Pho Awesome

I finally made my own pho last Friday and.....it was delicious! Tasted just like what I've had out! I added lots of veggies, kale, and all the toppings and it was really awesome! There were a lot of strange ingredients like diakon, star anise, and fish sauce, but it all came together deliciously. It is a lot of work though. And I still haven't figured out if it's more cost effective to make it at home (by the time you drive to the specialty stores to get what you need, the noodles, and add up the cost of fresh produce for topping, and the plum sauce and siracha...) or to just order it out! Either way, it will  be fun to make once in a while for a big dinner or something.

New Recipe!

I haven't been cooking much, but my mom came over for dinner the other night, and I made lamb in my cocotte (a cast iron pot). I kind of made up the recipe, but I cooked it the way my Aunt in France taught me to (except she made rabbit, which was delicious!) and it came out SO tasty! Both mom and I were surprised at how good it was. The cuts of lamb weren't great (but they were cheap!) but even so it was really yummy. I seasoned the meat with salt, pepper, and cumin, fresh garlic and rosemary then I braised it in the pot, then I slathered it with dijon mustard, and threw in a couple extra sprigs of rosemary and baked it for like...an hour or so. It was a pretty easy recipe, it just took a little while. But it was worth it!

A Crepe Birthday

My friend Daniel celebrated his birthday last Friday. So we had a get together at my house. It was mostly the old Bean Team (all the people that lived in our house on Bean Ave), and my mom was there too. I wanted to make him a birthday cake, but he is literally the best baker I know, and the idea of making him a cake that he could make better was not very appealing. So I did something totally different, that he would never make, in hopes that it would be a fun departure from what he's used to. So....I made a cake out of crepes!
Not to brag, but I do make a pretty mean crepe. My aunt in France gave me some great pointers last time I was there, and I have finally acquired a "feel" for making them. My grand creation was a strawberry and Nutella layered crepe cake, with home made bourbon caramel sauce, and home made Irish coffee (made with whiskey, creme, and coffee) ice cream on top. The only hiccup was that I didn't know you aren't supposed to refrigerate Nutella, but luckily mom came to the rescue and fixed it while I made crepes. It's a tough cake in the sense that you can't really make it ahead of time (I did a test run a couple days before, and it tasted no-so-great after it had been in the frig overnight). It needs to be fresh, so I had to make it right then. But it didn't take too long, and it was fun to put it together.
For what it lacked in finished appearance, I think it made up for in flavor. And best of all, I think Daniel liked it:) I don't have a picture of the sliced cake from the actual birthday, so I am showing a slice of the "prototype" I did a couple days before. It wasn't as good, and the caramel was grainy, but it will give you an idea. The final product was much better;)

Brussels Sprouts

I hate Brussels sprouts....or I used to. But my mom made them once this last fall, and they turned out pretty good. I still can't eat the middle part. It's too bitter, but the larger outside leaves are actually pretty delicious. It turns out that I'm what's called a "super taster", which explains my aversion to things like the middle part of Brussels sprouts and sauerkraut. It also explains why I am picky about amounts and kinds of seasonings on my foods. It's not that I can't eat just about everything, it's just that I notice flavors in foods that many people don't. But anyway, back to the sprouts. Since my discovery that I actually like them, I've made them several times. It's been pretty exciting. It's like discovering a new vegetable that never existed before! I've exhausted my creative talent on things like carrots, and zucchini, but Brussels sprouts are uncharted territory. My best invention to date has been an Italian style Stromboli/ pizza thing with fresh tomatoes, smoked mozzarella, pesto, pepperoni, and sauteed Brussels sprouts. D-lish!

A Wine Club Thanksgiving!

