Pie Hole and the Griffith Observatory

As I've mentioned before, I have a legitimate Los Angeles bucket list on my phone. I add to it every time I see something that I want to do before I leave California after college... while that is in two years' time, I still try and take advantage of the fact that I currently live in one of the most vibrant cities in America.

One such entry on my bucket list was a place called The Pie Hole, a restaurant in the Arts District of Downtown LA that serves, you guessed it, all sorts of pie. My boyfriend and I drove there on a Saturday night in the early evening, ordered dessert for dinner (even though Pie Hole has savory pies), and found a table outside where the breeze (and drinks) found us.

In the spirit of adventure, I ordered a house-made Arnold Palmer, which is half tea and half lemonade. I was never a huge Arnold Palmer fan in my youth, but it sounded really refreshing... and it was! The drink wasn't too bitter nor too sweet, and had a really nice balance between the tea and lemonade. My only gripe was that it was gone to soon!

B ordered an espresso. He is an avid coffee drinker and savors his espressos, and he really enjoyed this one. Pie Hole takes great pride in their coffee, even selling their own roast in the store, and this pride is apparently deserved. B thought that this espresso was somehow lighter than other espressos that he's consumed, but in a nice way. I didn't try it, but he felt that it was just a very solid and delicious espresso.

Fun fact: one major reason that I wanted to go to Pie Hole was because my boyfriend had never had pie before. Yes. Never had pie. It was a big deal. So, being adults, we ordered pie for dinner... because we can! He went with the classic American double-crust pie a la mode. While I don't think he quite knew what to expect, he really enjoyed it! The apples were spiced wonderfully with cinnamon, and had softened while cooking yet maintained a substantial mouthfeel and bite. The top crust absolutely deserved an honorable mention--while it may be hard to tell from the angle of the photo, you can sort of see the caramelization on top. It seemed to be burnt/caramelized sugar, like the crust of crème brulée!

I went with the cherry almond pie, which also had a double crust. The filling was thick, but I couldn't really taste much almond. I think the crust may have been made with almond flour, which is the only explanation I can really think of. The crust in this pie was also delicious--it was covered in sugar, so how could it not be? The ice cream (just plain vanilla bean) really added a lot to the pie, though. While the pie by itself was good, the addition of the ice cream gave it more depth and made the tartness of the filling a little less pronounced.

From our table, we watched everyone at Wurstküche line up around the block to wait for their gourmet bratwursts. It's yet another delicious restaurant in the Arts District that I highly recommend! Next time I go, I'll make sure to bring my camera along.

Now, after Pie Hole, we tried to head up to the Griffith Observatory. We couldn't figure out why it took us almost a half hour to get to the top of the hill... and then we looked at the calendar and realized that the Observatory was holding a summer solstice celebration. D'oh! Having lost our spirit of adventure, we turned around and went back home...

However, all was not lost! A week later, we grabbed a quick bite to eat, checked the calendar, and ventured back up to the Observatory. We nabbed a parking spot in the main lot, and had about forty-five minutes before the park closed to wander around.

The Griffith Observatory and the views of LA were even more beautiful and breathtaking than I had imagined--I'll let the above pictures do the talking. B let me drag him around and stop at random places to just look, and it was really wonderful.

The inside of the Observatory also hosts some cool displays and exhibits; I only wish we had more time to explore! I'm hoping to return and thoroughly soak up all of the information inside the building, as well as seeing the show at the planetarium.

This room compared and contrasted the various planets in our solar system, explaining everything from size to temperature to gravitational force! Also of note--I fell up those stairs in the bottom/bottom left of that picture. With one hand on my camera and the other holding my boyfriend's hand, it was a bit of a scary moment, but I cradled my camera and let my shin take the force of the impact. My priorities are definitely in a weird place.

After a few laughably bad selfie attempts in front of the Observatory, B and I called it a night and headed to the car to drive back home.

With all this free time in the summer, I've been loving exploring LA. Do you have any suggestions for cool things to do? Let me know in the comments below! And, as always, you can find me on Instagram at @__katherinew

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Laguna Beach

In what's becoming a President's Day tradition, my roommates and I got away from school for the long weekend. J's grandmother lives in a beautiful house in Laguna Beach, so we headed down on Friday afternoon with a quick pit stop at In-N-Out. Tradition, right?

