California: Love at First Visit

We are back from our 7-day touchdown in California.  What a productive and spontaneous trip it was! Joe and I flew into San Francisco International Airport mid-morning last Wednesday and hit the ground running.  In a chili-pepper red Ford Focus rental as our mode of transport, we zig-zagged our way through Silicon Valley, Yosemite National Park, San Francisco, Highway 1, Santa Cruz, and back again.  Great food and plentiful sunshine sustained us throughout our tour.  I snapped some 300 pictures but have managed to whittle them down for this posting to illustrate a sampling of the various places and cuisines that we enjoyed across the palm-tree dappled territories of Northern California.

Investigative apartment searching on the fly.
Whole Foods Market, Los Altos. 

Let me first remind you that this trip was not intended to be a vacation, but instead a hectic apartment hunt.  Joe and I are moving to California in a little over a month, with Joe beginning Dermatology Residency at Stanford on July 2nd. As I mentioned in the previous entry, neither of us were confident that we would leave California with a signed apartment lease this trip. However, to make our apartment search in June a lot easier we tried to comb through living options in Palo Alto, Redwood City, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Los Altos, and Sunnyvale.  Our first three days were a whirlwind of apartment tours, disappointment, frustration, and anxiety.  Sticker shock had a lot to do with it!  Many thanks to Google for providing a ubiquitous internet surfing medium throughout most of Bay Area. In addition, thank you, Samantha (our GPS navigator) for providing us with directional consultation as we ventured  around the convoluted highways and side streets of the Bay Area.   

Day One

Stanford University Campus, Palo Alto

Apartment Tours

Sunnyvale Historic District

Stanford University's iconic red-roofed campus.
Views of "The Quad" from the top of Hoover Tower.

As we drove away from the car rental shop in South San Fran, we both agreed that our first stop should be Stanford University in Palo Alto.  What a great way to pay homage to the organization that's bringing us to California; to share our first meal of the trip basking in its academic splendor.  We wound up breaking bread at Coupa Cafe somewhere near the Engineering buildings thanks to a friendly professor who pointed us in the right direction (we were beyond lost)!  They are supposedly the "greenest" eatery on campus.  The menu was spiked with words like "organic," "local," and "equal-trade." With that spirit, we were both easily persuaded to order some greenery.  Joe got a specialty panini and side salad. I ordered a blue cheese salad with sliced pears, pine nuts and fresh rosemary bread.  

Re-fresh-ing lunch break at Coupa Cafe, Stanford.

After consuming our fill of fresh air and fare, we continued our day's journey to Sunnyvale where we began to dip our toes in the water of our apartment search. I like to think of it as untangling a mass of unknowns, including neighborhood safety, proximity to public transport and shops, amenities, overall cost, availability, commute time to Stanford, and so on. After a handful of apartment viewings, we collapsed into the plush seats at Dishdash, located on Murphy Avenue in Sunnyvale, for some spectacular Middle Eastern cuisine.  Joe ordered a dish called Mansef, upon recommendation by our waiter, and it was unlike anything I've ever tried. The dish appeared as a mountain of saffron rice mixed with minced lamb and surrounded by the most delicious aged yogurt sauce (we could have eaten it by the spoonful if spoons had been provided). I ordered Sabanech, a large dish of stewed lamb, black-eyed peas and spinach, served with another mountain of saffron rice. With an endless basket of warm pita bread and deep glasses of California wine, we left completely satisfied, relaxed, and ready for a long sleep.  Instead, we went across the street to Lily Macs Irish pub to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Historic District in Sunnyvale.
Murphy Ave has many restaurants and pubs
that kept Joe and I coming back for more.
Three times more, in fact!

