October 28, 2014

#Tartine #Bakery + #Boudin #Giants #WorldSeries Creation

As we finish up our last few days in #SanFrancisco, we decided to revisit Tartine so that we could try some of the other items, as well as get some better photos from the last time we went.

Here is a shot of some of the fresh pastries they make each day inside.IMG_20141021_110747We also got a shot of their morning bun, which is like a croissant crossed with a cinnabon with a hint of orange flavor. This is one of the most famous pastries made at Tartine.IMG_20141021_111319This time we tried the frangipane croissant, as well, which is a croissant filled with an almond paste and almond slivers, and powdered in confectioner’s sugar. Definitely recommended!IMG_20141021_111315

We also got a shot of another famous San Francisco institution, Boudin Bakery. They make some interesting baked creations. With the recent success of the Giants in the World Series, they made a Giants-inspired alligator creation out of bread. You can also spot some bread bears in the background.IMG_20141023_172356Look forward to our next several posts over the coming days that cover some of the other places we have visited in and around San Francisco!

 

October 26, 2014

Tiny #Kitchen, #Culinary Mission: #Sundried #Tomato #Goat #Cheese Open-Faced #Sandwich

Sundried Tomato Goat Cheese Open-Faced Sandwich

Sometimes you just need some quick, easy to make comfort food. This recipe is similar to the pesto pizza recipe we posted a few months ago, but uses goat cheese and sundried tomatoes.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 pitas or naan
  • 5.3 oz pesto
  • 6.7 oz goat cheese
  • 2 oz sundried tomatoes

Instructions

  1. Begin by preheating an oven to 450 F, and spreading the pesto over the pita.
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  2. Next, crumble the goat cheese on top.IMG_20141021_203247
  3. Finally top with sundried tomatoes.IMG_20141021_203304
  4. Bake the pizza for about 10 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown, and serve!IMG_20141021_205009
October 24, 2014

#Lagunitas #Beer #Tour

We took a trip up to the Lagunitas factory in #Petaluma. Here is a shot of the entrance:

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These are the Lagunitas cows. They own this patch of land and the cows on it, and apparently the workers can buy the meat if they wish.
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Here is a shot inside the factory. They have a similar setup in Chicago, though that one is much larger as that factory serves more of the country. The process involves shooting the wort through a centrifuge so that the solids fall in the center, while the liquids can be extracted from the sides. This process lets them push out ales in as little as 5 days, and lagers in 30 days.IMG_20141020_141001

For good measure, here is a shot outside the factory.IMG_20141020_142241

For the actual tasting, we got to try their Pilsner, Copper Red Ale (they didn’t have the Censored that day), Pale Ale, IPA, and Couch Trippin Fusion (another IPA). We also got to try Lagunitas Sucks.

Lagunitas emphasized that they don’t brew to style, so most of their beers aren’t like what you would expect. We got to hear stories behind some of the names, such as why “The Kronik” became known as “Censored” and where the “Sucks” label came from.

Answers: The Kronik was seen as a drug reference by the government and was rejected, but the retort name “Censored” was accepted. If you look behind the label, every year the censored tag gets smaller, so you can see the original “Kronik” name more. The “Sucks” label was a makeshift beer when one year Lagunitas couldn’t meet demand for their winter seasonal “Brown Shugga'” and in self-deprecating fashion, came up with this replacement with a name that both poked fun at themselves and showed their love for the band Primus.

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The founder of Lagunitas, Tony Magee, was originally a homebrewer. He started the craft because he was spending so much on beer, that his brother got him a kit with the goal of him saving money on beer. Unfortunately homebrewing is actually far more expensive, but he did not know that at the time. This is a shot of the employee lounge that tries to showcase some of that original love for craft beer.IMG_20141020_130312

October 21, 2014

Tiny #Kitchen, #Culinary Mission: #Fusion #Vegetarian #Chili

Fusion Vegetarian Chili

Since our last fusion recipe was so popular, we wanted to try a #veggie recipe that involved a different kind of fusion.

Chili is one of those dishes that some people feel very strictly about. Most Texans, for example, will tell you there’s no beans in real chili. There are many other places that do it differently though, and this dish is largely about celebrating that.

