In (and Out) of the Kitchen with Mr. Tall and Little Miss Contrary, Part 2

Mr. Tall and I have a usual rotation of convenient takeouts from pizza and Mexican to Greek and Indian. We got a good tip from Sam the Cooking Guy (Mr. Tall can attest that I turned embarrassingly red and was incredibly star-struck when we ran into him at a Ralph's) for the best place in San Diego for carnitas--Porkyland's. I'm not sure how many locations there are in the county but there happens to be one conveniently located in downtown La Jolla on Torrey Pines and Girard. Mr. Tall and I usually order the Family Meal (which is supposed to serve 3-4 but we usually polish most of it off, with some leftovers I take to work for lunch). The meal comes with a generous portion of carnitas (diced onions and cilantro as well) and sides of rice, beans and salsa of your choice (we like the salsa verde), and their homemade tortilla (your choice of corn or flour). Definitely a good deal and our favorite spot for a quick takeout.

My new favorite place for a quick dinner (or lunch) is Panera. Mr. Tall's parents had mentioned that they love the one in the Bay Area for their variety of paninis, soups and salads so we tried out the San Diego location in Mira Mesa. I don't remember what Mr. Tall got, but I ordered the combination of French Onion Soup, which was so tasty, panini and potato chips. What is so fantastic about Panera is that all their breads are baked in-house so they are absolutely fresh and delicious. I would try going there on the weekdays or weeknights because the complex tends to get very crowded on the weekend.

Although soup season is over since the cold weather seems to be disappearing, you can still enjoy chili--it's not soup, right? Mr. Tall and I enjoyed this light version of White Bean and Chicken Chili recipe that we found in one of his cookbooks. It was super quick and super delicious. We served it with some toasted bread and topped with grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream--and Tapatio, for me, of course! I am quite fond of chili and this definitely hit the spot.

Not too long ago, while waiting for my tires to get rotated at UTC, I made a stop at one of my favorite places, Crate & Barrel. Mr. Tall knows well that nearly every time we go to the mall, we have to make a stop at C&B. Usually, I just like to browse the store, but this time I got lucky! My absolute favorite Food Network personality (right next to Tyler Florence) Giada DeLaurentis' Family Dinners cookbook was on sale so I decisively made the purchase. What I love about Giada's recipes is that they are so simple yet incredible tasty. Most of her recipes requires only a handful of ingredients and this cookbook was no different.

The first thing that Mr. Tall and I decided to make was Flank Steak with Red Wine Sauce. We got the steak from Bristol Farms (of course) and I had just enough leftover Pinot Noir to turn it into the velvety wine sauce. Mr. Tall and I paired up the dish with a rendition of a recipe from the cookbook--Broccoli with Meyer Lemon Olive Oil. Since Meyer Lemon Olive Oil was not so easy to find, we finely grated lemon zest from 1 lemon, heat it up with some olive oil in a skillet, stir in lightly blanched broccoli florets and just a squeeze of lemon juice--and you've got a simple and refreshing side dish.

Mr. Tall is not a big fan of seafood (what a shame!) but we would occasionally throw in some salmon for dinner here and there. Also, from Giada's book, we broiled up some salmon with garlic, mustard and herbs, and sauteed green beans with tomato and basil. The salmon recipe called for dijon mustard, but Mr. Tall loves honey mustard so we compromised and got honey dijon mustard. Every relationship is about compromise, right? Again, the recipes were so simple yet very flavorful.

Giada's book also had a recipe for a Quick Marinara Sauce that Mr. Tall and I made and stocked in the freezer. To change up the usual spaghetti night, we made Linguine with Chicken Ragu. Instead of the typical ground beef, the recipe utilized some chopped chicken, which made the sauce a little lighter and healthier. We have also used Italian sausages or even ground turkey to change up the usual Bolognese. As you can tell, I adore Giana DeLaurentis and love, love, love her recipes. They are fantastic and anyone can make them, really!

