Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

While working/writing all weekend, I rarely left the house but for this Yogurtland Frozen Yogurt.  I didn’t want to do it, but was drawn over-and-over by the tart flavors, fresh toppings, make it yourself ease and good prices.  It’s a new favorite snack and dessert that briefly transports me to la la land — It’ll be four days in a row if I get it again tomorrow.  It’s too easy and they’re open late.

Yogurtland offers several flavors and toppings, but right now I’m hooked on the perfect combination of Plain Tart, Toasted Coconut and Taro Yogurts with Mango, Strawberry, Granola, Sliced Almonds and Coconut toppings.  It’s nice to be able to make exactly what you want and not have it cost too much.  I’ve been impressed each visit.

* Although you can’t make your own, I also like Pinkberry’s Frozen Yogurt.  The cost is slightly higher.

Hip hip hooray, we’re on our way to the Pala Casino Buffet to spend the winnings of Super Bowl Sunday.  It’ll be explained later, but now I’m happy to report a $100 win in a Super Bowl pool, as I luckily did last year.  Is it legal?  I don’t know — Oh well.  In celebration of ALL and because my Dad loves Budweiser, I’ve posted the quotes below.

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

– Benjamin Franklin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.”

– Dave Barry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Beer: Helping ugly people have sex since 3000 B.C.”

– W. C. Fields

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Remember I before E, except in Budweiser.”

– Professor Irwin Corey

A few of us recently gathered to sample goodies from a couple local bakeries.  We were compelled to do it in honor of Valentine’s Day of course, and for extra enjoyment while watching The Bachelor (btw, I know who Jake is going to pick — If you want to know too, read here).  Back to the sweets.  To prepare for this tasting event we picked up a variety of goodies from two different bakeries we often pass by, but have yet to stop in until now.  Both bakeries are on 17th Street in Costa Mesa near Newport.

The large box of yummies was transferred to the red plate above — They’re from Champagne French Bakery Cafe.  And the smaller box of varied Cookies spread out below are from French’s Cupcake Bakery.  The main similarity between the two is the word “French” and they’re both offering beautiful heart shaped Sugar Cookies for Valentine’s Day.

There are other differences between the two, thus we can’t pick one over the other.  We’ll just mention that we liked French’s Cupcake Bakery more than we expected to.  Champagne French Bakery Cafe had always looked aesthetically better to us.  We preferred the Sugar Cookie from French’s Cupcake Bakery, who appears to sell hundreds of baked goods.  CFBC serves “quality French cuisine.”  They prepare sweet and savory items.

* Unfortunately we don’t know the official names of all, but our favorites included the Lemon Tart — We just loved the look of the charred Lemon on top.  And honorable mentions go to the square Coconut Cookie directly above and the mound Nut Cookie two over on the left.  Sorry, that’s the best we can currently do with description.

** For more Valentine’s Day Cookie photos and how to decorate them, click here.  We made ’em last year and will soon be decorating again.

Update 04/28/10: Champagne French Bakery Cafe has closed its 17th Street/Irvine (Newport Beach) location.

Have you ever made a Dutch Baby?  It’s a German Pancake that’s easy to make and impressive to serve.  It’ll definitely be on the menu at my next brunch party.  I located several recipes for Dutch Baby Pancakes, but ultimately prepared the one in this video — Then served it with Powdered Sugar, Blackberries, Blueberries and Strawberries.

Above photos follow along with the video / recipe used to prepare this Dutch Baby.  Next time I might squeeze in a little Lemon or a teaspoon of Cinnamon and Sugar to add more flavor to the batter (Eggs, Flour, Milk, Salt).  Without much effort, Dutch Babies make special desserts and mid-morning treats that consistently wow guests.

My sister recently reported that she had the best Chocolate Cake in her life.  She obtained the surprising recipe and it’s what I made here.  It’s a Devil’s Food Cake Mix prepared with the addition of Mayonnaise (approximately a tablespoon).  It may sound scary to some, but it’s basically just more egg and oil if you think about it.  The Cake my sister ate was made with a canned Chocolate Frosting, but I made a Glaze of Powdered Sugar, Orange Zest and Orange Juice.  I haven’t tried it yet — We’re taking it luxury camping over the weekend and will report our results here soon.

Update (11/29/09):  The Cake was good, but certainly not the best ever.  It was a little overcooked too.  We’ll try another variation some time.

I initially bought these Belgian Chocolate Fancies to be a prize at a Christmas Party I’m hosting next week.  I usually buy about (10) $5.00 prizes to award to the winners of the crazy games I conjure up.  This year will be my 15th Annual Girl’s Christmas Party and it appears I’ve already won (or cheated), since I’m eating them.  I’m not supposed to do that, but couldn’t resist after reading the package.  The natural fruit flavors sounded way too delicious, plus I’ve been craving fancy Chocolates after recently trying those made by Christopher Micheal Chocolatier.

