Happy Halloween! These Cupcakes can easily be made using any Chocolate Cake Mix — Just add Frosting to a pastry bag with a Basket Weave Tip, then pipe it back and forth strategically over and around Edible Eyes. That’s it. Since I got the flu this year (from the flu shot mind you, no mas para mi), I was sadly unable to participate in our annual Halloween Cookie Decorating Party, thus post links from last year here and the year before here.
We’ll be making lots of Cookies, Cupcakes and Halloween goodies to be posted here soon. Until then, if looking for more Halloween action than that, I just published a list of unique events happening throughout the county. It’s posted with links on Examiner.com, where I write as Orange County Food Examiner. Above photos were taken by Steven Woo at a DC Halloween Party last year — Hover above to learn more.
I’ve always wanted to make Heart Shaped Eggs & Toast and just learned that it’s hard to get the Egg Yolk to perch in the center of the Bread — It tends to settle in one curve of the heart or the other. Oh well, does it matter? I think so, since the results look more spooky than romantic. Did the freshly ground Pepper land perfectly to form eyeballs? No, they’re fun props once employed for another project. It’s funny how they instantly bring things to life. 🙂
I used Nature’s Pride 100% Whole Wheat Bread and large fresh (recall proof) Eggs. To view other Nature’s Pride Bread recipes and info, check out this link. Should the above be made again for Valentine’s Day or Halloween? I wonder what Rorschach would say?
God bless America on this beautiful day. We’re thankful for our blessings and grateful for our dear United States Military Soldiers — Without YOU, we could lose the freedom to enjoy what’s pictured here. Let’s all send a care package to a Soldier next week. We provide a few links to help do it: Troop Care Pack, Operation Gratitude, Operation Shoebox and Give 2 The Troops. Happy 4th of July!
Just made my first Cheesecake and I’m excited it couldn’t have turned out better. A friend recently presented me with a photocopy of an amazing Cheesecake method that yields endless flavor variations. I tested it out by making the pictured Cheesecake with a little Mascarpone Cheese, Orange Zest and Frangelico Liqueur — Happy Father’s Day Dad! We’ll post more about it later. Until then, check out these really cool Father’s Day Tie Cakes.
These flowers are found at the Corona Del Mar Farmers’ Market. I bought different ones for Mother’s Day, but can’t post ’em due to more technical issues with Network Solutions. We apologize for the inconvenience. This site is safe and we’ll soon have refreshed permissions to post new photos. We’re pushing hard to get ALL resolved, cuz we ain’t happy about it either.
Happy Mother’s Day Mom — Sorry you’re cookin’ again. Last year I wrote the following poem as an entry into an OC Foodies Mother’s Day Contest. Although I didn’t win, it still applies.
She cooks for me on her Special Day — My Mom’s dishes are delicious, what can I say? For that reason and immeasurable more, there’s no other Mother I could ever hope for. She’s loving, giving and likes to eat, thus OCFoodies’ Mother’s Day Gift would be the BEST treat.
Note: The prize was (10) $50 Gift Certificates/Cards to (10) amazing restaurants.
Happy Cinco De Mayo! We’re most likely going to celebrate with a Cadillac Margarita and our favorite Chicken Taco at Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant & Bar. It’s a hard decision, since there are countless Mexican restaurants to choose from in Orange County. If you’re looking for somewhere to go, OC Foodies.com has compiled a list of “What’s Happening on Cinco De Mayo” to help observe it. Honoring this holiday generally entails eating Mexican food and (possibly) drinking heavily. And hope we don’t need to tell you not to drive afterwards. Salud!
The 40th Anniversary of Earth Day is this Thursday, April 22, 2010. We thought we’d pick up trash while walking along the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve. Fortunately there isn’t too much, but why not pick it up on the way?! Bring a bag. And since this is a Food Blog, why not bring a picnic and sneak in some wine 😉 .
As you may or may not know, the Nibbles of Tidbits’ Cookie Crew decorates Cookies every major holiday. Happy Easter! This year our lovely host, Loretta single-handedly made Cupcakes, Chocolate Dipped Oreos, Chocolate Dipped Graham Crackers and White Chocolate Bunny Lollipops. The rest of us decorated Sugar Cookies, after toasting with a glass of Champagne and Chambord.
Decorating Cookies (and other goodies) is a fun way to spend time with friends and family, then you (and related lucky recipients) get to eat ’em. Prior to preparation, we had Fish Tacos, a Wedge Salad, Hummus, Bruschetta and Pita Chips — Creative expression flows with a full stomach.
To provide the latest decorating ideas (although somewhat amateur), we post photos after every gathering. And now all is on Nibbles of Tidbits as a handy reference to be utilized each year.
Happy Easter from the Nibbles of Tibdits’ Cookie Crew (below), two (Nora and Patty aka Tricia) are not shown in the photo — Pictured (l-r) are Loretta, Kim, Michelle and Shelly (me).
