Ingredients:
2 lbs. of beef tri-tip roast
3 tbsp. of minced garlic
1 cup of soy sauce
1 cup of dry sherry
3 tbsp. of olive oil
4 Thai chili peppers, diced (yes - them really hot little red things - wear gloves!!!)
1 bunch of scallions, coarsely chopped
1/2 bunch of parsley, coarsely chopped
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and put into a large plastic bag. Put the tri-tip roast into the bag, seal, and refrigerate overnight to allow to marinate.
Heat the grill to high heat. Put the tri-tip on the grill and sear for about 90 seconds on each side. Reduce the heat to medium, close the grill lid, and continue cooking for about 12 - 14 more minutes for medium-rare to medium, turning every couple of minutes. Once done, cover in foil for about 2 - 3 minutes to allow it to rest. Cut across the grain into one inch pieces. Serve!
Makes about 4 servings.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Recipe: Baked Eggs Provencal
This is a very simple breakfast dish... serve with toasted sliced French bread!!! :)
Ingredients:
8 large eggs
3 tsp. of minced garlic
1/2 cup of heavy cream
3 tbsp. of butter
2 tsp. Herbs de Provence
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cracked red pepper
1 1/2 tbsp. of grated parmesan
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Crack all the eggs into a separate bowl, being careful to keep them whole and not puncture the yolks. In a small saucepan on the stove over medium heat, melt the butter into the heavy cream. Pour the cream and butter mixture into the bottom of a medium gratin dish. Slowly pour the eggs into the gratin dish - they will start to cook immediately. Sprinkle the garlic, Herbs de Provence, salt, cracked red pepper, and parmesan over the eggs. Place the gratin dish into the oven and bake for about 8 minutes. Serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients:
8 large eggs
3 tsp. of minced garlic
1/2 cup of heavy cream
3 tbsp. of butter
2 tsp. Herbs de Provence
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cracked red pepper
1 1/2 tbsp. of grated parmesan
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Crack all the eggs into a separate bowl, being careful to keep them whole and not puncture the yolks. In a small saucepan on the stove over medium heat, melt the butter into the heavy cream. Pour the cream and butter mixture into the bottom of a medium gratin dish. Slowly pour the eggs into the gratin dish - they will start to cook immediately. Sprinkle the garlic, Herbs de Provence, salt, cracked red pepper, and parmesan over the eggs. Place the gratin dish into the oven and bake for about 8 minutes. Serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Recipe: Shrimp and Crab Gratin
This dish is just absolutely decadent... I made it last night for friends of mine who were over for some wine and chit-chat. Everyone loved all the dishes I made, but this one was their favorite...
Ingredients
1 lb. of large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb. of lump crab meat (dungeness crab is the best! :))
3 cups of diced white potatoes
3 cups of diced parsnips
2/3 cup of fresh parsley, loosely chopped
1/4 cup of fresh chives, chopped
2 1/2 cups of Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups of Parmesan cheese, shredded
2/3 cups of bread crumbs
2 cups of heavy cream
1 stick of unsalted butter
3 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of black pepper
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray to coat. Put the potatoes and parsnips in a layer on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the parsley and chives over the vegetables. Place the shrimp and crab meat over the vegetables in an even layer.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter into the heavy cream. Add the salt and pepper. Add the Gruyere cheese to the cream mixture and whisk until the cheese fully melts. Whisk in the all-purpose flour. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour it all over the other ingredients in the casserole dish. Sprinkle the bread crumbs in an even layer over the top. Place the casserole in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the casserole and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the Parmesan layer on top is nice and browned. Remove from the oven and let set for a couple of minutes before serving.
Makes 8 servings.
Ingredients
1 lb. of large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb. of lump crab meat (dungeness crab is the best! :))
3 cups of diced white potatoes
3 cups of diced parsnips
2/3 cup of fresh parsley, loosely chopped
1/4 cup of fresh chives, chopped
2 1/2 cups of Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups of Parmesan cheese, shredded
2/3 cups of bread crumbs
2 cups of heavy cream
1 stick of unsalted butter
3 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of black pepper
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray to coat. Put the potatoes and parsnips in a layer on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the parsley and chives over the vegetables. Place the shrimp and crab meat over the vegetables in an even layer.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter into the heavy cream. Add the salt and pepper. Add the Gruyere cheese to the cream mixture and whisk until the cheese fully melts. Whisk in the all-purpose flour. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour it all over the other ingredients in the casserole dish. Sprinkle the bread crumbs in an even layer over the top. Place the casserole in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the casserole and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the Parmesan layer on top is nice and browned. Remove from the oven and let set for a couple of minutes before serving.
