Holiday Menu Suggestions (+Giveaway)

The holiday season is the perfect time to prepare a pretty table filled with fancy dishes. Last year, Lulu and I spent the holidays with my parents in Paris. This year, I'm catching up and I'm preparing dinner for my husband's family. I have a vague idea of what the menu is going to be and if you're also still wondering what to prepare, I've gathered a few of my favorite holiday recipes. Enjoy!

Today's giveaway is a gift pack from John Kelly Chocolates. The company specializes in elevating fudge with the use of high-quality ingredients. The chocolate pieces are enormous, adding to the decadence of the product. The chocolate walnut bars, which are my favorite, are so dense and chocolate-y. I also enjoyed the hawaiian salted fudge bites. For a chance to gorge on all the fudgy goodness from John Kelly Chocolates, just enter on the 25 Days of Giveaways page.

Make sure you're a fan of PhamFatale Facebook fan page and John Kelly Chocolates or follow @Phamfatalecom and tweet about this giveaway. To make it easy, you can just copy and paste this tweet if you’d like: "$99 Chocolate Tower #Giveaway from @Phamfatalecom and @jkchoc: http://bit.ly/sp4V7y".

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PhamFatale.com reaches 500 recipes!

This week, PhamFatale.com reached 500 recipes. It's truly surprising to me that there are over 500 recipes in my head, but as they say, the proof is in the pudding. In this case, the proof is also in the crème brulée, the risotto and the other dishes I've shared over the past year and a half.

I never in a million years imagined that publishing the recipes I prepare daily for and with my family and friends could have been so much fun. Food is an ephemeral art form, so it's easy to forget what ingredient combinations I've made in the past and what I've served.

The other neat side of the website I've enjoyed a lot is to be able to interact with other food lovers from around the world and also make dear friends locally. I'm always surprised at how readers find the website, whether it is through another food site, the newspaper or from a friend. Thanks so much for joining me in my culinary adventures. It's wonderful fun experimenting with recipes, playing with photography by switching lenses and getting the children interested and familiar with cooking. You've probably seen the dietary restrictions in my large family. They aren’t always simple to fulfill but they're always a great adventure!

Thanks for reading! And stay tuned as new surprises will arrive soon.

For now, here's an example of a menu I would typically serve for a dinner party, gathering my favorite recipes including Vietnamese, French and Indian cuisines. Enjoy!

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SFChefs 2010 Event Recap

My husband Lulu and I spent 3 fantastic days in San Francisco for the SFChefs2010 event this weekend. It's the second year the event has been organized and I wanted to share with you my experience.
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Things To Do in Ashland (Oregon Shakespeare Festival)

Our friends Carole and David are making a big move from the Bay Area, California to Ashland, Oregon this week. They've been raving about Ashland so much to us that we decided we should spend our summer family vacation there. And I could not thank them enough for suggesting such a wonderful, relaxing place.
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The Big 3-0

Turning 30 isn't as scary as I had imagined! Yesterday was my birthday, and to celebrate my 30th trip around the sun, I spent the day in San Francisco surrounded by my family. 10 years ago I took my first trip to San Francisco, and I didn’t know that it was going to become my home, or that I was going to meet the love of my life (and his wonderful little sisters of course). It’s amazing how time flies. Back then, Lulu’s 3rd sister (the one with all the allergies) was only 6 months old. When I got married 6 years ago, my little munchkin (Lulu’s youngest sister) was only 3 months old. Not only are they wonderful little sisters-in-law, but they make great mile markers as well!
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