fuki sushi

sushi is not something i'm fond of since i don't eat seafood. in fact it's not just the fish i stay away from but it's also the seaweed wrappers. even if i don't eat sushi i do love going to sushi restaurants so that i can eat tempura. i heart tempura!! so tonight to celebrate our friends birthday we took her to eat at fuki sushi. i tired to decide what to order but it was a toss up between the beef teriyaki with vegetable tempura or sukiyaki. instead of picking between the two dishes, naturally i ordered both meals.

the tempura was perfect but the beef teriyaki was not my favorite. although it was flavored well there was a lot of fat left on the beef. i would recommend this place for the tempura, the sukiyaki or of course the sushi that i didn't try.

potato soup practice

this pot of potato soup was made up on the fly and although it was not an outstanding success story it was still a success.  elle and i started by chopping onions, carrots and celery then i threw them in a pot to sauté them with butter.

then we peeled and chopped the potatoes and added them to the pot with both chicken and vegetable stock.

once the liquid was added i brought the pot to a boil and cooked it for another minutes.

when the potatoes were cooked through i used a stick blender to mash all the veggies together then i added heavy cream.  the carrots made the soup turn orange which i thought was funny because it's potato soup.  it also started looking more like baby food instead of a pot of soup.  i tried a spoonful and it tasted just okay but it left a lot to be desired.

so i decided to add cheese, when i went to grab some cheddar elle reminded me of the gruyere she had leftover from a previous dish.  lets just say, gruyere to the rescue, what a great idea elle it seriously saved the soup!

yes i realize it was an over kill buying a ten pound bag of potatoes but i couldn't help myself since they were on sale.  so i'm sorry that all these last posts are made with potatoes but i've got to use them up.  that's why potatoes are still on the menu tonight for dinner.  i thought potato soup would be a good way to use a good amount of what was left but i'm sadly reporting that yet another meal still needs to be made.

bacon caramel toffee

while in vegas i purchased a box of vosges chocolate ok not just chocolate but bacon caramel toffee and a bacon pancake mix.  today i opened the toffee.  i enjoyed it but the others didn't seem too since they didn't want a second piece, guess that means more for me.

gilly gilly

i'm not sure what this meal really is called or if it even has a real name.  it might just be something that my grandma made up on her own but i do know that she called it gilly gilly.  i also know that this was one of the few dishes she knew how to make.  it's a meat and potatoes dish with a grandma ho twist.  the spin on this dish is that it's cooked with soy sauce.  all you'll need is ground beef, potatoes, onions, water, soy sauce and sugar.  yep that is all there is to it but sadly i have no idea where to begin to tell how much of each ingredient to use, when it's done just serve it rice.

this dish was a staple in my grandma's house and i honestly can't remember a time when i left her house without eating this, with the exceptions of thanksgiving and christmas.  in my opinion gilly gilly is very good but taste aside there is something about this meal that instantly warms my heart and makes me reminisce on childhood memories.

thanks for the memories, thanks for the memories!!

goodbye to my favorite sweatshirt, that's right my red hooded sweatshirt.  you've been faithful during the past nine-ish years. if you look close you can see the wear and tear but i seriously loved this thing. it's true, love as in past tense because today i retired the dang thing. not the good or proper kind of retired but the sad i have no use for you kind of retired (please insert your best fake cry).  i wish that i could restore you to your original state, back to the glory days before you were too stretched out and full of holes.

may you rest in peace red hoodie where ever you may be.  i will always cherish the warm times we had.  i hope you find a nice spot in the sun, i'm sorry you didn't see much of it during your life with me.

turkey day 2010

sala thai

i can't stress enough how amazing sala thai really is.  we started with tom yum gai and although we thought we ordered a different kind of soup this one was still good.

green curry chicken, if it was up to me it'd be a little spicier but the other ladies don't like it so this is a milder version.

this plate of pineapple fried rice never disappoints.

this was the first time i've had the bbq ribs here and it won't be my last.  how have i never stumbled across these on the menu before now?

mangoes and sticky rice is always my favorite part of the meal!

shepherd's pie

the past few days i've been wanting to make shepherd's pie. it started because alexis is not eating gluten, corn or dairy. i thought this could be a dish that i could make without any of those things and that it'd still be a type of comfort food for the cold weather we've had. this didn't end up happening while we were together but i had time today while watching football to make it. since alexis would not be eating it i added the little bit of cheese i had and used a package of mixed veggies that had corn in it. since i've never made this before i read a few recipes online and then did my own thing. i used both ground beef and ground pork and cooked it with garlic, onions, a can of tomato paste, a can of stewed tomatoes, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. while that was cooking i peeled some potatoes and mashed them with butter and heavy cream.  i put a layer of meat mixture at the bottom of a pan then topped it with a layer of potatoes and baked it for 45 minutes at 350.  it turned out good but i think i need to make some changes if i decide to make it again.  next time i'd make a pan gravy to serve it with so i'd need to change up some of the ingredients to mess with the gravy.

el mansour

there is a first time for everything and tonight was my first time eating moroccan food.  we went into the city to celebrate punky's 30th birthday at a spot called el monsour.  here are all the dishes i was able to try:

harira soup (spicy lentil bean)

 salad mohammed v (tomatoes, eggplant, carrots and cucumbers) - this place was brought to our table to share among all of us.  we dipped our bread into the different sauces and veggies.

