Day 126: Election Week Special Part 5 (Cheeseburger)

Tonight concludes my All American theme week in honor of this week's historic election.  Let's review:

Monday:  Homemade Chili

Tuesday (Election Night):  Chicken Wings

Wednesday: Chili Dogs

Thursday:  Grilled Cheese

What a week of gluttony!  If you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably think I've flipped my lid.  A normal week of dinner in our house usually includes at least two nights of fish, something grilled, lots of salad, and other green sides.  But this week was all about celebrating what's unique about America and apparently, that's a lot of high calorie food!

We wanted to wrap the week up with a cheeseburger and so we returned to The Balboa Cafe.  Considering the zillions of visits we've made to The Bal, it's quite shocking that neither my husband nor I had ever had a burger there.  Every time we go, though, we see that they leave the kitchen in droves, so we knew they had to be good.

Once we got there and heard that their nightly pasta special was macaroni and cheese, my husband bailed on the cheeseburger plan.  I stuck with it, though, and am so glad I did!  The burger was perfectly seasoned and served in a baguette.  I'm sure it helped that I added bacon, Monterey Jack cheese, and some good old California avocado but I think that even without all of those tasty extras, that burger would have been the bomb.

And as with every other night this week, our meal was accompanied by a good made-in-the-USA beverage.  Tonight we enjoyed a bottle of Geyser Peak Cabernet Sauvignon, produced in Sonoma County here in California.

Tomorrow we will return to regular life.  That means no fried food, much more fish, and much less cheese.  But theme week was fun and I'd love to do another sometime.  If you have an idea for a future theme, please leave a comment!

Day 125: Election Week Special Part 4 (Grilled Cheese)

Welcome to Part 4 of our first ever theme week on 365daysofdinner.com.  In case you haven't checked in in awhile, I have been celebrating this historic presidential election with All American dinners.  

Tonight, we created some awesome grilled cheese sandwiches.  Never one to go with the ultra traditional, I jazzed it up while keeping with the week's theme.

First of all, there was no plain old white bread here!  Instead, we used San Francisco sourdough, purchased today at the farmer's market.

For cheese, we used a mix of deli sliced American cheese and Muenster.  And because everything is better with pork products, we added some Boar's Head ham, straight from Brooklyn, NY USA.

I opted to add a couple of slices of heirloom tomato and a few fresh basil leaves to my sandwich, which pushed the sandwich over the edge of tasty into the land of deliciousness.

Whereas my husband opted to have multiple sandwiches, I paired my one sandwich with a bowl of Amy's Chunky Tomato Bisque, because there is not more American way to eat a grilled cheese sandwich than to pair it with tomato soup.  And of course, we each had a pickle.

This meal, like all of our others this week, was paired with a good made-in-America beverage.  Bartholomew Park Winery, located in the Sonoma Valley, is our latest winery find.  We joined their wine club and are enjoying our first shipment which featured 2006 Syrah.  You probably won't find anything by Bartholomew Park in your local wine shop - you'll just have to come out to California to try it for yourself.

Tune in tomorrow to see how we wrap up this amazing week of exciting news and tasty dinners!

Day 124: Election Week Special Part 3 (Chili Dogs)

Credit for tonight's entry goes to my friend Tom.  As I was getting ready to leave the office tonight, he asked me what I was having for dinner tonight.  This question had actually been plaguing me all afternoon.

If you've been reading the blog this week, you know that I made a big vat of chili on Sunday.  I knew I should either eat that up or stick it in the freezer, but I have a great track record so far off not repeating dinners within the same week, so I was hesitant.  Tom suggested that I make chili dogs - brilliant!!

Believe it or not, I had never actually cooked a hot dog before, so my husband stuck them on the grill.  I know now that I could have just boiled them, but as you know, everything tastes better when grilled!

To stick with this week's All American theme, I probably should have chosen Nathan's Famous Franks.  Do hot dogs get anymore American than that?  However, I went with Hebrew National.  I literally eat about 3 hot dogs a year and I know that HN are tasty - so sorry for not sticking with the program 100%.

We did, however, have some Tillamook Cheddar from Oregon and a nice red wine produced by BV, here in California.  I know - wine and chili dogs?  

Day 123: Election Week Special Part 2 (Buffalo Wings)

Left or right.  Blue or Red.  Donkeys or Elephants.  Whichever way you lean, today was an exciting day to be an American.  The air was absolutely electric here in San Francisco and all day I just looked forward to going home to glue myself to CNN and their funky maps (although I could really do without their overly dramatic "Projection" intro and what the hell was that Will.I.Am hologram thing??  Creepy!).

I planned to be so glued in fact, that cooking dinner was really out of the question.  I managed to whip up a simple salad (greens, tomatoes, bell pepper, roasted beets, and sliced almonds) and then as you can see, we winged it.

We haven't had great luck with wings in SF - not meaty enough - not spicy enough - plain old not tasty enough.  Perhaps this is due to our very high standards given the killer wings back in NYC.  We finally did find some damn good wings and lucky us!  They are less than a 10 minute walk away at Perry's, a popular San Francisco joint for yummy sandwiches, pancakes, burgers, and other basic but necessary dishes!  In addition to perfectly spiced, big fat wings, I would like to hail the chunky, delicious blue cheese dressing that comes with.  Yum.

Of course, I downed some good ole Sam Adams beer tonight.  I great night to be an American, indeed!!

Day 122: Election Week Special Part 1 (Chili)

In recognition of Election Day, this week will feature all American dishes.

It's been raining for DAYS here in SF.  That kind of weather makes me yearn for soup, stew, or chili and so on Sunday, I whipped up some chili for dinner tonight.  Everyone knows that chili is better a day or two (or three) later, once all of the flavors have mixed just right.

I've tried many chili recipes over the years and some are definitely better than others.  The best one I've found yet is from Bon Appetit magazine:

Ingredients:

1 T vegetable oil

2 medium onions, chopped (I used one large one)

1.5 tsp dried oregano

1.5 tsp ground cumin

1.5 lbs lean ground turkey

1/4 cup chili powder

2 bay leaves

1 T unsweetened chili powder

1.5 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in juice

3 cups beef broth

1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce

3 15-ounce cans small white beans (I used 2 cans of white and 1 of kidney)

Heat oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat.  Add onions and saute until light brown and tender, about 10 minutes.

Add oregano and cumin, stir one minute.  

Increase heat to medium-high.  Add turkey and stir frequently until no longer pink, breaking up with the back of a spoon.

Stir in chili powder, bay leaves, cocoa powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Add tomatoes with juice, breaking up with the back of a spoon.  Mix in broth and tomato sauce and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add beans (rinsed and drained) and simmer for another 10 minutes.

I highly recommend serving chili with lots of sharp cheddar cheese.  Some of my favorite brands are Cabot, Tillamook, or Trader Joe's Extra Sharp Canadian.

If you have a favorite chili recipe, please share.  I do love this one, but I love to try new ones, too.  Here's to keeping warm this winter!!