Merry Matcha Munchies

If you're looking for a unique flavor to use on your desserts, I suggest trying Matcha. Matcha, or green tea powder, will not only give your sweets a hint of Japanese tea flavor, but also give them a festive green color so you don't have to use food dye!

My dance team has macaron fundraisers every semester and the green tea ones are always the most popular. So last week for Christmas, I decided to make them on my own. Let's just say that they didn't turn out to be perfectly pretty patties. 

In my opinion, macarons are way too complicated to make and I probably won't ever attempt to make them alone again. But you know what's 10 times easier? Cheesecake! I found a matcha mini cheesecake recipe, though I simplified it by using Keebler Ready Pie Crusts.  

Now that I have all this matcha powder, I have to find more recipes!

Life is like...

It's gift giving season! If you're struggling with present ideas, know that treats easily make people happy. Things like Edible Arrangements and gift baskets are classic, thoughtful gifts. But I believe chocolate boxes are where it's at. When given an assorted, tasty, and fancy looking box of chocolates, what more could you ask for? With so many options to shop (Godiva! Ferrero Rocher! Lindt!) you could get all of your holiday shopping done.

Yesterday, I received a box of assorted Godiva chocolates from my best friend. As a self-proclaimed chocoholic, I was pleasantly surprised and appreciative. It's been a crazy few weeks because of numerous projects and finals coming up. So it's nice to enjoy some delectable treats from a person who cared enough to make my day.  

This holiday season, I suggest giving a box of chocolates, cookies, or whatever your friends and family like. A simple gift like this can go a long way. 

Turkey

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving break this past weekend! Instead of just having Asian food as always, this year was the first time my family decided to host a traditional Thanksgiving gathering, complete with things like mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, sweet potato souffle, pumpkin and pecan pie, and a 17 pound Turkey.

The turkey was from Whole Foods and we followed the given instructions for cook time and temperature. However, none of us had ever cooked a whole turkey before and we were afraid it would turn out too dry... which it unfortunately did. 

No worries though. I did some research in preparation for next year's bird and learned that we did not do one key step for moist, tender meat - letting it rest. Everywhere I've read said after taking the turkey out of the oven, let it rest about 30 minutes. Resting redistributes the juices and makes for smooth carving. 

Now, I have a bag of leftover, dry turkey meat that will last me the rest of the week. We'll try again next Thanksgiving!

Please enjoy this picture of a turkey that turned out right for us; the fruit platter.