bastela du chef, basically it's philo dough filled with spices, almonds and chicken.  it was really good but also very strange.  it was like eating cinnamon flavored chicken wrapped in a sweet flaky pastry.

for my entree i picked the lamb and chicken kabobs served with couscous and vegetables.

king hassan is really a banana fried in dough.

overall the experience was wonderful but the food sharing is less than appetizing.  i mean i don't mind sharing my food but it's just fingers dipped into everything by everyone and that is kind of gross when you step back and think about it.  i'm all for finger licking good don't get me wrong but i'm not into other peoples mixed with mine.  you feel me knockin'... let me in.

chef chu's

i'd like to know who is on yelp giving chef chu's four starts??  shame on you whoever you may be and let me help introduce you to the world of good chinese food.  i mean come on it wasn't even worth eating the leftovers.  the main asian, alexis and i ordered mongolian beef, bbq pork chow mein, cashew chicken, garlic string beans and chicken fried rice.  they missed the mark big time and i'm not sure i've ever been to a chinese place that messed up on every dish.  plus add the fact that these are very common dishes that are ordered regularly.  i'm not sure how this place is so popular or how they've got their parking lot filled.  after tasting the food i realized that the main asian had mentioned that there were no asians eating inside when she picked up our order.  that should've been a clue in itself but sadly we had already ordered and paid by the time we realized and by then it was too late to turn back.  each dish we ordered lacked the luster of real chinese food and it left us both unsatisfied and still hungry.  my advise to you is save the fifty bucks we spent on take out and hit up panda express where you'll have a better experience.

han korean bistro

i was able to try another place in palo alto, a korean spot called han korean bistro.  for dinner i ate dolsot bibimbap which literally means "mixed rice".

it's a bowl of white rice topped with sautéed vegetables, an egg and meat, i ordered it with pork. once i received my meal i stirred the entire bowl of ingredients and topped it with chili pepper paste type sauce. it's served in a pipping hot bowl that continues to cook the rice as it forms a layer of crispy flavored goodness.

throwback thursday - gone till november

back in 1999 (maybe 2000 but i'm almost certain it was '99) i saw wyclef jean at the house of blues in orlando.  the show was good from what i remember but mostly what i remember wyclef smoking on stage.  hahahahaaa i know that's a dumb thing to remember but i don't like the smell of smoke or weed so that part of the show sucked.  anyhow i'm not his biggest fan or anything but i have respect for his talent and i admire the love he has for his country.  back then this song made me think of a boy who i wasn't going to see for awhile and even though it was sad i for some reason liked this song.

“i dedicate this to all the brothers taking long trips and your girls who get the message that you ain’t coming back, she sitting back in her room, the lights off crying, then my voice comes in and this is what i tell her for you”  - hahahahahaha seriously so lame but back then it totally is worked.

cartel

since i'm unable to see cartel play in sf tonight i thought i'd reminisce on the time i was able to see them. it was exactly 1 year and 4 days ago when elle and i saw them at slim's with this providence.  i would totally see cartel again but for some reason they couldn't align their schedule with mine so i'm sitting this one out.

eat meat or else!

my little brother was in town for a short visit.  somehow we were able to squeeze in dinner with four of us siblings.  we drove to my older sisters house and decided to take my younger brother to bbq and make him eat meat.  you see he's been a vegetarian for nearly 2yrs and we wanted to break him of that bad habit.  i'm not saying you need to eat meat with every meal but to avoid meat is way beyond something i could ever do.

the forty water

happy birthday to one of my favorite rappers of all time... earl stevens aka e-40.  thank you for making so many hard hitting beats.  i love playing your songs in my truck, when i listen to the base slap it makes me dance in the car every time.

legolands load of pasta

this weekend i went with my sister rose, her family and my cousin the storm trooper to legoland.  we all know that amusement parks jack up their food prices to a ridiculous amount but we somehow managed to find a place for lunch that had large portions of good pasta for just under $10.

overall the park was a fun experience but the fact that most of the scenery was made from lego's made the park that much cooler.  my nephews and cousin had a blast and there was even a location in the park for them to stop off and build whatever they wanted.  although legoland is not a place i need to visit again i was happy that i was able to enjoy the past few days with family.

at the end of our second day we decided to head to the beach to unwind and let my nephews run off some of their energy.

before driving all the way home we stopped off at magic mountain.  i've never been a person who loves roller coasters so this wasn't necessarily my cup of tea but it was fun to ride some rides with my nephews and to see one of them step on and off of his first adult roller coaster... seriously priceless!!

coconut disappointment

have you tried these?  if not don't.  they didn't use any real coconut and the flavor they added was only mildly apparent.  aside from the appealing wrapper i'd say this was a let down.

la bodeguita del medio

i'm so full i can barely think about writing but the food was too phenomenal to put off sharing about it. elle's coworker told her about this cuban spot in palo alto called la bodeguita del medio.  tonight we gave it a shot and i'm so glad we did!  after ordering our waiter brought us out some bread dipping sauces, my pictures didn't turn out so well but next time we eat here i'll do a better job.

empanadas: shredded picadillo pork, roasted chilis, pepper jack, cabbage salad, coconut-roasted jalapeño sauce

masitas: spicy roasted pork, white rice, black beans, rioja carmelized red onions

here is a picture of my side order of sofrito mashed potatoes & avocado-cilantro pestro

havana bananas: caramelized sweet bananas, walnuts, cinnamon, vanilla ice cream

if i had to use only on word to describe this meal it'd be SENSATIONAL!!