Yesterday we had a BBQ at our house. It was a great excuse to clean up our patio (finally!) and have friends over. In particular, we hadn't seen Ralph and Ruth for a year, I have to make sure to invite them over for dinner soon. Well, not too soon, I don't think Mike can handle more than one dinner event per month.

I wanted a complete no-work menu (no work for me, that is, Mike still had to do the grilling :) so I settled for:

-Chips & dip (storebought)
-Red Potato Salad
which I like 'cause I don't have to peel the potatoes to make it.
-Apple & chicken sausages
which I found out are not very good on hot dog buns
-Tri-tip
I sprinkled kosher salt on it, let it rest for a couple of hours, and it was absolutely delicious. Like all my beef, I bought it at Costco.
-Apple pie
from costco
-Dreyer's Ice Cream
which Ralph appreciated as he works there

Ralph brought some Chinese sausage and some salchichas, and both were wonderful. Sandra brought some very popular green salad.

All in all we had a wonderful, relaxed time in the patio, and now that it's clean I'm planning to entertain there more often - plus start grilling a lot of food. Meanwhile I have 3 lbs of sausages to get through.

We haven't had a Thai restaurant in San Leandro since we've lived in this city, so it was with much anticipation that we awaited the opening of Thai Satay, at the old Strizzi's location. We were a tad apprehensive, as Mike has gone several times to the Thai Satay in San Mateo (same owners) and the pad thai is always clumpy and not very good (and yet he keeps going). It's true that he always goes after the lunch rush, but that's no excuse for clumpy pad thai.

We got there around 7 PM and the place was packed, which tells you how much in need of good restaurants San Leandro is (if you're a restauranteur thinking about San Leandro, there is a place in the Marina that the city wants to develop into a restaurant, serve good food at approachable prices and I guarantee you your place will be packed). We were given a table for four at the entrance of the smaller room that should be replaced with a smaller table, as it was the waiters kept squeezing in by my husband when the went by. The place is not much change since it was Strizzi's a couple of weeks ago. They don't seem to have repainted and the carpets are still those dark green and pink flowered ones that were there before, but they've added some Thai looking wood panneling to the walls, a few framed Thai pictures, the obligatory portraits of the king and queen and a wooden Thai-framed bus station. The whole thing really doesn't work well together, but it could be worse.

Thai Satay's menu is just like that of its sibling restaurant in San Mateo. Indeed, the menus we were handed had the San Mateo address in print. Its quite extensive with 83 items, though most of its focus is on seafood. It only has four each pork and beef entrees. While it features many of the most commonplace Thai dishes, I was surprised to see that it didn't include panang curries or pra-ram chicken (the chicken with peanut sauce served on a bed of Spinach), two of our favorite dishes. I've written to the owner to ask why that's the case. Appetizers are $6-7 and main dishes $9-13, a little too steep for Thai food but then again, this is San Leandro. Rice is $1 pp and sodas $1.75, expensive considering that there are no refills.

Mike and I split an appetizer of chicken satay (see picture). The skewers were pretty small and I thought the chicken was chewy and not flaky enough, it also wasn't very tasty. The sauce was OK, too runny for my taste and served in a tiny portion. I don't think I'd order it again.

The massamun nuer ($9) was much better. The beef was very tender and there was a good proportion of potatoes to meat. The sauce was darker and spicier than most massamuns I've had, but it was rather nice and I enjoyed it very much. I'd order it again.

The bar-b-que pork ($9) was quite tasty, both by itself and with the sweet & sour sauce it was served with. The slices were a bit tough, but that's a common problem with pork, bbq chicken or beef may be a better bet. Still, we quite enjoyed it.

The dessert list is very limited (fried bananas, ice cream, tapioca, sticky rice) and we didn't have any as I wanted to get to the library before they closed, I'll probably try the fried bananas next time.

We'll certainly be going again, though I'll wait a few weeks before I write a "proper" review of the place. For being opening night I think they did quite well.

I saw these little bowls in the window of a Japanese restaurant on East 14th and I fell in love with them. Fortunately they were for sale ($17 for the set). They are made in Japan and they're sooo cute. Now I need to figure out what to serve on them. I figure I'll debut them at my salon in a couple of weeks. I'm planning to serve just wine and cheese, what can I put in the bowls? Some olives? Some almonds? They're pretty small, bear in mind.

