This blog combines two of my favorite things... food and TV. Here I will write about restaurants, recipes, tv, movies and whatever else might taste right at the moment.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Sunday Funday
Monday, April 26, 2010
Art what?
Over the weekend I went down to Little Italy with my friend Amanda to the 26th annual ArtWalk. I've been living in San Diego for nearly 10 years now and this is an event I hear about every year, but one that I've never been to. Amanda had never been either, so it was the blind leading the blind.
We made our way downtown on Saturday just after the event started on the first day. The weather couldn't have been better. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze to keep it cool. People were out in full force at this event. It was tough to squeeze into some of the smaller booths to even be able to see the art.
As stated in the title of the event there was some art. In fact, one of my former co-workers Dani Dodge was one of the featured artists this year and she had some great watercolor pieces of New York. But most importantly, there were food street vendors. Yes, please.
Amanda and I scanned the corners where the vendors were and settled on a particularly smoky stand that was selling tri tip sandwiches. The line was long, the sandwiches looked good, and we picked up a free sample of eau de campfire while waiting.
The $7 sandwich did not disappoint. I was a bit worried about the bun it was served on; it looked tough. In actuality, the bun was amazing. It was thick, but soft, like it had just been baked. The tri tip was melt in your mouth tender and to top it off, there was a great bbq sauce with just the right amount of kick to it. Amanda and I both gave the sandwich two thumbs up.
Due to the warmish weather, we couldn't leave Little Italy without a stop at Yogurtland. Plus, Amanda had never been, so I felt it was my duty to introduce her. I think every body else at the ArtWalk had the same idea -- I'd never seen so many people in a Yogurtland. Worth the wait? Of course!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Food flash mob
Jamie also started a program at one of the local high schools. Not only is he cooking lunch meals, where students are given multiple lunch options, as opposed to the elementary school that only gets one, but he also gathered a few students who were interested in spreading the word and helping him with his project. Each of the kids involved has a personal connection to obesity or just really wants to help see their community make a change.
The best part of the fourth episode came when Jamie made a bet with the local deejay Rod Willis who is very opposed to the project. Rod told Jamie that he doesn't think people will want to come to the kitchen Jamie set up for free cooking lessons. As a response, Jamie said if he could get 1,000 people to come through the kitchen in 5 days time, the deejay would finally have to start backing Jamie's project (and buy him a beer, of course).
A thousand people in 5 days is a lot. So, along with going on a variety of TV and radio programs to help promote Jamie's Kitchen, Jamie set up a flash mob at local Marshall University. A flash mob is where a group of people collaboratively do something out of the ordinary in an ordinary setting. In this case, in the middle of campus among unsuspecting people gathering and walking around the center of campus, the flash mob busted out a choreographed dance making stir-fry. It was awesome.
During the week Jamie then set up a cook-a-thon where he had people out in the streets cooking stir-fry. He visited local factories where he taught workers how to cook in the middle of work.
"One person cannot change 50,000 people in the town of Huntington." - Rod Willis.
When Jamie came about 200 people shy of his goal, he turned to Rod Willis to help him reach his goal. To try to convince Rod to help, Jamie took him to a local funeral parlor. It was crazy. You never really think about what happens to obese people when they die. This segment was a real eye opener. With the increase in obesity, casket makers have had to expand their business to create, essentially, double-wide caskets. The morticians at the funeral home said because of their size, morbidly obese people cannot be cremated and to carry the casket, it has to go on a flatbed truck. That's for sure not the way I want to exit this world. "It ain't about cooking lettuce, the Food Revolution is about saving lives." Jamie said to Rod after leaving.
Jamie's plan worked. During the last day, Rod showed up to Jamie's Kitchen to help reach 1,000 people cooking. Rod finally broke down and said, "I've come to realize that it's not about Jamie Oliver any more, it's about us as a community."
