Feasting

A sampling of the menus I have been privileged to enjoy over the past couple of weeks:

Post-run breakfast:

Mexican hot chocolate

Crispy rosemary potatoes with scrambled eggs, jalapeno slices, and chives

Blackberry pancakes

Christmas Themed Dinner Party

crostini with smoked, aged, Norwegian goat cheese

mixed greens tossed with pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries, pistachios, and walnuts

rack of lamb with roasted garlic and red wine reduction

cedar plank grilled salmon

mashed yukon potatoes with broccoli and cauliflower

fresh sauteed asparagus

pumpkin mousse pie

*this dinner was accompanied by 2 delightful wine pairings*

"The" After-Party (exclusive event at our home- that's all I can say)

aged white cheddar (served with apple slices and crackers)

Quailhurst Vineyard 2003 Nassau Valley Estate Pinot Noir - one of the best bottles of wine I've had this year

Tree Lighting Ceremony

Bronx Pizza - Margherita and pepperoni with green bell pepper

Mixed greens with roasted chicken and balsamic vinaigrette

Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay

Happy weekend, friends!

Reading

The past month has flittered by without me so much as realizing it was gone. Here we are, in early December, with Bing Crosby ringing holiday cheer out of my computer speakers.

Although I have not had the opportunity to do a ton of cooking this month, I have been doing a lot of eating AND a lot of reading. The eating part is significantly less unique than the reading part, which is something I rarely have the time to do. It started on my Hawaiian vacation with two of the world's greatest and most precious (to me) people, Julie and Ryan. Being the perfect vacation, and the perfect vacationing couples, each of us had a handful of books we were excited to read on the beach and by the pool. As previously stated, I am usually not a big reader, so I limited my books to two. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffner and Annie Barrows. I thoroughly enjoyed each of these books, surprising myself with the speed at which I finished them. Each book was made even more enjoyable with the addition of a strawberry mint spritzer - fresh strawberry puree, fresh mint leaves, sparkling water, and a hint of some other flavoring I could not distinguish.

Where eating is concerned, my meals have ranged from fresh caught local Hawaiian fish, seared perfectly just for me and served either in corn tortillas or on a bed of sauteed vegetables to whole Maryland crabs that poked through my skin as I tried to crack them open, spurring on tears and me questioning whether or not I really wanted to work that hard for my food. (I did.) It also included a nice, heavy, home-made Italian meal made by me and my Mom, who is not Italian at all but we still had fun going through her old cookbooks and coming up with the most fattening post-Thanksgiving menu we could. For the curious, it involved prosciutto, fontina, lots of butter and cream, and fresh sage leaves.

In a nutshell, I think that sums up my November. Now to come up with some great recipes for the annual Christmas Chill.

Harvest Party

In honor of the turning of the leaves (yes, even here in San Diego our leaves turn!) Glenn and I threw a Harvest Party a few weeks ago. I made two soups: Cheddar Corn Chowder and the Ultimate Beef Stew. I call it the "ultimate" beef stew because that is what the actual title was, thank you Tyler Florence for your cute smile and naming everything "ultimate". And it was delicious, so that helps. Mary made a stew that might have been the hit of the evening - Mulligatawny - Indian curry soup with chicken.

I had corn chowder coming out of my ears for the next week and eventually had to throw out a few bowlfuls, burned the blueberry muffins (both times), and Glenn mixed The Perfect Storm all evening - a cocktail a good friend of ours created for a recent Finer Things Club meeting. The best part of the night, however, was getting together with friends and sharing a simple, comforting bowl of soup, a glass of oaky chardonnay, and many laughs. I have missed these moments - long time friends coming together, new connections being made between friends of friends, and laughter echoing throughout our patio and home. This is the reason I cook, the reason I love to entertain, and what I was created for.

** I made this silly flyer and e-mailed it to everyone to save paper and money - made on a Mac. :)**

Kristin Loves...

1. Groupon

My best friend Julie told me about Groupon, before it was available in San Diego. She found all sorts of fun places to go to in Boston and explained how these "group coupons" work. Groupon is fairly new to San Diego, but so far I have purchased a handful of lovely options for 50% off or more! Today's deal, which has been my favorite so far, is for afternoon tea at Tea Upon Chatsworth, which is one of my favorite San Diego tea shops. I bought one, and am thinking about buying another. Who doesn't love high tea?

2. Bangs and fall pins

Although bangs tend to make me look like a 5 year old, I don't really mind. Ever since Stuff White People Like mocked girls with bangs, I have decided it was just the thing for me. Seriously, though, how fun are they? And fall pins with feathers in them make bangs even more exciting.

