SFSFF Part 2

Tea Time took a look at the list of vendors for the San Francisco Street Food Festival 2013 and knew there were specific places we wanted to try, old favorites we were destined to visit. However, there were plenty of passport tickets to go around and whenever someplace had an enticing menu item we would stop to spy. If it was something we couldn't do without then someone would stand in line while the rest o' the gang looked around a bit more and/or waited at a stand-up table for the food to appear. (Don't worry, we took turns standing in the lines!)

So we knew up front that the fresh Marin Miyagi Oysters on the half shell from Basa Seafood were on the list. What we didn't bargain for was this delicious  Spicy Salmon Poke. Once we saw it, we had to have it! The spice was just right and the seaweed salad filled our greens spot. The chips were extraneous to us, but we saw many people using them instead of a fork, scooping up the salmon and eating the chip too.  Tea Time knows better than to fill up on store bought carbs though. There's real eating to be done here! For instance, we each had a delightful (free!) california roll as we waited for our bounty from the Basa booth. It was the perfect appetizer.

'Oh Oysters, come and walk with us!'

Awesome Salmon Poke! One of our favorite dishes of the day.

No 'r' in August, but that's okay!

Everyone got a free sushi sample

Tio Chilo's caught our eye with their Grilled Quail. This was another big bite dish so it came with a side of vinegar style coleslaw. (Members of the coleslaw club rejoice!) It's always nice to get a red cabbage slaw, since many people just use the green stuff. We didn't gawk into the kitchen, but presumed that the Quail must have been cooked using the 'Brick' method as it was charred and flat.

Quail and Coleslaw-a big bite

 












Oh, we love Bahn Mi! This festival gives us all sorts of goodies, one stop lunch to dinner shopping, you might say. Central Kitchen gave us this Bunny Bahn Mi which we thought might be vegetables...but lives up to its name serving us rabbit on a bun (HA!).  This Vietnamese sandwich featured slaw with bits of rabbit and even rabbit pate. The fillings were tasty, but the roll didn't have the crunch we require. We've tasted a myriad of different types of Bahn Mi out there in the wide SF resto world and we've learned to love a sammie with the crunchy crusted french roll. Perhaps it was the workings of SF weather though, sometimes the best bread can feel down when served out of doors! Also, we paired our bunny with some carrot, juice that is. J.K. needed some extra veggie servings and insisted we try their drink. Central Kitchen is full of good ideas!

Bunny Banh Mi

We had already tasted their excellent pizza at the resto, so we went with more burrata to take along to the adult beverage area. The mini pizza oven was awesome although not quite as beautiful as the one at Mozzeria the restaurant.

Here we are at the other end of the festival, ready to kick back and relax at the bar with Rye on the Road (and burrata from Mozzeria). There was a choice of three drinks similar to what was served at their bar on the night of Bite Me.  J.K. (of course) chose the tequila and lime juice version. Angela tried the VX Swizzle (Appleton VX rum, lemon, black tea syrup and bitters) which had her coming back for seconds. Another awesome thing about the bar? All proceeds, including tips, were donated back to La Cocina.

T&L for J.K.

(Half eaten) burrata with chips from Mozzeria

Some of our drink carnage*

We also snorked down Tequila Jelly Shots from the Sweets Collection. These are the big brother sizes compared to the samples at the Bite Me preview night. Those pretty flowers had some real tequila to give it a kick.

Did you see any famous foodies eating at the festival? We caught a glimpse of a Serious Eater on assignment in our fair city. He looks pretty happy with his job (and his Mozzeria slice)! Tea Time is pretty sure we ate more than lots of people, but let us know your favorite item from this day of flavorful debauchery. Look for our other posts on the SFSFF 2013!

We spotted Hambone, and, sure enough, Kenji was at the other end of the leash.

*photos at bar courtesy of fellow StrEater Constance

Pumpkin Patch ready for the Swap!

I got inspired to make these sweets as my offering for the Food Swap during our trip to LA! While there, we visited Dylan's Candy Bar West and they had some Chocolate Covered Candy Corn. Last year I made my first foray into homemade Candy Corn and it turned out pretty good. This time around I knew how to work out the kinks, so it was much simpler and I got it done quickly which was nice.

I made Pumpkins instead of Candy Corn, both for cuteness and ease of covering in chocolate. JK was kind enough to let me mess around with her tempering machine since I have not mastered tempering by hand (hence the rustic truffles, not shiny ones, that I made for the swap in August).

Here is the recipe I used (Gasp, recipe! I know, but I only made it once before and since I'm swapping I wanted to avoid mistakes. Candy making can be a more exacting science, esp. if thermometers are involved) which may or may not be the same I used last year. Anyhow, thanks to Serious Eats for always being there when I need a recipe (or sandwich).

