Man Behind the Chef

What to do?!? What to do?!?

2008-07-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

Today is launch day for the iPhone 3G, which intuitively would mean my first-gen iPhone would be rendered obsolete. However, according to people in the know, I may have options just yet. I found this blog post on Gizmodo stating:

Craigslist is full of people offering up to $600 for 16GB iPhones and up to $400 for 8GB models.

Now, that got me thinking: what to do? what to do?

Under the knife

2008-07-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

I did it. I finally just did it. I had the doc excise the tumor in my head. Well, kinda... not really. If you've seen me in the last few years, you've probably noticed the huge bump on my head (as seen here, here, and here). A lot of people thought it was a zit or as Jen's aunt put it, the beginning of one of my horns. (yeah, nice lady...)

On Monday, July 7, I went under the knife and had it removed. The doc initially though it was a lipoma, a benign tumor composed of fatty tissue, but after he cut me open, it looked as if blood vessels had dilated and hardened. It could just be those blood vessels or a cyst, but he couldn't be sure until he sent it to pathology. As you can see from my picture, I now have got nice neat stitches and a permanent scar in lieu of my old bump.

A tribute to Aunt Elaine

2008-06-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

Jen's Aunt Elaine, the youngest child of Michael & Lavern Kenny, the only sister of John and Peter Kenny and mother of Erica & Andrea Simmons, passed away 3 weeks ago on June 7. I haven't posted anything for I could not find the words to capture the sorrow of her loss or the joyous celebration of her life. As such, I felt the best thing was to let others do the talking...

Aunt Elaine's Obituary [Link]

Ange's Eulogy for Aunt Elaine:
Elaine was born in 1953 as the third and youngest child of my grandparents Michael Peter and LaVerne Kenny. Born four years after two boys spaced barely a year apart, she was their little princess. She grew up in the sunset district of San Francisco and attended St. Anne's grammar school. After graduating in 1966 she attended Presentation High School for one year, after which she moved with her parents to Belmont where she attended and graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1971. She then went on to attend the College of San Mateo, and afterwards landed a job with San Mateo County. Many years later, while a single mother of two, she returned to college at Notre Dame De Namur University and spent her evenings after a full work day studying to win her bachelors degree in sociology.

She was the type of person who always put herself last. She juggled a career and the pursuit of higher education while being a devoted daughter, sister, cousin, and of course single mom. Her family was her life. She would often drop everything to accompany my grandparents to the store or to regular medical appointments. She was constantly checking Pops' hearing aids because, ever the handyman, he was constantly taking them apart. Her work as a conservator for San Mateo County Aging and Adult Services also centered around service to her community. Many people knew her as the nice lady who came by every few weeks to make sure they were doing okay. If they needed things repaired or a ride to a doctor's office, she took care of them. Moreover, she always went the extra mile. One of her clients liked movies but only had a VCR, so she would always poke around thrift stores specifically looking for videotapes for this one lady. A colleague who visited her during her illness commented on how much her diligence was missed, saying, "oh, when are you coming back, Elaine? nothing gets done around here anymore! get Elaine back!” When someone needed a fridge, she didn't wait for the bureaucracy to take care of it, she just went to Sears and got that old guy a fridge. She was, indeed, a woman of action. she wasn't the kind of person who would talk about all the stuff she did, she would just do it. We didn't even realize all the things she was doing until she got sick and couldn't do them anymore.

My dad, John, fondly remembers that at their childhood dinner table, he would always sit next to her so she could pass her unwanted grisly pieces of meat to his plate. She could find gristle in even the finest cut of meat! Uncle Peter remembers that Elaine had a pet bird whom she loved dearly. The only thing was she was afraid to stick her finger in the bird’s cage. Like any older brother loves to do, Peter would try and scare her by letting the bird out so it could fly all around the room and chase her.

When she was younger, she used to save things like cereal box tops and send them in for free gifts. One time, she got a giant inflatable banana from the Chiquita banana corporation. John, the prankster, opened the box without her knowing and placed the inflated banana under the covers in her bed before heading off to work. When Elaine got home from Notre Dame High and opened her bedroom door, all she could see was the silhouette of what looked like a body curled up in her bed. Frightened, she called her uncle Kenny Tomlinson who quickly came over to investigate and was so concerned that he called the Belmont Police Department. They approached the bed with guns drawn, but when they lifted the covers, all they found was the inflatable Chiquita banana.

Elaine loved to sew. During her youth, she made almost all her own clothing as well as dresses for her mother. When she was older and taking care of her young children, she had less free time but she still lovingly stitched crazy Halloween costumes - like when Erica decided she wanted to be a rainbow and Andrea wanted to be Xena warrior princess- and then she took time off work to proudly snap photographs of the schoolyard parade. She made clothes for their dolls. When she found out she was going to lose her hair, she went shopping for hat patterns.

She loved apple pie and mashed potatoes and shrimp. I think she also loved the Bee Gees and Fleetwood Mac. My dad tried to cheer her up by giving her tons of 70s CDs.Then again, she was once overheard saying "I'll listen to any CD as long as John's handwriting isn't on it." She was a great gardener; she loved flowers and fruits especially, and she inherited her mothers green thumb. Se used every single apple she picked off her abundant tree to make pies, applesauce, all kinds of things. She also has a fig tee but since she didn't like the figs, she happily handed them over to her parents and to her niece Jennifer.

Last year, the girls and her took a trip to Disneyland, somewhat spur of the moment. As a cautious woman, that was not normally her style, but she knew the coming months would be difficult and she really wanted to just go and do something fun. She always enjoyed getting souvenir shirts, so after a lot of browsing she picked out a gray and pink Minnie Mouse sweatshirt to help her remember the trip.

Her carrot cake recipe is unparalleled. Actually, all her desserts were spectacular. She was a light eater, but she loved food and she loved to cook. She enjoyed watching the food network for new ideas. She always purchased the most spot on birthday cards and the most thoughtful gifts. She loved her family. If there was something they wanted, she always found a way to obtain it. She was as patient as she was loving, enduring many a Bingo game or trip to the dented canned store on a Saturday afternoon. She loved to read and participated in a book club. She valued education and wanted to make sure that her daughters received the best there was. She finished her own degree the hard way, as an adult, working full time with two children. She truly was a remarkable woman. She was a woman who took all of life's lemons and made the sweetest lemonade you can find.

She was not a loud or opinionated person. In the face of conflict, she often watched her words in order to keep the peace. I used to think her gentle demeanor lended to her being a pushover, but I learned that is not true. Au contraire, it made her into something few Kennys are: a good listener. She was available to her friends and family, most importantly to her two beautiful daughters, Erica and Andrea. She was first and foremost a mother, a protector, with a kind face and an open heart. She did not judge people. Even when she was sick, her primary concerns were for the well being of her daughters and her parents. It's hard to imagine being so selfless, but that is who she was, through and through. Aunt Elaine had all these funny thoughts and comments that were never heard either because of the volume of the room, or she held them back, but when she got sick, she found her voice and made sure she was heard.....and she was witty and funny.....and willing to tell those Kenny boys they were full of it.

When she was diagnosed with uterine cancer last year, it came as an unthinkable blow. How could something so horrible happen to such a wonderful person? I believe it is human nature to look for that silver lining, even in the most grim situations. Despite how much I wish things could have been different, I am truly thankful that we had the time to tell her we loved her, what's more, to show her. It is a testament to how many lives she touched that so many of you dropped off food or sent flowers or funny little cards to keep her spirits up. There are so many small things a person can do to show their love and I guarantee that she appreciated each and every gesture.

When I think of all the years she spent taking care of everyone- her children, her parents, and through her job, many people throughout San Mateo County- I think of all the lives she has touched and all the ways in which she will live on forever. Somewhere in heaven, she's sitting in a rocking chair with a Sydney Sheldon novel and box of Godiva truffles.

News & Highlights

2008-05-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

Man, it has been a long time since I left a post for y'all to ponder about.

Life's been going by like a breeze, but that's not to say it has been easy by any means. It has been bustling, fast-paced, twisting, and unpredictable.

Jen and I celebrated our 9th year together and our 2nd wedding anniversary last month with nearly a week long string of parties culminating with an extended weekend trip to Sin City, Las Vegas. My flickr pix is evidence to the decadent fun we had there. Jen and I had a fabulous time eating at Olives in the Bellagio and seeing Cirque Du Soliel's La Reve at the Wynn. When it came to accommodations, we were fortunate enough to be able to crash at Jen's uncle's place for a couple of nights, but for our last night we did it big and were rewarded very generously. With my super shopper ways, I had booked us a jacuzzi suite at the Mandalay Bay for $169 which I thought was a deal already. When we arrived for registration, the super sweet front desk lady hooked us with a penthouse suite! We had our own private bank of elevators straight to the sixth floor. When Jen first entered the place, she first inspected the bathroom and thought it was kinda small, until I yelled to her from across the cavernous suite that she was only looking at our guest bathroom. The place also had 4 plasma tvs, living room, wet bar that stocked Belvedere vodka, a view of the LV valley and a bathroom rivaled many apartments back home. Simply amazing. Not to mention, Mandalay Bay has the most awesome pools in on the strip with a full wave pool that you can body surf in, a lazy river with a waterfall no less, two jacuzzis and two standard pools you'd expect. Coming back home was not an easy adjustment after that.

These last two months were not all filled with fun and games though. Shortly after I posted about Jen's new job under the awesome pastry chef at the Campton Hotel, he put in his notice and Jen ended up working under his assistant that was promoted to Chef. Overall, Jen's experience has been positive, but she does miss the creative control being a chef provided. For a while there, she was very sad by the self-realization that she lost the inner drive to innovate new flavors and recipes. That's hard not to feel when the department of 5 shrink to 2 after the Chef's departure. Jen and I have also been battling a lot of other stresses lately. Jen's aunt has not been doing so well in her fight against cancer while at my job I'm struggling to feel useful. This last April Fool's Day was my 5 year anniversary with my company, and although it was a milestone, it really marked the beginning of an end in my mind (but more on that later). In the month of April, we were also hit with a huge tax bill that totaled near $5K. Selling my Oakland house sure did a number on my finances. Anyone know of a good tax adviser?

In other news, all my hard work with business school apps have paid off and I have been accepted to The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. My most honest excuse to neglecting my blog is because I've wrestling with all the stresses associated with my decision for months now. I learned of my acceptance offer all the way back in March but didn't know if I wanted to take it until late April. Once that stress was over, I've now had to struggle with closing up shop and transferring my knowledge at work, figuring how we're gonna move our lives 2200 miles away, and seeing all our friends and family before we fly out. This move will be the first time Jen and I have lived away from our friends, family, and the bay area. I could go on and on about all the emotions I've gone through from excitement to fear, but now I just do my best to take it one day at a time and knock off as much from my to-do list before it's too late. So for y'all reading this, let's make a date and have meal or drinks together before I head out. Or at least, start saving up and come visit us out in Pittsburgh. It'll be a long two years if we don't see you.

That pretty much sums up our lives in the last two months. This summer will be amazing time of tremendous change.

Diana's going to school

Richie Fong's going away

Tiff is going on an extended vacation

Heidi already left for her adventure

Liz just had her new baby boy, James

Thuy is pregnate again

Rachel is pregnant again as well

Mital is leaving for school

Seth & Susan is getting married

April & Jeff already got married

Trang & John are going to get married

Dennis Richmond is retiring this Wendesday

P.S. I'm selling my fully-loaded 2002 VW Jetta GLX. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Culinary Word of the Day: Molecular Gastronomy
A branch of food science that focuses on cooking and food preparation (rather than on the chemical makeup of food, as traditional food science tends to do)...The term molecular gastronomy was coined in the 1980s by a French scientist, Hervé This, and Nicholas Kurti, who was a professor of physics at Oxford University in England. Both men were interested in food science, but they felt that empirical knowledge and tradition were as important in cooking as rational understanding.
Source: "Food: his passion, his science"

Great news!

2008-03-10T13:12:00.000-07:00

While I've been anxiously awaiting decisions from the business schools, Jen's been busy trying to find a short term job. I'm proud to announce Jen's found one already!

She will be assisting Pastry Chef Boris Portnoy at Campton Place Hotel in Union Square. With such a short time frame (B-schools start in Sept.), Jen couldn't take a pastry chef job in good faith, so she opted to use this opportunity to learn some new skills. And some new skills they will be... Chef Portnoy is a renowned for his engaging desserts that attempts to "evoke an emotion" with whoever's eating it. He is a leading pioneer of molecular gastronomy on the west coast, yet, still maintains a whimsical attitude with his menu by playing on childhood classics such as wrapping celery confit “ravioli” around raisin pâté de fruit, along with lush Concord grape sorbet. NorthSide San Francisco Magazine even selected him the best pastry chef in the city in 2006.

I've got a feeling Jen's gonna be happy at this place.

In other news, I've finally uploaded all the Spain and Morocco pix to Flickr. Check them out now! And for those of you who complained I posted too many... I cut back this time around. I'll even post the super abridged top 98 (but you'll have to wait for that.)

Rising Stars of 2008

2008-03-05T18:42:00.000-08:00

I just got back from Cornell in Ithaca, NY. My interview with the Johnson School of Business went ok but not perfect. I hard a hard time reading my interviewer, so I couldn't definitively tell if I rocked it or not. In any case, the campus was beautiful, but I did get a taste of Ithaca's weather when my flight home got canceled due to a snow storm.

I had planned another story from our vacation but the Chronicle put out its Rising Star Chef of 2008 today. Jen's name was mentioned, but she's not so happy about it. I feel that my grad school ambitions have thrown her career off track for a little while.

Check out the new star chef's and let me know what you think.

The Prodigal Blogger Returns

2008-02-25T22:21:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Lenten tradition. The Prodigal Blogger has returned. Please forgive me for squandering your patience and attention. I have been off to distant lands and consumed by many arduous tasks. Too many stories to share in one post, but you will hear about my adventures over the next few weeks.

First, the boring stuff (mostly all of Dec)... I were holed up at home writing essays day in and day out while Jen would help me edit them. I had a total of 18 essays to write in 30 days. Let me tell you that was one of the hardest tasks I have ever completed. By the end of it all, I didn't think I write another complete sentence, but here I am, blogging again.

During the down time between revisions, Jen occupied herself by booking our celebration vacation to Spain and Morocco. What an adventure that was as our first round of plane tickets were canceled on us just days after we booked our second and third legs. :P Jen was so stressed, and I couldn't offer much relief with all that was on my plate. In the end, Jen successfully secured us flights from Washington, DC to Casablanca, Morocco for less then $600. (If you've ever looked into flights to Africa, you know that's a steal.)

We only left one week between the last application submission and our departure but somehow I conned myself into dedicating that time to installing recessed lighting for my parents. Apparently, I don't know when to rest. But somewhere in there, I got an email from Carnegie Mellon requesting an interview. Only 3 days after I sent my application! It worked out perfectly too because on the return trip from Spain we had intended to make a pit stop in Pittsburgh to tour the school. Now, I had an interview as well.

