Raita, Cool as the the Other Side of the Pillow

I love hot and spicy food, but sometimes, even my taste buds need some respite from the relentless attack fiery heat. When I need relief, I turn to raita, a delicious blend of yogurt and cucumber. Raita is super versatile -- you can eat this stuff straight up as a salad, add a few spoonfuls to hot Indian fare, or even use it on baked salmon to add a bit of tang and moisture to the fish. Without further ado, I present raita...

Recipe
4-5 cups of thick yogurt
6 sprigs of mint
1 lemon
1 English cucumber
quarter of an onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

I'm Going Going, Back to Back, to Cauli Cauli Cauli

I'm one of those people that love veggies that people generally dislike -- brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage... basically, any ingredient that is sure to put a deep wrinkle on a child's brow, I probably love. Well, now that we're adults, our taste buds probably (hopefully?) learned to appreciate the things that aren't cookies or buttered noodles. I had aloo gobi and instantly fell in love with the aggressive spices and the subtle sweetness of the cauliflower. For those of you that still stick up your nose at cauliflower, find someone that likes it so you can cherry-pick the the creamy chunks of potatoes guilt-free. Over a plate of basmati rice, there's nothing more satisfying during the winter.

Recipe
1 head of cauliflower
6 medium sized red potatoes
1 jalapeño
2 inch segment ginger
1 medium onion
1 bunch cilantro
4 cloves of garlic
2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons garam masala
1 tablespoon turmeric 
oil for sauteing
salt and pepper to taste

Office Holiday Potluck?! Worry Not, Make This Onion Bacon Tart!

It's that time of the year again, where you get to show off a bit and exhibit the inner Domestic God/Goddess to coworkers. There's nothing like an elegant looking savory tart to cement your status as the office's culinary wizard. The smell of bacon and onion cooking together is probably one of the most intoxicating scents in the world; in fact, even after a day, the smell still lingers in my apartment and it makes me hungry for more onion tart...

Recipe
For the tart shell
1 2/3 cup flour
3/4 cup butter (that's 1 1/2 sticks, and should be very cold)
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons ice water
tart pan with removable bottom (mine is ~12")


For the filling
3 large onions
12 strips of bacon
4 large eggs
1 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Presidio Social Club

The boyfriend and I have been meaning to dine at the Presidio Social Club for a while and finally, last Friday, we came here for date night. First, this place gets massive props just for its parking lot!! Yes, you heard it right, free and easy PARKING!! And not just a 3-4 car dinky lot, but it has at least 20-25 spots!! I thought I died and angels carried me to suburban heaven. And on a completely unrelated note, even for the Marina/Presidio, this place is extremely white (not that there's anything wrong with that). I have never seen so many blondes (fake or otherwise) in my life.

After perusing the menu, we agonized between sharing the pork chops and burger or get the ribeye steak for two. In the end, we decided to hedge and error on the side of variety. We also ordered the chicken liver pâté to start, a Moscow mule for me and Makers on the rocks for the boy. We held hands and dreamily locked peepers over the flickering candle night -- another romantic date night was about to commence. Not sure if it was the booze or the dim light, but hot damn, the boyfriend looked good! Hope the sentiment was mutual :).

First up, the pâté. It had a nice layer of fat on top, which my boyfriend (not so) surreptitiously scrapped off and dug in for the pink stuff. I didn't mind the fat, more flavor for me! The pâté was smooth and didn't taste organ-y at all; paired with the fig (?) jam, me likey! The toast points that came with the dish could use a bit more refinement, they were essentially whole wheat bread cut into sticks. I think a fancier, more toasted bread would be preferable. Nevertheless, it was a great start to the meal.

Chicken liver pâté 

Evan's American Gourmet Cafe

Ski season is almost upon us and I'm sure SF dwellers will trek to Tahoe by the bus-load. In case anyone is interested in a little upscale fare in the boonies, well, you don't have to look farther than Evan's American Gourmet Cafe. I dined there a while back when the boyfriend and I were in the area for a celebrity golf tournament. After much browsing on yelp, we decided on Evan's for a romantic dinner on our first mini-vacation. The restaurant is tiny and we were required to call the day of to reconfirm the meal. I find it pretty snooty that they ask the patrons to call to confirm instead of the other way around, but c'est la vie.

We arrive at the restaurant 10 minutes early. The host told us that our table would be ready in a few minutes. While we were standing there, we saw another table for 2 ready to go. The host said that another party specifically reserved that table for 8:30. Well, we waited and waited. The other table arrived more than 15 minutes late and were sipping wine before we were seated. While we twiddled our thumbs, the staff essentially ignored us. Let's just say I was more than a bit peeved.

Finally, after more than 30 minutes, we were seated, sans any apologies or peace offerings from the kitchen. Thankfully, we got a corner table with a bird's eye view of the entire dinning room. Not that the place was much to look at. I appreciated some of the small details -- white table clothes, wines chilled on ice and freshly baked bread. I noticed the waiters would fill my water and walk to the other side of the table to fill my boyfriend's glass instead of reaching across (granted, they gave us a huge table that could seat 5). The decor of the place looked like an episode of I Love the 80's -- tacky wallpaper and overdone valances. I had to battle the urge to run into the bathroom and tease my hair.