One last addition on this leg of the culinary journey with Mr. Tall and Little Miss Contrary, we made a stop over at Lucky Buck's in Hillcrest. I had read about it in the Union Tribune and I couldn't resist the sound of their burgers. This relatively new burger joint also serves burritos, but Mr. Tall and I both opted for their burgers. I think Mr. Tall ordered the standard burger with cheese and bacon while I went for the Hawaiian with grilled pineapple. All the burger combinations come with criss-cross cut fries, which frankly I'm not a big fan of. They're neither potato chips nor fries--eh. Lucky Buck's version did not impress me either. The buns were freshly baked and soft; the patty was fresh but tasted like some thing that I could have put together at home. Decent burgers but nothing that I would go out of my way to try again. My love for burgers is devoted to In N Out and Island's. Island's have the best fries, by far, and I love The Hawaiian, of course. In N Out is just plain good. I need to make some burgers at home soon--I feel a craving coming on.

Well, I hope you enjoyed some of the food that Mr. Tall and I have shared. More culinary adventures to come!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

In the Kitchen with Mr. Tall & Little Miss Contrary, Part 1

I am taking full responsibility for personally abandoning to update this for more than a month! As promised in my previous post, I wanted to share some of the culinary adventures Mr. Tall and I have experienced. I consider myself very fortunate to have found someone who understands (more so, tolerates) my love for all things gastronomy. Mr. Tall knows the drill that we can not dig into our meals until I have photographed the food. He has maintained an open heart and stomach to try things that he might not have tried before, for which I am grateful. He has also introduced me to some of my favorite places and things such as Mama Testa, crock pot cooking, and chilaquiles, which is a Mexican breakfast dish consisting of tortilla chips cooked in red sauce and topped with fried eggs, and copious amount of cheese and sour cream (pictured right). Breakfast of (Mexican) champions!

I do take some credit for introducing him to Thai food and the likes. Our very first date was actually his first "real" Thai cuisine experience. We dined at Spice & Rice, which is conveniently located close to UCSD in Downtown La Jolla. Although it wasn't love at first bite, we reminisced with Thai food 6 months later at my favorite Thai spot, Celadon, in Hillcrest (shh, even though, I have ties with Taste of Thai). I guess, food sort of brought us together since Mr. Tall and I officially connected over a discussion about a favorite artist of ours, The Roots, at an on-campus convenience store/coffee shop where he worked.

Since we both have been working full time for the past year, Mr. Tall and I try to cook at least once or twice a week, and when we're lazy we go out to eat or get take-out about twice per week. One of the things that we have made before and are yearning to cook up again is Beer-Can Chicken and Mashed Potatoes. I purchased a potato ricer a while ago, which according to Jeffrey Steingarten of "The Man Who Ate Everything," is the best method to creating mashed potatoes.

One of our favorite things to do is to pick up a cut of meat, pork or lamb from Bristol Farms and put it on the grill. Mr. Tall is definitely the master of the barbecue grill. One of this best works must be when we grilled up some Porterhouse steaks, served with salad and mashed potatoes, of course. That small segment of Filet Mignon put this cut over the top. On to something a little more rustic: Mr. Tall had a recipe for Pozole. I had tried it at the Old Town Cafe and loved it so naturally I was stoked for this soup.

The pozole recipe turned out a tomato-based broth, stewed with chicken, chunks of tomatoes, and, of course, hominy. Everything was simply thrown into a pot and simmered. It is served with a squeeze (or several for me) and topped with shredded cabbage, cilantro and tortila chips--and hot sauce if you like spicy. Instead of serving it with a Mexican beer, I picked up Phuket Beer from Thailand, which was light and went very well with the spices of the soup. It is definitely one of my absolute favorite soups of all time. I forgot to mention another thing that we have also picked up from Bristol Farms is the lamb kabobs. They are already pre-marinated and ready to be thrown on the grill. The only Bristol Farms location in San Diego is on Genesee near UTC. So, if you're ever in that area or live nearby, I highly recommend checking out their meat department. They also have a very friendly and helpful "sommelier" (I'm not sure what they would be called outside of the restaurant) that will give you handy tips about wine pairing and even cooking tips.

