All Rolled Up, Cool and Yummy!

SUSHI! San Diego has been so HOT lately! Its really unbearable and its really hard to go get dinner when your feeling warm. My friends and I didn't want to have a hot meal. But yesterday after a bit of whining because of the heat and a bit thinking we decided SUSHI!

Most sushi places can end up costing a bit of money, But we decided to try a new place that wasn't expensive at all, also it tasted great to us! Here are a few pictures of 'Osaka Japanese Food & Sushi'.

Osaka Japanese Food & Sushi
4242 Camino Del Rio N # 26
San Diego, CA 92108-2613
(619) 283-6844

Vegetable Tempura A Croquette (So yummy!) Fried up Mashed PotatoesAn array of Fisssssh!Edamame - Love this stuff and it was so perfectly prepared and fresh.Missy and her sushi roll, Sorry I can't remember what it was.Hand Roll
Mat's Awesome van, Our ride to sushi, Which wasn't so bad!

Lunch Time

Occasionally for lunch, I will go to to Cotijas Taco Shop.
Its really yummy and always fresh! Not expensive at all!
My new favorite thing to get is Flautas. Its like a rolled taco but instead of the corn tortilla its made with flour tortilla. I like it with the shredded beef. But all their food is great.



Cotijas Taco Shop.
Full-screen

7081 Clairemont Mesa # 103

San Diego, CA 92111-1044

Get Directions

(858) 292-8226

'Food Network Magazine'

One of my favorite food magazines is the 'Food Network Magazine'!
I just got another one today! Haven't looked through it yet but if I see anything good I'll let you all know!

Here is a link for a subscription

De-Stress With Cooking!

Blah what a day! Its my day off... yet nothing seems to be going right!
Do no stores keep in stock whole chickens! I mean really! After my 3rd store I asked the lady behind the VONS meat counter... "Please, do you have any whole chickens?" After a long wait she comes from the back with her last box of whole chickens, On sale I might add! I was so excited she talked me into two!

From my previous post "Super Cook" I found the following recipe, the photo looks amazing and hopefully, listening to some good music, I can pull it off!



The Recipe:

Mustard-Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 16 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed
• 2 3 1/2- to 4-pound whole chickens, rinsed, patted dry

• 6 fresh rosemary sprigs
• 6 fresh sage sprigs

Preparation

Whisk mustard, olive oil, parsley, and thyme in small bowl to blend. Stir in garlic. Spread mustard mixture generously inside cavities and over outside of chickens. Place chickens in glass baking dish; cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Let chickens stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Sprinkle chickens generously inside and out with salt and pepper; let stand 30 minutes longer.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place chickens on rack set in large roasting pan. Tie legs together to hold shape. Spread any accumulated mustard marinade from dish over chickens. Place rosemary and sage sprigs atop chickens. Roast chickens until juices run clear when fork is inserted into thickest part of thigh, basting occasionally with pan juices, about 1 hour 10 minutes.

Divide Warm Frisée, Fingerling, and Bacon Salad among 6 plates. Carve chickens and arrange atop salad. Spoon some of pan juices over and serve.

A Few Hours Later...
Well I did it and it didn't burn! It tasted yummy, you should give this a try! A few things I added were, I used a combination of Dijon and Sierra Nevada stone mustard and I also added a whole lemon in the cavity of the chicken that had been sliced so the juices would run out. I served it with red skin mashed potatoes and sweet corn.

Here are some pictures - give this recipe a try!

Super Cook

Just saw the 'Today Show'
They were talking about helpful websites,

Here is the one, that they talked about, that I found interesting:
www.supercook.com/

"Allows you to cook ingredients from your kitchen, just type in what you have in the search bar and it will give you recipes found online from the big recipe sites!"

Death By Chocolate, Well By Salad!

Your not going to get the title! Well some of you might!

Yesterday, at Embarcadero Park, Some of my best friends enjoyed some great music from DJ's all over California!
I played it easy and brought along some turkey wraps from Cost-co. But Danielle, came out with chicken, rice, bread and a salad. It was all great...

