chezpei.com

Brenda's French Soul Food Cafe

2010-03-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

We got done with errands a full half hour before having to return our Zipcar today, so J suggested we grab a quick breakfast to go (and get me my morning coffee).

What, oh what could be in this greasy paper bag?

YUMMINESS, that's what!!! We'd been to (and liked) Brenda's in the Tenderloin, but neither of us had had their crawfish beignets until today. Three softball-sized beignets and a large cafe au lait set us back about $10, but it was very much worth it. The beignets were cooked to order and given to me too hot to eat, and they were filled with a cheesy, slightly spicy mixture of sauce and crawfish. The dough was fluffy but with just a little chewiness, and about one and a half of one was more than enough breakfast for me. We haven't been to Brenda's in awhile, but our quick trip there has me eager to return for more.

Chicken Salad Sandwich

2010-03-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

Hey check it out! I made myself a healthy lunch today. I took a piece of pan fried chicken breast and cubed it to make a simple chicken salad with mustard, mayo, and celery. Then I piled some onto a slice of toast and half a sliced avocado, and ate the leftover rib of celery as a side of fiber. Not too shabby. Certainly beats eating out again!

Chrysanthemum Tea

2010-03-18T16:02:00.000-07:00

Well, it's not rocket science, but I did make something lovely and homemade today. Something to perk up the drudgery of crossing things off my ever-growing check list.

Of course, chrysanthemum tea is only good if you can get your hands on good dried chrysanthemums. I'm lucky enough to have relatives who own a tea shop in Taiwan, so I have a veritable endless supply of what they sell out of their shop's big sidewalk iced metal buckets in the summer time. It really takes me back! For those of us who have to make our own, follow these general guidelines: boil a gallon of water, and when you've reached a boil turn off the water and throw in a handful of blossoms. You should use enough that the floating flowers cover the surface of the water without big gaps. Add an eighth of a cup of sugar, taste and adjust for more sugar or blossoms as you like, then let sit for up to five minutes before straining the flowers out. Chill and serve over plenty of ice. I prefer the tea very light and barely sweet, a great substitute for water on a beautiful, unseasonably hot and sunny day like today!

Round Table Pizza

2010-03-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

Oh, for shame.

I wish I were kidding, but I'm not. Last night we had a $10, large, one topping pizza from Round Table. As pizza chains go, Round Table has some nostalgic value for me and has always been decent. So I should really cut them some slack. I'm painting the kitchen/dining room this week, and since painting each room is a multiple-day process the stove was out of commission for a few days. Tomorrow I finish painting the trim and Friday I hope to get to (or maybe even finish!) the walls. Cheer me on, faithful readers. This whole "paint my whole apartment by myself" idea is getting really old.

*image courtesy of Round Table

Area Rugs

2010-03-13T22:07:00.000-08:00

More house shopping. I can't wait until the major decision in my everyday life is what to eat for dinner. But for now, area rugs! J vetoed traditional/Oriental/Persian rugs, so we've taken the hunt in a completely different direction. It's just as well, these are really fun.

I like this one a lot. It reminds of of Marimekko or Orla Kiely, which both design textiles in bold patterns and colors. The aesthetic is like an updated retro, I think. I'm planning for this to sit under a dining table in a sage green room. Now I need to pick a runner for the hallway adjacent to the dining room. I would like the look of beige, but I'm afraid it will get really dingy because that's a high traffic area. Maybe green or a darker beige/brown? It probably needs to un-patterned and just very lightly textured if it's going to sit close to such a busy rug!

This rug I'm not as enamored of, but I think it will work in our living room, which is painted a very pale, barely-there shade of blue gray. I plan to bring more blues into the room with cushions and curtains, so a light gray rug covering almost half the room seems like a safe bet. The design is bold but not too busy for a large exposed area, and the last light gray rug we had stood up pretty well to foot traffic.

Pei's Furniture Fix-It Shop

2010-03-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

Today I turned my living room into a furniture repair center. I brought a few pieces of old furniture that I liked up from the basement, and realized once they were in bright light that they need a lot more cleaning and fixing than I'd originally imagined. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I borrowed some tools and got to work.

The veneer on this drop-leaf table is popping off in several spots, so I'm clamping about six inches a day until I get almost all the way around the front. I'm halfway done already, and the parts I've glued are staying together pretty well. I could work more quickly if I had more clamps, but oh well. Slow and steady wins the race when dealing with furniture older than me and J combined.

I actually like the table better when it's folded up. It's more understated this way, and fits nicely in a corner or on a small wall. It doesn't have a permanent home yet, but I love the carved woodwork and curved drawer. I hope the wood glue continues to be a success.

