Chocolate Cake Decadence

Chocolate cake is probably one of the most loved desserts of all time. How can you go wrong? I have found a way to make it even better by adding two simple ingredients to the batter to enhance the chocolate flavor. Trust me, you will never go back after this.



My chocolate cake recipe calls for 1/2 cup of cocoa powder. I substituted 1/8 of that with my mayan cocoa. It makes such a difference! Mayan cocoa has a spicier and deeper flavor than regular cocoa. I get it at my local spice market here in Seattle. The second ingredient I use is instant coffee. I put about a teaspoon into my batter and though you can't taste the coffee, it makes the chocolate taste better.

I topped my cake with a raspberry chocolate ganache, but there are plently of options you can make such as peanut butter or chocolate frosting (those are my favorite options). Play around with it, chocolate can stand up to many flavors!

Garlic Confit

Garlic is one of my favorite ingredients of all time. In certain instances it can be very strong. Confit is the perfect way to tone down the strongness and keep the garlic goodness we all love. Confit means cooked in its own fat. Since garlic doesn't have its own fat, cook it in vegetable oil.

Take twenty cloves of garlic, peeling them and cutting the nubs off the ends. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with vegetable oil. Bring to barely a simmer and keep it that way for about 40 minutes. You do not want this to boil or get to a strong simmer, the key is low and slow. The garlic will be very soft and the flavor will be incredible! Use in anything you would use garlic in for a sweeter garlic flavor.

Compound Butters

 Learning how to put together compound butter is one of the best and easiest things you can do for your recipes. It adds flavor to many things such as steak, corn on the cob, etc.

Shallot, garlic and thyme (courtesy of Richard Gray)

To start, let your unsalted butter come to room temperature so it is easy to work with. Add your ingredients of choice (there are hundreds of possibilities) and salt/pepper to taste. Place on parchment paper and form into a log (see top left photo) and chill in the fridge until hard. For steak, I like to cut a pat and put it on top. For corn on the cob, I spread some on the corn before cooking it and then chill the rest of the butter for after the cooking process. Use your creativity to come up with your own combos!



Garlic confit (recipe posted), lemon zest and paprika

Chicken with Tomato, Basil and Goat Cheese

Chicken can be really boring, but on the other hand it is one of my favorite ingredients to work with because it is a blank canvas. There are so many flavor combos and cooking techniques to be used with it. Tomato, basil and goat cheese is one of my favorite combos and goes great with chicken. This recipe came about as I was making the dish and I must say I am very proud of it. Please try it out!

• two chicken breasts
• two tablespoons tomato paste
• olive oil
• chicken stock
• salt and pepper
• 1 small log of goat cheese
• 1 large handful fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl mix the tomato paste with 1 tablespoon of both olive oil and chicken stock to thin it out. Stir in 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Take your chicken and rub both pieces on both sides with the tomato mixture. Heat one tablespoon of oil on medium-high heat in an oven proof pan, I like to use a cast iron skillet. Make sure the pan is hot so you can get a good sear on the chicken. When the skillet is hot enough sear the chicken for about 3-4 minutes per side, you want some nice color without burning. When this step is done kill the heat and make one slit in the middle of the chicken (or two if the piece is bigger). Take one basil leaf and one tablespoon of goat cheese and stuff it inside the slit of each piece of chicken. Put the pan in the oven and bake the chicken for about 15 min, making sure the temperature of the meat reads about 160 degrees, they will continue to cook after they come out of the oven. Make sure you use a pot holder to take the pan out, it's easy to forget that the handle is hot!

Take the chicken out of the skillet and place under alluminum foil to stay warm. Put the pan back on the stove and place under medium heat. pour in about 3-4 tablespoons of chicken stock, the garlic and one tablespoon of goat cheese. Stir this until all the ingredients become a beautiful sauce. Place the chicken back in the pan and spoon sauce onto them. Chop up the rest of the basil and sprinkle on top. You are ready to serve, enjoy!

Summer Corn with Lime Butter

Summer is full of such wonderful flavors. It's amazing what a few ingredients will do to a simple thing like corn-on-the-cob. Here is a recipe that is extremely easy and will guarantee to make your tastebuds happy.

For the butter:

• 1 stick unsalted butter at room temp
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 lime zested
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Add all your ingredients to the butter and mash until combined. Husk your corn, this amount of butter can serve many depending on how much you like. Spread a thin layer of the butter onto the corn. Grill the corn for up to ten minutes, turning often. If the grill starts to flame up don't worry, just keep an eye on the corn, turning it and distinguishing any unwanted flames. The char gives the corn a fantastic flavor. When the corn is done, serve with more butter on the side, it needs more! Enjoy, this goes perfect with ribs! 

Coming Soon...

