Day 365: Last Hurrah

My husband and I brainstormed lots of ways to conclude this blog but in the end, I decided to keep it simple. For dinner, we returned to the restaurant we visited the most times over the past year and then went to another local spot for one of my very favorite desserts.

It's kind of amazing to remember that we lived in our neighborhood for over a year before we checked out Bistro Aix, just 2 blocks from our house. But, ever since that first visit, we have not been able to stay away. The menu features several staple dishes that we have come to love and in addition, some dishes that come and go depending on what's in season. No matter what we've ordered, we've never been disappointed and tonight was no different.

I went with my favorite Bistro Aix salad, spinach with baby beets and goat cheese. Yummy. For my entree, I decided to go with something new: grilled yellowtail with creamed corn and a small salad. Every element of the dish was delicious but the corn was downright addictive. Had they wheeled a vat of it to the table, I would have dived right in.

Thank you to Bistro Aix for serving me so much amazing food over the past year. As it turns out, this blog is ending at just the right time. Bistro Aix is about to close for renovations for at least 6 months. What will we do??

For dessert, we walked a couple of blocks to Mezes and bellied up to the bar for galaktobouriko and a class of Samos (Greek dessert wine). Galaktobouriko is similar to baklava, but with custard so it isn't as dry. It arrives doused in honey - the whole thing is so sweet that I feel my skin vibrating. I love it.

So...that's it. A wonderful meal to conclude a year of mostly wonderful dinners. Stay tuned for a summary of the year. And thanks for reading!

Day 363: This Blog's Final Discovery

My husband and I recently discovered the show "Check Please Bay Area", which is produced by and airs on the PBS affiliate here in NorCal, KQED. The show features three guests who each talk about their favorite Bay Area restaurant and then the other guests go and visit it and each reports on their experience.

We recently saw an episode that featured Sociale as one of the three restaurants. Intrigued by the menu and the garden ambiance, we decided we needed to check this place out.

I was taken with the place upon arrival. We had to walk down a narrow tree lined alley which let us out at Sociale's garden patio. It was a bit too chilly to sit outside, so we were seated indoors. The service was stellar - prompt and super friendly.

One of the dishes on the appetizer menu is deep fried olives stuffed with fontina cheese. I needed to try this (pictured). Unfortunately, it was disappointing. It tasted like super salty olives. The cheese didn't come through at all. I ate two of the eight on the plate, my husband ate one, and the remaining five were uneaten.

Next I had a salad of prawns, peaches, and cucumbers. All of the ingredients were so fresh - super crunch cukes and the peaches were so sweet and delicious. I loved it.

My main course was pappardelle pasta with duck, peas, and truffle oil. This dish was rich, savory, and luscious. I'd order it again in an instant, although the menu contained lots of other dishes that I'm interested to try as well.

It would have been great if I'd had any room left for dessert - the goat cheese cheese cake sounded so interesting - the apple and quince tart sounded delicious, and the beignets with blackberry glaze sounded amazing. But alas, I was way too full. But we'll be back. Not in time to tell you the details - but that just means you probably need to check this place out for yourself.

Day 362: Thanks for the Memories, Balboa!

One of the restaurants we've visited most frequently over the past year (and since moving to SF 2.5 years ago), is the Balboa Cafe, a staple in our neighborhood.

As I've done during nearly every other visit to The Bal, I ordered the field green salad (mixed greens, raisins, sliced apple, candied pecans, and a crostini smeared with goat cheese) and the fish dish. The Bal always has a fish option on the menu, usually either halibut or salmon, plated on top of seasonal vegetables. The cooks at the restaurant really know how to cook fish. There is always a beautiful crust on top while instead remains soft and moist.

Tonight's fish option was halibut with fresh spinach and fingerling potatoes and crabmeat beurre blanc. I asked the restaurant to leave the potatoes off and double the spinach, which they gladly did (and always do for me). This was a delicious meal, due in no small part to the buttery crabby sauce which was absolutely divine.

Thank you, Balboa Cafe for serving so many amazing dinners to me this year. I look forward to continuing to enjoy your food for many years to come!

Day 358: Geez Louise - That Was Tasty!!

I had the urge to leave the 'hood for dinner tonight so we tried a restaurant we had never been to in Russian Hill - 1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar.  Looking at their menu online, the numerous salads and fish entree appealed to me.