What's Old is New

2010-03-12T11:47:00.000-08:00

I have a desk is in my bedroom! It's very exciting; I don't think I've owned a proper desk since college. Thanks to our helpful and resourceful manager, I now have an almost-antique desk to call my own. Pardon the glare from my still-to-be-properly-covered windows.

The desk was made by the Charles R. Sligh Company of Holland, Minnesota, and it was abandoned and stored in our basement for years. In return for my taking it so he can organize the storage room, our manager showed me how to oil it and get it looking nice again. I don't have an age on the desk, but chances are it's from the 30s-40s so it'll be an antique in a few decades.

The desk has a leather inlaid top, brass pulls, and really lovely drawer fronts. The drawers need some fabric laid down on the insides and some waxing around the edges, but otherwise it's in beautiful condition! And yes, that's fresh paint on the walls and a corner of our finished floors. So you see, we'll be civilized enough in short order.

Braised Pork Belly

2010-03-11T08:30:00.000-08:00

Yum. Fat.

As predicted, the induction cooktop is a braising wonder. Because it holds low temperatures so steadily, it was incredibly easy to get everything started and then just put a lid on the pot and come back a few hours later. No boil overs, no low flame blowing out accidentally, no burn rings on the bottom of the pot where one section was more heated than another. And cleanup was a breeze. So far, cleaning the smooth top has only required light wiping with a soft fabric and occasionally some soap. It's like cleaning a countertop.

And yes, J was the cook again. He says he loves braising! I think he just likes the new kitchen. It's nice to be able to both work comfortably in one space. Our last two kitchens have really been one-person work stations.

Duck Noodle Soup (and Sneak Peak!)

2010-03-07T22:19:00.000-08:00

J manned the kitchen again today. I have to admit, he's been doing most of the cooking since we moved, since I'm exhausted after dealing with the house all day and he's been getting home reasonably early from work. It's a good thing we both love to cook. There's usually at least one person willing to man/woman the stove! Today's dinner was a joint venture. But for those who are surprised that J cooks, here he is in action!

Here are J's hands as he busily blanches some bok choy and enoki mushrooms for our bowls of roast duck over noodle soup. And in the background is our new Samsung induction range! It's really amazing. We're both still getting the hang of it, and we've been cooking very simple meals so it hasn't really had a chance to shine. I haven't even used the oven yet, other than to run a short steam clean cycle. But so far, we already love two things about this range. It can boil water for my morning coffee in about two minutes (fast and hot!), and it creates such even heat distribution that an egg dropped in simmering water turns into a beautifully poached egg with no work at all from the cook. I can't wait to see what else it can do!

Here's a close up of our dinner. Not too shabby. We painted one entire room and got started on the ceiling of our hallway today, in addition to doing laundry, prepping some wall trim for paint, laying contact paper in the kitchen, and trying to clean up a little.

Soup noodles are hardly enough when you lead a life of hard manual labor, so we added another plate of lu wei to tonight's dinner. I gussied it up with extra chili oil and ground Szechuan peppercorns.And another sneak peak for those who are looking: that's our kitchen countertop to the left, and our finished hardwood to the right! More to come...

Pot O' Braised Meats

2010-03-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

Happiness is having dinner cooked for me after a long day. We did our first big grocery run this morning, and then I spent the afternoon painting while Jimmy slaved away in the kitchen making one of his favorites: lu wei. Roughly translated, lu wei is "braised flavors." Basically, everything is braised in a big pot of soy sauce, star anise, five spice powder, ginger, sugar, and water. It takes some finesse to get everything to come out perfectly cooked, but J was spot on today! I don't know who to credit; him or the new induction stove. Here's a visual:

As for the remodel, we're moved in, unpacking, painting, and arranging. The big reveal keeps getting pushed back, but soon! I promise; I don't want you to see the mess I'm living in right now!

Lightening Foods

2010-03-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a week. Nonstop home improvement action full speed ahead! This weekend we unpacked and washed all our kitchen possessions, went shopping for kitchen organizing supplies, built our closet system, and paint stripped a window (this last one is the most grueling of the bunch). This week I'm concentrating on putting up shelving in the bathroom and painting our living room. Goal: be 90% unpacked and ready for furniture this weekend! Exciting times.

Unfortunately, exciting times means more eating out. We've been eating dinner at home but keeping it very simple. A lot of soup, salad, and bread. For lunch today, I met up with J at his favorite cheap lunch spot, Lightening foods. This is their house Caesar, served with a huge slab of juicy grilled chicken. Lightening serves J's favorite Caesar salad dressing--it's strongly infused with anchovies and garlic. Let's just say it's a salad that stays with you all day!

