For the Love of Chocolate

For Christmas, one of my favorite gifts was Lizzie's gift of  a ticket to a chocolate cooking class.

We both took the class at The Pain Quotidien at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. It was a rainy Sunday but when we got there the place was very nice and comfortable and smelled wonderful!

The class is for no more than 8 people, but we lucked out and we were the only persons take the class. Maybe because the weather was not so good or because it was Oscar day, but I loved to have a personalized class. Out teacher was young and very cute and friendly. 

Dario Murcino

 Getting started

 We learned how to make great chocolate chip cookies with pecans... Them we made brioche dough and kneaded and worked it and kneaded again, it was work! Then me made them into shapes and had to wait to rise, and then bake them. Last thing we made was chocolate ganache, and we filled little tartlets with ganache and blueberries and blackberries.

Chocolate chip and pecan cookies ready to bake

Some chocolate brioche ready for the oven

Lizzie and I were good listeners and followed directions, but I lagged behind a bit so Dario kept on kneading my dough :)

 We are happy cooks!

and here we are filling the little tarts with ganache and berries

It was a very fun day!

I always look like this on selfies

We took a ton of brioches, cookies and tartlets home, we had enough to share with my neighbor Amy and froze some of it for when Sandy gets here next week

Thanks Lizzie for a fun and yummy day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

San Diego and Escondido

On February 1st, Lizzie, Lulu and I went to San Diego to attend the Local Author Showcase at the San Diego Main Library, very close to where she used to live.

 It was a nice time meeting other San Diego writers and looking at the variety of books, hers included in one of the showcases.
We stayed at the Hotel Indigo downtown, it had a nice roof terrace with a bar and a great view of downtown.

From the Hotel roof we had a view or her old apartment building and the top of the library

and the baseball field

The next day we went to a BBQ place in the mountains, near Alpine Jeff and his band was playing there, but we couldn't stay and eat because they wouldn't take dogs! :(

On the way back home we stopped at the Stone Brewery and Restaurant in Escondido where we had some beer and a shareable meal, featuring a giant pretzel. It was a beautiful day in a very nice setting

Lovely weekend!

January Recap

And here we are in a new decade....

We had canalones for New Year's Day
January 3 Marked the 2nd Anniversary of Marvin's death. L&I to Los Alamitos Fish Company
January 5th I got a Cubii
January 6th Reyes Magos mini shopping spree at Marshalls with Lizzie
January 9th T signed up for two classes :)
January 11 L to San Diego, dinner with N to the Outback
January 15 L to Disneyland
January 16 Financial guy
January 19 Road trip to Apple Valley
January 31st To San Diego Authors Showcase with Lizzie
Talked to Sandy on Mondays and on the 12th

Went out to eat at La Huasteca, Porto's, The Habit, TacoNazo, Fish Daddy, El Tepeyac etc.
Good Month

MOVIES I WATCHED IN JANUARY

BOOKS I READ IN JANUARY