Courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandondoran

A few weeks ago, as we were devouring the pistachioed meatballs at Zare at Fly Trap based on a recommendation from 7×7′s Big Eat 2012 list, ML and I decided to come up with our own list of what we’ve experienced as our favorite foods in San Francisco and where to find them. This list also serves as a way for me to look back on our times living in Russian Hill (we’re now officially East bay-ers as of last week) and keep a record of the places we really enjoyed eating:

1. Coma roll at Okoze
2. Pulpo a la gallega at Zarzuela
3. Porcetta sandwich at Roli Roti at the Ferry building farmers market.
4. Maracuya flan at Espetus Churrascaria
5. Black & white bread pudding at Frascati
6. Maple leaf duck breast at Frascati
7. Chicharron de pollo at Limon Rotisserie
8. Pork belly buns at The House
9. Rose petal ice cream & Saffron pistachio at Bombay Ice Creamery
10. White truffle dosa at Dosa
11. Chinese buns at New Asia Restaurant
12. Pastrami sandwich at Miller’s East Coast Deli
13. Hawaiian pizza at Za
14. Bouillabaisse at Hyde Street Bistro
15. Tasting menu at Mr. Pollo
16. Large white chocolate mocha at La Boulange
17. Fish tacos at Mamacitas
18. Tacos el pastor at Casa Mexicana in Noe Valley
19. Bacon wrapped hot-dogs at 1AM in the mission

Quiche au gruyere is not something I have made in the past, however ML’s mom does make it pretty often. In the mood for something resembling her mom’s cooking, ML decided we make some quiche the other day. We came across this recipe that was not only fast, but also fantastically delicious. I highly recommend trying it out even if you are not a big quiche fan like me.

Serves up to 4.

Pre-heat the oven to 375º F. Take 8 loaves of country white bread and trim the edges. Roll them into flat squares with a rolling pin. Grease/spray each square lightly with some olive oil and gently place each loaf square in to a muffin pan. Place in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the bread is slightly toasted and set aside.

While the bread browns, whisk 1/2 cup of sour cream, 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk and a teaspoon of corn starch in a bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a pinch of pepper and nutmeg. Heat 3/4 of a cup of half and half in the microwave (until steaming) and mix into the bowl.  Pour the mixture into a easily pourable vessel like a large measuring cup.

Dice up 3-4 slices of deli ham (preferably fresh cut and not pre-packaged) along with 1/2 cup of shredded Gruyere cheese.

Remove the bread from the oven and generously sprinkle each bread cup with ham and cheese. Pour the sour cream and half and half mixture slowly into each cup, pouring out a third of the mixture across all cups and repeating so as to allow the bread to soak in the liquid.

Place the muffin pan back in the oven and cook for another 12-15 minutes till the bread cups are golden brown and the liquid has set.

For the pesto salad, add a bag of rinsed baby spinach leaves in a bowl with a half cup of thawed frozen peas. Toss with about 2 teaspoons of pesto until spinach leaves are coated with pesto sauce.

Serve two quiches with pesto salad and enjoy this hearty meal.

In the mood for seafood, ML and I head down to the local Real Foods and picked up two whole trout. This is a simple, delicious recipe that takes little time.

Serves 2

Rinse two whole trout well under cold water. Pat dry and season one side liberally with salt and pepper. Heat about 2 tablespoons of butter in a large 12″ skillet on medium heat until the butter starts to foam. Place the seasoned side down on the pan and cook for about 5-6 minutes till brown and crispy. Season the top side liberally with salt and pepper prior to flipping the fish over gently. Cook the second side for the same time until golden.

While the fish cooks, take a cookie sheet and line with aluminum foil. Drizzle some olive oil on 10-12 asparagus spears and sprinkle salt and pepper. Place the cookie sheet in the broiler for about 4-5 minutes until the spears are slightly browned.

Serve the fish and asparagus immediately with a slice of lemon. Enjoy with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

I was reminded of this well known Robert Frost poem as ML and I went for a stroll through the Muir woods this Christmas eve, and the photograph above captured the moment perfectly.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

– Robert Frost, 1922

This recipe was shared with me by my aunt on Thanksgiving this year. It’s a bit laborious given that it calls for making the pumpkin puree and not using canned pumpkins (or as ML often calls them, ‘pämp-kiNG‘). But, I feel its worth it as the pie tastes a lot more fresh and “light”.

Pumpkin Puree

Preheat the over to 350 °F Cut the stems of 1 small-medium sugar pumpkins and scoop out the insides and discard. You can save the seeds for roasting (see below). Cut the pumpkin in half and lay on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for about an hour or until the pumpkin is tender. Remove from the over and let it cool.

Making the Pie

Preheat the oven to 425 °F. In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/3 cup of raw cane sugar, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. Beat in two eggs and the yolk of another. Scrape out 2 cups of the pumpkin puree from the pumpkins that we just roasted. Add in a 12 oz. can of condensed milk. Whisk the bowl until everything has mixed together well and you end up with a homogeneous mixture.

Pour the mix into a pie shell and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 °F and bake for another 40 minutes or until a knife comes out dry from the pie.