Fast forward to the night of Jan 15. We stayed up all night printing our itineraries and still had to make last minute reservations for flights and hotels. I didn't even start packing my luggage until 4 hours before our flight. On top of it all, I also had to prepare my suit to be sent out to Pittsburgh because I didn't want to drag it all over Morocco and Spain. (Thank you so much, Seth, Laura, and Allan!) Well, by the mercy of god, we made to the airport on time. Thus begun our three week adventure where we had 13 flights, 4 delays, 2 cancellations, 1 plane crash, and lost our luggage in the first 10 hours. But I'll spare you the details for this post. In the meantime, check out the first few photos I've posted on Flickr. I took 2100+ photos (Thanx, Alex, I love the new camera.), so bear with me as I process them all... he he...

BREAKING: Jen is no longer at Salt House!

2007-11-22T00:13:00.000-08:00

Breaking news everyone. Jen has left Salt House Restaurant for new endeavors. She will be spending time with family and traveling for a while before returning to the culinary world, but look out when she does because she will come out blazing once again.

The folks at Salt House sent her off on her last day today with a very nice bottle of 1997 vintage Laurant Perrier Champagne. She will miss many who made her days bright.

Cabbage rolls a plenty

2007-11-06T00:09:00.000-08:00

Cabbage Rolls,
originally uploaded by InnerSpirit.

Jen made a favorite from her childhood last night, her mom's cabbage rolls. It's an eastern European dish that typically fills cabbage leaves with ground beef and rice covered with a tomato sauce. Jen's version uses ground turkey and quinoa, a small grain used much like rice but an excellent source of protein largely used in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and other South American countries. She also adds sautéed onions, garlic, salt, pepper, and herbs. After boiling the cabbage, individual leaves are peeled off and stuffed with the combined ingredients. When the rolls are completed, they were then placed into a large pan and cover with tomato sauce. Covered with foil, they were baked for about an hour at 350. "That was a pretty good dish" says the cook, herself.

Happy 1st Birthday, Isaiah

2007-11-03T23:03:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday, Isaiah,
originally uploaded by InnerSpirit.

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to Isaiah!
Happy birthday to you!

Here's our little nephew, Isaiah, playing in his cupboard on his first birthday.

The Calculus of Love

2007-10-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

I just read this funny article entitled "The Calculus of Saying 'I Love You'" by Anna Gosline. In the article, she supposes that women should never date a man who knows more math than them, but as a happily married man with a math degree from UC Berkeley, I'm a bit perturbed by this.

The article is based on a statement the boyfriend of the author's friend made stating he would say he loved her when dLove/dt = zero. The author and her friend went into length and even have graphs to ultimately prove that the the boyfriend's statement is misguided. They even suggest a better solution to the problem. Kudos to you girls!

However, this is where my beef with the author's supposition lies. By fact that the author and her friend had to go through so much work to debunk the boyfriend's statement and come up with another solution is evidence that said boyfriend is, in fact, less smarter than the girls in math and does not necessarily know more math than the girls. If he were to know more math than his girlfriend, he should have come up with the better solution proposed by the girls in the first place. Thus, the girlfriend would be better off dating a man who knows more math than her in the first place if she were to save herself all this grief and research to point out the boyfriend's original error. Therefore, the author's supposition is incorrect; women should always date men who know more math than them.

Crikey, Mate!

2007-10-22T12:08:00.001-07:00

Dorkalicious,
originally uploaded by mllegemaricaine.

Last Saturday, Jen and I were outback in the biggity, biggity O at Mayra & Liza's huge GHOULISH GARCIA GALA. Jen dressed up as a cute crocodile while I paid homage to the venerable, late Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter. As couple costumes go, we thought it was awesome and so did Liza & Mayra as we won for best costume. Angela thought our idea was dorkalicious.

Can we get a hurray for homemade costumes? Both of ours were very affordable. Jen just threw on a green dress from Forever 21, or XXI as they now call themselves, and green tights. I made the Croc head and jaw with some cardboard and paint. Pretty crafty, eh? My getup was pretty easy except for the fact finding a shirt and shorts that matched in color was a pain. On top of it all, the shorts were 2 sizes too small, so it looked like I stuffed my shorts. Another problem was that we had to constantly be near each other, otherwise our couple costume broke down. People started to think Jen was a dinosaur and I was a UPS guy. At some point, I told people you can check out my package right here as I pointed to my overly tight shorts.

All in all, Jen and I had great fun. And despite the costume mix ups, I went home with the only croc I'd like to wrestle. ;)

Quince

2007-10-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

FYI, Jen put out a new dessert on Oct. 12, replacing the much loved Basque Cake. It's called the Quince Upside Down Cake with Chamomile Creme Anglaise. The cake has a layer of housemade membrillo and fresh quince on top of a buttery vanilla cake. There is also poached quince carpaccio on the plate. From what I have heard... sales of this dessert are off the charts. Get your taste before all the quince are gone.

Culinary Word of the Day: Quince
Ancient Romans used the flowers and fruit of the quince tree for everything from perfume to honey. It was also considered a symbol of love and given to one's intended as a sign of commitment. Though the quince has been around for over 4,000 years throughout Asia and the Mediterranean countries, it's not particularly popular with Americans. This yellow-skinned fruit looks and tastes like a cross between an apple and a pear. The hard, yellowish-white flesh is quite dry and has an astringent, tart flavor, which makes it better cooked than raw. Because of its high pectin content, it's particularly popular for use in jams, jellies and preserves. Quinces are available in supermarkets from October through December. Source: Food Lover's Guide

A little note to Jen

2007-10-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

Just a little note from a customer. The post-it note came from the co-worker who delivered it.

I've been meaning to share this one for quite a while now, but sometime on Friday, September 14, 2007, a customer sent Jen's menu back with a little addition.

The funny part about this all was that no one working at Salt House understood what Creme frites were. Apparently, Jen has a loyal following, maybe someone should take notice.

The CAT Scan and a warming sensation... like you wet yourself

2007-10-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

So I'm dying... well, maybe, kinda. I guess everyone is dying albeit just very slowly. Anyways, as some of you might know I have a condition that requires me to get regular blood tests every 3 months. (I'm still kinda touchy about being so open with this info to all of the world, but if you must know, you'll have to talk to me directly.) Nothing really freaky or anything but a preventative measure. My last blood test showed showed an abnormality that triggered a string of other events that included an ultrasound, more blood tests, and as the title suggests, a CAT scan.

As a tech guy, I thought all this medical gadgetry was pretty awesome except that it had to be used on me. And that kinda freaked me out, a lot.

Needles don't bother me much, but the two bottles of barium that I had to drink before the test made me nervous. I found out that they use that stuff as a radiocontrast agent for X-ray imaging and other things like green colored light in fireworks, brake linings, acoustic foams and powder coatings. Mmm.... brake lining for breakfast and dessert. My doctor ordered the CAT scan to check my organs for signs of inflammation. Maybe my drinking days have caught up to me, oh my. (Those who know how much of a cheap date I am better have laughed.)

When I got to my appointment, I had already ran to three Kaiser buildings to find the place. The Kaiser campus in SF is kinda confusing without a map of which services are where. My wait was brief after a quick registration where I acknowledged that I'd be bombarded with X-rays that are potentially harmful to my body. A pleasant nurse soon ushered me to the CAT Scan room that was quite large to house the machine you see above. I was ordered to drop my pants and put on a gown before being led to the CAT bed. There is hooked up to a barium IV that the nursed warned me of a few side affects including a feeling of warmth through my body, a metallic taste on my tongue, and the sensation that I wet myself. The last one made me snicker a little. The whole procedure was fairly quick with 6 passes taking about 10 minutes long. Each pass consisted of me holding my breath while my body was fed into the ring of the scanner. The ring is a track for a X-ray gun and detector to spin around as the body is fed past the detector's plane. The result will be X-ray cross sections of my body, like how one would view rings of a tree. Putting these cross sections together will give a complete 3D image of my internal organs. The barium helps clearly show the shape of the lumina of my organs because radioopaque. The side affects the nurse mentioned to me hit me all of a sudden between the 4th and 5th pass. She was dead on. I felt a warming sensation all over that, I presume, made me feel I wet myself in the nether region as well as the metallic taste in my mouth. All these symptoms quickly went away though, before I even changed back into my clothes.

It's been 30+ hours since the scan; I was hoping I'd hear some result by now, but it's Friday I probably won't know anything until next week. Meanwhile, I'll keep my fingers cross as I try to focus on my studies. The damn test is coming up in one week. ARG!

What am I doing wrong?

2007-10-04T17:58:00.001-07:00

I'm not a fan of forwards (so don't send me any!), but this one left me in stitches, so I had to pass it on. My friend Irene, the auditor, sent it to me. Very appropriated being that I'm applying for biz school and all.

THIS APPEARED ON CRAIG'S LIST

What am I doing wrong?

Okay, I'm tired of beating around the bush. I'm a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I'm articulate and classy. I'm not from New York. I'm looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don't think I'm overreaching at all.

Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200 - 250. But that's where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won't get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she's not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?

Here are my questions specifically:

- Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me specifics- bars,
restaurants, gyms

-What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won't hurt my feelings

-Is there an age range I should be targeting (I'm 25)?

- Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper eastside so plain? I've seen really 'plain jane' boring types who have nothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I've seen drop dead gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village. What's the story there?

- Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows - lawyer, investment banker, doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do they hang out? Where do the hedge fund guys hang out?

- How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for MARRIAGE ONLY

Please hold your insults - I'm putting myself out there in an honest way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I'm being up front about it. I wouldn't be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn't able to match them - in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a nice home and hearth.

* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 432279810

THE RESPONSE
Dear Pers-431649184:
I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament.
Firstly, I'm not wasting your time; I qualify as a guy who fits your bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here's how I see it.

Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a cr@ppy business deal.

Here's why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring my money. Fine, simple. But here's the rub, your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity...in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won't be getting any more beautiful!

So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation accelerates! Let me explain, you're 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!

So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy and hold...hence the rub...marriage. It doesn't make good business sense to "buy you" (which is what you're asking) so I'd rather lease. In case you think I'm being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It's as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.

Separately, I was taught early in my career about efficient markets. So, I wonder why a girl as "articulate, classy and spectacularly beautiful" as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy. I find it hard to believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that the $500K hasn't found you, if not only for a tryout.

By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then we wouldn't need to have this difficult conversation.

With all that said, I must say you're going about it the right way. Classic "pump and dump." I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of lease, let me know.

Buyouts, a bitch, and a fig tart for good measure

2007-10-03T08:20:00.000-07:00

A beautiful fig tart by Pastry Chef Jennifer Kenny Nguyen made with organic, homegrown Simmons (Jen's aunt) Figs.

Salt House is being invaded with Buyouts these next few weeks. In fact, there is one this Thursday. Jen's been pretty excited because it means a change in pace but also a lot of work. First, she has to ensure there is enough desserts up to the day of the buyout. Stop regular production the day before the event. Then, she has to make a whole new menu as well as complete production on all the items for the event. The buyout event itself is run by the night crew with all hopes Jen would have made it simple enough for nothing to go wrong. The following day, Jen must purge all her regular menu items for they are now two days old and produce everything on her regular menu all fresh. So, yeah, lots of work, but sometimes, the celebs, themselves, are worth all the work. Two buyouts that were scheduled are KQED, with a book promotion event for Jen's idol, renowned Chef Jacques Pipan, and MTV. Unfortunately, KQED just pulled out citing timing issues, thus, leaving Jen sorely disappointed she would not be cooking for her idol.

On other news, Jen and I attended a MBA fair on Tuesday. 50 schools from all over the world were there to pitch themselves at prospective students. I only went to talk to 4 schools, pretty good use of my time considering my list is only 7 schools long. Upon getting there though, I seemed to have made a slight error. Somehow I misread Northeastern to be Northwestern, my bad. Has anyone ever even heard of Northeastern? Anywho, the representatives of Johnson School of Business at Cornell University and Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University were excellent recruiters that answered my questions and made me really feel the enthusiasm of apply to their school. In business terms, they sold their brand to me. On the other hand, there was good old USC, the bottom rung of my school application rankings. Unlike the other schools who sent representatives, USC sent the Dean of Admissions himself, Mr. Keith Vaughn. And what a bitch he was. He berated me for asking him a simple question that I asked repeated throughout the night regarding USC's alumni base. He kept going on and on about how my question was a complete "no-brainer" and gave the impression that I wasting his time to talk to him. He then proceeded to talk about schools as brands and how each school's brand will dominate the regional area they serve. And as one of the top four business schools in California, USC is bound to have a large alumni basis in LA and the SF Bay Area. So, the short answer to my question could have been "yes, there is a significant alumni presence in the SF Bay Area." He would have even gone the extra mile to direct me to an alumni chapter member, but he chose not to. Instead, he left me feeling belittled and infuriated Jen. So that shortens my list a little as Jen has forbade me from applying to USC.

Lastly, take a gander at that beautiful fig tart above. Made with organic, homegrown figs from Jen's aunt.

Busy as a Bee

2007-09-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

Jen's Fromage Blanc Tart and Apple Pecan Turnover for a home taste test.

It has been a few weeks since I've had a chance to sit down and post an entry. My apologies.

It's been on the menu for almost a week now, but Jen introduced a Fromage Blanc Tart with Concord Grapes and Crème Fraîche Swirl Sorbet, which pushed out both the Fig Tart and Jen's short lived Tapioca dessert. The new tart incorporates halved concord grapes that have been tossed in a port reduction on top of fromage blanc, a fresh cow cheese almost like ricotta but less grainy, from Cow Girl Creamery. As if that flavor combo wasn't enough, Jen also serves the tart with a Crème Fraîche Swirl Sorbet that is Crème Fraîche sorbet and grape sorbet swirled together for a heavenly pairing. Jen's even admitted that after tasting sweets all day she is pretty much over eating anymore dessert except for the swirl sorbet. IT KICKS ASS!

Also, new on Jen's menu is a Warm Apple Pecan Turnover with Rum Raisin Ice Cream and Cinnamon Butterscotch as well as a Fresh Apple Salad for color. True to form, Jen's Rum Raisin Ice Cream is really rummy for you fans that have a little Captain in you. The Apple Salad is served along side the dessert in matchstick form, lightly dressed in lemon and honey with a few pecans.

From the picture above, you can guess that I got to taste both the cheese tart and the turnover and WOW! were they yummy. I will be envious of those of who got to try them in all their warm glory with their sauces, sides, and accompanying ice creams. :) Go get your taste today!

