yummy.

I tend to try out new things on the weekend. Tonight’s dinner was incredibly tasty, so I thought I’d share: Chicken with tomatoes and honey served with a rice and quinoa medley with dried fruit and cardamom and sauteed green beans.

Chicken with Tomatoes and Honey

4 chicken thighs (with skin and bone)
4 tbsp butter
1 onion, grated or finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated ginger or ginger paste
1 can diced tomatoes
3 tbsp honey
salt and coarse ground black pepper

Place the butter in a large dutch oven. Add the chicken and cook over medium heat about 3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.

Add the onion, garlic, cinnamon, ginger, tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and heat gentle until the tomatoes begin to bubble.

Lower the heat and then cover the casserole. Simmer very gently for about 1 hour, stirring and turning the chicken occasionally, ot until it is completely cooked through.

Lift out the chicken pieces and transfer them to a plate. Increase the heat and cook the tomato sauce until it is reduced to a thick puree, stirring frequently. Stir in the honey, cook for 1 minutes, then return the chicken pieces to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes to heat through.

Serve.

It’s not very often that I whip out the cast iron and fry chicken. It’s tedious work - hot, greasy, and messy. Occasionally, however, I like to treat my friends to something they may not have ever had outside the bounds of fast food. Last night was one of those occasions.

The menu consisted of:

• fried chicken
• homemade mashed potatoes
• sweet milk gravy
• a mess of greens (collard and mustard)
• buttermilk biscuits
• pralines

It was a lofty goal, I admit. I was surprised I even found the greens at Mollie Stone’s, but find them I did. A little cleaning and a pound of fried bacon later and I had a taste of home I can’t find anywhere in Marin County. It’s been well over a year since I last had greens, something I have to have when I go back to visit my family in Memphis. It’s been longer than that since I fried chicken.

So yesterday, I made the greens. I boiled and mashed the potatoes (and used some nifty tricks Padma taught me - such as adding an egg to them). I fried. And fried. And fried. I baked. I eyeballed the sugar mixture (since I don’t own a candy thermometer and couldn’t find one at Mollies). The end result was well worth the effort. And the best thing? I have tons of leftovers for lunch.

Well, except the pralines. There aren’t any of those left, though that is probably for the better. I remember almost making myself sick off of them as a kid. I’d like to never do that again.

Hi there.  I’m Julie.  I’m from Cincinnati, and I blog about Cincinnati’s food scene at Wine Me, Dine Me (in Cincinnati) and Kristy invited me a long time ago to contribute to Yummy.

So here I am.

Inspired by The Omnivore’s 100, and Tiger and Strawberries’ The Vegetarian 100, I created my own Carnivore’s 100.

Man, am I hungry now.

1. This list is in no particular order nor is it all encompassing. It is limited to land-based animals and are not always cuts of meat, but preparations. I like all kinds of foods, and have tried all kinds of foods, but there will probably be a heavy European and American bent. I’ll be really interested to hear what your additions or subtractions should be. If you don’t know what it is, google it. I haven’t eaten all of these items myself (MOST of them. Except the ones involving blood.), but a consensus of random people (read: my coworkers and the Twitterverse) insisted on a few of them.
2. As before, cross out what you’d never eat, bold what you’ve had.
3. Comment here if you’ve posted it to your blog, I’d love to see other people’s lists!

