I’m a Graduate!!!(almost)

Hey everyone,

The semester from hell is finally over and now I don't have an excuse for not blogging. After all my hard work and procrastinating, the semester ended well(meaning grades weren't horrendous) and I finally have a chance to relax. I start summer school next week…finance(which happens to be the hardest class I have to take) and one online international business class to get my minor in business administration. Exciting huh? Luckily they're only 6 weeks in length and August-September or possibly November(if I have enough money) will be my chance to realllly relax.

The month of May was pretty awesome/stressful. Natalia and I's joint b-day party went over well in the park(yes, we even had a piñata), I finished all of my group projects and papers on time, finals were somewhat of a breeze, I finished my internship with flying colors at the W Hotel, the family came to visit for my graduation ceremony, I hung out in San Diego for a hot minute, and even got a contract job through the W working for Cook Medical when they were in town for the American Urological Association Convention.

It was great to finally have my close family all here in San Francisco. We had a ton of amazing dinners including one at XYZ (the restaurant I interned with at W) where the chef had us taste almost the entire menu with a nice bottle of sparkling wine. We also had great meals atFang(where we were served by the chef/owner, amazing!), Thirsty Bear(for happy hour), Blue Bottle Coffee(can you say caramelized sugar waffle?), and Howards(my friendly neighborhood $6 breakfast place). We walked up the embarcadero after stopping for breakfast at the ferry building and dropped in for some drinking chocolate at TCHO and checked out the vintage arcade at Fisherman's Wharf. We also had the chance to head up to Napa and Sonoma for some wine tasting. We had a great afternoon snack on the terrace at Domaine Carneros by Tattinger and explored some of the bigger wineries along the Napa strip. Sunday, the San Diego folks flew home and Janet and I had a relaxing time shopping and finally went to Alcatraz for the first time. We had a great time there as it turned out to be a gorgeous day on the rock!

Tuesday I headed back to San Diego for a quick getaway. My mom and I went to AAA to get some more info on our trip to France this fall. We picked up some great books and started picking dates for our upcoming travels(SO excited!). Thursday we went to the Wild Animal Park and took our time wandering around. Some of the favorites of the day were the meerkats, baby elephants, and an up-close look at the lion napping on the safari jeep! We've decided the next time we come we'll go on the segway tour and possibly the zip line adventure.

I had to cut my San Diego visit short because I was offered a contract position (only 4 days) to help coordinate meeting space for a group staying at the W. I basically sat at a desk taking appointments for people who needed meeting space and acted as the contact between the group and the hotel. Although not terribly exciting, I was paid very well, got to eat all of my meals there, and finally started and finished the 5^th Harry Potter book! The group's meeting planner was really nice and all were fairly low maintenance.

Now I'm back to the daily grind of working at the Academy and school. I also hope to have another food blog up very soon so stay tuned world.

Wonderful Wednesdays

I find myself using more and more 'W' words these days. I can't fight the brand brainwashing.

Ahhh...Wonderful Wednesdays, they're the closest thing I have to a weekend (that is unless I call in sick to work which of course I never do, ahem). Once my 3 and a half hour class lets out, I'm free to do as I please. Which is usually nothing but grocery shopping and dishes that have built up from the beginning of the week. I live a hectic life on the countdown to graduation. So when I DO get a day off, I would rather relax at home more than anything else. Wednesday is one of the few days I have time to cook for myself as well. Fancy this, I actually made myself breakfast AND dinner today. Awesome right? When I cook meals for myself, I use simple ingredients and nothing terribly fancy of course.

Tonight's dinner was a grilled portabella mushroom burger with sautéed onions and asiago cheese. No recipe needed here, just brush off any dirt from the mushroom, take the stem off, and scrape out the gills. Slice up about 1/4^th of a small onion and season both with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. You could even throw on a little Italian dressing for a little more zesty-ness.

Toss the onion and mushroom on a preheated grill pan or in a regular non-stick frying pan with the shroom top side down. Let it cook for about 4 minutes on one side then flip it on top of the pile of onions. This helps the onions steam and get soft while flavoring the portabella at the same time (kind of like a veggie version of White Castle burgers right? Ha!). Cook for another 4 minutes on that side or until you can see the juices forming.

