Upcoming Food Events

Some upcoming food events in the San Diego area:

April 28 & 29: Encinitas Street Fair
April 28 & 29: Temecula Wine and Music Festival
May 2: 31 cent scoop night at Baskin' Robbins (benefits Firefighters Fund), 5-10pm
May 5: Cinco de Mayo (there's a festival everywhere in San Diego from Oceanside to the gaslamp!)
May 5: Rancho Days Fiesta
May 6: Carlsbad Village Faire
May 11, 12, 13: Gator by the Bay (Zydeco and Crawfish)
May 12: Beach to Brewery Beer and Music Fest
May 12: Family Chocolate Festival at the Quail Botanical Gardens
May 19 & 20: Old Town Temecula Western Days
May 20: Festa Siciliana in Little Italy
May 20: North Park Festival of the Arts
May 25-28: Strawberry Festival in Garden Grove
May 27: Ethnic Food Fair at Balboa Park's International Cottages
June 1-3: Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival
June 6-10: Cherry Valley's Cherry Festival

Carlsbad Farmer's Market: Strawberry Fest

The Carlsbad Village Farmers' Market will hold its Annual Strawberry Festival on Wednesday, April 18, 1-5pm and Saturday, April 21, 9am-1pm. The markets are held weekly in Carlsbad Village at 2930 Roosevelt Street in the Public Parking Lot between Carlsbad Village Drive and Grand Avenue. The Strawberry Festival celebration will include lots of very special strawberry treats, live music and family fun!

Come for our famous homemade Strawberry Shortcake with whip cream and look for many other strawberry delights including cool Strawberry Smoothies, decadent Chocolate-covered Strawberries, or smooth Strawberry Flan. Make sure you get your fresh local strawberries and, of course, you can also shop for an abundance of other fresh produce, flowers and many fabulous foods and crafts.

The Carlsbad Garden Club will again attend the festival. These “green thumbed gals” will have plants and tools for sale and will be on hand to share their gardening tips. All proceeds from the Club's sales go to a scholarship for a Mira Costa College horticultural student. Call 760-434-2553 or 760-687-6453 for more information.

Travel: Southwest (AZ and NM)

Williams, AZ (near Grand Canyon): Pine Country Restaurant

If you're going to the Grand Canyon then you know the main towns nearby are Williams or Flagstaff. We stayed in Williams on our way to the Canyon on our trip from California to New Mexico. The most appealing restaurant near our motel was the Pine Country Restaurant.


As you can tell from the recipes I cook, I'm not really into American food. Especially not country food. However, I know a lot of people love some good country cookin'. This restaurant is THE place to go for some American home-style food. The prices are incredible. My mom ordered a 2 pork chop meal for only $8.99 (including sides). She said the chops were cooked perfectly. They also specialize in pies. We took home a slice of apple pie for breakfast and it was still really good that next morning. The service was great in the restaurant as well. I didn't even mind the picnic-style tables because they were new-ish and clean. Just remember that you need to arrive early because there are a TON of tourists eating there who just came from or are headed to the Grand Canyon.








The reason for our trip was to check out some property that my Grandpa owns near Albuquerque that he's never seen. Strange, I know. So my mom and I thought it would be an adventure to take a road trip to see exactly what my Grandpa got himself into. Before we checked out the property we had to pick up some paperwork in a nearby town called Belen. This is the biggest town in the area and it was soooo tiny. There was no where to eat in that area except for a few chains that I was not interested in trying. Apparently Blake's Lottaburger is a big chain in that part of New Mexico. They also had a Teriyaki Chicken in Foil. Needless to say, Belen was not my kind of town and I chose to wait until dinner to eat.

Albuquerque, New Mexico: Flying Star Cafe

After at least an hour of roaming the city for a place to eat that didn't smell bad and wasn't touristy, my mom and I came across the college district. The best tip for travellers is to find the university area for cheap and often times, tasty eats. We debated between a pizza and Mexican place but decided to eat at the Flying Star Cafe where they had a diverse menu.

In the front of the restaurant is a bakery with cake, pies, pastries, bagels, and the biggest cream puffs you've ever seen. We were tempted but only got 2 almond croissants and a cookie for the next day (the croissants were dried out the next day but the cookie was decent).

Fortunately the meals were delicious. Everything is homemade and fresh. My mom ordered fish and chips that were surprisingly great. The fish was crisp but not dry, the fries tasty, and the coleslaw just right. My turkey panini-style sandwich came with green chiles (I had to get something with a southwest flair) and turkey cut straight off the roast. It was almost too rich, the turkey was that good. The potato salad on the side was also made just right (old fashioned, chunky, without too much mayo and it had a lot of fresh veggies in it). I loved the meals so much that I wish we had another day in Albuquerque just so I could go there. Everything was really affordable, too.



I learned from our trip that when you have trouble finding good eats in an unfamiliar town, look for the college area and you're sure to find something good. If we hadn't found the Nob Hill area we might have been out of luck. Albuquerque is not exactly a foodie town. I actually found the city to be fairly dismal. To each his own, I suppose.

