Saturday, November 12, 2005

Flambéed Bananas

Flambéed bananas with crépes and hazelnut ice cream.

This dish was my brother's. It was just okay. Nothing special.

Gary Danko
Nov 2005 Posted by Picasa

Butter Cake With Banana Ice Cream

Butter cake with banana ice cream, bourbon-caramel and pecans.

Amazing! Loved this dish. The butter cake was very delicious.

Gary Danko
Nov 2005 Posted by Picasa

Pan Seared Sea Scallops

Pan seared sea scallops with leek potato puree and shiitake mushrooms.

Very good, unfortunately, by the time I got to this dish, I was already getting full.

Gary Danko
Nov 2005 Posted by Picasa

Stuffed Quail

Quil stuffed with wild mushrooms and foie gras, cabbage compote and pomegranate gastrique.

Not my dish and didn't get a chance to try it but it did look good. My dad couldn't taste the foie gras.

Gary Danko
Nov 2005 Posted by Picasa

Herb Crusted Loin of Lamb

Herb crusted loin of lamb with fall vegetable tian and seared polenta.

Not my dish but tasted good. I usually don't like gamey meat but this wasn't that bad.

Gary Danko
Nov 2005 Posted by Picasa

Coriander, Black Pepper, Rosemary Crusted Tuna

Coriander, black pepper, rosemary crusted tuna and piperade and caper berries.

Excellent, the herbs that were used to form the crust was different but and tasty.

Gary Danko
Nov 2005 Posted by Picasa

Risotto with Lobster

Risotto with lobster, rock shrimp, maitake mushrooms, tomato, fennel and tomato oil.

Fairly good but there was too much. It filled me up.

Gary Danko
Nov 2005 Posted by Picasa

Roasted Maine Lobster

Roasted maine lobster with chanterelles, edamame beans and tarragon.

Gary Danko
Nov 2005 Posted by Picasa

Lobster Salad

Lobster salad with persimmon, chestnut mousse, and pomegranate seeds.

One of my favorites of the night. Loved the mousse!

Gary Danko
Nov 2205
Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, October 04, 2005


I was at the a Asian market today and came across something that I have never seen before. It is a pineapple and lychee drink made by Dole. Sounds interesting. I'll have to let you know how it taste once I try it! Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, September 28, 2005


In the Bay Area? Want a good dog? Go to Top Dog in Berekeley! They have all kinds of "dogs", kielbasas, frankfurters, bockwurst, linguica, calabrese, gourmet dogs. The one in the picture is the regular hot dog. Delicious! Aren't you craving a dog right now?http://www.topdoghotdogs.com/
 Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, September 21, 2005


Recently I have been on this yogurt kick which all started when I got tired of the all to sweet yogurt you get at your local supermarket. After tasting a bunch of different ones I found one that I really like. It's Fage's Greek yogurt. I usually get the one with yogurt on one side with honey on the other. A very creamy yogurt that is heavenly with the honey!
The bad news? It about $2 for each and the fat content is a little higher than most yogurts. Oh well, you can't win them all! Give it a try, you'll like it! Posted by Picasa

Saturday, September 17, 2005


Dry fried chicken wings from San Tung. Awesome wings! Sticky sweet and spicy and oh so crispy underneath that sauce. Posted by Picasa

Por Dumplings from San Tung. Thin skinned with a delicious pork and vegetable filling.  Posted by Picasa

San Tung Resturant. Never seen this empty during meal times, this Chinese restaurant has gain notoriety among locals for their wonderful Mandarin food. Located on Irving St, this place usually has a waiting list a page long and lines out the door. Two of my favorites that I must have when I do brave the the crowds are the dry fired chicken wings and the pork dumplings! Yummm!
 Posted by Picasa

Thursday, July 28, 2005

The Best Sugar Cookies

Being a fan of of the sweets, I thought I would share one of my recipes with you. This sugar cookie recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated, Nov 2003. This is a great cooking magazine for those of you who like Alton Brown because they go through each recipe and scientifically explain the recipe. They test different tweaks to the recipe and explain why some changes work and don't work and what those changes did to the final result.

Ingredients

2 cups (10 oz) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoon unsalted butter, soften but still firm (60° to 65°)
1 cup (7 oz) granulated sugar plus 1/2 cup for rolling dough
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions

1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions; heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

2. In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment or with hand mixer, beat butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add egg and vanilla; beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.

3. Place sugar for rolling in shallow bowl. Fill medium bowl halfway with cold tap water. Dip hands in water and shake off excess (this will prevent dough from sticking to your hands and ensure that sugar sticks to dough). Roll heaping tablespoon dough into 1 1/2-inch ball between moistened palms; roll ball in sugar, then place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, moistening hands after forming each ball and spacing balls about 2 inches apart on baking sheet (you should be able to fit 12 cookies on each sheet). Using butter wrapper, butter bottom of drinking glass; dip bottom of glass in remaining sugar and flatten dough balls with bottom of glass until dough is about 3/4 inch thick.

4. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges and just set and very lightly colored in center, 15 to 18 minutes, reversing position of cookie sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time. Cool cookies on baking sheet about 3 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Katsu Curry!

I was first introduced to Katsu Curry (breaded and fried prok cutlet served with Japanese curry) while living in Irvine at a place called Sagami's. Since then I have fallen in love with the dish and judge a Japanese restaurant's cooked menu based on their Katsu Curry.

Well, recently I have discovered a Katsu Curry to die for! I am talking about the Katsu Curry at Miki's in San Francisco on Balboa (3639 Balboa St., 415-287-0874). The Katsu is crispy and flaky on the outside and moist and light on the inside. The curry is delicious with a capital "D". It is Japanese comfort food that is absolutely satifying. To top it off, that red pickled vegetable is a perfect compliment to the curry. Their's had bit of lotus root in it that gives it a nice crunch. I am not sure what the other vegetables in it are, anyone know? The difference maker with Miki's version is the pork cutlet is light and moist not dense like most other places. Yummmmmm!

Anyone else a Katsu Curry fan?

Monday, June 20, 2005

Where do you get your recipes?

I am curious where people get their recipes from online. My main source is is www.epicurious.com. I love that site. Great recipes and good helpful reviews from other people who have tried the recipes already. The collection of recipes is pretty complete and diverse as far as other online sites that I have seen.

http://www.foodnetwork.com is another good site.

FOOD!

This blog is for food related issues (restaurant reviews and recommendation, recipes, etc...)