12 Boxes of Cookbooks: A Blessing and a Curse

My kitchen and cookbook collection all boxed up!

I moved last Sunday. I'm really excited about my new place. Beautiful kitchen with beautiful countertops. Plenty of room to roll out dough without leaving the kitchen to find a larger work surface. Woohoo!

But you might have noticed that I haven't posted a recipe lately. Well, that's because a lot of my kitchen is still in boxes! And not only the KitchenAid stand mixer. I can't even find my silverware! I know they're somewhere, not lost forever, but until I get through my boxes, I'll be living off plastic forks, spoons, and knives.

Perhaps the most amazing thing of all is my cookbook collection. It took 12 boxes and many hours to pack them up for the move. 12!!!!!!!! And since I haven't attached my bookcases to the walls yet for earthquake safety (ah, the awesomeness of living in California does come with a price), I've been holding off on putting the books onto the shelves. I miss my cookbooks. So much! I know that when I finally get to take them out, I'll be kissing each one on the forehead, er, cover.

Anyways, wanted to update you on the reason I haven't baked in awhile. All of my favorite things are inaccessible. I'll be posting plenty soon. I've got a sweet kugel recipe I'm dying to share with you.

Wish me luck with the unpacking!

Glamour Meets The Blogger at Blogger Prom 2010: Hollywood Confidential

The Blogger Prom Committee (that's me on the right!)
Photo credit: heatherkincaid.com/blog

Happy Go Marni is mostly home to baked goods, step-by-step photos, and food thoughts. But part of my identity is simply as blogger. And last Wednesday, Blogger Prom 2010: Hollywood Confidential made its grand entrance! After months and months of planning by the Blogger Prom Committee, of which I'm part, the day had arrived to put down the pencils, or keyboards, stop planning, and just have fun and enjoy the moment! And enjoy we did!

A welcome sign as you enter the lobby of Yamashiro

The event took place at the gorgeous, and historic, even haunted (!!), Yamashiro Restaurant in the hills of Hollywood. You know the views are going to be spectacular when you have to drive up a steep, curvy hill to reach the secluded restaurant at the top.

Blogger Prom is an exclusive, invite-only event for bloggers and their +1s, a chance for bloggers who only know each other by URL or twitter handle to meet in person.

The stunning view of the city from Yamashiro
Photo credit: heatherkincaid.com/blog

Gigantic doors at the entrance to Yamashiro
Photo credit: heatherkincaid.com/blog

This is the 2nd year for Blogger Prom. Last year was 80s-themed. This year, to do something completely different, we chose another era, the 1940s, and completely transformed ourselves and the venue into Golden Age of Hollywood 1940s glamour. It was so much fun to choose accessories, a dress, and even a hairstyle that reflected the era. The Blogger Prom Committee members were invited by the fabulous Studio DNA in Los Angeles for complete hair and makeup transformations. They treated us to mimosas and worked with us to get the look we each desired. My curly hair is not the easiest thing to take care of, so I don't usually hand it over to someone else to style. But I completely trusted the gals at Studio DNA, and with a curling iron, a whole lot of bobby pins, and even more hairspray, they gave me a 1940s wave up-do and attached my grandmother's hat to my hair! I love the look! Thank you so much, Studio DNA, for making me feel glamorous!

My glamour shot
Photo credit: heatherkincaid.com/blog

Blogger Prom 2010 was so well-planned, we had thought of everything! There was even a designated driving service called Y Drive stationed outside near the valet so attendees could be driven home safely (the driver drives YOUR car and packs his scooter in the trunk so he can get back to the party venue).

Yamashiro is truly beautiful. Once you've driven up the winding road to the top, you enter the party through gigantic, grand doorways into an amazing courtyard with walkways on all four sides. The party made use of the entire space, plus a bar area and a room with a million dollar view. I must say, working with Yamashiro to plan this prom could not have been more ideal. The entire staff at Yamashiro were so helpful and hospitable, and the venue itself is so fabulous, I just can't say enough positive things about Yamashiro!

