A Juicy Porterhouse Steak!

For my non-Christmas/Holiday dinner this year I was craving a porterhouse steak.  I found a good one that was calling out my name, "yo Kitchen Bitch, I'm a real heart stopper" so naturally I fell for that line.  I knew it was way too much for just me but I had a plan for what I couldn't finish.

When I'm in a meat eating mode basically that's all I really want to eat.  When I eat steaks I do like tomato wedges sprinkled with minced garlic, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper and a few sticks of green onions that I rub in salt as I'm eating.  I'm a salt freak with no high-blood pressure problems so I just go for it.  I plug my steak with garlic slices and douse with more salt and pepper then I grilled it.  Here's the before and after...

 

When I ate all I could I wrapped up the remainder and saved it for the next day.  After a huge steak I'm not too hungry the next day and a little soup does me good.  I go for my favorite quickie soup that I call Oasis Soup after the Inn I stayed at in San Francisco while attending the Culinary Academy.  All I had to cook on was an electric burner and a small pot or pan.  My tiny refrigerator didn't hold much so I would take whatever vegetables I had on hand and chop them up to add to my canned chicken stock.  Usually I would put sliced carrots, broccoli, a brussel sprout or two, maybe a few sliced mushrooms and cook them in the stock/broth then add Ramen noodles, minced garlic and sliced green onions.  If I had leftover chicken I'd throw that in too.  I used the leftover steak from my Christmas dinner as the protein in this soup.  Its so easy, flavorful and inexpensive.  I'm sure a lot of people have cooked this soup when getting themselves through school.  Here's what the steak looked like the next day.  Yum.

I really enjoy this soup!

Stealth Christmas

I'm attending a Christmas Party where everyone dresses up tonight.  I was going to go as a bunch of mistletoe but with cold season and all I opted for the next best outfit to "blend". 

I hope to snag a few presents when no one is looking.  It'll go with the outfit.  I hope I don't get to "lit up"!  It'll be tough driving home.  It may be tough driving to the party like this.  Too many dogs around here.

I'm wishing everyone I like and love a very Merry Christmas.  If I don't like you I hope you spend too much on useless gifts that everyone returns.  Oh yeah, and I hope you get a lot of re-gifts too! 

I hope Santa gives America about 13 Trillion dollars to cover the debt.  Do you even know how much a Trillion is?  Believe me, its way more than we really have.  Talk about just printing money.  The government is also pooping it.  (maybe you'll get a pooper scooper for Christmas)

Here's a current photo of my last holiday dollar.  I snapped the photo as it was flying out of my wallet.  Poor thing.  It's so scared....    

The Bitch is Back!

I just woke up from my long year's nap ready to begin more blogging.  I needed to unwind and detox from all the work and learning I did at the Ca. Culinary Academy.  It is now December 2009 and I'm feeling oh so refreshed!

I must admit that my cooking has improved and I've remembered a number of things they taught us, still.  So all in all the Mazillion Dollhairs paid through student loans were worth their weight in paper.  Be nice if I could pay it back but I'm working on that.  Or maybe I'm waiting until Sallie Mae goes the route of Freddie Mac.  I do know I'll be Chased by Chase even in my next life, all the while I'll be accruing interest.  I'll have to be born Bernie Madoff if I'm ever going to pay that off.

I've been cooking with and practicing on my only true love - Food.  In other words nothing has changed in my whole life.  I do admit I've gotten much better at on-the-spot sauces to cover on-the-sale meat products.  I've also learned several new things to do with zucchini besides boil it to death like my grandmother did.  I'll be adding photos and such later on with recipes and instructions on what YOU can do with zucchini! 

But for now, I just wanted to re-open my blog and begin anew.  I'll leave you with the favorite phrase of the Kitchen Bitch:  Here's to Food, Fork You! 

End of the Road

Well, I finished my purpose for this blog. I started it the day I decided to go to the Culinary Academy, I tracked my progress for the 15 months, and now I'm done. Finished. It's over. Very Cool.