One of Mr. Tall and I's new favorite thing to make is Giada DeLaurentis' pizza that was featured in Gourmet magazine. The pizza dough is really simple and takes only an hour to rise. We also love the topping that Giada featured: three cheese with pancetta and crimini mushrooms. The combination of Fontina, Parmesan and Mozzarella is perfection; pancetta and criminis are fantastic together as well. The first time we made it, we got a bit zealous with the cheese but the second time around we learned and put the right amount of cheese and toppings. The dough is fantastic and, I would say, fool proof. Giada DeLaurentis is not only one of my favorite Food Network chefs but her recipes are also simple and wonderful.

This post is getting a bit lengthy so I shall continue on the next one. Plenty more to come about all the cooking and eating for Mr. Tall and I to share!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

The Land of Thai, Part 2

It's been too long since my last post, but I must blog about the rest of my culinary adventures in the motherland. One of the things I miss for breakfast in Thailand is kao tom or rice porridge. The thing I most enjoy about it is that you have a variety of side dishes, or kub kao, to eat with the porridge. My personal favorite must be my grandma's steamed minced pork with broth, or moo nuung. Eating it was so nostalgic; I was reminiscing about my childhood in Bangkok when my grandma used to have to run around and feed me, or distract me to eat while I pretend to do the dishes. Anyway, this time around I willingly sat down to have porridge breakfast with moo nuung, and a variety of small sides--salted egg, soy fermented tofu (tasty stuff!), preserved Chinese cabbage, and pork sung.

Side note: I have a random story about pork sung. On my flight back from Bangkok, one the meals that was served on the plane was breakfast and I had chosen the Chinese-style option, which was with porridge. One of the things that came with the meal was a packet of pork sung; however, on the packaging, it said that it was "pork floss"! I wouldn't necessarily associate pork and floss together, but it's just funny when some Chinese items are translated into English.

Anyway, back to Thailand. My mom, as usual, drove me around every where. Ironically, I don't particularly enjoy the offerings of McDonald's stateside, but one of the things that I always have to eat when I'm back in Thailand is the Pineapple Pie! The pie "crust" is ultra crispy and always piping hot; the filling has small chunks of sweet pineapple. On another excursion, my mom and I went to a bustling shopping spot of Soi Lalaisup, which literally means the street to dissolve your wealth. Also know as Khang Bank (because it is physically next to the Bangkok Bank), it is always busy with various food, clothing and miscellaneous vendors.

By the food court area, there is a lady whose vendor has a large selection of various Thai desserts. From coconut kanom, or sweets, like tah koh (right corner of the picture), and sweet sticky rice with banana and black beans wrapped in banana leaves, to the large pot full of diamond-shaped sweet bean dessert. But my all time favorite has to be kanom quey, or literally green sweets (they're in the tray closest to the vendor's hands). A couple of vendors away was the banana lady who had all sorts of, what else, bananas! She had peeled, grilled banana, barbecued banana, and, of course, banana with coconut milk. The Thai bananas are slightly smaller and more stubby than the ones we see in American supermarkets, but they are equally if not more tasty.

Since I had such a limited time in Thailand, my mom (always the tour guide) arranged for she, my dad and I to travel to Trung for a few days. After a one-hour flight from Bangkok, we arrived to the southern province. A local tour guide picked us up from the Trung Airport and was kind enough to make a short detour downtown for us to pick up the province's famous moo yang, or grilled pork. We stopped at a corner shop, which looked like an old coffee shop. The moo yang vendor faced the street, luring in customers by the hunks of meat!

Check out the killer knife and the ginormous piece of pork! The meat is liberally seasoned with a sort of sweet and sticky marinade and grilled until the generous amount of fat has formed into a nice crust. After picking up more than a kilo of moo yang (my dad was greedy!), we finally made our way over to a pier to take a boat over to the island. Koh Sukorn, which means Pig Island in Thai, is located off the shores of Trung about a 30-minute boat ride with a handful of surrounding smaller islands.


Since it wasn't during the peak, tourist season, my mom, dad and I were the only ones at the small resort on the north side of Koh Sukorn. We stayed in a bungalow (a couple of pillows, sleeping cushions, basic amenities, running water, and electricity from 7pm to 7am), which was barely 20 steps from the beach. We had an amazing snorkeling tour guide, and probably the best snorkeling I have ever experienced in Thailand. The folks running the resort were locals on the island, and they made every single meal just for the three of us! Our last dinner on the island was a seafood feast--crabs, steamed whole fish, grilled squid, seafood Poh Tak (hot and sour seafood soup, similar to Tom Yum Koong) and seafood fried rice.