Day Two

Apartment Tours Continued

Sunnyvale Historic District

Our second day was spent mostly in a car, weaving all over Silicon Valley as we continued our apartment hunt. The highlight of our day was lunch. We stopped at Best Bites in Mountain View for some Persian food. El Camino Real, the street that it is located on, serves as a hub for all sorts of mouthwatering, exotic, and authentic ethnic cuisine. Thank goodness it threads its way straight through Silicon Valley for easy access from almost anywhere.  I ordered a glass of wine hoping that it would take away a massive headache that had swelled up in my brain, as well as their lunch special of the day (the name of which I can't remember).  I equate it to an eggplant quiche dish, with side salad and yogurt sauce.  Joe got a gyro sandwich.  Lunch - a luxurious oasis from daily chaos.

Can't "hunt" on an empty stomach.
Best Byes Persian Restaurant on El Camino Real. 

The eggplant special. Served with warm flat bread and butter.

After lunch, we dove right back into apartment searching, which required additional coffee and car napping to get us through. We ended our search around 7 PM and by the time we fought traffic back from Redwood City to Sunnyvale, it was 8 PM. We prioritized a hot shower before setting out for dinner... back to Murphy Avenue we went!  This time, we chose a local brewery to grab some grub and watch more hockey. I got fried cod tacos and a glass of barley wine. For Joe an arugula pizza and blonde ale. 

The Fire House Brewery had excellent craft beer, although
I was surprised to see an exhaustive listing of vino
on the drinks menu in addition to house brews.
Only in California! 

Day Three

Final Apartment Tours 

Yosemite National Park

Mariposa

Chowchilla

To sum this day up: We signed a lease for an apartment in Sunnyvale (Yippee!) and drove out to Yosemite to celebrate. The majority of the day was spent eating fast food in the car with the winds of the Central Valley in our hair.  We managed to make it to Yosemite Valley for sunset.  Magical. Not even Joe's professional camera skills could capture the beauty we encountered that evening within Yosemite National Park.  Then, we ate more sketchy food on our way to Chowchilla.  

Happy Burger Diner, Mariposa, California.

Even sketchy diners in California provide
house wine.  I couldn't pass it up!  

Day Four

Yosemite National Park

Cinco de Mayo

Chowchilla may have had cheap hotel deals, but at the expense of distance from Yosemite. Still, we made the most of it and slept like kings, gorged ourselves on Holiday Inn Express breakfast buffet goodies, and then hiked this...

The picture on your left shows "Granite Peak", the mountain we hiked via "Four Mile Trail." It is the steepest hike in Yosemite Valley, consisting of a 4.6 mile ascend (following by the same distance to descend).  The panoramic views from the top were worth the work. The iconic Half Dome and Yosemite Falls kept getting more majestic with every turn.  Even after climbing over 2000 vertical feet, we were surprised by our relative ease to arrive at the summit. Compared to climbing Colorado mountains (standing at twice the altitude), we felt like hiking rock stars (that is, until the following morning when we woke up with screaming leg muscles)!

Tia Juana Mexican Grill in Sunnyvale is where we celebrated Cinco de Mayo by pigging out on spicy fajitas and washing it all down with sweet 'n salty margs. Joe's freshly blended mango margarita was particularly festive.  We consumed our food and drinks, including two helpings of chips and salsa, all within 30 minutes. Leave it to the outdoors to work up an appetite! Ole! 

Day Five

Sausalito

San Francisco - Fishermans Wharf, Hotel Carlton

San Francisco, "The City" as the locals call it.  Apparently if you say "San Fran" you will immediately be pegged as a tourist. It doesn't much matter, in my option, because unless you are dressed head to toe in the chicest getup (minus cameras and sunburns), you are probably pegged as a tourist anyways. Joe and I embraced being out-of-towners and relished the opportunity to get away to San Fran for trolly rides, seafood, and lots of obnoxious photo taking. We stayed at the same boutique hotel that Joe stayed in for his residency interview last year: Hotel Carlton near Hyde & Sutter.

The dinner rush to Fishermans Wharf provided plenty of time to work up an appetite. We decided to walk to the Union Square station to grab a trolly before it filled up, but it provided an additional benefit because we got to ride the trolly for the maximum distance. Riding the trollies makes me feel like a kid on a roller coaster, only without seat belts!  At the final stop we hoped off to explore Fishermans Wharf, including happy hour at Buena Vista Cafe, free samples at Ghirardelli Square, spotting the infamous "Bush Man," and having a fancy seafood dinner at Boudin overlooking the bay at sunset.  