I loved the restaurant's setting right away.  It's small with simple decor - warm and welcoming with a very friendly staff.  The menu is somewhat limited - about 5 appetizers and entrees to choose from, but the menu changes regularly to reflect what's in season.

My salad was composed of baby greens with bing cherries, toasted almonds, and fiore sardo cheese.  I'd never tried fiore sardo before and as it turns out, this sheep's milk cheese was too strong for me.  When I ate it with a bit of each of the other components of the salad, it was okay - but otherwise it was just too much.  I wound up giving most of it to my hubby.  On the other hand, the almonds were among the most delicious I had ever had. 

I followed up the salad with salmon, served on top of a mix of fresh chickpeas, corn, and spinach.  I absolutely loved the veggies - the fish was okay.

The star of the meal, though, was dessert.  I rarely indulge in sweets after dinner but tonight's special could not be ignored:  nectarine and chocolate bread pudding with almonds, topped with vanilla ice cream.  Geez Louise - this dish was ridiculous!!  It had the perfect amount of chocolate and the nuts offered a bit of crunch.  It could have used a bit more nectarine, but it was amazing.

I adore restaurants that support local farmers and change their menu frequently to include seasonally relevant dishes.  We'll definitely be returning to 1550 Hyde Cafe and I'm glad I was able to include them in this blog before the 365 days are up!

Day 349: Fig F-Up

I had designed tonight's menu around some fresh figs I purchased a couple of days ago.  I thought it would be tasty to make a fig and goat cheese salad, served alongside lamb chops.

When I got to the store, however, there were no lamb chops!  I didn't see anything else that really appealed to me in terms of a cooking from scratch so I went with some store made turkey meatloaf that just needed to be cooked up.

Then I got home and realized that somehow, the figs I purchased had been thrown away!  They were in a brown paper bag, which I think was mistaken for a compost bag.  BUMMER!!  Fortunately, we had a package of vacuum sealed baby beets, purchased at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago.  Beets and goat cheese are a beautiful combination, so I simply swapped out the invisible figs for the beets and the salad was still tasty.

Rule #1:  always have a back-up plan (or at least have a well stocked pantry and be quick on your feet!).

Day 345: Proof That I'm Kind of Over It

I'm just 20 days away from wrapping up 365daysofdinner.com and it shows.  For the second time in a week, I forgot to take a picture of my dinner tonight.  Fortunately, we had leftovers that I could capture to help tell the story of this meal.

We had a couple of houseguests leaving late tonight and new ones arrived early in the day so we had a big dinner together.  To satisfy everyone, we grilled up a bunch of different things:  chicken breast, pork tenderloin, and spicy turkey sausage.  I also made a big salad with baby greens, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, and blanched zucchini that was leftover from the tart I made on Friday. 

Everyone enjoyed the meal, which was of course accompanied by lots of wine and a delicious local SF treat, It's-It ice cream sandwiches.  Friends, good wine, and tasty food.  What more do you need in life??

Day 340: Nectar of the Gods

The focus of tonight's dinner was wine.  You've gotta love that!

Pey-Marin, a Marin County winery that we discovered a few months ago was hosting an evening at our favorite neighborhood wine bar, Nectar.  On offer was a 4-wine flight:  sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, merlot, and syrah.

To go along with the wine, we ordered several small plates of food:

> Phyllo dough triangles stuffed with blue cheese and spinach

> A mixed green salad with beets, almonds, and a minty dressing

> Tuna tartar (pictured)

> Ricotta gnocchi

> Charcuterie and cheese plate

All of it was delicious, but the highlight was the prosciutto on the charcuterie plate.  It was so soft and savory - among the best prosciutto I've ever had.

In terms of the wine, surprisingly my favorite was the merlot.  This is normally a grape I do not much care for but this one was so tasty that we bought 3 bottles!  Yum, yum, wine is fun!  

Day 326: How to Get Out of Cooking Without Even Trying

Here's a tip.  If you get tired of having to cook and clean up, just cause some serious bodily harm to yourself and your wonderful hubby is bound to step in.  At least that's how it works in my house!