In the true spirit of Valentine's Day (or Galentine's Day), we headed out for a romantic dinner (ha) at Gelson's. We picked some stuff up at the deli, then headed back to eat and watch the sunset.

Embarrassingly enough, after dinner, I fell asleep on the couch right as the Olympics started, and only roused myself to wash my face and slip into bed properly for the night.

The next morning dawned bright and early, so we nabbed ourselves a spot on Aliso Beach right at the crack of 11:30 am. Since I don't really do sunbathing, I went for a jog in the sand while J and N soaked up the rays.

When I re-joined my friends, I did some thrilling assigned reading on the kuru disease in Papua New Guinea and eventually burrowed under a towel because I thought I was burning. Why I live in Southern California sometimes escapes me, I will say.

We spent the afternoon doing a spot of shopping downtown, I got in a spot of reading, the usual. I read Sun Tzu's The Art of War and got through about 75% of Dale Carnegie's influential How to Win Friends and Influence People. Don't worry, I'm still working through it before I go to bed every night!

For dinner, we drove to downtown Laguna to eat dinner at El Ranchito, a Mexican restaurant. We waited for our table outside... gotta love Southern California in February!

After a twenty minute wait, we were seated and greeted with some fresh tortilla chips. Don't mind if I do!

Naturally, we ordered some guacamole to share. It was great--very simple with huge chunks of avocado. It was a huge bowl, came with extra chips, and we devoured the lot before our entrees came!

J ordered the Baja Bowl with sautéed vegetables. She thought the portion was perfect and that the vegetables were "very nicely sautéed". She says she would definitely order it again! She had no complaints about it.

N ordered the same Baja Bowl, but with Carne Asada instead of vegetables. While she did really enjoy it, she thought it was too salty. Logical reasoning led to the thought that it may have been the steak that made it that way--while I think she enjoyed it, the bowl was not finished. Interpret that as you may!

I ordered the veggie fajitas. Just as J vocalized about her vegetables, I thought mine were sautéed wonderfully. The marinade was truly excellent. Unfortunately, El Ranchito cooks their rice in chicken broth, so I went without. The black beans were fine, and the (not pictured) tortillas were pretty good. A very solid dish!

Before heading home, we stopped for a coffee at Koffee Klatch.

We all got various lattes--I ordered a Chai Tea latte, N a regular latte, and J a raspberry Chai Tea latte. While my and J's lattes were truly excellent, N's was a bit too sweet. However, it was good enough that we went back on Monday!

Similarly to Friday night, we watched the Olympics before crashing embarrassingly early. Hey, it was a vacation!

Now Sunday, J and I actually got up sort of early. We headed to the Dana Hills high school track for a bit of a run. After we drove home in the sunshine, we got ready with N, and then the three of us took J's grandmother out for lunch at Taco Surf. It's her favorite restaurant, so we treated her as a "thanks for letting three college students take over your home for the weekend" sort of thing.

Like all of the best restaurants, we were greeted with food before we even ordered. Unfortunately, we made the mistake of ordering the guacamole. It was really not that good. It tasted sweet somehow, and not like avocado. The guac had a runny, strange consistency... not ideal. It didn't even look good on camera.

Luckily, before we knew it, our food arrived. J ordered the veggie tacos, which were apparently a perfect amount of food, and very tasty.

Grams got the huge chile relleno, which she apparently gets every time she visits Taco Surf. She loves it! The inside was absolutely stuffed with cheese. I debated ordering this, I will say, and I'm kind of craving a chile relleno now. Next time!

I decided on the very colorful and delicious taco salad with sautéed vegetables in the absence of meat, with balsamic dressing on the side. I only used a tiny splash of the dressing, since the vegetables had a marinade that permeated the rest of the salad. Let me tell you, the salad was awesome. I couldn't finish it--so many vegetables, textures, tastes... I would definitely order it again.

N ordered the three tacos, one each of Baja fish, regular fish, and carnitas. While they were all allegedly good, the carnitas were apparently amazing. The carnitas are a specialty of Taco Surf, according to J and her grandmother, and N thinks deservedly so!

Happily full, we dropped Grams off at home before heading to Fashion Island for an afternoon of shopping. We stopped at Whole Foods deli to grab dinner, then went back home to begrudgingly do some homework.

As the sun set, we had an impromptu photo shoot, as well as a proper shoot for J's fashion blog.

