New Blog!

New URL: http://carterdrive.wordpress.com/

blogspot has been good to me, but I decided to move to WordPress. It was hook, line and sinker when I discovered the better user interface and features that blogspot was lacking. good bye!

Dee's Bday

We had a little get together to celebrate Dee's bday. It was so hard deciding what to cook b/c usually I want to make everything. This time I managed to finish cooking everything before the last guest arrived. Prior occasions you'd find us slaving away in the kitchen all night and missing out on all the fun. I guess finally I've learned a thing or two from watching all those episodes of Barefoot Contessa.

Menu:
Gruyere puff pastry
Salad
Veggie platter w/ dip
Corn cheddar chowder w/ a side of crispy bacon to top the chowder
Buttermilk Biscuits to go w/ the chowder
Mini Burgers
Bread Pudding w/ vanilla ice cream



Mini Burgers
I used Costco dinner rolls which turned out well. I was going to use King's Hawaiian rolls but since we were already at Costco we picked up these instead. We got the ground beef from Costco also and the burgers turned out so juicy and delicious!



Gruyere puff pastry
I got the idea of making these from a wedding we went to back in October. We couldn't stay for the reception b/c we had another wedding to go to that night (yes I know two weddings in one night!! what are the odds?), but those cheese pinwheels that we had stuck in my mind. I just had to try to recreate it. This isn't exactly how they were but still tasty.
I bought frozen puff pastry from TJ's - one box contained two sheets of puff pastry. Grated gruyere (one of my favorite cheeses!) and sprinkled it on the puff pastry. Rolled it up like a jelly roll and put it back into the freezer for a little bit so it would cut easier. then just sliced them and baked them until they were golden brown. Serve warm!


Corn Cheddar Chowder
my first soup that didn't come from a recipe! Here's how I made it.
In my Le Creuset dutch oven I browned some chopped bacon until they were crispy. These were drained on paper towels and put aside for topping the chowder later.
I removed most of the bacon grease from the pot leaving just a little bit to cook the chopped onions. Added carrots and celery. Deglazed w/ some white wine. Added potatoes, red bell peppers and thyme.
Then added one whole container of organic chicken broth that I got from TJ's. Also added one bay leaf. Simmered until the potatoes were almost done. Added frozen white corn since corn isn't in season right now. The frozen white corn from TJ's is delicous and sweet. I wasn't sure when to add the corn but I didn't really want the corn to get all mooshy, so I added it when the potatoes were almost done.
Poured in about 1/2 cup cream but you can leave it out if you want to cut calories. divided by 10 people it's not a lot of cream. I also added shredded cheddar cheese just b/c I had some leftover... probably added about 1/2 a cup.
Then what I did was take about two cups of the soup and pureed it in the food processor or if you have a blender that would work also. Added it back to the soup - this thickens it up nicely. You can thicken up the soup by doing this instead of adding cream. that's basically it! sorry for no measurements... I usually just throw in whatever when I cook. Oh yeah remember to salt and pepper along the way!! I forgot to mention that. I guess next time I should keep track of my steps as I cook.


Buttermilk Biscuits
I got the recipe from Martha Stewart online. I actually saw them make it on their Everyday Food show. It looked so good and I was thinking it would be great w/ the soup but I must have done something wrong b/c they were not delicious at all. I might have worked the dough too much or added too much flour. I won't be using that recipe again. I will try again until I succeed!

Had some leftover buttermilk and made some pancakes for breakfast. delicious!!

Chapeau!

Chapeau!
1408 Clement St
(between 15th Ave & 16th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118

M & I have been to Chapeau! once before and I decided it would be a nice place to take Dee out for her bday. We got there at 7:15pm and it quickly filled up once we settled in... surprising for a Wednesday night. They're not open on Tuesdays. Each of us got the three course menu for $38. Not a bad deal. I think they might have an early special that is even cheaper but you'd probably have to get there at or before 6pm.


complimentary asparagus soup


chèvre w/ asparagus


veal sweetbread - really rich and delicious


duck salad - M said not very memorable, adequate


black cod


duck w/ polenta and roasted pears (this was mine and it was delicious!!)