I opted for what turned out to be an incredible $6 deal. A large BLT and a side salad! The bacon was a little chewy, but if that's up your alley this can't be beat.

Tommy's Joynt

2010-02-23T12:17:00.000-08:00

Tommy's Joynt has been a favorite of ours since J's law school days. A huge plate of food for under $10 paired with cheap beer in a casual atmosphere is a big draw when you're a poor student!

Nowadays, the food is too heavy for us to eat regularly, but once in awhile we do fall prey to the allure of Tommy's hofbrau-style good eats. You stand in line cafeteria style, pick which slab of meat you want to eat by pointing to the guys manning the carving stations, then pay and find a seat. Remember to hit up the pickle bucket on your way to your table. Tommy's has perhaps the finest homemade pickles in San Francisco. Lightly brined, but not too salty and still crunchy and fresh.

I had a brisket plate, which happened to be a little high on the fat ratio but otherwise very tender. I like baked beans at Tommy's, and the other choices of sides are all fine though nothing special.

J had the ginormous turkey leg with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy. I think we headed to the gym after this meal, but it was last week so I forget. I sure hope we did!

Cafe Claude

2010-02-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

Impromptu romantic dinners are a perk of living in SF. We're not much for prescribed nights out like Valentine's Day or even birthdays, but when the mood strikes us it's nice to have the entire city at our feet.

Tonight, J suggested we head to Cafe Claude in Claude Alley. The outdoor tables were all empty, but the alley was still charming with its dim lights and sidewalk umbrellas.

We shared a pate plate, which turned out to be quite a generous portion! Our favorite was the rabbit, which was very peppery.

As the hungrier diner tonight, I ate the almond trout with string beans and potatoes in lemon butter sauce. Deliciously rich and tender, this filled me right up.

J kept it light and healthy with Cafe Claude's very popular endive salad. This salad might have just changed my mind forever! I've always thought endives were convenient scoop-shaped vegetables, but these were actually a flavorful salad green in their own right! They were crunchy and sweet, and paired nicely with bacon, tomatoes, and blue cheese. Total bill for our meal was just shy of $60. Not cheap, but not bad for a brief breath of civilization until our home comes together (fingers crossed; it should be soon!)

Sugar Cafe

2010-02-22T16:54:00.000-08:00

Ever since it opened, Sugar Cafe has easily been the cutest cafe on the block. Hip, chic. and new, it is an internet cafe by day and a bar/lounge by night. What's really great though is that they roast their own coffee, and it's always been gosh darned good.

Lately, I've been going to Sugar Cafe to kill time while the contractors finish my apartment. I discovered that in addition to a good cup of joe, Sugar Cafe makes really good food! I've photographed here a slice of ginger cake and three muffins. The cake was moist and intensely gingery, and the muffins are generously sized. Last week I had a banana nut muffin topped with walnuts and a crunchy meringue/streusel, and it was exceptional. I might even way it's the best banana bread I've ever tasted! I liked it so much I bought a box of assorted muffins for my workers today. When the going gets tough, the tough bribe their contractors. After all, little sugar never slowed any project down!

Another day, I had a cheesy vegetable scramble because I needed to spend an entire morning at the cafe. I was very pleasantly surprised. Despite the cool vibe, Sugar Cafe serves some seriously homey grub! Maybe I just haven't cooked in too long, but it was so refreshing to eat a plate of food that tasted like home cooking rather than restaurant fare. Whoever cooks at Sugar Cafe is probably not a chef, but his/her friends probably love coming over for dinner.

Chabot Park Marksmanship Range

2010-02-20T18:14:00.000-08:00

Everyone needs to get out of the city sometimes. This weekend, remodel-related issues drive us from our home and into the East Bay. Making lemonade out of lemons, we convinced a friend to take us rifle shooting. Chabot Park has a beautiful rifle and pistol range; much greener than the ranges in Los Angeles! I highly recommend this form of stress relief.

San Diego Wedding

2010-02-18T15:49:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to J and D for tying the knot last weekend in beautiful, sunny San Diego!! It was really nice escaping from renovation misery and lounging around for a few days.

The wedding was at the Marine Room on the gorgeous shores of La Jolla. The restaurant is right up against the beach, with floor-to-ceiling,wall-to-wall windows that make you feel like you can reach out and touch the waves. The weather, of course cooperated. And the food was delicious! I think the crowd favorite was the smoked salmon appetizer: rolls of smoked salmon served atop lightly batter-fried avocados and what may have been an English muffin.