A Chinese bakery has finally opened a few blocks away from my house and I've been going almost daily. Yes, this is a habit that has to stop, but it's so easy to pick up a pork bun or a curry beef bun for lunch on my way home. They offer a large variety of buns with all sorts of fillings, they are huge and under $1. Of the ones I've tried so far the curry beef one is my favorite, the ground beef filling is somewhat spicy but very tasty. I love BBQ pork buns but these ones are not the best, their pork seems chopped rather than sliced and they are not very sweet outside. Still, the owner is very eager to please so hopefully he'll take my suggestions.

Of the sweets, the mini coconut cupcakes are my favorite. They are very coconutish and not too sweet. Their cakes taste mostly like out-of-a-box cakes, not really my favorite but Mika likes them.

In all, I'm very pleased they're around.

Note that if you pick up a take-out menu they come with a coupon for a free 1st birthday cake - though expires on 9/30.

East 14th Bakery
1780 E. 14th (@ Elsie)
San Leandro, CA
510-351-7318
Everyday 7am - 6 pm

Yesterday I wanted to make something French to celebrate Bastille day and as it's summer we are grilling. I looked into my dear Barbecue Bible for something French and came up with this extremely simple recipe which, according to Steven Raichlen at least, can be found all over Provence. It was very good, so much so that my 3 yo asked me to make them again tonight.

Basically, mix 1/4 cup of olive oil with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice (I didn't bother measuring anything). Baste the lamb chops with the mixture, season with salt and pepper and herbs de provence. Let rest for 10 minutes at room temperature and then grill on a high until done, 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. You can baste the lamb while grilling but we didn't bother to.

A couple of nights ago I made this very easy recipe for pork roll, an Uruguayan classic I took from the Barbecue Bible cookbook. The recipe below serves 4, I halved it for the two of us. Note that pre-packaged pork tenderloins usually come two to a package. I served this with a salad and leftover grilled corn.

Once a week I take my little girls to a "field trip" somewhere that is Bartable and yesterday we went to Rockridge. Camila (6mo) is pretty cranky lately and Mika (3 yo) gets bored easily but all in all we managed to have a good time. We started by visiting Crepevine, part of a chain of restaurants serving sweet and savory crepes, sandwiches, soups, salads and pasta dishes. I had told Mika that we were going to a "panquequería" to have "panqueques" so when we got there she was disappointed that they didn't have any dulce de leche crepes, which is what I make (very occasionally) at home. Finally she accepted a banana with caramel rum sauce one. It was folded as an envelope and came with a large portion of whipped cream and ice-cream, which of course made her immediately happy. The crepe was pretty good, though I think a dulce de leche & banana crepe might be even better. It was nice sitting outside, even though it was a gray day, and there were other moms with babies. Still, Camila started to fuss and it was time for us to go on.

Our next stop was Rockridge kids, where I got a toy for Camila and Mika had a wonderful time playing with dolls and such. She's now past the age of playing with "babies" and more into grown up dolls - pretty cute.

We then went to the Marketplace to buy some cheese for my "salon" tonight. The french-accented attendant was very helpful and very knowledgeable, I pretty much went on his recommendations on what to get. We'll see the results tonight.

Mika was a pain at the store, she wanted to get into everything and those bins with pasta were irresistable - but I was able to bribe her (I hate doing that) with the promise of a cookie. We'd been there before with Mike and she'd gotten a cookie so of course she wanted one again. She's very much a creature of habits, do something once, it's become a tradition.

She was happy with her flower cookie (they also have butterfly ones), I got a chocolate chocolate chip one that I didn't like, it was too dry, and almost tasted stale. Eating cookies there won't be a tradition for me.

Then it was time to come home - Mika is already asking to go again. We'll see.

I'm having a wine & cheese "salon" tonight and these are the cheeses I'm serving. The descriptions are from the web, not mine.

From The Marketplace at Rockridge

Tomme Crayeose

Tomme Crayeuse is a cheese from Savoie (along the Swiss-Italian Alps) in France. Tomme basically means wheel, although it is a generic word for piece or section. The rind of Tomme Crayeuse is grayish brown with yellow moldy patches that develop as the cheese ages. The taste of the cheese is slightly soft with citrus notes and somewhat earthy flavors

Fleur Verte

The "green flower" of the Loire Valley in France. Fresh, milky white goat cheese dusted with dried herbs that beautifully highlight the tangy sweetness of the cheese. Spread on a baguette and serve with a crisp, tart sauvignon blanc or a light fruity red.

