Dessert Recipe: Vanilla Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit Jelly

As I'm typing this blog right now, it's raining cats and dogs plus it's rather chilly outside. I had a sudden craving for a dessert. Maybe a cup of hot cocoa will do, but I feel that I have been chocolate overload for the past few weeks. 

So, this time, I promise you that it'll be less messy and does not require much cleaning up. {phew..i hear a sound of relief.. ;)}. I've decided that my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer gets to take a rest for this weekend. Apart from that, part of me thought "what a wonderful time to catch up on some shut eye" or maybe "why not make panna cotta?"

To be honest, I miss making my vanilla panna cotta, and I usually make my panna cotta with raspberry jelly with fresh raspberry in the jelly. Not that the panna cotta on it's own is already divine, {slurps} I just like the idea of adding a little hint of kick of sourness to balance off the full creamy-soft, melt in the mouth texture of vanilla panna cotta.This time, I've decided to try to make my vanilla panna cotta with passionfruit jelly since I still got a couple of passionfruit left in the fridge.

If you have been a follower of my blog, I believe you may notice how I LOVE any form of berries be it raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, black berry, cranberry, lingonberry or anything citrus. Apart of lemon, I do love my peaches and passionfruit. I just love the natural fruit sweetness and a hint of sourness in the fruit. The taste just pops in your mouth, making it so appetizing; and am sure will tempt you to have a second helping.

Black & Pink Chocolate Cupcake

It feels like I've not been baking for sometime now. Since having the terrible cough, I've not been able to do much as I felt that my senses were off. Last week, I was going through the pantry and fridge and I found a couple of things that I like to clear away.

Things that I found were a box of Pillsbury Instant Chocolate Mix, Lingonberry Jam from IKEA, Philly Cream Cheese and Oreos. Okay, to be honest I'm not a fond believer in using instant cake mix as I find that the taste at times is not quite there plus I will always add in extra ingredients to make it tastier. However, on the other hand if you don't have time in your hands and you have craving for a quick dessert, then instant mixes are a blessing. Lol..

To be honest, I don't have an exact recipe in hand this time or adapted from any books or recipe sites. My Black and Pink Cupcakes are essentially Chocolate Cupcake with Lingonberry Cream Cheese Frosting and Choco Cupcake with Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting.

Baking Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookie for the Road

Recently, just the past weekend I went on a road trip with 3 of my fabulous girl friends. With my terrible cough and all {Lol}..I drove us 4 girls up North for a food gastronomy. Well, the trip was plan ahead and I surely did not anticipate for myself to be under the weather. {in case you're wondering..}

The Faboulous Four
{Lynn, Jamie, Jo, Steph..missing 1 gal, Ms Fifi. This is for you Fifi, don't forget us. }

We made a pit stop in Ipoh, my hometown where I had a lot of great food memories during my childhood years for a scrumptious breakfast and I managed to catch up with my aunt and uncle who is famous for their Pork Satay. After a lovely pit stop, we made our way further up to Penang or also known as Pulau Pinang.

For the road trip, I've decided to bake good old Chocolate Chip Cookie. Nothing beats home baked Chocolate Chip Cookie {in my opinion}. The smell of freshly baked cookie filled with chocolate chips, a hint of vanilla essence, burnt butter and brown sugar is really intoxicating and in a way it reminded me of the ever so famous 'Famous Amous Cookies' {perhaps better.. >.<}

{Hoorah!!} A Small Part of Me Featured in Desserts For Breakfast

Chic & Gorgeous Featured

Christmas 2009, in Venice, Italy. The same feeling that I'm feeling now..I feel like I'm on cloud 9 as I finally got to see what I've always longed for and seen on TV.

OMG.. OMG.. OMG... {jumping up and down with joy.. and am floating on cloud 9}.. Hmm.. can I just say OMG one more time? Lol.. It's so exciting to me right now as I just found out that I've been mentioned in Desserts For Breakfast blog about my interview questions to her, Stephanie.

Although it's a small part, but it really made my day and sure continue to motivate me to do what I love.. which is pretty obvious, cook, bake, and now have developed an interest in food photography too other than my interest in scenic photography. Perhaps I'll feature some of my shots taken during my travels once I've manage to compile the photos.

Do check out a little small part about me {Lol..} in --> {click Desserts For Breakfast.}

Till then peeps! Stay tune.

xx

Tagged Stephanie from Desserts for Breakfast

Remember the game we were playing not so long ago whereby we got to answer 8 questions from the blogger who tagged us and then we got to tag another 8 bloggers and come up with a set of questions? Well, I tried my luck and sent Stephanie from Desserts for Breakfast, a wonderful food blogger and photographer, asking her the 8 questions I came up with. {You folks must be thinking " is this girl out of her mind??} Yup.. they were the same questions I posted to you peeps.