Our Fortified Wines

Last night was Wine Club night again, and it was my mom's turn to host. She put out a beautiful Thanksgiving spread, complete with fancy (and I mean FANCY!) hors d'oeuveres. See the photos below for the details. My favorites were the deviled quail eggs with caviar! So tiny, but so delish! Our class covered fortified wines, i.e. wines that have had spirits added to them halting the fermentation process and increasing the alcohol content. Fortified wines include, ports, sherrys, and Australian Muscat. Most of them tasted somewhat how you'd expect, but the "fino" sherry caught us all by surprise. It smelled wonderful but it tasted briny and sort of salty and...quite frankly gross. It was a little like sparkling water, with the same mineral quality mixed with pure alcohol. Anyway, you won't fine me ordering that off the menu ever. I'll stick with the sweet cream sherrys. We learned that wines began being fortified after the English boycotted French wines in the late...1700's (I think, I can't remember). England started getting their wines from Spain and Portugal, but half the time it was no good by the time it reached England. So they started adding grape spirits to the wine to stop the fermentation (which if it continues too long produces vinegar) and voila! they had a wine that could withstand the journey, and practically NEVER  went bad. Ports come from Portugal, sherry from Spain, and of course Muscat from Australia. 

After class we (the guests) made fun Thanksgiving bouquets to take home while mom finished cooking. We had a wonderful and hearty (thank goodness, because I'd just sampled 6 fortified wines!) Thanksgiving dinner! We had cranberry stuffed turkey, brussel sprouts with apricots (OK, ok, I admit I am not the biggest fan of ye'ol brussel sprouts because I find them to taste very bitter. But the way she made them, the outside leaves were SUPER delicious, especially with a bite of apple and almonds!) And there were sweet potatoes as well. So tasty. I even had seconds!

The night was topped off with pumpkin mousse and homemade gingersnaps dipped in white chocolate! It was such a great "party"!

I'll tell you, I don't even miss the parties I used to have in college. Kegs full of cheap beer and 7 different kinds of potato chips. No sir! This is how I roll now. Beautiful, thoughtful food, a little education about what I'm drinking, and plenty of time to sip and enjoy with friends. What a night! And what a perfect meal to get in the holiday spirit! Thanks mom!

Dinner Party Success!

I had my Leif Erickson soiree last night, and it went off without a hitch! It was super fun! I really like making up new recipes and trying things out. And I was finally able to use my little amuse bouche dishes I got from my mom from France 3 or 4 years ago! For those of you who don't know what amuse bouche dishes are (I certainly did not before I got them) they are little single appetizer dishes, and they come in all shapes and sizes (see the white dishes below). The food came out pretty well (see above for menu, and below for photos). My idea with the food was a more sophisticated version of classic "bar" food, (i.e., wings, pretzels, hot dogs, etc.) since we were drinking beer. And we tried a bunch or really neat beers too. The most unusual was called Saison de Buff, and it was made with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. And boy could you taste it! It wasn't something I'd drink a bottle of, but the small glass I had paired well with my cheese appetizer, and I bet it would be great for cooking.
We also tried a couple pumpkin ales, and a few other seasonal beers. It's clear why they are considered fall brews. They were all of the darker variety, and nutty, with hits of fall spices, and even a little smokiness. I generally prefer IPA's, but it was nice to change things up a bit. And I have a couple extra bottles left over that I am going to save for Thankstoberfestoween! Hooray!

We ate, and drank, and even watched a History Channel documentary about Leif Erickson! All in all it was a really fun night, and a nice first ever Leif Erickson Day celebration!
Here are some photo's from the "party" (lol, there were really only three of us, my mom, my friend Kelly and I.)

Ambiance

The Menu

My pumpkin patch!

Da Beers.

A nice pair.

Pretzels and Honey/Thyme Brie dip

Cheers!

Cheezy

Thanksgiving meatballs and gravy.

Learning about Leif 

Buffalo pinwheels on cole slaw

Hot Dogs!!!

Chicago style;)

Bad picture but delicious Pumpkin Soup!

Cinnamon roll and home made grapefruit sorbet/ice cream.

