You Are Invited to My New Blog!

Thank you for your interest in 365daysofdinner.com. This was my first blog and I'm proud that I saw this major project through for an entire year. There are lots of great recipes and restaurant reviews here and I hope you find what you're looking ofr.

This fall, I launched my new blog, TheEnthusiasticEater.com and I invite you to pay me a visit there. This blog allows me to talk about my passion for food, wine, and travel whenever the spirit moves me. I hope you'll check it out, maybe become a follower, and leave a comment from time to time.

Happy eating!!

Summary: Time Flies When You're Eating Well

About 1 year and 3 days ago I had the idea to document my dinners for 365 days straight. I had been tossing around the idea of starting a blog and this seemed like a unique and fun first blog topic.

It's hard to believe that a year has gone by already and that I followed through and wrote an entry each and every day for 365 days!! It was fun, frustrating, exhilarating, exhausting and in the end, quite satisfying.

I'm proud to say that 176 of those 365 dinners took place at home (not including takeout - more on that below) and that I cooked all or part of nearly all of those meals (there was the occasional can of soup or bag of edamame as dinner - these meals do not count as "home cooked"). I feel that that is a tremendous accomplishment for someone who works full time.

Some of my favorite recipes that appeared during the past year are:

Moroccan Chicken with Quinoa

Picadillo

Mustard Crusted Lamb Chops

Chicken Parmesan

Grilled Strip Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Three Meat Meatballs

Salt Roasted Shrimp with Lemon Honey Dipping Sauce

Parchment Wrapped Halibut

Chipotle Pork Tenderloin

Sausage & Peppers

Zucchini Tart

The remaining 189 non-home cooked dinners break down as follows:

140 at a restaurant (read on for those highlights)

16 takeout

15 cooked for us by a friend of family member

6 in an airplane or airport

4 at a sporting event

4 at other kinds of events (including 1 wedding)

3 at the office

1 room service while traveling on business

I had dinner at 66 different restaurants this year but some restaurants deserve recognition for having fed us very well.

Bistro Aix: 15 visits

Isa: 11 visits

Izzy's Steaks & Chops: 11 visits

Capannina: 9 visits

Balboa Cafe: 7 visits

Cafe Maritime: 5 visits

Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, Mezes, Osha: 4 visits each

Additionally, we had the opportunity to dine at Chez Panisse and Zuni Cafe this year - two legendary Bay Area restaurants that are not to be missed.

The picture of this entry is a scan of a calling card I left behind (when I remembered) at restaurants throughout this year - my husband's brilliant idea.

Speaking of my husband, who was mentioned often throughout this blog - I want to thank him for his tremendous support this year. He often reminded me to take a photo of my plate and no matter how hungry he was or how eager to dive in to his plate, he was always patient while I did so. He also served as awesome tech support for me throughout the year, especially when my old site refused to be updated and I had to move things over to Blogger. Although I won't be documenting it on a daily basis any longer, I promise him tasty, adventurous, and/or fun dinners for many years to come.

And of course, I want to thank all of the readers of this blog. Whether you read my entries regularly or only once in awhile, I truly appreciate it. Another blog is to come one day soon, so check back for the URL. I'm still tossing around some ideas.

Meanwhile, I wish you many delicious dinners of your own!! Happy eating...

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 364: Empty Cup, Full Belly

Uh oh. In my haste to get this delicious chili into my tummy, I completely forgot to photograph it. Imagine a thick, dark mixture of beef, beans, and tasty spices and seasoning, with cheese sprinkled over the top. As you can see, I brushed off the chopped raw onions.

I paired my chili at tonight's Giants game with hefeweizen, my favorite type of beer. An hour of so later, I followed it up with some caramel corn - a hand made specialty at AT&T Park and a treat I can never pass up. For a photo of this ridiculous, mind blowing dessert, check out entry #344, "Go Team!". In this case, though, seeing is not believing. To understand why I go on and on about this stuff, you must try it for yourself.

One day to go!!

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 361: Best Deal of the Blog

As this blog comes to a close, I find myself reminiscing about the great things I cooked, ate, and discovered over the course of the past year.  One of my best discoveries by far, is Costco's $4.99 rotisserie chicken.  This bird is juicy, succulent, savory, and cheap!!  And, perfect for a night when you can't/don't want to cook.