3. Vacation. Need I say more?

Heaven

For the last month, all I have craved is a Bread and Cie croissant and a cappucino, made fresh just for me. I imagined myself sitting, ever so cooly, in the cute Hillcrest cafe reading an awesome magazine or of-the-moment book. I would, of course, be wearing something just trendy enough and every gay man that walked by would compliment the way I chose to spend my Saturday afternoon.

The reality of Saturday's to-do lists often interfere with my imaginary afternoon snacks, as the laundry, grocery store, and dirty dishes pile up in front of me. Not this Saturday, though. I found an excuse to run an errand in Hillcrest, and spent an hour with these three good friends. My own little piece of heaven.

Out Sick

I have been out sick for what seems like eternity, but in reality has only been a week. Finally back among the land of the living, I am prepared to share with you what I have been eating in my illness:

matzo ball soup

mish mash soup

chicken noodle soup

scrambled eggs with toast

Yes, folks, it really has been an exciting week. More fun stories soon!

~Kristin

Gourmet Closes it's Doors

I am honestly in shock. I can only imagine how the staff of Gourmet feels. They are closing their doors. Cleaning out their desks. Done for good.

Thank you, Gourmet, and their awesome Editor-in-Chief Ruth Reichl for helping encourage my deep love for food and wine, as well as helping me create some of the most fun meals I have had.

No Winner...

Well, unfortunately there was no winner in my contest so I guess I'll just keep the $5 and buy myself an iced tea later today. Here were the CORRECT answers:

1. Pineapple (duh - if you had guessed that one wrong, we would need to have some words)

2. Shrimp Tempura roll (sushi is an acceptable answer I guess.)

3. Carne Asada (Kimberly, I am particularly disappointed in you for not knowing this. You need to move back because apparently you have forgotten everything.)

4. Pad Thai

Things I Ate - Weekend Edition

This is a list, in picture form, of things I ate this weekend. See if you can guess what they are.

I will mail a $5 bill to the first person that guesses all of them correctly. Yay, prizes!

My Mom's Blog

My Mom saw Julie & Julia this past weekend and decided to do her own version of Julie Powell's blog, but with Ina Garten cookbooks! Of course everyone will be in love with everything she makes, because, come on, every recipe Ina has ever created is scrumptious.

Here is the fun thing about my Mom's blog: my Mom is HILARIOUS. Seriously, she's so funny. If you have ever met her, you will understand just how funny she is without even meaning to be funny. Her blog is totally her, too. Another fun thing about my Mom: she writes in a similar style to mine. (Meaning, she writes in the best style ever.)

Check out her blog sometime if you care to, you may get some ideas for yummy Ina recipes!!

http://www.tiredcook.blogspot.com (I helped her come up with that name - heck yes.)

Restaurant Week Re-Cap

I will try to keep this post short because, sadly, I have no pictures from last week's edible adventures.

Tuesday night we hit up Kemo Sabe - in addition to some great faves being on the menu, they also were running a $10 bottle of wine special. HELLO. We took the bro and sis in law and feasted our hearts out. One bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, one bottle of Malbec. Three courses each. Yumm.

We took it easy the rest of the week and saved ourselves for Friday night's feast at Suite & Tender. It was super fun trying out a new restaurant, and this place is the hippest of the hip. I will briefly describe the foods we ate and what I thought of them, and then give you my top 3 moments of the night.

Kristin Ate:

Maple Glazed Bacon (shared with Caitlin)

Alaskan King Crab and Veal Tenderloin (side note -when I ordered this, the waiter told me the veal was served medium rare and asked if that was ok. I said "Yes, I love raw baby cow." His response: "Excellent!")

Tropical Baked Alaska

Favorite part was the entree - the veal was very tender and quite flavorful, served with a roasted brussel sprout slaw. The crab was soaking in butter which made it equally delicious.

Other items on the menu that our friends sampled were pork belly served with seared scallops, braised short rib with lobster claw, heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad, and the Suite and Tender cheesecake, which was nothing like cheesecake at all but more of a cheesecake flavored ice cream whip thing covered in milk chocolate and drizzled with passion fruit coulis. Excellent!

I think what I enjoyed the most about Suite & Tender was that it was something different, that I had the opportunity to try pork belly which I have never had before, and that it was somewhere totally not "me" as far as personality, yet I didn't feel uncomfortable or like I didn't belong. Now on to my favorite moments of the night.

1. The table-side cocktails. So fun. The waiter came out pushing a metal cart with every ingredient to each of our cocktails and mixed them right there for us.

