Tuesday, 3/27/18

I have made the ground chicken recipe from Cravings so often that it is a little embarrassing.  But how can you fault a recipe so easy, forgiving and delicious? Everyone likes it! Tonight I used ground chicken instead of the pork I often use, didn't have the mushrooms, Thai chili sauce or water chestnuts that the recipe calls for, and added broccoli instead. Still great. I just added a little sambal oelek and sugar to replace the chili sauce. And odds are good that I will make this again.

Monday, 3/26/18

Jason made me go grocery shopping before i had a real chance to plan dinners for the week and while I was still jetlagged. What this is leading up to is that I had no idea what to make for dinner, and so we had bagels and the last bit of the split pea soup. It was fine. The best part was the  Atulfo mango I sliced up and served with it.

Sunday, 3/25/18

My first attempt at split pea soup. Could not find any ham hocks at the store, so I just sauteed the vegetables in some bacon fat to give it a little porky/smoky flavor. Pretty straightforward (I pretty much followed the recipe on the back of the bag). We also had the remains of a loaf of bread with toasted cheese. Nice quick Sunday night meal.

Saturday, 3/24/18

Dinner with Jennie and David....bread, of course, and an angel food cake. Somehow we had three containers of egg whites in the fridge and that took care of two. To go with it I made a caramel whipped cream; who knew that was even a thing, and an easy one at that? I just made a nice dark caramel, let it cool, and added it to heavy cream. I used the food processor instead of the mixer to give it a denser texture. This is a whipped cream game changer.

Friday, 3/23/18

I was so very tired after an uneventful but largely sleepless night on the redeye back from SF. Luckily, Jason made us burgers and tots and it was perfect.

Thursday, 3/22/18

Last day! We had a ridiculously large and pricey breakfast at Sweet Maple in Pacific Heights. Jessica had french toast with gran marnier (plus bacon and eggs), I had a cornflake crusted french toast, plus some sweet potato tots and their signature millionaire's bacon: "extra-thick, sweet and spicy bacon that is slow-cooked for hours with brown sugar and spicy peppers to a chewy perfection.".  I really don't know why I ordered those things. I don't know what comes over me. The french toast tasted like fried dough, and I don't like thick chewy bacon. I guess I felt like I needed to try their best known things? In my defense the menu is quite large and it was hard to decide. But I wish I had gone for the breakfast tacos. Too late now.
After all that we walked around the Marina and along the water for a while. It was super rainy in the morning but cleared up while we were eating breakfast, although so windy!

Green grass!

I am sad to say that our last meal was unremarkable. Jessica wanted to check out this little sushi place we passed called the Naked Fish. It was good, but pretty standard.  Then I made her take me to B. Patisserie for  final round of pastries. After eating my enormous chocolate chip cookie I didn't have what it took to eat my lemon tart, so I left it for Jessica's brother to enjoy. I hope it was good.

Then on to Bart for the long trip home. Ate a sad Italian cold cut grinder in the airport.

We made a good dent but still missed a lot of places we wanted to try, so I guess I'll have to go back!

Wednesday, 3/20/18

I fetched more pastries from Mr. Holmes. This time another bostock for Jessica and this time for me a twice baked coffee stout croissant with brown sugar cake, coffee crumbs, stout beer cream, chocolate glaze and who knows what all else. It was quite messy and decadent. And then I ate a kouign amman! Shocking.
Lunch in North Beach---more pizza from Tony's Pizza Napoletana, where we have been  a couple of times before. It was so hard to decide what kind of pizza to get since they make all these regional varieties. Grandma? New York style? New Jersey Style? California? And many more. It boggled the mind. They have all these different kinds of ovens to produce different styles. In the end we just went with the classic Neopolitan Margharita and I don't regret it. A flawless example of the genre. I could have eaten two. And that is why we ended up at their slice shop next door eating a slice of classic pepperoni:

Since we were in North Beach, gelato seemed like a fitting finish so we found a good place nearly and had a little (brown sugar rum and dulce de leche for me, straciatella and orange-cardamom for Jessica)

While that seems like enough food for a whole day, we had dinner reservations with Jessica's grandmother at Seven Hills and so had to persevere.

Seven Hills is a lovely Italian restaurant on Hyde Street (I have no idea what neighborhood). We had a lot and it was all good:

Meatballs stuffed with fontina (erased the memory of those bad Tosca meatballs)

American Wagyu Carpaccio with Scallion, capers, arugula pesto, Parmigiano for me (the weakest dish--a tiny bit underseasoned)

Zuppa Stagionale with Green garlic, potato and leek soup, nettle pesto for Betty She LOVED it.