Jesus is the reason for the season!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We already had our Corned Beef and Cabbage and post about it here.
There’s a lot of people searching for — cookie decorating ideas, valentines day cookies, valentines treats and related. We’ve posted about them before, but couldn’t fit ’em in this year. Instead we provide a quick link to our best Valentine’s Day Cookie posts thus far. Have a great one!
* Instead of decorating Valentine’s Day Cookies this year, we’ll be decorating St. Patrick’s Day Cookies, so come back to see them around March 17th.
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.
A friend just told me she’ll be eating 12 Grapes at midnight and an Orange on New Year’s Day. After reading an article on Lucky New Year’s Day Foods, she wants to do all she can to have an amazing 2010. Instead of Grapes, she’ll be eating Raisins since they’re on-hand. She says they’re still Grapes (technically once true), but I told her she needs actual Grapes if she’s gonna do it right, HA. 🙂 Who knows? Happy New Year with or without Grapes, Oranges, Round Cakes and Breads, Noodles, Fish, Black-Eyed Peas, Pomegranates and other regional lucky foods.
If you’re looking for somewhere fun to go on New Year’s Eve, I just published a compilation of events happening in Orange County. As the Orange County Food Examiner on Examiner.com, I’ve provided several links to help you determine where to eat, drink, dance, laugh, sing and kiss on New Year’s Eve. And if you plan on drinking, please have a designated driver or take a taxi — It’ll help us all start 2010 off on the right foot. Happy New Year!
We’re celebrating the holidays with lots of family and friends, and thus have been holdin’ on to several insightful reports that’ll be posted on Nibbles of Tidbits soon. Delicious Ham leftovers are the commodity of the week — Merry Christmas to me.
One of our Guest Bloggers, Bonnie recently visited and reviewed Tavern Restaurant in Brentwood (Los Angeles). She came back raving about their décor, since she’s an Interior Designer, she’s keen to that angle in her reports.
Bonnie’s Review starts HERE:
My parents recommended we spend our Thanksgiving Day at Tavern, a new place in Brentwood (Los Angeles) they had been to twice before in the last 6 months, which served as a good enough recommendation for me. They raved about the hamburger they shared on both occasions, and I was curious after looking at their website and reading the reviews on City Search and Trip Advisor.
Upon arriving for our meal at the slightly unusual time of 1:00 p.m., I was immediately struck by the impressive décor. Designed by fellow interior designer Jeffrey Alan Marks, the former home of Hamburger Hamlet has been completely transformed into an elegant tri-part restaurant. The linear design of the building’s interior consists of a quaint, casual bakery/deli/cafe to the left of the main entrance, a dark yet comfortable bar area on the other side of the entry and once through there, a starkly bright formal dining room.
After being seated at one of the exquisite dining tables that ring the room, our meal began with a persimmon and pomegranate salad with arugula, local walnuts and brie (seal bay triple cream). What a perfect start – especially because I have never tasted persimmons before – and they were quite a treat! The main course was (naturally) herb roasted organic turkey breast and stuffed leg with mashed potatoes and gravy.
While the turkey was good, it was the presentation of the fixings which got my attention as they were all served “family style” in the middle of the table: “Moms” traditional and Suzanne’s chestnut prune and cavolo stuffing; sweet potatoes with sherry and roasted shallots; Brussels sprouts with pancetta and thyme; Italian broccoli with garlic and chili and traditional cranberry sauce. For the finale, the desserts tasted as good as they looked — pumpkin pie and candied pecan with vanilla ice cream and a dollop of whipped sweet cream.
In fact, this was one of the more memorable holiday meals that I have had in a long time, as much as for the personal and attentive service as for the presentation and quality of their food. Suzanne Goin is the Executive Chef and I can’t wait to go back there and try her hamburger, which is why my parents recommended her newest L.A. area restaurant, Tavern, in the first place.
Thanks for the informative report Bonnie — Now I can’t wait to try the Hamburger too. Since Tavern’s Thanksgiving meal was so good, I’ve attached their New Years Eve Menu as an option for the festivities.
Update (04/05/10): Tavern was named one of the 10 Best New Restaurants in L.A., by Los Angeles Magazine (March 2010).
I made French Toast with the last slice of Panettone. It’s not the best photo above, but the Panettone French Toast Recipe is a good one. It’s a taste combination of Bread Pudding and French Toast, if that makes sense. I often like adding citrus zest to recipes, thus appreciate the Orange Zest in this French Toast. And now I’m truly a Panettone lover — I want more. After all these years, I didn’t know this traditional Italian Sweet Bread was so delicious.
And the winner of the Giant Panettone, plus Bauducco’s amazing Panettone with Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Chips is… Kat Foster. Congratulations Kat! We’ll be contacting you shortly to learn where to send your prize. Thanks to all who entered. We wish we could have given another Panettone to Vic, Alexis, Kathy and Jade for their diligent entries and touching stories. We sincerely appreciate all.
