PhillyEats on IReallyLikeFood

Tuesday, 14 February 2012

How to say "I Love You" with Cake!

Every Valentine’s Day my boyfriend and I make gifts to exchange. It’s a fun way to show our love without breaking the bank! One year we even made the same thing for each other (a decorated box of chocolates) which was a fun surprise!

This year I am making my boyfriend cake pops a’la the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker, which I got for Christmas!

It’s great; it comes with sticks and other accessories to help you make your cake pops!

Since my goal is to keep this gift economical, I picked up strawberry pink cake mix (in honor of Vday, icing, sprinkles and Lindt’s white chocolate bars at Walmart to make my gift!

It’s really easy; all I did was mix the batter as the box indicated, spooned into each cake hole and cooked for about 4 minutes! I melted the while chocolate in the microwave, dipped the sticks in and stuck the cakes on! I covered the cakes in white chocolate, topped it off with some pink icing and sprinkles.

Then to make each cake pop personal, I wrapped a little note around each stick with reasons why I love my boyfriend. I say things like “You’re handsome!” “You’re brilliant!” “You watch Project Runway with me and admit to liking it!” XD I wrapped it around each stick and tied it with a little bow.

Finally a pulled out an old vase, filled it with some paper basket stuffing and put in the little cake pops.

And there you go! A wonderful, personal, tasty and economical gift for your guy or gal! Enjoy!

Any other ideas for fun, tasty, homemade gifts for your special someone?

Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Phavorite Philly Phood

Philadelphia is my home city and thus it holds a special place in my heart. There are hundreds of diverse restaurants to choose from and plenty of good eats. But say you only have a weekend to spend in one of America’s first capitals? I hope you would do more than just gorge on cheesesteaks! Here are some of my phavorite spots found in the many neighborhoods of Philadelphia.

Phavorite Breakfast/Brunch: Kanella Restaurant (Located in Washington Square) http://www.kanellarestaurant.com/#13279550074851&true

From the traditional “English Breakfast” to Cyprian fare, Kanella offers a unique variety for breakfast/brunch, that you can always order with a side of thickly sliced bacon! Moreover, they offer French pressed coffee (you press it yourself) which is a major plus in my book.

Phavorite Coffee/Tea House: Tea Talk (Located in Chinatown) http://www.yelp.com/biz/tea-talk-philadelphia

Speaking of coffee, Tea Talk in Chinatown has a variety of tea and coffee boba drinks! Hot or cold, red bean, tapioca or “popping” they have the widest range of bubble tea/coffee in Philadelphia. Also they have free Wi-Fi and are open ‘til 1:30am on the weekends.

Phavorite Lunch: Monk’s Cafe (Located in Rittenhouse Square)http://www.monkscafe.com/

Monk’s is a Belgian tavern with an extensive Beer Bible of choice dark, malty, hoppy and light Belgian beers. Their fries are to die for; seriously they are the best. They have great burgers including a vegan burger that is one of the tastiest vegetarian meals I’ve ever had (though probably really bad for you despite the “vegan” label ), as well as classic meat patties. Don’t forget to order their mouth watering mussels either!

Phavorite Dinner: XIX (Located in the Avenue of the Arts http://www.hyatt.com/gallery/nineteen/xix.html?icamp=nineteenrestaurant

If you are looking for a romantic place, search no further than XIX. Located on the 19^th floor of the old Bellevue hotel on South Broad Street, XIX offers a panoramic view of the city, giant pearls dangling from high ceilings and comfortable plushy chairs. The restaurant longue rarely seems overly busy, which is a puzzle to me. Delicious food and wonderful ambience, you’d think it would be hopping! Though I can’t complain for I love the relaxed feel. It’s a great place to get dolled up for an intimate date. If you are here once order the Pennsylvania Lake Trout; you will not be disappointed.

Phavorite Hot Chocolate: Sazon (Located in Northern Liberties http://sazonrestaurant.com/chocolates.htm

The classic European hot chocolate is offered here in this Venezuelan BYOB. You know, that thick, rich chocolate that’s hard to find in the States is found in the Northern Liberties neighborhood ofPhiladelphia. Sazon also has their own recipes and twists providing a lot of fun for this old school favorite!

Phavorite Bakery: Termini Bros. (Located in South Philly/Center City Locations http://www.termini.com/

If you have a big sweet tooth head yourself over to Termini Bros. Originating in South Philly the bakery expanded to several locations in Philadelphia with mail-order customers across the US! Have a cannoli with chocolate chips! You will not be disappointed.

Phavorite Diner: Nifty Fifty’s. (Located in Northeast Philadelphia/Surrounding Suburbs http://www.niftyfiftys.com/

Outside of Center City you can blast yourself to the past! Back to the 1950’s to be exact. Burgers, fresh cut fries and milkshakes! Oh the milkshakes! There are plenty to choose, from the classic vanilla and chocolate to Oreo and Peanut Butter (Um my two favorite things in the whole world!)

My list could go on but I would like to hear from you! What are your favorite places in Philadelphia? Or in your city?

