Eating San Diego

Strawberries!!!

2009-03-11T04:01:00.001-07:00

So, about a week or so ago, I decided, on a whim, to see if my favorite strawberry stand was open. We'd had several warm, sunny days, and it seemed like the perfect time for some berries to me, so I drove on up to Encinitas. It was a lovely drive with my daughter and her BFF to keep me company. We listened to some Earth Wind & Fire as we cruised up the I-5, our hopes sailing high. For a second, as we dropped down the slope that would lead to our exit, I thought my hopes were dashed, but then, as we passed the large tree that was partially blocking the view, I could tell it was open. Yay!
This particular stand has been one of my favorites since we owned out automotive shop in Encinitas years ago. My sister in law and I used to pick up a 3 pack and have berries for lunch as we worked! They are the sweetest, most flavorful strawberries I've had since I was a child eating wild strawberries in my Grandma Ma's kitchen. This current crop is no exception. We bought a 3 pack and headed back to the truck, each of us picking a berry to taste along the way. One bite into the juicy, sunny flavor, and we did an immediate about face to buy more. Half a flat later, we were back in the truck, red lips and smiles on our faces.
So, you may be wondering what I did with those berries? A lot! Aside from eating out of hand. I made strawberry waffles for breakfast, and two desserts: Strawberry Creme Cake and Strawberry Gelato. The Strawberry Creme cake is simple: White cake, layered with sliced strawberries and whipped cream. The whipping cream came from Trader Joe's. I love their heavy whipping cream, because it has a higher fat content than that of regular grocery store brands, so it stays stable much longer once you whip it.
The Gelato is a favorite around here. I make gelato often in the summer months; it's quick, easy, and delicious - and it's healthier than ice cream! Can't beat that!
Here's the recipe for the Strawberry Gelato:

about 2 baskets fresh hulled strawberries
3/4 cup sugar (superfine works best, but granulated is fine)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp fresh lemon juice (I use Meyer lemon, because it's what I have in the yard!)

In the blender, combine the strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar. Add the milk and blend. Pour into a bowl and add the heavy cream, stirring to combine. Chill for 4-6 hours, until very cold. If you have time, chill overnight for best flavor.
Transfer to your ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions. When it reaches the consistency of soft serve, you can serve it immediately. Freeze any leftovers in an airtight container.

I'll post the Strawberry Creme cake recipe if anyone requests it. Enjoy!

Individual Tiramisu - Easy and Elegant Dessert!

2009-02-24T09:50:00.000-08:00

If you have a sweet tooth, desserts are probably a large part of your cooking repertoire. In most foods, I prefer there to be some kind of texture, some crunch or crispness. But sometimes, I just want something creamy and yummy and good...and that's when I crave Tiramisu. Loosely translated, the name of the dessert is Italian for "Pick Me Up"...and with the espresso, it's not an unfitting title, believe me! Almost like a trifle, Tiramisu consists of layers of espresso soaked Savoiardi (Italian crisp-style lady fingers) with a mascarpone cream that is out of this world good. I leave out the alcohol, but that is a personal preference. I am happy with the rich coffee flavor, and I am usually serving at least a couple of kids, so it's just better for me to leave it out. If, however, you prefer to add it, you can add 1/4 cup of whatever liqueur you prefer, be it brandy, Kahlua, whatever, to the espresso before dipping the lady fingers. Some recipes also call for a couple tbsp to be added to the mascarpone. I use vanilla.

To begin with, you'll need 6 egg yolks. In a double boiler over simmering water, whisk the yolks with 1/3 cup of sugar until thickened and lemon colored, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl and use the whisk attachment, beating until lightened and fluffy. Add softened mascarpone (remove from refrigerator 20 min prior to use), and use the slower setting to combine it with the egg yolks and sugar. Add 2 tsp good quality vanilla extract. Transfer to another bowl for the time being. In the mixing bowl, whip heavy whipping cream and 2 tbsp sugar just to soft peaks. Do not over-whip. Add the mascarpone and egg yolk mixture back to the mixing bowl.

Turn the mixer on the lowest setting to fold the mascarpone into the whipped cream without overwhipping the cream and making butter. When it is uniformly colored, turn up to medium for about 30 seconds, to aerate a little more. Make espresso. If you have an espresso maker, wonderful. I make 8 two ounce shots, and add a little vanilla bean simple syrup. If you don't have an espresso maker you can use instant espresso or very strong brewed coffee.

Now comes the fun part. For these individual version of this classic Italian dessert, I am using martini glasses. Because of the smaller vessel size, I cut some of the Savoiardi into smaller pieces. Dip the ladyfingers in the espresso for a count of 2 and place in the martini glass to make a layer on the bottom. Top with some of the mascarpone mixture, then another layer of the ladyfingers.

When you're finished with the layering, top with a dusting of cocoa powder or some finely grated bittersweet chocolate. As you can see here, I went for the chocolate. My daughter and her friend could hardly wait to assemble their own! It's an easy and fun dessert to make with your kids too!
And there you have it, Individual Tiramisu, served in a martini glass. Of course, you do have to chill it after assembly; 2 hours if you're really craving, up to overnight. Here is the recipe:

6 egg yolks
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract (I use double strength, but you can use regular)
12 ounce carton mascarpone cheese
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
espresso, brewed or instant, or very strong coffee (fresh espresso being the preferred choice)
Savoiardi (Italian style crisp ladyfingers)

In a double boiler over simmering (NOT boiling) water, whisk egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar until heated, thick, and lemon colored. Transfer to mixing bowl and, with whisk attachment, beat until lightened both in color and texture. Add mascarpone cheese, and vanilla, using low setting, until thoroughly combined and uniform in color. Transfer to another bowl. In the mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream with 2 tbsp sugar just until it reached soft peaks. Add the mascarpone mixture back into the mixing bowl with the cream and use the low setting again, until thoroughly combined. Turn to a med setting for 30 seconds. Set aside while you make espresso.
Follow the instructions above for individual Tiramisu, or layer in a glass baking/casserole dish to serve family style.

Chicken Saltimbocca with Cappellini & Roasted Artichokes

2009-02-16T15:57:00.001-08:00

So, like I said, for Valentine's Day, I made a menu of Chicken Saltimbocca with Cappellini (angel hair pasta) and Roasted Artichokes. Saltimbocca is one of those dishes that take a few steps to make, but none of them are particularly difficult, and the end result is definitely worth the effort!

To begin with you need a few ingredients. Chicken breasts, of course. I like to slice them through the middle to make them an even thickness. Hold your hand on the breast flat, palm side down, and slice parallell to your hand until you can open the breast like a book, then finish separating into two pieces. You'll also need good Prosciutto, a good Italian cheese (I used Asiago, but you can also use Provolone), sage, flour, butter, olive oil, shallots, garlic, white wine, and chicken stock. Angel hair pasta can be purchased fresh or dried, whichever you prefer. And for the artichokes, you'll need the chokes themselves, a nice balsamic vinaigrette, lemon, basil, olive oil, more garlic and egg.

Season about 1 1/2 cups of flour with celery salt (or just salt), rubbed sage, and fresh ground white or black pepper (I used both). Dredge the chicken, dip in a beaten egg wash, then back into the flour. Don't toss the flour yet, you'll need some for later.
Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet. As soon as it stops sizzling, begin adding the chicken. Don't overcrowd the pan, or the chicken will be overdone before it browns. Quickly saute the chicken until both sides have good color. Don't worry about it being cooked through, as it will be finished in the oven.

As you pull the chicken from the pan, place it on a foil lined baking sheet. Top each cutlet with a slice of prosciutto. When they've all been added to the sheet, top each cutlet with a single sage leaf and a handful of shredded Asiago (or a slice of provolone).

To the skillet you sauteed the chicken in, add 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots along with 3 cloves of garlic, chopped relatively fine. Add a bit more butter, and saute until the shallots begin to caramelize. Add some of the flour that you used for the chicken--about 3 tbsp. Whisk in 1/2 cup white wine, and 1 1/2 cups chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook, whisking, until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Pour over the chicken cutlets and put into a 400*f oven for 10-12 minutes, until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling. Remove from oven and let sit 5 min.
Prepare pasta as you would normally. For the artichokes, which will be roasted before and during the time you have the chicken in the oven, clean and quarter the chokes, and steam in lemon water until almost tender. Drain well. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with vinaigrette. Place in 400*f oven for 20-30 minutes, until edges have browned and flesh is tender at the heart. Prepare garlic basil aioli by combining 1 egg, 2 tbsp fresh basil, 3 cloves of garlic (peeled), salt & pepper in your blender. Slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup olive oil, and continue to process until thick and creamy. To serve, place 1/2 cup or so of pasta on the plate and add a chicken cutlet beside it. Top with the sauce from the baking sheet. Serve with the roasted artichokes and aioli.

A Valentine's Day Meal to Steal Their Hearts!

2009-02-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!
For me, there's not much else I'd rather eat on Valentine's Day than a homemade dinner, and what better than a delicious Italian meal to make you smile?

There are plenty of place you can buy Italian ingredients these days. One of my favorites is Mona Lisa Italian Foods in Little Italy. It's across the street from what may be the best pasta source in the state, Assenti's Pasta (which I'll review at a later date). Mona Lisa's is split into two places, really...A great Italian Deli & shoppe, and a restaurant. This post will concentrate on the Deli portion, because that is where I went to shop for our Italian dinner of Chicken Saltimbocca, with cappellini and roasted artichokes.

Drive down India Street in Little Italy to the north end, and you'll easily spot Mona Lisa's, with it's big red and green lettering and painting of Mona Lisa's facial features. The traditional Italian color combination of red, green, and white carries on throughout the entire face of the store. There are two sets of red doors, and the one on the left leads you into the Deli side of the establishment, where you'll usually find a crowd gathered in front of the display case.

You can order any one of a number of sandwiches, all made on fresh crusty bread with great ingredients straight out of the deli case. Everything from a simple, but wonderful, Caprese sandwich with it's beautifully soft and delicious mozzarella, to the Deluxe with all it's fabulous, authentic Italian meats and cheeses. Your sandwich is made as you wait, with bread from the well-known Solunto's bakery down the street and the finest ingredients both from here and Italy. The line may seem overwhelming sometimes, but the service is surprisingly quick!

The deli case itself is filled with meats and cheese, each one more delicious looking than the next, as well as ravioli and other fresh pastas. On the right is a selection of olives that would rival any other place in town, along with marinated artichokes, mushrooms, and giardinieri.

Around the left side, you'll find cheeses, salamis, cured meats, and their delicious house-made marinara and meat sauces all packaged up and ready to take home for your own feast. Looking for mascarpone cheese to make your honey some tiramisu tonight? It's here. Some Parmesano Reggiano for that Al fredo? Got it. How about a nice soppressata for that antipasto?

The store itself is small, and often crowded, but everyone is delightfully friendly and polite, so it doesn't seem as small when you're inside! There's a nice selection of Italian liqueurs, spirits, and espresso to the right as you walk in the door. Beyond that is nearly everything you could hope to find in an Italian market. Imported beverages, tomatoes, oils, vinegars. Anyone who's ever made Sunday Gravy knows that you can't find a more flavorful tomato than the San Marzano romas...and here you'll find them in abundance! There is also a large selection of dried pastas, which I do so enjoy, even if I do love the fresh ravioli in the deli case the best!

My purchases for tonight's dinner included a wonderful imported prosciutto, a hunk of Asiago cheese, some cappellini (angel hair) pasta, and marinated artichokes that will be so delicious when they've been roasted to perfection and served with aioli! Recipes and photos to come later!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. May yours be filled with happiness, sunshine, and love!

The beauty that is San Diego

2009-02-07T17:18:00.001-08:00

San Diego, February 5th & 6th, 2009

So today I was itching to get out of the house and spend some time by the ocean. This on and off rainy weather of the last few days always makes me want to go to the ocean for some reason. Most people flock to the beach when it's hot and sunny, but my favorite time to go is during and right after the rain. Over the last few days we've been going to La Jolla and later to Point Loma & Cabrillo National Monument to hang out, enjoy the ocean breeze, relish in the weather. And take pictures. We took lots of pictures. It was fun, and cheap too! Plus it was good Mama/daughter time...lots of time to talk and just be.

These shots were taken at the top of the hill at Cabrillo. Passes for the state park are $5 for the day, but only $15 for the year, so an annual pass was what we got. I knew the moment I laid eyes on the view that my daughter would be dying to take pictures here. I mean, just look at it! With the rain having stopped only minutes before, the air itself seemed as clean and clear as I've ever experienced. There was a bit of wind, just enough gusts to keep it interesting.

I even made some friends! lol...The gull was maybe 18 inches from me when I took this shot. I was standing there, watching some pelicans getting ready to take off, when this little guy landed right beside me. He seemed very curious about what I was up to when I started snapping photos of him. Not shy in the least. Much more shy was the little crab I found down by the tidepools. I had an enormous amount of fun just watching him skitter around, dashing away from shadows and hiding amongst the rocks.

These shots were taken in La Jolla, at what we like to refer to as Dr. Seuss Park. One look at the trees here and it is easy to envision any one of the books by Dr Seuss. Who knew those illustrations were more realistic than you could imagine! hehe! The second one above always reminded me of a Sneetch...all it needs is a star on the "belly"!

These are also in La Jolla, closer to Children's Pool where the seals are "pupping". Sadly, it wasn't warm enough to see much of them..but we did see a couple of the pups and one very boisterous mama! I haven't finished resizing the pics yet, but I'll get them up soon. I thought it would be nice, meanwhile, to share with you these two photos, taken about a block and 2 hours apart. What a sunset, eh?

Sudden cravings!

2009-02-01T00:56:00.000-08:00

I was a bad girl today. It all started with this sudden craving. Remembering a time some 10 or 15 years ago when my husband and I were hard pressed to find something decent to eat on a trip. It was late, and we were not quite in the middle of nowhere, but you could see it from there.
We stumbled upon an Applebee's. Not my favorite place, to be sure, but I was hungry, and didn't see anything else..so we went in. Hmm, something new on the menu. Tequila Lime Chicken. Sounded okay. Chicken breast, marinated in a tequila-lime marinade, topped with a Mexi-ranch dressing and cheese, served atop crispy tortilla strips with a side of Fiesta Rice.
So here I was today, and all the sudden I am craving this chicken. I could have went out and bought all the stuff for the zillion copy-cat recipes online, but it was already 4 pm, and having been sick the last few days, I was just not up for that...so it was into the car for my daughter and I , for a trip to the "Neighborhood". Applebee's, that is :)
I had a hard time finding the Tequila Lime Chicken...mostly because it is not called Tequila Lime Chicken any longer. It is now called Fiesta Lime Chicken. Why, I do not know. In any case, I was assured by our server that it was the very same dish with a new moniker.
Although the portion size has changed (and I am not complaining- two halve breasts was too much, I recall!), the dish is surprisingly unchanged. The chicken was tender, the Mexi-ranch sauce and the cheese were melted and gooey, and except for the corn in the rice, it was actually a pretty satisfying dish, and took care of my craving quite well.
My daughter's dish, that was another story. She ordered the 3 Cheese Chicken Penne, and though she loved the chicken part of the dish, the noodles were overcooked to the point of mush. We let our server, Christine, know and she offered to bring something else after we assured her we didn't want her to remake the dish. We asked to see a menu. While we were waiting, the manager, Joe, came to the table to apologize and asked if he could "buy" her some dessert or maybe a different entree. Guess what she ordered? Yep, Fiesta Lime Chicken!
Between the chicken, and the "Dessert Shots", which are various desserts served in "shot" glasses, it was not a bad meal at all...and the service was good too. Not bad for a Saturday night.