These Belgian Chocolate Fancies are sold at Trader Joe’s for only $4.99, which is less expensive that those by Christopher Michael — They’re good too!  It looks like I’ll need to go back to TJ’s to buy a replacement box, before my party guests see this.  Nibbles of Tidbits highly recommends these Chocolates for their flavor and beauty.

Update 01/29/10:  When I last saw them at Trader Joe’s, they were on sale for $2.99 a box — I’m not sure if they’re still selling them, since their products change quite often.  The packaging didn’t do ’em justice.

Our resident Junior Chef Lexi made this beautiful Cake from scratch.  It’s sure cheery for a Halloween Cake with its festive colors and application of Sweet & Sour Peach Candies.  We don’t have the recipe, since we’re featuring the Cake for its creative outer decorations.  Lexi is currently 10 years old and made this entire Cake on her own.  We post it to show that kids can create great things in the kitchen too.  Thanks Chef Lexi — It sure looks delicious!  We can’t wait to see what she makes for Christmas.  For more kid creations, be sure to check out our Kids in the Kitchen section.

It’s reported to be Chocolate Day in some places.  Why not?  Examiner.com hosts many reports about Chocolate today.  As Orange County Food Examiner, I write about Chocolate in Orange County, not a bad combo.  The pictured Chocolates are by Christopher Michael Chocolatier in Newport Beach.  They’re gorgeous and the flavors are unique and fun.

Still hoping to earn a Foodbuzz Blogger Festival Scholarship, I prepared this Bread Pudding recipe.  It’s adapted from a recipe created about 10 years ago.  This version is dubbed Rustic Bread Pudding— Recipe entries for a Nature’s Pride sponsorship to attend the festival are due today.  Nature’s Pride’s Multi-Grain Bread was used in this recipe, since the 100% Whole Wheat and 12 Grain Bread I received as a Foodbuzz Tastemaker was gone.  Click here to learn more about that.  I subsequently purchased the Multi-Grain for this recipe, since the 12 Grain wasn’t available.  The Bread was first toasted, which brings out its flavor and ultimately adds a marbled look to the finished Pudding.

Ingredients:

8 Bread slices (Nature’s Pride Multi-Grain or 12 Grain)

4 Eggs, beaten

2 Cups of Milk

1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar

2 Tsps. of Butter (melted at room temperature)

1 Tsp. of Vanilla Extract

2 Tsps. of Cinnamon

1/8 Tsp. of Nutmeg

1 Tsp. of Orange Zest (or zest of one Orange)

Directions:

Place Bread slices on a cookie sheet and toast in a 325° oven until golden brown, turning slices once (about 10 minutes).  Remove Bread from oven and let cool — Tear slices into rustic pieces, add to a baking dish and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the Eggs, Milk, Butter, Sugar, Vanilla Extract, Orange Zest, Cinnamon and Nutmeg.  Mix well, then slowly pour over the toasted Bread until all are well moistened.  Set aside to allow the liquid mixture to penetrate evenly before baking — Press down gently with the back of a large spoon.  Once moistened throughout, bake in the 325° preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until set in the center.  Remove from the oven, let cool a little and serve warm.  It’s best that way.

NOTE:  The pictured Bread Pudding was a little dry and definitely needed Powdered Sugar and/or an Orange Juice Glaze (OJ & Powdered Sugar).  The above recipe was written to improve the taste and texture of this initial test.  We regret to report this information, but believe it’s important to consider.  No time is left for re-testing, but still want to join the festival. 🙂

UPDATE 10/22/09:  Unfortunately I didn’t win this one, but you can check out the winning recipes here.  Thanks for the opportunity Foodbuzz and Nature’s Pride.

I’ve noticed a lot of different Frozen Yogurt shops opening up all around Orange County and thus far Pinkberry is my favorite — HOWEVER, it’s the only Frozen Yogurt I’ve tried in a long time.  I’m more of an Ice Cream fan, but just learned I can be converted by Pinkberry.  Their Yogurt has that tang I’ve missed in past Frozen Yogurts.  It actually tastes like Yogurt and I can’t wait to have the same combination again, especially the Passionfruit.

I tried a small with 3 Flavors — Coconut, Passionfruit and Pomegranate with Fresh Blackberries and Honey Almond Granola, and a friend had the same Yogurt with Fresh Coconut and Kiwi, while two others opted for the Original Flavor with Pinkberry’s new liquid topping of Italian Caramel.  When opting for toppings on a small, you currently get to choose two.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  Starting October 7, 2009, if you pay for toppings, you’ll be able to add as many as you like — That’s a good thing and makes sense, since only so many toppings can fit on each.  And it’s more satisfying and fun for Pinkberry’s customers, but I wrote this song…”You had me at two toppings.“

We’re going camping on the beach, so I made the perfect Cupcakes.  Aren’t they cute?!  They’re easy to make too.  I used a Spice Cake Mix, then topped each Cupcake with an Orange Powdered Sugar Glaze.  The sand is ground Teddy Grahams and the towel is a piece of a Fruit Roll-Up.  Just lay a Teddy Graham on the towel, prop open a cocktail umbrella to block the sun and voila.

