Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs 親子烟熏三文魚復活蛋 - For Easter

Are you enjoying your Spring Break so far?  For those of you who haven’t gotten any time off (just yet), hang in there!  My kids have been waiting for the longest time to get some days off from school as well.  If you’re having gatherings and looking for Easter Sunday Brunch ideas, you’re in luck today.  Check out these Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs 親子烟熏三文魚復活蛋!  Aren’t they gorgeous?  Let me tell you, they taste just as fantastic as they look, too! 



If you have had your fair share of deviled eggs in the past, you’ve got to try out this recipe for a change.  The wild smoked salmon in this recipe truly bring this classic party appetizer to a whole new level!  The smokiness and gourmet flavor of smoked salmon is amazing.  The mild onion aroma from the chives and the lemony dill are just perfect companies to the salmons. 



Of course, I didn’t just stop there either!  These decadent Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs are topped with salmon eggs (roes) for the finishing touch!  As much as I love sushi and sashimi, I’m not a big fan for salmon eggs in the past!  That was true until after I had my very first bite of this gorgeous treat!  The salmon eggs add a little pop and saltiness to these creamy and silky deviled eggs.   The flavors and aromas are well balanced in this little jewel-like appetizer! 



If you haven’t watch the video tutorial for this recipe, you’ve got to click on the link above and check it out.  I spelled out the little tips and secrets on how to make the perfect hard-boil eggs, which is the basic/foundation to make deviled eggs; as well as piping tips and fun facts!  So, be sure to subscribe and watch the tutorial!  I hope you enjoy today’s recipe and video.  Stay tuned for more fun and easy recipes next week!  





Tools and Ingredients Used: 

Pastry Bags  (Click here for more information)
Large Open Star Piping Tip (Click here for more information)
Deviled Egg Platter (Click here for more information)
Ceramic Egg Tray  (Click here for more information)
Japanese Mayo  (Click here for more information)

Back to School Recipe Idea: How to Make Cutie Mouse Bento Lunch Box 可愛鼠鼠便當飯盒

For those who have young kids, how was your transition for going back to school?  I hope all of you had a positive and smooth process so far.  Mysteriously, for my family, we’re returned to our normal school day schedules and routines rather smoothly.  Well, except that I had already forgotten to set my alarm clock twice in a week.  Luckily, I managed to wake up even before my usual time and that's just so... not me!



Part of my morning routine is packing lunches and snacks for my kids.  This school year, one of my goal is to pack more fun lunch boxes for my Kiddos!



As parents, we don't likes to open "un-touched" (or barely eaten/consumed) lunch boxes after school?  That’s probably one of the biggest fear for the lunch-packers (is there an official term for this role?)  For the kids, it’s always more fun to open a lunch box and see surprises inside.  After all, I think a fun lunch box will definitely help with one’s appetite!  Today, let me present to you the Cutie Mouse in the Garden 可愛鼠鼠便當飯盒 lunch box. It’s a Bento lunch box, with an open sandwich, veggies, hard boil egg, ham, and cheese.  It is also accompanied by a cutie little mouse wondering in the garden looking for her cheese.



My Baby Girl had fun helping me out in decorating the lunch box as well.  If you haven’t watched the video tutorial yet, don’t miss out and go watch it now!  Make sure that you watch until the end for a little surprise too.  If you make this cute lunch for your kiddo, I’m sure they’ll feel the love and warmth that you send along with this lunch box!  Many of us can use some fresh ideas in packing fun lunches from time to time.  If you have any specific or special request, please commend below and I’ll try my best to create the videos and posts for you.  Stay tuned for another fun and easy recipe next week!  Take care.





Some Tools used in this post and other suggestions:
Food Decorating Tongs/Tweezers (Click here for more information)
Hello Kitty Bento Lunch Box (Click here for more information)
Hello Kitty Bento Lunch Box 2 (Click here for more information)
Hello Kitty Bento Lunch Box 3 (Click here for more information)
Small Bento Picks (Click here for more information)
Small Bento Picks 2 (Click here for more information)
Small Bento Picks 3 (Click here for more information)


Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel here.  That way, you won’t miss out on any video and you’ll be the first to know when I have a new tutorial published.

Fourth of July Cocktail–Happy Independence Day!

Do you and your family celebrate the Fourth of July?  It’s the Independence Day in the U.S. and many of us celebrate this National holiday with gatherings and parties.  I love summer time parties because it usually involves B.B.Q.  I’ll list a few of my favorite grilling recipes, side dishes, and no bake desserts at the end of this post for your reference.  Of course, in my humble opinion, any celebration should includes a refreshing cocktail as well.  Today, I want to share this festive and refreshing Fourth of July Cocktail with you, it has all the patriotic colors of the American Flag!  



Don’t forget to watch the video tutorial on how to make this festive cocktail, the link is at the top of this post.  It’s super easy to make and so much fun.  Watch the video and you’ll see what I mean.



