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