Here's how my gorgeous sweet pumpkin patch came into being, using simple ingredients and a little time.

Dry ingredients, powdered milk+powdered sugar mixed.

Sweet Stuff, light corn syrup+butter+cane sugar

Letting it bubble, but make sure to stir!

Add your flavor, in this case Vanilla. Last year I made Cinnamon and Peppermint as well.

I add the food coloring while it's still hot in the pan. It's much easier to fold into the candy then!

I dump the still warm candy lump onto the parchment paper. Less mess in the pan later.

PUMPKINS!

I also made some orange balls without their green stem so they could be dipped in chocolate. Then the stem is added on top. I promise they're not "rotten". Just an "heirloom varietal".

Dipping the orange pumpkin balls.

 Yummy finished product to be presented at the Swap Tuesday night. Don't spend $9/lb on your candy corn, get your sugar rush on and share the wealth this Halloween! You've got time to get it done.

Also in this picture--one homemade chocolate covered marshmallow. See JK for more details...

Whole Foods Pizza - in honor of National Cheese Pizza Day

What can I say? It was getting late, I was hungry, and I had a coupon. I usually get my slices at Napoli on Polk, but I was closer to the Pac Heights Whole Foods and I had a BOGO from Chinook Book, so I gave it a try. I took my slices home to reheat, as they would have cooled off on the way, so that may have made somewhat of a difference.

My first choice was the white pizza. It had a cottage cheese (I think) base, with rounds of mozzarella on top of slices of tomato on top of basil leaves, so it was more of a Caprese. Later I discovered the third round of mootz stuck to the bottom of the foil separating the two slices (see naked tomato in picture). The crust was thin, but nowhere near crisp.

 The cheese slice didn't look very enticing, but I didn't want two of the same thing. I know I can't expect every pizza to be a stunning experience, but this was more of a soggy-crusted melted cheese experience. You can check out some great cheese pizza experiences at Serious Eats in honor of National Cheese Pizza Day.

I grew up in New Haven, CT, where pizza is taken as seriously as religion. Or maybe it is a religion. Arguments between the advocates of the various pizzerias can get pretty heated. The restaurants themselves don't have a problem with each other, but their customers are fiercely—and sometimes combatively—loyal.

My family almost always went to Sally's on Wooster Street, with an occasional visit to Pepe's or The Spot. The last time my childhood friend and I went to New Haven, though, we hit town at 9:00 on a Saturday night. Wanting to eat, not stand in line for two hours, we went to Ernie's in Westville. Immediate seating and New Haven pizza. We were happy.

In the future, I will go further afield to Napoli, which makes an old-fashioned New York street window pizza, or Victor's, which serves a very crispy crusted pie. Both also have a full menu of Italian specialties. Check out Scoutmob, LevelUp, GoPago and Chinook Book (requires buying the coupon book in advance, though) if you want to sign up and get deals for food and restaurants around San Francisco without having to buy a deal in advance!

J.K.

SF Food Swap -Angela

For this Food Swap, I made Rustic Chocolate Choffy Truffles .

(informally named 'Big Chocolate Choffy Balls).

Per my disclosure in the Ginger Beer post, I didn't use a recipe. I did use a recipe the first time I  made truffles, but I no longer remember which one or even where it came from (cookbook? internet? magazine?) More about the truffles below, but on to the SWAP!

This was my second Food Swap, and thanks to Aimee and Stephanie for being the guiding lights behind this great SF event. For basic info on how a Swap works, click here.  Around 20 people gathered in the Sport's Basement Grotto ready to share and trade homemade goodies after a delicious potluck. Pictured is my First plate (and dessert plate). As people continued to arrive, the potluck table continued to grow with an amazing array of fruit, meat, salads, desserts, crackers and dips (this was in addition to the foods on offer as a part of the swap). These pictures show only a very small sampling of the culinary delights available that evening.

I brought 8 baggies (with 8 big Choffy balls each) plus some to cut up for tasting. My favorite overheard comment regarding these truffles, "They don't look that chocolate-y, but they have a Strong chocolate flavor." Thank You! It's nice to get feedback about your goodies, especially as I had been a bit worried that the Choffy was too strong flavorwise for most people to handle. I was lucky enough to swap for these 9 items.

You may have noticed, hey Angela, you brought 8 items to trade, but left with 9? Well, that is the nature of the swap. I had handed out all 8 bags, but had some of the truffles left over from the tasting tray which allowed me to swap (with a bonus bag of caramels from JK's stash) for a ninth item. So I guess I'm sharing those boozey cherries. I may blog more in the future about what I'm using from these items as there are so many, too many to do justice to each on this one post. Below is my very basic set up on the swap table. Some swappers made lovely presentations for their goods, but I went simple. No muss, no fuss this time around!

