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What I Ate

 
November 8, 2009

8:30pm dinner for one

Chicken drumstick pan-fried with garlic and parsley, and leftover braised salted-fish eggplant from R&G Lounge (my favorite dish there!) reinvented with some zucchini and chili flakes.  All over coconut rice.

Normally not terribly noteworthy except that--after more than two weeks without cooking at all, smelling garlic sizzling throughout my apartment was amazing.  As was biting into a flavorful, juicy and homemade chicken drumstick as I settled down to watch a cheesy romantic comedy (27 Dresses with Katherine Heigl), washed down with some Mango-Tango Odwalla mixed with sparkling water.  

I think I'm going to finish it off with a small square of Bhumi's birthday cake (homemade German chocolate cake with toasted almonds and coconut, which Candace made from scratch).  This, my friends, is the life.

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November 2, 2009

Eat a Chicken Wing with Little to No Mess - from Food Wishes

via lifehacker.com

Where o where have these instructions been all my life? Thanks to Grant for the tip - though it doesn't have any instructions for those of us who like to avoid the fat as well. I guess there isn't much point to eating chicken wings if you're not going to eat the fat.

My favorite lines: 

“If any meat comes out with it, just, you know, suck it off the bone.”
“You dip it, you eat it, it’s fantastic.”

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October 21, 2009

Brown Sugar Kitchen

I've been wanting to get brunch at Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland for like, ever.  My brother was the first to tell me about this amazing place that serves "upscale soul food" - that is, down-home eats from a classically trained chef.

I thought I was over the concept of chicken and waffles years ago, in LA, when any friend who visited inexplicably wanted to go to Roscoe's.  Eggo waffles + mediocre fried chicken = less-than-transcendent taste experience.  I got tired of it fast.  But enter BSK - delicate "home" made cornmeal waffles sidled up next to masterfully crisp-fried chicken.  A match made in heaven.
           
Beyond the chicken and waffles though, BSK has an impressive offering of other delicious down-home southern treats.  We got the smoked chicken and shrimp gumbo (with okra!) and the beignets as well.  But I was so tempted to order at least 5 other things including the buttermilk biscuits, cornbread, shrimp and grits, dirty rice and oyster po'boy.  Guess I'll be making my way back to Oakland in the near future.

Note: The best time to go to BSK seems to be soon before it closes, like 2:30pm.  Otherwise you can expect at 45 min. wait on weekend mornings.  Also allow 30 min. for your order of chicken and waffles!

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October 18, 2009

Macho nacho burger @ Urbun Burger

1/2 lb. of juicy ground beef smothered in nacho cheese sauce topped with blue corn chips, jalapenos, lettuce, onion and tomato.  There is nothing about this burger that isn't f-ing awesome.

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October 15, 2009

Peanut butter + Nutella + Bananas on toast. With coffee.

Mmmyeah, this is pretty much the awesomest breakfast evar.

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October 8, 2009

A little AK Subs to soothe the soul.

I got in a minor car accident yesterday (don't worry, no one was hurt) and this was my first meal afterwards.  Look at that beast of a pastrami sub!  I went with a slightly healthier option which was also delish.

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September 15, 2009

Made the Yelp weekly newsletter

...for my review of the local taco truck!

"¡Hola, yelperitos! Tomorrow is Mexican Independence Day, and what better way to celebrate than by downing some cerveza, agua fresca y tacos deliciosos? Hard or soft, fishy or meaty, there are endless possibilities for your taste buds to be tantalized... so grab your finest sombrero for a tour of the tastiest tacos around. ¡Ándale!

If you're on the Peninsula, Stephanie L insists that you make a pit stop at Tacos Peralta in San Mateo and 'KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid!).' She consistently gets 'at least one carnitas taco with hot sauce, onions and cheese, and it is always a taste experience.'" 

Read the entire Yelp Weekly Newsletter here!

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September 9, 2009

Foodie Tuesday: First attempt at Peruvian Saltado

Hey guys, sorry for the flood of food posts but I guess food's one of the few things that make sense in this mad, crazy world.
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I probably ate this first at El Polla Inka in Anaheim sometime during high school.  It was pretty tasty, but it wasn't until I had it at Mario's Peruvian Seafood--on the eastside in LA, close to Larchmont Village/Hancock Park (it's technically Mid-Wilshire)--that I was blown away.  I went back for more, tried it multiple times in various combinations.  I decided the two best versions are lomo saltado (beef) and saltado mariscos (some mix of shellfish usually).

