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The Olive Kitchen + Bar

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**Please vote for me and my Luxury Dinner Party (feat. truffle butter and honey roasted veggies) in Project Food Blog. You can vote here. Thanks!**

To celebrate both the end of midterms and the start of Restaurant Week LA, Kelly and I had dinner at The Olive Kitchen + Bar in the Grafton Hotel. We got an awesome three course meal at a fraction of the usual price. We’re talking three courses at the price an entree and a glass of wine would typically be. Great deal!

Yep, we braved the rain. Nothing keeps us from a good deal!

I really liked the space that the restaurant is in. The Grafton seems like a really trendy boutique hotel. I’d love to see more of the actual hotel. The restaurant was casual which was refreshing. The prices on the regular menu are pretty pricey but the restaurant itself didn’t seem stuffy.

Because its restaurant week the menu was three courses and there were three options for each course. We had no problem picking because everything sounded amazing.

We started with  Beef Carpaccio seasoned and thinly sliced tenderloin, summer asparagus salad, grape tomatoes, shaved parmesan, parsley piccata and mustard balsamic aioli.

This was one of the stand out dishes of the night. The meat literally melted in my mouth and the sauce on the beef was amazing and had a horseradish flavor. The salad was light and wasn’t over sauced. Very delicious! This is something I would order again.

We also ordered Roasted Beef and Buratta roasted beets, burrata cheese, horseradish sicilian pistachios red beet and sherry puree.

This dish was another favorite of the night. The beets were fantastic and paired well with the cheese.

For our entrees we ordered Linguine with Clams.

The clams were delicious but the white sauce left a little to be desired. The flavor fell a little flat. For me, I think I prefer clams in a white wine sauce but I did like that this dish was a different take on a classic. The clams themselves were delicious. I totally horded them from Kelly.

Our second entree was Kelly’s choice, Crispy Roasted Chicken.

The chicken came with mashed polenta and grilled asparagus. The slaw on top was delicious and flavorful. I wish the mashed polenta has more flavor but have I ever had bad grilled asparagus? Obviously not.

The final course was dessert. We ordered White Chocolate + Wildberry Bread Pudding.

The creme sauce was good but the cake was a bit dense. The creme broke it down a little bit. Overall, not the best dish of the night but not poor.

The real stand out of the night was the Traditional Homemade Tiramisu in a Burnt Caramel Sauce.

I always love tiramisu  this did not disappoint. The tiramisu was light like a pillow or a cloud and so delicious. The best part of the dish was how the tiramisu was on top of the burnt caramel sauce. I’ve never had tiramisu with caramel before but it was so good. This confirms what I already believe, that there is no dish that cannot be improved by the addition of caramel.

Overall, I liked the Olive Kitchen + Bar. I didn’t try the cocktails but they looks delicious (there is a pear martini I had my eye on) and the appetizers and tiramisu are the clear standouts.  This would be a great place to hit for happy hour in the future!

*also, the midterm is over. It never tasted so sweet.

Do you plan to participate in Restaurant Week? If so, where do you want to dine?

Taking a Hike to Tom Petty

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This has been a very busy weekend! Yesterday I hosted a luxurious dinner party for Project Food Blog Challenge 3. You can read about that here. But on Friday I saw Tom Petty for free at the Hollywood Bowl. But its not really what you think…

My friend Leanna is a sound monitor at the Hollywood Bowl. For those that are unfamiliar with the Bowl, it is an outdoor concert facility in Los Angeles. It is in Loz Feliz and nestled in the same hills that house the Hollywood Sign. I love Tom Petty so of course I said yes when Leanna asked if I wanted to see him for free. I wasn’t totally sure what to expect about where we would be sitting.

When we arrived at the Bowl we drove up, up, up into the residential neighborhood surrounding the Bowl all the way to the back entrance which is way up on the hill. We entered through a nondescript gate and hiked up a trail. At one point I turned around and saw this:

If that tree wasn’t partially blocking the shot you would be able to see a view of Los Angeles from downtown to century city. It was a very clear night and you could see everything!