Since there was extra batter, I made a small Cake in the toaster oven.  It turned out good, but needed to be cooked a little longer than noted.  And as you can see in the photo, it became a sun bathing cliff for the Teddy Grahams.  My Chef Nieces are going to love it.  FYI:  I did not come up with this idea.  Similar Cupcakes won an Honorable Mention at the OC Fair this year.  Unfortunately I didn’t catch a name, nor a photo of the original Cupcakes.  If its creator stumbles across this post, please make yourself known — This copycat is a memory of yours. 🙂

OC Fair Culinary Arts Competition Ribbons

Does this mean I might know something about which I write?  Although the purple ribbons only mean participate, I’m happy to have them too.  The Orange County Fair left town, but I picked up these ribbons today among the rubble of the broken down rides.  Each year the OC Fair runs a Culinary Arts Competition and sign up is 3 months preceding it.  I finally met the deadline this year for the first time and pleased to report that all (4) entries placed — Not too shabby, though some of my friends say the contest must be easy, HA.

Ambrosia Bundt Cake

Rocky Mountain Orange Cream Pie

Gourmet Nut Clusters

Pretty in Pink Scones

To enter the 2010 Culinary Arts Competition, start checking this website in late April – May 2010 for Home Arts – Culinary information, guidelines, deadlines, etc.  Good luck!

My final contest entry of Scones in the Orange County Fair Culinary Arts Competition awarded me a Third Place Ribbon.  I submitted Lemon Zest Scones with a Pomegranate Glaze.  They were good, but I really wanted a bite of the First Place Scones.  And the pictured Chocolate Loaf won the division.  Stop by the Orange County Fair, near the Promenade Stage to view all Second Show entries. 

Related Links:

• Fine tuning our Scone Recipe
• Single Day Pie Competition
• Culinary Arts Results at the OC Fair
• Pom Wonderful Pomegranate Juice
• Excellent Scone Recipe

The Single Day Pie Competition went down today at the Orange County Fair.  Approximately 20 Pies were entered and Ribbons were awarded for Best of Show, 1st, 2nd & 3rd Place, plus 3 Honorable Mentions.  After the judging, FREE Pie was served to the public.  It’s best to be around at that time (2PM each Saturday and Sunday at the Promenade Stage).  During this Contest, I happily received an Honorable Mention for my Chocolate Mountain Orange Cream Pie.  It’s pretty good.  Here’s the RECIPE: Orange Cream Pie Recipe.  Enjoy!

More Orange County Fair Competition INFO:

• Culinary Arts Competition Results at the 2009 OC Fair
• Fine Tuning our Scone entry for the OC Fair
• More food related competitions at the OC Fair
• Baking contests at the OC Fair

Each year the Orange County Fair serves up a new weird food item (E.g., Fried Twinkies, Fried White Castle Burgers, etc.), and this year it’s Chocolate Covered Bacon.   We’ve tried ’em all, thus had to sample the Bacon.  As you can see (above), it’s covered in thick Chocolate — And it’s kinda difficult to bite into, since it’s served from the freezer or fridge.

Overall, the flavor isn’t bad and is reminiscent of Chocolate Dipped Pretzels.  The Bacon has a salty flavor and crunchy texture that goes well with Chocolate.  The OC Fair’s Chocolate Covered Bacon is okay, but we would have preferred full strips instead of broken chunks.

It’s served in Chinese take out boxes with a packet of Salt on top, which seems odd, but whatever — We were done after a few bites, though think it’s better than some of the other crazy food items we’ve tried at the Fair.

More posts about Orange County Fair FOOD

The results are in for the first phase of the Culinary Arts Competition at the Orange County Fair.  I’m excited to learn that my Ambrosia Bundt Cake won a 2nd Place Ribbon and my Gourmet Nut Clusters won a 3rd Place Ribbon.  Not bad for a first time OC Fair submitter — Two for two.  For the second phase of the Culinary Arts Competition, I’ll be delivering Scones on July 28th, and for the Single-Day LIVE Judging Contest a Pie on July 25th.

This day I met Jaqui Dulebohn (Santa Ana), a Division Winner in the Preserved Foods Competition.  That’s impressive!  It means she won a 1st Place Ribbon, then beat out all the other 1st Place Ribbon winners in the Jam’s Division.  Congratulations to Jaqui on her Apricot Jam.  She looks forward to the competition each year.  ALL entries are displayed in the Home Arts Building.  You’ve got to get to the Fair for all the fabulous food and fun.

