Dessert Recipes

A Review of Strickland's Maple Bacon Ice Cream

Until last night, I had thought that anything that Strickland's Ice Cream churns out of those gleaming machines can do no wrong. But its maple bacon flavor is not what I would consider as Strickland's finest hour. It's not that it didn't taste like it should. It is, in fact, the bacon-iest baco ... More >>

No. 25: Tuna Empanada at Puerto Madero

Even with fantastic sandwiches packed with charred Argentinian sausage, lengths of skirt steak, or a buffet of meats and cheeses, the star on the menu at Puerto Madero is a simple fish pastry. Tuna salads and sandwiches might be in other people's lunch bags, but one of the best ways to savor th ... More >>

On the Line: Chris Grodach of The Corner, Part One

Chris warned me from the get go that he'd been reading up on our interviews. The man knew what everybody else was already saying, and he informed us that he put some thought into his answers. No pressure, man. We just want you to speak your mind. Tell us how you really feel. . . . and he did.Your ea ... More >>

Simmzy's Is Breaking Down the Wall

The Manhattan Beach icon has replaced Shore House Café, and all is now right in Belmont Shore

On the Line: Jonathan Eng of Le Pain Quotidien, Part Three

Jonathan Eng's island bakery will start teaching a biscuit and scone class at the end of the month. In an ode to things besides bread, he's decided to share a savory dessert. Heck, he even takes care of our intro; so without further ado. Read our interview with Jonathan Eng of Le Pain Quotidien, Par ... More >>

North Shore Poke Co. Has a Poke-Man

Shawn Gole's Huntington Beach restaurant finally gives the Hawaiian standard its full, undivided attention

On the Line: Luis Flores of the Viking Truck, Part Three

​We end our chef interview with dessert because Luis doesn't like to waste perfectly good bread from OC Baking. The candied bacon on top is like the cherry on the proverbial sundae. Did you read our new format this week? Big Steve will get all Viking on you if you don't. And if there's a local che ... More >>

Make It: Even Easier Homemade Thin Mints

​The Internet has gone nutso over this Chicagoist post featuring a recipe for DIY Thin Mints. And for good reason. Thin Mints all year round? Yes, please. But the cookies, while surely delicious, look like they take some time to make. I've got an even easier recipe. It's the cheaters' way, but the ... More >>

5 Dishes That are Surprisingly Easy to Make at Home

​Yes, I know I went on a big stink about what kind of food people shouldn't make at home. That's not because I hate cooking; that was because some dishes are just bad ideas, whether due to difficulty of technique, time commitment or cost. Plenty of things are really easy to make at home, some ... More >>

Ten Great Places for Ice Cream in Orange County

Photo by John Gilhooley​You just recovered the mittens you stored away last season from the deepest part of your coat closet. Last night, you wore socks to bed because you didn't want your toes to lose feeling again. The heater's being used for the first time this year, and it still hasn't cooked ... More >>

Los Chocolate Chip Cukis: The Best Toll House Variation Ever

Dave Lieberman​Quick, what was the first cookie you ever made? If it wasn't a sugar cookie, I bet it was a Toll House chocolate-chip cookie. The famous recipe is printed on the back of the bags of chocolate chips and contains no weird ingredients or odd techniques.

On the Line: Diane Yoon of Merely Sweets, Part Three

Photo by Kevin Lara​Our favorite thing about interviewing a baker: guaranteed dessert recipes! Make a batch of Diane Yoon's signature walflours for someone special (or someone you need a favor from). To learn more about our sweet subject, catch up on our coffeehouse interview with Yoon in parts on ... More >>

On the Line: Diane Yoon of Merely Sweets, Part Two

Photo by Kevin Lara​Our coffeehouse session with Merely Sweets' Diane Yoon continues, with discussions on family and those tasty walflours. Diane also reveals what her alter ego might be up to if she didn't go down the culinary path. The sweet stuff begins in part one, which can be found here. Rem ... More >>

On the Line: Vicki Schrimmer of Cafe Chiarini, Part Three

Photo courtesty of Vicki SchrimmerAnd YOU get a Magic Bar!​The women of Cafe Chiarini all share the spotlight, as we now feature the café's illustrious baker, Vicki Schrimmer, to wrap up this week's On the Line. And she is happy to share her recipe for Magic Bars (known to sell out, so if you wan ... More >>

On The Line: Hung Tram of La Creperie Cafe, Part Three

Photo by Laila Derakhshanian​We conclude our On The Line segment with chef Hung Tram on a sweet note. Invite your friends over, because this recipe merits a get-together. Chocolate wasted, anyone? To view parts one and two, click here and here.