Looking back, the 15 months went slow, it was a new unpaved road. There were uphills, rocks in the road and some time for parking and enjoying the views. Over all, it was a task completed, learned and savored. I've met some very wonderful chefs like Chef Amy, Chef Vanita, Chef Patrick, wild and wacky Chef Al. All unforgetable in their own ways. I learned a lot from them and a lot about wines from Chef Roy and Steve. By and large it was a memorable and valuable experience.

I have accomplished my goal, now I head into the world to see what I can do with that accomplishment and knowledge.

I suppose I will start another blog since this one was to chronicle my path to my dream. I want to publish this blog in its entirety and have it on my coffee table or someplace to look at and recall the memories, the good times, the fellow friends, and the beauty of San Francisco. I will miss the city but I travel to find my opportunities.

Peace and prosperity.

Mission Accomplished! (just about)

Life brings one special messages from time to time. You just have to make yourself aware of those little subtle clues. This sign was one of them that literally screamed at me from the side of the road. I couldn't believe I saw it at the exact time that I have 1 Week To Go at my internship with the San Francisco Chronicle!

Naturally, I stopped to take a photo. One more week!! What joy I feel to have accomplished a very difficult endeavor during a very complicated and rough year.

Maybe tomorrow I'll run across a sign of someone patting their own back. That'd be me right about now. I'm proud of me-self. By Friday I will be hovering somewhere between Cloud 8 and 9.

Its been a recipe for success overall. This is one ordeal I still can't believe I made it through.

Now the world is my oyster, as they say. I say do you want that Oysters Rockerfeller, deep-fried in a Po-boy sammich or raw with horseradish and hot sauce? Yeah. Life is good enough to eat.

More Photos from Pescadero

It was such a beautiful day. A perfect day really. A Debra Day actually! I still laugh about how silly cousin Guy and I were on the way home playing with the shadows in the backseat like "kids". Hey, don't laugh, 'Papa John' told a friend of his that he and the 'wife' were taking the kids out for a drive!! Guy and I nearly choked with laughter. So we had to live up to his expectations by acting like a couple of elementary children in the backseat giggling and self-entertaining ourselves since we weren't sure when we'd get home. We kept asking, "are we there yet?" ha

Here is a photo of the day we enjoyed. Truly beautiful.

We walked all over Pigeon Point, took photos and listened to the constant wash of the waves on the rocks while taking in the salt air. There's nothing like the expansive Pacific to soothe your inner world. I loved the next photo. A bit of green, earth, and water with evidence of people unseen.

Here's another that I loved with the play of the shadows on the pebble walk way.

We also visited a REALLY old cemetary in Pescadero that had quite a few old-timers from the 1800's. One curious tombstone was the one pictured here, I don't know if you can read the bottom inscription but it says "Gone But Not For Cotton". I can't believe they actually put that on someone's gravestone. The eternal joke or jokester? Gives one pause for thought. They better not do that on my stuff when I'm gone! They can just sprinkle my ashes over a vineyard and call that a Good Year when the wine comes out!

The End. [hee hee] My little play on words...(oh, how I entertain myself) [Guy should be here now. I'm feeling immature again. hahaha]

Eating in Pescadero, CA - Duartes

The family took an outing on Saturday to see where Papa John grew up in Pescadero. The weather was perfect and the stop at Duartes for lunch was scrumptious!

The Espinoza's were a prolific family back in the day and lived in about as many homes as there were children, but these homes were located in some mighty fine countryside. Rolling hills full of green acres, trees, and waterways. What an ideal place to grow up. It was a farming community and the Espinoza family ate off the land and sea, whatever they caught or hunted. Papa John said he and his brother would grab Abalone from the sea rocks at low tide. Just the big ones. They'd pass up the ones that were 6-8 inches across and go for the bigger ones! What a life.

We ate lunch at the old well-known 'Duartes' and had a terrific lunch. I saw the place online at this website and thought the green chili soup sounded heavenly. It was. I mean Outstanding! So creamy, buttery and snappy with the taste of the green chili's. Oh my. The bread was also killer. It came from a local baker down the street from which I bought a hot loaf of Garlic Artichoke bread and an X-tra Sourdough loaf that was also freshly made (still warm) and this was at 3pm in the afternoon! Incredibly good. I put it in the trunk of the car for the ride home and we were smelling the fresh baked goodness all the way. It was intoxicating.

