FabSugar

Fab Site: Shopatmilk.com

FabSugar — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 14:03:50 PST

Milk still does a body good, if you ask me. The online store of this one-year-old West Hollywood boutique, is fun and colorful, with a funky collage on its welcoming home page. This shop leans towards retro-inspired clothes from such lines as Christopher Deane, Diane von Furstenberg, Luella and Sue Stemp. They also carry beauty, lingerie, swimwear, mens - AKA milkman, books, kids tees and gift items. As well, their 'coming soon' and 'must-haves' sections help you to create a mental wish list. One thing the site is missing is a list by designer - phooey! Also, they score more points with cute tops and dresses, while bottoms and shoes are eh. But right now, they have an immense sale section. Here is my mental wish list:

GEREN FORD royal blue blousey silk tank with optional matching tie, on sale for $101 (originally $202).

Two more so,

KAROO long puff sleeve dress, on sale for $184 (originally $368).

McQ BY MCQUEEN black and white striped shell with ruffle, on sale for $140.50 (originally $281).

Meet This Year's James Beard Award Winners

Susannah Chen — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:36:10 PDT

The time has finally arrived: the James Beard Awards, or the Oscars of the food world, have just been announced. After months of suspense following the announcement of this year's semifinalists and subsequent finalists, the results were announced at a star-studded gala in New York's Lincoln Center, where a smattering of top talent from Grant Achatz to Top Chef winner Paul Qui walked home with medals.

For the first time ever, there was an Outstanding Bar Program award, and it went to Jim Meehan, owner and bar manager at PDT in New York City. Other highlights? Eleven Madison Park's Daniel Humm nabbed top prize for Outstanding Chef; Wolfgang Puck spoke at length as he accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar fame took home title of Rising Star Chef; the pastry wunderkind declared that if she could cook anything for James Beard, it would be turkey pot pie. Read ahead to see the full list of 2012 James Beard Award winners.

Video: Gwen Stefani Brings Kingston and Zuma to Star-Studded Story Time

Karli Bulnes — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:48:26 PDT

Kingston Rossdale escorted Gwen Stefani down the red carpet at the third annual Milk + Bookies event in LA on Sunday, while Zuma met his mom and brother inside to hear stories read by stars such as Chris Pine and Eric Stonestreet. See Gwen and Kingston's cute red-carpet stroll and find out which books other famous faces read as children in today's PopSugar Rush.

Gwen Stefani and Her Boys Join Other Famous Families For a Kid-Friendly Bash

PopSugar — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:34:15 PDT

Yesterday morning, stars and their families came out to support the third annual Milk and Bookies event at the Skirball Cultural Center in LA. Chris Pine, Gwen Stefani, Julie Bowen, and Eric Stonestreet were among the celebrities who lent their voices to the cause by sharing some of their favorite children's stories with the kids. The nonprofit, which focuses on promoting philanthropy at a young age through book donations, got going bright and early and offered a fun-filled day with no shortage of milk, cookies, and - of course - tons of reading.

Gwen's son Kingston walked the carpet with her, while Zuma was a little camera shy. Julie Bowen balanced her sons John and Gus while her third boy, Oliver, wasted no time heading into the action. New Girl's Max Greenfield also brought his 3-year-old daughter out and told us he'd have to hold her back from her crush Chris Pine. Stay tuned for today's PopSugar Rush to catch our interviews from the event!

Ashlee and Bronx Share Sunday Storytime With Yo Gabba Gabba!

Lindsay Miller — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:25:00 PDT

Ashlee Simpson took her son Bronx to the annual Milk + Bookies event on Sunday in LA. The fundraiser hosts a large library of books for celebrities to sign and donate to children in need. The mother and son also enjoyed some playtime during their charitable morning as they met Yo Gabba Gabba! characters and listened to stories. Ashlee has been hanging out close to home with her little one and family in the wake of her split from Bronx's dad, Pete Wentz. The exes are making the best of their pending divorce and were spotted out together before he headed on tour with his new band Black Cards last week.

Get to Know the 2012 Finalists For America's Top Food Awards

YumSugar — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:40:09 PDT

America is home to more than 100,000 head chefs - and today, a select few of them will be given nods as finalists for the James Beard Awards, the industry's top honors.

Among those who made the cut from the list of last month's semifinalists: David Chang, Tom Douglas, and Ina Garten.

Winners will be announced on May 7 in an award ceremony at New York's Lincoln Center, to be hosted by none other than Food Network's Alton Brown. The event, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, only promises to be more lavish than years past.

To see the list of finalists, keep reading.

Sisters of DC Cupcakes Share Valentine's Day Baking Tips and Chocolate Ganache Recipe

Rebecca M Gruber — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:16:28 PST

What's sugar and spice and everything nice? Cupcakes! And no one knows more about our obsession with the lil confections than Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis, co-owners of Georgetown Cupcake and stars of TLC's DC Cupcakes. The sisters, who learned their kitchen skills from their grandmother ("We followed her around the kitchen and always begged to help"), have been known to bake up to 10,000 lil cakes a day, much to the delight of the patrons who line the block of their Washington DC store. The duo - who just opened their first outpost in New York City - gave me a few minutes of their time to discuss their tasty desserts.