The Carnivore’s Hundred

1. American-style bacon
2. Canadian bacon
3. Prosciutto with melon
4. Pork belly, braised
5. Pork butt, smoked
6. Pork ribs, smoked
7. Roasted leg of lamb with mint jelly
8. Gyros
9. Duck confit
10. Roasted chicken
11. Standing rib roast, rare
12. Chitlins
13. Cracklins
14. Boudin or blood sausage
15. Haggis
16. Peking duck
17. Roasted turkey with traditional American accompaniments
18. Roasted goose with traditional English accompaniments
19. Foie gras
20. Pate campagne
21. Moo Shu pork
22. Shepherd’s pie
23. Steak and Kidney pie
24. Chicken and dumplings
25. Turducken
26. Venison sausage
27. Pork cheeks
28. Pickled pigs’ feet
29. Barbacoa
30. Birria
31. Chicken Marbella
32. Steak tartare
33. Beef Bourguignon
34. Potatoes roasted in duck fat
35. Spam
36. Tandoori chicken
37. Lamb vindaloo
38. Spaghetti Bolognese
39. Cuban sandwich
40. Croque Monsieur
41. Philadelphia cheesesteak
42. Chicken Satay
43. Shabu-shabu
44. Teppanaki
45. Schwarma
46. Meatloaf
47. Beef Wellington
48. Beef tenderloin with béarnaise
49. Taco salad
50. Chili con carne
51. Pastisto
52. Corned beef brisket
53. Bangers and mash
54. Guinea pig
55. Ropa vieja
56. Wurst (any)
57. Lamb tagine
58. Kosher hot dog (New York-style)
59. Jerk chicken
60. Chorizo
61. All-American hamburger
62. Pigeon/Squab
63. Steak frites
64. Pastrami
65. Salami
66. Sweetbreads
67. Wiener schnitzel
68. Goulash
69. Pho
70. Char siu bao
71. Kalua pig
72. Pork rinds
73. Scrapple or goetta
74. Jaegerspaetzle
75. Sauerbraten
76. Tongue sandwich
77. Baked ham
78. Frog legs
79. Alligator
80. Squirrel
81. Liver and onions
82. Bone marrow and marmalade
83. Cevapcici
84. Creamed beef on toast (shit on a shingle)
85. Red-eye gravy
86. Head cheese
87. Jambalaya
88. Steak Diane
89. Veal piccata
90. Bulgogi
91. Smoked chicken (barbecue)
92. Beer can chicken
93. Chicken teriyaki
94. Coronation chicken (curried chicken salad)
95. Ostrich
96. Rogan josh
97. Poutine
98. Chicken mole
99. Irish beef stew
100. Loose meat

Miss me? Sorry, folks. Real life has taken me away from my culinary explorations, but I promise I’ll try to make it up to you. I’ll start with this review.

Tonight Jason and I ended up having dinner at Carlos Santana’s new restaurant Maria Maria in Mill Valley. It was originally known as The Cantina, and was one of our favorite spots. He bought the place, upscaled it a bit, but kept a lot of its roots. For example, it went from a Mexican restaurant to a Mexican restaurant.

Now, early on, Santana had said he wanted to do right by the locals and not do anything too drastic. At first, I thought he’d reneged on that, since when I entered the door I got a much different feel from the place - there’s actually a wall separating the foyer from the dining area. The decor is less Mexican kitsch and more refined with the aforementioned wall containing some geometric cutouts inset with candles. This added to the overall atmosphere, as the lighting is more subdued and somehow makes the place feel warmer and less stark. It’s clean typically-California design, but it’s attractive and makes you comfortable. The tables and chairs have also been replaced, and this is a positive change. Gone are the horribly uncomfortable bamboo-rattan-whatever they were chairs which reminded me of an early 90s deck. They’ve been replaced with other natural-material chairs, but with a pleasant black and white sort of pattern to the woven grass making up the backs and a soft black vinyl seat. The tables are also a dark brown-black and provide a good contrast with the lightly colored walls.

Now, the artwork was what pleasantly surprised me. Now, this place is very tastefully done, especially considering the celebrity owner. This is no Planet Hollywood. The only real nods to its parentage are the guitar in the logo - a shiny cherry red - and the artwork on the walls which are a direct nod to Santana’s own style.

Of course, the most important thing is the food. At first, I was a bit hesitant. It was definitely more expensive than The Cantina - my chicken fajitas weighed in at $15, and the rice and beans were $2 extra. My concerns were soon silenced when a good portion of chicken, red onions, bacon, and peppers were brought to my table in a lovely presentation of a baby cast iron skillet - a mini version of the very same type that I, my southern mother, my grandmother, my great-grandmother, and so on, use in our own kitchens - on a simple white plate. The chipotle cream was on the side, and they served it with ample tortillas. I also found that the $2 for the rice and beans was fair because the bowl they came in, served side by side, was generous. The rice, however, was a bit dry and the beans, while smoky, were spicier than the ones at The Cantina, but overall they were incredibly good when eaten together, which I think is the intention considering the way they are served. Jason, meanwhile, ordered the shrimp tacos - also at $15 -and was overjoyed to see they brought him 3 of them, with the shrimp lightly dusted and fried and still succulent. He apparently missed that there was avocado on them, but that just meant he could pass it on to me. I love that little green fruit.