Dinner in 30: Chicken Flautas

2009-01-20T14:18:00.000-08:00

From start to finish, chicken flautas is one of the easiest, and tastiest meals you can make. All you need is some boneless, skinless chicken, flour tortillas, oil, and your condiments! Of course, you may want a side or two: I like to make a quick version of Spanish Rice to go with these cylinders from heaven. First, the rice: All you need is some chicken stock (I used Trader Joe's for both the flautas and the rice), some tomato bouillion, dried minced onion, ancho chili powder, and the rice. Toast the rice quickly in a little butter, then add the bouillion, onion, chili powder and broth or stock. For 2 cups of rice, I use 2 cubes of bouillion, 2 tbsp onion, and 2 tsp of chili powder to 4 cups of broth. Bring it to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cover tightly. Cook for 18 min, then remove from heat, still covered, until ready to serve.

For the Flautas:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-2 tbsp Better than Bouillion, chicken flavor
1 yellow onion, quartered
enough chicken broth to cover the breasts in the pan
flour tortillas
condiments: guacamole, sour cream, salsa, hot sauce as desired
Optional: lettuce (shredded) and cheese (shredded)

Place the chicken breasts in a large skillet or fried chicken pan. Add the onion and the broth to cover, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to keep it at a simmer. Cover and let cook 8-10 min, until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from pan to a cutting board.
In the pan, add the Better than Bouillion, and let the stock reduce. Remove onions and discard. Keep stock until ready to use.
Shred the chicken using two forks. Return to pan with stock and simmer until chicken absorbs liquid, about 1-2 min. Meanwhile, warm flour tortillas to prevent tearing while rolling and heat about 1 inch of oil in a large frying pan. Roll about 3 tbsp of chicken mixture in each tortilla.

Fry each flauta about 1 min on each side, until deep golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with sour cream and any other condiments you desire.

Enjoy!

A far cry from airplane peanuts, or Is This a Sign?

2009-01-13T20:27:00.000-08:00

So, as I was saying in my last post, we recently spent some time in Maine. We were flying home on New Year's Day, and I was not looking forward to that flight. I figured, being a holiday, it would be crowded (it was) and hectic (it was) and a pain (it wasn't!) Long story short, we got bumped to first class and discovered a whole new world!
The best part may have been the meal. Instead of the cellophane bag of airplane peanuts, we were instead treated to chicken in a roasted red pepper sauce, roasted potatoes, creamed spinach, Cesar salad, a dinner roll, fresh fruit and a flourless chocolate cake for dessert!
The chicken was surprisingly tasty, and the red pepper sauce was equally good on the roasted potatoes. The salad was accented by thin slices of parmesan, dressed in a tasty and light Cesar dressing. The roll was warm and soft, an unexpected treat. But what took the cake (no pun intended!) was the flourless chocolate cake. Rich and decadent, it was deeply chocolatey. The strawberries and black grapes were a perfect foil.
I would like to say I'll never fly coach again, but until I hit the lottery, that's not likely.

Breakfast: The most important meal of the day

2009-01-08T12:56:00.000-08:00

Richard Walker's Pancake House in Downtown San Diego
I never used to be a breakfast person. It's only in the last few years that I have come to appreciate breakfast in the more traditional sense of the word. As a teen, spaghetti was my take on breakfast! I would make a pot on Monday, and have a little bowl of it for breakfast before school each morning. Kids, whatta ya gonna do??

Since becoming a more traditional breakfast eater, I've been on a little bit of a quest to find places that can do it right. So far, at the very top of my list is Kono's...between the food, the service, and the atmosphere (the beach!!) you can't go wrong there, really.

Recently this quest has brought me to Richard Walker's Pancake House in downtown San Diego. It's located at 520 Front Street, and it's easy to spot out because there is almost always a long line heading out the door. Don't let this dissuade you from visiting, as it usually moves pretty quickly, or at least moreso than most places.

The interior of the restaurant is beautiful and almost frenetic in it's energy. The staff is fast moving, carrying plate after plate of delicious looking (and smelling!) food to the tables. It's not a huge location, to be certain, but it's not clausterphobic as some smaller places can be.

I took a friend with me, figuring between the two of us we could take a wider sample for review...next time I'll bring more! There is so much to try! From pancakes to waffles, omeletes to salads. And for those of you who still don't care for breakfast foods, you can always grab a BLT and a bowl of Ribble Soup! I can't vouch for the soup just yet, but I will be back and I'll try it then. Now, for the first visit, I wanted to try the "Signature" of the house: Walker's Apple Pancake.

The most popular item on the menu, much hyped in the press, it lived up to its reputation on sight, at least visually. An impressively large twelve inch pancake, smothered in tender-tart baked apples and exotically scented cinnamon, it was certainly a sight to behold. I was worried, though, because I'd seen other examples of this particular dish that were dense, heavy, and soggy...so I was pleasantly surprised to find that the pancake itself was light, almost airy. Moist, but not too much so, and richly flavored with egg and cinnamon and vanilla notes. The aroma of decadence wafted up from the plate as I cut into the Granny Smith apples, each coated with a generous sprinkling of Saigon cinnamon and sweetened with a hint of sugar. I'm surprised I didn't drool.

The best part is, it tastes as good as it looks and smells. The apples were cooked just enough; not too soft, not too crisp. Tart-sweet with just enough sugar and well, you can never have too much cinnamon in my book! Add the pancake in with the apples, and it's near nirvana. Near, I said. Nirvana comes when you wash it down with a cup of hot, black coffee. Sweetened coffee would have definitely put it over the top.

My friend, who is not a fan of apples (can you imagine!?) decided to sample the waffles instead, and added an omelette to her order, so she'd have something to take home for her man. Although tempted by the Blueberry Flap Jacks, which boast wild Maine blueberries in the batter *and* a blueberry compote topping, she decided instead to go with the Strawberry Patch Belgian Waffle. Unlike many places that use frozen berries, this waffle was topped with fresh, sweet berries, along with whipped cream and a dusting of confectioner's sugar. Light, toasty and sweet, it was a perfect accompaniment to the Double Cheese omelette, which features both Swiss and cheddar cheeses.

Half an hour and a second cup of coffee later, we are both sated and happy and certain we will be returning to try some of the many other choices on the Richard Walker's Pancake House menu.

The Maine Thing

2009-01-03T07:53:00.000-08:00

I'm still sorting photos and all that goes along with that, but I wanted to jump on and post because it's been a long time and I'm just feeling antsy to get working on this blog again!

The first few photos are some of my favorites from OOB, Maine. There's some amazingly beautiful sunsets on the east coast, I can tell you. This surprised me, since the sun sets in the west, so I wasn't expecting the sunset to still be reflecting over the ocean waters...but as you can see in the pics (click to enlarge), it does so, and wonderfully. Our Christmas tree was a beauty, such a comforting sight on a cold winter night...but it was dwarfed in size by the OOB tree that overlooks the ocean! It was probably 25-30 feet tall, and seeing it the night I took this photo, in the snow, was a sight to see for certain!

This was the snowfall in a matter of 4 hours one afternoon. It began with light flurries around 8 am that morning, and quickly turned to fat, fluffy flakes (say that 5 times fast! lol) by noon. By the time the sun had set around 5 that evening, it was piling up quite well. It was a gorgeous site to see, a White Christmas after 20+ years in Southern California, where all Christmases are green. Everything was layered with a thick coating of marshmallow fluff :)

One of the many places we visited was the LL Bean village. I was expecting a large store, to be sure, but not an entire village! There are half a dozen LL Bean stores surrounding a courtyard that, for the holidays at least, was decked out in brilliant, colorful lights, anchored by a huge brightly lit tree. It was a site to see, for certain. And, they're open 24 hours!

We did a lot of driving while we were there, up and down the coast. From Bangor to Penobscott Bay, from Kittery to Kennebunkport, from Portland to Boston. As I get through the photos I'll post a few more here and there, but two of my favorites were in a single location: Cape Elizabeth. Just outside of Portland, Maine, this quaint area boasts some spectacular views. Especially lovely is Two Lights State Park, where you can see the two Lighthouses in the photos above. I can't wait to go back and see them in the summer when they're surrounded by sunshine and greenery...but they are absolutely breathtaking in the winter I assure you.

Now, I know I haven't mentioned much in the way of food...I will, don't worry :) I'll post about some of the places we ate, and I have a couple pics of someo of those too. One thing I can tell you right now: I was surprised how many pizza places there were! When I think Maine, the first thing that comes to mind is seafood: Lobsters, Clam Chowder, etc. And, to be certain, there was plenty of that. But there were more pizza places than I know of here in San Diego!

This post is a little all over the board, and I'm sorry for that. I guess I'm still sorting through my brain as well as my camera! lol But I'm glad to be posting, glad to be back. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and that 2009 proves to be a joyful, prosperous year for you all!!

Family Traditions in Food....

2008-12-14T07:41:00.000-08:00

The not quite a cookie exchange cookie exchange party!

So, every year I host a cookie exchange, and everyone brings anywhere from 8-12 dozen cookies to be exchanged, and everyone leaves with a variety of goodies to take home. This year, I was going to have a party, but not ask everyone to bring cookies...just an informal gathering of friends and family to celebrate the upcoming holidays and being together. I'd serve appetizer type foods, and a dessert, and that would be that. Well, since I had to make dessert anyway, I decided to go ahead and make cookies (ok, well, certain people who shall remain unnamed were begging me for cookies! lol). Next thing I knew, Mom was making cookies too (my favorites!), and my sister in law was making fudge, and my friend brought over more appetizers...we ended up with a whole lot of goodies! So, in the spirit of giving inspired by the season, here are some recipes for you! Merry Christmas!

First up: Artichoke Dip. I came up with this version, because all of the recipes I found called for spinach, and I wanted a dip that focused solely on the delectible artichoke hearts. It's a quick mix and bake recipe that everyone loves.

1 cup mayo (I used the olive oil kind)
8 oz cream cheese
2 small jars marinated artichoke hearts
1 cup Quattro Fromaggio (a 4 cheese blend: parmesan, asiago, provolone & fontina)
1 1/2 tsp fine ground white pepper
1 tsp paprika

Combine everything except the paprika and spread into a baking dish. I used a 6x9" glass dish. Bake at 350* for 30 min. Sprinkle with paprika, and serve with thinly sliced pieces of baguette, tortilla chips, or crackers (or all of them!)

This is a Veggie 'Pizza'. It's a really simple appetizer to make. You just use Pillsbury crescent rolls, baked flat in a single sheet. Combine 8 ounces each sour cream and cream cheese with your favorite ranch dip/dressing seasoning and spread that over the crescent roll base, then top with an assortment of fresh veggies. Tasty and simple, what more could you want? :)

Here we have a dip that is a family tradition going back a couple generations. It's an easy take on pate that my Mom made every year on New Year's Eve, and my family loves it too!

8 ounces braunschweiger
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup chopped green olives (with pimientos)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

Combine the braunschweiger and cream cheese until thoroughly mixed. (I use the paddle attachment on my stand mixer for this). Add in olives, green onions, and worcestershire to taste. Transfer to a crock, cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours to allow flavors to meld. This can be made a couple days in advance. Remove from fridge 15-20 min prior to serving.

Next up, Cappuccino Love Bites! These are a buttery cookie that's been rolled in a combination of turbinado sugar and instant espresso, baked, then topped with a Hershey's Hugs. Tastes like a drink from your favorite coffee house!

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp espresso or milk
2 1/4 c flour (all purpose)
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup instant coffee or espresso
48 Hershey's Hugs, unwrapped

Cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk together flour, baking powder, & salt. To the butter, add the egg, vanilla, and milk or espresso; beat just until combined. Add dry ingredients; beat just until combined. Don't over-mix. Spoon dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and roll like a log. Chill 1 hour or until firm. Divide dough into 1" balls. Combine turbinado sugar and instant coffee; roll balls in mixture. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet (spray is fine), and bake at 350*f for 10 min. Tops will crack slightly. Don't allow sides to color. Immediately top each cookie with a Hug, and, if desired, swirl the hug with the tip of a spoon or knife while still warm.

Candy Cane meringues are something I started making a few years back, and they are hugely popular with our clan! Make a basic meringue and flavor it with peppermint extract. Be sure to use extract, not oil. Pipe onto parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Put into a 225*f oven for about 90 min, or until perfectly dry. When completely cooled, dip bottoms into melted dark chocolate. That's it!
Next to the meringues: Lacies. A simple mixture of 1/2 c brown sugar, 7 tbsp of butter, 3/4 c flour and 1 cup chopped almonds. Spoon onto buttered cookie sheet and bake at 375*f until thin and deep golden, about 10 min. Sandwich cooled cookies with melted chocolate..yum!

Last but definitely *not* least! I saved them for last because they are the best! French Christmas Cookies. These little morsels are decadent and delicious. The combination of flavors works so perfectly together, you'll wonder why you hadn't thought of it sooner! And the best part about making them at Christmas is the recipe makes dozens and dozens of cookies, so you have lots to share with your family and friends!

40 Graham cracker singles (2 packs from a box)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups finely chopped pecans
1 (12 ounce) bag mini chocolate chips
1 cup half & half

Heat oven to 375*f. Line a baking sheet with candy cups (smaller than mini-muffin cups, these are available at crafts stores like Michael's or at candy/cake making supply stores).
Place the graham crackers into a ziploc bag, and roll over them with a rolling pin. You want them crushed, but not to a powder.
Cream butter and sugar. Add crushed grahams; mix. Add pecans & mini chips; mix. Add half & half, mix until thoroughly combined. Fill each candy cup 3/4 full. Bake for 10-12 minutes; just until set. Do not overbake!
For the icing:

1 (12 oz) pkg chocolate chips
1 (12 oz) pkg butterscotch chips
1/4 cup peanut butter

Combine and melt together, stirring often, until completely melted and smooth (except for nuts if using chunky peanut butter! lol). For ease and speed, fill a baggie with this mixture and snip a small hole on one corner and pipe the icing onto the cookies.

There you have it! Recipes for some of our traditional family favorites for the holiday season! I hope everyone has a wonderfully Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hannukah...just a Joyous Season! Oh, and Happy New Year too!! Enjoy!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas....