The base of this dish is mostly a Cincinnati style chili, which you’ll see in some of the atypical spices like cocoa powder (which it turns out is a great thickener), though we modified it slightly with a bourbon whiskey twist to bring out some new flavors. There are some other chili modifications here, too, such as the addition of cornstarch to further thicken the chili. It’s served over spaghetti in the typical Cincinnati fashion.

*Note: One issue we ran into in the tiny kitchen with this recipe is that with only one big pot, it’s difficult to make both the pasta and chili at the same time. We simply made the pasta first, letting the chili warm it up later when serving. If we had a second large pot or pan, though, we definitely recommend using it to finish the pasta at the same time as the chili. Using one pan adds about 10 minutes to the cook time for this recipe.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20-30 minutes *see note*

Total time: 35-45 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb spaghetti
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 12 oz veggie crumbles
  • 8 oz tomato sauce
  • 4 oz bourbon
  • 14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp malt vinegar
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp chipotle chili pepper
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1 tsp hot sauce
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 15 oz can kidney beans
  • 4 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

  1. First do some initial prep work. If you only have one pan for both the chili and pasta, make the spaghetti now. If you have more, begin making it while the chili cooks later. Crush and dice the garlic. Remove the skin from the onion and dice.IMG_20141019_171442
  2. Drain the kidney beans of their liquid, and mix with most of the other ingredients – the tomato sauce, bourbon, chopped tomatoes, balsamic and malt vinegars, chili powder, cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, paprika, allspice, hot sauce, and cornstarch.IMG_20141019_171422
  3. Add the oil to a large pot or pan and heat over medium high. Cook the onions until translucent, then add in the garlic and veggie crumbles.IMG_20141019_172026
  4. Cook the mixture just a few minutes until the crumbles begin to brown a bit more and are cooked through.IMG_20141019_172255
  5. Add the bowl of many mixed things into the pan and stir well.IMG_20141019_172359
  6. Once the pan is at a boil, turn the heat down to low and cover with a lid. Let it cook for about 20 minutes. If you have a second pot, this is the point to begin making the spaghetti.IMG_20141019_172605
  7. Remove the lid and stir the chili well. IMG_20141019_174720
  8. To serve, put the spaghetti on a plate, add the chili, then top with the shredded cheddar cheese to finish.IMG_20141019_175138
October 11, 2014

Waterfront on #Embarcadero

We thought we would say goodbye to #SanFrancisco in our last few weeks here by walking along the waterfront alongside Embarcadero Highway.  We started down by the Baseball Park and made our way around until we reached the Exploratorium on Pier 15, taking plenty of pictures of boats and bridges along the way.  One remarkable landmark is the kid’s slide inside of the coke bottle on the outer edge of the Baseball Park, next to a giant catching mitt (it looks like leather!).

IMG_20141002_141226[1]Right outside of the park is a major dock with hundreds of boats.  We wondered how often it was that a homerun would sail right onto someone’s deck, only to be found much later.

IMG_20141002_141038[1]Along the way, there was of course the Bay Bridge to Oakland.  (Ben’s fingertips feature prominently in this excursion.)

IMG_20141002_153618[1]And a giant bow and array sculpture, aimed into the ground.  (Pretty skyline, too.)

IMG_20141002_154521[1]On the way home, though, the Bay Bridge is even cooler when its all lit up.  The lights appear to move up and down, or just dripping from top to bottom in an icicle pattern, all the way across.  (Hard to see in a photo.  The lighting globes from the dock in the foreground are a nice touch, though.)

IMG_20141002_221130[1]Overall, it was a fun day, and we’re certainly glad we got the chance to take time out of our busy schedule working on Nowcado to see some of the sights and special landmarks of this city while we’ve been here for the last few months.

October 9, 2014

Nick’s Crispy #Tacos

Continuing on our day trip around #SanFrancisco, after happy hour we headed over to a Mexican restaurant we had heard great things about, Nick’s Crispy Tacos.  Upon entering, the tales were true that the place looked like a night club rather than any restaurant, and that’s because its both!

IMG_20141002_164356[1]Apparently the space is shared between an actual bar/club, with all the fancy red decor and chandeliers, and the restaurant occupies one bar in the back, where you can get a full array of the typical Mexican delicacies like tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and the like.  Of course, the food is available super late at night as well to cater to all of the night club’s customers, holding such great deals as two tacos for the price of one after 10pm.