San Diego Style Burritos

I was watching Diners, Drive-In's and Dives the other day and the host Guy was down in San Diego having something called a "San Diego style" burrito. Basically it's a burrito with french fries in it instead of rice and beans. Brilliant! I decided I needed to try it out. I made my own version of it (like I do with almost every recipe) and it was pretty delish! How good, you wonder? Well, my Sweetie-Pie ate three of them! LOL. Yep that's right!
So what went into these delicious tortilla wrapped bundles of joy? Lots of onions, some leftover marinated grilled chicken, and a few spices (garlic salt, Mexican oregano, cumin, cayanne...i.e.whatever you have laying around) fried in a pan on the stove, pico de gallo from Chili's (what? I was too lazy to make my own), garlic fries from Trader Joes, avocado, shredded cheese, real Mexican sour cream (like it was made there and sent to my BF from his dad!), and a splash of La Vic "orange" Sauce (don't know whats in it but its vegan, and so delicious!). Yum-E!
I didn't take a picture of it, since it just looks a...burrito and you can't see inside, but trust me it was super good! Don't get me wrong, I love the NorCal burritos too, pretty much any kind of burrito actually, but a burrito with french fries in it? Shoot. That's like having your cake and eating it too.
So next time you don't know what to make for dinner, give these southern California treats a try;)

Spare Me!

I enjoy cooking. I love it actually (this seems to shock my mother every time I say it). If you have ever seen the Disney Pixar movie Ratatouille (which I watched twice yesterday!), I am like Remy, the cute little rat with an insatiable love of food, particularly cheese, and Paris. I am fascinated by the millions of creative food combinations that are possible. And when you combine that with the scientist in me that loves to experiment...well, my kitchen becomes my laboratory and I make some pretty..."inventive" stuff.
Sometimes my experiments center around what I can combine with what. Like can I put honey in a vinaigrette? Or grilled broccoli with pineapple? Can I combine a honey-viniagrette with grilled broccoli and pineapple?! Then sometimes it's about where I can use certain foods and spices. Can I put pepper in ice cream? (Answer is no by the way.) Can I put hot dogs in crepes? What about apples in shis-kabobs? Then sometimes it's just about cooking something I've never tried before, like my pie the other day, or some hither-to-unknown vegetable, or in this specific case, short ribs.
This past weekend I tried one of the most time consuming recipes I've ever attempted. And I started out using an actual recipe. And it was a disaster. This all came about, by the way, because I found a nice pack of short ribs on sale at the store the other day and decided to give it a try. (This is how many of my culinary adventures begin. I see some weird thing in the store or at the market and think "Hu. What in the heck is this? I don't know...it looks sketchy....but I'm totally going to by it and figure out how to cook it!")
I had to cut veggies, cook them, puree them, braise the ribs take them out of the pan, then make a sauce. Wine, tomato sauce, thyme, bay leaves etc. The sauce alone required mixing, boiling, reducing, simmering, more reducing. After which I added the meat back in...cooking longer..forever practically...and then finally when I tasted it it was...horrible!
It was really bitter for some reason. I guess I can't speak for anyone else, but I personally considered it inedible. I threw it in the crock pot and went for a run to think of what I could do to salvage my hard work. I opted to add brown sugar, a squeeze of honey, and some hazelnut coffee that was left in the pot from breakfast. I also added a ton more garlic salt and FINALLY it tasted...like food. Not great, but not as bad as before either.
We ate it. And neither of us died. So that's good. But I'd spent about $10 on extra stuff, including the whole bottle of wine the recipe called for, four hours of my life, and almost all of the minimally-allotted brain power I reserve for Sundays, on this less-than-satisfying meal. Boo. And I think I used every pot, pan, bowl, mixing instrument, and wooden spoon in my kitchen! And to top it all off, I don't even have a decent picture of it to post. No matter which way I shot the photo, it just looked like someone threw up red wine and pizza on pile of mashed potatoes! So frustrating. Sigh...you can't win 'em all I guess.

Pretty As Pie

My very first pie!

