This past weekend my friend and I hosted a small, casual dinner party for six with wine pairings. It was a great group of people and a lot of fun, with some excellent summer plates including a tomato salad, green beans with basil, creamed sweet corn, and spicy pork tenderloin. One of my friends even made an apricot and raspberry pie to finish off the meal. We had a bottle of 2008 and 2007 Dry Riesling from my favorite winery in Napa Valley, Trefethen (most of us preferred the 2007 which was slightly sweeter and a little more carbonated). With dinner we had a Pinot Noir from a small winery in Mendocino called Toulouse, which I highly recommend visiting if you're ever in that area. We finished off the night with some Gruet Champagne, which my friend picked out, and it was fantastic!
The tomato salad I made was a concoction I came up with after dining on something similar at a luncheon a few weeks ago. It was a huge hit with everyone, and so easy to make. If you have access to a local farmers market, I would recommend getting your tomatoes there. The other ingredients can be purchased at a supermarket, but if you have them at your Farmer's Market then you can save some money that way.
Ingredients (serves 6 as a nice first course)
-2 large red tomatoes
-3 small green tomatoes
-2 large purple heirloom tomatoes
-1 small watermelon (of orange or yellow variety is good, but red is fine too)
-fennel
-spring salad mix
-1/3 cup pine nuts
-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing:
-1/4 cup red wine vinegar
-3/4 cup olive oil
-1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
-salt and pepper to taste
-pinch of sugar
-pour all ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously
Directions:
-cut off the heart of the fennel and slice it into small slivers. Probably want about a cup or so.
-chop tomatoes into chunks
-chop watermelon into smaller chunks
-combine all ingredients (including pine nuts and feta) in bowl. Cover and chill for one hour before serving
To plate:
-put spring salad mix into bottom of bowls or on plates
-add tomato salad
-pour about a 2 Tablespoons or less of the dressing over it
Serve and enjoy!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Breves Cultch
breves: n. the language in which one speaks in shortened words and phrases. i.e. "She's a mast[er] at breves." also: breving, breved
I mentioned in my very first post that I would be using a lot of abbreviations. I've since realized I have strayed from my promise so I thought I would devote an entire post the the art of abbreviation.
I thought that I was a frequent brever, using words like "obvi" and "totes" and "perf" in casual conversation. Then I spent this past weekend with some people who use "breving" as a common language, and I realized I am way behind in this linguistic culture. Some examples you may not know about:
-cultch --> culture
-ovs --> over (i.e. "come ovs")
-fantast --> fantastic
-sched --> schedule
-effish --> efficient (i.e. "breving is way more effish")
-offish --> official
-d-mech --> defense mechanism
-conversash --> conversation
-awky --> awkward
You get the point.
Here are some rules to follow:
1. Any word ending in -ion can be breved to the root word (i.e. reune = reunion)
2. If its 2+ syllables you can cut off the end and add an s (i.e. totes = totally)
3. If you want to be really annoying, you can add an ies or y to a breve (i.e. whenevsies = whenever or flexy --> flexible).
4. Some are better left said than typed because they just start to look unness (unnecessary). For example, I was told that the breve for obnoxious is spelled "obnoxch" but that looks so bizzaro on paper. Wouldn't you just spell it onbox? Apparently when it ends in -ious you have to add a ch. This is one rule I don't quite agree with but I thought I should include it in this offish breakdown of breving.
5. When in doubt, just cut off the last part of the word and breve it how ever it sounds best.
You can also choose to breve with the end of the word instead of the beginning. For example: "spansh". Spansh is the breved version of expansion (dropping the -ion, of course).
Spansh is also a word that is used to describe another type of breving: when you add an expansion to the word that makes it more fun to say. Here are some examples:
-flexies --> flexible
-perfies --> perfect
-wasticles --> wasted
-tomatsies --> tomatoes
-obnoxical --> obnoxious, like this post.
The important thing to remember is that if you're confused by a breve, pay close attention to the context of the sentence and you should be able to figure out what the person is trying to say. And if that still doesn't work then just punch them in the mouth and say "sorrsies!"
