I just got a message about this new Burmese cookbook: hsa*ba, Burmese cookbook. hsa*ba means "please eat" in Burmese (is that the name of the language?). I haven't seen the book, but as there aren't many books on Burmese cooking, I thought I'd mention it. The website also has some Burmese recipes.

My cooking page on Burmese food is here. I enjoyed cooking the food, as it was quite different - but comforting - from what I usually make.

I just made Christmas cookies using this recipe from allrecipes.com. They turned out OK, they taste great, but they are very delicate. So far all but two (a star and a Xmas tree) have broken. It may be because I made them too thin, or because I've taken them off the cookie sheets while still warm (I'm letting the last two batches cool before I take them out), but this did not happen with the rolled sugar cookies I made for Halloween - I just wish I knew what recipe I used (thus the point of this post, this was not the recipe I used last time).

I halved the recipe, btw, and it made about two dozen HUGE cookies.

I will probably make another batch of Xmas cookies in the next couple of weeks, hopefully they'll work better.

Yeah! I've made it! Good rolled sugar cookies that are easy and quick to make and don't break! I based it on a recipe at allrecipes.com - but I made a couple of changes based on the ingredients I had at hand. As I said, they came out great and Mika (who helped me make them) loved them. I will certainly make them next time around - better safe than sorry :-).

Note that this time I made the cookies a little bit thicker than last time, they are not as crispy but, as I said, they don't break.

Note 2. So the cookies cooled down, and I realized that they are not that tasty after all. They are definitely not very sweet, even with the added granulated sugar on top, and my 4-yo rejected one after taking a bite (which is saying quite a bit). So I'll keep looking for another recipe.

Rolled sugar cookies

Makes 24 LARGE cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. orgeat (or 1/2 tsp. almond extract)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• flour for rolling
• sugar for dusting

In an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar. Add the egg and the vanilla and orgeat and beat well. Add the flour and baking soda and mix well. Add the lemon juice and mix again. Put dough in the freezer for 30-40 minutes or in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease cookie sheet(s). Flour a flat surface and a rolling pin - roll a large chunk of dough, leaving the rest in the refrigerator. Cut with cookie cutters and place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake for 8 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Let cool for 5 minutes on pan before removing.

Marga's Best Recipes

Fatty Patty's is the worst restaurant I have never eaten at. I had read the reviews of the place, and they were pretty positive. Granted, they were mostly about the breakfast and how huge the portions were, but they did say the food was good. What they didn't say, was that the food was bought pre-cooked.

We went there for lunch while we were visiting my in-laws, and I requested a cheeseburger cooked medium-rare. They told me they couldn't do that because they bought the patties pre-cooked, and all they did was warm them up! My God, even McDonalds grills them themselves (they are frozen, granted, but at least they are raw). I can't imagine how sucky these must be. Alas, they didn't really have much in the lunch menu that wasn't patty-based, so we actually walked out of the place.

It's a pity, because I love those mom-n-pop, all-American, hole in the wall breakfast places. I don't expect the food to be great, and usually a visit is enough for me, but visiting one is like traveling to another country.

I don't know that I'd go to Fatty Patty's for breakfast either, the hamburger experience scares me away (I'm imagining commercial frozen-pancakes, warmed up in the microwave). But at least it was a (short) experience.

Fatty Patty's Restaurant
10501 NE Highway 99 # 31
Vancouver, WA
(360) 574-4940

Marga's Restaurant Reviews - Outside the Bay Area

Yesterday we went to the Ghirardelli's factory store here in San Leandro, and tried their new pecan pie chocolate squares. It's delicious, my favorite of all of them (the caramelized almonds one was my former favorite one). Check it out. And if you do get them in San Leandro, look for a 20% off your whole purchase coupon in the San Leandro Times.

Last Sunday I made toffee for the first time. I think it was my first time making candy period, and I was surprised at how easy it was. The results were absolutely delicious - better than any toffee I've eaten (the caramel was softer and less sticky). Later that day we tasted some toffee at Costco and Mika was quick to assert that mine was better.

The recipe is from allrecipes.com - I followed it faithfully until the end. I had no problems whatsoever with separation, I stirred it quite often before it boiled, and then every 2-3 minutes afterwards.

Toffee

• 2 cups salted butter
  
• 1 cups white sugar
  
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)
  
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  
• 1 cupped finely chopped almonds
  

Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil

Combine butter and sugar in a heavy pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until the butter is melted. Let come to a boil and then cook until the mixture becomes dark and the temperature has reached 300F

As soon as the toffee is ready, pour it onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle it with the chocolate chips and wait a couple of minutes for them to soften. Sprinkle with the chopped almonds and spread the melted chocolate throughout the toffee, pressing lightly (I used the back of the wooden spoon I used to stir the toffee).

Let cool, and then place in the refrigerator. Break into pieces and store in an air tight container.

Perhaps it's sad to say that Round Table Pizza is the best pizza in San Leandro - but after tasting most of them, that is my conclusion.