Tonight was one of those nights.  I had planned ahead that I would go to the gym after work, which means that the earliest I would get home is 7 or 7:30.  So, my husband and I agreed that he would stop off at Costco on his way home.

When we take the easy way out on one piece of the meal, I like to cook another.  Tonight, I sauteed up some sugar snap peas that we had purchased at the farmer's market over the weekend.  I used a non-stick pan so that I didn't need much oil.  After heating up some olive oil, I sauteed the peas with S&P and a little bit of cayenne - I love the combination of sweet and spicy.  I let them cook over medium-high heat for a good 10 minutes, stirring them often.  This allowed them to soften up but still maintain a little bit of crunch.  Yum.

I find that this kind of dinner is a terrific compromise of easy, cheap, but with a homemade touch.  And for $4.99, you just cannot go wrong! 

Day 360: What Happens When I Do Not Have a Plan

It's too bad that I had to create such a terrible meal during the last week of this blog.  The problem was that I really didn't have a plan when I went to the market - that hardly ever works out.  All I knew was that I wanted to use some of the items purchased at the farmer's market this weekend to make something healthy.  I accomplished that, but unfortunately, it wasn't very tasty.

I purchased some tilapia to make fish tacos and marinated it for about 1/2 hour in a mixture that included the juice of 2 limes, sliced fresh ginger (a 1 inch piece), a sliced jalapeno (seeds and all), 2 smashed garlic cloves, 1t sugar, and 2T olive oil.  The marinade was really tasty - but the fish just didn't suck up enough of the flavor.

I made two toppings to go in the tacos.  The first was simple - I purchased some tiny little cherry tomatoes and sliced them in half.  That's it - but their freshness added a lot of great flavor.

The zucchini we purchased at the farmer's market served as the second topping.  I ran it across the large holes of a box grater and sprinkled it liberally with salt to soften it up and pull the extra liquid out.  I placed it in a strainer and pressed the liquid out every several minutes.  Then, I mixed it with the juice and zest of a lemon and seasoned it to taste with S&P.  This was meant to be a substitute for cabbage, which what one would normally use on a fish taco.  But I've found that we found up throwing half the head of cabbage away the last few times so I thought I'd try this since we already had the zucchini.  It actually wasn't bad - but when the fish in the fish taco isn't too tasty, all the delicious toppings in the world can't save it.

Okay...my commitment to you - readers who have stayed with me for nearly a year - is to create and/or eat nothing but GOOD food for the last 5 days of this blog.

Day 359: Most Nutritious Dish Ever?

Recently, I read that kale is the most nutritious vegetable out there so I've been determined to try to prepare it.  Those stiff, tough leaves have always intimidated me at the farmer's market, but this weekend I decided to give it a go.

I found a recipe for kale and beans on Epicurious and followed it with the following exceptions, per some reviews from people who had prepared it before:  1/2 cup of chicken stock instead of a full cup, 5 cloves of garlic instead of 3, and 2 tsp of sherry vinegar instead of 1.  If you're looking for a hearty vegetarian meal, simply replace the chicken stock with veggie broth and you're sure to enjoy this dish.

I served the kale and beans over some lemony steamed quinoa - another super food that seems to have become a buzz ingredient lately.  Quinoa is a whole grain that packed a protein punch.  I've tried making quinoa lots of different ways and this is my favorite, as it's always light and fluffy.

Boil water in medium sized pot.

Rinse quinoa under cold water and place in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Drain quinoa in a metal strainer.

Bring a couple of inches of water to a boil in the pot and place the strainer over the top.

Cover strainer with a dish towel and then the pot lid.

Steam quinoa for 10 minutes.

Remove pot from the heat and remove the lid, leaving the towel in place.

Let quinoa sit for 5 minutes and then flush with a fork.

You can use quinoa as you would rice or couscous, plating saucy foods over the top.  Or, you can toss it with olive oil and the juice and zest of a lemon for a light, zesty side dish.  This is what I did tonight, scooping the kale and bean mixture over the top.  I found the freshness provided by the lemon really lifted up the overall dish.  The way I look at it, kale + quinoa = possibly the most nutritious dish ever!