For Jessica Zuckerman's Asparagus Salad with prosciutto, arugula, sauce gribiche, pickled shallot

Jessica had the chateabriand special that came with more asparagus and some polenta, Betty had the pasta special with squid ink spaghetti and Dungeness crab, and I had Mezzaluna with Brown butter, sage, hazelnut, Napa Valley honey. I was afraid it would be too sweet but it was nicely balanced. I honestly could have eaten another order but we saved room for dessert.

Blood orange panna cotta for Jessica (which she said had a lovely flavor but she likes hers a bit firmer), a date cake (kind of like sticky toffee pudding) for Berry, and chocolate budino for me. Just your regular rich chocolate pudding. Overall an excellent meal and a nice time.

Tuesday, March 20

Breakfast at Jane, near the apartment. A cinnamon bun and avocado toast (with the very nice addition of pickled shallots) and a quiche and salad for Jessica. Her quiche would have been more appetizing heated up, as there were big chunks of not really melted cheese. Then a walk through town over to Hayes Valley where we picked up some superfluous donuts from Johnny Donuts. I think I liked them more than Jessica did (one blueberry and one maple glazed for me, vanilla and a lime-poppyseed for Jessica, all cake style). We nibbled on those all afternoon and shockingly did not have any lunch!

Dinner was so fun (but LOUD) at Leo's Oyster Bar. Small, crowded and trendy, but the food was all excellent. We shared: deviled eggs with a Wing Fried Oyster (spicy and crunchy!), butterfish confit (cunningly served in a little sardine tin) with pickled giardinere and smoked aioli (what is with all the aioli in this town? Anyway since Jessica doesn't like smoked things that was all for me and I liked it); a Little Gem (another thing they love in SF) salad with roasted baby beets and carrots, hazelnuts and dukkah green goddess (this was so flavorful and delicious that it may have been my favorite dish); house-made tater tots with salt cod brandade and tapenade; and finally some composed raw oysters: a couple with horseradish and pickled tomato, one with caviar for Jessica, one with melon and celery for me. Plus a couple of shrimp. Unsurprisingly after all that, dessert didn't appeal, so we headed home to watch some HGTV and eat a little See's chocolate.

Monday 3/19/17

Since I wake up at the crack of dawn, I walked the few blocks over to Mr. Holmes to get pastries for our breakfast. For Jessica and croissant and a blackberry bostock (kind of like a baked french toast?), garlic sunchoke-dukkah savory danish for me, and a cheesecake creme brulee restes (just a danish, if you ask me), all wonderful. I am glad there isn't a bakery like that 3 blocks from my house.
Then our Mini tour. Luckily it was a beautiful day and we zipped all over town, seeing many views from Coit Tower to Twin Peaks. The highlight for me was the Marin Headlands:

The driver (Reed) dropped us off at the beach (sadly, my shoes were not conducive to walking on the beach and it wasn't so warm that you could go barefoot), but it was still nice from a distance. Lunch at Outerlands, which has been lovingly reviewed but we discerning eaters found it only fine. Jessica's fried chicken sandwich with lettuce, pickles, aioli and hot sauce had tasty elements, but it was impossible to eat as a sandwich (way too much lettuce, and not shredded as advertised but more like a salad). My grilled cheese was great, but my pea soup was irretrievably bland and no salt on the table.
We shared a slice of lime pie but I wash we hadn't. I don't know what kind of crust it was: it looked like graham cracker but didn't taste like it. Buckwheat, maybe? Then the long train ride back into town.

I am sad to report that dinner also had its share of disappointments. I had been interested in Tosca, an old school place in North Beach that was rescued from closure by April Bloomfield and her business partner. The good things: it is a really cool looking place, good cocktails, and the service was excellent. I don't think we had a food that blew us away, though. Our starter of preserved swordfish with roasted beets, fennel and white beans was pretty good, but the squid ink aioli was terrifying looking. Like a blood clot on the plate (gross, I know). We shared some meatballs with focaccia and while the bread was good, I admit I did not like those meatballs AT ALL. There was some flavor in there that I could not identify and found very unpleasant. My pasta (bucatini with Tomato, Guanciale, Chili) was fine, as was Jessica's (trompetti with Paprika Sausage, Charred Broccoli di Ciccio, Pecorino Sardo, Diovollini Chili). We split a serviceable tiramisu. I hate to say this when I go out to eat, but I could have made all of that food, and better. Oh well, it was still fun and the waiters were adorable.

