Toothpick Holder

I got "Magic Bunny", which is toothpick holder by Alessi (http://www.alessi.com/en/). I love Alessi's product very much but they were so expensive in Japan. In the U.S., I can buy these products almost half price of Japanese price. So, I got this one. It is sooo cute!

Creo again

I went to have a lunch with my friends at "Creo".
This time, I ate "Today's Risotto", which is risotto with Boletus edulis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_edulis) source and confit of duck. I love duck very much and I love confit!! The surface of the duck was crispy and inside is very soft... I was so satisfied of this duck taste but the price was expensive. Uh.... expensive for lunch....

Laptop bag

I was looking for my laptop bag because the bag I am using now is soooo old. At first, I went to "Target" and "Best Buy" but I could not find pretty one, then I was looking for it in Amazon.com. I could find cute and pretty one, and I got it today!! I will take it tomorrow and show my friends.

This Saturday

There will be "Russian winter festival(http://www.newrussiacenter.org/winter_festival.htm)" in this Saturday. As for Russia, I love costumes and folk music, but I like food best! What can I eat?I will GO!!

Also, there will be "Winter carnival(http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/02/22/opinion/doc49a0cc6e34c26164285318.txt)" in Troy. This is the first winter carnival in little Italy, I heard. It will be a beer garden! it sounds good!

Strawberry Mousse

I made "Strawberry mousse". They look spring, don't they?

Oh, I am looking forward to coming spring!!!

Delmonico's italian Steakhouse (Italian Restaurant)

I went to have a dinner with my friends at "Delmonico's(http://www.delmonicositaliansteakhouse.com/)". At the parking lot, there are so many cars and I could not any space and waited about 15minutes. Inside the restaurant was so clouded and little noisy. At first, we ate 2 kinds of appetizer. One of them was small steak which was cut small size. The sauce was garlic and soy sauce taste. Other was Italian chips with tomato sauce. I ate "Veal Parmigiana" as a main dish. It was Veal with cheese and tomato sauce. It was little heavy for me but veal was so soft and tasty. As a dessert, I ate "Tiramisu". It was delicious and good for black coffee. Finally, I was full and packed more than half my dish. I could not understand why so many people come to this restaurant even if the steak is good.
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Delmonico's Italian Steakhouse
1553 Central Avenue,
Albany, NY 12205
TEL (518)456-5656
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Creo (Italian Restaurant)

I went to have a lunch at "Creo(http://creorestaurant.com/)" with my friends. This restaurant is a new one in Stuyvesant Plaza. Inside the restaurant is gorgeous, bright and clean. We ordered and shared "Ahi tuna spring roll, red curry vinaigrette", "Ravioli of the day ", "Caramelized onions, figs & balsamic reduction Pizza" and "Crème brulee ". "Ahi tuna spring roll, red curry vinaigrette" is a roll contained raw tuna and herbs with curry sauce. But taste of curry was not strong and I could enjoy the taste of tuna. "Ravioli of the day " was the ravioli which wrapped with ground chicken meat and vegetables. It was mixed with tomato sauce. This ravioli was huge for me. I like smaller one. "Caramelized onions, figs & balsamic reduction Pizza" was a kind of dessert, I think. It was sweet but the combination of onions and figs were really nice. I love this very much. When I will come this restaurant again, I definitely order this pizza again! "Crème brulee" was sweet and rich taste. It was good for black coffee. We were satisfied our lunch today.
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Creo
1475 Western Avenue,
Stuyvesant Plaza,
Albany, NY 12203
TEL (518)482-8000
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Debbie's Kitchen (Cafe)