This Fourth of July Cocktail has a few different layers.  We start with a little bit of grenadine (pomegranate syrup) at the bottom for the red color.  It’s sweet and tart at the same time, which goes really well with the blue layer, the HPNOTIQ.  HPNOTIQ is an alcoholic beverage, native to New York but bottled in France.  It’s made from fruit juices, vodka and a cognac.  It’s slightly sweet, super refreshing, and has all the fruity delicious flavors.  Last but not least, I top the cocktail with some prosecco, you can also use Champagne if you like.  I serve this cocktail in a festive sugar rimmed martini glass garnished with maraschino cherries!  It’ll be the best cocktail for your summer celebration, I guaranteed it! 



I added a few edible gold star glitters around the sugar rim, but that is totally optional.  I’ll list the items used at the bottom of this post for your convenience.



Thank you for stopping by today.  I want to wish you all a wonderful Fourth of July celebration.  How do you and your family celebrate?  Do you host parties or BBQ cookouts?  Or do you spend it quietly, or at the poolside?   I would love to hear from you!  Cheers!




Please drink responsibly.  Health and General Disclaimers. 


Favorite Grilling Recipes:
American Classic Burger
Grilledd Ribeyee Steaks with Coffee Rub
Citrus Marinated Tri Top Roast
Spinach Pesto Spaghetti with Grilled Shrimps
Penne Pasta Salad with Rib Eyes Steak

Favorite Side Dishes:
Grilled Vegetable Salad
Honey Roasted Carrot Salad
Rainbow Salad
Broccoli Salad
Roasted Shrimp Salad with Thyme and Lemon Frico

No Bake Desserts:
Sparkling Watermelon Bubbles
Strawberry Tiramisu
Mango Panna Cotta
Nutella Cheesecake
Meyer Lemon Sorbet

Tools and Ingredients:
Edible Gold Star Sprinkles (Click here for more information)
Martini Glasses (Click here for more information)
Grenadine (Click here for more information)
Maraschino Cherry (Click here for more information)
Cocktail Picks (Click here for more information)

Truffled Mushroom Mac and Cheese 黑松露芝士通粉

It seems like I haven’t posted a savory recipe in a long while.  Of course, my family doesn’t survive on just dessert, even though I know my kids won’t mind that at all!  In fact, I cook every meal of the day, almost every single day!  We only dine out occasionally on the weekends.  What do I cook every day, you might wonder?  I would say 80% Chinese or Asian dishes.  Which most of the recipes are simple and I have them memorized in mind; or I seldom measure the ingredients but simply tasting the dishes along the cooking process.  Hence, the lack of recipe posting on those dishes.

The remaining 20% would be American cuisines or pasta dishes.  And this Truffled Mushroom Mac and Cheese is a frequent dish on our dinner table!  It’s definitely my kind of comfort food in the cooler weather.  Imagine your favorite mac and cheese got “upgraded”, to a truffled version!  It takes your regular Mac and Cheese to a whole new level!  Yet, it’s still super easy to prepare that I make it almost once a week on the weeknights!     

It’s cheesy, gooey, packed with mushroom goodness and a hints of truffle’s earthy aroma.  Have you checked out my YouTube tutorial video on top of this post yet?  I do have to confess, I took a short cut and used a can of organic mushroom condensed soup for the base, which makes this dish super fast and easy to prepare.   But the soup itself is so good, which you can’t go wrong with it at all (you’ll see why if you check out the brand that I used)!  Nope, I don’t own the brand nor have anything associated with the company.  It just happened to be called Amy’s Organic Soup!   

Give this recipe a try, I’m sure it’ll soon be your family’s favorite comfort food as well.  I hope you enjoy today’s recipe and video.  Stay tuned for more easy and scrumptious recipes and video tutorials in the near future!

P.S. If you haven’t enter the worldwide giveaway, click here to check it out.  The deadline to enter is Feb 14, 2016.  Good luck!


Ingredients and props used:

Amy’s Organic Mushroom Soup (Click here for more information)

English Cheddar with Italian Black Truffle (Click here for more information)
CorningWare Etch 9-inch Baker (Click here for more information)

Core Bamboo 3-Piece Cutlery Set (Click here for more information)

Truffle Oil (Click here for more information)

Everyday Bento Book Review and Giveaway

I love and enjoy packing lunches and snacks for my Kids.  Not only that it is way more economical compared to ordering lunches from the school; I can also ensure the quality and quantity of each ingredient that goes into the lunch boxes.  But let’s be realistic, it could also be challenging when you run out of new ideas of what to pack to keep things excited.  I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to review this fun book, Everyday Bento!



There are 50 fun and adorable lunches idea that you can follow from the book, with step by step and great tips from the author, Wendy Thorpe Copley.  This book really inspires me with great new ideas in making lunch boxes to become more fun.  All you need are some cute bento containers, simple bento tools (or cookie cutters that you already have), and simple everyday supermarket ingredients!  Packing beautiful lunches has never been so easy!




Ever since I've received this book, I’m pretty sure that my Daughter looked through the pages more often than I do!  She enjoys looking at all these amazing bentos and picking her favorite ones that we can make together for her school lunches.  It’s great bonding time and fun projects that you and your kids will surely enjoy.  