Culinary Word of the Day: Crème Fraîche
Crème Fraîche is a matured, thickened cream with a slightly tangy, nutty flavor and velvety rich texture. The thickness of crème fraîche can range from that of commercial sour cream to almost as solid as room-temperature margarine. In France, where crème fraîche is a specialty, the cream is unpasteurized and therefore contains the bacteria necessary to thicken it naturally. In America, where all commercial cream is pasteurized, the fermenting agents necessary for crème fraîche can be obtained by adding buttermilk or sour cream. Crème Fraîche is ideal addition for sauces or soups because it can be boiled without curdling. It's delicious spooned over fresh fruit or other desserts such as warm cobblers or puddings. Source: Food Lover's Companion

She's only asian by injection

2007-09-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

WARNING! WARNING! The following NEW dessert from famed pastry chef Jen Kenny Nguyen seems Asian. But... Just like how Jen's name sounds Asian but she herself is not, this dish sounds Asian but has a flavor profile that matches quite well with the usual Salt House fair. She calls it Coconut Tapioca Pudding with Watermelon and Thai Basil syrup. A refreshing dessert for the tail end of summer fruits.

On another note, my laptop formerly known as "the Baby" is no longer. As of Thursday, September 6, 2007, I was stumbling around in the dark and knocked over a glass of water all over the former Baby. This was my invincible work laptop that I've had for 4.5 years but still was the computing powerhouse that powered much of life's work. (Ok... I sound overly dramatic but if you know me, you know how much that thing meant to my livelihood.) I was able to recover some bits and pieces of data but did lose a big chunk of my programming work. ARG! All weekend long I've been massaging my head with happy thoughts to forget about that event, and the iPhone has helped immensely. Can you avid readers out their figure out what the new "Baby" is?

Culinary Word of the Day: Tapioca
Tapioca is basically a root starch derived from the cassava, or yuca plant. It's often used to thicken soups and sweeten the flavor of baked goods, and it makes a dandy pudding. We suggest you don't try making your own tapioca at home. Cassava roots have traces of cyanide in them! The ever-resourceful Mayans figured out how to extract this poison for their blow darts, leaving the uncontaminated roots free for eating. Source: Ask Yahoo!

I ♥ my iPhone!

2007-09-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

I finally got it. My cheap ass got the boost it needed from Jen after she kicked me into forking out my credit card when I was still hesitant after the price drop. For those of you who didn't hear (what rock have you been sleeping under?), Stevie J announced a new line of iPods on Wednesday and also a huge $200 drop on the iPhone. The day I heard about it I was giddy as a girl seeing a pony for the first time. I tried subtly hinting to Jen in hopes to get it as a Christmas gift, but what all I learned was to not suggest gifts because I suck at it. The suggestion led to an argument about not listening and hurt feelings. Completely not worth the breath we wasted on it. However, it prompted Jen into action to get me to an AT&T store and buy the darn thing.

Many of you guys probably know, I'm a frugal guy. Case in point is my whole Apple stock scheme. At its peak, I actually made over $800 profit, enough to buy an iPhone and all the accessories when it still cost $600. However, I got so worried about capital gains that I just let it sit all the while I am without the iPhone and my poor Treo was dying by the minute. Oh the Treo, you must know I got the Treo for used and for free from my cousin. First, the audio electronics died, and I had to do some circuit board surgery to revive it. Second, my speaker died, so no more speakerphone or ringing at all. Then, my vibration motor died, which didn't leave many ways to know I was receiving a call. The only way I could tell without staring at my screen all the time was to listen to my bluetooth headset, but I would have a tendency to leave it in my pocket, instead of looking like a dork and wearing it all the time, which left my callers very frustrated because my headset would pick up leaving me unaware I was on a phone call and they could not reach my voicemail. Then, this week they announced the $200 price drop, an instant 33% savings on the hottest gadget in the world. Despite the Treo problems, the profit from the Apple stock, and a huge price break, I still couldn't bring myself to buy the Jesus Phone and even contemplated I wait until Christmas to get it as a gift. Leave me a comment if you can top that story for the Crown of Cheapest Cheap Ass.

Although Jen provided the necessary motivation, I walked away with a smile because I figured out a scheme to get a deal out it all. If I was going to buy a $400 phone, Jen better be getting free sh*t. We first headed out to the AT&T store on Geary Blvd. The salesman was cordial and did have the iPhone in stock, but the way the store worked there was not a single free phone in the store with the cheapest still ringing in at $30 after a $30 rebate. This meant we'd have to pay $60 + taxes out of pocket for Jen's POS phone when we are already paying for a family plan, data package, and the iPhone from them. With the Apple store and them being the only places in town to get an iPhone, I went ahead and just purchased it there. We then headed over to Impact Communications on Irving St. where we got a great deal on two new Samsung Sync phones for $100 + tax with a $50 rebate for each and a family plan for Jen and I. I then simply came home and activated my iPhone with my new plan and added on a data package. In the end, we ended up with 2 Samsung Sync Phones, 1 iPhone, a family plan, and a data package that's a better phone model and an extra phone than what was available from the AT&T store for the cost of taxes and stamps for rebates over the AT&T store price.

Well, I can say now I'm extremely happy with my iPhone. It has so many features I'm still discovering and then some. In fact, I wrote some of this post with its beautiful web browser.

Enjoy my silent (I don't know what happened to the sound) video of my unboxing of the Jesus Phone.

Hey, No Poaching Peaches Allowed!

2007-08-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

Amid the hubbub and excitement of yesterday's news, I haven't had a chance to post about Jen's new dessert. She test ran it Friday and got the rubber stamp of approval on Saturday. The tasty morsel is a Poached Peach with Sabayon and Cardamom Streusel. Think poached pear but with a peach instead. In developing this concept, she made my mouth water just with the thought of using one of the greatest summer fruits in the world. Mmmm...peachy!

Culinary Word of the Day: Sabayon
Sabayon is French for zabaglione. One of Italy's great gifts to the rest of the world, zabaglione is an ethereal dessert made by whisking together egg yolks, wine (traditionally marsala) and sugar. This beating is done over simmering water so that the egg yolks cook as they thicken into a light, foamy custard. Traditional zabaglione must be made just before serving. (There is also a frozen version.) The warm froth can be served either as a dessert by itself or as a sauce over cake, fruit, ice cream or pastry. Source: Food Lover's Companion

Sold!

2007-08-28T18:52:00.001-07:00

Sold!,
originally uploaded by InnerSpirit.

After months of hard work, sweat, stress, and anxiety, my house on Outlook Ave. is finally sold! The sale completed today, and I got to pick up the payment check just a couple hours ago. The whole homeownership was an amazing experience filled with more work than I had ever imagined. I originally got the place as an investment, but I missed the market by a few months and ended up taking a little bit of a loss. Oh well, you win some you lose some. I'm just happy to have this adventure come to an end so I can focus on bigger and brighter things.

There are so many people who have helped me with the Outlook House. I couldn't have done this without the generosity and efforts of Jen, Alex, Seth, Mode, Maritza, Diana, Suj, Ed, My Parents, Uyen, and so many others. From moving to painting to selling the thing, you guys are absolutely the best. I thank each and every one of you for your help along the way.

Something Strange

2007-08-22T14:28:00.001-07:00

Something Strange,
originally uploaded by InnerSpirit.

More construction on Vicksburg St. but something is strange about this one...

How'd they do that?

2007-08-22T14:27:00.001-07:00

How'd they do that?,
originally uploaded by InnerSpirit.

One of our neighbors on Vicksburg St. is doing a little construction.

Note: 1. there are power lines above Jen's head. 2. There is an intact house behind the back hoe. 3. The distance from the house to the concrete wall behind Jen is only a one and half widths of the back hoe. 4. There are untouched properties on either side of the back hoe.

And a One-Two Punch for the Count...

2007-08-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

With a bing and a pow, Jen is introducing her second new knockout in 4 days. On Saturday, she sent the highly acclaimed (and her favorite dessert), the Coffee Vacherin, to pasture. In its place, Jen unveiled the Fig Almond Tart with Mascarpone Sorbet. According to Jeff McClure's Yelp friend, the dessert has been received well. Time will tell if this tart will also win Jen's approval as her favorite item on the menu. Tonight, she will present a Chocolate Semifreddo with Brownie and Orange Pistachio Biscotti. Unfortunately, with a new chocolate dish means the parting of the old chocolate favorite, say good-bye to the warm chocolate cake.

Culinary Word of the Day: Semifreddo
Italian for "half cold," semifreddo culinarily refers to any of various chilled or partially frozen desserts including cake, ice cream, fruit and custard or whipped cream. Such a dessert's Spanish counterpart is called semifrío. Source: Food Lover's Companion

Weekend Update

2007-08-03T09:36:00.001-07:00

Oooh he gonna get it!,
originally uploaded by c_aburtovite.

So it's Friday! The weekend is just a few hours away. I'd like to use today's post as an update to what's been going on in the life of our favorite pastry chef and the man who's behind her, me.

To start off, Jen's ice cream machine has been repaired and returned to Salt House for a little while now. It's back to original working order. Prior to the complete malfunction that shocked Jen's last assistant, the thing was leaking from the lid, required a wrench to tighten a loose bolt upon each use, and frequently had electrical problems. Although she was without it for about a week, the new lid and other repairs have done the trick, and now, Jen doesn't even have to use a wrench to hold it in place! Woohoo! (Makes you appreciate your desk jobs just a smidgen more doesn't it?)

Furthermore, on the Salt House front, Jen's new assistant, Jennara (JJ) Santurio, is working out beautifully. Apparently, she's cute, a fast learner, and has great instincts. I wish her well in her transition to the city.

Meanwhile, in my life, I've gotten back into the gym on a more regular basis. I've pulled off 4 days this week so far with my gym bag packed for today as well. Let's see how long I can keep up this pace before I find a new obsession to worry about. My good friend Seth has been a huge motivation for me to keep going despite my 5-hours-of-sleep nights. Plus, he helps me keep running 50 min/session mark. That's him and Susan in the picture. God, I love that pic. Credit goes to Christina for it. (I think.)

As many of you have known my housing woes have been consuming a lot of my time in the last couple months. From when I was fixing everything for the sale up back in April to the maintenance of the house I do not live in and worrying about how to better market my house, its finally showing signs that it is all paying off this week I got 2 house offers and am in negotiations with both of the interested parties. Cannot say it was a profitable venture, but homeownership was an amazing learning experience.

On a sad note, my friend from high school and first college roommate, Eric Chen, passed away last week on July 27 of cancer. His memorial is this Saturday. He and I lost touch after we left the dorms, and I feel bad we never reconnected afterward. I would have at least liked to have let him know I wasn't mad at him when we I moved out of the dorm. I simply couldn't find him to say goodbye. Unfortunately, I'll never get the chance. Here's to my friend. You will be missed.

In memory of Eric from his family.

The Memorial Service will be held:
Time & Date: at 1:30PM on August 4, 2007
Place: Reflection Chapel in Chapel of the Chimes
Address: 32992 Mission Blvd., Hayward, CA 94544

Culinary Word of the Day: Gazpachó
A refreshingly cold, summertime soup hailing from the Andalusia region in southern Spain. This uncooked soup is usually made from a puréed mixture of fresh tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, onions, celery, cucumber, breadcrumbs, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and sometimes lemon juice. Gazpachó can be a meal in itself, particularly when extra fresh vegetables such as sliced celery, green onion, cucumber and green pepper are added. Popular garnishes include croutons and diced hard-cooked eggs. Source: Food Lover's Companion

"Rosebud!"

2007-08-01T16:25:00.001-07:00

Chocolate Chip Cookie from Citizen Cake,
originally uploaded by InnerSpirit.

No, the title is not referring to George Orson Welles' classic Citizen Kane, but the famous San Franciscan pâtisserie Citizen Cake. Jen paid a visit to the "Pastry Chef's Restaurant" of world renowned pastry chef Elizabeth Falkner not too long ago. Citizen Cake is located down the street from the Opera house and is destination in and of itself. It has a special place in Jen's heart as it may be a model for Jen to follow if she were to open a place of her own.

Within the glass walls of Citizen Cake, there are to halves of the operation where there is a full restaurant and then the bar area. You can pick up either the entree and dessert menu or items from the bakery at either location to Jen's surprise. But on this night, she was only interested in one thing, the desserts, of course. Falkner's dessert menu was as imaginative and innovative in the style Jen highly respects and emulates. Examples of her menu include, The Tomato Garden: fruit gazpacho soup, mango & cilantro ice cream, tomato sorbet, tomato skewers; Lovelova: strawberry rose salad, cardamom cream, saffron meringue, pistachio oil; and Total Chaos of Blackberries: blackberries, blackberry poached beets, chocolate-cassis curd, black licorice iced milk. These ground breaking desserts were $10.00 each and came in sizable quantities. Jen opted for the Total Chaos of Blackberries as the server sealed the deal when she described the dish as "an event on a plate." That it was. As highly critical as Jen can be with desserts, she came out only raving of the splendor that is Falkner's flare. Unfortunately, I was not with her on this sugar run, but my favorite pastry chef did bring me back the best chocolate chip cookie I have EVER had. Yummy!

Culinary Word of the Day: Cassis
A European black currant used mainly to make crème de cassis liqueur and black currant syrup. Source: Food Lover's Companion

Out with the old and in with the new

2007-07-30T03:33:00.000-07:00

Jen finally took down her Raspberry Poppyseed Cake with Lemon-Mint Granita last Friday as it was time for a refresh. It was also one of those rare, fortunate days, Jen brought home the rejects for me to taste. It didn't have the full plate up and was missing the granita entirely, but man, the cake as Mmm...mmm...good and so moist and flavorful. I am not a cake person, either, but balance of sweetness and tartness and the depth of the flavors was very enjoyable to me. Jen did have a friend complain that the cake was too dry, but I think he was off his rocker that day. However, that dessert is no more, and for those who missed it, you better get into Salt House before you miss Jen's other creations.

To replace the poppyseed cake will be a Basque Cake with Honey Plum Sauce served with Earl Gray Ice Cream. For the uninitiated, the cake is named after the Basque region of France where it is a specialty that has pastry cream encased in a light shortdough pastry. The Earl Gray ice cream should be a nice contrast to the sweetness of the honey plum sauce as well serve to highlight one of Jen's favorite drinks in the world, Earl Gray tea.

Culinary Word of the Day: Basque Cake
A.K.A. Gâteau Basque. An invention of the French Basques from the town of Cambo-les-Bains, but with the Basque passion for pastry-cream filled confections, it reflects tastes on both sides of the border, France & Spain. While always distinguished by the presence of a filling, a Gâteau Basque can have a spongy cake or a crisp pastry exterior, and the filling can consist of pastry cream (plain or almond-flavored), fruit preserves (cherry is common, but other fruits can be used), or ... both. Source: The Traveler's Lunchbox

Wake Me Up When September Ends

2007-07-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

What's going with the world? Most mornings I peruse the net for headlines and news from around the world, and a few days ago, I was just hit with a string of articles that made me just ask, "what the hell is going on here?" I mean fine it's normal to see this stuff in the paper every once in a while... all in the same day.

It began with a story of two girls in Arizona who were duped with counterfeit bills at the lemonade stand. I bet they didn't think of that as an option in Lemonade Tycoon. Seriously, though, it's hard enough to be a kid these days with a war going on, threats of terrorists everywhere, kidnappers, rapers, and now you'll even be targeted by scammers at your lemonade stand.

