San Francisco Guide: Good Eats

One of our favorite things to do when exploring a new city is discover the best local food.  We spent the week before our departure scouring blogs for tips on restaurants off the beaten path offering good eats at a decent price.

I can only remember one meal that didn't absolutely wow us. For your sake (and theirs), I've left that particular spot off our list.  Enjoy!

Pizzeria Delfina
We walked a mile and a half for this pizza.
Up and down each hill, we repeated "I sure hope this is worth it".  It was.

We kept it simple with a Margherita Pizza. The tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil need not boast of their freshness. Their strong individual flavors paired together made me oh so happy. But what really took it over the top was the unexpected extra virgin olive oil sitting above the sauce.

House of Nanking

We waited in line outside this Chinatown restaurant for a coveted spot inside their cozy dining area. And by cozy, I mean cramped. We heard from locals that there is always a line to get in. Eric requested the House of Nanking for the remainder of our trip and continues to do so when asked what he wants to for dinner at our home in Alabama. Ha! 

We both ordered the classic Chinese dish Sesame Chicken which, to our delight, came with sweet potato wedges and loads of white sticky rice. 

El Farolito

We rode the bus to the Mission district, past hordes of people and eclectic shops and nearly missed this particular burrito place among many others in the area. We ordered at the counter and helped ourselves to chips and a plethora of salsa selections while our burritos were rolled. 

I should mention that while I have a special affinity for Mexican food, I also have a special loathing for burritos. I never order them because it seems like each bite brings out only one boring ingredient. Bite of rice, bite of meat, bite of beans, bite of sour cream. No thank you. 

I set aside my disdain based on recommendations and selected the Al Pastor Super Burrito. Oh my.  Favorite meal of the trip hands down. Every bite packed a punch of flavors making me wish I had the stomach to actually finish the thing. Eric ordered a Chicken Super Burrito with guacamole and almost did.  

Nick's Crispy Tacos

We were wet from fog and starving by the time we reached Nick's Crispy Tacos, which operates as a taco stand by day and a creepy red themed bar by night. When the menu read "soft unless otherwise specified" we were thoroughly confused and prepared for disappointment. 

Luckily, we discovered Nicks way (any taco made crispy with guacamole and jack cheese).  Yes please! Crispy at Nick's means two soft shells with the outer shell lightly fried once stuffed.  Folks, I've gotta learn how to make these at home. We both agreed the chicken tacos were the best, topped with complimentary green salsa squeezed from a bottle. We also enjoyed the homemade chips loaded with fresh pico salsa. 

Theresa & Johnny's Comfort Food

After a world tour our bodies craved a comforting home-style brunch. The sign out front reading "just real good food", the walls lined with vintage posters and gadgets, the couple drinking milk shakes before noon and the waitress with a healthy girth and hearty smile all invited us to relax and enjoy. 

I took comfort in a plate sized (extra thin) pancake, bacon and crispy fried french toast.  I still have no idea what that slice of bread went through but, suffice it to say, it tasted amazing. Eric relaxed with a giant breakfast burrito and a bowl of fresh fruit. 

We surprisingly spent almost no more money on food than we do here in Birmingham and enjoyed each meal as much as the one before. 

Do you have a city food guide you'd like to share?  Feel free to link in the comments below. 

Also, can you tell who obsessed over taking food pics based on these shots?  Ha!

*Another SF post coming soon!

Honey Lime Enchiladas

It's no secret that we eat Mexican food a few times a week.  

Once in a while it's nice to mix things up.  This dish, with it's sticky sweetness, did just the trick.  It's so different that at first we weren't sure if we liked it.  A few bites later and it was a hit.  Enjoy! 

Honey Lime Enchiladas
5 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I used rotisserie chicken)
8 flour tortillas
2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream 

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan.  Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese, saving about 1/2 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. 

Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

*Recipe adapted from Stephanie Cooks
**My food photography skills are lacking. Ha!

Homemade Poptarts

Growing up my dad would make his grandmother's homemade biscuits nearly every Sunday morning.  Our trip to the beach was no exception.  Their buttery smell lured us from our heat and swim induced comas into the living room. Dropped by a spoon, they are oddly shaped and the perfect texture.

As is custom, my mom contributed to the tasty nostalgia with her mom's biscuit syrup.  It's simple and (despite what my husband might think) divine: karo syrup and bits of butter.