Hello Friends,

Correct, I have not posted any recipes in what seems like eons. This will be changing! Summer is the best time for me to experiment with more recipes and post them. I will soon be embarking on a short trip to France, so keep your eyes out for some French-inspired recipes. Excited to share more with you!

Salad Simplicity

Salad can be downright boring, tasteless, and disgusting. However, I have discovered that when using just a few simple and more gourmet ingredients, salad has become something that I want to eat. Here's one of my favorite salad "recipes".

• leafy greens
• 2 large strawberries, cut into 1/8ths
• handful of blue cheese crumbles
• pinenuts
• Briannas Blush Wine Vinagrette (my personal favorite)

Just pile everything on a plate, I love easy things! You can substitute pears for strawberries, walnuts for pinenuts, feta cheese for the blue cheese, etc. There are so many possibilites! 

Chicken Curry

Indian food has always been one of my top choices for favorite kinds of food. The flavors are so deep and the spices are fabulous. I've tried a few different recipes for chicken curry and came up with my own with simple ingredients that can easily be tweaked to one's own liking. The vegetables are easily replacable with your favorites. Try it and branch out!

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/2 an onion, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 3 small to medium zucchini, diced
• 4 green onions
• 1-2 tablespoons curry powder (or your favorite Indian spice blend, there are many!)
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Cut your chicken into bite size cubes and cook in a large skillet with a little olive oil, salt and pepper until cooked- about 5-10 minutes depending on the size of your chicken. Remove chicken from pan and discard any liquid in the pan. Add a little more oil and add your vegetables, cooking for 5 minutes with more salt and pepper (if you like your veggies softer, cook for anothe 5 minutes). Add the curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the chicken broth, coconute milk and tomato paste, stirring to combine the spices into the liquid. Replace the chicken and cook for 5 minutes on low to medium heat to heat the chicken through. Taste for any salt need and serve with rice and naan- amazing Indian flatbread. Serves about 3-4.

Vegetarians Rejoice

Healthy, delicious, simple. Though I'm not a vegetarian, I could always go for these things. This can be a starter or a light lunch. Here's a recipe you should try:

• 3 medium red potatoes
• 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 3 tablespoons chopped basil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• parmesean cheese
• salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potatoes in half and par boil for up to ten minutes in salted water. This means that the potatoes will be about half cooked, stick a knife through one and make sure the potatoe is still a little firm, we are not making mashed potatoes! Once boiled, take out and cut into chunks. Meanwhile, in a bowl mix together the tomatoes, black beans, basil, garlic, olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Pour onto a baking sheet along with the potatoes. Grate a little cheese on top and stir to combine. Put in the oven and cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are done. About half way through stir the mixture for even cooking. When done, sprinkle more cheese and serve! Serves 2.

Tomato Soup You'll Want to Eat



Yes, the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear tomato soup is 'from a can' and 'nasty'. Not this stuff though. Trust me, even the biggest haters will like this. Tomato is a fairly blank canvas, so I just dressed it up to make it fabulous.

• 1 large can of crushed tomatos (yes, I said canned, do you want to crush them yourself?)
• 1/2 a red onion, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, plus extra for garnish
• salt and pepper to taste

Sautee the onion and bell pepper until softened with 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium-low to medium heat (about 5-7 min). Add the garlic, fennel seed and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook for a minute or two. Then pour in the white wine, making sure to scrape any bits off the bottom of the pan, don't waste the flavor! Add the crushed tomatos and stir to combine. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes then add the parsley and cook for another 15 minutes. Taste before serving and definitely add salt and pepper, it will need it! Garnish with parsley and drop a dollop of sour cream in the middle. Serve with homemade sweet potato chips. Enjoy!

French Toast San Francisco Style

I have grown up pretty much my whole life eating french toast made with french bread. Many times I have seen on TV and other places where 'french' toast is made with other kinds of bread. Today was my official inauguration to the other side. I used a bread that San Francisco is known for: sourdough. Oh boy, did it taste good! Here's the recipe...

• day-old sourdough bread
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Mix all these ingredients together and dunk your pieces of bread in the liquid one at a time making sure the bread is well soaked. Heat a pan or griddle on medium heat and melt a little butter in the pan. Cook your french toast a couple minutes on each side making sure not to touch your bread until you flip it! This will create an incredible crust on the edges of your toast, I have found sourdough bread produces the best crust. Once it's done cover the breakfast with your favorite syrup or some berries. Enjoy!

My Love

Cooking is my relaxation. I can't go a day without doing something in the kitchen. I sit down after school to do my homework and dinner is calling my name, waiting to be made. Sometimes I can't stop, ideas and inspiration keep flowing out. Though I am young, I hope to inspire some of you to try your hand at cooking!