And for the main course, lobster! My friends are the BEST. How many people serve lobster entrees at their weddings? The lobster was tender and the sauce was lemony. I have nothing more to add.

Dessert was a trio: creme brulee, hibiscus lemon tart, and a port sorbet. The creme brulee was more like a hardened mousse, so it was the loser of the entire meal. It also didn't go with the other desserts, with were tart and refreshing. But two out of three ain't bad, and the presentation was delightful. I forgot to take pictures of the cake and boxed desserts, but it was very obvious that the couple of the day has bit sweet teeth! Thanks for throwing a lovely party, and best wishes on your new life together!

Home Messy Home

2010-02-16T20:56:00.000-08:00

Ah, we're all moved in! Here's a very zen photo of our beautiful, sunny living room overlooking Union Square.

Unfortunately our apartment no longer looks this beautiful and tidy. We've moved in, and along with us have come dozens of ugly boxes. But I will spare you those details; just admire the pretty floors and stay tunes for painted walls and more pictures!

Moving Day!!

2010-02-16T09:44:00.000-08:00

Rule #1: stay hydrated, and bribe the movers. Hence, two cups of coffee today.

Purple Rug?

2010-02-11T07:49:00.000-08:00

As you can imagine, it's been busy busy busy around here. We're really entering the home stretch on our remodel! Not to jinx anything, but I hope to be fewer than five posts away from a big reveal. In the meantime, how do people feel about traditional rugs? Remember, our apartment harkens from the 1920s, even if we've tried to update its interior. Then again, I do admit an affinity for purple so maybe I'm distracted by the fact that I found a relatively lovely, very well-priced rug that has purple in it. Vote away! I have to keep packing.

Here are some pictures of traditional rugs in modern rooms:

sample one
sample two
sample three

I'm not saying I'm in love with any of those interiors, but I think in concept a traditional rug and a simple Crate and Barrel style sofa can work together. Yes/no?

Also, shout out to my peeps in DC! Hang in there, there's snowhere to go but up! And if you're still stuck indoors, remember there's snowhere like home.

Bellissimo Pizza

2010-02-05T21:27:00.000-08:00

Blogger continues to befuddle me. Stay tuned as I try to straighten out their ftp issues AND bring my remodel into its home stretch! It's going to be a busy week for me. Hence, relying on Bellissimo Pizza for dinner. Not a bad pie, I recommend it if you need delivery around Union Square!

2010-02-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

Assembling a plate of noodles is easy!!

You take a plate of various sliced vegetables. In this case, I used carrots, cucumbers, onions, bean sprouts, and cilantro (not pictured)...

Cook a nice hearty sauce. Recipe forthcoming. Warning: it's a weird one!

Combine artfully on a plate with some cooked thick noodles and toss well before digging in! Now, for the sauce recipe, which for me yielded over a pint of sauce. That should be enough to feed four if not six. These noodles may look like jajang mien, but the flavor and ingredients are definitely not traditional yet surprisingly tasty. This recipe is born of my desperation to use up as many jars as possible before our move. I'd like to get a fresh start, instead of hanging on to things that have been lurking in my cupboards for two years. So here goes:

1/2 pound pork belly, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
1/2 bunch spinach (totally optional; I had some to use up)
1 tablespoon shrimp paste
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 dash cayenne, or more
1/2 cup rice wine
1-2 cups water

In a tablespoon of oil (I used duck fat; it's so handy to have some lying around!) sautee the onions and pork belly, adding the zucchini when the edges of the onion start to brown. Toss in the spinach if you had it, then add all the sauces and the cayenne. Stir well. Toss a little to toast the sauces, and when stuff starts sticking to the bottom of the pan add the rice wine and light everything on fire. I love a good cooking fire! Then, add the water and stir well.

Fair warning: at this point my sauce smelled pretty gross. Raw shrimp paste basically smells like the day-old bin at a bad fish market. I turned the flame down to a simmer and covered my pot, hoping for the best. An hour later, all the flavored had melded together and become something quite delicious! And the fat from the pork belly had helped thicken the sauce beautifully. A weird but thankfully delicious meal made from what was essentially kitchen scraps.

Le Creuset

2010-02-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

*happy dance*

It's a good day. The hardwood is beautiful (though still being sanded), and they're starting on the cabinets tomorrow. But the big news today is my new Le Creuset!

Flame red, 2 3/4 quarts, round, and 50% off! Sometimes I catch really great deals at Williams-Sonoma. I've been wanting another smallish pot for awhile now, and now I have a great one! I used it to cook rice today, and it performed beautifully. It's going to be fun using an LC more regularly.