Monday, 18 July 2011

Say No to Nola

If the dark, kitschy decor doesn't scare you away the food will. The thing is I've actually eaten at Nola before - a New Orleans restaurant, located in Society Hill along South 2nd Street in Philadelphia. It wasn't disappointing and they served Turbodog beer!

That was a while ago so perhaps things have changed for the worse! A bunch of us ate there on a Wednesday night. NO ONE was in the small restaurant besides us, despite the fact that it was a beautiful day and the neighboring restaurants had plenty of customers. That should have been the second warning flag but we wanted some New Orleans food!

Of my group no one had an outstanding dish. And I probably had the worst - the lobster ravioli with crab meat!

The flavorless ravioli was undercooked; the pasta was hard and chewy. It was quite flavorless as was the orangy sauce, which left me wondering whether there was lobster actually in this dish? It did have crab meat - about a pinch! That was probably the best part of this horrible meal.

I ate it all though; I was coming home from work and starving! But we promptly left after our entrees. The next day my stomach felt a bit queasy! :-/

Do you know any good New Orleans cuisine restaurants? (Outside of New Orleans of course!) Any bad ones? What is your favorite?

Wednesday, 29 June 2011

Sailor Moon Themed Drinks

Yes I had a Sailor Moon Dinner Party for me and my girlfriends! (click here for more info)

I made drinks for each of the Inner Senshi (Warriors) - the five main characters of Sailor Moon.

Here's how to make them!

Going clockwise from left to right:

Sailor Moon's Super Pink Vodka Tonic

First rim the glass with sugar. Add a shot of raspberry vodka (we used Smirnoff's) and then pour in tonic water. Use only one drop of red food coloring and stir. Garnish with a lemon.

Sailor Mars' Fiery Red Rum Punch

For this we used V8 Fusion's Strawberry and Banana for some real flavor (and vitamins!) Add a little more than a shot of Captain Morgan's Original Spiced Rum for that extra kick! Garnish with a straw and grapes.

Sailor Venus' Vivacious Orange Mimosa

Rim the champagne flute with sugar. Pour in half a glass of champagne. Fill the rest with orange juice and a little bit of V8 Splash's Mango Peach for a little more fruitiness and orange color!

Sailor Jupiter's Electric Green Vodka Shot

Make lime green Jello as directed on packaging. Pour in vodka (Smirnoff's again!). Separate into shot glasses. Allow to cool. Pretty self-explanatory!

Sailor Mercury's Cool Blue Gin and Tonic

Add one shot of gin and fill the glass with tonic water. My favorite gin is Bluecoat American Dry Gin! It also comes in a neat dark blue bottle! (A plug for our local gin makers!) For that cool color in your drink, spritz in just a bit of blue Kool-aid! Garnish with a lemon slice.

Any other ideas for drinks. Maybe a Tuxedo Mask Romance Chocolate Martini? Or a Rini Martini?

Monday, 20 June 2011

Next Challenge: Iron Chef Morimoto!

(Taken from Google Images: http://superchefblog.com/images/morimoto.png) (Morimoto is located on 7^th and Chestnut)

The atmosphere at Morimoto Restaurant felt like a bit of a departure from other restaurants I’ve eaten inPhiladelphia. The post modern décor is not something that automatically appeals to me and seems more fitting in cities likeNew YorkorMiami(which I believe Morimoto does have a restaurant in NYC I have yet to visit). Although, I did kind of enjoy the giant flashing picture of an Asian woman with the short, kitschy haircut, upon entering.

After receiving my champagne cocktail, my party ordered theKobebeef carpaccio. One of my friends dining with us was wary of eating carpaccio (for those of you who have tried it, you know it’s raw meat.) The dish arrived with the meat swimming in what appeared to be some kind of olive oil. The heat from the oil actually cooked a bit of the thinly sliced meat, so I would actually call this carpaccio a rare dish, rather than a raw dish! It literally melted in your mouth and was probably my favorite dish of the night!

Image taken from: http://image3.dishtip.com/thumbs/gen/d3/51/d35173c6-b079-3107-94c6-2337cd4afcbf_l.jpg (I hate whipping out my camera in restaurants but maybe if I get more into blogging about food I will…)

For my entrée I ordered more protein - the surf and turf! (Yellowtail andKobeBeef). The yellowtail was rare, mixed with an avocado and tomato salad (and lime juice.) It had a good mix of sour and sweet, however I would’ve loved it even more with a little less salt! The potatoes were a bit salty; they were served with a buttery sauce. TheKobebeef (served medium rare) was delicious and I could eat another plateful of t!

Image taken from: http://www.examiner.com/restaurant-in-anaheim/morimoto-food-pictures-photo-1

The final dish I had was the Mary Jane Brownies – made with hemp seeds! (Haha.) It was my least favorite dish. Perhaps I just don’t like hemp seeds! Looks delicious, but just not enough chocolate for my tasting!

Image taken from: http://www.examiner.com/restaurant-in-anaheim/morimoto-food-pictures-photo-3

Next time I go I definitely have to try the chef’s tasting menu ($80-$120 pp!)

Have you ever eaten at Morimoto’s or any of the other restaurants owned by the Iron Chef? What was your favorite meal?