Mixed Berries and Cream Tart 雜莓奶油撻 – For Memorial Day!

Are you ready for the upcoming long weekend?  Next Monday (May 30th) is Memorial Day.  It is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who pass away while serving in the country's armed forces.  I salute to all those who served our country and keep us safe!  Thank you and your family for all your sacrifices!



On a lighter note, the Memorial weekend is also the unofficial kick off of the summer grilling season!  I’ll share a few of my favorites grilling recipes at the end of this post.  If you’re hosting or attending a BBQ party this weekend, I highly recommend that you prepare this Mixed Berries and Cream Tart 雜莓奶油撻 to share with your friends and family!  What is a party without desserts, right? 



This Mixed Berries and Cream Tart is one of my favorite summer dessert.  The tart shell is a combination of buttery and almond crust.  The slightly nutty flavor adds the charming characteristic to this flaky crust.  I filled the tart with the classic pastry cream and it’s quite simple to prepare.  Be sure to check out the YouTube video at the beginning of this post for the step-by-step tutorial.




The stars of the show are really these gorgeous, sweet and juicy summer berries!  I used a combination of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries.  You can use anything you like.  For a glorious sheen finish, I brush these berries with a simple orange marmalade glaze.  You can find the link to my homemade orange marmalade recipe at the end of this post as well.  This Mixed Berries and Cream Tart is perfect for any summer celebration!  Red, white, and blue for the patriotic colors and packed with the season’s best summer berries.  It truly is a feast for the eyes and for your tummy! I guarantee your friends and family will love this dessert! 





Tools and Ingredients Used:

Corn Starch (Click here for more information)
Ninja Food Processor (Click here for more information)
Rectangular Tart Pan (Click here for more information)
Horizon Organic Heavy Whipping Cream (Click here for more information)
Organic Vanilla Extract (Click here for more information)
Kerrygold Butter (Click here for more information)
Silvered Blanched Almonds (Click here for more information)
Cooling Racks (Click here for more information)
Stand Mixer (Click here for more information)
Baking Sheets (click here for more information)

Other Grilling Recipes

Grilled Ribeye Steaks with Vanilla Coffee Rub


Hamburger with Caramelized Onions and Spicy Mayo
Grilled Vegetables Salad
Citrus Marinated Tri Tip Roast with Garlic Herb Dressing
Spinach Pesto Spaghetti with Grilled Shrimp

**Link to Homemade Orange Marmalade recipe:
http://utry.it/2012/05/orange-marmalade-with-meyer-lemon.html

Fresh Mango Crêpe 芒果法式薄餅

Not long ago, I shared a recipe and video tutorial with you for Mango Crêpe Cake.  If you haven’t check that out yet, simply click here.  That is one stunning cake to be shared on special occasions.  But for a more day to day dessert or treat, this Fresh Mango Crêpe 芒果法式薄餅 would be the perfect choice.  Not only it has all the flavor from the Mango Crêpe Cake, but it’s much easier and less time consuming to prepare.



There’s a cafe on the Westside that sells crêpes that my kids and I loved so much!  Whenever we visited the area, we always enjoy our afternoon tea there.  But they are not cheap at all, charging at $8+ for a crêpe?  That could easily be the price of a meal!  So, for economic reason, I make them at home now. Best of all, I know what I’m putting into them and they are always wholesome!  Watch the video tutorial and you’ll agree with me on how easy it is to prepare these crêpes. 



As far as I’m concerned, I’m taking full advantage of this mango season!  It’s way too short and I know I’ll be looking forward to these sweet, tender, and juicy Atulfo mangos when the season is all over!  So, don’t wait any longer, go grab a basket of mangos and make these Fresh Mango Crêpe to share with your family!  Thanks for stopping by today.  Until next time, please take care and eat well!





Tools and Ingredients Used:

Crepe Pan (click here for more information)
Crepe Spreader (click here for more information)
Crepe Maker (click here for more information)
Ninja Blender (click here for more information)
Heavy Whipping Cream (Click here for more information)
OXO Egg Turner (Click here for more information)
Organic Vanilla Extract (Click here for more information)
Kerrygold Butter (Click here for more information)
Core Bamboo 3-Piece Cutlery Set  (Click here to see product information)

Strawberry Cupcakes–From Scratch 草莓杯子蛋糕

What is your favorite ingredient to enjoy in Spring?  Is it corn, asparagus, peas, mangoes, berries, or all of the above?   I think my family’s favorite has to be strawberries!  During spring break, I took the kids to a nearby farm to pick their own strawberries.  It was a fun and yummy afternoon!





We’ve picked 4 big baskets full of strawberries and really enjoyed them.  Besides eating them as is, I also made these delicious strawberry cupcakes, from scratch!




I added fresh strawberries into the cake batter so that they are nice and moist.  Meanwhile, I mixed some fresh strawberry puree into the frosting so that they are slightly sweet and tart.  I also filled these cupcakes with some strawberry preserves in the center.  Be sure to check out the video tutorial on how to do that without any special equipment.  And of course, a slice of fresh strawberry on top as garnish to make it more festive.  These cupcakes are not too sweet but packed with wonderful strawberry flavors.  This frosting is probably one of the easiest one to prepare as well.




