HONEYDEW...
this was the best melon i've had all summer....sweet and crisp

almost too pretty to cut up....

SASHIMI SALAD @ Kitayama, NB...i snuck my camera in....

yellowtail collar...sooo good...5 BUCKS!

roasted chicken thigh. DE-skinned, De-fatted, De-boned...DEE-lish

MOM's plate. simple and easy. maybe if it were whole wheat pasta i would have joined her. next time...

this, of course, was more my style...i know the leg looks naked, but no skin-no thin...right?

Mini Rhubarb Strawberry Galettes Recipe

I like food in miniature. I like dim sum, mezze, tapas and appetizers of all sorts. Working on the latest recipe development project has been an exploration of many things in miniature. One recipe that sadly will not work for my client was a terrific success when it came to ease and taste. It does not work particularly well for vacuum sealing but that's ok. It means I can share it with you here and now.

Rhubarb makes one of my favorite pies and now, my favorite galette, which is pretty much a pie for lazy people. Rhubarb requires some tender loving care to coax out the perfect balance of sweetness and especially texture. While mushy rhubarb isn't terrible, firm, sweet yet tangy rhubarb is fabulous! I like the method of macerating it with sugar. The trick to this recipe is to not let the rhubarb macerate too long. I think you could make it with just rhubarb but a little bit of strawberry really complements it. I also don't cook the filling! You don't need to, it cooks perfectly in miniature.

I'm no genius when it comes to pie crust. I wish I was but it's just not in the cards for me. I have ridiculously hot hands and I don't work with pie crust often enough to get really fast at making it. I do my best, but sometimes resort to premade pastry. I'm ok with that. If you have a favorite pie crust recipe that works for you, by all means, use it. If not, you might try the Perfect Pie Crust recipe from Simply Recipes. The beauty of this recipe is that the result is rustic, which is great for a non-perfectionist baker.

Mini Rhubarb Strawberry Galettes
Makes 8 single servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups rhubarb, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces

1/2 cup strawberries, sliced 

1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Dough for 2 9-inch pie crusts
1 Tablespoon milk
Raw or turbinado sugar for sprinkling on the crust

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar and cornstarch. Let sit for 15 minutes, no longer. Meanwhile break dough into 8 pieces and roll each one into roughly a 6 inch round. Place 1/4 cup filling into the center of the dough rounds and fold the edges over, pinching to seal, place galettes on a baking sheet. Brush the crusts with milk using a pastry brush then sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool slightly and serve.

Note these mini galettes freeze exceedingly well. Let them cool, wrap well. When ready to serve gently reheat in a 300 degree oven, about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Looking for more rhubarb recipes? My other favorite rhubarb strawberry recipe is this ginger-flavored cobbler from Sara Moulton.

A few other particularly inventive rhubarb recipes:

Rhubarb soda from Coconut & Lime

Tofu with Hot and Sour Rhubarb from Mostly Eating

Rhubarb and Raspberry Yogurt Ice Pops from La Tartine Gourmande

Red Wine Poached Rhubarb from David Lebovitz

Persian Lamb and Rhubarb Stew from Nami Nami

PROTEIN PUDDING...

i finally came up with a recipe that works great, taste and macros are "spot on". you'll need...1 box sug.free-fat free JELLO instant pudding mix...2 scoops protein powder (a flavor to go with the mix)...1 packet plain geletin...and 2 cups non-fat milk (i substituted 1 can hi-pro, lo-carb pre-made protein drink for one of the cups milk)...1/2c water to stretch quantity...now...mix the geletin pkt with 1/2 c. cold milk and 1/2c water...then nuke it so that the geletin will disolve...let this cool...then...in a blender (i use a hand blender)...blend all ingredients...adding in everything slowly...blend reeeeally well, you want to airate to make it light...pour into individual 4-5 oz containers...should make 6 servings

macros are approx(6 serv)...100 cals, 15 pro, 8 carb, 0 fat..........works for me

simple lunch...roasted DE-skinned chx leg, 1/2c c.chz and 6oz crunchy-pop in your mouth-seedless grapes....and my fav...Tapatio

breakfast in bed...too bad i had to make it myself.....

egg beaters, honeydew and TJ's fiber muffin...these muffins ROCK !

If you are a Chocolate Lover!

And I am actually not a huge chocolate fanatic, but I still LOVE these brownies! When it comes to brand named foods, sometimes it matter, sometimes it doesn't. In this case, it really matters! We've tried a lot of different brownie mixes (my husband doesn't have a sweet tooth, he has sweet TEETH, he could eat sweets all day long), and the Ghiradelli brand is the very best, particularly the Triple Chocolate. With a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, or mint chocolate chip if you like to be difficult like me, you have the best Sunday afternoon dessert.