Round Table Pizza is relatively new to me. I think I'd eaten at the restaurant a couple of times, years and years ago, and the pizza hadn't made much of an impression. Then I had it at my friend Charlotte's house a few weeks ago, and I was surprised at how good it was (as I said, better than anything else in San Leandro). I had it again in a pizza buffet during a trip, and finally a couple of days ago when I had nothing in the house to cook and we were too lazy to go shopping. It was good.

The kids got the plain cheese pizza ($17 for a medium, probably 12-14"), and that was fine, though nothing terribly special. They liked it quite a bit, though, but I don't know that they are that particular. I thought it was terribly, terribly overpriced, however. Alas, that's what they eat, so I'm not sure there is anything I can do about it.

I had the Maui Zaui (ham, bacon, pineapple, tomatoes, red and green onions, with 3 cheeses), and it was positively delicious. I particularly liked the bacon, but all the toppings were very nicely balanced. I definitely would order it again. I had it again the next day (microwave for 30" per slice), and it was good, though of course not as much as they day before. Surprisingly, the pizza was only $2 more than the plain pizza.

I will probably order again from Round Table. The only thing that makes me hesitant are the prices. After tax and tip, the two relatively small medium pizzas came to $42 - more than the cost of a dinner out for the four of us, and this didn't include drinks.

Round Table
1359 Washington Avenue
San Leandro, CA
(510) 581-9994
http://www.roundtablepizza.com/

Last night I made chicken adobo. I think it was the second time I'd ever cooked the dish, the first one being over 15 years ago. But I've been eating it at Zen's in San Leandro, and really enjoying it. I chose a very simple recipe from epicurious.com, and the results were quite good. It didn't have the depth of flavor that Zen's adobo has, but the chicken was moist and tasty, and most importantly, then kids (my kids!) loved it.

I will say that we ended up eating the chicken without the sauce, and not browning it after removing it from the sauce. We just couldn't wait :-) The following is my adaptation of the original recipe:

Chicken Adobo

• 1 Tbsp. oil
  
• 5 lbs chicken parts
  
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
  
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
  
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
  
• 2-4 bay leaves (depending on size)
  
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
  
• 1 Tbsp sugar
  

Put a large pot over medium-high heat and brown the chicken parts on the oil. Add the garlic cloves and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the vinegar, the peppercorns and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce temperature and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the soy sauce and sugar, mix well and then simmer for 20 more minutes.

Remove chicken from pot, keep warm and reduce the sauce until it's about 1 cup. Remove fat and serve over chicken.

Marga's Best Recipes

I first discovered the Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Merlot at a dinner at Rick and Ann's. I'm not a merlot person but I, as well as everyone else at the table, really liked it. Later, we enjoyed a bottle with Thanksgiving dinner to great accolades.

I wanted to try other wines from the collection and last night was the turn of the Zinfandel. I didn't like the wine at all - I found it overly bitter. I'm not sure what else I can say about it, because the bitterness and dryness overwhelmed any other aspect of the wine. I'm not sure what my guests thought of it, because nobody said anything about it (everyone, however, praised the Hess Collection Reserve Cab, reviewed on my next post).

So thumbs down for the Coppola Zin.

I have seldom liked a wine more than the 1999 Hess Collection Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. I served it last night with Hannukah dinner (though as a second wine, after people had finished eating dinner) to great acclaim. The wine was wonderfully balanced, with a rich flavor. There were hints of black berries and just the right amount of oak (I'm big on oaky wines, which this one was not, but I did appreciate what a measured amount of it could add to a wine). It had medium tannins - even though it's an 8 year old wine, they weren't close to overwhelming it. I served the wine a little bit chilled (just because it's winter, and the temperature of my house is not that warm), and I think it was perfect.

I won the wine at a political fundraiser raffle (I can't believe someone actually donated it!), but I think it's well worth the $65 price it supposedly has. I'm really glad that I was able to share it with friends.

This year I decided to bake for my friend Desiree rather than get her a present. I figured a present from the heart was much nicer - plus I had no idea what to buy her anyway :-) At our age, we have accumulated so much stuff, that often times the least you want for Xmas is something that will occupy space in your house.

I decided at first to make her a chocolate tort. I used this recipe for a chocolate hazelnut torte. Alas, it was a total failure. I don't know if the problem was that I over-whipped the egg whites, that I didn't butter the pan properly, or that I overbaked it (which I definitely did, though I baked it for less time and at a lower temperature than the recipe called for), but the cake stuck to the sides of the pan, and self-destructed when I took it out. It also wasn't that good. I liked the chocolate-hazelnut flavor, but it was dry and by itself quite boring (of course, given the failed cake, I didn't make the glace). So, needless to say, I had to throw it away.

