…nor to attend an 80′s Flashdance Tribute…

…we were celebrating the 1-year Anniversary of our blog, Thick Dumpling Skin!!!

Every month, Foodbuzz features 24 blogger meals around the globe over 24 hours. When I found out I was chosen for January’s 24×24 I decided to throw a TDS birthday party at Bao Dim Sum House.

I consulted with Howard (the General Manager) all week for a dumpling feast…

…loved the variety on their menu – a true reflection of what TDS is about – our diversity and uniqueness!

We had Chicken Potstickers…

…Shrimp and Pork Shumai…

…Shrimp Har Gow…

…Pork Soup dumplings…

…Mixed Veggies…

…Mushroom…

…and Crispy Crab balls:

Those came with a sweet, sticky sauce – I used some, but mostly dipped my bites in a mustard/chili/soy/vinegar mixture

Aside from the various dumplings, we also ate our veggies – String Beans…

…Pea Shoots…

…Baby Bok Choy…

…and Chinese Broccoli

It was A LOT of food!

Here’s everything that I inhaled…

…then I made a little speech before our “birthday cake.”

Milk Buns…

…and Egg Tarts

As we say on “Thick Dumpling Skin,” it’s what’s on the inside that counts – this creamy filling was phenomenal!

I enjoyed several bites of dessert:

Stuffed as dumplings, we headed outside for pictures…

(Got a little distracted)

…cheers, Thick Dumpling Skin! We hope you keep growing and growing.

…like National Chocolate Cake Day!!!

Celebrated early Friday morning with a double decker.

The weather in Los Angeles has been glorious…

…I took my afternoon melon + miso outdoors:

For dinner Abe and I split a Paleta meal…

…bulked up by roasted broccoli

Brussels Sprouts with shallots…

…Acorn squash stuffed with couscous/nuts/dried fruit…

…delicious – even the skin – which is high in fiber (and will keep you regular)!

Speaking of which, why in the world would you call your candy “Drops?”

Especially when you’re a chocolate company?!?

Still, that shit was good.

Sorry for ending this post with a little toilet humor…but yesterday was also Thomas Crapper Day!

Fit in nicely with all its other snack friends:

I focused on the crackers…

…veggies…

…chips n salsa…

…TJ’s cheesy tarts (this is my second time having these and I’ve still never seen them at the store, so I’m not quite sure what they really are)

My two (mostly savory) bowls…

…and then came the sweets!

Look for a review on Shari’s Berries in an upcoming Dessert Darling Review…

…that’s who hosted/organized the Book Club – this is her 3rd year!!!

We actually didn’t end up talking much about the book – funny, because that’s what also happened in “Nice Girl’s Crew” (we just got a lovely shootout on SheWired!)

Mostly we mingled…

…and chilled with the pups…

…surprisingly, there wasn’t a ton of candy either. Just these two bags:

True to the title of the book, I was the one who volunteered to take these them home. Such a candy freak.

…. and I’ll throw my hands up to the Dessert Gods, screaming “WHY ME?!?”

WHO manages to screw up a pre-measured-step-by-step-ready-made-FOOL-PROOF thing like this?!?

Just call me “The Baking Klutz!” (Here are some other examples of past failures adventures.)

Was it because I improvised with almond milk and a flax egg?

Or was it the marshmallows? (Nope. I just googled marshmallow + cookie and was taunted presented with stunning results.)

I think my issue was neglecting the nonstick spray, which I must point out – I didn’t use with my Figgy Pudding Cookies!!! Let’s pause for a moment and acknowledge the success of that one…

…okay, did I mention my smoke alarm went off 3x? I hate you, baking.

Managed to salvage most of the ones on the silicone mat (about a dozen), though they were still a rather crumbly, sticky mess

These wax paper guys were hopeless…

…just hopeless!!!

I peeled off most of the paper (though you can still see some in this picture) and cobbled together a sad little container of crumbles.

Little late afternoon snack…

…REALLY small – that Kishu was teeny:

Thankfully, the cookies were crazy delicious.

These were brought to my book club, and a few other survivors I’m giving to my commercial reps…

…more on last night later – gotta get ready for that agent meeting now!

It was also my first time working on a Randall Park production – we spent the afternoon shooting a voting PSA:

Joy, me, and Jae – long-lost sisters?

Even though I wear glasses, I never rock them for more than a few hours at a time. They give me a headache, due to the fact that I don’t have a bridge on my nose so I’m subconsciously scrunching my face to hold them on my face. Joy told me there are brands that cater specifically to this issue; I even found a whole selection of Oakley’s entitled “Asian Fit!“

I was easily able to remove the lenses (for my costume) from an old pair by soaking them in super hot water, then popping the plastic out with a towel.

Time for me to get my baking on – I wanted to bring cookies to book club tonight and remembered that I had my Mason Jar Cookie Company mix waiting in the pantry from Christmas:

(I snapped these photos back in December which is why the tree’s in the background!)

So excited there’s no need to measure anything…

…a reminder of what’s inside…

…next time, I’ll have to come up with an “Asian Fit” formula???

BAY AREA PEEPS

My Thick Dumpling Skin co-founder Lisa is being auctioned off for Hyphen Magazine. If you win, you could spend a delicious day at Facebook with her like I did last summer!