OC Fair INFO

Competition & Contest INFO

PHOTOS from 2008’s Culinary Arts Competition

It’s a doctored up Red Velvet Cake from a mix — I added a box of Chocolate Pudding Mix, Vanilla Extract and Orange Juice in place of Water.  And the Glaze was made with Pineapple Juice and Powdered Sugar.  I hope it tastes good, since it’s on its way to a 4th of July Pool Party.  We’ll report back.  Happy 4th to YOU and God Bless America.

UPDATE:  By the time the Cake was cut, I was busy swimming in the pool in my dress, HA.  I’m told it was good, but unfortunately didn’t get a photo of its beautiful color.

It’s a Cake Break and this one is from French’s Pastry in Irvine.  They’ve got 4 locations throughout Orange County and many people LOVE them.

It takes too many Pomegranates, ARILS (seeds), stained fingers and possibly stained clothes to create what Pom Wonderful provides.  I grew up with a large Pomegranate Tree in the neighborhood.  All the kids loved the seeds, but it was a lot of work and a mess to get at them.  My Mom would tell us to open them up outside — Ever since that time, they’ve been a novelty in the supermarkets.  I’ll buy one occasionally, but the same obstacles to enjoyment still exist.

Due to the effort involved in getting at the goods, I was happy to receive a case of Pom Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice in the mail.  I contemplated various recipes I could make with all of it.  Above I made Dried Cherry Scones with a Pomegranate Glaze — The Glaze is a mixture of Powdered Sugar and Pomegranate Juice.  And I’m calling them Pretty in Pink Scones.  I’ll be drizzling the Glaze over the Scones I’m entering in the Culinary Arts Competition during this year’s Orange County Fair.  In the long run this is the only recipe I made from the case, mostly because I couldn’t stop drinking them.  The bottles are so cute too.

Aside from liking the taste, I’m glad to read it’s good for you and grown locally in the sunny San Joaquin Valley.  And 100% Juice is always important to me.  When I ate Pomegranates as a kid, I didn’t know they were good for cardiovascular health and a superior source of antioxidants.  I didn’t care about that then, but I care about it now.  It’s good to find something I like that’s really good for me — I wish I could say that about more things.  Pom Wonderful appears to take pride in its products (literally) from tree to bottle.  Learn more below.  Knowing all these things, its value went up for me.  I need more. 🙂

Pom Wonderful DIRECT:
http://www.pomwonderful.com/?cmpid=71021&KNC-gle&&gclid=CIag7K6Z55oCFR0Sagodqi7PBw

What’s a Pomegranate?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate

I love the Chocolate goodies at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and appreciate cute stuffed animals, but it’s time to lose or replace the bear.  Do all the stores have one?  They’re a mess — At least the ones I’ve seen in California.  They are sadly stained, faded and weathered.  It can’t be good to bring them in and out of the nice stores.  How about replacing them at least?

Aside from the bear, they offer an excellent variety of Chocolate and fresh Caramel Apples.  I understand it might be hard to give the bear the boot — It was tough to say goodbye to my stuffed animals. 🙂

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory:
https://rockymountainchocolatefactory.com/rmcf/control/portalHome

The sacrifices of our American Soldiers past and present is tremendous, and it’s the reason I’m free here today to make homemade Biscotti.  Let’s honor, respect and support all who fought and fight for continued freedom and liberation.

This is the first time I’ve made Biscotti — Since it’s pretty dry, I’m generally not a fan.  I added Powdered Sugar and drizzled Chocolate for sweetness and excitement.  Overall it was fun learning how it’s made, but I like Cupcakes, Pies, Cookies and other goodies a lot more.

Recipe: http://tiny.cc/5Qqwq
(The recipe calls for “2 Egg Equivalents” but I used 3 medium Eggs.  I also added chopped Almonds and Orange Extract).

What is Biscotti?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscotti

What is Memorial Day?: http://www.usmemorialday.org/

Stop into any Häagen Dazs Store on Tuesday, May 12th to receive a FREE Scoop of Ice Cream.  See more details and find a store near you HERE: http://www.haagendazs.com/

Nibbles of Tidbits will be entering a few items in the Culinary Arts Competition this year at the Orange County Fair — It’s July 10th – August 9th.  We’ll be submitting a Pie, a Bundt Cake, Gourmet Nut Clusters and a Scone.  Until then, we’re working on the best Scone to enter.  Once decided, we’ll post  the recipe here.  The Scones above include variations of Lemon Zest & Juice, Orange Zest & Juice, Dried Montmorency Cherries, Pomegranate Juice, Cream and Powdered Sugar.

Related Links:

http://www.ocfair.com/2009/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scone_(bread)