I decided that tortes where not for me, so I chose to make Desiree a chocolate tart, instead. I used this recipe, also from epicurious, and the tart is phenomenal (Desiree is leaving on vacation today, so she didn't want the whole thing - so I got to keep half of it :-). I modified it a little bit, to the ingredients I had/could find. The only problem was that the crust stuck to the pan - next time I'll butter it. Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Glazed Chocolate Tart

Ingredients

For crust:
• 1 cup finely ground Milano chocolate cookies (I used raspberry flavored ones)
  
• 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
  
• 1/4 cup sugar

  For filling:

• 1 1/4 cups cream
  
• 9 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  
• 1/4 tsp. salt

  For glaze:

• 2 Tbsp. cream
  
• 1 3/4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  
• 1 tsp. honey
  
• 1 Tbsp. warm water
  

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom of a tart pan.

Make the crust by mixing together all the ingredients. Press them onto the bottom and sides of the tart pan. Bake until firm, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

Make filling. Place the chocolate in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a boil, and pour ove the chocolate. Mix well as the chocolate melts. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract and salt. Stir into the chocolate cream.

Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Bake until the filling is set, about 20-25 minutes. Cool completely in the pan.

Make the glace by putting the chocolate in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a boil (I placed it into a metal measuring cup to boil it) and pour over the chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth. Stir in the honey and then the water.

Pour glaze onto the tart, spreading evenly. Let stand until glaze sets, about 1 hour (I put it in the fridge to cool).

My friend Charlotte got me a big bag of True North Pistachio Nut Crisps, along with other food products, for Xmas (yes, I opened the bag early), and I'm amazed at just how good they are. The main ingredient is pistachios, and you can clearly taste them. They're perfectly salted, and yes, crispy. Only problem is that I can't stop eating them (and they're quite caloric). For those with actual will power, they do come in a resealable bag.

Picture by my amazing photographer friend Dan

I made this recipe yesterday for my Hanukkah dinner. It's from epicurious, but I'm posting it rather than just linking to it, because I made a couple of changes. It was quite good, and I may make it again for another Hanukkah.

I will note that I didn't have a pot large enough to accommodate the brisket, so I browned it by parts in a wide pan, and then placed it in a lasagna pan - which I covered with aluminum foil.

Note that brisket can be hard to find, even around Hanukkah. I was able to find it at the Safeway in Alameda, but only by asking at the meat counter (they didn't have it out). Of course, you can always order it from a butcher.

Wine-Braised Brisket of Beef with Caramelized Pearl Onions and Dried Apricots

• 5 lbs brisket
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• 1 bottle red wine (I use 2buck chuck)
• flour
• vegetable oil
• 6 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 medium carrots, cut into 1" pieces
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 leek, white part only, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 cup dried apricots
• 6 springs flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp. herbs de provence
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 quart plus 1/4 cup beef stock (I use better than bouillon)
• 1 pckg frozen pearl onions, defrosted

Rub the brisket on both sides with kosher salt and sprinkle with black pepper and let rest, refrigerated, for at least 2 hours.

In a small pan, reduce the red wine by half and set aside.

Preheat oven to 250F

Heat oil in a wide pan. Dredge the meat in flour and brown it on both sides. Place the meat in a dutch oven or pan large enough to accommodate it and set aside.

Pour out the oil from the pan, and add a little bit more. Add the shallots, carrots, celery and leek and sautee until light brown. Add 1/2 cup of apricots and the parsley, herbs de provence, bay leaves and tomato paste. Stir and cook for one minute.

Pour the vegetables on top of the brisket, along with the wine and 1 qt. beef broth. Cover and cook for 4 1/2 hours.

Soon before the brisket is ready, sautee the pearl onions on some oil until golden brown. Cut 1/2 cup of apricots into thin strips and add them to the onions. Stir and add 1/4 cup beef broth, deglazing the pan. Set aside, keeping it warm.

Remove the brisket from the oven, and carefully remove it from the pan. Cover it to keep it warm. Boil the liquid until it reduces by half. Strain it, discarding the vegetables & fruits.

Mix the onions with the liquid, and serve with the brisket.

Marga's Best Recipes

Last night I threw a Hanukkah dinner and invited my friends Desiree and Charlotte along with their families. It went very well, though I did spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing latkes. I'm thinking that next year I may prepare them in advance and keep them warm in the oven - while I love the fresh latkes, it did keep me away from the party for most of the evening.

This time I served my famous Mixed Green Salad with Gorgonzola Vinaigrette, to great acclaim as usual. It really is a wonderful salad.

The latkes were from my usual recipe. As usual they were great. I served them with sour cream and apple sauce (homemade by Desiree).

The main dish was Wine-Braised Brisket of Beef with Caramelized Pearl Onions and Dried Apricots. Quite good, and my guests ate almost all of it (either they were very hungry or they really liked it).

For dessert I wanted to make homemade doughnuts, but this simple recipe was a complete failure. The doughnuts were too crispy on the outside, semi-raw on the inside (I do admit this was probably my mistake, it was hard to keep the oil at a constant temperature), and just not very tasty. I gave up and bought regular donuts and the donut store.

