Junblog

July 11, 2010

How to Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Dog Treats

As we were driving home last weekend after a doughnut feast at Bouchon Bakery, with a bag of foie gras treats for Stanford, I realized I have never baked anything for my little boy. We always make him boiled chicken and rice whenever his tummy is upset but we’ve never baked him any special treats. …

July 8, 2010

A Bowl of Ramen and Kalbi Short Rib Tacos at the Ferry Plaza

One of my favorite spots in the city is the Embarcadero, the three-mile bank on the eastern side of the city along the beautiful San Francisco Bay. It starts at Second and King near AT&T Park and travels north, passing under the Bay Bridge, continues past the Ferry Building at Market and ends at the…

July 6, 2010

Bouchon Brioche Doughnuts, Chocolate and Strawberry Rhubarb

My ultimate comfort food is a plateful of fried chicken and doughnuts. Back in January, I raved about Thomas Keller’s buttermilk fried chicken at Ad Hoc in Yountville. Those were the best fried chicken I have had so far. The skin is crispy, the meat is moist, the chicken is perfectly fried with an incredible…

July 2, 2010

How to Make Farmers’ Market Sour Cherry Pies

Apples and butternut squash in the fall. Satsumas and brussel sprouts in the winter. Strawberries and asparagus in the spring. Peaches and tomatoes in the summer. One of the best things about living in San Francisco is the accessibility of locally grown, fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables year-round. In the city alone, there are 16…

June 29, 2010

A Trio of Tacos — Moroccan, French and Filipino Street Food in San Francisco

It has been almost a year since my first San Francisco Street Food Festival, and I can still remember how much I enjoyed the plate of Moroccan tacos from Aziza — braised beef cheeks topped with strips of summer squash and spicy harissa on a grilled flatbread. Since then, I got so hooked on the…

June 25, 2010

How to Make the Best Brioche Bread Pudding (Tartine Recipe)

I can probably spend an entire day at Tartine. I’ll start the day with a cup of coffee, a croissant, and the morning paper. Then I’ll power up my macbook and do a little work, granted I don’t get too distracted by the Mission hipsters passing by. For lunch, I’ll have some pressed prosciutto and…

June 22, 2010

A Scoop of Bi-Rite Ice Cream with Homemade Tartine Caramel Sauce

One of my earliest food posts in Jun-Blog is a succinct 41-word tribute to a scoop of Bi-Rite salted caramel ice cream. I must admit I am always at a loss for words to describe the blissful state I find myself in whenever I indulge in Bi-rite. Even on the chilliest of San Francisco summer…

June 18, 2010

A Cup of Blue Bottle and a Slice of Mondrian with Richard Avedon

This time last year, Dennis and I were getting ready to move back to the city. After ten utterly uninspiring months of being away, we were packing our bags (once again) and were getting ready to return to San Francisco. With red corgi in tow, we moved to a Dogpatch loft after the July 4th…

June 16, 2010

Trekking Mount Pinatubo and Enjoying Sweet Zambales Mangoes

It was dark out still. Very dark, in fact. It was 3 in the morning and my brothers and I were on our way to Tarlac, a 2-hour-with-no-traffic drive from Manila. I measure road trips back home using hours and not kilometers since one never knows what kind of mess one will find on the…

June 14, 2010

How to Make Dulce de Leche Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

Tres leches. Leche flan. My short series on sweetened milk ends today with the tasty dulce de leche, the very popular Latin American caramelized sweetened milk. In Mexico, they call it cajeta, which is made with half goat’s milk and half cow’s milk. And it’s ubiquitous in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru,…

June 11, 2010

How to Make Leche Flan with Candied Lime Peels

Aside from over-the-top telenovelas, Filipinos and Mexicans share the love of flan, that sweet, smooth caramel custard goodness. Filipinos call it leche flan, which is typically richer and denser than its Mexican counterpart. When I think of leche flan I think of Christmas. I think of holidays and birthdays. My mom makes leche flan only…

June 8, 2010

How to Make Strawberry Tres Leches Shortcake (Rick Bayless Recipe)

I’m a huge fan of tres leches. Huge. I cannot begin to write how much I love this cake. It’s the moistness. The sweetness. The creaminess. On our trip to Cancun, while walking around Parque las Palapas after dinner, we got so excited, seriously so excited, when we discovered a young lady who sold tres…

June 7, 2010

Cancun Street Food in Parque Las Palapas

Two of my favorite images from our trip to Cancun are photographs of women and food. One is a photograph of a lady making tortas, gingerly dishing cochinita pibil out of terracotta bowls and onto toasted slices of bolillos, and the other is an image of a lady making deep fried bananas in her brightly…

June 3, 2010

Cochinita Pibil in Old Colonial Maya Mexico

n our first trip to Cancun last year, despite warnings of crime-infested barrios, drug cartels, and bribing cops, Dennis and I ventured out to the countryside and explored Yucatan life outside the big city. It was surprisingly safe and actually memorable. We very much enjoyed what we did, what we saw, and, obviously, what we…

June 1, 2010

How to Make Poc Chuc: Yucatecan Grilled Pork with Grill-Roasted Onions and Fresh Cabbage

Grilling intimidates me. We didn’t grill a lot when I was growing up. I remember our tiny Hibachi grill that my mom filled with charcoal briquettes. Pork skewered in bamboo sticks and slathered with sweet homemade barbecue sauce. Thinly sliced pork chops studded with rock salt and black pepper. Fresh whole fish seasoned with ginger,…

May 28, 2010

How to Make Ube Pies (Purple Yam or Purple Sweet Potato Pies)

The holidays is seven months away and why am I suddenly nostalgic about ube? I blame it on Gobba Gobba Hey’s fabulous ube gobs. Gobba Gobba Hey aka Steven Gdula is one of the city’s most innovative street food chefs and a talented food writer. Back in March, I raved about Steven’s coconut lime gobs…