2 months ago, my friend gave me brownies and these brownies fascinated me a lot. So, I went to buy them at "Debbie's Kitchen". This cafe is near the Washington park and is small. But they sell many kinds of desserts, such as Cheesecake, carrot cake, pies and brownies. Also, we can eat sandwitches($6.75-$7.50), soup and salad in this cafe. Today, I bought 3 kinds of brownies and 1 chocolate cake. These brownies are plain one, coconuts one and nuts one. The texture of these brownies are very soft. When I put it into my mouth, the brownie melts and chocolate taste spreads into my mouth. I really love these brownies!
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Debbie's Kitchen
456 Madison Avenue,
Albany, NY 12208
TEL (518)463-3829
Mon-Fri 10am-9pm
Sat 11am-6pm
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TEAVANA (Tea shop)

I found the new shop in Crossgates mall (http://www.shopcrossgates.com/) and went there. The new shop is tea shop "TEAVANA (http://www.teavana.com/shop.axd/Default)". I love loose tea very much and always go to "The Good Leaf Tea Company http://www.goodleaftea.com/index.html)" in Lark Street. But I want to know the new shop and compare these 2.
In the shop, there are many kinds of tea products, such as tea mugs, tea kettles and tea pots. Some of the tea cups are made in Japan and look beautiful. Teas are behind the counter and we can try to see and to snart them at the counter. Most of the teas are blended. If you want to enjoy standard tea, I do not recommend this shop. If you want to enjoy new blend tea, this shop is good for you. I tried some kind of blend teas. Then, I bought one, which is blended white tea with rooibos tea, and mixed with dried tropical fruits. I love fruity one and it smell good. The prices of teas in this shop is twice or third times expensive than "The Good Leaf Tea Company". Sorry, TEAVANA, I love Good Leaf better.
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TEAVANA
1 Crossgates mall Rd.,
Albany, NY 12203
TEL (518)218-0245
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Chocolate for my friends

Today is Valentin's' day, so I made chocolate muffins for my lab members. This time I used muffin mix of William Sonoma. Most of the time, Muffin mix is not good for me because it is too sweet. But this Muffin mix is better than I used before. The taste of chocolate is rich and really good, and I love it very much. Also, my friends like these muffins. I am so happy to see their eating.

Rice Cooker Cake

My friend told me that rice cooker can make cake, so I tried to make "Chocolate Cake".

Pancake mix 2 1/4 cup
Cocoa powder 1 1/2 cup
Milk 12 table spoons
Egg 1
Olive oil 2 table spoon

Mix well and put them into the rice cooker. Then, push the start button! After finish boiling, I checked the dough. It was little soft and I push the start button again. Finally, I got the Chocolate cake. It looks good, isn't it?

Bouchons

Before the big events, such as Christmas, Halloween and Valentina's day, I really want to make something to eat for these days. Today I made "Bouchons", which is famous as French confectionery. The shape of this sweets are wine cork, and the taste and texture are similar to brownie. I do not have an appropriate mold, so I used small muffin cups. The surface is little bit crispy but inside is very soft. I will take them to my friend house tomorrow!

Present for her

This coming Thursday is my teacher's birthday. She is a IELP(http://www.albany.edu/ielp/AboutIELP.html) teacher and She helped me a lot when I was in IELP class. She is so lively and recommended me many places in Albany, such as museum, Pine bush preserve and ice skating... She made my life in Albany more vivid.
We will have a lunch together this Thursday with other my friends. We all are her students! Off course, some of us will have classes that day, so we will eat at cafeteria in the collage. I got the present for her in "Chocolate Gecko(http://www.chocolategecko.com/)". Now there are many chocolate shaped heart. They are so lovely. I love Valentin's day decoration because they made me warm.

Souvenir from my friends

I got 2 souvenirs from my friends.
One of them is "Pineapple Pie" from my Taiwanese friend. Pineapple pie is famous as Taiwanese souvenir, I heard. The surface of this pie is crispy and inside is soft(Pineapple filling). It is little sweet for me but tasty.
Other is "Cod roe covered with kelp" from my Japanese friend. This is a kind of side dish for rice. I have never seen it in Japan but it looks delicious. I want to try tomorrow.