Edit: what the heck, blogger won't let me comment. Here's what I had to say.

Tuesday Morning and Marshall's often sell Le Creuset pieces, but a lot of their pieces are seconds. There's a way to identify seconds--Google it. Seconds are really cheap and still great for cooking, but often they are deemed to be seconds because the enamel wasn't applied 100% properly. Before this new purchase, I owned one second and one Williams-Sonoma piece, both several years old. The inside of the second is blackening much more quickly, and stains stick to the outside more. Something to keep in mind for those who care about appearance. I've never paid more than $100 for an LC, and this orange one was only $66, so I'll only be buying primo condition ones in the future. It pays to keep your eyes peeled; there was a forest green one left at the Union Square store when I left if anyone wants it!

And sadly, those aren't my new floors. I wish. We didn't move yet, those are the floors at our current rental apartment. Not bad, though! I like our management company a lot. They take good care of the place.

Farm:Table and Verve Coffee

2010-02-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

I dragged my *** out of the house extra early today to check on our remodel and go to our new gym (!), so I rewarded myself with coffee.

New coffee shops have been popping up all over San Francisco, bringing with them selections from roasters previously unavailable in the city. Lately, the buzz seems to be all about Verve from Santa Cruz. I had a drink they've dubbed the tendernob, in honor of Farm:Table's location on the edge of the Tenderloin and Nob Hill. the tendernob is equal parts foamed milk and espresso--basically a cross between a macchiato and a cappuccino. It was intensely creamy, which speaks to the quality of the coffee as well as the skill of the barista. I'm very excited that there are now good whole coffee beans as well as a skilled barista in the neighborhood.

And now, dear readers, I hope you've also had your morning coffee. I need you to vote for your favorite hardwood color! The hardwood guys are currently sanding and polishing my floors, filling in the gaps and nail heads, and they'll soon be staining and glossing! Here you can see an area where they laid new hardwood in the corner and are planning to sand and stain it to match the old hardwood. Which stain should I choose? Remember, I'll be covering the whole floor and adding a high gloss, so it won't look quite the same.

Pork Leg Stew

2010-02-01T21:51:00.000-08:00

Meltingly fatty, savory, and topped with cilantro and green onions. There aren't many comfort foods better than Chinese pork leg stew. This one was even better because I used pan drippings to cook the rice! That's "brown" rice even J enjoys eating.

For one pork leg, which should be enough to feed four if not more:

1 pork leg, bone in or boneless
1/4 cup rice wine
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cups water
2 thick slices ginger
2 cloves star anise
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper
3 green onions, sliced or diced however you like
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

In a pot just big enough to fit the pork, heat a tablespoon of oil and sear all sides of the meat over high heat. When the meat is browned on the outside and the pot is very hot, add the rice wine, tip the pot towards the flames of your stove, and watch out! It should spark a burst of flames for several seconds. Return the pot to the flame and add the soy sauce, water, ginger, star anise, onions, sugar, and white pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the flame down and let the pork simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until fork tender.

Remove the meat from the flame and carve the meat off the bones. The pieces should be larger than bite-sized, and each piece of fat or skin should have lean meat attached to it. Meanwhile, remove the ginger and star anise from the liquid and turn the flame up to medium. Reduce the sauce to about 1/3 the original volume.

Return the meat to the sauce, add green onions, and serve when ready. Some people like the onions raw, some people like to cook it until soft. Serve over any kind of rice you wish, and sprinkle cilantro on top! Thai restaurants serve a similar stew with a little dish of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, chilis, and finely chopped garlic. With or without the sauce, this is a hearty meal.

Bylaws and Leaseholds

2010-02-01T17:05:00.001-08:00

Look what I got today! My own little piece of San Francisco history. My building manager dug this out of his files; it's the lease agreement from the very first time my apartment unit was sold in 1927! He says it sold for $2,500, which was a very pretty penny back then. Let's just say J and I paid more than that. Actually, we ran it through an inflation calculator, and we paid more than the $30,000 that that should be equivalent to in today's money. I guess real estate has really changed, eh?

I love this little extra piece of information about my place, and I also wonder what type of person bought it. I know it was a woman who was addressed as missus, so I'm wondering if the apartment was a pied-à-terre purchased by a doting husband, a small city dwelling for a lonely widow, or just the purchase of a rich and independent lady of means?

The book is filled with beautiful signatures from an era when people cared about penmanship, along with meticulous notes and corrections from the purchase negotiations, and fancy embossed notary seals. For a nerd, this is all pretty exciting. Also exciting: my floors were sanded today, and they might be polished by week's end! Things are really moving along.