Swingin Jell-O Salad

For my birthday this year, it was a big one, 3 decades to celebrate, Nate rented a sensational pad out in Palm Springs so we could throw it back to the 60s for a retro celebration.
I was in MAJOR need of a weekend away, and this was beyond perfect.
We spent three days poolside lounging in gorgeous weather and threw a totally hip shindig on Saturday night, complete with timely-themed appetizers that I was having a little too much fun to get good photos of...but here is a run-down of the easy stuff;
Celery plate- celery with either cream cheese, peanut butter or pimento cheese spread (which everyone voted should stay in the 60s, no pimento cheese fans here)

Dates- pitted & split- stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in bacon- held with toothpick and baked at 450 for about 15 minutes or until bacon is cooked through.

Mini crustless white bread samiches (half pb & grape jelly, half with havarti dill slices and thin cucumbers) a normal sandwhich with 2 slices, crst removed then cut into 1/4s on the diagonal

Then for dessert- I made this rockin' Jell-O salad. Which is super old school, all American goodness, and I looooove it. My sister was not havin' it- she's grossed out by Jell-O and even adding the buttery pretzle crust and cream cheese whip layer, this was still a no-go for her. I however, super-giant-puffy-heart Jell-O Salad and post here for you my recipe with a few tips that were missing from the recipe I was given by Nana, who I think can make this with her eyes closed and a hand tied behind her back.

2 cups crushed pretzles
1/2 cup butter- melted
1/4-1/3 cup sugar
1 box of Jell-O (I used blackberry raspberry fusion, because how can ya resist that?!)
1 large bag of frozen fruit (I used raspeberries)
1 container of cool-whip whipped topping , thawed
1 8oz block of cream cheese, at room temp
1/2 cup sugar

Pre heat the oven to 350. Combine the pretzles, butter and sugar and press into the bottom of a greased 9 x13 inch pyrex baking dish.
Bake 8-10 minutes, then let cool completely. COMPLETELY.
In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment whip the sugar and cream cheese and then using a spatula fold in the cool whip until it's totally mixed with the cream cheese.
I scoop the cream cheese cool whip mixture by the spoonful evenly over the pretzles, then I use the back of a big metal spoon lightly greased to very gently create a wall-to-wall even layer of the cream cheese mix, with no holes that go through to the pretzle layer.
Refridgerate for at least 1 hour so it sets up.
Then make the J-E-L-L-Oh!! Prepare the Jell-O according to package directions, then pour into a big mixing bowl and refrigerate 15-20 minutes or until it gets a little thicker and starts to set up.
Then stir in the frozen fruit and when Jell-O is somewhat set and definitely not in a liquid state but a state you would call Jell-O, then spoon it onto the cream cheese layer and spread it evenly.
Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate 3-4 hours so Jell-O gets completely set.
Slice into purtty lil squares and serve up some throw-back yumminess!!

Six Taste Little Tokyo Tasting Tour- last stop..

Last, and most spectacular we headed to the Far Bar. This is truly a GEM tucked away in the city I love the most, and I am thrilled to know about it... finally!
The Far East Cafe opened in this spot in 1937 and has a long and very interesting history, it was so much fun going on the tour to learn the history of places like this. Far East is now closed for daily dining but is available for special events- I'd highly recommend it for a stellar cocktail party, reception or rehearsal dinner- this spot had spectacular personality. These days there is a bar, Far Bar, open that runs along side the main building/dining room. Normally on the tour they set up a table outside, under the cafe lights for some awesome fried chicken wings. The day we went on the tour it was drizzling a bit on and off so to be on the safe side they set us up in the main dining room of Far East, all by ourselves!! It was AMAZING!



Due to the way Far Bar is tucked away, almost like a little delicious secret hidden down an alley way, it would make a great date-night outing. Going to a show at the Walt Disney Concert Hall? This would be a perfect spot for a pre-show drink that will make you look very in-the-know, I'd sure be impressed!



I had such a sensational time on this tour, we can't wait to take the other Six Taste tours- Chinatown's up next, then the Financial District and we hear via twitter @sixtaste is going to have a Santa Monica tasting tour in the near future...wonder if S.M. Seafood will be one of the stops?!
If you live anywhere near L.A. or can get your tushie over here- take one of these tours and let me know whatcha think!!

