Miller Lite's $38 a Day

My last week of summer vacay is being spent at an AP conference in San
Diego, cleverly coined, "AP by the Sea." Sounds fun, but I'm in
session from 8-3:30... Of course, I have my per diem of $38 to spend.
It's so Rachael Ray, with the exception that I'm a much better tipper.
Spent $6 or so on a tall drip and spinach wrap at Starbucks for
breakfast. Had a lunch of eggplant parm and broccoli (ruffage) at Buca
Di Beppo with my sis in law and ADORABLE nephew and niece. She
treated, so thank you!!!! Because now I'm way ahead of budget.
I am now in my hotel room watching chick flicks and drinking "Skinny
Girl Margaritas" (no charge to the district, of course-they are zero
tolerance) and let me tell you this drink works! With each sip, I look
thinner, feel smarter and am quite clever. Here's to you, Skinny Girl!
Now, to go spend my remaining $32 on dinner.

I am, I am, I am, Superman and I can do anything!

Last Friday night, I had a craving to go out to eat at a steakhouse. Probably Tahoe Joe's. Then, I asked myself, WWID? (What Would Ina Do?) and realized I was money ahead splurging on quality filet mignon from Fresh & Easy and making tasty sides with less carbs than a steakhouse. So, I chose two new recipes (steakhouse steaks with roquefort chive sauce and scalloped tomatoes) and one tried and true recipe (cape cod chopped salad). Of course, all three from Ina because she seemes like the logical source and she really was the inspiration. 

Now, I really don't think I've cooked a steak before! If I have, I don't remember.The grill is intimidating and I get whiny in the heat or extreme cold. So, is it okay to brag and say THESE STEAKS WERE AWESOME!?!?! Ina swears the trick to a steakhouse quality steak is to tie it into a round and then coat it in olive oil, sea salt and pepper and sear all sides on a hot pan. Then, you cook it at high heat for about 12 minutes in the oven and it's perfection.

The scalloped tomatoes were like a bruchetta casserole, if you can imagine that. I used my grandmother's homeade bread in the recipe, which is either a waste of good bread or the secret ingredient. Who knows?

Now, my cape cod chopped salad is my all time favorite salad. I've thought about opening a restaurant that only serves this salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Of course, there'd be slight variations to it depending on the customer's mood, but the salad would be the basis of all meals. What makes it so special? A dressing made of orange juice and zest, maple syrup, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, kosher salt, pepper and Ina's favorite: "good" olive oil.  The salad itself has bleu cheese, bacon, dried cranberries and tart apples. What's not to love?

David said the meal was a "keeper." Thank you, Ina.

Ina's steakhouse steaks with roquefort chive sauce
Recipe on Food Network

My all time favorite salad: cape cod chopped salad
Recipe on Food Network

scalloped tomatoes
Recipe on Food Network

I left my [salted cod] in San Francisco

You guessed it! A Portuguese diner in the city. Grubstake is a trolley
car converted into a restaurant that stays open until 4 a.m. If you
are familiar with Portuguese cooking, salted cod is a staple that is
prepared 1,001 different ways. This dish is called "bacalhau (salted
cod) Gomes de sa" and it also has sliced potatoes, hard boiled eggs, caramelized onions,
olive oil and parsley. Although it was deelish, I daresay I had the
best meal at the table.
The entire trip was full of zany adventures, to put it lightly. We
walked an hour through Chinatown and Little Italy to find our favorite
palmiers. Then we realized $2 would get us around on the city
bus...seated, not walking!!!! While riding the BART, Tia Anita clawed
(literally) Tia Teresa's arm off when she thought she was going to
fall. Tia Teresa thought she had a homeless man attacking her. And
then there was the inside joke about "Hello Kitty" undies that got a
little out of hand.
For those of you who think I'm eccentric, you haven't met my family.
Or is it just my aunts?

Guy Fieri at Grubstake Diner

 Excellent palmiers and cannolis and decent espresso. But worth walking uphill?

