Punch Drunk Love At First Sight!

I saw this recipe for Strawberry Balsamic Basil Prosecco Punch on ktchn about a week and a half ago and it was so simple I had to try it soon. Last nights engagement party was the perfect occaish! (Congrats Matt & Leslie!) - but the real winner of the drink was the amazing basil simple syrup portion. I was obbbsssesssed with it. I wanted to slurp it from straws and harden it into candy or whisk into a topping for an ice cream and spread it on toast and dip my fingers into it and suckle the tiniest drops to not use it all before I added it to the punch and shout from the top of the mountain tops the extreme happiness it was bringing me. I was flitting around the kitchen forcing Nickie and Shawn and Natalie to taste it in its purest state and I couldnt stop beaming. Sigh. SOOOO GOOD.

Ingredients
1 Bottle Of Prosecco
1/2 cup basil simple syrup.
6 or 7 strawberries, food processed
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

Basil Simple Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
10 basil stems, + leaves minced

Bring the water and sugar to s simmer for about 5-7 minutes with the 10 basil stems until water and sugar are combined. Set aside to cool, 5 minutes. Stir in the minced basil and refrigerate overnight, stirring once.

Put strawberries and balsamic in the food processor and pulse til liquefied. Add prosecco and strain the basil simple syrup ( I used my french press!) and serve immediatement!

FAILS.

This weekend (foodwise) was an up and down roller coaster of awesomeness and epic fails. Lucky for you, I am not above telling people how badly I can suck. And man, I can suck badly.

The drink you see above was my #2 fail for the weekend. I originally wanted to make a Cucumber-Jalapeno Margarita to pair with Shawn's amazing carnitas tacos. Alas, the jalapenos I bought were weeks old and moldy. Secondly, the limes I bought at trader joes were a joke. If limes werent 35cents each Id be writing a strongly worded letter as we speak to one Mr. Trader Joe, Jr. Thirdly, fuck - squeezing real oranges is a lot of work just to get drunk. Oh! And Shawn didnt like that the cucumber made the drunk pulpy. And I put too much Cabo Wabo in it and it was gross. F-A-I-L.

File this one under "A" for Awesome. I feel like the whole city had been to Monks Kettle before Shawn and I decided to try it out and oh me oh my was the chicken sandwhich to die for there. Read: thinly pounded chicken, peppered crispy bacon, brie and an herb aoili - HERB AOLI, FUCK FACE - did you catch that?

Another thing I made this weekend that didnt cost too much and didnt take too much effort was the butchering of roasted plantains. We just peeled them, cut em up - roasted them with olive oil and they tasted like chalk. I dont like wasting food but they went directly into the garbage.

Friday night was a really fun night (that resulted in a bit of a hangover on Saturday am) - we went out for a date night to Luna Park which is where we had our first date in Los Angeles *cue the awwwwws*. It was a nice sexy time and we finished it off with karaoke in Japantown for Natalie's last day of work. I had an amazing salmon with pancetta hash and we finished with a great choco cake with espresso ice cream.

Colors Of The World - Spice Up Your Life!

On Monday I made a pact with myself that I would try and eat a vegetable or a fruit at every meal. Its Thursday and I'm 10 meals down and its largely a success! Although, I am not sure if I am kidding myself with Morning Star Farms Veggie Sausage at breakfast but there must be some nutritional value in there somewhere, right? Like in a nook or a cranny?

Anyway, when youre cooking with leftovers (and in this case I mean 1 avocado and 1 anaheim pepper) - it allows you to splurge a little on the other ingredients (whoa, lying to myself is exhilarating!). I decided that splurge was last night! I bought Burratta cheese at Whole Foods. (gasp! its for rich people!) I'd been looking for a reason to buy the little adorable present for myself but usually the ideal pairing is with pasta and I didnt want something heavy. For those of you who dont know what Burratta is, its heaven. I dare any Vegan to come face to face with it and try and resist its debonair smile and oozing charm. It has the richness and crispness of a cool fresh buffalo mozzarella but then the stringiness and playfulness of an already melted cheese. I have a sneaking suspicion that on the weekend Burratta cheese is so amazing and altruistic it started a cleft palette clinic to cure thousands and gives backrubs and compliments to all housewives of America.

Spicy Lime Shrimp w/ Peppered Mango and Burratta Salad

Ingredients
1 Pound of Shrimp
1 Anaheim Pepper
1 Avocado
1 Lime
1 Mango
1 Cup Burratta
Pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste!

Step One: Peel shrimp (because you SHOULD NOT BE BUYING PRE COOKED SHRIMP) - and preheat oven to 350. Create little bowls with foil and add the shrimp, olive oil, lime juice and chopped anaheim pepper. Salt it. Toss it around and close em up and bake them for 10-15 minutes. Once cooked (shrimps should look pinky orange and have curled up like the Wicked Witch of the Wests toes...)

Step Two: Cut up your mango, slap on the cheese, pepper it up. Eat!