Serve it on a toasted bun with a slice of your favorite cheese (I found some sliced asiago at Trader Joes today). It would work with anything from swiss to cheddar. I also sliced up some fresh asparagus at an angle (because it looks prettier J) and cooked it alongside the onions with the same olive oil, S&P mix. Easy-peasy right? I found that it doesn't really need any condiments since the 3 ingredients are so flavorful by themselves. You could add more grilled or sautéed vegetables if you'd like (ie. bell peppers, zucchini, or eggplant).

It's nothing too wild or worldly, just simple fare, warranting a little wuv. Too much?

Welcome to the Year of the Tiger!

(Dancing tiger of Post St.)

This past weekend I went to the Chinese Lunar New Year Parade with my friend Kristin. The parade runs through downtown San Francisco and brings spectators from all walks of life. Thousands of people gathered in Union Square and set up camp on Post and Kearny to get the best view. Kristin and I made our way through the crowds and patiently waited for a good spot to open up. We ended up in the middle of Kearny behind a group of squatting kids and beside us a group of late 20-early 30 somethings drinking Heinekens.

We watched the boring politicians drive by and ooh-ed and ahhh-ed at the brightly colored floats. What I liked most was of course the dragons and lions but also the dancing elementary school children dressed in red envelope and tiger costumes! They were so excited to be part of the parade and kept bouncing around even after walking and waving for 2 hours!

After the parade, we met up with Jseid and headed over to Pomelo in the Noe Valley district. The menu had a mix of everything but the restaurant claims it's primarily Asian Fusion. I ordered the Lanzhou which had fresh egg noodles(more like udon noodles) stir fried with ginger, scallion and garlic topped with peppered ahi tuna, seared rare and drizzled with a miso-sesame sauce. The dish was great but it lacked any kind of vegetable!

Kseid had the Otsu which had cold buckwheat noodles with cucumber, scallion, cilantro and a spicy soy, ginger & sesame dressing, topped with pan sautéed tofu. The dish was just okay in my opinion (see post below for a better recipe ;) ).

Jseid had the Mazantol which was basically a spicy tofu sisig with chile peppers, garlic, red onion, soy sauce and lemon. The flavors were strong but delicious! Jessica got it right when she asked for a side of rice since the flavor of the tofu in the sauce could have been a bit much by itself.

Overall Pomelo had a nice living room ambiance to it with it's low lighting and small amount of space. I would recommend this as a great date spot as long as it's not too busy(we could definitely hear the intense conversation the couple next to us was having ha!). The server was nice enough and the servings were pretty large. I could tell the ingredients were fresh and also love the fact that the menu changes seasonally.

Saturday was just another reminder of why I love San Francisco.

Dang Cold Asian Noodle Salad

Hello Blog! No, I haven't been in a coma for 3 months. I've just been swallowed whole by 18 units, a 20 hour a week internship at the W Hotel, and a few more hours at the museum. Have I been cooking? Very rarely! But I'm back for the time being... don't go getting your hopes up about regular posts though. The dust is just starting to settle and I'm really only writing this to procrastinate even more on a paper that's due by midnight (it's that time of the semester where any form of distraction will come first).

Today I decided to skip out on my HR lecture to go to the grocery store. Yes, that's a luxury for me since my corner market closes at 6:30pm! I tried yesterday but they were bringing in all of the produce right as I walked up. Le sigh. Well, I picked up some beauties for a colorful and healthy noodle salad. I know the name is lame but it's Guy Fieri's, the man who still bleaches the tips of his spiky hair every other week(I'm sure some hairstylist is earning her entire living just doing his tips). If you want to learn more about this tool and his mullet before the bleaching, check it out here.

Back to the important part, the salad. I've had 3 bunches of soba noodles staring at me for the past 6 months and I finally decided to do something about it. After looking up some recipes, I settled on this one since it had a 5 star rating and seemed healthy enough. I've tried the whole peanut sauce with soba before and the results were never up to par, thus this soy/hoisin based dressing was perfect. The only time consuming part to making this is the chopping and this is precisely why I documented. ;) Guy actually adds some napa cabbage and bok choy but I figured there was already enough going on so I didn't need it.