And talking about war... In Tampa, Fl, junk yard workers found a discarded surface-to-air missile, a.k.a. SAM, lying about.

Experts were drafted in from the nearby MacDill Air Force Base, who quickly identified the object as a Patriot. They said that it was harmless, as it was missing its warhead. MacDill spokesman Lt. Omar Villarreal confirmed that the missile did not contain, in his words, 'the part on top that goes boom.'

Gee... that makes it all better except that the article went on to say that "the missile still had its rocket motor and guidance system." Don't these things cost millions of our tax dollars? And aren't countries like North Korea and the "bad guys" trying to amass this technology? God help us while we simply dump our missiles in an unprotected junk yard and not tell the workers.

Something a little more upsetting was a report out of Jersey City, NJ where a woman found a little something on her lawn one day. What she found was a "AT-4 missile launcher that is used to fire against tanks and buildings. The device was first approved by the U.S. Army in 1985 and its very powerful warheads can penetrate through more than a foot of armor." Officials trying to calm the situation responded with a statement saying the rocket launcher, which is good for one use only, had already been fired. Uhmmm... ok... so this rocket launcher we used and simply discarded on this woman's lawn who also just happens to live in the flight path of a near by airport. WTF!?!

In other news, it is now illegal to take winnings from a defective slot machine. In Elizabeth, IN, prosecutors are considering charges against individuals who collected winnings from a faulty slot machine at Caesars Indiana. The slot machine was handing out $10 for every $1 put in it because of a software defect. There were a number of people who collected from the faulty machine until one of them reported the error.

Kathryn Ford of Louisville, Ky., the gambler who alerted the casino, said going after the other patrons was unfair.

When a slot machine jams and gamblers lose money, they don't get it back, she said.

"It doesn't work in the reverse," Ford said. "They need to forget it and move on."

At least one person has her head on straight, even if the prosecutors and the casino don't seem to have their head on right.

If all else is going to hell, why not just murder and steal. Well, at least the latter is what one bird in the UK has begun to do.

Shop assistant Sriaram Nagarajan said: "He's got it down to a fine art. He waits until there are no customers around and I'm standing behind the till, then he raids the place.

The bird is even picky as he only takes one particular kind. He has become quite a celebrity with the locals too. They have named him Sam and even pay for the bird's chips. I'm lost for words when even the wildlife get into it. Thanx Susan for this one.

Culinary Word of the Day: Honeywater
Yesterday's, July 25, post listed honeywater as an ingredient in the Candy Cap Mushroom Martini. I tried finding information about honeywater and found very little about it. I did end up with what looks like a Swiss recipe from Astray.com. Honeywater is a strengthening drink - for a cold, or before going swimming in Lake Lugano. I'm not certain if this is in fact the same honeywater that was in Jen's drink, but if anyone knows more about honeywater, please do leave a comment.

Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city...

2007-07-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose? The lights are much brighter there...
You can forget all your troubles; forget all your cares, and go
Downtown -- things will be great when you're
Downtown -- you'll find a place for sure
Downtown -- everything's waiting for you
-From Petula Clark's Downtown

Few of you may know that Jen used to volunteer at St. Anthony's Soup Kitchen in San Francisco for years. Along the way Jen made many friends, but one in particular remains close to Jen's heart. She's a mature, retired lady named Pat. I've met her only a handful of times but what a lovely, kind person she is, so generous and joyous. Last week, the three of us met up for our semi-monthly get together at Downtown Restaurant in Berkeley, CA.

Downtown is a restaurant and bar that caters toward yuppies to established professionals and the occasional neighborhood regular with a big emphasis on the arts. Large, modern canvas works are hung throughout the large, honey-oak accented dining room. They also have a stage against the far wall for their Jazz concerts occasionally held there. Their food unfortunately does not live up to the expressiveness of the art that is displayed. Their menu was a bit confusing as they wanted to mix the different dining styles of tapas with normal entrée plates. Thus, entrée prices ranged from $12.50 for the Spring Risotto to $26.00 for Grilled New York Steak without indicating how much food you really are getting for that price. Is it a small, expensive tapa or fair-priced, full and rich dinner plate? Well the three of us ended up ordering the salmon, sole, and pork shoulder plates, that ultimately were good but forgettable, with a bottle of equally forgettable wine. The sole was well prepared but the dish as whole lacked pizazz. The salmon and pork dishes were essentially the same dish: only so-so cooked protein over risotto & cherry tomatoes. Their desserts had a little more flair as they tried things like a corn crème brûlée (for those who remember Jen had a corn custard tart on her menu at the same). The corn crème brûlée was the best of the three desserts we had but lacked the some corn flavor that Jen's custard had. In contrast to their food menu, the drink menu was very interesting with peach-passion fruit soda and a variety of cocktails made with St. George Spirits famous for their Hanger One vodka distilled right here in the bay area on the old base in Alameda. The weirdest listing we found was an Aqua Perfecta Candy Cap Mushroom Vodka. Upon ordering it, our waiter did a double-take and asked if we were sure that's what we wanted. Thinking it would be just straight over ice, it was a surprise to see it come in a martini glass. It turns out even the bartender thought it wouldn't be good, so he doctored it with Madeira, honeywater, lemon juice, and a lemon twist. It was it definitely tasted like a plain English button mushroom but worked surprisingly well. It worked much like how olives or onions do in a martini. The Candy Cap was certainly the most expressive part of the meal aside from the company, of course. In conclusion, we'd rate Downtown as a good experience, but there are many other impressive restaurants we'd rather eat in downtown Berkeley. Maybe we'd come back for a jazz concert...maybe...

Culinary Word of the Day: Madeira
Named after the Portuguese-owned island where it's made, Madeira is a distinctive fortified wine that's subjected to a lengthy heating process during maturation. It can range in color from pale blond to deep tawny and runs the gamut from quite dry to very sweet. The pale golden Sercial is the lightest, driest Madeira, while the rich, dark Malmsey is the sweetest. Bual and Verdelho are both medium-sweet wines. The flavor of American-made Madeiras cannot compare with that of the Portuguese originals, but then they're a fraction of the price. The lighter Madeiras are often served as apéritifs, while the richer, darker Malmsey is perfect for after-dinner sipping. Madeira is also an excellent cooking wine and can be used in both sweet and savory preparations. Source: Food Lover's Companion

I ♥ iPhone

2007-07-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

Oh my iPhone...

Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept stone, besmear'd with sluttish time.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils root out the work of masonry,
Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
'Gainst death and all oblivious enmity
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room,
Even in the eyes of all posterity
That wear this world out to the ending doom.
So, till the judgment that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.
-William Shakespeare, Sonnet 55

Oh how I do love thee, my future iPhone. But how does one justify 6+ crisp Franklins to hold your slick frame in one's hand, to "oh and ah" at your touchscreen interface, and to dance about with your iPod features while flipping through web pages with your amazing browser capabilities.

I could go on and on about the wonders that Steve Jobs imbued upon this device, but in the end, I do not have one in my hand. While the geeky side of me craves the new toy, the practical side cannot part with that much money for phone. I've devised a compromise to satisfy Id and Ego. Sometime before the iPhone was released I purchased a bunch of Apple Stock (aapl). What I'm banking on is to make money on the iPhone craze, and with those gains, purchase the phone. Essentially, this allows the hype to pay for my craving. Now, it being about 3 weeks since its release, I've already made an unrealized profit of almost one and a quarter iPhones. I'm at the point where I should just sell and start enjoying my iPhone. But that pesky sense of common keeps telling me that I should wait for the v2.0 or at least until my current phone is dead. Needless to say, my Id is unamused and has had to suffice by listening to my Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollow audiobook while enjoying the blackberry pie Jen made me over the weekend. ;)

Fun math:
The second Pizza Theorem
What is the volume of a pizza with thickness a and radius z?

pi z z a

Culinary Word of the Day: Chenna
A fresh, unripened cheese used throughout India, although it's most popular in the eastern part of the country. It is made from cow's or buffalo's milk and resembles a cottage cheese that's been kneaded until it's closer to the consistency of a light cream cheese. Chenna, which is available in Indian markets, is used primarily in a variety of Bengali desserts. Source: Food Lover's Companion

Italian Sparkling Wines

2007-07-21T11:24:00.001-07:00

In honor of the Wine Club meeting tonight, I'm going to give my nod to Italian Sparkling Wines.

Every couple months or so, Jen and our good friend call together a meeting of the Wine Club which they both founded. The format is for each person to buy a bottle between $8-20, Jen would research the wines, and then she would report her findings while members do tastings over dinner. It's a great social affair as well as a fun way to learn about wine. I am not a member because, well, I don't really drink wine among other factors, but I do learn a lot from the Jen's research on wine.

For the Wine Club meeting tonight, our esteemed friend, Amit Shah, choose an Italian Red Sparkling Wine. What makes his wine interesting is that most people in America are used to French-style sparkling wines, and also, among the less common Italian sparkling wines, a red sparkling is even more rare. Furthermore, the red sparkling wine was a style highly regarded by European royality and that was one of the inspirations for why the winery choose to make this wine. What makes Italian sparkling different than the French variety is the Italian use of carbonation to make the bubbly part as opposed to French-style of bottle fermentation. They do not pump gas into the wine like carbonated soda but trap it by what is called the charmat method. The Italian also have grades of their bubbles, spumante and frizzante, meaning full sparkling and slightly sparkling, respectively. These grades are more easily created using the charmat method.

One of my all-time favorite wines to drink is Moscato d'Asti. It's a sweet semi-sparkling from Italy's Piedmont region. I would liken it to grape version of Orangina but with higher quality bubbles. Epicurious says of it to have "a mild level of sweetness balanced by vibrant acidity." We got a few bottles from our friend Rachel and her husband David a little while back. Whenever a bottle was opened and despite my lack of interest in wines, I'd drink the Moscato like it was water on a hot day without even knowing it.

Culinary Word of the Day: Charmat Method
A bulk method for making SPARKLING WINES developed around 1910 by Frenchman Eugène Charmat. The Charmat process involves faster and less expensive production techniques using large pressurized tanks throughout production. These interconnecting tanks retain the pressure (created by the production of CARBON DIOXIDE during FERMENTATION) throughout the entire process. For many winemakers, the Charmat process replaces the expensive MÉTHODE CHAMPENOISE technique of secondary fermentation in bottles, thereby enabling them to produce inexpensive sparkling wines. Charmat wines can be good (although, once poured, they often lose their bubbles quickly) but are usually not as esteemed as méthode champenoise sparkling wines. The Charmat process is superior, however, to the technique used by some producers of simply pumping carbon dioxide gas into STILL WINE (like carbonated soft drinks are made). The Charmat process is also called bulk process and in the United States, wines may be labeled "Bulk Process" or "Charmat Process" (the latter being preferred). In France this process is also called cuve close; in Italy it's known as metodo charmat or sometimes autoclave (the Italian name for the sealed tanks). In Spain it's called granvas, and in Portugal, método continuo. Source: Epicurious

Home View of the Corn Custard Tart

2007-07-21T11:20:00.001-07:00

IMG_2426,
originally uploaded by InnerSpirit.

Here's a view of the old Corn Custard Tart with Blackberries without the Apricot Soda. (Yes, it is as good as it looks!) Too bad it's off the menu now. Please send in your pictures or links of Jen's Desserts if you'd like them to be posted on Man Behind the Chef. I know you wanna see more of this yummy goodness.

New dessert... and a new assistant

2007-07-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Jen took off her Corn Custard Tart with Blackberries and Apricot Soda yesterday. She took a couple of the remaining tarts home and, god, were they good! Corn custard was apparently too savory for one of the owner's tastes. Such a shame...sometimes I wonder if the restaurant is limiting Jen's creativity. In any case, she's come up with a new concoction: the Chèvre Panna Cotta with Blackberry Compote and Macadamia Tuile. This should be a real treat for you goat cheese fans and may even surprise those of you who are unfamiliar with or not fans of chèvre.

Also, I have a little secret to tell which is Jen has a new assistant. As reported earlier, Jen's old assistant, Marty, left Jen for green pastures up in Oregon almost two weeks ago. Jen's been trying out new assistants ever since while having to cope with a broken ice cream machine and working longer and more days to cover what two people would have done. I can't name the new assistant just yet but stay tuned. Jen's very happy to have found this person.

Culinary Word of the Day: Chèvre
French for "goat," chèvre is a pure white goat's-milk cheese with a delightfully tart flavor that easily distinguishes it from other cheeses. Some of the better known chèvres include banon, bûcheron and montrachet. "Pur chèvre" on the label ensures that the cheese is made entirely from goat's milk; others may have the addition of cow's milk. Chèvres can range in texture from moist and creamy to dry and semifirm. They come in a variety of shapes including cylinders, discs, cones and pyramids, and are often coated in edible ash or leaves, herbs or pepper. Store, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Old chèvre takes on a sour taste and should be discarded. See also pyramide. Source: Food Lover's Companion

Pork bun story was a hoax... or was it...

2007-07-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

On July 12, I posted a story about the Chinese cooks putting chemically flavored cardboard into steamed pork buns, and now, apparently the Chinese government is saying it was all a rouse, put on by an unethical reporter. The freelance reporter has been detained and confessed to police that he produced the fake story under pressure for having nothing after spending two weeks investigating pork bun quality. The news station where the original story aired issued a profound apology and "vowed to prevent inaccurate news coverage in the future." Check out the new story here.

I, on the other hand, am suspicious of the whole chain of events. This may sound a bit like a tin-foil hat story, but I come from a family that escaped the communist take over of Vietnam. I have been to communist Vietnam and have experienced first hand the power of the communist propaganda machine. With the Olympics coming up in 2008, China has much to lose by letting any negative reports leak out about food, safety, or security. Even in the financial sector, I've heard of many analysts speculate that the Chinese Government would use all its power to prevent any large dip in the Chinese market at least until after the Olympics. And you cannot deny the fact that China doesn't not have a great track record when it comes to free and unadulterated speech. They don't call it "the Great Firewall of China" for nothing. So who's to say they didn't arrest this poor sap and put out the story to clean up his mess. Maybe I do want to go to the Olympics now...if just to verify the story myself. ;)

Culinary Word of the Day: Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food by first sealing it in air-tight jars, cans or pouches, and then heating it to a temperature that destroys contaminating microorganisms. Because of the danger posed by Clostridium botulinum (the causative agent of botulism) and other pathogens, the only safe method of canning most foods is under conditions of both high heat and pressure, normally at temperatures of 240-250°F (116-121°C). Foods that must be pressure canned include most vegetables, meats, seafood, poultry, and dairy products. The only foods that may be safely canned in a boiling water bath (without high pressure) are highly acidic foods with a pH below 4.6[1], such as fruits, pickled vegetables, or other foods to which acid has been added. Source: Wikipedia

No, I didn't say help. I said... Yelp!