As I stated in the last post I did a little baking over the weekend. My mom gave me a bunch of plums before leaving for Michigan, and I was at a loss as to what the heck to do with them before they got rotten. Then I got my new apron in the mail from my brother and I was inspired to bake a pie. I've made pumpkin pie...I think...But I've never tried to make a fruit pie in my life. I usually prefer my fruit fresh, and so am not too into pies unless its Thanksgiving. But I had a 15 plums and a designated baking apron, so...
It came out pretty good. It's a little tart. I should have added more sugar, but served with homemade vanilla ice cream it's actually pretty tasty. It was really easy too. I used a mix to make the pie crust, the filling was just plums, sugar a little flour and some salt I think, and the top crust was flour, sugar and butter. Just an hour in the oven and it was done! Easy peasy!
And I LOVE the way the house smelled when I was baking it. So...homey. It did make me kind of miss Thanksgiving, and long for cool fall days, but it was worth it!

Ice Cream: New Flavors!

Dark chocolate-cherry with mascarpone cheese!

Last weekend I invented a couple new ice cream flavors. One was chocolate-banana vanilla, and the other was a dark chocolate-cherry with mascarpone cheese! They both came out pretty good except the ice cream got really hard for some reason...I haven't figured out why yet. Hmmm...what to try next?

Jalapeno Poppers!

I made these really simple poppers a while back, and have been meaning to share the recipe. Basically you just cook some spicy sausage in a frying pan, drain the grease out before you mix in a little cream cheese, scoop mixture into halved and seeded jalapeno's, wrap with bacon, secure with a toothpick! and bake for about 15 min, and broil for about five. And they are so yummy!

If you don't like jalapenos you can always use the little red/yellow bell peppers. And if you do use the jalapenos make sure to wash your hands REALLY well before touching your eyes! I learned that the hard way;)

Wine Club!

Last night I hosted my sometimes monthly "wine club". A couple years ago a friend of mine got me a set of 24 lectures on wine, and I have (ever so slowly) been making my way through each one. Since there are at least 3 bottles of wine needed for each lecture (to compare and contrast) I thought it best that I not try to go it alone. So every month or so one of the three of us in the "club" host a dinner, and the other two bring the wine! It's very fun, not to mention educational, and I like our small group because it's a very manageable size for planning a dinner. If I had to serve 10 people I think I'd be more hesitant to host, and less inclined to be as creative as I usually am.
This month the lecture was on sparkling wine, and so I tried to prepare my meal to pair with that. Originally I had planned to make something complicated involving three kinds of grilled meat, and do a fancy dessert that included chocolates from the chocolaterie in town, but time and money got in the way of all my grandiose dreams, and so I just made do with what I had, which ended up being much simpler but really perfect for the occasion. It's like they say, sometimes less really is more.
Most of my meal was inspired by my Aunt Pepette in France who showed me how to make more or less everything I served. I changed a few things up, substituted pears for apples, had salad before dinner instead of after etc., but still it pretty much all Aunt Pepette.
So what was on the menu? A tossed mixed green salad with homemade vinaigrette and chicken skewer (and cheese plate on the side), individual Quiche Lorraine/soufflee (quiche without crust), and for dessert homemade crepes with sherry poached pears and dark chocolate! The pears were a total experiment, and so in addition to poaching them in sherry I added cinnamon and vanilla too. They came out pretty tasty I think for my first try, and were really pretty on the plate. I'm going to try to remember what I did and write a recipe for it.
 The only mess up was that I overcooked the chicken because I was trying to clean house and finish dinner at the same time. Other than that I was pleased with how everything came out. And the bubbly was, of course, delicious! All three bottles of it! I took a few photos to share...

Crepes A-la-Moi

I had a wonderful weekend full of reading, exercising, cooking, enjoying the great outdoors, shopping and gardening! Yesterday morning I was inspired to experiment with breakfast and ended up with what I consider to be an instant classic! And it's got me written all over it!
It combines some of my favorite food items from local eats with the Mexican fusion style of food (common in California) that has become my culinary medium of late. And to really make it unique I substituted in a little French flair as both a nod to my Aunt (in France who showed me how to make crepes) and to my French heritage.
I made savory crepes stuffed with eggs, chili-lime chicken breast, and breakfast potatoes from the Los Gatos Cafe (which are, in my opinion the very best breakfast potatoes in the universe (or at least our galaxy)), and a little bit of cheese.
Then I topped it off with avocado, and the infamous La Victoria, "orange" sauce, which can only be found at that local taqueria chain here in the Bay area.
 Not only did it look nice, but it was....well, pretty darn good. I can only take credit for the idea though, since I didn't actually make half of it, but oh sweet deliciousness! I think I might make it my go-to recipe for when I have house guests from now on. It would be a nice little "tour-d'Bay" for my visitors all rolled into breakfast!