Okay you guys, here is a basic truffle recipe.(dessert circus!!) I'm sure it will work fine. If not, well, let me know and I'll do a step by step photo blog and write the truffle recipe down as I go--which means I'll have to measure and whatnot, but hey in the interest of other peoples interest that's a sacrifice I can make. I suppose.

More importantly I have some chocolate truffle Tips for you.

1. Do not be afraid. Rustic truffles are VERY EASY. Unless you are afraid and then it is very hard.

2. Equipment=easy

I use- glass bowl+sauce pan=double boiler, 2 forks, one heat resistant spatula, 2-3 round cake pans, parchment or wax paper (you only need a tempering machine if you want shiny truffles, not the rustic kind)

3. the chocolate melting/tempering

Good chocolate = Valrhona 

decent chocolate = Trader Joes 72% pound plus bar (what I had on hand this time)

You can remelt (temper)  anything. This means when your Amazingly delicious Valhrona seizes you take a piece of unmelted (tempered) chocolate bar and add it. Wait until the heat from the chocolate has melted it and then stir until your coating chocolate is once again smooth and glossy. 

4. Round cake pans allow you to roll your truffles easily in your choice of Rustic coating (nuts, cocoa powder, whatnot). Place pans in the fridge for a few minutes to crisp up the chocolate after their final coating.

5. Do not forget which is your dipping fork vs your coating fork.

6. Make very small ganache balls if you want the truffles to be bite size. Mine are usually 2 bites as I always forget this step when beginning and then can't be bothered to change size midway through the process.

7. Truffles take time. Do not scrimp on time or try to make truffles in a hurry. They are easy, but labor intensive. Make a friend come help if you are in a hurry. You can do things while making truffles, but only if they are simple. Consider these okay- put laundry from washer to dryer (wash hands first), let demanding cat in/out the door, toast a cheese sandwich. Do Not think you have time to- check email, blog or facebook. Do not vacuum. This is not a lasagna.

Good Luck and get ready to impress!

P.S. If you would like me to do a step by step truffle blog, please let me know in the comments below.

Ice Cream Social

Even though we don't have "Summer," San Francisco eats a LOT of ice cream. Lately our fair city has had more than its fair share of shops scooping up delicious in-house made ice creams. 

Our latest adventure was at the Ice Cream Bar in Cole Valley. This place features servers in black and white (men wear bow ties please) with perfect smiles ready to take your order (and supply tasting spoons to the indecisive) at either the Ice Cream counter or the Soda Fountain counter. They offer a wide variety of flavors including vegan options. The prices are reasonable considering everything is housemade. There was a small line when we arrived, but Angela chose to wait to decide. Of course J.K. knew right away what she wanted....

Milk Chocolate+Chocolate Sorbet

The Chocolate Sorbet was very rich. It was like having hot fudge sauce on top of the mild Milk Chocolate flavor. When J.K. ordered the two scoops, the server asked if she wanted both scoops in the same dish. Obviously, she didn't know us!

Angela finally narrowed it down and chose a trio of flavors topped with Caramel sauce. A healthy helping of calcium featuring....

Honey Buttermilk+Butterscotch+Bourbon Malt Peanut Butter Cookie.

We also got a handmade Root Beer from the Soda Jerk working the counter. He put the plain soda in our glass and added house made syrups to make it Root Beer flavored. There was a very strong licorice scent, but the flavor was not overpowering. It didn't have much 'bite' to it, but was a gentle flavor until the bottom of the glass where it was a bit bitter. Perhaps we should have stirred it?

We will visit here again, to try more flavors of ice cream and perhaps check out their hot foods as well. Thanks for the suggestion from Snackreligous  who sent this Serious Eats post reminding us to point our feet in the door of the Ice Cream Bar instead of just walking on past. It was well worth stepping inside.

National S'mores Day--JK

Campfire Cookies

Years ago, I bought a product called Marshmallow Gems from King Arthur Flour. These are the mini marshmallows the cookie manufacturers use. They have a list of ingredients that I don't want to think about, but they don't melt in the oven. I have been looking for them ever since, to no avail.

Recently, the crunchy little marshmallows that come in those envelopes of hot chocolate mix have become available. They don't work in recipes that call for mini marshmallows, but Carrie Vassios over at Serious Eats published a recipe that uses them. Friday was National S'Mores Day, and these are Campfire Cookies.

I made my graham cracker crumbs in my Vita Mix, and used milk chocolate chips instead of chocolate chunks. The cookies are delicious, but they would be even better with Marshmallow Gems. Anybody out there know where I can get cookie factory marshmallows?

J.K.