In-n-Out Urge

Hey now! Get your minds out of the gutter! There's a new In-n-Out in town and it's in the Otay Ranch area. It's just a tad bit east of the Otay Ranch Town Center off of Winding Walk. There's a Vons there, an eyeglass place, an Oggi's, a bank and a few other small businesses. We went with one of our friends to check it out.
It's fairly new - having opened maybe within the past month I believe. I'd only eaten at two other In-n-Out's (La Mesa and Mission Valley). Eons ago in high school, this burger chain was popular but only because they had these bumper stickers "In-n-Out Burger" with the word "burger" on the second line of the sticker. A lot of guys would get the stickers in L.A. because at the time, there weren't any In-n-Out's in San Diego (not until the early 90's). It was "cool" to have one of those back then. One thing they would do to the sticker was to strategically cut off the "B" and the "r" in "burger". Yes. Hence the title of my post. Here's a photo of one of these infamous stickers (circa 1986) here. Horny teenager humor there. Cough. So, I'd never been inside an In-n-Out since we only did drive through. This one seemed pretty big. It was also packed! We were lucky to get a table while our kids got a two top table to themselves, which they really liked since they were separate from us grownups. This kind of reminded me of a 50's hamburger place, but not as awesome like Arnold's drive-in (where's Pat Morita? or Al del Vecchio? Yep Yep Yep Yep).

The menu was pretty basic too, which was good. You had burgers, fries and drinks. Not too much variation. Keeps the decisions down to a minimum, I say. My friend ordered two fries "animal style" which is with dressing, onions, and cheese. This was the first time I had "animal style" fries. I had some and thought it was good, but I don't think I could eat a whole basket of this. Not very healthy, eh. Plus, think of the lovely stuff it does to your digestive system. Don't forget the fat coating your arteries.

For the four adults, we ordered four burgers. The one in the top right corner is a "double double", which was for Bert. The other three are the regular hamburgers which come with lettuce, onion, tomato, and dressing. Wait, I made a mistake, The bottom two are cheeseburgers. The top left, which was mine was the regular burger with no cheese.

I thought my burger was pretty good, but I still think the Shake Shack in NYC kicks ass over these. The patty was nice and juicy and the lettuce and tomato were nice and cool, not wilted and unappetizing like at some other fast food places. The onion was a little too strong though. I didn't like having onion breath later on that day.

I'm not so big on fast food, but we just had to give it a try since it was new and in the area.

Happy New Year

Cheers! I hope everyone had a good holiday season and a fun New Year's Day. I have a backlog of posts but haven't had the time or energy to post them yet...Lots of food pix from holiday parties and various restaurant visits, which include Sab-e-Lee, Romesco's revisited, Harar and Eclipse. My time off really went by fast. Too fast. I have one more week until I start work again. It's been 9 months since I've been off work. Although I could have returned a lot earlier, I chose to take extra time off to de-stress, recover and spend more time with my family especially my daughter.

During the majority of this year, I've experienced A LOT of life changes. For those who don't know, due to my breast cancer diagnosis in late March, I took time off to get a mastectomy, endured four cycles of chemo, plus the ensuing after-effects (like whacked out tastebuds, losing my hair, & experiencing major fatigue) and the process of regaining my strength. Things are looking up. My energy level is pretty much back to normal. I'm going to miss going to the gym everyday in the morning. With going back to work, I'll be cutting back to about three times a week instead of everyday. Other good news is that my hair is growing back pretty thick. I ditched my wigs two months ago because I got sick of them. While I'm rocking the pixie cut and having fun with hair gel and pomade, I'm looking forward to growing my hair back out to my former rocker chick haircut and using my flat iron again.

During this time off, I re-evaluated my friendships and priorities in life. I resolve not to associate with people who talk out of their ass/make false promises. I hate it when people say things then never follow up on what they've said they'd do. Having experienced one of the lowest points of my life last year showed me the hard way just who really gives a shit about me. Sorry to sound petty, but that's how I felt. On a brighter note, I resolve to be more positive and to do things that make me happy like being with my daughter, my nephews, making jewelry and soaking up as much pop culture trivia than humanly possible.

