Mascarpone Asparagus Tarts (with pictorial)—For Mother’s Day

From my previous posts, we have desserts, a home made gift, and an entrée all covered for Mother’s day.  Now, it’s time to talk about appetizers.  This is probably one of the easiest appetizer that you can prepare that’s tastes and looks so sophisticated that it’s almost a crime, almost! 



I love appetizers, and I think all celebrations and gatherings should include an appetizer, if not 2, or 3.  This one is super easy to put together that you have no reason not to give it a try.  Plus, the flavor is amazing.  The creamy mascarpone is perfectly seasoned and flavored with the herbs.  The chive adds a nice and mild oniony flavor without overpowering the delicate mascarpone.  The thyme adds a nice and refreshing lemony scent to the filling.  The puff pastry is buttery and crispy, which goes really well with the creamy filling.  The flavor of the asparagus are intensified after roasting with a crisp-tender texture, which is perfect in my opinion.



Now, let’s move on to the step-by-step pictorial, shall we? 

1) In a medium bowl, mix the chives, thyme, salt and pepper and mascarpone cheese together.
2)With a pizza cutter, divide dough into 4 equal size squares.
3) With a pairing knife, gently create an 1/2-inch border on all 4 portioned dough.
4) With a fork, gently prick on the puff pastries within the border.



5) Spread the mascarpone mixture over the puff pastry.
6) Top with trimmed asparagus.
7) Whisk an egg yolk and a tablespoon of cream together.
8) Brush the puff pastry edges and bake to golden brown.



See, I told you it is super simple, right?  The flavor is incredible too.  I cut them in half to create 8 servings for appetizer.  If you’re serving these as entrée, which is totally a wonderful option, you can serve them as is and maybe have a side salad or soup to complete the meal.


Last but not least, Happy Mother’s Day to all Mothers, Grandmothers, and Mother-to-Be’s!  Have a blast and enjoy your day with great food and wonderful family. 

Chinese Chicken Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing—For Mother’s Day

Seems like I’m working backwards on our Mother’s Day menu here.    Yes, I’ve got the desserts covered.  If you missed that post, the dessert recipe is right here and don’t forget to check out the Homemade gift idea by clicking here.  Now, we’re moving onto the entrée, Chinese Chicken Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing.



For all those health conscious Mommy’s out there, this is one perfect entrée to celebrate Mother’s Day.  Hey, I guess we all can use a little help to get ourselves, and figures, ready for the swim suit season, right?   If you don’t care about all that, this is still a flavorful and refreshing salad to enjoy in Spring and Summer.



In this recipe, I roasted my own chicken breasts and fried my own won ton strips.  However, you can totally take a short cut by using your favorite rotisserie chicken and ready to serve crispy noodles, such as these.  You can literally put this salad together within 15 to 20 minutes if you take the short cuts.  Mine actually took less than 45 minutes as I did all the prep works (and clean up) while the chicken is roasting in the oven.



Here’s a break down on the ingredients (see picture below). I love the different color, flavor and texture combinations in this recipe.  Crunchy won ton strips, crispy snow peas and lettuce, along with juicy and refreshing mandarin orange, and tender chicken.  The red cabbage and carrot add a bite to the over all texture.  The Creamy Sesame Dressing is divine!  I made extras dressing and store it in the fridge and have it ready in the next 2 days to enjoy.



With a simple and healthy recipe like this, you can relax and have a wonderful Mother’s Day dining in.  I love a healthy and no stress recipe any time over waiting in line at a packed restaurant especially on popular dining out holiday such as Mother’s Day.  Yup, in another word, I’m getting old!  hahaha….



So, what’s your plan for Mother’s Day?  If you’re dining in like me, have you planned out your menu yet?  If not, hope you’ll give this recipe a try.  Thank you for reading and stopping by today.  Until next time, take care.




Also, I'm submitting this recipe to TidyMom's SaladSocial Linky Party and Giveaway!  Come join The Salad Social at TidyMomTidyMom sponsored by The International Olive Council’s Add Some Life.

