treasure island flea market

my little brother and his gf where in town for christmas.  i was so happy that we were able to meet up to spend an afternoon in sf at the treasure island flea market.  i love them so much so today was a lovely lovely day.  here are a few of the treats we enjoyed:

mustard based coleslaw

warm maple bacon mini donuts, YES PLEASE!!

afghan food

afghan food is just wonderful.  if you have not yet tried it do yourself a favor and step out of your comfort zone and give it a go.  if you are looking for a recommendation my vote would be to stop in at de afghanan cuisine in fremont.  today was not my first nor will it be my last time enjoying a plate of these beautiful kabobs.  i promise it will not disappoint and i shouldn't be the only one privy to this hidden gem.

back to homeroom

 off to berkley for an afternoon of shopping and thought why not go back to homeroom?  so glad we made a slight detor into oakland, sriracha mac is by far my new favorite!!

the exchange student (aka sriracha mac) - creamy havarti, ginger butter, sliced scallions and lots of spicy sriracha

spring mac - bright and zesty with aged asi­­­­­­ago, fresh herbs, peas and lemon zest

creme brulee

another work lunch at kincaid's and of course i ordered the chicken dijon.  i can't help it, i'm addicted to their mustard!!  anyhow here is a picture of my creme brulee since i've posted pictures of my chicken dijon from past visits.

nssn 2012

worst prank ever

woke this morning to the delightful smell of bacon.  then i realized it was coming from the neighbors house and not mine.  well played neighbor, well played!

how could my bacon calendar have left out such an important alert to warn me of such a bacon travesty??

peppermint pattie brownies

just opened a bag of york peppermint patties to add to the candy jar i stock in my office.  on the back i noticed they've got a brownie recipe so i thought why not share.

Sensational Peppermint Pattie Brownies

24 small (1-1/2 inch) YORK peppermint patties
1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup HERSHEY'S cocoa
1teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.(325°F. for glass baking dish). Remove wrappers from peppermint patties. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. 2 Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Add eggs; beat until well blended. Stir in flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; blend well. Reserve 2 cups batter. Spread remaining batter in prepared pan. Arrange peppermint patties about 1/2 inch apart in single layer over batter. Spread reserved 2 cups batter over patties.
3. 3 Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack; cut into squares. Makes 24 to 36 brownies.

turkey pot pie

in need of a fun recipe to make with that boring leftover turkey??  look no further friends cause this is not only tasty but it's easy.  i looked up a few chicken pot pie recipes in the cookbooks i had at my house but i didn't have time to put in the extra energy and time tonight after work so here is what i did.  oh i also made 2 full pies so these measurements will need to be decreased if you don't want or need this much.

ingredients:

 

• 2 packages of the pillsbury pie crust (it's in the refrigerator section and it includes both the top and bottom crust).  i used 2 because i used crust on the bottom as well as the top.
• chopped turkey leftovers 2 - 2 1/2 pounds
• assorted spices
• 32 oz assorted frozen vegetable (peas, carrots, green beans or whatever you prefer)
• 26 oz cream of chicken soup
• 14.5 oz chicken broth

directions:

• preheat oven to 425°F.
• saute chopped chicken with butter and spices (i used salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and cumin)
• in same pan add chicken broth and cream of chicken soup and mix thoroughly.  then add frozen vegetables.  simmer and stir until vegetables are cooked.
• while your turkey and veggies are heating place the bottom to your pie crusts and give them a quick toss into the oven for a few minutes depending on how done you like your bottom layer (if you do not pre-cook the bottom crust your pie will still be good but the dough doesn't get a chance to fully crisp as it should).
• after you remove the bottom crusts from the oven add half the turkey veggie soup mixture to each pie.  before topping your pies with the remaining layer of pie crust remember to cut holes to allow the pie to breath and steam.  once you've topped the pies place them back into the oven for 15-18 minutes or until the crust has turned to a nice golden brown.

even though i was happy with the outcome of my pot pies here are a few things that i wish i had done slightly different.

