You Know it's Christmas in San Francisco When:
1. You're watching men frolic in tights.
2. You're dodging drunken Santas.
3. You're trying to figure out just how many NYE house parties you can hit before you will be too drunk to go on.
4. You're listening to SomaFm's Xmas in Frisko.
by MooHaHa
5. You're asking your father to buy you a month's garage parking as your big Christmas gift.
Happy Holidays!
EB
I've been obsessing about a few things lately and I thought I'd share since (GASP!) gift giving holiday season really, honestly, is right around the corner!!!
1. I saw this fantastic little set the other day and I can't stop craving it:
Seriously.... is it possible to have a cuter tea set?
2. Ever since I got my copy I've been cooking from it. It's not flashy, glossy or celebrity-chef-y. It's just simple and fantastic. The recipes are easy to follow, easy to understand and undeniably French.
You really can judge this book by its cover.
3. My apron obsession has recently been rekindled by a purchase I made at a local street fair. While you may not be able to get your hands on the awesome vintage tea-towel, reversible half-apron I picked up...
Etsy has some truly fabulous one of a kind aprons.
4. I have always had a soft spot for the original Alice in Wonderland drawings and these pieces by Fishes Eddy make me want to imbibe everything that has a "drink me" tag on it!
5. I know coupe's are "not great for champagne"... but really who lets it sit long enough for the bubbles to escape?
There are an amazing array of these on Ebay, I prefer the multi-colored myself.
Here's to the holidays!
EB
Photo by Staccato Rubato
Do you know Bix? That little joint in the back alley? The one with live jazz spilling out the doors? No? I suggest you find it…. but quick.
I don’t have any photos to share with you because, it was ‘date night’ and well, that’s just rude. I don’t know that photos could do our meal justice anyways. Let’s just say that there was pate on toast points with fruit compote, truffled mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto, “firecracker” shrimp, and Ahi tartar on crostini followed by butternut squash soup with truffle oil and lobster, plus the oysters. And these were the starters. Seriously.
It is a white linen place, but it’s not stuffy at all. I even managed to make friends with the older gentleman sitting next to me who declared that the bone marrow he was devouring “sure beat fly fishing!” Hey everyone has their own scale right?
56 Gold St. * San Francisco * 415 433 6300
Happy Fly Fishing!
EB
Photo by Gaetan Lee
I love champagne sorbet. It was a special occasion treat for me growing up. Every time there was a special occasion birthdays, anniversaries, graduations etc. my dad liked to go to a very small little French restaurant run by a Turkish chef. He always made champagne sorbet for us when we came in. It was the perfect palate cleanser. But beyond that it was perfectly pink, perfectly sweet and made my teenage self feel very grown up and sophisticated.
This is where you can use not leftover champagne, because lets face it… who has leftover champagne… but maybe you have that bottle that you passed out before you opened. This recipe is very easy. You can either make it in an ice cream maker or make it ‘granita’ style.
Champagne Sorbet
2 cups champagne (pink preferably) chilled
1/4 cup sparkling mineral water
3 tbsp grapefruit juice
1 1/4 cup fine granulated sugar
Heat the water, grapefruit juice and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until
the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and chill completely. Once
completely cold add the champagne and stir until well blended.
Either place in ice cream maker and freeze according
to directions or pour mixture into shallow baking dish. Place in freezer and
freeze mixture for 2 hours. With a fork, scrape and break up the mixture.
Freeze another hour and then scrape again. Repeat until you achieve a frozen
texture you like. I like to serve with a mint sprig.
Enjoy!
EB
Happy Blogiversary to me... happy blogiversary tooo meeeee.....
It's been a year since this little adventure began. Who woulda thunk?
Happy blogiversary tooo meeeee..... happy blogiversary deeeearrrr SpiceDish.....
happy blogiversary toooo meeeeeeeee!
Erin
So yes. I got to meet the incomparable Sarah of Pink of Perfection. We had cocktails at Cafe de la Presse and a great chat about what
you would do if you woke up one day with a “wildly plush bank account” and
(assuming you didn’t get it through criminal means….) What do you do? Where
would you go?
1. Buy many pairs of Laboutin's. Many…many pairs.
2. Buy a house in San Juan. One on a quiet side street with a pretty painted door.
4. Open a shop of my own. (Which if you ask D.E.M is a combo bar/souvenir shop and kitty rescue (they're everywhere in San Juan). If you ask my friends it’s an ice cream shop and I make it all (including a line of booze sorbets). If you ask me it’s a specialty foods shop.
5. Private jet. After getting stuck in Philly overnight on our return trip and thereby negating all island relaxation… I’ve decided this is a necessity.
8. Shoes… did I say shoes? Lots of shoes.
So that's it. My top 10, if I had a plush life shopping list. What's yours?
