Fooding it Up at Home

A couple of weekends ago I went home to help out with some family stuff. It wasn't the easiest trip, and I needed to blow-off some steam, so the best outlet was trying a couple of new-to-me restaurants. My sister and her boyfriend took me to Home Bar & Grill one night, and on another night I went with friends to Pint + Jigger. These are two very different places.

Tater Tot Nachos

The food at Home Bar was great, but the atmosphere was pretty lacking (bright and loud). They did local food really well. Between the tater tot nachos, neguri poke, fried rice, smoked pork, and tofu, we were stuffed. My favorites were the smoked pork, poke, and tater tot nachos. The nachos are pretty heavy, but so good going down. The smoked pork is fantastic bar food, and the poke was awesome. They actually have two versions of the poke, but get the neguri if you're there.

Neguri Poke

Then my friends and I went to Pint + Jigger the following night. Cool atmosphere, great beers, and good food. Granted, I only had tastes  because I had just come from family dinner where we had my auntie's  beef stew, garlic chicken, and edamame rice, but I would go back for more than their beer list. My friend ordered the Scotch egg, handcrafted pigs in a blanket, and the Pint + Jigger Oatmeal Stout Burger. I tried the Scotch egg and pigs in a blanket. Both good, but I really enjoyed the cherry tomato relish...I really need to try and make my own ketchup one of these days! My favorite part was ordering off the beer menu which divided the offerings into:

• LUCKY 21 On Tap
• Ridiculously Good Beers!!!
• Brews That Don't Suck...
• Aluminum Suds!!
• Beers???

If you are one of my friends at home, or you are visiting Honolulu some time soon, please go to these places! I am so glad to see the level of foodie-ness on the rise in Hawaii, and want to be able to eat my way through my next visit home.

A Last Minute Labor Day Road Trip

Flying by the seat of my pants has never really been my thing, but it's something the B does, so I'm getting a little more flexible. Overall, planning my life out a less has been a good thing, but sometimes, it can be a little painful.

Like when it's Saturday of Labor Day weekend and you decide you want to drive up the California coast the next day. That being said, it was only painful because we needed a hotel room for Sunday night, and there wasn't much to be had in Pismo or Shell Beach. We ended up in a two-star motel - yuck. It was not nearly as clean as I would like, and you had to run the hot water only for about five minutes in order to get it hot. Honestly, I would have camped rather than stay at this place (shhh).

Shell Beach

The rest of our California coast adventure was great. On the way to Pismo Beach, we stopped at Firestone Walker Brewing Company and the Fess Parker Winery for tastings. On Monday, we decided to go to Hearst Castle before heading to Paso Robles.

Hearst Castle

This was my first time at Hearst Castle. It is an amazing place, and if you ever find yourself driving along the PCH, make the time to stop there. You do need at least two hours though if you want to actually tour. You park down at the visitor center and board a bus for a five-mile ride up to the main house. The temperatures at the visitor center were pretty cool, but it was hot up at the castle!

The fog hovers over San Simeon

From the castle you over look San Simeon and the Pacific Ocean if it's a clear day. For us, the fog stayed right over the coastline, so you could only see a little bit of ocean. We called ahead and made reservations over the phone, which was probably a good thing considering how crowded it was at Hearst Castle.

The Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle

After the castle, we drove to Paso Robles and did two more wine tastings. One at Rotta Winery and one at Wild Horse Winery. I have not done wine tastings in Paso Robles before, and I enjoyed it. It is much more low key than Napa Valley. Plus, tastings only cost $5 and at Rotta, you get 12 tastings! If you ever end up at Rotta, I hope Gale is working. She is hilarious!

Oops, almost forgot about food. In Pismo we ate at Mo's Smokehouse BBQ for dinner and in Paso Robles we ate at Farmstand 46 for lunch. Both places were good, but I especially enjoyed Farmstand 46. I had the Goat sandwich (actually pork, not goat), and it was quite yummy. Just don't sit outside on a hot day because the yellow jackets will start buzzing around you and your food.