2007-07-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have heard or even used yelp, and others of you may even be one of those infamous Yelpers. Either way, it's a place to get reviews restaurants and businesses by regular, everyday patrons. I'm not a friend or foe to yelp as they have not been particularly friendly to my favorite pastry chef nor have they been even-handed in many of the reviews I've read but they do offer something to the growing masses. A rather infamous yelper, who is a friend of a friend, did write this comical review of an old standing, exclusive establishment that goes by the nickname, "the drunk tank." Read it here.

Carlsberg and mentos

2007-07-19T12:43:00.001-07:00

We all know what happens when you add mentos to diet coke.. but what happens when you add mentos to beer?

Read a book!

2007-07-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

I was gonna write a big post about wide world of peas or do a shoutout to Anne (we miss you, btw! Hope you still read this.) But I found the best rap video ever! For those you know Jen... you'll understand why...

Read A Book!

Lyrics:
Yeah! Wazzap, y’all? This yo’ boy G-Mic. See, I usually do songs with, like, hooks and concepts and shit, right? Well, fuck that, man! I’m tryin’ to go platinum, so I’m gonna rock this shit! Check this out, y’all:

Read a book! Read a book! Read a motherfuckin’ book!
Read a book! Read a book! Read a motherfuckin’ book!
Read a book! Read a book! Read a motherfuckin’ book!
Read a book! Read a book! Read a motherfuckin’ book!

R-E-A-D A B-O-O-Kaaaay
R-E-A-D A B-O-O-Kaaaay
R-E-A-D A B-O-O-Kaaaay
R-E-A-D A B-O-O-Kaaaay

Not a sports page, not a magazine, but a BOOK, nigga! A fuckin’ book, nigga! Yeah!
Not a sports page, not a magazine, but a BOOK, nigga! A fuckin’ book, nigga! Yeah! Not a sports page, not a magazine, but a BOOK, nigga! A fuckin’ book!

Raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ goddamn kids!
Raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ goddamn kids!
Raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ goddamn kids!
Raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ kids, raise yo’ goddamn kids!

Now, yo’ body need water, so drink that shit!
Yo’ body needs water, so drink that shit!
Yo’ body needs water, so drink that shit!
Yo’ body needs water, so drink that shit!

Buy some land! Buy some land! Fuck spinnin’ rims!
Buy some land! Buy some land! Fuck spinnin’ rims!
Buy some land! Buy some land! Fuck spinnin’ rims!
Buy some land! Buy some land! Fuck spinnin’ rims!

Brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ goddamn teef!
Brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ goddamn teef!
Brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ goddamn teef!
Brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ teef, brush yo’ goddamn teef!

And wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!
Wear deodorant, nigga!

It’s called Speed Stick! It’s not expensive!
It’s called Speed Stick! It’s not expensive!
It’s called Speed Stick! It’s not expensive!
It’s called Speed Stick! It’s not expensive!

Now read a book, read a book, read a motherfuckin’ book!
Read a book, read a book, read a motherfuckin’ book
Read a book, read a book, read a [explosion]

Yay China for the new Pork Bun Receipe!

2007-07-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

The Associated Press put out an interesting food article today about Chinese Pork Buns. The headline was... Beijing steamed buns include cardboard. Yes, you read that right. The original report comes from China Central Television where they led an undercover investigation on baozi, or steamed pork buns, in the growing Chaoyang district of Beijing. Baozi are a common snack in China as they are in China Town restaurants across America. Steam cooked in large bamboo baskets, they have an outer skin made from wheat or rice flour and a filling of sliced pork, but the new filling recipe called for 60% minced, caustic-soda-soaked cardboard and 40% fatty meat with some powdered seasoning for good measure. Even the interviewed cook admitted it didn't taste like much.

"This baozi filling is kind of tough. Not much taste," [the reporter] says. "Can other people taste the difference?"

"Most people can't. It fools the average person," the maker says. "I don't eat them myself."

Doesn't look like I want to go to the the 2008 Olympics anymore...

Culinary Word of the Day: Banh bao
Bánh bao in Vietnamese. Banh bao is a ball shaped dumpling with pork meat, onions, eggs, mushrooms and vegetables inside. The steamed bun often has ground pork, Chinese sausage and a portion of a hard boiled egg inside. This delicacy originated with the baozi from China but was adapted by the Vietnamese and is also available in most other countries with Vietnamese populations. Source: Wikipedia

Anglaise Anyone?

2007-07-11T15:17:00.000-07:00

If you been by to the Salt House lately, looking for some of Jen's yummy ice cream to cool down from the summer weather, you may have noticed there is none to be had. Jen's ice cream machine, the contraption at the center of such controversy, has been finicky since the day it came it. Its short history has included starting rivalries, requiring a 20-minute reset cycle, leaking lid, and shorting out electrical receptacles, and now it even electrocuted Jen's assistant, not too badly thank god. He is in good health and with all his hair not permanently spiky. With such a hazard, it has been taken out of commission for the time being to see if it will even be salvageable. Thus, Jen has reverted to a modified limited menu. Many desserts will be without ice cream and others will be replaced with anglaise.

Those of you who are not in the know may be surprised to learned that ice cream requires a machine. It's function is to whip the ice cream base, or anglaise, while it's being frozen. The whipping motion incorporates air and breaks up ice crystals to make a fine, pleasing texture for the ice cream. The anglaise sauce is simply the unfrozen, unwhipped, but beautifully flavored ice cream base. The same flavor concepts will apply to Jen's modified desserts, but the original intended textures (and temperatures) will be off.

Let's all cross our fingers, and hope that the ice cream machine will be fixed soon.

Culinary Word of the Day: Crème Anglaise
The French term for a rich custard sauce that can be served hot or cold over cake, fruit or other dessert. Source: Food Lover's Companion

Note: Do check out the Culinary Word of the Day on July 2 for more about Custard.

Extra Note: On July 9, I posted Birch Molasses as the Culinary Word of the Day. I have since been corrected. Proper molasses is a byproduct of sugar refining process, and thus Birch Syrup, which is typically not ever refined down to a solid, cannot yield molasses. I've changed the July 9th CWotD to be Birch Syrup.

Private Honeydew reporting for duty!

2007-07-09T12:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend Jen and I were in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA to celebrate the wedding of our our good friends, Liz McMunn & Keith Tetangco at the La Playa Hotel. The event was an amazing affair filled with magical energy of love and happiness. Jen was the Private of Team Honeydew, as the bridesmaids called themselves.

Her teammates were Captain Honeydew, a.k.a. Amanda Molina, and

First-mate, Hannah Dworkin.

The wedding had a sea theme, hence the nautical titles, fitting for a wedding in a town "by the sea." Seashells and starfish adorned all the beautiful decorations including the name tags, center pieces, and the garland around the gazebo, and the reception was held in the Poseidon Room.

Moreover, the bride and groom have never looked so happy. We already knew the two were ridiculously in love; their wedding was a beautiful affirmation and joyous celebration of that love.

Along the way, I got to spend time with a lot of old friends like Dr. Colin Dewey, Elmo Pittenger, Peterangelo Vallis, Captain Honeydew, and Brent McCullough. I also made lots of new friends: Cindy, The San Diego Twins, Elmo's girlfriend, and a cute little girl, named Amanda, who loved to dance. Stop by my flickr photostream to see pictures of the wedding. I can't say my photos are any good for this event... I was just having too much fun to stop and pull out my camera.

Bonus sidenote... the wedding happened 7-7-07! A lucky day for the lucky couple. Liz & Keith's Wedding even made their local paper in Merced.

Culinary Word of the Day: Birch Syrup
Syrups, sauces, and confections can be made from birch syrup. Similar to maple syrup, birch syrup is "rich and spicy sweet, with a wonderful caramel-like flavor...produced on our homestead in Alaska's Susitna Valley, the vast river valley of the Alaska Range. Each spring we collect the sap from the paper birch and evaporate it to syrup in much the same way pure maple syrup is produced. It takes approximately 100 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of birch syrup; maple by comparison is approximately 40:1." Source: Debra's List. Another great read about Birch Sap is the Alaska Science Forum.

What's up with the intersections last Saturday?!?

2007-07-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I felt like I lost one of my nine lives. Coming home from a leisurely trip to Jen's parent's in the Sunset District, I came to the intersection of Taraval and 19th. It was a very common experience for me to take Taraval to Laguada Honda to get over the hill. Easy peasy ... or so I thought.

I was in the left lane of east bound Taraval right behind a Toyota Corolla. When our light turned green he pulled up into the intersection, stopped, and turned on his left turn blinker. I HATE PEOPLE who don't indicate to show their intentions. Not knowing he was going to turn, I had pulled up behind him, fully stuck in the intersection. Well, Mr. Toyota didn't have it very easy and had to wait until the light turned red before the westbound traffic paused for him to go. That left me with a problem, I am stuck in the intersection and have a red light. My instinct was pull forward and go through the intersection. Well, 19th is very wide 6 lanes, center divider and some extra for parking. Before I even got to 3/4ths of 19th Ave, the northbound cars were already moving. Sh*t! The van in the farthest lane also gunned it putting him in a perfect trajectory to broadside my little "Island Girl" pickup truck. That instant I had to swerve nearly 15 feet around the path of the van to barely clear my pickup from an early demise, let alone save my own heath. After pulling though that ordeal the driver of the van, who is obviously at fault because my being in the intersection gave me the right of way, had the tenacity to still honk at me. Just thank goodness no one was hurt.

Later that same day... that overwhelming feeling that I lost another one of my nine lives came again. This time it happened in Oakland at my house that I'm currently selling. I was mowing my lawn when a crazy driver rounded a corner too fast and actually RAN INTO MY HOUSE!!! My house sits a little off to the right of a T-intersection and is uphill significantly from the street. This driver was speeding up the center stick of the T and made wide right that he could not control.

He ended up careening into the side of my stairs that leads up to the house.

The impact actually lifted up and broke a huge cement slab that was my walkway.
The idiot driver actually got out of his car looking all dazed and confused. I was gonna run and see if he was ok and check if there was anything I can do to help.
However, when he saw me standing there, he got into his car and just sped away...

leaving a trail of car fluids, tire marks from burning out,

car parts strewn about,

and of course, the damage to my house.

I seriously was in a state of shock and could not believe what happened but did my best to catch his license plate. Well, immediately after, Jen came out of the house and a salesman who was up the street and saw the whole accident came to the scene. The three of us could produced a partial license plate, the fact the car was a new model Chrysler or Dodge sedan, and that the driver was a 5'10"-6' black male with bald head light tee shirt and jeans. Jen hopped on the phone and told the cops everything we had. They said they'd be on there way. Well it took nearly two and half hours for the cops to show up to take our statement. But in that time, we did uncover a critical piece of evidence...

The idiot left his license plate behind.

This is gonna end up being an insurance claim and nothing more, but if you see a newish silver or green Dodge with frontal damage with the license plate 5QTD395, call the cops and give me a holler. I'd love to have a few words with that idiot.

Culinary Word of the Day: Vermouth
A fortified wine that some historians date back to the time of Hippocrates, when it was used as a medicinal. The word "vermouth" comes from the German wermut or vermut ("wormwood") which, before it was declared poisonous, was the principal flavoring ingredient. Today's vermouths are flavored with a complex formula of myriad botanicals including herbs, spices, flowers and seeds, the exact recipe depending on the producer. There are two primary styles of vermouth-sweet (red) and dry (white). All vermouths are derived from white wines. Sweet vermouth was introduced in 1786 by Italian Antonio Benedetto Carpano. It has a slightly sweet flavor and a reddish-brown color from the addition of caramel. This Italian-style vermouth is served as an apéritif and used in slightly sweet cocktails like the americano. Dry vermouth, created by Frenchman Joseph Noilly in 1800, is also called French vermouth, although today it's also produced in other countries including Italy and the United States. Dry vermouth is served as an apéritif and used in dry cocktails like martinis. Drinks made with half sweet and half dry vermouth are referred to as "perfect," as in a perfect manhattan. A vermouth's flavor begins to dissipate as soon as it's opened so it should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 3 months. Source: Food Lover's Companion

Blackberry corn custard tart with apricot sparkler

2007-07-03T11:52:00.001-07:00

Blackberry corn custard tart with apricot sparkler,
originally uploaded by susebraids.

Here's a picture of Jen's newest dessert courtesy of Susan Juan. More pictures of Jen's dessert can be found on Susan's Flickr Photostream.

Derelict of my Duty...

2007-07-02T23:05:00.000-07:00

Apologies to the readers who have been looking forward to new posts on Man Behind the Chef and have not gotten their fix. I'd like to share news that Jen's yummy, warm Rhubarb Tart is off the menu... and in its place our favorite pastry chef has created a Corn Custard Tart with Blackberries. This concoction is a recipe derived from one of the most difficult projects she's ever embarked on, a corn flan. The dessert also comes with an extra treat of Apricot Soda Shot on the side! The soda base is apricot poached in vermouth infused with juniper berries. The vermouth and juniper berry flavor combination is a classic from gin martinis (gin is flavored with juniper berries). Also, many chefs poach with white wine, and vermouth is a type of white wine with aromatics. When served, the soda water is mixed with the base to form a spritzy shot.

Culinary Word of the Day: Custard
A puddinglike dessert (made with a sweetened mixture of milk and eggs) that can either be baked or stirred on stovetop. Custards require slow cooking and gentle heat in order to prevent separation (curdling). For this reason, stirred custards are generally made in a double boiler; baked custards in a water bath. A safeguard when making custard is to remove it from the heat when it reaches 170° to 175°F on a candy thermometer. Custards may be variously flavored with chocolate, vanilla, fruit, and so on. Stirred custards are softer than baked custards and are often used as a sauce or as an ice cream base. Source: Food Lover's Companion

Millions of Sprinkles. Sprinkles for you and Sprinkles for me.

2007-06-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Jen was at Disneyland celebrating her good friend's, Liz McMunn, bachelorettehood. While she was in vast land of the angels, Jen picked up an Oprah favorite as a treat for the house. Featured on such shows as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and The Tyra Banks Show and in print such as Bon Appétit, The New York Times, Sunset Magazine, and New York Magazine, I'm talking about a half-dozen cupcakes from Sprinkles Cupcakes. The self-proclaimed original cupcake bakery has revolutionized the pastry world by building a name for itself through miniature albeit full flavored cupcakes.

At $3.50 each, they weren't cheap, but Jen saw people leaving with the yummy treats by the dozen. San Francisco's Citizen Cupcake is our local equivalent though they some how manage to charge $4.50 a cupcake, making Sprinkles look like a bargain. Costs aside what matters most is the tastes. The cupcakes are baked daily from scratch. And despite their expansive list of flavors only a handful are served each day. Jen brought home a half dozen of which I tasted 4 flavors: fragrant lemon cake with lemon-vanilla frosting with zest, Belgian dark chocolate cake with rich mocha frosting, southern style light chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, and Madagascar bourbon vanilla cake with coconut cream cheese frosting. The lemon had great flavor but was a bit could use more of it. The looks of the red velvet was certainly most interesting with a color of red beans found in Vietnamese dessert drinks. Its flavor was most forgettable though. The mocha cupcake was by far Jen's favorite with rich coffee flavor in the frosting atop deep chocolaty cake. Coconut would have been probably just as good with its great frosting flavor but being a few days old the cake hand dried out significantly. (Yes, we somehow had cupcakes sitting in our house for more than a few days. Go figure.)