If you haven't checked out the show, you can catch up with old episodes on Hulu.com or tune in at 9pm on Fridays on ABC.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Food Revolution
As with much in life if you are frugal and smart about your spending habits, you are able to indulge in larger items from time to time -- a new pair of shoes, a piece of furniture for your house or maybe even a vacation. It's the same for food. If you maintain a relatively healthy eating pattern for most of the week, you should be able to indulge in the delicious, not-so-healthy food from time to time.
I'm a little slow on the uptake, but today I watched the first episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolutions, which runs at 9pm, Friday nights on ABC. After the first few minutes I was totally hooked. The premise of the show is that British chef Jamie Oliver goes to Huntington, West Virginia, called the most unhealthy city in America, with the goal of showing people that it doesn't cost any more, nor take more effort, for people to eat more healthy.
In the first episode, Jaime goes into an elementary school to observe what the children are eating and how the workers are preparing. His visit, however, came after stopping by a local radio station to talk about his goals for this experiment. The disc jockey was very against the whole idea. "We don't want to sit around and eat lettuce all day. You come to town and you say you're going to change our menus and stuff. I just don't think you should just come in here and tell us what to do. I mean who made you the king?" said DJ Rod Willis.
It's funny to me that this guy's view of eating healthy is to sit around eating lettuce. I don't think it would be much of a revolution to come into a town and tell everyone that all they're allowed to eat is salad. That's absurd.
Following that radio station visit Jamie shows up at the school. The scene was disturbing. Children were eating their morning meal of pizza. Seriously, pizza for breakfast provided by school officials? I don't think I learned about pizza for breakfast until I woke up from a late night study session in college and there was nothing else available as I ran out of my room to get to class. The school scenes only got worse. Chicken nuggets, frozen this and that, and a whole load of foods with countless added preservatives. Another thing that alarmed me was the amount of food the kids throw away.
Aside from the elementary school, Jamie visited a local family. Everyone in the family -- mom, two boys and one daughter -- were obese. The father was a trucker and wasn't seen in this episode. The 12-year-old son looked older than the 16-year-old son. Jamie took the family's receipts from the past week then took all of the food the family had purchased, prepared it and displayed it on the kitchen table in one big heap. It was disgusting to look at.
Jamie told the mom that by serving her children that food, she was shaving years off her children's lives. She broke down and said, "I'm killing my children." No arguments from Jamie. Everything on the table was processed, fried and full of fat. There were no fruits and the only vegetable was potatoes. As a symbol of moving forward, Jamie and the family buried the fryer in the backyard.
During the whole show Jamie was met with resistance (other than the family, who seemed to realize there was a problem and were willing to work toward making a change). There was an extremely negative article written in the town paper, resistance came from the kitchen workers, principal and other administrators, and of course, when given the choice between pizza or freshly made chicken, even the kids resisted the idea of healthier food in their lives.
I am very curious to see where this experiment leads. I hope Jamie's work can help plant the seed of change for a more healthy America.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Easter leftovers
Here's what I did with my Easter leftovers today.
I bought some pre-made herb ravioli with spinach and cheese. I boiled these for 4-5 minutes, while those were cooking I diced one slice of the ham into small squares and cooked them in a pan with about a teaspoon of olive oil.
After I drained the ravioli I added them to the pan with the ham. While those two heated, I steamed about a half a cup of broccoli with lemon pepper on top.
While the ravioli and ham is cooking, add a teaspoon of lemon juice and the zest of half a lemon. Continue heating for about five minutes.
Remove ravioli and broccoli from heat and combine both in a bowl and give it a toss. Squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top of everything. Grate about a teaspoon of fresh Parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy.
I ate my lunch today while watching the movie New York, I Love You. This is one of those movies that seems to be the who's who when it comes to actors that are involved. From Natalie Portman and Bradly Cooper to James Caan and Cloris Leachman. When you see films with so many familiar names you expect big things. To me, this sometimes tends not to be the case (A Prairie House Companion).
