Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and be safe out there! Don't forget to eat lots of turkeys and pumpkin pies for me too!

More importantly, be grateful for your friends, family and what you already have and don't take them for granted. Tell your loved ones how much you love them....EVERYDAY. Don't wait until Thanksgiving, Christmas or birthdays to say so.

Buick Regal Discovery Tour

Over the weekend, I attended the Regal Discovery Tour, a unique cultural event at the St. Regis, Monarch Beach Resort, near Dana Point, CA and it was sponsored by "Food & Wine", "Travel & Leisure" and "Buick." It was an unforgettable experience where guests learned culinary secrets from one of the top chefs in the country, enjoyed products crafted by local artisans, discover an insider's look into American travel and taste custom cocktails paired to gourmet cuisine. This event was a part Buick's partnership, Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization. The event was free to all guests while Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, and Buick made donations to Feeding America on behalf of all guests attending and a generous $100,000 was raised during this two-day event. This tour continues on to Los Angeles on December 4 and 5 for those who missed it this past weekend!

Guest Registration area

Buick was one of the vendors there and had show displays of the Regal. After getting a short speech about the vehicle, guests were allowed guests to test drive the vehicle. While the vehicle was really nice, I didn't test drive or take photos of the vehicle...automotive photography was not my forte.

Michael Green, who was another vendor at the event, hosted a free beverage tasting and allowed the guests make a tasty "mocktail" drink. A "mocktail" was basically a non-alcholic beverage. People could use the same ingredients to create this beverage and add vodka or rum to it if they wished for parties. Michael was very entertaining, so anyone who is hosting a birthday party, bacherlor/bacherlorette party. wedding, corporate events or other large events, I would recommend Michael to bartend and entertain your party! Actually, I'm not sure if he will bartend at these events, but you should send some inquiries!

Ingredients for the Coco Tonic Mocktail where guests could create during the demonstration

I forgot his name, but he was from Divine Desserts, etc located in Laguna Beach, CA. He co-owns the store with his wife who wasn't at the event. He doesn't create cakes, but he creates awesome cupcakes and cookies, and caters to parties and events as well as catering to customers with food allergies!

He had red velvet cupcakes with fondant for the event guests to sample. They were delicious! He was personable, funny, and definitely worth working with.



Red Velvet Cupcake from Divine Desserts, etc. made with Chocolate cake with red food coloring and fondant frosting. He mentioned that the red was from the "South".

Michael Stern was also another vendor at the event. While he didn't have any samples to offer to the guests during the event, he did offer a lot of great advice on where we could eat during traveling. He didn't make any suggestions to eat at fine dining restaurants or in touristy areas, but who wants to eat at Denny's when you're on vacation or business trip when you can eat like the locals? With the holidays coming up very soon, are you traveling out of state or to a different part of the state that you've never been to? Visit Michael's website which offers a lot of great information!

Have you heard of Chef Michael Psilakis? I haven't until this weekend, despite that he is a big name chef and was very well-known with many of the guests at the event. He told stories about how he started in this business and currently co-owns two restaurants in New York, "Kefi" and "Gus & Gabriel", both serving Greek style cuisines, and owning one Mediterranean style restaurant, "EOS", in Miami, Florida.

Chef Psilakis did a cooking demonstration for the audience and created the "Fried Pork and Beef Meatballs" which was also pair with the guests' choice of either the "Scotch Pear Cocktail" or "Coco Tonic"; both beverages created by Michael Green.

Fried Pork and Beef Meatballs (from Chef Psilakis) paired with Scotch Pear Cocktail (from Michael Green)

At the end of Chef Psilakis' presentatation, all the guests in attendence recieved a free copy of his cookbook, "How to Roast a Lamb" to which was a generous gift! I don't cook gormet meals, however, I am honored to receive this.

See Chef Michael Psilakis

Are you a foodie or amatuer chef who likes to create food from a professional chef? Are you a professional chef who needs some inspiration? You might be interested in this unique cultural event that is happening at the St. Regis, Monarch Beach Resort, near Dana Point, CA on Saturday, November 20 and Sunday, November 21! It is an unforgettable experience that you don't want to miss! Learn culinary secrets from one of the top chefs in the country. You will also enjoy products crafted by local artisans, discover an insider's look into American travel and taste custom cocktails paired to gourmet cuisine. This event is a part Buick's partnership, Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization. The event is free to all guests and donations will be made to Feeding America on behalf of all guests attending.

To register and reserve your space(s) for yourself and up to three of your guests, visit this website and use the promo code BFBLA1.

Red, White + Bluezz

If you enjoy Jazz music, Red, White + Bluezz in Pasadena, CA is a place to be at as you get to listen to live Jazz music. This place is expensive, but if you feel like splurging, you won't be disappointed.

 

 Western Kobe Short Ribs Dip
 Blueberry Pancakes with Bacon
 I forgot what this was called. They were some kind of breakfast sausage.

Phoenix

After dinner at Din Tai Fung, my friends and I went to Phoenix for desserts which was located in the same block as the restaurant. Here were some of the items that were ordered, however, we ordered more than what was photographed.

Mochi Rolls with Mango

Black Jello, Taro & Red Bean / Taro & Red Bean / Black Jello & Red Bean / Red Bean & Milk

Din Tai Fung

I went to dinner yesterday evening with some friends at Din Tai Fung Dumpling House  in Arcadia, CA. I actually forgot that I had gone here before with my family...earlier this year! However, I wasn't interested in food photography at the time.

Din Tai Fung is a dumpling house that serves Chinese Cuisine. In Arcadia, there are two stores within the same block. The main store gets very busy and crowded with a one (or more) hour wait which is why there is a second one in the same block. Both stores have modern decor and you can eat well for a good price when you go with friends and family as you can order several items to share.

 

 Appetizer

 Scallops with spinach


 Chicken Fried Rice


 Shrimp Fried Rice


 Vegetable Dumplings


 Shrimp Dumplings


 Fish Dumplings


 Wonton Soup

Chef Takashi Yagihashi

This is Chef Takashi Yagihashi who was born in Mito, Japan (one hour north of Tokyo), but now lives in Chicago, Illinois and he started cooking when he was 16 years old. He is a James Beard Award winning chef, restaurateur, and author of "Takashi's Noodles". He received many awards, but the James Beard Award was the highest award that a chef could receive. His restaurant is "Takashi Restaurant" located in Chicago, Illinois where he creates French-Japanese fusion cuisine.

He hosted a cooking demonstration and book signing yesterday evening at the Macy's store in Pasadena, CA. While he is quite well-known to many people, I personally have never heard of this chef before, and I was interested in seeing his demonstration. He was entertaining and the demonstration was definitely very interesting. He cooked two dishes ("Pork Spareribs" and "Sweet and Chili Shrimp") for the audience, and the guests were able to sample each dish to all of which were very delicious. Each guest in attendance received two recipe cards; one for the Pork Spareribs and one for the Sweet and Chili Shrimp.

Pork Spareribs; click here for recipe

Sweet and Chili Shrimp; click here for recipe