1 month ago
Selections from Extraordinary Desserts
We tried (top left, clockwise): La Bête Noire (“Traditional vanilla crème brûlée, chocolate truffle cream are layered in between dark chocolate cakes and moistened with Madagascar vanilla bean.”), Gianduia (“Myer’s Rum laced chocolate cake layers are married with hazelnut buttercream, chocolate mousse, and boysenberry preserves. Crushed pralines cover this most popular dessert.”), Torta Misu (“Our unique version of Tiramisu consists of espresso soaked ricotta cake layers and Italian mascarpone rum cream. This house favorite is finished with whipped cream and dusted with cocoa.”), and Ivoire Royale (“An exquisite torte made of fine layers of vanilla bean soaked pound cakes and creamy white chocolate mousse. Bursting with fresh raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and blueberrIes, this delicate mousse torte is hidden by white chocolate shaving dusted with powdered sugar.”). We also tried some sort of fruit Pavlova, which was excellent.
weekend foodie rundown
The boyfriend came across the country this weekend to spend time with me, so the friends and I decided to rise to the occasion and eat our way through San Diego. As expected, I spent my first paycheck on stuffing my face.
The cheapest, most assessable (read: white-palate friendly) sushi and Japanese food in San Diego, available at three locations (Sushi Delis 1, 2, and 3). It’s not the best sushi I’ve ever had, but at its price, it’s definitely worth a stop. We tried (among other things): teriyaki platters, tempura udon, and a bunch of different rolls. Our favorites are the 4x4 (four different pieces of four different rolls) and the Broadway (salmon, spicy tuna, tempura shrimp). For $16, I got a tempura udon and two rolls. Yum.
Let’s say this: we were all craving Boiling Crab, which was the only reason we decided to settle for Joe’s. The food was alright, but we definitely weren’t full, even after stuffing ourselves with the potatoes, corn, and sausage. Between five of us, we tried the Dungeness Crab Bucket in Garlic Herb and Spicy Boil, the Fire-Grilled Steampot and the Joe’s Classic Steampot. The Fire-Grilled was definitely the most tasty and flavorful. We split the bill, which came out to about $18 per person.
We always come to this Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant for pho, which is pretty darn good. Tasty broth and pretty fresh noodles, which is basically all I require. $5.50 for a regular sized bowl of Pho Tai.
Um, YUM. Also, ridiculously expensive. I love this excellent dessert place, which always has several amazing varieties of cake and fruit pastries, and do both so well. Edible flowers and gold leaf adorn each piece of dessert, which comes to around $8.50, give or take. I suggest going to the Extraordinary Desserts on 5th Street, rather than the one in Little Italy, because there is simply more parking.
This place is amazing. Period. My friend Monica is obsessed with this BBQ joint, which is usually so popular that the line winds around the establishment. Great baby back ribs and beef ribs (and the best damn coleslaw I’ve ever tasted). To avoid the line, come after 9PM. We got a teaser platter for $7, which included a huge tower of french fries, coleslaw, and ribs (4 bones). Amaaazing.
2 months ago
Last night I made chili, McGyver-style. You see, I bought two cans of stewed tomatoes but couldn’t find the can opener… So I used a knife and carved my way into them. Quite dangerous and very manly, if I do say so myself.
2 months ago
Val’s Japanese Curry Recipe
(Also known as, the stuff I made tonight at 9:30 when I didn’t want to do homework. Serves one midnight snack and tomorrow’s lunch.)
- One medium russet potato
- Half a large onion
- One carrot
- Third/Half a pound of chicken breast, or beef, or lamb and whatnot
- Fourth to a third of a brick of Golden Curry
Cut up potato, carrot, and chicken into bite sized pieces. Dice onion. Add potato, carrot, and diced onion into deepish cooking pan and saute on high heat with oil until golden brown, adding a little salt for flavor. When cooked through, add chicken and saute as well, until cooked. Add half a cup of water, or enough to nearly cover everything. When soupish mixture starts to lightly boil, add a fourth of a brick of Golden Curry. When it melts entirely, taste and add more (an eighth of a brick at a time) if necessary. Over medium-low heat, thicken sauce by leaving pan uncovered. When finished, cover pan and simmer at low heat for another ten minutes. Uncover and eat over white rice. Yum.
4 months ago
Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations: The Glory of Pho (Season 6, Episode 6)
Don’t watch this if you’re hungry. Especially don’t watch this if you know you can’t get pho in seconds. Watch it. WATCH IT.
4 months ago
End product!
Egg mixture
Makeshift steamer set-up
Chawanmuchi for dinner. Chawanmuchi is a Japanese egg custard that is both delicious and extremely easy to make, with a delightfully light texture and flavor. You can easily improvise the ingredients, so use whatever is on hand. I made mine with chicken breast and prawns, excluding the traditional dashi, sake, and ginko nuts.
Chawanmuchi
Made in large soup bowl. Serves 2.
- 3 Large Eggs
- 1 1/2 Cups Water
- 1 TBS Soy Sauce
- Salt to taste (1 teaspoon or so)
- 3 Large Prawns
- 2 Oz. Chicken Breast
1. Lightly beat together eggs, water, soy sauce, and salt in a large bowl, trying to avoid air bubbles. The consistency of the mixture should be watery, but opaque.
2. Blanch prawns in salted water, moving them into egg mixture when cooked.
3. Cut chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Add to egg mixture as well.
4. Fill a large pot a third full of water. Gently lower the egg mixture into the pot. The water should reach about halfway above the bowl. Steam at medium low heat for 20-30 minutes by putting on a lid. Check the mixture every 7-10 minutes, taking it off heat when the soup runs clear when poked with a chopstick. Let cool, then lift bowl out of pot and enjoy.
5 months ago
This is what C and I always get when we get pho: a small seventeen and a large seventeen. Pho with rare steak, with my favorite fixings: basil, jalapenos, and bean sprouts. I’m a broth purist, but C sometimes likes to put in hoisin sauce and Sriracha. Yum, and so satisfying.
Whenever pho comes up in conversation, my friends egg each other on to take the Pho Challenge, which consists of finishing an extra large bowl of pho (the equivalent of three large bowls) in one sitting. Supposedly, the trick is to take the noodles out of the broth so they don’t absorb extra soup to fill you up prematurely.
7 months ago
My dreams are filled with visions of Nutella crepes, chocolate chip pancakes, and cookies of every variety. I have all the ingredients necessary, but it’s been so hot the past few days that even diving into the kitchen for water seems like visiting the desert. BUT, I have made a resolution to make at least one of the three before the end of the week, lest I ruin my pillows with all the REM-cycle drooling.
Also, the picture is from The Purple Foodie, one of my favorite food and cooking blogs. Check it out for instant food porn.
7 months ago
This. Was. Awesome.
7 months ago
Last night we also finished off the last of the white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie dough, which I had frozen. They were, as always, amazingly soft, gooey, buttery and sweet (and check out the huge chunks of white chocolate and macadamia nut!).