2. The guy/girl bathroom. Sounds shady, but it was fun. The bathroom walls are made of millions of flat white pebbles, each of them shipped over from a beach in China where the architect was on vacation and decided he needed to have them for these bathroom walls. There is an attendant, so no one can behave badly, and the bathroom stall doors are floor to ceiling.

3. The steak knife selection. After the appetizers were cleared, the waiter came around with a lovely platter of steak knives for us to choose from. I chose the Global (clearly) but there were so many cool ones on there and I just loved the idea of choosing your own knife.

4. The Executive Chef delivered some of our meals. Love.

All in all, another great Restaurant Week.

See you in January,

Kristin

Kristin Loves...

My friend Julie and I were chatting last night about how EVERYONE seems to be copying Jasmine Star's "Kisses and Disses." It's just too great and fun to not copy, though! So anyway, since I am Miss Positivity, I don't have any "disses" today, but I do want to share a couple of things I'm loving at the moment.

1. Cutter's Point Vache Mocha. Talk to me, College Area peeps. This place is the bomb-dizzle-dom. Free wi-fi, a plethora of plugs for your laptop, and home of the Vache Mocha, aka Liquid Crack. One sip and you're gone forever. It tastes like a grown up version of chocolate milk, just creamier.

2. My new work computer. From Dell desktop with way too many cords and viruses to this beauty. I'm pretty sure my boss is bribing me to stay forever, and I'm also pretty sure these bribes are working.

3. Real conversations. This one may be a little deep for a Friday morning, but I am sharing it nonetheless. Being real is vulnerable, scary, and sometimes embarrassing, yet when we are honest and truthful and REAL with each other we see growth and positive change. I have been honored this week to share in real conversation with a few great friends, and am reminded each time of the love, grace, commitment, and freedom God offers us. It also reminds me of a favorite quote from Clueless "Cause I'm keepin' it real, just keepin' it real."

Happy weekending!

~Kristin

My Attempt at Gnudi

A little while ago I tried to replicate the gnudi they serve at The Spotted Pig. My friend Mary sent me a recipe and it seemed simple enough, so I thought I would try it out. For the visual learners, here are the gnudi at the Spotted Pig.


And here are my gnudi.


Mine were good - particularly the fried sage leaves (yum - who knew butter and sage could taste so good together?) and I would recommend making them on a cool fall evening, but they lacked the plump texture of the Pig's, as well as the more dramatic flavor.

I will keep searching and trying out gnudi recipes that taste at least a little like the Pig's, until I move to New York and can dine in Greenwich Village every week. So send over your recipes, and I'll post something when we try them out.

~Kristin

San Diego Restaurant Week

A few people have asked for this, so here it is. The "official" Kristin Murdock San Diego Restaurant Week 2009 Recommended Restaurant List. Wow that was a long title.

In the $20 category... my only recommendation is Athens Market. The other places, I feel, I wouldn't even spend $20 eating there on a regular night, so why spend that much during Restaurant Week which is supposed to be a "deal" of sorts? Anyway, if you choose to be a cheapskate and only do the $20 Restaurant Week restaurants, go to Athens Market and at least order the flaming cheese because it's most delightful.

The $30 gives us a few more options:

1. Currant Brasserie - A place I have yet to try but have been wanting to for over a year. It is located in the Sophia Hotel (cute) and has a very fun vintage style to it. I also like that you can watch the chef(s) preparing each meal from outside of the restaurant. It reminds me of Greenwich Village for some reason.

2. Kemo Sabe - a nice place to add to your "staples" as almost all Cohn restaurants are at least moderately trustworthy. Also a great place to use those Cohn gift cards you've been holding onto since last Christmas. They have better offerings this year on their RW menu than the other Cohn restaurants. Glenn and I are going to be taking his brother and sister-in-law out to Kemo Sabe on Tuesday night, so if you're there too, be sure to say hello.

3. Peohe's - yes it's boring, yes it's visited primarily by retired individuals, but come on - they have decent seafood, beautiful views, and it makes me feel like I'm in Hawaii every time I eat there. Worth $30 in my book.

4. Truluck's - this is a chain, which is a point against it, but I had never heard of it until it came to San Diego so I think it's still worth checking out. Their crab is the best I've ever tasted, and that includes one that I picked out while it was still alive on the wharf in San Francisco. If you make it to Truluck's, you must have two items:
1. crab
2. the chocolate bag

3. Suite and Tender - another place I have not yet been, but I'm going on Friday! James Beard award winning chef, deep, cushy leather seats, and a ridiculously trendy hotel are all reasons I am excited to try what San Diego magazine's critics dubbed the "best new restaurant" of 2008. Did I really just say that?

