Spice Dish

Creativity Sparks

Dali Themed Street Art. Creative.

I went to a book club a little while ago. It was full of strangers. I’ve never, in my life, done that before. We had an amazing conversation and I left completely creatively energized. It wasn’t just that I was using my critical thinking skills for the first time in months, but that I was trying something new. I realized that I needed to do lots more of this sort of thing--  not in the interest of 'self improvement' but simply for the sake of experience. For fostering creativity. For enjoying life. So I came up with a list of “Creativity Sparks” (i.e. stuff I’ve never done before but am going to try in  order to keep  my brain excited and to experience new things) Hey if Stephen Fry can get pierced, I can find things I've never done!

I’m not calling it a ‘bucket list’ because I don’t care if I do or don’t do these before I die. Dying is not the point. Some are little things, some are big life altering things. Some are free and some make me thankful I have no kids in need of a college education. 

I think I know which one I’ll start with, but I’m not sure. I don’t even know how closely I’ll be keeping track, hell I don’t even know how many items are on this list! (Just counted... 64) Here I go. Here’s to creativity!

Ride in a hot air balloon
See the northern lights
Take a sailing lesson
Write a book
Have a conversation in a language other than english
Send a message in a bottle.
Ride a camel (or elephant) etc
Take a ballroom dance class
Learn to play a musical instrument
Take a singing lesson
Make a complete fool of myself
Eat at the French Laundry
Learn to juggle
Learn to drive a stick shift
Spend three months getting my body into athletic shape
Go fishing and eat my catch
Ride a motorcycle
Work on a farm for a day
Learn a new skill (no idea what yet)
Make soup dumplings
Run a 5k (not walk)
Find a food I've never eaten and eat it
Go to a jazz show
Play a game of ice hockey
Go horseback riding along the beach
Learn to ski
Take a fencing lesson
Go on a helicopter ride
Sleep overnight on a train
Collect fresh chicken eggs from a nest
Go to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Try a new restaurant in San Francisco
See the Parthenon in Greece
Go to Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
Read Moby dick
Visit the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy
Spend an afternoon in El Prado in Madrid, Spain
See "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso at the Museo Reina Sofia
Spend a week in Bora Bora
Attend a Japanese tea ceremony
Learn to sculpt
Learn how to perform a magic trick
Learn to knit one thing
Make cheese
Watch lawrence of Arabia
Face a fear (not sure which one)
Become financially literate
Go to an auction at Christie's or Sotheby's
Sleep in a castle
Create a well-stocked pantry
Go to a yoga class by myself
Become an 'expert' at something
Write an article and have it published
Register for NaNoWriMo and write a novel in one month
Do NaBloPoMo for one month
Write a cookbook
Audition for something
Travel to another city to go to a concert/show (performer TBD)
Try fugu
Get a tarot card reading
Get hypnotized (for what I have no idea)
Eat something I've grown
Travel solo (even a day trip)
Get rid of 100 of my possessions

 

So what about you? You have a list? 

EB

Time To Run

You see those ladies right there? Those are the amazing ladies of my family who got together in Paso Robles this weekend for a 1/2 Marathon and 5k. 

We wine tasted, we carbo loaded, we talked about lost family members and caught up with younger ones.  It was a great weekend and I know how lucky I was to share in it.

Thanks ladies. I wouldn't be who I am without you.

 

EB

Resolutions 2012!

Happy New Year's!

Again, I'm not a New Years resolution kind of gal, just never have been. But lovely Marisa, of Food In Jars inspired me this morning. Just because I don't do personal resolutions doesn't mean I can't make some bloggy ones! So here goes, my Blog Resolutions for 2012:

1- To post more vintage cookbooks (you guys seem to like those)

2- Maybe a little re-design (change is good right?)

3- In general, just be more consistent with my posting (I can do it!)

Sound good? Ok then. Happy 2012!

EB

Cheap Eats in the Summer of Love

Looove the logo!

Hardworking immigrants who operate small establishments, serving heartfelt food at living wage prices? That’s our favorite thing these days in San Francisco right? Really, there is some truth to the saying that there is nothing new under the sun. We've always been a food city.

