Irish VS French

When I visit Tiny's family, I love it because I get a little bit of Irish-ness from the dad's side, and then lots of French from the mom's side! Did I ever mention I'm like obsessed with France and everything related to it?

So just to continue on the party vibe at Tiny's parents house, they had another big party last weekend... I just wanted to show you how the French side rolls...


Avocado!


Pate, yeah, seriously...

And for dessert, omg... I love this family...

Homemade Chocolate Mousse with Fresh Whipped Cream... and Breton Cake (made by Tiny's aunt... its really incredible)!


Oh, and the main course? Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potatoes... and a cheese platter.... How did I find this beautiful family?!

Keepin' It Green

Happy day after St. Patricks Day! I actually did all of my Irish celebrating like last week and the week before. It was a very big month for Corned Beef... and it was my first time having it!

Tiny's dad has this big old St. Paddy's Day party at his house like the first Saturday of March. And he serves his old school Corned Beef and Cabbage! Ok, so I was super excited not only because I love everything that Tiny's dad makes and Tiny's family throws the SICKEST parties, but it was my first time experiencing Corned Beef!


They are so ready...

I love them cuz they let me take pictures of their food without thinking I'm too weird!

Beef in Pot


So can I just explain to you what a foodie family this is? Tiny's mom (pictured here) is serving homemade pigs in a blanket! WHHHAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!! So cute!

The food is finally ready!

Cabbage


Soda Bread


Corned Beef!


Wait, OMG really? It was so good... I thought it was gonna be like super salty, but it was so perfectly flavored, and nice fattiness too!


And yes, I had one of everything :-)

Wagashi

Minamoto Kitchoan is a little store in Manhattan that sells Japanese desserts called Wagashi. Wagashi are the typical sweets that are served with tea. The ones that they sell at Minamoto Kitchoan are beauuuuuuuuutiful. You kinda don't wanna eat them... but since I know how delish they are, I couldn't resist!

My mom, this past weekend, stayed in Manahattan for the weekend for some kinda international dance showcase. Of course, having that natural Japanese tourist gene in her, she had to go do all the "hot spots" around Fifth Ave.

She came home with a variety of cute goods from Kitchoan...

The first one I tried was this pancake looking thing filled with red bean.

JIC you were interested in the ingredients and nutrition:

As I bit into my half (I did halfsies with mom), I got really excited because they was a boom flavor of YUZU!


My mom also had this square surprise:

Ingredients (it has a chestnut in it!) and nutrition:

So pretty...


The next night, I tried this cute bulbous shaped one:

I saw "Ringo" which means apple, so I was totally in...

It was twisted up into the little foil package!

Absolutely delish.... it was like an apple flavored anko (red bean paste)...


On our final night, my mom and I tried what we thought was the Grande Finale...

Are they all called "Bean Cake"?

We didn't know what to expect, but once we opened the wrapping, we came to this weird bulbous thing in a paper "plate"...

So we cut it open and were surprised to see that this "dried persimmon" was filled with anko!

It was an anti-climactic experience though... there was no kick to this piece.

I've been to Minamoto Kitchoan before and it's a beautiful little place. You will be memorized by all the perfect little creations.


Minamoto Kitchoan
608 5th Ave (btw 48th St & 49th St)
New York, NY 10020
Phone: (212)-489-3747

Hinamatsuri

Happy Girl's Day!

Yes, it is like an official holiday in Japan :-)


Remember last year's extravagant dinner?!

Hinamatsuri '09

The Muffin That Changed My Life

I'm pretty dramatic when it comes to food. Certain foods have "changed my life", and I hope that more foods continue to "change my life". Sometimes certain foods are just so unusual and delicious that it just gets imprinted on my mind as "NEVER FORGET THIS!"

One of them was the Lemon Ginger Muffin from Lulu's that I had first tried maybe a little bit over a year ago. At that time, I loved muffins but I had only been eating the traditional muffins a.k.a. blueberry, corn, and banana. One day, I walked into Lulu's with a strange craving for a muffin, and not a cupcake. So they suggested I try their Lemon Ginger muffin, and at first I was like, "uhmmm.... is this gonna satisfy my muffin craving?" They couldn't guarantee it but they told me that it was good, which was good enough for me :-) I have complete faith in their recommendations.

Oh man. This is the king muffin top of all muffin tops. Its got the crunch of the edges and the delicious pieces of candied ginger spread all over.


So, the flavor of this muffin has a very gentle lemony flavor--- it doesn't kick you in the face like, let's say, the lemon curd of a lemon bar may.

Lulu's muffins also have a very distinct texture. It's not moist, per se, but more soft and delicate. The contrast of the "POW"-intensity of the muffin top to the "I'm so cute and delicious" muffin bottom part is really just ridiculous.


Lulu Cake Boutique
40 Garth Road
Scarsdale, NY 10583
Phone: 914-722-8300

There's Something About Blueberry Muffins...

Why is it such a loved muffin flavor? Was it the original muffin flavor? I still claim the Banana muffin to be my most favorite flavor but I would never turn down Blueberry :-)

Im almost done with my Ann Clairs Muffin Marathon... So far I've done Banana Walnut, Apple Crumb, Carrot Raisin, and tonight, as I type, I am eating the Blueberry.... Let me just say right now that this is the most GLORIOUS muffin top! I think I would rate this Blueberry muffin #1 out of all the Ann Clairs muffins...

First of all... the muffin top... It has like crispy edges!

The blueberries are plentiful, although I would have preferred bigger, juicier blueberries :-)

The muffin itself was delish as well... for some reason, it kind of reminded me of a corn muffin, which is def not a bad thing in Miki's world.


Texture wise, this one was probably the least bouncy and airy, and more on the moist side like the Banana Walnut...


I would like to bring this muffin to Star Diner and have the boys toast it on the griddle with some butta..... that would be insane... actually my muffin obsession began here a few weeks ago, when I didn't know what I wanted, and just ordered a toasted blueberry muffin with butter.... The toasting and the melty butter did wonders for what was a pretty bad blueberry muffin! So imagine that action on this Ann Clairs blueberry muff........

Ann Clairs
1130 Morris Park Avenue
Bronx, New York 10461
Phone: (718)-409-1171

Star Diner
66 East Post Road
White Plains, NY 10601-4621
Phone: (914) 684-8702‎