I Heart Chocolate

Really, I do.  Chocolate makes the world go round.  Yummmm!  Ugh, too bad I'm writing this at the airport and can't go get something yummy and chocolatey (sadly I'm at OAK and not SFO otherwise you know I'd be alllll over that Kara's cupcake in Terminal 2!)

Anyways, I thought this title was cute because this recipe is a chocolate one in the shape of a heart (I also really do heart chocolate!)  And yes, this recipe was made for a Valentine's day event but could really be made any time you want to show love.  I've had this heart shaped tart pan for yearsssss but never used it.  Maybe I was intimidated by tarts?  Or thought your couldn't make a heart shaped thing anytime of year (you can!  I promise you that you can!)  But a sorority potluck Valentine's dinner seemed like the perfect opportunity to use this pan.

Obvi, I had to make a chocolate tart and a quick Google search brought me to this.  So I set out to make it (between running errands and wine tasting - prob not my best move.)

I'm going to give you all a few quick tips about things I should've done to make this a little better:

1. read the recipe all the way through ahead of time and plan your day (and stick to your plan!)  I was running around a lil crazy at the end.
2. Make sure you roll your crust out all the way.  I didn't roll my crust out thin enough so when it came time to fill it with the chocolately goodness I was only able to use about half of the filling.  Really make sure that dough is 1/4 inch thick so it can really fill the pan.
3. Maybe take better pictures :)

But all in all, it was a tasty dish and with the addition of raspberries on to it was very pretty!  So make this dessert any time of year - it's a great way to show the love!

Happy (super late) Valentine's day (again)!

We wandered on over to Ristobar

An activity is always better with a fun name.  For instance, my group of friends and I celebrate Taco Tuesday every week.  Yes, I know the name isn't original but it's a fun one :)  So when this same group of ladies and I decided to start a restaurant club on a night other than Tuesday (obv that was already taken) it too needed a fun name.  So it started out as just an idea but Wandering Wednesday has now become the permanent title of our fun outing and this month we wandered on over (on Wednesday) to the wonderful Ristobar.

I've always seen Ristobar bar (in the Marina on the corner of Chestnut and Scott) and have heard good things about it so I put it into the hat as a choice for Wandering Wednesday and it got picked!  Now that I've eaten there I can say that yes it is yummy and delicious but didn't quite live up to the hype.  I love Italian food and it wasn't bad here but I've had better.  But do not take this as a review not to go here because you will most definitely enjoy yourself just like I did.

We started out with two orders of the Burrata.  With six hungry girls this was necessary.  as mentioned in previous posts, burrata is a new fav of mine and this one was tasty as well.  It was served on a bed of arugula, with hazelnuts and honey and crostini to spread it on.  We gobbled this up.  Along with the bread which was dy-no-mite!  Ahh, I wish I got a picture of it but it was nice warm artisan bread studded with walnuts - delish!

Next up were the entrees.  Again I'm sorry I didn't get a pic of everyone's food but at least I got mine.  I split a thin crust pizza with Ashley.  We order the Valencia with ricotta, goat cheese, asiago, bosc pear, candied walnuts, watercress and black pepper.  It was a yummy order.  All of the ingredients paired well together and you really can't go wrong with a combination of three cheeses.

I also split the broccolini with Laura.  Now I know broccolini is very similar to regular broccoli but a) it's much more fun to say and probably fancier! and b) I love that it's longer and thinner - easier to eat.  This was tasty too as it was sautéed with garlic and little bit of peppers.

And because this is restaurant club and we've decided to go allllll out we also got dessert!  To share we got tiramisu that was layered in a little cup and a hazelnut/chocolate/cream puff/ice cream concoction that was delish (obvi, did you just read those ingredients?)

The company was great, the food tasty so all in all I'd say it was a successful Wednesday!