We followed the old stagecoach roads through the hills with occasional views of the Pacific Ocean in between hills. The smell in the air was so aromatic with the windows down. The day was warm enough to heat up all the shrubs and moist dirt and a deep dark earth smell filled the car and our olifactory senses.

It was a day to remember, and I will. It was a real family outing, me and my cousin in the back seat and Papa John and Mum in the front. We laughed, talked, and Papa J shared a huge part of his past with us the whole day. We went from the city to the hills to the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Good food, good drive, perfect family day. Priceless.

S.O.S.

This has been one heck of a busy week at the Chronicle! I've been fried, tied, hamstrung and skewered. And today, my dear work buddy Cindy was not there. Oh, Cynd, you left me to the wolves!! Here's a photo of Cindy working away in the kitchen last week.

It was Photo Shoot day and I had 3 dishes to prep for the photographer. But then there was the 'family meal' day that was set for 1:30. I got in at 9:30 and never stopped until 3pm. Brutal!

My feet and back feel like I was directing traffic all day - on top of me! I took the stairs so much up and down to the cellar, the photo room and the kitchen which are all on different floors, that I finally got fed up and started taking the elevator. Its just a difficult elevator that you have to manually control so you can't carry much. I broke two plates trying to get the elevator going. Don't tell Cindy. They were cute ones too. Oops.

I styled every plate that got shot today which equates to a $check$ for me when it runs. Yea me. I think it runs on the 21st. Look for my name in small print. Really small print under each photo.

Tomorrow may be a better day since I found out tonight that I won't need to enter and log any wines for next week. Big relief.

The Fancy Food Show is this Sunday at the Moscone Center and I'm planning to go. I'll take photos and let you know what's new! I'm excited.

Tangerines are ebbing (sad face here)

My favorite time of the year is between November and January when tangerines are in season. Did you know that it got its name simply on a shipping route? True. Naturally known as Mandarines, years ago when trade routes were setup there was a special rought going through Tangiers, Morrocco. To differentiate to buyers that they were not the chinese varieties they called them tangerines.

I made a Tangerine (mandarine, clementine, satsuma; whatever!) cheesecake today. One of my very favorites. I didn't take photos of the ingredients or the process or even the darn finished product but I'll be making another this week in the Chronicle's test kitchen. Maybe I'll remember to that. If not, here is the recipe.

Tangerine Cheesecake


Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup melted butter

Prehead the oven to 350º. Spray a 9 inch springform cheesecake pan with non-stick spray, mix the butter with the cracker crumbs till well blended and spread evenly around the pan and edges. Cook crust in the oven for 7-10 minutes, remove from oven and let cool.

Filling:
12 oz creme cheese, softened
1 cup ricotta cheese (8 oz)
½ cup sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup tangerine juice
1 envelope whipped topping mix and 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla [or 1 1/4 cup whipping cream, 1 tsp vanilla.] If using whipping cream add appx 1/4 cup more sugar to the cheese mixture.


2 tangerines peeled, seeded and chopped
1 fresh tangerine, sectioned for garnish

Blend together crème cheese and ricotta cheese. Add sugar.

In a small saucepan sprinkle gelatin over tangerine juice and let soften 1 minute. Heat, stirring constantly 3 minutes.

Prepare whipped topping as per package direction. Add gelatin mixture to cheese mixture. Blend until smooth. Fold whipped topping into cheese mixture. Stir in chopped tangerine pieces. Spoon into crust. Chill 4/6 hours. Garnish with Tangerine sections.

Love that cake, it's so light and airy.

By the way, have you ever seen Siamese Grapes? Here's one I found recently. Obscene really. My cousin Paul ate it. Grape is a grape but it was weird, this one.

I'll Miss My Fog

This morning while walking to the Chronicle I was stopped by the beauty of the morning fog being quickly burned off by the sun. I took two photos and you can see how quickly it was burning. I took both photos one after the other. Oh, I'm so going to miss my fog.

Lark Creek Steak, San Francisco

This has been a busy and rough week for me at the Chron. I've been slaving in the cellar over all the wines to unbox and log-in, I've been researching tons of information to print in the next few editions and I cooked (the bright side) today most of the morning. Tomorrow its back to the dungeon to tackle the wines again for the next upcoming tastings.