2008-12-07T21:34:00.000-08:00

....And if it keeps up the way it was today where I'm headed, it looks like I will have one! FINALLY! After 20 some odd years in California for Christmases, GREEN Christmases. I know this isn't really food related, but to make it up to you, I will share a recipe that I love at the end of this post. In the meantime....doesn't it look beautiful???

When I was a kid, every Christmas was a white one and I didn't really know that it could be any other way for a long time. It takes some getting used to, these green Christmases. One year, it was 78 degrees! On Christmas! Crazy, I tell you! Some people thrive on it, I know...but I like the Norman Rockwell, Bing Crosby, White Christmas! Ok enough about that. As promised, here is a recipe, one that will surely become a family favorite for many, as it has for us.

Rocky Road Bars
1 (12 ounce) pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (12 ounce) pkg butterscotch chips
1 cup chunky peanut butter
1 bag mini marshmallows (white or, for the holidays, they often have colors)

Line a 9x13" baking pan with aluminum foil, and spread a very thin sheen of butter.
Melt the chips carefully in the microwave or in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Stir in the peanut butter until thoroughly combined. Stir in the marshmallows. Immediately pour into the buttered pan, spreading to the edges evenly. Chill to set, 1 hour. Remove from refrigerator at least 20 minutes prior to cutting, or you will be there all day! :) Cut into small squares, this is rich stuff! But it is a tasty alternative to fudge (or accompaniment, depending on your sweet tooth!), and everyone who tries it usually ends up asking for more!

Happy Holidays! More recipes to come!!

Apple Pom Pie by Alexis

2008-12-01T17:01:00.000-08:00

Alexis Bakes Her First Pie

Here is the recipe as requested by several people for the Apple-Pom Pie that Alexis baked on Thanksgiving. It was her first pie that was all her own from start to finish, and I'm very proud of her for trying something completely new. The pie was delicious warm, with a scoop of ice cream (cinnamon, yay!). It was also delicious warmed up the next day! The pie crust recipe below is my standard go-to crust that I got from my mom and it works for almost any pie.

2 1/2 cups pastry or all purpose flour
1 cup cold butter, lard, or Smart Balance shortening
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2-4 Tbsp ice cold water

Whisk together the flour, salt & sugar, then cut in the butter. You can use a pastry cutter, two knives, or a processor...whichever method you're most comfortable with, until the mixture is crumbly and the pieces are no bigger than a pea. Add 2 tbsp water, and mix lightly with a fork. If needed, add more water, 1 tsp at a time, until the dough comes together when squeezed in your palm. Shape into a disk and refrigerate.

Apple-Pom Pie
8-10 apples (see **note), peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 cup fresh pomegranate juice
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp quick cooking tapioca
2 tsp cinnamon

**Note: For the best results, use a variety of apples like Granny Smith, Empire, Pink Lady, Ida Red...local apples are terrific in pies!

Combine all of the filling ingredients, tossing with your hands or a large spoon. We used a fresh pomegranate, pressed through a fine mesh strainer, to get the juice, but a bottled juice would work if you don't have fresh available.

Prepare crust as directed. After 20 min chill time, roll crust to fit a 9" - 9.5" pie plate, with enough around the rim to create a nice fluted pattern. This will not only look good, but also help keep everything *in* the pie! Fill with apple mixture, then prepare topping as below:

for the topping:
3/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1 stick butter
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats

Combine with your fingertips, rubbing the butter in, until it resembles coarse crumbs. Carefully top the pie, lightly pressing with the palm of your hands to keep in place.

Place pie in the oven at 400*f for 15 min, then reduce heat to 325*f and bake for another 40-55 min, or until top is deep golden brown and apples are fork tender. Place on a wire rack and let set for at least 30 min before serving.

Enjoy!

2008-11-29T21:40:00.000-08:00

Coconut Dream Pie

1 recipe 9" pie crust (use your favorite), baked & cooled
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup half & half
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 cup cream of coconut
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coconut extract
2 cups coconut, toasted (350*f oven for 7-10 min)
8 egg yolks
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 ounces chocolate, chopped

In a small dish, melt chocolate in the microwave, stirring until smooth. "Paint" the chocolate all over the inside of the baked pie crust. This will not only make a decadent addition to your pie, it will keep the crust crisp and flaky after it's filled! Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the toasted coconut, and allow chocolate to set.

Next, make your filling. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale yellow in color, and fluffy. Add cornstarch and melted butter, mix to combine. Heat milk and half & half to scalding, and whisk in vanilla, coconut extract, and cream of coconut. Slowly add to the egg yolks, with mixer on low (or while whisking). Return to the pan over med heat until it reaches a full boil. Cook 1 minute, and remove from heat. Press through a fine mesh strainer to remove any lumps, cover with plastic wrap (directly on the custard), and chill. It will seem very thick, but don't worry, that's deliberate! When it is completely cooled, whip 1 cup of the heavy cream to soft peaks, and fold into the custard until well combined. Next, fold in 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut. Gently scoop into the pie crust; cover and chill.

Just before serving, whip remaining heavy cream, adding 1 tbsp sugar when it reaches soft peaks. Spread over custard, and top with remaining toasted coconut. Serve chilled.

A Lot to be Thankful For

2008-11-29T21:14:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is all about being thankful, and I have a lot to be thankful for. My family is not the least amongst those things. They are amazing, every one of them.
This year, due to circumstances beyond our control, my daughter and I were unable to be with her Daddy for Thanksgiving, so instead we did something I haven't done in a long, long time...we went to my parents' house for the holiday. We weren't alone, my brother Jim and his family, my brother Rick and his wife, and my brother Brian and his girlfriend were all there as well. And though it was an exhausting, busy day (heck, week!), it was also a lot of fun, and very filling!

Another reason to love Thanksgiving is the food. The Thanksgiving meal of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and more is one that I look forward to each year. It is a lot of work, and worth every second when things go as they should! Now, as I mentioned before, I am a gravy loving girl, so the gravy is a hugely important part of the meal for me! So, I want to do it right. I went to my butcher (Iowa Meat Farms), and got my hands on some turkey necks and wings, which were added to a stock pot with some onion, celery, and carrots to make our turkey stock. Everything was roasted before simmering, for extra flavor, and I used chicken broth instead of water, so the flavor was rich and heady.

My sister in law, Carrie, made a mashed butternut squash dish which was similar in texture to mashed potatoes, and decadent with melted butter and fresh ground pepper. Mashed yukon gold potatoes were also given a butter and black pepper treatment before being served.

Of course, the star of the show is the turkey! A roasting bag helped to ensure this turkey was moist and flavorful. Look at that yummy golden skin! I know, I know, it isn't good for me...but it sure tastes delicious! Didn't Dad do a great job of carving and serving the turkey? I thought it looked terrific! And what's turkey without the dressing? Next to the gravy, the dressing is my favorite. We are traditionalists...you'll find no fruit or oysters in this dressing. Bread, celery, onion, and turkey stock are the basis of this luscious side.

And then, there are the pies. We had a total of 7 pies! I know it sounds like a lot, but believe me, everyone wants pie to take home, so it's not too much. Pumpkin and apple, traditional choices, were just the tip of the iceberg! Cherry was next on the list, being a favorite of both mine and my brothers. And this year was a special treat because this was the first time my daughter made a pie. She did everything herself, with the sole exception of the crust, which we got at Trader Joe's (very good, by the way!). She made an apple crumb pie, but added a secret ingredient: fresh pomegranate juice! It added a tart-sweet flavor that was such a great contrast to the crumb topping! It was equally good, hot and cold- I should know! I tried it both ways :)

Also served: Coconut Dream Pie, my own invention (which I'll be posting, both recipe and pics) and fruit salad, plus both fresh and jellied cranberry sauce. It was enough food to feed an army, and the leftovers are terrific! And the best part is, later this week I get another of my favorite comfort foods: Turkey Pot Pie! Don't worry, there will be pics and recipe forthcoming for that one too!

Here's hoping you all had an amazing, delicious Thanksgiving and that you had a lot to be thankful for on this special day.

The Family that Cooks Together....

2008-11-24T01:42:00.000-08:00

Looks delicious, doesn't it? Not too long ago, we went to my brother's house for my niece's birthday and dinner was one of my all time favorite meals: Stuffed Shells! Luscious ricotta cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, pasta, tomato sauce...what is not to love?!
Stuffed shells are one of those meals that look terrifically complicated when done and give the impression that you spent hours in the kitchen...yet they're simple to make and so easy to change up to suit whatever mood you happen to be in that day. A basic cheese stuffed shell can be made ahead as well, so when you're ready to serve them, you just pop them in the oven and bake until all the cheesy goodness gets hot and yummy!
To make a simple ricotta filling, you'll need:

1 tub (pint size) ricotta cheese (whole or skim milk)
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided
1 cup asiago cheese, divided
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
salt & freshly ground white or black pepper
2 eggs
pkg dried large pasta shells, cooked al dente and drained
6 cups or more meat sauce

In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese with 1 3/4 cups of the mozzarella, 3/4 cup parmesan, 3/4 cup asiago, and the parsley. Add a little salt and some fesh ground pepper. I like white pepper for this, as I do for cream sauces. Stir in the eggs until thoroughly combined. Place the mixture into a piping bag (the kind used for cake decorating) or a quart size zip loc bag, and snip the corner.
In your baking pan (I like to use a glass baking dish for this, sprayed with olive oil spray, but you can use a regular baking pan as well) put about a cup and a half of the meat sauce in the bottom...just enough to create a thin layer that covers the entire bottom of the dish or pan. Holding a shell in your palm, use the piping bag (or baggie) to pipe in the cheese filling. Place into the sauce and repeat until you've filled enough to fill the entire baking dish in a single layer. Add more sauce over the top of the shells, being sure to cover the pasta. Combine the remaining cheeses, and sprinkle over the top of the sauce covered shells.

At this point you can cover with both plastic wrap and foil and freeze, or you can put directly into a 375*f oven for about 35-40 min, or until heated through and the cheese on top is melted and golden. I like to put a little extra sauce on when I am plating, but you don't have to..I'm just a fan of Italian tomato sauces. Serve with a salad and your favorite bread for an easy meal that's both fun to make and delicious to eat!

And if you're curious, the salad was a simple mixture of greens (lettuce & spinach), heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella, and julienned red and orange bell peppers, dressed simply with a balsamic vinaigrette. Taste and quick, what more could you want? Enjoy!!

Hello, Again, Hello

2008-11-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

Hello, Friends! I am so sorry it's been so long since I updated..it's been a busy couple of weeks with lots of back and forth, so I haven't had a lot of time to myself at all. I am here to tell you, that's over! I will be posting new reviews soon: Antique Row Cafe, Ciao!, and more. I will also be posting some of my favorite recipes for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday this week. Dry-brined turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, Aussie pie and more! I am looking forward to sharing again, and I promise not to go so long again without an update!! Well, unless I can't help it :P

Eat, Drink, and Be Scary....

2008-10-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween 2008!!

Just a few glances around my yard and it is easy to see that Halloween is one holiday that we take seriously around here! There are ghouls and goblins galore, spread throughout a yard that, suiting us perfectly, seems to have been made for Halloween and all that is scary. Cactus flowers set off hideous hanging heads while spike Sago palms reveal their own treasures. One even has a giant spider crawling from it's depths!

These are a few of my favorite friends, which you can find in their resting places throughout our yard and on the front porch. On Halloween night, the dead come to life and our monsters are freed for an evening of havoc wreaking fun! It is a blast to watch peoples faces as the fog rolls around, hiding one monster only to reveal another even more horrifying than the first.

Seen in all it's glory with the lighting and the fog on the scariest night of the year, it is something to behold. Like my brother Rick once said to me, "It's all in the atmosphere!"
A couple of my favorite Halloween recipes:

Brains on Crackers
8 ounces regular cream cheese (not whipped or spread)
8 ounces braunschweiger
3/4 cup chopped green olives (with pimiento)
1/2 cup finely minced green onion
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients until thoroughly mixed. For an extra special Halloween treat, scoop 1/2 of the pate into a ziploc or decorators bag and cut off the corner. Mound the remaining pate on a plate in an oblong dome shape, and then pipe the pate in the bag in squiggly lines to resemble a brain. Add 2 whole olives (with pimientos) for eyeballs near the base. Serve with a variety of crackers.

Don't It Make My Buckeyes Blue:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
6 ounces white chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening
chocolate chips

Directions
Line baking sheet with wax paper. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and sugar with hands to
form a smooth stiff dough. Shape into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball.
Place on prepared pan and refrigerate.
Melt shortening and chocolate in the top pot of a double boiler over simmering (not
boiling) water. When chocolate mixture is smooth, pour into small bowl. Remove balls
from refrigerator. Insert wooden toothpick into each ball and dip into melted chocolate.
(not all the way) Return to wax paper, chocolate side down and remove toothpick, replacing
with a chocolate chip, pointy side down, for the pupil.

If you like, a toothpick dipped in red gel food coloring is great for adding veins!

Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.

20 minutes to Tasty

2008-10-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

Kimberly's House Special Stir-Fry
One of my favorite meals is stir-fry. Fast, easy, and delicious...that's the trifecta, right? With so many variations, it never gets boring, and by playing mix & match with the ingredients you can get a new dish almost every time you make it! Mom & I came up with the idea for making this Wednesday when my brother and his kids were joining us for dinner, rounding out the total number of people to 10...another reason stir-fry is such a great meal: add some rice and you can feed plenty of people for a reasonable cost.

I like to use whatever veggies sound good on any given day :) No hard and fast rules here! This time we used snap peas, water chestnuts, and broccoli "slaw", which is really just shredded broccoli and carrots. I would have preferred more water chestnuts, but that is just because they are my favorite stir-fry veggie! So crisp! Next was the sauce. Now, there will already be plenty of flavor because the meat is marinated for a time in equal parts hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, and soy sauce....but I love a good sauce, as I've said before, so I made a quick Chinese style brown sauce to go with the stir-fry and rice (and chow mein noodles, gotta have those!!). The sauce is easy:
6 tbsp light brown sugar
6 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbsp corn starch
3 cups water or chicken broth
That's it! Just combine in a sauce pan, and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally so the cornstarch doesn't clump and form a lumpy sauce. Boil 1 minute, then remove from heat. This is spooned over the stir-fry or the rice, or both. I prefer to have the stir-fry atop the rice, then a bit of sauce atop that. Oh, and then sprinkle on the chow mein noodles. Liberally, please :)

Ok, as I mentioned the meat was marinated with the trio of sauces. You don't have to do this for long, just 20 min. or so will be plenty. You can use just about any meat you like...this night we used both chicken (boneless, skinless breasts) and pork (loin chops). Stir fry quickly, in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan. When all the meat is done, stir fry the vegetables, adding a bit of soy sauce and a bit of sesame oil. This adds a lot of flavor very simply. Once tender-crisp, toss with the meats. Here is how it looked when finished:

And there you have it! Easy, fast, and delicious! I didn't take pics of the rice and chow mein noodles, because I'm sure you've seen them before :) You can also serve this with Yakisoba (stir fried soba noodles), in place of the rice or along with the rice, your choice. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to Mom, part deux

2008-10-22T23:26:00.000-07:00

Mom's Birthday Dinner

Being raised on a farm in the midwest, it isn't not surprising that my mom would choose a simple, but tasty pork chop dinner for her birthday! Fresh sliced tomatoes & fresh green beans from the farmer's market. Baked Yukon Gold potatoes. And of course, grilled pork chops!