St. Agur Blue Cheese

A medium strong creamy blue cheese, made from cow's milk in Auvergne. It is excellent with full bodied red wines, great on bread for a snack or in a salad. Hard to find and extremely likable. Could be used as a more delicate substitute for Gorgonzola in sauces when Dolcelatte is out of season or too strong. The cheese has a very strong and spicy taste when rippens.

Le Tonneau

Le Tonneau is a new cheese from Switzerland. Its rind is dark in color, with grooves that resemble a barrel. Along with the character of a large cheese, it has a unique taste with a full, fruity flavor. It has a novel consistency and a softness, creaminess and delicacy never known before in a true cheese.

Midnight Moon

Aged one year, this firm cheese offers loads of flavor, including a hint of salted caramel. Intriguing and addictive, it is essentially a goat's milk gouda. Named "Best New Product in Show" at the 2002 Fancy Food show.

And from Trader Joe's, I got a:

I had a pork tenderloin left over after I made the pamplona a couple of days before and I wanted a quick and easy way to make it. I got this suggestion from a user of the craigslist food forum who uses the moniker "Voltaire".

Marinade the pork tenderloin in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, with some chopped garlic and rosemary. I didn't have rosemary so I ommitted it but I did add a tablespoon or so of hoisin sauce to the marinade. Then we grilled it over medium-low heat until done. It was very good, in particular the outside part that had caramelized with the marinade. Next time I'll butterfly the tenderloin so as to maximize the caramelized area.

A few weeks ago I made a Breton dinner for a few friends and I've finally put up the recipes at:

http://www.marga.org/food/int/brittany

All the food was very, very good - and as soon as it gets cool enough to cook at home again I'm going to make that chicken again.

I found these Canadian sodas (also available on Cranberry & Raspberry, Cranberry & Blueberry and Cherry flavors) at the 99-cents store and I was intrigured enough to try them. They are organic, and GMO free, and have no artificial colors or flavors. They also come with the recommended daily value of vitamin C. And at 3 for 99cents, they're pretty cheap.

Alas, I didn't really like it. It's too sweet for my taste, it tastes mostly of lemon oil with a hint of coconut (must be the "oil" aspect of it). I couldn't even finish the bottle.

For dinner tonight we had grilled tri-tip, grilled corn, migas and a celery salad.

Aside from vacío, which you can't get outside of Argentine/Latin butcher shops, tri-tip is my favorite cut to grill. It's flavorful, tender enough and just yummy. I sprinkle it with kosher salt in advance (can also put pepper) and then take it out of the fridge half an hour before we grill it. It's great.

The migas are from an Aragonese recipe. This time I made them just with grapes. The sweetness of the grapes were a nice contrast to the saltiness of the meat - though the whole meal was screaming for some wine, which I hadn't taken to the back yard.

I had a lot of celery to get rid of, and this recipe for celery apple salad dijon seemed like a good way to do it. It was easy, quick and Mike thought it was unusual but good.

In all, it was a great dinner.

Casa María No.2 has moved, apparently 8 blocks north on East 14th. The major sign was taken away some days ago and today there were signs indicating the move. I'm sure this will be a great relief to their neighbors, as complaints of rats and filth kept coming in. Supposedly the restaurant's owners had sold the restaurant to their son to avoid creditors, how the move plays into that I've no idea. In any case, I hope whoever moves in will be much cleaner.

Every time we buy meat at Costco it lasts us 3 dinners, I don't like to freeze meat, so once again we had tri-tip for dinner. This time our dinner menu was:

Grilled Tri-Tip with Blue Cheese Butter
Truffled Mashed Potatoes
Grilled Asparagus

To make the blue cheese butter mix softened butter with blue cheese and some chopped garlic (I used the blender to mix it well). Put on wax paper, roll and refrigerate until it hardens. Slice it and serve on top of the meat.

The blue cheese butter worked well with the asparagus as well. To prepare them I washed & dried them and tossed with olive oil and chopped garlic. Grill for about 4 minutes.

To make the mashed potatoes I boiled three peeled and quartered Russet potatoes. I mashed them and mixed with a couple of tablespoons of leftover creme fraiche, a tablespoon or so of milk and as much truffle oil as I needed to get the desire flavor. I also added some kosher salt.

Once again we had a great dinner.