Last night I cut my thumb rather badly while preparing dinner.  24 hours later it's still sore and generally in rough shape so there was no way I could cook tonight.  So, we picked up a couple of NY strip steaks and some two types of orzo salad.  My husband grilled up the steaks with a simple seasoning of S&P and dinner was ready lickety split.

I love to cook and so expect this whole thing to get old kind of fast.  But I think another few days of having dinner cooked for me instead of by me is going to be quite okay.

Day 323: Liquid & Solid Experimentation

I want to love oysters.  People who like oysters are cool and living here in Northern California, loving oysters seems like the right thing to do.  I've had little experience eating them, though, and I have a mental barrier that says "oysters are snot-like".  So, I've decided to try them when the time and place is right and when I'm feeling adventurous.  Tonight was one of those nights.

After an exceedingly lazy day during which we hardly left the house, we ventured out of our neighborhood for dinner to try a new restaurant, Bacar.  I ordered the field green salad and one of each of the two oysters they were offering tonight:  Beausoleil (from New Brunswick, Canada) and Point Reyes (from California).  Surprisingly, I preferred the oysters over the salad, which I found quite bitter.  I squeezed some lemon juice over the oysters and spooned a bit of cocktail sauce on top and even chewed the flesh rather than just swallowing them whole.  Both were good but the Point Reyes, with a fresh flavor that I really enjoyed, was the better of the two.

For my entree, I chose a lamb dish with middle eastern component:  preserved lemon, harissa, and olives.  It was only after ordering that I found out that the dish feature lamb "three ways":  the loin, a lamb sausage, and braised lamb belly.  I was a little worried about that last one, but all of them were really good.

After our entrees we shared a cheese plate and my husband ordered a flight of Scotch.  Brown liquor (scotch, bourbon, whiskey) goes in the same category as oysters - things I currently do not enjoy but which I desperately want to want to learn to love.  My husband quite likes his brown liquor, though, so I always take the opportunity to sip his.  Two out of three were okay, but I still have a ways to go before I love them.

Still, it was a successful night overall.  It was fun to get out of the neighborhood and try a new restaurant and lots of new things, both liquid and solid!

Day 322: Chilling with Jen

A dear college friend is in town just for one night, so we wanted to take her somewhere that we know is good and that's not too noisy so we could catch up.  We decided on Bistro Aix.

After the delicious beet and goat cheese salad (one of my fave appetizers)  I had a bowl of spaghettini with tomato, basil, and grana padana cheese.  Then the three of us shared two desserts:  tarte tatin and chocolate cake.

As always, everything was delicious and it was great fun to hang out with my friend, whom I hadn't seen in almost two years!

Day 321: Leftovers Supreme

With lots of tasty things in the house, there was no need to buy anything for dinner tonight.  Instead, I made a warm quinoa salad with the following items that we had on hand:

- vinaigrette made from juice of 1.5 lemons, 2 T olive oil, and S&P

- leftover rotisserie chicken

- corn scraped off a leftover cob

- half a bag of frozen spinach, defrosted (this is easy to do by running it under lukewarm water)

- some chopped up roasted tomatoes

- a handful of sliced almonds

Lots of tasty things could have gone into this dish:  frozen peas, crumbled goat cheese, chopped avocado.  Whatever!!  It felt good to use up some stuff we had on hand and to create such a tasty and healthful dinner.  Leftovers rule!

Day 320: Sometimes Edible is Good Enough

I stayed later than usual at the office so a quick and easy dinner solution was in order for tonight.  Luckily, my hubby was making a stop at Costco on the way home, so he picked up one of their delicious (savory!  juicy!) and cheap ($4.99!!) rotisserie chickens.

Our sides were 3 day old slaw that I made on Sunday and some supposedly spicy frozen Thai string beans from Trader Joe's.  The slaw wasn't super flavorful but it was edible.  The beans were technically edible, but neither my husband nor I actually ate them.  It's rare that we are disappointed with a Trader Joe's product.  In fact, the only other one I can think of that we didn't like was their sea salt, which was too finely ground and therefore difficult to shake out of the canister.

If you are the kind of person who eats to live, this was a great meal for you.  It took next to no time at all to pull together, was relatively well rounded, and was edible.  If you live to eat, like I do, this meal barely cut it.  It wasn't particularly satisfying, but at least I won't die of starvation tonight.  :-)

Day 317: Summer!