Sunset in the Los Padres National Forest

It was a very nice two-day adventure in California, and thanks to our iPhones, we routed ourselves around traffic on the 101 on the way home. These less-traveled highways took us through the various terrains that make California so unique, as well as through the Los Padres National Forest. It's only been two days, and I feel like hopping in the car again.

The Cupcake Project

Last week I had to apologize to a friend for my last minute RSVP change; from +1 to just 1 because the B had to go out of town for work at the last minute. My friend "suggested" I bring red velvet cupcakes in place of the B. I took the "suggestion" as a "request" and since the occasion was an engagement party, I went an extra mile.

 The extra mile involved packaging the cupcakes individually and making little "J²" flags.

I figured out how to individually package the cupcakes thanks to Pinterest and this blog.

And, I turned to a co-worker for help with the flags.  She has graphic design experience and helped me out.

The plastic cups are of the 9-ounce, clear plastic variety, and the bags came from Jo-Ann. Packaging was quite easy...as long as you don't overfill your cupcake cups (something I tend to do), and you don't frost your entire cupcake.

The Chocolate Haupia Pie Did Not Go Over Well

I am so disappointed.  My first chocolate haupia pie was kind of a fail.  Kind of because it looked right and tasted right, but apparently I should have shared with those who have acquired the taste for such a pie.  Mr. Sweeth Tooth did not like it.  Something about the consistency.  Granted, the chocolate pie was a not as light as I would have liked, but I didn't feel like it was that bad. 

Insert sad face here.

The recipe came from Hawaii's Best Local Desserts.  It was an easy recipe, the hardest part was finding frozen coconut milk.  In fact, I could not find the frozen stuff easily, so I bought the canned version.  To confirm, I sent a text to my friend who I figured would know, and of course she knew (she writes the myfoodaffair blog).  When she make haupia, she uses canned coconut milk, and finds it more flavorful. 

By the way, haupia is a coconut dessert from Hawaii.  It's kind of like jello.

Here's the recipe, hope it goes over better for you than it did for me.  By the way, I added my notes directly in the text below (I'm being lazy), and made the copy bold.

Chocolate Haupia Pie
adapted from Hawaii's Best Local Desserts

• 1 frozen prepared pie crust (9-inch)
• 1 can frozen coconut milk, (12-oz), thawed (canned coconut milk is okay)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• semi-sweet chocolate (7-oz)
• 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Shaved chocolate for garnish

Bake pie crust at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.  Cool.

To make the haupia, whisk coconut milk, milk, and 1 cup sugar in a sauce pan.  In a separate bowl, dissolve cornstarch in water.  Bring the coconut milk mixture to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and whisk in cornstarch mixture until thickened.  I don't think you have to use the entire cornstarch mixture, but I could be wrong (maybe someone can comment on this for me).

Microwave chocolate pieces for 1 minute, or until melted (I go for soft and then stir so it doesn't get too hot).  Pour half the haupia into a bowl.  Mix the remaining haupia with melted choclate and pour on bottom of pie crust.  Spread out evenly.  Layer white haupia on top.  Spread evenly.  Cool the pie in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  Whip heavy whipping cream with 1/4 sugar until stiff peaks form.  Garnish the pie with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.  Chill for 1 hour.

Why I Bought (and Love) a $35 Pepper Grinder

My mom taught me that it is better to spend more money on one thing of high quality than several things of lower quality.  A good lesson in general, but bad because I always seem to like the more expensive item. 

I thought I went the more costly route a few years ago when I bought a pepper grinder from Crate and Barrel.  Apparently $16.95 is affordable for a pepper grinder, even one that is called a "pepper mill."  I learned this yesterday when I went in search of a new pepper grinder because my Crate and Barrel contraption is broken. 

After walking in and out of Crate and Barrel (three employees stood behind the cash register talking, so no greeting for customers), I remembered that my used-to-live-in-Cali-but-now-live-in-Boston-friends gave me a gift card to Sur La Table for my birthday.  So, I ventured in there.  A very nice employee, Chris, immediately greeted me and showed me the pepper grinders.  In fact he was so helpful that he tried to show me how to open one of the grinders, and ended up spilling an entire container full of whole peppercorns when the bottom of the grinders unexpectedly dropped to the floor. 