Sunday, 3/18/17

Eats for breakfast, over on Clemente. Jessica wasn't super impressed with her bagel and lox (cherry tomatoes instead of regular). I had a waffle that had  bacon embedded in it. I have no idea why I ordered it. Probably because it had cheese melted on top? Anyway, the home fries and cheese were my favorite parts. Then we walked over to Golden Gate Park and checked out the DeYoung. THEN, since we were already in the neighborhood, we went to Mandalay for lunch because I wasn't leaving town without my tea leaf salad. It was as delightful as ever, along with Mandalay chicken, which was like a superior General Tso's. And their very refreshing ginger lemonade:

For dinner we went to Dosa, back on Fillmore. So good! We shared a bunch of things:

Chutney And Pappadum Sampler with house-made chutneys (tamarind, mint, roasted chili garlic and seasonal); Avocado Chaat with grapefruit, habanero and coconut; Samosas, and an enormous dosa. All wonderful. We need an Indian restaurant like this in the Valley.
No desserts appealed so it was off to the Mission for Bi-Rite ice cream. Can't go wrong with their salted caramel in a waffle cone (plus a scoop of brown sugar with a ginger-caramel swirl).

Saturday, 3/17/18

Spent most of the day flying to San Francisco! Luckily I arrived in plenty of time for dinner. Jessica and I went to Del Popolo for dinner (their caps, not mine):

LITTLE GEM SALAD with Delta asparagus, toasted farro, ricotta salata & charred onion vinaigrette,
SEARED ROMANESCO & CAULIFLOWER with brown butter-sultana relish, grilled spring onions & pine nuts . And a pizza margharita. All absolutely delicious. I always love farro in dishes and wonder why I never make it at home.  None of the desserts appealed so we went over to Fillmore for ice cream at this very crowded place called Salt and Straw. We waited in line long enough for me to talk myself into a brown-butter blondie sundae with salted caramel and pretzel streusel. At $8, this was a bit of a mistake: the vanilla ice cream was only fine, the brownie was too hard and chewy, and it was very small! I would rather have had a big dish of the caramel and pretzel streusel, which was the best part.

Friday, 3/16/18

An odd (stupid?) meal. Queso fresco, melted, with tortilla chips (meh), avocado and salsa. Then an ersatz pho. I don't know why I thought boxed pho broth from Aldi would be good, but it was cheap and so why not? It wasn't bad, but of course it was no comparison to a good pho you would find in a Vietnamese restaurant. Served with cilantro, rice noodles, thin slices of strip steak, scallions and lime. Soy sauce, sriracha and hoisin sauce to doctor it up. I was underwhelmed; I think I was secretly hoping that I had found a hidden treasure from Aldi. Also, I missed the basil and mint you get in a restaurant.

Thursday, 3/15/18

Just leftovers, nothing to see here.

Wednesday, 3/14/18

Pasta with broccoli pesto (an old SK favorite); I don't even look up the recipe anymore. This time I nearly doubled the broccoli, and I was accidentally out of heavy cream so I used some half and half. So it was not as creamy as it sometimes is, but has a nice broccoli-ish flavor. Jason made a loaf of bread, and I also served some smoked brats (but just as a sop to the boys; I didn't think we needed them).

Tuesday, 3/13/18

Another *&^%$ snow day. So I had time to make fried chicken tenders (a Carter favorite), rice pilaf, gravy and roasted sweet potatoes. I had seen a "recipe" for slow roasted sweet potatoes on Smitten Kitchen, but maybe mine were bigger than hers because even after 90 minutes they weren't done,so I had to crank up the oven. So whatever delights those potatoes were supposed to offer up were lost on us. We were left with ordinary sweet potatoes.
I brined chicken breasts and dredged them in flour with a lot of spices (cayenne, black pepper, paprika, garlic salt) to try to give them that Popeye's flavor Carter likes.

Monday, 3/12/15

Dinner (well, breakfast) in Whately. Exemplary biscuits and gravy, salad, and a frittata. The frittata was basically extraneous, but so delicious that I had two helpings. I made a chocolate cream pie (from my old Cook's Illustrated recipe) with peppermint oreo crust.

Sunday, 3/11/18

Jason's night to cook: he made chana dal and rice in the rice cooker. My contribution was cabbage sauteed with ginger, garlic, onions. I also threw in some leftover mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.