The (animal) protein that I choose to serve tonight was lamb chops.  I seasoned the rack with S&P and browned it in a pan with hot olive oil.  I then transferred the rack to a baking sheet, coated it with a mixture of minced garlic, finely chopped rosemary, and olive oil, and baked it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.  Admittedly, I overdid it a bit.  It was still flavorful and juicy, but lamb should be served medium-rare and mine was medium-well.  This is a result of my desperate fear of poisoning my husband - I figure better overdone than underdone.

All in all - a very successful meal.  The kale was a hit, so I plan to purchase it again in the near future.  Any favorite kale preparations?  Please leave a comment with the details.

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 357: Last Entry From The Lovely Isa

I have mixed emotions as I approach the end of my blog project.  On one hand, it's been stressful to keep it up, knowing that I had to write an entry each and every night, regardless of how boring my dinner was or how tired I was.  On the other hand, 365daysofdinner.com has challenged me to cook and eat more interesting food and has served as a fun and interesting reflection on a year of my life.  

As I wind things up, I am trying to fit in one last visit to all my favorite restaurants.  Beginning Sunday, Isa closes for its annual summer vacation so tonight is my final entry from my very favorite neighborhood restaurant.

If you've been following along for the past year, you know that Isa is a shared plate place.  There are two dishes that we always get:  baked goat cheese with tomato, basil, & pine nuts and the scallops with pureed potatoes and fresh asparagus.  Our other orders vary, as does the menu, to reflect what's in season.

Our other dishes tonight were lamb chops with diced eggplant and red bell pepper (yummy), gulf shrimp sauteed with lemon and garlic (yummier), and grilled yellowtail with zucchini, red bell peppers, and olives (yummiest!!).  Honestly - that yellowtail is so good that I could eat it at least 3x per week and never tire of it.  

Of course, we will continue to regularly dine at Isa because WE LOVE IT!  But as far as this blog is concerned, we big Isa farewell and offer many thanks for the delicious dinners they served us over the course of the past year!

Day 356: Cooking From Scratch For The 1st Time All Week

It's been awhile since I prepared fish at home and I've eaten some pretty unhealthy food this week, so tonight I roasted halibut, topped it with fresh tomato & basil, and steamed some broccoli.

I cooked the fish simply - seasoning it with S&P, drizzling it with olive oil, and baking it at 375 degrees until it was cooked through (about 15 minutes).

My topping was made from one hothouse red tomato, about 10 yellow pear tomatoes, 10 julienned basil leaves, 1 small shallot (chopped), about 2T balsamic vinegar, about 1T olive oil, and S&P to taste.  I spooned the mixture (and the resulting liquid) over the top of the fish.

This whole dish took maybe 30 minutes to make.  I made the topping while the fish cooked and threw the broccoli into the microwave to steam in the last couple of minutes.  Easy!

Day 355: All I Deserve

I had Denny's for lunch.  It may surprise you (unless you went to college with me) to find out that I absolutely love Denny's.  For obvious reasons, I don't indulge this love often so today's lunch was a real treat.  But, payback was that I needed to keep dinner to a minimum to make up for it.

Actually, The Super Bird sandwich and fries that I had for lunch were still sticking to my ribs six hours later and so a light dinner was all I really wanted.  I boiled up a bag of edamame, seasoned it with salt, and that was that.  Now that's balance!

Day 354: Cook It To Death!

Two of my favorite Greek restaurants, Ethos in NYC and Mezes here in SF, offer a dish that I love - green beans stewed in tomato until they practically fall apart if you look at them too hard.  Normally, I prefer my veggies to have some crunch left in them after cooking, but there's something about those beans that makes me so happy.

We have managed to figure out how to make this dish fairly well at home.  Fresh green beans, pressed garlic cloves, a can of tomatoes, a few splashes of white wine, and lots of time and you can have these delicious beans too.  Just be sure you cook them to death!

Like last night, I took the easy way out with the rest of our dinner.  I purchased some pre-made meatloaf from the deli counter at one of our local grocery stores and just reheated it at home.  It was delicious!  Sometimes I really buy into the "why make it when you can buy it" concept!