I'm going to miss my "free time". I had so much of it too. During this nine month stretch of time, I read a lot of books and watched a bunch of cool movies. Some of the stuff I watched included the TV Britcom "Spaced", the Japanese movie and TV series "Trainman", Season 1 of "Gokusen", "The Tudors- Season 1", to name a few, along with MTV's "The Young Ones", and Seasons 1 & 2 of "The Tick". I got hooked on Stephenie Meyer's cracklicious "Twilight Series"(insert fangirl scream here, but not too much for "Breaking Dawn"), and the "Southern Vampire Mysteries" (Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series, upon which the HBO series "True Blood" is based), and read a lot of graphic novels courtesy of Superman. I also experimented with various recipes and ate at a lot of different restaurants with my friends. My new favorites are Latin Chef, Pho Hiep Grill and Sab-e-Lee.

I feel like I need to make the most out of this dwindling week, but I don't want to cram too much in....

P.S.
Aaaagh! Season 2 of the Tudors was just released! Here's my reason to watch "The Tudors"...I only have two words...

Henry

Cavill

(see photo below)

Huminah huminah!

Harar & Eclipse

Earlier today, Bert, TC and I were out and about. After doing an errand in the Mission Valley area, we debated where to eat lunch. Sab e Lee again? No, it was closed on Mondays. How about Asia Cafe? Love their Nem Khao...Nah, had it before. What about Ethiopian food? We'd had it before, but we'd never brought our daughter to have it in person. She's only had leftovers but always enjoyed the aspect of eating with her hands. So it was settled. We went to Harar on El Cajon Blvd. I almost passed it by. They repainted the exterior a light shade of sage green. Here's my old posts on Harar here .

Looks like they are either currently remodeling, or this is the final product. Hadn't been here since earlier this summer. Lots of the original wall scrolls were gone and replaced with bigger painting.

The door to the kitchen, plus the beer fridge and empty wine rack:

The seating area in the back patio. I'm sure it would be nice to eat out there in warmer weather.

We started off with the beef (but instead were served lentil) Sambussas ($1.50 each).

The hot sauce was served upon my request and yes, it was really hot, which we liked. Unfortunately, we would feel its aftereffects later. Ha. Sambussa innards:

Our plan was to order two combos and just share them between us three. The meat combo and the vegetarian combo was served "Family Style" on one huge platter lined with Injera, the unleavened bread made of teff that is served with every meal in Ethiopia. Clockwise starting from the top yellowish portion (sorry I don't have the names of the dishes in Ethiopian) - that is Cabbage and Potatoes, Chicken in spicy sauce, Lamb, Beef (this was so good - I could have just eaten that alone), Yellow Split Peas, Lentils, Spinach, and Carrots and String Beans. In the middle was a ho hum green salad.

We were given a basket of injera. TC really enjoyed tearing up her injera and using it to scoop up the meat and vegetables. She actually liked the lamb too. I wasn't into the lamb, but really liked the spinach, chicken sauce and the cabbage and potato mixtures. I really liked the sauce for the chicken - hot hot hot!

We didn't have any leftovers to take home this time, yet we were still able to save some room for dessert. We drove a few blocks up the same street and headed to Eclipse Chocolat. Here's a more recent post here and an older post here. I hadn't been here since the summer with one of my friends. I also had to buy a late Christmas gift for another friend of mine (the one I visited in NYC this past summer)...Here's their display case of handmade chocolate bars, chocolate drink mixes, candy, and truffles:

The front counter. The owner was there too, but he was off to the side working on a laptop.We chose two cupcakes and as I type this, I realize that they're the same exact cupcakes my friend and I had earlier this year. The one on the left is the Salted Caramel with Lavender Sea Salt. The one on the right is the Rosemary Mint with Cocoa Nibs.

I really liked the Rosemary Mint cupcakes. It was so rich and thick! The cocoa nib added a touch of bitterness which I liked. Mint and Rosemary is also an unusual combination but it works.