Six Taste Little Tokyo Tasting Tour Los Angeles, CA

2010 is all about eating everything, and trying new things, and learning something along the way. We kicked this tradition off in early February with an outing in Little Tokyo in downtown L.A.
EIGHT years ago, when Nate and I started dating (and even before that when we were "just friends") we used to head through the 2nd street tunnel and have sushi at HAMA, pretty often. At the time, I hadn't lived in L.A. too long, Nate went to USC, so he had a few years and more knowledge of awesome spots to do cool stuff than I did. When ever a friend or family member would come to town, I loved taking them to Little Tokyo to this seemingly hidden spot that felt like it was ours, and I felt really cool knowing about it.
Late last year I read about a company called Six Taste and their "tasting tours" in Los Angeles. I constantly checked for tickets but every weekend they were available I was out of town or busy and every weekend I was around, it'd sell out before I could pounce on it! They keep the tours under 15 people so it is a more intimate experience, which we totally appreciated.
FINALLY I snagged some tickets to their walking gastronomy tour of Little Tokyo and counted the minutes to that Saturday afternoon.
The tour consists of walking an area less than a mile, over the course of about 3 or 4 hours, with plenty of chances to sit, use the restroom and enjoy the delicious food!
We went with 4 friends (2 other couples) and had with our tour, two brothers and their wives, with their mother for her birthday and a food aficionado from Laguna Beach, and our spectacular guide, Tata!
Little Tokyo has had quite a makeover since we last sat at the bar in Hama and had the yellow tail collar and some hamachi, the lot we used to park in was a big building of luxury apartments with store fronts on the street level.
We met in front of the Japanese American History museum and started by learning a bit about the history of Little Tokyo- and got our first taste of the tour.
Tata had stopped at Yamazaki bakery and brought us a green tea dessert and a "melon cake" dessert. She gave us each a taste of each and we discussed which of the two was more western style...and WHY....

It was threatening to rain, but never did, the day was gorgeous! We walked along, down the cherry blossom tree lined street. They were not in bloom, but will be later in the spring, which would be a great time for YOU to go on this tour and check it out!!

Our first stop was at a restaurant on the street level of the big building that was sitting on top of what used to be the parking lot we'd park in for our dinners at Hama. It was not Japanese, what? Interesting! Little Tokyo is a crossroads for all kinds of culture, food and we headed into a Doner Kebab called Spitz, to see first hand how there was a wide variety of yumminess in this small corner of L.A.

Spitz has delicious homemade garlic ailoi and hummus, which are both sensational with their pita chip strips, or the sweet potato fries. We also got to taste the three spectacular (and creative) sangria recipes~ cinnamon/cardamom, white peach/basil and and apple/mint.

We were pretty full after Spitz, with much more to see and eat, so it was a good thing Tata took us on a little walk around the block to learn more of the history of the area before our next taste.
Our next stop was the Fugetsu-Do Sweet Shop- an area institution since 1903.
Everything we tried at Fugetsu-Do was as yummy as it was beautiful!

There was no way I was leaving the sweet shop with out a to-go bag, and fortunately Nate was on the same page, so we brought home all kinds of these goodies to taste and enjoy! I'll definitely be sure to hit thie spot up again this year near the holidays, what gorgeous, tasty and unique gifts!

Next up we hit Wakasaya for a spicy tuna sushi bowl and yummy miso soup with udon noodles! The boys ordered some beers and we got to check out an interesting way that food is ordered in Japan to keep things moving quick and efficiently during the busy lunch rush hour- all the menu items were posted with a photo, which I think is awesome!

The next two stops were so delicious I got a little distracted by the EATING and did not note the NAMES of the shops! EEP! So....I guess you are just going to have to GO on the tour and find out! Right?! Trust me, it's beyond worth it.

These red bean paste filled pieces of heaven have been made here, just like this for many, many years- and hopefully it always stays that way. I could've eaten 10 of these, but we'd already had SO much food, one was perfect! Hot, fresh and sooooooo delicious!

Next, we stopped at sweet-shop/ mochi spot for MOCHI-LATTO- instead of being filled with ice cream, like the mochi ice cream you'd find at Trader Joe's, these were filled with yummy gelato- the coconut was my favorite- but the Oreo and green tea were pretty awesome as well! The coconut got "smashed in my face" too fast to show up in a photo...that expression, by the way, is one of my favorite souvenirs brought back from Tanzania by Shayne & Erica. Feel free to enjoy using it as much as I do.
 For the final stop and the wrap up of this awesome adventure, I'm going to spill over into a second post. So stay tuned, and in the meantime, if you live in or near (or plan on visiting) Los Angeles, head over to http://www.sixtaste.com/ and get signed up for any one of their delicious & informative tours, we're planning to take them all so if you are nowhere near L.A. feel free to virtually enjoy the yumminess here.

