Siena Restaurant @ the Meritage

Basil Pesto, Fresh Figs, Point Reyes Blue Cheese, and Balsamic Reduction

Everything that I love is combined in this dish.  Point Reyes blue cheese is just so amazing and that coupled with fresh figs, I feel like this could have been my entree.  It was thin crust so extremely easy to eat.  I really need to try making my own pizza at home.

Steak Frites

Grilled Flat Iron Steak Fried and House

Pomme Frites with Brown Shallot Butter

Ths steak was so-so.  It was a little more medium -well than medium.  The fries were the highlight.  They were really buttery.  Plus they soaked up some of the juice from the steak.  Sooo good.

Ravioli & Pumpkin Bisque

Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli, Roasted Pumpkin

Cream Sauce, Basil and Asiago Cheese

I usually never order ravioli at restaurants, but in my attempts to eat less meat, I decided to try this out.  The sauce was so creamy that I gobbled the whole plate really fast.  Actually, maybe I ate too fast because I had a stomach ache later that night. That was not such a smart idea since I had planned to be in a bathing suit and swim after dinner.  I was a whale-y

Pistachio Ice Cream

The ice cream was pretty good.  It was pretty similar to something I have made before.  Nothing fancy.  I just wanted something sweet to eat after my meal and I love pistachios.

Source:

http://www.themeritageresort.com/pdfs/Dinner%20Menu%20S%202010.pdf

French Laundry

Smoked Salmon with Creme Fraiche

Wrapped in Toasted Pumpernickel

At first when I saw this amuse-bouche, I didn't know how I was supposed to eat it.  It looked like a salmon lollipop.  As I bit into it, I did not realize there was also creme fraiche inside.  So yummy! It definitely started the day off right.

Salted Sourdough Bread with Butter Inside

Salted Butter on Right and Unsalted Butter on Left

I could not believe when I opened the bread, there was already butter inside.  Good God! I never ever ever butter my bread, but in this case, I had to try it.  The unsalted butter was presented really nicely so obviously I had to put a little of that on my bread as well.  I'm sure my heart is going to stop ticking soon.

Jidori Hen Egg "Panna Cotta"

Smoked Sturgeon Glaze, California Caviar

and Pumpernickel Sable

The waiter had told us that they raised the sturgeon in a local farm in the Petaluma area.  The quality was really good and luckily since Jake is not really a fan of caviar, he gave me half of it.    The panna cotta egg at the bottom was a really unexpected texture.  Wow!  It was one of my favorites of the day.

Moulard Duck "Foie Gras in Terrine"

White Honey, Walnuts, Celery Branch and Dijon Mustard

This came as a supplement to the menu and I had to, had have it since I heart foie gras so much.  I normally like it seared, but in this case it was served cold and came with brioche that they "refreshed" for me, AKA a freshly baked piece was given as soon as my plate was finished.  Jake liked it so much whenever I would offer another piece, he never refused.

Salad of French Laundry Garden Brocollini

Hosui Pear, Red Radish, Pine Nuts and Young Ginger

To tell you the truth, I was not expecting much from this vegetarian dish, but everything was AMAAAAZING.  I think they tempura-ed the shiso leaf so that really made the dish.  The ginger was so nice and delicate.  I definitely should not rule out vegetarian dishes in the future!!

Carpaccio of Pimenton-Cured Atlantic Fluke
Chickpea Beignet, Jingle Bell Peppers, Eggplant Confit

Jake was originally not going to order this since he had never heard of fluke before.  We were all pleasantly surprised when we saw all the beautiful colors.  Oh lala!  It was nice to have raw fish. Very refreshing!  I ate over half of his order. Sharing is caring :)

Sauteed Filet of Chatham Bay Cod

Razor Clams, Celery Branch, , "Pommes Puree"

and San Marzano Tomato Compote

The fish was sooooo flaky and delicious.  It was cooked perfectly.  The pureed potatoes were so creamy.  Mmmm.  I am so glad that the dishes are small because I get full really fast and needed to save my appetite for the rest of the food to still come.   

Pistachio- Encrusted Maine Sea Scallop

Field Rhubard, Cipollini Onions,

Black Winter Truffle and Watercress

Unfortunately, this was the least favorite of the whole meal.  Maybe I am just really partial to seared scallops, but it was just really boring.  I could not even taste the pistachio crust. Also, that black pool at the bottom, I had a little taste and went "yuck."  I stayed away from it.  When I heard it was black truffle, I was very very very surprised since I usually love that.  It tasted more like fish sauce.  Oh well.  At least I had more to look forward to.

