Fauchon Cookies

My brother got me a beautiful box of cookies from the well renowned Fauchon of Paris. The cover of the tin can box with colorful butterflies was designed by Christian Lacroix. So beautiful that I was leery about the cookies. They say: You can't judge a book by its cover, and it is the same with food. When something looks so good, I sometimes get disappointed with the first bite. Of course, this is not always true, thank God for that.

I opened the box and sampled the different cookies with a cup of Moroccan mint tea. I am happy to report that they were all delicious.

 All that was lacking was the ambiance of sitting in a sidewalk cafe somewhere in Paris!

Hawkins House of Burgers

My son and I were heading back home from Anaheim when my inner clock suggested dinner. I asked him to look up a place where we could eat. Not too many popped up for dine-in at this time with COVID 19. He finally came up with Hawkins which supposedly had the best burgers. This apparently is an institution that's been around in Watts for the longest time. Not a great neighborhood but since it was early, we thought it wouldn't be a problem. He called to place the order and the lady said it would take 30 minutes. We headed towards Hawkins and noticed that there was hardly any parking spots on the street. Luckily, a car left across the street and I was able to park. To make the long story short, the half-hour had turned into a good hour. We were planning to eat in the car but by then, it was 83 degrees outside and we thought it best to just drive home.

We got home and I immediately got paper plates and served the humongous burgers. Mine was just the Fat Burger (all burgers made from Angus beef) with all the trimmings except pickles. My son had the Whipper which is made with 2 Angus beef patties, topped with pastrami and spicy hot link, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onions. The burgers were very good. The whipper was very hard to eat, I could not open my mouth big enough for a bite. We ordered some chili cheese fries to share and regular fries and onion rings.

The closest to these burgers in goodness is the ones I used to get at The Standing Room. I will have to have some soon so I can really compare it. We were both happy we got them to try but I don't know if these were the best I have had. Size-wise, it is beyond compare. The meat was excellent but I still had to add my Mayochup (mayonnaise and ketchup) to enhance the taste.

Hawkins is located at 11603 Slater St. in Los Angeles.

Sandi's Pork Loin with Mango Salsa

This pork loin was moist and tender and was perfectly good on its own but Sandi had to use the Manila mangoes we bought last week so she decided to make a salsa with red onions, cilantro, and tomatoes.  It was delicious especially since the chunks of mangoes were super sweet. She served this with cabbage which she sauteed with onions and bacon. What's not good with bacon? Nothing! The only thing we were not crazy about was the pearly couscous which didn't have enough flavor. It just reminded us both of boba.

Dessert was a simple scoop of Caramel ice cream with topped with a thin Oreo Mint.

Peach Mango Pie

This is the best you can get; Peach Mango Pie from Jollibee. Jollibee is a Filipino Fast Food Chain that is now all over the United States. They are known for their Fried Chicken with gravy, but what is impressive is their dessert: Peach Mango Pie.

This is reminiscent of the McDonalds Baked Apple Pie, but it is beyond comparison. The Peach Mango Pie is fried, and this is why it is soooooo deeeelicious. Served warm, but since I dislike warm desserts, I popped mine in the refrigerator to cool. It is very crunchy, and as you bite into it, you see the beautiful peach and mango; juice oozes out while you enjoy chunks of peaches and mangoes.

I bought an extra one to consume the following day. I thought it would be soggy but I was happily mistaken. It was as crunchy as the first day. I will have to experiment to see how well they freeze and thaw.

Key Lime Glazed & Key Lime Kreme from Krispy Kreme

I marked my calendar when I got an email announcing these 2 kinds of donuts from Krispy Kreme.; Key Lime Glazed and Key Lime Kreme. Sandi and I went early this morning to pick some up from their drive-thru.

First of all, they look much better on the video and pictures. The lime green color glazing the donuts were too pale. I bought a dozen of regular glazed in order to get the dozen of key lime for $8.00. I had trouble at first glance to see which was which as they almost looked alike except for a very pale tinge of green on the key lime donuts. This did not lessen my excitement because I was still after the taste.

