California Eating Extravaganza!

I needed a break from writing my proposal again and decided to write a list of potential restaurants to hit up while back home in California.

- Love Sushi
- Square One Dining
- The Griddle Cafe
- Versailles
- Pedro's Tacos
- Bellagio Buffet (ok, i know this is in Las Vegas...but whatever, close enough)
- Wynn Buffet
- Porto's Bakery
- Menchie's Froyo
- Coffee Bean (yes, not a restaurant, but I miss this place dearly)
- Tommy's (the one with the red roof)
- Some kind of tea place with my mom.
- C&O's
- Mami King
- Tahoe Galbi
- Gyspy Den (for the Ice Blended Chai)
- Big Sugar
- Sushi Mac (just for the Dynamite Macs)
- In n' Out
- Alerto's
- Shinsengumi Ramen

Ugh, I'm blanking. I'll come back to add to the list. In the meantime, send me suggestions.

I might also just use urbanspoon on my phone and try something random.

So who wants to go with me to eat?!

Breakfast in Barrington

Don't hate me, dear reader! I know it's been a long time since I've written, but I have some pretty legit excuses that all have to do with my academic career. But I couldn't stay away. Anyways, I'm having writers block, so I decided to push aside my proposal and come back to my beloved blog. Oh food blog, I've missed you so. And it's a good thing that I signed in to check out my blog because I found out that I've been blocking comments!! Oops! I fixed that problem though. So please, keep leaving me comments. They make me feel loved.

Ok, on to more important things, namely, FOOD. Last month for my birthday weekend, Glenn promised to take me to a breakfast place of my choosing. I anticipated that we would probably head into the city to one of my favorite joints (Toast or Feast), however I happened to come across a random restaurant on Yelp called Brunch Cafe. Not a very creative name, but hey, it gets the point across.

It's really out in the middle of nowhere in Fox River Valley in a sad sad mini-mall. The day was dismal making the restaurant, from the outside, look even more pathetic. But, and this is a big but, the food is ever-so-satisfying.

Immediately, I was a happy camper because they served the coffee right away AND the server complimented my tights. I'm a sucker for compliments. So of course, I loved her right away and thought she had great taste.
Glenn ordered this skirt steak skillet. He only really gets excited to eat steak for breakfast. He never order steak otherwise. He is a strange one.
I asked Glenn what he thought about his steak skillet and he said that he liked that they gave you a lot of the steak. Because he didn't really say anything about the way it tasted, I demanded a bite... or 2. Ok who am I kidding? I ate like 1/4 of it. Unfortunately, it was a bit overdone for my taste, making the meat a little tough. But I liked that it had a lot of cheese and the potatoes were slightly crunchy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside.


However, Glenn was enthralled by the steak. (Should I be worried???)
And surprise, surprise, I ordered some kind of eggs benedict dish. Actually, it was a really interesting take on eggs benedict. Instead of english muffin, they placed the poached eggs on top of portabello mushrooms. It also had goat cheese (you know, my fave), asparagus, and hollandaise sauce. I'm pretty picky about my hollandaise sauce, and this one was good, but I could really taste the lemon. The acidity was only tempered by the goat cheese. Maybe they did that combo on purpose. Overall, I thought it was a really good dish and I would definitely order it again.

And because it was my birthday, and I had passed my last written prelim, I felt that I should be rewarded with french toast! Glenn and I split stuffed french toast. Inside was sweet cream cheese topped off with a strawberry sauce. I think the french toast was my favorite part of the meal.
Overall, it was a good find, especially for being in the middle of nowhere. See, friends? You don't have to worry about me living out here, I can survive. I always find the good food.

Big thanks to Glenn who funded the 26 + 1 bday brunch.

The Art of Eating Crab (legs)

Two weekends ago, Glenn and I went to Todai , a Japanese buffet chain restaurant, in Woodfield Mall. Let me just be perfectly honest here. I have a deep aversion to Todai because of previous traumatic experiences. Plus, I am admittedly a buffet snob and a seafood snob. When you've eaten at Las Vegas buffets, the best buffets in the world, it's hard to appreciate anything else. Also, when you're used to fresh seafood, it's difficult to enjoy the not so fresh sea food in the Midwest. That's one of the downfalls of living in Illinois - we are nowhere near my beloved ocean.

Anyways, Glenn hearts Todai big time and had a coupon for a free meal that was going to expire. So, against my better judgement, we went to eat at Todai. When we got there, I decided to make the most of it and eat lots of the unlimited crab legs.

The crabs I'm showing here are Dungeness Crabs but they also served Snow Crab legs and soft shell Blue Crabs.
Although I was excited to eat crab meat, my initial feeling could be best described as disgruntled. Just look at my face. What does that say to you? DISGRUNTLED.

