Shelley Does Marin

Marin Brewing Company

2009-09-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

We met my husbands brother, his wife, his two sons, one sons girlfriend, and her mother at Marin Brewing Company last night. We didn't know we could make a reservation, but apparently they take them for parties of 7 and more. Oh, well. We had a little wait, but no big deal. By the time we got our pitchers of beer, our table was ready. So, I'm just gonna say that we got excellent service, the food was really good, as usual, and I highly recommend this place. I ate like a pig. We shared some appetizers: Buffalo wings, Steamed clams, and onion rings. I had a garden salad with Vinaigrette, and then me and my husband shared a club sandwich with French Fries and the daily special pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, serrano chilis, and cheddar cheese. It was so good!! Oh, and I had an Indian Pale Ale and a Blueberry Ale. They have the best beer, by far. Go there.

Mustards Grill

2009-09-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

Mustards Grill is located in Napa right off the St. Helena Hwy. Its been around for over 25 years and its still amazing. Cindy Pawlcyn is the owner of Mustards Grill, Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, and Go Fish, all located in the gorgeous Napa Valley. I've eaten at Mustard's a handful of times since moving to Marin 20 years ago and its never disappointed me yet. I have yet to try the other two establishments.

With my friend visiting, we decided to drive up to Napa and spend the night. I had a pretty light lunch earlier that day, so I was hungry and in the mood for a steak. Going to Mustards was a last minute idea, so we showed up without a reservation on a Wednesday night at 8:45. The place was packed and there were about 5 parties waiting for a table in the tiny hostess/bar area. We were told there would be a 30 minute wait, so we ordered a drink at the bar and stood in the corner happily waiting. Many of the people seated at the bar decided to have dinner there, so we got to view several of the items offered on the menu. I eyed the Lemon Meringue Pie and decided immediately that I definitely wanted to order that for dessert! After about a 35 minute wait, we were seated and greeted right away....a good sign! :) My friend wasn't very hungry, so she just got the Whole Roasted Garlic and the Heirloom Tomato & Burrata salad (for those following along, yes, we did have some version of the caprese salad for every meal that we ate 2 days in a row! ;). I had the Three Greens salad with Maytag Bleu Cheese & toasted pistachios to start out with and for my entree I ordered the "Truckstop Deluxe": Always Meat, Usually Potatoes, & Rarely Vegetables! lol Its a daily or weekly special, and on this night it was a 21 day aged Rib Eye with bleu cheese butter and roasted potatoes and peppers. It was amazingly delicious!! The service was outstanding, the food was excellent, and I was so full that I did not have room for the coffee and that beautiful Lemon Meringue Pie that I so badly wanted!

If you go to Napa, you must go to Mustards. You will not be disappointed! Reservations are highly recommended and the dress is casual, but dressing up is always funner!

Tra Vigne

2009-09-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, Tra Vigne!!! It used to be so good! What happened? My friend, Lisa, wanted to have lunch at Tra Vigne the other day since she was in town visiting and hadn't been in about 15 years. Since I live in Marin, I've been to Travigne several times over the years, but I didn't have the heart to tell her that it just isn't the same as it used to be! I love Michael Chiarello, Tra Vigne's original executive chef/partner. I've even met him once in person. Unfortunately, when Michael left Tra Vigne in 2000 to open NapaStyle, things just have not been the same. I'm truly happy for his success, especially his newly opened Bottega last year, in Yountville.

The problem isn't necessarily the food. The main problem is the service!! We arrived on a Wednesday at around 2:45; late for a lunch, I know. But we were greeted by 2 hostesses, passed a manager on duty, plus the bartender and 3 servers. So, they were fully staffed for the 3 tables already seated outside, plus us as the one table inside. We must have waited 10 minutes before we were greeted. At that point, we weren't annoyed yet because we had not decided what we wanted yet, but seeing as we had both done our fair share of waitressing, etc, we knew this was going to be a bad sign. We ordered a glass of wine (we were on a mini vacation and staying overnight in Yountville, so we splurged), and she brought them back in a timely fashion. But, then we waited a good 20 minutes before she ever came back. We had our menus down, were looking around for help, the hostess, 2 servers, & the bartender were around, but no one seemed to notice that we were obviously in need of attention. Our server finally appeared and I thought she was coming toward us, but no, she walked out to the patio. She finally made her way over to us and we ordered 2 appetizers to start, held onto our menus for our entree. The Caprese salad arrived along with the Crispy Fried Squash Blossoms. Both arrived in a timely fashion and were beautifully presented. I loved the Burrata cheese and the heirloom tomatoes, but I wasn't a fan of the overly crispy squash blossoms. They were a little greasy and of nondescript taste.

Once we finished our entrees, we still had not seen our server again, and we were quite ready to order our appetizer. So, we waited. At this point, we finally were approached by a busboy who brought water. We finally asked for bread because we hadn't yet been offered it. I must say that our busboy, once he appeared, was very attentive and we appreciated that. He even brought over a small side table for us to put our menus and wine menu on because they were clearly taking up too much of our two-top table space.

Our entrees arrived about 10 minutes after we ordered, so again, the problem was not in the kitchen, although I will say that my entree was very salty. I had the Halibut Alla Picatta with spring peas, pea tendrils, and snow peas. Very difficult to spear with my fork; I gave up on it. It tasted like dirt, anyway. The halibut itself was cooked perfectly and very good, but the lemon-caper sauce was over powering and salty. My friend, Lisa, had the Maltagliati Verde, which is an herb infused pasta with slow cooked Sonoma lamb and Sangiovese wine sugo. She loved it and it was a large serving so she wasn't able to finish it. She saved room for the Tiramisu. I had a bite and it was delicious!