The beautiful courtyard at Yamashiro
plus our twitterfeeds on a giant screen

The food at Blogger Prom was incredible! Chef Brock of Yamashiro, who is absolutely adorable and charming, not to mention uber-talented, prepared and personally served his signature tacos for guests. Barrie Lynn, the cheese impresario, was on hand to pair cheeses with your beverage of choice, plus, she even encouraged putting some delicious spreadable cheese on candy brittle! Wha? Coolhaus, the ice cream sandwich truck, had a booth and was serving up delicious ice cream flavors like Strawberry Jalapeno and Chocolate Orange Cointreau (which I ordered because I'm nuts for chocolate and orange together). Crumbs Bake Shop contributed mini cupcakes for the night. ChocolateBox Cafe provided an assortment of chocolates.

Chef Brock of Yamashiro preparing his signature tacos for long lines
of anxiously awaiting bloggers
Photo credit: heatherkincaid.com/blog

Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches!!! Usually they're a food truck,
but for Blogger Prom, they were a station!

Crumbs Cupcakes station

Choosing chocolates at the ChocolateBox station

We even had liquor sponsors, and our very own Committee Member Natalie Bovis who runs The Liquid Muse invented a signature cocktail drink just for us.

A few weeks ago I approached my friend Heather Kincaid, who I know from grad school at USC. She is now a professional photographer and I find myself constantly ooohing and ahhhing over her photography blog that features weddings and portraits and all sorts of other exciting events. The photos are so clever, beautiful, and playful. I asked Heather to be the official Blogger Prom photographer, and she said yes (haha it's as if I proposed to her!). Heather's photos from Blogger Prom are amazing. Visit her site for lots and lots of photos, including both color and black and white . She also blogged about her favorite photos of the night here.

And here I am with photographer Heather, all dolled up!

Heather and Marni
Photo credit: heatherkincaid.com/blog

DJ Steve provided us with great music from the era. Lots of big band, jazz, Sinatra, that sort of thing. And behind the dance floor was a giant projector screen, the entire size of the wall, where we had the movie Sunset Boulevard playing silently with subtitles. Aren't we clever! And speaking of giant projector screens, out in the courtyard, there was another giant projector screen, but this one wasn't displaying a movie. It was displaying twitterfeeds that mentioned Blogger Prom. Bloggers were on their cell phones tweeting away the evening and checking to see if they had won any of the awesome giveaway prizes the Committee had collected from sponsors.

But whether or not you won a prize, everyone went home with a gift bag filled with fun, and in some cases really valuable goodies. A $100 gift certificate for eye lash extensions at LuxLash, a $20 gift certificate to Border Grill in downtown, a free facial at Dermalogica, $25 to spend at Goldstar.com, Unite hair products, free Sprinkles cupcake coupons, tickets to the Grammy Museum, and more! Read about all the gift bag items here.

Showing off one of the 200+ gift bags we stuffed until
late Monday night before the prom

The committee hanging out in the bridal suite at Yamashiro one night
before Blogger Prom, finishing up the last of the preparations

The partying continued even after Yamashiro closed its doors. Test Kitchen hosted our after party! From 11pm to 1am, and yes, on a school night, we met up at this almost underground establishment, sipping specialty drinks as we got sleepier and sleepier. I'm going to need a long period of recovery from this midweek party craziness!

Last year, attendance to Blogger Prom was completely free. This year, the committee selected a charity we could all get behind, Operation Frontline, and required a $10 donation to the organization for attendance to Blogger Prom. People purchased their donation via Goldstar, and some attendees generously gave much more than required. We were moved by how surprisingly sweet bloggers could be! It is not too late to donate. Regardless of if you attended Blogger Prom or not, Goldstar has left the donation page open to the public for a few more weeks. Operation Frontline helps families with nutrition education. If you're feeling generous, donate here, and help more families learn to prepare healthy meals at home.

@TaraMetBlog and @laocfoodie
Photo credit: heatherkincaid.com/blog

@carolineoncrack, @happygomarni, and the hand of @shopeatsleep
This photo should host a caption contest!
Photo credit: heatherkincaid.com/blog

@squashblossom and @estarla manning the Check-In Table

As this was a blogger event, dozens of blog posts are popping up, post-event, to recap the evening. Take a look at some of the coverage, including from The LA Times and Brand X!! I am so proud to be a part of something so cool, so unique and special, and I've made so many new blogger friends along the way. Blogger Prom 2010 is one of the brightest spots of the year for me.