What a wonderful place to rest for a weekend. I woke up during the night and saw the moon reflecting beautifully off the ocean. I swear this isn't real life.

On Monday, after I took a brief trot around the neighborhood, we packed up the car, grabbed coffee at Koffee Klatch, and headed back to Los Angeles.

In somewhat related news, this exact weekend and posting date marks the first birthday of a Chef in College. I've hit over six thousand page views in the past year, and it's amazing to think that there are so many people besides my parents who care about my life.

To everyone who has read a post, liked, commented, followed one of my recipes... thank you for your support. What started as a simple way to keep track of what I do and what I make has turned into something so much more.

This weekend was a magical way to celebrate my plunge into the blogging world. I'm so grateful for it all.

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Stuffed Potatoes

You know how some people gravitate towards one specific food, or even one cuisine? I suppose most of it comes from heritage; therefore, it's not much of a surprise that my (very, very British) parents and I love potatoes. It doesn't matter what form in which they come. Baked, mashed, fried, gnocchi'ed, we'll eat them all day.

After a frustratingly slow dinner out in Maine, we adamantly refused to venture out of the house for dinner the next night. Exhausted as usual after skiing (and recovering in the Jacuzzi), we agreed wholeheartedly on a family standby--stuffed potatoes.

Super fast and easily customizable, stuffed potatoes are always a hit at our house. They're also a greatly comforting food on a cold winter's night. Note: use any fillings/toppings that you'd like! You can really put anything you want in these. Use my ingredients as a simple suggestion, if you'd like!

You will need:
 -5 potatoes (for four people)
 -2 cups broccoli
 -1 cup chopped ham
 -1/2 cup chives
 -1 cup cheese, plus more for topping
 -2 tbsp butter
 -1/3 cup milk (approx.)

Oven temp: 350˚F

Start by cooking your potatoes in whichever way you want. We pierced them, then nuked 'em in the microwave for fifteen minutes, flipping halfway through cooking time. Remember that microwave times may vary! You could also bake them if you'd like, but that takes forever... ain't nobody got time fo' that.

When the potatoes are cooked, let them cool for a few minutes. Then, using a sharp knife, cut them in half.

Use a spoon to hollow the spuds out. Keep a bit of flesh on the skin, since you want to maintain the potato shape. Put the remaining scooped-out flesh into a large bowl, big enough for mashing.

Now, to the fun part. Add the butter and milk to your potato flesh, then mash away until it's at a suitable consistency. I would recommend that you don't add salt to the potatoes, since the chances are that your toppings will contain salt themselves. The last thing you want is a too-salty potato!

Prepare your toppings. We nuked our broccoli in a covered dish for three minutes in the microwave. Once it's cooked, cut it into small pieces.

Chop your ham.

Use scissors to cut your chives. Trust me.

Add your chives and cheese to the mashed potatoes. Then, we divided the mashed potato into four portions and each individualized our ingredients. I added lots of broccoli, whereas my dad included only ham. Grandma and mom wanted both!

Fill your potato shells with your mixture, then place them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top with more cheese (duh) then bake them for ten or fifteen minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Take them out and serve immediately! Our stuffed potatoes were accompanied with a simple salad. They take approximately an hour from start to finish. Easy, nutritious, and delicious, I recommend these any time you need a hearty supper during the cold New England winter!

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Chimichurri Burrito Bowl

It's probably lucky that I have to ride my bike for a solid five minutes and across a few pesky traffic lights to get to Chipotle. I'm minorly obsessed with simple, Mexican-style food at reasonable prices, but the trek is sometimes a little too much for a straightforward and easy meal.

Thankfully for my wallet and waistline, I simply don't have enough time to head over to the Chipotle down the street. However, since I've been craving some burrito bowl action, I decided to take matters into my own hands--with a DIY burrito bowl.

For a few weeks, I've contemplated exactly how I'd attack it. There's the obvious cilantro lime rice, the black beans, the lettuce, and the avocado, but what else? I floundered for a few weeks, ignoring the obvious and basic salsas, until a friend sent me this link to an Avocado Chimichurri Bruschetta recipe. And then, that was that. The very next day, this creation was made: the Chimichurri Burrito Bowl. Armed with my roommate D's fancy camera, I set out to share this creation with the world... but mostly with my stomach.