NOTE: Nibbles of Tidbits always draws its contest winners fair and square, which is out of a hat, box or jar of folded names of all who entered.
Nibbles of Tidbits gets to decorate a lot of Cookies — Our Christmas Cookies this year seem to look a little better than those decorated last Christmas. The Cookies don’t need to look perfect, because the most fun is had decorating them with friends.
The Sugar Cookies start out naked as you can see, but gave permission to be posted here. 🙂
When starting with a blank canvas it’s hard to envision how to decorate some Cookie shapes, thus it’s helpful to view others’ Christmas Cookies for ideas. We post our Cookies each year to remind ourselves of the possibilities and to assist you with the same.
Our family, friends and co-workers appreciate the Cookies of our labor — We like hand delivering the decorated Sugar Cookies, Chocolate Dipped Oreos & Graham Crackers, and molded White Chocolate Peppermint Cottages to awaiting smiles.
Our holiday Cookie decorating tradition is always a great time — We suggest you do the same with your friends. The Nibbles of Tidbits ‘Official Cookie Crew’ includes all pictured below l-r, Michelle, Loretta, Kim, Nora, Patty (aka Tricia) and Shelly (aka Me). Merry Christmas ALL!
We posted a few Hanukkah tips on Examiner.com. This year Hanukkah is celebrated on December 11th through December 19th. Happy Hanukkah to my wonderful Jewish friends and joy to the world. We love Matzo Ball Soup.
You’ve most likely seen the large Panettone boxes in stores over the years, especially around the holidays. It’s been somewhat of a peripheral thing for me, because I’d never tried it, nor really known much about it. I’ve since learned that Panettone is a Classic Italian Sweet Bread, that takes about 52 hours to make — Each tall domed loaf is made with love. I was recently offered the opportunity to try Bauducco’s Panettone. They make one with Hershey’s Chocolate Chips and another with Candied Papaya, Lime, Orange and Sun-Maid Raisins. And to be honest, at first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try ’em. I’m not much of a Bread person and thought the Fruit version may be likened to an Old-Fashioned Holiday Fruit Cake, the kind many of us have avoided over the years. I now know that Panettone is much better than that and shouldn’t be compared to the aforementioned we all shun — Happily, it’s completely different. It also has an underlying Orange flavor that I really like. I’m now a Panettone lover.
Unlike the long-established American-style Fruit Cake, Panettone is light and airy with Fruit pieces spread throughout. It’s not dense, nor heavy and hard. It can be enjoyed by tearing away the sweet layers — But if you’re still weary of Bread containing Fruit, start by giving the Chocolate Chip one a try. Both are great alone or terrific when used to make French Toast or Bread Pudding.
ENTER A COMMENT to possibly WIN a 9 Pound Panettone (8.8 to be exact). The ones generally seen in stores are large enough at 2 Pounds (1.64 to be exact), thus the 9-Pounder is gigantic. The winner will receive a 9lb. Bauducco’s Fruit Panettone and a 2lb. Chocolate Chip Panettone. The GIANT Panettone could make quite the impression at your holiday party this year. Just leave a comment on this post to be entered into a drawing to have both shipped to you ASAP.
Note: You may enter this giveaway once a day from now until Sunday, 12/13/09 Midnight Pacific Time — Random drawing winner will be announced shortly thereafter and the Panettone sent when shipping information is obtained. Good luck to all!
UPDATE (10/13/09): Contest will close in a little over an hour and a winner will be announced on 10/14/09.
UPDATE (10/14/09): And the winner is…
Happy Thanksgiving! This Turkey was fall off the bone tender, one of the best made by my dear parents — I’m thankful for them and so much more. And think-FULL, if you dig what I’m say’in. It was a beautiful day in La Palma, the 90623.
If you don’t feel like cooking and cleaning on Thanksgiving, check out my post on Examiner.com. It provides an excellent collection of the best menus being served in Orange County on Thanksgiving Day. As you can ascertain from the photo, our family wrongly loves the crisp Turkey Skin, thus haven’t been able to capture a pristine photo of a beautiful Turkey out of the oven. A little Turkey Skin with a little Salt is generally a tasty Thanksgiving appetizer. Bon Appetit!
Although Halloween is officially over, our DC Correspondent, Steven Woo sent us a few photos we just had to post. He reports: “Arghhh — I was in the Port O’ Baltimore for a Halloween Party, hosted by a zombie bride and groom. They had some very creative decorations, including a skull ice sculpture that chilled the punch kettle, chili with and without flesh, mad scientist lab jars (cauliflower = brain, grapes = eyes, fennel = heart) and an inflatable coffin with ice cold beverages. The last shot was some of my intake for the evening. Are Rolaids available in fun size?”
Thanks Steven — It looks like it was a morbidly fun party. They certainly were creative with the use of food. Hopefully that’s not a real finger on the chopping board! And I agree that Rolaids (like candy) should come in fun size packs too.
Recent Comments