All in all, Sprinkles does deserve praise for an innovative business concept and pretty good execution but maybe not all of what people are clamoring about. At $40 for a dozen cupcakes, that's bordering on highway robbery to me. Then again, if Oprah's endorsing you, I guess you can charge anything you damn well please.

Culinary World of the Day: Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla
Made from beans grown on the island of Madagascar, Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla is the king of vanillas. Its creamy, sweet flavor blends beautifully with a variety of foods. Source Nielsen-Massey Vanillas

Is it Irish coffee if you use protestant whiskey?

2007-06-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

Jen has put up two new desserts over the weekend to replace the out-of-season Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream Cake and wintry Carrot Cake. The first, which is her new favorite, is the Coffee Vacherin. It consists of layers of meringue discs and coffee ice cream with an Irish coffee sauce and roasted cocoa nibs. Jen gave me a taste of the coffee ice cream as a late birthday gift and, man, was it yummy! The second dessert is the Raspberry Poppy Seed Cake served with a Lemon Mint Granita. Doesn't that sound refreshing after a long, hot summer day? Once again, I invite everyone to come on by the Salt House and checkout Mrs. Celebrity Chef Jen's newest offerings.

Culinary Word of the Day: Vacherin
A dessert consisting of several crisp meringue rings stacked on top of each other and placed on a meringue or pastry base. Alternatively, the rings may be made with almond paste. This "container" may be filled with ice cream or crème Chantilly and/or various fruits. Source The Food Lover's Companion

An Evening at the Paramount

2007-06-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I posted lyrics to a little song in the tune of Brian McKnight's Back at One. My inspiration was that on Friday, April 27, 2007, we saw him in concert at the Oakland Paramount Theater. If you have been to a R&B concert there, you will know what I'm talking about. Attendees treat an evening at the Paramount like how most people imagine you'd dress to go to the opera or ballet. People are dressed to the nines. Of course, you get the few folks that think a sweat suit is formal wear but on average, people were wearing their Sunday best. Well maybe not their Sunday best but evening wear best. The show featured a number of headliners including:

Sunshine Anderson
Algebra Blessett

And... Brian McKnight

I'll stop the world and...fonds avec vous

2007-06-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

Yes... I have dusted the cover of that old jacket and brought out my high school French to announce Jen's new dessert, Chocolate Fondant Cake. The dessert was unleashed unto the world two days ago on Wednesday. It's a chocolate fondant cake with pistachio ice cream and cherries on top. By the way, when you read fondant... don't think wedding cake... think more like the French word, fondre, meaning to melt. Mmmmm... The thought of the chocolaty, melty goodness makes my mouth salivate just writing this. Try it out today!

In another note, Google Street View was unveiled recently. Lo and behold, guess what it caught... my old BMW. Check it out here.

Culinary Word of the Day: Fondant
Fondant is a confection used as a filling or coating for cakes, pastries, and candies or sweets. In its simplest form, it is sugar and water cooked to a point, specifically soft-ball stage, cooled slightly, and stirred or beaten until it is an opaque mass of creamy consistency. The word fondant comes from the Old French fondre and Latin fundere, meaning "to melt." -Source Wikipedia

5+ Day Wrap-up! Now with new Dessert Alert!

2007-05-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

So I've been slacking. My new obsession has already gone wayside to my newest struggle to be an adult: trying to sell my house. I own a home in Oakland, CA. It was a financial adventure I choose to take instead of moving in with Jen almost 3 years ago. Some of you may have even heard the results on the day I got my keys... I called Jen up told her how I had made a mistake and should have took her up on the offer. In any case, it all worked out, and here I am today with too many living options and too few monetary choices.

My goal was to have it up on the market today, May 15, 2007. A lot of my friends and family (probably, even you) have wondered why Jen and I have disappeared. Well, its because we became spackling, painting, woodworking, gardening, plumbing, tiling, and moving experts. Every spare moment has been dedicated to getting the house to be ready for sale. We even moved over for a few nights, setting up a temporary bedroom and stocking the refrigerator. So here we are on the day of the deadline, we aren't done completely. We'll have to keep on pluggin away until we get it done.

In the meantime, come check out Jen's new dessert creation. It called the Strawberry Trifle, and it served in a glass canning jar for every to visually oohh and ahh about all yummy layers. Salt House just got a load of new jars, so hopefully, they won't sell out so quick!

Culinary Word of the Day: Trifle
Originally from England, this dessert consists of sponge cake or ladyfingers doused with spirits (usuallysherry) covered with jam and custard, topped with whipped cream and garnished with candied or fresh fruit, nuts or grated chocolate. Source: Food Lover's Companion

Shaving the Corneal Flap

2007-05-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

Warning: this post isn't for the squeamish. It contains talk and images of eye surgery.

On Tuesday, I had the honor of taking my good buddy, Seth St. Martin, to Dr. Mandel of Horizon Vision Center in San Leandro for Wavefront Lasik Surgery. The boy had some of the poorest vision I know of all my friends. His mother would had fears about him getting hurt because if anything happened to his glasses he would be useless. But with a stroke of luck and some very generous parents, Seth was able to alleviate his mother's fear for now he is seeing better than ever.

The whole procedure took all of 15 minutes, but the preparations and the waiting dragged on for almost 3 hours. The timing all worked out though as Seth and I used the ample time to chat and catch up. In three hours, there was paperwork to sign, eye drops to be administered, and Valium to kick in as Seth was such a worry wort. One of the coolest parts of the preparations was when Seth asked if I wanted to watch the operation. I happily volunteered. By the time Seth was up, we watched a packed waiting room empty out, and at $4000 a person, we quickly realized how well this profession is doing. Eventually, Seth was called to the OR where he laid down with a worry stone in one hand and a teddy bear clinched in the other. The nurses, the surgeon, and hunking, beige laser machine were hovering all around his head. After he settled in, a nurse came and delivered his glasses to me and brought me in back. It was quite inspiring to know I was the last person to hang onto them while they were still useful.

The nurse had led me to the "gallery section" which basically consisted of waiting room chairs along the hallway that faced a large, mini-blinded window of the operation room. I opted to stand right up to the window, though, to get the best view possible, but most of the time, I ended up watching the monitor that focused on Seth's cornea the whole time.

The procedure happens on one eye at a time; for Seth, it was his right then his left. They begin by numbing the eye with a topical anesthetic and inserting a speculum to keep is eye open. Next, the surgeon marks the edges of Seth's cornea with a circular stamp giving the surgeon a reference to realign the cornea at the end of the procedure.

Then a metal ring is placed over the cornea that is the exact size of Seth's iris. At that point, a electric device is attached to the ring and shaves a thin flap off the top of the cornea. The nurse clears the device, and the surgeon then carefully flips open the corneal flap to expose a lower portion of the cornea where the laser removes a microscopic layer that corrects his refractive error.

All that is left is to rinse with antibiotics, carefully fold the flap back in place, and realign it so the circles match up.

As soon as it was over and the surgeon gave the thumbs up, Seth was led to an optometrist's chair to have his flaps examined up close. Despite instructions to keep is eyes closed, he had already noticed he could make out faces and read signs better than before. We were both blown away how quickly the results were. Unfortunately, during the initial trial of his new eyes, he somehow managed to ruin the alignment of this right corneal flap. So, the surgeon had to come in and brush the flap back into place.

It was nerve racking as hell for my good buddy, but the whole procedure was remarkably quick and painless. Seth spent the evening with this friends and loved-ones supposed keeping his eyes closed as instructed. His girlfriend (Susan), Jeff, and I were charged with being the eye police to keep his eyes closed. Seth spent the following day with Susan shopping for expensive sunglasses.

Culinary Word of the Day: Portobello Mushroom
In honor of my vegetarian friend, I've chosen something I have enjoyed grilling for him in the past. A portobello mushroom is an extremely large, dark brown mushroom that is simply the fully mature form of the crimino, which in turn is a variation of the common cultivated white mushroom. The name "portobello" began to be used in the 1980s as a brilliant marketing ploy to popularize an unglamorous mushroom that, more often than not, had to be disposed of because growers couldn't sell them. The portobello mushroom, which can easily measure 6 inches in diameter, has an open, flat cap. Because it's the elder of the species, the portobello's gills are fully exposed, which means that some of the mushroom's moisture has evaporated. The reduced moisture concentrates and enriches the flavor and creates a dense, meaty texture. Portobellos can be found in gourmet produce markets as well as many supermarkets. Their stems are very woody and should be removed (but saved for soups, stocks, etc.). The caps can be used chopped, as with most mushrooms, but the portobello is much more dramatic used whole. Source: Food Lover's Companion

Back at One...

2007-04-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

Back at One... (in the tune of Brian McKnight's song of the same name)

One... It's like a dream come true.
Two... Just wanna be alone.
Three... Girl, it's plain to see... the butcher shouldn't share with me.
Four... It's so happy to go one from three
Five... Play my own tunes just for me
If ever I believe my work is done... then I start Back at One......

So Incredible... the way things work themselves out...
And all emotional, once you know what it's all about, babe...
And undesirable... for us to be together...
Never would have of made it very far...
Cause we can only share our table so much longer...
Cause...

One... It's like a dream come true.
Two... Just wanna be alone.
Three... Girl, it's plain to see... the butcher shouldn't share with me.
Four... It's so happy to go one from three
Five... Play my own tunes just for me
If ever I believe my work is done... then I start Back at One......

Say farewell to the dark of night... I see the coming of my room...
I feel like a little child... whose life has just begun...
My room opened up to me and breathed new life
Into this tiny room of mine...
You threw out the life line... just in the Nick of Tiimmmeeee.....

One... It's like a dream come true.
Two... Just wanna be alone.
Three... Girl, it's plain to see... the butcher shouldn't share with me.
Four... It's so happy to go one from three
Five... Play my own tunes just for me
If ever I believe my work is done... then I start Back at One......

It's official... (Well, it has been official for almost a week now) Jen has finally got her own room. No more sharing with two other coworkers on a tiny worktable. Jen was so excited about the whole thing. One of the first things she's asked me was to buy her an Ipod dock/radio because she can now play her own music.

Culinary Word of the Day: Mise en place
To have all your ingredients prepared and ready to go before you start cooking. Translated from French, “to put in place.” Source: Reluctant Gourmet

Mi Pueblo Es Su Pueblo...

2007-04-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

According to WordNet 1.7.1 by Princeton University, pueblo means a communal village built by Indians in the southwestern U.S, but in Spanish, pueblo means something more general. The Spanish definition incorporates folk, nation, people. And what could be more a fitting representation than Mi Pueblo Supermarket on High Street in Oakland. The store captures Latin culture through food, language, and basically, the way it does things. The departments are all labeled in Spanish: Carniceria, Panaderia, Deli Mex, Tortilleria, and Servicio Al Cliente, but in each department, we saw upwards to a dozen people working a single department. Everything we super clean, bright and very happy. The food displayed in each department highlighted ingredients and dishes used in cuisines from all over Mexico. In the panaderia, there was flan, jello with whipped cream, and sugar cookies, and they displayed a hug array of meats and animal parts in the carniceria. Yum... beef tongue. Also amazing was their own freshly made yogurts and variety of Mexican cheeses. They even let you taste their cheeses, dips, and tortilla chips. It's always the way for Jen and I to find these great places long after we should have, but we're happy to have found it! If you're in the neighborhood looking for a great grocery store, check out Mi Pueblo for their wide selection of fresh foods and baked goods in a clean, friendly environment.

Culinary Word of the Day: Queso oaxaca
A soft, Mexican cheese with the consistency of string cheese. Also known as quesillo, this is by far the most popular cheese for making quesadillas. It is a stretched curd cheese, kneaded and wound into balls. It should be pulled apart into thin strings before using to fill tortillas or melted on cooked food. Source: Queso Mexicano

Kendall-Jackson Wine Center

2007-04-19T23:29:00.000-07:00

During the afternoon of our anniversary, Jen and I chose to have a relaxing picnic in the gardens of the Château at Kendall-Jackson Wine Center. We dined on fresh olive bread, exotic goat cheeses, dried fruits, and hot tamales surrounded by flowers, grape vines, vegetables, and fruit trees in a spread of land they aptly named the Culinary and Sensory Gardens. The beautiful floral display was designed by British horticulturalist Adrian Bloom of Blooms of Bressingham while the rest of garden is divided up into the wine sensory garden, which "identify aromas and flavors used to describe wines, and to suggest herbs and produce that pair well with each varietal," and the culinary garden, which highlight the cuisines of France, Italy, Asia and South America, medicinal herb gardens, seasonal fruits, and vegetables.

The gardens were an amazing classroom of culinary learning especially with Jen teaching me along the way. Here's a sampling of what I saw, smelled, and tasted:

I learned about lemon verbena. An herb used to mimic the tastes and smells of lemon. It really does too!

Next, I came across the epazote plant. Used primarily in Latin American cooking, it is difficult to describe, but upon smelling it, there arose a distinct familiarity.

The most mysterious plant I saw was the black current. As Jen's Wine Clubbers will know, when you don't know how to describe a red wine just say it tastes like black current because no one (at least, on one around here) knows what black current is. It is much more prevalent in England where they sell black current jam. I took this picture for the whinos out there. To bad, there wasn't any fruit to taste.

The weirdest vegetable was by far the cardoon plant. My new Food Lover's Companion lists the cardoon as

Tasting like a cross between artichoke, celery and salsify, this delicious vegetable is very popular in France, Italy, and Spain. The cardoon resembles a giant bunch of wide, flat celery and can be found from midwinter to early spring. Though high in sodium, cardoons are a good source of potassium, calcium and iron.

My most memorable image in the gardens was seeing asparagus growing from the ground for the first time. Not unfamiliar by any means, the asparagus plants still invoked a weird imagery of testicles coming up from the ground.

Culinary Word of the Day: Epazote
A pungent, wild herb whose strong flavor is, like that of fresh coriander, an acquired taste. It has flat, pointed leaves and is available dried (and infrequently fresh) in Latin markets. Also called Mexican tea and wormseed, epazote is popular in many bean dishes because it's a carminative, which means it reduces gas. Source: Food Lover's Companion

The Cyrus Experience

2007-04-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

Named after Cyrus Alexander, the first pioneer in Alexander Valley of Sonoma County, Cyrus Restaurant has shot to prominence with the likes of Aqua and Michael Mina in its first few years of opening. With the leadership of Chef Douglas Keane (Rising Star Chef SF Chronicle 2002) and Maitre d’ Nick Peyton (“the god father of white tablecloth dining” SF Chronicle 5/2/2003), Cyrus' accolades come as no surprise. For our first wedding anniversary, Jen and I celebrated by testing the best the restaurant had to offer choosing to go with the full 7-course Chef's Tasting Menu with the Wine Pairings for Jen while I opted for the luscious libations of Scott Beattie.

