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I saw The Grey 2 Fridays ago...and was just recently able to stop thinking about it. That was until 2 nights ago when I had a nightmare where I was being hunted by wolves in South America. (It’s now haunting me in my subconscious). I liked the movie (in hindsight), just be warned: it’ll stick with you...and it's not necessarily what you’d expect. P.S. Liam Neeson, how did you so seamlessly transition into roles where you are constantly kicking ass (wolf, kidnappers or other?)

Eating: Have you guys tried Burrata Cheese? It’s mozzarella, but the inside is filled with mozzarella and cream. It’s delicious. I had bookmarked a recipe for over a year that features burrata as the star ingredient and finally had the chance to make it for some friends this past weekend. Recipe to come!

Feeling/smelling: Coconut oil. I feel like I’ve been hearing/reading a lot about this lately…not so much for it's cooking uses but for hair/skin care. So I decided to give it a try as a nighttime moisturizer for my dry skin. My sister gave me some tips for usage and despite smelling like a tropical dessert (not necessarily a bad thing), I really like it so far.

Currently listening to the Beethoven channel on Pandora. My mom used to play classical music CD's while I was doing homework or studying for a test when I was a kid. (Lots of Beethoven & Mozart then..and of course Manheim Steamroller during the holidays). I hope this helps alleviate my recent scatterbrain.

simple pleasures

These past few days have felt full & busy. Yet despite all the running around and to-do's (that did and didn't get done), the weekend's events all boiled down to simple pleasures that don't cost a thing. 
Celebrating my dad's birthday, (and seeing him watch youtube videos of magicians with childlike awe), being in the kitchen with my mom and aunts (and learning a new Korean recipe or two), late night conversations & laughs with friends, play time with the pup, continuing traditions and starting new ones, fresh rain...ooh, and freshly laundered sheets...love that. Happy [Mon]day everyone. :)

treehouse bandits

Meet Super Bunny, Giant Cat Bear, and Charlie (and pet broccoli), of the Treehouse Bandits.


They're having a book release party this Saturday, so drop by if you're in the L.A. area:

Saturday, February 11 from 7-10pm
Happy Six
2115 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025

Congrats to the creator, office stomper and everyone's friend, Kevin S.

'For kids and the kids at heart. Never give up on your dreams'. (!)

more from uncooked

I did some more browsing on the uncooked website and came upon some treasures. Something different and kind of quirky...just in time for Valentine's Day. 

s'more stuffed cookies

I had been eying this recipe from Jenny over at Picky Palate for quite some time. How can you go wrong here, really? S'more? Awesome. Chocolate chip cookie? Yes. S'more...inside a cookie? That's... electric.

My first batch were horrendous looking. They looked like a band of misfit cookies...led by a storm trooper. Second batch looked better, but mine came out much more pillowy than I expected. (Texture reminded me of these cookies). Regardless, they were pretty delicious. And fun to see people's reactions to what they were.

They taste best soon after they are made, but if you're eating them the next day, just heat them up for about 15-20 seconds and enjoy. :)

S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
(courtesy of Jenny Flake--Picky Palate)

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups flour
1 tspn baking soda
1 tspn kosher salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips)

1 package of graham crackers
Marshmallows (regular sized cut in half)
3 Hershey chocolate bars broken into individual pieces

Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together. Mix in chocolate chips until well combined.

I really liked this cookie dough. Like I mentioned, the texture and fluffiness of the final cookies is similar to the brownie stuffed cookie I made a while back, but this dough was much easier to work with. I liked that it didn't stick to my hands during assembly which was my biggest qualm about the brookie recipe (must be all that buttaaa).

I ended up making a few "smaller" versions of this cookie by putting a smaller s'more in the middle. They were still HUGE. To assemble s'more cookie:

1)  Roll out spoonfuls of cookie dough into "patties". Press graham cracker into the bottom layer.
2) Layer with marshmallow, chocolate and another graham cracker.
3) Top off with another cookie patty.
4) Close the edges to make your giant monster cookie.

I played around with the assembly quite a bit. I made full size, half size, quarter size; rolled them in crushed graham crackers before baking, mixed in some crushed graham crackers into the dough before rolling out... It's kind of hard to mess these up.

Jenny's directions were to bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes, but my full size cookie took about 20-24. So keep an eye on them, till they are brown around the edges. Let cool and enjoy.

**Update: Tips and Tricks to make these bad boys here. 

P.S.