Although the food wasn't "bad", it just wasn't as good as I remember it being the first few times I dined there when Michael was around. The last few times were just ok. It seems like the menu is much smaller, too. But my main issue with Tra Vigne these days is the slow service! By the way, after our entree was served, we were introduced to a new server who would be taking over for Jaye, our original server (I had to look at the receipt to get her name! :). The service definitely picked up with our new server! But I just noticed that overall, the service was less than attentive. Staff just standing around not even aware of our needs is just bad service. Tra Vigne is so beautiful and its such a legend, so I wish they would pay attention to the service. There is just an "I don't care" attitude.

Bix

2009-09-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

I love Bix in San Francisco! Its down this quaint alley in the financial district. Its like a 50's supper club, with a dark smokey interior and live jazz music playing downstairs by the bar. I met my friend Lisa for a cocktail at the bar before dinner. She had just driven up from Los Angeles to spend a few days visiting with me. We met in the 6th grade and instantly became best friends. We had our fair share of ups and downs, and we lost track of each other for 13 years, but 3 years ago, she called me out of the blue and we have been keeping in touch ever since. I saw her for the first time last April when I was down in Orange County on my annual shopping spree. It was good to see her again, and I was happy that she was interested in indulging her culinary nostalgia at a few of her favorite SF haunts.

We were led upstairs to a nice little table overlooking the downstairs dining room and bar area. Our server greeted us right away and I could tell that the service was going to be exceptional! We started out with "A la minute" Ceviche (halibut) with jalepeno and habanero chiles, avocado, cilantro oil, and toasted corn nuts. It was delicious! Our next course was the raw oysters on the half shell with mignonette sauce. Also delicious! I'm a sucker for mignonette sauce. After that, we couldn't resist the "Summer Tomato Cart" with heirloom tomatoes and House-pulled mozzarella with EVO and basil, prepared tableside! Wonderful!

Lisa ordered the Chicken Hash ala Bix, which is something she has ordered years past and has enjoyed. She said it was prepared differently than the last time she had it (15 years ago!!), but that it was still delicious and very filling. It looked like 2 veggie patties to me, and it topped a mound of mashed potatoes. I tried it and it was pretty good, but not something I would order. I'm a meat and potatoes girl, so I ordered the American Kobe "Bavette" steak with Pommes Puree and roasted Cippolini onions. I ordered it Medium Well, with my apologies to the chef (lol), but my medallions of beef came more like Medium Rare. I didn't mind it, though, because it didn't taste as raw as it looked. Normally, I would have sent it back, but I know that if I had, they would have been overcooked and ruined. If it were a filet, that would be different.

Lisa wanted dessert, and since I am also a sucker for Bananas Foster, we decided to share one order of that. It was a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream, to which the server poured a caramel and banana sauce on top of. I had just one or two bites, because I just don't have much of a sweet tooth. Everything was wonderful, especially the service. I've been doing a poor job of remembering my servers names; I wish I had made a point of recalling this one.

Bix is very hopping, even on a Tuesday night. I made a reservation about two weeks in advance, but I don't think it was necessary to make it so far ahead. But I definitely do recommend a reservation. If I didn't have to drive back to Marin, I would have liked to enjoy a drink in the bar while listening to the lovely lady singing by the piano in the bar.

I love Bix and look forward to my next visit.

Hotel De Anza

2009-08-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

This hotel is the best! Totally worth the extra cash. I made my reservation over the phone about 15 minutes before we arrived. The manager who checked us in was super friendly and efficient. He suggested the in-house restaurant, La Pastaia, for dinner and upon reviewing the menu we decided to check it out. Out of this world!!! But back to the hotel. I was soothed instantly by the gorgeous ivy green walls in the hallway. Our room had a king size bed, not much of a view, but the bathroom was large & gorgeous with a mini TV and a Lather Bar.

Things I loved: The bolster pillows!!! The ivory cotton duvet!!!! It smelled of bleach! :) The ice machine dispensed filtered water!! And it was the cool little ice pellets that I love so much! It was close to our room, so it was convenient. The glass pitcher they provided was a nice touch! The Raid our Pantry is so cool! We came home from the Green Day concert and were ready for a snack, so we went downstairs to the pantry and made ourselves a sandwich and grabbed a cookie. Awesome bonus! I also loved that it was only a 10 minute walk to the concert! Although we could hear the traffic outside, the hotel itself was sooo quiet! I never heard anyone out in the hallway or through the walls. Amazing. Free hi speed internet, too!

Things I did not love: The bathtub is elevated, so there's quite a step down. Even though there is a sign that clearly states "caution, step down" etc., I still managed to slip on the wet marble floor and ended up falling pretty badly. I bruised my wrist and thigh. Ouch. I could have cut my head open, so I'm lucky that's all I got. Just be careful.

I loved this hotel and I already can't wait to go back. I'm still thinking of the amazing dinner we had at La Pastaia! Our server was very sweet & attentive. We started with the carpaccio. Delicious! I had the bistecca & fava beans w/ pecorino, and my husband had the osobuco d'agnello. I can't rave enough about our meal. It was fantastic!

Loved Hotel de Anza!

