David and I got married a year ago. Well, a year ago last Sunday. First, I’d like to take a moment to be a little bit mushy and point out that I love David, he loves me, and this year has been awesome.

Now, I’d like to brag about the amazing anniversary presents he got me—from Le Creuset!

I couldn’t have been more excited, I don’t think. I’ve wanted a Le Creuset French Oven for a long time, and it’s really the one slight disappointment from our wedding registry–we got pretty much everything else you could think of or want.

So David made the lengthy excursion to the Le Creuset Outlet Store way out in the suburbs and picked up a few amazing presents.

First, these oil & vinegar bottles (but mine are the same blue). They’re awesome, and match my salt cellar from Leah.

Then, an amazing French Oven in the same cobalt color. I’m having visions of Coq au Vin, dear readers, I definitely am.

Finally, a heart shaped French Oven. Why? Because David thought it was ridiculous and that I would love it. And he was 100% right–it is ridiculous, and I do love it! I feel like heart shaped Chicken Pot Pie is in our future.

I know some girls would’ve wanted jewelry. And I know that the 1st Anniversary is traditionally paper. But for me, this was the perfect 1st Anniversary gift, and like David, something I plan to keep pretty much forever.

It’s been a while since I posted, I know. And I’ve got some great recipes coming, up, I swear. But you’re going to have to wait another day or two for those.  Today, we’re headed to Iowa for the wedding of a couple of college friends, Roxy and Jordan. I’m very excited for them, and can’t wait to celebrate with them tonight, but I’m also tired. Because Leah and I were up late making these:

Totally worth it!

I know you’re probably much too busy to be reading this today, but if you happen to see this, Congratulations, Roxy & Jordan!!

Though I haven’t been blogging about it every week like I did with the last season of Top Chef, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Top Chef Masters this summer. For one, the skill of these proven, seasoned chefs can’t be denied. There’s no question of “Who Deserves to Be Here.” They all most certainly do. It’s been fascinating to see how well current superstar chefs complete classic Top Chef challenges.

I’ve also really enjoyed the sense of camaraderie among the chefs. While the Top Chef contestants are usually a cutthroat bunch, the Top Chef Masters competition has been full of teamwork and mutual respect, which is refreshing after years of bickering and backstabbing on Top Chef.

That’s not to say everyone has behaved perfectly: Michael Chiarello came off as a complete jerk last week. I hope it was a trick of editing–I know that happens sometimes on Top Chef–but if not, he needs a serious attitude adjustment.

Onto the finale. Going in, I was rooting for Rick Bayless. He seemed to have the greatest combination of attitude and skills. His food always looks amazing. I kind of can’t believe we haven’t made it to Frontera Grill yet–I hear those Tongue Tacos from his qualifying round are on the menu now, and that they sell-out nightly. (Not promising that I’d order tongue tacos, but I’d be tempted, just to say I’d had them). So going in, I was really hoping he’d win the full title.

Of course, that means I was pretty pleased with the Finale last night, as Rick was crowned (the first?) “Top Chef Master.” I thought that the finale was excellent, actually, all around. The challenge was such a perfect tool for judging these chefs: They were asked to prepare a four course meal, the first to show their first food memory, the second to show their inspiration for becoming a chef, the third to be inspired by their first restaurant opening, and the final to be a vision of where they are headed as a chef. I loved the memories and photos of the chefs throughout their life. I loved seeing what each chef created. The food looked absolutely fantastic, but was clearly a representation of each chef and who they truly are. Like every Top Chef finale before it, the producers set aside all the drama, all the last minute crises, all the extra difficulties and said to the chefs: Cook us the best meal you possibly can. And like every Top Chef finale, it was refreshing to watch them do it.

Rick Bayless was absolutely a joy to watch cook, and I’m glad he won.  His passion for food is inspiring, and he managed to cook with poise and respect for his peers throughout the entire season. It was great to see how much this title meant to him–not because of the fame, or even the money for his charity, but as a way to validate true Mexican cooking. I hadn’t thought about it going into the finale, but certainly the culinary world is biased towards French and Italian cuisines, as two of the greatest cuisines out there. Rick proved that his Mexican food can stand with the best of them, and even come out on top. That seemed to be the real victory for Rick Bayless.

I just made a big long post about these muffins, but the internet ate it, without saving a draft, and I just can’t bring myself to type it all out again right now.

So in the meantime, I’m going to tease you all with a picture of these delectable little muffins. The recipe will be posted soon.

I’ve had these tasty little dumplings in my mind for a long time. Last year, Dave, Leah, and I sampled some bao from Wow Bao at the taste of Chicago, and I’ve thought about them often ever since.