As a treat for my hard (and volunteer) given effort I decided to dine here tonight to give myself a little pat on the back for making all this happen. I ate alone and had the best service from a waiter who was over-the-top great. A waiter can make or break your evening in places like this when you're dining alone. He was James, a vivacious and genuinely friendly fellow but not overbearing like some can be. He knew everything he was talking about, especially the wines and pairings. He did everything right that I can think of that a good waiter should do when trying to assist the kitchen and serve the customer at the same time. He gently pushed the Sirloin Tartare, which you need to when its on the menu and there is a small crowd. Its not like it'll be good for too long. I guess that's why they have a nice truffled burger on the menu too. Use up that tartare.

He was really at his best when I was on my cell and my main dish was coming. He didn't want to interrupt so he just brought 2 little swallows of red wine in each glass for me to try that would go with my meal before I even ordered any wine. I thought that was the most thoughtful effort I'd ever experienced in a restaurant. Never did anyone try to be so helpful and non interruptive. When I got off the call, we discussed the wines and ordered one. My hats off to that man for his class and style.

I wanted to have a good meal in my home town before I leave the city at the end of the month and I did. I even had better service than I ever had anywhere and I'm glad it was here in San Francisco.

If you're ever around Westfield Mall at 5th and Market, stop into Lark Creek Steak, I know you'll enjoy the steaks that cut like butta and the double fried steak fries but more importantly the great service. It was well worth it.

Wine Tasting Day

Part of my job at the Chronicle is prepping for the wine tastings each week. Its a big job. I have to open all the boxes that get delivered for a particular tasting and log the wines into a tasting sheet online by vintage, vineyard, appellation, price and importer. This week was German Rieslings.

64 little marching Germans to be precise. I had to bring them up from the cellar today via the old style elevator that you have to roll up the wooden gate, roll it back down then push the big fat button Up. Get to the designated floor then open the gate, blah, blah. The bottels must be numbered, corked and poured for 3 tasters. The only good thing was that by the 4th flight when they hit into the Spatlese's I decided to take a taste myself. I've forgotten how good those German Rieslings are since I usually drink only the more hearty reds. There was a bottle of a fabulous Robert Weil Auslese that is almost $100 a bottle. That one was really good! Really. There was a distinct difference from the other Auslese's I tasted. In the end, we got to bring home what was not deemed important to hold onto. I brought two Auslese's home.

Its a lot of heavy lifting and careful glass work. I have to carry a tray of 10 glasses filled with a sample of each wine to the tasting room. I keep praying that I won't trip and fall with my bounty of expensive wines. Its nerve wracking. Its also a lot of back and forth work. Then I have to set up all the glassware. 60 glasses keep circulating until all the tasting is finished. Which means I'm rinsing them out, repouring and redistributing. The glasses are marked with the initials of each taster and numbered 1 - 10. Each "flight" of wine is 10 glasses. There were 6 flights today plus a few odd 4 over that. Its a lot of work and not for the weak and meek.

Its sheer torture to see all these great wines and not be drunk by 2pm!

January 1, 2009

Happy New Year to You! Have you made your New Years Resolutions yet? Have you broken any yet?

2008 ended with a hugh bang. Literally.

The neighbor next door to Casa Espinoza blew off his thumb while setting off a M100 bomb. No kidding. Sad, not safe, not too bright and very painful. I'm sure he will always remember 2009 and its tragic beginning since he'll only be able to count to 9 on his hands now.

They were having a party and started the evening setting off various smaller versions of the M100 causing the police to cruise the area. It was the only real fireworks we saw besides the stuff on TV. As the night progressed and the libations were surely quaffed their nerve grew and their reflexes diminished. Why-O-why do fella's do this kind of thing? Must be some guy thing trying to out-John Wayne -each other. He apparently took the stick of (dynamite) this lethal bomb out to the middle of the street, lit it and then just kinda hung onto it for a digit of time longer than he should have. Tsk, tsk.

On the other hand (oops, sorry for the pun) his year has no where else to go but UP. [and that's not Thumbs Up]. If this didn't happen to you then you and your New Year is off to a Great start! High Five!!