Everything was prepared pretty simply, which was the beauty of the meal. I rubbed a little toasted onion avocado oil on the pork chops, then dusted them with salt and Worcestershire black pepper from McCormick. Color me a convert, I LOVE that stuff on pork and beef! If you haven't tried it, it's only a few bucks a can, and has really nice flavor.
The beans were steamed, then Smart Balance, salt & pepper were added. The potatoes were baked and finished on the grill so the skin was nice and crisp and tasty! I love potatoes with a little butter (or Smart Balance, as the case may be when visiting my folks!), a little salt, lots of fresh ground pepper, and the secret ingredient: paprika! Yummmm!
And for dessert:

PIE! I only got a picture of the apple, but we had apple, pumpkin, and key lime!
Ok so, I promised I'd post the rest of the food stuff from that day and here it is. Enjoy :)

Remember When....?

2008-10-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

I know this has nothing to do with food, but I have been talking with my daughter about all of the things that are different these days, and thought I'd share....
Remember when:
nobody was prettier than mom
popsicles came with two sticks so you could share
playing kickball/dodgeball in the street until the streetlights came on
jumprope and hide & seek and red light, green light
your mom or dad on the porch yelling/whistling for you to come inside
endless summer days and hot summer nights with the windows open
saturday mornings with fat albert and schoolhouse rock
spiderman and batman underoos
first day of school, with brand new shoes
swinging on the playground swings..you knew if you did it long and hard enough you could go all the way over
a 13 inch tv in room with no remote meant you were rich
laughing so hard your stomach hurt
being tired from just goofing around
work meant doing dishes to get an allowance
Koolaid was the drink of the summer...so was a swig from the hose, and we didn't even die
field trips to the museum with soggy sandwiches for lunch
almost everybody's mom was at home when the kids got home from school
any parent could discipline any kid or feed them or ask them to carry groceries, and no one, not even the kid, thought anything of it.
being sent to the principals office was nothing compared to the fate that waited for you when you got home
we weren't in fear of drugs or gangs...our parents were a much bigger threat
getting a foot of snow was a dream come true
worst embarrassment being picked last for a team
water balloons were the ultimate weapon
brothers & sisters were your worst tormentors, but also your fiercest protectors
it wasn't odd to have 2 or 3 best friends
race problems meant arguing about who ran the fastest
mistakes were corrected by simply shouting do over!
big decisions were made by saying eenie meenie minie moe
and the worst thing you caught from the opposite sex was cooties

sports figures were actually someone to look up to
you didn't worry when a kid said he had some coke...it was only cola
teachers used rulers and no one sassed back
the man at the bank knew your name, and always gave you a penny for the gumball machine
all the fun that could be had on a warm summer evening just by catching lightning bugs in a jar?
step on a crack, break your mother's back (I still don't step on cracks!!)
the curly cord that attached the phone to the wall
making ice cream from snow
you knew all your neighbors, and they all knew you
when you got gas, not only did they pump the gas, but they also "served" you, by washing the windshield, checking the oil, and your tires
you could watch anything you wanted on t.v. ...as long as that was what your father was watching.
a single tennis ball meant weeks of fun playing stoopball, stickball, handball and off the wall
badminton
running through the sprinklers...which didn't pop up out of the ground, but were set out on the lawn and swished back and forth in a big arc
building snow forts and igloos for the ultimate snowball fight
Campbell's tomato soup was 9 cents a can and didn't contain high fructose corn syrup
It was ok to call the Christmas parade by it's name, and not December Nights or Holiday Parade
cooking from scratch
shaking hands was as good as a 20 page contract
waking up in the morning and heading out the door...and not returning until dinner time, not because of work, but because of fun
shag carpet, bean bag chairs, 45's on the record player
hoola hoops, pogo sticks, and jump ropes
kindergarten was fingerpainting, snacks, naptime and storytelling
no matter what, everyone was home for dinner, and we ate it together at the table
and we behaved for fear that whatever we were thinking of doing would end up on our "Permanent Record"!

Happy Birthday to my Mom!!

2008-10-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Mom!!
Today is my wonderful, beautiful Mom's birthday...but since it is also a work day for most of us, we decided to celebrate yesterday, Sunday. My brother Jim, his wife Carrie and their children (Ashley, Emily, Ian & Hunter), as well as my brother Rick and his wife, Van were all there along with myself, Mom, Dad, brother Brian and his gal Deniece. Breakfast was the first plan of the day, so Jim & Carrie set to work on the stuffed French toast, bacon, sausage, eggs, and juice.

Now, let me just say, my brother and his wife share my love of cooking, so it was sure to be a delicious meal with all of us there, the progeny of such a wonderful cook herself, Mom!

Carrie made the egg batter for dipping the French toast using a dozen eggs, some condensed milk, vanilla, orange zest, and a tiny bit of sugar. The filling was Ricotta, cream cheese, sour cream, and a little vanilla sugar, divided then combined with peaches on one bowl, apples in another. The only left to prep was the bread itself, 2 loaves of French bread.

As you can see, it turned out beautifully. There was both stuffed and unstuffed, along with the breakfast meats, eggs, etc...and of course, we had to get some fresh fruit in there too! Cantaloupe and Honeydew melons, served sliced as you see above. The scent of the cantaloupe filled the air, combining with the sweet scent of the French toast, whetting everyone's appetite.
Later in the week I will get the recipe with measurements for the fillings, and post them. Also, I'll psot about the dinner we made after us gals returned from shopping! Happy Birthday MOM!

Pat & Oscars....revisited

2008-10-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

The Festa Italiana, Pat & Oscar's Style...

Anyone who's been to Pat & Oscars will know how it works. You can get a combo meal for 2, 4, or more people, and it will include some combination of ribs, chicken, pizza, pasta, and salad. For a limited time, however, Pat & Oscars has been offering something they call the Festa Italiana, which is what we decided to try on our recent visit. There are several San Diego locations, we chose the once closest to us, in Mission Valley, just north of Mission Valley Center mall.

Like almost all of the meals at Pat & Oscars, we started with breadsticks and salad. You can choose a Cesar salad or a Greek salad. As you can see in the photo, we chose the Greek because my husband and daughter both are feta fiends! The breadsticks are almost always served hot and fresh and tasty with their little sprinkling of garlic salt on the top. The salad, though a little ice cold for my tastes this time around, is tasty, with pepperoncinis, kalamata olives, tomato, red onions and feta cheese...and of course, romaine lettuce!

After the breadsticks and salad, the rest of the combo meal comes out. Meatball pizza, and spaghetti & meatballs. Now usually my daughter begs for the tomato-fredo penne, but even she enjoyed the meatballs served in the spaghetti and on the pizza. You can choose the pasta shape and sauce at no extra charge, so if you're not into spaghetti, you can order the penne instead with the marinara, meat sauce, or tomato-fredo...with or without the meatballs. We stuck with the original combo, and enjoyed it. The pizza featured sliced meatballs, sliced roma tomatoes and fresh basil. The first one came out (on the left) and wasn't quite cooked all the way, but that was quickly remedied and a fresh pizza made and brought to the table. Rich with gooey mozzerella cheese, and full of bright, fresh flavors, it was worth the extra wait, though we'd have preferred to have it done right the first time! All in all, it was a good meal, and there was plenty of leftovers to take home for the eldest manchild to take to work for lunches for a couple days.
Mangia!

Childhood in a bowl...

2008-10-15T00:20:00.000-07:00

This is the most inaccurately named dish I can remember eating as a child, but it is a childhood comfort food that I and my siblings all love to this day. My friends, I give you, Mock Chow Mein.

Now, about the only resemblence this dish has to chow mein on any level at all is the rice. But, that's okay with me, I don't care what you call it as long as it's made right!

Mock Chow Mein is a Minnesota hotdish, brought to many a church supper, get-together, pot luck and winterfest. It is classic in it's ingredients: ground beef, canned soups, and of course, rice.

To start with you need bell peppers. Since I am not a fan (and that is putting it *very* mildly) of green bell peppers, I choose to use red & yellow...and sometimes orange. These brighter colors look splendid in the dish, and don't have the tendency, as green bells do, to overpower every other flavor in the pot. Dice up the peppers. 2 will do. Dice up an onion, and a bunch of celery too.

Brown up your ground beef, a couple pounds should be enough. Add the veggies, and saute until they're tender. Now you have a choice. You can either move this to an electric roaster or a roasting pan. If using a roasting pan, you'll be using your oven. Either way you'll want it to be 350*f. Combine the beef & veggies with a couple cups of rice, and the following canned soups: 2 cans cream of mushroom, 2 cans chicken gumbo and 1 can cream of celery. Of course, if you're not feeding half of the Midwest states, you'll probably want to cut all of my measurements by half. Add about 3/4 can water for each can of soup, and stir. Cover and let it do it's thing for about an hour and a half, stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed. Don't over-cook, or it will be nothing but mush, so start checking the rice at about 1 hour. There you have it. All the comforts of childhood, cheap and easy and tasty to boot!

Remember the Alamo...?

2008-10-13T22:53:00.000-07:00

Remember the Alamo....

Old Town has changed. After losing the lease on much of the traditional Old Town restaurants and shops, Bazaar del Mundo was forced to move on. So many changes made in a relatively
short period of time. That's why it was nice to walk down the
main drag and see The Alamo. Brightly lit and festive looking,
The Alamo is a fun place for a casual meal.

The seating here is all outdoors, so if you're going to be going in
the fall or winter seasons, be sure to bring a sweater! If you're lucky, you can snag one of the two tables that have their own little
firepits in the center! On our last visit, we were lucky enough to
snag one of these for ourselves.

There was a chill in the air, a Chargers game on the t.v., and lots of people relaxing with a margarita and some salsa. We added some guacamole, and had ourselves a little party! :) The margaritas are tasty and come in a variety of flavors...but we enjoyed the traditional lime. The guac is fresh and tasty, and the salsa, though
a little spicy for my sensitive taste buds, was bursting with tomato
flavor.

For an entree, I chose the carne asada burrito, by which I judge many Mexican restaurants here in San Diego. As you can see, this one is huge! Stuffed full of tender, flavorful beef, pico de gallo and more of that delicious guacamole, this burrito delivers!

My husband chose a quesadilla and an enchilada, something which he judges places by himself! The enchilada, though tasty, was on the small side. Not the best enchilada, but certainly not bad!

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, quesadilla? How hard is it to make a cheese filled tortilla? You'd be surprised how
bad they can be! Greasy messy yucky stuff. This one, however, was none of those things. Light, crisp edged tortilla, with nicely melted cheese in the center. A little of that guac and it's golden.

The next time you find yourself wandering around, wondering what to have for dinner, head over to Old Town. Yes, a lot of things are gone. Yes, there've been a lot of changes. But there are still good finds to be had, and more importantly, there are still good times to be had too!

To decorate or not to decorate, that is the question...

2008-10-07T01:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so, this is not food related...YET. In a couple weeks, I'll post recipes and pictures for our Halloween party food this year. This is just a preview :)
These are a few of my favorite decorations for Halloween we have for our house, as they looked last year. I am trying to decide if I want to decorate this year. We have a lot more college kids renting on our street now, and let me tell you, they are some destructive little snots when they've been partying, which is 4 or 5 nights a week.
This is our Doorman, Mr. Grady. His smaller sign reads "Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here."

This would be Ike, and...umm..well, Ike's dinner. Ike is a rather large tarantula, with an affinity for rooftops, large webs, neighborhood pets... You know, the usual! Ike's dinner on this particular evening was one of those pesky college kids I was telling you about. Guess that'll teach him to throw beer cans at Ike's web!

Meet Fido. He'll be taking care of guarding the yard, alongside Ike. I'll have to get a better picture of him at night time so you can see the eery glow of his red eyes as he sniffs out an ankle bone or a spare tibia that may be laying about. He sheds, but we try to keep him well groomed!

Ah, yes. Here is Legion. He appears to be coming up for a visit. I do hope he remembers to fill in that hole this time...the heat was unbearable last time! I am trying to refer him to a good dentist, but deep down inside, he's really just a big baby!

And what is this? A party? Where was my invite? Ok, clockwise now...first we have Ben, drooling up on that rock there. He's a bit of an ugly duckling, but we still have hopes he'll grow into a beautiful swan some day. Next is Lester...always laying about, that one! Such a lazy bones! And right above him, poking out for a bit of Vitamin D enriched sunshine is Harry Bates, Norman's less crazy brother.

Well there you have it...there's my brood! Well, at least some of them. I think...I think I might just be getting into the spirit after all. Stay tuned, charming readers! Oh, and just in case you thought there would be no food in this post, here's a recipe for you!!

Monster Brains:
3 medium ripe avocados
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
juice of one small lime
1/2 cup salsa, more veggies than liquid

Mash avocados, and add the rest of the ingredients, without making them too smooth. Salt to taste. Serve with Witches Hats (blue corn tortilla chips).
Sounds a bit like guacamole, doesn't it? Odd! lol :)

Wow, this is nothing like packaged Ramen!

2008-10-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

Thursday night my husband and daughter talked me into trying a place that they've visited often when I'm up North one day a week. I've been curious to try it, because they enjoy it, because I love a good KatsuDon, and because I'd never tried fresh Ramen before.

This is Mitsuwa Marketplace, located on Kearny Mesa Road, right off the 163. It is one of the places in San Diego where you can find authentic Japanese ingredients for your home cooking, but it is also home to a couple of interesting, and tasty, restaurant choices. The first, Kayaba, has been there the longest. It is a tiny spot, but the food is good and the service is quick, and reasonably friendly :)

Here you can see the small-ish seating are. There is a long table that is somewhat communal, and several smaller tables of 2 and 4.

This is the Katsudon. I didn't get a chance to get a picture of it before my husband added the katsu sauce! For the uninitiated, Katsudon is a breaded pork cutlet, served with egg, onions, and rice. Sometimes peas are added...I prefer them not to be. The onions are brothy and add a lot of flavor to the rice, and the whole dish is a big bowl of comfort food at it's best.

If you prefer no egg and onions, you can order the Tonkatsu. Tonkatsu is a breaded pork cutlet, usually breaded with Japanese panko crumbs and fried. Here it is served with rice, what we think is a potato salad (?), mandarin oranges, and shredded cabbage. Lemon slices and katsu sauce are optional, but delicious!
Kayaba also serves other dishes, such as Udon and Donburi (rice bowls with savory items, such as pork.)

