Simple supper

Fall has officially set in San Francisco. We just had our first 'winter' storm, and while the rain can be gloomy, we all know it means snow in the Sierras!

To embrace the cozy weather, I decided to make my favorite recipe from Cooking Light, Chicken Tortilla Soup. To make up for the calories saved from the 'light' dinner, I followed with homemade chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches. Chris was a happy camper!

The tortilla soup has just over 10 ingredients, and the most time consuming part is grilling the chicken. I adore my all-clad 4 quart soup pot (thanks, sissies!). It is perfect for a small soup. You start with 2 cloves minced garlic, and sautee for just a minute. Add in the grilled chicken, 3 cups of low-sodium organic chicken stock, 1 cup of water, 1 tbsp each of cumin and chili powder, and a 10 ounce can of diced tomatos and green chilis. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes:

I topped with avocado slices, jack cheese, crushed chips (a must use: hint of lime tostitos), chopped cilantro, and lime wedges. Et voila:

Nothing completes this simple supper like a delicious Corona light:

Since the colder weather always calls for baking, what better for dessert than warm chocolate chip cookies with some vanilla bean ice cream:

Dinner Party for 8

I have been looking forward to hosting a dinner party for 8 ever since I inherited my parent's old dining room table. I had almost as much fun setting it as I did whipping up a delicious meal! It was kind of hard to get a picture to capture just how fabulous the table actually looked (if I don't say so myself...) !

To help set the scene I picked up some gorgeous flowers at the local flower mart. I found some stunning fall colored proteas and winter white hydrangeas, and I couldn't resist a precious bunch of orchids.

On the menu:

Antipasti:

I LOVE antipasti trays. I found all of the ingredients at my local Andronico's: salami, prosciutto, marcona almonds, parmesan cheese twists, salted rosemary crackers, and an assortment of olives.

Ina's turkey sausage lasagna:

This was my first attempt at lasagna. Since I do not own a 9x13 glass pan, I just used two square pans. This is a DELICIOUS lasagna. The blend of cheeses (ricotta, mozarella, parmesan and goat) along with the hot Italian turkey sausage was out of this world. It was also delicious the next day!

Butter leaf lettuce salad with roquefort bleu cheese, bosc pears, candied pecans and a mustard viniagrette:

Chris came up with the ingredients for this delicious salad, and carefully layered each one in this gorgeous salad bowl from my Auntie Di. We pulled out my magic bullet blender to make the mustard and olive oil based dressing. The cheese was definitely the stand out item of the salad!

Pumpkin bread with dulce de leche sorbet:

Unfortunately I do not have a photo of the pumpkin bread (you can thank several bottles of red and sparkling wine), but I can say that it was very easy to put together. I only wish I had used more pumpkin; the recipe called for 1 cup, but the bread was a little dry and could have used more. I'm not sure my guests noticed though, since I topped it with dulce de leche ice cream and a mint sprig. Empty plates are always a good sign!

Restaurante La Boca- Córdoba, Spain

I recently got back from a fabulous trip to Spain, to celebrate a good friend's wedding. We traveled, we ate, we drank, and we ate! Chris and I took a new friend's advice one night and tried out a restaurant called 'La Boca', a really cute little restaurant right on the river.

I had to ask the waitress to define nearly every word on the menu, but as the pictures will show, I think we made all the right choices!

We started off with an amazing, 'Queso de cabra a la plancha y confitura de aradanos': Goat cheese with a raspberry marmalade

'Ensalada de quesito de zuheros gratinado y hortalizas asadas': Salad with grilled vegetables, and the best cheeese! It tasted like another type of goat cheese. The waitress did 'warn' us that we ordered a lot of cheese dishes :)

'Cous cous con pollo y cebolla caramelizada': Cous cous with chicken and caramelized onion. I loved how it came out in a tower, and I can't wait to re-create!

'Pasta con setas, nueces y gorgonzola': Pasta with mushrooms, walnuts, and gorgonzola. The presentation wasn't as beautiful as the rest, but the taste was spectacular.

'Tarta de queso con higos en almibar': Cheesecake with figs in syrup

The cheesecake was one of the creamiest I've tasted, and I loved that the crust was made of 'Marias', typical Spanish cookies that we used to eat when we studied in Spain!

The waitress was absolutely adorable, and after we didn't think we could possibly eat/drink anything else, she brought us large glasses of honey brandy.

Pomelos!

I live within walking distance from the most delicious tiny little restaurant, Pomelos. Jamie and I walked through the wet fog to enjoy a gorgeous dinner. It is such a small restaurant that you always get to watch your food being prepared. Jamie ordered the Havana and I tried the Lanzhou...enjoy!

Dinner for Four

My good friends Kristen and Andrew came for dinner this week, joining myself and Chris. Since it feels like the middle of winter, I decided to whip up a wintery dish of meat and potatos!

I LOVE twice baked potatos. Noone makes them like my mom, but I decided I would try. First I baked them, then scooped out the insides and added butter, milk, worcestire sauce, salt, and pepper, and green onions. I have since decided that I should've sauteed that lone shallot in my kitchen, it would've been so good! I also will add much more cheese next time. Still, they were delicious!

I marinated a flank steak with my fave Basque dressing, steamed some broccolini (topped with a thick balsamic and red pepper flakes, and made a light salad of arugula, cilantro (mmmm), mini heirlooms, and homemade croutons!

Kristen and Andrew brought over some cava and delicious dessert. Enjoy!

Father's Day 2010

I enjoyed a gorgeous meal with my parents on Father's Day this past Sunday.

We started with a re-creation of the iceberg wedge (the photo does not do it justice), using some roquefort in place of bleu cheese. We did have to make some extra bacon as it kept mysteriously disappearing...

It was fun to learn how to make the lamb. My mom prepared the first rack and I did the second. First we removed the majority of fat, then we smeared with dijon and a blend of bread crumbs, rosemary, and garlic. A drizzle of olive oil, in the oven at 400 and voila! Delicious!! Accompanied with roasted asparagus and roasted potatoes :)

Dinner Chez Chris

A delicious meal at Chris' pad in the Marina!

Spaghetti and meatballs (Thanks to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/throwdown-with-bobby-flay/grandma-maronis-meatballs-100-year-old-recipe-recipe/index.html), followed by a Caprese salad avec heirloom tomatoes...delicious...check out the adorable chef at the bottom!

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Dad's 66th Birthday

I am a foodie! I love to photograph food...whenever I see a gorgeous plate, my first instinct is to grab my camera. Presentation is important, but taste is key! A photograph captures the memory.

We decided to go to Va de Vi for my dad's 66th birthday. 'Va de vi' means 'its all about the wine' in Catalan. It is a tapas-type place, and they recommend ordering 6-8 tapas for 4 people, so we ordered about...11.

• Pommes frites
• Caramelized Cauliflower- Absolutely delicious
• Rock Shrimp with Avocado Lumpia
• Grilled rosemary skewered Colorado lamb sirloin
• Organic grass fed hanger steak
• Pappardelle agnello
• Mole tacos- Very very good, the 'perfect bite!'
• Chile relleno
• Beet salad- Delicious! Add goat cheese to anything and its an instant hit
• Iceberg Wedge- My fave. So easy but always seems like a treat.
• Chicken on skewers
• Meatballs
• Pineapple upside down cakes (homemade by Val!)