Baby Killian at Flying Star Cafe

One of Albuquerque's eateries that we chose not to try.

Santa Fe, New Mexico: Blue Corn Cafe





Our experience in Santa Fe was similar to our experience in Albuquerque but for a different reason. Santa Fe is a wonderful town with beautiful architechture and a lot to do (and eat!). However, it appeared that many of the restaurants in the museum area were located upstairs or were too fancy. This is a problem when you have a four-month old. It's also a problem when it's snowing and you didn't pack for cold weather (so you look kind of disheveled).


Again we spent hours looking for a place to eat. Finally we managed to get the stroller upstairs (not as easy as it sounds with my chubby baby) so we could eat at the Blue Corn Cafe. They seemed to have some local meals to sample which was my goal for our trip.


Our chips and guacamole appetizer was perfect. The blue corn chips were my favorite and it came with salsa (made exactly the way I like it). I love chips that are super thin, crispy, and made fresh. I hadn't had chips that good in a while. Usually when we go to a Mexican restaurant I don't like the chips or the salsa (one or the other).


I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with a honey chipotle glaze and carmelized onions. Normally I'm hesitant about ordering chicken sandwiches because restaurants tend to dry out the chicken. This sandwich was fantastic. I'm determined to recreate their glaze at home.


My mom had one of their Mexican combos which was very good and perfect for the chilly day (it snowed while we ate). Her rootbeer was great, too. Apparently they make their own. It has a great home brewed flavor and was barely carbonated which we both liked better because it gave you more room to eat!

On our way back to Albuquerque from Santa Fe we wanted to stop by the Whole Foods we saw but missed it so we stopped at a natural grocery store instead. It was one of the most impressive natural food stores I've been to. They had all sorts of nuts, grains, homeopathic supplies, etc. By the register they had some sweet empanadas that we bought for our trip. My mom had the cherry one and I had an apple. They were made by a bakery called Chocolate Maven that I will definitely go to if I ever return to Santa Fe. These sweet empanadas were some of the best pastries I've ever had. Not only that but they couldn't have been that fresh. It was evening when we bought them and we didn't eat them until the next day!

I just checked Chocolate Maven's website (see link above) and they have been featured on the food network by Giada De Laurentiis. I would love to check out their cafe as well during my next visit.

Sedona, AZ: El Rincon Restaurante Mexicano and NY Bagels & Deli

My visit to Sedona was way too short. We were there for dinner and briefly for breakfast (but we stayed in Cottonwood). It has to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to (even compared to Yosemite). No wonder it's a huge tourist spot.

As always, I was starved (my mom doesn't ever seem to "need" to eat) and desperate for some good southwest food. We settled on El Rincon restaurante because it was nearby and had good reviews. I'm not sure who reviewed this place, though. The chips and salsa were okay but not great. My mom's sweet tamale and beef taco were pretty good (she thought it was the lightest tamale she's ever had). I had half her taco and while it was good, I've had better in California. My shrimp taco was the grossest meal I've received at a restaurant in a long time. The shrimp looked like they had been boiled and the shredded cheddar didn't go at all. I've had a lot of good shrimp tacos and I really didn't think they could be butchered this badly. I was wrong. It was so gross I couldn't even eat it. Fortunately we had ordered a side of Navajo fry bread (I had only had it at a friends house and never at a restaurant so we had to try it before we got back to Cali). The bread was pretty good but I remembered it tasting better at my friend's house.

So if you stick to the tamales and tacos (and possibly Enchiladas which they seem to specialize in) then you'll be fine. However, if you're picky like me then don't even bother going there. Sedona has many other fine restaurants to choose from.

The next morning we were supposed to get on the road back to CA but we had to drive through Sedona one last time for the view and to pick up breakfast. Since we didn't have time to stop at a restaurant we went to a NY deli and bakery (called New York Bagels & Deli) figuring it would do. It didn't just "do"...it rocked! The bagels were perfect, the hoagies divine, the Elephant Ears/Palmiers the best I've ever had, and the cookies were as well. I still wish I had ordered one of their eclairs. The best part is that it was all cheaper than a deli in NY (or LA for that matter). The prices didn't match the excellent taste.

I love it when you find a great NY deli in the desert. That happened to me once in Palm Springs. I guess it's because a lot of New Yorkers tend to retire where it's warm, like the southwest or Florida.

**

So if you happen to be driving across the Southwest I recommend you plan your stops ahead of time. There aren't a lot of places to eat along the 40 (unless you like chains). Usually I plan ahead and the one time I didn't made travelling difficult for me. Hopefully my experience can help at least one other person. If you're going to or through Albuquerque, Santa Fe, or Sedona you now have at least one place where you can eat!

New Mexico/Arizona

Anyone have any restaurants they recommend in New Mexico or Arizona? I think we're taking the 40 one way and the 10 back. We'll be staying in Albequerque for a few days and we're going to try and stop by the Grand Canyon on the way out there.