We hiked down the trail a little further until we have a great view of the stage. Of course we weren’t close but we could see the entire audience and the stage.

That blue thing is the stage. What can I say? The song had just ended. Not the greatest timing.

And don’t worry, just because we didn’t have ticketed seats, that doesn’t mean we didn’t eat and drink like we did!

I picked up Clementine on the way to the Bowl.

I also came prepared with some adult beverages…

Is this not the cutest beer cooler ever?

Petty played all the songs I wanted to hear while I ate my BLT and he was so great. When he played “Free Falling” we could see and hear the crowd singing and swaying along. He also played other favorites including “American Girl”, “You Don’t Know How it Feels”, “I Won’t Back Down”, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, “Refugee”, and “Runnen’ Down a Dream”.

Representing Simmons at all times!

I will say, the only down side of watching Tom Petty from a hiking trail is that when nature calls there is no bathroom…

What can I say? I’m the daughter and sister of Eagle Scouts. I know how to rough it and this bathroom had hey, a killer view of the city. How often do you get to enjoy that?

Overall, it was a once in a lifetime LA experience. It was a special night and a great way to kick off the weekend! Major thanks to Leanna for inviting us!

Project Food Blog Round 3: Champagne Luxury on a PBR Budget

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Yesterday night I hosted a luxury dinner party for challenge 3 of Project Food Blog. Let’s just say that the theme of the night wound up being, “four guests, crazy honey”.

When I read the prompt for challenge 3 I was initially worried. “Throw a luxury dinner party?” I thought, “how can I do that when most of my friends don’t even have dining room tables?” I have maintained on this blog that just because you are a student and short on cash, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a fabulous party! Personally, I think there are two keys to this: 1) use ingredients you already have and 2) use a few, really special ingredients in simple dishes. I did both last night and I think I accomplished my mission.

I decided to throw the party at my friends Catie and Emily’s house because I have a midterm on Monday and it looks like a Wills and Trusts bomb went off in my apartment. Unless dozens of pages of tiny family trees with dollar amounts next to them is your idea of luxury I knew it just wouldn’t work. Plus, Catie and Emily have a big, open concept kitchen which allows for plenty of chef to guest interaction. The kitchen is the heart of every home and I love cooking surrounded by friends. Catie’s long time friend Jackie also attended.

My favorite part of dinner parties is cooking with everyone, sharing stories and laughing. We had to start with wine of course!

Once the vino is poured the party really starts rocken’.

One of my pieces of advice if your on a budget but want to host a luxe dinner party is to use what you already have plenty of. I happen to have a ton of honey leftover from making baklava last week so I incorporated it into every course. Honey was used liberally in the creation of this meal.

Explaining the importance of using what you got

As you might have gleaned from the title of my blog I am a bit of a Barefoot Contessa fan. I love Ina because everything in her world is always fabulous and even challenging dishes are so easy and simple to make. All I want to do is move to the Hamptons and eat leftovers with Jeffrey.

I always take study breaks when Barefoot is on and yesterday was no exception. While watching I decided I had to make a cheese appetizer she was featuring: Baked Brie with Honey and Pecans. I served it with farmers market fresh honey crisp apple slices. I made this first so my guests could enjoy it with wine while I prepped the rest of the meal.

Another Barefoot classic was the entree: Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter.

This dish is amazing because it has very few ingredients and you might actually have some of them lying around the house. One thing that won’t be lying around your house if you are a twenty something graduate student is truffle butter. Lucky for me, it was on sale at Whole Food this week! Even I can afford $7 for “the finest truffle butter in the world”.

Can you believe my friends had never tried truffle butter?

This dish cooks in a matter of a few minutes.

While the pasta was being prepared I honey roasted some fall vegetables. This is a simple recipe that utilizes honey, because I have an excess of it, and some great farmers market finds including the first butternut squash of the season, carrots, parsnips, and walnuts.


If you read my blog you know I’m a sucker for roasted veggies. This is a sweet twist on your typical roasted veggie.