Trail of Crumbs

2009-04-07T16:27:00.001-07:00

I am reading the best book right now! I've been reading a lot of crappy books lately and I really needed one I could sink my teeth into. Well, I had no idea when I picked up Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunee that it would leave me so hungry! At first the book started out a little slow for me, but now I can't seem to put it down. Its based on her memoirs...her personal life and her passion for food and cooking. Truly interesting. I'm only about half way now, but I decided to Google her. I was shocked that I have actually heard of her before. She was a judge on Iron Chef not too long ago. I love that show and anything on the Food Network. The secret ingredient was basil and I thought that was such a great secret ingredient! I always hate when they show a huge table of fish or suckling pigs or an aquarium full of live fish. Basil! Who knew how many varieties there were! Anyway, I was like: wow! I remember her! She was so pretty and refined! She also has a blog!! Yay! I am always so envious of my food blogging buddies who have somehow managed to make a career out of doing what they love. I love to cook and I love to write, but I don't put forth the time or effort to try to make money off of my blog. I say good for those that do. I'm still a little jealous, though. :) Happy for them, but jealous. Its funny, because I call them my food buddies, but its pretty one sided. I read their blogs but I'm pretty sure no one reads mine. Which is fine. I'm ok with that.

Anyway, I'm getting off point. I just wanted to mention how excited I am that I love this book and that I was excited to realize that I had heard of her before but didn't put the two together. I like small coincidences. I chose this book because it said that if you loved Eat Pray Love, you will love Trail of Crumbs. I did love Eat Pray Love--a lot!! I even went to a reading by Elizabeth Gilbert. I love these memoirs by these amazing ladies!! Oddly enough, the next book I plan to read is Drink Play F@#k. I saw it at Borders the other day and laughed out loud at the title....bought it for my husband, but something tells me I'll get to it first.

Chili-Cilantro Prawns

2009-03-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe on the FoodNetwork.com by Michelle Bernstein. These little guys were out of this world! I marinated them for about 7 hours and I was sure to reserve about 1/2 cup of the marinade before putting the prawns in. I didn't happen to have any sugarcane (?) skewers so I used Rosemary skewers from my yard. :) After I grilled the skewers, I let them cool for a few minutes before putting them over a bed of lettuce, mache, & ciliantro. I put some avocado on the side and drizzled the reserved marinade over the whole dish. OMG YUM! We had a few leftover that I popped in the fridge and they are almost even better chilled!!! Another way I might serve these next time is in a martini glass swimming in the marinade...kind of like a ceviche cocktail....and with some diced avocado and tortilla chips. Avocado goes perfectly with the lime and cilantro flavors. Next time I plan to use two habaneros rather than one because it wasn't hot enough for me. Also, the marinade made plenty, so I will double the amount of prawns, too! Ok, I'll shut up now and get to the recipe! :)

Chili-Cilantro Shrimp Skewers

(Michelle Bernstein)

"Ingredients

Marinade:

1 bunch cilantro, chopped coarsely
1 habanero chile, chopped
4 shallots, chopped
2 lemons, zested
2 limes, zested and juiced to 1/4 cup (juice more limes if necessary)
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 vegetable oil
16 jumbo shrimp, cleaned, deveined
8 sugarcane skewers
Marinade
1/4 bunch cilantro leaves, as garnish

Directions

Puree all marinade ingredients in a blender. Reserve 2 tablespoons of marinade.

Skewer two shrimp per sugarcane and place in marinade and refrigerate. After shrimp has marinated 2 to 3 hours, grill for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, making sure they are fully cooked.

Serve with a drizzle of the reserved marinade and cilantro, as garnish."

Red Cabbage Salad

2009-03-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Wow its been a long time since I posted here!

When I was a little girl, we always had family get togethers on my moms side at this cool place in Southern California called The North Woods Inn. It looked like a big cabin and it had fake snow on the roof. They didn't take reservations, so there was always a short wait, especially for large parties. I didn't mind because I got to enjoy a Shirley Temple and eat peanuts then throw the shells on the floor!! They encouraged the shells on the floor and I thought that was pretty cool. Anyway, once we were seated, the server would put down 2 bowls of salad: one was a delicous & tangy red cabbage salad and the other was a tossed green salad with creamy bleu cheese dressing. Yum.

Well, the one near where we lived closed down many years ago and I moved away, but recently I've been dreaming about those salads. I've been trying to figure out how to recreate the red cabbage salad, in particular! I knew it couldn't be raw...but did they blanch it or what??? I had an idea of what the ingredients would be, but how did they get it to soften??? Well, I finally Googled it and found the recipe and its exactly like it was when I was little at the North Woods Inn!!!

I got this recipe from About.com by Peggy Trowbridge Filippone:

Red Cabbage Salad:

"This is a clone recipe of the very popular sweet and sour cabbage slaw served at the popular North Woods Inn California restaurant chain. Plan ahead. This salad needs a long marination time. It's good after 48 hours, but even better after 4 or 5 days. This is the perfect make-ahead salad.

Ingredients:

1/2 head red cabbage
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp onion powder

Preparation:

Shred half of the cabbage finely and the other half coarsely. Place in a large bowl.

Whisk together vegetable oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, seasoned salt, black pepper, and onion powder.

Toss the dressing with the cabbage. Scrape the salad with the dressing into a zip-top bag or covered container and refrigerate at least 48 hours or until cabbage turns deep red, softens a bit, and flavors meld. It's even better after 4 or 5 days."

