Adventures in Baking - Chewy Ginger Cookies with Raisins

A combination of fresh and dried ginger really gives these cookies a nice snappy flavor. By rolling the tops in sanding sugar you ensure the spicy-sweet flavor really sings. They were super easy to make and tasted great.

1. Whisk together 2 cups flour, 1 tbs ground ginger, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt.

2. Cream 1 stick of unsalted butter with 1 cup sugar. Mix in 1/4 cup grated fresh ginger, 1 egg, and 1/3 cup unsulfured molasses. Fold in 3/4 cup raisins.

3. Let cool in fridge for at least 30 minutes. Then form into little balls and cook for 16 minutes at 350.

Where to Eat - Epic Roasthouse (Brunch Edition)

Andrew and I wanted to eat brunch somewhere on the water this weekend since the weather was so gorgeous. We got a beautiful table by the window overlooking the water and started with their house Bloody Mary, which had a great house blend of spices. 

I was dying for some eggs so I got the above perfect soft scrambled eggs with crispy potatoes and Hobb's smoked salmon and caviar. The eggs were perfectly cooked and the crispy potatoes were great. The dish came with way too much smoked salmon which was a bit overwhelming but overall it was tasty. 

Andrew ordered the crab cake Benedict and we also split the side of macaroni and cheese. Andrew had heard it was really good and it was tasty. It was very rich and I loved the shape of the pasta and chives sprinkled over the top. All in all it was a good brunch. 

Sunday Supper - Fake Chicken-Pot-Pie Pasta

I'm a sucker for a chicken-pot-pie and when I saw this quick and easy recipe with pasta I had to try it. I decided to go meatless and used Quorn's Meatless & Soy-Free Naked Chik'n Cutlets. It came out really well, but you could always use real chicken per the recipe.

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook 3/4 pound whole wheat pasta 3 minutes less than you are supposed to. Add 1/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces. Cook for 3 minutes then strain and let cool.

2. In a large saucepan, melt 3 tbs unsalted butter. Add 1 small diced onion, 2 stalks thinly sliced celery, and 2 carrots diced medium. Add 1/4 cup flour and gradually incorporate 2 cups low sodium chicken broth. Add 2 cups fake or real chicken and season with salt and pepper.

3. Stir in pasta and beans and serve.

Snack Attack - Volume 1

Here are my top 5 snacks to keep you filled without making you feel guilty!

5. Savory Ants on a Log - Celery with hummus and chopped black olives - I am a salt over sugar fan!

4. Small tomatoes sliced with skim milk ricotta and chives - Shaking up the the old caprese never felt so good.

3. Wasa Whole Grain Crackers with Hummus, Sharp Cheddar and Sprouts - The best cheese and crackers you've ever had.

2. Herb-Marinated Olives - I recommend olive oil, parsley, lemon, fennel seed, fresh thyme and pepper. The longer they marinate the better they taste.

1. Garden Veggie Dip with Crunchy Veggies - See below for recipe.

Combine 8 oz room temperature Neufchatel cheese with 1 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt. Mix in 3 finely grated medium carrots, 2 thinly sliced scallions, and 3 finely diced celery stalks. Season with salt, pepper and the juice from 1 lemon.

Sunday Supper - Green Couscous & Shrimp

I've been craving shrimp lately so I decided to make this recipe. It came out super fresh and tasty. The potent, herby couscous with the beans is a new favorite for me.

1. Place 2 handfuls parsley, 2 handfuls cilantro. the juice of one lemon, 2 tbs olive oil, 2 minced anchovy filets, 2 garlic cloves, a 1 tbs capers in a food processor. Pulse until smooth, scrapping down the sides.

2. Bring 1 cup water to boil and add 1 cup whole wheat couscous. Cover for 5 minutes to cook. Add herb mixture and mix.

3. Heat 1 tbs oil in a frying pan and cook 1 lb peeled and deveined raw shrimp. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon. Serve with couscous.

Sunday Supper - Chilaquiles

I have a MAJOR thing for chilaquiles. This recipe is super easy and fast. It's a guaranteed craving killer and not quite as unhealthy as nachos.

1. Take two handfuls of tortilla chips and saute them in a frying pan with enchilada sauce - Rick Bayless makes a really great one you can get at Wholefoods.

2. Sprinkle with diced white onion, cilantro, and queso fresca.

Napa Food Fest

A couple months back Andrew and I needed to get out of town so we went up to Napa for a food festival he found. We had a lovely day and stayed at a great hotel. It was a great experience. Here's how the food stacked up.

