My Trip to Fresno-My Favorite Good Eats

Okay I will come clean. :-) I spent 9 months in Fresno working on a project. To my surprise I had some of the best food in my adult life.
Someone on the Food Network (Guy Fieri) needs to pay a visit and put them on the MAP. Since he can't do it, I will. I have even tweeted about. #Fresno
The Tri-Tip melts in your mouth, the Mexican Food is comforting, groceries are affordable and all of my co-workers could get down in the kitchen.
I had to workout extremely hard just so I could eat all the good food! Here are my favorite eats in Fresno.





Hofbrau (Downtown location)- You can enjoy custom carved meats such as Pastrami, Cornbeef, Turkey, Beef, Rueben, Ham and Knockwurst. My favorite is their Pastrami. Hofbrau dips the sandwich in au jus with your choice of Swiss or American cheese. It looks simple but it packs a POW of home comfort food. There is a pickle bar with mustard's and horseradish. Check it out, you won't be sorry!!




Salaam Seafood- I am going to put it out there. I have yet to find a good soul food place in Los Angeles. I know that we like to keep it healthy but I am sorry, I am no fan of smoked turkey in my greens, beans or anything dish that calls for hammocks.I have also found that its all about the main dish in Los Angeles and the sides go by the wayside. In Fresno, pride is definitely in their soul food. The main dish, the sides, the lemonade all makes you do the "Happy Dance" while eating.
I have never had Basa (Fish) until I tried it here at Salaam's Seafood. Delish white fish! Their fried fish has flavor, its crispy and the good thing its re-heat able. How many times have you gone to a place and its sopped with grease and there is no flavor? Salaam has the perfect fried fish that makes you want to come back every week. In LA this would put you behind $10 or $11. In Fresno, less than $6.






La Estrella~I am sure at this point you are all sick of me bragging about this quaint little town and how good the food is but DAMN... I had no clue really what Chili Verde was until...da da daaaaaaaa... La Estrella. Look at the pictures! I have to admit I only had it 3 times because I was scared of my waistline. The meat just melts in your mouth and the beans are slowed cooked. There's no sparring flavor here. I would garnish it with cilantro, lime and onions. OOOOHHHH WEE!

My other favorites:


Dog House Grill- Across the street from Fresno State. Try their bbq ribs and roasted chicken. Finger licking good.

Sam's Deli- Italian Deli with all the best meats, anti pasta's, marinara's, desserts and an AWESOME WINE SELECTION.

Quality Meats- When I say the best Breakfast Country Sausage in the World, I mean it. I have never had a flavor such as theirs.
Quality Meats bbq's their tri-tip for 16hours. I have also purchased their beautifully cut pork roast for less than $5 and can feed a family of 4 for at least two days. Their hotlink sandwich with Pappy's BBQ sauce is a gluttons haven! The entire staff is friendly and helpful.

B&K Thai Food- This place is a hole in the wall but I tell ya....I went to B&K every Friday and they know my name. I would call in my order and have seating arrangements with all of my friends. Its sad but true. LOL. They will be missed!!! My favorites, Combo fried Rice, Spring Rolls, Pad Thai Noodles, Curry Chicken and Thai Beef Salad.

Great Article by LA Times-Chef Nancy Silverton on salads

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-master-class-nancy-silverton-20111006,0,2766363.htmlstory

Sunday's Dish of the week- Pork Roast

Need this recipe? Email me at jasmineskitchen@gmail.com
These are my BEFORE and AFTER pictures and YEP... it is true Sunday GRUB and can feed a family of 4 for many days.