In Bangkok, it is not easy to find roti vendors so whenever we travel out of town, like this trip to Trung, I always have to cure my cravings of roti. Roti is essentially very thinly hand-rolled dough, fried in a large skillet with oil AND margarine to a crisp brown, then removed from the heat and dressed with drizzles of sweetened condensed milk and sugar. Does that sound indulgent enough for you? It's probably one of my favorite sweets ever since childhood. Most roti are simply rolled up in paper and eaten on the go; some people like it with banana or even eggs cooked inside the roti. I usually enjoy mine plain or with banana. I would kill for a roti right now.

And I shall leave you with a few more random photographs of the rest of my trip to the motherland.

Kao soi, a Nothern Thai speciality, consists of egg noodles and coconut curry and either minced pork or beef, topped with a variety of toppings such as crispy noodles, diced red onion, preserved Chinese cabbage, ground chili, and lime juice.

Some Thai instant noodles at the Taipei International Airport on my transit back to San Francisco. The lady at the restaurant inside the terminal was nice enough not only to fill my cup of noodles with hot water but also gave me a bowl and chopsticks.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of one of my meals on the plane. This one wasn't as bad as it looks. Steamed rice with minced pork and gravy, along with the usual dinner roll and fruit. The calamari and rice vermicelli salad was actually decent and the mochi was not bad of a dessert at all. Although I still mostly avoid airplane food and stick to my Thai instant noodles or whatever I manage to sneak in my carry-on luggage.

Coming soon: Little Miss Contrary & Mr. Tall's culinary adventures in and out of the kitchen!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

The Land of Thai, Part 1

Since I began working, gone are the days of winter and summer breaks. I finally accrued a week’s worth of paid vacation time, so it was time to head back to the motherland. For exactly 11 days, with the help of my dearest mother chauffeuring me around and planning an island trip, I was able to squeeze in as much I could, food and all. It was a good thing I usually do not have new years resolution because if I had made one about eating less and healthier, my resolutions would have already been broken. As soon as I arrived, to my very pleasant surprise, my sister was still in Bangkok! Although she was supposed to depart from Bangkok the afternoon I arrived, there were some glitches with her paperwork, which fortunately (or not) extended her stay. My first meal did not involve the usual papaya salad due to family obligation of attending my little cousin Naime’s 6^th birthday party; no pictures from the affair but I did enjoy some good chicken red curry with curds of pork’s blood and winter melon, which topped off kanom jean (hand form bundles of soft, round and white rice noodles served in Thailand usually with a variety of curries) and grilled cow’s tongue (I’m not quite sure why people are particularly fond of grilling those up but I guess it’s more for the texture than flavor).

My first dinner was a feast of royal Chinese traditions with my dad’s side of the family. After killing some time with light shopping at Siam Square with my mom and sister, we headed off to a family-owned and operated restaurant noted for its royal Chinese cuisine. One of my uncles took the liberty to order their set menu consisting of 7 courses. The dinner began on a disappointing note of some lackluster, cold appetizers. The next course got really interesting as they brought out stir-fried sea cucumbers with Thai basil, chili, garlic and minced pork. It was the first and only time I will ever try sea cucumber. The texture was jelly-like, and without the strong flavors of basil, chili and garlic, the sea cucumbers alone would have been tasteless.

The third course was the Chinese delicacy of the shark fin soup. The dish’s environmental and political correctness is debatable, but I still ate it anyway. My sister and I usually resist the dish because we don’t agree with shark fin hunting, but I took one for the food blog and had to try it to write about it. The soup was slightly thickened chicken broth, flavored with soy sauce, and had plenty of bits of shark fin. The protein came in a form of venison, Chinese-style, stir-fried with button mushroom, vegetable and chili. It basically just tasted like beef, nothing impressive. My favorite course of the entire meal was, of course, the Peking-style whole pig. The skin was crispy and beautifully brown, eaten on top of sliced white bread with sweet soy sauce. The remnants of the pig are cut up, and friend with some garlic. The other courses include steamed, whole fish with soy sauce and scallions, fried noodles, and sticky rice with taro and ginkgo nut for dessert. Last but not least, we polished off the meal with some very strong black tea to wash all the greasiness down.

