fresh new box...fresh new dinner

oh me oh my...fresh new csa box. lots of the same stuff as last box but still very tasty. some notable additions: eggplant, dandelion greens, chard, and plums.

tonight i made a ratatouille pasta (thanks cooking pleasures) with eggplant, zucchini and cherry tomatoes - it was almost as if my cooking magazine called my csa and told that what i was getting. amazing! surprisingly quick to prep and full of color and texture. not bad for a thursday night after a really long week.

i had a plum after dinner (small but full of flavor). and i have never had dandelion greens, so i eagerly await crossing that kulinary frontier! until then...

csa=colorful salads for allie

i near the end of my first csa box and am already eagerly awaiting the next box (in two short days). in the meantime, i find myself trying to use the last of the veggies and made this delectable tomato and cucumber salad. i cut a bunch of red and orange heirlooms, whole grape tomatoes, cucumbers, homegrown basil, and green onions and mixed a little oil and red wine vinegar with salt and pepper. o. m. g.

so simple and yet so good!

restaurant week part 2: 525@inn at the park

it is san diego restaurant week and i look forward to exploring new restaurants...and i love a reason to get (kinda) dressed up for date night with my man. i scoured the online menus and was convinced that this place would be good (main course included the beef duo, the seafood duo, and the pork trio) - chris was convinced too.
the name of the restaurant online was a little misleading. i thought it was at the top of the hotel so i was a little disappointed. that being said, when we arrived we were seated right away (see review of posedion for how not to honor reservations).
we had a bottle of syrah--oh lah lah!
me: butternut squash-apple soup, seafood duo (local ahi and scallop), and the cheese board.
my partner: scallop crudo, beef duo (shortrib and tenderloin), and death by chocolate cake.
there was definitely some strategery involved in the ordering so that we could maximize the number of foods tried. we both tried everything on the table. personally, i think the bookends of my meal were the most delicious. as a psychologist, we call this the primacy and recency effects (such a dork, i know). but that butternut squash-apple soup was both sweet and savory all at the same time. it brought back some childhood sense memory for chris, and although he couldn't quite pinpoint it, he also enjoyed the soup. the ahi was was good (don't get me wrong) but i have had better fish at other places. the shortribs were very tasty but the tenderloin was overcooked.
but let me tell you about the creme de la creme. the. cheese. board. holy cow--literally, these cows (and goats) were blessed to make such delicious milk that made such delicious cheese. next time, i will cut to the chase, er, rather, the cheese. and next time, i also want to try the bar at the top of the hotel...
http://www.innattheparkdining.com/

restaurant week part 1: poseidon

it is san diego restaurant week and i look forward to exploring new restaurants. this is the first one i went to this week. i made a reservation (for 7:30pm) with the open table online reservation system. my best good gal pal from carlsbad drove down and i drove up from mission valley are were on-time. we were informed that it would be a 45 minutes wait, and when i asked about our reservation, she rolled her eyes and said that meant that there were still tables to be seated immediately before us.
question: why take reservations if you aren't going to honor them?
when we are finally seated, we are first taken by the wrong hostess to the wrong table and then returned to the front where we were taken by the correct hostess to the correct table. thank the stars. we have a table.
sdrw menus were full of good choices and a few bottles of wine at great prices. so we ordered a bottle of the rose and we both had the sea bass. she started with the crab cakes and said they were great. i started with the pistachio-crusted brie and it was heavenly. rich, creamy brie covered in pistachios and baked until the brie was warm. it was served with three varieties of crackers, grapes, and a jalapeno jelly. amazing. with the rose, it was a lovely way to start the night and made us forget about the reservation ridiculousness.
then our main course arrived...only they are not what we ordered. mine was not the right fish, with not the right sides and a side of gnocchi, whereas my friends was close but also not right. both were overcooked and dry as jerky. not knowing what we had been served we stopped eating (as my gal pal has severe food allergies). our server came back to ask how our food was and saw that these were not the right plates. before we could even ask what they were, she said they were the table next door's plates and she was sorry and would go get ours. almost immediately, our food came, correct food, perfectly cooked. it looked great. it smelled great. it tasted great! now we got that taken care of...we ate and chatted up the night. we ate and sipped our bottle and ate some more. it was a great meal. when those were cleared, desserts were brought. we both ordered vanilla creme brulee and it was delectable.
all in all, it was "a-ok" (my yelp rating)
the reservation system and your hostesses at the front of the house were a joke. 45 minutes later and attitude to boot is just not acceptable. the food was amazing, but we wouldn't have gotten it if your food runners knew what they were doing. your server was amazing. she apologized for our wait, was attentive, corrected other's mistakes and then apologized for those too. i think there are just too many other places locally as viable options, why would i come back to risk all of this again?
looking forward to the next restaurant on the list tomorrow night...hope it's better