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

Pre-heat the oven to 275 °F. Instead of disposing the pumpkin seeds, rinse them in cold water and remove any pulp and strings. Toss the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet and spray some olive oil on top of them (or butter if you so choose). Sprinkle some cayenne pepper, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss in the oven for about 10 minutes or until seeds are golden brown. Check for seasoning, adding more salt if needed.

Serves 2

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet. Add about 4 oz of pimientos de padron to the skillet and cook until the peppers skin begins to blister and turn spotty black. Remove from the skillet, sprinkle some coarse salt and serve.

A great starter when making Paella and serve with a dry white wine like a Torrontes.

Last night, ML and I set out to make mac ‘n’ cheese incorporating our new found love for truffle oil. What came out was not your regular Kraft mac ‘n’ cheese dinner but an adult take on the classic kid-friendly american dish that was impossible to put down.

Serves 2:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil. Once boiling, add in 2 cups of Conchigliette pasta (or any other small sized pasta) and cook for suggested time (approx. 8 mins) till the pasta is al dente.

Meanwhile, take two slices of bacon and heat up in a pan until crispy. Once cooked remove the slices from the pan and chop them up into small bite-size chunks.

Drain the water and keep that pasta in the same oven-proof pot. Add in a teaspoon of white truffle oil and a half cup of shredded Gouda cheese. Mix the pasta and cheese well until the cheese has melted. Toss in the chopped bacon bits and a teaspoon of creme fraiche and mix well. Sprinkle some grated parmesan on the top of the pot and move it to the oven for 10 mins (until cheese has melted and parmesan on the top starts to turn a bit brown). Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving.

Pair with a glass of Pinot Noir.

In an attempt to cook more seafood, ML and I have come up with a list of dishes we love and want to make and will slowly work down that list (more to come on this later). Our first dish was a paella of course. It is said that paella originated in the farms as a means of cook large amounts of rice in one go for the farmers. As this dish grew in popularity so did the ingredients change. Over the years as this recipe got adopted by people near the Mediterranean cost, the proteins that went into this dish changed from rabbit, snails, duck to include more seafood.

Here is an amazing recipe for seafood paella that can be cooked up in under an hour and much to the chagrin of your local Spanish restaurant owner.

Serves 5-6

Pre-heat the oven to 450° F. Take 1/2 lb of peeled and deveined shrimp, 1/3 lb of scallops and 1/2 lb of calamari (chopped into 1/2″ wide pieces) into a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 2-3 minced cloves of garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and mix well. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for later.

If you do not have a paella pan (14-15″ shallow skillet), no worries as you can use a large Dutch oven instead. Cut up a red bell pepper into longitudinal slices about 1/4-1/2″ in width. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in the Dutch oven and toss the cut bell pepper into the pot. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the skin is peeling and is slightly black. Remove from the pot and set aside. We will add this the paella at th end.

Chop up an 8 oz. chorizo into 1/4″ slices. You can chop them on the bias (diagonally at a sharp angle) for a larger surface area and even cooking. Toss the cut chorizo into the pan on medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Once the chorizo is dark brown and the fat has been rendered, remove from the pot and set aside.

Next we’ll make the Sofrito, which is the aromatic combination of tomatoes, garlic and onions cooked to a paste that serves as the base of the paella. Using the same oil from the chorizo, toss in 1 cup of chopped onions and heat on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. While the onions cook, drain a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes in a fine mesh strainer or lining a pasta strainer with paper towels. Squeeze out as much water as you can. Toss in 7-8 minced cloves of garlic and stir for a minute. Add in the strained diced tomatoes and cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes.

To the dutch oven, add in 2 cups of rice. A short grain rice works better as they are more absorbent, such as Italian arborio. Allow the rice to soak in the sofrito for 4-5 minutes. Once the rice has absorbed some of the aromatics, mix in 3 cups of chicken broth, 1/3 cup of dry white wine, 1-2 bay leaves, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1-2 strand of saffron if you have (these are expensive and hard to come by but are worth it for the aroma they create). Add in the chorizo to the pot. Bring the mix to a boil and then cover and place the pot into the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove the pot from the oven, uncover and toss in the seafood medley we made earlier. Mix in well with the rice. Even out the rice in the pot and add in a dozen mussels seam-side down so that they cook from the inside with the heat from the rice. Add in the strips of red bell pepper. Cover and place the pot back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes until seafood cooks and rice absorbs all the liquid.

Remove from the oven and let the paella sit covered for 5 minutes. Check all mussels have opened up, discarding those that haven’t. Serve in a bowl with freshly chopped parsley and a wedge of lime.

As summer approaches, here’s a light salad recipethat as refreshing as it is nutritious: Spinach, Strawberries & Goat Cheese salad.

Serves 2.

Add 3 oz. of baby spinach leaves (or 2/3 of a 5 oz. bag) to a large bowl. Slice 3-4 fresh strawberries and coarsely crush a handful of walnuts and toss into the bowl. Crumble 1/4 cup of goat cheese into the bowl as well. Toss the salad with some red wine vinegar and olive oil and serve.