In 1969 R. B. Bread was a writer for the Examiner-Chronicle and a little book called “The San Francisco Underground Gourmet: An Irreverant Guide to Dining in the Bay Area.” His specialty was finding “different and excellent eateries” that were “small and modest.” He championed the mom n' pop joints that were overlooked by most publications. At the time, “ethnic” foods were all over the city but not nearly in the numbers we think of as normal today. While now you see Bernal Hill three year olds chowing down on octopus at any given sushi joint, in 1969 Read had to spend half his time explaining what things were before he could tell you where you should eat them!

So why on earth did I pick up an ethnic food restaurant guide from 1969? There were two things that made me plunk down my four dollars for the book: one, Read proclaims that “San Franciscans need a restaurant guide” due to the fact that for all of San Franciscans “heady interest in the subject” there was very little exploring outside of certain comfort zones. Can you imagine? Us needing a restaurant guide? Two, Read includes “Gay” as an ethnic food category, right between Frisco and German! He acknowledges that most gays are not “glamorous theatrical personages” but “wage earners in humdrum and humble occupations” who needed a place to go be themselves, where they could be free from discrimination. In a sign of the times, while he only finds three Korean restaurants worth mention he lists almost three pages of “Gay” restaurants. Can you imagine his joy cruising the Richmond today? 

Very few of his haunts remain, but some like Lois the Pie Queen hold fast and have changed little. Others like Tadich Grill remain but are clearly out of the budget conscious realm that got them in the book.

While apparently Read was a “well-known San Francisco epicure and bon vivant,” a “world traveler, journalist and resource economist,” I haven’t been able to find much about him. But I think it’s pretty clear, with his ‘get out there and find good food in small places’ mentality he would undoubtedly be a food blogger if he were on the scene today.

EB

Of Anniversaries and Things

My first picture posted

I started SpiceDish four years ago. FOUR. It’s strange where life takes you in four years. I’ve never been a diary keeper (too embarrassing) but I realize now that SpiceDish is a diary of sorts. Looking back on past posts I can see when I was happy at my work (fewer posts), when I needed escape (more posts), when I was engaged with the blogosphere (lots of comments), and when I was playing recluse (no comments).

I can see when larger life issues, very personal ones, took precedence over posting or when I was compelled to post by those same issues.

I have met some truly amazing people because of SpiceDish. People like Bethany, Victoria, Sarah and Jessie.  I have been let into many other worlds in the past years and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Like a lot of you, I’m at yet another crossroads in life. The ‘what’s next’ type. The ‘can I really make that happen’ type.  I have no idea where I will be come next October’s blogiversary, and that’s a bit scary. I do know that I’ll be able to look over the year’s posts and see where I’ve been. And that is comforting.

Here’s to another year.

Enjoy-

EB

 

Sunday, Waffle, Sunday

 
 

Do you know what makes people happy? Waffles. Fluffy waffles. That and lots of Bloody Mary's. This past Sunday I held a little waffle party. I invited the hungover hordes to come in their jammies, sip some hair of the dog and dig into stacks of waffles. It's a funny thing, but almost every person said something to the effect of "I haven't had a homemade waffle since I was a kid." or "MMMM it smells like childhood" I love those moments. Growing up at my house Sunday waffles were a weekly occurrence. I loved it. My grandfather used to pack every square full of powdered sugar and then drizzle warm maple syrup over the top.

It really was so simple. Waffles with syrup, sausages, and some baked eggs (again with lots of Bloody Mary's). Everyone ate until they couldn't anymore, syrup covered most of my kitchen table, and a happy Sunday ensued.

Crispy, Fluffy Waffles

1¾ cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 cups whole milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 oz butter (1/2 stick)
1 tsp vanilla extract


Pre-heat your waffle iron to its hottest setting. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Separate the eggs. Warm the butter and milk over a low flame until the butter is melted. Beat the egg yolks until smooth then whisk in the milk & butter and then the oil.

Beat the egg whites until stiff then slowly add the sugar and continue mixing until stiff peaks form.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the milk mixture and mix until combined. Fold in the beaten egg whites.