Some of the Blogger Prom 2010 Coverage:
LA Times: Parties: Blogger Prom's Take on Old Hollywood Glamour
Brand X: Blogger Prom 2010: LA's Twitterati Goes Glam
Recessionista: Getting on My Vintage Vogue for the Los Angeles Blogger Prom
When Tara Met Blog: Blogger Prom 2010
Shop Eat Sleep: All the Glitz and Glamour: Blogger Prom 2010 Hollywood Confidential
L.A. and O.C. Foodventures: I've Been Busy
Confessions of a Fat Girl: COFG Goes to Blogger Prom...Again!
Kevin Eats: Blogger Prom 2010
Franklin Avenue: Scenes From the 2nd Blogger Prom
Sure Beats Work: Blogger Prom v2.0
Marian the Foodie: Event Recap: Blogger Prom 2010 - 9/22/10
Caroline on Crack: Studio DNA: On How to be Lovely for Blogger Prom
Hey Hey Scenesters: Blogger Prom 2010
Busy Beth's Blog: Blogger Prom 2010 - Hollywood Confidential
Diana Takes a Bite: Blogger Prom 2010: Living the Glamorous Life
Naked City: The Blogger Prom is Decadent and Delightful
Fete LA: Getting Hollywood Confidential
Here, Eat This!: Blogger Prom 2010 at Yamashiro
Once There was a Girl...: Hollywood Confidential


Photo Album!

Beginning with the committee doing hair and makeup at Studio DNA...

@shopeatsleep

@happygomarni

@happygomarni

The back of my do

@carolineoncrack, @squashblossom, @estarla all beautified!

@shopeatsleep

My grandmother's hat!

Here is a sampling of the amazing attire people donned at Blogger Prom!







Glamorous poses with friends...

@amandajoy, @happygomarni, @valleyfilmfest

@intellichick, @happygomarni

@toastymuffin, @happygomarni

@shopeatsleep, @happygomarni, @tarametblog

@estarla, @happygomarni, @carolineoncrack

Happy Go Marni Has a Facebook Page!

I started this blog in December of 2007. Yeesh! Now, 2 years and 9 months later, it's September of 2010, and the blog has a Facebook page! My, how it's grown. I feel like a parent who's marking her kid's height against a door frame using a red crayon. And this parent is in shock at the height increase. Fortunately for Happy Go Marni, the growth spurt isn't painful! Poor non-metaphorical kiddos.

I continue to have so much fun with this blog. It's time to take it to the next level!

Introducing...

www.facebook.com/HappyGoMarniBlog

More and more of my blogger friends are creating Facebook pages for their blogs and I'm finding it really helpful for keeping up with the latest posts of all these pals. I use Facebook as my aggregator. I have Google Reader too. But since I log into Facebook daily anyways, it is really easy and convenient to see my friends' blog posts come up in my newsfeed. And I can always visit their pages manually by doing a quick search.

So I am adding my own blog to the mix. Not only will it be an easy way for friends and family to keep up with the blog via Facebook, but Happy Go Marni readers I've never even met before will have a new way of engaging with the blog. As time goes by and I get into a groove where I know exactly how I want to use the Facebook page, I might include other commentary or links of interest. In that way, the page is not simply a place for me to share my most recent recipe or blog post, but a slightly deeper connection between readers and the author of Happy Go Marni. A maybe-not-quite-all-but-close-to-all-access pass to me. :)

If you're a Happy Go Marni reader, click Like on the Facebook page. I can't wait to get to know you better!

And a special shout-out to Hillel Smith, my talented graphic artist friend who created the profile graphic for the new Facebook page. He also redesigned this blog. He's really awesome. You should hire him. :-P

Orange-Roasted Figs

My parents have a fig tree that grows copious amounts of figs during the season. They don’t know what to do with all that fruit! Figs are really expensive at farmer’s markets and grocery stores, perhaps because they are so perishable. And you can’t pick them before they’re ripe because they are one fruit that does not ripen more if sitting out or placed in a paper bag, like other fruits will do. They are an unruly, misbehaving fruit! So let's review: you have to pick them when they’re ripe, and eat them within a few days. Unfortunately, when it rains, it pours, and tons of them are ready to be picked at the same time. What to do with all those figs?

