Croissants

I made croissants from scratch! It took about forever but I think well worth it. As they were proofing I got a little worried because the recipe said they would triple in size, but they didn't. Thankfully I didn't throw it out at that moment because they came out nice after their time in the oven. They are by no means perfect but am satisfied with my first attempt. I can't wait to try again!

More on Matchbox Kitchen

Tomato Bisque and Grilled Cheese

Sirloin Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Steak and Salsa Criolla Panini

Here are the last three things we made on Matchbox Kitchen! Click on the link for more photos and maybe a recipe.

Summertime

I don't know if it's because of Matchbox Kitchen (probably!), but I've been eating a lot more sweets and butter and bread lately.  I am usually pretty good about my diet and maybe it's because I'm getting older, but my body is starting to show it as well.  Good thing my boyfriend Gary is also a certified personal trainer.  He just started training me this week.  Let's just say by the second session I could hardly walk or even bother to pick anything up off the ground!  But as sore as I've been the last few days I need to keep my eye on the prize, namely this swimsuit and Nadinoo crop top. I'm excited to see what I'm capable of as I've never had any sort of exercise regimen before.

As for my diet, I will continue to bake since I love it so much.  I just need to practice self control!  I may or may not have consumed all of the puff pastry I made a few weeks ago... (which included 3 sticks of butter!!).

(Photos: Anthropologie and Nadinoo)

Silver Lake Meadow

Over the weekend Gary and I went to the new Silver Lake Meadow.  It's only been open for a couple weeks so the grass was fresh and new! It was so pleasant and peaceful.  There were lots of groups having picnics, playing frisbee, and general laying about on the grass.  No dogs are allowed since there's a dog park down the road, and you're allowed to go barefoot!  The grass felt so nice.  I hope it stays this lovely for a long time.  And although it's next to a busy street all the trees they planted blocked out most of the sound.  If you're in LA it's definitely a nice place to relax.  I'm already planning another trip there this weekend for a picnic!

Girl and the Goat

As promised, here are all the dishes my friends and I ordered at Girl and the Goat. Such a delicious meal. We were feeling particularly indulgent and ordered three desserts! I loved they decor and our server was awesome. My friend Sandra brought her Polaroid camera and he was so excited to take a photo of us with it.

Here's a rundown of what we ate, left to right, top to bottom:

• goat carpaccio with tongue-olive vinaigrette and salsify chips
• hiramasa crudo with crisp pork belly, aji aioli, caperberries
• ham frites with smoked tomato aioli and smoked swiss dipping sauces
• kabocha squash ravioli with mushroom raisin ragout, brussels leaves, shroom creme fraiche
• grilled pork ribs with tomatillo-mushroom slaw and grilled scallion vinaigrette
• wood oven roasted pig face and sunny side egg, tamarind, cilantro, potato stix
• sesame semifreddo with pork fat donuts and sambal pineapple
• blood orange sorbet with parsnip pot de creme, pistachio cake, three sisters cornmeal crust
• bittersweet chocolate cake with shiitake gelato and toffee creme fraiche

If I had to choose favorites, I think it would be the grilled pork ribs and the chocolate cake dessert.   The dessert totally reminded me of a grown up version of dirt cups! And the ribs just fell off the bone and was a wonderful combination of flavors and textures.

Chicago food

Here are some phone snap shots of the food we ate at XOCO (minus the hot dog).  I love that place.  Rick Bayless was actually working the kitchen right when we got there!  Needless to say I got a little star struck.  This restaurant is reason alone to go to Chicago again!  I ordered the pepito torta (bottom right) and churros to share, and a lemongrass jamaica drink which isn't pictured. 
The hot dog was a little place by my friend's school.  I need to eat hot dogs with this many toppings all the time. Next up I'll share photos of all the food we got at Girl and the Goat.

last dessert for a while

I made mille feuille with the puff pastry I made from scratch.  As much as I love sweets I need to take a break from all the butter!  Click here to see the rest of the post.

Chicago

I'm back from Chicago!  It was such a fun, relaxing trip.  I'm usually the type to plan every thing down to the minute but decided let my friends have a say as well (haha).  So the trip wasn't jam packed with activities but we still did lots of fun things.  We went to Art Institute Chicago during their free Thursday hours, took lots of pictures at the bean in Millennium Park, took the train up to Wrigley Field on opening day (hoards of people!), and ate lots and lots of food.  The highlight of the trip was definitely all the food.  Will have a separate post coming up on that soon!