So what is a saltado exactly?  I understand it to be a stir-fry of sorts, made with your choice of meat (most traditionally beef, but also chicken, fish, shrimp), red onions, tomatoes, and french fries, served over rice.  The meat is marinated with a mixture of soy sauce and spices.  

Since moving to the Bay area I've had saltado at Mi Lindo Peru, on the border of the Mission district and Bernal Heights in SF.  Most of the saltados are solid, but the seafood saltado, with its delicate mix of shrimp and squid, is great.
It never occurred to me that I could re-create this dish at home, until I got some leftover home fries after eating out the other day and thought I could incorporate them into my own version of saltado.
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I started with this very informative article on Chowhound, but made a few tweaks of my own. I was surprised the dish came out so well, but the key was to have a very hot carbon steel (or cast-iron) wok over a gas flame. It's imperative for getting the right caramelization and browning/crusting on everything. 
           
This is what I did:
  • I used frozen basa (sole) fillets which I sliced and marinated in some soy sauce with cumin powder, paprika and ground pepper.  I didn't have quite enough basa so I used some of the fancy smoked salmon I bought but didn't marinate that.
  • I went all-out and used Peruvian blue/purple potatoes for the fries.  Sliced them up to steak-fry size and deef-fried them in a heavy pan. Blue potatoes have a deliciously nutty flavor and richer texture than regular potatoes.
  • Roughly cubed two tomatoes off the vine along with half a red onion.  Threw the onions into a very hot wok with minced garlic and let it brown/char a bit, then cooked until it was only slightly wilty.  Added the tomatoes and stir-fried it for just a minute or two, just enough to "warm up" the tomatoes.
  • Lastly, wiped the wok off a bit and made sure it was super hot before throwing on the fish to brown.  Cooked on one side for 1 min. and the flipped, being careful to scrape each piece off the wok along with its delicious browned crust.  Cooked the other side until done.
  • Tossed everything together.  Served over brown rice (extra healthy!)
Warning: Make sure your kitchen is well ventilated!  The amount of steam/smoke you create while cooking this dish is unbelievable.

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September 8, 2009

Affordable Luxury, Pt. 1: Life ain't bad so long as I can eat this well.

I came home late from work tonight, hungry.  So very hungry.  I wanted something simple, something that would not require a ton of prep or even thinking.  I literally rustled all the ingredients for this meal from my fridge/cupboard:

   

The Salad:

- Spring mix from Milk Pail Market
- Red-gold heirloom tomato (on its last legs) from Berkeley Bowl
- Real buffalo mozzarella (as in, made from buffalo milk) from Trader Joe's
- Home-grown basil leaves
- Handful of toasted pine nuts from TJ's
- Prosciutto from TJ's, torn into little bits
- Bits of red onion from Mollie Stone's
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar

In my humble opinion, one ought to keep a pack of prosciutto around at all times.  It is oh-so-delicious, adds flavor to anything (my favorite is wrapping it around avocado!), and a little goes a long way.  Also, everyone ought to grow a pot or two of their favorite herbs.

The Scramble:

- Shredded chicken from Safeway (I bought a whole chicken and boiled it last night to make stock to put in porridge because Garry was sick...again!)
- Sliced mushrooms from Milk Pail
- Red onion
- Crumbled gorgonzola cheese from TJ's (I store it in my freezer)
- Salt and pepper
- 2 eggs, of course, from TJ's

I dumped the scramble onto some leftover brown rice.  Such a small way to feel like you are livin' large.

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August 29, 2009

I totally heart Cheeseboard Pizza Collective in Berkeley

Today's pie has corn, feta cheese, parsley and a bunch of other things, including a squeeze of lime.  I was pretty happy about getting in before the line got crazy long (all the way down the block).

I also love the teeny bonus slice(s) they give you.  I took it as reward for driving out to North Berkeley and waiting in line ;D

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