Sunday, December 27, 2009

Hog Island Oyster Farm- Tomales Bay, Ca



About a year ago I was watching a special on Hog Island Oyster Farm and knew that this was definitely a place I wanted to go. Hog Island Oyster Farm is located 40 miles past San Francisco on Tomales Bay. Tomales Bay is absolutely breath taking and a very romantic place to be. There are a few vineyards along the path and b&b's. If you are bike rider (cyclist) this is the perfect bike path for windy roads and big hills.
I had never heard of an oyster farm let alone one being so close to home in California. How could I pass up the opportunity to see what this place had to offer.

Looking back, I wish I was a little more prepared because I didn't know what to expect.
At Hog Island Oyster you can purchase a small, medium or large amount of oysters.I ordered two dozen kumamoto oysters which is a very small, sweet, fruity and buttery tasting oyster. I don't think you should add extra ingredients to this oyster because it taste great all by itself.
The Kumamoto oyster is originally from Kyushu, Japan. The Kumamoto Oyster takes three years to develop. I also ordered a half dozen of the Sweetwater Oyster which was larger in size but had a more seafood flavor and needed a little extra ingredients. I'd suggest bbqing the larger oysters.
At Hog Island Oyster Co. you're are provided with shucking tools and a few basic ingredients such as lemon and hot sauce. If you decide to fully utilize the picnic area BBQ pits are available. This place was the perfect family outing. Most of the families there brought their own BBQ supplies as well as other foods to BBQ.
One of the couples had champagne. Champagne and oysters would had been perfect! I just sat there in awe wishing I would had brought more things like my very own Mignonette sauce or fresh horseradish. I even saw some people grilling dungeness crab. I am hoping that the next time my family visits we can all go picnic here. I was told in the summer time you must call a few weeks in advance to reserve. I can only imagine how busy it gets during the warmer days.
What a beautiful place and nice place to visit after Christmas!!

Point Reyes Vineyard- Tomales Bay






Point Reyes Vineyard is located on Highway 1 (Tomales Bay), 40 miles north of San Francisco. Be prepared to travel some windy roads because this is not a straight path.

On our way back from Hog Oyster Island we ran across Point Reyes Vineyard. On our way up the path to the tasting room we ran across some really cute animals on the property. (We will just call them, little Betsy cows)

Point Reyes Vineyards has some really tasty wines. I was able to purchase a late harvest wine (dessert wine) and Red Zinfandel (Belotti Vineyard). The Red Zinfandel notes were very flowery and light. I appreciated how light this Zinfandel was, it was not too bold. Point Reyes Vineyards has a few unfiltered wines and thankfully this one was filtered. I am not a fan of a lot of tanums in my drink.
I am looking forward to inviting a few friends over for pasta after the New Year and serving this wine.
By the time I got to the last part of my flight which was the Late Harvest dessert wine I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. I was a little tipsy by then but I did purchase it anyway. The reason was because there isn't a lot of wineries that can pull off a late harvest wine and I know the difficult process in making a late harvest. So I decided to purchase it and will do the review on it later after I drink it.

I suggest anyone traveling to Tomales Bay to stop by and pay this winery a visit. The primary wine in this winery is Sparkling. Unfortunate for me the winery ran low of sparkling wine so they were not pouring it. This boutique winery has wines that are over 10 years old and have aged well.

Mayflower (Dim Sum)- Milpitas, Ca











Dim Sum is a wide range of light Chinese dishes. Dishes are served in small portions and often in bamboo steamed baskets. Dim Sum has always been fun to me especially if you go with the right people. My husband I are were invited by my friends that live in the bay area on Christmas. Mayflower was packed!! I couldn't believe how many people were out eating on Christmas. Unbeknownst to me, the Chinese culture doesn't really celebrate Christmas like most here in America. I think this is awesome for people like me who could careless about Christmas. (I know...Bahhh humbug)
Mayflower is very big in size and probably holds up to 400 people at once. This place was awesome inside. The restaurants has tanks filled with fresh seafood such as shrimp, lobster, crab and geoduck clam. I have never seen live shrimp or geoduck clam so this was very exciting to me.
My favorite dishes are Chinese broccoli and whole fried shrimp. I even got to try a sticky rice wrapped in leaves that was really good. I haven't been to many dim sum places but this was the best one I have been to.
I don't go to many Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles because I believe the best Chinese food is in the Bay Area. So I hold out until I travel up north. I am excited to see what else is out there.

North Beach Pizza- San Francisco, Ca











For the past 3 years I have been trying to get over to North Beach Pizza. Sadly, there is never any parking or some parade going on when I try to go there. :-)
Thankfully it was raining and luck seemed to be on myside. I pretty much got valet parking.
As I have blogged before I love New York Style Pizza which is typically a thinner crust pizza. San Francisco style pizza reminds me of New York. Nevertheless, North Beach Pizza has a medium size crust that isn't too thick where I would get irritated. Chicago style pizza is just disturbing to me. The thought of eating all that dough makes me sick.
Okay back to North Beach Pizza.... The sauce has good robust flavors which is not too tomatoey, too tangy or too thick or too thin. I like for my pepperoni to be a little crispy on the edges. I also like for my mozzarella cheese to be a little salty and stretchy. I don't believe you should have to salt your pizza. The best touch to a pizza is a light sprinkle of oregano which is often available in most Bay Area pizzerias.
This place gets 2 thumbs up and I also suggest their minestrone soup if you are cold, ITS YUMMY!!!

Cafe Bizou- Pasadena






Cafe Bizou is a seafood and steak restaurant located in Pasadena, California off Raymond and Holly. Last Wednesday we decided to have dinner with our friends before the Christmas Holiday began. To our surprise it was quite busy. Since we all arrived at different times our total wait time was 20 minutes. Not too bad without a reservation and for a party of four. I'd definitely say that Cafe Bizou is a warm and cozy place to be. It's a little bit off the main strip in Old Town Pasadena but close enough to park in the main lots.

