Christmas Desserts

This holiday season, I was in the kitchen baking up a storm. Although spending so much time in the kitchen can be tiring, I love baking and creating sweet treats for family and friends. Here are a few of my creations this year!

Devil's Food Chocolate Cake for Pre-Christmas Eve Dinner

Vanilla Cake with White Chocolate Whipped Cream and Raspberries for Christmas Eve Dinner

Cinnamon Rolls for Christmas Day Breakfast

Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a photo of the tiramisu I made for my family's Christmas dinner and the cranberry tiramisu I made for MH's family Christmas dinner but I'm sure you can imagine what they looked like and if not, it's quite all right.

I need to work on my finishing techniques. Frosting is definitely not my forte. It's a good thing I can get my desserts to taste pretty good. Otherwise, I'd be in serious trouble!

Pre-Christmas Eve Dinner

MH cooked up an Italian feast for our co-family pre-Christmas Eve dinner! The menu included homemade pizzas, baked rigatoni with sausage, orecchiette with meat sauce, and meatballs.

To accommodate vegetarian diets, MH made a pesto sauce and marinara sauce for the pizza base and we prepared a variety of veggies for our topping bar. Cauliflower and broccoli raabe are surprisingly tasty pizza toppings!

Pizza Topping Bar

As you can see, we haven't quite mastered the art of throwing our pizza dough to get beautifully stretched round pizzas but what we can manage still works pretty well.

Homemade Pizzas

Next time, I think we'll par-bake the pizza dough to quicken the process and make it easier to slide the pizzas on and off of the pizza stone when there are loaded up with toppings. Live and learn!

Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good

While MH and I drove up the 405 freeway to one our family's Thanksgiving festivities, we listed to NPR's All Things Considered and caught an interview with Dorie Greenspan. She was promoting her new book, Around My French Table, and talked about her favorite recipe "Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good", a homey, hearty, and seemingly foolproof recipe.

In a nutshell, you cut off the top of a pumpkin, scoop out the insides, fill the pumpkin with whatever yummy goodness that you can imagine, re-top the pumpkin, bake, and serve.

Stuffed Pumpkin Out Of The Oven

MH filled our pumpkin with bacon, leeks, mushrooms, and radishes. It was absolutely delicious!

Stuffed Pumpkin Serving

If you are interested in hearing the segment, you can check it out here - Sweet or Savory: Stuff, Bake and Devour a Pumpkin.

Adventures in Yountville

For the past few years, MH and I have taken a mini-winter vacation to Vegas just before Christmas. However, with MH already working in SF, we decided to change our mini-winter vacation to SF this year.

Luckily, whenever we are in bay area, we get to visit with TOBE (The Official Baker Extraordinaire) and she never lets us or our tummies down. She took us on an adventure to Yountville for a delightful trip to Bouchon bakery and a scrumptious dinner at Ad Hoc.

Bouchon Bakery

Here are some of the yummy treats you can find at the bakery. Unfortunately, since we were flying back, we were unable to bring home as many treats as I would have liked. Good thing there is always next time.

Bouchon Macaron Assortment

Bouchon Nutter Butter and Gingerbread Cookies

Bouchon Holiday Shortbread Cookies & Red Velvet Cupcake Snowmen

Dinner at Ad Hoc was quite the treat. We started with a TFL garden broccolini bruschetta, followed by snake river farm's beef tri-tip, dungeness crab cakes, pata cabra, and then finished with pecan bars. All I can say is YUM! If you ever have the chance to go to Ad Hoc, I would definitely recommend it. Ad Hoc changes their menu daily, so you won't know what you're really going to get until they post the menu the day of, but don't worry, I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.

Sweet Success, One Step At A Time

I received my score for Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) and I passed! Now I am 3/4 on my way to becoming a CPA!

Unfortunately, I will have to take Financial Reporting and Accounting (FAR) in 2011 and face all of the new exam changes. So, after the holiday season, I'll be back to the books once again, but hopefully for the last time (at least for CPA purposes). Fingers crossed!!!

Time For A New Doo?

It's been a couple years since I last changed my doo and I think I am ready for a change. My hair is pretty long now and the all of the layers that I used to have grew out. Since I want a down do for the wedding, I don't want to do anything too drastic though. Plus, MH would not be too thrilled if I came home with a bob or anything shorter. Although he doesn't stop me from doing whatever I want with my hair, I know he prefers it on the longer side.

I have an appointment at Lauren's Salon & Spa this afternoon. I'll let you know how it goes!

UPDATE: Michelle at Lauren's Salon & Spa is awesome! Like I said earlier, I didn't want to do anything drastic, so Michelle refreshed of my layers and thinned my hair to give it some extra texture. If you're looking for a new hair stylist, I would definitely recommend her. Even though I was the last appointment of the day, she was full of energy and super friendly. I'll definitely be going back to her!

Say Yes To The Dress

As a bride-to-be, I've become intrigued by TLC's reality series "Say Yes To The Dress". The show follows brides as they search for their wedding gown at Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City. You see brides of all shapes and sizes with varying wedding visions and dreams. I like the show because it highlights gowns that range in design and price. Showcased gowns range from the sample/ clearance rack to custom designer pieces.

After much debate about which dress to pick, my parents helped me make my final decision and surprised me with my dress. I don't want to give away all of the details because I want you to see for yourself, but I will be wearing a Vera Wang, ivory lace, sweetheart neckline, strapless, floor length gown! I can't wait to wear it to walk down the aisle!

'Tis The Season To Be Jolly

November came and went with a flash. MH and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our families. This year we had a late lunch with my family in the Valley and then enjoyed dessert in Orange County with MH's family. Our Thanksgiving festivities were actually easier this year than in years past since we only ate one main meal, go figure!

Since we are now in December, MH pulled out the Christmas decorations and I got to work spreading the holiday cheer.

Tonight, Hobbs and I had a busy evening decorating the Christmas tree. How did we do? Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good picture with the twinkling lights. You'll just have to trust me that they are there and look great.