In previous years I got all the hardcore kitchen equipment I needed - a good quality food processor (though I came to discover, while I was cooking Xmas dinner, that it has a crappy lid), a good quality blender and a good quality mixer - so my cooking items request for this year was much less greedy. And alas, I got the most important things I wanted.

My mother gave me her old (but barely used) toaster oven. It's a Black & Decker and small enough to fit in our very limited counter space. It's great because our old one is probably over 10 years old and had not been working well (i.e. burning toast) for quite a while. Now I can finally get rid of it! The only problem with this toaster oven is that it doesn't come with a baking sheet - and I doubt I can find one small enough for it. That doesn't matter for toast - but it makes it hard to use for things like toasting nuts. Hmmm - perhaps I could find a very small aluminum pan to put there? Or use tin foil to make a little mold? Any ideas?

Also from my mother, a set of pyrex mixing bowls I had asked for. All my mixing bowls are plastic and old - and I wanted something better quality (so, at least I can feel more luxurious when I cook) that had lids - so I can put whatever it is directly in the fridge. I haven't opened these yet, but they look very nice and got good reviews.

Mom also got me a small (10" x 14") cookie sheet that comes with a matching silicone mat. It's Cooking with Calphalon brand. I've never used a baking mat, and I'm hoping it'll be good - it'd beat having to use expensive parchment paper or cleaning baking sheets. The cookie sheet is on the small size, but I think it'll fit in the oven along side my regular large baking sheets.

Finally, my sister Kathy got me a set of CorningWare. It includes a 2.5qt casserole, a 1.5 qt one and a 16 oz one. Only the bigger one comes with a glass lid, which makes it appropriate for baking in the oven - but that's the one I really needed. Alas, CorningWare has the weird pricing scheme in that it's often cheaper to buy a set of dishes than just one. I'm not sure what I'll use the little ones for. The little one would work for hot artichoke-spinach dip (I made some last night for Xmas dinner, and as I didn't have one that size I divided it into smaller ramekins). Any ideas what the 1.5 qt one (which only has a plastic lid) could be used for?

And that's it - not many food gifts this year, but then I didn't ask for many :-) I did ask for a dutch oven, but I'm not really disappointed that I didn't get one, as I'm not sure that I'd use it very often.

Could it really be true that I don't need/want anything else for the kitchen? Nah - I did notice while cooking Xmas dinner that I do need more wooden spoons.

Oh, and I forgot, I need a butcher's knife, a carving knife and kitchen shears.

For Xmas Eve dinner I served a couple of wines. We started with a wine wine, a 2005 Treana Central Coast, Mer Soleil Vineyard wine composed of 50% Marsanne and 50% Viognier. It's yet another wine I won at a raffle/auction (yes, I participate in a fair number of those things). The wine retails at about $27 dollars - which means it was a wash with what I spent on tickets, but it was a good cause :-) .

The wine was actually very good, and it got accolades at my Xmas Eve dinner. I thought it was pretty sweet, almost competing with a dessert wine. It was pretty fruity, and very nicely balanced. It also managed to keep its flavor through the different courses I served with it (bread & olive oil/salad with balsamic vinaigrette/butternut squash soup/crostinis with mushrooms & artichoke dip). In all, if you like sweetish wines, this is definitely one you should consider.

The second wine I served at our Xmas Eve dinner was a 2004 Deloach Sonoma County Forgotten Vines Zinfandel that I had bought at the winery years before. At $35 this is close to the most I've ever spent on a wine - so I had great expectations for it. I had, of course, liked it at the winery - but I'm not sure to what degree you can trust your taste buds when you go wine tasting.

I was concerned about this bottle as soon as I opened it. First, the cork broke a little bit when I tried to take it out with my rabbit corkscrew - I was successful with a regular corkscrew, however. I love the rabbit, but it does fail to work on many a cork.

Then the cork was half way wet (not just the bottom but the sides). That concerned me that the wine had gone bad, but it tasted fine. And it did. It was a good wine, dark, balanced, with stature. I tasted like an adult wine for adults, its dark fruit had settled in, there weren't any shouting flavors; a fine wine. It just wasn't an amazing wine. It wasn't what I'd consider a $35 wine.

Now, that may be because I was unconsciously comparing it to the Hess wine I'd served with Hanukkah dinner - which was vastly superior (and twice as expensive), or because it had gone somehow bad - but it just didn't allure me. Oh well.

I wanted to use some of the very expensive balsamic vinegar Mike got me last year, so I looked for a vinaigrette recipe to use on a simple mixed green salad. This one was super easy and delicious. The only change I would make next time is adding some crunch to the salad - roasted pecans or walnuts would work well. The recipe, as most of my non-ethnic recipes - comes from epicurious.com.

Salad with balsamic vinaigrette

• 1 lb mixed greens
  
• 3 Tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
  
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  

Wash and dry the greens.

In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and garlic. Whisk in the olive oil, a little bit at the time. Mix with greens and serve.

For some reason, my daughter Mika got it into her head that she liked butternut squash soup, and she requested that I make it for Christmas. Now, butternut squash soup is not my favorite, but she was pretty insistent, which she rarely is for any food item.