In appreciation of my folks' years of dedicated breakfast service (or maybe just because I felt like it) I brought homemade brown sugar-cinnamon and strawberry poptarts.  Prepared ahead and frozen, I coated them lightly with an egg and popped them in the oven for about 30 minutes.  

You can find the recipe at Smitten Kitchen. 

Don't be discouraged if it's tough to make on your first go.  Once I actually followed her "warm kitchen warning" it was pretty fool proof.  These poptarts are delicious and quite capable of stirring up a few memories of their own. 

Enjoy!

*Picture (by my sister, De) of the brown sugar-cinnamon poptart. 

Homemade Popsicles

Our family of ten (folks, siblings, hubby, brother-in-law and brother's girl) recently returned from the beach.  We stayed in a condo decorated outside of the sand-and-sea theme, complete with rooftop pools and a lake.

The lake provided its own entertainment with snapping turtles, birds that swam underwater and an 8-foot gator.  Before long we were quoting Troy and filling to-go boxes with our very own gator bait.  We also rented scooters and had a few successful runs on the boogie board. It was too fun! 

To ease the heat and encourage a little vacation indulgence, we made our own popsicles: creamsicle, root beer float and chocolate cream soda.  

They are surprisingly more tasty than you might think and simple to make! 

All you need: 

3 oz. Dixie cups

Ice cream

Soda

Popsicle sticks

Cut a small slit in each cup for easy tearing.  

Fill the bottom third of the cup with ice cream.  Slowly pour in the soda, allowing time for the fizz to go down, until it reaches two-thirds full.  Freeze for roughly 2 hours.  Fill with ice cream.  Freeze for 30 minutes.  Add popsicle stick and freeze until solid.  Remove cup and enjoy! 

*Recipe from Evil Chef Mom

**Picture (by my sister, De) includes the creamsicle and root beer float popsicles. 

In Print

We love Tennessee.

I recently wrote an article for Birmingham Magazine detailing a road trip through this beautiful state.  

It's published in the July issue and you may view it here. 

*image via Poppy and Pinecone

Pie Crust and Vintage Photos

Brothers are pretty cool.
Especially when they send you emails containing awesome things like...

Pie Crust 101 by Ashley Ross

{and}

Dear Photograph, a vintage photo blog

Heaven knows I need instructions when rolling out dough of any kind.  Except for money.  I can handle that just fine (what does that even mean? Ha!). 

And why am I getting sentimental over pictures of people I don't even know? Such a sweet idea.  I am inspired to participate. 

Have a lovely weekend.  

Almond Butter

Uh oh.  I  may have found a new Nutella in almond butter.

I mixed in a little honey and am dipping pretzel sticks in it for breakfast. It is delish - and healthy!  I am still hungry after yesterday's run.  I'd love to make almond butter myself one day like Sheena. 

Have you ever made your own peanut butter or almond butter?

I adore

this print, via Oh Happy Day

these jars, via kootut murut

this map, via These Are Things

Today warrants soothing grandma tones and happy colors.

Ahh, I feel better.  Don't you?

Have a lovely Tuesday.

7-Layer Chocolate Fudge Cake

Today's post will be short and very sweet.

My parents made this cake a lot when we were growing up. The fudge is absolutely decadent. It tastes best the second day and I would recommend serving it in thin slices because it's so rich. I made it for a friend's shower a while back and totally forgot to share it with you.

7-Layer Chocolate Fudge Cake
Cake Mix:
5 eggs
1 stick of butter
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
1 cup crisco oil
2 cups self rising flour
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Icing:

4 cups sugar

4 squares Bakers unsweetened chocolate

2 sticks of butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk

Cake Directions: 

Grease and flour 7 (9-inch) round cake pans.  

Beat eggs.  Add sugar, butter, oil, vanilla, flour and buttermilk - beating between each ingredient.  Pour evenly into all 7 pans.  Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes or until done. 

Icing Directions:

Put all ingredients (excluding vanilla) into a deep pot on stove top.  Stir over medium heat until dissolved.  Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat.  Add vanilla and stir.  

Prepare sink with about 3 inches of cold water and ice.  Put pot in sink and stir constantly until icing thickens and begins to harden.  Immediately spread on first layer, adding a layer of cake and icing as you go. 

