Wallpaper

2 months have lapsed since I moved into my grown up, single gal apartment. Electric minty green paint has graced the walls in the bedroom, a new couch and media center have been purchased ("ouch," said my wallet), and my dining room chairs have been given a makeover with a coat of blue paint (detailed coverage to come).

While there is a lot more to be done to make this house (well, apartment) my home, things are looking good and I am as pleased as can be.

But do you remember that long narrow hallway? The one I mentioned previously, the one that I wanted to cover in wallpaper? Yeah, it still remains wallpaper-less. And sadly, will continue to remain so. Wallpapering apartment walls is just unrealistic.

Keeping expectations real, I have been keeping my eyes peeled for wallpaper-esk alternatives and look what I found on New York Magazine's blog The Cut!

Payton Cosell Turner- a young artist with an obvious talent for patterns- created wallpaper using stickers! Each wallpaper pattern is made up of thousands of hand-applied stickers and can be removed and re-applied in any space.

How fun is that? I mean didn't we all get into trouble for pasting our stickers all over our bedroom walls at one time or another?

Now before you get your knickers all up in a bunch, don't worry, I am not crazy enough to attempt this in my apartment, but seriously! How cute!

To see more of Payton's work, click here.

Gingery Apple Crumb Pie

Hello Folks. It's mid-August here in LA, and despite the fact that Summer is technically suppose to be fading into fall, its scorching outside. Global warming anyone?! But that's a topic to be debated in another blog.

Instead, let's talk about warm weather picnics and the yums 

Watermelon Yums

that we fill our tums with

Filling of Tums in action

 while on them.

Last weekend, my brother's family made the drive up to LA to spend a day with Mama T and I. We picnic-ed in the park and then spent a day at the Getty. Two of my favorite activities.

As such, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to bust out my tried and true Gingery Apple Crumb Pie recipe. I say crumb pie as I lack the skills and patience to actually make a proper crust. But crust or should I say crumbs aside, this apple pie is always a hit!

Ingredients:
Basic flaky Pie Crust or again, if like me, you need a little help,
1 store-bought pie crust
9-inch pie plate
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces
3/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 lbs apples (about 5)--I usually use Granny Smith Apples
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:
1. Set and oven rack in the lowest position and heat over to 375 degrees. Set pie crust in pie pan.

2. In a food processor, add the butter, 3/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar. Pulse until large clumps form. Transfer to a bowl and set in refrigerator until ready to use.

3. Peel apples with a pairing knife and thinly slice them. CHALLENGE: See if you can peel the entire apple in one straight peel. When I was 22, I wrote down "learn to peel apple skin in one entire peel" on my "To Do by 30" list. And guess what, I can do it! Check plus!

4. In a large bowl, toss the apples, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and the renaming 1/2 cup of sugar and tablespoon of flour.

5. Transfer apple mixture to the pie crust, sprinkle with crumb topping and place pie pan on a foiled lined baking sheet (this is to catch the apple gooey-ness that will surely seep out of the pie as it cooks down). Bake until pie top is golden brown and apples are tender, about 55 to 60 minutes.

Serves 8.

Umami Burger

Ever since I watched the Hometown Favorites episode of The Best Thing I Ever ate, where Giada waxed passionate about the burgers from Umami Burger, I've been dying to try those burgers out for myself. Then, there is the fact that Umami Burger is always in contention for having the best burgers in town. Needless to say, checking out Umami has long been on my "To Do" list.
 
Opened in early 2009, Umami Burger gained fast popularity among LA's dedicated burger hounds, allowing the upsale burger joint to expand itself to 4 LA locations-- La Brea, Hollywood, Los Feliz and the newest outpost, Santa Monica.

Being a West-sider, I decided to see what all the fuss was about at their Santa Monica location.

Nestled in a little corner of Fred Segal, the Santa Monica Umami enlists the help of a black and white stripped bar, red lather banquettes and stripped nautical wall paper to convey its simple and straighforward design aesthetic. One of the interesting things to note about about all the Umami Burger locations is that for the most part they all boast completely different themes. Additionally, there is always a menu option or two only available at specific locations. Smart marketing, huh?

But enough about the business genius. I came to eat. First up, was the Umami Burger itself.

 

How and where do I begin to describe this burger without using cliché words like amazing and awesome? Well let me start by telling you about the star of this burger-- the beef! Juicy and cooked to medium-rare perfection, the beef patty (a mixture of freshly ground cuts including flap steak and shortribs) was seriously a meaty jolt of flavor. W-O-W. 