In my opinion, Krispy Kreme donuts (glazed) are only delicious when hot otherwise it tastes almost like any other glazed donuts. I proceeded to heat one in the microwave for 12 seconds which makes it taste like the hot ones you get as you stand in front of the conveyer belt at the store. The donut was good in that it has a bit of the lime flavor. I expected it to have more and would have preferred a much more limey taste.

I had half of Kreme filled Glazed. I had a bite of it without heating and was not impressed so I heated it along with the key lime glazed. The filling melted but I just pretended I was dipping bread in gravy. I liked that better since it had a bit more lime flavor.

The verdict on these donuts is that they are okay and a nice change but nothing to get excited about. I wonder if the Lemon Glazed will be better than these. Those are due next week.

Best Lemon Squares

I had made lemon bars in the past, which were okay but not what I would call great.  Recently while going through my recipes, I came across a handwritten one called Lemon Squares and I decided to give them a try.  I seldom bake since it is always easier to go buy dessert or wait until Sandi bakes one of her numerous creations.

Not knowing much about baking, I decided to alter the recipe and add more lemon juice since I was given an abundance of fresh lemons. Instead of 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, I used 7 tablespoons, and I decided to add 2 tablespoons of finely grated lemon rind, which the recipe did not call for.

The only downside of this recipe is because of the added liquid, it altered the consistency of the lemon squares in that when I tried to cut them, portions of it came off with the knife. In other words, I was unable to get a clean cut. Other than that, it was fantastic and was the best lemon squares/bars I have ever had if I may so say myself!

Felix Trattoria

I've always wanted to dine at Felix Trattoria but every time my friends and I decide to go, reservations were a problem as they were booked way in advance. With the Covid19, I recently read that some restaurants were offering specials for takeaways and deliveries. I thought this was a great opportunity to try Felix's renowned pasta. They had a variety on their menu. You could buy the sauces and you can make your own pasta which I never considered; after all, the pasta was his specialty, ordering several kinds of special flour from Italy.

They also had Pasta Fresca Kits for Two. These kits included the pasta which you have to cook at home, sauce, cheese, and instructions. I ordered 2 kinds, Rigatoni All' Amatriciana which included Giancia, Pomodoro sauce, walnuts, pecorino, and the Rigatoni Cacio e Pepe which had the butter with black pepper and pecorino cheese.

When I got the pasta for two, my first impression was it looked like it was good for one person so I asked the lady if it was a mistake. She said no and that this is the portion they serve at the restaurant. I make a comment that I could easily eat that portion. She just smiled and must have thought that I was a pig! Later as I  was driving home, I realized that the pasta still had to be cooked so it would swell up and get bigger, therefore more filling.

The kits were put together well and the instructions were very clear. I made a green salad with olive oil and pineapple balsamic which is everyone's favorite.

The Rigatoni All'Amatriciana was delicious. We all loved the consistency of the rigatoni; it was al dente all the way! The Cacio e Pepe was as good but to be honest, Sandi and I thought the Cacio e Pepe at Forma is better. Maybe it was the choice of pasta, it might have been better on spaghetti. I can say this since I consider myself an expert when it comes' to Cacio e Pepe especially when I have had the best at Roma Sparita Ristorante in Rome where they serve the Cacio e Pepe in a Parmesan bowl.

I ordered two desserts to share; Tiramisu and Budino di Nocino.  Both desserts were outstanding. Felix Trattoria does have excellent pasta; the quality of his pasta surpassed most Italian restaurants but I do have one big issue with their takeaways. They added a 20% tip on my order. I did call the following day and was informed that it states the addition of the tip on the website when ordering. She was absolutely right when I went back to check so that's on me. I never had a problem with tipping 20% or more for very good service. Tip to me is something you add for the quality of service. I think adding 20% is not fair because first of all I'm not being served nor was I served. The lady just handed the bag to me. Second, I had to cook the pasta in a big pot, warm the sauces in saucepans, get my own dishes, wash them myself, etc. Covid19 should not be an excuse to overcharge customers. I just think this is in bad taste. That's my opinion.

For the record, the serving for two was plenty. We did not have to go to Habit and order burgers. It really was filling!