Frisee Restaurant (and crab cakes!)

I *love* crab cakes. Typically, they are a risky item to order in restaurants because they can vary widely in quality, preparation and taste. For instance, I despise soggy crab cakes, or ones that have more bread crumb filler than actual crab meat or ones made with too much bell pepper...or worse--there are shameful places that use poor quality crab meat or imitation crab meat, but let's not talk about things that masquerade around pretending to be something else because that is a topic in of itself (I dont want to see fish all squished up in log shapes hoping to disguise itself as crab meat. you're not fooling anyone). But when I come across some good crab cakes, oh maaaaan, I am sold and little can tempt me into ordering something else.

I was very impressed with the dungeness crab cakes at Frisee: served with petite frisee mix, crispy lardons (I could have done without this), grilled chili aioli and fruit compote (which was cinnamon flavored apple cubes that seemed really out of place). But it was all high quality crab meat and delicious!


I didn't necessarily agree with the chef's choice of accompaniments, but the crab cake itself was so delicious that I didn't care. Now, the Cortez Restaurant & Bar makes one of the best crab cakes I have ever had (and order regularly): Kataifi crusted crab cake with citrus marinated cabbage & caper-tarragon aioli. Kataifi is basically shredded phyllo dough that is collected into very thin strands and, when deep fried, makes a unique crazy curly design so it has aesthetic appeal and a delicious crunch. Sheer Genius.

Desserts: mediocre but decent.

Chocolate and banana bread pudding with dulce de leche and chantilly cream.


Raspberry "shortcake" with fresh raspberries and blackberries with vanilla cream sandwiched between layers of phyllo surrounded by raspberry coulis.

Lentil, Potato and Pea Curry

This yummy curry surpassed my expectations! I hope you like it too!



INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp ginger sugar (if you dont have the amazing kitchen essential that is ginger sugar, then 2 tsp of fresh grated ginger and 1 tsp of raw or brown sugar will do)
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 large potato (I used yukon gold), cut into bite-sized cubes
1/2 cup red lentils
14 oz. can of canned chopped tomatoes (no salt added), with the liquid
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1 tsp. curry powder or garam masala
1 tsp. salt
1 cup frozen green peas
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp. lemon juice.

DIRECTIONS:

* Heat oil in large pot and cook the onions for about 10 minutes.
* If it starts to stick, add a Tbsp. of the stock to prevent burning.
* Add garlic, ginger sugar, coriander, cumin, turmeric and cinnamon. Stir.
* Add potato and lentils. Stir.
* Add the stock, coconut milk and canned tomatoes with the tomato liquid.
* Bring to a boil, stirring occassionally.
* Add the curry powder. Stir and simmer covered for about 30 minutes.
* Add the peas and stir.
* Just before serving, stir in the chopped cilantro and lemon juice.

Serve over a bed of brown basmati rice.

Herbamare

Herbamare is one of my absolute *favorite* condiments!



It's a natural sea salt blend that contains:

* sea salt
* organic celery leaves
* organic leek
* organic cress*(water and garden)
* organic onion
* organic chive
* organic parsley
* organic lovage
* organic garlic
* organic basil
* organic marjoram
* organic rosemary
* organic thyme
* kelp (with trace iodine).

All of these magical ingredients combine to make a flavorful salt that adds a delicious flavor to everything and anything! You will be able to find this wonderful product in most health food stores.

(and if you like a kick, they made a spicy version)

Penzey's Spices

I went to visit a friend in St. Paul, Minnesota and came across a culinary haven called Penzeys Spices.


It's an entire store dedicated to high-quality spices, herbs, and seasonings! I spent more $$$ than you (and my friend) would believe on spices. They had over 5 kinds of CINNAMON!!! I didn't even know so many types of cinnamon existed beyond McCormick's.


Luckily, they have an online store, so you can order all sorts of things from them, including their amazing Salt Free Selections! I cannot emphasize enough the use of quality spices, herbs and seasonings in healthy, low-fat cooking (provided you watch the sodium intake)!

I went home with:


* Bangkok Blend (Salt Free blend of: sweet peppers, garlic, ginger, black pepper, galangal, hot peppers, lemon grass, basil, and cilantro)

* Chesapeake Bay Seasoning

* Galangal

* Herbes de Provence

* Mural of Flavor (Salt Free blend of: shallots, onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, basil, coriander, lemon peel, citric acid, black pepper, chives, green peppercorns, dill weed, and orange peel)

* Ozark Style Seasoning (salt, black pepper, sage, garlic, thyme, Hungarian papika, regular mustard, ancho chili, celery seed, cayenne, dillweed, dillseed, caraway seed, allspice, ginger, cardamom, bay leaves, mace, china cinnamon, savory and cloves)

* Seasoned Salt (coarse Sea Salt, Smoked Paprika, Sugar, Special Extra Bold Black Pepper, Turmeric, Onion, Garlic, Spice Extractives (including oleoresin of paprika, black pepper, celery, rosemary and thyme)

* Shallot Salt

* Sweet Curry

* Trinidad Lemon-Garlic Marinade (coarse salt, lemon peel, garlic, clove and ginger)

* Vindaloo Seasoning

* Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon

...and I wanted so much more!!

What are you going to pick?!

The Milky Way at BACAR

One of my favorite things to do with my girlfriends is to go have a glass of wine and share some dessert at a wine bar while we gush about the gossip of our lives...no matter what the current drama, a little bit of wine and sugar does just the trick!! (Fortunately, there are countless of swanky wine bars in San Francisco for just such an occassion!)

My friend and I picked Bacar, which is in SOMA ("South of Market, for those of you unfamiliar with the city). Bacar has a fantastic wine selection, good food, sometimes live jazz or piano, and a signature dessert that is AMAZING.

Their version of a Milky Way ($11): a chocolate fudge cake layer at the base, topped with malt ice cream and a thin disk of chocolate, which melts away as a warm bourbon caramel sauce is poured over it all right at the table! *YUM*

Winter Storm Event at Stone Brewery

I went to the Winter Storm event at Stone Brewery in Northern San Diego...It's an annual event in which the Brewery rolls out the vintages of all of their beers in bottle and draft...

We ordered several rounds of beer, but started with (from back to front):

2004 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine
2005 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine
2006 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine
Stone 04.04.04 Vertical Epic Ale
Stone 4th Anniversary India Pale Ale
Stone 7th Anniversary India Pale Ale

Beer was accompanied by some "Spud Buds"--Stone IPA organic garlicky mashed potatoes, balled up, and deep-fried in their Arrogant Bastard Ale batter. Served with Mike’s beer cheese sauce and Stone Smoked Porter-BBQ sauce for dipping.


After a couple rounds of beer, I realized it would be *essential* to eat some substantial food along with all the beer I was ordering...The Stone World Bistro's Menu boasts an ecclectic mix with lots of fresh, local and organic foods (even the tofu is from San Diego Soy Dairy!). I ordered a vegetarian breakfast burrito with local free-range brown eggs, marinated tofu, onions, cilantro and white cheddar. It was *ridiculously* delicious!


Oh, and these suckers are their version of Onion Rings cooked in a crispy tempura-style Arrogant Bastard Ale batter...


and for dessert...more beer, of course!

For me, the beer highlight of the day was 2004 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine....

Beans!

I bought a 21 bean soup mix, which claims to have 21 different types of beans not including any of the lentils you see in the pretty photo...and I just realized that, without actually researching beans, I couldn't list out 21 types of beans if my life depended on it...

could you?

Update: I later found this nifty website, which lists waaaay more than 21 beans!