Cooking and Dining in the Bay Area Lately

Oops, I forgot to update my blog for more than a year. Between then and now I have certainly cooked some note-worthy things, I guess I was just busy. So I'll try to play catch-up a bit. I moved back to San Jose, but I spend the weekends with my boyfriend in Sunnyvale. We try to cook at least once every weekend, although sometimes "cooking" ends up meaning grabbing a rotisserie chicken from the store and tossing together a little salad. It has just been way too hot this summer to do much cooking. I'm really looking forward to fall so I can get in the mood to start using my slow cooker again!

In July, we made a delightful ratatouille. I don't remember which recipe we used. Basically we just chopped up some eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, onion, and bell peppers, and cooked them together. It was very tasty and filling.

Also we have been to some great restaurants in the area that have become our go-to for different kinds of food. One of my favorites is Shah Restaurant in Sunnyvale. This Indo-Pakistani food is just the right amount of spicy, and bursting with flavor. We always get the raita, a cucumber yogurt dip, with naan, as well as the lamb curry and chicken tikka curry. I love their complimentary chai, too.

Our favorite brunch/lunch place is Roger's Deli and Donuts in Mountain View. They serve delicious deli sandwiches, donuts, bagels, bagel sandwiches, soups, and all kinds of breakfast items all day, like pancakes, omelettes, french toast, and all kinds of breakfast sandwiches. The food is simple and delicious, the ambiance is also relaxed and down to earth, you just order your food and grab it when it's ready, no one bugging you or checking up on you afterwards, which is perfect for a leisurely Sunday morning. I always get the blueberry pancakes and Irish creme coffee.

I occasionally work in downtown San Carlos, and when I do, I love going to Bianchini's Market for lunch. They offer soups, a salad bar, as well as pre-made sandwiches or sandwiches you can order from the deli counter. My favorite is their chili, which is satisfyingly spicy and filling at just one small cup. Just being in the store makes me feel so classy, because I am surrounded by gourmet products that I am sure add an exquisitely sophisticated touch to anyone's kitchen.

Well, that's about all for now.... getting ready to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, during which I am sure to enjoy some excellent food and wine and enjoy the company of several like-minded individuals. Till next time!

East Coast- Restaurants

Hi! I am back from the East Coast where I had the opportunity to visit some great and interesting  restaurants in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Among them:

American City Diner in D.C. for burgers and an outdoor movie,
Crumbs for birthday cupcakes in L'Enfant Plaza (D.C.) (chocolate dulce de leche for me--- and it was so big, I had to finish it the next day),
Graffiato in Chinatown (D.C.) for my birthday (hip Italian-style tapas-- we got the lemon risotto with rock shrimp, the flatbread with pepperoni sauce, lamb, and panna cotta for dessert-- and it was so neat sitting at the bar because you could watch them plating everything and cooking pizzas in this big wood oven),
Busboys and Poets on U Street (D.C.) for a mellow brunch-- I got the Oaxaca omelet (black beans, avocado, pico de gallo, and cheddar-- very tasty),
My Brother's Place for lunch after a visit to the Conservatory and Botanic Gardens (I got a nice chicken pesto panini),
Elephant & Castle after visiting some Smithsonians (where I also got a chicken pesto style panini... what can I say, it's one of my favorites),
Chutzpah (Fairfax, VA) while Friend was getting his hair cut (an authentic New York style restaurant and deli with a Jewish attitude where I had a very tasty pastrami sandwich and potato salad), and...
El Rancho Migueleno (Arlington, VA) for tacos one night (because we couldn't think of anywhere else and didn't want to travel far-- odd ambiance, to say the least-- the lighting was super dark and they were playing this loud South American music while a telanovela played on TV.. and no one else was there.. yeah, a little spooky, haha).

I read about American City Diner on the internet somewhere, and it looked like they were pretty much the only place in D.C. that was still showing outdoor movies at that point in the summer. Plus-- buy dinner and watch a free movie-- can it get any better? We ordered burgers, fries and a milkshake, and enjoyed watching The Hustler (1961). Every night is a different movie, many of them classics. They had really fun decor, too.

In the parking lot, they had a neat mural showcasing a bunch of different Hollywood stars. Humphrey Bogart, James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor...

Elvis Presley...

and Marilyn Monroe, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra.

More homage to movie stars inside.. James Dean and Marilyn Monroe on the restroom doors.

They played the movie on a screen in the outdoor deck area so people could watch the movie as they had dinner.

It was fun to see the neon sign all lit up once it got darker by the end of the night, too.