The Salad
(The reason for this post)
I don't know the name of it, Nor the recipe and I only had a taste...
(off Morgan's plate)
But my goodness so yummy!
Flavor, Fresh, Fruity, and just the right amount of spiciness!

I'm calling it
Danielle's Terrific Tropical Salad!!!

Would you like a spot of tea?

Today I was lucky enough to be invited to join the beautiful expecting mommy - Blair, her friends and family for tea.
This was a baby shower to celebrate her soon-to-be baby of joy!
Of course I failed and completely forgot to capture the moment with photos! I think... I was thinking I've been here before no need for pictures! Duh! I really should of tho!

Oh well! Next time!
Blair (if your reading this), you'll have to get pregnant again just so I can remember to take pictures hee hee!

Luckily, I do have some images from a Mothers Day Tea we went to just this year.

From left to right
Mommy Pattie, Bestie Morgan, Mommy Lizzie, Me, and Mommy Debbie. May 2009

Enough with the chit-chat, Your wondering where is this fabulous place you can have wonderful tea parties, and perfect conversations with friends and family!
Its a simple room filled with old flowery plates, cups and saucers, and three tier platters.
The first tier with different, perfectly placed finger sandwiches - with flavors of brie, cucumber, artichoke, and so on! The top layer with delicate desserts - sweet tea cakes, puff pastries jam and dusted with powder sugar, and so many other tasty treats sprinkled with rose petals. The middle tier is not to be missed! Seasonal fruit and finished with their homemade scones, so soft, tasty, paired with their rose petal jam and creme fresh... So yummy!

 
And I've gone on and on, OH I nearly forgot the Tea! The flavor is perfect! each tea has its own style from English Breakfast to almond. One of my favorites was a Thai Coconut. I haven't tried them all but definitely plan on doing so!

My favorite thing is this place reminds me of home! For even just a moment I get to travel back to England, without the expensive, loooooooong flight, and jet lag! Although I supose I still enjoy that too!

I did it again!
Ok, so now that I have your mouth watering and your tummys growling... Here is the infomation on this fabulous place!

Tea Upon Chatsworth
2180 Chatsworth Blvd., Suite B
San Diego, CA 92107
619-858-CU4T (2848)

Thank You Bonnie and all the company for the fabulous time!

"Late night comfort cuisine"

Ruby Kitchen
1263 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

This evening my friends and I went to The Ruby Kitchen "Late night comfort cuisine".
Although it wasn't late night we enjoyed dinner there.
The menu isn't huge but it does have a lot of interesting items on it, like what Matt ordered, The peanut butter sandwich. Its served with french fries, Which I thought was kinda strange, perhaps maybe apple sauce (I know sounds weird) but fries didn't seem like a great pairing - don't worry the fries did get eaten! They have 3 different types of fries, seasoned, plain and herb... I really liked the herb.
I had the chicken fried steak, It was alright, I really wish the potatoes had more stiffness to them. I know that may sound silly but I enjoy my tatters and love 'em nice and fluffy!Mat and Missy enjoyed the Mac and Cheese and the Moogie (steak sandwich).
All in all it wasn't too bad! I do hope tho that they add to the menu, and keep in stock all the menu items. There were a couple of things that weren't available because they were out of stock. That could be a good sign! They are busy and run out. Or not a good sign because they haven't kept an eye on stock. I would go back I'd love to try other items. I really enjoyed the onion rings, yum yum yummy! Don't change 'em!
And when your not hanging in 'The Ruby Kitchen', check out a show at the 'Ruby Room'. Fabulous bar, Fabulous staff! Add there Myspace/facebook page for updates on different shows and events.

 
The Ruby Room
1271 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 299-7372)
Open 7 days a week
2pm - 2am (Mon - Fri)
12pm - 2am (Sat - Sun)

You Say Potato, I Say Potahto...