Today is your lucky day!  Because I’ll be giving away a copy of Everyday Bento to one lucky uTry.it reader, courtesy of Tuttle Publishing.  

Here are the details on how to enter.
One lucky uTry.it reader (worldwide) will win a copy of “Everyday Bento”.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post and tell me if you usually pack lunches for your family.  If not, do you plan to give it a try?  Deadline to enter is February 8th, 2015 by mid-night PST.  Winner will be selected through Random.org and announce shortly after the giveaway is closed.

For extra entries, do any or all of the following (leave a separate comment for each extra entry):
1)  Add me to your Google+ circle here
2) "Like" uTry.it's Facebook Page, click here.
3) Pin a picture from this post onto Pinterest.
4) Share this giveaway on Facebook (with a link back to this post please)
5) Share this giveaway on Twitter (with a link back to this post please)
That’s all and Good Luck everyone!





Disclaimer:  I received a copy of “Everyday Bento” for the purpose of this review and I was not compensated in any way to write this post.  All comments and opinions are 100% my own.

Banana Muffins with Crunchy Oat Topping

Do you like Banana Muffins?  Honestly, I didn’t think of making them, until one day my lovely Son requested some.  What happen was that he saw a cartoon and the characters in it were making Banana Muffins!  So, he decided he wanted to make some with me as well.  How cute!  I’m just so glad that my Kids love to join me in the kitchen aa we bake and make treats together.  That’s one of my favorite special bonding time for sure. 



These Banana Muffins with Crunchy Oat Topping are pretty awesome.   They are not overly sweet, so you can taste the banana, the wonderful sweet aroma of vanilla, a hint of cinnamon and the slightly nutty oats on top.  Thanks to the mashed up bananas, the insides of these muffins are moist and soft!  I personally love adding chopped walnuts in mine.  But my Boy insist to leave it out so we didn't add any on this batch.  But the version with the walnuts would add a nice crunch and nutty flavors to these tender muffins.



There are only a few steps in preparing these muffins.  Best of all, you don’t even need a stand mixer for the recipe.  They are so simple and quick to prepare that you can simply make some in the same morning that you crave them for breakfast!  They are wonderful and fresh out of the oven!  Your whole kitchen would smell great as well.



I hope you’ll give this recipe a try!  It’s truly amazing.  Special thanks to my Little Boy for requesting these muffins so that I can share my recipe with you.  Hope you’re inspired to create something in the kitchen with your kids, or grand-kids.  Stay tuned for more fun and easy recipes.





Props used in this post:

Core Bamboo Cutlery Set (Click here for more information)
Pink Chevron Wooden Cutlery Set (Click here for more information)
Wood Slice Serving Board (Click here for more information)
Floral Tea Cup Set (Click here for similar product)

Basic Waffles Recipe…and Welcome to Our Home, Alice!

I finally gave in!  You might ask what have I given in to?  Well, as many of you know that I’m weak and softhearted when it comes to kitchen gadgets, photography props and my Kids; okay, and probably my Hubby, too (all in no particular order).  This time around, I gave in and got a waffle maker!  Well, I still can’t quite believe that I didn’t have a waffle maker until recently.  But ever since Alice (yes, sorry I can’t help it but to give the waffle maker a name, she’s a beauty!) arrived in my kitchen, I had been putting it/her to great use.  From these basic waffles, to chocolate ones, and waffle cookies, etc (I’ll be sharing the other two recipes with you in the near future).  Oh my, I’m so glad I took Alice home and didn’t hesitate a bit, okay, maybe just a tad.  But it’s totally worth it in the end.  



These basic waffles are light, crispy on the edges, airy, fluffy and tender on the inside.  The perfect waffle with a hint of vanilla aroma.  I love the subtle tanginess from the buttermilk which balance well with the sweet maple syrup. 




My Hubby loves his waffles in the more traditional way, which is served with a slice of soften butter and maple syrup (just like the one shown in the picture above).  I love it like that too but the full size waffle is a bit too big for me and the Kiddos.  So, I made them in smaller sizes as well and they were perfect portion for a light breakfast or an afternoon treat.   



I totally adore the smaller version as I can get more crispy edges for each waffle.  These basic waffles are a cinch to make, too.  Best of all, they can be stored and reheated really well.  I usually double the recipe and cook all the waffles at once.  The extra waffles can be stored in freezer-safe ziploc bags until you need them.  To reheat, simply pop one or two in the toaster oven until warmed up and crispy.  They are perfect when you’re in a rush to get breakfast on the table (and I always seem to be in a rush, especially in the morning!)



My Kids love their waffle with a little freshly whipped cream and strawberries slices.  I like this version just as much as the traditional one with butter and maple.  I highly recommend that you try both and decide which one you like better.  I bet it’ll be a tough decision for you to make too.  But hey, why just pick one when you can enjoy both, right?



I hope you enjoy today’s post and recipe.  Stay tuned for more yummy recipe and restaurant reviews in the near future.  Last but not least, thank you, Alice, for joining our family!  We love you!  And we will live happily ever after.  The End!






P.S.:  Click here to see the adorable pictures of Alice!