Spray both surfaces of your waffle iron with cooking spray.

Ladle batter onto the waffle iron and close it. Waffles will be golden brown and crispy.

 

Enjoy-

EB

The Naughty 90's

No... not those 90s. The other ones. Before those...

I have in my collection strange little book, "Rector's Naughty '90s Cookbook". This fascinating book was published in 1949, yet the recipes are from the 1890s. They are recipes from father and son team Charles and George Rector. in 1899 Rector's Restaurant on Broadway in NYC was one of the finest, most opulent restaurants anywhere in the U.S. This article from 1908 notes that the building bought to 'upgrade' the restaurant cost upwards of $700,000! It was where anyone, who was anyone went. It was known for “loose” women, not so above-board gentlemen and all around hijinks. It's name was put to songs, plays and slang.

  
                 Rector's in full swing!

On the elder Rector's death, hundreds of recipes were found in his files. Those recipes are what make up this interesting little book, filled with long forgotten ingredients, headshots and biographies of leading women of the day and period (for the 1890s) advertisements.

The recipes themselves are a great collection of the 'novel' and 'elegant' from turn of the century America. There one I chose was for:

Stuffed Avocado a la Maxine Elliot

 

It's an old take on the shellfish stuffed avocado with “Russian” dressing. One of those, at one time was considered elegnt, now is considered cliché dishes. The recipe for the dressing included a few ingredients I had never heard of, “India Relish”? But it really was tasty. There's a reason recipes like this one stick around.

As for the recipe's namesake? This Maxine Elliot was one dapper woman. She was smart, beautiful and strong. She was an actress, lover of kings, robber barons and anyone else she fancied. Married several times, it was said she had better business sense than most men. I assume this dish was served at one of her sought after lavish and "fabulous dinner parties."

Russian Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tbs chili sauce

2 tsp finely chopped green pepper

2 tsp India relish

2 tsp finely chopped pimento

Combine all ingredients and blend well.

 

After prohibition made running the restaurant difficult, George Rector (the son) and his wife toured the US and wrote food articles for the Saturday Evening Post. They issued a well received cookbook in 1928 and were considered culinary experts who appeared in national newspapers, on the radio and in newsreels offering culinary advice until 1947.

The book is a snapshot of what Americans were looking back at in the 40s. What were they nostalgic for? Apparently the freedom to be "loose," carefree and opulent. Sounds good to me!

Enjoy-

EB

Braised Lasagna?

Love these guys

So here's the back story. I "lost" a wine-tasting competition. (Apparently my friends and I drink competitively). The winner got dinner made for them, the *loser* had to make dinner.  Back story aside, I love a good dinner party so I invited everyone over (told them to bring non-losing wine) and set about a project of lasagna proportions.

I wanted to make something a little different and I always love an excuse to call up my favorite butcher: Drewes Brothers. They are the oldest butcher in CA. (how rad is that!) and they have excellent products and selection. They'll order anything you want that they don't have... like 4.5 lbs of local, organic, beef short ribs.

Why short ribs? For Beef Short Rib Lasagna. Seriously. Mmm hmm. It's labor intensive, it's different, it's amazing. Give it a shot. It's so worth the effort!

 
Braised Beef Short Rib Lasagna

Sauce:

5 fresh thyme sprigs

5 fresh parsley sprigs

3 fresh bay leaves

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1 oz dried porcini mushrooms

1.5 cups boiling water

4.5 lbs beef short ribs

1 cup flour

4 tbs olive oil

4 chopped carrots

4 chopped celery stalks

1 chopped medium, yellow onion

6 chopped garlic cloves

2 tbs tomato paste

2.5 cups red wine

2.5 cups beef broth

salt and pepper

Lasagna:

5 tbs butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups whole milk

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese

2 pkgs no-bake lasagna noodles

Sauce: Tie the thyme, parsley and bay leaves together with kitchen twine. Place mushrooms in bowl, add water, cover and let mushrooms soften, about 15 mins. Once soft, chop mushrooms-- reserve the soaking liquid.