Filet


Basil Napoleon - this was ok. refreshing but different having basil w/ fruit.


apple tart - not good. no flavor. bland


blueberry puff pastry - this was the best of the three

Sunday Brunch @ Foreign Cinema

Foreign Cinema
2534 Mission St
(between 21st St & 22nd St)
San Francisco, CA 94110

One of our favorite "fancy" brunch places is Foreign Cinema in the Mission. Their menu changes which is nice b/c they have the usual faves but also new stuff we can try. We tried dinner here and I really like brunch a lot more. Maybe it will require a few more trips for dinner...


Bloody Caesar - never had one and decided to try it that day. Similar to a Bloody Mary but uses clamato (blend of tomato and clam). Couldn't taste a strong clam flavor which was good. This was spicy although doesn't compare to the Bloody Mary's at Zeitgeist (which will serious make your stomach boil!)


Who doesn't remember eating Pop Tarts while growing up? This is definitely the fancy version... really fresh and pastry was super flaky and delicious. I might have to try to make this at home although it won't even compare to the pros.


Organic fruit w/ pistachios and goat cheese. We usually get the fruit bowl which never disappoints. Aren't the colors so wonderful?


Poached Egg, grilled duck breast and warm salad greens


Champagne omelet - this one had a little bit of apples in it. not too sweet and mixed w/ the savory filling was delicious. The potatoes were just the way I like them... crispy on the outside and soft inside. Probably one of the best omelets I've had b/c the texture of the eggs were heavenly! I need to learn their secret.


Baked eggs w/ Berkshire pork. Matt said it was a bit too salty which is crazy b/c he likes everything super salty & saucey compared to how I like it. I only had a bite.

Oahu: Mitsu-Ken

Mitsu-Ken
1223 N School St
Honolulu, HI 96817

A serious hole in the wall that I found on yelp. I didn't know it would be all the way in I dunno where. Looks like few tourists come here b/c while we were there ordering and waiting for our food it was all local workers. Glad we found this place b/c they have great breakfast. We didn't know what to order and the girl at the counter was super nice and was going to name all the stuff they had displayed but silly us we didn't want her to go to the trouble... we should have though b/c I was wondering the whole time what certain items were. Parking was a bit hard to find. No place to eat... just grab and go so we took it to go on our way to the North Shore. This place has awesome garlic chicken. Probably not the most healthy thing but oh so delicious. Who cares... we're on vacation!




Deciding what to order


Got our food! yippee!


Breakfast plate: fried rice, eggs, bacon and the best garlic chicken


Not sure what this is called but it has ahi tuna and crab along w/ a sorta cream (mayo-ish) sauce


Beef Stew... it was so hot that day we couldn't each much of this... although I wouldn't have minded eating more garlic chicken

Oahu: Tokkuri-Tei

Tokkuri-Tei
611 Kapahulu Ave Ste 102
Honolulu, HI 96815

Before going to Oahu, I did my research on yelp... I heart yelp. I won't go to a place that has less than 3 1/2 stars only because usually the times that I have I was disappointed. From my reasearch on yelp, I created my handy dandy spreadsheet of places to hit up on our trip. Although we didn't make it to all of them... mostly b/c it was too hot to eat. I did hear good things about Tokkuri-Tei and glad we made it there. We actually walked there from our hotel. It was about a mile away which seemed like forever since we went this route that wasn't as well lit, so it was a bit scarey. We were seated right away on a Friday night. I think we got there after 7pm... it quickly filled up after we were seated.
Hamachi-kama


Chawan mushi


Onigiri w/ spicy cod roe


tsukune - chicken meatballs


yakitori


spider roll


mushrooms (don't ask me why we got this...)

1st Annual Sisters Trip

It's been awhile since my last post, so I think I'll start my update with Hawaii. Took a trip to the lovely island of Oahu. It was their first time and my 2nd. We're going to make this an annual thing... already thinking about what we should do next year! While in Oahu, we shopped, laid out on the beach, ate and definitely didn't want to leave by the end of the trip. It took me a whole week to recover from my vacation. Isn't it funny how we need a vacation after our vacation? Well its been a little over a month since we got back and my tan has faded already... at least I have pics to remember our trip.