So, needless to say, the East Coast has an awesome food scene! Next time I will share more about the other places I went. :)

Success With Quiche

Ever since I visited Tartine Bakery in San Francisco the other weekend and got a slice of their quiche, I have wanted to make a quiche of my own, better than any quiche I have made before. I wanted to make a really good quiche, so I turned to Deb at Smitten Kitchen because her recipes are excellent. For the custard filling and an idea of measurements to make the size of quiche I wanted, I took the example of a mushroom quiche she recently made, but added in less mushrooms and some of my own vegetables, and using pre-made crust.

Spring Quiche

Ingredients:

2 refrigerated pie crusts
10 ozs mushrooms (you can use a variety of kinds)
4 spears of asparagus
Half a zucchini
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (shred by hand, it'll melt in better that way)
6 eggs
2 cups milk (I used soy milk)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt

Instructions:
 0. Preheat oven to 325.
1. In a 9 inch Springform pan, place the pre-made pie dough. You might want to coat the pan with a little olive oil before you put the crust in but I didn't and it didn't stick. Refrigerate for later.
2. Chop up vegetables and cook for 5 minutes in a frying pan with the olive oil. Add the butter, garlic and thyme and cook on medium for 10 more minutes.
3. Whip three eggs in a bowl. Then add 1 cup milk and 1 cup heavy whipping cream, plus some salt and a few grates of the nutmeg, and beat vigorously with a whisk until frothy, 5-10 minutes. This would be a lot easier with a kitchen aid but you don't need one.
4. Take out the pan from the fridge,  add 1/4 cup of the cheese, half the vegetable mixture, and the custard mixture. Repeat the custard mixture with remaining eggs/milk/salt/nutmeg, sprinkle another 1/4 cup cheese ontop of the first custard mixture, add in the rest of vegetables, and pour in the second batch of your custard mixture to fill the pan. Then sprinkle the last 1/4 cup of the cheese ontop of that and bake in the oven for an hour and a half or until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let cool on a wire rack or away from the stove for 15 minutes. Place on a baking sheet, unhinge the pan and remove the outer part of the pan to cut the first piece. It's easier to cut after you cut the first piece and you can put the pan back together after that.

I've really enjoyed this quiche throughout the week. The filling is easily adaptable to other ingredients, for variety. One slice left, I think that'll be breakfast or lunch tomorrow. :)

San Francisco: The Mission District

Last weekend I made my first visit to the Mission District of San Francisco. It's called that because there is a mission there, along with several cafes, some restaurants, and markets.

I was meeting with a friend there, and before the meetup I did some exploring. I came across Duc Loi Supermarket, which is frequented by one of my favorite bloggers over at Brokeass Gourmet.

They had a great selection of produce, and various kinds of Asian noodles, among other things. I can see why she likes shopping there. :)

 This is the pastry display at Tartine Bakery, a very popular cafe. The line was out the door, as you find in the best places in San Francisco.

This is their quiche. I got a piece of it and it was delicious.

 My friend and I got sandwiches from Bi Rite Market. I got a very tasty turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, lemon aioli, and avocado mash.

We had our sandwiches at Dolores Park. It's a lovely park full of grassy hills and trees.

There's even a fun playground for kids.

We got ice cream at the Bi Rite Creamery, too. They had really unique flavors. I got a roasted banana and lavender honey ice cream cone.

So, that was a nice day!

More Vacation Foods and Misc.

So, first thing when I got to Utah, I went to Cafe Rio, a Mexican restaurant in Provo that locals love. Their taco salad is out of this world, so good that many have tried to emulate it with their own recipes. I got the sweet pork kind, and it had lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, tortilla strips, beans, rice, and a nice cilantro dressing to go along with it. It was so big I couldn't finish all of it in one sitting, but most of it. I'm going to have to find a Cafe Rio closer to me and go there again as soon as I get the chance, or maybe try to make a taco salad of my own.

In Sunnyvale, we all went to Outback Steakhouse for my boyfriend's birthday. I got the parmesan pasta with scallops, which was very good, and shared his birthday treat with him-- a scoop of vanilla ice cream with lots of fudge. I think there was a brownie in there too.