And now for the item that got me curious. Fresh Ramen. The other restaurant I referred to is called Santouka and it is where you'll find the ramen. There are 3 varieties to choose from, in many combinations. Salt Ramen, Soy Sauce Ramen, and Miso Ramen.
Here you see the Soy Sauce ramen. It is served with 2 very succulent slices of char siu (pork belly), some nori (seaweed), green onion, salted bamboo shoots, and a slice of Judas Ear.

Served with the Ramen was a bowl of rice with char siu and green onion, as well as a soy sauce boiled egg (not pictured, oddly enough :) ). The ramen's broth was rich, and hot, which served the dish well. The ramen itself was toothsome, nothing at all like the stuff you get in the cellophane bags at Von's! lol The pork was, as I said, succulent and flavorful and rich...it's a good thing they don't over-do it! If I'm being honest, I left the Judas Ear fungus alone.

But I did love the char siu rice! The green onions were a nice, earthy contrast to the somewhat salty pork, and when eaten together it tasted a little like a really tasty fried rice. I gave my husband the soy sauce boiled egg, which he said was unusual, but good.

All in all, I'd say it was a good dining experience. Everything was tasty, I tried something new and I was able to slip into the market and get some goodies for later this week. Manga!

When you need a chocolate fix...

2008-10-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

Anyone with kids in elementary school will know that there aer many, many occasions in which you're asked to bring something to a school function. Over the years, there were a few items that I became known for. French cookies (more on those in a future post!), fruit salad, Halloween treats...and for the carnivals and cake walks and bake sales, the Deep Dark Chocolate cake you see in the picture above. This one was made by my now 14 year old daughter for my birthday.

This cake is quick to put together, easy to make, takes ingredients most folks already have in their kitchen, and has a decadent, moist texture that is always a hit. It is a modified version of the Hershey's cake recipe that used to be on their cocoa can. Here's the recipe:
Deep Dark Chocolate Cake Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Nestle mini chocolate chips (optional)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I use double strength)
1 cup freshly brewed coffee (strong) or espresso

Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing (recipe to follow)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan. 2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Stir in chips. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Stir in coffee (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. (Cake may be left in rectangular pan)

Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
1/4 cup butter melted
1/4 cup softened butter
8 ounces Philly cream cheese, softened to room temp
2 tsp vanilla (or vanilla bean paste)
1/3 cup cocoa
powdered sugar
1 shot espresso

1. Using a whisk, combine the melted butter and the cocoa. Whisk in 2 tbsp espresso. Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, softened butter, and vanilla; mix until smooth. Add chocolate mixture, mix.
3. Add powdered sugar, about 3 cups, and mix until smooth. Depending on how thick you want the icing, add more powdered sugar until you get the consistency you desire. If it gets too thick, add more espresso or some milk.

And there you have it. This cake will serve a lot of people, and they'll beg you for the recipe when you're done! Enjoy!

A quiet patio on a warm & breezy night

2008-10-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

This is Cantina Mayahuel, a nearly hidden gem on Adams Avenue, just west of the 805. Tuesday night, my husband and I, looking for relief after a long hot day, wandered into Cantina Mayahuel, and I am so glad we did!

Mayahuel was an Aztec goddess of fertility and of the maguey, an agave cactus of great religious importance. From the maguey a holy, intoxicating drink was made, called pulque or octli. Today the plant gives the raw material for mezcal and tequila. Not surprising, then, is the extensive selection of tequilas and mezcal available at Cantina Mayahuel. There are around 90 choices for tequila, another dozen and a half mezcals..that's quite a decision to make, but one you'll have a great time making! I was tempted to simply close my eyes and point, but instead asked the server what he recommened, which was to start with the house Margarita. I was not disappointed. Light, not overly sweet, with a crisp lime accent.

The menu is not nearly as extensive as the tequila list, but I suspect you won't mind a bit. I know we didn't! You can choose from 4 different style of tacos, 2 salads, Alegria bowls, and daily specials. There area also Antojitos (appetizers) including salsas, guacamole, black beans, and ceviche. Walking in the door, you can smell the fresh, lively aroma of sizzling steak and chicken, and with that in mind, I ordered the Tasajo Style steak taco. Since we were having a maragarita and the guacamole and salsa antojito plate, I ordered just one. It turned out that was a really good idea!

The steak is marinated in lime, and is tender and flavorful. Atop the steak is shredded jack cheese, a cabbage-carrot-cilantro mixture, salsa, and Mexican crema. It comes atop a doubled corn tortilla, and though it doesn't sound like a lot of food, it was quite generous, and very filling, in a delicious way.

My husband had a Tasajo style steak taco as well, but he also ordered a chicken taco, which he loved. The chicken is marinated in pineapple juice and chipotle sauce, and is served with tropical salsa, ancho mayo, the cabbage mix and crema. Everything was flavorful and the freshness of the ingredients really stood out.

If you haven't found this hideaway, with it's richly appointed dark wood and Day of the Dead inspired interior, and quiet, breezy patio, I hope you'll seek it out and give it a try.

Lucy Lu Hough ~**~ 1994-2008

2008-09-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

Saying Goodbye to Lucy.

This gorgeous miniature Schnauzer is Lucy. Lucy joined our family on the January 1, 2000, and crept into our hearts immediately. I have never seen a more loving dog than Lucy, which is really quite
amazing, considering the abuse and neglect she lived with for the
first part of her life. Her former "owners" abandoned Lucy when
they moved, and she was alone and tied up in a yard, struggling to
survive when she was rescued. By the time this beautiful animal

was introduced into our lives, she'd had nearly all of her teeth out

due to infections from foxtails, and she was skin & bones.

We'd been talking about a dog for a long while when we found Lucy through a Mini Schnauzer rescue here in San Diego. We went to meet her and immediately fell in love. She was a little timid at first, but that didn't last long. A couple weeks after we brought her home with us, it was clear she thought of this as her home too.

Lucy would dance when we came home from anywhere, even a trip to the store. She'd get up on her hind legs and dance around the living room, howling her own tune. She loved her "bad kitty" toy (that was what it was called, not our name for it! :) ) and Greenies, but most of all she loved her new family and we loved her. From day one she attached herself to my husband, following him wherever he went. When he was out of town, she would spent the first day or two watching his side of the bed, sitting outside the bathroom, or sniffing around his chair at the dining room table. When she figured out he was gone, she spent most of her time by the front door, just waiting patiently. She was playful and loving and sweet and never ever anything less than a joy, and always a part of the family.

Lucy Lu Hough died today, September 23, 2008. We will miss her very, very much.

Chicken & Noodles- It doesn't get more comforting than this!

2008-09-22T06:47:00.000-07:00

Chicken & Noodles: A Tutorial

Chicken & Noodles is a tradition in my family. My Grandma Ma made it best, my Mom a close second. It's the ultimate in comfort food. I remember as a kid back in Minnesota, coming inside after a chilly night of Trick-or-Treating to find a big pot of chicken noodle soup on the table. Nothing could do a better job of making you feel good and warm inside!

To make good Chicken & Noodles, you need to start with a good stock, and what's better than homemade? Stock is one of the simplest things to make. A roasting hen, a few aromatics, and you're well one your way! For extra rich flavor, use chicken broth instead of water. I like to add an onion, quartered, to mine, along with the celery (don't be afraid to use those leaves!!) and a roasting hen. Then I add a couple tablespoons of peppercorns. You can add carrots too, though I don't care for the sweetness they impart in this instance. Simmer the stock until the chicken is fall apart tender and the veggies have extracted all of their goodness into the pot, then strain everything out. Skim some, but not all, of the fat. What you're left with is a rich, flavorful stock.

Once you've removed everything from the stock, you can take the chicken pieces and dredge them in a little flour, and give them a quick fry. This will tide you over until the soup's ready! Looks delicious, doesn't it? In the meantime, simmer the stock to reduce it some, concentrating the flavor even more.

To begin the noodles, you're going to need some eggs. Here my Mom used a fork to combine 8 eggs, then began adding flour. You're going for a soft dough here, don't add too much flour. Add a bit of salt, and if you like, a tablespoon or so of the chicken fat you skimmed from the stock. When the dough comes together, generously dust your work surface with flour and turn out about half of the dough onto the flour. Pat into a widening circle with your hands, and then roll out with a well floured rolling pin. Dust the top with flour as needed to prevent sticking.

The easiest way to cut the noodles, believe it or not, is with a pizza cutter. It makes quick work of that dough! Once you've cut (don't worry about them being perfect and even!), bring them up with your fingers, tossing with the excess flour, and separating, leaving the flour on the work surface. If any of the noodles stick, a spatula or a bench scraper work great to get them up. Just run them through the flour, and shake off the excess. Repeat with remaining dough.

Use a pastry brush to brush any extra flour from the noodles, then begin adding them to the stock. Stir as you go to prevent the noodles from forming one giant dumpling! Simmer until the noodles are cooked through, and tender. I prefer mine firmer, my mom likes hers to be a bit more tender. It's really up to you and your personal taste.

Season to taste with salt and pepper (I love white pepper in this!), add parsley, and serve. Hot, delicious, simple down home goodness. I love it! Manga!

Comfort Food from the Midwest

2008-09-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

Pork Cutlets & Pan Gravy

One of my favorite foods from back home in the Midwest is pork cutlets. The best ones are found in Iowa, but you can get excellent cutlets in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin too. If you've never had pork from back east, I can tell you, you are really missing out on something wonderful! The pork back home has so much more flavor than this overly lean, bland pork in the stores here in California.
If you ask for pork cutlets here, what you'll often get is a boneless chop that's been run through a mechanical tenderizer. You'll recognize it by the square or diamond pattern on the surface. A real pork cutlet is from the tenderloin, so they are juicy and tender and delicious!

To make this dish you'll season some flour with salt & pepper. I like a lot of pepper, freshly ground. Using a meat tenderizing mallet, lighty pund the cutlets to an even thickness, working in the flour as you go. In a large skillet (this is an electric, but you can do it on the stove), heat a small amount of olive oil, smart balance, or a combination of oil and butter. Saute the cutlets quickly, flipping after about 2 minutes, until a delicious crust forms as seen in these pics.

Once all of the cutlets are browned, add a couple tablespoons of your seasoned flour to the pan with them, then add about 3 cups of water, cover, and let simmer until it forms a thickened, flavorful gravy and the meat is tender. This takes about 15 - 20 minutes. So easy!

We served mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, green & yellow beans with carrots, and a potato melange as sides with this dinner. The potato melange has peppers, onion, carrot, tomato, snow peas, and a little broccoli. It's from Trader Joe's in the frozen aisle, and cooks up quick! Personally, I prefer my mashed potatoes, but that's just me :) Enjoy!!

A favorite recipe....

2008-09-17T00:08:00.000-07:00

I don't have any pics of this yet, because I haven't made it recently...but I plan to soon and a couple people had asked for the recipe, so here it is! Enjoy it...I know I will! :)
That recipe looks tasty! It is not quite the same as what I make, though. The way I make it is based on the way it was made the first time I had it..and fell instantly in love ;-)

CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA

6 Chicken Breast Halves -- Skinned And Boned
6 Slices Prosciutto
6 Slices Provolone Cheese
6 whole sage leaves
1/2 Cup Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
2 tsp Sage (dried, rubbed)
1/4 Cup Olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp Thyme
1/2 Cup Shallots -- Minced
3 Large Garlic Cloves -- Minced
1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
1 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
1/2 Cup Cream

Combine the flour with the salt, pepper, and dried sage on a plate. Set aside.
Pound each of the breast halves to a uniform thickness, around 1/4". Dredge in seasoned flour.
Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil with 2 Tbsp butter in a large skillet. Brown 3 of the chicken pieces over med-high heat. Repeat with remaining olive oil, butter & chicken, placing the chicken pieces on a baking sheet as they get done.
Top each piece of chicken witha slice of proscuitto, then a sage leaf, then a slice of cheese. Set aside while you make the sauce.
In the olive oil-butter combination remaining in the skillet, saute the shallots and garlic. Add the thyme, and 1-2 tbsp of the reamining seasoned flour, and stir. Whisk in the white wine and chicken broth. Simmer for 1 minute, then remove from heat and stir in the cream. Pour over chicken.
Bake chicken at 350* for 15 minutes, until cheese is completely melted and chicken is cooked through.

First taste of Autumn

2008-09-16T02:46:00.000-07:00

Black Raspberry Apple Pie

I realize I am probably jumping the gun a little bit, but I am so ready for the cool, brisk days of autumn to arrive. So, being in a Fall frame of mind, I set out today to make one of my favorite desserts of the season: Black Raspberry Apple Pie.

I started with the apples: 5 Granny Smith, 2 McIntosh, 1 Fuji, and 1 Royal Gala. A nice combination for flavor and texture. To the peeled, cored, and sliced apples I added a spritz of lemon juice, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tbsp cinnamon, and roughly 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Next came 5 Tbsp of tapioca, and finally a 12 ounce package of frozen black raspberries I purchased at Trader Joe's.

The crust is my mom's recipe, which calls for 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup cold butter, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp sugar, plus a few tbsp of ice water. I made the crust this morning so it would be easier since it was forecast to be a pretty warm afternoon (86*f). It's pretty basic, cut the butter into the dry ingredients, then add the water until you have pastry dough :) I rolled it between sheets of wax paper for easy storage and transfer. I took it out about 15 minutes before I was ready for it, so it wouldn't be too cold to fit into the pie pan. I cut apples into the top crust for venting, placing them on opposite quarters for decoration, as seen in the pictures. Then, I brushed the top with a little cream and sprinkled with turbinado sugar.

Before putting in the 375* oven, I wrapped the edges in foil to prevent them from over-browning. I baked the pie for 25 minutes, removed the foil and baked for 35 minutes more. When I pulled it out, the aroma just washed over me, fruity and spicy and yummy! The little pastry apples had turned a crisp golden brown, and the juices bubbling around the edges smelled and looked wonderful. I couldn't wait to try it!

I let the pie cool for about an hour, then served it with vanilla bean ice cream. The berries had turned the apples into a gorgeous shade of garnet, and added just the right amount of tart-sweet flavor to compliment the apples nicely. The crust was crisp and flaky and buttery good, everything I could have hoped for, since I love pie crust! I would have loved cinnamon ice cream, but we couldn't find any and the vanilla did just fine in it's stead. Manga!

It's been 7 years today...

2008-09-11T23:34:00.000-07:00

And I remember it as if it was yesterday. I was walking in the door from taking my daughter to school when my cell rang. Another mom from her school was calling to tell me she was turning around to pick up the kids and did I want her to get Alexis while she was there? When I asked why, she said I had better turn on the television. I stood, frozen, for several seconds watching in horror, then ran out the door and went back to the school. She hadn't even made it inside yet. The kids could tell something was up, but they didn't know what. Her best friend was with her, so I took both of them and left, calling her mom as I did so. The kids went into her room with a movie, and I sat down on the sofa and cried.