Now for the "glory" restaurants. The ones where you're really getting your money's worth. Those blessed $40 three course meals.
1. A. R. Valentien - fresh, seasonal ingredients, feel snooty because you are eating at the Lodge at Torrey Pines, which, yes, is where Justin Timberlake stayed last time he was in town.

2. Bertrand at Mr A's - although it's certainly not the best food in San Diego, it's a fun place and a legend. I love eating here because of the view, the service, and the fact that this has been "the" restaurant you never thought you could eat at ever since I was a little girl. Be warned, you will spend more than $40 on your meal, as they have easy ways to make it more extravagant and you'll feel the need to buy at least one glass of wine.

3. My new favorite place - Market Restaurant and Bar. Yumm. See here if you need more details than the fact that this is now my favorite place.

Restaurant Week is a great way to experience fun places around San Diego you normally would not have the opportunity to eat at, or at least not for under $100 a person. Happy feasting, and I look forward to seeing you all around town next week!

~Kristin

Summer Wrap-Up - Photo Style

It seems I have no choice but to do an end of summer wrap-up post, including highlights from the summer and photo after photo.  These posts generally wind up being the most popular, although I am not sure why.  So here's what I did this summer, or at least a few of the things. 

First, as seen above, we experienced the Prado's new spring/summer menu which included Milk & Cookies. I would recommend having this dessert, even though it may seem kind of boring. The "milk" was a vanilla bean pot de creme and quite lovely when each cookie was dipped in it. I enjoyed my dinner, and dessert, with a glass of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, which I generally am opposed to ordering at a restaurant because it's so "known" and simple, but no one can deny it being a light and lovely summer wine. If you haven't tried it, head to Costco and buy yourself a bottle for only $14. 

This summer I also attempted my first Beef Wellington. I didn't follow a recipe, and am not even sure what the traditional Beef Wellington consists of, other than I do believe there is some sort of offal in it, which I clearly omitted. I stuffed mine with sauteed mushrooms, herbs, and small filet mignons.  Were I to make these again, I would add a flavorful sauce of sorts, and barely sear the outside of the filets before wrapping them in pastry dough.  

A new BBQ place is in town(Frankie the Bull's on West Morena), and it's right down the street from USD (yay!).  Andy, Blair and I set out to try it for lunch one day.  The beef brisket was very flavorful, and the macaroni and cheese is tasty and made with real cheddar, the way mac and cheese should be.  Sadly, so far I have not enjoyed anything else on the menu.  It seems like, if you're looking for good BBQ in San Diego, Phil's is still the place to go.

We traveled to Seattle at the end of July for our good friend's Deanna and Caleb's wedding. We visited fun coffee shops, I bought shoes and pajama's at the flagship Nordstrom (a Kalleberg girl's mecca), and tried Theo chocolates - recommended by Caitlin and very delicious indeed. Yes that is Sheri's diet coke in the background. 

The 5 of us (including Deanna) have been "the girls" since early high school. We had so much fun reconnecting, laughing, and sitting around the hotel bar sipping wine. 

From Seattle I headed an hour (by plane) south and caught up with Liz and Doug in Napa.  I already blogged quite a bit about CADE in Napa, so I got the general idea of our trip (awesome, wine and food filled... can't wait to do it again).  Our Napa experience began with a picnic sitting in a vineyard - goat cheese, fresh baguette, and local artisan salami. 

From Napa I had the joy of flying all the way across the country to see my best friend Julie, who I dearly miss, and who also has a baby growing inside of her. Look at that cute belly!

Along with a fun day in the city, I also had the opportunity to try a lobster roll for the first time. Julie and I decided we could make a better one. I think I would create a fresh herb filled lemon vinaigrette and toss the lobster in it, instead of mayonnaise.  Maybe next time I'm at Point Loma Seafoods I'll pick up a couple of lobsters and attempt these at home. 

On my last day in town, Julie and I welcomed Brian home from camp with a lovely grilled steak and garlic sandwich.  

The summer ended, as it does every year, with Glenn's birthday.  Swanky hotel, biking and cupcakes in Coronado, and a surprise trip to Disneyland. What a summer!

No Title Necessary

I might have just eaten the best meal of my life. I'm not entirely sure, as I do love a good New York restaurant and have had excellent experiences there,  but for San Diego dining, every bite I had tonight was an explosion of flavor in my mouth.  "Best" meal is hard to define and very subjective, I know... I would, and probably always will, name the best meal of my life as dinner at the Napa Rose the night Glenn asked me to marry him.  However, judging purely on ingredient and flavor, I have probably had a better meal. "Best" is all about the whole experience. And tonight was the "best" meal I've had in a while. 

