Giada De Laurentiis - Lemon Ricotta Cookie Mix

Not only do I love discovering new cookie recipes, especially ones that do not involve chocolate or peanut butter, but I especially love discovering new EASY cookie recipes. On a somewhat-related note, I watch the Food Network show, Giada at Home, all the time. I might be a little obsessed. I like Giada's commitment to making easy recipes and keeping her hair teased up big enough to rival Ricki Lake in Hairspray.

So when I saw this box mix at Target, I just had to try it.

If memory serves, you beat ricotta, butter, and one egg...

Add the cookie mix...

Drop onto cookie sheet...

 Bake according to directions.

For the glaze, just combine fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and the pre-packaged glaze mix.

The glazing process is pretty messy, so I'd advise using some kind of lining under your cooling racks.

While I wasn't falling-over-in-love with these, they were definitely good enough to finish. The end result is a moist, mild, cake-like cookie. This is a great item to keep on hand for when you need to whip up a dessert that will make you look fancy and cultured.

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Extraordinary Desserts.

If you're anywhere in the greater San Diego area, and you have a sweet tooth, it is worth your while to find Extraordinary Desserts.

Earlier this month, I was in San Diego and my friend Michael (who knows I like to eat) took me to this place. He has a friend who works there, so he has an "in" when it comes to fancy feasts.



Since we were just stopping in for a mid-morning snack, we decided to share a pot of tea and a dessert. Michael advised we get the Birthday Cake tea ("Reminiscent of a warm out-of-the-oven cookie with strong caramel and vanilla notes. Delicious with milk."). We ordered it as a milk-tea served over ice and added simple syrup for sweetening. Now, before we ordered I was skeptical of Michael's advise because 1) he usually makes bad decisions, and 2) I don't like vanilla, cake-like flavors. But! I loved it! It was light, but creamy, sweet and a little floral and it was perfect for my mid-morning snack.



There were PLENTY of gorgeous looking desserts to choose from, all sitting behind the protective glass so I couldn't maul them. Seriously, if you like beautiful, decadent desserts, this is your place.



We ended up going with the Lemon-Blueberry Streudel. Unfortunately, it's not listed on their online menu, so I can't tell you exactly what's in it. But I can tell you it's MOTHERFUCKINGDELICIOUS and I may or may not have eaten a greater portion than just my half.
Worth noting: This crazy-good dessert was only $8.50 and enough for two people to share.



The streudel is served up with a drizzled design of fruit syrup on one side and a fluffy dollop of freshly whipped cream on the other. They also decorate each dessert before it's brought out to the table, adding flowers, designs, and even edible gold leaf.

Extraordinary Desserts also has a breakfast and appetizer menu, but I didn't try either since I was busy inhaling my dessert. But if it's anything like the quality of the strudel I had, this place is a MUST for anyone in the San Diego area.





Extraordinary Desserts has two San Diego locations: (Little Italy) 1430 Union Street, and (Balboa Park) 2929 Fifth Avenue.

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The Red Door Restaurant and Wine Bar.

On my last visit to San Diego, Morgan arranged a dinner for a group of BlogHer attendees. Somehow, I lucked out and made it into the group.


We took a couple of cabs from the downtown Marriot and about ten minutes later we arrived at The Red Door Restaurant and Wine Bar. When the first half of our 11-person reservation arrived, the waitstaff was a little confused. When the second half of our reservation arrived, the waitstaff was a little frantic. From what I could tell, it seemed like maybe someone forgot to make a note in the RSVP book about our group.

Fortunately, the manager came straight out and got to work. She apologized to every one of us and offered us complimentary drinks. Thankfully, the wait wasn't very long and we ended up getting the whole bar-room area to ourselves.

The exterior, and even interior, of Red Door looks like a house. It's broken up into three separate rooms- the first is the bar/ dining and the other two are just dining. The overall decor is very cozy, lots of natural lighting, and has a feel like you're sitting in someone's living room. It's on the small side- I would say maybe 10 or 12 tables max. This would be a great place for a quaint, intimate meal and also possibly if you're looking for a small venue to rent out for a cocktail party (or something like that).

Because our reservation was a prearranged event to showcase Red Door's new happy hour menu, our food consisted of appetizers and cocktails. -Which totally worked for me.

Appetizer #1: Red Door Sliders

"char grilled meyer natural ground beef on ciabatta buns, american cheese
lettuce, tomato, carmelized onions, house burger sauce with shoestring fries - $8"

This burger was good, but I think it may have been too toasty for me. Most of the buns were blackened and I'm not really a fan of char-grilled flavor, in general. Keep in mind, this all comes down to personal taste. I'm sure this burger would be perfect for many people, but I don't think I'm really a "fancy burger" kind of person.


Appetizer #2: Steak Skewers

teriyaki glazed charolais ny steak - $5

Again, these weren't really my thing. They seemed a little... overcooked, in my opinion. The teriyaki glaze was flavorful and sweet, but I just wasn't a big fan of how the steak was cooked. Too tough and chewy.