Tartare of Kuroge Beef from Shiga

Sacramento Delta Asparagus, Black Trumpet Mushrooms,

and "Creme Fraiche Pain Frite"

This was also a supplement.  Jake and I tried to get everything on the menu so ordering this was NECESSARY.  I really enjoyed the beef tartare.  The trumpet mushrooms were really good. I think they used it for the sauce as well.  So delicious!

 

All Day Braised Salmon Creek Farms Pork Belly

Grey Morel Mushrooms, Glazed Turnips, English Peas

and "Sauce Bordelaise"

Anybody who knows me can tell you that my absolute favorite thing to order in a restaurant is pork belly.  This was by far the best pork belly I have ever had.  OMG!!!! It had the perfect balance of fat and meat.  The morel mushrooms were excellent.  The pureed peas was really great combined with everything.  I am salivating just looking at this picture again.  Haha.

Marcho Farms Nature-Fed Veal Tenderloin

Garlic-Parmesan "Pain Perdu," Spring Garlic, Globe Artichokes,

Arugula and Piccata Sauce 

I kinda have a moral issue with eating veal and was a little disappointed when I knew it was one of the dishes. I thought "I guess I don't have a problem with foie gras, so buck up and at least give this a chance."  When I first ate it, I was very pleasantly surprised.  It was cooked so well.  I wasn't too certain what "pain perdu" was, but when I looked it up on Google, I found out it was New Orleans french toast.   I really thought it tasted like polenta.  

Andante Dairy "Cavatina"

Curried Apricot "Chiboust," Marcona Almond "Genoise"

and Fennel Bulb

There are certain foods I simply cannot get myself to enjoy and goat cheese is just one of them.  It really tastes like a wild animal and I can't help but see a cute little goat when I eat it.  I thought the sweetness of the apricot was going to offset the taste, but I was wrong!  I didn't realize what a big bite I took.  I didn't want it to go to waste so I gave my plate to Jake and made him finish it.  The waiter asked if I liked it since the plate I had in front of me was clean.  Jake ratted me out and told him I hate goat cheese.  So embarrassing, but there was good that came out of it.  The waiter asked me what cheese I actually did like so he went back to the kitchen and prepared me another dish.  How sweet!!

Oregon Blue Cheese with Fig Jam and Carmelized Leek

on Toasted Cracker

Oooh!  I love blue cheese.  I believe it was served atop fig jam although I didn't listen too well when the waiter was rattling of what was in it.  In any case, it was very tasty and in a way, I'm glad I didn't like the goat cheese because I got an extra course.  Yipee!

Soft-poached Egg with Black Truffle Oil and White Truffles

This was sooooo rich!!  I could only have a couple of spoonfuls since I started to reach my fullness threshold.  White and black truffles.  It was spectacular.  I wish i had more room in my stomach for this!!

Steel-Cut Oat Sherbet

  Granola,Granny Smith Apple "Nuage"

Rum Raisin Coulis

I am a BIG dessert person so I was happy that this was the first of the many desserts I was about to try today.  The apples were crisp and sweet all the same time. It was pretty tough to cut the granola so I just ate the whole thing in one bite.  The rum raisin coulis was extraordinary.  It was like a deconstructed fancy apple pie.  Delish!

"Savarin Au Citron"

Citrus "Vierge," Moulin des Penintents Olive Oil

and Straus Dairy "Creme Glacee"

This was such a sour dessert.  Definitely a nice change from the previous course.  The olive oil was a nice touch to add at the top.  I had to be really careful not to soak the "cake" for too long so I ate this very quickly.

Peanut Butter "Bavarois"

Crunchy Feuilletine, Maralumi Milk Chocolate "Whip"

and Gros Michel Banana Sorbet 

This was really tasty.  My favorite part was the banana sorbet.  It went really well with the peanut butter and chocolate.  Extremely common, but still nice combination.

Passion Fruit Tart with Whipped Cream

Whoa, more dessert!!  This was my favorite overall. You could really taste the passion fruit and the whipped cream was so dense.  It tasted like ice cream almost.  So goooood!