1. next time i would add onions to my pan while i was sauteing the turkey in butter.
2. when i make this again i will try brushing melted butter on top of the pie crusts to help with the browning.  just my thoughts but i guess i'll have to make them again to see if they actually help.
3. i will pre-cook the bottom pie crust.

kim basinger sandwich

i LOVE city bistro!  every time i go i love my food and every time i introduce someone else to it they love it too.  it's a tad pricey compared to the price of most sandwiches you'd order at lunch but well worth a few extra bucks.  these sandwiches will blow you away with all the flavor and taste packed between their already wonderful bread.  plus the owners run the show and they are super nice.  go support a small business and leave with a happy belly.

mongolian bbq

please do attempt this at home, we did and we loved it!

we created our own bowl and filled them with sauces of our own choosing just like at a mongolian bbq restaurant.  in fact this was better than some of the places i've tried and i will be making this happen again.

country way

breakfast at country way with the girls is always the best way to start off a saturday morning.  i ordered the linguica and jack cheese omelet.  if you've never experienced country way you should find a way to make it happen.  the portions are huge and no matter what you pick to eat you'll like it.  if you are extra hungry do yourself a favor and get an order of french toast to share with the table.

failure & heart break

in my deepest voice possible: i wouldn't be a woman if i wasn't sad about this, i wouldn't be a woman if a voice like yours was anything i could resist. i'd have to be from another planet where ears didn't exist if i didn't feel like this!!!

tonight a few a us girls where driving to san jose to see josh thompson at the rodeo club when we heard that joshua turner was playing tonight in stockton.  while on the road we called ticketmaster to make sure that the show was not sold out, who was opening and all the details.  the operator from ticketmaster assured us that just because we could no longer purchase tickets online that the show was not sold out.  she also told us that she couldn't see who the opening performer was but that just meant it was someone small but we would have enough time to drive to stockton to see most of joshua's show.  with that info around we turned and rerouted the car to stockton.

cause there's no holding back, no holding back."

100% crushed fruit sanck

found a tasty way to get my fruit servings in for the day:

2 servings of fruit down, check, that's 2 more than yesterday.

throwback thursday - midnight train to georgia

i'm going back to a simpler place in time..

that's right folks i'm taking it back to the midnight train in georgia.

two words can sum up why i chose this song as this months throwback thursday feature: gladys knight.

homeless or hipster?

i'm gonna still your grandpas style

no seriously ask your grandpa

can i have his hand me downs?

throwback thursday - the general

take a shower, shine your shoes

you got no time to lose

you are young men you must be living

take a shower, shine your shoes

you got no time to lose

you are young men you must be living

go now you are forgiven

this dispatch cd bang bang was released in 1998 but it took me 5 years before i had ever heard it.  once i did i fell in love with this song and the entire cd. my younger brother introduced me to the general and said he knew i'd like it.  lucky for me he knows me well and he was right.  when i got this cd i couldn't stop listening to it and told all my friends about it.  it's been awhile since i've listened to this cd but the other day i got into one of my roommates cars and she had the cd playing.  it was a sign that i needed to share it for this months throwback thursday.

safe and sound

i could fill your cup.. you could be my luck

this video is crazy lame

but at this moment i'm addicted to this song.

the wicked witch..

IS DEAD!!!

alright so dead doesn't really mean dead in this case

but the wicked witch is out of my life forever.

throwback thursday - it matters to me

tell me where'd you ever learn to fight without saying a word

how can i make you see.. it matters to me

i know this song isn't one of her more catchy pop-ish songs but this is by far my favorite faith hill song!! it makes me sad to think that some faith fans may have missed out on this song.  anyhow i figured i should share it hear and maybe it will help get this wonderful song get some extra recognition.

giants luxury box

a beautiful sunny afternoon at the giants stadium eating all you can eat mexican food and endless nachos.

vikings vs. niners

derek and i at the vikings vs. niner pre-season game

getting paid to tan

take me out to the ball game..

and pay me.. that's right pay me.  just another day in the office, do you like my view?  i ate a costco dog and monster nachos.

peter's bday

the A's game to eat nachos and a hot dog to celebrate peter's birthday. gotta love an evening out celebrating with friends, plus it never hurts when your entrance tickets double as a food voucher.  what a perfect evening!

pop'n chocolate

calafia cafe

dinner with 3 of the 4 in our wolf pack.  there were other items on the menu that were tempting but we decided to order a few pizza's and share.  i'm so happy we did so that i could try them all cause they sounded too yummy to pick just one.  after trying them all and enjoying them all here are my recommendations:  the guanciale was perfect and well seasoned.  wolfgang's while wonderful i think sharing is the best idea or even order as an appetizer.  it's so packed full of flavor that it may be too rich to eat on your own.  the BLT was light and tasty but i wish it had a little more sauce.  overall i say nicely done calafia cafe!!