I made this soup based on a (surprise, suprise) epicurious.com recipe. The recipe got great reviews, and people at my dinner table really liked it. In particular, Mika loved it.

Personally, I wasn't sold by it, but I felt the cider cream was an essential ingredient for the soup to work - the sour element gave it an extra dimension to what would otherwise have been pretty bland results. I used Trader Joe's sparkling apple cider, because that's what I found at TJ's. I used Better than Bouillon for the chicken stock - I usually just add the water and the appropriate amount of concentrate, rather than make the stock before hands. It's easier and just as effective.

I made the soup a day in advance and I think that improved it. I'd make it again if my daughter requested it.

On a different note, I found that the easiest way to peel the squash was to cut it into sections and then use a pairing knife to peel.

I didn't change the recipe very much (if at all) - though below I'm providing adjusted ingredients. The original recipe turned out twice the amount of soup I needed to serve 8 as a soup course. There were no leftovers, though.

Butternut squash soup with cider cream

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks
• 2 medium leeks, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
• 1 Granny smith apple, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. dried sage leaves
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock.
• 3/4 cup apple cider
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• half bunch of fresh chives, chopped.

Melt butter over medium-high heat in a stock or large pot. Add squash, leeks, carrot and celery. Sautee for about 15 minutes, until soft. Add apples, thyme and sage and mix. Add chicken stock and 1/2 cup of cider. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until apples are tender. Cool.

Puree the soup in a blender, in batches. Return to the soup.

Meanwhile boil 1/4 cup cider in a small pan and reduce it by half. Cool. Place sour cream in a small bowl and whisk in the cider.

Bring soup to a slow boil. Add the whipping cream and mix well. Transfer the soup to a serving dish and drizzle with the sour cream. Top with chopped chives.

Marga's Best Recipes

Bring soup to simmer. Mix in whipping cream. Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with cider cream. Top with chives.

My sister Kathy asked me to make artichoke & spinach dip for our Xmas Eve dinner. Though I neither like artichokes or spinach, and I had a very heavy menu, I decided to honor her request. She is pretty appreciative of my food, and it's always nice to cook for someone who is going to appreciate it.

There were many recipes to chose from, but I settled on this one, by Tiffany Brennan in allrecipes.com. My version is very close to hers, though I had to change a couple of ingredients to suit what I had at home. I also sort of halved it - as I didn't expect that many people to eat it. The proportions below will serve 4 served with toasted bread.

I made the dip the day before, covered it and let it come to room temperature before baking it.
My guests absolutely loved it - I'll definitely make it again for Kathy. As for me, I couldn't bring myself to taste it.

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp. grated Romano cheese
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. herbs de provence
• a dash of celery salt
• 6 oz canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 2 Tbsp. mozarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix together the cream cheese, mayo, parmesan & romano cheeses, garlic, herbs de provence and celery salt. Add artichoke hearts and spinach and mix.

Transfer dip to a baking dish and sprinkle with mozarella cheese. Bake in a preheated oven until the top is bubbly and lightly browned - about 15 minutes.

Marga's Best Recipes

My husband wanted foie gras for Xmas Eve dinner - but I just couldn't justify the expense on this economy. I thought first about making scallops, but as I'm not a great fan, I settled on mushrooms instead. I looked and looked and looked for a great mushroom ragout recipe, to no avail. So I decided to use this one for wild mushroom crostini as it got good reviews and could be made the day ahead. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but I thought it was quite tasty. Still, I served it on store-bought garlic parmesan panettini (only because a friend got me a package for Xmas, and I figured that using it would mean having one less thing to do), and the flavor of the toasts sort of overwhelmed the mushrooms. If you make them, use regular toast (see original recipe for instructions).

I also had to alter the types of mushrooms I used because one package of oyster mushrooms I bought was bad (damn Safeway) and I couldn't find crimini mushrooms at the supermarket.

The recipe below is what I made.

Mushroom ragout on toast

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 3.5 oz oyster mushrooms, chopped
• 7 oz shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
• 1 lb white mushrooms, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
• salt & pepper
• 1 cup grated Fontina cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 36 small toast slices

Preheat broiler.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and saute for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they start to brown - about 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Add cream, rosemary and lemon peel and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cool down. Add the two cheeses and mix well.

Place toasts on a baking sheet. Spoon mushroom mixture onto the toasts. Bake until the mixture starts to brown, about 3 minutes. Serve warm.

Marga's Best Recipes

I have long been interested in Israeli couscous, but I had never really cooked it - for one, because it's difficult to find. Trader Joe's has started carrying it, though, and I have no doubt that it will become one of our starch staples. Though it's probably not as healthy as whole-wheat regular couscous, it's less messy (you can't imagine the mess little kids can do with regular couscous), more attractive, and, most importantly, Mika really likes it.

