Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

Though I’m not a big Twitter or celebrity person, as previously expressed, it’s pretty cool to see David Rosengarten following me on Twitter.  Maybe he saw what I wrote about him or maybe it’s not really him!?  You can’t be too sure about the virtual world, but I’m sure I learned a lot from him on Taste several years ago — That’s real, and what I like most about this post.

Note:  Photo is completely unrelated.  It’s been so beautiful here lately and just walked 12 miles that started with a Naked Juice and freshly baked Morning Bun from Fresh & Easy.

Branding on a rock in Carlsbad by Kids in the Kitchen — Need Freelance Writing Services?

Why is it I’m compelled to push this Mini Shopping Cart down the aisle every time I see it at Cost Plus?  I ponder that.  It embarrasses my Mom when I do it.  Maybe that’s why, and it just makes me laugh.  I’ve promised to refrain from now on.  This time I had Chef Lexi of Kids in the Kitchen do it.  It’s double-mint cute now — Post title inspiration is here. 🙂

We pause for a moment of branding — For information regarding Freelance Writing Services, please visit I Need Text Company or feel free to send an inquiry through Nibbles of Tidbits.  The special of the day will always be FOOD, but ANY TEXT can be served up hot.  Thank you.

Definitely not into mall traffic on so-called Black Friday — No way Jose, opt to eat on a beach.

The Beachcomber in Crystal Cove State Park Historic District.

Isn’t this better than a crowded mall, paleeez — It’ll always be a Blue Friday for us.

Preparing for a Christmas Par-tay by shopping at my favorite store, Cost Plus World Market.

How old are you?  Did you ever have a metal Lunch Pail?  We love the variety and nostalgia at Cost Plus/CPWM.  Would you believe this girl (me) doesn’t like to shop, but it’s always fun and interesting shopping there.  This visit Chef Nieces, Bailee and Lexi of Kids in the Kitchen model a few goods.  Bailee liked the mini Tabasco Bottles — I do too and told her that I used to carry one with me all the time, until one leaked in my purse.  That was a bummer.

Some things just need Hot Sauce, but that’s another story.

We’re supposed to be shopping for a Par-tay, better than a Par-tee.

Too many cool, stylish things — Is it the models? 🙂

Today we set out for a Gift for the Christmas Par-tay exchange, plus 10 Prizes, 4 kinds of Beer, 4 Bottles of Champagne, 4 Bottles of Wine, Munchies, Candy and Wrapping Paper.

And former Miss Downey Contestant, mi Madre still has it — Sorry Mom for writing that, hahaha.

Stay tuned for more about my 17th Annual Christmas Par-tay.  It’s always the first Friday in December.  We filled two carts with unique prizes, beverages and snacks — Ready to dig in.

My favorite flavor is probably Orange — It’s what I choose most in everything.

And I’m currently based in Orange County, made known in About and About the Writer.

In addition to cooking adventures, mishaps, discoveries and more, Nibbles of Tidbits posts about Orange County events, restaurants, happenings, living, and everything food related.

To enhance all, an Orange County Food Blogroll is set apart — Met a few about town.

Peel open the OC with the list of Orange County Food Blogs linked on the right.

Orange Art — How to make Orange Guy.

Lovin’ these photos — Thanks and credit go here, here, here, here and here.

After the Irvine Spectrum, the Cadillac Culinary Challenge Test Drive Event drives on.

As reported, I was one of five Food Blogger Judges at Cadillac’s Irvine stop.

As one lucky Judge, I got to taste the dishes prepared by Mary Sue Milliken and Yvon Goetz.

The event’s sponsors also include Share Our Strength, Bon Appétit and Epicurious.

Samples were delivered to the first two rows of the audience — Get to the next event early.

Halfway through Mary Sue’s sample the Judges were informed they’re to receive larger samples than the audience.  Wow, okay.  I quickly finished the small sample of Ceviche to prepare for the larger sample.  Happiness, because it was perfectly tangy and spicy.

And then tried Chef Yvon Goetz dish, Chili Lime Rubbed Hawaiian Mahi Mahi (above). 

Both dishes were impressive and the Mad Hungry Woman wrote more about ’em here.

Voting — Three of five Judges voted for Chef Yvon Goetz dish and two voted for Mary Sue’s.

Beautiful, fresh ingredients were used by both.

And the winner of this challenge was Chef Yvon Goetz.

