Last part of labor day. For reals.

Had enough yet? Too bad. I have more photos and recipes for you!

We took things easy on Monday with a leisurely stroll through Russian Hill and Nob Hill. To kick things off, we had lunch at Za...delicious pizzas as usual. Then some neighborhoody shots

And some wandering in Grace Cathedral

I even attempted to walk the Labyrinth (emphasis on attempt), but got impatient. Surprise. I opted to photograph it instead :)

It was incredibly warm out on Monday. I was so glad we went wine tasting the day before...it would have been way too hot to be wandering around up there! We called it quits early and I whipped up a tasty and light dinner for us. On the menu: Pan Seared Tilapia with Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salsa and an Arugula and Frisée Salad.

For some reason I had an urge to combine tomatoes and watermelon...I'm very glad I acted on that urge.

Pan Seared Tilapia with Heirloom Tomato & Watermelon Salsa

3 tilapia fillets

1/4 c fresh pineapple with juices, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp mirin or dry white wine

1/2 c watermelon, diced

2 medium heirloom tomatoes, diced

1/2 shallot, minced

1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c cilantro, chopped

Combine watermelon, tomatoes, shallot, balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt and cilantro in a bowl. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Combine pineapple, garlic, olive oil, salt, mirin and tilapia in a dish. Let marinate for 5 minutes on each side.

Drizzle some olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Cook tilapia for 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve immediately with 2 spoonfuls of watermelon salsa on top.

For some starch, I quickly roasted some fingerling potatoes (garlic, olive oil, salt, rosemary, thyme). Standard. Addicting. Yum.

Arugula & Frisée Salad

1 large head frisée

1 c arugula

1 c spring mix

1/2 avocado, sliced

1 plum, sliced

shaved parmesan

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp maple syrup

2 tbsp champagne vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together mustard, syrup, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Combine greens in a large bowl and coat with half the dressing. Top with plum, avocado and parmesan.

I'm having a rough month with plums. I just can't find one with the right flavor...it's either too tart or too sweet. Gah! I was happy with my vinaigrette though!

Phew. Labor Day weekend is done! We'll return to your regularly scheduled blogging topics shortly :p

Who doesn't love a day of wine tasting?

Sunday was totally devoted to wine tasting in Healdsburg/Geyserville. Have I mentioned it's my favorite place to play with the vino? Well, it is!

I got comfy behind the wheel for the beautiful 1.5 hour drive north so Jamie could appreciate the scenery (slash, I was itching to drive) and we arrived at deLorimier a little before noon.

Are you familiar with my deLorimier backstory? Long story short: fell in love w/a malbec by Mosaic a few years ago and couldn't find it anywhere. Mosaic was bought by deLorimier and I was able to snag a bottle when I visited last November. Unfortunately, I left that bottle in DC with friends because I was too nervous it would break in the move. *BIG SAD FACE*

I was excited to go back and pick up a replacement bottle, but uhh no such luck. New wine maker, not the same. Still pretty good, but just not the same :( I did find a nice Sauvignon Blanc, though.

It smells fabulous and tastes crisp with hints of nectarine. Doesn't hurt that it's reasonably priced at $18. Love it!

We wandered around the winery grounds for a bit, enjoyed the gardens

and then sped off to our next destination: Francis Ford Coppola

Ok, I have mixed feelings about Coppola. My very first enjoyable white wine experience was with a bottle of Coppola however, I usually have mediocre experiences with Coppola wines (with the exception of a Director's Cut Zinfandel Selin introduced me to). I figured we would check it out since it was a bigger winery and I'll admit I was pretty curious.

The grounds are amazing, even though at times it felt a little like Disney World.

The tasting room was PACKED, but we managed to squeeze into a little corner. Our pourer (?) was really easy to get along with and was willing to do some extra pours and swap some out. Hurrah!

I asked to try the Sofia Blanc de Blancs just for fun and o my, that is trouble. It went down like sparkling cider. I also enjoyed a 2006 Coppola Reserve Alexander Cabernet Sauvignon (which I can't seem to find on the website).

I was good and only splurged on one bottle. A big splurge on a bottle of Archimedes (a Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc blend):

I'm a fan of bold reds and this one is bold, yet smooth and not too in your face. Nifty bottle too.

