Best 5 Things Eaten All Year

Now that we're wrapping up the year, I thought it was only appropriate to summarize the best 5 things I've eaten all year. This will be quite hard since everyday on vacation I claimed to eat something better than the day before.


1.  Cod ala Brassa:  Portuguese for hasbrowns, fish and eggs, yes please!  This was a delicious lunch, and for as heavy as it sounds, it was light as a feather.


2.  Jamon Iberico at the Hotel Arts:  This tasted like pure butter and it was worth every calorie. This jamon was packed with flavor, one that still makes my mouth water when I think about it.


3.  Bone Marrow and Popovers (tie) at Wayfare Tavern:  I know the popovers may be a random thing to choose, especially when their menu is packed with all sorts of yumminess!  But the popovers were extremely delicious and light (sadness that their not GF and I can no longer eat them).  The bone marrow was AMAZING.  I've typically only had bone marrow the way my mom makes it, but this was fantastic.  The presentation was quite nice as well.


4.  Vanilla and Chocolate Creme Brulee at One Market:  Who doesn't like creme brulee? This was perfectly smooth, with hints of vanilla and chocolate, not overly rich, and had that hard sugar shell.  Also doesn't hurt that I was drinking a bottle of the 1981 Caymus Cab Sauv with it.


5.  Kanpashi Sashimi with Special Soy at Kanpai Sushi in LA:  I met up with an old friend from college and his girlfriend and they introduced me to Kanpai.   This may be the best sushi I've ever had, even better than the sushi I tried in Japan.  The yellowtail was perfectly sliced, with seared jalapenos and a truffle oil.  YUM!  A must go to if you're in LA.

N's Project 365: Week 3 + Bicoastal RoNi Reunions

This was an awesome week because it involved 2 reunions with R (one on each side of the country) and minimal work days. Our weekends naturally revolved around a LOT of food, so most of my photos are of yummy goodness. :)

April 17, 2011: A flight of bubbly was a good way to show the woman at Vintage Wine Bar that I am indeed not a child under 21. Don't worry, the flight was only 3 glasses - the other 3 are R's white wine.

April 18, 2011: I'm obsessed with airplane magazine crossword puzzles.

April 19, 2011: 20 thankful emails were written in 45 minutes.

April 20, 2011: Week 3 and I've already started forgetting to photograph. Oopsie.

April 21, 2011: Enter Target to buy one thing. Leave Target $85 poorer and without the one needed item.

April 22, 2011: After gossiping over wine until 5am the night before, R and I began our foodie weekend. A rainy afternoon was spent with lunch at Fosters, then cozy cappuccinos and an oatmeal cookie at Guglhupf.

Dinner involved cocktails, hush puppies, sweet potato fries, grits, fried okra, and BBQ tofu and pork at The Pit and a creme brulee trio with cocktails and espresso at buku.

April 23, 2011: A food tour of Raleigh? Yes please. First up was bruschetta, tater tots, fried green tomatoes, and local sparkling pear beer at Busy Bee Cafe. Next was pork sliders (soy chorizo taco for me though) at Market, a chocolate-making tour at Escazu, salad at The Mint, and tacos and agua fresca at Dos Taquitos accompanied by cupcakes from The Cupcake Shoppe. The first two stops were our faves in terms of food quality, but The Mint had the best ambiance. We went back after the tour to enjoy cocktails on their patio.

After vegging at home for a bit, we got hungry again and decided on a lazy dinner of basil martinis, spring rolls, drunken noodles, and penang curry at Sawasdee. Yes, the rice is heart-shaped. Random.

What better way to end the weekend than with bubbly, strawberries, tiramisu, and SATC?

Thank you R for being the hostess with the mostest and then catering to my whim of eating our way through Raleigh!

Reverb 10: Days 25-31 for N

Day 31 Prompt: Core Story. What central story is the core of you, and how do you share it with the world?

