That Cali Sky

Crepes de Paris

Spent the afternoon chatting away with an old friend over a sweet crepe and green tea.

Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Mochi

The star of the Christmas feast was the Bacon-Wrapped Mochi. I first had it when I went to Izakaya Sozai and didn't really know what to expect. As soon as it was served, I just knew that it would be so simple to make at home. And lo and behold, other people had the same thought. Mochi, or rice cakes as I call them are, are easily found in Korean grocery stores. So grab just three things: bacon, mochi, and toothpicks and grill up these chewy bites of deliciousness.

Bacon-Wrapped Mochi
Inspired by Izakaya Sozai and Adapted from i am a food blog
Serves 30

Ingredients
30 short and thin mochi or rice cake sticks
15 uncooked bacon strips
30 wooden toothpicks

Instructions
Heat up mochi in the microwave for ~20 seconds until slightly softened and easy to pierce with a wooden toothpick.
Cut bacon strips in half and wrap each mochi stick with a piece of bacon. Use wooden toothpick to pierce through the bacon-wrapped mochi so that the bacon stays in place.
Grill bacon-wrapped mochi skewers over medium heat on skillet, flipping regularly until the bacon is crispy and the mochi is puffed up and browned, ~10 minutes.
When it looks well-cooked, turn up the heat to high to give make it extra crispy.
Enjoy hot.

Recipe: Goat Cheese Crostini

I adore pungent, sharp cheese and goat cheese is no exception. It has a tangy and vibrant flavor that pairs well with sweet or savory dishes. This crostini is a great choice as an appetizer if you're hosting a party or to bring to a potluck because it's easy to make ahead in advance.

Goat Cheese Crostini

Adapted from Taste of Home

Serves ~16

Ingredients

1 french baguette, cut into ½-inch diagonal slices
½ cup goat cheese

¼ cup almonds or walnuts, chopped

1½ tbsp honey

Instructions

Lightly toast baguette slices and let cool.

Once cool, spread goat cheese thickly over toast slices and transfer to serving plate.

Top with chopped nuts and drizzle liberally with honey.

Sister Twins

But not really twins.

Christmas 2013

Christmas day was a baking and cooking frenzy. I baked challah bread, made goat cheese crostini, cooked roasted salmon with herbed yogurt, steak, bacon-wrapped mochi, roasted butternut squash and asparagus, balsamic mushrooms, and avocado tomato salad.

The Popcorn Diaries Part 2

Nopalito Part 2

Last dinner before heading down to southern California for the holidays. So much goodness at Nopalito.

Oaxacan mole of toasted chiles, spices, almonds, ibarra chocolate over braised chicken thigh and mexican rice

Tortilla Heights

sombrero + mustache + fish tacos + margaritas = faceplant in bed

East-West

It occurred to me one morning as I was scooting to work that I almost always look north-south of the city and rarely look east-west. So one morning I set my sights to the east and caught the breathtaking view of the sunrise. I drove to the top of a steep road, parked my scooter, and snapped a picture while standing in the middle of an intersection. The Transamerica Pyramid in the distance was stunning.

The Corner Store Part 3

Back again! I've really been wanting the roasted chicken dish that I got when I first had dinner at The Corner Store. Turns out though that the menu rotates and although I did get a roasted chicken dish tonight, it wasn't the same as before because it didn't have the shelling beans. Still delicious though so no big deal. Although the food isn't AMAZING and the menu options are pretty limited, I find the ambiance of The Corner Store really relaxed and the staff really personable. I also like that its location makes it not as crowded as some other popular restaurants and therefore it's never that difficult to get a table.

I ordered the Noble Buck cocktail again because I heart ginger beer.

The Corner Store Burger with niman ranch chuck, aged cheddar, pickled red onion, bread & butter pickle, garlic aioli, bacon jam; French Fries

Vespa Twinsies

This happened twice in one day, where a midnight blue Vespa twin was parked right next to mine, and made me smile.

Sushi Bistro

I haven't found a really good, go-to spot for sushi in San Francisco yet. I went to Sushi Bistro in the Inner Richmond for the first time though and tried the M&L Forever roll. Pretty good so I'd like to come back to try some of the other unique rolls on the menu.

M&L Forever: spicy tuna, crab meat, cajun flavored albacore, avocado, and grilled bigeye tuna inside a crispy exterior drizzled with bonito sauce

CodeHS at Facebook HQ

Spent a Saturday with a group of people from work to explore the world of coding at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park. As you can see, I took snacks.

Lucky Peach

While on the topic of literary subscriptions, I also want a subscription to Lucky Peach, a quarterly exploration of food via essays, art, photography, and recipes. The journal is co-created by David Chang and Lucky Peach is the direct translation of Momofuku, Chang's restaurant name. I find this publication unique because each issue is single-themed and just look at those graphics, all so great.

Kinfolk Magazine

At the top of my wishlist is a subscription to Kinfolk. The quarterly issues are filled with beautiful photography, essays, recipes, etc, and I love the collection of ideas celebrating small gatherings.

Currently Listening To...

Julia & Angus Stone. I'm digging this duo.

Guacamole

Fresh, homemade guacamole. I must learn to make guacamole this good. The Albondigas Soup was also delicious and so comforting on such a cold day.

Guacamole!

Albondigas Soup

Emmy's Spaghetti Shack

Bernal Heights. I remember before having my Vespa, I used to take the bus to my favorite bookstore, Omnivore Books on Food, and it took me well over an hour to get there. I haven't been recently so I made a stop at Omnivore Books and got a look at some new cookbooks and books on food.