I voted for Mary Sue’s Ceviche — It received the popular (audience) vote.  No losers here.

I like taking photos of other bloggers taking photos of FOOD.

Before, during and after the competition, some test drove Cadillacs — Love the Escalade.

What a terrific, well run event — Check the schedule to see if it’s heading towards you.

Can I just travel the country judging food competitions?  Thanks for the taste.

Fancy Smancy or Schmancy who cares, it’s not really a word anyway — This story is most likely played, but it’s still September so the floor is mine.  Available this month only is the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger at Hof’s Hut.  Have you read about it yet?  You can here.

This is our first time purchasing it at the restaurant after having it at the photo shoot.

It was cool to see my name on the menus and table tents as Winner of the Burger Contest.

It’s a splendid tasting Burger too — Hof’s Hut does a great job with it.

Try it before September 30th.

A Segway Tour of Huntington Beach purchased through Groupon ended up better than expected — The price was right, the process was seamless and riding a Segway is a blast, though I admit to being a little scared at first.  Now I wanna be a Mall Cop.  Is that joke over played in Segway circles?  Zimzala Restaurant & Bar is the post segue in that it’s FOOD related, we’ve enjoyed many great meals there (some pictured, others are here), Zimzala is also BUDS with GW Tours and HB Segway Tours offers a Segway/Zimzala Combo Tour.

We got to ride the Segways on hard and soft sand, along streets near downtown HB, on the beach path, over grassy hills, and up and down ramp ways — A fun variety of terrains.

Zimzala Salmon above, zigzagging on a Segway in HB below.

A bonus surprise of the day was running into Jack, a former co-worker, friend whom I haven’t seen in 20+ years — He happens to be Mr. HB Segway now.  Super cool.  He’s still a funny guy and provides a well run, entertaining tour experience that starts at 120 PCH in HB.

I went on the Segway Tour at the suggestion of Bonnie Joy Designs, friend and OC Interior Designer, who called out the homophone / heterograph, “segue” of the event.  Comprende?  If not look it up, as I just learned how to spell segue and ride a Segway, though ready again.

Segs on the Beach — Contact Jack and them for all the details.

View from Zimzala.

I once lived in the LBC, Belmont Shore to be exact, walking distance from a Hof’s Hut Restaurant & Bakery, now a Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, a new favorite, and I worked across the street from the view above.  Will always have a special place for Long Beach, near most of the remaining Hof’s.  Read about the Burger Contest — Long Beach Post quotes me. 

HH’s 60th Anniversary promotions — Grateful the FSSB Won!

I didn’t order the hit on table tent inserts at Hof’s Hut, but appreciate having one with my name on it.  For the record, my parent’s friends actually asked if they could take it.  I should’ve photographed it instead of scanned it — It’s hard to read, despite its wannabe size progression.  Only 15 more days to get the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger at Hof’s Hut.  Still celebrating…

A BIG THANKS to Hof’s Hut Restaurant & Bakery on this official day — The availability of the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger.  I can’t wait to have it as good as YOU make it!

I always want to JUDGE a FOOD Contest, I think — Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.  Today I helped judge food from endless Gourmet Food Trucks at the OC Foodie Fest.

It happened at Angel Stadium and one favorite was the Oki Slider from Ranchan Ramen.

Shown here is just the tip of the iceberg — Truck after truck, after truck, after truck delivered their respective goods for the Judges to sample.  We were stuffed.  More about ALL post digestion.  Though full, wish we had to-go boxes for all we tried.  Most was above average.

Be sure to mark your calendar to try the Hof’s Hut Restaurant & Bakery 60th Anniversary Burger scheduled to be available this September.  It’s called the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger and it is damn tasty, if I do say so myself — It’s so tasty in fact, I won a fancy smancy (aka schmancy) Jenn-Air BBQ Grill (below) for creating it.  Thank you Hof’s Hut and Happy Anniversary to such a fine establishment.  See you soon…

The 2011 OC Fair went out with a munch, a moo and an oink and set a record breaking attendance of 1,400,280 attendees. The OC Fair saw a 21 percent increase over last year’s highest attendance record of 1,154,969, it surpassed on Day 20.

“My belief is the 2011 edition of the Fair establishes that the OC Fair has perfected the formula for staging a successful fair,” said Dr. Steven Beazley, OC Fair & Event Center President & CEO. “That formula will now be applied to educate and entertain our community for years to come.”