This, the final day, is the hardest. I Googled a bit to see what kind of answers other people gave, and there is one common statement: I have no core story. I agree. That doesn't mean I have no life, it just means that there is no way to sum myself up. Actually, R and I were kind of discussing this last weekend after I said I'm just a normal person and don't have that one single attribute that makes people want to get to know me. We decided that no one really does - it's the sum of all parts that matters. If you play a lot of roles such as daughter and sister and friend and engineer and single woman, each one contains a completely different core story of yourself and is shared with the world in its own way.


Day 30 Prompt: Gift. This month, gifts and gift-giving can seem inescapable. What's the most memorable gift, tangible or emotional, you received this year?

I received four especially memorable gifts this year, all for my birthday, and they are significant to different phases of my life.

• The Past: my photo book
• The Present: a new phone from Ree & C and the matching right hand ring that R & I got
  
• The Future: a gift card from my parents to fly wherever my next adventure takes me

Day 29 Prompt: Defining moment. Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year.

There was a period early in 2010 when I had a series of first dates. That's not a big deal in most people's lives, but it was a bit of a whirlwind for me. The rollercoaster of being excited and nervous and wary, having to decide what to wear and what to say and what to eat, figuring out how many chances to give them before I end things (because, let's face it, I almost always want to end it)...it was pretty taxing but oh so much fun.


Day 28 Prompt: Achieve. What's the thing you most want to achieve next year? How do you imagine you'll feel when you get it? Free? Happy? Complete? Blissful? Write that feeling down. Then, brainstorm 10 things you can do or 10 new thoughts you can think in order to experience that feeling today.

As much as I hate to say this because it's cliche and not "me", I'd like to regain a good body image. I'm not setting any measurable goals, but I just want to manage all of the changes that randomly came about, with no warning, as I turned 30. Hopefully this slow process will allow me to feel more confident in my appearance.


Day 27 Prompt: Ordinary joy. Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year?

Whenever my family gets together, we spend a good chunk of each morning sitting around the kitchen drinking chai and doing nothing. It's my favorite part of our reunions, the cozy part of the day before people go off in their separate ways.


Day 26 Prompt: Soul food. What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth and touched your soul?

In Athens, we ate at Erato like 3 times. We made friends with owners of the restaurant and they treated us like family, bringing dish after dish of things we might like, letting us taste their own meals, and literally spoon-feeding us fresh veggies and fruits from their garden. The best thing about the food was that it was so simple and fresh...homemade bread, olive oil, hummus, tzaziki, feta, souvlaki, watermelon...heaven.


Day 25 Prompt: Photo - a present to yourself. Sift through all the photos of yourself from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.
Sorry, I have to refer to Greece again. This may not really capture who I am, but isn't it a cool photo? It was taken in Santorini by one of my traveling companions. I can easily come up with all sorts of symbolism about being in my natural state, looking up towards the mountains, and having the sun's rays beaming up, but I'll just let it speak for itself.

A Tradition I Love

As I've gotten older and starting my life/family with G$, I've really want to start having traditions that we can do for years to come.  SO, last year I was feeling a bit homesick during Thanksgiving and we started the tradition of "Wednesday Night PreGame Thanksgiving Dinner." 

Last year, we had asian foods (all prepared while we had a leeeeeeetle too much wine.  so all my foods had insane amount of sriracha, fish sauce, hoison and soy sauce), broke all of our wine glasses, and had an amazing time. 

This year, we decided to be a bit more traditional and have an american meal with the following:  G$'s Prime Rib, Gravy Train's Famous Couscous Salad, Pistol's Bruschetta, Vicky Bee's Famous Spinach Dip, D's Fancy Truffle Mac and Cheese with Pancetta, and Noey's Mashed Potatoes.  For dessert, we had Derby Pie (recipe courtesy of Miss L-Woww), please see picture below.

This year, no wine glasses were broken - even after 11 bottles were consumed :)  This may be one of my favorite traditions, and I'm excited to continue hosting every year :)

The New 20

I decided to approach my 30th birthday with excitement about seeing all of my girls rather than being bummed about leaving another decade behind. I can't even imagine how much thinking and emailing and organizing and creating went into planning the weekend - and how on earth they all (especially R, since we generally share updates on our lives like a CNN news ticker) were able to keep it a secret!

