- Leica Tri-Elmar-M 28-35-50mm
Courtesy of TechEBlog
Click on the photo of the Leica lens to read on for more details.
Products: Inner Workings of a Camera Lens
18
May
My hubby is an admirer of all techie things. He follows multiple tech blogs and is up on the latest thing. He even keeps his eye out for the cool photography gadgets. So when he recently shared with me a cool little article from the TechEBlog, I had to pass this on to all of you. This may not be food related, but it’s certainly photography related.It’s a great way to see what drives the high prices of the camera lenses we food photographers use to capture all those delicious dishes. With that said, check this out…It’s a lens perfectly sliced in half, to reveal its inner workings.
Food News: Bravo’s Top Chef Tour
16
May
For all you Top Chef fans, Bravo kicked off its annual Top Chef tour on April 15, 2011. Top Chef contestants will be hitting 21 cities during this tour. There will be cook-offs between your favorite contestants in the style of the Quickfires, which I personally very much enjoy on the show. This time around you, as fans, will be able to rate the chefs’ dishes on Facebook. For those of you that are into spotting your favorite dishes and sharing them on Foodspotting, you will be able to spot your favorite dishes from the Top Chef Tour for a chance to unlock the “Top Chef Tour” badge.
Courtesy of BravoTV.com
Starting this week (specifically tomorrow), the Top Chef Tour will be hitting the New York area. For all of you San Francisco Bay Area Top Chef fans, prepare to welcome your favorite contestants to San Francisco’s Justin Herman Plaza on Monday, June 20th and to San Jose’s Stevens Creek Shopping Center AT&T store on Tuesday, June 21st. The event will include prizes, games and a chance for autographs and pictures with your favorite contestants.
For more details on dates and tour stops click on the image above or go to the BravoTV website.
Kitchen Product – Le Creuset Casserole Dish
10
May
For a while I’ve been eyeing the Le Creuset cookware. But I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money on a dutch oven or other Le Creuset products. (Trying to save for that Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. Hint, Hint).
Recently, thanks to my parents’ years of service in their respective jobs, they were gifted a Le Creuset cookware essential set
This past weekend we had family visiting from out of town. I decided there is no better time than the present to put the casserole dish to use. You might remember the Three Cheese Lasagna that I shared with you in December. I decided to revisit this dish again, and make it in my new casserole dish.
The great part about baking lasagna in this beautiful, red casserole dish, is that I don’t need to think of a way to present it on the table, once it’s baked. This dish is perfect for presenting lasagna or any casserole to my dinner guests.
I am really looking forward to put my other newly acquired Le Creuset products to use!
Restaurant Review: Bistro Aix, San Francisco
08
May
Our friends’ engagement gave me the opportunity for another girls’ night out. It was a nice, spur of the moment plan (for me anyway). I was excited that my attendance worked out. It was a beautiful day, a rare warm evening in San Francisco.
The girls agreed on meeting for dinner at Bistro Aix.
Bistro Aix offers Californian cuisine and is located in the Marina District of San Francisco. On these rare warm evenings in San Francisco, finding parking is an almost impossible task. As a result I was running late, and when I actually arrived at the restaurant the girls had already been seated and had ordered a few starters.
We were seated at a table by the front window, which was perfect. Soon after I arrived the waitress brought out the ordered dishes. I was still a bit frazzled from running in late, so I didn’t get a chance to capture all the starters. We fared on a cheese plate, which had a few different cheeses, orange slices, walnuts and few crackers. I think everyone agreed that it would have been nice if the dish had more crackers. We also had the Baby Beet Salad with Baby Spinach, Goat Cheese & Orange Vinaigrette and Cracker Crust Pizza with Tomato, Mozzarella, Fontina and Parmesan. All the starters were delicious and perfect for sharing.
We decided to keep the dinner on the lighter side and shared two more dishes. After careful consideration and suggestions from the waitress, we settled on the Gnocchi with Chanterelle mushrooms, peas and sage brown butter and Spaghetti with San Marzano Tomatoes, Genovese Basil & Grana Padano.
The waitress highly recommended both dishes. She said the regulars always opt for the spaghetti, even though she suggest that they venture out and try something different. I generally enjoy gnocchi and was not disappointed this time either. The spaghetti was very tasty and had a bit of a kick to it.
Overall the ambiance is great, the atmosphere is very relaxing, the staff is friendly, and the portions are just the right size. If you’re in the area, give Bistro Aix a try.
Cook and Tell: Tuna Casserole
03
May
If you followed this blog for the last few posts (not counting the very last one), you’ll know that I’ve been on a carb craze. Well, this post is no different.