We started with a steak tartare prepared by a teacher from the Culinary Institute. It was simple but tasty. The meat was fresh and it was covered with a very good quality olive oil, some lemon and seasoning.
It takes a lot to make a tartare stand out to me these days, but this one was really solid. The quality fresh ingredients really created a tasty bite.

The second dish from the Culinary Institute were barbecued oysters. This was pretty standard. It was by no means bad - I had two. It just didn't stand out among the other food we had that day. I feel like the only way to elevate the dish and make it stand out would have been to create a really great and unique sauce. The barbecue sauce was at best mediocre.

Next we went to the Heritage Fires table, which offered two breads. The above was my preferred dish. Their version of garlic bread was basically a thin focaccia with butter, onions, a red pepper saute, gorgonzola and parmesan cheeses. It was also super cute that they had a gentleman walking around with a box of it strapped to him offering it to hungry patrons.

The bruschetta was good. The tomatoes were fresh and in season. It definitely didn't stand out as much as the garlic bread but was a nice clean palette cleanser - not the best I've had but not bad and the acid was welcome change from all the meat.

Next we had some lamb sliders from Sepia. Aesthetically these were nothing to write home about; however, they were one of my favorites because of their taste. The slider consisted of a lamb and garlic sausage with a caraway and beer slaw.

Magnolia's chef had some sort of hand injury so I was only able to try one of their dishes. The above sausage was delicious - Spicy Thai cheddar smoked pork sausage. The compressed watermelon salad with Thai basil and mint was kind of a throwaway. I was unimpressed with just a piece of good sausage on a plate. I heard the chicken served was very tasty but I did not receive any because of the chef's hand injury which was kind of gross and bs.

I skipped the rabbit station because there was a bunch of signs about cooked bunnies - Bambi barf. So instead I went with the Night Wood Restaurant's delicious taco. They had a whole roasted albacore tuna with pasilla negra, pica de gallo, queso fresca and avocado. Watching the fresh tuna be flaked off and put into my taco was pretty tops. This was a crazy good taco.

This was pretty clearly supposed to be the centerpiece of the festival. It was a Heritage Berkshire roasted pig stuffed with Australian black diamond truffles from Todd Spainer - the King of Mushrooms. I thought it was kind of overdone. First of all I was totally chastised while waiting in line because I declined pork skin. Then the pork was cooked well but the abundance of black truffles in the sauce was a bit overwhelming. It was so many that they didn't even taste like truffles. This was probably my least favorite dish at the event.

The above salmon dish from the Whole Beast was really tasty and HUGE. The centerpiece was the whole roasted California Chinook Salmon that was glazed with a Vietnamese black pepper and caramel  fish sauce. It was accompanied by a papaya, white peach and mango slaw. I only had the salmon as I am allergic to both papaya and mango but I heard the slaw was tasty. The salmon was a dream. Super delicious and something I could eat everyday.

Where to Eat - Central Kitchen

In keeping with my visit through my archive photos I decided to do a write up on Central Kitchen. My brother and I got the tasting menu the first week it opened and were blown away. It was the single best meal of my life so far. Period. The space was rustic but modern and I loved how each table had a votive wrapped with old cookbook recipes. Like the decor, little perfect touches were continued throughout the meal with the food.

We started with the above lemon soda with buttermilk granita. This was refreshing light and super interesting. It reminded me of a a liquid key lime pie. Also I learned I would like to wrap my life in buttermilk granita.

Next we were brought a vegetable gele with salmon and sorrel. I was struck by the seasoning of this dish - It had the perfect amount of salt. I also love anything with edible flowers.

We then had lamb rilletes with pickled ramps, ramp aiolio on a house-made brioche sprinkled with chervil. This inexplicably reminded me of my mother's clam dip, which was delicious. I could pop these little suckers into my mouth like gummy bears and be one happy lady.

After the previous array of starters we had the above for our first course. These poached mussels on turnip puree with seaweed, radish and fresh horseradish was amazing. It tasted super fresh and was visually stunning. The lightly cooked shellfish with horseradish reminded me of the raw clams sliced open on top of coolers dabbed with homemade cocktail sauce of my youth. It was like summer bbq in a bite.

This second course was my favorite of the meal. It was the most creative plate I've had in a long while. The components of this dish were fresh peas, separated goat cheese and rye crumble. I can not overstate the freshness of this dish. It tastes like something I would expect to eat on a really fancy farm. The separated goat cheese was super clever and playful - the foam was made of the whey and the solids were the cheese curds. The rye crumble may be the single tastiest thing I have ever had in my life. This dish was a celebration of simplicity and texture. I basically licked my plate. 

