Mellie Dee ♥

Lifestyle | Food | Travel

Lorenzo’s Italian Restaurant | San Antonio, Texas

by Leave a Comment

Lorenzo's Italian Restaurant | San Antonio, Texas

On February 23rd, Mercedes’ needed filming assistance for one of her class and afterward we decided to go to dinner at Lorenzo’s Italian Restaurant.

Lorenzo's Italian Restaurant | San Antonio, Texas |Garlic Bread

Garlic Bread | free

They kept refilling our garlic bread which was super fluffy and garlicky with a good crunch – first garlic bread I love. It was still good the next day!

Lorenzo's Italian Restaurant | San Antonio, Texas | Salad

Italian Salad | comes with main dish

Their salads seem to be very fresh. Or maybe I was just very hungry.

Lorenzo's Italian Restaurant | San Antonio, Texas | Clam Chowder

Clam Chowder | $3.99

They give you a good portion of clams and it was super creamy. It was one of the best chowders I’ve had forever.

Lorenzo's Italian Restaurant | San Antonio, Texas | Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Meatball

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce with Meatball | ~$7

There was a lot of pasta and the meatball is the same as the meat in the sauce but since I had plenty of leftovers, I was fine with it.

The garlic bread is enough for me to come back.

Lorenzo’s Italian Restaurant
8032 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, TX 78229  |  (210) 692-9900  |  Website  |  Yelp

Gigi’s Cupcakes | San Antonio, Texas

by Leave a Comment

Gigi's Cupcakes | San Antonio, Texas

Jenny and I wanted something sweet and decided on some Gigi’s Cupcakes.

Gigi's Cupcakes | San Antonio, Texas | Valentine Box

We decided on the 4 for $9.99 deal since it was Valentine’s month.

Gigi's Cupcakes | San Antonio, Texas | Wedding Cake Cupcake

Wedding Cake [white cake topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting & sprinkled with white nonpareils]

Gigi's Cupcakes | San Antonio, Texas | Texas Milk Chocolate Cupcake

Texas Milk Chocolate [milk chocolate cake topped with milk chocolate frosting, chocolate sprinkles & a yellow fondant star]

Gigi's Cupcakes | San Antonio, Texas | Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Cup [milk chocolate cake topped with peanut butter frosting & honey roasted peanuts drizzled with chocolate ganache]

Gigi's Cupcakes | San Antonio, Texas | Tiramisu Cupcake

Tiramisu [coffee & Kahlua flavored cake with cream cheese, topped with coffee & Kahlua flavored frosting, dutch cocoa & chocolate sprinkles]

Overall we disliked the fact they pile on so much frosting especially when their cakes themselves are super sweet. If you’re into sugar crashes, this is the place for you.

We were told the cupcakes can be kept up to three days but by our second day, it was already stale. We won’t be back.

Gigi’s Cupcakes
434 North Loop 1604 W. Suite 1101, San Antonio, TX 78232  |  (210) 481-2300  |  Website  |  Yelp

Maggiano’s | San Antonio, Texas

by Leave a Comment

Maggiano's | San Antonio, Texas

Amanda and I did another catch up session on February 9th at Maggiano’s. This is my go to pasta place at the moment and also where my pasta obsession came from.

Maggiano's | San Antonio, Texas | Bread

Bread [with oil and herbs] | free

I’m not a big fan since it was a little on the hard side and the dip didn’t give it much flavour as I hoped. More herbs less oil please. This bread did not win me over.

Maggiano's | San Antonio, Texas | Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti | $12.95

This was so good I finished it all! It would definitely be better if they added a little bit more sauce on top so that when it’s baked, it wouldn’t turn out so dry on top.

Maggiano's | San Antonio, Texas | Spaghetti & Meatballs

Spaghetti & Meatballs | Free With Main Meal

They have a deal where when you order from the Classic Pasta section you can take home another to take home. They stuff the little containers with so much pasta! And the meatball was gigantic!! I was able to make two meals out of it which means with tip, I only paid about eighteen dollars for three meals. What a steal!

Maggiano's | San Antonio, Texas | Heating Instructions

They even have instructions on how to reheat the food which is really thoughtful.

Maggiano’s
17603 IH 10W, San Antonio, TX 78257  |  (210) 451-6000  |  Website  |  Yelp

RECIPE | Salted Caramel Cupcakes

by Leave a Comment

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

On February 9th, Jane, Elyse, Yelena, Melanie, Michelle B., and I decided to have a girls night to bake Salted Caramel Cupcakes, gossip, and catch up!

Recipe down below, but first, a funny story.

Salted Caramel Cupcakes | Powder

Jane was making our caramel but for some unknown reason, she turned it back to powder. We’re not really sure what happened but we crumbled some on top of our cupcakes.

Salted Caramel Cupcakes | Caramel

I took a go at it. It might look great but there were some chunks that wouldn’t mix all the way through. Then we mixed it into our buttercream before it cooled down so our buttercream didn’t stand up the way we wanted to. It still came out wonderfully though!

Frosting Salted Caramel Cupcakes

It stood its ground, then seconds later it started to spread. I must say it all turned out great. It was too sweet for my taste. We added a lot of sea salt to make it not as sweet. Defeats the purpose, I know. But it’s how you like!

Salted Caramel Cupcakes
Print
Salted Caramel Cupcakes
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 
Course: Dessert
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar firmly packed
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temp
  • 2 large eggs room temp
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • sea salt preferably Fleur de Sel
Buttercream
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 3-4 cups confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • pinch of sea salt
Preparations
Cupcakes

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a standard 12-cup cupcake pan with liners.

  2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

  3. In another bowl, beat the sugars and butter using an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Then add eggs and vanilla until well combined.

  4. Add flour mixture in 3 batches alternating with the milk in 2 additions. Beat on low until just combined and scrape down sides of the bowl.

  5. Fill prepared cupcake cups and bake for about 20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Buttercream
  1. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, cook granulated sugar over medium high heat until it begins to melt. It will become an amber brown … CARAMEL!

  2. Carefully pour cream in a steady stream. The whole thing will bubble and sputter but just keep stirring until completely smooth. Set aside to cool a bit.

  3. While caramel is cooling, using a mixer, cream butter until fluffy and smooth. Add confectioners sugar half a cup at a time.You may not need all 4 cups.

  4. When consistency is how you like it, add a pinch of sea salt and take a spoonful of caramel and add it to the frosting in dollops. Gently swirl.

Notes

Leftover caramel can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week. To use, bring to room temperature.

 

Ken’s Donuts | Austin, Texas

by Leave a Comment

Ken's Donuts | Austin, Texas

After eating our Korean leftovers for dinner on February 4th Tammy, Jenny, and I decided to go out for dessert landing us in Ken’s Donuts. They had so many choices and for a donut shop to still be opened at night was surprising.

Ken's Donuts | Austin, Texas | Donuts 1

We decided it was easier if one person paid so everything is in the same box and split the costs later. The things I got were:

  • Blueberry Centers – These were not great at all. It tasted better when it was sitting in the fridge for a night. Instead, go for the regular centers. They taste way better.
  • Sugar Yeast Donut – I like when my donuts have little crystals on it and let me just say this was magnificent. So soft and fluffy!
  • Glazed Donut – It wasn’t that great. I’ll stick to the Sugar Yeast.

I would come back here just for the Sugar Yeast Donuts and I don’t even care about donuts. There, I said it!

Ken’s Donuts
2820 Guadalupe St, Austin, TX 78705  |  (512) 320-8484  |  Yelp