I came up with this dish when I was looking for something to make for dinner. It needed to be easy, fast, and filling. This Tuna Casserole meets all of the above mentioned criteria. It’s creamy and rich, and the perfect comfort food.
I won’t hold you in suspense any longer…
Tuna Casserole
Ingredients
2 cups of Pasta (elbow, shells, rigatoni, or farfalle)
1 can of tuna in water, drained
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 – 1 cup of grated cheese (Mozzarella or any other you like)
Bread Crumbs to taste
Salt to taste
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.
Bring water to boil, add salt and pasta. Boil pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta and return back to the pot. Mix in Cream of Mushroom soup, drained tuna and cheese. Transfer the mixture into a casserole dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for approximately 15 minutes. Serve while hot.
Kids: Sunday Morning
01
May
It seems that summer finally found it’s way here. We ended our weekend with a play date of sorts. Our little feet aren’t quite ready for group play, but we certainly make the trips to the playground with our new friends. Today we met up with V, R and little J for a play date of sorts. J was doing most of the playing and we were just along for the ride. Little J is all about running around and chattering. I couldn’t help myself, and had to share a few snaps of him.
He’s very adorable in his sun hat and sunglasses. Such a little man.
Enjoying his banana.
Hope you enjoyed your Sunday!
Restaurant Review: Betelnut, San Francisco
30
Apr
About a week ago, some of us ladies got together for dinner. We left our husbands, and most of us left our kids, to have a quiet relaxing night out. These days, a nice dinner out on the town is just what the doctor ordered (I know, party animals over here). Plans are no longer made spontaniously. It takes countless emails and a lot of advanced notice to get together. But we finally did it, we all came together for dinner at Betelnut!
Betelnut is an Asian Fusion restaurant in the Marina district of San Francisco. It’s a great place to try many different dishes and share them with your dining partners. I was the last one to arrive (parking is horrendous on Friday nights), and so I didn’t participate in the selection of dishes. I’ve been here before and knew this place was good, plus one of the girls in the group knows the place well, and was completely trusted with the dish selections.
The dish selections touched upon every section of the menu. We started with Betelnut’s “Seductive Starters”:
From left to right: Chili Crusted Calamari – $11.75, Cecilia’s Minced Chicken & Lup Cheong with Lettuce Cups – $11.88, Crispy Cauliflower with Tribal Salt & Pepper – $7.25
The lettuce cups were tasty, same as the first time I had them. I haven’t had the cauliflower before, and honestly I’ve never been a huge fan of cauliflower, but this dish was delicious. Than there was the calamari. I generally like calamari for an appetizer, it’s always a pretty safe choice. So I just popped one in my mouth, and instantly, and might I say very unexpectedly, felt the heat. Let’s just say the calamari is not for the weak hearted.
We continued to move down the menu, and the dishes kept coming. On to the salad and the dumplings.
Green Papaya, Shrimp, Grapefruit, Herbs & “Nuoc Cham” – $9.95
“Shui Jiao” Pork Dumplings & Szechuan-Peppercorn Broth – $10.25, “Little Dragon” Dumplings of Pork & Shrimp with Ginger Vinegar – $11.50
The salad was fabulous, and very refreshing. I thoroughly enjoyed the dumplings.
We moved on to the sizzling steak and some noodles (sorry no photo of the noodles).
Sizzling Iron Plate Ribeye Steak, Spring Onions with Roasted Garlic – $20.95, Penang Rice Noodles, Rock Crab, Shrimp, Sprouts, Chives, Chili-soy – $14.50. We asked for two orders of the steak, prepared two different ways, medium well and medium. I won’t lie, I tried both, and both were delicious. Not chewy at all.
Last and certainly not least is of course the dessert. We took one look at the dessert menu and unanimously decided that we are trying everything. I know what you’re thinking, “overdoing it much on the food?”. In reality the restaurant offers four desserts, and since there were 7 of us, trying all of them seemed completely appropriate.
If I am not mistaken, all of the desserts were under $9. We had the chocolate cake with the fabulous warm gooey chocolaty filling, the mochi ice cream (I particularly enjoyed the little caramel side), the tapioca pudding, and the fried bananas with ice cream. I think I speak for all of us when I say that the tapioca pudding is an acquired taste and none of us were too thrilled with it. However, we were all very happy with the other three desserts, and let’s be honest, probably would have gone for seconds (am I the only one to admit this?), but decided to maintain our composure.
So here it is, Betelnut in San Francisco. I’ve had it twice and I am certainly coming back!
