Fresca Fillmore

Today I had the pleasure of dining at a wonderful Peruvian restaurant for the second time. Usually I am hesitant to return to a place again and again, given how many new restaurants open in San Francisco every day and equally (“sigh”) how many places tend to be a one time wonder that you are enchanted by simply because you were a bit too hungry that day – but this restaurant is a rare and great exception. I present to you – Fresca – a restaurant located on a charming Fillmore Street in the Pacific Heights. I hear they have two more locations in Noe Valley and West Portal but the Pac Heights restaurant is the one I am giving my praise to. The selection of ceviche is outstanding in its variety, freshness and just enough flavor without the “too acidic” quality that many ceviche dishes often possess. The first time I came to Fresca, I ordered paella for the main course and had to take it boxed to go because there was no way I was living it behind – simply delicious! Today, however, I went for their special halibut-like Peruvian fish roasted whole in a signature mixture of tomato paste with mussels, clams and calamari.  It did not disappoint and I am sure to go there again when my bestest friend from NYC comes here for a visit! Counting the days! 

Chicken/Mushroom Salad

The spring is officially here even though the seemingly warm Californian sun is rather misleading in the windy San Francisco. But the fact is a fact, given it is April 24, and that means the preparation for bikini season is in full swing. With that thought in mind I give you one of my favorite variations on a good old boring spring mix with chicken salad:

Chicken/Mushroom Salad:

Ingredients:

·      Chicken breast

·      Portobello mushrooms

·      Spring greens mix

·      Olive oil

·      Balsamic vinegar

·      Caramelized walnuts

·      Bucheron cheese

Directions:

Cook chicken breast on a medium pan in olive oil until thoroughly cooked and golden in color. Once the chicken cools off to handle comfortably, cut it into small square pieces and set aside. In slices of similar size, cook the Portobello mushrooms until soft. Cool off. Toss the chicken and mushrooms into a salad bowl with the spring greens mix or any other type of salad you enjoy. Add a touch of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add caramelized walnuts and Bucheron cheese and serve!

Tartine Bakery

Sooo today was an incredibly fun day! First I took a letterpress class with a small group of students at Ferney Art Studio in the Mission. Since I managed to finish my printing earlier than expected, I could not pass the opportunity to get some pastry goodies from the famous Tartine Bakery. Truth be told, today was my second attempt at eating at Tartine since my last one has tested my patience to its limits with an exhaustingly long line and I simply gave up and ate at a different venue. Today, however, I decided to be persistent and withstand the line that looped over the side of the building…I guess one of the reasons I gave it a try was my great mood from the aforementioned class and a new issue of Tatler in hand. And so I waited and waited, intrigued by the number of people sacrificing their precious Sunday time for a bakery…I guess it must be that good! 

By the time I got to the ordering station, I decided to overcompensate and ordered everything that appealed to me. I was not the only one since I saw many people walking out with big brown paper bags. Who knows maybe the lines are Tartine’s marketing strategy – they exhaust you to the point where you want to buy a million pastries to justify the loss of your precious time. And buying I did: Croque Monsieur + Éclair +Croissant + Shortbread + Cappuccino!

Mmmm….what can I say, it is as good as the line outside is long! I am coming back even if it means driving to Mission for that Croissant alone!

Egg Salad Sandwich

Egg Salad Sandwich:

Ingredients:

·      4 eggs

·      1-2 table spoons of chopped lettuce

·      1-2 table spoons of mayo

·      1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

·      1 table spoon of finely chopped dill

·      1 pinch of cayenne pepper and garlic powder each for an extra kick

Directions:

Hard boil 4 eggs in a bowl (5 minutes after boiling point) and put under running cold water to cool off. After the eggs are cold, peel and chop them into small pieces. Put them in a bowl and add dill, mayo, Dijon mustard, cayenne powder and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Toast a slice of your favorite bread in the oven, on a pan or simply in a toaster. Put the chopped lettuce on top of the bread. Spread the egg mixture on top of lettuce and top with your favorite slice of cheese. Put in the oven or on the pan and cook until the cheese has melted. Enjoy!