If you are wondering where to experience this deliciousness, please visit Market (former chef of Arterra, ummm... clearly it's awesome) in Del Mar and try everything on the menu. Started with cocktails, ended with a cappuccino.  Details about the meal may emerge in future posts, but I had to share this nugget with you before I officially blogged about it.

And now for something completely different... my blog is boring. Not the actual verbiage (I hope) but the blog and design itself. I am working on it, so keep your judgements contained for the time being.  My goal for a new site was mid-August. That obviously happened (not), so now the new goal is October.   I probably won't actually listen to them, but suggestions are accepted, just leave them in the comments section.

Love and filled bellies to all,

Kristin

In The Zone

This is what you eat 2 days before you meet with the CrossFit nutrition specialist.



Why? Because it's the best bagel in town. Why? Because you know that even though the nutrition plan you are committing to is so good for your body and will help you meet your goals faster, you will miss some of those guilty pleasure foods. Why? Because even though this new way of eating is not "low carb" - you're about 98.7% sure it does not include freshly baked salt bagels with mounds of chive cream cheese.

Oh, sweet carbo-loading, how I will miss you. I will not, however, miss the late 20's weight that seems so attached to me it refuses to leave. Excessive amounts of lettuce, here I come!

Wine Plus Me Equals Awesomeness

Last week I had the opportunity to vacation all over the country (thanks for the time off, boss!) and see friends I haven't seen in a looong time. One portion of my trip was spending 2.5 days in Napa Valley with the Blocksma family sipping our way from vineyard to vineyard, pretending to know what we were talking about as we breathed in young cabernet sauvignon and unoaked chardonnay.

We started Tuesday (well, Doug started at this point.. Liz and I had already been for a nice long walk, figured out our breakfast stop, and read half the New Testament) with an 11am appointment at CADE Winery. It took a bit to get up the hill, but once we finally found it and stepped onto the grounds, we realized the windy drive was worth it.

Stunning, isn't it? And that was taken on my iphone. The property was absolutely the most beautiful I have ever seen. We walked up, were ignored a little bit while the more snooty falooty individuals sipped their sauvignon blanc (excellent) and the blonde employee whose father happened to have been the poject manager on this property's construction, and who also happened to be wearing the orange Tory Burch flats I have been scrimping and saving for, explained to them exactly what they were tasting. She came over to us several minutes later, poured us a decent sampling of said sauvignon blanc (yep, still excellent) and answered any questions we had about the winery and property.

CADE is an extremely 'green' winery and is on track to be LEED certified, which I could care less about. It does mean, however, that if you have an electric car and can somehow make it all the way up the hill to CADE on just your power, you will have a place to plug in and sample $60-$200 bottles of wine while your vehicle charges. It also means that if you are trying to convince everyone around you that you are, as my mother would say "trying to go green", buying wine from them will probably work in your favor.

Let me cut to the chase. I loved CADE and would go back on my next trip to Napa without a doubt. The things I loved about it, however, had nothing to do with the 93 points Robert Parker gave them recently, or the fact that they have solar panels on their roof. I loved the view, the sauvignon blanc, and the fact that they have a chef who creates food and wine pairing menus 3-4 times a week (next trip! with jessica!). I also loved that everyone visiting at the same time we were there gave off an aura of wine knowledge that was mostly made up. Oh wine snobs, what would the world be like without you?

I Love Anonymous

I'm not sure who posted the fun anonymous comment on my last post, but whoever you are, I love you. You're funny so we are probably either related or friends, in which case - let's hang out.

More to come soon!

KM

A Letter

Dear Internet,

As a food blogger, I have a certain "food lifestyle" I am supposed to live up to. When people come over to my house, I cook great things. When friends talk about the hip new restaurants around San Diego or the rest of the world, I have generally heard of these places and share in their excitement. When Ruth Reichl tweets about dining at Lupa, I get excited because I ate there on my most recent trip to New York. Considering all of these things, oh Internet, can you please explain to me why I had an ant on a log (singular), half a cup of 60 calorie chicken noodle soup, and a glass of Chardonnay for dinner tonight?

Eagerly awaiting your response,

Kristin

Bronx Pizza, Revisited

One of my favorite things about a life devoted to food and drink is introducing, and being introduced to, new delicious places. A few weeks ago I found out my friends Mary and Caitlin, both fellow eaters and lovers of all things lactose, had yet to experience Bronx Pizza. My newfound obsession with Bronx Pizza, documented in this post, instilled in me the need to introduce these ladies to the worthy of burning the roof of your mouth flavors I love so much.