Here's a better picture (I used flash that time) of that Rosemary Mint cupcake. Just look at that thick layer of ganache! I'm getting cavities just looking at it!I think the cupcakes were a little too rich for TC. For Bert and I though, we digging it. He really liked the Salted Caramel cupcakes. I would probably like it more if there weren't lavender, but again, the flavor combination works. It's a bit floral (duh) and pairs well with the salt and caramel filling...

Mmmm, caramel filling. After the photo was taken, this was devoured in record time! Kidding, we tried to savor it but it didn't last.

Next time we go, we'll try their Seasonal Dessert Platters ($12 for 4 desserts - what a deal!).

Romesco revisited

Last week, I watched "Twilight" (yes, I know, again?! WTF!) at my friend's request because she hadn't seen it yet. I also bought her the book so she'd know what it was about and also so she could be converted. Ha ha. She's a little older than me and hasn't read the books but was interested in seeing the movie. Anyways, I blather too much!!! After the movie (in which I foraged the scenes for wierd details, goofs, and blunders), we had lunch at Romesco's in Bonita. Here's an older post here. I had the "Award Winning Paella" (yes, that's how it's listed in the menu) which has sea food, a pork rib and a chicken leg.

She had the Saverios Penne Arrabiatta with Shrimp. That is a big fkn blob of butter in the middle folks. She really liked her pasta. I've had the paella before (my other friend had ordered it) and wanted it so I could take the leftovers home for my daughter since that was a huge portion to begin with.
These next set of pix are from another recent visit to Romesco. I went with my regular "lunch/dinner bunch" (we are all educators - We have a high school counselor, me; a middle school teacher who is just as obsessive as me when it comes to music, an elementary resource teacher and an administrator). We were there to celebrate our friend's birthday. Last year, we went to Frida's to celebrate her birthday. Check out the post here. Coincidentally, it was raining last year and it rained this year as well during our lunch outing. And also, the Chargers were in the playoffs last year. Let's see if the Chargers can win it this Sunday. Back to the food...These are the Tacos Gobernadores that one of my friends ordered. It was $11 for 4 tacos which were filled with Shrimp and Mozzarella cheese and served with two types of sauces. Both sauces had a fiery kick to it; I liked the spicy tomatillo (green) salsa a tiny bit better.

She ordered her tacos with Romesco's Creamy Tomato Soup (this was really good - way better than Campbell's! ha ha). The presentation could have been better though - it was spilling out over the rimmed area.

Our other friend ordered the Spanish Platter Appetizer ($14), which were marinated olives, micro greens, Manchego Cheese and some sort of Ham (not Serrano, but close):

These were my tacos - the Duck Machaca served with Porfirio sauce (this had a different flavor than the other sauces - a bit more complex), guacamole and topped with Crema. I loved these. I'd order it again!

The same friend who ordered the Spanish Platter also got the Lasagna. Loved the presentation with the fresh bay leaf on top.

The birthday girl ordered the Penne Arrabiatta (look familiar?) but with Chicken. And yes, there's that same hunk of butter. She ended up putting it aside. The dish was already rich enough and that butter blob was just overkill.

She got a complimentary Birthday Flan served with fresh berries:

The one free dessert wasn't going to cut it for us four ladies so we ordered two more desserts. We had the birthday girl pick - so she chose the Creme Brulee...

and the Chocolate Trio - There's a shooter glass filled with Ibarra Mexican hot chocolate, a scoop of chocolate ice cream and a Chocolate molten lava cake served with fresh berries:

Damn, that was a lot of food! I didn't eat too much since I had to go to another function later that night...another holiday dinner party! I think I gained a few pounds these past few weeks. Need to start eating healthy again and maintain it!

Marathon Holiday Food Porn post...

Now that I have your attention since I used the word "porn" in the title, this is going to be a long ass post because I didn't want to do separate posts for each holiday party. About a week before Christmas, our nieghbor across the street gave us some Feijoada, considered the national dish of Brazil. But instead of black beans, she used pinto beans. This had linguica (Portuguese sausage) in it. Her husband is Portuguese but was born and raised in Angola, which was a former Portuguese colony in Africa.

It was perfect timing when she came over because I hadn't really prepared anything for dinner, so this saved me a lot of time. It was really delicious and "stick to your ribs" type food.