Happy-Happy St. Patrick's Day & ME!

Ok, I freakin LOVE March. This month rocks the house- why? Cuz it's my BIRTHDAY! Oh, and St. Patrick's Day, and SPRING, and March Madness, and pastel colored M & Ms.
This year it happens to be a BIG birthday. I turned 30. WOOHOO!! I love it!! Shoot, if 30's this fun 40 must be a blast!

I decided to celebrate my 3rd decade on Earth by making a few fun St. Patrick's Day goodies. Having shared a 48 hour drinking, er- CELEBRATING window with St. Patrick's day for the past 30 years has sort of made me adopt it as MY holiday. Now my grandmother IS Irish and I do LOVE St. Patrick's Day and all that we Americans do to celebrate (we are pretty hostile in my office if you don't observe the wearin' green thing- ask Heather about the headband that was GRAY, Army gray, but GRAY).

So to keep it GREEN and have a little fun during the week that is mine & St. Patrick's day...OUR SWEET WEEK, here's what I made.

Guinness (and a touch o' Whiskey) Brownies

You'll have to take a journey for this recipe, back to Ireland.
No, I'm kidding, not really, but you will have to CLICK HERE for the recipe and scope out these beauties over at the Bite Me Kitchen.
I saw them and drooled on my keyboard at work. Ew, sorry, that's kind of gross- but LOOK AT THEM. Did you click it yet? Seriously, YUM. This is BITE ME KITCHEN's STUNNING PHOTO- I am having a wee camera issue this week, so my photos are hopefully coming soon! (my only modification was adding a teensy splash of whiskey, cuz, why not?)



I busted out a mini-me version that was in little green cupped Brownie Bite form to take to the office on the B-day. I knew I'd want a brownie with my coffee to celebrate my special day.
These were AWESOME, and I am so THANKFUL that Rose made these and inspired me to do the same!!

Then it was on was cake pop time, I'd been planning these for a while and saw them over on BAKERELLA.com site last week and was dying to make them. She's my hero, here is the link to HER POST and below is her GORGEOUS photo (mine are trapped in the camera, hopefully!!)



Hope you have a LUCKY DAY!!!
More to come soon!! So many fun things to do around here, it's hard to keep up!

And the winner is....

Do you love the Oscars?? Or..... not so much.
I do actually have a day job, otherwise you'd be overloaded with a zillion updates over here and I'd probably not be running all over creation on adventures all the time. Gotta earn the moo-lah for all those adventures somehow...
For the past seven years (dang, that's crazy!) I have been working in fine jewelry, every day, surrounded by beautiful, amazing jewels. It's pretty cool, and the ultra gorgeous line I work for now is very well versed in reg carpet glam, so the Oscars (and all the major awards shows) are a big deal and loads of big work in our neck of the woods.
When it comes time for the big ones like Golden Globes or the ultimate- the Oscars, we host a suite in our studio for stylists and celebrities to come view the jewelry in a relaxing, gorgeous environment- great drinks, food and music while you pick out their bling for presenting or receiving.



Sweet Life Kitchen will be catering the ERICA COURNTEY Oscar Suite this year and in honor of the red carpet extravaganza, we'll be GIVING AWAY A COOKBOOK!!
WOOHOO!!



The CFDA AMERICAN FASHION COOKBOOK to be exact! HOW TRES CHIC IS THAT?!
This is a collaboration of all kinds of great American fashion (AND JEWELRY) designers!!
My boss, THE Erica Courtney, has a recipe featured in the book that makes buying it totally worth it (and winning it a REAL treat!!)
Erica's recipe is the (BEST) Red Velvet top-secret-until-now-straight-from-real-deal-Louisiana Cake recipe!!

So here's how it works, easy- just post a comment here that somehow relates to food you would serve at an Oscar party, your favorite Oscar moment, or why you'd love to have a copy of this glamorous cookbook!!
Since the 82nd Academy Awards are only a week away on March 7th, 2010 this contest will conclude ONE WEEK AFTER the awards on SUNDAY MARCH 14th at 8pm (PST)...so you have until then to post a comment here!!
Good Luck!