Paradise Bay

2009-01-03T11:18:00.000-08:00

My husband wanted to try a new place we haven't been to before for his birthday dinner. I had a hard time coming up with places, but I narrowed it down to Johnny Garlics and Paradise Bay. Since Johnny Garlics was so far away and the menu seemed a better lunch option, we decided to go ahead and try both places. JG for lunch (see below) and Paradise Bay for dinner.

Paradise Bay is located on Bridgeway in Sausalito with a nice big parking lot, so its convenient. They don't take reservations for parties smaller than 6, so we took our chances and walked in at about 7:45 on a Friday night. As we pulled into the empty parking lot, we saw right away that this was not going to be a problem. It kind of worried me that the place was dead on a Friday night, but a lot of people are just "done" with the going out thing and a lot of places are closed on the second of January. Trust me. I've had a lot of difficulty finding restaurants to dine at on the second over the years.

As we walked in, I noticed that sure enough, the place was empty. The hostess greeted and seated us by the window in the back. It was fun to see the boats with their Christmas lights up, but my daughter complained that it was rather chilly. There were actually two other occupied tables all together, so we weren't the only ones there. Whew. The decor was really pretty and this place really has a lot of potential. I was shocked that they had no daily specials.

We ordered two appetizers: a crab, prawn, & calamari cocktail and steamed Manilla clams & PEI mussels in a ginger, coconut-lime cream sauce. The cocktail was ok. There were only 2 prawns, a couple chunks of crab, and way too much calimari, which I left to my husband. I thought that the presentation could use some help. The tall breadsticks sticking out of a high ball glass looked strange and I thought it should have been served in a lower, wider dish. The sauce was just ok. The shellfish, however, was delicious. We all shared it, so I only had one clam and 2 mussels, but they were really good tasting and the texture was perfect. The sauce was aromatic and delicious, but was a little cold. In fact, everything was cold.

I asked the server if he would recommend the filet mignon or the New York with prawns & Mongolian sauce. He suggested the filet. It was a certificed organic Prather Ranch filet, looked to be maybe 6 oz, served with butternut squash & sage ravioli, Maytag bleu cheese, served with Cabernet Demi-Glace & Tempura asparagus. Sounds pretty good, huh? The steak was cooked to order, was very good, but was at the most, warm. Maybe lukewarm. It was served in a puddle of demi-glace, the bleu cheese was too overbearing, and the ravioli were soggy. I couldn't even taste the squash or sage. The Tempura asparagus was laid on top of the steak, which was on top of the ravioli, so the asparagus was not soaked with sauce, but they were so greasy that all I could taste was oil. I couldn't tell if I was eating a green bean, let alone asparagus. The only thing I liked was the steak, and that was all I could manage to eat. I think they would have been better off just putting a drizzle of demi-glace over the steak and keeping it far away from the ravioli. And perhaps serve it hot. Just a thought. Like I said, this place has potential.

My husband asked the server if he would recommend this dish or that dish. His answer did not include either dish, but two other dishes. I thought that was odd. My husband went ahead and ordered one of his own choices, which was the Cioppino. It was served in a large bowl with two breadsticks spearing out of each side. I thought the presentation was beautiful; it looked delicous. It had fresh Dungeoness crab, mussels, clams, prawns and fish in a broth of tomato & fennel. I didn't try it but he said it was pretty good, if not a lot of work! Which is why I didn't order it! I ordered Cioppino at Yankee Pier a while back and it was delicious, but it took me forever to finish. No complaints about the Paradise Bay Cioppino.

Both the girls ordered the cheeseburger. One was ordered well done but came back clearly medium. She desacrated it so much that it was impossible to send it back. Neither of the girls ate more than a quarter of their burger saying it tasted weird. I took a bite, so did my husband, and it was actually quite good. I like my burger to be medium well, but sometimes medium is good, too. I did let the server know that it was not cooked to order, but that it wasn't necessary to send it back at that point.

Overall, I have to say I was disappointed in Paradise Bay. The service was fine but lackluster. The busboy was friendly, but our server just seemed bored. And who can blame him? The place was a ghost town! Its a shame because they have a good menu, the flavor is there, but everything we got was served cold. You would think that since we were one of very few diners that they would have been able to step it up a notch. We didn't bother mentioning that it was my husbands birthday. Just a few little changes could go a long way. Until then, I doubt we will return any time soon.

Its really too bad. Lots of potential (redundant, I know!), great location, beautiful interior, decent service, but cold food, meat not cooked properly (or at least how we ordered it), too much flavors battling against a steak, etc. etc.

Johnny Garlic's Pasta Grill

2009-01-03T11:02:00.002-08:00

We are huge Guy Fieri fans over here, as I may have mentioned before! We've been to Tex Wasabi's twice, so we decided that Johnny Garlic's was a great place to go for my husbands birthday lunch yesterday. Its a bit of a hike, took us about 45 minutes to get there. Its in a suburban area, not downtown like both locations of Tex W's.

We were greeted right away and seated in the covered patio area. It appears as if on a beautiful day, the plastic panels could open up, but yesterday was wet and cold. It was a little dark in the back; they could have used some light or at least opened up the blinds more.