The next day, my family and I made a trip to our old neighborhood for some papaya salad and grilled chicken. We ordered the usual Som Tum Thai, but it was unique because instead of plain peanuts, it was made with peanut brittle, which added to the sweetness of the palm sugar.


We also enjoyed Nua Namtok (spicy beef salad), Larb Moo (spicy minced pork salad), Tom Saab (spicy soup with pork tendons), and, my personal favorite, Ko Moo Yang. The grilled pig’s neck is known for its glorious fattiness, served with a delicious condiment of a sweet base with chili and fish sauce.

Here are some other offerings I enjoyed during my trip:

A breakfast in Bangkok--Jok, rice congee with minced pork, topped with ginger, cilantro, chili & vinegar and crispy Chinese donuts.

Green beef curry with Thai eggplant on top of crispy roti.

Nam Prik Ong--chili paste with tomato, garlic and minced pork, with pork rind and fresh vegetables.

Tom Yum Koong--hot and sour soup with shrimp and a splash of coconut milk.

That is all for this post, but there are many more pictures to come from my trip to the motherland!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

My Favorite Things of 2006

I'll admit it, I really like Oprah. I wish I had time to watch her show, but it’s unfortunate because it’s on way before I get off work. Anyway, once a year, she does a "favorites" show where she showcases (and gives away!) her favorite products. I guess this is my foodies take on Oprah's favorites show, minus the free stuff part. Sorry, folks.

In no particular order:

Raisin Nut Bran Cereal
I must credit Mr. Tall for this first item on my favorites list. I had never had Raisin Nut Bran cereal before in my life until a few months ago when he had it at his apartment. I was starvation central one morning so I just had a bowl of the cereal, and I was pretty much enamored. Crunchy bran flakes with slivered almonds, and the best part is the plump raisins covered with a sort of subtle nutty coating. I am a bargain shopper so most items I purchase at the grocery store are on sale. And Raisin Nut Bran never goes on sale! When they are ever on sale, I jump at the opportunity and buy at least 4 boxes at once. I always contemplate stocking up more, but I would not want to hog the cereal for other Raisin Nut Bran lovers.

Bristol Farms' Meat Department
If you want some fresh and high quality meat with very knowledgeable service to boot, check out Bristol Farms. Forget Ralph's, Vons or even Whole Foods, Bristol Farms has by far the best selections of all sorts of meat and poultry. Mr. Tall and I have explored some amazing choices from pork loins to Porterhouse steaks. The price may be slightly higher than Ralph's or Vons, but the extra bucks really come through in the quality of their products and selections.

Wine from Trader Joe's
Whether it’s the usual 2-buck-chug or other varieties, I can usually find wine from every continent at TJ's for more than reasonable prices. I love to drink wine; I’m not a wine connoisseur or anything, but I remember buying a bottle of Chilean white wine for a mere $3 and it was damn good.

Anything Mint Chocolate
I think that's pretty much self-explanatory because it is one of the best sweet flavor combinations ever.

Trader Joe's Joes Joes
They can be described as Oreo with a peppermint crunch filling. It is perfect for the holidays with just a glass of milk or even a mug of hot cocoa.

Crate & Barrel
Every time I visit the mall, I always have to stop by Crate&Barrel. I don’t always purchase something (the last thing I bought there was the potato ricer), but Mr. Tall knows very well by now that I just love to go into that place. I remember when Mai randomly asked me if I ever get married, where I would register, and without hesitation I answered, "Crate & Barrel."

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Again, I must give credits to Mr. Tall for reigniting my love for grilled cheese sandwiches. It's so simple yet enjoyable. You can put just about any sorts of cheese in between whatever bread you have on hand … maybe throw in some BBQ sauce or even pesto … The possibilities are endless! And, of course, grilled cheese sandwiches pair so well with soups.

Crepes
I have loved crepes since my days at UCSD at the Farmer's Market every Tuesday. Bibby’s crepes booth was my favorite, next to the local fruit stand, of course. There is a crepe station in Bristol Farms where you can get made-to-order sweet and savory crepes. Even the 7, 8, 9 Dinner Club whipped them up! Crepes are so easy to make and absolutely delicious—sweet or savory!

