from twitter Posted by chris on Jul 22nd, 2009 1 comment
follow me on twitterGlad I discovered the loft in this cafe. Now I can sit where I belong: Above everyone.
The view from above. Farley’s East in Oakland, CA.
from twitter Posted by chris on Jul 20th, 2009 add a comment
follow me on twitterAt the farmer’s market, I only had enough cash to get either the Thai Chicken Curry or an oversized Red Velvet Cupcake. But not both.
The decision was a piece of cake.
miscellaneous
Tastes like chicken
Posted by chris on Jul 3rd, 2009 7 comments
- Pan-roasted chicken with sherry vinegar & marsala wine sauce
- Carrot mashed potatoes with fresh chives
- Asparagus with crushed garlic & olive oil
The past few weeks I’ve been traveling and moving around. I just set up shop in a new place in Oakland, next to Lake Merritt & Piedmont. So this is the first meal I’ve cooked in a long while. Luckily, I had the help of my friend, Brian.
I asked Brian to drop a whole chicken in a large bowl of salt water to brine it. Well, I misjudged the capacity of the bowl and the water (or “salmonella water” as Brian would call it) spilled onto our counter (or “salmonella counter” as Brian would call it) soaking a roll of paper towels (or “salmonella paper towels”) and his clothes (or “salmonella clothes” as Brian would call it).
He showered, changed clothes and did everything short of calling for a government Hazmat team to come sanitize the kitchen.
Everything else went smoothly and the mashed potatoes have been dubbed by Brian, “The best mashed potatoes I’ve ever had… That I can remember.” So unless he’s had mashed potatoes that were so tasty that it caused memory loss, I think that’s a good review.
food link
Coffee Art
Posted by chris on Jun 24th, 2009 2 comments
Caffe Latte from Bellano Coffee in Santa Clara, CA
Jina Bolton just posted this photo I took on her new site, Art in my coffee! If you want to see how it’s done, watch this video of a barista in action. And just think of all the times their parents told them to stop playing with their food.
before & after
“I just paid $26 for eggs.”
Posted by chris on Jun 22nd, 2009 add a comment
Had a nice, relaxing breakfast on the patio at Katy’s Place in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA.
Eggs benedict: 3 poached eggs, smoked salmon, Hollandaise & caviar on top of an English muffin. Country potatoes. Fresh coffee.
Done.
- chris: I just paid $26 for eggs
- brian: Knowing you, it probably came with a side of fish from outer space. “Can you make sure the fish was orbiting a moon of Jupiter?”
recipe
Pan-seared poultry & peas. Prepared promptly.
Posted by chris on May 28th, 2009 2 comments
- All-natural, free-range chicken. Pan-seared. Olive oil, paprika, salt & pepper. (Complicated, isn’t it?)
- Organic petite peas, nitrate-free pancetta, shallots.
- Drizzled olive oil.
- No butter.
daily diet
Hurts So Good edition
Posted by chris on May 21st, 2009 add a comment
Chocolate mousse topped with strawberries; Raspberry mousse with whipped cream, Lemon mousse topped with blueberries; Triple chocolate brownie a la mode, Apple cinnamon crisp a la mode, Bread pudding with raisins & vanilla, with buttery whiskey sauce:
Done.
(Actually, there’s still some left in the photo above, but it really was completely finished before we left. I wouldn’t lie to you.)
daily diet
The “I Launched A Project, I Can Eat What I Want” edition
Posted by chris on May 18th, 2009 5 comments
After eating nothing but americanos, eggs and apples for several days, I’ve been indulging in all the foods I was craving the past few weeks:
- Turkey burger with bacon & onion rings
- Chicken fried steak and eggs. I haven’t had this in years.
- Crab-cake benedicts. Yes, plural.
- Chicken tenders. What the hell is a “tender” anyway?
- Espresso almond brownie, Chocolate chip cookies, Oreo cream cake, Bostom cream pie, Princess cake. Probably some other terrible desserts that I have no recollection of eating.
All I’m missing is the pizza and ice cream. (Together.)
miscellaneous
How to stay awake for 3 days
Posted by chris on May 8th, 2009 add a comment
Here are all the ingredients you need: Americano. No sugar. Egg. Apple. Water. Repeat.
Now that the project I’m working on is out (we relaunched QN5 Music, an independent hip-hop record label), I think it’s a good time to start curbing my americano addiction. I’m trying to wean myself down to one per day for now. I’ll let you know when I fail.
Previously on Cut & Taste
miscellaneous
Guys vs Girls
Posted by chris on Apr 23rd, 2009 add a comment
I showed up too late to try the Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes that Jill was talking about, but she was nice enough to bake another kind of vegan cupcake:
A pretty darn good vegan dessert — makes you wonder how much better it would’ve been with the addition of tasty, tasty animal products.
miscellaneous
Rib-eye steak: Butter is better
Posted by chris on Mar 26th, 2009 2 comments
- All-natural rib-eye. Sauteed with lightly crushed garlic & whole rosemary sprigs. Basted with butter.
- Organic baby carrots. Roasted. Caramelized with butter and maple syrup.
- Organic potatoes. Minced garlic, rosemary, olive oil & butter.
After eating a lot of vegetarian dishes the past few weeks, I thought I’d reintroduce some steak into my life.
It’s the first time I ever “finished” off a steak with butter in the pan. It definitely brings out some extra flavor from the meat. I suggest you give it a try, if you feel like you’re not getting enough fat in your diet. Just throw some butter into the pan during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Then continuously spoon the melted butter on top of the steak to baste it.
miscellaneous
Oil’s good for you!
Posted by Ana on Mar 4th, 2009 add a comment
I know most (normal) people use oils to cook. And I do, I do. But I also use one of my oils to moisturize my skin. haha! I know, it’s weird right? When I go buy olive oil at the store, I buy the biggest bottle of it because I go through it like crazy! I use it as a face moisturizer, body lotion (sometimes) and hand lotion. It even comes in handy as an eye makeup remover. Ever since we moved to New Mexico, my skin feels like that of a lizard! No joke. It gets dry, scaly and itchy! And sometimes it actually cracks and stings. Horrible, I tell ya. So not only do my cooking oils come in handy in the food department but also in the “beauty” department. If you ever have a bad case of dry, itchy, and cracked hands, you know where to go. Into your kitchen. Grab you some olive oil and slap it on. I guarantee, you’ll have softer skin in an instant. smile
miscellaneous
Curbing the appetite.
Posted by Ana on Mar 1st, 2009 6 comments
I drink tea. How fufu is that? I usually drink it when I’m online late at night and get hungry. Or I drink it in the mornings when I still feel full from what I ate the night before. I only like to drink specific type of teas though. None of those “diet teas” or teas that “speed up your metabolism”. Bunch of crock IMO. I like peppermint, chamomile, or wild berry tea. Just for flavor. How about you? Are you a tea kind of person? Any kind of tea you can recommend? What do you do to help curb your appetite?
miscellaneous
I hate milk.
Posted by Ana on Feb 27th, 2009 11 comments
...but I love cereal. Doesn’t make sense, does it? I guess I should say that I hate milk alone. But I like it in my cereal. I don’t drink what’s leftover. I always pour it down the sink. I know! Shame on me! There are starving children in the world… =( When I see people down a whole glass of milk it makes me gag. LOL I’m sure my bones will pay the price for it when I become an ol’ woman though. What about you? Do you like or hate milk?