I love my family.

Happy Birthday to my Dad!

2008-09-10T01:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday. He is now officially 70 years old! Pretty amazing feat for a man who had Polio as a child, had his appendix burst, was run over my a monumental piece of machinery called a disc (the one with the round blades in the front that tear up ashpalt? Yeah, that), had 2 heart attacks, is diabetic, and has worked non-stop since he was a mere child. But then, he's kinda amazing himself.

My mom and I made him a delicious birthday cake...the base of the cake was the Hershey's Deep Dark Chocolate cake, one of my favorite recipes. Then Ma baked a small square and a round pan of white cake, out of which we cut a 7 and a 0...I'm sure you can guess where we were going, yeah? I frosted the chocolate layer, then we put the 70 on top, and poured a vanilla glaze over that...and because we're such rebels, we decorated the numbers with dragees. Anyone who doesn't understand that, google dragees and California. :)

Dinner was kind of a mixed grill. We had crab, grilled shrimp, fried shrimp (breaded with panko), steak and pork chops. For sides, yellow beans, asparagus, and baked potatoes, done on the grill so the skin was nice and crispy. Delicious, for certain! I would have loved to have gotten pics to show you fine people, but, alas, I did not remember to get my camera off the charger before I left in the morning :(

I will show you part of my present for him, though. It's a graphite sketch of my parents about 33 years ago that I did. I finished it, matted and framed it before wrapping it with gift wrap, but this will give you a rough idea of how it looks. And yes, he really DID look like Conway Twitty, and yes, my mom really IS a hottie :)

Sometimes you just gotta have some chicken

2008-09-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

We felt like a drive. We'd recently discovered that Starbucks in Orange & L.A. counties has something wonderful called Sorbetto (more on that later), and I was in the mood for chicken, so we decided to head north along the coast and take care of two cravings with one stone, so to speak :) This is Bandera. Bandera is located on Pacific Coast Highway in Corona Del Mar, just north of Dana Point. Chicken doesn't get better than this.

The first thing you see...and smell...when you get to Bandera is the chickens, roasting over and open flame, and the onions catching the dripping juices. The onions are there mostly to prevent flare-ups, but they do add a subtle smoky onion flavor, and imbue the already heady aroma with a certain richness. I wish I could have gotten a better pic, but this will have to do, because that fence is *hot*!

The kitchen (above & below) is always frenetic. People moving in what looks like a cross between a perfectly synchronized ballet and complete chaos. There's always a dozen or more chefs, soux-chefs, servers, etc moving in and out of the strange dance. The food is excellent, and so is the service for the most part. The only exception I've found is the hostesses at the front door, who seem to go out of their way to be snobby.

Bandera is known for the chicken of course, but they also have some other dishes that are hugely popular, including the only cornbread I've ever enjoyed. We didn't get it this time, but I will post an update with a pic when we do the next time! The House Margarita is the best margarita you will ever find in a restaurant, IMO. They don't use any mixers, no pre-made sweet & sour. Just a housemade blend of citrus and tequila, with egg white for added froth. Don't let the egg white scare you off...these margaritas are well worth the price of admission!

We also started with the Queso Dip, which is a spicy vresion of a classic, served with fresh, warm tortilla chips. The pic didn't turn out, but I'm sure you know what queso looks like! :)

And here's the entrees! My husband ordered the enchiladas, which are on the left. Filled with cheese, and smothered in two types of sauce, they are only $6 served a la carte! But the star of the show, for me, is the chicken. I ordered it with mashed potatoes (chunky, parsleyed mashed potatoes) instead of the green rice, just because I like the potatoes better :) As you can see, it is perfectly cooked, succulent, and delicious! And don't forget to save room for:

The Desserts! This is our choice, the Banana cream pie with chocolate and caramel, with a delicious crumb & nut crust. It is out of this world good, and oh so decadent.

What a perfect way to spend an evening! Manga!

The Fiesta that's wasn't.

2008-09-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

So, we were in the mood for some Mexican food. Where shall we go, says I? How about Ponce's? says he. Ponce's is located on Adam's Avenue, just across from and slightly west of the Library, and across the street from the Ken theater, about a block from the Kensington sign.

It was a hot and humid day, and the night cooled little and did nothing for the humidity, and much to my dismay, there was no A/C happening inside Ponce's cantina...so we decided to sit outside. There was a wait, so we sat on the metal stools out front. Several tables had finished their food, but they were lingering, so we had a chance to chat about McCain's choice for VP, the scandalous behaviors around the conventions, etc while waiting. Suddenly a young woman begins cussing loudly as she discusses with her tablemates *her* view on Obama. Wow. She didn't look like a sailor...but she would put one to shame with her mouth!

In any case, we were finally seated, the hostess providing menus, and salsa and chips already on the table. So far, So good, right? Welllll....let me continue :) The salsa is *hot*. By hot, I mean, melt enamel off your teeth hot! lol The chips we ok, except they weren't warm as they should have been

Then came the House Margarita. If you put turpentine in a glass, spruced it up with some salt and lime, you'd end up with a pretty close approximation of what this tasted like. I took the picture, took a sip, and sent it back! Of course, by the time I got the chance to tell our server that (she had an odd fascination with a table behind us, and spent almost our entire dinner chatting with them), our meal was half over!

We started the food portion of the meal with nachos. These are what my daughter makes, essentially...simple. Chips with cheese melted over them, topped with guacamole and sour cream. Not bad, but nothing special. They were generous, but by the time our server managed to get them to our table, they'd clearly been sitting a while because the cheese had time to begin seperating, causing the bottom chips to get greasy.

Ok, onto the real food. We ordered a combo plate that had an enchilada, a taco, and a tamale, as well as an additional taco because you can only get the combo with ground beef and my husband wanted shredded beef. Good news first: The tamale itself was tasty. The meat was tender, and the masa was moist, at least where the sauce was touching it. It was what I liked best of the whole meal. The enchilada was dry, and bland, sadly. The ground beef taco was not too bad, way too spicy for my tastes, but the shredded beef taco was good...moist and flavorful without being too hard on the tastebuds.

The best part was when the server came with our check, stood near the table looking at us until I looked up at her, then stepped back over to the table behind us and spent another 10 minutes chatting with the occupants! Mind you, this was the second time we'd seen her since our drinks arrived. Needless to say, she did not get a generous tip! Instead we had a word with the manager about the service....or lack thereof.

So, I cannot in good conscience recommend Ponce's as a place to go at this time. I will try it again in the future, and maybe with a different server and some control in the kitchen with the heat factor, things will improve.

The best Sunday Breakfast you'll ever make!

2008-08-31T14:17:00.000-07:00

Eibrot (pronounced eye-braht) is sort of like French Toast...but much, much better! It is one of the more delicious Swiss contributions to cuisine that I've been making for my family for about 2 years now. I found the recipe while flipping through cooking magazines in Border's one night. Believe it or not, I am not a big fan of French Toast. Maybe because it always seems too soggy or too dry, I don't know. Just never ticked my fancy, I s'pose! The picture for the Eibrot, however, looked so good, I knew I had to give it a try.

First you get a loaf of Challah Bread (a good, rich, eggy bread), and you cube it with a serrated bread knife as seen in the photos. Dust with cinnamon, and, if you like, nutmeg and allspice. Set aside.

Combine 6 eggs (got mine at the farmer's market this morning, yay!) with 1/2 cup of half&half, 1-1/2 cups milk, and 2 tsp vanilla (double strength if you have it). Whisk together and pour over the cubed Challah, tossing gently to coat each piece thoroughly, but not break it up into mush.

Heat a little oil and butter in a large skillet over med-high heat.

Cook the Eibrot in the heated skillet (you'll be doing this in sevveral batches) until golden brown all over, tossing gently with a spatula to evenly cook on all sides. Once browned, add 1-1/2 tbsp of butter and 1/4 cup of sugar, tossing to coat. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is completely melted and evenly coating the Eibrot. Remove to a serving plate, and repeat with remaning Eibrot.

Once it is finished, the Eibrot will have a luscious caramelized sugar coating that adds a lovely little toffee-like flavor and crunch. I serve with fresh berries (blackberries are particularly delicious!) and a dollop of whipped cream (no sugar), on the side. I promise you, this is the most decadent, wonderful way to begin a Sunday morning ever! Manga!

Time for some FUN!

2008-08-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

Fun, as in "Noodles", that is! One of our favorite places to go for noodles is China Fun, which is located right off Carmel Mountain Road, just east of the I-15 on Rancho Carmel Drive. As you can see, they have a large neon sign out front, so it's easy to spot :)
They have an extensive menu, including many different types of noodle dishes: Chow Mein, Lo Mein, Chow Fun, Singapore Noodles, San Shein Noodles, and more. They also have such traditional fare as Kung Pao, Broccoli Beef, Szechuan Chicken or Beef, Mongolian Chicken or Beef, etc., plus an array of specials each week, some of which are even better than menu items! The kitchen is open, you can see them preparing everything, watch the flames shooting up around the woks. The guy in the photo is Tony, one of the chefs. He's been there for years, longer than we've been going and we started dining at China Fun about 12 years ago!

We of course have our favorite dishes. House Special Lo Mein, which features chicken, pork, and shrimp along with soba noodles and vegetables. Last night, on a whim, we asked that it be made with the rice vermicelli noodles, which are much thinner...it was a big difference, and one we really liked. The thinner noodles made the additional meat & veggies more noticeable, I think.

We also really enjoy the House Special Fried Rice (which also has the afore mentioned mix of pork, chicken & shrimp, along with peas and carrots), and usually end up with a double order.
The soups that I've tried are all good with flavorful, yet light, broths. My favorite is #160, which is pork and Chinese cabbage with the rice vermicelli noodles.
Another dish we order frequently is the Orange Chicken. Lightly battered pieces of chicken served in a tangy orange sauce accompanied by rice...what's not to love? The bits of orange are delicious too. Plus, if you leave some sauce on your plate, it's really yummy for dipping your fortune cookies in at the end of the meal, or, if you're feeling decadent, an order of fried wontons make for a delicious dipping experience. :)

China fun serves several traditional sides (cucumber salad, seaweed salad, jellyfish salad), along with rice bowls, gyoza, egg rolls, etc. They have the usual suspects in the soft drink line up plus hot or iced tea and ball-ba tea (with the tapioca pearls in the bottom). We always get a pot of tea, plus iced water with lemon. (I think sweet drinks take away from the flavor of the food, especially the orange chicken and similar dishes.) They are open every day except Monday.

Manga!

It's all about the 'Q

2008-08-27T01:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went out to Phil's (the new(er) location on Sports Arena). Now, the first time we ever dined at Phil's it was in their Hillcrest location, many years ago. It was the amazing, smoky aroma that brought it to our attention. We'd been running errands, and skipped lunch, so we went in hungry....and left satisfied.
The Hillcrest location has been closed for some time now so they could concentrate on the Sports Arena location, which is much larger, but lacks some of the soul of the original. Now, I don't want to make you think the new location isn't worth checking out, because it is...but it's definitely more commercial than the Hillcrest rib joint that we first happened upon all those years ago.
Phil's makes both flavors of ribs: pork and beef. The pork ribs are a favorite around our house..tender and flavorful. The beef ribs are immense, and have a nice smoky char, but they're too much for us! Phil's has an award winning sauce, which a lot of people love and come back for time and again...but I always say to really test the mettle of any rib joint, you need to taste the meat "dry"...therein lies the rub. Rub, get it? ha ha. I've tasted them just this way at Phil's, and they stood up to my finicky palate and passed with flying colors.

If you're not in the mood for ribs, you certainly have other choices. There is mesquite chicken, for one. There are the ribless and chickless dinners, which are basically like getting a rib or chicken dinner without the troublesome bones involved in the process. Chunks of pork or white meat chicken with Phil's famous sauce, served with a choice of sides. And there's also the BBQ Broham...a tangy pulled pork sandwich, served with the traditional cole slaw, on a soft, tasty bun. Personally, I order the slaw on the side...but I do see plenty of people eating it as is. Me, I like to top it with the baked beans! Yummy! They also have burgers (beef or turkey), and a tri-tip sandwich, which I've never tried, but have been told is delicious. There's even a veggie burger for any vegetarians that happen to come along with you!

Sides are what you'd expect: corn, baked beans, potato salad, macaroni salad, steamed veggies, baked potato, fries & rings. The onion rings are nothing short of phemonenal! Battered and fried to crisp perfection, they are both hearty and light and make the perfect accompaniment to all that tangy sauce. And they're not kidding when they call 'em colossal!

The new Phil's has plasma tv's and a fast hectic pace. They used to let you phone in orders to dine in, but have since stopped doing so. The lines can get long! Be prepared to spend some time, especially if you head over on a weekend night! Of course, you *could* phone in an order to go, and then "change your mind"! But I'm not advocating that, of course. :-)

Only time will tell if the original location will re-open, but in the meantime, head over to:
3750 Sports Arena Blvd, San Diego, 92110.
Manga!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program for:

2008-08-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are a couple of my favorite recipes involving espresso. The first, of course, is Tira Mi Su. This wonderful name translates to "Pick Me Up", which I find wholly appropriate!

Without further ado, I give you, Tiramisu:
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 pint heavy cream
3 egg yolks
5 Tbsp sugar, divided
2 cups (approx) fresh, cooled espresso
3 Tbsp Kahlua (optional..can also use other liqueur or a couple teaspoons
vanilla)
about 32 Savoiardi (Italian ladyfingers...these are crisp, not soft)

First thing you'll do is put the egg yolks in the top of a double boiler and
whisk until they are lemon colored and thickened over simmering water. Add 2
Tbsp of sugar midway through, superfine is best. Remove from heat. You can
now add a little Kahlua if you like, or other flavoring. Cool.
Whip mascarpone until smooth and soft, then add in the custard. In a
separate bowl, whip cream to soft peaks with 2 Tbsp sugar. Fold into
mascarpone mixture.
Combine the espresso with 1 Tbsp Kahlua (if desired) and 1 tbsp superfine
sugar. Pour espresso into a flat bottomed dish (I use a small Pyrex dish for
this, but the Tupperware sandwich containers work in a pinch, just do part
of it at a time). Have your serving dish ready. My favorite is my 7x11 glass
baking dish. (I like to use glass as I think it makes a more dramatic
presentation when you can see the layers through the sides). Working from
one side to the other, dip the ladyfingers into the espresso for a few
seconds on each side and lay into the bottom of the dish. Work until you
have covered the entire bottom, and if you have any gaps, you can cut some
of the ladyfingers in half lengthwise to fill them. Don't oversoak or you
will have a puddle of espresso in the bottom after it sits. Cover with a
layer of the mascarpone cream, then repeat until your reach the top, ending
with the cream. Top with either sifted quality cocoa powder (I like to use
the Valrhona cocoa for this) or finely grated bittersweet chocolate. Cover
and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, then remove from the fridge at least
15 minutes prior to serving. If it is too cold, you won't get the full
flavor and effect of the creaminess vs. the ladyfingers.

