones were cold but afterward, I discovered that they could be had hot or cold depending on what was inside.

The name 'dolmades' is the plural form of 'dolma' in Greek but in general, the whole line of 'dolma' refers to stuffed vegetable dishes from the Middle East. There are several variations of this tasty snack ranging from Armenian to Greek to Israeli to Egyptian and so forth. The translation just means 'stuffed thing.' So what would you call my version? I don't know which nation it would belong to other than the land of delicious. Enjoy the recipe below and remember to account for the time you'll spend wrapping each leaf!

23808 Mercury Rd, Lake Forest, CA 92630
Pricing - $/$$ | Dining - Casual | Cuisine - Thai
http://bhanbaitong.com/

We were hungry and caught in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere (aka the border zone between Laguna Hills and Lake Forest). Business plazas and cement-cold buildings were abound so we had to utilize our handy dandy Yelp app to see what was about. It was a chilly night so we started craving Thai food. Lo and behold, Bhan Baitong was on the map as being nearby and still open (it was nearing 8pm). We made our windy way there to a fairly empty restaurant that was somewhat chic inside and looked a bit new.