Summer Sangria

The summer is in full swing even in the usually cold San Francisco. With the temperatures climbing up to 85 degrees and sun touching the pale features of the fog-city inhabitants lounging outside, I am in the mood to celebrate! Luckily for me, as I was browsing online looking for my usual updates on fashion, art and culture, I came across a cocktail recipe book published in 2009 but since then gaining wide recognition for its straight forward directions for NYC brightest concoctions. Mix Shake Stir: Recipes from Danny Meyer's Acclaimed New York City Restaurants is a wonderful book exploring everything from the timeless classics like  “Bloody Mary” to inspiring new twists on the refreshing “Pomegranate Gimlet.” With no further delay, I present to you my favorite drink for the warm sunny days – Sangria!

  

Summer Sangria:

Ingredients:

·      6 cups full-bodied dry wine (merlot or chardonnay)

·      2 cups simple syrup

·      1 cup fresh orange juice

·      1 cup fresh or unsweetened canned pineapple juice

·      3 oz white rum, preferably Bacardi

·      3 ounces gin

·      1 oz triple sec or other orange liqueur

·      1 oz brandy

·      ice

·      3 cups (or more, as needed) chopped fresh seasonal fruit

Directions:

Combine wine, simple syrup, orange and pineapple juices, rum, gin, triple sec, and brandy in a large glass pitcher. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours. Fill wine glasses with ice and arrange a half cup of the chopped fruit in each. Pour the sangria into the glasses and serve. Makes 12 - 14 drinks.

Pair berries and plums with red or peaches and melons with white. Citrus fruits add balance to both.

P.S. For fruit I used 5-6 cups of plums, strawberries, blackberries, oranges and apples. My friends and family loved the Sangria as it was but I think I will cancel the simple syrup as it was a tad too sweet for my taste – orange and pineapple juices provide enough sweetness naturally. As you can see Sangria is a work in progress open to different interpretations – experiment and indulge!  

And here is the book:

Filet Mignon with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Filet Mignon with Creamy Mushroom Sauce:

Ingredients:

·      Filet mignon

·      Bell or Porcini Mushrooms

·      Sour Cream

·      Yellow Onion

·      White flour

·      Salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

Meat: Season each piece of filet mignon with paprika, black pepper and salt. Cover each side with a bit of olive oil, wrap with saran wrap and set aside to marinate for 30 minutes. After the time is up, bake the meat in the oven on 350 degrees for 15-30 minutes depending on the meat preparation style (rare, medium rare, medium etc)

Sauce: Cut bell mushrooms into circles and boil in water until soft. Remove the mushrooms from the broth. Set the mushroom broth aside. Chop the onions and cook them in olive oil on the stove. Add mushrooms when onions become soft. Cook together until mushrooms become golden. Add some broth to cover the mushrooms. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Add flour for thicker texture. Add sour cream and cook for another 5 minutes to create the final sauce. Set aside.

After the meat is ready pour the sauce on top of each filet mignon and serve.

Crab Salad Canapé

Crab Salad Canape:

Ingredients:

·      Cucumbers

·      Crab meat (fresh/sold by weight)

·      Celery

·      Chives

·      Mayo

·      Salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine crab meat, finely chopped celery and chives together. Add mayo for creamy consistent texture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cut cucumbers into circles. Add crab salad on top of each cucumber circle and, voilà, a healthy and flavorful canapé for a light summer fête.

Turkey/Avocado Sandwich

A great dish that I enjoy for a quick lunch is Turkey/Avocado Sandwich. It literally takes five minutes to make and powers me through the day no matter how energy consuming and hectic it is. For the longest time I thought that using Guacamole as a sandwich spread was pretty unappetizing but when I made this sandwich for the first time I was instantly in love. So in love was I that I repeatedly made it for breakfast everyday for the next week...talking about crazy signs... If you love sandwiches, this guacamole wonder just might become your favorite too:

Turkey/Avocado Sandwich:

Ingredients:

·      2 slices of bread

·      2-4 slices of oven roasted turkey

·      1-2 slices of cheese

·      1 table spoon of guacamole

·      Spring mix greens

Directions:

Take two slices of your favorite bread and toast them both to a slightly crusty texture. On the first slice of bread spread the guacamole and add greens on top. Follow by putting 2-4 pieces of turkey. I love my sandwiches to be heavy on the meat so I usually add 4 pieces minimum but, then again, my turkey slices are rather thin. When you finish the layering, set aside. On the second slice of bread add 1-2 slices of cheese only. Once again, I use two slices of my favorite Havarti cheese since that way the sandwich has a nice savory saltiness to it.  Put the piece of bread with the cheese on it on the pan and heat until the cheese has gotten soft and started to melt. Watch it carefully while cooking since, quite often, the bottom of the bread starts to burn before the cheese has melted, especially if you are using more cheese. Once the cheese half of the sandwich is ready put it on top of the other half and devour…it is so tasty in my mind that “devour” is the only verb I can use!

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!