Makes 8 servings.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Review: Conduit
I have found a new favorite restaurant :). I have now taken my parents here, all of my best friends here, my out-of-town visitors here, my co-workers here, my sister here, my cousin here... and they all do nothing but rave. So, I thought it was about darn time that I wrote a review.
First off, the lovely hostess at the front was so pleasant and polite and was genuinely happy to have us there. And she remembers me every time - and the servers have started to recognize me, too! Major kudos for that...
Admittedly, I haven't explored as much of the menu as I would like - but, it changes so often, I doubt that matters much. First time I went there, I had the duck confit appetizer and the pork chop main... both really good. Oh, but the dessert... the boca negre... I literally thought I had died and went to dessert heaven. The dark chocolate with the slight anise flavor... I almost had a chocolate induced orgasm... THAT good. 2nd time, I had the quail appetizer and the halibut main... and that boca negre, again... both also really good (and I also noticed that the chef, in the quail appetizer, used the same trick I use for fried green tomatoes - tempura batter. I was born and raised in deep south Georgia, so I know green tomatoes... and my mom thinks tempura frying them is sacrilege - but, trust me, it's better :)). 3rd time I barely remember because of the wonderful house manhattan with the brandied cherries - I just know it was another type of fish and again, really good! And the most recent experience was the hamachi sashimi drizzled with dark soy and pomegranate as a starter and then the seared sea bass put over a bed of butternut squash puree and kale sauteed with bacon and cippolini onions - my mercy, how good that was!!!
All the times I have been, the service was absolutely impeccable (MUCH better than I would have expected from a Mission restaurant with relatively moderate prices) and my guests, who are foodies just like me, all raved.
It's just disheartening to me to see reviews on Yelp! and other sites about really petty things (get over the modern bathrooms, people! :P) when the people who own this place truly do have their act together. And that's more than I can say for other restaurants in the Mission that I've been going to for years...
First off, the lovely hostess at the front was so pleasant and polite and was genuinely happy to have us there. And she remembers me every time - and the servers have started to recognize me, too! Major kudos for that...
Admittedly, I haven't explored as much of the menu as I would like - but, it changes so often, I doubt that matters much. First time I went there, I had the duck confit appetizer and the pork chop main... both really good. Oh, but the dessert... the boca negre... I literally thought I had died and went to dessert heaven. The dark chocolate with the slight anise flavor... I almost had a chocolate induced orgasm... THAT good. 2nd time, I had the quail appetizer and the halibut main... and that boca negre, again... both also really good (and I also noticed that the chef, in the quail appetizer, used the same trick I use for fried green tomatoes - tempura batter. I was born and raised in deep south Georgia, so I know green tomatoes... and my mom thinks tempura frying them is sacrilege - but, trust me, it's better :)). 3rd time I barely remember because of the wonderful house manhattan with the brandied cherries - I just know it was another type of fish and again, really good! And the most recent experience was the hamachi sashimi drizzled with dark soy and pomegranate as a starter and then the seared sea bass put over a bed of butternut squash puree and kale sauteed with bacon and cippolini onions - my mercy, how good that was!!!
All the times I have been, the service was absolutely impeccable (MUCH better than I would have expected from a Mission restaurant with relatively moderate prices) and my guests, who are foodies just like me, all raved.
It's just disheartening to me to see reviews on Yelp! and other sites about really petty things (get over the modern bathrooms, people! :P) when the people who own this place truly do have their act together. And that's more than I can say for other restaurants in the Mission that I've been going to for years...
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Recipe: Turkey Scallopini over Sauted Spinach
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. of turkey breast tenderloins
1 cup flour
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. black pepper
2 eggs
2 tbsp. of half and half
9 oz. of fresh spinach
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup of canola oil
Directions:
Cut turkey tenderloins into 8 equal portions, put between two pieces of wax/parchment paper, and pound the crap out of them until they are flat (approx. 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick).
In a large plastic bag, mix the flour with the dry spices and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and half and half. Dip each turkey portion in the egg wash and then put into the plastic bag with the flour and spices. Shake vigorously to coat the turkey portions with the breading.
In one large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium to medium-high heat. Cooking in batches, place the turkey into the hot oil and fry about 4 minutes on each side. Place on paper towels to drain off excess oil.
In another skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute the garlic for about 3 minutes to open up its flavor. Add the fresh spinach to the skillet in batches tossing frequently to wilt. Once all the spinach is in the skillet and fully wilted, remove from heat.
Serve turkey over a bed of spinach.
(NOTE: you can make this exact same recipe using boneless, skinless chicken breast)
Makes 4 servings.