If you’ve never tried them before, Baozi, or simply Bao, are chinese bread dumplings. They’re light and doughy, with a vegetable or meat filling. Steaming them gives them a soft, slightly sticky texture. They come in about a million forms and flavors, and while I’m anxious to try my hand at them at home, so far, I’ve only had them from Wow Bao. A few weeks ago, Leah and I stopped by Water Tower Place to do a little shopping, and stopped and had lunch at Wow Bao.

We shared a six-pack of Bao, and had the chance to try the BBQ Pork, Chicken Teriyaki, Spicy Mongolian Beef, and Thai Curry Chicken. They were all delicious. My favorite was the Chicken Teriyaki, while Leah enjoyed the Thai Curry Chicken the most. The Mongolian Beef was tasty, but a little too spicy for me. The BBQ Pork was good, but that was the one we happened to try at the Taste the year before. Leah also had a super-tasty pomegranate ginger ale. (I stuck with Diet Cokie. Shocking, I know).  I’d like to try one of the sweet varieties next time–they have Coconut Custard and Apple Cinnamon dessert flavored Bao as well as a whole menu of noodles and potstickers and soup and salad.

They were an awesome shopping snack, but if you aren’t close enough to one of their three Chicago locations, you can apparently have frozen bao or potstickers shipped from their website right to your home to make yourself.

Check out my Spice Rubbed Salmon photo on Photograzing!

If you’re reading this, thanks again for the spice rub, Jeff. The salmon was delicious. Can’t wait to try the others!

Leah and I made a whole mess of cake pops today. A double batch! A ton!

These were chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting on the inside (yum!) and pretty baby blue and chocolate brown on the outside, for one of Leah’s co-workers. She’s getting married in about a week, and has fallen in love with some of the past cake pops I’ve made, so she begged Leah to score some for her.

I’m a big softy, I guess, so when Leah offered to pay for the supplies, I said I’d go ahead and make the pops–as long as Leah promised to help.

These turned out beautifully. Only now I’m a little sad–I would’ve loved to have cake pops at my own wedding, if only I’d known about them!

One of the things that has been entertaining to me throughout this whole blogging process is taking a peek at the behind the scenes information that the Word Press tools generate. I enjoy reading through the searches that lead complete strangers to this blog, though I do feel bad that 90% of the time, they aren’t going to find the answers here.

One amusing example is “How to make authentic enchiladas?” Unfortunately for the google-er, the only reason they ended up on my page was that I made a point of explaining that my enchiladas were definitely NOT authentic. At least the person looking for “How to make the toppings on steaks at wildfire?” got a little closer to what they were looking for. I don’t think they’d be disappointed by my Blue Cheese Crusted New York Strip Steaks.

But far and away, the most common question that I see in my blog stats is “How to Make A Whisk?” And I get it. I see how they got there. I do. And for the longest time, I’ve chuckled to myself and wished that I could help them. Well, now I can. If you’re here to see how a whisk is made, check out the video below.

Of course, if you’re a regular reader, you’re probably here for recipes, and there’ll be more of those tomorrow. I got a new Middle Eastern Cookbook for my birthday, and baked up Pastitso this past weekend, which is like a Greek Lasagna. It was delicious—but you’ll have to come back tomorrow to see for yourself!

The latest installment of the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, came out today. Finally! I’m excited to say I managed to drag myself to a midnight viewing last night with my mom, sister, cousin, and friend. Even though I was crazy to think that I could pull off the crazy scheduling (I’d traveled to Houston and back for work that day, and been up since 4 a.m.), and even though we got stuck in front row seats of the theater, and even though the theater, it seems, had never experienced a midnight show and had no idea what they were doing, and even though we were stuck in the parking lot traffic jam for what seemed like forever, we had a really great time, and really enjoyed the movie.

I’ve got lots of thoughts on the film, but of course, this is a food blog, and so it’s really not the place for my film reviews.

Instead, how about a nice, hot glass of Butterbeer?

Madame Rosmerta’s Butterbeer
From Mugglenet.com

• 1 cup (8 oz) club soda or cream soda
• ½ cup (4 oz) butterscotch syrup (ice cream topping)
• ½ tablespoon butter

1.  Measure butterscotch and butter into a 2 cup (16 oz) glass. Microwave on high for 1 to 1½ minutes, or until syrup is bubbly and butter is completely incorporated.

2. Stir and cool for 30 seconds, then slowly mix in club soda. Mixture will fizz quite a bit.

3. Serve in two coffee mugs or small glasses; a perfectly warm Hogwarts treat for two!

Note: If you wanted more of a Butterbeer “cocktail,” I think butterscotch schnapps would be delicious in this!

Just a quick message to say Happy Birthday to my mom, an avid reader and commenter on the blog.

Because this is a food blog, after all, here’s a pic of her birthday cake from yesterday. I was almost disappointed that it wasn’t a wreck!