We started with a few taps, California's beloved Lagunitas IPA, and some spicy chicken wings. During this time we couldn't help but gape at the head bartender who seemed to perform the ceaseless challenge of analytically concocting Irish Coffees, usually six to eight at a time. We realized we were the only imbibers in the bar sipping hops instead of Whiskey-laden coffees.

So, we joined the party!  Our waitress informed us that they sell so many of these coffees (about 2000 daily) that they have become the largest seller of Whiskey in the nation!  Sipping on one makes it easy to see why because they were simply scrumptious. Each sip is laced with a bit of San Francisco tradition.  And a "buena vista" to boot! 

The trick is in the cream, its whipped up a day in advance
to provide it with buoyancy to float. 

Joe and I decided to spoil ourselves silly for dinner.  Once again, we were hungry! Or could it be the spells of sourdough and garlic emanating from every restaurant we walked past?  We menu shopped and then became lured (hehe) by the idea of sourdough and fresh seafood at Boudin Bakery.  The restaurant was located on the second floor, overlooking the bay.  We ordered baked goat cheese, sea bass and trout, our favorite drinks (gin and tonic and shiraz), and abundant S. Pellegrino and sourdough!  We toasted to the future and took our sweet time soaking up all of the wonderful flavors and unmatched ambiance.  It was a very memorable meal to say the least.

The salty air of San Francisco's Bay provides for the perfect
environment for sourdough yeast to thrive, and it also
supplies unique flavor known only to this city. 

Not even one bite was left behind.

Hangin' with the locals at Fishermans Wharf.

Day Six

San Francisco - China Town, Little Italy, Coit Tower, Financial District, Union Square

Hwy 1 - Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz

Sunnyvale Historic District

After enjoying a slow morning with breakfast in bed at the Hotel Carlton, we checked out and ventured out by foot to explore as much of the city as possible. Our favorite neighborhood was Chinatown.  We felt as though we had stepped across the world into China itself as we meandered through the busy sidewalks of various Asian shops.  People communicated in Mandarin, we barely recognized anything being sold, and we were taller than anyone else within sight.

Shop after shop of foreign produce stands and mysterious
meats lined Stockton Street in Chinatown. 

Lunch in Chinatown turned into a cultural immersion experience. We decided to ditch the Urban Spoon app on Joe's smart phone for a better measure of restaurant ratings, meaning that we scouted out the restaurant where the most locals are dining. We ended up here, at the P & R Restaurant. 

We couldn't understand the hostess, the waiters, or the menu, but the place was hopping with multigenerational Chinese families. The air was buzzing with sounds of plastic chopsticks clinking on glassware and the pulsing sizzle of ingredients being dropped into hot oil.  We were seated in a large back room painted up in pastel pinks and filled with circular tables. It felt almost like being in a bizarre dream where you show up at someone else's wedding uninvited and unable to understand the etiquette of the event. We were in a bubble of curiosity, wondering if we should accept any of food samples being shuttled around by shy waitresses.  Is this how you eat lunch? Just taking food off of the passing trays? How did that table get those main courses? Where is our waiter/waitress?  Joe ended up flagging someone down and this is what our lunch order ended up being:

We basically ordered "seafood dish" and "spicy chicken dish." Those were English phrases that seemed to resonate, and we staved off our eagerness to find out about what we were going to be brought from the kitchen by sipping on small cups of white tea, trying not to make eye contact with anyone (culturally rude) while also trying to take in our surroundings.  The encrypted notes on our table ended up yielding the following dishes.  

Food = A Universal Language

"Something Seafood"

"Something Spicy Chicken"

By the time we had finished lunch, we stepped out onto the busy streets of San Francisco and in doing so, back into reality. Our car needed to be picked up from the parking garage soon and on our long walk back to the Hotel Carlton we said our good-byes to the city, and then decided to take the long way home: Highway 1 to Santa Cruz and then back to Sunnyvale.  