Day 353: Some Assembly Required

To be honest, tonight's dinner was more assembled than cooked.  I purchased some fresh pasta (cooks in 2 minutes!), a package of Aidell's chicken/turkey meatballs, and some shaved parmesan cheese.  All I needed to do was make some quick sauce and prepare the pasta & balls as suggested on their packages and presto - dinner is ready!

To make the sauce, I threw a package of cherry tomatoes and two pressed garlic cloves into the food processor and pulsed it until the tomatoes were crushed.  Then I threw all of that into a pot with a couple of splashes of white wine, a few pinches of dried oregano, and S&P.  I brought all of it to a boil and then allowed it to simmer with the meatballs for about 15 minutes.

Then came the assembly.  I mixed the cooked pasta with the sauce and meatballs in the pot I had used to cook the pasta.  I then sprinkled in a generous dose of the parm and gently mixed it all together.  Once plated, I sprinkled some more cheese over the top.

So - very little of tonight's dinner was made from scratch - but it was tasty, easy, and healthful.  On busy work nights, sometimes that's the best you can do but I think you should be proud about making dinner at home no matter what you make.

Day 352: Too Pooped to Cook

What a hectic weekend!  Having been on the go from Friday night through early this evening, I was unprepared (and unenthusiastic) for dinner.  So, I popped the lid on a can of Trader Joe's lowfat chicken noodle soup and heated it up with ground pepper.  I also cut up some veggies and dipped them into Trader Joe's spinach dip.  Dinner was ready in no time, with little effort and clean up.  Gotta love that!

Day 351: The Steak-Free Streak is Finally Broken!

The last three times I went to Izzy's Steaks & Chops, I ordered fish.  Fish!  At a steak restaurant!  For some unknown reason, I hadn't craved my beloved prime rib dish on any of these occasions.  I hoped this trend would end, because that prime rib is SO good - finally tonight, my old craving returned, so off to Izzy's we went.

As always, I started with the prawn cocktail which is served with Izzy's amazing house made cocktail sauce.   After that, I had the prime rib with steamed broccoli and ate every savory, meaty bite.  Yum!  

Day 350: Sushi - Well Lit & Tasty

Before I even get into the details of this meal, can we just talk about how beautiful this plate looks?  We had a window seat at Asa and the natural light just hit the food perfectly.  I mean, this is food magazine cover quality!

I was treating my hubby to dinner tonight for helping out so much and for being so patient when our house was Grand Central this past week.  We had three different sets of guests over the course of a week.  It was fun, but hectic.  He chose Asa, our favorite neighborhood sushi restaurant.

At Asa, we primarily eat rolls, usually accompanied by some salmon sashimi and edamame.  Our favorite roll is the Red Dragon, the one to the far left in this photo:  tempura shrimp through the middle, spicy tuna and eel on top and tobiko on top of that.  I adore tobiko - those crunchy little eggs just make any roll better.

We also regularly enjoy the Honey Roll, on the right on the plate - avocado and tobiko inside and salmon on top.  The new roll we tried tonight was First Love (middle of the plate) - spicy hamachi (yellow tail) inside with eel and salmon on top.  For me, it was just shy of being too spicy, but it was good.

After this beautiful, classy meal, we went and saw The Hangover, which was neither beautiful not classy but it was freaking hilarious.  Feel free to steal out date night plan for yourself!

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 348: Healthy Detox

I'm not sure what it is about having houseguests, but it invites terrible food behavior from me!  Last night we said goodbye to our last guest after a week-long full house during which time I consumed a crazy amount of ice cream, burgers, and of course, booze.  Now it's time to detox.

For dinner tonight, I purchased some quinoa salad from our local store, sauteed fresh asparagus with spring onions, and grilled a swordfish steak.

The fish was prepared simply - I seasoned it with S&P, drizzled it with olive oil, and squeezed the juice of half a lemon over the top.  Then hubby grilled it.

The asparagus was easy too.  I sliced up 2 spring onion and sauteed them in warm olive oil until they were golden.  I cut the asparagus in half and through it in the pan with S&P and a few splashes of white wine.  After 5 minutes on medium-high heat, it was ready to serve.

I feel lucky to actually enjoy healthy foods - especially fresh veggies and fish.  Here's to getting back to my normal regime!