For Easter brunch I visited Mission Beach Cafe in the Mission district in San Francisco. Not that they need more endorsements but they were fantastic! My friend actually got there about an hour before I did and put our names on the list. By the time I got there it was still about a 15 minute wait so you can imagine how busy they are. It was well worth the wait though.
It's a small place on the corner of Guerrero and 14th Streets. The tables are small and close together and the place is a bit noisy but the line was out the door in this mostly residential-looking area. Our waitress was pleasant and accommodating though and the food came out fairly quickly given the number of people they had to serve.
I got their Short Rib Hash with butternut squash and a fried egg, one piece of their Lavender French Toast on the side and one huge Grapefruit Pomegranate Mimosa. The short rib hash was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Tender and paired wonderfully with the fried egg. It also came with a piece of toast to sop up any remaining yolk left over on the plate. There was not a smidge of yolk left on my plate by the time I finished. The mimosa was also delicious. I usually get an immediate headache whenever I drink any kind of champagne or sparkling wine but they must have used a good one because I didn't get one pang of pain. I did get a nice buzz though.
The star of the show was absolutely their Lavendar French Toast. It was probably the best french toast I've ever had. The lavender essence was one that was more scented on the exhale rather than tasted. But the custard was creamy without being mushy or undercooked in the middle and it was made with a thick piece of brioche bread. Also amazing was the Bourbon syrup poured over it along with fresh bananas and strawberries and creme fraiche. My oh my, I wanted to die! I would have taken some pictures but everything was so good, by the time I thought about snapping a photo, everything was devoured. I'll be better at that next time.
So you know what this means? It means I will have to try and recreate that french toast at home somehow. It will definitely be a challenge. I'll keep you posted on that one.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
White wine Sangria and tomato & green olive chicken (Recipe)
I've got some Sangria marinating in the fridge. I've never made Sangria before until I came home from Spain back in Feb of 2011. Since then I haven't stopped making Sangria. My first taste of it in Spain was in Granada at this restaurant called Ermita Catedral 530. Here is a picture of it. Ah...brings back great memories. It was like juice with a nice touch of cinnamon.
Some of the tapas we had there were so tantalizing for my taste buds, I immediately thought about moving to Spain just so I could eat like this every day. Each day after that meal, the idea of moving to Spain crossed my mind more and more. I think I'm over it now...kind of.
Here are some pics of the food I had at that particular restaurant. This included octopus. Cooked perfectly (not chewy or rubbery) with some olive oil and lightly seasoned with salt and paprika.
And duck pate. So melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I have no idea what that sauce could be but it was so good.
And the most delicious ham I've ever had: the Spanish Iberico ham. Similar to Serrano ham that you can get in the States. But definitely not the same.
Back to my Sangria currently in the fridge. I used the Sauvignon Blanc two buck chuck from Trader Joe's. The two buck chucks are perfect for Sangria (in my opinion) since you don't need a pricey or fancy wine for this drink. Unless you want to. I also poured in about 1/4 c. fresh squeezed orange juice, 3/4 c. simple syrup, and sliced some apples and oranges to infuse into the Sangria.
For my simple syrup I boiled 2 c. white sugar with 2 c. water and a cinnamon stick until the sugar dissolved. Simple syrup can be kept in the fridge for over a month with no consequences, so feel free to make extra and save it for a rainy day. The thing I love about making your own simple syrup is that you can infuse any flavor into it. Such as cinnamon or ginger or lime or lemon or coffee or anything! And you can use it for Sangria as well as cocktails or even for your savory cooking marinades.
Which I did for some tomato-y green olive chicken I also have marinating in the fridge. For my marinade I used 1-14 oz. can of saltless diced tomatoes, 1/4 cup roughly chopped green olives (plus a bit of the brine), 1/4 c. white wine, 1/4 c. sherry, 1/4 c. cinnamon simple syrup, 2 tbsp. dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tbsp. pepper flakes, 1 tbsp. dry parsley, 1 tbsp. dry chives, 1 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. celery salt, plenty of pepper and enough salt to taste.
The original inspiration for this marinade was from my friend, Eliza. Or perhaps her mom. I will not post that original recipe as I did not ask permission to do so. But thank you Eliza and Eliza's mom for the inspiration.
Some of the tapas we had there were so tantalizing for my taste buds, I immediately thought about moving to Spain just so I could eat like this every day. Each day after that meal, the idea of moving to Spain crossed my mind more and more. I think I'm over it now...kind of.
Here are some pics of the food I had at that particular restaurant. This included octopus. Cooked perfectly (not chewy or rubbery) with some olive oil and lightly seasoned with salt and paprika.
Back to my Sangria currently in the fridge. I used the Sauvignon Blanc two buck chuck from Trader Joe's. The two buck chucks are perfect for Sangria (in my opinion) since you don't need a pricey or fancy wine for this drink. Unless you want to. I also poured in about 1/4 c. fresh squeezed orange juice, 3/4 c. simple syrup, and sliced some apples and oranges to infuse into the Sangria.