We had a lovely coffee break strolling out along the Pacifica pier, breathing in the cool salty breeze.  Highway 1 hugged the coastline like a grey ribbon laid out beside a seemingly perpetual beach.  By the time we reached Sunnyvale, once again, we realized our trip had come full circle. We toasted to a great getaway by grabbing some grub and brewskies at the Lily Mac pub at Murphy Ave (the place we went to for a night cap on our first night)... and watched more hockey.  The Washington Capitals (Joe's favorite team) didn't win, but that couldn't spoil our good mood. We carried pockets full. 

Day Six

Back to "The Mile High City" 

See you soon, California! 

Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Leeks

San Francisco, 2007

Joe and I leave for San Francisco, a land far far away teaming with seafood and sourdough, this Wednesday!  We booked this 7-day California trip with the intention of touring a bajillion apartments in order to nail down a 3-year lease. However, it wasn't until after we booked this trip that we found out that may not be the best idea, unless we want to start paying rent immediately. Considering this is early May and we wouldn't be moving in until late June, we can't exactly dish out two months worth of rent in addition to what we are already paying in Denver.  So stay tuned... Joe and I may become hippies and live in our car until we can find housing this summer.  

But more on California later...  This morning I wish to share with you another seasonal recipe that I prepared last week. 

Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Leeks

Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Leeks,
a seasonal, one-dish wonder.

This dish is wonderful in so many ways.  You only dirty one pan and when served with a crusty loaf of bread, you have a fabulously spring supper on the table within an hour!  I adapted this recipe from Food & Wine, and by cutting the recipe in half I was able to cut the work in half, too. As you can see, I only used one pan to brown the chicken, then cook the leeks.  Everything was combined together and roasted, chicken fat-side up, without the expense of dirtying other skillets and roasting pans. The last step required removing the crispy, oh-so-tender thighs out of the pan in order to stir in a few more ingredients (peas, herbs and creme fraiche, or whole-fat yogurt in my case).  Serve and be seduced!

Is it weird that chicken thighs (prepared well)
are perhaps my favorite cut of meat?

After roasting the pan in the oven, the chicken skin crisps
right up and leaves the vinegary leeks caramelized
and reduced in chicken fat.  Your kitchen will smell
 amazing at this point!

This dinner was prepared last week, at the tail end of Joe's back-to-back internal medicine and oncology rotations (in other words, a zombie replaces my husband and he wonders the hospital halls nonstop), so I ended up enjoying the leftovers for dinner twice more before we were able to share a meal together again.  But, we have nothing be togetherness in the months (and traveling) to come!

Great food makes great company, too.

Penne with Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes

Asparagus, please meet cherry tomatoes.

Whenever I encounter healthy, tender bunches of asparagus on the shelves of my grocery store or stacked neatly at farmer's markets, I can't help but pile at least a few bunches into my basket.  I also simply adore tomatoes, especially handfuls of tart "sugar balls" known better as cherry tomatoes.  So, when I came home from the grocery store a few weeks ago with a bag of asparagus and a 3-lb box of cherry tomatoes I was in my own little bubble of total veggie bliss!  The result = many wonderful meals, including the discovery of my new favorite recipe of spring.  Just look...

Penne with Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes

I have spent the past 10 minutes trying to think of a succinct title for this recipe, wanting to use such words as "springtime" and "whole-wheat" and "picnic-worthy," but I am confident that the named ingredients will do enough alluring.  I know there are other asparagus-lovers out there... and if you aren't one, you may become one after trying this recipe below. I've already made it three times and don't plan on stopping there.  

Saute the asparagus and garlic for a bit.

Add more color and sauce ingredients, then cook some more.
Wham!  Already looking beautiful.

Penne pasta is awaiting the addition of this fresh, chunky,
and totally flavor-packed sauce.