Friday: Got R from the airport and bummed around drinking chai. Went for a walk, got R to play personal shopper and find me a birthday dress, did lunch and then Tinis and Toes (P.S. check out the names of their waxing services if you visit that site)! L-Woww and J-Ho arrived. Managed to catch up on all the gossip that all 4 of us had with all of us talking simultaneously. Donned our rockstar attire, got Ree from the airport, and toasted with Ms. M and Ms. K. Read the fabulous book presented to me with pictures and messages from everyone I could possibly think of. Dined at Shaba Shabu. Went to a karaoke bar (to knock that off the list) and learned that we were not only the coolest people there but also "unattainable" women. ;) Vogued as a group, Joyrided alone, and cheered R along as she took her Journey. Slumber partied at home with Love Actually.

Saturday: Opened a suitcase chock full of presents from Ree and C. Donned my tiara and brunched in our PJ's with the mimosas and cake that Ms. M and Ms. K brought over. Changed into our matching t-shirts, complete with a poem on the back - yes, they even ordered shirts to commemorate the weekend! Walked to the grocery store for more snackage. Dressed up all girly and went to afternoon tea at The Umstead. Bought matching PJ pants and wore them at home before getting dolled up again. Binged on truffle mac 'n cheese, truffle fries, fondue, risotto, and pina colada and mocha cupcakes at Solas. Made some friends at the rooftop bar who bought us endless bottles of bubbly. Bought a drink for a large car salesman (another one off the list) who ended up being escorted out. Oops. Went home to devour frozen tater tots and pizza because we're classy like that.

Sunday: Said a sad goodbye to J-Ho. Brunched at NOFO. Said a sad goodbye to L-Woww. Took R and Ree to the mall, where we picked up free Sephora birthday gifts and amused ourselves with Desi(red) shirts. Said a sad goodbye to Ree. Searched for food with R (because we can never find what we want). Ate Thai and fell asleep watching the best episode of SATC ever.

Monday: Gossiped over chai and found out R's flight was canceled. Took the afternoon off to shop and get drinks at Mez. Lost track of time and got to the airport a leeetle too late. Oops. Decided that excitement over another few hours of RoNi time outweighed guilt over making R miss her flight. Watched 90210 until time to go to the airport yet again. Said a sad goodbye to R. Went home to sip on leftover champagne while re-reading my book and cards and playing with my presents.

Mmm....Dirt

Is there any better use for processed snack foods than to make a big pot of cookies 'n cream? There are tons of recipes for dirt cake, but the one my mom (or whoever she got it from) uses is the best IMO. Plus it tastes just as good if you use all fat free/low fat/sugar free ingredients.

Ingredients

1 pack Oreo cookies

1 box Jello vanilla instant pudding

1 (either 8 oz or 12 oz) container Cool Whip

1 brick cream cheese, softened

Preparation

Crush Oreos into fine crumbs using a hammer, rolling pin, or food processor.* Follow package instructions to prepare pudding (usually just mix with milk and let thicken). Mix pudding, Cool Whip, and cream cheese in a large bowl until relatively smooth. Spread a layer of cookie crumbs on the bottom of a flower pot, serving dish, or whatever contributes to the look you're going for. Spread a layer of pudding mixture on top and repeat until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with cookie crumbs on top. Decorate with gummy worms or fake flowers.

*If using regular Oreos, you can refrigerate them beforehand to make them more brittle. I wouldn't recommend it for reduced fat Oreos because the filling gets a bit hard.

Dinner for Three

Because I heart food, I don't hate cooking. However, I don't have a ton of experience with it. I also get obsessive over what to cook for people, how to make things pseudo-healthy, and how do make do if I don't have the correct fancy gadgets. Ms. M and Ms. K were brave enough to be guinea pigs the first time I made a 3-course meal from scratch last week.