Erin
This was a trip was long planned, long saved for and much savored. A full week’s vacation. A true vacation. Sun. Sand. Booze. No cell. No email. No TV. Seriously. This amazing gift of a trip took us to San Juan Puerto Rico, Vieques and totally randomly… Philly. But more on that later.
To begin. We’ve found love. Old San Juan is where I will retire and live out my days. No joke. It will happen. The attraction was immediate and mutual. The city is beautiful, vibrant, alive and full of history. There are gorgeous fortress walls covered in jungle greenery, and you’ve got to love a people that turn the front acreage of a military fort into a lawn to fly kites. The only hazard we encountered were low-flying bats and ripe mango bombs, which could attack at any moment. There were also little lizards and cats everywhere. Both cute in their own way.
The meal we had on the night of our arrival set the tone. At Aguaviva, a stylish, cool and trendy seafood restaurant we had fresh oysters, a hearts of palm salad and ‘camerones gigante.’ This was no exaggeration. Each of these camerones were the size of small lobster tails!
As we walked around town we stopped wherever we found ourselves. At the National Gallery I found artists that I was riveted by like Myrna Baez and Rafael Tufino. At El Patio de Sam we munched on all sorts of traditional Puerto Rican fried snacks and met Maribel, a local waitress who took the time to talk to us candidly about political issues, excitedly about the culture of her people and to introduce us to the glory that is fried cheese with guava-rum sauce.
Our hotel, El Convento, was such a splurge and treat. I mean
how often do you get a chance to overlook a cathedral on a hill while swimming
and nibbling on cheese and grapes? One of the desk staff there sent us to
On the way home from dinner we accidentally ran into what is
an apparently a regularly occurring “Tuesday Party.” As we flowed along with the crowds that
filled the cobblestone streets, we found ourselves drinking shots of dubious
origins and dancing along to the thumping reggaeton.
When we weren’t roaming the streets and staring out to sea we were dozing, swimming and generally just enjoying the serenity that was our hotel. Our side trip allowed us quite a bit of time in the San Juan Aeroporto which was a wonder unto itself: a Cuban sandwich stand,Vienna wienies in the vending machine and Ms. Pac Man & Galaga machines everywhere. It was like when we stopped playing them in the early 90’s they all got shipped to the island. I also found a tostonera. It was souvenir I had been pining for but not picked up while in town.
Next on the itinerary… Vieques!
My father brought me a gift
last week. He brought me 3 cast iron skillets that my grandmother has had since
the 30’s. In order to use them in the manner to which they are accustomed… he
also brought me a book. Not just any book. This book is like a family album and
time-capsule. There are recipes tucked in between the pages written from my
mother, my father, my grandmother, my grandfather. They are written on yellowed
sheets of notepaper, index cards and later… post-its.
Perfectly Seasoned
When she was married in
1942 (2 weeks after meeting my grandfather) my grandmother received a book many
new brides were gifted: the Woman’s Home Companion Cookbook.
This book is well loved and
used. There are check marks next to “Chicken Rolls” and “Dried Beef Balls” in
the appetizer section. Check marks on
the 10 pages of biscuit recipes (although by the time I was a kid my
grandmother had done what millions of American women had; gone in for the ease
and convenience of pre made biscuit dough).
There are stained pages and pages of ice cream recipes (and it’s all David’s fault that I own a new ice cream maker—so I’ll be digging into these ASAP). There are amazing cake recipes in there too. My grandfather was renowned for his pineapple upside dawn cake recipe—he didn’t go for the recipe in the book however—but his 12 page handwritten recipe was tucked inside the back cover much to my delight.
Recipe for Cajun Beans
I love this book for so
many reasons. Beyond the huge collection of recipes that I know my
grandmother cooked there is the ‘sense’ of the book. It begins with a “Wartime
Postscript.” It begins: As this edition goes to press out country is still
at war. Rationing is in force and shortages of many foods have developed. In a
fine spirit of patriotism American homemakers have adapted themselves to the
changes. It goes on to acknowledge
that the cook most likely won’t be able to make many recipes in the book until
the war is over but it offers hope that once the war is over she will be able
to dive into those with gusto, as well as have learned to improvise when need
be. It’s comforting, hopeful and tells me a lot about my grandmother.
Julep ya'll
In honor of my grandparents
I wanted to pick a particularly southern recipe to start with (it also happened
to be derby day – so a mint julep was a natural choice). I also wanted to give
a nod to my grandfather…. so I chose a pineapple version.
Fresh mint, 6 sprigs
Sugar, ¾ cup
Lemon juice, ¾ cup
Pineapple juice,
unsweetened, 3 cups
Ginger ale, 3 cups
Wash mint leaves; bruise
with spoon; cover with sugar. Add lemon juice; let stand about 15 minutes; add
pineapple juice. Pour over ice in pitcher or tall glasses; add ginger ale.