*Seriously, how sad is my picture?

**I am in a cake baking mood. Anyone hungry?

Mexican Pizza

It's no secret: we love Mexican food and we love pizza. Are you surprised that we also love Mexican food on pizza?! I didn't think so.  

Last week, we threw together a new regular, courtesy of Annie's Eats. The black bean sauce makes this unique and flavorful. You can find the original recipe here. Our version and (sad) pics are below.  Enjoy!

Mexican Pizza

Your favorite pizza crust

8 oz (or 1/2 can) black beans, rinsed and drained

8 oz tomato sauce

1 chipotle pepper, in adobe sauce

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne

2 TBSP water

6 oz shredded Mexican cheese

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

1/3 cup tomato, seeded and diced

1/3 cup frozen corn

salt

pepper

4 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven as directed for crust. 

In food processor combine black beans, tomato sauce, chipotle pepper, cumin, paprika and cayenne. Puree until ground into a sauce.  Add 2 TBSP of water and puree for 1 additional minute.

Spread black bean sauce over crust.  Top evenly with cheese, jalapeno, tomato, corn, salt and pepper.  Bake as directed. Top with fresh cilantro.  Eat up!

Roasted Red Pepper Green Beans

Last night, Eric requested Chicken Picatta for dinner. It's a quick, easy and scrumptious dish from Macaroni and Cheesecake. We needed a few sides and settled on the reliable combination of green beans and corn. We opted for fresh green beans and frozen corn, and folks, I will never return to the can.

The corn cooks up in 5 minutes and tastes like it was just sliced from the cob. The only seasoning required is salt, pepper and a little Smart Balance.

The green beans, oh, the green beans! I'm no stranger to fresh green beans, but, thanks to a suggestion from a friend, we spiced up our usual routine and I'd love to share it with you.

Roasted Green Beans
Fresh green beans
Olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Parmesan cheese (grated)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix to coat evenly.  Spread green beans onto a large cookie sheet and discard excess oil. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping beans over halfway through cooking time.

Oh my!  Do you have any easy go-to sides?
Feel free to share your recipe or a link in the comments.

**image via.  I am the worst at remembering to take pictures.  Remember this goal?  Still working on that.  The green beans above most closely resemble ours.  Unfortunately, ours are all gone.  

Fun for a Girl or a Boy

Last Monday, Eric and I took off work to enjoy my birthday.  After eating dinner at Chuy's, we stopped by Urban Outfitters to check out their sale rack. Apparently, no one told them it was my birthday because I didn't find a single thing.  Eric, however, found a sweater, a vinyl record and this:

It's a Stylophone Retro Pocket Synthesizer (although whose pocket it will fit in, I'm not sure).  Originally produced in the late 60's as a toy, the stylophone eventually found it's way into recording studios as an instrument of sorts.  It's seen such use in recent years by The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes. 

History aside, this guy is fun.  

And if you know a guy, chances are he'll have fun with it, too.  We found it on sale for $9.99 at UO.  You can also purchase one for $18.99 on Amazon. 

Below are a few other items making a resurgence:

Instant cameras (available here; image via).

Nesting dolls (available here).

Snail Mail (available anywhere, image via).

I need to work on that last one... 

Happy Monday!

Jars for the Pantry

It's been a long time, friends.

I'd like to share a simple project Eric and I did this weekend.

For some reason, an organized and pretty kitchen invites me to whip up the latest entrée or dessert while a messy and boring kitchen banishes us to eating out.

So, we transferred many of our dry goods from bags and boxes to mason jars with scalloped labels.  Check out the before and after below.

Makes me smile.  

I've seen pictures of an entire pantry in jars and it's mesmerizing.  I've got extras - can you think of other staples that would benefit from living in a jar?

Also, you may be asking, "Why did this project require two people?"  Well, let me tell you.  Eric washed out the jars while I was making dinner.  Washing has to be the least enjoyable part of any project.  Then, I filled the jars, penned the label with a brown sharpie and stuck it on.  When a few of the corners had trouble adjusting to their curved environment, Eric wrapped them with my stretchy headbands until they learned to stay in place.  We joked that it looked like torture.  No, two people aren't necessary - but it's a lot more fun! 