New Flavors

So I am still on my ice cream kick. Thankfully I'm less interested in eating it than I am in creating it. I've been experimenting a little here and there (since my freezer can only hold so much ice cream at a time) and am getting the hang of it I think. I have done a few batches of the usual chocolate/toffee/caramel varieties, and have moved on to trying fresh (seasonal and thus really cheap) fruit, and green tea.
I mentioned in my last ice cream blog that I'd purchased some figs, and was trying to think of something to make with them. Well I did eventually come up with a recipe. It marked my first attempt at a truly a original flavor, and I am happy to say my experiment turned out pretty well. So what flavor was it? It was fresh fig, and goat cheese ice cream! I know, I know, it sounds gross, but trust me it actually tasted much better than it sounds. My mom even took it to a dinner party and everyone there thought it was good (at least that's what she told me:) At any rate my early success has inspired me to come up with some other off the wall flavors to try. I haven't made any of these yet, but here is my "to do" list so far:

1. Mexican Horchata
2. Carrot Cake/ Cream Cheese
3. Country Peach and Sweet Riesling
4. Dark Chocolate Cabernet
5. Jasmine Tea and Honey
6. Zucchini Walnut Cheesecake
7. Creamy Sherry and Cherry
8. Fruity Pebbles (Oh yes, I'm doing it!)
9. White Russian Pound Cake
10. Lemon Bar and Almond

They all sound good to me, but I am not sure if all of them, or any, will translate well into ice cream. I guess that's the fun of experimenting! I'll keep you posted! Wish me luck!

I Scream You Scream

Green Tea Ice Cream

I bought an ice cream maker. To those of you who know me, it's a really...non-intuitive purchase because I am lactose intolerant, and because my last real serving of ice cream was consumed during the decade when Paula Abdul was still popular. Anyway, I guess you could say I was half talked into it, and half intrigued by the idea of making my own recipes. It's similar to how I feel about cookies. I like to make them, but hardly ever eat them. Anyway, ice cream surprisingly easy to make, just a few ingredients, mostly heavy cream and sugar (what did you expect?!?) and then whatever you want to add. I made green tea ice cream for a dinner party I went to last week, and yesterday I made white chocolate with hazelnuts and caramel. My next experimental flavor is going to  incorporate fresh figs somehow. They are just coming into season here, and I like the idea of using seasonal fruits from the market to flavor my ice cream. I have no idea if it will taste good, but it only costs about 4.00 to make two pints, so I don't have much to loose. If you could invent your own ice cream flavor what would it be?

It's Pasta Time

All it takes to make pasta!

Last night I decided to make pasta for dinner. And I mean actually make pasta (from flour and eggs)! It's so simple to do, and really kind of fun, especially with a helper (in this case my BF). And I got to use my pasta machine, which I love. I made fresh fettuccine with a grilled garlic and lemon seafood medley that I got at Costco. Super yummy. The medley had shrimp, calamari, scallops, mussels. I had never tried the latter in my life, nor had my BF, so we were a little nervous. But it was so delicious! It didn't even need salt because it was naturally salted while it lived in the ocean! It was a really nice dinner, and one of my better concoctions I think.

Our Dinner!

I made way too much pasta, so the extra is hanging in my kitchen drying. I'll use it later this week in another experiment! Three cheers for home made pasta! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

Extra pasta drying!

When Life Gives You Giant Lemons...

Giant Lemon with wine glass for scale:)

...Make tons of lemonade! I have discovered I have an endless supply of giant lemons at my disposal, and I have been making tons of lemonade with it. I am trying to think of other things I can use them for, but am falling a little short. Any ideas???