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

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

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

Brilliant, just freakin' brilliant.

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?)

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

A PSA for the party people....

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!

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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

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.

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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!

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.

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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!

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!

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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....

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.

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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