http://www.burpee.com/

While my brother Julien from France visited us this summer, we made a few batches of my famous chocolate chip cookies. Really, it is simple. They are of course best  when eaten warm out of the oven. Per his request, I am posting the recipe.

Ingredients: makes 6 dozen cookies

Cut portions in half for half the amount of cookies!

• 1 1/2 cups of unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups of packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp of vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

• heat oven to 350 degrees
• melt butter in a bowl in microwave for 30-40seconds
• in a large bowl, combine melted butter, both sugars, vanilla and eggs
• with a whisk, combine all ingredients until smooth
• add the flour, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips
• your dough should not be too stiff, if you want your cookies to be chewy and melting in your mouth! The dough should be moist and wet from the butter
• on ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough the size of tablespoonful, 2 inches apart
• bake for about 11-13 minutes or until golden brown
• I like mine soft and chewy, so I take them out after 11 minutes, and let it cool on the hot rack for another 15 minutes
• enjoy them with a cold glass of milk

It adds up when you go out and have dinner with this economy. I found this great website that gives you coupons deals daily around Los Angeles. They work with restaurants, museums, retailers, concerts hall, to give us the best deals and specials. All you have to do is subscribing to their website to receive daily specials. http://www.groupon.com/

Went to Lucille BBQ Smokehouse in the District at Tustin Legacy yesterday for dinner. As you approach the restaurant, you can feel the BBQ ambiance. The fresh smell of hickory smoked ribs is out the door. Sunday’s night wait was about 15 to 20 minutes, not too bad. There was a crowd waiting for tables outside, but the beeper rang pretty quick! Lucky for us! Sat down and ordered one full rack of baby back ribs, and one full rack of St. Louis spareribs. Racks are served with two sides. Whatever you choose as your side, make sure to order the garlic roasted mashed red potatoes, to die for!

A basket of warm freshly baked biscuits is a truly treat before your food arrive on the table. Food come rather quickly! No kidding!

Dessert menu is available with their new addition, “Red Velvet Cake”, but we were too full to try it, maybe next time.

To finish up dinner, they give you warm towels to wash off your BBQ sauce from your fingers! As if you haven’t licked all your fingers already! Nice!

BBQ sauces for all your dipping desire!

St. Louis Spareribs

Best way to eat ribs…use your fingers!

Dim Sum is a popular Chinese meal representing breakfast and lunch. Dim Sum dishes are typically offered in carts that are pushed around in the restaurant through the dining area. Most dishes are steamed like dumplings but they have many other dishes like sweet custard buns, salt and pepper squids, fried tofu, etc. No need to ask the menu during this time, and no need to speak Chinese either! wait for the cart lady to come around your table, and show her what you want.

Perhaps you have heard of Dim Sum and perhaps you haven’t. If you had, you would know that Dim Sum is a Chinese meal that is more of a style of eating, than any one particular dish. But for the uninitiated, Dim Sum can be a daunting array of odd-looking dishes, new tastes and a new way of eating. Popular steamed items are Ha Kao, Shu Mai, and chicken feet. My kids love this one!

Although we usually go to Monterey Park for our monthly Dim Sum treat, we found Seafood Cove #2 in Westminster. They just opened a new location on the second floor. The restaurant is located across from the Phuc Loc Tho mall. Dim Sum is available from 8-3pm. The parking lot in this plaza is horrendous, but worth the try. It has been the best Dim Sum since I don’t know when.

Definitely a fun experience for everybody!

Chicken Feet steamed with black bean sauce and garlic

Ha Kao, steamed shrimp dumplings

Shu Mai, steamed pork dumplings

Organ medley stew, includes coagulated chunks of blood, tripes, stomach

“FIVE” stands for five ingredients in this new Haagen Dazs ice cream. Ingredients include MILK, CREAM, SUGAR, EGG YOLKS, MINT for the Mint flavored one. Other available flavors are Ginger, Coffee, Vanilla Bean, Passion Fruit, Brown Sugar, and of course the ever popular Milk Chocolate! This new, all-natural ice cream is also less in fat content compare to other Haagen Dazs ice cream. Check out http://www.haagen-dazs.com/ for stores carrying this new ice cream.

Go to Laguna Beach Rooftop Lounge in Laguna Beach. Have a few drinks and watch the sunset with your closed ones. This lounge bar is on the roof of the Laguna Beach Hotel Casa Del Camino. best place to view the sunset with an unobstructed view. This is the place to be if you have a date and want to share the unforgettable sunset with your better half. Happy Hour is available from 3-5pm Monday through Friday. During Happy Hour, Mojitos, beer, wine and well drinks are half off! Whatever you do, be there early or you won’t be able to get a table, it is always crowded!

http://www.rooftoplagunabeach.com/

We all know Paris is the headquarters for fashion, next to New York, and the corner for delicious culinary tastes. When you are a tourist looking for a cafe bistro, or a trendy restaurant in Paris, look no more. Go to http://www.restoaparis.com for the latest restaurants around town. This sites gives you the different hang out places to visit and eat different culinary dishes. From casual to fancy, the choices are yours. Now, your next step is to book your European vacation. If you are a Parisien living in the heart of the city, a new restaurant is always around the corner for you to try.

Charlie Palmer coming from the upper east side of Manhattan is now in our neighborhood. It is located in the Bloomingdales wing, at South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, CA. You can see the facade of this restaurant from the 405 North bound freeway. As you step into the front entryway of this restaurant, you are greeted with a collection of vintage wines bottles. As you look down the stairway, wine barrels are stacked up. The restaurant gives you a rustic, and yet modern style. A lounge area with pristine sofas is available for you to drink away the latest cocktails. Across from the lounge, the main restaurant room is adorn with soft lighting to give way to a peaceful and clean ambiance. Benches upholstered with old vintage soft leather are waiting for you! Let’s start eating.

Your dinner can be a prix fixe with three courses or a la carte. My husband and I ate a la carte to taste a few of their entrees. To my amazement, the entrees were very tasty. We paired our meal with a French Riesling from Alsace. Check out pictures of our night at Charlie Palmer.http://www.charliepalmer.com/Properties/CharliePalmerAtBloomingdales/ 

Wine barrels and Wine shop

Foie Gras Terrine with pickled cherries, served with cocoa brioche

River Sturgeon with a chorizo crust with boudin noir hash and a sherry emulsion

Aged New York Sirloin in chipotle butter and shallot confit

Lavender- rosemary butter cookie, citrus confit, and apricot tartelette. We also got a granola to-go bag! This was actually a FREE dessert we really enjoyed. One disappointment, the dessert menu does not have  a lot of choice!