i like to eat.

Wasn't I just talking about how fabulous Mocca is?

Seriously, my favorite seafood salad. Never gets old. Plus, you dine al fresco - makes it even much better!

Jason and I picked up his parents from the airport and stopped by Pasta Primavera in Walnut Creek for dinner. I was craving for some lasagna and this one hit the spot.

Bubbling hot with layers of pasta, ground beef, red sauce and cheese. Delicious.

Did I ever tell you the first time I had lasagna was in Ireland? It was the best. OK, OK, how can I say it's the best when it was only my first time and had nothing to compare? Seriously, thinking back, the first bite was amazing and I've never forgotten it - even 15+ years later. If only I had the recipe...

Related: The Go-To Place: Pasta Primavera

Oh my. I made it. I seriously made it.

I managed to follow a week of dinners without any glitches or spontaneous weeknight dinners with friends. Well, actually, a friend did invite us to dinner and we had to decline. I was committed to finish this personal challenge!

The last meal, on Friday night was spaghetti with sweet potatoes and ricotta.

This was my least favorite dish out of the entire week. Kind of disappointing, since I wanted to leave with a bang.

The pasta was dry, even though I added extra butter and oil into the dish. I was hoping the ricotta would melt more and create some sort of sauce, but nope, it didn't. The flavors of the sweet potato, ricotta and spaghetti were fine, but I personally like more sauce on my pasta dishes.

This week, I was able to broaden my (non-existent) culinary skills and try new flavors. I'm quite happy with all the dishes. Out of all the meals, I liked Monday night's the best. It's something I'd usually cook and maybe that's why I liked it the most.

The article in Real Simple was actually for a month's worth of easy dinners, so technically, I have three more weeks of this, if I really want to step it up. haha. I'll take it one week at a time, for now. :)

I lived with a girl named Emily that was a sous chef at Ame.

Ame, my friends. Michelin rated Ame.

Food there is out of this world. And even better when you know the chef. ;)

I moved out and lost contact with her, but randomly thought of her one day. Texted her and found out she was no longer at Ame, but working at a new place called Il Cane Rosso in the Ferry Building. I was shocked to hear she was at the Ferry Building, considering I work only three blocks away and visit it almost every week - just never ran into her.

I swung by Il Cane Rosso and ordered their number one seller, porchetta sandwich. Holy cow, that thing's meaty and delicious. The pork shoulder was tender, moist and full of flavor. It looks gorgeous (image 3) and so yummy. The bread was soft with a red pluot mostarda spread (tasted kind of like plum jam) and mustard greens. I could only eat half of the sandwich - too much for one sitting.

Knowing someone that works in the kitchen often leads to hook ups. And this time was no different. My ex-roomie gave me a heirloom tomato salad with sel gris (sea salt), basil, balsamic reduction and extra virgin olive oil. How can something so simple be so amazing?

I'll definitely be vising Il Cane Rosso again, with or without a hook up. Their menu changes daily, so be sure to check out their site.

         

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Porchetta_Sandwich_tag_food_it.zip (1203 KB)

Kate and I went to Belden Place, a small alley filled with European restaurants. The main attraction is sitting at a table in the alley under twinkling lights - truly romantic and it makes you feel like you're in Europe.

It's hard to choose a specific restaurant since they're all quite similar, but we chose Cafe Tiramisu since we've been there before. The plans quickly changed as soon as we sat down, but we had a little bit of extra time, so we had an appetizer.

We shared an order of fried zucchini blossoms with tomato sauce. I've never had a zucchini blossom, the delicate flower at the end of every zucchini, and was intrigued to try. I didn't even know what to expect, but once I bit into it, the blossom flowed with a creamy ricotta and Parmesan cheese filling. There were also small chunks of zucchini stuffed into the blossom. The batter was very light, almost no batter at all and the creamy tomato sauce helped balance the flavors.

I rarely think of Belden Place when I'm looking for a restaurant in Financial District. It seems like a tourist trap with overpriced food, but it's a place to check out at least once - just go for a glass of wine. :)

   

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Italian_Before_Dinner_tag_dinn.zip (445 KB)

It was Jason's dad's birthday last month (yes, I'm that behind) and he wanted to go to Taheri's in Walnut Creek to celebrate.

I've never been to this restaurant, but his dad was raving about the crab salad, so I was excited to try it. The four of us started with a Dungeness crab bruchetta with marinated tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. Taheri's didn't skimp on the crab, it was a big pile of meat and worth several bites.

Jason and I split a plate of the famous crab salad. It came with huge lumps of fresh crab meat, tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes and feta on a bed of mixed greens with a balsamic vinaigrette. The crab salad was worth its hype, light and delicious. I want to try to make this at home.

I was already full from the salad, but I still had an entrée coming. Jason and I again, split a plate of Mediterranean prawns in curry with spinach, garlic, basil and tomatoes. It was served on top of crispy Basmati rice. The curry sauce was slightly spicy, but still light and not too thick. It was another great dish.

I really enjoyed Taheri's and can't imagine getting full orders of everything. You'd have to roll me out! It was a delicious meal with Jason's sweet parents. Happy birthday!

     

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Seafood_Dinner_tag_food_greek_.zip (765 KB)

Oakland's highly anticipated Eat Real Festival was in full swing. I arrived with Kate around 2 and we were ready to roam and try some food trucks.

Except, it was ridiculously hot.

So hot that we felt lazy and became indecisive about what to eat.

But, one thing we did know for sure was to get into the building with AC. The building was filled with a ton of different vendors that sold fresh produce, garden kits, yogurt, flowers, baked goods and other foodie related stuff.

After we cooled down a bit, we were ready to eat. There was so much to choose from - bbq, tacos, Mexican, cupcakes, pizza, Korean, chowder, Southern, baked goods, desserts..the food trucks were endless!

