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