Our dinner tonight reflects the summery weather we've had here this weekend.

First of all, we had our first corn on the cob of the season! I saw it at the farm stand and just couldn't resist it.

We also had some yummy roasted asparagus. I cut the stalks into 2 inch pieces and tossed them with some olive oil, S&P, and 2 shallots which I had peeled and cut into sixths. All of this was spread out on a baking sheet and cooked for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

For a colorful pop (and lots of good vitamins and minerals) I made a slaw: half a head each of red and green cabbage (sliced thin), 3 large carrots (shredded), and a large red bell pepper (julienned). The vinaigrette I made was 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/3 cup canola oil, and some cracked black pepper. This was whisked well together and poured over the top of the veggies. I then tossed it all together with my hands. It's ideal to make this several hours before you are going to serve it, to allow the veggies to soften up a little bit and absorb the flavors from the vinaigrette. Just before serving, sprinkle some thinly sliced green onions over the top.

The final element of our dinner, and unfortunately - the most disappointing - was our grilled herb crusted turkey breasts. We had made this very dish for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful but tonight - not so much. It was SO dry!! We think we made the dish the same way we did the first time and the only thing we can think of is that we had a gravy to go with it last time. Maybe the turkey was dry then too and we just didn't notice because of the gravy.

Fortunately for us, our kind guests (my in-laws and a friend) ate every bite and didn't flinch. Not sure if that was out of politeness or because we'd filled them up with so much good wine that they didn't care. In any case, we thank them for their great company!

Day 315: Something New To Me!

As an open minded, experimental eater, it's not often that I run into menu items that I have not tried or at least heard of - but tonight was one of those occasions.  

One of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Bistro Aix, introduces seasonal dishes to their menu on a daily basis.  Today, they featured a salad with agretti with shaved parmesan and lemon juice.  The waitress described agretti as a sea grass with a similar texture to seaweed but with a flavor similar to asparagus.  Well, I love seaweed and asparagus and so I thought I'd give it a try.

I didn't get asparagus flavor.  In fact, I didn't get much flavor at all, other than maybe a grassy taste.  But when paired with a bit of the cheese and lemon juice it was pretty tasty.  I wouldn't suggest that you hunt down some agretti and try it immediately, but if you see it on a menu it's worth a try.

I followed the salad up with my beloved bouillabaise - a mix of calamari, clams, and halibut in a light tomato/fennel broth with croutons and chunks of potato.  This is my very favorite dish at Bistro Aix and I order it nearly every time we go there.

So, a mix of the something well known and something brand new tonight.  Not a bad way to approach dinner!

Day 313: Cleaning Out the Veggie Drawer

This one will be short and sweet.  I got home at around 8:15 and wanted a quick dinner, so I used up all of the remaining items from my veggie drawer:  half a bag on lettuce, a carrot, 2 celery ribs, and a red bell pepper.  I sprinkled in some sliced almonds, a can of tuna (packed in water, of course!), and some salad dressing and voila!  Dinner is served!

Day 312: When The Hubby's Away...

Anyone who has been reading this blog for awhile knows that I am a frequent fish eater.  I love it - it's tasty, it's healthy, and it's usually easy and quick to prepare. 

Unfortunately, my husband is not fond of salmon and so I've had little opportunity to cook it at home, instead taking every opportunity to order it in restaurants.  The hubby is away this week, though, so the wife will play - with salmon.

It was so easy and so delicious!  I heated up some olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat until it was good and hot.  I seasoned the salmon well with S&P and then cooked it for 3.5 minutes on each side, beginning with the skin side down.  Once it was plated, I sprinkled some freshly chopped dill and fresh squeezed lemon juice over the top.

My sides were salads that I bought at the grocery store.  One was a red quinoa salad with lima beans and carrots and the other was marinated white beans with celery and tomatoes.

In total, this meal took less than 10 minutes, from prep to eating.  Perfect for a mid-week dinner.  I'll have to remember this one the next time hubby goes away!

Day 308: Fishy Friday

My husband was away most of this week and so I had relatively boring meals at home by myself.  Today we celebrated his return and the return of Friday by going to one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants for dinner - Cafe Maritime.