Working up a sweat at Diamond Head


Dinner at Alan Wong's


Cooling down with some shaved ice at Matsumoto's

Ritz Half Moon Bay Sunday Brunch

35 minutes (up to one hour with traffic) from our home, we arrive at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay for Sunday Brunch. This was our first time in HMB and reminded me of a coastal community I would imagine on the east coast. Would have loved to play golf here especially with the view at the 18th hole... next time! Today our mission was brunch and brunch it surely was. I probably consumed enough calories to hold me for two days... great thing to do right before I leave for Hawaii.
The food and service were excellent! Seafood, cheese, sushi, dim sum, cured meats, hot roasted beef and lamb, breakfast items, and huge dessert selection. I don't think I tried everything but I tried my best. View entire set of photos

Trader Joe's pizza

During my weekly trip to TJ's, I decided to try out the mushroom and garlic pizza from the refrigerated section. It's all pre-made and all I had to do was bake it in the oven as directed. The little pizza fed the three of us. I added a salad and made some croutons from leftover french bread we had. Freshly made croutons are so easy and makes the salad taste super yummy. All I did was cut the bread into cubes, drizzled w/ olive oil and sprinkled w/ salt and pepper. Made some room next to the pizza on my baking sheet and they both took the same time to cook.

The next morning, I could still taste the garlic from the pizza. ick... they put a lot of garlic on that pizza but it was still delicious.

There's another pizza item at TJ's that we love. I wouldn't actually call it pizza b/c it doesn't have tomato sauce or cheese. I'm actually surprised that M likes it b/c he's all about sauce and this has none. It's their Spicy Spinach Pizza. It's basically thin pizza dough and spicy bits of spinach baked on top. It's all pre-cooked. All I do is bake it in the toaster oven. It's actually really good and low in calories... 140 calories for one whole pizza.

Heirloom Tomatoes

It was such a beautiful day on Tuesday that I decided to take a walk to the ferry building w/ my co-worker and check out the farmers' market. You could seriously come here for a taste of all the samples they pass out and be satisfied.

I was determined to find some heirloom tomatoes to accompany my fresh mozzarella. Found such a variety, but didn't know what to choose so I just chose two of the prettiest ones. Two giant tomatoes for $4! That's kinda expensive for me, but I don't go here that often let alone leave the office during lunch so I thought what the heck.

I used one of the tomatoes to make us a salad for dinner. Just sliced the tomato and fresh mozzarella and picked some fresh basil from my little herb garden. Yes I finally have an herb garden now! It's dinky but its something! I drizzled the salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil then sprinkled on some sea salt.

Really refreshing and the $4 was worth it. The tomatoes I get from the supermarket or Chinatown stores just aren't the same. I ate the second tomato the next day. Just cut it up into wedges and sprinkled some sea salt on it. So sweet and delicious!

Pocari Sweat

Your eyes aren't fooling you! This is a drink called Pocari Sweat! While I was waiting for my crepe w/ vanilla ice cream and strawberries at Genki Crepes on Clement, we saw this interesting drink. Doesn't the name sound gross? The color was like murky water and its probably what sweat would look like if you had collected it all and put it into a bottle.

From Wikipedia:
Pocari Sweat is a popular Japanese soft drink and sports drink, manufactured by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. It was first sold in 1980.

Pocari Sweat is a mild-tasting, relatively light sweet drink and advertises itself as an "Ion supply drink." Ingredients[1] listed are water, sugar, flavourings, acids, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium lactate and magnesium carbonate. It is sold in liquid form, in aluminium cans and plastic bottles, and also in powder form.

The drink is also produced and distributed in other regional countries, such as China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. In addition the drink can be obtained in the ethnic Asian areas of many cities around the world. The "Arctic Shatter" variety of Powerade-brand sports drink very closely resembles it, in both color and flavor.

Pineapple Fried Rice

My sister had brought home some pineapple fried rice for me when I wasn't feeling well and after that day I was craving more. I decided that I would make my own since I've never made it before and there aren't many places around home that have great pineapple fried rice. I didn't really have a recipe but looked at ones online and took some ideas from them.

First I cooked the rice and added a little less water than usual so that the rice wouldn't be soggy. It's probably better if you cook the rice ahead of time or if you have leftover rice that would be even better.

Saute onions and garlic in oil. Add chicken and shrimp to onions or whatever meat you'd like to put in. Season with salt, pepper, and soy sauce. When cooked remove and put into bowl. Toast the cashews a bit and put into bowl. Add the rice to the pan and season with salt, pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce and curry powder. Add the chicken, shrimp, onions, cashews and pineapple to the rice. Toss to combine and add green onions and cilantro.

