happy birthday, B!

i take any excuse to bake chocolate sweets, and this one in particular, was a very special excuse..B's birthday!

i made hostess cupcakes from food & wine's recipe and stuffed chunks of marshmallow for the filling (i know, i cheated..i don't even really care for marshmallows). my favorite part was dunking each cake in a bath of ganache and then giving it a little twist at the end for a smooth, silky coat.  i also enjoyed decorating them with piped icing, which i added a little drop of vanilla to (well, because i love pure vanilla..almost as much as i do, chocolate), it made me feel as if i was a pastry chef, dressing each cupcake with skill and precision, all i needed was my toque blanche. and like magic, the cakes were something special. the baked mini chocolate cake, each with its fluffy marshmallow filling and warm chocolate icing, perfectly sized to fit in one bite, all just melting in your mouth. a pure pleasure.

birthday cake

birthday in the city!

Thanks to wonderful B and friends, I had a really beautiful (and windy!) birthday bbq in San Francisco. We grilled a delicious feast --homemade black bean burgers, rosemary garlic fries and lots of summer veggies. I even made egg rolls, but the wind would not allow the oil to get hot enough! To drink, Seb made a red wine strawberry sangria and I, a peaches and nectarine white wine sangria, both of which were sweet, refreshing and smooth. For dessert, chocolate cake with strawberry frosting and of course, the night wouldn't have been complete without some competition and my favorites, Taboo and Apples to Apples.

another year, another milestone

it's monday morning and i just finished writing a policy memo on the future of foreign aid and wishing i had some champagne. or any alcohol for that matter. actually, i just want some chocolate. chocolate cake. and sleep. with a drizzle of world peace.

i'm officially


hoorah!