Assortment of chocolates

After the check came, they brought out a bunch of little candies to try.  The best thing was the chocolate at the upper right corner.  It was salted caramel.  So awesome.  My taste buds were a little tired of all the sugar I had, but you only live once!

Dark Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts 

Dusted with Powdered Sugar 

The macadamia nuts were good.  It tasted like the Mauna Lao ones I always ask for when someone wants to bring me back something from Hawaii.  I brought some of this home since I could not eat anymore.  

El Toro Loco

Chupa de Camarones

Prawn stew with cream, white fish, green peas, rice, eggs, and secret sauce

My coworker recommended this place since she lives in Pacifica so I thought I would try it.  She said to stay away from the Mexican dishes since they specialize in Peruvian food.  I really have been on a seafood kick and it was a pretty cold night (very typical in Pacifica) so soup was a good option.  There were chunks of white fish and the stew was really hearty.  The chef must have had a heavy hand with the cream, but I enjoyed it.  I think I counted about 10 shrimp and that was really awesome since I was really hungry.  When the bowl first came out, I totally thought I would have to bring some home, but by the end, I only had a litttle bit of soup so it wasn't worth it.  Wow I ate the whole thing.  I doubt I am ever going to be in this part of town again since it's in a secluded place and there's nothing else to do here, but go to the restuarant.  I was pretty impressed though with the quality so I'm glad I followed my coworker's advice.

Seafood Marinara

 

 

Seafood Marinara w/ mussels and shrimp

I bought all the ingredients since I planned to make dinner that night and was going to have my friend, Ryan, over.  Unfortunately, the day of the dinner, I got sooo sick with a cold.  The show must go on though so I took some Zicam and ate alot during the day. I tried to go with the old saying "Feed a cold" and hoped that I would muster up enough strength to entertain that night.  Luckily, I felt alot better and had Ryan and his one-eyed dog, Bravey over.  I personally think it was all my gorging that day that helped (cheezeits, hot chocolate, chex mix, whatever else I could get my hands on). Since I used whole wheat pasta, I thought it wasn't going to taste as good, but I was wrong.  Also, I added some sour cream since I wanted to do something different plus I had some leftover and needed to use it.  It actually turned out nice and creamy so that was pleasant.  I am trying to add more seafood recipes to the list since I am eventually planning to ween off meat.  Wish me luck!


Ingredients
 (yields 4-6 servings)
1/2 lb of peeled shrimp
1 1/2 lbs of mussels, debearded
4 garlic cloves (diced)
1/2 small onion
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 tomatoes diced
16 ounces of canned diced tomatoes
8 ounces of tomato paste
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of thyme
1/2 cup of fresh basil (chopped coursely)
 1 green onion (chopped finely)
1 package of whole wheat fettuccine ( I only used half)
      *optional
       1 teaspoon of salt
      1 tablespoon of sour cream

Directions
1) Saute the onions in olive oil until they are translucent
2) Add the garlic and cook on medium for 5 minutes.  Turn the heat down if the garlic starts to burn.
3) Add all the tomatoes (fresh and canned), tomato paste, oregano, thyme, basil, and green onions. 
4*) I had some leftover sour cream so I added a tablespoon of that.
5) Add the shrimp and debearded mussels and cook on medium for 10 minutes.  Discard any mussels that don't open.
6) In a separate pot, fill halfway with water and bring to a rolling boil.  Salt the water as needed.
7) Stir in the fettucine and cook for 8 minutes or until al dente.

Jake's Homemade Wonton Soup

Wonton soup with pork and shrimp

I had been feeling under the weather lately so I asked Jake if we could make wonton soup over the weekend.  He was a little hesitant since the dimsum place near his house has really good wonton soup, but I have been on a cooking roll and wanted to try making this for myself.  After buying all the ingredients at the market, it took about 45 minutes to prep.  The Olympics were on so we were half watching that and half cutting everything.  When everything was said and done, it tasted really good.  Presentation-wise, I would be a bit embarrassed to serve this to people other than my close friends and family since the wonton wrappers didn't hold up as well as I wanted.  Some of the filling actually exploded into the soup.  Haha.  I guess we didn't wrap them tight enough.  If I make this in the future, I will try to not cram as much filling as I did.

