Mardi Gras 2011.

Fat Tuesday!

"What were your food splurges?"

"Did you make a King Cake?"

"Did you give anything up far lent?"

Those are some of the most common questions everyone is asking everyone else the week that Fat Tuesday & Ash Wednesday falls on. Me... the only tradition I have is making homemade Jambalaya :) I have this recipe that I always use out of an old Bon Appetit recipe.

Everyone that tries it, falls completely in love with it.


The prep for this is so time consuming. You literally spend at least 1/2 an hour chopping, cutting, and combining all of the veggies. And then you have to saute them for another 30-45 minutes. Once that is complete, you add clam juice, all of the meats you decide to use (ie. chicken, andouille sausage, shrimp...etc) and you cook another hour or so... I think.

Now I can't remember and I don't feel like looking for the recipe ;-)


Alas, you add white rice to the thick, spicy, meaty delicious and dig in! SO worth the wait and all the hard work.

This year, after several bottles of wine and an awesome dinner, a small group of us wen to Rich's to celebrate... even though all day I said I was going to stay home! Oh well, it turned out to be a really fun night at the last minute.

Dining Out.

One of my favorite past times? Going out for dinner! I'm not crazy about take-out because you lose the experience, the atmosphere, and the freshly plated food that a restaurant has to offer but I just love trying new places for dinner. I always have, but I love cooking a mean gourmet meal too.

Working a 40+ hour work week doesn't make it that easy to have dinner on the table by 7:00 p.m. so we usually end up eating by 9:00 p.m. I just think of ourselves much like Europeans ;) Anyway, here are two places we've gone that I really enjoy:

1.) Banker's Hill Restaurant

This restaurant is kind of off of the map. I didn't hear much about it and I still don't think that there is a HUGE hype around it but there should be because the food and the atmosphere is really unique. The decor is very rustic with a lot of wood and metal elements, but the succulents as you see in the picture softens the place and it is very cozy.


They have a few couple of different dining areas. I have yet to sit outside in the "succulent garden", because it has been cold and it doesn't look that cozy but I plan to once it warms up! The bar area is dimly light and kind really relaxes you after a long stressful day at work.


The menu is creative and delicious. I usually order the Duck Confit or the Grilled Steak is awesome too. If you like a good burger, they have that too. The mussels are spicy and quite delicious and they also have a great wine list. Their desserts are inventive and simple. Yummy! Overall one of my favorite places, even though Joseph discovered it and not me ;-)

2.) Basic


Basic, that is pretty much what it is. They offer basic pizzas and then you add all of the topping that you want. They have a HUGE bar area and a small dining area. Their drinks are pretty good and the pizza is awesome. Thin crust, greasy, and gourmet.

The decor is pretty basic too. There is a lot of big sofas, metal coffee tables, low seating, and just an overall casual place. You have to be 21 to get in, so no kids, sorry! I guess most places we aren't kid friendly since they are all in the city.

New Places to Try

1.) Cowboy Star in the East Village
2.) Pamplemousse Grille in Solana Beach
3.) Tapenade in La Jolla
4.) Hane Sushi
5.) Prepkitchen in La Jolla

.....and the list can go on and on!

Mussels.

Do you ever go to a restaurant and see a specific appetizer or entree that you just have to have, even though you have tried various versions on it? Joseph and I do that all of the time. I personally always love to order duck because I love the rich flavor and different ways to cook it but another item would be mussels.

I had never really had them until we moved to California. Now I see and order them from anywhere between a gastro-pub to a fine dining establishment. I love the flavor that they offer, even though I can't stand the flavor of oysters.

After years of trying different chefs versions, I thought "why haven't I tried making them", the concept seemed to easy, and I am usually am pretty full after eating them for an appetizer. So, I went on a search for them and found them at Whole Foods.


Almost every recipe I looked through, called for (3) pounds, so that is exactly what I bought. Let me tell you now, it is a lot of work to clean these little suckers. Not to mention you have to distinguish the live ones between the dead ones. Not only do you have to soak them to get the sand out of them, then you have to pull out their "beard", and scrape the gunk off the outside of them. Joseph wanted to help me but I told him that if he saw what they looked like before I was done cleaning them, he may not want to eat them!



BUT, once they were clean and I started making the "broth", it changed everything. In my big red Creuset pot, I melted butter with garlic, onion, fresh parley, and white wine. I may have added a few other fresh herbs but it is escaping my mind right now. Like I said, there is a variation of recipes from broths to bisque's to red sauces, but I stuck to the simplest form, as this was my first time!

Once I added the mussels and steamed them with this great broth, they opened up and this was the end product. I served them with fresh lemon wedges and grilled pieces of a french baguette.



Were they good? Need I say that we finished them in one sitting?! They were amazing. If you have the time, I would recommend making them but it is a lot easier ordering them off a menu and having a chef make them for you. I have such an appreciation for that chef in the kitchen making them now!

Here are some of my favorite places to have mussels:

1.) Cafe Chloe in the East Village
2.) Cody's in La Jolla
3.) Banker's Hill Restaurant

L.A. Times.

I can't remember if we went to L.A. to watch the Oregon Ducks play at UCLA before or after my birthday, but there were some good times to be had!

Joseph's family flew out to see the game because their cousin is the Coach at Oregon, and he was playing in L.A. So why not, right??


Honestly, I don't remember the name of the hotel we stayed at?! Haha, the past month has been such a blur, so much going on! But it was actually a pretty nice hotel and the weather was awesome.... considering all of the rain we have been having.