I mentioned in my very first post that I would be using a lot of abbreviations. I've since realized I have strayed from my promise so I thought I would devote an entire post the the art of abbreviation.
I thought that I was a frequent brever, using words like "obvi" and "totes" and "perf" in casual conversation. Then I spent this past weekend with some people who use "breving" as a common language, and I realized I am way behind in this linguistic culture. Some examples you may not know about:
-cultch --> culture
-ovs --> over (i.e. "come ovs")
-fantast --> fantastic
-sched --> schedule
-effish --> efficient (i.e. "breving is way more effish")
-offish --> official
-d-mech --> defense mechanism
-conversash --> conversation
-awky --> awkward
You get the point.
Here are some rules to follow:
1. Any word ending in -ion can be breved to the root word (i.e. reune = reunion)
2. If its 2+ syllables you can cut off the end and add an s (i.e. totes = totally)
3. If you want to be really annoying, you can add an ies or y to a breve (i.e. whenevsies = whenever or flexy --> flexible).
4. Some are better left said than typed because they just start to look unness (unnecessary). For example, I was told that the breve for obnoxious is spelled "obnoxch" but that looks so bizzaro on paper. Wouldn't you just spell it onbox? Apparently when it ends in -ious you have to add a ch. This is one rule I don't quite agree with but I thought I should include it in this offish breakdown of breving.
5. When in doubt, just cut off the last part of the word and breve it how ever it sounds best.
You can also choose to breve with the end of the word instead of the beginning. For example: "spansh". Spansh is the breved version of expansion (dropping the -ion, of course).
Spansh is also a word that is used to describe another type of breving: when you add an expansion to the word that makes it more fun to say. Here are some examples:
-flexies --> flexible
-perfies --> perfect
-wasticles --> wasted
-tomatsies --> tomatoes
-obnoxical --> obnoxious, like this post.
The important thing to remember is that if you're confused by a breve, pay close attention to the context of the sentence and you should be able to figure out what the person is trying to say. And if that still doesn't work then just punch them in the mouth and say "sorrsies!"
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Bicoasting
I spent 4th of July Weekend visiting my friends and family in New York. Thought I spent the majority of the weekend in the pristine suburbs of Rye in Westchester County, I did manage to escape to Manhattan and Brooklyn on my first night visiting. It's about a 45 minute train ride from the burbs to Grand Central station, so it's a pretty easy trek. Upon arriving at Grand Central, I hopped on the subway and made my way on two lines to get to Brooklyn. I have to admit, I definitely felt like a tourist when I couldn't figure out which direction was the right way. But I soon caught my bearings and got to my destination, sorority tote bag in hand, with the letters on the inside so no hipster Brooklynites would pass judgement. I began walking the streets of Brooklyn and caught sight of a Buffalo Exchange store, a popular thrift shop that also has a chain in San Francisco! This made me feel right at home.
As some of you may know, I'm not exactly fond of New York City. Maybe it's the competitive attitudes, or the lack of friendliness, or the sheer expense of living there - but something about living there is really unsettling for me. However, visiting for a night is the perfect taste of the city that never sleeps.
I started off the evening sharing some margaritas with my two friends who just moved into a loft in Brooklyn. Their view is spectacular, with panoramic 360 degree views of the entire city. Considering the incredible view from the back of my apartment in San Francisco, it really made me wish I had access to our roof top.
Following happy hour, I took the subway back into the East Village to meet one of my best friends from home for dinner. We ate at The Smith (some of you may recognize it from the hit MTV show The City) on Third Ave and 10th St. We dined on delicious Brooklyn style calamari (they pour spicy marinara sauce on top), Bipbimbap, and a steak salad, washed down with a delicious Martini and half a carafe of Rioja; coming to a grand total of $50 each. I was shocked. Only $50 for a two course meal in the city complete with drinks? I would definitely recommend this place to any small group, but it was a bit too noisy for a crowd of more than four.