1 1/2 lb. of turkey breast tenderloins
1 cup flour
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. black pepper
2 eggs
2 tbsp. of half and half
9 oz. of fresh spinach
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup of canola oil
Directions:
Cut turkey tenderloins into 8 equal portions, put between two pieces of wax/parchment paper, and pound the crap out of them until they are flat (approx. 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick).
In a large plastic bag, mix the flour with the dry spices and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and half and half. Dip each turkey portion in the egg wash and then put into the plastic bag with the flour and spices. Shake vigorously to coat the turkey portions with the breading.
In one large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium to medium-high heat. Cooking in batches, place the turkey into the hot oil and fry about 4 minutes on each side. Place on paper towels to drain off excess oil.
In another skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute the garlic for about 3 minutes to open up its flavor. Add the fresh spinach to the skillet in batches tossing frequently to wilt. Once all the spinach is in the skillet and fully wilted, remove from heat.
Serve turkey over a bed of spinach.
(NOTE: you can make this exact same recipe using boneless, skinless chicken breast)
Makes 4 servings.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Review: My Delivery Boys
You thought you were gonna get some pics of hottie delivery boys in this post, now didn't you? ;) Well, I hate to disappoint you, but this post is actually about the nearby places that I depend upon to save my evenings on a regular basis with their wonderful and prompt delivery. Even though they rarely send cute delivery boys (those only seem to come from crap places like Domino's), they do send a good dinner!
Jasmine Tea House
When I first left my place in the Sunset, I was concerned that I was going to have to revert back to crap Chinese food for delivery. I was a bit spoiled having the excellent San Tung so near to my place over there. I took a chance on Jasmine Tea House after finding their menu hooked to my door handle one evening. While it doesn't quite match the level of San Tung, it comes so darn close that I always have a good meal from here. I always order way more food than I could ever eat 'cause I love leftovers - especially leftover chow mein (and theirs is one of my favorites). All of their dishes are quite good, but when I'm treating myself, I tilt towards the vegetarian and seafood dishes on the menu - especially the Singapore Fish. They are the best things on the menu. Their dim sum items are kinda ho hum (I'll stick to Yank Sing or Canton for my dim sum fix), but they get props for having dim sum available at any hour. However, they had me at the hot and sour soup - my personal "litmus test" for Chinese restaurants. It's wonderfully spicy and definitely a bit more sour than most - and I LOVE it. Really solid Chinese food here.
Serrano's Pizza
OK... relative to the East Coast, most pizza here on the West Coast is only ho-hum - unless you're going to the fancy schmanzy places like Delfina. And delivery pizza is usually a lot worse. I found Serrano's on the recommendation of a friend. They have a lot of cool specialty pizzas but the main thing I like is they have tons of toppings from which to choose to make your own pizza - including one of my favorites, roasted eggplant!!! But the major winner - the crust is not too thick or thin (West Coast pizza tends to have WAY too much crust) and it always arrives piping hot. Any leftover slices get frozen to become a pizza dinner later. Is it the best? No... but with so many options, I can always get what I want, and it's always tastier than any other pizza I've ever gotten delivered.
Little Nepal
I have been here many times as an evening diner. It's a quaint little place on Cortland at the top of Bernal Hill, so very close to my house. And then I found out they delivered... and I knew I was doomed... doomed to goodness!!! :) If you know nothing about Nepalese cuisine, it's very similar to Indian cuisine although it has elements of other East Asian cuisines swirled in. Their chicken in spicy tomato cream sauce is one of my favorites. The little side dishes they serve with the entrees (dal, curried veggies, naan) are all excellent. I also think their seafood dishes are quite excellent. Given there's not really any good traditional Northern Indian cuisine available near my house, I'm so glad that I found out Little Nepal delivers!!!
Regent Thai
Three words: Spicy Red Snapper. Oh, my mercy - this dish is just pure heaven. They lightly bread and fry New Zealand red snapper filet and top it with a spicy/sweet red pepper sauce - it is by far one of my favorite dishes EVER. All of the standards are also spot on - pad thai, red or green curries, etc. But, I'm telling you - you MUST have the snapper. It is so, so good.