The next recipe is for Espresso Gelato. This is one of my absolute favorites! Gelato is much better than ice cream, I think. Because it's made with milk, rather than heavy cream, it's much more flavorful. For best results, remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving.
2 cups of milk
4 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 cup espresso (preferably ristretto)

Heat the milk to scalding. Whisk together yolks and sugar until light &
lightly thickened. Temper the egg mixture by adding roughly 1/3 of the hot
milk, stirring constantly. Then add the eggs to the remaining milk, whisking
constantly. Cook over med-low heat until it coats the back of a spoon **(see
note). Remove from heat and cool to room temp before chilling. Chill
thoroughly before freezing.
For an added touch, though I don't recommend it for the kiddies
(smile)...melt 4 oz good quality semi sweet chocolate and stir in 1 tbsp
ground espresso beans. During freezing, drizzle the chocolate into the ice
cream. It will make chocolate flakes, rather than chips, and it's soooo yummy!

The last recipe I'll add right now is for Espresso Mousse. It's a delicious change from chocolate mousse, and if you love coffee as much as I do, I know you'll love it!
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup coffee beans, lightly crushed
5 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup freshly brewed espresso, room temperature
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
3 cups heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

Heat the milk with the coffee beans over low heat until small bubbles show up around the edges. Strain the coffee beans out.
In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until thick. Beat in the hot milk. Return to the pan and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Do not allow to boil.
Dissolve the gelatin powder in 1/4 cup of the espresso. Heat the rest of the espresso and whisk into the pan. Stir in the reserved gelatin/espresso mixture and pour into a bowl. Cool until room temperature.
Whip cream until thick, but not stiff. Whisk mascarpone to soften.
Fold the mascarpone and whipped cream together and then carefully fold in the espresso mixture. Pour into serving bowl and refrigerate until set. Garnish with coffee beans, shaved chocolate and additional whipped cream if desired.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming :-)
Manga!

Happy Birthday to me, part deux

2008-08-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

These gorgeous people are (from left) my daughter, Alexis; her BFF, Lisa; my neice, Shelby; and in front there is my hilarious nephew, Owen. These are the little chefs that made the cake you see in the next photo for my birthday.

Alexis & Lisa baked the cake from scratch, using Hershey's Deep Dark Chocolate cake recipe, one of my favorites. It's a very reliable, very moist, very decadent cake! The frosting is a cream cheese frosting, some left vanilla and tinted, and some made chocolate. Both delicious!

They also did the decorating :)

I had a wonderful birthday! My husband took me to lunch while the girls made the cake and decorated the house, including a huge banner on the front door for when we returned. Blue and silver balloons and stars and streamers made the living and dining rooms a party zone fit for a Queen. I was truly impressed, and filled with love for my amazing girls (and boy).

For dinner we went to a favorite local place called Lefty's, which specializes in Chicago-Italian cuisine. I'm talking Chicago style pizza and dogs, as well as Italian beef and some of the best pasta this side of the Mississippi. My favorite is the Al Capone, which has artichoke hearts, bacon and basil tossed with linguini in a tomato cream sauce. So good!

We hadn't ever tried the pizza before last night, so we picked on each of the thin crust and the deep dish styles. (We were rather hungry, and so decided not to wait the 60+min for a stuffed pizza). Both the pizzas were good and for different reasons. For the thin crust, we chose the Gold Coast, which had chicken, artichokes, garlic, and basil. The sauce on this one was very intense, hearty sauce with lots of herbs. Quite tasty!

On the other hand, the deep dish Monster of the Midway, which had Italian sausage, pepperoni, and hot giardiniera also had a light, crushed tomato style sauce that was completely different from the sauce on the thin crust, but equally delicious. What made this pizza for me (and Alexis) was the cheese. Aged mozzerella, lots of it. Ooey Gooey wonderful messy yumminess!

Lefty's is located at 3448 30th street in North Park. You can get there easily by taking the 805 to El Cajon or University and heading west to 30th. I recommend getting there early for either deep dish or stuffed pizzas. Manga!

Happy Birthday To Me, from my Mom!

2008-08-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

The beautiful woman above is my Mom. She's amazing. You'll probably see me talk about her a lot on this blog. On Wednesday, the day before my birthday, I went to her house and she made the most delicious meal! Swiss steak, a childhood favorite, plus mashed Yukon golds, green beans from the farmer's market, a veggie melange from TJ's (Trader Joe's) and salad...plus a Dutch Apple Berry pie for dessert! Well, maybe we should call it a tart.. lol! It was made in a sheet pan.

In our family, there are 2 versions of Swiss Steak. One that you see in the pic above, and one that involves tomato and onion and such...which is also delicious, but not as good as this one, in my opinion. This one involves pounding the steak in seasoned flour, sauteing until deep golden brown, then simmering until tender. It makes it's own gravy, and is a simple, but wonderfully flavorful dish. The mashed spuds are a perfect accompaniment, along with the vegetables.

The pie. Wow. That took some work! Peeling and slicing nearly 3 dozen apples was the hard part. My hands were cramping around the peeler! lol Mom made a triple recipe of her amazing pie crust (I'll post the recipe during the holiday season), which was rolled out and put into the sheet pan. Along with the apples, there was cinnamon, nutmeg, tapioca (for thickening), raspberries, black raspberries, and blackberries. Such a combo! When it was done, we served it while it was still warm from the oven, with some vanilla bean ice cream. You can see in the pics how beautiful the color was, and it was so very tasty! I am eating the last of it as I type this in fact!

Thanks, Mom!!!

Would you like some caffeine with that?

2008-08-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Kimberly, and I'm an espressoholic.

I started drinking coffee when I was about 10. I would volunteer to get a cup for my mom or dad, and steal sips here and there. By the time I was in high school, I was drinking it every day. I love coffee. I love everything about it. The color, the smell, the taste...all of it. Good coffee is a true pleasure for the senses.

While in Alaska, way back in 1993, I started drinking espresso more. There was a very cool little coffee shop in Anchorage that was one of those places where you feel good just being there...and Mike, the guy who was usually behind the counter when we went in, introduced me to a quad-shot mocha. I was hooked. I mean, come on...coffee AND chocolate? What's not to love?? Eventually, like all addicts, I needed more. I began to experiment. Vanilla, hazelnut, almond, macadamia, coconut, white chocolate..I tried them all. And loved them, every one. Well, ok, I didn't really love the hazelnut.

I began to seek out coffee/espresso shops wherever I was. I am telling you, any city I spent a fair amount of time in, I knew all the best places to get a good cuppa. I drank it hot, I drank it cold...heck, I even took it frozen. I couldn't get enough. I am sad to say, I've never gotten help for my addiction. I've toned it down, and I figure, hey, I can quit whenever I want to. Right?

Iced Espresso:
5 shots ristretto espresso (1-1/2 ounces each)
1 ounce syrup (any flavor, my current favorite is cinnamon by Monin)
1/2 to 1 ounce half & half
ice

Fill a martini shaker with ice. Pour in syrup, then espresso shots. Shake vigorously (which will give you that lovely foam you see in the picture). Pour into glass (preferably chilled) and top with half & half.

Sometimes People Suck.

2008-08-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

It's been hot lately. Not just hot...hot and sticky. Emphasis on the sticky. Emphasis on the ICK. As usually happens when the weather is miserable, I've noticed an increase in the levels of hostility, stupidity, and rudeness. For example, my daughter and her friend were bike riding today. Now, we live in a residential area, off the main drag, and there's not a terribly great amount of traffic..so they were riding in the street. When they heard the car approaching, they both swerved to the right to get out of the way. Well out of the way, in fact. But the jerk in the Honda swerved with them, trying to frighten them. Three times this was repeated, until they reached a driveway and went up onto the sidewalk. The passengers were laughing, and flipping off the girls. Mind you, these are young teen girls and the people in the car were college students. When the girls went up on the sidewalk, the honda went on, pulling into a driveway down the block. The girls came and told us what happened, and my husband went to the honda's house to talk to the driver. His excuse? It was an "accident". After my husband told him, quite politely, that he would have his own accident if it happens again, his attitude greatly improved and he managed to sputter an apology to my shaken daughter and her friend.

Sometimes, people just suck.

Calgon, Take Me Away!

2008-08-11T02:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and I've neglected this blog, I know. Not that many people would know, since it's still an internet unknown!

My favorite place to go for breakfast is something of a legend. Most people who come to San Diego expect to make a stop there at least one morning of their trip. Of course, I'm referring to Kono's. There are people lined up already when they first open in the mornings, and for good reason.

The people are wonderful. Everyone is friendly, and the service is fast. Be prepared to find a table quickly after ordering, because your food is started almost before you've finished telling them what you want! I don't think we've ever had to wait more than 15 minutes for our food.

The breakfast burritos are a popular item, but my boys prefer the Big Breakfasts. Both come with Kono's potatoes, bacon, and eggs. One comes with pancakes and Two comes with french toast. They like #2, shown in the photo above. The Kono's potatoes, which you'll see on nearly every plate, are fried with cheese, onions and peppers, the way breakfast potatoes ought to be!
The eggs, you can order as you like, but we like scrambled, and they add cheese to them as they cook, which is even better.

The other breakfast pictured is the Pancakes, Bacon & Eggs, or PB&E as I call it. This is my standard order. I always stand in line fully intending to order something new...and as soon as it's my turn to speak, I order the PB&E. I can't help myself. It's a perfect breakfast. Protein with a bit of carbs added for good balance :)

My youngest is a fan of muffins, and they have some tasty choices to be certain, but our current fave is the streusel topped beauty you see before you. Now, they used to have some killer banana bread, but alas, it is no more. Still, a hot muffin with a bit of butter is a darn fine substitute.

Kono's also has a coffee stand right next door (seen in the photos at the top of this post). They make a good cuppa, and they're right there, so why not? Besides, that ocean breeze can be chilly first thing in the a.m. and you might want a little warmth, you know? My favorite is the Baja Mocha, made with espresso, steamed milk, and Mexican chocolate that contains vanilla and cinnamon. Can't beat that. Being a fan of all things cinnamon, this is no surprise, right?

Oh! I almost forgot the view! Kono's is located right next to the Crystal Pier, and the seating overlooks the ocean. You can relax, listening to the rhythmic slapping of the waves while watching the surfers there for your personal entertainment. Well, ok, they're not there for you, personally, but it sure seems like it!

Ok, that's it for now...it's 3 am and I'm going to bed. Good night :)

$2.60 Filet Mignon Dinner.....

2008-07-31T18:01:00.000-07:00

In 1966, anyway :)
Harry's Coffee Shop in La Jolla is located at 7545 Girard Avenue, right in the midst of the action. We had several early appointments today, and were in desperate need of sustenance. On our way to another place we thought we might have remembered trying once many years ago, we happened by Harry's. Hmm. People outside and in, always a good sign. I must admit, I have a thing for old fashioned looking places, so that was a part of the decision as well. The cincher? There was a parking lot 'round back. I'm sure you know how precious a good parking spot can be in San Diego county!

The menu is extensive. It had all of the things I would expect to see on a breakfast menu...French toast, pancakes, egg combos, waffles, etc...and then some. There are 16 ready to order omelets...plus the additional options make it an endless list of possibilities. Too much for two hungry people with growling bellies. They also serve lunch, but that's for another day! The majority of menu items are under $7, and the most expensive item is the Lox & Bagel plate at $10.75, surpassing 90% of the other items by $2 or more.

The longer we were there, the better it got. If you're a waffle person, and I am, they have 2 types of waffles to choose from: a crisp, old fashioned Golden Brown waffle, or a thicker, deeper Belgian Waffle, made with malted batter (and every waffle lover knows malted batter is a *must*! ). And the 2 egg combos? They come with 3 eggs, and according to the 1966 news story featuring this coffee shop, they always have. But don't tell Harry. As an added bonus, the coffee is from Cafe Moto, where I purchase my home coffee supplies!

Breakfast at Harry's was a delight from start to finish. Trying to veer outside my breakfast comfort zone, I tried the old fashioned waffle as you see in the picture. It came with eggs and a sausage patty (which had a wonderful savory flavor and a tiny little kick!), and was topped with sweet, fresh strawberries, and ample whipped cream for $7.70, not a bad deal. My better half has the sausage patty and egg combo, 3 eggs as promised, 2 sausage patties, hash browns and toast. All for $6.60!! A cup of coffee and a large orange juice, and we still got out of there without breaking the bank...but more importantly, with a smile on our faces.

To Market, To Market to Buy a Fat Pig

2008-07-30T01:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess it wasn't exactly a pig, per se...But it was pork chops, and they came from a pig...does that count? After a busy afternoon, we stopped at Windmill Farms (I really need to dedicate a seperate post to them, they rock!) and picked up some pork chops to throw on the grill.

I don't know if anyone else has seen it yet, but McCormick & Schmick seasonings has some new black pepper blends out that caught my interest. I am a fan of pepper. Black, white, green & pink. So, naturally, this was a product that I was drawn to. I've seen two versions of it, one being a smoked black pepper, which smells really good. The other, the one I used on the chops, is a Worcestershire black pepper. It has the most amazing aroma. Even better than the smoked. That, along with a little brush of olive oil and some sea salt was all I adorned these chops with. A few minutes on each side on a hot grill, and they were perfect! I wish I'd have taken pics :(

Some romaine lettuce, heirloom tomatoes (from the farmer's market Sunday), baked potatoes, and pita bread rounded out the meal. When I was young, my mom would make pork chops, and slice them, then we'd stuff the slices into pita pockets, add lettuce, tomato, cheese, and dressing. Clearly, I loved them :) The baked potatoes were at the request of my neice who, along with her daddy and little brother, joined us for dinner. I cheated, started them in the nuker, then tossed with a little olive oil and some sea salt and threw them on the grill. I love that crispy skin!

Dinner was followed up by everyone piling on the couches to watch Wipeout..the most insane and hilarious show I've seen on TV in ages. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out...but I wouldn't drink anything you don't want to shoot from your nose!

Can I get some fries with that shake?

2008-07-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this is totally un-food-related (well, unless you count the fact that I was eating a late breakfast when it happened)...but did you feel that earthquake a little bit ago?!

At first, I thought it was my husband shaking the table (we were both seated at the dining room table), and then I realized it was not just the table shaking. I looked up and saw the Jurassic Park water trick in my glass, then noticed the open window was doing the shimmy. It lasted longer than most of the quakes I've felt since moving here in 1988. In fact, there's only been one other that I've been here for that was stronger and longer, and that was back in 1999, the Hector Mine earthquake.

I remember sitting in my office, writing. All was quiet in the house. The only ones home were my youngest, my very pregnant sister in law, and me. It sounded like an entire marathon's worth of people were running across my back patio (we're over a canyon, so it was *loud*). I even remember saying "Who the heck is running around that back there?!?!" ..... and then things started rattling, falling off shelves. I went in to see if my SIL, who'd gone to bed earlier, woke up from it. I took her rapid pacing as a yes.