What's your favorite dessert?

Chicken, with Tomatoes and Rice

I have to apologize because I found this recipe in a magazine that I can no longer find, so I'm not going to be able to give you the exact recipe, but I had to share it with you anyway because it's so good, and really easy to do without a recipe.

By making this meal, I discovered just how easy it is to turn regular rice into something so yummy. It doesn't take much either. In this recipe it called for simple additions and changes like blending herbs such as garlic, parsely, cilantro and scallions into a thin paste and adding them to your rice. Use chicken broth instead of water. Add mushrooms and slivered almonds, and don't be afraid to try different kinds of rices. I used arborio, which was so creamy and had a thicker texture. There a several different kinds to try. Cook your rice with just as much liquid as normal, for just as long as normal.

*If you are going to "wing it" with your rice, which you should, it's pretty hard to screw up, just be sure to add enough salt, otherwise it may come out tasting a little funky.

This recipe also called for the chicken to be cooked on the skillet, but I chose to coat it in basil oil (or just reg olive oil), s&p and roast it at 425 until cooked through. It comes out so tender and juicy.

The tomatoes were cherry tomatoes that I sliced in half and sauteed with garlic and fresh parsely until tomatoes are slightly softed and heated through.

Combine all three with some crusty bread makes for a very healthy and crowd pleasing meal.

If you'd rather have the real recipe rather then my artistic version of it (not that I blame you), I believe I found it in the July issue of Cooking Light. Hope you enjoy!

Pizza Party

I LOVE pizza. To demonstrate my love for pizza, I worked for a pizza company for over two years, had pizza almost everyday I worked there, and never once got sick of it! It's one of my favorites without a doubt. However, as I get older and a little more conscious of what I eat, along with calories and such, I have become much more wary of my cheesy guilty pleasure.

So, to curb the guilt, I have been working hard to make a pizza that is delicious and easy to make, without feeling like I've swallowed an entire brick of greasy cheese and meat. Here are ways I have found to do that...

1. I really like the store bought crusts, which they now have in wheat. They are fairly low in calories and a nice blank slate for whatever you want to add to your pizza.

2. Use a lot of tomato sauce, which adds TONS of flavor, with no added fat and few calories. I love my pizza sauce which is basically tomato sauce, italian seasonings, minced garlic and salt and pepper.

3. Add as many veggies as you can. My favorite pizza veggies are spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, olives, fresh tomatoes, green pepper, scallions, red and white onions and even broccoli. After all those veggies, you may not even need to add any meat!

4. If you do add meat, there are lots of "turkey substitutes" like turkey pepperoni and sausage that are really quite good.

5. Go easy on the cheese. I like to think of the cheese as a "glue" that holds it all together. Once you have just enough to do that, you're good!

6. Have fun experimenting by making less traditional pizza, like BLT style, BBQ chicken, Philly cheesesteak (had to throw that in!) etc. It's pretty tough to screw up a pizza.

6. Two words: FRESH GARLIC. Adds so much to a pizza, you'll be amazed when you try it.

My all time favorite pizza (which defies a few of my rules...oops!), is Margherita style pizza. It is basically sliced or chopped plum or roma tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, whole or chopped, mozzerella cheese and fresh garlic. No sauce on this pizza. You'll be amazed how GOOD this pizza is, and so easy to make. My kids love it as well.

So get yourself a big salad, some ice cream and a fun movie to go along with the new pizzas you're going to cook up for your family. They'll love it!

protein pancakes

PROTEIN PANCAKES....
mini stack of protein pancakes, fresh strawberries, home made yogurt and sugarfree maple syrup

my recipe is pretty much the basic...if you make about 6 cakes from the recipe..each cake should be about 90 cals...14 pro...6 carb...1 fat...i make the batch and keep them in the fridge...or even the freezer...sometimes i add pumpkin or whatever...but this is a good recipe to fool around with
protein pancakes...
1/2c cott. chz,
6 egg whites,
1/4c (or a little less...) yogurt-i use vanilla,
1/2c oatmeal...(1st blend into oat-flour, then remove from blender),
2 scoops vanilla protein powder,
1 tsp baking powder,
1 tsp vanilla, 2 pkts splenda,
approx 1 tsp cinnimon or pumpkin spice...
blend all the wet ingred.....then slowly add the dry...i mix it 'till you can't see the c.chz bits anymore...i let it sit for about 15min...then cook 'em up....don't over-cook...i just push on it to see if it's fluffy, then remove....the longer they are cooked the tougher they can get....







yummmm...Trader Joe's apple cranberry fiber muffin with 5 whites & 1 yolk...if you have a TJ's near you and you like to get your fiber...get these !

blueberries....i just think i'm addicted to them....

green eggs and ham ?...well, does parsley count as the green ?