So overall, the experience was good. I can’t say I’ll go there often - between $40-50 for Mexican is a bit rich for me when I can get good Mexican cheap around here - but for a nice elegant-feeling Mexican meal, it’s definitely worth a visit.

Oh, but Carlos? Ease up on the cilantro, will you? It looked like someone ripped up an entire garden just to pile it on my fajitas, and sadly, I’m one of those people who are genetically predisposed to not enjoy the stuff. I pulled it off easily since it was a huge mass of it, but even if someone likes it, it was excessive.

Sunday afternoon, my husband and I had to head up to Santa Rosa to have lunch/dinner with the in-laws for my father-in-law’s birthday. The restaurant they chose was Tex Wasabi’s, a venture of Guy Fieri of Food Network fame. I had high hopes, since I’d liked what I’d seen of Guy, but as both a BBQ and a sushi elitist, I was skeptical.

As it turns out, I had reason to be. The food wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t something I’d drive to Santa Rosa for, either.

My husband and I split a Red Dragon Roll ($12, spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber & black sesame seeds with crunchy tempura bits & maguro on the outside). The spicy tuna did have a kick, but I felt like there wasn’t much else to the flavor of the roll. The maguro on top didn’t have much taste at all, though it was clearly fresh. Even the avocado - which is one of my favorite things - left me a bit flat. It was good, but not as spectacular as I would expect from a menu item which brags “over 20,000 sold”.

I, being the optimistic Memphis girl, ordered the Pork Slyders ($7.50, pulled pork with BBQ sauce & slaw on potato rolls). I’ll admit it: I’m a snob when it comes to my BBQ, especially pork BBQ. I’m spoiled from growing up in a town famous for it, but I’ve learned to be tolerant. My first warning, however, was the fact that they used the umbrella term “southern-style BBQ”. That phrase is more than a little misleading, as there is no single “southern” style when it comes to BBQ. For example, there’s Memphis, Carolina, Texas, and many more, some that are hiding in small towns that you’d have difficulty finding on a map. I’ll say this: the pork was tender and the potato rolls were soft. It warmed my little Memphian heart that they even had the slaw on my sandwiches. What didn’t impress me, however, was the sauce. It certainly wasn’t anything like any of the southern BBQ varieties I’ve tasted. It wasn’t the tangy, vinegar-based sauce of Carolina, and nor was it anything like the sweet smokey sauce of my hometown. It had a kick, certainly, but there wasn’t much actual flavor to it beyond that. It taste more like a spicy tomato sauce than anything else. I will say that the slaw mellowed it out some and add a little much-needed sweetness, but it wasn’t the same. I think my expectations would have been different if they had not pretentiously used the moniker “southern-style”, as the BBQ wasn’t what I’d call bad, but it wasn’t what someone who has had pulled pork in the south is going to expect.

My father-in-law, however, did not finish his beef brisket. He did not say exactly what he found unpleasant about it, but for a man who has a hearty appetite and a love of BBQ beef - and makes a darned good tri-tip himself - he did find it lacking.

My husband ordered the Johnny Garlic roll ($6, cucumber, avocado, seared albacore and garlic mayo). This was, aside from the tempura onion rings, the best thing I sampled all night. The albacore was perfectly seared and the garlic mayo added a wonderful flavor to the roll.

Overall, my feelings were mixed. While Tex Wasabi’s does both sushi and BBQ passably, it doesn’t do either particularly WELL. If I were in the area, or if I had a craving for both sushi and BBQ at the same meal, I’d consider it again as a place for a decent meal. I certainly wouldn’t refuse to go if invited again, either, as for all extents and purposes, the experience was pleasant enough. For BBQ, I’ll stick to either making it myself with my family’s “secret recipe” sauce (or my coveted Neely’s sauce I brought back from my last trip home to visit my family), or visit Everett and Jones in the East Bay. In addition, there are tons of far better sushi restaurants a lot closer to home right in Marin, and the prices are comparable for a better quality product (including Sushi Ko, a mere hop, skip, and jump from my front door).

I guess I just wasn’t hearing the “rock and roll” at Tex Wasabi’s.