Cost of the entire meal $9.00

Lucini Salad dressing-Bold Parmesan and Garlic

You can find it in Wholefoods. Its my favorite and you can eat it with any type salad. It will cost you $6.99 and you get about 3 uses out of it but its worth every penny. Yes... its expensive but once you try it, you will LURVE it.

dinnertool.com

You can now find jasmine's kitchen on dinnertool.com
The link has been added to our page on the left side.
We are always delighted when someone approaches us. It makes me smile and inspires me to keep doing what I am doing. Its not always done in vain.

http://www.dinnertool.com/page/friends

Nic's Martini Lounge- Beverly Hills

Ahh! Today was a special day to meet up with a special friend that I have not seen in a while and have cocktails and appetizers. It was a delight that I didn't have to pick a place to eat because we've always had similar taste and TASTE my friends is very important to me. Special Note: A friend will get cut from picking out places to eat if they make too many wrong decisions with me. I am very particular where I spend my money.
A few days before we were set to meet I decided to check them out online and I have to mention how I love and appreciate that they put the dress code on their website, "Upscale, yet Casual". I figured I'd put on something kind of, umm, shabby chic. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of my friend and I because I was so excited to see her. All of the pictures I took of the food were half eaten and that is a tell tell sign that the food was delicious.
What we ordered with my honest opinion:
Famous Oysters with sauteed spinach- A must order...A had a perfect twist of twang and savory.
Gnocchi- With morel mushrooms. For years I have been begging my brother in law to ship me morels when they he goes morel hunting in Minnesota but to no avail my request have been ignored :-)... oh yes, I was ranting....The gnocchi was shaped like tiny scallops. It was the first time I have seen gnocchi shaped this way but there's nothing wrong with changing it up. They were perfectly tender, not too doughy and not to potato-ey and the cream sauce was delicious. The only thing as my friend suggested that would be a nice touch, asparagus tips. Not a lot but just enough to make it complete.
Grilled Octopus- the grilled octopus was made with feta cheese, tomato, garlic, lemon and basil. The hostess recommended that we try their Octopus as it is the most tender in Beverly Hills. Indeed she was right! It melted in your mouth and it was not chewy at all. The dish was pretty so so. I think the feta cheese throws it off a tad bit. However, the way it was prepped I have to give the chef praises for it.
Tuna tartare on brushetta- I think this was my favorite appetizer on the menu. I didn't really need the crustini. I could eat an entire bowl of the tartare.
Spinach salad with bacon- what tied the dish together was the grapefruit and goat cheese. Never thought about pairing it with grapefruit which in my mind said... hey! We are eating something healthy despite the bacon. LOL
Cocktail of the evening (I forgot to photograph) FALL HOOK UP- it was made with homemade apple cider and Stoli Applik. I really enjoyed my martini. It wasn't too sweet but had a perfect balance of a martini and a warm fuzzy feeling of fall. The apples that were used were nice. This drink isn't served in a regular martini glass but served on the rocks....I say... it gets a thumbs up from me.

There's so much to add about this place I could go on and on but check out their website. I give it 4stars. I want to try out the VODBOX so I can put on the faux fur jackets. okay... my blog ends here. xoxoxoox
http://www.nicsbeverlyhills.com/nics_2006/martini.html

Casa Del Mar-Santa Monica

Casa Del Mar Hotel has always been my favorite hotel in Santa Monica. I had the best time last Friday night.
Before I went to Casa Del Mar, I thought I'd check out Shutters next door because I heard good things from two different sources. Well... I don't know what to say but it was the worst food I have ever eaten. I would never recommend eating there. $39 for a "Small seafood platter", which consisted of 3 Shrimp (frozen and uncleaned), 3 oysters, 3 clams and an ounce of crab. Really? Yes Really. We also ordered the fish tacos for $14 dollars which by the way had no flavor. Matter of fact you couldn't pay me $14 dollars to eat it again and last... lamb sausage. I am not sure if the person in the kitchen is a Chef but Shutters ought to be ashamed of themselves and just say you are paying for ambiance. After my horrible experience at Shutters I decided to change my fate and go to Casa Del Mar....my sure ace in a hole and satisfy my poor hunger pains.