If you have any tips for good eats alone the way please let me know asap (we leave early Monday).

Thanks!

Lemon Cranberry Muffins

There is nothing like a good muffin in the morning.

My main muffin problem is that most of my recipes (at least the ones I haven't worn out) are either too rich, too healthy (a.k.a bland), or too savory for breakfast. I have a few muffins that I make regularly but I was looking for something new.

Of course the first place I looked was on food blogs. I found a great recipe on Weekly Dish under Jennifer's muffin category. The recipe sounded simple and used buttermilk (truly the best baking ingredient besides chocolate). They were such a hit with my husband and mother-in-law that I made them again a week later. I wouldn't be surprised if I make them yet again when my parents come to visit this weekend. They're so easy yet so moist and divine. It's a very versatile recipe, too. This past time I added fresh blueberries and you could add practically any fruit (dried or fresh) that you like. Or skip the fruit and just add chocolate.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

I thought I would continue my chocolate obsession by posting about my husband's birthday cake. I knew he wasn't a huge fan of cake like me. We prefer tarts, pies, and pastries to regular cakes. So I decided to make a cake that doesn't taste like cake.

This flourless chocolate cake recipe comes from my trusty Baking Illustrated cookbook and is very simple. When I told friends and family that I made this cake they were perplexed (although I'm not sure why, hasn't everyone heard of flourless cake?); what holds the cake together? Chocolate of course. 1 whole pound of it. Then there are the 8 eggs and stick of butter. It's baked like you would bake a cheesecake and they recommend to serve it the next day after chilling in the fridge.

I must say, this cake tasted better each day that passed. The cake is extremely rich and will last you a long time if you don't have many family members. It really is heaven for chocoholics. To sum up the cake in a few words: chocolate mousse in cake form. So good.

While I know it's a bit rich for spring and Easter/Passover, it's such a great dessert when you have company coming over. Or if you're really depressed. Or if you're really happy. Or angry. Okay, you get the picture. It's damn good.

As a side note, I used Trader Joe's pound chocolate bar. It's affordable, tasty, and easy (no measuring required).

Hippity Hoppity...

Easter's on its way. So while I was planning some Easter menu items this evening I remembered the Bunny Biscuits I made last year for Easter. If I make anything else Easterish that turns out I will post those recipes as well.

Enjoy the Bunny Biscuits!

Chocolate PB Cookies

For the first few months after having my son Killian, I was craving chocolate like mad. It was almost a serious addicition. So of course I had to do something about it. Besides the chocolate bundt cake and hot chocolate that I made recently, I also tried my hand at a few other chocolate recipes.


My favorite peanut butter cookie recipe is one my mom has made since I was little. This time I made the cookies with dark chocolate peanut butter from The Peanut Butter Company. They have this fantastic restaurant in New York City right by where I lived when I went to NYU. The place was tiny when I was living there (it has since expanded) but it has always had fun menu items (everything from peanutbutter and celery to Elvis' favorite sandwich to yummy ice cream with their peanut butter on top). They make their own peanut butter in house and now they have several flavors. It turns out that at some point they started putting it in jars and selling them at grocery stores around the country.



Their spicy peanut butter isn't my favorite. I love spicy food but the spicy-ness that I like has to be flavorful and this one is just hot. However, they have a dark chocolate peanut butter that I discovered recently and it's divine. The PB is very subtle as well as its chocolate flavor. This works perfectly for peanut butter cookies. You can't quite tell their chocolate but there is a little more depth to the cookie. If you'd like you can place a chocolate kiss on top for some extra chocolate. I have one recipe where you put the kiss on after you bake it and one where you put it on towards the end of the baking process. I prefer the latter even though it does melt the kisses a bit.



After a small batch with the kisses I opted for the cookies plain because the kisses were taking away from the simple taste of the PB cookies.



If you would prefer a spicy cookie try a spicy Peanut Butter (they used to have a brand at Whole Foods that I loved but haven't found it there the last time I went). Just replace half of the PB with the spicy stuff. Also, I used to think you couldn't use all natural PB for the entire amount of PB but it turns out you can. The last brand I used was Smart Balance's natural PB which has no hydrogenated oils and it has Omega-3s which are great for you.



PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES




1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter, your favorite brand and flavor
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
sugar, for coating cookies
chocolate kisses (optional)




1. In a large mixer bowl beat butter or margarine and peanut butter with electric mixer on medium speed about 30 seconds. Add the 1/2 cup sugar and the brown sugar and beat 'til fluffy.


2. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Beat well.


3. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. With mixer on low speed gradually add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, beating well. If necessary, cover and chill about 1 hour for easier handling (recommended).


4. Turn oven to 375 degrees. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in additional sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.


5. Bake in the 375 oven 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are firm. If using, immediately press a chocolate kiss atop each cookies*. Place cookies onto cooling rack.



*Or bake for about 8 minutes, add the kiss, and bake for an additional 2 minutes.