Sur La Table has a very nice selection of pepper grinders.  Of course the one I wanted, the  Cole and Mason Keswick Wood model cost $35.  Yikes.  That was much more than I planned to spend, and it probably falls into the reasonable-range at Sur La Table (there was a $90 model).  But, I was in there because I had a gift card to spend, and isn't that what gift cards are for - to buy something for yourself that you normally wouldn't?  At least that's what I think.

This is a good investment!  I am only two meals into using this mill, but I love it.  It grinds pepper much better than my old one did, and it has six preset grind levels that you set from the outside (see my picture).  It may not be a Peugeot, but the Cole and Mason also has a lifetime warranty on the grinding mechanism.   

What are Your Ten Best-Ever Teen Books?

This one's for book lovers, especially those who like to read in the YA genre.  After collecting nominations for a top-100 list of the best young adjust books, NPR has come up with a list of 235 titles, and it's now up to the public to vote.  We can each pick 10 books from the list.

That's right 10 books.  I don't know how it will be/was for you, but it was incredibly difficult for me!

My votes were for:

1. Anne of Green Gables (series) by Lucy Maud Montgomery
2. The Dark is Rising (series) by Susan Cooper
3. Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
4. His Dark Materials (series) by Philip Pullman
5. The Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins
6. The Princess Bride by William Golman
7. The Shiver Trilogy (series by Maggie Stiefvater)
8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
10. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

But, I also wanted to vote for:

1. Betsy-Tacy Books (series) by Maud Hart-Lovelace
2. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
3. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
4. The Mortal Instruments (series) by Cassandra Clare
5. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
6. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
7. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

And where in world was A Wrinkle in Time?  I don't get why it's not on the list when the Betsy-Tacy books are there; I could have sworn those were little kids.  But then again, NPR does talk about the debates they went through trying to figure out just what fits into YA.  At any rate, I can't wait to see the final list.  I just may have to re-read some of these titles.

What are your best-ever YA books?  If you voted, what were your selections?

Salt's Cure Equals Yum

If you have ever eaten a meal with me, you know that I am pretty much a meatatarian.  Yes, vegetables can be tasty, and I know they're good for you, but they are generally secondary to me when it comes to food choices.  So I took a little bit of offense to one of Adam Richman's search for the "manliest" restaurant in America.  I know I'm a girl and all, but geez, I enjoy a good steak too. 

Miffed feelings aside, goodness did he pick a fantastic place when he went to Salt's Cure in West Hollywood.  All the discussions about meat, the hands-on approach of the two owners made this a must-try for the B and me; which we finally did on Saturday.  We thoroughly enjoyed every moment...well, almost every moment. 

The restaurant is located at North Vista and Santa Monica Boulevard, and it's a pretty small place.  We walked-in around 7:00 p.m., and they had two seats left at the bar.  Actually, we sat at a regular table, right next to the bar, but we faced their open kitchen.  The B likes to situate us like this because he enjoys watching the cooking process.  Which, I must admit, was a fun experience at this place, except for the part when the workers got in a little bit of a tiff.  It was a little disappointing to hear the exchange, but I guess that's what you get when you have an open kitchen.  We said we would pretend it didn't happen because the food was that good.

We shared the pickled vegetables (served with pretzel roll), a creamy goat cheese (with some sort of nutty bread), the mussels (with toasted rustic/country bread), braised Swiss chard, the bacon cheeseburger, and the bread pudding.  Everything was excellent.  They pickle their own vegetables, bake their own breads, cure their own bacon (truly thick strips)...you get the picture.  We had to roll ourselves out of there, but it was worth every over-stuffed moment I had that night.

Pickle Plate with Pretzel Roll

The atmosphere is quite nice, but I wouldn't call it romantic.  The menu changes everyday, so you have to look-up on a chalkboard that hangs near the ceiling.  Apparently they serve brunch on the weekends, and are open for lunch on the weekdays.  It's not the cheapest place, but it's not that expensive either; especially when you consider the lengths they go to for food preparation.  We plan to go back for brunch...if we can ever get ourselves away from the brunch scene at the beach.