Garnish with sprigs of mint. Makes about 8 servings.
***Now
you may notice that the recipe doesn’t call for bourbon. I went right on ahead
and added a healthy dose. My grandpa would have been ok with that.
Enjoy!
Erin
Patatas Bravas. Bravo!
Did you know that the Spanish translation for 'the perfect weekend breakfast' is Picaro? It is. Look it up!
Why is it perfect? Fresh fruit, eggs fried in olive oil, brioche french toast, omelets with Serrano ham and goat cheese... I could go on.... but I haven't mentioned the sangria yet or the mimosa's rimmed with cinnamon. Oh! Oh! Or the absolutely fabulous little back patio that makes you momentarily forget that you're in the middle of the city. This little slice of heaven has dragged me out of bed many a weekend (I've been here every one for the past month.)
Ahhhh sunny space
Every breakfast dish I've had has been fantastic. My guests
have been bowled over by the super-friendly staff, the tasty hangover busters
(the patatas bravas specifically), and the fact that for 7 bucks you will walk
away a happy, rosy cheeked camper.
Big, fluffy and oh so just the thing
It really is a fantastic, not yet discovered, breakfast gem. If you want to try Picaro yourself you can find it at:
3120 16th St (btwn Valencia & Gurerro)
Enjoy!
Erin
Last Saturday was a hot day. For those of
you that don’t know… San Franciscan’s don’t ‘do’ hot. It’s actually hot here
maybe five days a year. There is no A/C anywhere and we all tend to look a
little frightened when it’s hot enough to potentially get sunburned.
I spent a good portion of the day napping in
front of the fan. Could we have gone to the park? Sure. But Dolores park was
akin to hipster Woodstock and we wanted no part of that. What did we want? Well
not to fire up the oven in our small apartment that’s for sure.
Good thing I had made a reservation at
Delfina for that night – two months in advance.
At 9 pm it was still hot in the city. People
crowded the streets. The sidewalk in front of Delfina was no exception. A small
mob stood outside hoping to get a seat, if not in the main restaurant, at least
in the pizzeria; wine glasses in hand, sweat on their brows.
We waded through the throng and made
it inside where our table was waiting for us.
Our waiter was new, that was clear, but his
small foibles were more than compensated for by his smile and the way the
entire staff worked together to ensure our comfort.
Again… it was hot. So hot. The thought of a
huge heavy meal all to ourselves was basically unbearable but there were also
so many things on the menu we wanted to try. We decided on sharing everything
to get a taste of more delectables. Tapas style if you will.
We settled into our cozy corner with a blood
orange bellini to start. Way too refreshing for words. Sparkly, sweet, perfect.
We quickly agreed on a bottle of rose to follow, the heat deemed it necessary.
For our antipasti? Speck with artichoke
fritti which I believe was on dandelion greens. It was salty, it was sweet, it
was balanced by the bitter greens.
For our salad? Chilled asparagus with a prosecco zabaglione. The cloyingly sweet sauce was the perfect foil for the piercing green stalks. A bite of the speck piled on top of the asparagus…. heaven.
Our secondi was a Strawberry
Mountain Ranch hanger steak and French fries. The steak was so rare it was
about blue. The sauce that enrobed it was a sweet and savory concoction that
was fruity, salty and had it been appropriate… drinkable. The fries were small,
crisp and soaked with the aforementioned sauce. As I made my way through the
steak, Mimi noted several times “hey you don’t like your meat rare”…. but my
half of the plate was just about licked clean. The steak had the texture of
butter and the sauce… oh the sauce.
We
sat back, completely satiated. I didn’t think I could go on but Mimi had other
plans. We would be ordering the Brachetto -Gatti Piero and the
Moscato d'Asti-Sori.
She was right. They were delightful. Both crisp, cool, sweet and refreshing. At this point we just knew that we were not going to be finishing any dessert, but we had to try one…. at least one. For our dolci we decided on the profiteroles with espresso gelato, warm chocolate sauce and sugared almonds.
As we sipped our dessert wines and waited for that dessert we took some joy in people watching. Older gentleman with trophy wife and ‘natural black’ hair? Check. Uncomfortable tourist wanting hot sauce? Check. Young, newly engaged preppy couple both wearing loafers with no socks? Check. Monied man out on a ‘date’ with an obvious escort? Check and mate!
The profiteroles came oozing cold gelato and warm chocolate that was as dark as chocolate gets. We ate, we smiled. It was just a perfect evening.
Now… I share my dining experiences more than ‘review’ eateries but I can say that this is one experience I could in all good faith nudge you to indulge in yourselves. It’s just an amazing neighborhood spot, that happens to be spot on. If you want to give it a try you can reach them at:
San Francisco, CA
415.552.4055
But be warned… reservations required… early.
Enjoy!
Erin