What better time to welcome a New York pizza joint than immediately following exercise? The three of us ran and walked through Balboa Park and decided a perfect ending to the evening was a slice of Bronx. Or, to be more accurate, 9 slices of Bronx. Here is the pie we ordered.


Half pesto and roasted bell pepper, half pepperoni and green bell pepper. After 8-10 visits, I am almost positive pepperoni and green bell pepper is my favorite topping combination. The vegetable to cheese to pork "meat" ratio is excellent. The only way to make the pepperoni green bell pepper pizza better is with a light sprinkling of crushed red pepper.


I am happy to say both Mary and Caitlin loved their Bronx Pizza experience. Just look at this smiling face! Now we need to plan another running date so we can justify a 2nd round of gluttony.

Bronx Pizza
www.bronxpizza.com
111 Washington Street, San Diego, 92103

Mango Sticky Rice

I had heard of the fabulousness of Mango Sticky Rice for several months now, but unfortunately do not spend enough time at Thai restaurants to have experienced it until TODAY!

Caitlin and I met for a workday lunch in Kearny Mesa at a restaurant called Thai House Cuisine. In my opinion, when it comes to Mexican, Asian, and African foods - the less original the name, the more authentic and delicious the food. Thai House Cuisine did not disappoint. I had a hard time finding it knowing only the address, so I had to call Caitlin to ask her what the building looked like. "The outside looks kind of like a castle, and it's right next to the Coral Rock Store" was her response. This made me giggle. I have no idea why the outside of the building looks like a castle, but it does. Once you get inside, however, the room is buzzing with people and no one looked like they were pursuing a career at Medieval Times, so don't let the castle scare you off.

Caitlin ordered the Crispy Bowl - a bowl made of noodles and then fried and filled with delicious fresh vegetables, shrimp, and chicken. I ordered the Drunken Fish, which I had read was excellent, and it was. Two fresh fish fillets, breaded and fried, swimming in sweet and tangy Thai sauce. Both entrees were quite tasty and fresh, and also well under $10 which was nice for our mid-day meal.

I mentioned to Caitlin that I had never tried mango sticky rice but had heard good things, so she was a true friend and ordered us a portion to share. I am not sure what the mango sticky rice is like at other restaurants, but it was most fantastic at Thai House Cuisine. It was exactly what I expected, yet surprising at the same time. Sweet, extremely sticky rice that appeared to have been cooked in coconut milk, topped with a perfectly ripe mango. So simple, so delicious, so sticky.

Thanks to Caitlin for a fun lunch date, and to Thai House Cuisine for some seriously yummy Thai food. I will return to the castle in the near future.

Looking Forward

I know every post is supposed to have pictures. Pictures are fun, pictures make people want to read what you wrote about them, pictures are full of life and color, bla bla bla. I don't have any pictures but I still want to write, so I'll just try to keep this post short and give you a preview of the week ahead.

Sesame encrusted grilled ahi

Granny smith apples with peanut butter and sharp white cheddar (a favorite snack)

Mixed grill - fresh sausages, rack of lamb, marinated chicken breast, pork tenderloin

Hazelnut semifreddo

Seared tuna tacos

Orechiette with fresh mozzarella (my pre-10 mile carbo load, if you will)

See you on the other side of the weekend!

Weekending in Los Angeles

As my previous post indicated, my youngest sister Katherine is in town. The day before her birthday we drove to Beverly Hills for the ultimate 17th birthday weekend. Our trip started with a long drive from USD to the heart of Beverly Hills, with only one pit stop along the way somewhere off the 405 I hope to never visit again.


We checked in (relived to be out of the car and away from Los Angeles traffic for the time being) and hopped right into the pool. A martini, a Shirley Temple and an ice water sipped poolside, we realized this weekend was going to be one of the best of the summer.

Our first evening in Los Angeles we decided to walk down the street to Sprinkles, then wandered around Rodeo Drive and the surrounding streets. After trying several cupcake shops around the country, I think Sprinkles is still my favorite. There is a different taste to a Sprinkles cupcake. Maybe it's the "all natural" ingredients they use, or the fact that it was the first famous cupcake I tasted. Every time I have one, no matter what flavor, I simply love it. Friday night's flavor was milk chocolate, but of course on Sunday I picked up a lemon and chocolate coconut to bring home and share with Glenn. Yum.