Ingredients

(yields 8-10 servings)

1/2 pound of ground pork

1/2 pound of shrimp (peeled)

small ginger (grated)

3 green onions (cut into 1/4 inch pieces)

1/2 cup of rice wine

3/4 cup of soy sauce

1/3 cup of sesame oil

2 cups of chicken broth

3 cups of water

4 tablespoons of Knorr wonton soup mix (available at Asian markets)

package of small square wonton wrappers (quantity: 60)

      *optional

       head of cabbage (roughly chopped)

       mushrooms (chopped to 1/3 inch thickness)

Directions

1) In a nonstick pan, cook the pork for about 5-10 minutes.

2) In a separate pan, add half a cup of water and cook the shrimp for 2 minutes on each side.. 

3) Combine the two in a medium mixing bowl.

4) Add the ginger, green onions, rice wine, soy sauce, and sesame oil.

5) Mix together and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

6) Fill the middle of each wonton wrapper with 1 tablespoon of mixture

 *For instructions, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ33n10ht88&feature=related (that's not me by the way, I just needed a quick tutorial)

7) Set the wontons aside and make sure you don't keep them too close together since the wrappers will stick and it will be hard to pry them off without breaking.

8) In a medium-sized pot, add the chicken broth, 2 1/2 cups of water, and the wonton soup mix.  Keep on high heat until the soup mix is fully dissolved. 

9) Add the cabbage, mushrooms, and prepared wontons.

10) Cook on high heat until the wontons look transparent.  This should take about 10-15 minutes.

Papalote- Winner of the Burrito Throwdown

The Triple Threat Burrito

A Full Serving of Tender Grilled Chicken!

A Full Serving of Tangy Carne Asada!

Four Succulent Grilled Prawns!

A week after learning that this place won the Burrito Throwdown with Bobby Flay, I was worried that it would be super busy on a Friday night.  When we arrived at the Fulton location, we were pleasantly surprised that we only had one other person in front of us in line.  Not bad.  Most of the clientele at this place were college students since it's 2 blocks away from USF so they probably went for their fill before partying that night.  As I looked at the menu, I was originally gung-ho for the prawn quesadilla, but Jake wanted to get the Triple Threat since that was the featured dish on the show.  Unfortunately, it was $20 so we just decided to split it since I thought it was going to be absolutely huge and I didn't want to eat much so late at night.  When the cook handed us the to-go bag, it looked kinda small.  I was already worried..  The main draw of this place is their famous chips and salsa.  After trying it, I really didn't see what the big deal was.  I have had better at Chevy's!!  Anyway, on to the burrito.  I liked the fact they cooked the meat in front on you and it was nice to have carne asade, chicken, and prawns in one burrito, but...FOR TWENTY DOLLARS, I WAS EXPECTING WAY MORE.  I ate my half without problem.  Hell, I even ate an ice cream bar afterwards so I wasn't that full.  I guess it kinda ruined it as well that there was rice included.  I hate fillers so occasionally when I would bite into it, all I got was rice and sour cream.  Not fun!  So all in all, would I go back? No, thanks.  I would rather go to Gordo's for 1/3 the price.

Source:

http://www.papalote-sf.com/menu.html

Fish & Farm

Niman Ranch Cheeseburger

grilled onions, white cheddar, house made pickles,

secret sauce, acme bun, french fries, and bacon

I am slowly, but surely working my way through the "The 2010 Big Eat SF: 100 Things to Try Before You Die" so the next stop on the train to gluttonville was Fish & Farm.  I obviously had to order the cheeseburger so here's the lowdown:

1) I absolutely love love love that there was a ginormous steak knife stuck right in the middle of the burger.  It made me feel like a cavewoman with my hunk of meat. 
2) The burger was reallllly messy.  Thank goodness I was not on a date because I don't think I would be asked out again if someone saw the way I devoured it.
3) The fries were really delicious and I like that it came with "secret sauce," which was a little spicy.
4) I took home half the order since it was SO big and I did not want to force myself to finish and wake up feeling bloated.  
5) I enjoyed everything, but could have gone without so much peppercorn.  It's kind of a pet peeve of mine seeing mounds and mounds of peppercorn so docked point for that one.

**Oooh forgot to mention, at the beginning of the meal, the waiter came out and gave us an amuse-bouche.  The asparagus soup came in a shot glass and was perfect to have since it was a breezy night and I needed something to warm me up. It was really unexpected and appreciated since I have gone to really expensive restaurants (those will remain nameless for the time being) that did not do that so kudos to Fish & Farm.  That kind of service definitely does not go unnoticed. 


Source:
http://fishandfarmsf.com/