The white beans add an Italian flair. I used Great Northern.

This radiant whole-wheat pasta dish stands its own as a springtime go-to recipe, and yes, a totally picnic-worthy meal.  Just add wine and sunshine! 

Pass the Parm, please!

Penne with Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes

Recipe modified from the Food Network

1 box whole-wheat penne pasta

1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 cups white beans, canned or prepared from dry, drained

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 chicken stock

1 cup grated Parmesan

1 Tbsp dried basil (or 2 Tbsp fresh, torn)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Cook penne according to direction on the box until al dente, using salted water. Drain, toss with 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large serving bowl and set aside.  In the meantime, heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large pan. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Cook until slightly soft, about 4 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes, cook another 2 minutes. Pour the chicken stock into the pan and bring to the mixture to a simmer. Add the beans and dried basil (if using fresh, add the basil at the final mixing step). Cook until the tomatoes start to shrink and the sauce reduces by half, about 3-5 minutes. Add the warm, cooked vegetables and reduced sauce to the penne pasta and toss. Finally, add 1/2 cup parmesan, mix, season with S&P to taste, and serve with remaining cheese sprinkled on top. 

Weekends are Wonderful

Weekends so wonderful when they can be savored without a to-do list taping you on the shoulder or without any plans whatsoever.  I finally got one of those weekends and have relished every second.  Dozing in bed without an alarm, brewing coffee in my Chemex, eating leftovers for breakfast while browsing food blogs... these simple joys make immensely happy.

Chemex coffee love.

Lima Bean Gratin with a side of crusty sourdough for a
lovely Saturday morning breakfast.  

As I have been floating from one food blog to the next (gasping from amazement at what other food enthusiasts are whipping up in their kitchens) I realize that I have been absolutely terrible about blogging my own culinary endeavors.  No excuses come to mind other than that I've been lazy. Perhaps even reluctant.  Now, on this beautiful Sunday morning, I am feeling a bit guilty thinking, How could I have let so many great meals go un-blogged?!  I mean, I've been cooking delightful spring dishes one after the other.  I guess I just craved getting swept away in the natural rhythm of cooking with spontaneity... with pure enjoyment.  Not to mention, this habit is an easy one to repeat since [cooking] - [blogging] = [less hassle].  Like trying to manipulate a camera with greasy fingers, policing all random drippings or crumbs from the rims of serving plates, making your hungry husband (or other dinner guests) wait impatiently to eat until after the cook has capered around the table snapping final photos.


To make up for a bit of lost time, I did snap some photos from a tasty weeknight dinner from this past week. I simply browned some honey-glazed pork chops in a bit of oil in a pan, then roasted them at high heat for a few minutes until juicy and tender.  They were served along side some roasted radishes, including their green tops, and a beautiful batard.  The recipes came from the food geniuses at Food & Wine (a website I am currently completely obsessed with).  Eating this meal made me think I was attending an outdoor French-country dinner party surrounded by vast rolling hills of silver-colored grasses and an amber sunset the color of our ale.  Oh, the places my mind takes me!

Menu:

Honey-Glazed Pork Chops

Roasted Whole Radishes

French Batard

"Stranger" Ale (Left Hand Brewing Co.)

These tender, blushing radishes stole the meal's spotlight.

Joe and I enjoyed this meal slowly, but as you can see from the picture below, we still finished eating before the sun had disappeared.  A sure sign that summer is on the horizon!  Soon we will be spending the precious hours of twilight at our roof-top getaway once again.

Slow food. 

Ahh... there, I feel like I've somewhat satiated my blogging responsibilities.  I shall leave you with a few other reasons as to why I love weekends.  Having time to read...

The Essential New York Times Cook Book,
by Amanda Hesser (aka my culinary idol).

Yes, I read cookbooks like they are novels. Stop that cackling!  And also, staying up late to bake whatever my sweet tooth is craving...  

Double Butterscotch Refrigerator Cookies

And saving a few for my hubby who works ridiculously nuts hours at the hospital.  Until next time (soon)!