This is because I prefer to eat the whole Dungeness crab and not just the claws and legs. What a waste! I don't understand why they don't give us the whole crab or people's wariness of the meat in the body of the crab.
Just look at this wonderful example of the tasty goodness crabs can offer. This picture is from my 2007 trip to the Philippines. Here you can see the fat and the orange crab eggs. In Waray, this is called Aligi (maybe in Tagalog too, not sure though). This whole time, I just refered to it as aligi, and didn't know exactly what it was. Only recently did I discover that it's fat and crab eggs. Woooo cholesterol! This is my favorite part of any crab. It has the most flavor and the texture has this buttery quality to it. I love to pour all the insides over steamed rice and make riceballs out of them. I love to eat cholesterol. No joke. Also, as I said before, I am used to picking out my own crabs and knowing that they are fresh and alive when I pick them out. That sounds a bit sad - like I'm a crab murderer. That's ok, I can live with the guilt.
But, I'll take what I can get. I had to push these negative feelings away and concentrate on the process of cracking crab legs. It takes skill and patience. Two things I have when it comes to eating crab. You have to crack it just right, with just the right amount of pressure. You want to get through the shell, but you don't want to break the meat. Also you want to do it in the right spot, so that when you split open the crab shell, you can pull out a huge chunk of unbroken crab meat.

Don't feel bad if you don't have these qualities. It has taken me years and years of practice.

It's been awhile though, so I did feel a little self-doubt.

Can I do it? Can I rise to the occasion? My pride is on the line here.

Concentrate. Concentrate.

Did I get it? Did I get it?

OHHHHH! VICTORY!!!!!!

Glenn didn't get a chance to take a picture of the huge chunk of crab meat because I popped it in my mouth immediately. My excitement and hunger took over and I forgot that he was documenting the process.

A note about the flavor. Crab meat, especially in Dungeness crabs, should have a subtle sweetness to it. It shouldn't need any additional flavoring or butter or whatever. However, this sweetness can only be obtained in fresh crab. So the chefs here at Woodfield's Todai had to put lots of salt in the water they boiled the crab in to hide the fact that there was no sweetness to be found.

Atleast it didn't smell like fishy ice. I hate that. Overall, it was a good experience for eating all you can eat crab legs in the Midwest.

But I promise you, right here right now, that I will go to Redondo Beach pier during the winter break and take you through the crab eating process with oh so delicious freshly caught crab.

Ricotta Cheese and Spinach Tart

After making the goat cheese tart, I still had a left-over puff pastry, lots of left over ricotta cheese, and a few roma tomatoes. Luckily, there was some frozen spinach in my freezer, allowing me to fulfill my original plans of making a yummy ricotta cheese and spinach tart. MmMmMm.

It was actually a lot easier than the previous recipe and almost just as good. I say almost because I really loooooove goat cheese. However, Glenn liked the ricotta spinach mix better. I suppose it really just boils down to personal choice.

Anyways, preheat the oven to about 400 degrees.
Heat up the frozen spinach in the microwave. Slice the tomatoes. When the spinach is done, drain the excess water. If you don't do this, the pastry will become soggy and gross. Who wants a gross soggy puff pastry?! Not I!

Mix the spinach with about 3/4 cup of ricotta cheese. Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Cut the puff pastry sheet in half and score the edges. Spread the spinach/cheese mixture evenly onto the pastry sheets. Add the sliced tomatoes.
EDIT: Drizzle Olive Oil over the pastries (this was suggested to me by Brian. Thanks Brian!)

Bake for 15 minutes.

So easy, it's ridiculous.

Roasted Tomato, Basil and Goat's Cheese Tart

I found this recipe in a magazine called Donna Hay Magazine: Special Made Simple (issue 40). It's an easy recipe and super delicious! For those of you who claim to not like goat cheese, you really should give it a chance. In this particular recipe, the taste of the cheese is more subtle because of all the other flavors; like the onions, the puff pastry, and basil. But if you really have a strong aversion to goat cheese, then I think you can also do a mostly ricotta filling. Tomorrow, I'm going to mix my left over ricotta with spinach and use the last of the puff pastry sheets. We'll see how that goes.


Ingredients:

• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 200g goat cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh ricotta
• 2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 1 sheet store-bought puff pastry
• extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Directions from the Magazine:

• Preheat oven to 390 degrees
• Combine the onion, tomato, garlic and oil in a baking dish. Roast for 20-25 minutes.
• Combine the goat's cheese, ricotta, basil, lemon, salt, pepper and roasted garlic in a bowl.
  
• Cut pastry sheet in half and score the edges with a knife to make a border.
• Place on a baking tray, spread over the goat's chesse mixture and top with onion mixture. Drizzle with oil and bake for 15 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.
• Serves 2
  

Let's go through it step-by-step.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (Yes, I know the directions say 390, but my oven doesn't have a 390 knob).
While the oven warmed up, I chopped the red onion and garlic then sliced the tomatoes. Afterwards, I put the onion, tomato, and garlic in a baking dish that I covered in olive oil, then popped it in the oven for about 20 minutes.