The third course was rock cod with ramps, artichoke and egg yolk. I'm a sucker for a perfectly cooked piece of fish. I was also really impressed with the texture of the egg yolk - it wasn't too runny but wasn't fully cooked. The artichoke was also an unexpected touch. The almost meaty flavor reminded me of a healthier surf and turf.

Sorry for the shakiness of this photo. The wine selection was amazing and as Chris knew the sommelier the wine was a-flowing. This was our fourth course and it consisted of roasted duck with chard, white onion and hazelnuts. The combination of duck and hazelnuts was surprising and super tasty. 

For a palette cleanser before dessert we were given a lemon verbana sorbet with a hazelnut and peppercorn meringue, cherries, blueberries and crushed hazelnuts. Flavored meringue is amazing - you're welcome.

The fifth and final course was dessert. We had jasmine tea ice cream with almond, grains of paradise, and tapioca milk. This reminded me of an elevated toasted almond bar mixed with the milk leftover from your cereal. (That is a compliment.)

As if this experience wasn't amazing enough, we received little presents after we paid. They were filled with the below brownie style cookies. A perfect reminder of a lovely meal. 

This dinner was full of delicious and beautiful plates. It was like a gorgeous novel but the motifs were hazelnuts, ramps and the like. The most successful dishes were new and exciting but had a reminiscent flavor from the past, reminding me of my childhood. I can not wait to visit Central Kitchen again - once I can get near it again that is, it is blowing up and rightly so!

Where to Eat - O Chame

So I realized it's been awhile since I wrote up any of my meals about town. I've been really into my baking lately! I looked through my archives and decided to do a write up on a charming Japanese place on 4th Street in Berkeley. I had lunch there months ago with my sister Lauren, her boyfriend Mark, and my brother Chris. We started with a bunch of small appetizers and then went on to individual soups. With all the small bites it felt like Japanese Tapas. We had a great time and a great lunch.

We started with the above Yukon Gold Potato and Snow Crab Croquette. I am a huge fan of any sort of croquette and these were great. They were light and flaky with more crab then potato and breading. I also loved the dusting of sesame seeds on top.

Next we tried the Grilled Fresh Water Eel with Belgium Endive. To be honest I found this plate to be a little unremarkable. There was nothing wrong the dish but it definitely wasn't my highlight.

This next dish was one of my favorites. It was the Seared Yellowtail Sashimi with Braised Leeks and Horseradish Sauce. The fish was really fresh and perfectly seared. The juxtaposition of the sweet leek and tangy horseradish created a perfectly balanced bite.

With Chris joining us it was a given we would try the Braised Karubi Pork Ribs with Ginger and Lemon. These were really tasty. I liked how the sauce wasn't too thick or sweet, which usually turns me off from ribs.

This was my other favorite of the meal - Agedashi Tofu with Hijiki Seaweed. The tofu was deep fried in fish broth and an amazing combination of sweet and salty. I could pour this broth over pretty much anything and enjoy it. The seaweed added some texture to the spongy tofu.

For my soup I had the Udon Noodles in Clear Fish Broth with Simmered Pork Shoulder, Spinach and Takuan. Already a fan of the fish broth here adding noodles, spinach pork shoulder and pickled daikon made me super happy. The pork literally melted in your mouth and the Takuan gave just the right amount of acidity.

All in all it was a great place to go. I also love that it's so close to my favorite store The Gardener. Next time I need to try one of the bento boxes.

Adventures in Baking - Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bars

I decided to expand my baking horizons and try something outside my cookie wheelhouse. These bars looked amazing and I had marked the recipe to try long ago. They came out great.

Note - These delicious bars are fantastic any time of day!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a 9x13 baking pan.

2. Measure 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 1/4 cup rolled oats, 3/4 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp cinnamon into a food processor. Pulse until mixed.

3. Add 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter cut into pieces and pulse until crumbles form.

4. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture. Press the rest into the bottom of the pan. Bake 15 minutes then let cool.

5. Mix 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tbs lemon zest, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 2 tbs flour in a separate bowl. Add 1 lb fresh raspberries, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, and 2 tbs unsalted butter that has been melted and cooled. Toss with your hands until berries are evenly coated.

6. Spread the raspberry filling evenly on top of cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved 1 cup crumb mixture over the top.

7. Bake for 40 minutes.