                      

But you know what folks, the delightful madness doesn't just stop at the beef. The toppings were pretty darn delicious too. With grilled onions, shitake mushrooms, a parmesan cheese crisp, and housemade ketchup, the second cliché word of the day would be "mm-mm-good". Because I split the burger with my dining partner (aka Mama T), I didn't get that much shitake in each bite but still... it was good.

And let me not forget about the bun. I seldom even consider the bun of a burger, choosing to focus all my attention on the meat and toppings. However, in the case of the Umami buns, I would go amiss to not mention them. 

Shiny, soft, yet sturdy, the bun had a touch of sweetness to it. But more than that, the bun was the perfect vehicle to transport the patty from plate to mouth. Some buns fail at this very function, falling apart as soon as you pick it up. The Umami bun however, did a wonderful job of holding the burger together and allowed me to take the perfect bite ratio every single time.

   

                              

The second burger that we split was the Jerky Burger-- natural turkey, plantains, butter lettuce and oven-dried tomatoes. I was so excited for their turkey burger, but despite it's promising sweet plantains, the patty was dry, dry, dry. Here, there is nothing to say except these 3 words: massive let down. Harsh, but oh so true.

All in all, Umami did not disappoint me. I would definitely go back for their original and to try some of their other offerings. However, after careful consideration, I will say that for me, Father's Office still reigns supreme for having the best burgers in LA. But that's just my humble opinion.

Details:

Umami Burger

500 Broadway

Santa Monica, CA 90401

310- 451-1300

Peach Tatin Cake

I know I've boasted incessantly about the ever delicious cakes that my dear sister-in-law Sarah has lovingly made for my birthdays. This year, to repay the kindness, I decided to take it upon myself to make her a cake for her birthday.

After browsing through multiple cake cook books and vetoing anything that looked too complicated, I decided to go fruity and seasonal with this Peach Tatin Cake.

A cake version of a fruit tarte tatin, this Peach Tatin Cake loses the puff pastry base and replaces it with a sour cream cake. In addition, the cake has a sweet and complex flavor from the peachy caramel sauce that saturates it. Two words: Moist and yum! 

Ingredients:
Caramel Peach Topping
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
4 large, ripe peaches

Sour Cream Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs

Directions:
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 10x3 inch round cake pan. Don't use a springform pan as the caramel might leak out of the pan during baking. (I used a 9 by 1 1/2 inch cake pan and it was wa-ay too small) Line bottom of the parchment paper and grease the paper

2. To make the topping: Combine sugar and water in a medium sauce pan and cook over medium high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. When all sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and increase heat to high and cook. Brush the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush occasionally, to prevent crystallization. Cook until mixture turns golden brown. 

3. Remove pan from heat and immediately whisk butter in the butter, one piece at a time. Be careful- the mixture will bubble up furiously. Carefully pour hot caramel into the bottom of the prepared pan.

4. Cut the peaches into half. Discard the pits and cut each peach into 6 wedges. Arrange a circle of wedges, overlapping them slightly, around the edge of the pan, on top of the caramel sauce. Arrange another circle of wedges in the center, facing in the opposite direction.

5. To make the cake, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt, into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

6. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream and vanilla extract, side this aside too.

7. In a bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium-high speed, until creamy. About 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar and beat at a high speed until the mixture is lightened in texture and color, 2-3 minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer and add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well to fully incorporate the eggs. Scrape the side of the bowl as needed.

8. At a low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating it with the sour cream mixture and mix until blended.

9. Spoon batter in large dollops over the peaches, then smooth into an even layer. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until cake is golden brown and springs back lightly when touched. Set pan on wire rack and cool for 10 minutes.

10. Run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the pan and using pot holders, carefully invert the cake onto a cake plate or platter. Peel of parchment paper.

Serve cake warm or at room temperature. Serves 8-10.

Store cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to a week. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.

Happy Birthday, Sarah! We love you dearly!

Recipe from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

Sunset

Hey kiddos.

First off, apologies all around for ignoring you. What can I say, summer is in full swing and I've seen my fair share of summer activities, as well as out-of-town visitors-- blogging just had to take back seat to that.

Anyway, to keep you preoccupied until I find the time and energy to actually generate real content, here is a lovely picture of the sunset outside my coach's house. Makes you wish you lived by the beach too, huh.