We ordered the Key Lime Calamari to start. It seemed undercooked to me, so I had just the one piece and left it at that. The marinara sauce was "on point". :) My husband and youngest daughter enjoyed the curly part of the squid with delight, as me and my oldest daughter sqeamishly looked away. ;) The menu was large and very diverse, but I decided right away on the Johnny's Dip, which was a large portion of roast beef, melted pepper cheese (I saw no peppers...), and served on a nice soft roll and with a ramekin of au jus on the side. It came with chips, but I ordered a green salad instead, which was just ok. It looked pretty, but the veggies seemed kind of old. My sandwich was pretty good and very filling--I wasn't able to eat all of it.

My husband had the pasta and salad combo, in which he chose the Volcano Chicken Penne & Caesar. He said it was delicious, and it sure looked good! My daughter Rory had the same, but she opted for the Penne Pomodoro. She said it was good, but complained that the portioned seemed small.

Bella, the youngest, had the kids chicken tenders & french fries. The chicken was breaded and fried and looked way over done.....but she said it was really good. She couldn't even finish her dish.

Overall, the food was fine, the service was great, but I'm not sure we would make a special trip up there again. If we happened to be in the area, then yes, we'd dine there again.

We still love Guy Fieri! Can't wait for all the new Food Network shows to begin next week. I need to make a trip into Mill Valley to check out Tyler Florences new place.

Maya

2008-12-30T20:25:00.000-08:00

The other day, my husband and myself found ourselves kid-less, so we decided to drive up to Sonoma for lunch. We weren't sure where we were going; we had heard of a place called Mondo, but it was closed, so we ended up at Maya. We have been there several times and its always been good. This time was no different.

We were greeted right away and asked to wait in the bar area for a few minutes. Chips, salsa, and water were served right away by a friendly busboy. After about 10 minutes, we were seated at our table. We weren't greeted by our waiter for several minutes, but when he did show up we were not only ready to order our Maya Margarita, but we were also ready to order our lunch. The food took a little bit, as it was obvious that the kitchen was busy since the restaurant was a full house.

I ordered the house salad, which was green leaf lettuce, jicama, mango, and a chipotle papaya vinaigrette. I opted to add the 5 grilled tiger prawns, and it was a delicious addition. For my entree, I ordered the cheeseburger, which was served on a soft roll, and with yucca fries. It was very, very rare, but I still enjoyed it. The waiter never asked how I wanted it cooked, and I didn't even think to order it medium. I gave half to my husband, and he shared his carne asada tacos with me. The meat was tender and flavorful, and served on top of a corn tortilla, with finely diced red onion and a spicy red sauce. The tacos were served with a side of rice and pureed white beans.

The service was a tad slow, but the food was delicious as always. I will definitely return in the future! :)

Pho Noodle Soup

2008-12-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

I just couldn't find a recipe that would work for me, so I decided to wing it. Usually I like to follow a recipe and adapt it, but all the recipes I found called for a bunch of ingredients I either don't have or don't like.

(Americanized) Vietnamese Pho Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
2 TBSP sesame oil
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 TBSP whole pepper corns
1/2 tsp sea salt
10 thin slices of fresh ginger
2 carrots, julienned
2 mini bell peppers, thinly sliced
4 cups beef broth
1 bundle of rice noodles
cilantro, loosely chopped
lime, cut into wedges
1 red and 1 green chili peppers, minced
Sriacha or homemade hot chili pepper sauce

Directions:

Saute the cinnamon stick, onion, garlic, peppercorns, salt, ginger, carrots & bell peppers in sesame oil until soft, about 8 minutes. Add beef broth, bring to boil, simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil, add the noodles and cook until soft..mine took 4 minutes.

Divide the noodles into 4 soup bowls, ladle the broth over the noodles, garnish with cilantro, lime, and hot chili sauce.

The verdict:
There is a lot I would do differently next time. For one, I would get some lemon grass in there, and the other is that I would strain out the ginger, peppercorns, & garlic from the broth after letting those simmer for a few minutes.....and then I would add the rest of the vegetables and let them simmer for 15 minutes or so.

Other than the annoyances of biting into the garlic, ginger, and especially those peppercorns, the flavor was really, really good!!! Even my kids liked it....course, they didn't add the hot sauce or chili peppers...those really added some major heat.

Salad

2008-12-02T16:54:00.000-08:00

Stacey got me thinking about salads today! I thought I'd post a couple of my favorite salad recipes. The Bean Salad with citrus juice and hot sauce is by Rachel Ray and the Food Network. I've made it several times and I love it. Its good chilled, too.

Bean Salad w/Citrus juice & Hot sauce:

Ingredients

Salt
2 pounds store-bought, trimmed fresh green beans or mix yellow wax and green beans, coarsely chopped on an angle
1 orange, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Fill a high sided skillet with 1 inch of water and bring to simmer. Liberally salt the water. Add beans and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and cool under running cold water.

Whisk juices and hot sauce together in a shallow salad bowl and stream in olive oil. Add beans and toss to coat. Season the beans with salt and pepper, to taste.

I got this recipe below from Alosha's Kitchen, but she got it from The Kitchen Sink. I've made it about 3 times and its just so tangy and yummy!!! I'd never bought chipotle in adobo sauce before, but now I always keep a can on hand!

Chipotle Corn Salad

courtesy of The Kitchen Sink

Ingredients

4 ears of corn
1 medium Vidalia or Walla Walla onion, thickly sliced crosswise
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for garnish
1 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon chives, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
salt and freshly ground pepper

1 head of romaine, sliced

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced

Directions

Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Brush the corn and onion slices with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill over moderately high heat until charred in spots but still slightly crisp, about 7 minutes. Let cool slightly, then cut the kernels from the cobs and coarsely chop the onion. Add the sliced tomatoes.