For those of you who have yet to experience the deliciously amazing world of chimichurri, let me give you a brief rundown. It's an Argentinian sauce used for flavoring foods, similar to salsa. Straightforward, right? Nobody knows exactly where the name comes from, but everyone thinks that the British bastardized some Spanish words to create the name. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

Now that you know, it's time to get cookin'.

You will need:
 -1 cup of dry black beans
 -1 cup of dry white rice
 -2 tbsp + 1 tbsp of lemon juice
 -2 tbsp red wine vinegar
 -3 cloves of garlic, minced
 -1/2 tsp salt
 -1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
 -1/2 tsp dried oregano
 -1/4 tsp ground black pepper
 -1/4 cup of olive oil
 -1/2 cup + 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
 -1/4 cup of chopped parsley
 -1/2 avocado
 -2 handfuls of lettuce

If you're smarter than me, you'll get your beans cooking as soon as possible, or you will buy them pre-cooked. I thought I'd be thrifty and buy the dry beans, so I had to go through the process of rinsing, soaking, rinsing again, then cooking. If you do this, just follow the instructions on the bag and account for time. Mine took about an hour and a half to two hours, so plan accordingly.

You'll start by roughly chopping your parsley and 1/4 cup of cilantro for the chimichurri. You want the chimichurri to sit for an hour or two to let the flavors truly mingle. While this may seem a bit unnecessary, it's completely worth it.

Very simply, you'll whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and garlic in a bowl. I used a big bowl because the bowls in our kitchen come in two sizes: tiny or huge, and I thought huge would be tidier than tiny. That's decent logic, right?

Next, whisk in the olive oil gradually. Pour in a little bit at a time, whisk it all around, then pour some more. It should take at least a full two minutes.

Once that's all incorporated, stir in the parsley and your 1/4 cup of oregano. Mix it all together really well, then pop it into the fridge until it's time to assemble the meal. Isn't that easy now?

Once your beans have about thirty minutes left of cooking time, you can get started on your rice. Bring 1 and 3/4 cups of water and 1 tbsp of lemon juice to a boil, then add a cup of dry rice. Follow the directions on your bag, but it'll probably tell you to simmer, covered, for about twenty minutes. Once it's cooked, uncover it, and stir in your remaining 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro. The heat from the rice will wilt it a little, but the cilantro will release its delicious flavors even more.

Now, it's assembly time. See, wasn't that fast?

Throw two healthy handfuls of lettuce into a bowl. I used another gigantic bowl, just so I could mix around all the ingredients once I started consuming my meal. On top of the lettuce, place about 1/2 cup of cooked rice. Marvel at how awesome it already looks.

On top of the rice, add about 1/2 cup of cooked and (mostly) drained black beans. Keeping a little bit of the juice adds a nice depth, I think, to the acidity and kick of the chimichurri.

Now, spread a heaping spoonful of chimichurri atop your creation. Don't worry about mixing it all together just yet, since you'll plonk half a sliced avocado on top of it all. Sprinkle with black pepper and you're set!

Of course, burrito bowls are meant to be enjoyed all cut up and mixed together! The chimichurri acts as a really delicious and acidic dressing for all the ingredients, and the avocado lends a creaminess to the dish. Add that to the clean crispness of the lettuce, the starchiness of the rice, and the protein of the beans, and you've got one heck of a meal.

Once I had taken a few bites and realized I hit a home run with this recipe, I went straight across the hall to make my friends try it and tell me what they thought. Two brief quotes: "Yum. Literally the only word I can use for this. Yum." and "This is definitely the best thing you've ever made that I've eaten".

What definitely tied the burrito bowl together was the chimichurri. Without it, the bowl would have been a dry, sad excuse for a pseudo-Mexican meal. The sauce elevated it to an awesome level, part salad dressing and part salsa. It does have a bit of a kick, but I can easily imagine it in a grilled cheese sandwich, or taking the place of pesto in a pasta dish.

Naturally, my burrito bowl was consumed tidily and gracefully (ha) right before hockey practice. I had just enough time to finish eating and put away the leftover beans and rice for another burrito bowl... which, let's face it, will probably happen tomorrow. Just pop the beans and rice in the microwave for twenty or thirty seconds to warm them up and you're back in business.

All in all, a delicious, straightforward, and cost-effective meal that will definitely provide plenty of leftovers for the week's remaining lunches and dinners.

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