Romesco Sauce

Guys. Look at that picture. I know the vegetable looks kind of weird - that's broccoflower, which is a hybrid cross between broccoli and cauliflower (clever, huh?). But don't focus on the genetically mutated cross-bred vegetable, Focus on what's underneath the broccoflower - the romesco sauce. I wanted to eat that sauce with a spoon, in great big mouthfuls. But I refrained cause I'm a lady.

The sauce pairs well with chicken, beef and basically any sort of roasted vegetable. I roasted more cauliflower afterwards and it also tasted great!

Romesco Sauce
adapted from Melissa Clark

2 medium red bell peppers, halved and cored
1 plum tomato, halved
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup peeled almonds (or peeled hazelnuts)
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp sherry vinegar (or combination of Shaoxing wine and red wine vinegar)
1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses or 1 tsp honey
1 1/2 tsp hot smoked paprika
1 tsp kosher salt

Set oven to broil and arrange the bell peppers (cut side down), the tomato (cut side up) and garlic on a baking sheet. Broil until the garlic turns a golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Turn garlic and broil a couple minutes more. Transfer garlic to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Continue to broil peppers and tomatoes until the peppers are charred and blackened, about another 5-10 minutes. Remove to the same bowl as the garlic, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to cool.

In a dry pan over medium heat, toast the almonds. Once they are a light golden brown, transfer to a food processor and pulse until they are broken up (not too fine).

Peel the skins off the peppers and tomatoes, being careful as they are hot. The skins should come off fairly easily, but just try to get most of it.

Combine the rest of the ingredients into the food processor with the almonds. Puree until almost smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more vinegar, honey or salt as needed. Eat with roasted veggies!

Lobster Stock

What do you do when you have a ton of leftover lobster carcasses? If your answer is "throw them away, of course - the delicious lobster meat is gone and that's trash" then that answer is wrong! Take the shells and make a delicious, rich lobster stock. The stock is very versatile - use it as a base for a lobster bisque, seafood soups, chowders, seafood pot pies, etc.

After you eat the lobsters, scoop out the thick roe on the inside and save that for another use. My mom is going to make porridge with it tonight, which is also very exciting - but beware of the cholesterol levels, if that's an issue for you. Also, remove the gills and any innards.

Simmering the stock made my apartment smell amazing and seafood-y (is that a word?). I think the first thing I'm going to make is lobster miso soup, much like the kind made from the heads of sweet shrimp at Japanese restaurants (amaebi). Just add some miso and a few cubes of tofu and I'll be good to go!

Lobster Stock

Makes about 2-3 quarts

Carcasses and shells from two lobsters

3 Tbps canola or vegetable oil

1 onion, cut into wedges

1 carrot, cut into chunks

2 Tbps tomato paste or 2 tomatoes, chopped

1/3 cup mirin

1/3 cup dry white wine (or 2/3 cup if not using mirin)

8-10 cups water

Heat oil in large stockpot over medium heat. When the oil is hot (but not smoking), add lobster shells. Stir often with a wooden spoon until they are browned, about 15 minutes. The longer you deepen the color, the more flavorful the stock will be.

Add onion, carrot, tomato paste (or tomatoes), mirin and wine. Cook until the wine has evaporated by half. Add water and bring stock to a simmer. Continue to simmer for an hour, uncovered. Strain stock and keep at room temperature for up to a day, or refrigerate for a week. Freeze for up to three months.

Berkeley - Chez Panisse

After the most disappointing dinner of my life, I really wanted to redeem the rest of the trip. Luckily, I was able to snag a last minute reservation at another bucket list item restaurant - Chez Panisse. Obviously I didn't learn from the day before's experience because I was immediately excited and my expectations were high. This time though, everything worked out!

The menu changes daily, which is fantastic. Alice Waters was a big pioneer of the farm to table movement in California and it really showed in her dishes. Plus, the restaurant itself is adorable!

Acme bread for the table

Blue Heron Farm Little Gems lettuce with green goddess dressing and radishes

local halibut tartare with shaved spring vegetables, Belgian endive and citrus vinagrette

fazzoletti pasta with basil pesto and cherry tomatoes

grilled Liberty Farm duck breast with fried new potatoes, sweet peas and sauce hachée

bittersweet chocolate pavé with stracciatella ice cream and caramel sauce

apricot galette with vanilla ice cream

I can't rave enough about the meal I had here. THIS is exactly how duck should have been done at Ad Lib ... soft, tender and perfectly medium rare. I think it was the best duck I've ever had, which only served to enrage me more about the previous night's dinner. If you get the chance, definitely go to Chez Panisse ... SO GOOD.

Chez Panisse

1517 Shattuck Ave, Berkley, CA 94709

Napa - Ad Lib at Royal Oak (Silverado Resort)

When French Laundry closed for renovations/expansions a few months ago, the ever-innovative Thomas Keller looked to the Silverado Resort in Yountville/Napa and opened a pop-up concept. Since the pop-up is a takeover of one of the country club's restaurants, TK decided to do a homage to the country club cuisine.

Nancy, Hua and I headed there over Memorial Day weekend, keeping our fingers furtively crossed that TK would be at the restaurant, carving beef wellingtons or tossing Caesar salads tableside. It would have been amazing! We were fan-girl-excited at this very thought.

front view of the Silverado Resort

Since there were three of us, we decided to go with three appetizers, entrees for four, a bunch of sides and a few desserts. Nancy and I traveled far to eat here; don't judge. Plus, since this is a temporary concept and though there is no actual end date, we didn't want to miss out on any amazing dishes. Basically we experienced FOMO to the max.