Huuuullllloooooo

Where have I been?! Oh, well, just about a million places!! Mostly moving, which, as I reported from Mammoth over a month ago, we survived and are head over heels for the new place! I got a big glorious kitchen and I've been USING it!! I also have some photo stuff I've been working on (which has been a big time sucker) and an enormous Sweet Life Kitchen project that's just getting started (slash has been ongoing for a while...if that makes any sense...)
OK- so, here I am and hopefully you're dyin to know what's crackin over here.
In 2009 we focused on FESTING every second, the garlic fest, sake fest, fan-festing-tastic. This year we're all about some fascinating, and educational, food experiences. Recently we went on a TASTING TOUR of Los Angeles' Little Tokyo. We are heading to Palm Springs in March for a retro-themed weekend and will be exploring some local treasures, which I am really looking forward to!
I love the Sweet Life Kitchen Facebook page because it's given me a place to share the photos I took of food we love, even though it's not food we made, and that is going to be a bit more of a focus this year, sharing awesome food experiences AND the recipes we create.
Ok, so there's one part of what's up... NEXT, the most exciting parts...
Since we are all moved and settled in our new beautiful surroundings, it's time I get that going on here too, so be ready for some prettyfication and a big beauty overhaul here at Sweet Life Kitchen! (thanks to the lovely lady who created our logo- Deneen Alexandra of Funk Delicious Designs!!)
It's L.A., even the blog's gotta get a little work done, especially for our THREE YEAR blogaversary this summer!
And finally, the best part, my favorite aspect of the purty new site design will give you a chance to sample the goods!! Yup, there will be some Sweet treats that you can order, eat and give as delicious gifts!! WHAT?! Ya, you totally read that right, so BRACE Yo'SELVES!! It's 2010 and we're all up in it!!
If you want more info on any of this gloriousness, feel free to email me~ beth@sweetlifekitchen.com or hit me up by posting a message on the SLK Facebook page HERE

Getting ready for 2010

Wow! Time sure does fly, here we are at the weenie-dog-tail end of 2009. Once again, I dropped off the map in a big way and it was for a great reason.....We MOVED!! Ok, not far, only 4 blocks actually, which is a good thing because I do love me some Culver City, CA. It was time for a bigger place, our family grew last year, when little Arthur joined the mix and we have never had a kitchen we love, until NOW.
I suppose it is partly ironic that I am typing this first update in ages while away from our new home, on vacation, in cold & snowy Mammoth Lakes, CA.



Many months before the thought of moving even entered our minds, we decided we wanted to have a big spectacular New Years Eve, in the snow, with good friends, yummy food and the weenie dogs, of course.
Throw an unplanned, but much appreciated move into the mix two weekends before Christmas, and that pretty much sums up my recent absence from the blogosphere.

In the spirit of my last post, and the fact that we had to get pretty creative with our time-savers this year, here is one of my FAVORITE quick, easy and delicious time-saving desserts. When I am not mid-moving in December, I try to measure out about 4-5 Ziploc bags of the dry ingredients for this crisp- and keep them in the freezer. That way, any time, just soften up the 1/3 cup butter and use frozen fruit for a stellar homemade crisp in about 40 minutes, all prep and baking included!!



In getting ready for our trip up here, I grabbed a few apples, measured out the oats, sugar and spices into a plastic bag and noted the fresh cranberries I had frozen a few weeks ago when they were on major sale.

As I unpacked all the food and kitchen goodies I realized I totally spaced out on bringing the cranberries!! So I shot Nate a quick text and when he got finished with his last run of the day, he hit the store and brought me a can of cranberry sauce, the chunky stuff, not the gel....Hmmm, what's this? He let me know the store they stopped at was a little less like a grocery store and definitely did not have a produce section. No problem, pretty sure I can make this work AND now I have a great recipe for left over cranberry relish after Thanksgiving!!



Cranberry Apple Crisp
Inspired by a recipe from Country Living Magazine

3 Gala apples, cored and chopped into little bite sized bits
about 15oz/one container of chunky cranberry relish (the cranberry orange relish from Trader Joe's would be good!)
3/4 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. quick oats
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/3 cup softened butter

Preheat the oven to 350, and lightly grease a pie plate or pyrex pan. In a medium bowl mix the sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter until all ingredients are moistened/well combined.
Toss the apples into the greased baking dish and spread the cranberry sauce over the apples. Spread the sugar, oat and spice mixture evenly over the apples and cranberries and bake uncovered, about 35 minutes, until top of crisp is golden brown.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and hot coffee~ HAPPY NEW YEAR!!