Pizzeria Delfina

Love the pizza here. It's light and not like the American style pizzas where it's over burdened with toppings and cheese. The pizzas at Delfina's are flavorful and tasty. My favorite pie is the margarita, simply fantastic! I usually order my pizzas with some sort of meat on it but I am quite happy with a margarita pizza by itself. For me it's that saying a lot when I can forgo the meat topping! Nice simple clean tastes like margarita pizzas should be like!

http://www.pizzeriadelfina.com/

Brenda's French Soul Food

One of my newest restuarant discoveries is Brenda's French Soul Food! What a gem! Holly turned me on to this place. Thanks, Holly!

It's a quaint little restaurant near Civic Center in San Francisco and doesn't seat many people. Lunch time gets really crowded so get there early.

One of my favorite dishes there is the fried shrimp Po-boy (pictured here). Damn good! The chipotle remoulade is delicious. I also like the savory bread pudding with crawfish and Andouille sausages. Try the watermelon ice tea. Made with fresh watermelon and best of all...free refills!

http://www.frenchsoulfood.com/home.htm

Fra'mani Salami

I came across this gourmet salami at a local produce market. What a great find!
This salami from Fra'mani is hand crafted in the traditional Italian salumi style. The company is founded by chef Paul Bertolli and based in Berkeley. Great rich flavors. I also tasted one that had chorizo spices in it. That one was just okay for me. Much rather have the salametto!

http://www.framani.com/

Flickr Dinner, May 7, 2006

On the seventh of May I had a few of my Flickr friends over for dinner. I was nervous because this group can cook! My guest were poison ivy, amorph104, cosmic crusader, mochiland, and gabo.

Here was the menu:
amuse buche - shrimp with avocado salsa
1st course - shaved salad with fennel and artichoke
2nd course - shrimp bisque
3rd course - smoked chicken ravioli
4th course - maple brined port tenderloin with a pear chutney
5th course - dessert, everyone brought a dish.
me - strawberries and cream in a pistachio tuile
ivy and amorp104 - coconut cookie with lemon curd and
strawberries
cosmic crusader - St Honore
mochiland - pear tart
gabo - tart with homemade orange marmalade and pastry cream

All the desserts were absolutely delicious! Definitely satisfied my sweet tooth!

All in all it was a great time! With plenty of picture taking and talking of food. Can't wait until our next event.

Garlic Flavored Peanuts

I am not usually a big fan of cracking peanut shells and eating peanuts unless I am at the ballpark but these garlic flavored ones are delicious! The garlic flavors are not that pronounced but the peanuts are tasty. There are several different brands but this one is the Farmer Brand. You can find them at most Asian markets.

I am eating them as I type! You really can't just eat a few.

http://www.farmerpeanuts.com/ They even have a 5 spiced flavored one. I haven't seen or tasted that one yet. 

Prosciutto and Mushroom Ravioli with a Browned Butter Sage Sauce

Prosciutto and Mushroom Ravioli with a Browned Butter Sage Sauce
Originally uploaded by bokchoyboy.

Well, I have been wanting to make raviolis for over a year and I finally got around to buying my pasta roller and making raviolis!

The first time, it took a while to get the pasta down, right texture, right size, thickness, etc... The fettucine came out all clumpy and pretty much unusable (although we did eat it!)

The second time around worked much better. The biggest problem this time around was figuring out what was a good amount of filling to use and the spacing of the filling. instead of fettucine, I made angel hair pasta and it came out much better. Adding more flour during the rolling process did the trick. This time I made a roasted eggplant/garlic ravioli and a roasted bell pepper/zuchini ravioli. Not too bad considering I am much more of a meat eater. I know, you must be proud of me Moc Moc!

Next up? A fusion ravioli! Stay tuned!

Jackson Market's Beef Jerky

Ever since I was a little kid, I ate beef jerky from Jackson Market. Still one of my favorites, I can't help but stop by every once in a while to pick up one of their 1/2 lb bags.

The beef jerky is slightly moist and sticky sweet. I believe it is marinated in a soy based liquid. The beef has just enough fat running through it to make it oh so tasty.

If you ever go here, once you walk through the doors, the first thing you'll noticed is how bare the market is. There is hardly anything on the shelves. If you want beef jerky you ask the lady behind the counter and she will get it for you. I think 95% of their sales is beef jerky.

You'll find this place in San Francisco on Jackson St, cross street is Jones St. 

Grilled Salmon with a Kabocha Risotto

Grilled Salmon with a Kabocha Risotto
Originally uploaded by bokchoyboy.

I made this last night as an experiment. It started with a kabocha risotto that I wanted to make. It was my first attempt at risotto. The risotto came out okay. Flavors were nice but the texture wasn't right, a little too pasty. I topped the risotto with some grilled zuchinis and grilled salmon and finished it off with micro greens and a miso glaze.

I actually made a mixture of sage, cubed pancetta and pumpkin seeds that was roasted crispy in olive oil and the pancetta fat (bottom right picture). Problem was I forgot to add it to the final dish until we started eating, doh! The pancetta and sage went very well with the risotto but the seeds didn't get crunchy enough no matter how much I roasted them. They had a weird texture.

Overall a decent dish that I wouldn't mind trying again.

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

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 

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 

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 

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 

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

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

Roasted Maine Lobster

Roasted maine lobster with chanterelles, edamame beans and tarragon.

Gary Danko
Nov 2005 

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

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! 

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/
 

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!