Well, besides eating them raw, or with cheese, try making this Tori Ritchie recipe for Orange-Roasted Figs. My mom is a big fan of Tori's website Tuesday Recipe and so after staring at a giant bowl of figs on the kitchen counter for awhile, she pulled out this recipe that Tori had just posted. The figs bake in the oven for 35 minutes and take on the flavor of a sweet orange syrup. Soooo good! You can serve this with yogurt for breakfast or with vanilla ice cream for dessert. I enjoyed it with a slice of honey cake.


Orange-Roasted Figs
Adapted from a recipe by Tori Richie on her website Tuesday Recipe
Serves 4 to 6

8 to 12 ripe figs, halved or quartered, depending on size
¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons honey

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium sized baking dish (you can use pyrex or ceramic or whatever you want), place the fig pieces, evenly spaced. Make sure the pan has sides since there will be liquid.

In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice and the honey and stir over medium heat until the honey is melted, about 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can place the orange juice and honey in a small measuring glass and heat in the microwave for 35 to 45 seconds.

Pour the sauce over the figs and bake until the fruit is glazed and the sauce looks thick, 35 to 45 minutes. The dish will look gorgeous when done!


Step-by-Step in Pictures
Cut the figs into halves or quarters and place in baking dish...

In a small saucepan or the microwave, heat the honey with the orange juice until the honey is melted...

Pour the honey orange juice sauce over the figs...

Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 to 45 minutes, until the fruit is glazed and the sauce looks thickened...

Serve and enjoy!

Marmalade 'n' Spice Honey Cake: A Game Changer

This recipe is dedicated to my friend Ephraim. He told me last week that he’s only ever tasted disgusting, dry honey cake and has all but given up on the possibility of a good honey cake. Instead, he says, make an apple cake. I promised him that not good, but GREAT honey cake is within reach, and he said he would be waiting for that recipe on my blog. Well, here it is. And I can think of probably 5 more incredible honey cake recipes, too. So for those like Ephraim who have yet to taste a delicious honey cake, today is your lucky day. End the suffering. Drop everything and bake this right now!


While honey cake is a tradition for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, it is also a perfect year round snacking cake to serve with a cup of tea. Because it is moist from the honey and oil, it will stay fresh and delicious for more days than many other desserts. So, despite your desire to devour the whole thing in one sitting, which I promise you you’ll feel, keep in mind you can have the cake three days later and it’ll still put a smile on your face.

But enough of the chit chat. Introducing...your first ever not-dry honey cake. Bon Appetit, Ephraim!


Marmalade 'n' Spice Honey Cake
Adapted from a recipe by the brilliant Marcy Goldman in A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking
Makes 12 to 14 servings

1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup light honey
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup orange marmalade
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup brewed tea, just warm (or for a darker cake, use brewed, strong coffee instead)
1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds (this is mostly for decorate purposes but it tastes great, too!)

Topping
Confectioners’ sugar, optional
Shredded orange zest, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom of a 9- or 10-inch tube pan. Cut out a circle of parchment paper (you’ll have to poke out the center of it) and line the bottom of the pan.

You are going to need two bowls: a medium mixing bowl for wet ingredients and a large mixing bowl (preferably the one attached to your stand mixer) for dry ingredients.

In the medium bowl, combine the oil, honey, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and marmalade and stir until well combined. Then add the eggs.

In the large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the contents of the medium bowl (the wet mixture). Add the warm brewed tea. Blend by hand or use your mixer on low until you get a smooth batter.

Pour the cake batter into the greased, lined tube pan. Sprinkle the top with slivered almonds. Place the pan on top of a baking sheet and bake the cake for 55 to 60 minutes. To check for doneness, press the top of the cake lightly with your fingertip and it should spring back.

Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then take a knife around the outside and inside rims to loosen from the edges. Invert onto a cooling rack.

If you want, dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar and shredded orange zest when completely cooled. I don’t think it needs the extra garnish because the slivered almonds would be hidden and they are a beautiful topping already.


Step-by-Step in Pictures
In a medium bowl, combine the oil, honey, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and marmalade...

Stir in the eggs...

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients...

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the warm brewed tea; stir to combine...

Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan...

Sprinkle slivered almonds on top, then bake at 350 degrees F for about 55 minutes ...

Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack...

There you have it! A very moist honey cake!