Friday evening we decided to head to another famous LA establishment - Pink's Hot Dog Stand. Waiting in line for an hour was part of the experience, and we were only happy to do it. Left to right we had the guacamole dog (Katherine), the Rosie (me), and the 10 inch stretch chili cheese dog (Corrie).




Saturday we woke up moderately early to spend Katherine's birthday at Disneyland! Of course we had to stop by her favorite place - Starbucks - before we went into the park. Seeing as we were celebrating, chocolate croissants and cheese danishes were definitely the way to go.




Once inside the park, we rode our favorite rides, enjoyed a fabulous lunch (see below for pictures!) and ended the day with the new fireworks show. A perfect birthday, if I do say so myself.

Filet Mignon with a tempura onion ring and polenta, served in a simple red wine reduction sauce.

Grilled monk fish in lobster sherry bisque.

Roast chicken with vegetables and truffle macaroni and cheese.


On our last morning in LA we had the driver at the hotel drop us off at a local breakfast spot - Panini Cafe. Corrie and I shared a veggie omelet, Katherine had a breakfast panini with egg and brie and sipped on a latte. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

She's On Her Way

My crazy little sister (well, they're all crazy, but she's the littlest) Katherine is coming to visit! She flies in tonight and the first thing she requested was... JV's. Here are the other foods we have planned for the next few days:

1. Sprinkles Cupcakes
2. Pink's Hot Dogs
3. Breaking in the new BBQ at my in-law's
4. Late night California Burritos in our 'hood
5. In N Out
6. Fair food (which includes a cinnamon roll, hot dog on a stick, and those delicious freshly fried chips!)

Fly safe, Katherine, can't wait to see you!

A Story About Saturday Night

Inspired by our good friends Kim and James Buckley, Glenn and I have tried to take turns planning fun things to do together for the past few months. When it's my turn itusually looks something like this:

K's brain: It's Saturday, I have the day off and am feeling super successful because I went on a long run. I'm going to plan something elaborately extraordinary for Glenn and I to do tonight!

G's brain: Wow, I'm sure glad tomorrow is Sunday. It was fun to see Kristin when she stopped by after her run (side note - this post-run Chick-fil-A stop is almost weekly), and I'm excited for whatever she's planning tonight. I hope she realizes how little money is in our bank account and just how tired I am from working x amount of hours this week.

K's brain: Yes, Glenn will definitely be ok with us going to this swanky new restaurant and then driving to Los Angeles for cupcakes. It's going to be so fun!

You get the idea. He slaves away all week so we can live this awesome life; I plan elaborate date nights and vacations for us. Needless to say, occasionally my "brilliant" ideas need some taming before they actually happen, especially on Saturday nights.

One particular Saturday night, however, I was determined to plan something we were both equally thrilled with, and something that would not cost half my paycheck. I was also wanting to experience a restaurant I either had not been to, or had only been to once, for blog research, of course. (A business expense! I could write it off!) And so, I decided we would make the trek up to a small town north of us called Encinitas.

For dinner, I made a reservation at Vigilucci's Trattoria Italiana. I did a tiny bit of research on the Vigilucci family, as I noticed they have several restaurants around town. The Trattoria was the first place they opened, and has won several awards for outstanding cuisine and a great wine list. I should interject here and say that I was never a huge Italian food fan until I spent a semester in Lugano, which is part of Ticino, the Italian section of Switzerland. My roommate was a sweet girl from Milano who had a way of saying Dolce Gabbana that would put Giada's "mozzarella" to shame. She, along with the rest of my friends there, introduced me to the lovely food and wines of Northern Italy, which has since become one of my favorite regions.

Vigilucci's Trattoria Italiana put me right back into the streets of Milan where I sipped an aperitif and snacked on house cured meats, fresh foccacia, and grilled vegetables. We sat outside on the patio (is there any other way to sit when San Diego is your home?) where twinkling white lights surrounded us, local surfers drove by, and our waiter entertained us with stories of all the foods and wines he loved.



Finally, a picture. This was our appetizer - the 'sampler' platter, for lack of a less American phrase. Everything on the plate was delicious, but my favorites were the mozzarella di bufala, the salami, and the olives. For dinner, I had the veal cutlets with a light mushroom and caper sauce, served alongside linguini. I honestly don't remember what Glenn ordered, but I do know it was delicious, just maybe not as delicious as mine. We shared a lovely bottle of crisp Italian white wine our waiter recommended, and at the end of the night the server handed Glenn the bill and me a long-stemmed rose! If that isn't the perfect end to a Saturday night, I don't know what is. Oh, maybe this... my plate at the end of the night.