I love potatoes! My favorite have to be the Red and Yellow.
What about you...
Whats your favorite potato?
How do you like it cooked and served?

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It is important to know what type of potatoes you should use when baking and boiling. For example, if you want to add potatoes to soups or stews you should use yellow, blue or red potatoes. These potatoes are low in starch, and this means that, when boiling, they will not fall apart. If you want to bake, then you should use potatoes with a dry, mealy texture like the Yukon Gold type. Potatoes for baking purposes are high in starch, and when they are done, the texture is very soft. In fact, you can find some of the most common varieties of potatoes and the best way to cook them:


Yellow Potatoes:

best, roasting, yukon gold yellow potatoes are considered all purpose which means that you can use them to cook mashed or baked.


Red Potatoes:

Best for: steaming,boiling, roasting, au gratin, scalloped
Example: Norland, Klondike Rose


Russet Potatoes:

Best for baking, boiling

Russet potatoes are high in starch. Russet are perfect to cook mashed potatoes and also are good for baking.

White Potatoes:

Best for: mashing, boiling, steaming, au gratin, roasting
Example: White rose - The white potato variety usually are low in starch, which means that it is great for boiling to make a great potato salad.


Fingerling Potatoes:

Best for: baking, and boiling, roasting
Also known as "finger potatoes", fingerling potatoes are "finger-shaped" and they are usually low in starch.


Blue Potatoes:

Best for: steaming, baking, boiling
Example: Russian Blue
Also known as "purple potatoes". This type is great for all kind of dishes because they are usually "medium" in starch.

Resources:

All About Potatoes

The Cook Thesaurus

Chicken breast with garlic, cheese mashed potatoes...

It was pretty yummy! Try it some time!

Chicken breast

I seasoned the chicken with garlic/chili salt, pepper and a bit of cayenne pepper. I cooked the chicken on the stove. About 20min on one side and 20 on the other, I didn't move it a lot and kept the heat on a medium high.

Garlic Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 7 medium peeled and cubed red potatoes
• Table spoons of garlic, diced (I used the stuff in the jar)
  
• 1/2 cup low-fat milk
• 11/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
• 4oz of cream cheese
  
• 2 tablespoons butter (I used 2 of those garlic butter dips, you can find them at pizza places{Papa Johns, Domino's})
  
• salt & pepper to taste
  

Preparation:

Place potatoes saucepan. Cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer about 10 minutes till soft and tender; drain. While the potatos drain, saute the garlic with the butter in the pan, when its brown a bit, add the cream cheese, cheese, drained potatos, and salt and pepper. mash it all up with a potato masher. Serves 6 to 8.

Cici's Pizza

So I'm sure you see the commercials but there aren't any Cici's Pizza located close to us...

the closest is located in Las Vegas, NV. Until now!

CiCi's Pizza Buffet

619-287-2424

5801 University Ave

San Diego, CA 92115

Matt and I went with Mat and Missy, Jeremy and Jordan.

Jordan, a great friend, said,

"I liked the cinnamon rolls and brownies, I also enjoyed the cheese pizza!"

- Jordan

Isn't she so cute!

It was an ok meal nothing to fantastic but great for its cost. $5.99 sodas $1.89

But the commercial says "all you can eat buffet for under $5.00" ?

I did have the macaroni pizza, I keep hearing about, and it was not awful, Go check it out for yourself!

The Best Meal YOU Ever Had?

Hello, Fellow foodies checking out my blog...
I've failed on posting and pictures.
I've been really busy and haven't had time to cook! Blah...
Anyways, lets hear from you!

What is the best meal you have ever had?

Whether it's from a restaurant, a family recipe, or somewhere around the world...
Just leave a comment!
Thanks for stopping by!
Perhaps I'll have to try it or cook it up!

Oink, Oink!

Bring on the pork!
Yesterday, while at the store, I came across a sale on a pork roast. Only $5.00!
And that's what we had for dinner tonight!


