Saturday, September 27, 2008

Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese


Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Tonight was a night for comfort food. Since I'm sure everyone knows how to make a grilled cheese, I'm not going to go into that.

Roasted Tomato Soup
-15 San Marzano tomatoes
-2 tb balsamic
-1/2 cup cream
-1 can chicken broth
-salt and pepper to taste

Halve the tomatoes and place, cut side up, in the large baking dish. Season with balsamic, salt and pepper and roast on 375 for about 35-40 minutes, or until soft and bubbly. Pour into a soup pot, add the chicken broth and puree with an immersion blender. Add the cream and season to taste. Dip your grilled cheese and eat.

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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

King of Wonton and Noodles is not King

I tried to warn that this place was bad, but he didn't believe me since it is always packed. We ordered both noodles and wontons and they were gross. I don't get how think place does the amount of business they do.


Wontons with Noodles $6
Everything tasted old and stale.


Noodles $3
Tough and not flavorful.

Ratings:
Food: 0
Decor: 0
Service: 1

King of Wonton and Noodles
1936 Irving St
San Francisco, CA 94122

Health Code Violations

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Very Tasty Pizza from Arizmendi Bakery, San Francisco, CA

I wasn't feeling well so Giao brought home some pizza for dinner. Arizmendi seems to be the San Francisco arm of the Cheese Board Collective in Berkeley. (We're not actually sure how they are related, but we are pretty sure they are.) They bake bread, sell cheese and make the best pizza we've had on the west coast. Somehow, while no other pizza place outside of NYC can seem to get the thin crust super crispy (and never soggy), the the Cheese Board and Arizmendi both deliver. They only make one type of pizza per day, and it is always delicious.


Tomato, Spinach and Cheese Pizza on Sourdough Crust $9
This half of a half-baked pizza was very good. We simply baked for another 8 minutes once we got it home.

Ratings:
Food: 2
Decor: 1
Service: 1

Arizmendi Bakery
1331 9th Ave
San Francisco, CA 94122

Health Code Violations

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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Anniversary Fondue

It was our anniversary and for whatever reason, we are fans of fondue on romantic nights. We ended up going to a movie and not getting home until after 10, so we cobbled together a tasty cheese fondue, in which we indulged right before bed.


Pickled Onions, Avocado, Tomato and Radish


Whole Wheat Sour Dough


Beer-Spiked Cheddar and Goat Cheese Fondue
We didn't have white wine, but we did have some heffeweisen. It worked quite well, in a pinch, and gave the fondue and earthier flavor than the wine would have imparted.

-1/2 a good quality beer
-3 oz goat cheese
-8 oz shredded white cheddar
-2 tb cornstarch
-1 clove garlic
-1 ts lemon juice

Rub the bottom of the pot with the garlic and toss. Add the beer and simmer. Coat the cheddar in the cornstarch. Add the goat cheese to the beer, then add the cheddar, slowly, stirring to incorporate each added batch. When smooth, start dipping in the veggies and bread.

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Sunday, September 21, 2008

An Eclectic Dinner at Home


Green Bean Salad with Sesame
This was a riff on a recipe from the New York Times Magazine.

-1 lb of green beans, trim and cut into 1" long lengths
-juice of 1 lime
-2 tb sesame seeds, toasted and coarsely ground
-2 hot peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
-salt and pepper to taste

Boil the green beans until tender/crisp (about 5 minutes), then plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside. In a small pan, fry the peppers in a bit of oil for about a minute, then pour over the beans. Add the lime juice and the sesame seeds and stir to combine. Serve warm, or at room temperature.


Hearty Veggie, Bean and Barley Soup
This is truly a winter soup, which we enjoyed despite the current season.

-1 cup mixed dried beans and lentils
-1 cup barley
-1 bulb fennel, diced
-2 bell peppers, diced
-4 baby turnips, diced
-3 carrots, diced
-1 onion, diced
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-6 cans chicken broth
-pepper to taste

Sautee all the veggies in a little oil in a deep pot for a few minutes, until beginning to color. Then add the broth and bring to a boil. Add everything else and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about an hour. Serve when the desired consistency has been reached.


No-Fail Chili Rubbed Baby Back Ribs

An old standard around our house.

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The (surprisingly good) Taco Shop at Underdogs Sports Bar, San Francisco, CA

The sports bar around the corner from us opened up a slow-food taco shop recently. The food was reasonably priced and quite good. As far as sports bars go, this is a pretty good one by my standard. There are lots of seats and lots of bar tenders and they label the TVs with which games will be on so you don't have to wonder, or ask people.


Carne Asada Quesodilla
This was the biggest quesodilla I have ever had. The meat was tender. It was super cheesy. And it was all contained within a pleasantly crunchy flour tortilla.


Carnitas Burrito Con Todo $8.50
This burrito was huge and it was packed with tasty goodies (and no rice...yay).

Ratings:
Food: 1
Decor: 0
Service: 1

The Taco Shop at Underdogs
1824 Irving Street
San Francisco, CA 94122

Health Code Violations

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