And then, dinner was ready.

Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter

and Honey Roasted Fall Vegetables


Dinner is served!

Who says you can’t have a luxurious meal and sit on the floor? I think we proved them wrong last night!

And then it was time for dessert… Vanilla Ice Cream with Drizzled Honey and Raspberries.

Simply delicious.

I am so glad I have made it this far in Project Food Blog and was able to serve this fantastic dinner party to these fabulous ladies! I was able to combine simple and special ingredients with the ingredients I already had to craft a tasty dinner for everyone. The best part of any dinner party is getting together with old and new friends, swapping stories and laughing. We had a wonderful, food coma inducing time. Thanks for being a part of it!

Progress Report

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Sorry blog world… I feel like I kept you hanging.

If you haven’t heard already via Facebook, Twitter, text message, my mouth, or overly excited phone call, I made it to round 3 of Project Food Blog! I cannot believe that my little dog and pony show has made it to round 3. I am so excited for the luxury dinner party I am throwing today and I will have it blogged by tomorrow so stay tuned!

Also, I will be bringing you my Tom Petty experience from last night. Let me just say that you haven’t seen a concert like this before.

I also have a midterm in Wills and Trusts on Monday so this weekend has been packed but updates will abound tomorrow I promise!

But until then, happy weekend…

Finally Thursday

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Hey there.

Is it just me or did this week drag? Maybe it was the big build up to Wednesday (midterm + ten mile run) but I am wiped! Today was busy and I am currently prepping for midterm 2 (wills and trusts) which is Monday. It never ends!

I had a big lunch so for dinner I didn’t want anything big or heavy. I settled for some roasted things.

I almost never buy cauliflower but I saw it cheap last weekend at the FM and I jumped on it. There was also roasted potatoes and two pieces of baklava which didn’t get blogged.

I stopped at two pieces because I was outlining with “The Biggest Loser” on in the background. Watching Jillian yell at people makes me not want to eat excessive amounts of baklava. Anyone else watching “The Biggest Loser” this season?

Tons of exciting stuff coming up tomorrow! I find out if I advance to the next round of Project Food Blog and I’m going to see Tom Petty at the Hollywood Bowl! Plus: more running, and studying! Can’t wait.

Boozy Dark Chocolate Orange Chunk Cookies

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A few weeks ago I had a thought. I love cocktails. I love chocolate. I love orange. Why haven’t I combined all three yet? I had no good answer. So I promptly came up with this cookie recipe.

I gathered my ingredients and started by combining flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl. First things first, measure out the flour and sift it with a whisk. The whisking breaks up any of the flour that is clumping. 2 and a quarter cups!Make sure that the flour is even!

Once you have the flour, add the salt (teaspoon).

And baking powder.

Mix the three and set it aside.

Now you must must must brown the butter! Two sticks please!

Drool. Combine with brown sugar (1 cup) and mix well.

Then add a half cup of granulated sugar.

Next add two eggs, vanilla, and Contreau (the booze!)

Mix again until they are fully combined.

Now combine the flour mixture in three parts.

Make sure that it is mixed well.

Once it is well mixed, zest an orange and combine to the mixture. I zest using a micoplane, which is the best kitchen utensil ever. Although some, I hear are partial to the spoon-hula (right Committee ladies?)

After zesting the orange take two Ghirardelli bars (dark chocolate), break them up with a knife and combine.

Mix it up, put some saran around it and pop it in the fridge for several hours. Go on a run or something because you will be eating a ton of cookies in the very near future.

After the dough is sufficiently cold take it out. Pre heat the oven to 350 and get those cookies on the pan!

Bake these puppies for 10-12 mins. Enjoy the scent and pretty soon, out they come!

Chewy, delicious, and fragrant. Orange, dark chocolate fantasticness!

They didn’t last long. These are the ultimate Left Coast Contessa cookies. Boozy, rich, and chocolaty.

One last time, make sure you vote for me at Project Food Blog. Only one day left!