Linguica and bread as an appetizer. I am very picky about my linguica (as any good Portuguese girl should) and it was top notch. I'm sure the owner, since he's from Lisbon, has a good supplier.

Upon entering any home in  the Azores, a robust (more like ro-butt) woman will insist you drink a "Cerveza, Angelique or 7-up." If you insult her and say, "No, gracias, senora" she will ask you again, as if you didn't hear her.  When you insult her even further and say, "Agua por favor," she will go in her kitchen and come back with a cold Sagres.  This is how it works and you pretty much know she won't listen to you. It's good manners.

Portuguese white table wine called "Vinho Verde" and literally means "green wine." I know. Weird. However, it's a nice substitute for beer on a hot day and it tastes a lot like Coppola's Bianco. Normally, Tia Anita turns her nose up at white wine, but she loves this bad boy. Of course, according to her husband, if there was a piece of $%@#* with a Portuguese flag stuck in it, she'd buy it for her curio.

I want a perfect body

I want to have control...
Well, I WAS doing well on my diet until this girls day with my sis,
mom, cousin and aunts to SF.
So I'm eating a sandwich of salted pig parts and washing it down with
a Scrimshaw Pilsner.
Ugh! I'm a [chunky] creep...

New...You're so new

It is my strong belief that one should not work during the months of
June and July. "Summer School" is an oxymoron I will not be a part of.
However, I find myself on this hot day in July on campus interviewing
teachers. Given our hard work this morning, we decided to eat at North
India Bar and Grill...a place I've never tried, but came highly
recommended by an Indian colleague and my admin, a retired Navy Squid
who has traveled the world and appreciates a diversity of ethnic
foods.
Upon entering, I was giving it a thumbs down because the hostess was
not only white, but to add insult to injury, blonde. My loyal
followers know how Stella in a Pacifico makes my blood boil, so you
can only imagine my mindset when now, our server, a blonde caucasian
takes our order. At least the crackers (not a racial slur since I am
one) at this joint are upfront and don't try to mask their whiteness.
It is an insult to my intelligence when a Hispanic woman at a
Teppanyaki restaurant wears a kimono and tries to paint her eyes
asianlike and offer me miso soup!!!! So, back on topic: had the
chicken tikki (sp?) masala, with lentils, cabbage, rice and salad. The
flavors bursted in my mouth (and sinuses), with a little zip and not
an obnoxious amount of curry. The naan was buttery, almost flaky and
grilled to perfection. The entire lunch plate was MORE than enough for
one girl to eat and a deal at $8 (and taken care of by my HR
colleague-thanks, T!)
Maybe working over summer isn't so bad after all.

Dear Mr. Fantasy Play Us a Tune

Last Sunday, our friend Mark invited us to his band's concert in his
backyard. Despite the threat of 107 weather, we all had a great time
eating appetizers (my favorite way to eat, by the way) under the trees
and with massive, industrial flans blowing. The only thing that I have
to complain about is the band's misleading name: "Earthtone." When I
heard their name was "Earthtone," I instantly thought James Taylor or
Peter, Paul and Mary. When hearing the word "Earthtone," in my head
popped images of my childhood kitchen, circa 1978, or even the
Elizabeth Arden makeup counter, but none of these associations came
even close to what I heard: awesome, soulful, bluesy rock a la
Traffic, Peter Frampton and Jimi Hendrix. Mark and I have already
discussed the matter of getting them a new name.
As for the food:
Please come back later for more pics and links to recipes, but for now
I can tell you there were three different salsas, stuffed jalapeños,
mini-dogs, Ina's soppresatta and cheese in puff pastry and even
Portuguese sopas! These pirate cupcakes (no booty jokes, please) were
red velvet made by Shirley. Unfortunately, I'm on a major diet and had
to forego the cupcakes and just stick with vodka.
Video clips of the band posted later...please come back!