Since our bellies were starting to grumble, we opted to pass on the picnic lunch and dine at Rustic, the new restaurant at the winery. It was only a 20-30 minute wait so we wandered around and explored all the displays before we were seated. Lucky for us, a table opened up on the patio

Pretty sweet lunch view yeah?

The menu had a ton of delicious options, but the weather made me want to go with something light and crispy. Enter Pizza Sofia (arugula, prosciutto, shaved parmesan)

Nummy nummy! The crust was thin and crisp and I LOOOVE arugula, parmesan and prosciutto. Such a classic combo.

Jamie's mom went with the Chicken Mattone which was wonderfully moist and flavorful. I'm not even going to try to describe it for you. Here's what the menu says:

"...alternately called chicken under the stone or brick, has become popular lately, but often too tame compared to my favorite version...Half of a chicken, its bones in but crushed, is sauteed in olive oil with a little paprika and slices of garlic and is put under an iron weight. All the fat is pressed out of it, and it’s flat and crispy on the crushed bones and a little red from the paprika."

Damn good chicken.

Jamie got a monster sammich, of course. Apparently Mammarella's Muffaletta (New Orleans style sandwich with ham, Genoa salami, mortadella, provolone, mozzarella, and giardiniera) screamed at him from the menu.

Biggest. sammich. EVER. It came with the option to get a whole, half or quarter and naturally Jamie went for the half.

Ridiculous. At least he admitted it could use some green. ;p

We lingered for a bit to finish our surprisingly large glasses of wine and soak up the gorgeous weather and scenery before heading off to our last winery of the day: Ridge!

Yep, I say that with an exclamation point because it's one of my favorites. C'mon, how could you not love this view

And it doesn't hurt they also have some great red wines ;p

Unfortunately we stumbled upon Ridge's Fall Debut (I think...something along those lines) tasting weekend, so they weren't pouring some of my favorites. Luckily, I learned that you can always ask for specific wines. Ah haa!

I went home with two bottles of my favorite Geyserville (72% zinfandel, 20% carignane, 6% petite sirah, 2% mataro). This was another bottle I had to leave behind when I moved. SO glad to find out they still had bottles of the 2005!

This blend makes me o so happy. I wish I had a reason to open up a bottle right now just so I could describe how great this wine is. *sigh*

Happy after wine purchases!

In case you didn't pick up on it, Jamie was our DD for the day

We planned on stopping at Lagunitas in Petaluma for some beer tasting on the way home/swap driving duties, but it ended up being way too crowded. Perhaps next time.

Perfect weather, great wines and wineries, delicious eats and calming scenery. Great Sunday. Can't wait to go back in November for the Annual Food & Wine Affair!

Sausalito - not just a cookie

Jamie and I were up super early on Saturday morning for our day trip to Sausalito. Located just across the Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito is just a quick 30 (ish) minute ferry ride from the Ferry Building.

We buffered in enough time to walk to the Ferry Building, grab some coffee and breakfast and managed to have a few extra minutes to chill out and enjoy the weather before boarding. Jamie was reunited with his Prather Ranch Breakfast Sammich

and I got a much needed cup of Blue Bottle Coffee *swoon*.

I snapped a few pictures before getting on the boat...couldn't ask for better weather!

We arrived in Sausalito a little after 11am and it was a beautiful day for wandering.

Lucky for us, we were wandering on a SEGWAY. Yep. You know Jamie and I love to do random touristy things as evidenced here and here. We had an 11:30am date in a parking lot with The Electric Tour Company Segway Tour. These segways were fancy...you just lean the handles to the right or to the left, and poof you're turning! Super easy and way more fun than walking. Just saying.

I had the pleasure of rolling around Sausalito for 2 hours on Candy Pants.

Yep, Candy Pants. Our tour group and guide were pretty laid back and fun to zoom around with. I'd recommend it to anyone visiting...even those who mock the segway riders. Have you played with one of these suckers before? Fun as hell. I'd like to just zoom around on this guy for transportation!

I wasn't able to take a ton of pictures on our two-hour tour, but I think these capture the gist of it.

We were pretty hungry by the time the tour was over and decided to explore the restaurants on Caladonia Street, a quaint little street tucked away from the tourist madness by the water. Arawan Thai seemed to call our names as we walked by so we popped in for a bite. They had a reasonably priced lunch special, so we sat down for a nice relaxing lunch...or so we thought.