Five Deep Fried Desserts Worth the Calories

Flickr user judybaxter​What a pity this isn't Scotland. There are chippies (that's fish and chips shops to us) where they'll fry just about anything. Frozen pizza, Twinkies, Mars bars, you name it, they'll batter and deep-fry it.Sure, we have our fried desserts here, our beignets and our doughnuts ... More >>

The Slightly Frightening World of Star Wars-Related Foods

Flickr user megpi​Star Wars cupcakes? Oh, please. The Internet is much more creative than that. So powerful is the draw of the Force that nerds the world over are drawn to make a universe of Star Wars-related foods. Some of them are a little more . . . hmm . . . artisanal than others, but when you ... More >>

Bistro Anju Has an Iron Chef

Hideki Saito weathers drunkards and the clueless alike at his Laguna Niguel eatery to deliver greatness

On The Line: Dean Simon of Bruxie, Part Three

Photo by Christopher Victorio​We conclude our Q&A with Dean Simon of Bruxie with a recipe. And it's a special one, coinciding with its actual debut to the public, today. Here's a hint: in November, Bruxie opened with a Pumpkin Spice shake, then last month they offered two holiday shakes: Egg ... More >>

Holiday Baking: Gingerbread Cupcakes

Dave LiebermanYep. It's supposed to look homemade, because it is.​As I've said elsewhere, I think the cupcake craze is due for a market correction and if it weren't for bacon, it'd be the most annoying food fad of the last decade. That said, I have nothing against cupcakes themselves, and they're ... More >>

The Origin of Sandra Lee's Kwanzaa Cake Revealed

Flickr user magillicuddy​The worst recipe ever created on the Food Network was the cringe-worthy Kwanzaa cake made by Sandra Lee on her "Semi-Homemade" program. It was so bad we wondered whether it was farce; it appeared to be genuine. It gave rise to questions, though: who created it? Who could b ... More >>

Put Down The Damn Cool Whip. Do It Now.

Flickr user roadsidepicturesYou're not fooling anyone, you know.​Last week was a very stressful week, and when I get stressed out, I cook. The concentration required to work in a kitchen, a place with knives, boiling water or oil, fire, and slippery floors, takes my mind off whatever's gone wrong. ... More >>

On The Line: Derek Venutolo of The Capital Grille, Part Three

Photo by Todd Barnes​ For our final installment of On The Line with Derek Venutolo of Capital Grille, our featured chef shares a recipe. If you missed the first or second part of our Q&A, click here and here. Otherwise click onward.

Shelly Register of A Restaurant and Market, Part Three

Photo by Todd Barnes​Today, we conclude our series with a recipe for Chef Shelly's Peanut Butter Cookies. If you missed it, read Part One and Part Two of this week's interview.If you watched last night's Top Chef: Just Desserts, you know that one chef made a brilliant cookie and another made a com ... More >>

The American Fruit Dessert Chronicles: Apple Crisp

Flickr user cheezemaster​I am an unabashed chauvinist when it comes to desserts: we Americans have the very best desserts in the world. Sure, other countries have their moments to shine, with clafoutis, sticky toffee pudding, vareniki or daan taat, but when it comes to fruit-based desserts, there ... More >>

#16. Tripas Tacos at Taco Pronto

ProfessorSalt.comGutsy tacos!​ You'll have noticed we're changing who writes this feature on a day by day basis: this is how you know we're getting close to the end of our countdown. Make sure to pick up a copy of our Best of OC 2010 when it hits the newsstands October 14!If you're the sort ... More >>

#19. Sausage at Sabatino's

Dave LiebermanJust opening the package will suffuse your senses with the smell of porky perfection.​You'll have noticed we're changing who writes this feature on a day by day basis: this is how you know we're getting close to the end of our countdown. Make sure to pick up a copy of our Best of OC ... More >>

Salty & Sweet: Bun In My Oven's Potato Chip Cookies!

bunsinmyoven.comHello, heaven.​The perfect accompaniment to any dessert? French fries. I'm a slave to the phenom--yes, phenom--of the salty/sweet combination. And so how could I pass up sharing this recipe for chocolate chip cookies with crushed potato chips thrown into the batter from baking blog ... More >>

#84. Silken Tofu and Thousand Year Old Egg at Asian Tapas

Edwin Goei​ We continue to countdown our 100 favorite dishes at local restaurants. We'll be sharing these with you every weekday until our annual Best Of Issue comes out. Enjoy! #84. Silken Tofu and Thousand Year Old Egg at Asian Tapas You need to get past the "thousand-year-old egg" moniker ... More >>

At the Farmers' Market: Soledad Goats

Dave Lieberman​Mojave's not exactly a place people expect food to come from, situated as it is in the middle of a hot desert, a stopping point for air shows and people driving from San Francisco to Las Vegas and people connected with the Air Force base.The first time I saw the sign for Soledad Goa ... More >>

When Cooking French is Actually Easier: Cherry Tart

Willy Blackmore​If there were ever a good argument for classic Americana foods being fussier, more difficult to make than their French counterparts, it would involve a showdown between the Yankee's pie and the Gaul's tart. Both involve a baked crust, full of butter or maybe even lard, filled with ... More >>