csa update...continuously scrumptious agriculture

the fruit is absolutely amazing. apples and oranges and nectarines are so sweet, juicy, and delicious! yesterday i made fajitas, with red peppers, squash, and carrots (from the box) and onions, garlic, and lime from the store. they were topped with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado (from the box). these fajitas were ah!mazing! i still have plenty of veggies for salads later this week and have to cook those green beans. i also have plenty of fruit left over and i find myself eating two pieces a day. good and good for me. can i just avoid the cold and flu this year...fingers crossed.

csa = christmas in september for allison

a while ago i looked into joining a community supported agriculture. i like the idea of local. i like the idea of fresh. i like the idea of seasonal. at the time, i did not like the idea of the price. it was just a little too much to justify for little ol me. so like other things in my kitchen, i put it on the back burner and have peeked occasionally from time to time. in the meantime, i have researched it a bit more (both formally and informally). and about six months ago, i read a book about a woman who gave up an old corporate life, fell in love with and married a farmer, and lived off the fat of the land. it was not glamorous but i thought it was interesting how the two of them (this woman and her farmer husband) basically started their own csa but it included much more than just produce. again, my interest was piqued. i shared this with my partner and he liked the idea of it. we waited until we got back from a family vacation this summer so that it wouldn't go to waste and yesterday, i got my first box.

i was tired from working a 10-hour day. i sat in traffic on the way to get it and school traffic is not even close to being cute. i was feeling overall bleh and then it was like christmas! in september!
i saw all of this beautiful produce and i was suddenly energized. i sat in traffic on the way home as well, but was not as bothered by it. i hauled in the heavy bag of goods and chris and i opened every bag. lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, green beans, avocado, squash, grapefruit, oranges, apples, and nectarines. a colorful combination of fruits and veggies. all of them looking absolutely delish! i cleaned every piece and found homes for them all in the produce drawers in the fridge and on the counters.
and the verdict??? the jury is deciding piece by piece but so far it's looking (er, tasting) good. i had a apple with my lunch today. crisp and sweet. i made crispy-coated squash with dinner tonight. fresh and tasty. i made a salad with grape tomatoes (sweet and bursting) and cucumbers (firm and juicy).
i have a feeling there will be a series of csa updates as i work my way through this cornucopia of flavor...stay tuned

stuffed on stuffed peppers

this weekend's kreation was cornbread sausage stuffed bell peppers (courtesy of cooking pleasures). this is the last recipe in the summer edition that i had not made but wanted to and it's a good thing i made it this weekend. my new fall magazine came this week so my attention will dive into that one (er, it already has).

this was a little time intensive but worth it in the end. i made the cornbread this afternoon and let it cool for a couple of hours. definitely worth it because the recipe notes that you shouldn't use cornbread with too much sugar. i made mine with less than half of the sugar. i think next time i will make the cornbread a day or two early so that it is i little more dry. i can also see making these with a host of other flavor combinations...so i will share when i have created them. but all in all, a vibrant, fresh sunday night dinner.

albert's restaurant

it's nice to try new places, but it's also especially rewarding to take someone to one of your favorite restaurants so that they can experience what you like so much. last weekend, i took my partner to albert's at the san diego zoo.
i have been a couple of times before with colleagues and friends. but last saturday, we took my partner for his first time.
let me break down dinner plate by plate.
sourdough bread is so fresh, my partner burns his hands. and a very sour sourdough...delish!
we started with a large caesar salad. very fresh greens, cheese, croutons...delish!
usually i am drawn to the veggie-friendly dishes, but i surprised myself by ordering the braised short rib. to be fair, the sides are what drew me in (blackstrap molasses pinto beans and roasted corn hash).
ah! mazing! and the short rib was braised with a chili verde sauce that had a kick (the most awesome kick you can think of). my partner and my colleague both tried my entree and both did the same audible "mmmmmm" that i made when i ate it.
my partner ordered the slow-roasted pork loin with mustard bacon medallions and porcini mushrooms. it was served with garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed veggies. that too was delish!
most folks don't know that there is this very nice, full-service restaurant at the zoo. if you go, it's worth the wait (if you have to wait) or worth the time it takes to make a reservation (which we had). their chef (chris mirguet) and sous chef (charles boukas) do amazing work, and i think everyone should try it.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo/alberts