HASH HOG

Everyone who is close to me knows my favorite food is hash. If I could eat corned beef hash every morning for breakfast I would. (Once every two months is the *sad* reality). I love everything about it! I am not even positive what constitutes a "hash", per say. If I was motivated I would look up the definition on wiki but for now Id rather just believe in my heart of hearts it doesnt have to include a potato and it just implies an amalgamation of tasty cubed foods of love. Ignorance is culinary bliss.

Im still in my Queso Fresco and Corn obsessed haze so I decided to make a Mexican Hash. Its like a drug. Im an addict who needs any vehicle or excuse to utilize something I never knew could provide such happiness. (Queso Fresco is like all the beautiful parts of paneer with a little hint of feta). I topped it with some papaya chipotle marinated chicken for some protein.


Mexican Hash
Ingredients
2 Corn Cobbs
1 Can of Black Beans
1 Avocado, chopped small
1 bunch of cilantro
1/2 an onion, chopped small
1/2 an Anaheim Pepper, chopped small
1 block of queso fresco, cubed
Juice of 1 Lemon


Step One: Preheat your oven to 350. Dehusk the corn and wrap in foil (salt pepper or butter if it you like!) and roast for 35 minutes.

Step Two: Meanwhile, combine the cilantro and the beans in a skillet over low, stirring occasionally. Once heated thoroughly add the onion and the pepper. Dont turn on too high as you dont want the onion to soften, just release its juices. Squeeze the lemon over the mixture and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer.



Step Three: Once the corn is cooked, shave it off and add to the stovetop hash and mix it together. Remove from heat and add the avocado and the cheese. You dont want to add the cheese until youre ready to eat so it wont melt.

Step Three: Add chicken if thats how you roll! and eat.

Leeks Are The New Shallots.

HOT PET PEEVE - people who pronounce the "L" in Salmon.

Okay, so maybe I have only heard two people ever do this - 1. A woman who misread the sale sign and thought she was being overcharged at Safeway so maybe she was just too pissed off to remember the correct pronunciation. and 2. an SNL character. Can something be considered a Pet Peeve if its only ever happened twice? Either way, I am preventatively DISliking this pronunciation.


How do I even have time to cook when I am so actively hating?


After a weekend where we ate a shit ton and drank a shit ton I was craving something semi healthy.My mind automatically goes to FISH and brown rice when i am trying to eat something light and new agey healthy. Also, I have been DYING to try cooking with leeks. The only downside of working with leeks that Ive come across is once cooked they resemble celery. At first I wanted to say Go Fuck yourself, Leeks - but it turns out they are yummy yummy yummy!


Dijon Salmon over Leeky Macadamia Brown Rice

Ingredients
2 Salmon Fillets
1 Leek
1 cup of Macadamia Nuts
2 Cups of Brown Rice (quick cook)
Olive Oil
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of garlic, minced
1 cup veggie broth, 1 cup water



Step One: Prepare the leek by slicing off where the stem meets the green leafy parts and then slicing as you would an onion. Over medium heat simmer the leeks with the butter and let it simmer. I used margarine because I love fake butter taste. Once the leeks look cooked down, add the macadamia nuts!

Step Two: In a separate pan over medium heat add the olive oil and the garlic - and then the salmon skin side down. Brush the Dijon mustard on the top of the salmon. Cook for 10 minutes then switch to the broiler to crisp the top for 5 minutes.

Step Three: Prepare the quick cook rice with 1 part water and 1 part vegetable stock. Once prepared pour the leek and macadamia nut mixture into the rice and stir. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Step Four: Eat ya face off!

Operation: Evie And Meag Should Move To SF!

Oh my. What a weeeeeeekend! Epic, for sure.

I had the lovely pleasure of hosting my two besties from Los Angeles - Meag and Evie for some good SF eats and my favorite day of the year Bay To Breakers! On Friday night we dined at DOSA (which I try and take everyone to seeing as though I just want any excuse to eat there!) - and then made a yummy breakfast on Saturday morning.

I am always looking for any occasion to use my ramekins so I thought Id take a page from Ktchn blog and finally try the recipe for baked eggs out. Also, using them for breakfast makes the most sense because there are always so many variations and its easy, you just throw the ingredients in sep and bake! For instance - Shawn doesnt eat spinach, evie doesnt eat cheese and Meag and I eat it all.

I over did these eggs and the yolk hardened. :( but all in all it was super yummy anyhow.

Also, TURKEY BACON is really HEALTHY HAM. and nothing like bacon. but still yummo.

Spinach & Queso Baked Eggs
Ingredients
1 Bag of Baby Spinach
1 tablespoon garlic and olive oil.
1 Egg
Queso Fresco, cubed.
tiny pat of butter!

Step One: Preheat oven to 350. Saute the spinach down over medium heat with garlic and olive oil until some is wilted and some is not. Set Aside.

Step Two: Spray ramekin with nonstick cooking spray. Put the spinach on the bottom, drop in a few cubes of queso fresco then crack an egg over it! pepper and salt to taste. add a tiny pat of butter to add some moisture and cook for 10-15m. So freaking easy.

The rest of the weekend, like I said was amazingly awesome. We went to Zeitgeist for TamJams birthday where Evie tried her first bloody mary then drove around trying to get sushi but ending up just getting delivery Great India.