These pics were taken a few days before Christmas. I hosted a get together with some of my friends and used them as guineau pigs for some of these dishes. This one is Guisadong Sitao (sauteed long beans) with Pork. You can see the tiny pink pieces of Bagoong Alamang (fermented and salted shrimp fry). Nice tiny shrimp eyes. Other dishes made but not pictured were Kalabasas (Kabocha squash), Adobong Manok (Chicken Adobo), my Moroccan Pot Roast, and cous cous with currants and pistachios. Okay, those last two dishes were not Filipino.
The recipe for Ulang na Gata (the shrimp in coconut milk recipe from Saveur) called for Palm or Coconut vinegar...This is the one that Bert got - it's made from Nipa Sap (nipa is a type of palm tree).
Yes, I did this recipe twice. It was that easy and that good! The shrimp was $2.99 lb at Seafood City one week. Then less than a week later, they raised it to $3.99! WTF! But it was still cheaper than getting it at Ralphs or Vons. Thank goodness for head-on, shell-on shrimp at Seafood City. None of that wimpy headless peeled shrimp for me!
One of our guests was gracious enough to bring dessert - a mango jelly roll from Red Ribbon bakery. Mmmmm. I'd say that dinner party was a success. Leftovers were in great demand, especially the shrimp.
Okay, this is another set of dinner party pictures. This one was for my side of the family. I made Filipino food and once again made Guisadong Sitao with pork.

I asked my mom to bring one dish - she brought three. This is her pancit bihon. It was kind of plain looking here, but hidden in the noodles are tiny pieces of fish cake, shredded chicken, chicnese sausage and shrimp.

She also brought pinakbet - one of my favorite dishes. But she makes hers "healthy" by not adding bagoong (which imparts a pungent and salty flavor). The saltiness was added by the inclusion of ham which isn't really a traditional ingredient in this dish. I don't make it very often since Bert hates eggplant, bittermelon and okra, all key ingredients in this dish.

Here's my couscoun...Unfortunately, my side of the family wasn't too keen on this. The nephews just wanted the white rice with their dishes. My dad was adventurous though and gave it a try. Thanks Dad.My chicken adobo, which was made the night before and just warmed up in a crock pot. The sliced green onions were added to give color and serve as a garnish.

The return of the Shrimp in Coconut Milk - again, a hit.

Here's dish #3 from my mom - her fried chicken wings, which were attacked by my daughter and the nephews (there's 4 of them). My weakness is the skin. I gotta lay off on these fried foods, seriously.

My sister made individual frozen Cheese Cakes. There's a Vanilla Water at the bottom of the cheese cake! These were so good!

My brother's girlfriend made Leche Flan (she made two in fact!):

For Christmas Eve, our neighbors (the same ones who gave us the Feijoada) gave us Pasteis de Bacalhao (Salted Cod Fish Balls). These were delicious. We'd never had them before. Anytime she makes anything with Bacalhao, we know it's a labor of love. They buy the bacalhao in Little Italy. She soaks it in water to remove the salt and also to rehydrate the fish. You have to change the water every 12 hours. It takes up to three days to prepare the fish for cooking.

Mmm, these were still hot from being fried...

Sorry - I didn't use the flash , but here's a close up:

On Christmas Day, we went North to Aliso Viejo where Bert's oldest brother lives. He's married and has two children. His wife is an awesome hostess. Their house is always perfectly decorated. Oops, I should have rotated this photo. Too late.

Should've rotated this one too...This was the centerpieces of the dining table:

Closeup of the place settings...She put an English "cracker" at each setting. You are supposed to pull one end while another person pulls the other end. Whoever has the longest end wins the "prize" inside the cracker. These crackers were small and had tiny little charms inside and jokes written on tiny slips of paper.

My sister in law recruited me to make Gambas al Ajillo (Spicy Shrimp), which I served last year at our Christmas party. She had some of the Spanish Smoked Paprika I gave her last year. The only problem was that she started it off with melting butter which is a no no. You are supposed to use just Olive Oil. And, the shrimps were too big. But I didn't want to seem like an asshole by complaining. The problem with the big shrimp is that it slowed down the cooking time. Tapas are meant to be cooked quickly. The small-medium size shrimp I use for my recipe takes less than 6 minutes to do.