Lotus Garden
I almost fainted when I found out I could get yummy Vietnamese noodle soups (pho) and vermicelli dishes (bun) for delivery. I am a pho fanatic - all the beef versions, chicken, seafood - I've had them all. The delicious broth with rice noodles that put the meat, fresh mint leaves, cilantro, bean sprouts, jalapenos, and hot sauce into and then slop up. The portion they send me is so big it makes two meals - because I can't order anything from there without getting their Imperial Rolls and their BBQ Pork Rolls. The Imperial Rolls are stuffed with carrots, rice noodles, shrimp, and pork and then deep fried, that you wrap with lettuce leaves, mint, sprouts, carrots, and cucumbers that are served on the side and dip into fresh nuoc cham (fish sauce). So yummy! And the BBQ Pork Rolls are stuffed with BBQ'ed lemon grass pork loin meat, rice noodles, mint, and cilantro and served with nuoc cham. They are also lovely. I just found this place like a few weeks ago, so I'll explore more of the menu and let you know. But, this is one of my new favorites.
Jasmine Tea House
When I first left my place in the Sunset, I was concerned that I was going to have to revert back to crap Chinese food for delivery. I was a bit spoiled having the excellent San Tung so near to my place over there. I took a chance on Jasmine Tea House after finding their menu hooked to my door handle one evening. While it doesn't quite match the level of San Tung, it comes so darn close that I always have a good meal from here. I always order way more food than I could ever eat 'cause I love leftovers - especially leftover chow mein (and theirs is one of my favorites). All of their dishes are quite good, but when I'm treating myself, I tilt towards the vegetarian and seafood dishes on the menu - especially the Singapore Fish. They are the best things on the menu. Their dim sum items are kinda ho hum (I'll stick to Yank Sing or Canton for my dim sum fix), but they get props for having dim sum available at any hour. However, they had me at the hot and sour soup - my personal "litmus test" for Chinese restaurants. It's wonderfully spicy and definitely a bit more sour than most - and I LOVE it. Really solid Chinese food here.
Serrano's Pizza
OK... relative to the East Coast, most pizza here on the West Coast is only ho-hum - unless you're going to the fancy schmanzy places like Delfina. And delivery pizza is usually a lot worse. I found Serrano's on the recommendation of a friend. They have a lot of cool specialty pizzas but the main thing I like is they have tons of toppings from which to choose to make your own pizza - including one of my favorites, roasted eggplant!!! But the major winner - the crust is not too thick or thin (West Coast pizza tends to have WAY too much crust) and it always arrives piping hot. Any leftover slices get frozen to become a pizza dinner later. Is it the best? No... but with so many options, I can always get what I want, and it's always tastier than any other pizza I've ever gotten delivered.
Little Nepal
I have been here many times as an evening diner. It's a quaint little place on Cortland at the top of Bernal Hill, so very close to my house. And then I found out they delivered... and I knew I was doomed... doomed to goodness!!! :) If you know nothing about Nepalese cuisine, it's very similar to Indian cuisine although it has elements of other East Asian cuisines swirled in. Their chicken in spicy tomato cream sauce is one of my favorites. The little side dishes they serve with the entrees (dal, curried veggies, naan) are all excellent. I also think their seafood dishes are quite excellent. Given there's not really any good traditional Northern Indian cuisine available near my house, I'm so glad that I found out Little Nepal delivers!!!
Regent Thai
Three words: Spicy Red Snapper. Oh, my mercy - this dish is just pure heaven. They lightly bread and fry New Zealand red snapper filet and top it with a spicy/sweet red pepper sauce - it is by far one of my favorite dishes EVER. All of the standards are also spot on - pad thai, red or green curries, etc. But, I'm telling you - you MUST have the snapper. It is so, so good.
Lotus Garden
I almost fainted when I found out I could get yummy Vietnamese noodle soups (pho) and vermicelli dishes (bun) for delivery. I am a pho fanatic - all the beef versions, chicken, seafood - I've had them all. The delicious broth with rice noodles that put the meat, fresh mint leaves, cilantro, bean sprouts, jalapenos, and hot sauce into and then slop up. The portion they send me is so big it makes two meals - because I can't order anything from there without getting their Imperial Rolls and their BBQ Pork Rolls. The Imperial Rolls are stuffed with carrots, rice noodles, shrimp, and pork and then deep fried, that you wrap with lettuce leaves, mint, sprouts, carrots, and cucumbers that are served on the side and dip into fresh nuoc cham (fish sauce). So yummy! And the BBQ Pork Rolls are stuffed with BBQ'ed lemon grass pork loin meat, rice noodles, mint, and cilantro and served with nuoc cham. They are also lovely. I just found this place like a few weeks ago, so I'll explore more of the menu and let you know. But, this is one of my new favorites.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Review: Sensi at the Bellagio, Las Vegas
So, this past week I had to go to Las Vegas for my company's yearly user conference. I really hate going to Vegas for work... especially when you're depending upon people to show up at your morning presentation sessions actually ready to listen. Why companies book events in a place with so many darn distractions I will never understand...