Despite my inexperience with Israeli couscous, I felt it would be an ideal companion to the roasted rack of lamb I was serving. I wanted a side that would have a relatively soft flavor, so as to not compete with the lamb, that would be able to stand to the sauce I was serving with the lamb, and that would be good on its own. This recipe met all the requirements.

Indeed, I'm surprised at how it managed to be both quite simple and amazingly delicious. I ended up serving it as a 4th course, rather than a side, because my rack of lamb took forever to cook, and it actually worked pretty well on its own. I definitely ate a large plate of it. Those who waited say it also went very well with the lamb. My only concern with the recipe is how much butter it takes. When I make it again, I'll try to reduce it to 3 Tbsp. and see if the results are noticeably inferior.

Toasted Israeli Couscous with Pine Nuts and Parsley

• 5 Tbsp. butter
• 2/3 cup pine nuts
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 16 oz Israeli couscous
• 1 large cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
• black pepper

Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a small pan over medium-low heat. Add the pine nuts and cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt 4 Tbsp. of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until brown, about 10 minutes. Add the couscous, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Cook until the couscous browns slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir often.

Add the chicken broth and the salt and mix well. Bring the couscous to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat and simmer until the couscous is done and all the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Mix in the pine nuts and parsley. Add black pepper to taste.

Marga's Best Recipes

My 2008 Christmas Eve Dinner may very well be my last Christmas dinner for a while. I loved the menu and I loved cooking it and serving it and eating it, but it was a two day affair (three, if you count shopping), and it was exhausting. I also spent more time in the kitchen during the meal than I really wanted to. I'm also not sure that it made sense financially - taking my guests to a relatively nice restaurant would have probably been cheaper. But hey, it was a nice experience and the food was great.

This time dinner included Mike and I, our two daughter, my father & sister, and our friends Lola and Ignatius. Great company.

I started by serving a Mixed green salad with balsamic vinaigrette. I wanted to use the very expensive balsamic vinegar Mike got me for Xmas last year. The results were very good.

This was followed by Butternut squash soup with cider cream. Apparently my father has not stopped raving to my mother about the soup. Everyone else also said they liked it, and given that Mika (my 6.5 yo) had seconds, I'm inclined to believe them.

The third course consisted of panettini served with Hot artichoke & spinach dip and Mushroom ragout. Everyone loved the dip - I enjoyed the mushrooms. They're both dishes I might make again (the dip definitely if Kathy, my sister, requests it again) - plus I now have a dish for it.

The fourth course was supposed to be Rost Rack of Lamb with Madeira Peppercon Reduction served with Toasted Israeli Couscous with Pine Nuts and Parsley, Roasted cauliflower and steamed broccoli. Alas, I neglected to trim the lamb, and it took much, much, much longer to cook than I imagined. Alas again, by the time I realized that, I had already served the sides - so the couscous turned out to be the fourth course. Fortunately, it was absolutely delicious.

The cauliflower wasn't as successful. I'd cooked it in the toaster oven because I didn't have the main oven was busy with the lamb (and I only have one oven). I removed it when it started to brown, and that apparently was too soon as it was undercooked. I had to throw out most of it.

It took quite a while for the lamb to hit the table, and I did have to cut it in individual chops in order to cook it quicker (which reminds me, I really need a carving knife), but it was absolutely delicious. I would definitely recommend serving it on the rare side of medium-rare (as I did by default). It was moist, tender and incredibly flavorful. I did buy it at a good butcher, Enzo's Meat & Poultry's in Rockridge, and at $17lb it was $4-5lb more expensive than the lamb at the supermarket & Costco. But it was domestic, which I wanted, and I think well worth the price. It couldn't have been better.

The sauce, on the other hand, was a complete failure. On the one hand, it would have been a crime to cover the taste of the lamb with any kind of sauce. Really, I should have thought of that. On the other, the sauce itself wasn't that good. I didn't like the briny taste of the peppercorn, and I might have reduced the madeira too much because I thought it was almost bitter. Fortunately, I had the good sense of only putting a little bit on my plate.

Dinner ended with two desserts. I made a Low sugar apple-sauce for my dad, and everyone ended up loving it. It's made with apple juice concentrate instead of sugar - but apples still have a lot of natural sugars, so it's still not the best.

I also made Cornmeal cake with buttermilk ice cream. I don't think this dessert was as popular as the other one, but I personally liked it very much. The cake was sweet and a tad dry, but the ice cream added the moisture it needed. They both definitely compliment each other very much - neither is as good by itself. The buttermilk ice cream was pretty good - it had great consistency, very creamy though dense (and not at all crystally), and its lemony taste is reminiscent of cheesecake. It's definitely a dessert I'd recommend.