Meyer Lemon Sugar Scrub—Homemade Gift for Mother’s Day

Before I post another recipe for Mother’s Day, I want to share a quick Homemade gift idea that you’ll love.  Meyer Lemon Sugar Scrub!  Who wouldn’t want to be pampered and have smooth and silky skin?  Plus, smelling amazing after a massage?  Yup, you can achieve all of the above with this budget friendly homemade gift.    This super simple Meyer Lemon Sugar Scrub is the answer!



Honestly, I love receiving homemade gift because it just shows how much someone cares to take the time and love to make me something from scratch.  This Meyer Lemon Sugar Scrub certainly is luscious, yet super simple to put together. 



The ingredients in the scrub are super simple as well.  They are Meyer Lemon zest, sugar, organic virgin coconut oil, and organic extra virgin olive oil.  That’s all!  It smelled wonderful and amazing as I was putting it together.  Please try to refrain yourself from eating a spoonful of it during the process!  I know, it’s very tempting.  Yes, it’s completely edible, but I don’t recommend it.  Unless….unless….never mind. 



To use, simply take a spoonful (or more) of the scrub, gently massage it on your hands, your feet, elbows, or wherever your skin feels rough and needs some love.  Simply rinse it off with lukewarm water afterwards.  You’ll have the most amazing, soft, and silky skin after the massage.  Please consider doubling or even tripling the recipe if you’re making more than one jar.  It’ll be nice to make some extra for yourself to enjoy as well.  Remember, presentation counts.  So, try to decorate it a bit by adding a nice label and line a tissue paper/cloth with elegant prints on the lid.  I love storing the scrub in the mason jars.  They are so convenience.   

Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream

Call it a crumble, call it a crisp, call it a fruit bake (is there such a thing?)…whatever name you want to give this little baby, go ahead.  It’s called scrumptious, in my dictionary.  I probably won’t hear a thing while I’m enjoying one of these treats anyway.  So, I just named it with the most common name, a crumble, referring to the golden brown and crumbly toppings.



I love Spring.  The temperature in Spring is just so comfortable, the beautiful flowers starts blooming (sorry to those who has allergy), also, the produce selections are just as wonderful!  What are today’s top picks from the farmer’s market?  Strawberries and rhubarbs.



Since both strawberries and rhubarbs are the most beautiful around this time of the year, that makes them a natural and perfect pair in cooking and baking.  I love the sweetness from the strawberries that balanced so well with the tartness from the rhubarb.  They are simply gorgeous to me, both in tastes and appearances. 



I can munch on a basket full of these sweet and refreshing strawberries all day just the way they are.  However, it’s been rainy and gloomy in the past few days in L.A. (which is very unusual at this time of the year).  The gloominess just made me crave for something more comforting, something that can warn my heart and stomach (what an excuse, huh!?).  That was how this Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble was born. 



I love to enjoy this Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble while it’s still warm from the oven.  The crumble on top was golden brown with a wonderful crunch.  The strawberry and rhubarb were still bubbling with their own juices as they came out of the oven.  I serve this Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble with a big dollop of Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream along with some fresh strawberries.  The Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream and fresh strawberries were still cold from the fridge and makes a nice contrast in temperature with the warm crumble.  You can definitely serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream instead.  I can imagine it would be just as scrumptious. 



When the warmth from the Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble started to melt the Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream…each bite was heavenly.  Not to mention, the Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream alone was to die for.  Yes, I added the seeds from half a vanilla bean instead of using extract when I whipped up the cream.  If you look closer, you can see the seeds in both the pictures above and below.  They are simply beautiful to me!  Hey, if I were to indulge, might as well make every bite counts! 



Thank you for reading and I hope you’ll enjoy today’s recipe.

Winner Announcement--Barilla Whole Grain Pasta $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

Thanks to those who entered the Barilla Whole Grain Pasta giveaway.  The prize was $100 Amazon Gift Card (code).

The sweepstake was being administered by BlogHer and the winner was selected at random.  The winning number was #142.  Congratulations to MCantu1019.  A notification email was sent to the winner.  Thank you all for participating in this giveaway.  We will have more fun giveaways in the future for sure.  Stay tuned.