Blueberry Pancakes and Eggs Benedict II

February 7, 2013 By 2 Comments

THE QUEST CONTINUES…

VENUE: THE TAVERN – BRENTWOOD

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Amazing atmosphere! Feels like you are eating outside on a lovely sunlit patio but you are actually inside!  Glass ceiling and trees planted in the floor! 10 out of 10.

My Partner in Crime:

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Cezzie… What a cutie!

THE COMPETITORS:

The Tavern “Benedict” with prosciutto, gruyere, frise and hollandaise on brioche.

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THE VERDICT:  Interesting.  Appearance – gorgeous.  Loved the prosciutto, frise (with lemon juice) and brioche!  Not a huge fan of decision to put cheese on the toast (-1).  I would have preferred A LOT more hollandaise instead of the cheese (-1).  It was light and lovely… never thought Eggs Benedict could ever be light!  (I like mine hearty and filling! -2)  So, I give the Tavern Benedict a 6 out of 10.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Compote

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THE VERDICT: Loved the taste!  Sweet and little tart with the lemon and blueberry combo.  Appearance – not the prettiest (-1).  Ricotta is definitely the secret to moist, yummy pancakes!  Caroline thought they were a little soggy though, and I would have to agree (-1).  Another point deduction comes from the fact that they do not serve the pancakes with maple syrup (-1).  Um, who serves pancakes without maple syrup?? I had to ask for some! I give the Tavern Pancakes a 7 out of 10.

It was a lovely brunch spot.  I would have loved to have just lounged there all morning with the paper and a cup of tea, but we were there on serious business.

Check out what Caroline thought on her blog… The Quest For The Best Breakfast

I caught myself a couple times being overly critical and unimpressed…

This quest has turned me into the “Russian judge” of breakfast food.

Filed Under: Allison 2 Comments

Hannah’s Birthday Celebration Continues!

February 7, 2013 By 4 Comments

I woke up bright and early on Tuesday morning (Hannah’s birthday) and managed to gather all of my belongings…my backpack, my outfit, my blowdryer, toothbrush, makeup, and everything else I needed to get ready for the day…and take them outside of our room without waking Hannah. I don’t know how she didn’t wake up because I wasn’t as quiet as I intended to be. I had to take everything out of my room because after we finished what the girls and I had planned, I wouldn’t be able to get back inside my room.

I met the girls in the stairwell to our suite and we got straight to work. Cutting plastic bags and blowing up balloons…lots of balloons!

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Then, we taped the plastic bags across Hannah’s door and stuffed the balloons between the plastic and her door.

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This is what we call a BALLOON AVALANCHE! When Hannah opened the door, all of the balloons fell on her and made for a great kick off to the day!

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Then, it was time to get ready and we all had class. Boo. Hannah even had a midterm on her birthday. Double boo.

Hannah has a tradition in her family to decorate the entire house with these signs made by each person in the family for someone’s birthday. And we decided to bring the tradition to Pepperdine! When Hannah’s mum was in town, she left the signs with me. While she was in class, I put up signs all around the room that her family had made her.

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A little bit later in the day, Natalie and I gave her a birthday present of two silver stacking rings. (Hannah had never had a ring but told us a while ago that she wanted one she could wear everyday)

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To end the birthday celebration with a bang, Natalie, Hannah, and I rented a car and drove into LA for Sprinkles Cupcakes and Ice Cream!

They’re creations really are amazing and almost worth dying for. Natalie was a plain jane and picked vanilla ice cream between a red velvet cupcake tops. Hannah chose red velvet ice cream between dark chocolate cupcake tops. And I always have the toughest time making up my mind. I couldn’t figure out what flavor of ice cream I wanted or if I wanted it in a cone or a cookie sandwich. It was too hard! But, I finally ended up going with the banana ice cream and the salted oatmeal cornflake cookie sandwich. And I do not regret it one bit…it was absolutely delicious.

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^^I think Natalie is just a little bit excited about her Sprinkles Ice Cream!

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^^These two waited patiently while I took forever to decide

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^^My beautiful creation

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^^We love you more than you know!

While we were there, we picked up some cupcakes (courtesy of Hannah’s sweet mum – thank you a million) to take back to the dorms for a little suite party!

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We sure do love birthdays around here!

Filed Under: Caroline, Pepperdine 4 Comments

Super Bowl Sunday Funday

February 6, 2013 By 1 Comment

Since my beloved Patriots did not make the Super Bowl (I’m still upset), what I wanted more than anything was just a good game to watch. But, it’s always more fun when you have a team to root for…so, I cheered the 49ers on for my dad’s sake! (His first team growing up was the 49ers. But, once he and my family moved to Boston, he couldn’t resist falling in love with the Patriots. And I don’t blame him…how can you not love them?!)

The 49ers ended up losing too. Not a good year for my family’s sports teams. (Let’s not even bring up the Red Sox). But, I did get the good game I was looking for! I wasn’t so sure about that during the first half of the game…in fact, I was pretty bored by it. I was pinning on Pinterest, cooking, and baking during most of it.

Allie and I made White Chicken Chili and Cornbread.

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^^Don’t let the onions make you cry, sister!

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AND…Football Rice Krispy Treats.

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^^”They’re little footballs” “Laces Out” (Can you name that movie??)

We sat down on the couch just in time for the half time show.

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Beyonce hit the stage and from that moment on, with the power outage and amazing performance by the 49ers in the second half, my eyes were glued to the TV.

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^^Our oldest sister, Emily, joined the party too! (Technology is amazing) As you can see, Allie and I were a bit too into the game. Sorry Emmy! We love you

Thank you for the good game Harbaughs and the amazing half time performance Bey! My only wish would have been that the Patriots won the Super Bowl. Then, it would have been a perfect Super Bowl Sunday! Oh, well…there is always next year. I have faith in them!

Filed Under: Caroline, Sunday Funday 1 Comment