Cook and Tell: Vanilla Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream Frosting
27
Apr
Last week I finally had the pleasure of a visit from my brother and adorable twin nieces. We don’t get to see each other often, and even rarer (is that a word?) on my side of the continent. When we have guests or visitors from out of town, or both, I get really excited about showering them with food.
Adults tend to worry about their figures, health, etc. etc. Kids, they are so easy (as long as there are no allergies to worry about). How many kids do you know that don’t like sweets. I am sure there are those few, but really, they are truly few and far between. When my nieces asked me what I like to cook, I listed a few things, one of which included cupcakes. From the mere mention of cupcakes I could sense the excitement rising in the tone of their emails (yes, 8 year olds email these days). So being the good aunt that I am, I promised to make them a batch of cupcakes when they are here for their visit.
I decided that the perfect flavor for little girls was vanilla with some fruity frosting. While on my search for the right cupcake recipe, one of my favorite bloggers, Irine from Confessions of a Tart, shared a recipe for vanilla cupcakes from Martha Stewart with strawberry buttercream frosting. This was the perfect cupcake for my occasion. I did everything that Irine’s recipe called for, except I substituted blackberries for strawberries as I had no strawberries on hand.
I am not sure why, but my cupcakes sank in a bit after they cooled off. I was a bit bummed by it, but used it as an opportunity to use up some extra blackberries I had left over. Some of the cupcakes had a little surprise underneath the frosting, a fresh blackberry.
While I was sulking to my husband about my sunken cupcakes, looking for sympathy. He replied that he really enjoyed their shape, as the frosting fit perfectly into the cupcake and wasn’t perched on top. Go figure.
All I know is that I had two very happy girls on my hands, which is what I aimed for!
Update: I received a few questions regarding the muffin pan I used for these cupcakes. Just wanted to let you know that I used Good Cook 12 Cup Muffin Pan.
Food News: Bay Area Food Trucks
21
Apr
Lately it seems that the food truck industry has exploded. Even President Obama has joined the masses and tasted the goodness of a kimchi burrito from MoGo’s BBQ truck, while paying a visit to the Bay Area yesterday. You might remember I blogged about MoGo’s BBQ truck in March and April of last year. Since then it seems the food truck craze has taken on a life of its own.
My first encounter with a food truck was through a co-worker who told me about the MoGo BBQ Truck. If in the past there was a thrill of hunting down your favorite food truck by following them on Twitter or Facebook. These days there are actual events, such as Off the Grid, that bring a lot of different food trucks together. Off the Grid offers weekly markets, where they bring multiple food trucks together in one location along with entertainment. The biggest one features 30 trucks and occurs on Fridays between 5pm and 10pm at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. Off the Grid also offers other smaller events throughout the week in various other parts of the city. The website also offers a “Street Food Finder” feature where you can see where your favorite food truck will be heading on a given day.
Personally, I am a big follower of MoGo BBQ truck, which has expanded to 3 trucks in the past year. I follow them on Facebook. MoGo often partners with dessert trucks to satisfy its customers’ followers’ hunger as well as their sweet tooths. Today one of MoGo’s trucks is teaming up with Treatbot, an ice cream truck, in San Jose for lunch.
So get on Facebook, Twitter, go to Off the Grid or just Google and find that great food truck near you.
I leave you now with MoGo’s Soft Tacos.
Restaurant Review: Cafe Claude San Francisco
18
Apr
I always enjoy checking out restaurants that are new to me. I got a chance to get gussied up and go out on the town go out to dinner with a couple of friends. Nothing like a little adult time, which has become a precious commodity.
This was the perfect little place in a little alley. It was almost like being on a little French street, which was very appropriate, as this is a French restaurant. This restaurant is Cafe Claude in San Francisco. The atmosphere at Cafe Claude was just right for an evening outing. The lights were dimmed low, and even though the restaurant seemed like it was full, it still felt that each table had its privacy.
When trying out a new restaurant, I want to try absolutely everything. I am always excited when the menu offers small plates to share. This way, you get to try a little bit of everything without overeating, and you get to share the food and opinions of it with your dining partner. Cafe Claude offers a few small plates as well as various cheese and pate plates.
We decided to try all of the small plates other than the cannelloni, which is a pasta dish which you could have anywhere. However, you don’t get escargot, tuna tartar and steak tartar, just anywhere. We also ordered a pate and a roasted potato gratin. Unfortunately, the potato gratin was somehow forgotten, but we were so full from all the other delicious dishes, that we were happy it was.
Overall, the presentation was beautiful, the food was delicious, which made the evening great. This is a great place for a date or a night out with friends. They have outside seating in the alley (so European), and a bar at the front.
I will certainly come back here again, once I check out all the other great places this city has to offer!
