Travel Photos

In addition to all things cooking and food related, I love, love, love to travel and take pictures (yes quite often including pictures of food). I just ran across a few of great slide shows on Budget Travel's blog that I wanted to share. These are all reader submitted shots.

Sunsets:
http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-srv/gallery/0909_ReadersSunset/index.html?jumpToPic=0

France:
http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-srv/gallery/0907_ReadersFrance/index.html?jumpToPic=0

Italy:
http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-srv/gallery/0907_ReadersItaly/index.html?jumpToPic=0

National Parks:
http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-srv/gallery/0907_NationalParks/index.html?jumpToPic=0


Once I get my website up and running, I will have a section for my own best-of-the-best travel shots. Steve and I have both taken a lot of great shots over the years... From Napa to NYCv to Paris and Cinque Terre, Italy. I look forward to sharing those soon.


Enjoy!

Madnening Schedules, Taking Time & Eating Well

Ok, so it is true... I spend so much time focusing on everything and everybody else in my life that I often forget to take time to do the things that I need to do and want to do for myself. There is no doubt that my life has been a bit crazy the last few month/years, but it is no excuse. I have to make time for those things I need to do, a big one of which is writing and building this blog. Yes, I know I have said it before, but this time I am serious.

Today's thoughts are on busy schedules and trying to eat well. The last few weeks have been really hectic with my work. This weekend it was just me and my trusty canine companion Allie and I finally took a few days to really relax. No work, just beach time, a little cooking, reading, game night with some friends, old movies and and topped off with Labor Day at the SD zoo with some other friends.

We are finally coming off of a heat wave here in San Diego — thank goodness! Last weekend my aunt and uncle came to visit from Houston. They had hopes of escaping the heat, but found it to be almost as hot here, made worse by the fact that we have no A/C (since the other 50 weeks of the year don't require it). Needless to say I haven't been in the kitchen a lot lately.

One of my highlights in the kitchen this weekend was a salad I made on Saturday. I pounded out a chicken breast and marinated it in and orange and muscat grape flavored champagne vinegar, dijon mustard, lime juice, fresh thyme and olive oil. (I reserved about 2 tablespoons of the marinade for my salad dressing before it went on the chicken). The chicken was grilled and thinly sliced it after it came off the heat and rested. While the chicken rested prepared a base of spring mix and arugula, tossed it with the reserved dressing, some crumbled goat cheese, about 4 fresh figs, sliced, a couple of small tomato slices and a handful of toasted walnuts. The flavor combination was outstanding!

More structured writing and recipes to come...

Bon appetit!

The Bunless Wonder Burger

Earlier in the summer, I was craving a burger, but didn't have any buns or bread around. I decided I really didn't need the bread anyway, and I came up with this 1/2 lb burger—a meal in itself. The sesame seeds at the end give it a special touch. You'll never miss the bun!

1/2 lb Grass-Fed Ground Beef
2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard
Pinch of salt
15–20 cracks of fresh ground pepper
Crumbled blue cheese
2 strips bacon
1 slice mozzarella, asiago, cheddar or other cheese of your choice
1 tablespoon Thousand Island dressing
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Combine first four ingredients and patty into a nice big burger. Spray with olive oil or canola oil spray and grill to your liking. With nice grass-fed beef, I like a nice true medium.

In the last 2 minutes of cooking, top the burger with the blue cheese crumbles and bacon and seal them on with the sliced cheese. Allow to melt and remove from the grill.

Drizzle with the Thousand Island and top with sesame seeds. Bon Appetito!

Aunt Rosie's Kitchen

Aunt Rosie, Me, Steve and Aunt Mary in Aunt Rosie's Kitchen

One of the "happy places" in my life has always been my great aunt Rosie's kitchen—the pictures of children, grand children and great grand children on the fridge, the warmth of the wooden cabinets and chairs, the white and gold coffee mugs, and most of all her loving spirit and positive energy. When you're there, the rest of the world seems far away and worries over everyday life are left behind. I think of her all the time, especially when I am cooking and baking. I never miss a visit with her when I am back in WV. There is something peaceful and magical about sitting with her and having coffee—and always some snacks—in her little kitchen on Hunsaker Street. Aunt Rose is my grandfather's sister. I have always cherished her and admired her for being a strong woman and an amazing cook. I get a lot of my culinary inspiration from her and from my grandfather. I believe I get a lot of my spunk and strength from them as well. Since my grandpa passed in 2001, Aunt Rosie has been my link to the family food traditions. I love talking to her and working my way through her specialties—recipes that are not completely achieved by reading a hand written list of ingredients. These are family traditions that might be lost—or at the least changed completely—if not passed down directly by word of mouth from generation to generation.