Our first stop was Tapas To Go, a truck from Whole Foods. We ordered garlic chili shrimp that was hot, but not super spicy, garlicky and delicious. The shrimp were large and fresh. The best part? Only $5. All the food at the festival was $5 or less!

It was still really hot and I didn't feel like waiting forever in a line (I know, I know, the good trucks have the longest lines, but still, it was way too hot!) I saw Pizza Politana had a short line and I was intrigued that they had their own little brick oven - definitely fresh! I ordered a slice of Market that had cheese, greens, onion and bacon. My favorite part was how amazingly thin the crust was. It was sooooo good. I love thin pizza and this was one of the thinnest I've ever had. The crust was crispy and held the toppings well, no soggy crusts here! So good.

Kate ordered a hot link from Phat Matt's BBQ that came with some sort of cheese dip and saltine crackers - interesting combination. Not bad.

I saw some ladies making fresh pupusas at Los Angeles de Pueblas Frutas, so I had to give it a try. Yummy and filled with beans and cheese.

Seoul on Wheels had a long line, but I was determined to try their version of the Korean taco. They unfortunately were sold out of the rib eye taco, so we got chicken and spicy pork. LAME. Tacos were cold, meat was chewy and there was nothing special to it. No special sauce or toppings. I can make this at home! I don't get their hype.

As soon as the boys came, we had to leave, but we tried some of their food before we left - falafals from Liba (not bad and not dry) and also pork ramen from Poleng (decent, you can see the hair on the pork!).

The festival was a lot of fun and exciting to try all the different trucks. I wonder if this truck craze will last... Either way, I'm enjoying it and so happy that I was able to try so many in one place.

EDIT: The hot link was actually from Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q. Sorry for the mixup. Thanks to Charlotte for the catch! :)

                                                   

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082909_eatReal.zip (7004 KB)

I had some rock hard bread in the kitchen and Gap's panzanella from the other week (see post) inspired me to try to make it. Plus, it was the perfect way to get rid of old bread! :)

I didn't feel like following a recipe, so it was an experiment to make the tomato and bread salad.

I bought a variety of heirloom and cherry tomatoes, chopped them up and combined it with the bread in a bowl. I mixed olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic in another bowl and poured it over the tomato and bread mixture. Last ingredient, julienned basil, was added into the bowl. I mixed everything and added salt to taste. It was pretty good!

I was afraid the bread would be too hard (you could literally hurt someone with it), but the juices and olive oil helped soften it.

The main entree, stuffed zucchini, on the other hand, was a recipe I followed. It was really easy to make, although, I slightly over cooked the zuchinni. I was distracted with the panzanella and forgot about it. Oops.

The flavors were tasty, but because I over cooked it, the top was too crusty. It would have been extra good if I smothered it with a thick tomato sauce. if I ever make this again, I'd definitely do that, even if I cook it right. :)

Overall, it was a satisfying home cooked meal. It made me remember how much I enjoy cooking and the need to cook more!

   

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Havent_Cooked_in_Awhile_tag_di.zip (421 KB)

Side note: I had two more meals while in Los Angeles, one in Chinatown and the other at the airport, but I was feeling extremely sick and didn't have enough energy to even take pictures. So...back to reality...and work.

My first lunch after the LA trip was not exciting or filled with unique dishes. It was a simple poached herb chicken with a tomato and bread salad (basically, a panzanella) from the upstairs cafe of Gap.

I should have known - chicken sitting out on steamed tables usually end up dry. And this piece of chicken was. After a couple of bites, I couldn't take it anymore. You can even see the dryness in the picture. It was THAT dry! It didn't help that it was served with a BREAD salad.

But surprisingly, the simple combination of croutons, heirloom tomatoes, chopped basil and olive oil was yummy. I've never had panzanella before, but have always wanted to try, and this one was good. I'd prefer slightly more tomatoes, but at least the bread soaked up enough flavor.

I ended up eating all of the panzanella and left the chicken aside. The meal was semi-satisfying with the panzenella saving the day.

My weekend trip to Los Angeles was quickly coming to an end. So far, I've had delicious food and I'm already hoping I'll come back to LA soon.

The last dinner was at C&O Trattoria in gorgeous Venice Beach. Jason and I were slightly full from the previous meal of Kogi, so we decided to split a pasta dish. It was definitely a smart choice considering their portions are huge. I can't imagine one person eating the entire dish!

Our friend that recommended the restaurant suggested the prosciutto fettuccine. The pasta came with diced prosciutto, mushroom, roma tomatoes, shallots in a brandy cream sauce. The sauce was slightly too thick to my liking, but I could definitely taste the brandy. The flavors were alright, but a dash of Tabasco helped pump up the taste.

There was a never ending plate of garlic rolls, which were unfortunately, hard. I like my bread warm, soft and flaky. Not baked until they're super crusty. :T

The best thing about C&O is its energy and ambiance. Every half hour or so, waiters pass out lyrics for the song, "That's Amore." The loud speakers suddenly start blasting and the entire restaurant sings. You can feel the fun, high energy of everyone in unison.

There are two options of dining - indoor and outdoor. You know how much I love outdoor dining (see post) and with LA's perfect hot weather, of course we had to sit outside! :) The kitchen is in between the two "restaurants," so it's kind of cool to see the action while you're outside waiting for your table.

C&O is touted as one of the "top 7 restaurants in So Cal," which in terms of food, I don't think it deserves that title. But, for large groups that want to have a good time with affordable prices and generous portions, this is the place to go. It's low key, casual and the outdoor dining is a huge plus (and frequently a must) in sunny Los Angeles.

     

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Last_Supper_in_Los_Angeles_tag.zip (594 KB)