LilSugar: Cupcakes have moved from kiddie birthday party staple to a favorite of adults and kids alike. But kids aren't always willing to try new flavors. Which are most popular with kids?
Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis: Our Vanilla Birthday (vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream and rainbow bobbles), Chocolate Birthday (chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream and rainbow bobbles), and Milk Chocolate Birthday (vanilla cupcake with milk chocolate buttercream and rainbow bobbles) are the most popular with kids. We think it's the color rainbow bobbles!

LS: Moms are busy; what shortcuts can you recommend to making delicious, beautiful cupcakes without spending the whole day baking and decorating them?
SL and KK: Try to keep a stash of baking staples - butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk, all purpose flour, baking soda/powder, salt, and cocoa powder/chocolate on hand in your kitchen at all times and you can make almost any flavor! Our recipes are very simple - we don’t use cake flour or pastry flour - just all purpose - we find that works best. Also, we're big fans of chocolate ganache icing. It's so easy - just two ingredients - chocolate chips and heavy cream. You just melt them down (two cups of chips to one cup of cream), and dip your cupcakes in and you've got a super fast and unbelievably delicious frosting.

LS: Do you ever make "healthy" cupcakes for those who want to skip some of the sugar? If so, what goes into it?
SL and KK: We have a carrot cake cupcake, which has fresh carrots and fresh apples grated in it. We skip the walnuts, to save on calories, and it's a light and delicious cupcake!

The new season of DC Cupcakes begins on Feb. 25, but if you're looking to create their Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes for Valentine's Day,

Georgetown Cupcake's Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes
From Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis, co-owners of Georgetown Cupcake

Ingredients

For the cupcakes
1 1/4 cups flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) European-style unsalted butter, such as Plugra brand, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, preferably Madagascar bourbon
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup Valrhona cocoa powder, sifted (or another good-quality cocoa powder)

For the ganache frosting
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup Callebaut semisweet chocolate chips (6.4 ounces; or other good-quality semisweet chocolate chips)

Directions
For the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard cupcake pan with 12 baking cups, and a second pan with 6 baking cups.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt on a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy. Stop to add the sugar; beat on medium speed until well incorporated.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.

Combine the vanilla extract and milk in a large liquid measuring cup.

Reduce the speed to low. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then gradually add one-third of the milk mixture, beating until well incorporated. Add another one-third of the flour mixture, followed by one-third of the milk mixture. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk mixture, and beat just until combined.

Add the cocoa powder, beating (on low speed) just until incorporated.

Use a standard-size ice cream scoop to fill each cupcake paper with batter, so that the wells are two-thirds full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes (start checking at 15 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the ganache frosting:
Lay a large piece of wax paper on the work surface.

Combine the heavy cream and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Fill a medium saucepan with an inch or two of water and place over medium-low heat. Place the bowl over the saucepan and let the mixture melt, stirring until it is shiny and smooth.

Remove the bowl of chocolate ganache from the saucepan; let it cool slightly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Working with 1 cupcake at a time, carefully dip each cupcake top in the warm ganache, twisting your wrist as needed to make sure the cupcake top gets completely coated. To prevent drips, quickly turn the cupcake right side up and place on the wax paper. Allow the ganache to set for 5 minutes before serving.

(If the cupcakes are dipped once, you'll have about 1/2 cup of ganache left over.)

Print recipe with images | without images

Isla Fisher Has Her Hands Full With Little Elula and Work

Lauren Turner — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:45:40 PST

Isla Fisher carried Elula to their car in LA yesterday. The busy mom had her hands full with her daughter and a variety of beverages, including a Perrier, a bottle of milk, and an iced drink. Isla and her family returned to the West Coast after spending most of October in Isla's native Australia. The foursome relocated Down Under while Isla filmed The Great Gatsby with costars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. She took a break from the cameras to celebrate husband Sacha Baron Cohen's 40th birthday with a boat ride.

Isla has since switched gears from the big-screen adaptation of The Great Gatsby to a cameo on Bored to Death, which aired last week. Sacha has his own project in the spotlight as well since his children's movie, Hugo, hit theaters over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Nicole Richie Pops Up in White Leather to Support a Pal

Lauren Turner — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:15:00 PST

Nicole Richie threw on a studded leather jacket for an appearance in LA yesterday. She stopped by Milk Boutique to support pal Masha Gordon at her If Pockets Talked pop-up shop, where Samantha Ronson DJed. The evening out was just the latest in a string of events for Nicole, who also attended Mindy Kaling's book launch party at the Roosevelt Hotel on Monday. Over the weekend, Nicole hosted a Winter Wonderland event with Baby2Baby and also dressed up for the MOCA Gala. She was just one of many famous faces at the glamorous museum night, including Gwen Stefani and Rachel Zoe.

Jennifer Garner Grabs Seraphina For an Adorable Park Day

Lauren Turner — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:00:33 PST

Jennifer Garner and Seraphina had an especially smiley park day in LA this afternoon. A very pregnant Jennifer put Seraphina on her shoulders, helped her tackle the monkey bars, and also pushed her daughter on the swings. Big sister Violet didn't join them since she was busy at school, but it looks like the duo had plenty of fun on their own. Jennifer kicked off the week with mom duty following a busy weekend of glamorous events.

She stepped out with her Arthur costar Russell Brand for the Motion Picture & Television Fund's "Reel Stories, Real Lives" at Milk Studios in Hollywood on Saturday and was back on the red carpet for the AFI Fest premiere of Butter yesterday. Jennifer showed off her bump in two different dressy looks for the cameras, though her super-short Sunday night outfit was perhaps the sexiest.