San Francisco Part 1

Somehow the past two weeks have completely slipped by me and I realized I have yet to post anything from our San Francisco trip!

We spent five amazing days in San Francisco, Napa, and Sonoma. I have to say this was one of our best trips yet, we had an absolutely amazing time, and the whole time I kept thinking how I could see us living there.

This trip brought many surprises and was very different from the first time I went to San Francisco in July 2010 for a cystic fibrosis social work conference. Based upon that trip I expected the city to be cold, foggy, expensive, and stressful. I was very pleasantly surprised to find out my first experience there was not at all typical!

On the ferry under the Golden Gate Bridge during my first trip to San Francisco back in 2010

When we arrived in San Francisco the first night it took us about 45 minutes to get into the city. I was very impressed by this considering how it takes me the same 35-40 minutes to get home from work on the poorly planned roads and freeways of Albuquerque. We checked into the Argonaut Hotel in Fisherman's Warf, and were able to make the included wine happy hour and even have some goldfish delivered to our room.

 

Our little friends for the week

We then walked down to Scoma's for a very romantic Valentine's Day crab dinner. It's currently Dungeness Crab season, and I had never tasted such fresh and delicious crab. The next morning we headed down to Fisherman's Warf to walk around and saw how blessed we had been with beautiful weather. It was sunny and in the high 60's! We made our way down the crab stands and another fresh crab meal just looked too good to pass up, even if it was for breakfast. For only $20, we enjoyed a crab chowder bread bowl, a crab and sourdough sandwich, an Anchor Brewing Co beer, and a chardonnay (we were on vacation after all!)

Next we took a cable car down to Union Square and walked to Chinatown. This was my first time on a cable car and it was like a mini roller coaster! I loved it! It was amazing to see all the hills and beautiful old stacked houses, and into Union square we passed all the wonderful shopping--Dolce and Gabbana, DeBeers, Chanel, Gucci, Saks, Armani, and more. As we walked into Chinatown I loved the distinct feel of each neighborhood, and how each area has its own personality and vibe to it. After walking through some of the shops and parks, I asked Joel to find us a "real" Chinese restaurant for lunch, something authentic and not like what we would find at home. We stumbled upon the Hong Kong Clay Pot, and although it looked a little shady on the outside, after walking up the stairs to the main floor I realized we had found the authentic Chinese dining experience we were looking for.

As we sat down I realized we were the only non-Chinese there. At the lunch hour the place was packed with local blue-collar Chinese workers, and some families, although almost all of the diners were men. All around us, we heard the chatter of Chinese (Mandarin?) and our waitresses spoke just enough English to get by. We didn't venture too exotic with the duck tongues or frog legs, but the traditional spicy hot and sour soup as excellent. I had the seafood Clay Pot, which was excellent, and Joel went with a chicken chow mien. Little did we know that one entrée was likely enough to feed 3-4 people, and as we looked around most of the locals were sitting at round tables sharing the meal. 

No silverware in sight!

 

The food was delicious, and again some of the freshest ingredients I have ever tasted. We were shocked when the bill arrived, for a large soup, two very large entrees, and unlimited Chinese tea the total was under $25.

The rest of the afternoon we walked several miles down towards the bay and saw some amazing houses, the famous Pier 39, and the sea lions. By then it was time to board the ferry for our night cruise to Alcatraz. Though I have never experienced it personally, I have a strange fascination with prisons and the prison system, especially since working in the jail, so I was especially excited to tour one of the country's most infamous prisons at night. 

We got to tour the cell houses and even got to experience the "deprevation" cell, (well Joel did), but one of the most amazing sites of Alcatraz was actually seeing the sunset behind the bridge and the city just a few miles away. It did make me a little sad to think this was the view the prisoners had, with San Francisco so close but so far away. 

Our tour guides were great as well and very informative. If you have never been and even if you have before I would definitely recommend seeing Alcatraz as part of hour country's darker history. I know it's weird but I did wish they had talked about the suicides a little more. (maybe they don't want to admit them but you know at least one person had to have at least tried while on the Rock.) 

Our second day in the city was a little more laid back. We hit some other major sites like Lombard Street and the beautiful Golden Gate Park.  We drove a lot and went from city to beach and even drove by the VA. The idea that if we lived  there I could walk from the VA to the beach during my lunch was not entirely lost on me.  The ocean was beautiful and some very friendly San Franciscan's offered to take our picture after I made Joel run into the 55 degree water with me. I can't wait to go back!

Adventures in Cooking-Roast Chicken

With winter back upon us the past couple of days I was in the mood to make some healthy comfort food. I love getting the whole organic chickens from Costco, and for two people it's perfect for leftovers or a soup for later. Although I am secretly envious of the stay at home wives who can have dinner ready and waiting on the table when their husband gets home, Wednesday nights are still an ok night for me to do this since it's a late night for Joel. Unless he was telling me white lies to spare my feelings, Joel has always said I was a good cook, and he is glad that unlike many newlywed husbands he hasn't had to endure eating bad or burnt food and telling me it was good to spare my feelings (so he says).

This recipe is more a compilation of recipes I have used in the past and also the ingredients I had on hand.
 Typically I would like to brine the chicken for a couple of hours, overnight is even better, but since mornings are challenging enough for me to just get out the door with coffee in hand at a decent hour I ended up brining it for about an hour when I got home from work. (Brining, I learned cooking my first Thanksgiving turkey, is a great way to get a nice crispy, golden brown on the skin.) I didn't measure but I used about 2/3 full of water and 1 c. kosher salt.) 

Luckily I still had some carrots and onions in the fridge, so in those went along with 1 1/2 cups water, salt, and pepper as a base for the gravy. (Would have used celery too if I had it, but some celery seed worked in this pinch). I also added a few of the baby potatoes so we would have some extra soft ones. I used this large roasting pan I had to convince Joel to buy for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a great bargain and I have proved that I really would use it again! 

Next I cut up some squares of butter, and along with some garlic, gently lifted the skin to insert the butter under the skin for a nice juicy crisp. I love cooking with wine, and as they say sometimes I even put it in the food, so this went over the chicken and into the pan. Two Buck Chuck Sauvignon

Blanc or a Pinot Griego are great dry whites for cooking, but since I had none on hand (how did that happen?!) I had to use the Casa Rodena Seranade (I know, it was horrible) as a last resort. Some for the chicken, some for me. Next I added some lemon juice and rosemary I had frozen from the garden, and then rubbed the chicken with a poultry seasoning mix. 

Finally it was time to put the bird in the oven! I put it on 350 for an hour and a half, then I added the rest of the veggies and some more water for the gravy. After about another half hour I covered the wings and breasts with tin foil so they wouldn't get too brown.



Just as Joel waltzed in at about 9pm (finally), I strained the broth out and added a little cornstarch over the stove for a delicious chicken and white wine gravy. Unfortunately we were so starved by then I completely forgot to take a picture. Sorry. But I promise it was good. My little helper even got a little chicken broth on her dog food :)

As much as I love roasting and trying new recipes in the crockpot, I have to say I am very excited for the return of warm weather when we can grill and have fresh veggies from the garden or farmer's market. But, until then, I think all were happy...