Drink

prosecco with muddled fresh pineapple

Appetizers

whole grain bread (store-bought) with herbed dipping sauce

zucchini bites, minus the cheese and sun-dried tomatoes and plus kalamata olives

Entree

spinach ricotta gnocchi with sun-dried tomatoes and basil pesto

Desserts (yes, plural)

individual pumpkin tiramisu with sponge cake instead of ladyfingers

apple blueberry cardamom bread pudding with fresh whipped cream

The zucchini bites were probably my fave since they were basically like bruschetta but in little zucchini bowls. And using a melon baller is fun! The gnocchi was tricky and ended up looking more like little dumplings than the traditional pasta. I had to trash the first sponge cake I made for the tiramisu because it wasn't to my liking, but the second was nice and fluffy. I will totally make the bread pudding again because it was not too rich, customizable, and can be relatively healthy.

2010 Reunion-a-RoNi #4

What better excuse for a reunion and a trip to ATL than Ms. J's wedding?! It was a fabulous weekend.

Wednesday: Drove to the Dirrty Dirrty and gorged on Antico Pizza and King of Pops with Ree and C. All the food totally lived up to the hype.

Thursday: Got R from the airport and drank coffee on Ree's awesome rooftop (so jealous) while the sun rose. Checked in to the Hotel Palomar and sat outside to enjoy lunch and champagne cocktails at Pacci -whose executive chef, BTW, went to school with us! Ran errands, impulse bought some mark makeup (stay tuned for recos) picked up the bachelorette, and got dolled up. Met up with the other girls to get our nails did and watched Ms. J experience her first pedicure ever. :) Dined at ONE.midtown kitchen and freaked out about their homemade limoncello. And then...pole dancing! It was quite an experience and workout. Wore the fab t-shirts that R made and chose "sexy" names for the night. Guess which one of us was Ooh La La and which one was Spice. :P Each of us 6 girls had our own pole - and dude, did anyone know that you can change them so that they either stay stationary or spin on their own?! Made fun of ourselves and later made fun of the instructor, who apparently got into the business to "teach women how to keep their men at home." Interesting. Headed back to the hotel with Ms. L in tow for drinks on the rooftop at AltoRex and a slumber party.

Friday: Brunched at the GT WaHo and cried about how lucky the current students are to have easy access to grits and smothered, covered, diced, peppered hashbrowns. Hightailed to Norcross and then Perimeter Mall for one of the most productive RoNi mall experiences ever. Found R's signature scent (see previous post) and these adorb atomizers. Randomly managed to find our matching right-hand rings! Deets coming soon to a blog near you. Had a drink with G back at the hotel, got dolled up, and rehearsed Ms. J's wedding. Ate delish rehearsal dinner food at Ippolito's. Returned to the hotel bar. Of course.

Saturday: Met the bride and other bridesmaids to get our hair/makeup did over mimosas. Watched R feverishly look for Paris Hilton's mugshot so she could imitate her 'do. Rehearsed, took silly pics, and hung out at the church. Stood up with the beautiful couple as they took their vows with absolutely no disasters, major or minor. Headed to Flint Hill for a reception full of yummy veggie spring rolls, LOTS of dancing (we are still pros at the Electric Slide, thank you very much), and Ms. J's amazingly fun family. Vogued like there was no tomorrow and made the other guests jealous that they can't rap as well as we can. Returned to...you guessed it, the hotel bar. Drank shots of ouzo/sambuca/151 that are apparently called Yellow Jackets. Convinced Ms. L to slumber party with us again, leaving the 2 hubbies to fend for themselves.

Sunday: Brunched at The Flying Biscuit. Hung out with Ree and C and mom until time to hit the road, leaving R and G with the fam. Sad goodbyes all around.

Brownies by a Brownie

About twice a year, I get a huge urge to bake. The problems with this are that I suck at baking, I hate having a bunch of ingredients that I will never use again, and I need people to push the goodies off onto so that I don't eat them all. This week I made brownies for my coworkers - from scratch, no mix this time! They turned out quite yummy, not too rich but still a bit fudgy. The original recipe is here, and my "healthier," larger recipe is below.

Ingredients

3 tbsp instant coffee

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 2/3 cups sugar

1 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup eggbeaters

handful peanut butter chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13 baking pan with aluminum foil.