In a medium bowl, mix the sour cream with the lime juice, chopped chipotle chiles, sliced chives and salt and pepper, to taste. Add the sliced romaine to the bowl and stir to coat the lettuce with the dressing. Arrange the dressed romaine on a platter.

Top with the corn mixture. Arrange the sliced avocado on top of the corn mixture. Garnish with chives and lime wedges.

My Mom's Lemon Bread

2008-11-30T17:45:00.000-08:00

My mom used to bake this bread every Christmas and put into individual tins wrapped in colorful cellophane to give to family, friends, & neighbors. It was a big hit and everyone looked forward to it every year. The bonus was that the lemons came from our lemon tree in the back yard.

Nancy's Lemon Bread

Ingredients:

1 med. lemon

2 1/4 c. flour

1 1/2 c. sugar, plus 2 tsp more for glaze

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 c. butter or margarine

3 eggs

3/4 c. milk

Directions:

From one lemon, grate all peel, squeeze juice, set aside. (I like to put my lemon in the microwave for about 10 seconds and then roll it around on the counter to make it juicer)

In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, & salt with fork. Cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir in lemon peel.

In small bowl, slightly beat eggs with fork, stir in milk, then stir this mixture into flour mixture just until flour is moistened.

Spoon into greased pan, bake 1 hour or until lightly browned. Cool in pan 10 minutes.

In small saucepan over med-hi heat, whisk lemon juice & 2 tsp. sugar to boiling. Cook, stirring until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Brush with pastry brush evenly over top of bread.

Grandma's BBQ Pork

2008-11-25T12:07:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful that I had the good sense to ask my grandma for her bbq pork recipe a few years before she passed away! I still have her handwritten recipe that I cherish. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas that I ever spent with my dads side of the family included this delicious appetizer. I try to make it at least Thanksgiving or Christmas, if not both! I've got 4 pounds marinating in the fridge since last night (16 hours and counting!), but this recipe calls for 3 pounds and marinate overnight. I'm taking it to my brothers for Thanksgiving (an 8 hour drive!!) and I wanted extra meat and extra flavor. I tweak it a little bit..like add more of each ingredients...and mix the marinade in a small bowl first, but here is my grandma's recipe word for word:

Grandma Tillie's Barbequed Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

4 TBSP ketchup
3 TBSP Hoisin sauce
1 tsp 5 Spice
5 slices of fresh ginger
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 TBSP Mirin (or sherry)
1 TBSP sugar
3 pounds pork tenderloin

Garnish:
Chinese Hot Mustard
Ketchup
Toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

In a large glass dish, mix Hoisin, 5 Spice, ginger, garlic, ketchup, & salt. Add the pork, and smother.
Marinate overnight.
Put water in bottom of roasting pan. Arrange pork on rack. Bake in preheated oven, 350 degrees, for one hour and 15 minutes. Turn once during roasting and baste with extra sauce.
Cool, then chill. Serve thinly sliced with hot mustard, ketchup, and toasted sesame seeds.

Chicken Pot Pie

2008-11-24T12:06:00.000-08:00

I was raised on those little Swanson chicken pot pies that used to cost about 19 cents...remember those? Well, I couldn't stand them and when my mom announced that we were having pot pies for dinner, I cringed. Sometimes they were beef, sometimes they were turkey. I'm sure they were pretty good, but I was just sick of them. My mom was not the greatest cook, God rest her soul. We ate a lot of canned and frozen food. I learned to cook at the age of 9, believe it or not. I've always loved to cook and I think I'm pretty ok at it. I remember bringing home assignments for extra credit in Home Ec. in the 7th & 8th grade. My mom was loving it! I came up with all kinds of dinner ideas and was earning extra credit to boot.

Anyway, several years ago, a good friend of mine invited us over for dinner. She made a chicken pot pie. I must have made a funny face, because she picked up on the fact that I was not too thrilled about her menu! So, I admitted my dislike and told her my reason, but like a trooper, agreed that I was open to trying her homemade version. I have to say, it was actually very, very delicious!!! I always wanted to ask her for the recipe, but never did. Last week I was looking for a new chicken recipe in my new Taste of Home cookbook that I won over at Dine & Dash a few weeks ago. I adapted this recipe that is actually for a turkey pot pie, but I had chicken, so chicken it is. You can use either one.

Ingredients:
Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust (should sit out for 15 minutes)
1 large potato, peeled & diced
4 carrots, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP butter
1 -14 oz can reduced sodium chicken broth
2 TBSP all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
2 cups cubed cooked chicken (I used a store bought rotisserie chicken)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

In a large saucepan, saute potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in butter for about 5 or 6 minutes. Add broth, cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine flour and milk until smooth. Gradually add to vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the remaining ingredients; simmer 5 minutes longer.
Fit crust onto a pie tin. Pour hot filling into crust. Place the second crust on top; crimp edges. Cut slits in top of crust.
Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until crust is light golden brown. Serves 6.

Minestrone Soup

2008-11-13T10:22:00.000-08:00

Adapted it from a crockpot recipe and I made my own variations.