Before any of those mundane decisions were made, we were seated by a courteous in front of the cheese cart. Jen remarked how we were "going to be in trouble" immediately upon noticing this as we love cheese. Upon situating ourselves, a flurry of waiters swirled around us, and in a span of a couple minutes, we were offered a choice between filtered tap or bottled water, selections from their renowned Champaign & Caviar Cart, a glass from their world-class wines assembled by Sommelier Jim Rollston, Canapés, and a lengthy description of the standard yet sumptuous dinner menu and chef's tasting menu options. At the time, I do remember we felt slightly rushed as the number of faces, motions, and decisions mounted before we could just have a drink. One other note of remark was the extent in which the menu was explained to us. The lengthy oratory explaining how one can mix and match dishes to make 3, 4, or 5-course meals as the waiter towered over us was wholly unnecessary. I witnessed another table straining to look up to the height of the waiter, and the image stayed with me as I caught myself doing the same thing. Jen's perspective on the matter was that the location of the restaurant, located in a hotel in an agricultural area, may bring more clientèle who are not familiar with fine dining. In either case, the expediency in which we closed our menus prompted our waiter on our decision to go with tasting menu.

What a menu it was... None of the dishes we had were from the regular selections. For those unfamiliar with what this means is that the chef must, one, be innovative and create an entire new menu different from his standard affair, and two, he must prep the kitchen in terms of ordering ingredients, plating design, and manpower, as some components take hours to prep, to accommodate all the different items required for his creations. You can view a copy of our menu below.

The most memorable highlights include the "Steak & Eggs", the rabbit, the fois gras, the veal, and the cheeses. (Ok... there are a lot of highlights. We liked the place a lot.)

Our first course were the "Steak & Eggs" which consisted of a fried quail egg over a bed of microgreens covered by a slice of Wagyu Beef beside three fried slices of bone marrow and adjacent to a section of bone filled with Wagyu Beef and lobster tartare topped with Caviar, all with a horseradish crème fraîche. My immediate impressions was that it was extremely bold and creative for a western chef to put out a bone and use bone marrow in a dish. The flavors of the tartare atop the fried marrow slices created a deep, rich satiation of the basic human culinary desires of salty and fatty goodness. The use of the bone section required a new long and narrow tool called the marrow spoon to scoop out the tartare. This utensil was an interesting point in itself, but I would have plated the dish differently avoiding the marrow spoon and bone altogether, or at least, repositioning the components to suggest they should be eaten together with each bite. Other diners would likely make my mistake of eating the tartare apart from the marrow and separately from the quail egg which loses some of the magic and flavor of the dish.
Our third course was rabbit loin with spring onions, mirepoix, and manila clams. Served slightly rare, the rabbit was absolutely delightful in its tender texture and amazing flavor. The dish also featured a green garlic puree and a bacon-wrapped stuff artichoke. Both of which were tastes fit for royalty.
Next, we had foie gras with braised dock cannelloni. Arguably, my favorite dish of the night as the rich sweetness of foie gras torchon melted in my mouth was highlighted by the beautiful counterpoint texture and flavor of the duck-filled cannelloni.
Our fifth course, probably Jen's favorite, was a tiny, ceramic skillet of mushroom flan with cheese crust beside a veal piece with morel mushrooms, white asparagus, and crispy sweetbreads. The deep, potent taste of the morels combined with the richness of the sweetbread and freshness of the asparagus highlighted and added new dimensions to the already succulent veal. For those who do not know, sweetbreads are the thymus gland or pancreas of a young lamb or calf less than one year old. The flan exemplified the whimsical accents of the menu also seen in the amuse bouche and the palette cleanser.
Oh, and then the cheese. This course consisted of 6 cheeses, 2 cow, 2 sheep, and 2 goat, developed locally and abroad along with a selection of breads and fruits. Standouts were the Andante Minuet (goat), the Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk (cow), and the Roquefort (sheep) that went well with a date.

All in all, we had an amazing time. Cyrus did break our record of what we have paid for a single meal, but for the joy it brought Jen, it was well worth it. Its praises are well deserved. We hope our fellow culinary adventurers will each have an opportunity to experience this luxury and share their experience with us.

Culinary Word of the Day: Wagyu
Also known as American "Kobe"-style Beef. Wagyu is a breed of cattle that is genetically predisposed to intense marbling, and produces a higher percentage of oleaginous, unsaturated fat than any other breed of cattle known in the world. Source: Bay Gourmet

Meals On Wheels of San Francisco’s 20th Annual Star Chefs & Vintners Gala

2007-04-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

As reported in an earlier post, Jen has been invited to participate in the 2007 Star Chefs and Vintners Gala benefiting Meals on Wheels of San Francisco. On Sunday, May 20, 2007 at Fort Mason, this year's event will mark its 20th Anniversary with names such as Charles Phan of The Slanted Door, James Syhabout of PlumpJack Café, Michael Mina of Michael Mina, Nancy Oakes & Pamela Mazzola of Boulevard, Nate Appleman of A16 Restaurant, Richard Reddington of Redd, Ron Siegel of The Dining Room at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, Traci Des Jardins of Jardinière, Thomas Keller of The French Laundry, and many others. The night will be an epicurean extravaganza for foodies and wine lovers of the San Francisco Bay Area. Attendees will begin the night with an extravagant hors d'oeuvre and wine reception prepared by more than two dozen chefs. They will then embark on a gastronomical adventure in the food-and-wine-paired, three-course main event provided by the most notable chefs and vintners around. This is to be followed by delightful cordials, dancing, and of course, dessert, in part, to be provided by our very own Pastry Chef Jennifer Kenny Nguyen. Ticket & Donor Information

Culinary Word of the Day: Vintners
One who makes or sells wine. Source Wine Lover's Companion

Brilliant, just freakin' brilliant.

2007-04-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of functional design. Yesterday, my brother showed me the perfect example of all time. It's called the Hamster Shredder by Tom Ballhatchet. Brilliant, just freakin' brilliant.

This upcoming weekend is a special time for Jen and I. We'll be celebrating our one year wedding anniversary and 8 year anniversary of when we met on Sunday. It's crazy to think about all that we have gone through together. We're driving up to Sonoma for the weekend to make some new memories. Our plans include the whole bed & breakfast experience, visiting wineries, and a fancy dinner at Cyrus (should be good; Michelin 2 Star, SF Chronicle 4 Star). Jen's all stressed out because not only is our wedding anniversary but my birthday is the day after. Woohoo! I'm turning 27, or (Warning! Geek out momment...) 3 cubed or the largest number that is the sum of the digits of its cube. She's all stressed about getting two gifts for me. I keep telling her that I have the best gift in the world...her. Apparently, she doesn't think its enough. Silly woman. I'm gonna try an experiment and post my wish list. I hate asking for stuff, but there's enough people who say I'm so hard to shop for and maybe this will help her.

Wish list

2002 VW Jetta Repair Manual

black dress socks

black belt

brown dress shoes

rack shelves for my armoire

ankle-high socks

Flickr Pro account

a copy of the Food Lover's Companion Book

craiglist $20 used bike rack

...and a stripper couldn't hurt... kidding

I'll let y'all know how Sonoma was, especially Cyrus. Shout outs go to
Anne and John: Welcome back! Sorry I've been bad and haven't written back. Thanks for the warm happy occasion email!
Barbara and John: Thank you for all the gifts and warm wishes. You are just too generous.
Aunt Chris & Uncle John: Thank you for the earliest anniversary card we received!
(What do you think, do I know a lot of John's?)

Culinary Word of the Day: Crudités
Cut-up raw (or sometimes blanched) vegetables. Source Simply Cooking

A PSA for the party people....

2007-04-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

Today's post is a reminder to all the party people we've hung out with recently. Don't drink and drive even if you can sing and dance.

In other news, Jen freaked out Monday due to news that our wedding present fryer (Thanks again, Elmo!) she brought into work had broke. Unfortunately, that had meant the crispy strawberry rolls got 86'ed from the menu. Monday was also the same day my brother and my cousin, Alex and Diana, came in for their first taste of Jen's desserts. Their trek all the way from Milpitas was largely motivated just to try the strawberry rolls. Good news came in this morning, though, the fryer is, in fact, NOT broken; Jen's coworker just had a senior moment. So, for those who missed the rolls. Theeeyyyy'rrrreeee baaaaack!

Culinary Word of the Day: 86'ed
Restaurant slang for being out of a menu item, such as "86 the lamp chops." Source Food Lover's Companion

The Tamale Lady

2007-04-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

Easter evening was night three of our friend's, Jeff McClure, birthday extravaganza. He started up his night at the BYOBW (Bring Your Own Big Wheels Down Lombard Street) Event and continued it over at Rogue Brewery, where we met him. We eventually had dinner and made it to the Kilowatt, a bar on 16th and Valencia. Just before we were done with our last round, I learned of one the greatest marketing ploys of the food world: The Tamale Lady. She comes pushing hot, cheap, fatty goodness to the inebriated. Its really marketing brilliance when you thinking of it. She was a plump, Latin woman that strolled into the bar with a hurried appearance and sequentially asked each group of patrons if they would like a tamale. I was stunned at how ferocious drunk people can be when offered these south of the border snacks. She had chicken, beef, and cheese tamales with or without hot sauce from a couple of ice chests on her roll-around cart. Our friends raved about The Tamale Lady's amazing timing and delicious treats. I had a taste of the cheese tamale without hot sauce and agreed with all the moans of gastronomical delight. So next time you're hankering for late night munchies while boozing away, keep a lookout for the Tamale Lady. She just might be the answer to your growling stomach.

Culinary Word of the Day: Tamale
A corn dough with or without a few flavorings and/or fillings wrapped up in a cute little package of corn husks or banana leaves (and occasionally other leaves as well) and steamed. Source Fabulous Foods

And the hits just keep coming! New Dessert!

2007-04-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Jen put out what she calls her version of the spring roll. The dessert is called the Crispy Strawberry Rolls with a Strawberry Jam Dip. Should be another winner with all its fried goodness.

Also yesterday, we had a couple culinary adventures. For lunch, I had my very first taco truck experience. The tacos were good but the really memorable part was the all the accouterments. I had a Sangreal brand non-alcoholic, Sangria-flavored, carbonated soda and air-puff chips covered in lime and chili sauce. Each an exotic mix of flavors distinct from anything I've had but very familiar all at once. Now, for a long time now Jen has influenced me to rarely partake in chipfests, but man, these crunchy, yellow-white, sliced-tomato shaped, air puff chips were addictive even as the chili started to set in and burn. If anyone knows what these are called, please email me!

Our other adventure brought us to Dopo Restaurant on Piedmont Ave. in Oakland to celebrate my raise and to hide from the bridge traffic. This place was a great local joint with affordable prices. Entrées were like $15. We ordered a meal enough to feed 4 people to try out all their flavors. We began with an absolutely fabulous yellowfin tuna dish with fennel, artichokes, lemon, and mint. Along side it, we tried their cured meats and salumi platter for two, a decadent and oh so flavorful spread of well... meat. Our next course, we had long, uncut Pennette Pasta in a flavor-filled meaty, red sauce and a tender, medium packed sausage that was filled with an explosion of tasty goodness. We also shared an exceptionally executed, cheese and anchovy pizza with the restaurant's namesake. By that point, we were thinking to head to Bi-Rite Creamery for dessert but couldn't help but notice the cheese plate the table next to us got. So we had to order a cheese platter for two as well. Not the highlight of the meal by any means; two out of the three were just blah. All in all, the only negative thing was against the cheese and Dopo didn't make them. Definitely, a place we would come back to and recommend to all. Btw... they were listed by the SF Chronicle as one of the top 100 restaurants in the bay area.

Culinary Word of the Day: Salumi
The word salumi means Italian-style cured or preserved meats. Most are made from pork, but some are beef, lamb or other meats. Salumi means about the same as the French charcuterie. It can refer to meats that are salt-cured, smoked and fermented as well as meats that are preserved in fat (confit), cooked sausages and pates. Within the category are hundreds of specific kinds of salumi. Source SF Chronicle

NEWS FLASH!!! New dessert!

2007-04-05T22:06:00.000-07:00

Say good-bye to the Maple Walnut Tart and Rhubarb Gratin. Although wildly successful, having been featured in the SF Chronicle article and all, Jen felt the tart was too reminiscent of winter. So with the dawning of Spring, our favorite pastry chef has introduced a Rhubarb Tart with Streusel Topping and Lavender Ice Cream. Hmm... Suddenly I want more! (Tell me if you can catch that food reference...) Unfortunately, this also means the passing of the Roasted Banana Ice Cream that accompanied the Maple Walnut Tart, but I'd take the yummy streusel topping any day!

Culinary Word of the Day: Streusel
A crumblike topping for coffee cakes and rich breads, consisting of flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon, and sometimes chopped nutmeats. Source Answer.com

A funny thing happened on the way to the opera....

2007-04-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

This last Friday and Sunday, SF City Chorus presented their Grand Opera: Choruses & Arias. The chorus and the soloists were amazing as usual. Normally, I'm not a fan of opera, but the concert was filled with familiar, classical snippets popularized in movies, commercials, and music that I recognized. Works included pieces from Aida and Carmen. Of particular splendor was the Messo-Soprano, Miss Lisa Van der Ploeg. She had vocal talents that would make a monkey juggling burning bowling balls stop and listen. (She definitely got this monkey's attention.) Her voice filled the entire sanctuary and made your body reverberate the emotions she conveyed. Furthermore, she expressed the joy of her songs through her expression and liveliness. The chorus provided a rich and colorful backdrop as the audience, witnesses, and counterbalances for each of the solo pieces.

The concert was followed by a rather elegant reception thrown by Jen and Rosa, an alto section member of the chorus. Many high praises go to the girls as they threw a very elegant affair on a very limited budget and were not allowed to serve alcohol. They served a sparkling, cranberry, raspberry, lemon-lime punch, smoked salmon & cream cheese canapés, fresh fruit & crudités platters, a selection of hard and soft cheeses, and a variety of cookies & pastries. Pretty good spread on about $200 for 200 people.

Culinary World of the Day: Canapés
A canapé or canape (known in Italy as tartine) is a small, prepared and usually decorative hors d'oeuvres, held in the fingers and often eaten in one bite. Source: Wikipedia

Movin' on up.... to the eastside...

2007-03-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in life you get these indications that you're doing alright. Jen got one of those little boosts yesterday... not in the form of a raise or a compliment from upper management. The Salt House / Town Hall PR person, Sarah, came in to build a profile on Jen yesterday. It's not like getting your first chef coat from your restaurant or a decent sized workspace, but what it represents is a deep and true expression of value for her work. In the cut throat world of the restaurant business, few chefs get recognized for their efforts and even less than that get recognized by their employers on top of that. I'm darn proud of my wife for all of her accomplishments. Keep it up, babe, and someday you can be the bread-winner of the family (or at very least, bring home the cheddar).