Fairgoers took the theme “Let’s Eat!” seriously and consumed 10,000 Mexican Funnel Cakes, 3,000 chocolate-covered corn dogs, 125,000 balls of Deep-Fried Kool-Aid, 10,000 slices of deep-fried avocado, 2,000 deep-fried frog’s legs and 75,000 colossal turkey legs.

The top five attended concerts in the Pacific Amphitheatre, in order of attendance, were Big Time Rush/Avery, Selena Gomez & The Scene, Weezer, Blake Shelton and Bob Dylan. Overall, there were nine sold-out concerts in the Fair’s premiere entertainment venue.

In the Action Sports Arena, the top most thrilling events, in order of attendance, were: Orange Crush Demolition Derby, Motorhome Madness Demolition Derby and X-treme Freestyle Moto-X.

The top shows in The Hangar were Sweet & Tender Hooligans (tribute to Morrissey and The Smiths); Moonwalker (THE Reflection of Michael Jackson); Journey Unauthorized; Which One’s Pink?; and Dead Man’s Party (The Oingo Boingo Tribute).

More fun numbers for the 2011 OC Fair:

• 1,000 12-inch-high Jumbo Mexican Funnel Cakes were eaten and only four Fairgoers met the challenge to consume one by themself.
• 284,982 visitors bared the cold visit into the Ice Museum and more than 350 300-pound blocks of ice were used to create its contents.
• More than 20,733 people were the ultimate Fairgoer as holders of their own Super Pass (season pass) compared to 11,100 in 2010.
• 32,439 people took advantage of the free Opening Hour on July 15 compared to 25,461 in 2011.
• 3,668 exhibitors submitted 12,697 entries which received 4,195 award ribbons and won more than $30,065 in cash awards.
• A total of 540 livestock exhibitors presented 3,190 animals, received 2,170 ribbons and were rewarded $30,065 in cash awards.
• For the four “We Care Wednesday” community donation drives, 81,267 generous Fairgoers donated 85,000 pounds of food, 62,736 children’s books, 100,000 pieces of clothing and 100,000 new school supplies.
• Born into the Centennial Farm family this year were two piglets and four goats.

The 2011 OC Fair, themed LET’S EAT!, was July 15 – August 14 and featured 23 days of food, rides, exhibits, animals, music, action sports and fun, as well as the popular Super Pass (season pass), Pacific Amphitheatre Summer Concert Series, The Hangar and Action Sports Arena. The Fair was open Wednesday-Sunday. The 2011 OC Fair was voted the Best Fair in Southern California by Los Angeles Times’ readers and the 2010 OC Fair was ranked the eighth highest attended fair in the U.S. by Venues Today magazine.

Note:  The above is an official Press Release received from the OC Fair Communications Department.  And ‘record wins’ pertains to the two 1st Place Ribbons and one 3rd Place Ribbon I received this year entering the Culinary Arts Competition — See you in 2012.  Results and ribbons from previous years are pictured here.

I still can’t believe I won Hof’s Hut’s Burger Contest — It’s been previously reported here.

And I was invited to its photo shoot where I learned that Burger modeling is a serious job.

Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger — A perfect blend of A-1 Steak Sauce and Horseradish Mayonnaise give the Grilled Beef Patty a steakhouse flavor.  Served on a Brioche Bun, it’s extra fancy with Onion Strings, Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Baby Greens and a Tomato Slice.

The Burger was created in honor of Hof’s 60th Anniversary — It was (1) of approximately (300) submissions in their Burger Contest.  They narrowed the competition down to (10) and made them all, and then (5) to ultimately choose mine, which will be available during the month of September at all Hof’s Hut Restaurant locations.  And it’s worth having too.

Me smiling proudly with the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger.

It’s a serious job building a perfect Burger for its modeling debut.

All determining what looks best — Trying to make it look as good as it tastes.

Working with food, angles and lighting — I learned a bit.

Would you want the Burger with French Fries?

Or Onion Rings?

It’s all about the Burger, not me.

Hope to see you at Hof’s Hut Restaurant & Bakery in September.

Try it!