Today I have her in my thoughts and prayers even more than ever. She is in a hospital fighting life threatening blood clots. As I prepare dinner tonight, she will be close in my heart. My mind will be in that happy place, praying for a speedy recovery with much love and admiration for a woman who is a pillar of my family.

Summertime

Wow — I can't believe it is already mid-July! Time goes so fast. A few of my favorite food endeavors so far are:

Grilled Shrimp Wrapped in Prosciutto Skewered with Rosemary
Homemade Rustic Olive Oil Foccacia
Kicked-Up Pimento Cheese Spread
Bunless-Wonder Grilled Burgers
Grilled Corn with Lime and BBQ Dry Rub (An old stand-by from last summer)
Daryl's Napa Burgers with Pesto Mayo
My Homemade Pesto
Grilled Chicken and Chicken Sausage Salads
Chocolate Ganache Cake (Made for my Dad's Birthday)
Spicy Beef & Pork Burgers

As is all too often the case, my busy schedule and somewhat upside down life leave me little time for my writing. I hope to start remedying that and making time to blog about these and other food adventures on a weekly basis. Stay tuned for more food chat from Stephanie's Kitchen. In the meantime, Cheers to good food, good wine and good friends!

Buttery Seawater

On Saturday night, Steve and I finally tried Sea rocket Bistro in North Park. Sea Rocket is a farm-to-table restaurant, so everything they feature is locally sourced — my kind of place for sure! We had a great meal — I had the fresh catch pan-seared local yellow tail and Steve had the pork chop, also locally raised. We both had the sautéed greens and smoky mashed potaotes. The addition of a touch of liquid smoke gave the fresh, creamy potatoes a subtle smoky flavor – outstanding! *Mental note to try that at home sometime.

One of the highlights of our evening was one of our appetizers — Fresh Sea Urchin (Uni) from Point Loma. Neither of us had ever tried Sea Urchin before, but were very curious about it. Our waiter described the taste as buttery seawater and told us it would be served in it's shell, spiny exterior still moving a bit because it is so fresh. Our curiosity grew as we awaited the dish.

Much to our delight, it was very light and buttery, just as he had described. Add a new intriguing shellfish to my list of unique foods in the thumbs up column. I'll definitely seek it out again!

Lunch

Wow! Time has really slipped away from me. I can't believe it has been over a month since I last wrote. April and the beginning of May have been quite hectic for me — I have been busy working and designing and dealing with administrative issues for my business.

Busy days often leaving me with little time for lunch. Having a home office helps, but I usually don't have time to prepare much. I do enjoy these two versions of Tuna Salad that I can whip up in a flash with the right staples on hand.

So Cal Tuna

1 can solid white albacore tuna
1 tablespoon good extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of a medium or 1 small avocado, diced large
2–3 small vine tomatoes, cut into bite size wedges or
about 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of granulated garlic or garlic salt

Rinse tuna and drain thoroughly in paper towels, squeezing out excess water. Place dry tuna in a medium size bowl, add olive oil and gently break apart with a fork. Add avocado, tomato, salt, pepper and garlic and stir. Let stand for a few minutes and enjoy.

Tuna Caprese

1 can solid white albacore tuna
1 tablespoon good extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of a medium ball of fresh mozzarella
2–3 small vine tomatoes, cut into bite size wedges or
about 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
4 large basil leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse tuna and drain thoroughly in paper towels, squeezing out excess water. Place dry tuna in a medium size bowl, add olive oil and gently break apart with a fork. Add mozzarella, tomato, salt and pepper and stir. Let stand for a few minutes and enjoy.