When I arrived at Casa Del Mar I was pleasantly surprised with the best bottle of Persecco and catching The Leftover Cuties perform. You may recognise the Leftover Cuties from the show The Big C on showtime. Anyways... the singer and band = AMAZING. Her voice is unique and beautiful. The band is talented and what else can you ask for period.
I am a huge fan of live bands and people that can actually play instruments. We'll just call them "Real Artist".
I ordered chicken wings which were lightly battered and fried with a nice dipping sauce, some oysters and as mentioned before the best bottle of Persecco. I promise to provide the name .... I wrote it down somewhere :-)

Sorry for the negative review on Shutters but even after a few days my feelings are still the same.

Happy Fourth of July

Bacon Wrapped Hot Dog with Sauteed Bell Peppers and Onions
*Quick Tip* Purchase thinly sliced bacon
constantly turn on low heat

Pomegranate Blueberry Cocktail with Persecco
2 ounces of POM pomegranate juice
5 blueberries
1 TBSP of lemon juice
1 cup of Persecco
Ice

Grilled Shrimp w garlic Butter

If you want the recipe.. email me
jasmineskitchen@gmail.com

Back to Daisy Mint

Twice in a month to Daisy Mint in Pasadena.
A Must Do!
Try their honey pork with a Green Apple Slaw and
Duck Pineapple Curry. What??? Yes it works people and its very good.

City Tavern- Culver City

Want to TAP your own beer at your table and eat Gourmet Comfort Food?
Is that even possible?
This place took me by surprise.
I walked in... and I didn't have to think if I was going to dine here.
Chef Jessica Christensen is talented and knows her flavors. Imagine going to a restaurant and not having to salt or pepper your food. She is absolutely perfect!
I tried the Special-pulled pork sandwich with a Texas style BBQ sauce, warm bacon salad, brussel sprouts, oysters on the half shell.
Check out the picture I took of the oysters. HAHA!!!
For dessert I had the Smores... an adult Smores.

The next week I took my friends and we had a blast and poured 80 ounces of IPA and Hefenweizen beers.

Passing through Fresno

So I have been told that Fresno has the best BBQ.
Well I CONCUR! I visited Fresno Last week for a few days and for those of you that don't know what BBQ is... make the drive and feast for a week. There is nothing like Fresno BBQ... did I just say that again... I think I did. I ate bbq 3 days in a row and it was yummy yummy yummy to my big ol tummy.

Since my friend is a Fresno-ian Native... we went to the best places in town.

Quality Meats located on Chestnut and Clinton has the best Tri Tip out there. It is slowly bbq'd for 16 hours, thinly sliced with a homemade savory bbq sauce. It simply just melts in your mouth like butter.

Ruben's Ribshack- located on Clinton and Fresno Avenue
You can smell this place a mile away.
Ruben's has the best beef brisket>>> EVER>>>>
The first time I had brisket was when I was a teenager and it was tough and chewy. After that experience I stayed away. Well Ruben does it right. He cooks his Brisket for 16 hours on a huge smoker and makes his own sauce.
He was so kind that he gave me bbq sauce to go.
what I loved about Ruben's is that he gives free samples.
His food has SOUL.
Try his bacon green beans and peach cobbler.
The Best Dive in Cali

How could you go wrong in Fresno with the quality of beef when cows are in their backyard?

So worth the four hour drive :-)

Montrose/La Canada Farmers Market

One of my favorite Farmers Market located right outside of Pasadena is in Montrose.
Great place to bring your children with plenty of entertainment (petting zoo.) The food is scrumptious and made with a lot of love. I love that there is a lot of different cultural foods. All you have to do is pick a region...lol... As you can tell that is hard for me to do.

Recommended Vendors:

Pork and Cheese Papusas
Lamb Gyro
and Home Made Sun Dried Feta Cheese (to die for)

Gazpacho

just made my first batch of the summer...yummy!! nothing like a cold soup with creme fraiche.

note: always use heirloom tomatoes and shop for the best organic veggies.
best places to shop...Wholefoods or Bristol Farms

Culinary Romantic Destinations to visit in California

Napa Valley- Enjoy the best food and wineries on the West Coast. It's the best time of the year to visit Napa.