We also attended Bay 2 Breakers on Sunday and had the time of our lives! I'm young, I promise! We did not dress up but regretted it tremendously when we showed up. The costumes we saw the most of were: unicorns, jersey shore and I loved the Fun Police!

POP CULTURE UPDATES

Truths about Breaking Bad without being SPOILERS:

*If you avoided this show because it was too much like Weeds (like I did) - you are wrong. Dead wrong. Dont feel bad, tho. I can shame you in other ways, like your DVR list.

*THIS. IS. THE. BEST. SHOW. ON. TELEVISION. (I know, I know, thats a strong statement but its smart, funny, layered, takes risks and is never unfullfilling).

*If you're looking for a show to start over the summer from scratch you can find it on netflix streaming. That is all for now.

ADDICTED on TLC:

Dearest Addicted,

You seem like an old friend of mine from A&E. Its hard to tell - are you related to Intervention? It seems like you are but I could have my family trees wrong. Could you tell your host she's not as sweet as Jeff or caring as Candy? She's even second to Ken.

That being said I appreciate how you follow the addicts through their treatment. Please continue doing that.

Also - stop making San Francisco look like its filled with drug addicts, mmmmkay?

xoxoxo - Kate

Tori & Dean.

Sadly, I think youre over and irrelevant.

MOVE ON.

But I'll probably keep watching and fast forwarding through boring parts that dont include your kids.

I guess its better than being canceled.

Modern Family

There's this common syndrome that comes with good television where you start to compare yourself to a well known character from tv. The world was FULL of the "Oh! He is such a Ross and she is SUCH a rachel!" and the ever present "I am a Carrie, she is a Samantha"- and you know what?

I am a Cam.

:)

and I love that.

Chewy Jewyness.

It is my contention that condensed milk is having a renaissance during the last 10 years. Its freaking EVERYWHERE and I didnt even know it! Like babies and 7-11s. Its like an invasion. Thai Iced Tea! Vietnamese Coffee! And apparently - now - Macaroons.

Anyway, Shawn and I had a baking afternoon on Sunday in the overcast weather. We were salivating over another blog we found called Ming Makes Cupcakes (savory and sweet). http://mingmakescupcakes.yolasite.com/ -- I cant wait to try out the savoury ones! And Shawn decided to make Gingerbread Cupcakes with Fluff Cream Cheese Filling and I decided to make Chocolate Dipped Macaroons.

Holy shit these were delicious and easy. They were gone from my work table in less than an hour and most people were hoarding seconds for that afternoon. :)

In all praise of coconut.

Ingredients

3 ½ cups of sweetened shredded coconut
2/3 cup of sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg white
1/8 tsp of salt.
1 bar melted semi sweet chocolate.

Step One: Mix together all ingredients together in a bowl (I used my hands, washed of course!) – preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the coconut golf ball size and form them into peaks like a pyramid. It was actually super easy. It should make 2 baking sheets worth and only bake 1 tray at a time if you can.

Step Two:Bake for 20-25 minutes or until browned. Set aside to cool on a cooling rack for 30m. Once cooled microwave the chocolate in a measuring cup til soupy (like 2 minutes) and dip the bottoms in chocolate and place them on their side until hardened in the fridge after to make super cold and yum!

Its CORN season!

Just down the street from my work is a restaurant chain called Tres Agaves. Its your typical Mexican corporation restaurant with a little more sophistication - instead of ground beef tacos from chevys youre getting a second grade carne asada. Nothing close to taco truck quality but better than Chilis. Anyhow, they have a side there called "elote" that I just absolutely fell in love with while there a few months ago. Shawn wanted to make tacos last night so I immediately thought about recreating this warm, spicy, comfort side I knew nothing about. Basically, I read the menu and fucking figured it out. I love when that happens.

Making this I realized two amazing truths: there's nothing more satisfying than corn season. And corn season also means CHERRY SEASON! OH SUMMER! How I missed you. What I wouldnt give for some Webbs farm stand corn from home.

This is a ballpark homerun, for sure. I am already craving seconds!

ALERT TO TRUE MEXICANS - sorry if this is not how you make traditional elote but as a gringo I tried my hardest.

Jalapeno Elote
Aka. Roasted Corn and Jalapeno Cheesey Goodness.
Ingredients
3 Ears Of Corn
1/3 cup sour cream (or crema).
1 cup queso fresco (in the food processor).
1 fresh jalapeno.
melted butter for corn.
Salt and Pepper to Taste!

Step One: Preheat oven to 350. Brush melted butter on corn and roast for 35 minutes or until you find it sufficiently toasted and brown. You can leave the husks on to steam them but I didnt know that and it came out just fine.

Step Two: While youre roasting the corn take the sour cream and the jalapenos and put them in the food processor as well. Make sure the peppers get really pureed or else youll end up with a mouth full thats not that pleasant. You want the heat to be evenly distributed. Combine with the already pulsed queso fresco in a bowl. It will resemble cottage cheese!

Step Three: Once the corn is done, shave it off and mix it up and serve it hot!