This movie was a collaboration of multiple short stories rolled into one that displayed the many lives and relationships that make New York, New York. Now, I love New York. It's a fantastic city that is always alive with something new. I thought the movie was cute, but not fantastic. It didn't enhance my view of the Big Apple, but I'd say it was worth the peak.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Eating my way through Spring Training, V
I'm not saying that getting cupcakes was the highlight of the trip, but it darn well was up there. It would have been more of a highlight if I would have gone on Saturday when they had the strawberry cupcakes, but instead I settled for a black & white cupcake and a lemon cupcake. Yummy.
After our stop at Sprinkles, we headed south to the Arizona State University campus. On the edge of campus sits deli/bar Bison Witches, a must eat in Arizona I was told before leaving on the trip. The selection offered up at Bison Witches was part pub food and part deli. I opted for the $7.75 deal of a half sandwich, half soup. I got a roast beef and brie sandwich on wheat with clam chowder.
Eating my way through Spring Training, IV
Saturday marked the last game for our Spring Training trip. Unlike my father, who had a hot dog every game, I had managed to not repeat on food and today would be no exception. After making a circle around the stadium and eying the wares I decided upon a cheeseburger from the BBQ stand.
Dinner was a much better experience. We headed into downtown Phoenix near where both the Suns and Diamondbacks have stadiums. The dinner destination was Alice Cooperstown.
All of the menu items were cleverly named for various athletes and musicians. I got the Sundevil Clubhouse with chicken, sweet garlic mayo, bacon, lettuce and tomato. It came with two sides and I got fries and mandarin slices. The sandwich was great and the fries were perfectly crispy.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Eating my way through Spring Training, III
The day started with Kashi bars and bananas on our way to Camelback Mountain. We decided that since we ate so poorly the day before we needed some exercise, so we went for a hike. I found out about Camelback on Yelp.com. Many people had written they had enjoyed the hike and that it had some great views once you reached the top. The description on the Phoenix parks site said that it was a trail recommended for experienced hikers only -- that is correct. I hike to the highest point in San Diego probably one to three times a month. It's a good hike that gets the heart pumping, but nothing compared to this hike. There were parts of the hike where you had to hold on to railings bolted into the ground going up and down because it was so steep.
But in the end, the panoramic views of both Scottsdale and Phoenix were incredible. In all we hiked for just over two hours. I estimated that we probably burned off a hot dog or two.
At the game I wasn't in the mood for another hot dog. Instead, I headed to the third base side of the stadium to get some noodles I had seen the previous day. For $6 you could get a Chinese food-sized takeout box filled with noodles and various vegis. For $8 you could get ginger chicken on top. I love ginger so opted for the chicken. Not worth the extra $2. Sure, they gave you lots of chicken, but it was way too salty for my taste.
After the game (which in case you were wondering was the Giants vs. Rockies - Giants won 7-4) we took a pedi-cab to Scottsdale Road and went to happy hour at Salty Senoriata. We drove past this restaurant around noon when returning from our hike and the patio was packed. It wasn't much different when we arrived. We opted to get our drinks from the inside bar. Happy Hour margs were $4. There were various other happy hour specials from 3-7pm, but we stuck with the basics.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Eating my way through Spring Training, II
It's a good thing I made no disclaimers on the type of food I would be eating while here in Arizona. Today was a golden junk food day for sure.
It was day two of Spring Training today and we went to Scottsdale Stadium to see the Giants take on the Brewers.
There was some drama in today's game as the Giants' starting pitcher Barry Zito hit Brewer Prince Fielder on the first pitch. Fielder earned a target on his back after the two teams met back in September and Fielder pulled an elaborate stunt after hitting a game winning homerun with two outs in the 9th inning. The un-sportsman like production included many Brewer teammates falling over like bowling pins when Fielder leaped in the air and struck home plate. Was Zito justified in the retaliation? I think so.
Enough about baseball, what about the food?! Well, it was a doosey of a day, I'll tell you that much to start.