Minestrone Soup

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 tomatoes, diced
2 cup stewed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
2 bay leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
12 oz pkg small whole wheat seashell pasta
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Saute celery, onion, & zucchini in EV olive oil until soft, about 10 minutes. Slowly add the chicken broth, bring to boil. Add remaining ingredients, simmer on low for 15 minutes or until pasta is cooked. Serve with parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

How easy is that? Feel free to mess around with the liquid and spices, etc. More, less, navy beans instead of kidney beans, throw in some carrots if you don't like celery, etc.

Buffalo Chicken Soup

2008-11-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

Buffalo Chicken Soup (adapted from A year of Crock Potting, who adapted it from RecipeZaar.....but you know me....I always have to make my own changes! :)

Ingredients
* 1 yellow onion, finely diced
* 3 stalks celery, finely diced
* 3 TBSP butter
* 3 TBSP cup flour
* 3/4 cup milk
* 3/4 cup chicken broth
* 2 cups diced cooked chicken***
* 1/4-1/2 cup chicken wing sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
* 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Saute onions and celery in butter until tender.

Stir in flour until smooth.

Slowly add milk and broth.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer, stirring occasionally. Serves 4. (I tripled the recipe and it still looks like maybe it will serve only 6)

***I marinated my chicken breasts in Franks Wing sauce & Siracha sauce for about an hour, then I grilled them for about 6 minutes per side on med-high heat. Let cool, then dice.***

Leek & Potato Soup

2008-10-28T17:21:00.001-07:00

I just made some leek & potato soup. I winged it:

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. EV olive oil
1 large Walla Walla onion, chopped
1 large shallot, chopped
1 large leek, sliced, white part only
salt & pepper
generous dash of ground Thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
4 cups vegetable broth
3 tbsp. white wine
2 sm. celery stalks with leaves on
1 bay leaf
4 potatoes, peeled & quartered

Directions:
Saute the onions, shallot, & leek in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add the spices & melt in the butter. Add the flour, mix to make a roux. Stir in the broth & wine. Add the celery & potatoes, bring to a boil, simmer until the potatoes are cooked. Discard the celery & bay leaf.

Normally I'm not a fan of the blender and I prefer my soups chunkier, but in this instance, because of all of onions, etc., I used the blender in an attempt to fool the kids. I'm calling it Baked Potato soup as far as they are concerned! LOL Also, you can first brown some bacon and add the onion/leek mixture to that as oppossed to the olive oil. I'm still trying to avoid red meat. Its really hard!!!

Update on my bleu cheese/pecan dip: I bought some from Trader Joes today and checked the ingredients. I was pretty damned close except theirs has milk, more spices, and preservatives. I tasted the TJ's dip and damned if mine isn't much better! ;) Theirs is a thinner consistency, whereas mine was much thicker. I'd probably thin my down a little bit next time, but I'm thinking I will stick with my home made version from now on!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

2008-10-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

*First, you want to preheat your oven to 400, carefully cut your squash into quarters, seed it, dot it with butter, sprinkle a little bit of brown sugar on top, then bake for about 45 minutes or until its soft. OMG yum. And if you're lucky, you'll have some leftover for another use. Be sure to discard the skin before adding to the soup.*

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup (1/4-inch) diced onion
1/4 cup (1/4-inch) diced celery
1 cinnamon stick
Sea salt, preferably gray salt
Freshly ground black pepper
About 4 cups reduced sodium chicken stock or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon ground toasted coriander, optional
1 1/2 cups roasted butternut squash (see above)
1/2 cup half-and-half, optional--but I recommend it!

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, celery, and cinnamon stick and saute until soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the stock/broth and the coriander, if using, and bring to a boil. Simmer for several minutes. Stir in the squash until smooth, then simmer gently to let the flavors meld, about 10 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick. Mash the squash inside the pan, or if you want you can put it in a blender. I didn't. I like a chunkier soup.

Add the half-and-half, if using. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serves 4-6.

(Adapted from Michael Chiarello's recipe, but with my own variations. I love that man. This soup is absolutely delicious. And all you need with it is a small salad or a piece of crusty bread to dip into olive oil and grated garlic. My friend brought me the coolest plate from Italy last summer. The artist put these rough indented lines into the ceramic that are meant to grate a clove of garlic on. You pour olive oil over the garlic directly onto the plate and it is delicious.)

Now I'm dying to try Cowgirl Yoga's Curried Pumpkin Soup! It sounds delicious and I have all the ingredients on hand. I've been slowly dropping subtle (and not so subtle) hints to my husband that I really want to go to a retreat next summer in Big Sky, Montana! It sounds so amazing!!! Keeping my fingers crossed!

Bleu Cheese & Pecan Dip

2008-10-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

Trader Joes makes this delicious dip that is perfect for dipping celery, carrots, bell peppers, green beans, etc. I haven't had a chance to get up to TJ's recently, but I realized this morning that I have all the ingredients that I think I needed and I could try and whip up my own batch. It turned out super good and I thought I'd pass it on. It comes out to about 160 cals for 2 tablespoons, but I figure its one way to get a bunch of fresh veggies down my throat, so its worth it.

Trader Shelley's Blue Cheese & Pecan Dip:

8 oz reduced fat cream cheese
2 oz low fat sour cream
3 oz bleu cheese crumbles (you could adjust more or less to your tasting)
1 oz pecans, smashed up into pieces
Cracked pepper to taste

Mix thoroughly and enjoy! I love it with celery, in particular.