It’s almost time for the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger to make an appearance at Hof’s Hut Restaurant & Bakery.  In celebration of their 60th Anniversary, Hof’s will be featuring the pictured Burger during the month of September.  It won a Burger Contest and I created it, as previously reported here.  I was elated to learn the news.  In addition, I won a BBQ and $100 Gift Card.  More will soon be reported about the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger coming your way — Stay tuned to learn about its ingredients, the Burger’s photo shoot, the BBQ to be delivered next week, Hof’s Bakery and the amazing taste of the Burger.  It really is a winner.

Thanks to all the nice people at Hof’s.

In May we reported about the Hof’s Hut Restaurant & Bakery Burger Contest, linked here.  In addition to posting about it, I entered 5 Burgers in the contest.  The challenge was to create a Burger worthy to become Hof’s 60th Anniversary Burger to be featured during the month of September — Having forgotten about the entries, last week I received a call from a Hof’s Hut VP who informed me that I’d won the Grand Prize in the Burger Contest… It’s my Burger, the Fancy Smancy Steakhouse Burger that’ll be featured at Hof’s in September.  I’m attending its photo shoot tomorrow.  It’s unbelievable and exciting.  Can’t wait to try it — Thanks HH!

Note:  The pictured Burger isn’t it.  More to be reported about the actual soon.

It’s an exciting year at the Orange County Fair — More Culinary Arts Competition ribbons won.

In the 2nd Show, I happily accept another First Place Ribbon for my Snickerdoodle Scones and a Third Place Ribbon for my Blackberry Mascarpone Cheesecake.  And still delighted about the First Place Ribbon received for Blondies prepared for the 1st Show — I feel lucky.

Didn’t win anything in the Blog Post Competition on display above, but maybe next year.

Our Guest Blogger, Bonnie won a Second Place Ribbon for her professional table design.

And thought the above was adorable — Entered in the Crafts & Hobbies Competition is a mini replica of the Table Design Competition.  It’s rightly a First Place and Division winner.  Congratulations Donna!  The OC Fair is happening now through August 14, 2011.

Yeah!

Would you believe I just learned what a Blondie is?  It’s like a Brownie without Chocolate.  Did you know that?  Since I’m one of the few people in the world who doesn’t care for Brownies, this year I chose to make Blondies for the Culinary Arts Competition at the Orange County Fair.  Having never made (or ate) one before submission time, I practiced by varying three different recipes to ultimately create the award winning Blondies pictured here.  And it’s a good thing I did, since the first few batches didn’t turn out well at all — Then at last I was happy with the ingredient combination, taste and texture.  Following is the final BLONDIES RECIPE.  It’s a winner, literally.

1 Cup of Flour

1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder

1/2 Cup of Butter (1 Stick)

1/2 Cup of firmly packed Light Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup of firmly packed Dark Brown Sugar

1 Large Egg

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1/2 Cup of chopped Pecans

1/4 Cup of Milk Chocolate Chunks (Chocolate Bar rustically cut)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Combine the Flour and Baking Powder in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, melt Butter and stir in the Light and Dark Brown Sugar until well blended, then whisk in the Egg and Vanilla.  Add the Flour mixture until all is incorporated, then stir in the Pecans and Milk Chocolate Chunks.  Pour batter into a 8 X 8 baking dish and bake until the Blondies are set in the center, about 25 – 30 minutes. Let cool, cut and dig in.

The Orange County Fair starts this Friday, July 15th and the Culinary Arts Competition entries were due today.  It’s now baked, done and delivered and out of our hands.  The Judges are deliberating and ribbons are being awarded.  Will there be one waiting for me?  We will see.

I like driving on the fairgrounds when it’s not open — It’s like a ride. 😉

For the first show I made Blondies and a Confection, Fancy White Chocolate Flags — Ribbon winning recipes shall be linked and posted.  The results are publicized on opening day.

Keep tuned in WORLD, as recipes, homemade dishes, contests, food news, cooking tips, experiments, brand comparisons, product testing, and interesting fodder will continue to be reported here — And ORANGE COUNTY residents and travelers to/from the OC should pay special attention, as we’re soon adding a New Category and Blogroll, Orange County (OC) Food and Orange County (OC) Bloggers, respectively.  It’s slated to happen in early July.

Nibbles of Tidbits will carry on as a source for world inhabitants, and become a go-to for restaurant reviews, event information and topics of interest to OC residents and visitors.  If looking for something specific (worldly or local), before or after the additions, check the related Category or use our Search Box.  Much is readily accessible, if not immediately seen.  You know what I mean Jelly Bean?!  Interested in the Strips and Cheese in HB?  See here.