Guy Fieri's Dang Cold Asian Noodle Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 package soba noodles
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot chili oil
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced or julienned
• 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced or julienned
• 5 green onions, bottom 4 inches, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced napa cabbage
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced or julienned
• 1/2 cup julienned bok choy
• 1 cup bean sprouts, optional
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted, for garnish
• 4 tablespoons unsalted peanuts, for garnish

Directions:

In a medium stock pot, boil water, add salt and cook noodles. When finished, place noodles in an ice water bath to cool. Drain and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine, sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce, hot chili oil, hoisin and extra-virgin olive oil. Mix thoroughly and then combine prepared vegetables and noodles.

Garnish with sesame seeds and peanuts.

The results were great! The dressing is mellowed out by the olive oil and the different textures and colors are a feast for the mouth and eyes. I garnished with cilantro, sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, and some more sliced green onions. I plan on adding some seared firm tofu to the leftovers for tomorrow.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

I could eat sweet potatoes in nearly any form. Fried, mashed with a heaping mound of toasted marshmallows, baked, fried again, or better yet ...of the pancake variety. These pancakes are light and fluffy and they make me feel better about eating a mound of carbs covered in butter and syrup. I mean, they've got some vitamin A and C in them right?

The batter is really easy to prepare once you've got your sweet potatoes cooked and mashed. They can also be swapped for pure canned pumpkin if you've got some left over from Thanksgiving.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup sweet potato puree (from approximately 2 medium sized sweet potatoes or 1 large)

1 egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoons vinegar

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together the milk, sweet potato, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, stir into the sweet potato mixture just enough to combine (lumps are okay people!).

Heat a lightly oiled griddle pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot. Optional: Top with toasted pecans.

This Firefly is Not So Brilliant

For me, red wines are most desired during dismal times. Not sure what it is, but it seems as though I usually crave reds when I'm stressed after a long day, week, or lets be honest... month! Red wines are like the friend I can always lean on when I get home. Anyone else feel the same? Perhaps it's a seasonal thing? Anyway, lets raise a glass to my second wine review!

Firefly Ridge, Central Coast 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

I know, another Cabernet... I blame it on my own curiosity. I've already explored the wonderful world of pinot noir and this is just the next step.

This Cabernet Sauvignon is a beautiful ruby-red color. I get a berry/amaretto aroma after swirling.* It has notes of currant and a light oak taste. It's rather spicy but not overpowering. The problem lies with its strong alcohol taste. I wouldn't say it's terrible but just okay. BUT, there are better cabs for your buck out there.

*Side note: swirling isn't just for wine snobs. It aerates the wine, which means it absorbs oxygen and lets the wine develop it's aroma. It's said that smelling the wine will give you the most information about the wine since your nose can recognize thousands of different smells as opposed to the few flavors our tastebuds can identify. You'd typically open a red wine about an hour before serving to let it breathe, preferably in a designer carafe or decanter.**

**I know everyone will be putting this blood vessel-looking wine carafe on their Christmas lists this year!

Kitchen Clean Out!

How many cans of food or boxes of pasta do you have in your pantry? Exactly. This month I'm going to try to clear everything out of my pantry. I've got about 6 boxes of different pasta, soup to feed about 10, and my fridge is full of vegetables I bought at random, without knowing what to do with them. Finally, I will put them all to good use!

This is one of my favorite pasta recipes. It's one of Rachael Ray's although, I've adapted it to what I had on hand.

Pasta Puttanesca Adapted from Rachael Ray

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, chopped (you can use half an onion if that's what you have)
4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 /2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
20 oil-cured black or Kalamata olives, cracked away from pit and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons capers
1 medium zuchinni, sliced into rounds or quarter rounds
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 (14.5-ounce) can tomato sauce (instead of using tomato sauce from the can, I used about 2 cups of basic basil marinara sauce from TJ's)
A few grinds black pepper
1/4 cup (a couple of handfuls) flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound spaghetti(or whatever pasta you have on hand), cooked to al dente
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add oil, shallots, garlic, and crushed pepper. Saute mixture until shallots and garlic are tender, about 3 minutes. Add olives, capers, zuchinni, tomatoes, tomato sauce, black pepper, and parsley. Bring sauce to a bubble, reduce heat, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes. Once the pasta is finished cooking, toss pasta with the puttanesca sauce and a grate some parm over the top. Delicious!

Epic Fail

Sorry everyone, this past week and a half has been extremely busy! I promise to have a new post up by this weekend. Hope everyone had a wonderful halloween!