Post from: Read Reid's Blog

Jumbaco

- Braised Beef Spare Ribs (from cooks.com – need subscription to view)

My sister originally made this for us. I put this together for Christmas Day dinner with the In-Laws. The trial run on Friday night wasn’t so great, but that’s because I started late and didn’t reduce the sauce as much as I should have. I also cooked the beef for too long. Recipe says 4-6 minutes per side. I had much better results from 1-2 minutes per side, especially with smaller pieces I had to debone. You have to have patience with this one. Took me nearly 4 hours to make. But, the results are amazing. The beef and sauce is delicious and the carrots are very soft and almost sweet. If I would change anything, I would double the amount of carrots.

- Bacon Garlic Mashed Potatoes (from Williams-Sonoma)

A mainstay thanks to Thanksgiving, this is my go to mashed potato recipe. Make sure you make the bacon crispy. It’s creamy but the bacon and garlic add a lot of flavor. You don’t even need gravy for this one.

These two were served for a nice Christmas dinner with Kolina’s family.

- Parchment Paper Salmon (from Food Network)

I borrowed this one from my Dad and swapped out fennel for shiitake mushrooms and added some Korean style BBQ sauce. The only problem here was presentation. I can’t wrap parchment paper very well and that’s what this recipe hinges on, it seems. Nonetheless, it was one of the first times I’ve really tried cooking fish and it went alright!

- Slow-cooked Lasagna (from Williams-Sonoma)

I was amazed by all the cheese that goes into this, but when you pile it on, it can’t go bad. I swapped the slow cooker for a 200 degree F oven and used the good old Dutch Oven. Delicious, but now I have a ton of leftovers!

I’ve also made pizzelles and brownies lately, and since I have 24 eggs to use, I’ll probably make madelines or lemon curd.

Maybe I should quit my day job and pursue my own Ratatouille? I’ll keep dreaming..

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Cooking Frenzy

I picked the recipe since 1) I followed Smitten Kitchen in reader and 2) the recipe is mind-numbingly easy. I’m a huge fan of meats I can just throw in a pot and let it set for a 2 hours to become amazingly delicious.

Camera phones don’t do this justice. These carnitas were divine.

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3 months

From Blue Angels

We got to the city a bit late so we missed a lot of the other airplanes. Plus, we stood around waiting for the Muni for 15+ minutes as tram after tram passed us, crammed with people. Historic cable car on Line F! Pfffffff :p If they upgraded that line they could make a lot more money from people who could actually take the tram somewhere.

We did make the best of the situation though, and headed to the Ferry Building where we were able to glimpse the planes as they flew around the city. We then had our typical food fest at Hog Island Oyster Co: oysters, grilled cheese sandwiches, and chowder. Hope to be back next year!

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Blue Angels

Post from: Read Reid's Blog

In-n-Out Wedding

From Photo of the Week

I used a recipe I found off of Smitten Kitchen, which called for doing lots of crazy things, like getting the butter to room temp and using sour cream for the frosting. The former didn’t exactly happen since I started baking around 8ish and I discovered sour cream as a base for frosting isn’t the greatest. The cake itself is a bit on the dry side and the frosting has an ever so slightly sour taste from the cream, despite adding corn syrup to lessen the sourness. So, if I had to do it again, I’d probably make it a bit smaller (we still have 50% left and that’s a lot of food!) and use another frosting. I should also start baking earlier. Also, baking dirties a LOT of dishes. BBQing is much easier, so far, you just throw on a bunch of meat and let the scraps burn away.

Ultimately, the cake was a huge excuse to try out the Artisan Stand mixer we have, which by the way, is the bees knees. Mixing has never been easier! Time to make some more pizzelles =)

And Happy Birthday, Kolina!

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I baked a cake!

Besides wine purchasing and two quick tastings, we stopped at Bouchon to try out their macaroons. Honestly, a bit overrated but now I can say I’ve been there:

From 2011 Random Photos

We also stopped at SF Japantown to briefly walk around the Cherry Blossom Festival:

From 2011 Random Photos

And found a felt Totoro!

From 2011 Random Photos

And what’s a post without an obligatory food pic? Chicken katsu loco moco from Hukilau:

From 2011 Random Photos

It was an exhausting Saturday but worth it!

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Success in Napa

From 2011 Random Photos

The dumplings were most delicious and I didn’t take a photo because I was too busy eating! Some friends came over later and we finished an excellent bottle of sake.

From 2011 Random Photos

Saturday I literally did nothing. I had been wanting to try cooking slow cooked ribs for the longest time (bought the ribs weeks ago, had to freeze them), but it was finally time to give it a shot! A recipe from Smitten Kitchen was my inspiration.

Brown sugar was an immediate tip-off that this would be a hit:

From 2011 Random Photos

The rub covered the ribs nicely:

From 2011 Random Photos

And then I wrapped them up:

From 2011 Random Photos

And put them in the oven for 4 hours at 200 degrees. Then I lowered the temperature for another two hours. The result:

From 2011 Random Photos

It was a lot of meat! To be honest, I think I still prefer ribs off a grill but this was a good recipe for a rainy day. The sauce didn’t reduce and get as thick as I would have liked, so breaking out my trust bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce is always a good option B.

On Sunday my parents and I headed up for lunch at Burma Superstar and then spent the afternoon at the California Academy of Sciences. Despite plethora of small children running around, the academy was spectacular. They’ve really done a fabulous job there – the lighting is great, the exhibits are well thought out, and there’s even a local/organic cafeteria, if you’re into that sort of thing. I was not, since I ate at Burma Superstar. Anyway, some photos:

From California Academy of Sciences

From California Academy of Sciences

From California Academy of Sciences

Quite possibly, no, most certainly, the coolest sea creature I’ve ever seen:

From California Academy of Sciences

Rest of the photos here. Evening ended with Kolina’s parents meeting my parent’s for dinner at Chef Chu’s, which is looking to be our rehearsal dinner restaurant. A great weekend! Now if only the weather can get better to go out and bike…

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26

Oh man, one of the best meals over. Getting omakase means you can write your name in the fridge door! Salmon onigiri with bonito flakes ; grilled flounder and 7 other courses = JAPANESE FOOD HEAVEN. Hachi ju Hachi – I can’t wait to go back!

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Hachi Ju Hachi

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Wednesday hot pot!