These cutie cupcakes were baked in these individual cupcake liners (see link below on where to purchase).  But you can use regular cupcake pan and liners as well.  I’m sure they'll turn out just as delicious!  These strawberry cupcakes will be perfect for your Spring tea party, or just any afternoon tea time since they are so easy to prepare!



What are your Spring favorite food or ingredients to enjoy?  Be sure to let me know in the comment below.  I can’t wait to hear from you!  Thank you for stopping by today.  Until next time, please take care.

Tools used:

Owl Pink Paper Baking Cups (Click here for more information)
Organic Vanilla Extract (Click here for more information)
Kerrygold Butter (Click here for more information)
Baking Sheets (Click here for more information)

Stand Mixer (Click here for more information)

Cooling Racks (Click here for more information)

Omakase at Sushi Noguchi – Restaurant Review and Happy Mother’s Day

A few months ago, my Hubby and I celebrated our 11th Wedding Anniversary at Sushi Noguchi.  Boy oh boy, how time flies!



We tried the Hiro’s Omakase (Chef’s choice - literally means 'I'll leave it up to you') at Sushi Noguchi.  This restaurant became one of our favorite Japanese restaurants in the Orange County.  Have you check out the video above yet?  You can watch Chef Min in action while he prepared the Omakase dishes!






We started our meal with Sake Sampler.  You can definitely taste the different notes and aromas in each one.  Cheers!



Our very first course (picture above) was this amazing appetizer with Japanese Yam (the white strands) along with seaweed soaked in dashi broth; it’s topped with uni (sea urchin) and salmon’s eggs, served chilled. This appetizer was so refreshing.  I love the natural sweetness from the uni that contrasted perfectly with the savory dashi and salmon eggs. 



The next course consisted of quite a few component. Each one is unique and amazing.  From yellow tail sashimi, tuna, to abalone.  All fresh and amazingly prepared that matched with different sauces and seasonings.  When you enjoy the omakese, the sashimi and sushi are often seasoned and the chef would recommend you to enjoy them without dipping into soy sauce or wasabi.  If you’re not sure, it’s okay to ask the chef.



This picture above is the sweet shrimp.  The shrimps were super fresh!  Actually, the 'antennas' of the shrimp were still moving as it sat on the plate (2 pictures above).  You might see that in the video if you pay close attention while Chef Min prepared that dish! 



For the shrimp head, you can choose to have it deep fried, or to prepare a miso soup with it!  We couldn’t decide which one to pick so we tried both!






This Omakase dinner surely was one of the top 5 dining experience I’ve ever had!  (To check out the others, please click here, here, here, and here.)  In addition to the great food quality and presentation, their services were also top notch.  For example, I have never had a omakase chef asked me if there’s something we want to include or avoid in our omakase.  Yet, the chefs at Sushi Noguchi demonstrated the attention to details by asking such a simple, but important, question!  This is definitely a wonderful personal touch.



This asparagus with pouch egg dish (picture above) was the only one dish that I didn’t care for at all.  Maybe because my face look puzzled, Chef Min explained that this is a complimentary dish from the kitchen!  It tasted alright, but I just wished that it would be a traditional Japanese dish rather than an European/American dish that didn't quite match with the rest of our dishes.





You can definitely taste the freshness from each sushi.  In my humble opinion, they have the best sushi in town, no exaggeration!






This one above is one of my favorite!  Snow crab meat topped with Uni!  It had all the ingredients that I love.



Scallop sushi topped with yuzu!  Super refreshing.







Yes, we had quite many dishes!  They were all so succulent that we simply didn’t want it to end! 



As much as you wish you can eat these artistically crafted sushi all night long, when your tummy tells you that it's time to stop, you can simply tell the Chef and he’ll stop serving you. Otherwise, the food will just keep on coming (with additional charges).




Last but not least, we ended our meal with this delicious Mille Crepe Cake.  It’s wonderful and not overly sweet.  If you plan to visit North Orange County region, or do live around the area, I highly recommend this restaurant to you.  Be sure to call for reservation as the seating at the sushi bar is limited.

I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful Mother’s Day!  Go celebrate with your Grandmother, Mom, or Mother-in-Law!  Give them a big hug and don’t forget to thank them for what they did.  I’m truly grateful for all the mother figures in my life.  Until next time, please take care and have a wonderful week!


Sushi Noguchi
Address: 18507 Yorba Linda BLVD. Yorba Linda, CA 92886
Phone: (714)-777-6789
Web Page: www.sushinoguchi.com


Restaurant Reviews:
uTry.it restaurant reviews are solely based on our experience at each restaurant we visit.   They were just our opinions.  Unless otherwise stated, uTry.it and its owner were not compensated in any way to dine at these restaurants nor to write reviews.  We have no control over your dining experience at any given restaurant. Your experience will depend on the staff working that evening, the time of day, the cycles of the moon and many other things beyond our powers to influence.