Improv

Today I learned the art of improv. For the second Saturday in a row, I found myself at the farmers' market and decided to check out RoliRoti and try the Porchetta Sandwich. #12 on 7x7's list.

I am usually suspicious of any food that comes out of a truck (except for popsicles from the Good Humor Man) but it SMELLED SO GOOOOOOOOD that I did not care.

Guess what I found out? They don't even MAKE the Porchetta Sandwich until the spring! So, guess what Little Miss Think-On-Her-Feet did? I bought a big ol' hunk of porchetta and then found some really good French bread and went home and made my very own Porchetta Sandwich a la Rebecca!

I even sprinkled on some caramelized fennel from my fridge and some of the rosemary sea salt from RoliRoti. The actual meat itself was so succulent, it literally melted. There were these delicious juicy chunks of dark meat and pockets of herb chunks throughout. And the skin was so crispy salty yummy.

Sometimes you eat a good sandwich and just feel wholesome and satisfied? Does that ever happen to you? Or is that just me? Ok, whatever. Anyway, this was one of those times, one of THOSE sandwiches.

A moodier shadow-y shot of my sandwich. Porchetta Noir.

Love,

Rebecca

PS This sandwich was so good, I am now a Porchetta addict and have gone on to have two more sandwiches in the days that followed at a couple of other establishments.

I Dont Mean to be Cheesy, but...

This morning I found myself in the mood for pizza, not just any pizza but the super thin crust kind, with real tomatoes. I found myself at #21 Pizzeria Delfina and was sat immediately at the counter. I just love sitting at a counter and watching the chefs skillfully prepare my food, it's almost like a dance. It always reminds me how much talent it takes to prepare a dish. Plus, I like to make sure that no one does anything weird.

How clever are these condiments?

I ordered the Affetati appetizer which was an assortment of salami plus a lardo wrapped breadstick and some funky little olives sprinkled on the plate. I had no problem indulging in something named 'lardo' and as can be expected, anything that implies weight gain was absolutely delicious. (Isn't that always the case?)

Finally, the pizza arrived....and what can I say? When you look up pizza in the dictionary, this should be the picture next to the word.

How beautiful is this pizza?

It tasted amazing...the crust was thin and chewy. Margherita pizza is the basic pizza--tomato sauce, mozzarella and fresh basil. All of these ingredients create the closest to true Italian pizza that I've had in San Francisco. Frankly, I would have been really happy with more of the mozzarella but it's probably for the best.

In conclusion, the Margherita Pizza was excellent! I even ate the crust butts!!

Love,

Rebecca

Sweet Little Memory

It was one of those really hot and humid summers that Baltimore is known for and I was five years old. When I was really small, I was a mommy's girl, my dad kind of scared me. He was super tall with a booming voice and very gruff, not quite sure how to act around little girls despite having four older daughters already. At this point in life there isn't much a 5 year old little girl and a near 60 year old man have in common except for a shared love of ice cream.

One of my earliest memories is walking to the local Highs with my dad. I remember that I got a scoop of rainbow sherbet in a cone and I'm sure my dad must've gotten butter pecan, because that's what he always got.

As we were leaving, I dropped my scoop on the sidewalk and was devastated. My dad went back in the store and we got another scoop except this time that it was put in a cup with a cone on top. I guess we decided that I wasn't yet ready for ice cream in a cone.

Today was rainy and gloomy and I really wanted to make sure I had ice cream today. I stopped by the farmers' market and literally stumbled on #15 Scream Sorbet. I was able to try all of the flavors they offered and each one tasted so true and fresh. The flavors they offered were Ruby Red Grapefruit, Guava, Lime Jasmine, Macadamia Vanilla, Tahoe Gold Mandarin and Chocolate Coconut. I finally decided on a scoop of Guava. Just the right combination of icy sweetness with notes of (I think) lemongrass. This would be perfect on a hot sunny day...

...but it was just as great on a cold rainy morning for a girl eating it in her car and thinking about her dad.

Love,

Rebecca

Junk Food Days

This weekend I decided to go back to some old favorites from childhood--hot dogs! Now that I live in San Francisco and I'm an adult, I guess I have to do it the grown up way with #68 the housemade hot dog at Absinthe. But first, I need a ginger beer...

Ahh...that's the ticket!

How could a hot dog possibly be worth $12? I had been pondering this for a couple of days. I was raised on the Oscar Mayer $1.99 pack. Good, old-fashioned and cheap.

Well, I found it. A hotdog good enough to pay $12 for. It arrived in all it's hot doggy glory with a side of warm dill potato chips. You read that right. WARM DILL POTATO CHIPS. Don't ask why, but suddenly the chips were elevated to a whole new level of comfort. There was also a side of--I think--sauerkraut but it was really more salty and not sour at all so I will refer to it ongoing as saltkraut.

Housemade hot dog plate with saltkraut cropped out...ugh!

I prefer hot dogs with everything, mustard, ketchup, relish, onions, cheese, bacon, sauerkraut, all of that garbage. If you're going to do it, you might as well do it right, but if you are in the mood for more refined, yet every bit as delicious, I would definitely recommend the Absinthe hot dog.

Love,

Rebecca

Okay, maybe it was a bit sour.

Oh Crepe

I love cheese. I could eat cheese everyday of my life. And I especially love it melted....in a buckwheat crepe. Tres magnifique! (I don't really know French but I thought this was the best post to use that phrase)

Last night, some of my coworkers and I tried #88 on the list....Ti Couz. We all shared the French Cider and I had a Buckwheat Crepe. I'm not really a beer person--too bitter--so the cider was perfect. It tasted like "beer mixed with apple juice". (Thanks for the description, Nanci.) I happen to like beer mixed with apple juice so it worked out great for me. As you can plainly see in this photo.

Ciderific!

Next came the crepes filled with all sorts of yummies. Mushroom crepe was great, as was the onion, mushroom and cheese. The waiter suggested the sunny side up egg on this one. Looks kind of cool. What do you think?

I have to say that parking was a nightmare. A very special thank you to Susie for being the best navigator and copilot.

Like I mentioned earlier, I love cheese. And the buckwheat crepes at Ti Couz confirmed it! If anyone from my Weight Watchers group is reading, I counted 11.5 points!

Kick Off!

Today is Super Bowl Sunday and I've decided what better way to kick off my project than with #99 Clam Chowder at the Hog Island Oyster Co. 7X7 Magazine also suggested oysters and who I am to argue with authority?

The raw oysters came out first presented on crushed ice. Plump and buttery with the perfect amount of saltiness. Incredible. I did not grow up eating raw oysters but I definitely have no problem chewing on things that look like giant boogers.

Next came the clam chowder. I always expect chowder to be really, really thick and flour-y. Sort of like glue....with bacon and potatoes. If you eat a bowl of it, you need a nap. Well, I stand corrected. It was amazing! The chowder was really light and yet still creamy. I'm not sure if this is authentic but the clams arrived in the shells. It was a little awkward but still terrific.

So this is how I spent my Super Bowl Sunday in 2010. Actually my plan was to eat a Ginger Snap from Miette (#49) and make some cutesy little joke about having a snappy mood, snappy cookie and tie it in to a football snap, but after calling three different Miette Bakeries, I realized there is a serious Ginger Snap shortage going on in the Bay Area....very concerning, people. More on that to come...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my first little adventure!!

Love,

Rebecca

Yummeh!