Mmm, chocolate.  Have a sweet day. 

Hobbies for Women

My sister and I recently had a sad epiphany: neither of us has a true hobby. Sure, we like to have fun with our family and friends, but nothing in particular inspires us to action when we are alone.

She googled "hobbies for women" on her smart phone.

We had a good laugh at some of the suggestions and found a few that sounded enjoyable.  Baking, sewing, crafts... you get the picture.  Then, the inevitable guilt set in.  These things cost money!  And what on earth will we do with the cupcakes, pillowcases and headbands we make?  What a waste!

So we shelved the idea and returned to our semi-depressed state on the couch.

Until we realized: our sweet husbands have plenty to do on a day off when no one else is around. Hers hunts, fishes and golfs; mine plays guitar, climbs, hikes and they both like to bike.  Heaven knows these things cost money - and yet we have happier homes as a result of their pursuits. Which brings us to my next goal for the new year.

Goal number 4: Explore interests and passions. Find new ones.

For now, I have baking on the brain.  And a pretty new pedestal to display my efforts, courtesy of Eric's sister.  It's a start!

What do you love to do?

Gift Guide 3: Your techy brother who makes the tiniest sailboats out of paper and talks your head off at lunch

A case for his ipod touch that epitomizes class and reminds you of his blog, $18

An eco-friendly travel mug for his newest obsession, $8

Christmas tree in a can, because it's funny and cheerful, $11

A flexible tripod so he can take his amazing pictures anywhere, $40

An origami bank that reminds you of his paper folding skills, $13

An Apple keyboard turned clock to keep time in style, $39

A cookbook to satisfy any bacon cravings, $20

Local Favorites: Restaurants

A couple of weeks ago, Eric and I started Eating for Life, a diet that considers portion size, eating six times per day and balancing the nutrients contained in each meal.  I am doing it for weight loss and Eric is doing it for different reasons: namely, it's what I am cooking.  He doesn't need to lose weight and I happen to like him as-is.  He is a supportive husband who fills up on the leftovers.

Things were going swimmingly until we arrived in Nashville Wednesday night. Our four-day food detour started with Thanksgiving and ended with Chuy's two days in a row.  I kid you not.  Saturday night in Nashville and last night in Birmingham.  The food is that good, people.

We first ate at Chuy's in it's hometown of Austin, TX while visiting my cousin and her husband.  We fell in love.  The chips and salsa alone did us in.  We are salsa snobs, remember? They have now moved to the southeast and I am deeming them local.

Eric (almost) always gets the Chuy-changa.  My favorites range from stuffed peppers to flautas to crunchy or soft tacos.  The tortillas are hand-made. The queso and 7 signature sauces are to die for.

Today I'll head to the grocery store to prepare for this week's meals.  All the while I'll be dreaming of Chuy's.

Have you done Eating for Life?   Any tips or favorite recipes?

Gift Guide 2: Your sister with a killer voice who can bust a dance move like no other and bakes cookies on a whim

A hidden tote for a last minute grocery run, $22

Fingerless gloves so she can play her guitar outside with friends, $32

A pretty apron to inspire more baking, $32

A Holga 35 mm camera for taking old school pictures, $48

A Grace Potter & The Nocturnals CD, because this girl wails and looks good while doing it, $10

A slouchy beanie to go with her long wavy hair, $20

Slang flash cards to crack her up and because you know she will use them, $13

Love for Etsy

Today's Etsy post is inspired by warm colors and a welcoming Thanksgiving table for family and friends.  Enjoy!

{Burlap Table Runner by Shawnee 23, Mercury Centerpiece by Flores Del Sol, 

Table Cards by I Shoot Nouns, Silverware Garland by Daisy Chestnut, 

Serving Platter by The White Home and Wool Acorns by Green Baboon Designs}

How will you decorate your table?

Love for Etsy

Fall is here!  Today's Etsy post is inspired by cold weather, comfort food and holiday gatherings.  Check out the delicious mixes below.  Enjoy!

{Lemon Blueberry Scone Mix by Lindy's Delight, Pumpkin Butter by MMM and More, 

Cinnamon Toast Pancake Mix by Kitchen Stories, Caramel Chai by Mere Creations, 

Brown Sugar Spice Cake Mix by Not Your Mama's Mix}

What's your favorite fall comfort food?