Wa---aaaa---yooooooo. Way-yooooo.

(that was to the tune of Heya by Outkast).

Last night Shawn and I attempted to have a real life date! Unfortunately, due to us both having to work later than we thought and being broke until midnight at pay day - we stuck to sushi ONLY and skipped Harry Potter.

We went to Wayo Sushi Bar on Van Ness in Pacific Heights, as recommended to us by Kris and Darcy.

We got:
Mango Tuna Roll = A+
Seared Yellow Tail with Ponzu Sauce =A+
Spicy Tuna with tobikoFlakes and Avo = C
Scallop Nigiri = A+
Eel & Avo = A+
Salmon & Cream Cheese & Avo = A+
Two glasses of unfiltered Sake = C.*
___________________________
Total : ONLY $40!

*the sake was actually tasty but I was put off by the way it was presented. But who am I to give a bad score just because of presentation. It just looked like a glass of milk!

OVERALL I GIVE IT AN A :)

Here's an ugly pic of Shawn just for your viewing *laughing* pleasure. :)

Have you ever seen a prettier blurry photo?

Earlier this week I decided to make some comfort food for my sicky Shawn. What better manly concoction than homemade meatballs!?

________________________________>
Dont you just love the way raw meat looks?! Gross.

Anyway, in the end they were better the second day after all the flavors had set overnight. We put them on a halved roll and melted cheese for a meatball sub. :)


Kate's Homemade Meatballs
(this recipes was made from calling my mother and saying - so how do you make a meatball?)
1 package ground chuck
1 hot italian sausage (next time I would do two!)
1/2 a yellow onion
3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
touch of beef stock
a bunch of italian parsely
a bunch of basil leaves
2 eggs

breadcrumbs
salt & pepper to taste

Step one: put onion, garlic, parsley and garlic in the food processor with a little drizzle of olive oil. Pulse 20 second.

Step two: combine processor mixture and beef/sausage in a large bowl. Add 2 eggs, 1 cup of breadcrumbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Step three: with your bare hands, roll into balls.

Step four: brown in a pan until brown all over- add tomato sauce to flavor and let simmer for 20 minutes. :)

All You Need Is Love

There are so many things I could write about this weekend, but this IS a food themed blog - so who am I to change the tone?

As most of you know (because you were there) - this weekend was the union of Natalie Huffman and Michael Micholic in picturesque Vintner's Inn in Santa Rosa, CA. It was definitely one of the most memorable weekends, let alone a wedding weekend I've had in a while. Hopefully, the next memorable wedding weekend will be my own! (hint hint) --- just kidding - I have many more weddings to attend before 2015. And they will all be memorable, I am sure. :)

I'll start with a TOP 5 THINGS I ATE THIS WEEKEND:

1. MEATBALLS AT THE BOWLING ALLEY (as seen on my plate). I dont know where they were from but they were huge and in charge and absolutely flavored perfectly. When you make something in mass quantities its hard to keep up quality - but they were excellent.

2. BEST. APPETIZER AT A WEDDING. EVER: Tuna Sashimi on a wonton with Avocado and Cilantro. Done. (And not just because this is my favorite small plate at tokyo a go go).

3. A STEAK I CAN GET BEHIND. I am not usually a rare steak eater but the wedding food (see very blurry photo) was outstanding. Abby and I remarked how we werent even planning on eating it at first but at first bite it was devoured in seconds!

4. VERY DELICIOUS MARTINIS. and large. and top shelf. Please see Leslie and Melina drinking them!

5. TURKEY. TURKEY. AND MORE TURKEY. the boringest white meat. We stopped on our way back from wine country at a joint Justin had seen (or professed after he HADNT seen) on Diners Drive Ins and Dives - called Willie Birds. See above for the delicious fried turkey sandwich Abby got.

Anyway, I am thankful for being invited, being consulted, and being able to attend the weekend with my closest 35 San Francisco friends. Who knew a year ago I'd be so lucky.

Oh, and I guess - Michael and Natalie are lucky, too. for you know - finding each other and all. :)

Back From The Dead!

So I blame not posting in over two weeks on a few things:

1. My mother was in town visiting last weekend!
2. A terrible mucusey Flem ridden cold was visiting my brain last week.
3. We have new visitors in town every day now - leading up to the McNat wedding this weekend.

But Alas! This has not stopped me from cooking my brains out.

<------ I am sipping 20/20 Malt Liquor here. It was a busy weekend here in San Francisco. Friday I was home sick from work where I watched Twilight. It was not as bad as I thought it could be. My two comments were: A. Why is she so mean to her friends? I'm pretty sure when you move to a small town no one accepts you outright. Care about them a little, please. Even the asian. and B. man his acting is bad. Friday night, I invited myself over to our friend's Erin & Josh's promising a batch of Summer Gazpacho. This lead to her saying Josh would cook fish - and a few people joined in the fun!

Summer Seared Tomato Gazpacho with Lime Shrimp & Avocado

Ingredients
2 lbs of Tomatoes
1/2 Red Onion
1 Cucumber
3 Cloves of Garlic
5 Plump Shrimp
3 Avocados
1 Cilantro Bunch
Olive Oil


Step One: Halve the tomatoes. Originally I wanted to fire roast them but it was unfortunately too windy to light the grill so I just seared them with Olive Oil and garlic until they were soft through.