Apparently the restaurant closes at 2:30 and we wandered in around 2:15. Oops. Whatever, they were still willing to feed us. Honestly, we picked stuff pretty quickly and forgot the details of what we ordered. I know we got some Thai Iced Teas and our meals came with some salad.

Then these arrived:

I know I got Pad Thai...I didn't know it came with a Chili and Thai Basil Calamari thinger (which was delicious, btw). Jamie knew he got chicken w/a peanut sauce and some greenery and a duck curry of some sort.

Dessert came out mid meal and was a tapioca pearl salty/sweet concoction. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but after a few bites, I really liked it! I wish we had more time to savor our food, but there's always next time! Leftovers will make delicious lunches in the meantime :)

Once we got back into the city, Jamie had some World Cup catching up to do and I was so exhausted that I crashed immediately. I also learned that I had some nasty sunburn to deal with. Yeeh.

After some downtime, we set off on a mission to find dinner. Jamie read about a pizza place near the apartment so we decided to check it out. We walked over to Za Pizza on Hyde Street, a small shop with outdoor seating. It was pretty crowded so we took care of some errands first. The crowd died down a bit by the time we got back and we sat with a couple beers as we waited for a table.

We snagged a table outside and quickly ordered a medium pizza, half Pluto (spinach, sauasage, feta, mozzerella) and half Scaliano (roma tomato, spicy sausage, fresh garlic and green onion).

AMAZING. Growing up around NY/NJ pizza, I'm somewhat of a pizza snob. I like my crust thin, yet substantial. Toppings should be simple. I really don't like Chicago style pizza and do not get me started on Dominos or Papa Johns. I'll take fancy pizza, but it will always be fancy pizza to me...not real pizza. Za Pizza is legit. The Scaliano side was a little too mushy for me, but I'll chalk that up to waiting too long to try a slice...or maybe the tomatoes. The Pluto - outstanding. I loved the feta, sausage and spinach. the mozzarella just added to my slice of heaven. Oh, yes. Za also sells pizza by the slice. Hello, neighborhood pizza joint :)

Because pizza and ice cream go so well together, and because Jamie has wanted to try this place since Tuesday, we made a pitstop at Swensen's Ice Cream. There was a decent line, but it moved pretty quickly. So many flavor choices! They make everything there so I was excited to sample some flavors before committing. Unfortunately, the line didn't allow for that :( So I went with a cone of Mocha Chip (AMAZING) and Toasted Almond (not bad).

YUM (note: I asked for SMALL scoops). Jamie did a cup of Fresh Banana (bleh. no sampling for me) and French Vanilla Custard. According to Jamie, the French Vanilla was much better since it was creamier.

Living this close to Swensen's and Za could be T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!

Hi, I'm no longer a PC.

And so far, I'm very happy about it :)

Hi all, I'm happy to report that my new computer has arrived and I'm making my triumphant return to blogging! Well, sort of. I seem to have misplaced the memory card for my camera so please bear with me as I resort to Google Images and iPhone shots :/

I've got a lot of fun food stuff to report on and for now, here's a quick rundown. Recipes will follow shortly!

Mid-day pickup at Maoz Vegetarian in Dupont:

My 5 cent bag that I insisted on keeping at my desk for emergencies...because I didn't really need the bag, but since I had already paid for it (thanks cashier man who didn't ask) I decided to take it. Inside:

I went with the Salad Box, which comes with 3 falafel balls and greens in a bowl that you can fill with a ton of different salads. I got a little bit of everything (unfortunately they don't list the types of salad on their website or menus) - some tabbouleh, cabbage salad, carrots, tomato & cucumber salad, and some beet salad. Grabbed a container of yogurt sauce and tahini and I was all set.

I must admit that this was my first 'real' falafel experience (I've really only eaten the kind in Trader Joe's refrigerated Mediterranean platter) and I really liked it! My bowl was definitely too oniony for a workday lunch, but very tasty! Next time I think I'll try the sandwich that Maoz is known for.

That night (or maybe the following night) Sparky came over to help me take down my shedding Christmas tree. We walked up to Comet Ping Pong for dinner since neither of us had been before. Note: Comet is WAY closer when you're running.

I've passed by this place many many times and had heard some good things. Based on other people's descriptions, I imagined it being a filthy, divey sort of place...not so much.