My husband was munchy the other night and in his efforts to scrounge for food, he found a recipe for snickerdoodles on the Gold Medal flour bag. We decided to make them (and I actually got him to help!).

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, the butter, shortening, and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.

Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Mix 3 tbsp sugar and the cinnamon; roll balls in mixture. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely on wire rack.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

You know, I’ve been here on this site for a while, but I’ve been too busy with Culinary School, and work, not to mention the fact that I haven’t really had anything to write that I have been kinda absent on here. Well, no longer! Following is my adapted recipe from my final buffet, and a couple weeks earlier, to which this was a big hit. Now, I honestly don’t expect you to have fatback or pork butt handy to make this as I did in class, there are some good substitutes. And, as always, follow Josh’s #1 Rule: Always go with your gut, it probably knows more than you do.

Prep Time: ‘Bout a half an hour or so

Makes around 9 Servings (trust me, these will be going fast)

Cook Time: 45min to 1 hour

Equipment needed: Food Processor, Chef Knife, Muffin Tins, Oil for Tins, Plastic wrap, tin foil, bowls.

Ingredients:

• 1 Poblano Pepper
• 2 Chickens, fryers (or if you don’t know how to break down and de-bone a chicken, about 2 pounds of chicken - try for a good mix of white/dark)
• 1/2 Shallot
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 Onion
• 8oz of Tequila
• 1 Bunch of Cilantro
• Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/2 Lime
• Tobasco
• 1 Jalapeño
• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 cup of Breadcrumbs, soaked in a bit of milk (whole, preferably)

Sauce

• 2 Cups Mayo
• Other half of lime
• Whatever poblano is left over
• Some of that Cilantro
• Salt and pepper

Method: First, roast that Poblano on the grill, turning it every so often so the outside is all black. Wrap that sucker in plastic wrap and set that aside for a bit.

Break down and debone those chickens. It’s not as hard as you would think, but if you are (understandably) shaky on it, just get 2lbs of boneless chicken bits and cut them up in smallish chunks. Doesn’t have to be pretty, so go to town.

Dice up and mangle the shallot, garlic, jalapeño and onion. Saute them briefly in oil or butter, until the onion and shallots are transparent. If they go brown, don’t cry over it. Remove and reserve.

Into the chicken bits (which I hope you’ve been keeping cold), toss in a good bit of cumin, salt and pepper, chili powder, tequila and the juice from half the lime (the other half will go for the sauce). Chop up some fresh cilantro (about half the bunch) and toss that in there too. Let it sit a bit to marinade. After the above mention saute’d stuff has cooled down a bit, toss that in there too. Now, toss that whole mess into a food processor (well, you might have to do it in batches, but you get the idea), and grind that up. Be careful that you don’t pureé it (I would just pulse it rather than keep it going, but that’s me).

Once that’s all done, toss in the three eggs and bread crumbs. Mix with your hands and don’t worry about the very nice feeling of that between your fingers. Okay! you are almost there. If you are kind of wondering if this is gonna be good, take a small bit of it, form a small patty, and fry it up in a pan with some oil. Shouldn’t take too long, and you can add to the mix what it needs.

Now, take that poblano out of the plastic wrap, and clean/scrape all that black stuff off and dice that up (you can leave the seeds out if you want, I usually do).

All set? Sweet! Now fill up the muffin tins with the mix, poking a hole in it, not too deep and put some of that poblano in and close it up. Bake in the oven for about an hour at 350°. The inside temp needs to be at 165° - no exceptions! While that’s cooking, you can make the sauce!

Sauce is easy. Combine all the ingredients and whiz til smooth. Taste and adjust. Should be cool and fresh with just a bit of heat on the back end.

Once done, place two on a plate, spoon on the sauce and garnish with a bit of cilantro.

Sometimes, Jason will drive into the city and pick me up from work and we’ll go to dinner. Since my company recently handed out bonuses, we decided to have a nice dinner. We drove around for a while and ended up at The Beach Chalet on Great Highway near Golden Gate Park. We had been there before for lunch, but we’d never managed to arrange dinner at a time in which the place wasn’t packed to the gills. Today, however, we beat the crowd.

First, it’s good to know that most of the tables there have a fantastic view of Ocean Beach and the Pacific Ocean. This view probably is only second to that of the Cliff House down the street. Second, The Beach Chalet is also a brewery.