For the month of December Cafe Bizou has a Lobster and Steak special. You can order a three course meal for $26 dollars which includes a seafood soup (lobster bisque) or salad, main course of lobster, steak (fillet Mignon) served with a brandy peppercorn sauce or seafood pasta and a choice of dessert.

The food
Lobster Bisque- had a great flavors, it was blended very well and was very balanced. I wish it had a few more pieces of lobster.

Lobster and Steak- Lobster was grilled but nothing special. It wasn't prepared in a special way. It was served with just butter and a few slices of lemon. The fillet Mignon (medium rare) had a brandy pepper corn sauce that was quite delicious and tasty.

Desserts- I originally ordered the tiramisu but it was sold out so I ordered the banana dessert, my guest ordered the sorbet and flour-less cake. I am not a fan of flour-less cake. I have yet to taste one and like it. For some reason the chocolate tasted rotten and felt like mush. I have never had a dessert that I wanted to actually dispose of right away. Thank goodness for the sorbet to clean my palate.

Overall, I would come here again. I appreciated the ambiance and the price of the food.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

What's on the Menu for Christmas




As many of us prepare for the holidays, we all wonder what's on the menu.

Jasmine's Menu

~Herb Crusted Prime Rib with Horse Radish cooked medium rare
~Collard Greens
~Corn Bread Souffle
~Twice baked potatoes
~Fresh baked Rolls
~Brussel Sprouts

~Dutch Apple Pie with Devonshire Cream
~Serrano Hot Chocolate Milk
~Red Wine by Stryker (Zinfandel)

For any of these recipes please contact Jasmine's Kitchen: jasmineskitchen@gmail.com

Jasmine's Kitchen assist Chef Nikita Leone party for celebrity






Over the weekend Jasmine's Kitchen assisted Chef Nikita Leone with a birthday party for a high profile celebrity.

This was a great experience for Jasmine's Kitchen and indeed fun.

Not a lot of pictures were taken unfortunately because there was a lot of work that needed to be done. Six hours of straight cooking. No time for breaks as our guest kept coming back for seconds and thirds.

On the adult menu was Nikita's famous Macaroni & Cheese, Fried Chicken, Roasted Vegetables and Potatoes, Orange scented Mint fruit salad and Classic Caesar Salad.
On the kids menu; Chicken fingers, fries, mini burger sliders and baby mac & cheese.

How to make an Omelet


Making an omelet is not as easy as it looks. It is very easy to break the form of an omelet as well as over cook them. Making omelets has taken me quite some time to perfect. However, I would love to share a few tips that has helped me perfect the omelet.


Tips:
1. use a small skillet
2. melt butter on high heat
3. cook on low heat
4. Practice with plain omelets before you try filling them.
5. Place a few tablespoons of filling on one half of the omelet right before it's done, then fold over and slide onto a plate. Don't put too much inside; it gets difficult to fold the omelet over.



Serves 2
3 Eggs whisk
1/4 cup Cream
thin slices of Gouda (pronounced HOW-DA in Dutch)Dutch Cheese
3 Cremini mushroom sliced thin (baby portabello)sauteed
2-3 pieces of chives

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Beef Short Ribs over Polenta by Jasmine's Kitchen







Intermediate
Cook Time: 3 hours
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Serves 4-6
Beef Short Ribs Over Polenta



Ingredients

2.5 lbs Short Ribs bone in
1 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon
1 can beef broth
1 24 0z can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp better than bouillon beef base
1 sweet onion
2 celery stalk chopped finely
1 cup carrot chopped finely
2 rosemary sprigs minced
5 garlic cloves minced
4 sprigs of thyme
1/4 cup Italian parsley chopped coarsely
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp sugar
2 bay leafs
pepper
olive oil

Garnish: Italian Parsley & Parmesan Cheese


Directions:

On medium high heat pour in enough Olive oil to cover bottom on Le Creuset (3 Tbsp.) until hot. Add in Onion, garlic, rosemary, carrot, thyme and celery and cook until tender. Stir around so that everything cooks evenly. Next add in wine, better than bouillon beef mixture and beef broth Cover and reduce to half.

In a large bowl season short ribs with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Next, dredge short ribs in flour. In a separate skillet heat olive oil and place short ribs into skillet and brown on both sides on medium high heat.

Once wine and beef broth have reduced to half add in Beef short ribs, canned tomatoes, sugar, bay leafs and Italian Parsley. Cover and slow cook for 3 hours on low heat. Stir occasionally.


Polenta

Purchase precooked Polenta

1/2 tube polenta 12 oz
1/2 pint heavy cream
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

In a small pot add butter and melt on medium low heat. Next, add in polenta and break down with a fork. Then, stir in the cream and salt. Once heated use an immersion blender to make creamy.

Garnish with Italian Parsley and Parmesan cheese

Top Chef Season 6




By far this has been my favorite season. Whoever did the casting for season 6 needs a huge raise!! There was so much talent in this cast that I was glued to the tv every Wednesday. From the beginning of the season I knew these four would make it to the very end. I was really rooting for Jennifer but there were times when she just threw in the towel and had given up. So I gave up on her.
I was a little surprised that Kevin didn't win because he won so many quick fire challenges. My heart went out to him when he lost.
However, I knew from the beginning that Michael was going to win. He had a really good spirit to him and he cooked with passion. He definitely wasn't afraid to challenge himself and take it to the next level without losing his style of cooking. I admire that in a cook/chef. I loved watching him and his brother compete on the show. It reminded me of me and my family and how competetive we all are when it comes to cooking.