A Trip to Costco

This has been either my entire breakfast or a large portion of my breakfast for 3 of the past 5 days. A box of raspberries. Why? A trip to Costco.

I LOVE Costco. I have loved it since it was The Price Club and I would go there with my Mom and look at the Cabbage Patch Kids that were stacked from the floor to the ceiling. They have high quality products in huge volume for way less than you could get at any grocery or specialty store. The problem: there are only 3 of us living under one roof. Three people would not consume 8 boxes of raspberries in a week's time under normal circumstances. So I have to eat raspberries almost daily. I have not grown tired of them just yet, but I also probably won't buy another 8 boxes next time I go. Even though they are a mere $6.99.

"I have heard him compare his store to a price club, and the books in it to olive oil." - Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail

The Regulars

I have been eating out a lot lately. A lot. I can blame it on Jessica's visit, I can blame it on the gift cards we have purchased and received lately, I can blame it on not having time to go to the grocery store after work... but really, who am I kidding, I love to eat out and so it doesn't exactly take twisting my arm to get me to go.

One thing I have not been doing is eating at new places. We have been spending a good deal of time at the old stand-by's which has given me the opportunity to try new things. Today's post is dedicated to a few 'fall-back' restaurants and new things I've tried there. See, you can teach an old cat new tricks. Or is that dog? I don't know, that's why I write about food.

First up: C Level. You can all join in unison and roll your eyes at me. I KNOW I always go to C Level. It's totally my old stand by. I know the menu inside and out. I know the wine flights inside and out. The wine flights and menu both taste better when sitting on the heated patio on a day other than Friday or Saturday, as this is one place whose quality suffers when super busy. You're sick of hearing about how I'll never get over them getting over the lobster artichoke fondue (cue horrible yet somehow uber popular Expose song from the early 90's), how the seared ahi sandwich and lobster mac and cheese are my favorite items on the menu, and exactly why the regular burger was significantly better than the Kobe burger is. Relax, friends, I know I've said it all before... that is why I bring you: A NEW MENU ITEM!!!!!!!


This is not just any new menu item, it's my new favorite menu item and the dish I have ordered the last three times I have visited C Level. Everything Crusted Ahi is it's name, and Deborah (we're on a first name basis despite the fact that I've only met her half a time. I will introduce myself to her one of these evenings) pairs it with black rice, a lovely pineapple salsa, and a little bit of wasabi. Light, flavorful, and very fresh - this ahi dish is perfect with the eclectic or fruity white flight.

Next on the list, Hash House A Go Go. Hash House, which has become a Matt Hughes staple, is my favorite place to go when celebrating at breakfast time. Whether it's post-race, pre-workday, or the start of a great birthday - Hash House is a fun place to start your morning. My most recent trip was to celebrate my sister Corrie's (picture above) birthday! She turned 24 (which means I am getting old) and we figured, why not ring in this year with enormous amounts of Benedict?




The Eggs Benedict (in this case, Roasted Chicken Benedict) was a new dish for me, as we generally do a hash and a pancake. Glenn, of course, had to get his favorite Snickers pancake in addition to the 3.5 pounds of mashed potato-biscuit-egg-chicken-hollandaise goodness that was on my plate. This may have been the best thing I've ever ordered at Hash House. I thought they had it made with the hashes, but no, the Benedict was out of this world. More food than any man (or horse) should consume in two days, but the thing is, it actually tastes really good, too.



My final restaurant is one I do not have any pictures from, mostly because everything is too good to stop and take pictures of. It is also not a place I have blogged about in the past, but if you follow me on Twitter, you will know that I have been there four (FOUR!) times in the last two weeks. Bronx Pizza. This might be the best pizza I've ever eaten in my life. Actually, I take that back. The best pizza I've ever eaten in my life was in the real New York at a place I am sure I will never find again. It was 2:30 in the morning and we had spent the last several hours in deep conversation at a bar/club we were told was just a fun place to hang out but actually turned out to be a gay bar (yikes is all I have to say about that one...). Seeing as there has never been a time where I haven't been hungry at 2:30am, we all decided to stop in for a slice of pizza on our way home. It was so good.

Bronx is almost as good as that. Post gay-bar when you were expecting fun pub good. In the last 2 weeks I have had: pesto, pepperoni and mushroom, bell pepper and pepperoni, spinach and mushroom, and plain cheese. Pesto and bell pepper with pepperoni are my favorites, and if you can muster up 2 or 3 of your friends to go with you, order a whole pie as they make those super fresh just for you. One thing to remember: bring cash! Bronx Pizza does NOT take cards of any kind, so save up those dollar bills.