Jason ordered the Laura Chenel Goat Cheese Ravioli (with wild & tamed mushrooms, Savoy spinach, delta asparagus, English peas, and a mushroom & mascarpone sauce). This, I know, would be something that our own Padma would adore. While my husband did remark that the ravioli stuck together some, the flavor was excellent with the tang of the goat cheese and the mellowness of the sauce. He even liked the asparagus.

It was hard for me to choose, as there were several things that piqued my interest. I ultimately chose a glass of their Riptide Red ale and the seared day boat scallops (with herb risotto, roasted Roma tomatoes, and parmesan broth).

The first thing to take note of is that the scallops were perfectly prepared. They were seasoned well and seared with a slight crisp on the outside, but the inside was warm and soft and almost melted in my mouth. They were heavenly, and they were easily the best scallops I’ve had in years. The herb risotto added a pleasant color contrast on the plate since it was green and it was topped with the two slices of roasted tomato. A small pool of the broth surrounded it all, but the dish was not swimming in it. The risotto was subtle and creamy, not overpowering the delicate flavor of the scallops - something which is easy to do. I, not a real fan of tomatoes, actually enjoyed the roasted Romas.

The Riptide Red ale seemed a little more carbonated than I am used to, but it was crisp and had very little aftertaste. It was clean and pleasant and has easily become one of my favorite beers.

Overall, our experience at The Beach Chalet can be summed up in one word: excellent. Everything from the atmosphere to the service to the incredible food was impeccable. We will return again… if we can time our dinner right.

Before we start, yes, I’m talking about a food truck… one of the shiny silver emblems of urban life. Don’t let that fool you.

Today, when I left the office for lunch, I’d planned to just stop at Safeway and pick something up, but when the light seemed to refuse to change for me so I could cross Townsend, I walked past Seoul on Wheels and this time, I decided to stop.

I was greeted warmly and genuinely by the proprietor. She was inviting and helpful and you could tell she enjoyed her work. She offered me menu cards to take back to the office - she’d just gotten them from the printer after a long wait.

I ordered the rice bowl with chicken. The rice bowl also has the option of brown rice as well as rib eye or spicy pork as the meat. A regular is $5.50 and a large is $7.00. I am glad I opted for the regular, as it was massive and there was no skimping involved. I almost regret ordering the egg rolls which were pretty standard fare and nothing outstanding.

The rice bowl, however, was warm and flavorful, though I felt the meat could use with a little sauce of some sort. Nevertheless, it was tasty. If I hadn’t seen them, I would not have noticed there were carrots, but the mushrooms were a welcome addition, also, under that mountain of meat was a pleasant surprise: the thin cellophane type noodles that I love so much in various types of Asian cuisine.

Overall, I was pleased. I’ll almost certainly eat lunch there again - though I think if I get a rice bowl I’ll skip the add-ons. You can’t beat the price for a filling and delicious lunch.

You’ll have to find Seoul on Wheels if you want to try it, but I can take the guess work out of it:

6:45-8:45am @ Bryant & Main

9:15-9:45am @ Bryant b/w 4th and 5th

10:00-10:25am @ Harrison & 1st

10:30-11:45am @ 4th & Townsend

12:00-12:25pm @ Harrison & 1st

12:30-1:45pm @ Embarcadero & Bryant

It may not be gourmet, but it’s probably the best value for good tasting food you’ll find in South of Market.

This recipe comes from Williams-Sonoma’s website.

Ingredients:

• 6 lb. littleneck clams, rinsed well
• 6 oz. pancetta, diced
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh chives (optional)

Directions

Working with 1 clam at a time, hold it over a bowl to catch the juices. Place the blade of a clam knife horizontally across the shell and squeeze to open. Using the tip of the knife, remove the clam meat by cutting it away from the shell; place the meat in a separate bowl. Strain the juices through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a bowl. Add enough water to the juices to total 5 cups. Coarsely chop the clam meat. Set aside.

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the pancetta until crisp, about 5 minutes. Pour off all but 1 Tbs. of the fat, then melt the butter in the pan. Add the onion, celery, garlic and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute more. Add the potatoes, bay leaves and clam juice-water mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the cream, Worcestershire, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Using a fork, lightly mash the potatoes against the side of the pot to thicken the soup. Add the clams and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish with the chives. Serves 8.