To be honest, I didn't know what I was thinking. I only knew that I adore her recipes and the work that she puts into her blog. My heart was pounding while I was drafting an e-mail to her not knowing if she would reply me a not. To my surprise, I got a reply back from her. {Yippie!!!} Of course, Stephanie graciously decline on tagging 8 bloggers but she didn't mind answering my questions at all via e-mail. {What a relief =.=''}

Well, I apologise as I've not been able to bake or cook much as I've not been well since last week as I developed a terrible cough. {sigh....} But, here I would like to share with you Stephanie's answers to my questions. It's for you foodie bloggers who am sure should you adore Desserts for Breakfast blog like I do.

Once again, I like to give a shout out to Stephanie from Desserts for Breakfast! THANKS for being such a great sport for answering my questions and I truly appreciate your encouragement to me on blogging too.

I certainly hope I would get to meet you one fine day. {huggss}

Here are my questions and Stephanie's answer, and her follow up email to me. It sure made my day.

Hi Joanna!

Thanks so much for your patience. My answers to your eight questions are included below! Let me know when you do your post, and I'll tweet about it!

All the best and Happy baking and blogging!

<3,

Stephanie

1) When did you become a foodie blogger/photographer?

I started food-blogging properly in late summer of 2009. I was a budding photographer (or, very interested in photography) for a long time before that, but food photography didn't get serious for me until after I'd started blogging seriously.

2) What's your favorite season (ie; Summer, Autumn, Winter, or Spring)? (Q3 related to Q2)

Spring and Autumn, because they're the seasons in transition, so you get to have it all. :-)

3) What would be the first dish you would like to cook or bake?

I assume this means when it's spring or autumn? I usually like to make something with whatever is in season and love it when you finally see the first in-season ingredients that you haven't seen in the markets for months! The ingredients that I look forward to the most are probably pomegranates, blood oranges, English peas, and fresh berries.

4) Which celebrity chef/ any of your favorite chef inspires you and why?

I actually don't follow celebrity chefs much, and though I used to watch Food Network a lot back in my undergraduate days, I don't anymore. I have to say, though, that when I want a recipe I know that I can hands down trust, I always turn to David Lebovitz first. His recipes and desserts are wonderfully no-nonsense and delicious. In general, however, I am far more inspired just by the the places I visit, the ingredients I learn about, and the people around me who enjoy and love food passionately.

5) Name 2 foodie bloggers who you would LOVE to meet; being the first is the top of your list.

Perhaps embarrassingly, I don't know the food blog-o-sphere quite as well as I should! I would absolutely love to meet in person all the food blogger friends that I've met online, especially many of those who live abroad that I don't get much of a chance to see at the US-based food blogging conferences, including Meeta of What's for Lunch, Honey? and Hilda of Saffron and Blueberry. And, you know, if David Lebovitz ever needs a food photographer on board to document one of his gelato tours around Italy, he should call me first! :-P

6) Have you compete in any cooking or baking competition? Where or when?

Haha, I did. Once, a couple of years ago for an Italian cooking competition, and I hated it so much that I swore I would never do cooking competitions again. There was something so impersonal about the cooking competition, and it may me realize that the reason I bake and cook is to make other people happy when they eat my food. I don't do it for myself, and competitions are too much about oneself, so I really didn't enjoy it at all.

7) What would be your all time comfort food?

Corn soup, or an over-easy fried egg over steamed rice, the way my grandfather used to make it, drizzled with soy sauce. If we're talking sweets, ice cream, most definitely!

8) Have you tasted the best chocolate dessert that made you feel like screaming "OMG...this is so good.. oohhhhhhhhh.. yummmmMMmm"? Where? Do name the shop too. ;p

Oh, jeez. To tell you the truth, I make far more desserts than I buy at restaurants or shops, so I can't quite remember the last time I had a truly delicious chocolate dessert at a restaurant. (I also tend to remember the bad desserts at restaurants better than I remember the good ones! hehe) I *am* particularly partial to the almond and chocolate croissant at Bouchon Bakery mainly because I can never decide whether I want an almond croissant or a pain au chocolat, so having both in one solves that dilemma for me! Pair that almond and chocolate croissant with a latte bowl of perfect, steaming hot chocolate (ala La Note in Berkeley, CA), and that's my recipe for a perfect chocolate breakfast, er--I mean, dessert. :-)

Enjoy!!

xx

{OMG} Featured and Awarded

Chic and Gorgeous has been Awarded “One Lovely Blog Award”

Wow, I'm truly speechless. Where do I begin? {omg, as though I'm a movie star} Lol.. I've got to say this again FoodBuzz {yup.. that's right..repeat after me}. After I signed up with FoodBuzz community, I've made new friends with new foodie bloggers which has certainly encouraged me to continue blogging as much I could and to have mini weekend cooking or baking projects.

Now, I met a really nice lady who's a chef who added me as her friend, and from there it has helped my blog tremendously, and it's definitely a step up. Other foodie bloggers started to notice me too. {baby steps indeed}. Her name's Elizabeth from Food and Thrift Finds.