Recipe of the Week: Bailey's Chocolate Soufflé

For years, I read of the terror of the soufflé. "Leave the kitchen and be quiet," recipes cautioned, "lest you make the soufflé fall in the oven." Fiction books were full of anecdotes of 1960s-era housewives, their stereotypically tiny waists accentuated by a carefully-tied apron, being subjected ... More >>

The Great Vizzi-Ni: Coastal Cuisine Comes Inland

I ate at a food truck last week that did not feature a single fried item on its menu."INCON-THEE-VABLE!""You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."Courtesy of Vizzi Truck​

A Minimalist's Rice Pudding

Jonathan Gill/ / CC BY 2.0A different grain for dessert​When it comes to desert and grains, wheat is by far the king, with flour turning up in nearly every treat you could put together to end a meal with. But rice, too, has its place in the sweetest course, with its natural, unadorned flavor lendi ... More >>

Had Your Weedies Today?: Five Favorite Pot Recipes

Daniel Tomita/OC WeeklyWeed Cookie = Wookie.​With a lot of us going green today, wouldn't it have just made more sense to go ahead and have Earth Day on the 20th? Of course, it depends on which context of the phrase you're using. But hey, if you're feeling prematurely eco-friendly, why not use b ... More >>

Not Just A 1980s Doll: Strawberry Shortcake

Dave LiebermanOne large shortcake, the size of a dinner plate.​It's strawberry season, and no single dessert shows off the wonders of California's favorite berry as its eponymous shortcake. Buttermilk biscuits, freshly-whipped cream (what fancy pastry chefs call crème Chantilly) and strawberries ... More >>

Chinese, Part 2

Arguably the most familiar Chinese regional cuisine in the United States, Cantonese food got its start with the first Chinese immigrants to San Francisco. At that point they had to make do with what ingredients were available to them. Cantonese food in the US isn't like that anymore.tracyhunter @ fl ... More >>

Recipe of the Week: Poires Belle Hélène

Make-ahead desserts are the savior of many a dinner party; cakes, pies and cookies can all be made ahead and served at the appropriate time with a minimum of fuss. It's hard to make a cake look beautiful on a plate, though. As delicious as it might be, it's still a wedge of sweet bready cake on a pl ... More >>

Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour Is an Assault on the Senses, Sensibilities and Sentimentality

Recipe of The Week: Celery Root and Sweet Potato Cakes

Cooking locally and in-season can be difficult at times. At the mercy of the sometimes work-conflicting schedules of area farmers' markets or faced with lots of label-reading at the grocery store in order to discern between what was grown in California versus some far away place--C ... More >>

Wacky Snacks: Cream Collon

www.asianfoodgrocer.com​ Name: Cream Collon Origin: Japan Found at: World Market, Huntington Beach Cost: $2.99 Ingredients: Shortening (grapeseed oil, palm oil), wheat flour, sugar, glucose, lactose, dextrin, concentrated egg powder, cheese powder, invert sugar, milk seasoning, palm oil, corn star ... More >>

Recipe of the Week: Crème Brûlée in Apples

Dave Lieberman​Quick, what's better than crème brûlée?How about crème brûlée in an edible bowl?The Catalans, those famously free-thinking denizens of northeastern Spain, Andorra and the adjacent part of France, claim to have pioneered crème brûlée. In a burst of national pride, they call ... More >>

Seasonal Recipe From Sage

While fast food chains, on the whole, seem to be weathering the recessionary storm, some upscale eateries are having to bite the bullet and cut back their hours. Sage on the Coast is one recent casualty, shelving its lunchtime service on Mondays and Tuesdays.  It's a shame, but thankfully its t ... More >>

Dangerously Good Desserts At Pizzeria Ortica

It's not often that hubby and I nearly come to blows over dessert (or anything else, I hasten to add), but we had a very close call during a recent meal at Pizzeria Ortica in Costa Mesa. (For Edwin's review of the sleek eaterie, CLICK HERE).Our bellies already filled with pies, we thought we were be ... More >>

Welcome to the Poorhouse: the Fresh and Easy Life

It was good to be back in Henry's. I'd been a regular customer of the yuppified farmers market since it opened in February 2003 on the other side of Costa Mesa's Great Wall of College Avenue that blocks the sights and sounds of the Target store loading docks from my humble abode. Everything changed ... More >>

We Got David Myers' Pizzeria Ortica First. So, Suck It, LA!

Choc Tactics

"Leftover chocolate." Just like "fun run" and "friendly fire," the two words just don't belong together. However, in the unlikely event that you did overbuy/undereat the stuff of the gods this past Valentine's Day weekend, here's an easy-to-follow recipe that will rectify this dreadful situation.Ing ... More >>

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