On the plus side, I doubled my money in Blackjack while I was there. I am not much of a gambler at all, but I do have fun playing Blackjack. I guess it's because I've gotten good enough where I can kill several hours at a Blackjack table with a relatively small amount of money spent in. Or maybe the free cocktails help ;)
Anyways, I got a meal on my boss at Sensi in the Bellagio. Since the restaurant was my choice, I thought I would give it a review. Now, first off, unless a restaurant in Vegas has earned at least 1 Michelin star, it ain't worth what they charge. I have major issues with a dining scene that offers barely any mid-priced dining options. You are often paying 5 star prices for 3 and 4 star food - some are so bad the food is actually 2 star (most of the restaurants in the MGM Grand fit this profile, in my opinion). Since Sensi hasn't been granted a Michelin star, you can probably deduce that I would never eat there again if I was paying...
Wine list? Forget about it... 300 - 400% mark-up at least and nothing on it worth what they were charging. Cocktails were a bit more reasonable and they indeed made an awesome Knob Creek Manhattan (so awesome I had two :)). I had the tuna three ways as a starter - tuna tataki, tuna ceviche, and tuna tartare. The ceviche was kick butt - the other two were actually mediocre. I've had better for half the price back here at home. Then came the entree - breaded and fried whole red snapper topped in a green curry sauce. Now THIS was off the chart - LOVED it. The fish was so perfectly done and the curry sauce had a slight coconut flavor and only a hint of heat. For side dishes I shared asparagus and green bean tempura and truffled "tater tots" with some dinner mates. The tempura was perfectly done, although the aioli they served on the side with it was a little odd - so I ended up eating the tempura with no sauce. But the "tater tots" were off the chart - you could taste the truffle oil well and they had the perfect amount of salt and pepper on them. I got so full that I skipped dessert... although admittedly the desserts were all very standard and didn't look too impressive.
Final verdict: A few more hits than misses, but regardless, not worth the money. If you're in Vegas, splurge on something that's worth your money - like Joel Rubochon or Nob Hill (in the MGM Grand - which eerily break the "overpriced, mediocre" mold of the other MGM Grand restaurants) or Aureole (in Mandalay Bay). Next time I'm in the Bellagio, I'll investigate one of the other restaurants and let you know if it improves upon Sensi.
On the plus side, I doubled my money in Blackjack while I was there. I am not much of a gambler at all, but I do have fun playing Blackjack. I guess it's because I've gotten good enough where I can kill several hours at a Blackjack table with a relatively small amount of money spent in. Or maybe the free cocktails help ;)
Anyways, I got a meal on my boss at Sensi in the Bellagio. Since the restaurant was my choice, I thought I would give it a review. Now, first off, unless a restaurant in Vegas has earned at least 1 Michelin star, it ain't worth what they charge. I have major issues with a dining scene that offers barely any mid-priced dining options. You are often paying 5 star prices for 3 and 4 star food - some are so bad the food is actually 2 star (most of the restaurants in the MGM Grand fit this profile, in my opinion). Since Sensi hasn't been granted a Michelin star, you can probably deduce that I would never eat there again if I was paying...
Wine list? Forget about it... 300 - 400% mark-up at least and nothing on it worth what they were charging. Cocktails were a bit more reasonable and they indeed made an awesome Knob Creek Manhattan (so awesome I had two :)). I had the tuna three ways as a starter - tuna tataki, tuna ceviche, and tuna tartare. The ceviche was kick butt - the other two were actually mediocre. I've had better for half the price back here at home. Then came the entree - breaded and fried whole red snapper topped in a green curry sauce. Now THIS was off the chart - LOVED it. The fish was so perfectly done and the curry sauce had a slight coconut flavor and only a hint of heat. For side dishes I shared asparagus and green bean tempura and truffled "tater tots" with some dinner mates. The tempura was perfectly done, although the aioli they served on the side with it was a little odd - so I ended up eating the tempura with no sauce. But the "tater tots" were off the chart - you could taste the truffle oil well and they had the perfect amount of salt and pepper on them. I got so full that I skipped dessert... although admittedly the desserts were all very standard and didn't look too impressive.
Final verdict: A few more hits than misses, but regardless, not worth the money. If you're in Vegas, splurge on something that's worth your money - like Joel Rubochon or Nob Hill (in the MGM Grand - which eerily break the "overpriced, mediocre" mold of the other MGM Grand restaurants) or Aureole (in Mandalay Bay). Next time I'm in the Bellagio, I'll investigate one of the other restaurants and let you know if it improves upon Sensi.
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