While the vegetables baked, I mixed the goat cheese, ricotta, basil, salt and pepper in a bowl. The goat cheese was difficult to mix at first, so I placed it on top of my stove top so the that the heat of the oven would soften up the cheese a bit.Afterwards, I cut a sheet of the puff pastry in half and scored the edges. Then, I spread the cheese mix onto the puff pastry. Eww, please don't judge me for wearing my ugly winter sweater. It's comfy and I was just chillin' at home. Hooray for pang bahay.
Then place the baked veggies on top of the cheese. Drizzle olive oil over the pastry.

Place back into the oven for about 15 minutes.
Done! Now you have a beautiful tart - flaky, light, buttery and bursting with flavor.



ENJOY!

Ultimate Comfort Food: Apple Donuts (and Pulled Pork)

After the emotional roller coaster of this year's elections, the historical moment of Obama's victory and the tragedy of the passing of Prop 8 (wow, really Californians?! but you can redeem yourselves by signing this petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/seg5130/petition.html), I felt the need to seek comfort in food. Typical.

So, I decided to take Tessa to the Curtis Orchard and Pumpkin Patch!!


Last year, Jen , Kevin, Glenn and I went there to pick apples and pumpkins and we had such a good time that I felt that I needed to revisit a happy place. See? Look how I excited I am.

Here's Kevin pulling Jen in a radioflyer wagon to the pumpkin patch.
Look at Glenn meandering through the pumpkin patch trying to look country, but failing because he's still wearing his beloved designer jeans. But aren't our mini pumpkins adorable?
When I say we went apple picking, I suppose I should clarify. Glenn picked the apples and I stood there cheering him on because I couldn't reach the good ones.
The apples were crisp and sweet.
So when I returned to Curtis Orchard with Tessa in tow, I felt an instant surge of happiness. Who wouldn't feel excitement entering the Flying "R" Corral?


Here's Tessa learning more about the process of making honey.But my stomach demanded that we go check out the goodies in the country store and cafe.
The whole place is Wizard of Oz themed, hence the name "Flying Monkey Cafe"
Look! The Ladies who wear purple and red hats!! Who are they? I forgot what their club is called.

Finally, I got my comfort food. Six freshly baked Apple Donuts and a BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich. The pork was so tender, I felt like the meat was practically melting when I chewed on it.

And the donuts, ohhh, the donuts. They were crispy on the outside, cakey but light on the inside, with an explosion of apples and cinnamon with every bite. Perfection. And when I dipped my donuts in my perfect cup of coffee, and took that first bite, Tessa said I looked ridiculously happy and satisfied.

EEEK! Guilt-free Brownies!!!!

Yesterday, I felt mopey because I would be spending my Halloween alone, studying at home. For those of you who don't know, Glenn is on a business trip in Australia, leaving me here, making me feel extremely jealous.
Anyways, to make myself feel better, I decided to bake something chocolatey and decadent. Something that the Barefoot Contessa would make. I would use my heavy duty Kitchen Aid mixer, maybe make some orange colored frosting.
However, when I went to Trader Joe's to buy my ingredients, I found the most amazing find ... EVER! Here it is - the No Pudge Fat Free Brownie Mix!!!!!!!!!!!


On the box, there are three important claims that I wanted, no NEEDED to examine for myself.

They claim that these brownies are:

1. Decadent (Yes, they are very decadent)
2. Fudgy (Indeed!)
3. Chewy (So, true! They are extremely chewy)

I'm totally in love with these brownies because all you have to do is add fat free vanilla yogurt - and voila! Amazing tasting brownies.

I do suggest that you use a hand-held mixer when making these brownies. The batter is very thick and difficult to mix because the yogurt doesn't break up the dry mix right away.



I already ate this much. And I don't even feel bad.

The Best of Champaign Part I

Last weekend, PSA hosted their annual Filipino American conference, FACT. Because of that a lot of UC Irvine Alums were in town, and of course, we had to show them the best of champaign.

I labeled this entry as "Part I" because, despite Champaign being a small town, it has a lot to offer in terms of eating adventures. No doubt, I will be writing more about food in Champaign.

After the conference, Anna took us to Papa Del's my second favorite deep dish place in the state of Illinois (second to the Lou Malnati's with their awesome butter crust). Anna is in love with Papa Del's. Prior to moving to Champaign, when she would travel here to visit August, she would always immediately request Papa Del's. And we couldn't argue with her.

We ordered a stuffed spinach pizza with pepperoni and mushroom. What I like about Papa Del's pizza is their pizza dough! They bake it so that the crust is crunchy but the middle part is nice and chewy. I love the contrast in the textures.