Combine coffee granules and hot water, stirring until the coffee granules dissolve.

Combine applesauce and semisweet chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20 second intervals and stir until chocolate is smooth and melted.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine coffee mixture, chocolate mixture, vanilla extract, and eggbeaters in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add coffee mixture to flour mixture; stir just until combined. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with peanut butter chips and more chocolate chips. Bake at 350°F for ~20 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

P.S. This foray also involved no-bake lemon squares. Easy peasy, right? Um no, not for Miss N. DisASSter.

Yumm....Chai Recommendation

As a good Indian girl, I love a good cup of chai - especially if mom makes it and gives it to me with two pieces of toast.  When I visit home, I drink chai ALL the time (this also happens when I visit N, because she makes awesome chai as well). 

Now that I'm a big girl, I make my own chai 2-3 times a week.  And its just not the same.  There's no awesome black mug I've used my entire life, there's no one making sure its just right - let's face it, its missing some love.

After searching high and low, I have found a chai that I think is ALMOST as awesome as mom's chai.  I definitely recommend it and am craving one RIGHT now.  Its at Jamba Juice.  It's their Original Spiced Chai Tea Latte.

Go...RUN, don't walk, and TRY it!

Woohooo - N is coming to visit!

YAY!  N is coming to visit in early April!  SOOOO EXCITED AM I.

I wanted to post a tentative itinerary, so it could be open for comments.

Thursday:  N lands around 7, so we could go for dinner/drinks at Cascals.  Then we could just come back and chill.

Friday:  I have the day off.  We are thinking of going up to Point Reyes for some hiking, some Cowgirl Creamery, some exploring around.  We were debating between Big Sur and Point Reyes, but I think the promise of cheese pushed us to Point Reyes.

Saturday:  If its really nice weather, we want to drive up to Ridge and picnic up there.  After that, head up into SF and walk around Union Square (ahem, shop) and then do a group dinner at Andalu.  Andalu does a really inexpensive group menu ($20!) so it seems like a perfect idea.

WOOHOOOO!!!  SO EXCITED!!!

My friends and I would be awesome cat burglars...

So, here I was at 3:20 at work when Gravy Train sent me this article:  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/03/BAJK1CA89H.DTL

Here is a snippet of our conversation that followed:
R: HOLY COW
Steal the bread pudding
Not the cash!


GT:  DUDE FOR REAL
And some of those passion fruit bellinis

Only do people that I'm close to value good food over cash.


-R

A Glimpse into N

1. Fave restaurants in my local area: Taverna Agora, Red Room, Jibarra

2. Fave restaurant in any city: I have no idea

3. Fave drink during RoNi reunions: French martini

4. Top 3 fave movies: Love Actually, The Sound of Music, Slumdog Millionaire

5. Drinks of choice: wine or anything with vodka and/or champagne in it

6. Reason I LOVE visiting R's town: wineries, duh!

7. Reason I LOVE living here: hot summers at the pool

8. Top celebrity crush: George Clooney

9. Top beauty/fashion things I can't live without: Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation, black eyeliner, high heels

A Glimpse into R

In an attempt to get to know us better, there is a list of 9 questions that N and I will both answer.

1. Fave restaurant in my local area: Xanh, Los Altos Grill, The Basin, Nihon Sushi
2. Fave restaurant in any city: Eclipse di Luna in Atlanta
3. Fave drink during RoNi reunions: French Martinis
4. Top 3 favorite movies: Love Actually, The Shining, and Ghost
5. Drink of Choice: A nice Zinfandel (during dinner) or a Mandarin Soda (at a bar)
6. Reason why I LOVE visiting N's town: tapas dinner with champagne, followed up by dancing and/or people watching :)
7. Reason why I LOVE living here: WINE and FOOD
8. Top Celebrity Crush: currently, its Christian Bale....but I am a fickle person, so it may change by the time I click on "Publish Post"
9. Top beauty/fashion things I can't live without: Christian Dior Forever Foundation, Black Leggings, Rainbow Flip Flops

Hopefully this gives you a good glimpse into me and what I like to talk about :)