It's pretty open inside with booths and dining tables made of ping pong tables (actual ping pong tables are in the back) and they have a ton of fun pizzas and beer to choose from.

We started with a pitcher of North Coast Red Seal Ale, which was pretty tasty and went well with the pizza I created:

A White Pie (olive oil, garlic, fresh mozzarella) with grilled broccoli rabe, smokey mushrooms and anchovies. BEST. PIZZA. EVER! The briny anchovies went great with the slightly bitter broccoli rabe and the fresh mozzarella was a great balance to the saltiness from the anchovies. YUMYUMYUM! I had leftovers for lunch/dinner the following day so it was worth the dinero.

One weird thing about Comet - the bathrooms. First of all, they are tucked away in a little nook. Second of all, the doors are somewhat hidden (like there are just cuts in this log cabin-y looking wall) and you have to push them in. I swear, while I was in the bathroom, my door was pushed at least 3 times!

I didn't have to work at the store last Sunday so I nerded out big time and cooked 2 soup/stewed dishes to last the week: Chicken Tortilla Soup and Bollito Di Manzo (Italian Boiled Beef with Tomato, Anchovy and Caper Sauce). The soup was a variation on one I usually make and I stumbled across the beef recipe on The Eclectic Cook. Recipes will come this evening, but here are some (blurry - SORRY!) pictures to tide you over:

Chicken Tortilla Soup w/some extra corn tortillas

Bollito Di Manzo over some Roasted Smashed Potatoes and Pearl Onions with some Roasted Broccolini

For breakfast the other day I decided an omelette was necessary. Of the smiling variety:

Chopped up some basil and scallion, shredded up some reduced fat Kerrygold cheddar and shoved some greens in the middle. I even did a slick omelette flip! Wooo!

Ok. Back later. Time to figure out how to get my music and photos onto this sucker and get some gym time in before work. Later!!

Third time's a charm!

It's late so I'm going to make this a quickie post...third today woooo!!

So two friends came over for some tree trimming cheer! I made a couple lavash pizzas and tried to make a batch of kale chips. I've read about these on a few blogs so I figured I'd give it a shot.
Tore some bits up, sprayed them with olive oil, a couple sprinkles of salt and in the oven they went for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. I must say they weren't exactly what I expected. It is a quick way to get your daily dose of leafy green, but I think I prefer a sauteed kale. Ah well. Onto the main event!

I made a couple pizzas out of lavash for fun. First was a Goat Cheese, Sun-Dried Tomato and Arugula Pizza and the second was a Troasted Tomato, Manchego and Arugula Pizza.
Goat Cheese, Sun-Dried Tomato and Arugula Pizza
1 piece lavash
1/2 (4oz) log goat cheese
1/2 tbsp lemon zest
6 slices sun-dried tomato halves
handful arugula
fresh black pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Sprinkle some goat cheese and black pepper on the lavash and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and scatter sun-dried tomatoes, remaining goat cheese, lemon zest and arugula on top and bake for another 5-8 minutes. Slice and serve immediately.

Troasted Tomato, Manchego and Arugula Pizza
1 piece lavash
1/4 c grated manchego cheese
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
handful troasted cherry tomatoes*
handful arugula
black pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Sprinkle parmesan and black pepper on lavash and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and scatter half of the manchego on the lavash. Add cherry tomatoes, arugula, black pepper and remaining manchego. Bake for 5-8 minutes. Slice and serve.

*Slice cherry tomatoes, scatter on a toaster oven pan, sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil and roast for 5 minutes.

For bevvies, I attempted a mulled apple cider (threw some cloves, all spice and cinnamon in a tea strainer and simmered it in the cider with a splash of brandy) and I think it turned out ok...it would probably be better with whole all spice and cinnamon...less floaters.

After feasting, we got to work on decorating! The tree all lit up and decorated:
So I got some 'cool white' LED bulbs and in the picture they look blue. Hm. And here's the rest of the home decor:
Since my tree was lacking in piney smell, I grabbed a bouquet of pine needles and some cinnamony pine cones from Whole Foods. The majority are in a long bowl, but I had some extra that I scattered around the house for that extra Christmassy smell. I also picked up this shelf snowman for some extra holiday cheer:
It's showcasing the TV and pinecone display in case you didn't catch it ;) Bed time!!