Now what about a side?
Well, carrots popped in my mind, so I picked up a couple of those and some brown mushrooms.
I thought I'd make some mashed potatoes along and maybe a mushroom onion gravy...
But half way through the roast I got lazy ~ hahaha ~ Terrible I know!
Never fear I did come up with a solution!

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INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium red potatoes, cut Julienne
• 1 small onion peeled & sliced
• 2 carrots cleaned & sliced
• 3 Brown mushrooms cleaned & sliced
  
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• pinch of thyme a pinch of red chili flakes (kinda just added to try)

DIRECTIONS:
Rinse potato julienne with cold water, and drain well.
Heat in a large skillet over medium heat.
Place potatoes, onion, and carrots in the skillet, and stir to coat with oil.
Season with salt and pepper, pinch of thyme a pinch of red chili flakes, Or whatever you think might taste good.
Cover with a lid, and cook for 10 minutes. (this really helps cook all the ingredients it almost steams them up)
Remove the lid, Add mushrooms. and cook for another 10 minutes, turning frequently until brown and crisp on all sides.
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Use what ya got!

So as you can see from my earlier blog "Just because we are poor..." we are trying to use up the food we have stuffed away in the back of our cupboards, fridge and freezer.

So this is what I had to work with for dinner...
Defrosted chicken
Bag of spinach
Onion
Fresh tomato from my 'Topsy Turvy'
Fire Roasted red peppers

So I created a Spinach Salad with Lemon Pepper Basil Chicken and a Balsamic Vinaigrette


It was really yummy if I do say so myself!

You will see me write a lot about foil packets.
I love when chicken is simple, quick, moist and there is no clean up!
__________________________
Quick lesson on foil packets:

PREHEAT oven to 450°F or grill to medium-high.

CENTER one chicken breast half on each sheet of Reynolds Wrap Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil. add seasoning and/or top with vegetables.

BRING up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Repeat to make four packets.

BAKE 18 to 22 minutes on a cookie sheet in oven.
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So today I used olive oil, garlic, lemon pepper, fresh chopped basil, and salt. Then folded it up!


Then before it was finished... I caramelized onions, using olive oil and yellow onion browning them a bit and finishing it with a bit of brown sugar.

Be sure to check the chicken with a meat thermometer when its all done!

I plated the spinach and topped it with the pre-cooked chicken, fresh tomato, fire roasted bell pepper, and the yummy caramelized onions. Then drizzled balsamic vinaigrette over the top.

If you give this a try I hope you enjoy. The onions on the salad were great!

Just because we are poor...

Ok well we aren't poor, But we definitely aren't rich! As you can tell, I have yet to post new recipes I have been wanting to try out. This is because, Matt and I haven't been grocery shopping in a while.
We have now started to eat what we got, which is great, there is a bit of food in the cupboards which definitely could be eaten. Not all of it great food, but its food!

Which brings me to my lunch today, I felt like having a bit of soup, but no cans of soup... :(
Maybe, some Alfredo noodles (the kind you get in a box), ~ "We ain't got no milk."~ 'Friday' quote
So that means no cereal either... Yes, I would eat cereal for lunch... even dinner! But only with milk.

As I keep mousing around the kitchen, my eyes fall upon 'Top Ramen Noodles', Chicken flavor. Well its not my first pick, I would much rather drive over to 'Santana' and pick me up a carne asada California burrito stuffed with french fries, rice, salsa fresca, beans, and oozing with sour cream and cheese... But I don't get paid till Friday! hee hee hee



But the 'Top Ramen Noodles' weren't so bad! (I couldn't do it everyday) I added some frozen vegetables that were stuffed in the back of the freezer, and a bit of spring onion from my herb garden. I could have added a lot more, maybe some red pepper, garlic, pepper, peas, and the list goes on and on... And it does go on and on... there are even websites and cook books dedicated to 'Top Ramen Noodles' recipes!

101 Ways to Make Ramen Noodles Cookbook

Ramenlicious.com

And what is your favorite 'Top Ramen Noodles' recipe?
Leave a comment to share with all of us!