As you might expect, Cafe Maritime's menu is packed is fish dishes:  swordfish, tuna, linguine with clams, fish & chips, and so on.  Tonight, after my green salad, I opted for grilled mahi mahi, which I believe is a new addition to the menu.  It was meant to be served with string beans and baby potatoes, but I requested that they substitute horseradish mashed potatoes instead of the baby ones.  As always (I think I almost always make a side swap at CM!) they were happy to oblige.

Lucky for me, after my entree I still had enough room left to share an order of Mark's Mom's Coconut Cream Pie with my hubby.  This is without a doubt, one of my favorite desserts in the world.  Happy Friday, everyone!

Day 306: Three Phases of Dinner

I'm not sure if tonight's "dinner" was really a meal or just several hours of grazing.

It all started in the Burbank airport, where some colleagues and I awaited a flight home from a business day trip.  In the bar, I satisfied a Baked Lays craving I'd been having all afternoon, pairing the chips with a beer and several Twizzlers.  Dinner Phase 1.

Once I got home, I felt the need to establish some balance in my food universe and so I made a salad.  It included baby lettuce, red bell pepper, celery, a carrot, and some tuna fish.  The tomatoes you see in the photo were removed after I ate a couple and realized that they were just kind of gross.  Dinner Phase 2.

Later on, believe it or not, I felt I needed a little something more.  So, I heated up a bowl of leftover chicken barley soup.  Dinner Phase 3.

A strange "meal" indeed.  I'll just blame it on the business travel and Baked Lays!

Day 296: Please Pass the Burger Bite

Day 2 of my marathon of friends during this trip back east, this one with college friends. There are two couples who live within just a 15 minute drive of my parents' house so we decided to take advantage of the amazing weather we've been having and gathered at one of their homes for a bbq.

It was a great night to sit outside, sip some cold white wine, and enjoy catching up with friends that I haven't seen in well over a year! Dinner was hamburgers and sweet potatoes, both from the grill, and potato salad and green salad. One hamburger became the casualty of "the flip" and broke up into what we called "burger bites" which sort of got passed around throughout the meal, depending on who needed another small does of red meat in their system. The bite on my plate actually wound up in someone else's belly.

The sweet potatoes were definitely the star of the meal, however. They had marinated in olive oil, some herbs, and S&P and then were grilled until tender. Everyone raved about them! Good job, Kelly!

And, I'm thrilled to say that I did indeed carry last night's lesson with me, sipping a beer and some white wine like the adult I am supposed to be! Will it last? The marathon isn't over yet!

Day 294: Hey, I Know That Guy!!

One night last year, I sat down to watch one of the many reality shows that I tune into - Kitchen Nightmares. As usual, the narrator was introducing the restaurant that Gordon Ramsay was going to go in and fix this time and what do you know, the owner is a guy I grew up with!

Unlike on many other episodes, the problem at Campania wasn't that the food was bad or the management was made up of moronic pricks. The issue was simply that the lack experience running a business was causing the restaurant to lose, rather than make money. Gordon worked his magic and everyone lived happily ever after.

Or did they? I needed to see for myself. So, on this weeklong trip back to New Jersey, I decided to treat my parents to dinner out - at Campania, of course!

I'll start off by saying that the place is adorable. I'm not sure if Gordon and his renovation are to thank for that, but the atmosphere is warm and welcoming.

I ordered both my starter and my entree from the specials menu. The special salad was mixed greens with red grapes, toasted almonds, goat cheese, and lemon vinaigrette. I loved it. The combination of ingredients was perfect and it paired wonderfully with Campania's delicious, soft foccacia which I used as a goat cheese carrier and to mop up the dressing.

My entree was pan roasted grouper with eggplant and grilled ramps. This was a great dish - the fish was cooked perfectly and the accompanying elements were delish. I hadn't thought to grill ramps (which taste like mild green onions) before but I'll definitely try it at home. The eggplant was perfect - soft and sweet. There were two large pieces but I wished there were more.

In the end, I was too full for dessert, which was heartbreaking since they had homemade tartufo on the menu and that is one of my faves!!! I guess I'll have to go back next time I'm in the neighborhood.

I'm always one to root for the local small business owner, and that sentiment is multiplied by a thousand when I know the owner personally. This one even invited me to visit him in the kitchen which was a great treat! Thanks, Joe!