Empty promises and a full sink

Forgive me, Father.  It's been one year since my last confess...er, blog post.

Yes, it's been a while.  I hope we can still be friends.

Recently (as in, yesterday), I started contributing to an online magazine for the city of Pasadena.  Technically, I am the lifestyles editor.  In addition to photography and "reporting," I have to attend various events in Pasadena and the surrounding areas that include modern art auctions, restaurant openings, and beer tastings.  It's a really tough job.

Yesterday I attended the official grand opening for a grilled cheese sandwich restaurant called Melt It! Grilled Cheese Co.  You can check out my article here.  It was actually perfect timing since I managed to track down the Grilled Cheese Truck a few weeks ago.  

The Brie: brie, fig compote on a French roll from Melt It!

The Mac 'n' Cheese grilled cheese from The Grilled Cheese Truck

My opinion?  Well, while I wanted to give a real side-by-side comparison, I caved and ordered the Brie instead of Melt It's Mac'n'Cheese.  I wished for more cheese, but realized the molten perils that come along with over stuffing a grilled sammy with brie.  The addition of the fig compote really made the sandwich and I appreciated the quality and amount of the bread- crusty, flavorful, and not too thick.  As for the famed Grilled Cheese Truck?  It was about what I was expecting.  A decent amount of cheese with some pretty good macaroni nestled between some disappointing bread.  The side of chipotle mayo was a great addition.

Did I mention that Melt It! makes deep fried Oreos, too?  If you haven't been able to figure it out from my previous cupcake post, I LOVE Oreos.  That may have put Melt It! over the edge.  That and I don't have to stand in line behind a food truck's exhaust pipe while my stomach eats itself.  I highly suggest you check them out.

Deep fried Oreos

What's going on in MY kitchen?  Next post I'll show you what's lurking in my cupboards.

Chicken, Artichoke and Caramelized Onion Pizza

YUM! Slices of mozzarella, fresh basil, caramelized onion, artichoke hearts, chicken (for Leo), and home-made pizza sauce combined together to make this masterful pizza. And despite it being shrink wrapped, the Bobili pizza crust wasn't that bad! Next time you want a pizza with some ridiculous toppings, go to the grocery store and pick one of those bad boys up. I don't think I had ever used one and was always wary of them. I always imagined they'd be dry, taste of lard, and become rock hard once put in the oven. However, this pre-made pizza crust made a decent base for our amazing toppings. Again, YUM! So much better than delivery!

From-scratch calzones

These babies were GOOD. Inspired by my favorite Italian food place in Pasadena, I opened up my America's Test Kitchen cookbook and made not only the sauce, but the DOUGH from scratch. They may have not been the prettiest things in the world, but these calzones really hit the spot. They were filled with mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, and Italian parsley and topped with a fresh tomato and basil sauce. The dough was sweet, chewy, and a little crispy on the outside. While the dough took a few hours (it contains yeast, so it must rise for a few hours in a warm place), most of the ingredients were pretty easy to manage. And the recipe made six hefty calzones, so it look my boyfriend and I a few days to polish them off.

Tonight I'm going to embark upon my second attempt at flourless chocolate cake. Last weekend I tried my hand at it and failed miserably. I blindly followed the recipe, despite my better judgment. It asked me to add strong coffee to melting chocolate and I obliged, even though a faint memory of my mother warning me to never add water to chocolate. It ended up lumpy, almost like curds. Not good. After that, I placed the foil wrapped spring-form pan in a hot water bath in the oven. I guess I didn't do a good enough job wrapping, because water seeped in during baking. To top it off, I bought UNSWEETENED chocolate! Even if I had successfully baked this cake, it tasted awful! I was super embarrassed. So... take two!