Step Two: I let them cool and put them all in a food processor and set the mixture aside.

Step Three: Chop the cucumber, onion and the cilantro bunch and put in the food processor. Mix the mixture with the the tomato paste.

Step Four: De-vein shrimp, boil for 5 minutes, and then chop finely and squeeze ethe juice of 1 lime over.

Step Five: PATIENCE! Cool in the fridge for min. 3 hours. Serve with cold shrimp and diced avocado.

Other honorable mentions:

Josh made an amazing fish with orange and tomato mash. Abby brought a delicious dish of orzo pasta - so light and delicious! And Roy, my lovely Royst Beef - made cheesecake! Just the way I like it.

Battle Of The Bengali.

Two Indian Eateries. One Weekend. Forty Dollars - Who will win!?

This weekend Shawn and I tried two new restaurants and coincidentally - they were both Indian restaurants we'd been meaning to try. On Friday, we ate at Pakwan in The Mission and on Sunday we ordered from Zante's in the Outer Mission for delivery. None of them perhaps stood up to Great India in the Sunset, but who can?

I give Pakwan a B -. (sorry, Abby).

A. This is just a personal preference but when I eat somewhere and you order at the counter and they serve you at your table with a number (ala Alcove, in LA) - it makes me super angsty and nervous when my eyes dart around and there are no open seats in sight. Panic ensues. I just dont like that in a dining experience.

B. Accidentally, Shawn let me order Palak Paneer forgetting he hates spinach with a passion so he was sad we couldnt share meals.

C. But the Chicken Tikka Masala was great and the Pakora delicious.

D. I would pick up, but I doubt I would ever dine in again unless it was empty and we could relax and enjoy our meal.

I give Zante's a B+.

A. We did not order the Indian pizza, which is their speciality. Next time.

B. Delivery took over an hour almost an hour and a half.

C. Otherwise - it was all very delicious. :) We got the veggie sampler!

xoxox, Kate :)

Nothing Says Independence Like a Luau!

Whether it was REALLY in the name of Josh's 30th birthday or we just love an old fashioned dress up party - we decided to celebrate the 4th of July with a Hawaiian themed luau! It is after all the 50th state.

Maybe next year we'll celebrate with another state - Delaware or Alaska perhaps?

Either way, I admit I slacked in the creative food category and decided to go classic and simple: Peach/Pear/Lemon Chablis Sangria & Pepperoni & Pepperoncini Pasta Salad.

ANOTHER sangria, you say!? Of course. This time a white!

Ingredients

2 Peaches
2 Lemons
1 Can of Pears, w/ Syrup
1 Carlo Rossi Chablis
(usually I would add vodka or triple sec but I vowed to pace myself and others for a long Saturday so I kept it out!)

Chop! Mix! Dice - let sit overnight, shake a few times. Voila!

Shawn also went above and beyond and made amazing Pineapple Cupcakes with Toasted Coconut frosting. They were delicious and really out did everything I came up with!

MAD PROPS to everyone who brought food! It was all amazing!

Do Not Eat This.

But do use this. I got this at Target today! Its a nail polish PEN that helps you with a steady hand. Nick's Sticks!

Shawn said my nails looked purdy! (often he says they looked homely so dont rejoice the compliment).

Ze French Onion Zoupe.

Granted it wasnt a chilly winter evening when I decided I wanted some comfort food in the form of French Onion Soup, though, those are perfect conditions. It was however, a mild San Francisco night when our friend's Paul and Tish invited us over to dinner. I generally leave the cooking to the inviter when going over to someone elses house but on this occasion - Shawn and I decided to come bearing grub! Why? Two reasons:

A. Tish and Paul are new parents - do they have time to cook?

B. Yes - Tish does, she's super woman but I couldnt help myself! Plus this proved to be a simpler recipe than I thought. I also got to use Tisha's kitchen torch!

French Onion Soup with Beer Broth and Gruyere Cheese

Ingredients

2 Onions, chopped. Small.

1 Bottle of Beer (I used a Bourbon Stout from Whole Foods)

2 Cloves of garlic, chopped

Bunch of Thyme

Gruyere Cheese, grated.
Beef Stock
Butter - Salt and Pepper to taste.

I sauteed the onions and garlic in a soup pot with butter (+Salt+Pepper) for about twenty minutes until they were starting to soften and caramelize. After that I added sprigs of thyme (4 branches?) and half a bottle of the Bourbon stout. I let it simmer in the beer for another 20 minutes. Once the onions looked soft it was time to add the beef broth! I let it all simmer for another 15 minutes then put in the fridge overnight.

To assemble, I put 3 croutons in the bottom of the ramekin, topped with soup and cheese - and voila! Doneso.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

*Shawn made an amazing side dish to bring with us! He made Twice Baked Potatoes w/ Bacon Cambazola Butter. THEY were TO die FOR.

*Tisha mad delicious peel n' eat shrimp and crabcakes! and the most delicious goat cheese appetizers! Even her own Ice Cream.

*And Paul opened all wine bottles. Very well.