Chicken on the Barbie...Oh No, Wait...it's under the broiler

2008-07-26T23:04:00.000-07:00

It was definitely one of those Homer Simpson-esque moments. Hmm...I wonder why I can't smell the chicken on the grill yet? Let me check...D'oh! Out of Propane!

Tonight's dinner was to be grilled chicken (kabobs) and risotto. I figured, throw some corn in for good measure, and we got us a meal! Got the chicken cut into cubes, started the marinating, sauteed the rice and onions for the bastardized cheddar broccoli risotto..all was looking good. Cut up the onion, got the chicken on the skewers, and out to the grill. Then Murphy decided to send his law dogs after us. Out of propane, and the chicken hadn't even fully cooked on one side yet. Egads!

Luckily, I've worked my way 'round the broiler a time or two. Sure, it wasn't quite the same, but it was darned good!

The finished meal was delicious, so as the old saying goes: All's well that ends well!

For the risotto, I just sauteed some onion and arborio rice, then added chicken stock, and simmered. I added more stock as it evaporated, stirring frequently. At the end I added about a cup of finely shredded cheddar and some blanched, chopped broccoli, tasted for seasoning, added white pepper and called it good.

The chicken was marinated in a couple different things. First, there was a tequila based marinade, which had lime, Penzey's 4S spicy seasoned salt, and Tajin, which is a Mexican seasoning I get at the market. The other marinade was my daughter's invention: A1 sauce mixed 50:50 with barbecue sauce, in this case Stubb's mesquite.

To make this meal complete, we needed some really tasty beverages. Hmm, what would compliment that chicken? Tequila, lime...Margarita! Not just any margarita, either. I made Acai-strawberry margaritas. I blended fesh strawberries with Acai berry juice and fresh lime juice, then added that to tequila, Cointreau, and shook it up with some ice. Poured into a salted glass and there you have it. Margaritas: the Superfood!

Since my daughter isn't quite to margarita age yet, she made her own tasty beverage. Watermelon juice (fresh from crushed watermelon), combined with lemon juice, lime juice and just a splash of water. The watermelon was so sweet that there was no need for sugar. Ahhh! Now *that's* refreshing! You can see her recipe on her blog page: Random Thoughts of a Teenage Mind.

Su Casa es Mi Casa

2008-07-26T22:29:00.001-07:00

Last night, my husband's brother brought his kids over, and we all went to Casa Adams for a late dinner. If you haven't been, Casa Adams is on Adams avenue, just west of the 805 and right down the street from the Antique Row Cafe. This was our second visit, and I have to say, I really enjoy this little place! The service has been quite good each time, going so far as to adjust the air conditioning to make us more comfortable.

Casa Adams has a large menu, as is typical of many Mexican restaurants here in San Diego. What's nice about it is there isn't much on there that's over $9.00, which makes eating there a lot easier in these trying times.

Ok, from the top, you'll see the interior as seen from the door, chicken flautas, garlic shrimp, the steak ranchero plate, the shrimp and avocado salad, and the carne asada burrito. Me, I had the flautas. You can order them as they are on the menu, or you can request them to be all white meat, which is what I did. They were filled with succulent little cubes of chicken breast, seasoned and exhibiting some tasty citrus notes, and as you can see, topped with guacamole and sour cream. Fresh and hot and delicious! They were definitely worthy of being posted here!

The garlic shrimp actually came with the steak you see in the photo below the flautas. Swimming in a buttery, garlicky, yummy sauce, they were cooked perfectly...not a hint of rubbery-ness! The steak was cooked perfectly as well, medium rare as asked for. It wasn't strongly seasoned, but with the garlicky shrimp, that was a good thing.

My daughter ordered her stand-by, a carne asada burrito. Filled with tender, flavorful chunks of meat, surrounded by guacamole (she always refuses the pico de gallo), it was all wrapped up in a hot, grande!, tortilla and served with rice and beans. She thought it a good version, and she would know.

The dish that got the most oooohhs and aaaahhhs? Without a doubt, the shrimp and avocado salad! It was a site to behold, and the picture doesn't really do it justice. It was big and bold and generous, for sure. It came with an avocado cilantro dressing on the side, which my brother in law seemed to take great pleasure in dipping his shrimp in! With all this good food and good service, it turned out to be a very nice family meal indeed.

Another sunny day, has come and gone away, in Paris and Rome...but I wanna go home.

2008-07-24T22:21:00.000-07:00

I'm HOME! Yay!
Well, it was a nerve wracking couple of days, but Mom's ok, and so is Dad, so it's all good. I even have a surprising review for y'all! The cafeteria at Tri-City Medical Center in Vista, CA. I know what you're thinking. In your mind you're remembering the fat, over cooked spaghetti noodles with the red water and hamburger sauce from your elementary school days. You probably even have "Lunch Lady Land" playing in the back of your mind. Well, kids, let me tell you...this is not your average cafeteria. Oh, it *looks* like a regular cafeteria. And, well, if I'm being honest, I guess there are probably less than stellar options available to you there...you know, comfort food to remind you of the "good old days". But all that aside, the breakfast there is really quite good! I know! I was surpised too.

After they took Mom in, they said I had a good wait on my hands, and that I could find a cafeteria one floor down. Originally, I planned to just get a cup of tea and maybe a muffin or something to tide me over. That was before I went in.

Glancing around, I wasn't expecting much. I saw they had some griddle options: french toast, pancakes, eggs, bacon, and the like. But what really got my attention was the fresh fruit bar. Blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew, all fresh, and all looking delicious. I ordered the 2 pancakes with 1 egg and bacon, then fixed a bowl of mixed berries from the fruit bar to top off the 'cakes. A cup of Earl Grey and I was set. I made my way to the cashier: $6.10, which I thought was quite reasonable considering the fruit alone would cost almost that much in the grocery store!

Any lingering doubts I had were erased in the first couple of bites. The pancakes, though a tad fluffier than I like (I prefer thin pancakes, with crisp edges), were tasty, especially when topped with the berries. The bacon was bacon, and the egg was scrambled. A very tasty breakfast.

I hope that you don't ever have the need to eat at this particular place, but if you are in the neighborhood one morning for any reason, it's worth checking out.

So....why so serious?

2008-07-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, so today was a good day, even though I got up in the midst of a hot flash. Luckily, the breeze kicked in around 1pm, and it was just beautiful from then on. It really wasn't all that hot...I just tend to get hot while I'm sleeping. Ok yeah, that didn't sound right, but you know what I mean right? Right?

Food. Hmm. Well, I didn't really cook today, per se. I made the lunch you see right there -------> for my wonderful husband, because it's his favorite. It's tuna salad (tuna, black and green olives, pickles, a dab of mayo, and fresh ground pepper) with avocado. Since I only needed half of the avocado for the sandwich, he got the rest to eat with some lime. If you haven't tried this, get thee to a market and pick yourself up a nice ripe Haas, and some limes! Me, I had pita bread and hummus (spinach, feta and artichoke hummus, to be exact) for lunch.

Dinner was....wait for it....Chick Fil A! Ha! We went to see the Dark Knight movie, and ended up seeing Wanted too...so by the time we were heading home we just wanted something fast, and not horrible. Chick Fil A nuggets are good...real chicken (it's a really good clue when you bite into them and it doesn't look like a grey sponge...McNuggets, anyone??), very lightly breaded. Simple fare, but it worked. Tomorrow will be better...especially since I'll be eating at Mom's! he he!

Hillcrest Farmers Market redux

2008-07-20T14:11:00.001-07:00

Back to the market for me this morning. It's my me-time, I guess. I get up early every Sunday, head for the market, then hit Trader Joe's down the street, and then it's home to make Sunday Breakfast. I get 2 hours to myself, and it's lovely.

This morning's treasure included nectarines, Armenian cucumbers, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, organic sweet onions (excellent on the grill folks!), and heirloom tomatoes. Oh, and green beans!

There are a few vendors I'd like to feature here over the coming weeks. Today I'll start with Robert, who is my sole source of eggs and honey. I wouldn't get them anywhere else. He's a gregarious, friendly man who always has a smile for anyone who visits.

He has several varieties of honey, and though I'm personally not a fan of honey, I hear people every week talking about how wonderful it is. What I go for is the eggs. Jumbo & large brown eggs to be exact. The freshest you can find, and they come from vegetarian fed hens.

Before I met him, I bought eggs from his father. If you ever met him, you'd see that the friendly, kind attitude comes honestly!

Another favorite stop at the market is Presher Coffee. Now, if you're looking for beans to make espresso at home, let me tell you that the Merlot beans from Presher make a phenomenal cuppa!
You can see them on the left of the photo ----->

Run by Nick and Randy out of the back of a customized truck, Presher coffee is a favorite amongst market-goers every Sunday morning and they have a loyal following. You can visit their website here: Presher Coffee for inline ordering and updates as well a link to their own blog.

The thing I love about these guys is they will make whatever it is you want, whether it's on the menu or not! My kinda guys.

Ok, one more featured vendor, and then I'm done, I promise!! I know that there are alot of people out there who are too busy to make their own jam, but you don't have to! Jackie's Jams uses the best produce from the market and local farms to make delicious jams and jellies.

My personal favorite is the Triple Berry, which I love because it's one of the few that don't have blueberries. Now, I love blueberries, don't get me wrong...but I just don't care for them as much in jams. The Triple Berry from Jackie's has rasberries, blackberries, and strawberries- a perfect trifecta if you ask me! If, however, you DO like blueberries, they have the BRB, which I'm sure you can figure out :)

You can also get no sugar added jams, and fruit butters.

The farmer's markets run every day except Monday throughout San Diego county. If you can't make it to the Hillcrest location on Sunday, just hit another one during the week! You can find a complete list of markets, as well as a seasonal produce calendar here: San Diego Farm Bureau.

Manga!

Time, travel, technical difficulties, and tiredness, take II

2008-07-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

I mentioned there are a few places that I had photos for...I thought I would go ahead and talk about another and post the pics later when I get the cable.

A friend of my husband's from out of state was in San Diego for a few days, and he is a total dessert fiend! I mean, forget the sweet tooth, this boy has a sweet skeleton! So, of course, his first evening in town he wanted to go get some dessert. We'd originally planned on going to Pappalecco's Gelato Lounge on State & Cedar in Little Italy. I'll be reviewing them on a future entry, but for now just suffice it to say that when this friend lived in San Diego, he'd hit this place twice a day some days.

Anyhoo, we had a late start, so when we got there they were about 3 minutes from closed. Rather than imposition the owner, we decided to check out the new location for Extraordinary Desserts on Union a couple blocks away. It was a nice evening for a walk!

Now, let me start by saying I've visited the 5th avenue location a few times and each time I had the same problem: Pretentious staff. Sorry, but you are not doing me some huge favor by serving me, and I'll not be kneeling before you anytime soon! :) So, I went in to this expecting the same snobby attitudes, and at first, got just what I expected from the hostess. Once we were seated however (20 min wait on a Tuesday night), our server was pleasant enough. If she'd have been to the table more often, I may have formed a better opinion.

The place is definitely eye candy, as the pics I'll be posting will show. However, I don't think they planned for the crowds when choosing all the hard, sound-bouncing surfaces, so it gets quite noisy inside when it's crowded...which is all the time. We decided to try 2 of the specials. The guys both wanted the coconut cream tart with banana-passion fruit ice cream. It was plated beautifully, with various tropical sauces (including a wildly delicious kiwi sauce) and even had a small rose in the whipped cream. The ice cream stole the show. Both guys raved about it. It was a very flavorful ice cream, with a smooth, rich texture, and potent kick. The tart lacked by comparison, being compriced of mostly whipped cream with very little coconut custart at the very bottom.

I chose the Chocolate Tiramisu, which was a chocolate cake, allegedly soaked with espresso, layered with a chocolate mascarpone, served with Latte ice cream. The ice cream, combined with the richly flavored espresso sauce on the plate, again stole the show. The cake itself was very sweet, with very little coffee flavor at all, but the sauce on the plate tasted like a sweetened fresh brewed espresso, and with the Latte ice cream, it was delicious. I wish I'd have been able to order that alone!

All in all, it wasn't a horrible experience, but not one I'd rush back to, either. The place seems to be precocious, and a little full of iteself, striking me as an establishment that's more interested in being famous than being good. Extraordinarily pretty desserts, yes indeed. Extraordinary Desserts? Nah.

Time, travel, technical difficulties, and tiredness

2008-07-19T18:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, so, I was supposed to get this going, but I've been having a busy couple weeks! I've been going back and forth a lot from San Diego to Vista...and then I was sick as well. Because of that, I've been excessively tired as of late.

As for the technical difficulties, I bought a cable so I could transfer the photos from my phone to my computer for this blog, but the person sent me the wrong one! In fact, he re-marked the box to say it was for my phone, but it surely is not. Whatever.

Anyway, let's get on to the food part of this entry!

The pictures, which I will upload as soon as I can, are from a couple different places. First, is the Hillcrest Farmer's Market. I absolutely LOVE going to a good farmer's market. I am a fiend for fresh produce, and where can you find it fresher than this without growing it yourself??

When I first get there, I head all the way to the back side, and to the left. First place I always hit is Sweet Tree Farms for the stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, plums). They have always had some of the best nectarines anywhere, but I've noticed this year they seem to be picking them a little earlier, and then when you get them home, they want to get all wrinkly and leathery on the outside before the inside gets soft. Sad. But, if you look carefully, you can find some that are at most a day from ripe and those are the ones you want.

Luckily, there seem to be a lot more vendors to choose from if you're looking for stone fruits this year! Lots of varieties of peaches, and nectarines, and so many plums! Last weekend I bought some dinosaur egg plums, Santa Rosa, and these little gold plums with a greenish tint to the flesh. All were juicy and sweet, with just a hint of tart. So good!

Aside from the stone fruits, there's plenty of avocados, artichokes, asparagus, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans etc. There's also so much more than produce! Olive oil, anyone? Crepe? How about some beef jerky? Need a new handbag to go with that dress? This last trip I even saw salt and pepper shakers in the shape of a couple!

And of course, there's the ready to eat foods. If you just have a little sweet tooth, there's Kettle Korn, chocolate truffles, french pastries. Looking for carbs? There's dozens of bread and baked good offerings. If you're hungry enough for breakfast or lunch, you can have that too: Crepes, both sweet & savory, gyros, kebabs, hummus, tamales, empanadas, tacos, burritos and more. It's a veritable smorgasbord!

I recommend you hit the market early enough to get your hardcore shopping done before the big crowds arrive (it opens at 9 am and stays open til about 1 pm), and then take a leisurely stroll around to find something delicious to have for brunch!

Manga!

2008-07-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this is my first post! I started this blog to keep track of the places here in San Diego that I've tried...to help me remember what I loved, what I liked, and what I did not enjoy. I hope it will help others, both local and visiting, to have a tasty dining experience and avoid a place of indigestion.