Best Things I've Eaten this Month - July 2012

OK, I promise I will get back to posting recipes soon, and contrary to these posts I don't actually eat out for every meal.....but SF is like the promise land.....and I'm a born again believer.....

1.  Flour + Water - Chocolate Budino with Espresso Caramel Cream and Sea Salt

2.  Shortribs at Betelnut - sticky, finger-licking, fall-off-the-bone goodness


3. Brioche French Toast at Park Tavern, with slow-roasted blackberries & vanilla maple syrup


4.  Burger at Bar Jules

Ummm...this photo says it all.  Thanks Cara S. for shooting a photo of yours...mine was demolished before the camera came out.

5.  Gazpacho at Venga Empanadas

Best Things Eaten This Month - June 2012

June was a great month of trying new places and revisiting some old faves...

Chocolate Ice Cream with Salted Caramel at Smitten

Spicy Miso Ramen at Chotto (best ramen in SF in my book so far....)

Lumberjack Cake at Frances


Chilaquiles at Mamacita


Tuna Tostada and Blood Orange Margarita at Tacolicious
  

Best Things I've Eaten in SF this month:

Get out there are try these amazing eats...

1.  Cougin Amman with TCHO chocolate from SF-based Starter Bakery
Photo: Courtesy NY Times

2. Short Rib Koja sandwich and Kamikaze fries from The Koja Kitchen food truck:
Photo:  Courtesy of SF Weekly

3.  Mushroom cigars with Porcini Aioli at Paragon:

Photo:  Courtesy of squidish via Flickr

4.  Grilled Cheese Sandwich at Hog Island Oyster Company (Ferry Building):
Photo: Courtesy of jonasapproved.com

5.  Manly Burger at Umami Burger:

Photo:  Courtesy of http://cookandbemerry.com

Orecchiette with Caramelized Garlic, Sausage and Broccoli

Courtesy of http://chaosinthekitchen.com

Orecchiette with Caramelized Garlic, Sausage, and Broccoli

serves 4, prep 5 min, cook 15 min, adapted from Fine Cooking, October 2003

• 10 oz. broccoli florets (fresh)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb Italian sausage, crumbled
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned, jarred in oil
• 3/4 lb dried orecchiette or penne pasta
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
• 3 tbsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
• salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Heat oil in a skillet on medium high.
3. Cook Italian sausage until browned, reserve to a plate.
4. Salt pasta water and add pasta.
5. There should be about 2 tbsp of fat in the skillet, if not add olive oil to make about 2 tbsp.
6. Turn heat to medium-low and cook garlic, stirring frequently, until golden brown.
7. Add broccoli and cook until semi-tender (about 5 mins).
8. Add sausage back to the pan and heat on high until warmed through.
9. Add sun dried tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Take off heat.
10. Finish pasta (total cook time is about 10 minutes). Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain.
11. Add pasta to broccoli and sausage, toss over high heat. Add about 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water as needed to moisten mixture.
12. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, cheese, salt and pepper.
13. Serve with additional cheese.

Lemon Braised Rainbow Chard with Sesame Edamame

I found a beautiful bunch of Rainbow Chard with hot pink stems at the new Fort Mason Farmer's Market a couple of Sundays ago, and then read a few recipes before deciding on this combination. It was so fresh and delicious that I ate the whole pan-full for dinner, but it would also be great as a side with some grilled or broiled salmon fillets--remember to squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the fish too!

1 bunch Rainbow Chard (or Swiss Chard)

1/2 to 3/4 cup shelled Edamame (soya) beans,

thawed or heated through*

1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 glove garlic, minced

1 Tsp red pepper flakes

1 Tsp toasted sesame seeds

or black sesame seeds

Extra virgin Olive Oil

Salt & pepper

*Note: If you can't find shelled Edamame beans, just steam your Edamame pods until tender and remove the seeds before stir frying.

Chop stem ends off chard and discard. Keep 1-2 inches of stem for color and texture and chop those up separately from the chard leaves. Chop the leaves into long ribbons by bunching leaves up and slicing across the bunch horizontally. Heat a few good glugs of olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan or wok. Add garlic and red pepper flakes to oil and cook until starting to brown. Add stems and stir-fry until slightly tender (2-3 mins). Add the Edamame beans and chard leaves and stir-fly an additional 1-2 mins, or until leaves start to wilt. Be careful not too cook too long or leaves will lose their bright green color.

Remove from heat and toss with sesame seeds & lemon juice. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Thai Style Crab & Udon Noodle Stir Fry

Ingredients:

7.5 oz package ready-to-wok udon noodles

3-4 oz. fresh crab (claw meat) - available in seafood dept. or in refrigerator case at Trader Joe's

3 green onions/spring onions stalks, chopped

1 c. snow peas, trimmed and chopped in 1/2

1/2 t. minced garlic

4 oz. (1/2 jar) Trader Joe's Satay Peanut Sauce or other quality Thai-Style satay sauce

dried red pepper flakes

fresh cilantro/coriander, finely chopped

1 lime

vegetable or canola oil for stir frying

Super easy one pot meal! Heat oil over medium flame and add onions, garlic & red pepper flakes. Once garlic starts to brown slightly, add snow peas and noodles. Heat through then add crab and Satay peanut sauce until mixed through. Removed from heat and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve with wedges of lime to squeeze juice over noodles. Enjoy!!

Fried Green Tomatoes & Spicy Remoulade-style Sauce

1 c. buttermilk

1 large egg

5 large green tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch slices*

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

6 tsp cayenne pepper (use less if you like less spicy)

*Note: Green tomatoes are sort of unripened heirloom tomatoes and can be difficult to find, especially outside the summer months--ask for them at your local farmer's market or green grocer.

Combine egg & buttermilk in a small bowl. Combine all remaining ingredients (except tomatoes) in a separate bowl. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Heat vegetable oil about 1/2" deep in a deep-sided frying pan (to about 375 degrees Fahrenheit if you have a thermometer).

Next, taking one tomato slice at a time, dip the slice first into the buttermilk mixture, then into the cornmeal mixture, pressing firmly to ensure good coating with cornmeal. Gently drop the covered slice into the hot oil (it should begin bubbling around the edges immediately). Repeat with 2-3 more slices per batch. Fry until crisp (about 60-90 seconds per side), flipping them over once during cooking. Place on baking sheet in oven to keep warm and serve immediately with Remoulade Sauce (see below) for dipping.

Remoulade-Style Dipping Sauce

3 oz Heinz Chili Sauce

3 oz Best Foods Olive Oil Mayonnaise

1 tsp prepared horseradish