For my simple syrup I boiled 2 c. white sugar with 2 c. water and a cinnamon stick until the sugar dissolved. Simple syrup can be kept in the fridge for over a month with no consequences, so feel free to make extra and save it for a rainy day. The thing I love about making your own simple syrup is that you can infuse any flavor into it. Such as cinnamon or ginger or lime or lemon or coffee or anything! And you can use it for Sangria as well as cocktails or even for your savory cooking marinades.
Which I did for some tomato-y green olive chicken I also have marinating in the fridge. For my marinade I used 1-14 oz. can of saltless diced tomatoes, 1/4 cup roughly chopped green olives (plus a bit of the brine), 1/4 c. white wine, 1/4 c. sherry, 1/4 c. cinnamon simple syrup, 2 tbsp. dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tbsp. pepper flakes, 1 tbsp. dry parsley, 1 tbsp. dry chives, 1 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. celery salt, plenty of pepper and enough salt to taste.
The original inspiration for this marinade was from my friend, Eliza. Or perhaps her mom. I will not post that original recipe as I did not ask permission to do so. But thank you Eliza and Eliza's mom for the inspiration.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Won ton skin raviolis (Recipe)
I think I did pretty good last night with dinner. I made raviolis using won ton skins ($1.50 at the Asian Market for a packet of 80). Or perhaps I should call them dumplings since they're pseudo chinese. I had some extra won ton skins left over from my weekend experimentation with making siu mai (a chinese dim sum selection) and I didn't want to waste the extra skins. I also had to mentally prepare myself for these raviolis since I knew it would be very time consuming. And they were!
For the filling I used a mixture of 1/2 lb. ground beef and 6 bratwurst sausages. I took the skins off the sausages and mixed the meat together with 1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese, 1 egg, 1/8 c. bread crumbs, 3 tbsp.Worchestershire sauce, 2 tbsp. dry oregano, 1 tbsp. dry basil, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. celery salt, plenty of pepper (I love pepper) and maybe 1/2 tsp. salt since the bratwurst sausages already have some salt in them.
Then I used a small ice cream scoop to get even filling amounts and used one skin per ravioli by folding it in half over the meat scoop, dabbed some water along the edge and pinched it closed. Then I boiled them in water till they floated, sauteed them in butter and served them with a sprinkling of more parmesan cheese and fresh pepper. My boyfriend enjoyed them, which is always a good sign.
For some greens, I made a caesar salad with Romaine lettuce, homemade croutons and caesar salad dressing. I'm a bit wary of using raw egg in my caesar salad dressing so I didn't include it, nor did I include anchovies, only because I didn't have any. For the dressing I put in the food processor 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, 1/2 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tbsp. Worchestershire sauce, 1 tbsp. dijon mustard, 1/2 c. mayo, 1 tsp. white vinegar, a splash of fresh lemon juice and some salt and pepper.
I do love Italian food, but making raviolis (or dumplings) with won ton skins makes it that much easier. It took me about 2.5 hours to make about 50 dumplings since I had to assemble and cook them in batches. Since won ton skins are a bit delicate, after filling them with meat, you can't just let them sit there for more than 10-15 minutes or so. The filling will make the skins moist, which will then make them fall apart when boiling. So I made them in batches of 9, given the amount of space I had in my pot of water and sautee pan. Here is a pic. Yum.
For the filling I used a mixture of 1/2 lb. ground beef and 6 bratwurst sausages. I took the skins off the sausages and mixed the meat together with 1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese, 1 egg, 1/8 c. bread crumbs, 3 tbsp.Worchestershire sauce, 2 tbsp. dry oregano, 1 tbsp. dry basil, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. celery salt, plenty of pepper (I love pepper) and maybe 1/2 tsp. salt since the bratwurst sausages already have some salt in them.
Then I used a small ice cream scoop to get even filling amounts and used one skin per ravioli by folding it in half over the meat scoop, dabbed some water along the edge and pinched it closed. Then I boiled them in water till they floated, sauteed them in butter and served them with a sprinkling of more parmesan cheese and fresh pepper. My boyfriend enjoyed them, which is always a good sign.
For some greens, I made a caesar salad with Romaine lettuce, homemade croutons and caesar salad dressing. I'm a bit wary of using raw egg in my caesar salad dressing so I didn't include it, nor did I include anchovies, only because I didn't have any. For the dressing I put in the food processor 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, 1/2 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tbsp. Worchestershire sauce, 1 tbsp. dijon mustard, 1/2 c. mayo, 1 tsp. white vinegar, a splash of fresh lemon juice and some salt and pepper.
I do love Italian food, but making raviolis (or dumplings) with won ton skins makes it that much easier. It took me about 2.5 hours to make about 50 dumplings since I had to assemble and cook them in batches. Since won ton skins are a bit delicate, after filling them with meat, you can't just let them sit there for more than 10-15 minutes or so. The filling will make the skins moist, which will then make them fall apart when boiling. So I made them in batches of 9, given the amount of space I had in my pot of water and sautee pan. Here is a pic. Yum.
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