Prior to eating dinner, we got a drink at El Amigo Bar, which is connected by a door to the spaghetti shack. I liked the ambience of the bar a lot. We then passed through the door to Emmy's and sat at a table right away. I ordered the Pear Moscow Mule, which was delicious and made my world spin. We started with an order of garlic bread and both ordered the Spaghetti with Meatballs per recommendation. The three meatballs were ginormous and despite my best efforts, I just couldn't finish it all and took the rest home. Really simple food done well. 

Spaghetti with Meatballs

Thanksgiving 2013

Note: that is chicken, not turkey.

The Popcorn Diaries

I hadn't seen Popcorn since April and had forgotten how adorable he is. Cutie pie.

Boots

After a long search, I finally found the boots of my dreams. Happy happy.

Sourced Cities: San Francisco

And then I'm reminded why I heart San Francisco.

via Sourced Cities: San Francisco

Recipe: Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

Maybe because I've been eating so many burgers and meat lately, I was really craving something fresh tonight. With leftover Trader Joe's steamed & peeled baby beets from this recipe the day before, I tried a different take on the beet salad.

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
Adapted from The Kitchy Kitchen
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 8-oz package steamed & peeled baby beets, sliced
1 oz goat cheese, crumbled
pistachios (optional)

Mustard and Lemon Vinaigrette
½ tbsp lemon juice
½ tbsp olive oil
½ tbsp mustard
¼ tbsp garlic
black pepper

Instructions
Combine lemon juice, olive oil, mustard, garlic, and black pepper and mix well.
Place sliced beets in a bowl and drizzle vinaigrette on top.
Add goat cheese and pistachios. Eat!

Treasure Island Flea Market and The Chairman Truck

To keep with the mellow weekend theme and because the weather was way too beautiful to spend indoors, two friends and I went to the Treasure Island Flea. I had never been before to Treasure Island, let alone know where it was, and so I was pretty excited. It was pretty easy to get to via bus. We didn't find anything interesting to buy and ended up just getting lunch from the many food trucks and sitting by the water overlooking the bay. It was so nice to eat, get some sun, and just talk.

I've been wanting to try The Chairman Truck for a long time now because I've missed the gloriousness of pork buns since the time I visited New York. I decided to get a variety of baos so that I could try different ones: Pork Belly with turmeric pickled daikon & green shiso, Coca-Cola Braised Pork with savoy cabbage & preserved yellow mustard seeds, and Spicy Chicken with toasted sesame puree & pickled carrots-cucumber & cilantro. My favorite was the braised pork bao and while good, it was nowhere nearly as good as Ippudo's pork buns.

Waraku

Tried a new ramen place for dinner tonight that's located across the street from Japantown Peace Plaza. There was a minor wait around 6:15pm on a Saturday night but no biggie. We started off with edamame and a bottle of Asahi. I got the Tonkotsu Ramen with chashu pork, green onions, bamboo shoots, kikurage-mushrooms, bean sprouts, and smoked egg. No photo evidence but just imagine a big bowl of ramen. It wasn't as good as Izakaya Sozai's but still acceptable.

4505 Meats

With a free Saturday morning, I went to my favorite place to be on Saturday mornings: the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. I was on a mission to try 4505 Meats Best Damn Cheeseburger with gruyere cheese, lettuce, sliced red onion, and secret sauce (too much mayo though). The sesame scallion bun was the best part! I appreciated that the burger was kind of small because I went around the Farmers Market after and tasted a bunch of samples of fruit and chocolate. Yum.

Best Damn Cheeseburger: grass fed, dry aged beef on a sesame scallion bun with gruyere, lettuce, sliced red onion, and secret sauce

Recipe: Goat Cheese & Broccoli Frittata

Along with the Goat Cheese & Beet Arugula Salad, I also made a Goat Cheese & Broccoli Frittata for Friendsgiving. I like to bake frittatas rather than do it on the stovetop because #1 I have a hard time flipping it without ruining it and #2 I like how set and firm the egg gets when baked. I kind of improvised with this frittata and was pleasantly surprised at how forgiving frittatas are. Just throw in whatever vegetable you happen to have on hand, top with cheese, and voilà.

Goat Cheese & Broccoli Frittata
Inspired by Food Network
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 heaping cup broccoli florets, chopped
salt and pepper
11 eggs, beaten with 2 tbsp water
4 oz goat cheese

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a small skillet, season chopped broccoli with salt and pepper and sauté until slightly tender, ~3-4 minutes.
In a baking pan lined with parchment paper, spread the broccoli evenly over the bottom of the pan.
Top with the beaten eggs and add more salt and pepper to taste.
Place in oven.
After ~7-10 minutes, remove pan from the oven and crumble the goat cheese evenly over the top.
Place pan back in the oven until golden on top and fork comes out clean when inserted, ~15 minutes.
Slightly cool frittata and slice. Serve warm.

Recipe: Goat Cheese & Beet Arugula Salad

I've really been loving beets and goat cheese lately. I was inspired by a similar salad that I have at work sometimes and decided to make it for Friendsgiving. I've roasted beets before but because that takes too long, I relied on my favorite place in the whole world, Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's sells cooked beets that make this salad super quick and easy to make. I subbed dried cranberries for pecans because it's just what I had on hand, but I bet pecans, walnuts, or almonds would work well.

Goat Cheese & Beet Arugula Salad
Inspired by Skinnytaste
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 16-oz package arugula
6 small red beets, sliced
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
dried cranberries (optional)

Honey-Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp honey
salt

Instructions
Make vinaigrette by whisking balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, and salt until smooth in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, toss greens and beets with vinaigrette.
Add goat cheese and dried cranberries and mix well gently.
Serve immediately.

Friendsgiving!

Had a great gathering of old and new friends for Friendsgiving!

There was a great spread of dishes. I made a broccoli & goat cheese frittata, beet & goat cheese arugula salad, and pumpkin bread. I heart pumpkin season.