#19: Sunday Brunch

Sunday brunch with some of the girls. MChiu, KLu, and I met up for a sunday breakfast...which soon became a brunch (since we didn't really get around to eating until 10:30am probably). For the first time ever, I made Belgian waffle batter from scratch using an Allrecipes.com recipe. The recipe called for self rising flour (instead of yeast), so I let the batter rest for 40 minutes after making it. I also brought some chocolate chips to throw into the batter before starting up the waffle iron. KLu got the ingredients to make a delicious berry compote...basically add sugar and simmer to caramelize the sugars and bind with the fruit. We resorted to frozen berries since the fresh ones were on the more expensive side and not very seasonally relevant. MChiu did made-to-order egg scrambles with: egg, mushroom, pepper, onion, tomato, and cheese. the waffles and eggs made a sweet and savory combination. The meal was delicious! and hopefully the start of a new tradition.

#18: Two-Bite Potato Skins and Brussle Sprouts 'n Bacon on a Stick

While browsing the aisle of TJs with FChang, I picked up a bag of blue, gold, red potatoes, brussel sprouts, and bacon. The idea was to make mini bite-sized potato skins and brussel sprouts with bacon. Everything just seems to taste better with bacon, right? We carved out the inside of the potato (ended up making potato pancakes with the insides) and coated with an olive oil, cayenne mixture, and popped them in the oven to crisp up. Added cheese, bacon, and green onion and baked in the oven for a few more minutes. The potato skins turned out pretty much how i expected...but the brussel sprouts and bacon morphed conceptually. we cooked the bacon and saved the bacon fat to cook the brussel sprouts. after realizing it might be difficult to eat brussel sprouts off of a plate during a casual party - we decided to use toothpicks for ease of eating. bacon and brussel sprouts is a tasty combination and perfect party food on a toothpick!