Once we got there, we went out to lunch in the area... again, I can't remember the restaurant! It was mediocre though. I had a Lobster Hoagie, but just ate the lobster out of it, yummy :)

We walked on the pier nearby and enjoyed the sunny afternoon. Joseph's grandparent's came out from Nebraska too!

Later that night, we went to see the game. The Ducks lost, but it was kind of cool watching the game at our floor seats and watching the dancers & cheerleaders. It reminded me of high school.


The next day, Joseph, Sophie and I went to Universal Studios since Sophie had never been! It's always fun going with people who haven't experienced it.


Later that night we went to dinner at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills for my birthday dinner. The food and atmosphere was really amazing. You wouldn't believe who sat at the table next to us.... Ryan Seacrest! You can barely see him in that picture and once he saw the camera flash, he kind of sat back in his chair. Hilarious!

After dinner, we went out in West Hollywood with Michelle, Topher, and their cousin. Since Michelle lives in L.A. she showed us a good time and we visited some of the hottest clubs. Joseph and Michelle swore this was Kristin Cavallari.... they obviously don't know their celebs, or they were just really drunk ;)

That's the end of my birthday month, let's move on now!

Birth-Day.

If you remember correctly, I worked last year on my birthday, at both of my jobs. I didn't think it was that big of a deal but everyone insisted that I take the day off this year. So I did, and it was a very relaxing, fun-filled day.

Joseph and I went to Cafe Chloe for breakfast and then came home to this....


A Baked Almond Fruit Tart from Extraordinary Desserts! Yummy. It served as my "birthday cake". Not only was it beautiful, but it was so delicious. One of my favorite things.


After Lourdes dropped off a car load of gifts from co-workers at work, regular clients, and a few gifts from herself, I made this little cheese plate for all of us to enjoy (even all of the cheese were gifts! Who doesn't love getting yummy gourmet goods for their birthday?!)


We also opened a bottle of wine and walked down to the pool with our drinks and snacks. The sun was out and it was the perfect weather... until it wasn't... it started to rain, but not before my friend Shannon dropped off some beautiful Red Roses and Stargazer Lilies.


After all of the snacks, wine, and running out of the rain, we came back up to the apartment to get ready to go out to dinner. There were a few different places that I wanted to stop at but after everything was said and done, we went to Craft & Commerce for drinks and ended up staying there for dinner.


I think this picture of Jessica and I and the picture of Joseph above, were the only pictures that I got from the night.... oooops! Sorry, but we had a really nice night.


The next morning, I was able to get a few pictures of almost everything that I had received on my birthday. I even got more stuff the week following too :)


I felt truly blessed to be so fortunate and have such amazing and thoughtful people in my life.

Sadly, all of the flowers died within a week but they looked so beautiful.


The orchid is still alive though :) and most of the wine and champagne is still awaiting to be opened and enjoyed by myself and those around me that I love.

Thank you everyone for making my 26th birthday so special!

XOXO.

iPhone4.

For those of you that know me... know that I've had the same iPhone 3G for two years (well, not the same exact one that I had when I bought it, but the same model... yes, I broke three iPhones in less than a year...oops!)

Anyways, I had my latest one for a year, with the same cracked screen. I kept telling myself that I was going to wait until the White iPhone 4 came out, but it never did. BUT then all of the sudden, Verizon picked up the iPhone and I couldn't resist switching.

The day before my birthday, I was ready to throw my iPhone 3G off the deck. I so fed up with it that I told Joseph we needed to go to the Apple Store so I could buy a new one. After the extensive process of switching carriers and activating a new phone... I had it... and Joseph bought it for me for my birthday :) Yay!

This picture reminds me of some kind of ad for the iPhone. As soon as I got it, I called my mom... but of course she was sleeping. So when she called me the next day, we FaceTimed!

It blows my mind how far technology has come! I still remember those big brick-sized cellphones that first came out. Yikes!

Flowers

I can't think of many people who don't love getting flowers, no matter what the occasion, if not at all...

For my birthday this year*, I was showered with flowers from so many people, and I have to express how much I loved them all. They were all so beautiful. One of my favorite bouquets came from Jessica:


Aren't they beautiful?? You can see the various types of Hydrangea, Orchids, Hyacinth, Parrot Tulips, Berries, and even some bushy grass blooms. They were all of my favorites thrown into one single bouquet. Every time I walked through the door and saw them, they made me smile :)

*More about my birthday details coming soon!

Squid Ink Pasta.

Have you ever tried or even heard of Squid Ink Pasta??

Sure, I've been to a many Italian restaurant, but I had never heard of of it... so naturally when I saw it on the menu at Benecotto, it was totally turned off to the idea. But I decided to ask the server more about it, and learned that it was featured on the cover of San Diego Magazine. So, I had to try it....

and I LOVED it. It was so good, with a creamy red tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese, and shrimp! Yummy!

A few weeks ago, after a meeting at work in Little Italy, I stopped at a little shop and thought of picking up some things for dinner... and my surprise, they had squid ink pasta! I bought it up, along with a block of Parmesan cheese and drove right home!

I decided to make my own version of that tasty pasta but without the shrimp, white sauce instead of red, and added grilled veggies instead.


I took the Parmesan cheese and threw it into the food processor that I got from my mom for Christmas.

Here it is: Squid Ink Pasta

I made homemade Alfredo sauce....

Grilled the veggies, as well as a few cloves of garlic too!


Once everything was cooked, I quickly cooked the pasta, tossed it in the Alfredo sauce, added the veggies with the diced up roasted garlic and served with some fresh Parmesan cheese. It was SO good. Joseph didn't realize that the pasta was actually made with squid ink, he thought that it was just called that because it was dark in color!