After snapping some pics in the old-fashioned photo booth downstairs, my friend and I said our adieus and I headed off to my next destination: my friends apartment in Astor place for a few cocktails before heading out to the bars. This is where it gets a little blurry. I know we went to a bar, where I met up with another friend in the city, exchanged some text messages with another friend I was trying to catch up with, and had quite a few vodka sodas. Suddenly the black out faded and the next thing I knew we were hopping on a Latino party bus to Times Square. After a few teases on the stripper pole and a couple of lap dances, we said our goodbyes to our new friends and began our hunt for 3am New York pizza (I couldn't possibly leave without it).
By the time we get back to Brooklyn, it's nearly 5:30 and we're watching the sun rise on my friends beautiful rooftop. I come to the conclusion that I might as well take the early train back to the burbs and sleep in my own bed, rather than tossing and turning on their couch for an hour. So after scarfing down a New York bagel with cream cheese (also something I couldn't leave without having), I make my way back to Grand Central and board a train for Harrison. Naturally, I fall asleep on the train and end up in Greenwich, where I have to wait another 40 minutes to catch a local train in the opposite direction that will bring me to my car, which is parked at the Harrison train station. At least I've sobered up enough to drive at this point. What a night.
The rest of the weekend was filled with BBQs, boat rides, family, friends, and fireworks; every thing I expected in a weekend in the suburbs. But my all night rendez-vous in Manhattan was certainly a delightful surprise, and I would do it all over again in a second if I could.
Some things Manhattan does better than SF: pizza, bagels, late night bars.
Some things SF does better than NYC: recycling, smiling, and bedtime.
Thanks to everyone for a great trip!
As some of you may know, I'm not exactly fond of New York City. Maybe it's the competitive attitudes, or the lack of friendliness, or the sheer expense of living there - but something about living there is really unsettling for me. However, visiting for a night is the perfect taste of the city that never sleeps.
I started off the evening sharing some margaritas with my two friends who just moved into a loft in Brooklyn. Their view is spectacular, with panoramic 360 degree views of the entire city. Considering the incredible view from the back of my apartment in San Francisco, it really made me wish I had access to our roof top.
Following happy hour, I took the subway back into the East Village to meet one of my best friends from home for dinner. We ate at The Smith (some of you may recognize it from the hit MTV show The City) on Third Ave and 10th St. We dined on delicious Brooklyn style calamari (they pour spicy marinara sauce on top), Bipbimbap, and a steak salad, washed down with a delicious Martini and half a carafe of Rioja; coming to a grand total of $50 each. I was shocked. Only $50 for a two course meal in the city complete with drinks? I would definitely recommend this place to any small group, but it was a bit too noisy for a crowd of more than four.
After snapping some pics in the old-fashioned photo booth downstairs, my friend and I said our adieus and I headed off to my next destination: my friends apartment in Astor place for a few cocktails before heading out to the bars. This is where it gets a little blurry. I know we went to a bar, where I met up with another friend in the city, exchanged some text messages with another friend I was trying to catch up with, and had quite a few vodka sodas. Suddenly the black out faded and the next thing I knew we were hopping on a Latino party bus to Times Square. After a few teases on the stripper pole and a couple of lap dances, we said our goodbyes to our new friends and began our hunt for 3am New York pizza (I couldn't possibly leave without it).
By the time we get back to Brooklyn, it's nearly 5:30 and we're watching the sun rise on my friends beautiful rooftop. I come to the conclusion that I might as well take the early train back to the burbs and sleep in my own bed, rather than tossing and turning on their couch for an hour. So after scarfing down a New York bagel with cream cheese (also something I couldn't leave without having), I make my way back to Grand Central and board a train for Harrison. Naturally, I fall asleep on the train and end up in Greenwich, where I have to wait another 40 minutes to catch a local train in the opposite direction that will bring me to my car, which is parked at the Harrison train station. At least I've sobered up enough to drive at this point. What a night.
The rest of the weekend was filled with BBQs, boat rides, family, friends, and fireworks; every thing I expected in a weekend in the suburbs. But my all night rendez-vous in Manhattan was certainly a delightful surprise, and I would do it all over again in a second if I could.
Some things Manhattan does better than SF: pizza, bagels, late night bars.
Some things SF does better than NYC: recycling, smiling, and bedtime.
Thanks to everyone for a great trip!
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