The other night, I was in the mood for KFC… but too lazy to go get it.  Plus KFC is expensive these days!  It’s almost $30 for an 8 piece meal with sides and biscuits!  Crazy expensive!  Earlier in the day, I had purchased a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store… and figured I would [...]

I LOVE yomogi flavored mochi!  ”Yomogi” is a Japanese herb, called “Japanese Mugwort” in English, a.k.a. “Artemesia princeps” in the plant world.  This is a very vigorous plant that grows like a weed all over Japan.  It is a member of the Asteroideae – the same subfamily that contains tarragon, sagebrush (NOT sage… which is [...]

For Father’s Day, I decided to stop by a local German/European Market and buy a bunch of German & Austrian grocery items for my dad as a treat.  Since all of the German delicatessens and markets near his house have closed in the last 15-20 years, he hasn’t had much in the way of German [...]

One of my good friends has been bringing me Banh Da Lon (Vietnamese steamed layer cake) from her favorite bakery in Orange County for the past few months…  since I was able to figure out Banh Bo Nuong (Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake), I know she really wants me to figure this one out too!  I’ve tried… [...]

Two years ago, I posted a recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes to celebrate the Year of the Tiger.   Up until recently, that has been my go-to recipe for anything red velvet – whether making red velvet cupcakes, red velvet layer cakes, or even red velvet cake ball truffles.  However, I always felt there was room [...]

I’m always looking for ways to make my food look appealing and visually enticing.  What is the saying?  We eat with our eyes first?  That’s so true… when food is carefully plated, or intricately decorated… I think our brains trick us into thinking the food is better or more special than if it was just [...]

Petit Fours are small bite-sized confections, served as a dessert or as a sweet treat with tea or coffee.  The name “petit four” is French, which translates to “small oven”.  There are many types of Petit Fours, but the most common are little cakes (often with some sort of filling) which are glazed and decorated. [...]

Butter cakes can have incredible flavor, but I’ve found that they can have a tendency to turn out a little bit on the dry side (in comparison to oil cakes).  I’ve made plenty of dry cakes in my lifetime… none which I care to repeat!  Over time, I figured out a few tricks in converting [...]