Ghirardelli Hot Fudge Sundae
Most people who know me know that I have been spreading the gospel of the Ghirardelli Hot Fudge Sundae since the first time Mr. Tall took me to Ghirardelli in Downtown San Diego. I had never been a big fan of hot fudge sundaes, but after a big of Ghirardelli hot fudge, my life was changed. Honestly, if you haven't had a Ghirardelli Hot Fudge Sundae, you have not experience real hot fudge.

Almond Roca
What can I say—the combination of buttercrunch toffee, chocolate, and almonds is perfection.

My Favorite Restaurants, again in no particular order:

Mama Testa
The best taco shop (and more) in San Diego. Period.

Celadon
Good ambiance and good Thai food.

Monsoon
The best Indian food in San Diego.

Sushi Deli 1
Cheap and tasty sushi.

George's Ocean Terrace
Spectacular view and excellent food.

Happy 2007 to everyone ... Keep on cooking and eating!

Enjoy,
Little Miss Contrary

The Adventures of Pinnerton and Little Miss Contrary

It has been unbearably long since my last post. Not by choice exactly. I just did my second and last round of the LSAT (because I sucked the first time around), so all of my free time was devoted to burying my head in prep books and sample tests. But now that’s over with, I’m free as a bird! Well, almost, now I get to worry about law school applications. Oh, what fun!

Anyway, I have been meaning to blog about so many things! First and foremost, Mr. Tall’s dad was in town a while ago, and he graciously took us out to dinner. Mr. Tall took him to Mama Testa the first night, which he really enjoyed. Can I please mention just one more time about how much I am in love with that place? Because I am! The next night, Mr. Ornelas took Mr. Tall and me to Rei de Gado, which is an all-you-can-eat Brazilian barbecue restaurant. Mr. Tall had taken me there once before for lunch. The price for lunch is less expensive, but the dinner generally runs about $35 per person. And let me tell you, I got my money’s worth. Although lunch was more of a bargain, the dinner had a much larger selection of meats and salad bar offerings. If you have never been to a Brazilian barbecue, waiters walk around with a large metal skewer with a freshly cooked chuck of meat and cut you an individual serving right at your table. Each table is equipped with a wooden knob of red and green on opposite ends—green if you want more meat your way and red if you’ve had enough of the protein. The salad bar is probably more than most would expect. It has a variety of vegetables, sides, fruits, etc. But the best thing at the salad bar is definitely the fried baby banana. They’re probably pan-fried without a batter; what you get is soft but not mushy little banana that are great as a break between the proteins or to end your meal.

Among their variety of meats were chicken, lamb, pork and various cuts of beef. One of their popular items if probably the filet mignon wrapped with bacon, but my absolute favorite this time was the garlic roasted lamb. It was so good beyond what I would ever attempt to explain to you. They also offer desserts in addition to the all-you-can-eat meal, but even a dessert lover like me does not have any room after I shook down, Kobayashi-style, the last fried banana.

The following week, my sister visited for an entire week for her Thanksgiving break. Yes, I know Thanksgiving was so long ago; I’ve obviously been lagging on updating my blog. Anyway, it was so fantastic having her around, and we indulged ourselves quite thoroughly. After Mr. Tall and I picked her up from the airport, we took her to, where else, Mama Testa! Of course, I got my usual Mojados de Carne (see previous post for its gloriousness) and I think my sister had the Bistec (grilled steak tacos). Pinnerton really enjoyed the food, especially the salsa bar.