Bungalow 44

2008-10-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to dine at Bungalow 44 for quite some time now. We consider it often, but we always shoot it down because their menu seems to change often. Plus, its way down in Mill Valley, and it always seems too far to drive. But since Thursday was my birthday, I decided I wanted to try somewhere we've never been before and the menu was looking good.

Their parking lot is really tiny, so we had to park up the street, which gave us a nice little walk on a beautiful evening. We were seated promptly in a lovely booth in the small dining room next to the bar. Its a very lively place and the patrons were all very well dressed. I had heard that its one of those seen and be seen kind of places, and it was. I loved the ambiance.

We were greeted right away by our very attentive waitress. We finally decided on the "Double Dip" onion rings and the Heirloom tomato flatbread as our appetizers. Both were very good, although, I've had much better onion rings before. These were thinly sliced and very light, but I guess I prefer a thicker slice and a little more batter.

It was challenging to find something for the kids to eat, but it turns out that they did have a kids menu. Bella ordered the cheeseburger and so you know I had to try it! Delicious!!! Rori had her usual pasta with butter and cheese. Boring child. My husband ordered the Steak Frites and the bite I tasted was delicious. I ordered the Filet Mignon with Pt. Reye's Bleu Cheese & Broccolini. I didn't think it would be enough, so I ordered a side of creamed spinach. My steak was perfectly cooked, but the broccolini seemed a bit tough to me. Everything was absolutely wonderful. We even ordered dessert, seeing as how it was my birthday! Bella and my huband shared the Butterscotch pudding, while I eagerly attacked my chefs selection of cheese. It had sliced apples and a few pieces of toasted artisan bread. I couldn't finish it all; it was too huge! I didn't even mind the one cheese which was doused in honey and golden raisins.

I give Bungalow 44 5 stars and I really look forward to returning. Next time we'll go alone or with another couple. Its not that its not kid-friendly, but its just more of a party scene. Lively and bubbly. A great place to spend my birthday!

Today we head up north to shop for costumes and to pick some pumpkins. After that, we're stopping in at Guy Fieri's place, Tex Wasabi. Yum! Can't wait!

Future post

2008-10-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a few days, but I made Arroz con Pollo and Eggplant Parmesan recently, and they both turned out really good. I'll do that later when I can breathe.

Time for some Chili!

2008-10-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

Something about October says "Chili" to me! I've been meaning to make it for a few days now, so today I finally got around to it. I adapted it from Bobby Flay's Beef & Black Bean Chili recipe, but as usual, I always add my own twist to it.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp EV Olive Oil
2 lbs stew meat
1 large Walla Walla Onion, chopped
3 carrots, sliced
2 Pasilla peppers, diced
2 red jalapeno peppers, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tomatoes, diced
1 bottle of dark beer
2 cups stewed tomatoes (fresh, homemade :)
5 cups chicken stock
salt & pepper
4 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tsp cumin seed
1 Tbsp Chipotle in Adobo sauce
2 lgt.cans black beans
2 sm. cans kidney beans
1 sm. can garbanzo beans

Brown beef in olive oil. Set aside. Saute onion, peppers, & carrots in reserved oil from meat until soft. Add garlic, cook for 2 minutes. Add beer and cook until liquid evaporates. Add stewed tomatoes, chicken broth, and spices. Bring to boil, simmer for an hour. Add all the beans and the diced fresh tomatoes, cook for another 3o minutes. Garnish with cilantro, toasted cumin sour cream (see below) and avocado.

Toast 1 Tbsp cumin seed in a saute pan over medium high heat, about 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool. In a bowl, add 1 cup sour cream, salt, pepper, and cumin seeds. Mix, chill for at least one hour so the flavors can marry. This was also adapted from Bobby Flay, but I omitted the lime juice because I didn't have any lime.

This was delicious!!!!! Maybe a little too thin of consistency, so I would add less liquid next time. The beer was a great flavor enhancer! :)

Tomato Salsa & Spaghetti Sauce

2008-09-30T18:14:00.000-07:00

I picked a few more tomatoes today and also grabbed a couple red jalapeno peppers. So, it occurred to me to make some salsa! Duh! I haven't had a clue what to do with the peppers and I'm running out of tomato ideas, so there ya go: salsa.

Ingredients:
4 large tomatoes, chopped
2 red jalapenos, seeded & minced
1 small shallot (any onion is fine)
1 tsp ground cumin
a few whirls of freshly cracked pepper and salt

Mix together in bowl, check spices, chill.

Last night I made spaghetti. It turned out pretty good. I winged it and did not follow a recipe, but i sort of followed my grandmas recipe from memory.

Ingredients:
Sweet Italian Sausage
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large Walla Walla onion, chopped
1 small shallot, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 carrots, sliced
8 oz mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 cups stewed tomatoes (mine were fresh from my garden! :) or a 15 oz can.
28 oz can tomato sauce
6 oz can of tomato paste
15 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp each: oregano, thyme
8-10 basil leaves, torn
1 Tbsp sea salt
2 large bay leaves
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup water
Fresh pepper to taste

Brown sausages; set aside.

Saute vegetables in until soft, about 10-15 mintes. Add remaining ingredients (except for the sausages), bring to a boil, turn to low, and simmer for about 2 hours. Add more water if needed, check frequently for spices. Add the sausages the last 30-45 minutes. Yield: 8 servings.

Serve over hot pasta. I used half regular linguini, half whole wheat linguini. Its a good way to trick the kids. :)