Urban Tavern Opening Party

I've been to a fair number of parties, and in my experience restaurant parties beat all others, hands down. One of the best I've ever been to was the joint fete for Epic and Waterbar. A lot of the same industry folks were at the opening at Urban Tavern last night. It was a great chance to get a sneak peek, toast to the new restaurant, listen to the Backburner Blues Band, catch up on chef gossip and grab a bite to eat.

So first off, the restaurant is attached to the Hilton on O'Farrell St. I'd call the decor rustic contemporary. The large Doug Owen horse sculpture is a focal point and sets the color palette. The menu features grilled meats with most items in the $15-20 range, casserole dishes for 1, 2 or 4 people such as beef daube, sides of vegetables, potatoes, beans and lentils, salads including duck prosciutto and grilled calamari versions ($9-13) mussels and starters ($9-11) that range from charcuterie to piadini to cold tomato and crab soup. Having only nibbles of party food, I'll be back for more of the fries and aioli, my weakness for the evening.

As far as chef spotting goes, it was quite an evening. The restaurant was packed so I'm sure I missed a few luminaries, but I did see local chefs James Ormsby, Gordon Drysdale, William Werner, Donna Scala, Scott Warner, Chad Newton, Joey Altman, Gerald Hirigoyen, and Laurent Manrique.

On to the gossip, did I hear that a certain chef is opening a patisserie in the City? Or that a much loved chef may be returning to the restaurant scene? Or that another seasoned chef who is recently back in the kitchen is rediscovering his gruffer alter ego? I will neither confirm nor deny. But I will share my favorite overheard line of the evening--"I want to go in the kitchen and see Manrique yell at somebody!"

More Urban Tavern reports:
Yum Diary by Tracie Broom, my editor at SF Station
SF Eater
Yelpers

Note: Because I've been posting less these days, I've added an option for you to subscribe by email.

Favorite things: Putumayo Presents: Acoustic France

The only time I ever got a speeding ticket I was listening to music on the radio. Not long after I switched to NPR and have stayed out of trouble ever since. While driving and music are subjects that have been explored in detail, lately I've been thinking about food and music, specifically music in the kitchen and music in the dining room.

On my mother's birthday last month my family and I ate at Ad Hoc in Yountville. Dinner was delicious, though nothing earth shattering. But the music was way too loud and like that day I got pulled over, it distracted me. In the dining room I like background music. If I notice it, that's a good sign it's too loud. Meals are a precious time for me to catch up and connect with my dining companions, not to rock out. If you are a chef and want the music loud, that's fine, just please, keep it in the kitchen.

Speaking of kitchen music, I just love the new Putumayo Presents:Acoustic France CD. It's filled with jazzy, catchy, happy French songs with lush and tasty vocals and influences from as far away as Latin America. But here's the catch, because the lyrics are in French, I find it less distracting than most music. I can't promise listening to it will help you to cook as brilliantly as Jacques, but during this period of intense recipe development it's helping me to pay strict attention to detail and keep my wits about me! Of course it also doesn't hurt that in the liner notes there is a recipe for Banana and Lime Sole from famed French chef Michel Troisgros. That actually might help your cooking.

So what about you? Any preferences for music, in the kitchen and the dining room? I'd love to hear what you like or conversely, what you don't.

grilled cauliflower....

the filets were done, sitting at rest.....the grill vas HOT !...i had aldente steamed cauli sittin' there, so i sliced 'em and sizzled them on the grill for a sec (or two...) i drizzled a trace of soy on (while searing) and that was it...turned out really good...i'll try it again, but next time with a little thought behind it.

they look something out of the deep sea....

soy glazed sugar snap peas.....

the snap peas are so fresh and crisp right now..will they go out of season soon? what will i do? my fav way to cook them is....in a skillet, on high with a bit of spray olive oil add the peas. drizzle a bit of sesame oil on peas and stir. sprinkle garlic salt and fresh ground pepper. after things get hot again, drizzle with soy. this will quckly turn into a glaze. stir that a bit 'till done to likeness. i prefer them VERY cruchy, so i remove them pretty quick. i remove them from the hot skillet because they will continue to cook. the idea would be to keep the SNAP to the SNAP PEA!

Minor Annoyance

It seems that regardless of the way I format my blogs when I write them, they are coming out as a big, solid block of words, with no spacing or separation. I apologize if it's bugging you as much as it's bugging me. Blogger seems tempermental about they way it's going to set up your blogs, so hopefully this won't be an issue for long.