From a coupon in the Uptown Magazine that we receive at the apartment, my sister and I did Sunday brunch at the LEI Lounge, located in the heart of University Heights. Upon entering the restaurant, the front is fully exposed into the bar area with a wall of waterfall. Once we passed the bar section, we enter the rectangular, hard-wood floored patio with table and booth seatings. The tables are draped with white table cloths and topped with a pink lei. The atmosphere was very lovely and chill … You feel as if you’re vacationing in Hawaii. I ordered the Ahi Tuna Benedict with a Gorgeous Geisha, which is a cocktail of champagne, strawberry liqueur and lychee juice. Pinnerton ordered the Stuffed Brioche French Toast with a side of sausage with a cranberry spritzer aka cranberry and soda water. The Ahi Tuna Benedict was served on an English muffin with poached eggs and topped with a generous amount of chipotle remoulade, which I really enjoyed. Pinnerton’s French Toast was served with a variety of berries, rum raisin syrup, and whipped cream. We both shared the dishes and enjoyed them thoroughly. My only small criticisms are that the food wasn’t particularly warm enough for some reason (even though the food arrived relatively promptly) and the sausage was far from impressive. Oh, and the Gorgeous Geisha wasn't as tasty as I had hoped; I could barely taste the strawberry liqueur and lychee juice. Overall, I would definitely make another trip to LEI Lounge (they also have an attractive dinner menu).

On Monday, I took my sister to audit a class at UCSD and made a stop for lunch before heading to the San Ysidro outlet. And guess where we went? McDonald’s! For some reason, I remembered having a McRib a long, long time ago, and for some reason, liking it. Pinnerton and I both order the McRib meal, and all I have to say is that I’m definitely never ordering it again. For those of you who don’t know what a McRib is—it’s basically processed pork, pressed into a shape of a small piece of rib, slathered with barbecue sauce, and served with onion and pickles on a bun. So for those curious about the McRib, I think the only thing that attracts people to them is the fact that McDonald’s only sells them for a limited amount of time. I’ve concluded that I am not a fan of the McRib or McDonald’s for that matter.

Since I know my sister likes sushi, I definitely wanted her to try Sushi Deli. We walked over to Sushi Deli 1 from my apartment (it's only about a 10-minute walk), but there was a very long wait so we decided to order for take-out. While they were preparing our order, Pinnerton and I made a grocery trip for some Thanksgiving items. Definitely a good use of our time. We got a couple of rolls (I don't quite remember), the Hot Hot California Roll (my personal favorite), and the Dynamite seafood appetizer (picture shown). The sushi were good as usual, but the appetizer was very disappointing. The seafood was mostly pieces of fish and imitation crab. Still, my sister was amazed with how much food we got for the money. That's a Sushi Deli deal for ya. Some people may not like the Americanized style of sushi that they serve, especially when sushi is slathered with the spicy sauce (I believe it's a combination of Sriracha chili sauce and watered down mayonnaise), but I love it! My sister and I both share the love for spicy foods so much that we used Sriracha, instead of wasabi, with soy sauce to dip our sushi-it was actually really good! I agree that perhaps the quality of the sushi at Sushi Deli may not be necessarily be premium, but for common folks like myself, the prices keep you going back.
Finally, our Thanksgiving dinner arrived! Our small celebration consisted of Mr. Tall, Taurin, my sister, and me. Mr. Tall was responsible for our 10-pound turkey, and I was responsible for the sides and dessert. He brushed it with melted butter and seasoned simply with salt and pepper, and just threw some herbs in the body cavity. It took only approximately 2 and a half hours to cook, and it was actually, really good! The sides were relatively simple. I cooked up some green beans, sweet potato casserole with lots of butter and brown sugar, and Brussels sprouts with pancetta (a recipe from Giada DeLaurentis’ Every Day Italian). And a must-have item was the whole-cranberry sauce from Trader Joe’s, which is my favorite. Taurin brought over some sparkling apple cider and whole wheat dinner rolls. We ate almost the entire turkey! Pretty impressive. We ended the meal with Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Pie with freshly whipped cream, which was quite tasty especially for the pumpkin lover, Mr. Tall. All in all, we had a very nice Thanksgiving.

Before my sister departed, we made yet another trip to Mama Testa. Apparently, they started having lunch specials! There were about 5 items, with a side of rice and beans, and a drink—all for $5.95! I had to order my usual (I really think I am addicted to it) and the lunch special of a Steak "Cesar" Salad. The salad was a very good size topped with a grilled thin strip of steak, tossed with a kicked up Caesar dressing. It was definitely more than a good deal. I am officially declaring myself an ambassador of Mama Testa!

I’ve got more foodies to blog about, but it shall be the next post! Coming soon—Little Miss Contrary’s Favorites List of 2006!

Enjoy,
Little Miss