Sorry if I don't provide exact measurements. I usually just add a little of this and a little of that. The key is to taste along the way.

Japanese Curry

I didn't feel like cooking, had some defrosted chicken, onions, potatoes and carrots... mixed it all up with a box of Japanese curry and tah dah!! We have dinner! I bought the kind of curry that comes in blocks... just cooked the meat and veggies, added water to cook the potatoes and carrots then I added the blocks of curry when the veggies were soft and thickens up the sauce right away. Easiest dinner ever! I made a whole pot of it and leftovers were lunch the next day. This is comfort food for me. =D

Curry (カレー, karē?) is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. It is commonly served in three main forms: curry rice, karē udon (thick noodles) and karē-pan (bread). It is usually thicker, sweeter and milder than its Indian equivalent.

Curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1869-1913), at a time when India was under the administration of the British. The dish became popular and available for purchase in supermarkets and restaurants in the late nineteen sixties.

Tonkatsu

It's been awhile since I've made tonkatsu and since I had some pork loin chops in the freezer that needed to be eaten... it become tonkatsu night! Super easy to make but prob not so healthy therefore I added some broccoli. does that make it healthier? I sure think so!

I cut two pork loin chops in half so that I would have four pieces and each piece wouldn't be so thick. Season meat w/ salt and pepper. Setup three plates... 1. flour 2. beaten egg 3. panko That's the order you coat them in. Fry it in some oil until done. Put them on a paper towel to drain the oil.

The broccoli I cooked w/ yellow onion, red pepper flakes and garlic.

Michael Phelps' menu

Supposedly, Michael Phelps consumes 8,000-10,000 calories each day. That is crazy! I would hate food if I had to start eating like this. I would hate myself too b/c I wouldn't be burning the calories like MP.

MP's breakfast consists of three sandwiches of fried eggs, cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried onions and mayonnaise, add one omelet, a bowl of grits, and three slices of french toast with powdered sugar, then wash down with three chocolate chip pancakes.

At lunch, Phelps gobbles up a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

For dinner, Phelps really loads up on the carbs - what he needs to give him plenty of energy for his five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week regimen - with a pound of pasta and an entire pizza.

GO USA!!

Isa

3324 Steiner St
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 567-9588

www.isarestaurant.com

Decided to try a new restaurant with my friend, Haw. Found this place on yelp and got a reservation on opentable two days before. Cute atmosphere - we sat in the back patio which was covered, slight draft which made it chilly on my side but it was ok. They're about small plates and recommended that we get two dishes per person. In my opinion, this place is a little over priced for what you get but what can you expect for Marina. Overall I would give it 3.5 starts out of 5. Thanks Haw for the photos.

Ceviche - fish was fresh and I like the addition of mango.

Baked Laura Chenel Goat Cheese - great with the warm & toasty bread they provide

Halibut - this was ok. fish was slightly too cooked for my liking.

Seafood Paella - the rice was a bit al dente... is paella supposed to be al dente? beside that it was one of my faves.

Creme Brulee - too much sugar on top which made the top crust not so easy to break. We ate around the top crust.

donna hay

Today I picked up my first donna hay cookbook. Thanks Borders for the 40% off coupon! In case you're not familiar with who donna hay is... She's an Australian-based food stylist, author and magazine editor. I believe she has 13 cookbooks. She also has her own magazine, donna hay, which I've been wanting to subscribe to but is ridiculously expensive... so not worth the $100+ subscription fee for only six issues a year.

I'm very excited about my purchase and disappointed that I didn't buy any of her books sooner. It was published in 2004, but these recipes are timeless, simple, modern and I love the food styling and photography in this book. Super simple recipes which equal great weekday dinners. I love the quality of this book - hardback with a kitchen friendly plastic dust jacket. I'm anxious to try out some recipes that I've already marked! Will be posting my attempts soon!


In addition to the instant cook, I bought Modern Classics Book 1 on Amazon for an amazing discount! the wonders of the internet! Lately we've been eating out more... should be cooking at home. This has me excited about trying new recipes. Now the hard part is choosing which ones to test out first.