I had planned on serving hot chocolate with speculoos, a Belgian spice cookie I'd made the day before. IMHO, the speculoos were great, and the kids themselves loved them - but Lola didn't seem to be very impressed. A couple of people ate one, but most of us were too full from dinner. I did leave some for Santa, who ate at least one :-)

And that was dinner. We had a Treana viognier/marsanne wine with the earlier part of the meal and a Deloach Zinfandel with the latter part. The white was better than the red.-

Update 12/10

Another year, another Chrismas, another dinner at the Oriental Tea House. This Christmas day we got there around 5 PM, and the place was completely empty. It started filling up around 6 PM, but there were still a couple of large tables empty by the time we left (6:20 PM or so) - so next year we won't go as early. As we did go when the place was empty, service was more relaxed. The food has increased a bit in price, but it's still very affordable. We got 6 dishes plus fried wontons for 5 adults and 4 children and we ate everything! I was happy with all the dishes (beef chow mein, Mongolian beef, chicken with two mushrooms, kun pao chicken, sweet & sour pork, veggie platter) my favorite was probably the kun pao chicken, the Mongolian beef was a close second. In all, another good meal.

Update 12/09.

As usual we went to the Oriental Tea House, in San Leandro, for Xmas dinner; this time with my sister Kathy and my brother and his family. Once again, service was hurried - the Oriental Tea House is very popular on Xmas day - but efficient. Food came on time (except for the sweet & sour pork which was delayed) and it was generally good (and cheap). Mike was happy with his beef with snow peas, as was my sister-in-law with her broccoli beef. My brother David ordered the beef curry, not on the menu, and his dish was pretty good, though very mild. I'm not sure if that was because the waitress misunderstood that he wanted his dish spicy (the English language skills of the workforce at Oriental Tea House are very limited), or because they just have a different understanding of spicy than we do. In any case, it was mild.

I ordered the roast duck, having liked the roast chicken in the past, which was a mistake. The duck was nicely cooked and very flavorful - but it had the obligatory thick layer of fat and my chopstick skills are not advanced enough to allow me to get to the meat between the fat and the bone. I had a fork, but without a knife it was an impossible endeavor. Next time I'll stick with the less fatty chicken, which is also very good.

Finally, Kathy had the sweet & sour pork, which she liked but Mike and I thought was quite unappetizing - with fat pieces of pork and a slimy sauce. To each its own.

In all, it was a good meal and we'll definitely be going there again next Xmas.

December 2008

We celebrate Christmas Eve rather than Christmas itself, so in the past we've found ourselves at a loss as to what to do for dinner on the 25th. After a huge Xmas Eve dinner, and a kitchen full of dirty dishes, the least I want to do is cook again. So some years ago we started a tradition of going out to the Oriental Tea House, in San Leandro, for Xmas dinner. The Oriental Tea House has pretty good American-style Chinese food (though given the large number of Chinese that eat there, I suspect they may have a second menu as well), it's cheap (most dishes are around $7), and most importantly, it's actually open on Xmas.

This year was no exception. We probably got there around 6 PM or so - I recommend you go early as the place gets packed by 7 (on Xmas, at least). Service was rushed but attentive, and the food was up to standard.

I liked the roasted chicken quite a bit. The skin was impossibly crispy, and the meat was nice and moist. It's rather bland by itself, but add some of the accompanying seasoned salt, and it's delicious. The beef with oyster sauce was pretty good as well - nothing extraordinary but competently executed. I liked the thick-noodle chicken chow mein, it was flavorful and devoid of too many bean sprouts (I'm not a fan). I wasn't thrilled about the doughy sweet & sour pork, however, but then again, I wasn't in the mood for anything sweet. I thought the pieces of pork were too chewy and the sauce too sweet.

In all, it was a good Xmas Eve experience, and I look forward to going there again for our next Xmas dinner.

Oriental Tea House
604 MacArthur Blvd.
San Leandro
510.562.2828
Original Review

January 2011

I just went to Vo's for a late lunch with my friend Cynthia. I hadn't been there for a while, and once again I was not overly impressed. The food was fine but not exceptional, and even at discounted prices sort of expensive for what it was.

Cynthia and I shared the chicken wings appetizer ($3.50, usually $7). There were five or six lightly spiced wings, deep fried, that were well cooked but completely unremarkable. They came with a very nice peanut sauce which was better by itself than on the wings.

Cynthia had the Vietnamese peppered beef sandwich ($4). It was described as beef sauteed with green peppers and onions, so she was disappointed that most of what she found in the bread was cucumber and other light veggies. She also wasn't fond of the cheap-tasting baguette the sandwich came with. I got a chicken sandwich for Mike and he had similar complaints, he found there was too much bread, too little chicken and not enough flavor.

Cynthia had the banana and mango dessert ($5, I think) and she thought it was pretty good, she liked the tapioca sauce which had a generous amount of coconut milk. I had the fried banana with ice cream (also $5 or so) and while it was good, it wasn't exceptional. There were two pieces of banana wrapped in eggroll skins and a very so-so ice cream. I've had a much better version of this dessert at other restaurants.

In all, it was a nice lunch, but not good enough for $40 after tax & tip.