As I reported in my day one blog, Scottsdale Stadium took 7th place out of 11 teams on the ranking of stadium food. The selection that the Peoria Sports Complex had by far out shadowed the Giants' home base. There was the famous Gordon Biersch garlic fries, but I'm not a huge fan of them. They smell good, but don't get make the cut in my book.
For my stadium lunch selection I opted for a Giant dog at the bbq stand between third base and right field. This was my first dog of the trip, and probably not my last. I happily got my favorite dog toppings: catchup and jalapenos. Yum. The dog was standard, but took on some extra flavor because it was bbq'd. As far as stadium dogs go, it was pretty good.
As if eating stadium food once during the day wasn't enough, we decided to head over to Jobing.com Arena to watch the Phoenix Coyotes take on the Colorado Avalanche in some hockey action. A friend of mine recommended this outing and also told us that for $30 you got seats behind the goal AND all you can eat at the concession stand. Sweet! On the menu (and I am going to sound very glutonous for this one): two rounds of nachos, a pile of goober peanuts, a hot dog (no jalapenos this time) and three diet pepsi's. I think I for sure got my moneys worth.
Next up on the menu? I guess we'll have to see tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Eating my way through Spring Training
Day One
At 6a.m. the sun rose above the mountains of the Cleveland National Forest and I was behind the wheel of my car headed east to Phoenix. Thus begins the trip to Spring Training 2010. The lineup: Day one, Giants at Mariners; Day two, Giants vs. Brewers; Day three, Giants vs. Rockies; Day four, Giants vs. Diamondbacks.
I went on a solo trip to Spring Training two years ago for a quick weekend where I saw two Padres games. For this year's trip my dad joined me. He has never been to Spring Training and is a huge Giants fan, so watching him get ready for this trip has been like watching a kid in a candy store.
A bit of planning went into the trip including, of course, where to eat while in Arizona. I checked out Yelp, got some word-of-mouth recommendations and found a few ideas on springtrainingconnection.com.
On the Spring Training Connection web site they ranked which stadiums had the best food. Peoria Sports Complex, where the Mariners play, was ranked number one. Giants' stadium in Scottsdale was ranked number seven out of eleven locations.
For Day One I decided to try Randy Jones' BBQ in Power Alley behind third base. I got their bbq pulled pork sandwich and it was not a disappointment. For $6 I got the sandwich, piled high with pulled pork, potato salad and corn on the cob. My beer on the other hand, a measly Bud Light, was $7.25. Guess you can't win all your battles.
We also went to a small beer garden near center field where there were some better beer choices. A big cup of Fat Tire and Blue Moon was only $7.25 each. A great value in my book --only in terms of ballpark prices, of course.
For dinner after the game we crossed the street into a shopping center that had a bunch of different restaurants. We checked out a word-of-mouth recommendation by going to Abuelos. The food was really great and reasonably priced. The best part was the happy hour drink specials. Most drinks were $3-4 each. I got a two enchilada plate with chicken in a green sauce and avocado in a cream sauce. My dad got a Matamoros plate with chili relleno that was excellent - nice and crispy with great flavor. I would go back here indeed.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Holy guacamole!
The event took place inside the Balboa Park Club and several hundred people were in attendance. All funds raised were to support Sports for Exceptional Athletes, a non-profit group that helps special needs athletes.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
New kitchen gadget
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
New twist on childhood favorite
Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats
What’s different about these? Oh, just a bit more (coughdouble) butter which you toast until it’s brown and nutty and help along with some coarse salt, just minor things. But it changes everything.
Makes 16 2-inch squares or 32 1- x 2-inch small bars
4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)
Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.
In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.
As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.
Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan. I liked to use a piece of waxed or parchment paper that I’ve sprayed with oil to press it firmly and evenly into the edges and corners, though a silicon spatula works almost as well.
Let cool, cut into squares and get ready to make new friends.