guanciale burrata pizza

zoe's cured pork cheek seasoned with

rosemary and garlic, sliced super thin and served

with nutty and creamy burrata cheese,

tomato sauce, fresh oregano

wolfgang’s pizza

duck confit, pumpkin & hemp seed pesto,

mozzarella & goat cheese

BLT pizza

this is not on their standard menu, it was a special.

french soul food

finally stoped in and check out what brenda's
was all about and i'm grateful i did!

 

i loved everything about my meal.  i ordered what they call BFC (brenda's fried chicken) which consists of 3 pieces of fried chicken (paired with hot pepper jelly), collard greens and a biscuit.  if you follow this blog i'm sure by now you've noticed i love me some fried chicken so naturally looking at a menu half filled seafood this was immediately where my eyes fixed in.  this chicken was delightful and the pepper jelly made me enjoy the chicken even more.  i'm also happy to report that the collard greens were a side i'd eat again.  my previous experience with greens hasn't been bad but it's never left me wanting more.  brenda's decided to drench their greens with bacon and it made all the difference.  what i wasn't expecting was this standard looking biscuit to knock my socks off but it did.  i'm not sure the tlc that went it to making them so special but i approve!!

amato's

thank you to the main asian for introducing me to amato's and their fantastic cheese steak sandwich.  or in other words i'm sorry to the city of san jose because there is about to be a beef shortage.

this picture doesn't do it the sandwich justice so please don't let this picture change your mind about stopping in.  my advice is that going a little out of your way to try one of these bad boys will be well worth the effort!  i will however say that i less than liked their cheese fries, in fact i ended up exchanging these fries for a basket of plain ones.  i'm willing to give the cheese fries another go but this specific basket of fries tasted like metal (someone must have left the cheese in the can too long).

summer snow cone

eating a snow cone in the summer is like drinking hot chocolate in the winter, it's a necessity.

throwback thursday - from head to toe

i've been playing this game on my phone called song pop the past few weeks and it's been reminding me of some sweet songs from the past.  this was not a song from the game but for some reason after playing a round of song pop this jam got stuck in my head.  naturally when a song gets stuck in my head i find myself singing it out loud.  while i was singing at home my roommates said they had no idea what song i was singing.  not sure how they all missed out on this gem but after introducing it to them i feel obligated to share it with my readers just in case you too have missed out.. listen and miss no longer.

quizno's cobb wrap

i'm addicted to these darn wraps from quizno's.  i find myself going to quizno's a few times a week to get one.  it's funny cause i used to not like blue cheese but somehow lately i cannot get enough.  my younger brother will be so proud!

SJ giants

why hasn't anyone told me about the food at the sj giants game?  i feel a little cheated by all my friends who have been to one of these games and never hooked me up with a churro.. shame on you friends!  the ribs were good and i really liked the fries with the gourmet choices of sauces but the churro's were out of this world delicious!!  i can't wait for next season to come around cause i'll be reunited with those delectable delights.

bestie with testes day continues

ended the day eating s'mores at the ritz

 

bestie with testies day

it's always a wonderful day in the city when you are with the ones you love.  today i spent the day in sf goofing off with my bestie with testies and it was perfect!

root beer float and donut bacon cheeseburger at straw

stinson beach

seven eleven, twenty twelve

another year another free slurpee

75 years of spam magic

hApPy AnNiVeRsArY sPaM!!

 spam was first introduced to this country on july 5th, 1937 by the hormel foods corporation.

gelato gelato gelato

rather than having several postings about gelato i thought i'd be easier to do one post with all my gelato samplings from the trip.

this coconut gelato shake is from frankfurt, germany and it was refreshing since it was cold but it was too milky and runny for my liking.

rome, italy

after eating so much gelato my memory could be wrong but overall this was my favorite gelateria,

della palma gelato di roma.  they had about 60 flavors and some very unique flavors that i was able to taste.  in the end i went with the flavors shown above.

venice, italy

this is actually sherbet for dessert on the boat

back to rome for more gelato

guess i deleted the picture of the actual gelato.. my bad!

lucca, italy

barcelona, spain