My first side dish - Sauteed Mushrooms (White and Brown button) Shallots, White Wine and with garnished with Chives.

My 2nd side dish - Caramelized Onions with Thyme:

Corn chowder:

Mashed potatoes:

My Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple Syrup and Dried Apricots (the apricots were leftover from my Moroccan Pot Roast). I meant to garnish this with sage, but the stores were out.

They didn't have any rice but instead, served warm bread rolls:

Steamed broccoli and cauliflower with Bechamel Sauce:

My brother in law slicing the Prime Rib:

Meat!These next two desserts were taken on New Year's Day (this is kind of out of order) at my parents house. This is Cassava Cake which is cassava mixed with condensed milk, macapuno strings. I've never made it, but it's supposed to be really easy to make. Of course, I jacked one of the corners. The other corners were also taken (I think one of my siblings did it).

Palitao - This is a traditional New Year's Dessert that my mom makes every year. These are rice cakes made from Mochiko rice flour. You mix the flour with water, roll into a ball, and put into boiling water. Once they float, they're done. Roll in hand grated coconut and sugar. You can also coat the palitao with sesame seeds, but my mom didn't have any. Nice classy plastic fork.

Holiday party pix from our friends' (the ornament exchange hosts). My friend made everything - she's the Hostess with the Mostess. These are Macadamia nut brownies:

Chips, Dips, Chains and Whips...Candle Wax on the Nipples (this is a "Wierd Science" reference for all of you devoid in pop culture movie quotes)

The Prime Rib with Montreal Steak Seasoning...

Meaty...

Caprese -Sliced tomatoes with mozzarella cheese, topped with a basil leaf.

Linguine alla Vongole (Linguine with Clams). This was so light and tasty. I couldn't believe how light it was, since there was no butter or white wine in this, just garlic, olive oil, chopped clams (plus the juice), Italian parsley and real clams... Close up of the pasta:

My friend outdid herself with her Blueberry Strudel, which she says it easy to make. One of these days, I shall attempt it. It involves Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, cream cheese, blueberries, sugar and sliced almonds. Whatever's in it, it's delicious!!!!

The next day, we had a "leftovers" party at the other friend's house for the Chargers vs. Colts game. There was leftover Prime Rib, plus Turkey Hye Rollers, Ribs, and oh hell yeah - Fried Rice with Spam!!!! We also drank some leftover wine and beer from the night before.

Turon - Banana Lumpia

Okay, if you are a non-Filipino, take a good look at the photo below. This is "Chocolate Meat". Have you heard of this? Have any of your Filipino friends (if you have any) tried to feed you this dish, for this is what you may be offered one day at a Filipino party for cheap laughs (it's called fkg with people with food). You could always be a good sport and just try a tiny bit. Just don't think of an exsanguinated Wilbur or Porky and you'll be all right.

Back to the name of this dish...Chocolate Meat. No, this is not the Filipino version of Mexican Mole. And there is NO chocolate whatsoever in this dish. This is the infamous "Diniguan" (it means "of the blood") - a stew made with pork, yellow chili peppers and coagulated pig's blood. Really, it's not so bad. My parents used to make this but as you can tell by the ingredients, it's not the most healthy thing to eat everyday. I've eaten it a few times with my co-workers on purpose to freak them out - when it's available at the local Filipino eatery (either JNC Pinoy Foodmart or Lutong Bahay). I definitely couldn't eat this everyday, but once in a while, I do crave it. This isn't really an appetizing picture either. But shite, this tastes so bloody good! Pun intended.

My first attempt at making Chocolate Hazelnut Puff Pastry Turnovers. I just realized, I should have taken a photo of a cross-section. These were okay tasting, but I could have mixed the filling a bit more. It was kind of gritty - the Nutella and the sugar...Next time I want to change this up by adding cream cheese with the Nutella. The puff pastry squares were storebought, courtesy of North Park Produce.

Aagh, I'm tired now!