Bread was served to the table warm and the butter/salt combination was delicious. We were off to a great start. Excitement levels high at this point. Plus, we kept craning our necks for TK to appear.

duck liver mousse, kumquat jam

lamb carpaccio, compressed cucumbers, pearl onions, mint crème fraîche

classic Caesar salad, prepared tableside

Appetizers were solid. The Caesar salad could have used like, double or triple the amount of lettuce for the dressing that was on it, but I generally like very lightly dressed salads. The mousse was good but I wasn't too fond of the lamb carpaccio. Nancy and Hua liked it though. I liked how good looking our server was ...

prime beef short-rib "wellington" (serves two)

Liberty Farms duck breast, mustard fruits, sauce "bigarade"

grilled Elysian Fields Farm lamb t-bone

With these entrees for *ahem* four people, we also ordered a bunch of side dishes. Basically we ordered everything that looked interesting and/or delicious. Cause treat yoself.

crispy fingerling potatoes with caramelized sweet onions

crispy cauliflower with garden dill and sour cream

garden carrots glazed with wildflower honey

The entree round is where the meal started to fall apart. The beef wellington was really good, but honestly, it's hard to mess up or overcook short ribs. They get MORE tender the longer you cook them! Short ribs are very forgiving. The duck was a bit overcooked; more on the medium side than the medium rare that we requested. The sauce was also very thick and very sweet.

Our biggest beef was with the lamb (haha). It was definitely cook to well done - the meat was gray all the way through with no hint of pink, and ended up being tough and chewy. It's very, very rare that I send something back to the kitchen but for a $54 dish ... they should be able to execute it properly. Then the second one we received was still overcooked! Albeit slightly less overcooked, but it was still medium-well. The server asked us to cut into the middle (she hoped it would be more pink) but nope, fail. However, she did say that she would take it off the check.

Sides were solid but the carrots were also a bit overcooked. They were almost a bit mushy. The potatoes were well crisped but I feel like I could have made them myself - they're just roasted.

pineapple upside down cake, rum syrup, roasted macadamia nuts

meyer lemon chiffon pie

There was no saving desserts after the entrees. The pineapple upside cake had a weird crumbly texture and the whipped cream on top tasted exactly like the whipped cream on top of the mango pudding at dim sum (it took me a week of thinking to figure that out). The lemon curd and meringue was good on the chiffon pie but the crust was thin, brittle and slightly tasteless.

The bill came out to over $100 per person, before tip - and this was with the $54 lamb taken off the tab. As Nancy said, we spent a pretty penny for sub-par Thomas Keller food.

Honestly, I've never been more disappointed in a meal in my life. It's not to say that I haven't had worse food but our expectations were high, especially at a restaurant with Thomas Keller's name attached to it. Especially since Nancy and I flew up from Southern California to eat here. And TK wasn't there that night either! If I had gotten a picture with him, it would have at least saved the night a little bit. I understand the country club homage concept so I wasn't expecting French Laundry level plating but in terms of execution ... at least make the food taste good!

Conclusion: sad faces all around.

Ad Lib Pop-Up
1600 Atlast Peak Rd, Napa, California

CUCINA Enoteca Irvine

Are you already excited by all the food in the picture above? I am! I've never thought of Irvine Spectrum as a dining destination. However, when I was invited to dinner at Cucina Enoteca, I was game to give the place a try. And I was pleasantly surprised!

The menu is varied with large and small plates, which is great for either a full on dinner or just some appetizers with drinks. You can go for a cheese/charcuterie board, vasis (mason jars full of antipasti dips), bruschettas, appetizers, pastas, pizzas, and entrees. Also, the food arrived FAST (within 15 minutes of ordering) so if you're going to watch a movie across the way, no worries - you'll get in and out in record time.

Since we were so overwhelmed with options, we decided to go family style.

vasi - burrata, roasted garlic

grilled octopus, pickled beech mushroom, charred spring onion, acqua pazza aioli, black garlic and corriander vinagrette

chopped salad, escarole, radicchio, casalingo salumi, caciocavallo, pickled shishito, parmesan crouton, ceci bean, castelvetrano, garlic oregano vinagrette

risotto carbonara, pancetta, pea, pecorino, farm egg

short rib pappardelle, cremini mushroom, carrot, parmigiano

linguine+clams, salametto piccante, chili, white wine brodo, fettunta

tiramisu in a jar, mascarpone mousse, lady fingers, chocolate

dark chocolate budino, crème fraîche, amaretti cookie

As previously stated, I was extremely surprised by how great this meal was! We attacked the food as soon as it came so some of the pictures are not perfect (egg yolk broken, salad scooping in action) so I apologize .. but everything was well executed, season perfectly and arrived at the table piping hot, even though it all came out within 15 minutes of us ordering.

My only gripes are that half of the seating is outdoors so if you're sensitive to the weather, you may want to make a reservation and request an inside seat. And we ordered a non-alcoholic soda. the "aquazul" (strawberry, mint, lime, ginger, soda) and it was $7, which we thought was a bit steep. My friend probably didn't look at the price before she ordered it because she was a bit surprised.

CUCINA Enoteca Irvine
Irvine Spectrum across from movie theatre
532 Spectrum Center Dr, Irvine, California