Preheat oven to 325*. Salt and pepper ribs, dredge ribs in the cup of flour. Shake off excess flour and place ribs on baking sheet. Reserve 1 tbs of the flour. Heat 2 tbs olive oil in heavy large skillet over med-high heat. Brown ribs on all sides then return to baking sheet.

Heat remaining 2 tbs oil in heavy large pot over med heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms and garlic. Soften for about 10 mins. Sprinkle the 1 tbs reserved flour over vegetables and add tomato paste. Let tomato paste and flour brown for 1-2 mins. Add wine and stir until liquid is absorbed. Pour in mushroom soaking liquid. Bring to boil then simmer until reduced, about 10 mins. Add broth and tied up herbs. Bring back to a boil. Add ribs to pot, cover and place in oven for 2.5 hrs.

Transfer ribs back to baking sheet to cool. Discard herbs. Shred the beef off the bones (which have most likely fallen off). Meanwhile, boil sauce until reduced about 10 minutes. Return beef to sauce. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper, add chopped thyme. Set beef sauce aside.

Lasagna: Melt butter in a large saucepan over med heat. Add flour; whisking until smooth. Cook until it's a light golden brown, whisking constantly, about 5 minutes. Add milk slowly; bring to boil, still whisking constantly. Boil 1 full min. Add nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set white sauce aside.

Preheat oven to 375*. Butter a 15x10x2 inch lasagna pan. Spoon 1 cup beef sauce over bottom of dish; spread into thin layer. Sprinkle 3 tbs cheese over. Arrange 5-6 lasagna noodles over to cover. Pour 1 cup white sauce over noodles, spread into thin layer. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over, followed by 2 cups of the beef sauce. Repeat process once more. Cover with remaining noodles, white sauce, cheese and a sprinkling of nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Bake uncovered until top is golden brown 40-45 minutes. Let rest at least 10 minutes before serving.

Next up? The ridiculous amazing ice cream that followed!!

 

Enjoy-

EB

 

Resolutions Away!

It's that resolutiony time of year it seems. I've never been much of one for the "quit smoking," "lose 10 lbs," "call my mother more often" type of resolutions, or any type really. But this year, as I looked back on last, I realized that my crazy little life got in the way of well... my life. The things I love most kind of fell to the wayside while I dealt with other things. So, for the first year in many (or maybe ever) I'm making a few resolutions. Declaritive statement time. My New Year's Resoultions for 2011 are to:

Eat: Elsewhere. There are literally thousands of restaurants in this city, and I go to a lot of them. But every once in a while I realize I have a few places that have become go-to's more often than they should be. Places like George's have been on my list of to-get-to's for ages. I walk by it weekly. Yet I've never made it inside. 2011 is your year George!

 

Listen: Music. There is some amazing live music in this city on a nightly basis. I've started taking that for granted and getting lazy about going to shows. Hey... I've got a work schedule that's a little less than stellar... but I need to kick it into gear and get out there and discover the next great group to sell out.

 

Do: "Stuff". Another thing this city is full of? Odd, hidden little places. Like the Seward St Slides. These kinds of things are always in my mind, but rarely on my calendar. It's time to fix that.

 

See: Movies! Specifically at the Red Vic, the Castro & the 101 year old Roxie. I love films. Hell, I teach film! But I rarely get to the theater to see them, much less the awesome indie theaters we have. Way beyond the blockbusters, these theaters show gems like everyone's fave "The Room."

Make: Food. This last year was one of many changes and unfortunately what took a hit was my cooking. I simply don't really cook anymore. New year, new(ish) kitchen. Let's do this thing! I'll finally tackle the stack of recipes and books in my kitchen that unfortunately became dust collectors last year.

So that's it. A fairly doable list I think. Oh well, those and to actually friggin' blog this year. Sheesh.

 

EB

Christmas Time in The City

Officially smacked in the face with Christmas spirit this morning (that and a headache from last night's dinner party). How do you know when it's Christmas in the city?

The tree and weddings at City Hall

The smells in my kitchen

Whimsically attired gate lions

Ice skating at the Ferry Building.

 

Merry Christmas San Francisco.

However, whatever you celebrate... enjoy the season. Happy New Year!

EB