Friday, October 12, 2012

Ushiwakamaru


After a whole summer without sushi, I've been making up for it by going to as many sushi places that my wallet will allow. Most times I must resort to budget friendly sushi spots but I give in once in a while for high quality, melt-in-your-mouth fish.  Ushiwakamaru was one of my splurges and I wasn't disappointed. Although it's all the way in Greenwich Village, it was well worth the trek and the moolah. The service was impeccable, the ambiance was pleasant, and the food was amazing. I highly recommend and want to go again!




yummyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

No-Bake Black Forest Cherry Cheesecake Cups!

My roommates and I made No-Bake Cherry Black Forest Cheesecake Cups that were very yummy and easy to make. I thought I would share the recipe with easy-to-follow steps to inspire some of you to try it! Enjoy!
First, make sure you have all of the ingredients you need (all pictured above).
Remove the cherry juice from the cherries and soak the cherries in the cherry liqueur.
Insert a block of cream cheese into a bowl and add a can of sweetened condensed milk.
Mix and add lemon juice.
Blend well with a hand mixer!

Create a chocolate melter by putting water in a big pot and placing a smaller pot inside. Bring the water to high heat and pour in a bag of semi-sweet chocolate morsels into the smaller pot.
Mix the chocolate until two thirds of the chocolate is melted and immediately remove from heat to prevent the chocolate from burning. The other 1/3 will melt from the heat of the melted chocolate. This is important so you don't get burnt chocolate. Blek

Put your cream/condensed milk mixture aside and grab your chocolate grahams. We used Newman's Own Chocolate Alphabet Cookies but you can use anything from Trader Joe's Chocolate Cat Cookies to the chocolate cookies of Oreos (cream removed). Put them in a food processor and crush until fine. If you don't have a food processor, grab a mallet and crush till fine. If you don't have a mallet, use the bottom of a mug or anything that will serve as a good crusher!
Put one third of your cream/condensed milk mixture aside. Use two-thirds of your cream/condensed milk mixture and add in all of the melted chocolate and about half of cup of the cherry liqueur that has been soaking in the cherries.
Blend well!
Now it's time to layer! Grab clear cups and start with a layer of crushed grahams, followed by a drizzle of cherry liqueur, then a layer of cherries. End the layer with a heaping spoonful of the chocolate cream mixture, a drizzle of liqueur and cherries. Continue this layering and use the white cream mixture for your final layer.
Put all the pretty filled cups in the fridge to set.
TWO HOURS LATER.... (lick the bowl and eat the left over chocolate cookies while you wait)
Once you are ready to eat your desserts, grab a carton of heavy cream and powdered sugar and whip up for some fresh whipped cream.
Add two heaping spoonfuls of whipped cream into each cup and top with some cherries, crushed grahams, and a drizzle of liqueur!
Voila! Delicious No-Bake Black Forest Cherry Cheesecake Cups! Yum Yum!!!
Oh.. and don't forget it's Fajita Night!
Make some homemade Guac!
My roommate is a master griller.
Perfect!
And it's Mexican Night!
After all of the delicious food, the cheesecake cups were the perfect sweet ending!
I hope I've inspired some of you to try this easy and delicious recipe. Let me know how it turns out! Since it's getting cooler and we can turn on our ovens now, I will post some sweet house-warming recipes soon!











Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Vegas to L.A. to the Bayyy

After a few days back in NY, I was finally able to make it back to the West coast! I hadn't been back since last winter! It was so much fun to be with my beloved family and friends. I ate such good food, shared a lot of laughs, and caught up on new developments. As I fly back to the big apple I already miss SFand want to turn this plane around. Below are just a few highlights of my short trip to Vegas, L.A., and SF. ENJOY! The pictures are out of order and mixed up!

My aunts prepared a delicious Korean meal one of the last nights I was in LA . Chicken, kimchi, bi-bin-nagmyun (spicy mixed noodles), and sa-lah-dah (Korean style potato salad) are pictured above.
I went to School Food in LA to see my aunt and cousins. They are growing so fast!
During my visit to SF, I had brunch with a couple Berkeley Friends at Velo Rouge Cafe. They had Blue Bottle Coffee- my favorite!

On our drive back from Vegas, our car (a prius) ran out of gas! I know, when does this actually happen these days? Well, it did and we had to wait for our friends who were luckily only twenty minutes behind us to refuel and get back on the road.

During a family trip to Ontario, we went Kayaking!

During my trip in SF, we had lots of fun catching up in the car on our way to one of our friend's baby shower!

We went to the Marquee in the Cosmopolitan Hotel when I was in Vegas. It was super fun!!!

My two favorite Berkeley boys smile for me at Velo Rouge Cafe. I missed them so much!

After a night of going out in SF, we stopped by Golden Boy Pizza for delicious clam and garlic Sicilian style pizza. Yummy late night eats in SF!


My first time having pig skin at a delicious new Korean restaurant in Ktown called Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong- named and opened by a very famous Korean comedian. This is supposedly really good for your skin. It was really delicious.

One of our lunch eats in Vegas was at Mon Ami Gabi. They had the best Onion soup au Gratin!

My family gets ready to pack up after a beautiful day at the beach during our visit to Ontario.


I thought this was the cutest cake for the mommy-to-be at the baby shower I attended in SF. This was one of my first baby showers and I had SOO MUCH FUN. We played the cutest games and was surrounded by cute little kids.



The girls and me being silly before going out in Vegas. It was so nice to be with all of them again!


The first night I was in SF, my friend and I went to Mr. Smiths and these delicious drinks made with Ginger Beer. I loved the ambiance and specialty drinks!
the tummy of the mommy-to-be at the baby shower.

Ashley and me in SF!

Ddukbokgi (spicy rice cakes with fish cakes and onions) from School Food in Los Angeles!

In SF- eating more yummy korean food at Playground!

Ddukboki in Carbonara sauce and bacon from School Food in Los Angeles. School Food is delicious!

My cousins pick out delicious pastries from Paris Baguette in Los Angeles. One of the best bakeries in LA!




California lovin.
View from the Cosmo hotel in Vegas.



Familia at the beach.


Kim Bap from School Food.

Crab legs from the Wicked Spoon Buffet in the Cosmo Hotel in Vegas. We were so full afterwards!



Mama's korean cooking!

I miss Cali already! Classes start tomorrow and I am not ready!