Santa Barbara- Great Seafood and many wineries to visit.

Big Bear- Rent a cabin or enjoy a b&b...If its not snowing and you can't get on the slopes enjoy a beautiful hike. I had some of the best pumpkins pancakes a few years back.

or have a staycation at your favorite hotel. Just to name a few of my favorite hotels that are romantic and have good food are the Peninsula, Mondrian, Hotel Sofitel, Bacara resort in Santa Barbara, Best Western Elm in Napa,

Money Saving Meals for the family

I thought I'd throw out some dishes that save money and can last the family a few days. These dishes make great left overs for sacked lunches throughout the week.

Chicken Enchilada Pie
Lasagne
Chili (Chicken, Turkey or Beef)
Pork Pot Roast
Spaghetti

What to do for Valentine's Day

Valentines Day is MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY!!
Some don't subscribe (mostly men) to this Holiday but for me, its a day to give free love.

If you live in Los Angeles and have no idea where to take you honey, boo, sidekick, friend or foe.... I have a few places that I can suggest for good food, romance and entertainment.

Food and Live Music

La Louisianna in Los Angeles (Creole Food) best R&B and Jazz
Redwhite and Bluezz (Pasadena)

Food Connoisseurs

Tom Collichio- Craft
Church & State (Modern French and romantic atmosphere)
Asanebo (Sushi)
Red Medicine (Vietnamese with a twist) open till 2a.m. and fabulous drinks

Learn how to make Honey Glazed Buffalo Wings with Jasmine's Kitchen

Jasmine's Kitchen Cookbook- Purchase it NOW on Amazon- "Cooking Tempting Foods"

Purchase the Book NOW on Amazon

Jasmine's Kitchen- Cooking Tempting Foods

maple glazed ham w roasted tomato, egg on brioche

For this recipe I pulled out my Griddle. (375 degrees)

I roasted the tomatoes in my broiler (500 degrees) with Olive Oil, Garlic, Salt, Pepper and Fresh Thyme for 7 minutes.

Then I toast the brioche on my griddle with butter.

Dipped Ham Steak in Maple Syrup and placed on griddle (2 minutes on each side)

Over easy eggs completed on the griddle as well

A delicious breakfast/ brunch concoction.

Food and Skin Care!??

When people say, "You are what you eat" I think really? I'm a pig, I'm cabbage, I am a stinking rose (garlic). :-)
In the last year or so I found out that my body does not respond well to Dairy Products or spicy food (of course these food items are my favorite). As a child I never had breakouts, zits, pimples or acne. You can say I have been lucky up until recently.
Whenever I crave a glass of milk with cookies I know at some point I am going to pay for it. Acne followed by blemishes. Yikes!! Of course having brown skin doesn't help my situation because my blemishes look black or dark, dark brown. Call me vain, but not cute when its on the tip of your nose. For Christmas I was Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer reincarnated. For the past few weeks I have been trying to get rid of this blemish that makeup can't cover up.
In a desparate and last attempt, I went online and googled home remedy for facial blemishes. The searches directed me to ehowto.com
Does it work.... YES!!!!!!!!!!
Here are the instructions

•No, you are not making Greek food. You are getting rid of the bacteria on your skin. Cut a slice of lemon and prepare a fresh clove of garlic by taking off the skin and cutting the clove in half.

•2
Cleanse your skin with a gentle cleanser such a Cetaphil. Squeeze the slice of lemon into your palm and pat on your face (especially on the blemish or active area).

•3
Rinse your face. Now, take the half clove (this is a fresh clove with juice) and rub the clove on the blemish, squeezing the juice onto the area. Wait a minute. You will feel tingling.

•4
After about a minute (you may wait longer, depending on the sensitivity of your skin) and up to five minutes, rinse your face with luke warm water.

•5
Know that garlic is an antioxidant with huge quantities of Vitamin C. These nutrients will kill off the bacteria surrounding the blemish.

•6
Wake up and notice the difference in your skin. You may smell like a garden, but your face will be free of bacteria.