Here's Tessa expressing her joy on camera. Hooray for left overs!
For dessert, we all went to Jarlings, also referred to as Custard Cup. OK, I really cannot express my love for this place adequately with words. Just thinking about Jarlings puts the biggest smile on my face and literally warms my heart. If someone mentions it, I start to run through the menu in mind, and contemplate what flavors I should try. Oh, Jarlings, I love you so.

Here's August, Anna, and first-timer, Chris, staring in wonder at the menu.
Doesn't Kimmy (another first-timer) look so happy and content with her cup of chocolate frozen custard?
She should look happy because, in my personal opinion, they have the best chocolate frozen custard ever. My New York friends would say that Shake Shack has the best custard. But they are liars. Shake Shack is good, but their custard just doesn't have the same light, creamy, deliciousness of Jarling's frozen custard. Don't even bother with Culver's, unless your desperate.

I tried something new - a grasshopper which is mint flavored custard and oreos. DROOOOOL.Unfortunately, the day before Thanksgiving, Jarlings closes for the winter and doesn't open again until the Spring. So this sign is very appropriate. I most definitely will take a pint or two home.

In the morning, we went to breakfast at the Original Pancake House (I referred to this restaurant in my post on Le Peeps). My Californian friends, you are in luck, there are OPH's in southern Cali - I think in Anaheim and Aliso Viejo. Go there, immediately!

I know that I previously said that if one were to go to OPH, that you should order a sweet type of breakfast food. However, I saw that they had a Eggs Benedict type of food on their menu, and I am always a sucker for Eggs Benedict dishes. It's a part of my crazy mission to rate Hollandaise sauces across the country.
Whatever you decide to order, I promise, you'll love it.
I also have to mention that the service is great! My coffee cup never ran empty.
Maybe that's why I was so hyper at the end of my meal.

Baked Chicken and Pasta

I have a lot of catching up to do. Beware, this blog is about to bombarded with lots more food and pictures!

This particular post will focus on my awesome home cooking. woo!

Last week, I called Glenn and asked him what he wanted for dinner. As per usual, he replied, "Chicken!" Standard Glenn. Luckily, I had chicken (broiler-fryer) in the freezer. So I decided to bake the chicken and make the pasta I always make when I'm too lazy to try something new.

I found a simple recipe on cooks.com for Lemon and Garlic Baked Chicken and only had to make a few modifications. Here's the recipe, including my own changes to the recipe.

Ingredients

1 (2 - 2 1/2 lb.) broiler fryer, quartered
1 lg. clove garlic, crushed (I LOOOOOOVE garlic, so I put 5 cloves of MINCED garlic)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. rosemary leaves
Several twits freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/3 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. water

Directions

1. Rinse chicken; pat dry. Place chicken skin side down in a shallow baking dish.

2. Combine garlic, salt, rosemary, pepper and lemon rind. Sprinkle over chicken. Pour lemon juice and water over all. Bake, uncovered in preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

3. Turn chicken quarters. Baste with pan liquids. Continue baking about 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Makes 4 servings, approximately 196 calories per serving. (I skin my chicken for less calories.) I left the skin on because Glenn loves crispy chicken skin. How can I deny him such small pleasures?

Because the pieces of chicken were cut up as opposed to baking a whole chicken, it was easier to make sure that each piece was cooked just right. I took out the smaller pieces, such as the wings and drumsticks, before the larger pieces, preventing the meat from drying out or burning.

Earlier in the month, I baked an entire chicken and I found it to be not as tender or tasty. Also, I was completely grossed out by the process of stuffing the chicken. Ewwwwwwwww.

I think I will stick to using cut up broilerfryer chicken and this recipe.

On to the super easy pasta that I ripped off Giada's Everyday Italian

In the original recipe, from what I remember seeing on TV, Giada uses penne pasta. I never have penne pasta on hand, but almost always have whole wheat spaghetti. Plus, in my personal opinion, penne pasta should be baked.

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Spaghetti
Ricotti Cheese
Olive Oil
Cherry or Grape Tomatoes (I like to cut the tomatoes in half)
Spinach
LOTS of garlic (minced)
salt
pepper (for taste)

Directions

1. Boil Spaghetti
2. While Spaghetti is boiling, heat up olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Be generous with the olive oil as it will serve as the sauce for the pasta.
3. Add garlic. Once you can smell the garlic, add the spinach and tomatoes. Add some sea salt.
4. Lower the heat to medium-low flame. Add spaghetti and ricotta cheese. Mix well so that the mixture of the cheese and olive oil makes a sauce and coats all of the pasta.
5. Add pepper for taste.
6. If the pasta seems a little dry, simply add pasta water.

DONE! Easy, no?

Once again, I have no measurements for you folks because I'm too lazy to measure while I'm in the kitchen so it's all about eyeballing the ingredients.