Chocolate Chip Cookie tasting #2

Let me start off this post by saying one thing: I have AWESOME sisters!  Truly I do.  And because they are fantastic, we love spending time together.  Luck for me I live within a 10 minute walk (ok, 10 minutes downhill to see her and maybe 15 minutes for her to walk up the hill to see me...oh San Francisco!) from one sis and not too far from the other (Alli: move up to Nor Cal!!!!!)  While Jeannie and I see each other more often (and she is the one doing the cookie challenge with me - thanks!) we still always manage to chat about Allison (only good things) and wish she was there with us.

But now onto the cookies.  So a few days ago Jeannie and I had our weekly dessert date at Spruce.  It is a fancy schmancy place but it's choco chip cookie is on the list so we had to go.  Plus it's close to my place and on oh-so-cute Sacramento St.

You normally get the cookie to go at their cafe section but Jeannie heard that their beignets were delish so obvi we had to try those too.  The cookie was served cut up in little pieces for us and with fresh whipped vanilla bean whipped cream!  YUMMMM  The cookie would've been better warmed but we still devoured the pieces with their bug chocolate chunks.

Sorry you can't see Jeannie...  Their beignets were tasty too.  Not like regular beignets I've usually have (there were more like big donuts holes covered in cinnamon and sugar) but still a treat.  They had two dipping sauces: chocolate and creme anglaise.  Needless to say we were in a sugar coma at the end of this.

Can't wait for our next cookie (or any other dessert) tasting!

Beer and Food - the way to my heart!

A little belated Valentine's Day post here.  But better late than never!  Also the last week and a half was SF Beer Week - another cause for celebration!

My valentine this year was my good friend Brie and we went to dinner at a place that is down the street from where we both live yet we each had never been there.  It's a cute little Italian place called, Delarosa.  For SF Beer Week they put together a menu of some small plates, each with a beer pairing. 

Here's a sampling of what we ate:

We first started out with roasted brussel sprouts paired with a beer from the North Coast Brewing Co in Fort Bragg.  Sorry I forgot a picture of this!  Brussel sprouts are a new favorite of mine so this was an obvious choice.

Next up was the burrata.  This was not on the beer week menu but we'd heard that it was a must have here and it was delicious.  I must admit that I'd first tried burrata - an Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream - a few weeks ago and it is tasty!  But really, what cheese isn't?  Well except blue.  Blue is an ok color for berries but not in my cheese, thank you very much.

We then had a yummy panini with goat cheese and roasted red peppers.  It was paired with a beer from the Triple Voodoo Brewing Company.  We also had house made chips - delish!

Our next plate was a bit confusing for us (sorry it's hard to see but really there wasn't much to see.)  We thought we were getting crab, as in the crab you'd have to crack yourself.  False.  There were like rice and crab balls.  Good, but totally not what we were expecting!  Oh well, at least they were paired with the always tasty Back in Black beer from 21st Amendment Brewery.

And of course we had to get dessert!  We ordered donuts with three dipping sauces: chocolate, raspberry and marscopone.  Surprisingly the marscopone mixed with raspberry was my favorite.  This is odd as lately I've some of my favorite desserts haven't had chocolate in them.  If you know me then you know chocolate is my absolute favorite!

Also, I thought this was super cute:

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Chocolate Chip Cookie sample #1

My sister Jeannie and I have accepted a new challenge.  The online magazine for San Francisco, 7x7, put out a list of top chocolate chip cookies in the city.  Um, I may or may not have been drooling while reading that list.  Chocolate ship cookies may be so simple but when done right they are oh so tasty.  I have some pretty good ones that I make that are a family recipe but it is always fun to find a bakery that gets that ooeey gooey, chocolatey goodness down too.

But back to our challenge: Jeannie and I have decided to try all of them.  Yep, we will make the sacrifice and try all the cookies and see how they measure up.

First up comes from an unexpected place, a fro yo place.  Yeah, I was a little skeptical too but still willing to try!  So let's talk about the choco chip cookie at Fraiche.