Later on, the two of us went to this nice little Chinese restaurant near his house called Ginger Cafe. From the outside, it looks like it could be just a little health food restaurant, but once you go inside it's this beautiful Chinese restaurant with big red curtains drawn back by the windows, a majestically high ceiling, and ornate Chinese decor on the walls. We got the Dim Sum Sampler: two of each- Bok Choy Shrimp Dumplings, Blue Crab Dumplings, Curry Scallop Puffs, Crab Puffs, and Steamed Pork Buns- with some fried rice on the side. My favorites were the bok choy shrimp dumplings, the pork buns, and the curry scallop puffs. Dim sum is one of my favorite things ever, so I was very happy. The website has lots of pictures and an incredibly extensive menu, so check it out. :)

After I got back home, I baked a loaf of chocolate chip banana bread. It is so good, I could eat it for breakfast every day. It was so easy to make, and it turned out perfectly. The chocolate chips didn't even sink to the bottom of the bread during baking or anything. I think I'll go have some right now.

Until next time... have a nice weekend!

Travels

My weekend in San Francisco was fun! As it turns out, it was really more a visit just to the bay area in general, because I also spent some time in Oakland and Berkeley. There are two particular places I visited that I wanted to share.

1. Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe, Oakland

This is a funky little diner that a couple friends of mine like to go to all the time. They took my other friend and I there and we ordered different things... all of which were amazing. The guys ordered burgers, and us two girls ordered breakfast-- for dinner. My friend had the challah french toast-- always excellent.

This is what I had.

It's a chicken pesto omelette with provolone. Hidden behind that delectable egg covering lies pure magic, I assure you. I never would have thought of such a combination, but it's one of their weekend specials. It was the perfect mix of breakfast and dinnery. Add the english muffin and generous hash browns, and it's a perfect meal!

Afterwards....

2. Almare, Berkeley

Because who can resist gelato, right? It's the perfect dessert between ice cream and frozen yogurt-- brilliant flavor packed in every delectable bite, and so smooth and creamy.

I got the tiramisu flavor. Tiramisu gelato-- how amazing is that? It tasted just like tiramisu in non-cake form. Other awesome flavors they had: lemon, oreo, melon, strawberry, vanilla, rum, and multiple varieties of chocolate. No wonder my friends frequent this place as a special treat :)

Needless to say, this one night was my favorite part of the whole vacation. At the end of the night, we went home and I made tasty spiced cider for everyone, too. Happy times, indeed.

Jen's Favorite Breakfast Burrito

I used to work at a gourmet bistro here in my hometown called Coffee Diem. I loved the food there, especially the breakfast burritos. Of course, I learned how to make these breakfast burritos and enjoyed them at home, too. Here is a variation on the kind of breakfast burritos I used to make there-- hearty, yet simple.

Jen's Favorite Breakfast Burrito

Makes 3 burritos

Ingredients:

3 average size tortillas

4 eggs

~1/2 cup salsa

18 tater tots

About 1 cup chopped leftover tri-tip or other meat on hand

~3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
 

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven at 450; when it's done preheating, put tater tots in the oven in a pan/tray lined with foil and set timer for 18 minutes.

2. After tater tots have been cooking for about 10 minutes, scramble and cook eggs over stovetop.

3. When eggs and tater tots are done, heat up three tortillas in a microwave for 30 seconds.

4. Lay tortillas out on 3 plates, and on each tortilla, divide up evenly the eggs, salsa, tater tots (6 each), tri tip/meat, and cheese. 

5. Fold up tortillas into burritos.

6. If serving immediately, reheat the burritos in the microwave for 30 more seconds. Then cut in half, separate halves at an angle, and enjoy.

7. If not serving some of them or finishing them later, wrap them up in foil and refrigerate.

Egg and Grilled Tomato Open Face English Muffin Sandwich

Ok, so this isn't a sweet like my other posts, but it's still a very nice "treat" I make myself when I have the luxury of sleeping in and want to spend a little extra time on my first meal of the day. Not a huge sandwich, but just filling enough :)

Egg and Tomato Open Face English Muffin Sandwich

Serves 1 or 2, depending on how hungry you are.

Ingredients:

Two eggs

One English muffin

5-6 small chunks of cheddar cheese

One small tomato, sliced into round slices

Instructions:

1. Scramble the eggs in a small pan with a little butter.
2. While the eggs are scrambling, lightly toast the English muffin in the toaster.
3. Divide the scrambled eggs evenly amongst the two slices of the English muffin.
4. In the same pan where you scrambled the eggs, grill the tomato slices on each side.
5. Arrange tomato slices evenly ontop of the eggs.
6. Arrange the cheese chunks throughout the top of the eggs and the tomato.
7. Microwave for ~60 seconds or until cheese is just melted.

It's simple, but amazing. I just love the contrast of the tangy cheese and the slightly sourdough flavor of the English muffin, mixed with the slightly smoky, yet sweet juiciness of the grilled tomato slices. This goes great with a fruit smoothie, for a filling and refreshing brunch!