Appetizer #3: BBQ Pulled Pork Quesadilla

"mozzarella, parmesean and romano cheeses housemade bbq sauce
and onion straws - $5"

Now this.... THIS is where the money's at. These quesadillas were by far my favorite item that night, and to this day I cannot stop thinking about them. The craziest part is, I don't really eat pork very often (unless you count my bacon addiction) and I can't believe I almost passed on this appetizer all together.

The cheese combination creates this great, salty-yet-mellow flavor. The pulled pork is moist and not overpowering. They use corn tortillas, which is less commonly seen than its cousin, the flour tortilla. -But definitely much better, in this case. And it's fried perfectly so the edges are crisp, while the center still has a bready texture. Finally, the bbq sauce is sweet and tangy- a great topper for this delicious plate. I would strongly recommend ordering the BBQ Pulled Pork Quesadilla if you try this place out.

Appetizer #4: Shrimp Creole

"mexican white shrimp sautéed with onion, celery, green bell pepper, garlic.
cajun spices, white wine & cream served over crispy polenta - $8"

I don't have too much to say about these guys because I'm pretty weak when it comes to spicy food. I only had one bite, just to get a feel for what I was missing out on. Based on my one taste, I can tell you the shrimp was perfectly cooked, not gummy at all. The shrimp itself tasted great... but those creole spices were a bit too spicy for my fragile palate. But for people who like spicy food, I would recommend these.


The Red Door Restaurant and Wine Bar is located at 741 West Washington St., San Diego.

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Santa Barbara.

The weather was beautiful this weekend, so Boyfriend and I decided to go up to Santa Barbara for the day on Saturday.

This post is going to be picture heavy because it's basically a visual recap of our day in SB.


Starting the day off on a walk at the beach.


One of three weddings we saw getting set-up. I tweeted this pic saying I was at the Kardashian wedding. FYI: Nobody believed me.


Sunny, perfect weather. Lots of palm trees.


A path down to the water.


Lots of families riding rental bikes. Probably tourists.


I'm pretty sure I caught Biscuit mid-shake with this pic. Usually her face isn't this crazy looking.


My favorite shot of the day.


After the beach, we headed down to State St. For those of you who have never been to Santa Barbara, a walk down State St. is kind of like LA. -Minus the plastic surgery and nannies. -And with more granola-crunchers, rich white people, and spoiled college kids. I know what you're thinking. And yes, I fit right in.


I like the details around this hotel doorway.


Theatre marquee.


This was right after we saw David Spade and he pointed at Biscuit saying "Hey, look at that dog". Thankfully, Biscuit wasn't doing anything embarrassing at the time, like mauling small kittens, so I took it as a compliment.


We decided to stop for drinks and appetizers at Holdren's. By the way, if you're ever in Santa Barbara and you're looking for great food (on a fancier budget), GO TO HOLDREN'S. Hands down, the best steak I've ever had.


All orders come with complimentary bread. I'm not sure what the white bread was, but my guess would be a light sourdough. And the dark bread, I think, was a honey wheat. But the real magic comes in the dipping sauces. You get the standard butter, but then you also get this cracked out version of olive oil that makes you want to chug it by the gallon. Word on the street is, it's a special combination of cayenne pepper, garlic, and red wine that they add to it. It was so good, I was *this* close to throwing it back like a shot of Vodka.


Boyfriend ordered a Cucumber Martini, which uses Hendricks Gin (his favorite). I ordered a Blood-Orange Margarita, which comes with a salt/ sugar combo on the rim (a very nice touch). I can't vouch for the martini, but the margarita was very fruity and refreshing. A perfect drink for day out in the sun.


We ordered the Spicy Spinach and Artichoke Dip, which was served with homemade pita chips. This dip is very chunky and hearty. If you like big bites of artichoke, this is the one for you. Also, it doesn't seem very spicy in the first few bites, but trust me, the spice is there. I went at it like I was trying to win 1st place in an eating competition, only to come to a screeching halt when my mouth felt like burning hot lava.


We also ordered the Crab Cakes. I've only tried crab cakes once before, so I'm not exactly a crab cake connoisseur. But I can tell you that these cakes were fried and crisp on the outside, it broke apart easily with my fork, and the inside was moist, with the flavors of the ingredients all blended together perfectly. So I'd say they were pretty great. Also, the cakes were served on a bed of rice pilaf and came with a light and tangy sauce on the side.

Worth Nothing: Both times I've been to Holdren's, I had the same server. His name is Trevor and he is fantastic. If you end up going here, make sure to request his section. He is very happy and helpful, two great qualities that you want in a server.


One more important piece of info... I just learned this weekend that Santa Barbara has passed some kind of city code making all restaurants with outdoor seating "Dog-friendly". Crazy, right? I know, I'm really excited about this. Biscuit especially loved this when it came time to sniffing the edge of our plates and trying to sneak a stray bite.


Me and Boyfriend!


Until next time, Santa Barbara...

Boner'ppetite!

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Food Review: Odwalla Super Protein

I think this pretty much covers it.

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