Exciting News!

I’m upgrading!!!!!  I’m so excited!!!  I’ve been working on a new layout and content for the blog and it’s finally just about ready to go!!  But the bad news is, the site will be down for a couple days!!!  I’m so bummed, but I know it’s going to be for the best!  So stay tuned!!!  It will only be for a couple days!!

Thanks for all your support!!

xoxo

Leslie

I Love Holiday Dinners!!

My girlfriends and I have a Holiday tradition.  Instead of buying each other more “stuff”, we instead get all dressed up and go to a fabulous dinner!!  We always have sooo much fun!!  This year we went to Jose Andres’ Bazaar at the SLS hotel in Los Angeles.  Being huge foodies we are always looking to go somewhere a little different.  This restaurant is dedicated to the dining experience!  It’s all about molecular gastronomy which is using science to cook food in a different way.  We had a fabulous time!!  Here are some pics of the wildly inventive food there:

This is one of the drinks we got.  They use liquid nitrogen to freeze this drink table side!  They top it with some edible flowers and lime zest!

These are “olives”.  They are olives that have been liquified and then solidified in calcium.  They explode in your mouth!

foie gras on a stick wrapped in cotton candy!

Caprese Salad.  Again the mozzarella is made the same way as the olives.  They explode in your mouth!

Those are some highlights of the meal!

So grab your girlfriends and create your own Holiday dinner traditions!

Things I Love about the Holidays!

Here comes a fabulous list of all the things I love about the holidays!  To kick off the list, I LOVE this apron!  I love vintage and vintage inspired aprons and I found this apron at my neighborhood Gelson’s supermarket, but you can also find it online.  How cute is it!!??  This is a great gift for all the ladies out there who love to bake!

You can find this apron online here.  Hope you enjoy as much as I do!!

Winter Girls Party!

It’s December and finally starting to get a little chilly here in Los Angeles.  What better excuse do I need to throw a little holiday girls brunch!  I called up some friends and my friend Ivonne brought over some of her beautiful jewelry to sell as holiday gifts.  I cooked up a storm and we had a great time!  Here are some pictures of the food and decor!

I had to throw in a picture of the tree!!  I looooove getting a Christmas tree!

For the food, I really wanted to do lots of sweet and savory foods.  As usual, I made everything bite size and foods to eat with your fingers.  I do this for two reasons.  One is to reduce the amount of waste we use (no need to throw away all those plastic utensils!).  And the other is that I hate when you can’t have your food and your drink at the same time.  I hate parties when you have to sit down to use a fork and knife to eat your food.  I save that for dinner parties!

Here was the menu:

Pumpkin dip (so cute served in a hollowed out acorn squash!) (The best thing to do with leftover pumpkin pie mix!  I used 2 boxes of cream cheese and whipped it together with half a large can of pumpkin pie mix.  I added a little extra cinnamon and nutmeg for a little more kick!)  Thanks Aunt Patty

Ratatouille in a puff pastry

Baked brie (cause I had leftover puff pastry from the above dish)

Vegetarian Ceviche

Scones

Cucumber dill sandwiches

Tomato salad (I just tossed some beautiful heirloom tomatoes in some white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh dill and basil and topped it with some shredded mozzarella.  So easy!)

Fruit on a stick (how fun are these!?  I needed a great take on a fruit salad and I love the way these little sticks came out!  I used toothpicks and skewered a raspberry, mint leaf, pineapple and strawberry.  So easy!)

Chocolate, carmel, salty cupcakes (see below blog for pictures and recipes)

Chocolate chip cookies (I used my regular chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I added cinnamon and nutmeg to make it yummier for the holiday!)

Chocolate “chips” and cannoli cream “dip” (love playing on chips and dips with this!  I got the “chips” at trader joes and I made my cannoli cream as the dip!  Soo good!!)

I made a lot of variety, but I couldn’t stop, what can I say?  I’m a cook-a-holic!

Here are some of the girls that made it to the party!  So pretty!

Such a fun party!!  I can’t wait till spring for the next one!

Awesome Holiday Gift Idea!

So I was dashing through Target looking for more Christmas tree lights to finish the tree when I spotted these dessert gift boxes!!  They are so fabulous and a wonderful way to give your baked goodies this holiday season!!  They are $2.99 and come 1 to a box.  The box comes with two dividers and a cupcake divider.  I used these right away to bring a holiday gift to some friends!  I will be using these all winter long!  Great find!

These are my Holiday Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They are a little different cause I add some cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter!  Yummy!!

Hi All!

Finally made it back from NY for Thanksgiving!  I hope everyone had a great holiday and I look forward to continuing to post!  We’re off to get our Christmas tree today which probably means I’ll be baking and listening to Christmas music this week!  Love it!!

Leftovers!!

So what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers??!!  Well, there is the obvious option of turkey sandwiches, but this year let’s get creative!!  My Mom always makes turkey soup with the bones and leftover meat.  But if you are a vegetarian like me, you have no interest in turkey soup, turkey sandwiches or turkey in general.  So here are some ideas on what to do with the rest of your leftovers.

Take those leftover mashed potatoes and turn them into gnocchi or potato pancakes

Use that leftover cranberry sauce to make peanut butter cranberry sandwiches or how about a cranberry cheesecake?  I also love to warm it up and serve it over vanilla ice cream!  So yummy!

Use your leftover vegetable casserole and mashed potatoes to make a shepherd’s pie

Chop your leftover green beans into 1 inch pieces and toss into a salad

Get creative and have fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I would like to wish all of you out there a very happy Thanksgiving!!  Enjoy the day and I’ll be posting on what to do with your leftovers tomorrow!!

xoxo,

Leslie

A New Twist on Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is a staple on any Thanksgiving table, but don’t be afraid to mix it up!  First off, if you’ve never made cranberry sauce from scratch before, give it a try!  It’s sooooo easy!

Here is how you make cranberry sauce:

What you’ll need:

12 oz. (1 package) fresh cranberries

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

What you’ll do:

In a sauce pot, bring the water and sugar to a boil.  Add the cranberries and reduce heat to a slow simmer.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the cranberries start to burst.  Remove from heat and let cool completely.

That’s it!!!  It’s sooooo easy!  Make sure to make your own this year!

Try these fun things to add in:

Mandarin oranges

Pineapple chunks

Pomegranate seeds

Granny Smith apples

On set filming “Answers to Nothing”!

My husband is producing a spectacular movie called, “Answers to Nothing” and was nice enough to let me be in it!  It’s a wonderful script with a great cast!  Dane Cook, Elizabeth Mitchell, Julie Benz and ME!!  I had such a great time filming!  I thank everyone who was involved; it was such a fun day!  Here are some pics of me that were taken from my camera on set!

You know you’ve made it when your characters name is written and duct taped on your door!

I may look a little crazy in this shot, but that’s just me being focussed!

Elizabeth and I blocking out the scene.  She looks so much taller than me here!  We are almost the same height.  Amazing what heels will do!

Me hoping that light won’t fall on my head!!

Keep your eyes out for the movie!  It will come out next year in 2010!!