IMG_20141002_164410[1]But don’t think that this is typical bar-quality food – they are known for their pescado (fried fish) entrees, heaped with plenty of guacamole, their special aioli-like sauce, cheese, cabbage, rice and all the rest.  On top of that, they also had my favorite Jones root beer on tap!  Avi opted for two pescado tacos, which seemed to come with just as much guacamole piled on top as the entire rest of the taco put together!  Their signature style is to wrap it with a hard corn shell inside of a soft flour shell on the outside.  I got the pescado burrito, and boy did it fill me up!  It came out piping hot, and by the time I reached the end, I could hardly finish the last few bites I was so full.  It reminded me greatly of a typical visit to Chipotle, only that Mexican restaurant doesn’t offer fried fish, and the guacamole is extra.

IMG_20141002_163957[1]For that, I give this restaurant experience major points.  Seems like the perfect club to hang out late at night, if you know you’ll be hungry.

October 7, 2014

21st Amendment #Brewery

As we’ve mentioned before, one type of common non-technical startup that can be found in San Francisco is the independent microbrewery.  Last week we decided to check out one such establishment in SOMA, the 21st Amendment Brewery.  We got there a little early for happy hour, and we wanted to check out the brewery to see the process for ourselves, so we first went to the back and caught a glimpse of several of their signature beers fermenting in the back through a window on the upper floor.IMG_20141002_142510[1]There was also this highly amusing painting hanging on the wall depicting many of the prominent San Francisco independent brewers, vaguely in the style of “The Last Supper.”  It was so wide I couldn’t catch the whole picture here.  The quote hanging on the back wall is the popular misquote of Ben Franklin’s: “Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy.”

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We did of course sample the local inventions.  Avi wanted to try several of the beers to get a real test of the brewer’s skills, so he got a flight, featuring the flavors of a watermelon wheat ale, a beer infused with red wine, a darker stout with coffee, a belgian golden ale, and a full-bodied Oktoberfest (I got the full version, foreground).

IMG_20141002_143947[1]Overall we were quite satisfied with the selection and the tastes.  It was an excellent precursor to the next restaurant we went to in our excursions throughout the city that day, a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place.  More on that next!

 

October 5, 2014

Tiny #Kitchen, #Culinary Mission: #African #Peanut #Soup

African Peanut Soup

We wanted to try a recipe that was a little bit different, but involved some pleasing flavors we’ve been using recently. You’ve seen our penchant for peanuts (e.g. Peanut Noodles, Peanut Satay to name a few) as well as our proclivity for peppers (e.g. Pad Thai, Saag Paneer for starters). This is an African style peanut soup that has just a hint of heat, some tang from the tomatoes, a bit of sweetness from the sauteed onions and is filling with a bit of rice cooked in the broth towards the end. Hope you enjoy this culinary exploration as much as we did!

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 14.5 oz crushed tomatoes packed in juice
  • 32 oz vegetable broth
  • Pinch chipotle chili pepper
  • Pinch black pepper
  • 1/3 c crunchy peanut butter
  • 1/3 c uncooked rice

Instructions

  1. First do the initial prep work. Crush and dice the garlic. Remove the skin from the onion and dice. Dice the red bell pepper.IMG_20140929_173336
  2. Add the oil to a large pot or pan and heat over medium high.IMG_20140929_174009
  3. Add the red bell pepper and onion to the pan and cook while stirring until the onions begin to start to brown.IMG_20140929_174249
  4. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds, stirring frequently.IMG_20140929_174720
  5. Add the tomatoes with their juice, vegetable broth, chili powder and black pepper.IMG_20140929_174851
  6. Stir everything up and reduce the heat to low. Let it simmer for 30 minutes.IMG_20140929_175038
  7. Add the rice and stir it in.IMG_20140929_182155
  8. Cover the pan and continue cooking 15 minutes on low.IMG_20140929_182213
  9. Stir in the peanut butter until everything is well mixed.IMG_20140929_183855
  10. Turn off the heat, ladle the soup into bowls, and serve!IMG_20140929_184213