P.S. I just heat my bread in the toaster until slightly crunchy, add Havarti cheese on top and cook on the pan until melted. Tasty and simple! I can imagine that baking it in the oven would only make better…I will try it next time and report back! : )

Soooo I am in love with my new French Crêpe Making Set! It was a sunny spring day and I could not stop browsing through the treasure chest that is Williams-Sonoma! After what seemed like an hour of vacillating between various products and books, I settled on the French-made set that included a blue steel crêpe pan, a wood turner and Voila la Crêpe mix. The set looked adorable…yet my crêpe virtuoso skills were certainly far from it…

At the end, after four embarrassing tries and mixture left for the one last attempt, here it was – my sad, half-burned, half-undercooked “pancake” with ham and cheese…yea, my conscience and respect for the French culture prevent me from calling this “thing” Crêpe …

Spaghetti Bolognese

Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients:

·      Fresh or dry Fettuccine or Spaghetti

·      Ground beef (in my case – cooking for one or two – 0.5 lb)

·      Salt pork or pancetta

·      1 onion

·      1  20oz. can of Marinara Sauce (I swear by Scarpetta brand products)

·      salt and pepper to taste

·      1 pinch of cayenne pepper and garlic powder each for an extra kick

Directions:

Start up by heating the pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Mince one onion and cook in the pan until softened. Cut pancetta into small pieces (about 2-3 table spoons) and add to the pan. Cook with the onions until the pork reduces in size and begins to turn golden color. Add ground beef and, as it is being cooked, separate and mix it with the spatula to create even consistency. When the meat is thoroughly cooked, add marinara sauce. Heat until boiling, add salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and set aside. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water (3-5 minutes for the fresh pasta and 8-10 minutes for the dry option). 

Lay the pasta out on the plate, pour the Bolognese sauce over and indulge! I always add a sprinkle of my favorite cheese just for the overkill! 

Apple Pie!!!

Awww Apple Pie, how much I love you… When I lived in Union Square in NYC, I used to frequent its Farmers’ Market in search of the perfect apple wonder. I found it once to never see it again since they constantly moved the stands around each weekend and confused me with the other “inferior” apple pie vendors! The pie I had that one time was magical – very thin crust, lots of apples and not too sugary – it was heaven! But as I have mentioned, I have found it and lost it and all I can do now is try to make it myself. I am attempting my first apple pie today, following a recipe from my favorite book that I promise to blog about in a few days since it is incredibly easy yet has about anything you can think of cooking. So here goes my pie experience:  

Apple Pie

Ingredients:

·      6 large Granny Smith Apples

·      Pie crust mix or store-bought crusts (top and bottom)

·      1 table spoon flour (extra for rolling out the dough)

·      1 lemon

·      1/3 cup sugar (1 extra tablespoon for sprinkling)

·      1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·      1 large egg

Directions:

I did not include the ingredients for the dough because I did not make it from scratch and followed the instructions on the package. Since you might prefer to buy the pre-made crusts or another brand of pie-crust mix, it would be useless to list them here. In my case, I used Williams-Sonoma brand pie-crust mix. You start by pouring the contents of the entire package out into the food mixer and mixing for about 30 seconds. Then you add 2 sticks of unsalted butter (250g. each) cut into small square pieces. Mix until the butter pieces have combined with the pie-mixture and slightly decreased in size. Add about 10 tablespoons of ice water and mix until you get the dough mixture. It will be crumbly and falling apart so do not let that scare you – it made me nervous until I reread the instructions and learned that it was to be expected. Transfer the dough onto a pre-floured wooden cutting board, separate into two equal parts and roll into two balls. Wrap each dough ball into saran plastic wrap and cool in the refrigerator anywhere from an hour to two days. I cooled it off for only one hour and it turned out well.

For the filling, peel and core the apples. Cut the apples into chunky pieces (about 1 inch thick) and cook in the juice of 1 lemon in a large pan. After the apples have cooked for 5 minutes on low heat and started to soften, remove them from the pan and drain any liquid. Place the apples into a bowl and stir in 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside to cool and start preheating the oven to 375 degrees.

 

When the dough is ready, take it out from the freezer and place onto a pre-floured board. Using the rolling pin roll out each dough ball into 2 large circles ¼ inch thick. Place one dough sheet into a 9-inch pie pan and push around the sides to fit. Place the apples inside in circles. On the side, take one egg and separate it, preserving the white. Take a pastry brush, dip it into the egg white and brush lightly around the circumference of the crust. Put the second sheet of dough over the top of the apples and press it down at the edges to seal. Trim the extra dough with a sharp knife and slash the pastry over the apples 4-5 times to let the steam out while the apples cook. For decoration, roll out the extra dough and cut out a few leaves and stick onto the pie. Brush the top of the pie with the remaining egg white, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar and put it in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until you see an even golden color. Serve with vanilla ice cream or with a glass of cold milk!