Cooking with Rocco

Check out my webisode with Rocco RiSpirito!

Cooking Show Flashback

Editing my Murphy Goode video today brought back great memories of filming with Rocco!

Laughing...

Here are some fun shots from that didn't make it into my Murphy Goode application...but I think they'll make you laugh.

Dinner Party Chatter

Some ramblings - do I ramble a lot?! - from my dinner party last week at Toby and Brooke's place. We drank Murphy Goode wines, obviously. The scallops are from Sun Fat Seafood on Mission and 23rd - love the name.

Love Farms in Healdsburg

Some ramblings on a wonderful produce shop from Love Farms - how great is that name? - up in Healdsburg. The produce I've eaten from here is some of the best I've ever had, really. I guess it's because they make them with love...awwwww.....

My mom says there are misspellings on here - uh-oh! I definitely had better handwriting and was a better speller when I was in 5th grade, but I thought my use of a computer and spell check had mitigated it... Just did a spell check though and came up clean - except that it wants me to spell "blonde" as "blond" so I'm glad I still remember some things.

Spring Dinner - Beans

This makes me laugh everytime I watch it. My friend Brooke makes up the peanut gallery!

Big editing day today - stay tuned for lots of great videos!!

I have some memories of eating gyros on the water in Oyster Bay, Long Island when I was little, probably 5 ish. Today I was brought back, with one of the freshest gyros I've had in ages. The yogurt sauce was amazing, the lamb was perfect and as a bonus it wasn't difficult to eat (which I was silently thankful for as I chatted with a cute Swedish guy while eating it and it didn't get all over my hands and / or face).

Check out the new Farmer's Market at Yerba Buena and tell the gyro guy I sent you (maybe describe me as the dark haired talkative girl with the talkative blonde girl (Brooke!) who took pictures of him and asked him 100 questions).

I was thinking a light sushi dinner tonight, but somehow ended up at Firefly with my good friend Julio. Though I'm pretty full right now - some would call it a bit uncomfortable - I'm psyched to have found a place that

seems reliably good. The waitress was sweet yet assertive in her recommendations (a combination I love). I enjoyed both wines I had - a Walter Hansel Sauvignon Blanc from Russian River and a Sangiovese from Shenandoah Valley (which I just looked up to find is in West Virgina - who knew?!!) Best of all, Sunday thru Thursday they have a $35 prix fixe on three courses from anything on the menu. It's a great deal for the quality of food in this adorable restaurant (though questionable if you're going to the beach in Mexico in less than a month...)

My shrimp and scallop dumplings were perfect, except that they felt out of place on the menu. Julio's asparagus and goat cheese souffle was really light - surprisingly so - but good. The pork chop was delicious, but I was a little bit jealous of his duck with risotto (which was supposed to have morels, but he swears they were MIA). Dessert was really great, but overwhelming - I'm always a sucker for my birthday strawberry shortcake and Julio, who basically has an only chocolate rule for dessert, had a decadent chocolate and peanut butter boudin. If I hadn't been embarrassed to ask I would have brought the leftover boudin home for Lauren.

Check the place out. Firefly even made Noe Valley creep up in my SF neighborhood ranking.

My winning video for What's Your Med Style! And the first time I noticed my laugh is a little bit loud (you think I'm kidding about it being the first time, but I promise I'm not!) You can check out the other contestants here.

Here's the behind the scenes from my video shoot with Rocco DiSpirito. This is the video my mom loves the best, so I hope you love it too (and that it's not something only a mother could love!)

I’ll admit that though I think SF has some of the best raw food ingredients around, I sometimes think the restaurants here are overrated. Not Chez Panisse Café though – if it were around the corner from me I’d go every week, for real.

Here are a few reasons I love it:

Their food is GOODE…no, it’s great really – check out the squid they cooking in their wood brick oven in an already scorching pan…mixed with chick peas , pepper and a light sauce that had the come-back taste my mom loves

Their wine list is extensive and varied, but still manages to be simple and approachable

Their servers are lovely – they’re not only kind, but it’s obvious they are in love with everything they’re serving

The atmosphere is low key, but special - perfect for a date, dinner with family, or a Tuesday night with a great friend

It’s a steal for what you get – OK, I’m not saying it’s cheap, but there’s nothing I hate more than paying over $20 for an entree and it being mediocre