Taste of San Diego

When I travel I like to experience cities through their food. So it would only make sense that when people come to visit me, I show them San Diego through food.

My longtime friend Amanda is coming to town this weekend with her husband and parents. Amanda and Mike have been to San Diego several times. They all ready know all the spots they want to eat at while they are here. Her parents have never really spent time here. So they are excited to taste for themselves all the great food Amanda has been talking about.

They will arrive tomorrow in time for lunch. The first place we are going to go is South Beach bar and grill in OB. Which some would say and I would agree, serve the best fish tacos in San Diego. South Beach is a total dive bar. When you walk in you wouldn't think they severed food, let alone really good food.

Don't let appearances fool you the tacos are outstanding. I took my mother there for the first time this summer and she has not stopped talking about it since. The fish in the tacos is really fresh and then they melt the cheese right on the tortilla, topped with crisp fresh cabbage and this magical yogurt sauce. These taco's are amazing! Paired with a nice cold beer or cocktail and you've got the recipe for a great afternoon and meal with friends.

I am really looking forward to their visit because, whenever they are in town I have a great excuse to eat at some of my favorite San Diego restaurants.

Food TV For the Soul

This week I have been a little under weather. I don't know if I am sick, getting sick or getting over being sick. But whatever is has me at less then an 100%. What makes it worse is I am 800 miles from my family. If I were home and not feeling well my grandfather would make me his famous potato soup with bacon.My mom would bring me dinner and sit with me on the couch.

So whenever I am not feeling well I get really homesick. This afternoon, I did the one thing I thought would make me feel better. I turned on the Food Network. I watched Giada make stuffed shells along with this wonderful looking baked chocolate pudding. Then my favorite show came on the Barefoot Contessa.

Something about Ina Garten's voice just makes me feel better. Watching her pour ingredients into her Kitchen Aide has a calming effect on me. I didn't want the half hour to end. Then Down home with the Neely's came on, Pat and Gina laughing and having fun in the kitchen helped get me out of my funk.

To finish my afternoon of comforting food TV Paula Dean show was on. Today she made chicken fried steak biscuits and gravy! When Paula cooks you can feel the love she puts into each dish and how much she truly loves cooking and eating. Biscuits and gravy are my grandfathers specialty so it was as close to him as I could get today. Food Network was just what the doctor ordered. I can't wait to feel better so I can get in my own kitchen and whip up some comfort food!

Cooking outside of the box

In an effort to eat healthier, I have been trying to avoid processed food. When it comes to baking I rarely use mixes or pre-made desserts. Last week a friend of mine was telling me how much she likes to make instant pudding for dessert.

It reminded me that I haven’t had chocolate pudding in years. Then this week I came across a recipe for chocolate pudding pie. It was like the universe was telling me I needed to make pudding.

I have never made or eaten pudding that wasn’t from a box or those little snack cups. I watched Martha Stewart make it from scratch once. In true Martha fashion it was complicated. The recipe for the pudding in the pie was pretty simple and funny thing is I had all but two ingredients all ready at home.

As a treat I cooked dinner and made homemade pudding from scratch. I was shocked at how simple pudding is make. The key is to keep whisking it while it’s on the stove until it thickens to make sure you do not get any lumps. I used a really good quality chocolate. The final result was so smooth and decadent. It was the best pudding I have ever had. It was richer and creamer then the stuff in the box. The chocolate flavor was intense. The best part is it only takes 15 minutes and you’ve got a wonderful dessert.

If you want to dress it up for company and you have time. Make some homemade whipped cream and layer in glass with the pudding. This is an easy weeknight dessert and a classic childhood treat. Now that I know how easy it is I will never make pudding from a box again!

Easy as Pie

What do you do when it is ninety degrees in your apartment, and your fiancé tells you we (as in me) are suppose to make dessert for a dinner party? Any other time I would be jumping at the chance to bake a wonderful dessert. I’ll use any excuse to turn on my kitchen aide.

But today, it was stifling hot in our apartment because we do not have air-conditioning and we were in the middle of a heat wave. So I had absolutely no desire to turn on the oven or stand in a hot kitchen for hours.

Just when I resolved myself to taking popsicles to the dinner party, my friend Amanda calls. I told her my predicament and she reminded me of a great recipe I gave to hear last year for peanut butter pie.

Not only is this pie delicious, it requires no baking and it’s served cold! Also you can whip this up in 20 minutes or less which means I would be out of the hot kitchen in no time. SCORE!

This is the perfect recipe for people who “don’t bake” or for the days when you have to whip up a dessert in a hurry! Try it out I guarantee you are going to love it!



Mrs. Slater’s Peanut Butter Pie:



Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 8 ounces cream cheese

• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

• 1 graham cracker crust, store-bought or premade

Directions

Whip cream with 1/4 cup sugar. Mix all other ingredients until smooth and fold in whipped cream until well blended. Pour mixture into a graham cracker crust and chill for several hours before serving.

I like to drizzle some melted chocolate on top.