Culinary Word of the Day: Executive chef
The executive chef is in charge of everything related to the kitchen, including menu creation, staff management and business aspects. While the position requires extensive cooking experience and often involves actively cooking, it is not necessarily very hands-on. Source Wikipedia

At the Salt House, the brothers, Mitch and Steven Rosenthal, are considered the Executive Chefs of the restaurant. This is opposed to Chef de Cuisine Robert Leva.

Goodbye Lemon Cake. Hello, Carrot Cake.

2007-03-28T02:24:00.000-07:00

With the end of Huckleberry season, Jen has had to bid adieu to the Lemon Cake. In its place will be the new Carrot Cake Dessert. It's based off of our Aunt Elaine's recipe that anyone who's tasted knows how yummy it is. As with anything Jen makes... it couldn't just be carrot cake; instead, she's offering 2 desserts for the price of one. The profile view of the new dessert will reveil it's 1/2 orange cheesecake and 1/2 carrot cake with a carrot granita. Jen's intention is that it will feel like carrot cake with extra helping of frosting (Jen's favorite part).

Culinary Word of the Day: Granita
A granular dessert ice with a sugar-syrup base, usually flavored with fruit purée, coffee, or wine. [Italian, from feminine past participle of granire, to make grainy, granulate.] Source Answers.com

Celebrity Chef Jen Kenny!?!

2007-03-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

The success of Salt House has stirred up much deserved press lately. Jen has brought in a share of her own publicity. And since her article came out, Chef de cuisine Robert Leva (and others...) have started calling her: "Celebrity Chef Jen Kenny," to her dismay. But Leva got his just desserts, when he was featured in the Wine Section of the SF Chronicle March 9, 2006. Now, they both occasionally poke funny at each other by calling one another Celeberity Chef.

Culinary Word of the Day: Chef
Chef is a term commonly used to refer to an individual who cooks professionally. Within a restaurant however, chef (French for chief or head) is often only used to refer to one person: the one in charge of everyone else in the kitchen. This is usually the executive chef. Source Wikipedia

Culinary Word of the Day: Chef de Cuisine *BONUS*
This chef has the vision, conceives the dishes, imbues the whole restaurant with his/her personality. This would be the person who appears on television. Sometimes, if need be, chefs de cuisine even cook. Source The Chef's Ladder

At the Salt House, there are three owners, Doug Washington and brothers Steven and Mitchell Rosenthal. The Rosenthal brothers are themselves chefs and would be called the Executive Chefs of Salt House. Despite my CWotD entry above, its their faces that show up on t.v. (In fact, if you have FoodNetwork Canada, you could have seen them on the March 16 airing of Opening Soon.) The owners came up with the original concept and theme, but the menu is all Robert Leva's doing. Jen is the Pastry Chef and takes direction from the owners and Leva. The dessert menu is all her's but does get approval from Leva and can be vetoed by owners. She is highly influenced by what Leva puts on his menu and the resources that are available to her.

What do Nicole Richie & Jen have in common?

2007-03-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

According to my favorite media outlet, Fernando & Greg In The Morning on Energy 92.7FM, Nicole Richie was recently diagnosed with hypoglycemia, a condition defined as an abnormally low level of sugar in the blood. Symptoms include hunger, nervousness, perspiration, shakiness, dizziness, light-headedness, sleepiness, confusion, difficulty speaking, and feeling anxious or weak. (Source: NIH) The effects can often be reversed by eating a high-protein meal or for immediate, temporary relief, soda or candy will work. Jen is also hypoglycemic. So please, if you see Jen weak, faint, or complaining she needs to eat, get some food into her!

OH oh... New dessert in the works! It's going up as a special today and will be added to menu as early as next Tuesday if everything goes well. I'll unveil it when it does...

The incredible, edible egg...plant

2007-03-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, our favorite PC goes to practice her other love... Singing. She is a member of the San Francisco City Chorus singing as a first soprano. (Check out previous posts for concert information.) Practice is from 7-9:30pm which by the time Jen gets off work leaves her little time to hit the gym, cook, and eat dinner before she has to trek to Lakeside Presbyterian Church. So, to support her endeavor, I step in to get dinner on the table and get her to practice on time. I've taken this opportunity to either try out every new take out place I can think of between work and home or actually cook something eatable. Although, I am the son of parents who should be master chefs in their own right, I couldn't make anything more complicated than a turkey sandwich with processed prepackaged meats and kraft singles until a couple years ago. As such Wednesdays are my culinary adventure days.

This week I learned about eggplant, you know, those odd-shaped, purple vegetables (or are they fruit because they do have seeds). As with most of my adventures, I didn't have a plan just a vague idea; I stir-fried a eggplant, pork, and tofu concoction with bean sprouts, carrots, and snow peas in a peanut sauce. Stir-frying is just a matter of combining ingredients the right order for everything to cook properly and have the ingredients influence each other. The pork and tofu were simple, just cut to size and cook them separately after all the vegetables. The snow peas and carrots took a little more thought. They had to be braised to not overcook them with direct heat and you want to keep them raw enough to maintain their snap. Braising for those who don't know is just a method of cooking things in water and allowing it to steam. The eggplant was the most challenging.

Jen fact #1 I learned was you know it's done when its white flesh is clear or a little green. To get to that point, it often takes a lot of oil and time cook.

Jen fact #2, although I didn't try it, if you lightly salt the diced eggplant before hand, it will cook faster and absorb less oil during the cooking process.

Bonus Heather (our housemate, one of Jen's best friends) Fact: lightly salting the eggplant also helps it maintain its shape and not turn into a mush which it can do.

As such, I came up with this recipe.

3 Tablespoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, cut to strips
1 large eggplant, cut to 1/2" cubes
1 large carrot, diced
1 handful of snow peas, cut to bite size
1 cup of bean sprouts (optional)
1 package of tofu, cut to 1/2" cubes
1/2 lb pork tenderloin, cut to small strips
Payang Peanut sauce, season to taste

Heat 3T oil in wok. Add garlic and onions. Cook onions until golden. Add eggplant. Cook until eggplant flesh is mostly clear. (Note: this will be almost half your cooking time) Stir occasionally. Add carrots and snow peas. Mix to combine. Add a 1/4 cup of water to wok and cover to steam the vegetables. Remove contents to bowl. Add 1t oil to wok. Add pork and tofu. Continuously toss to evenly heat pork. When the pork is cooked through, combine and mix the vegetables in the wok. Add bean sprouts and peanut sauce to taste. Stir to combine evenly.

It turned out pretty tasty if I do say so myself. Give an eggplant a break. You might just like it.

In writing this post, I thought of a couple new features for the blog. I'll be adding "culinary terms defined" section, cool recipes, diner submitted pictures of Jen's desserts (I need help with this one people. Jen won't let me go eat them all.), and reader suggestions for Jen to add to her menu. Sound in if you have more ideas or suggestions on what I should add.

Grand Opera: Choruses & Arias - Mar 30 & Apr 1

2007-03-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

Come check out my favorite PC in concert! The San Francisco City Chorus is proud to bring you Grand Opera: Choruses & Arias. Including music from such greats as La Traviata, Carmen, Tosca, Madame Butterfly, Faust, plus many more!

Larry Marietta, Conductor & Music Director

John Walko, Organ and Piano

Friday, March 30, 2007 at 8:00pm	Sunday, April 1, 2007 at 3:00pm
First Congregational Church Berkeley 2345 Channing Way Berkeley, 94704	Calvary Presbyterian Church 2515 Fillmore St. San Francisco, 94115

Tickets: $20 General Admission, $15 Senior
Middle/HS Students FREE w/student ID

For tickets, contact Jen or Richard
@ rnguyen at alum dot berkeley dot edu

Jen likes animals... on her dinner plate...

2007-03-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

Some of you have may have heard Jen say something shocking like "Yeah, I like animals... on my dinner plate." Here's some proof she doesn't mind all animals.

P.S. Sorry about the long delay between posts. Apparently, working with computers since 5th grade doesn't make me immune to computer failures.

While you were gone...

2007-03-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

Apparently, while our Favorite Pastry Chef and I were away on vacation, the freezer malfunctioned and three of Jen's ice cream terrines melted. :( So sad because Jen put in nearly 12-hour days on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday prior to the trip to create all that extra ice cream. Apologies to the diners who only had a selection of three desserts Sunday night. Now you know why. In happier news, Jen was invited to do two different benefits coming up this spring. One even came with a invite from renowned Chef Nancy Oakes of Boulevard Restaurant. Also, just in today, Salt House Restaurant has hired someone to begin construction of Jen's workspace. NO word on how long it will take but... That's right folks... Jen will finally get her own space and no longer have to share the 5'x3' table with a prep cook and the butcher. Yay!

All work and no play... Nah!

2007-03-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

The Chef and I are back from our vacation to San Diego. We had a fabulous time with our friends, Zach & Sonja. They're so awesome that they flew all the way from North Carolina to be with us. The Paradise Point Resort was absolutely beautiful with its plentiful beaches, pools, fountains, and ponds. Hell, it even had an observation tower. The animals at the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park were a hoot, especially the Andrian Cock-of-the-Rock and the otters and monkeys teasing each other. And then there was the food... Here's a quick break down... I'll go more into them on another post....

Margo's Mexican Grill......Great fish tacos
The Mission Restaurant.....One of the best breakfast/brunch places we ate at.
The Broken Yoke......Think IHOP but better food and non-chain establishment.
1500 Ocean.....Think Jordan's in the Claremont Hotel. Kinda.

Chronicle shortage?!?

2007-03-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

This is a story about our morning Jen's article came out. Disclaimer: We love the SF Chronicle, but wow, it's distribution system leaves a lot to be desired like being able to get one (or half dozen) at 6:30am.

The previous night had been difficult for the both of us... She was worrisome and anxious about the article coming out, making it difficult for her to sleep. For those who know her... you're thinking typical Jen. I, on the other hand, have the task of trying to calm her down, so we wouldn't be zombies the next morning. As it were, I was super excited for her and couldn't sleep myself. I didn't actually shut my eyes until way past 2:30am. At one point, I figured I'd just stay up until the paper came out and get the first copies. Good thing I didn't!

The alarm went off at 5:30am, as usual, Jen still had the presence of mind to maintain our snoozing ritual, but we over did it and didn't get out of bed until 6:30am. Getting the 4 hours of sleep that I did, I didn't hear any of this, and Jen nearly had to roll me out of bed to get me up. We ditched our morning routine of breakfast and tea together for Holey Bagel treats and the early edition. As I double parked on 24th St., Jen ran in, quarters in hand for the newspaper vending machine. She pumped $2.00 in quarters thinking to get 4 copies. As she pulled the handle....Nothing... it didn't budge. Banging on the thing, she tried the door again. No luck. So she proceeded inside to buy the bagels and complained about the vending machine to the cashier. He responded to her that the machine was just filled not 10 mins before we got there. Frustrated and not wanting to be late for work, Jen jumped in to the car, and we go hunting for another machine. That was attempt #1 and the beginning of our adventure.

We rolled by the paper shop between Sanchez and Cala, CLOSED. The vending machine in front of Cala. EMPTY. The vending machine in front of Happy Donut. EMPTY. At this point, I'm thinking this is ridiculous...we should head more downtown. Our neighborhood paper delivery guy must be on vacation or something. So I drove down Delores st. No machines in site. OK... gotta get off Delores and onto something more commercial. I hang a right onto 18th. The vending machine in front of Delores Park Cafe. EMPTY. I know...Bi-Rite Market should have the paper. CLOSED. I hang a left onto Valencia. Passing two more machines. Both EMPTY. I get onto Folsom. Finally, Rocco's Cafe. They got have it. Stupid me though, I didn't know what cross street Rocco's would be on and left myself with the option to cut off a cop and two delivery trucks a cross 3 lanes or let it go. So that one was my fault. We passed 2-3 more machines on Folsom. All EMPTY. By now, Jen thinks we should head to the Chronicle building on Mission St & 5th. No better place to get a copy of the Chronicle, right? Except I can't turn onto 5th from Folsom. Grr... I don't even know how many opportunities we missed. I stopped counting after we left 24th St. Finally, when Jen was about so say we should just head to her work because she was going to be late, we found a stocked machine at Harrison St & 5th St. Jen rushed to grab a stack. We read it right there, double parked on busy 5th St. Sorry to all the commuters that we blocked! Needless to say, we were pretty happy the way it all turned out.

Jen wants to thank all those who have sent their warm regards. She appreciates all the love you guys are giving her. She couldn't do it without all your support.

Oh and for those of you who have asked... Yes, you can come in and just have dessert, if you can find a seat. :)

We'll be out-of-town from Sat night - Weds. With any luck, I'll have vacation pix of the Chef at play when we get back.

Full-time Pastry Chef... Part-time hero

2007-03-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

For those of you who didn't hear, Jen was actually in the newspaper twice yesterday, March 7th, 2007. So we all know about the big article, but tucked away in the gossip column (yes, there is a food gossip column), someone noticed our favorite pastry chef saved the day by calling 911 when she walked into the restaurant filled with smoke. The event happened the morning of Saturday, March 3rd, 2007. It turned out just to be smoldering linens in the basement and not anything more serious. Theories of how it started were that a worker accidentally threw a cigarette into the dirty linens or, more likely, rags, charred when used to clean the stoves, were thrown into the linens and smoldered overnight. The dampness of the other linens probably prevented a flareup from occurring. With Jen's quick thinking, the restaurant was back in business so quickly and smoothly they were open for lunch that day and some co-workers didn't even know there was a fire.

scroll to Sounding the Alarm

Word on the street...

2007-03-07T15:48:00.000-08:00

So.... despite being inundated with loving from her school, teachers, coworkers, family and friends today, Jen pulls it off and just added a Warm Rhubarb Gratin to the menu. Check it out (and do let Jen or I know what you thought). She would love honest and constructive criticism. Look for new additions shortly, and you'll hear about them right here on The Man Behind the Chef Blog.

RISING STAR CHEFS 2007

2007-03-07T08:01:00.000-08:00

From Rising Star Chefs 2007 by Tara Duggan, SF Chronicle, Wednesday, March 7, 2007

"I would go out into the backyard and cut up flowers and make salads and stuff like that," she says. "I would explain the technique to my sister, and she finally got bored with it so I had to do it professionally."

The paper is out today! Have you read the food section today?

Main Article
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/07/FDG9NOA4DO1.DTL
Jen's Page
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/07/FDG0COA4RE1.DTL

Hello, World!

2007-03-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

On the eve of a very important day of my wife's career, I've decided to create a blog. Enough of our friends and family have asked what's new on the menu and when things are going up, so I've decided I can only do the geekiest thing I know how, create a blog for all of you! I'll be updating this as I hear rumors of new desserts from Jen. (Nothing like spice cakes and carrot sorbets during pillow talk .... ) Be sure to check out this blog Wednesday, March 7, 2007. We've got some celebration to do!