When we get there they were actually all out but said that the cookies would be ready in about 15 minutes.  No problem, I can always chill with my sis.  Our timing was actually great because we got hot-out-of-the-oven cookies (which i think we can all agree are the best.)  These cookies were gooey and not over baked - a common problem with store bought cookies - and had plenty of chocolate chunks (versus chocolate chips, a common thing I am seeing in cookies and something I need to try at home.)  I would say these are a winner.

Thanks for trying them with me Jeannie!  On to the next one...

Super Bowl

So I know the Super Bowl is done with for the year...sad ending for us fans here in SF...but I thought I share my little treat I made this year:

red velvet whoopie pies in the shape of footballs with gold (ok, it's more yellow) frosting!

 The whoopie pie recipe came from one of my favorite blogs and they're the perfect 49er dessert.

I didn't feel as guilty eating them because I ran a 5k plus some extra miles this morning.  A great way to start a day of eating and drinking.

Ok, so I don't think I burned all the calories that I consumed but it's hard to turn away the tasty food we had at our party!  Props to Brie for the nachos and Ashley for the cute cookies!

Hello Cupcake!

Cupcakes are the it thing.  Yes, some people think other desserts are getting more popular and maybe the cupcake is slipping away, but no.  Just no.  Cupcakes are where it's at.  And as much as I LOVE to bake my own cupcakes (probably because I LOVE to eat them) I also enjoy checking out bakeries and their yummy cakes.  Fortunately SF has an abundance of cupcakeries (word?)  Some are good, some a bad and some are AMAZING!  Since I do consider myself a pretty good baker (sorry if that makes me sound full of myself) I hate to go out and buy something that I could totally make myself and better.

Here is a sampling of ones I've tried so far.  (note: I've made a Google doc for myself of places I need to try in the city.  This is seriously, spread sheet worthy business!)

First up is Cupkates.  And before I go any further I must say: I wish my name was Kate so I could use this cool nickname.  They only sell their cupcakes out of their truck so you gotta catch 'em wherever they are.  I first had them at Off The Grid which is a giant convergence of food trucks in a big parking lot.  SF does one near me on Friday nights and it's definitely something I need to take advantage of more often.  There will be more on food trucks later because are truly the it thing right now!  Back to the cupcake: I had a delicious churro cupcake and I really wish I'd take a picture of it...next time!

Next up is Sift.  Now this place is a new find and boy am I glad I found it!  They have many awesome flavors there (and I've tried a lot of them) but one of the top ones is All for the Cookie - choco cake with cookies and cream frosting.  We tried this one a few months back because it was Chocolate Cupcake Day.  Awesome day.

Kara's is a very well known cupcake bakery here in the bay area.  Not only are the cupcakes tasty but they are so pretty too (something that I am sometimes lacking at as a home cook.)  Of course my favorite is red velvet.  I just love the bright red color and cream cheese frosting.  Mmmmmm

This next one is a tried and true love of my sister's and mine: Susie Cakes!  This place is pretty close to the two apartments we've lived in together in SF but even if it's not on the way we somehow seem to find a way to walk or drive past it and then HAVE to buy something!  Her fav is the red velvet cake and my fav is the red velvet cupcake (although they once had a blueberry pancake cupcake the knocked my socks off!  sadly it was seasonal and I'm just waiting for it to come back.)  Susie Cakes makes RED velvet cake - notice that color!  I love their cupcakes because they hollow out a lil of the cake and put extra frosting in there - genius!

This is just a short list of ones that I have pictures of.  I need to remember not to gobble down my cupcake before properly documenting it!

Oh and here's a few bonus from my trip to Boston.  Kickass Cupcakes.  I think the name says it all.  I read about them on a blog and when I went to go visit my bestie I knew I had to make the stop (especially because it was about 4 blocks away form here apartment.  Fate, I tell you.)  I got 4: cookie dough, s'mores, red velvet and the Green Monstah.  A few notes: while their red velvet was tasty it wasn't very red.  At all.  A lil disappointing but I still finished it.  And their Green Monstah one is a tribute to Boston and the outfield fence at Fenway.  It was beer flavored and actually very tasty!