Saturday, 3/10/18

My  second (annual?) trip to Boston for an Icelandic dinner with my mom and her friend Alice. This year it was at a restaurant called the Townsman. The venue was prettier, I thought, and the food that was from their regular menu (an amuse that was a little rutabaga dumpling and brown bread with togarashi) was very nice. I would go there if I ever actually went to Boston.
Here is the menu:

The first course didn't grab me right away, but the intensely lemony cream on the bottom won me over. The Artic char was, by consensus, the favorite.  I enjoyed the whole meal, but we think the menu last year was a little better---more complex. Still, I ate every crumb.

Pretty dessert-you couldn't really taste the beets

I had made a flan for Jason to bring to Jenny and David's, and I confess that I had some when I got home. It was excellent, even though it didn't feature freeze dried white chocolate.

Friday, 3/9/18

Dinner with Jen and John: at John's request we made Irish Soda bread (from a Barbara Lynch book). Very heavy and dense, but I liked the flavors from the caraway and currants. John made a really, really good beef stew, and I made flourless chocolate cupcakes with mint cream (from SK). I liked these (the mint cream was so smooth and light; I used creme de menthe and mint extract), but I think I overcooked them just a little.

Thursday, 3/8/18

Exam for Jason, leftovers and Youtube for me and Carter.

Wednesday, 3/7/18

Half Snow Day....Jason made pita and I made falafel (from a recipe from the NYT), served with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, tahini sauce, avocado (not canon but nice), pickled radishes and some sambal oelek. I also roasted some skinny little asparagus spears with olive oil and salt, and tossed them with lemon and parm. Messy and tasty.

On a side note, I finally tried one of those "chocolate cake in a mug recipes", this one from Food52. Their recipe called for sumac, which I omitted (I put in some instant coffee and cinnamon instead), and I swapped in regular chocolate chips instead of white chocolate for Carter. I also mixed it in a bowl instead of the mug. The verdict: very sweet but good. I can see making these again if we ever need a fast dessert item. Will cut back the sugar and the oil next time, though.

Tuesday, 3/6/18

Jason night: pizza. Cheese for Carter, salami, mushrooms and pepperoncini for Jason and me. Predictably good.

Monday, 3/5/18

Dinner in Whately: curry, rice and salad (all great, of course), bread from Jason and a maple custard pie from Martha Stewart and me.The pie was good (no complaints), but I would like a do-over in which I   just make custards, and I reduced the syrup a little more to intensify the maple flavor.

Sunday, 3/4/18

Meatball (from leftover meatballs and sauce) grinders with peppers and onions, plus some fritos. Nice but a little bland. It was quick, in any event.

Saturday, 3/3/18

Dinner with Jennie and David: onion bread from Jason and a cake from me. From "Flour", a nutmeg/spice cake ( I think I put in a little too much clove) with a rum buttercream. Miracle of miracles my buttercream came together with no swearing. It helped that the kitchen was cool but not cold. I think people liked it.

Friday, 3/2/18

Jason's turn to make dinner: Yorkshire pudding, kielbasa, and cabbage two ways (steamed with onions, plus sauerkraut). Various condiments. I at least negotiated making whatever dessert I wanted, and since it was a rainy day and I wasn't going anywhere I made a big batch of cinnamon rolls (from the NYT). I don't care if they are breakfast pastries; they make a good dessert.

Thursday, 3/1/18

Just leftovers. There weren't even that many, but Jason felt strongly about it. It is always nice to see the fridge emptying out, though.

Wednesday, 2/28/18

I vowed to do better than sub-standard tofu and broccoli. Chicken korma (that I can make almost without the recipe by now), rice, and an odd salad with romaine, avocado, red peppers, parm, lemon juice and olive oil. Never any complaints with chicken korma, although some night I would like to try it with bone-in chicken. It would take longer but that might be a good thing. But boneless breasts certainly work well for a week night.

Tuesday, 2/27/18

Semi-successful dinner of tofu, noodles and broccoli. I didn't realize that I was out of spaghetti, but we had some ramen and a pack of mysterious noodles from Mom's house that I figured we could use instead. Well, the noodles were a small packet, plus several little seasoning packets, some of which were mysterious indeed---it would not have been nearly enough for Jason and me. Then the noodles, once opened, smelled off and would not seem to cook. The whole thing had to be jettisoned. Jason just ate some leftover orriechette instead and Carter and I had ramen. The tofu (marinated and roasted) was fine but bland, and the broccoli stir-fry suffered from an excess of cornstarch.
I wish I had taken a picture of the contents of the noodle packet, and that there had been any directions at all in English. I will always wonder what we missed...
The good news is that the leftover cake (a simple unfrosted number with almond flour and cardamom. I think the recipe came from Food52) was nice when warmed up a little and served with whipped cream.