Nov. 2008 Review

Last night, Mike took me out to dinner at Vo's to celebrate our brief childless status (we do miss the kids, though). I had been there last a few month prior with the girls, and I'd had a pretty good meal. This one, however, was lackluster - the food seemed tired and lacked shining flavors. Part of the problem may be that Vo's seems to specialize on seafood (its specials menu featured only one meat dish), and that the choices for non-seafood eaters are very limited. After a few visits to the restaurant, you would have tried them all. I think it's time that they revamp their menu, at least vis a vis meat choices.

Mike started with the crab puffs ($8, I think) - five or six little purses fried and filled with crabmeat. He liked them, but in particular enjoyed the mustard sauce. I had the crispy rolls ($8), an old favorite. I had loved the very light and crispy skins and the flavorful filling. This time, the rolls tasted like egg rolls in any other restaurant. They lacked flavor, and even the dipping sauce couldn't help them much. I wouldn't order them again.

My main dish was the caramelized pork & shrimp ($14). I'd had this dish before, and I think I'd enjoyed it, but this time it was pretty average. The caramelization hadn't added much sweetness to the dish, and I think the meat was underseasoned to begin with. The sauce was very one-dimensional. It wasn't bad, indeed it was perfectly acceptable - but there wasn't much of a reason to eat it other than being hungry and having ordered it. I wouldn't do it again, either. Also, the portion was on the small side (something I've noticed to be an issue with Vo's from the start) - if you came in moderately hungry and haven't had an appetizer, you'll still be hungry after eating it.

Mike had the lemongrass catfish filet ($16) from the specials menu. He didn't think it was that great. The sauce was too viscous and bland, but at least the catfish was properly cooked. He wouldn't order it again.

Probably the worst part of the meal, however, were the desserts. Mike had the caramelized bananas with ice cream ($7, I think), and the dish consisted of perhaps half a banana sliced and covered in caramelized sugar, it was served with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. The banana slices were nice, but again, nothing special. And given how small the portion of bananas they serve was, the dish was grossly overpriced.

Worse still was the cheesecake ($8). I knew that they didn't make the deserts on site (with the exception, I imagine, of the two banana dishes) - but they really need a better dessert provider. This cheesecake ($8) was flavorless and had been badly defrosted. While part of the cheesecake had the unpleasant texture of ice crystals, the other was thawed to the point of almost melting it. I'm not sure if they did it in the microwave, or how they managed to mess it up so much. The portion was pretty small for the price, but in this case it really didn't matter as the whole thing was a waste of calories. If I do eat at Vo's again (and I may very well do so, if I go out with friends who insist on going there), I will make sure to avoid dessert here.

Service was adequate (though the waitress did not ask how our meal was), but the timing of the dishes was off. Our entrees came before our appetizer dishes had been removed from the table. In all, it felt like it was a pretty rushed meal. Which is strange, as the restaurant was almost empty on a Friday night.

Dinner came to about $82 after tax and tip. I used a $25 gift certificate that I got at restaurant.com for $3 (they are usually $10, but they were running a special) - but I felt that even at $60 the dinner was overpriced. Too bad, because I like Vo's, or at least the concept of Vo's - somebody just needs to get back in the kitchen and shake things up a bit.

Vo's Restaurant
277 Parrott St.
San Leandro, Ca.
510-357-6600
Original Review

My menu for the Central African Republic is now online. It features a chicken couscous, beef in cumin sauce and ginger cakes.

I'll be cooking more international food in the weeks to come - now that I'm caught up putting up the recipes. Next stop is Chad. After that I'll be going back in the alphabet to A and cooking Arizonan cuisine (I just found an Arizonan cookbook at the library).

My international cooking project.

Restaurant.com, a website that offers discount gift certificates to local restaurants, is having a "sale". Now, you can get a $25 gift certificate for $2 (regularly $10) and a $10 one for $.60. The gift certificates usually require a minimum food purchase of $35 to $50 (for the $25 one), and they attach an 18% tip to the pre-discounted bill. As I usually tip 20%, that doesn't bother me.

The restaurants that offer gift certificates are all over the place in terms of cost and quality. I got a gift certificate for Jordan's at the Claremont (which I may use for my 40th birthday, as that place is expensive), to Kenkoy's (a Filipino restaurant in Hayward), to Shashamane Int'l Bar & Grill (an Ethiopian restaurant in Oakland), to Cocina Poblana in Jack London and to Unicorn Pan-Asian cuisine in Berkeley.

The gift certificates do not expire in California (they expire a year from purchase in other states), so it doesn't matter when we go.

To get the discounted price use the code CELEBRATE

For Xmas I made a completely unsuccessful Madeira Peppercorn Reduction sauce which required the purchase of green peppercorns in brine (which I found at the Pasta Shop at the Rockridge Market Hall). I wanted to use the leftover peppercorns for other dishes, so I looked for suggestions in my favorite cooking site, epicurious.com - fortunately there were several recipes that included the peppercorns.

Saturday night I made Chicken in a Dijon Sherry Sauce, which was OK though a bit bland for my taste (despite the fact that I added extra mustard & sherry). Mike liked it, though. Still, I don't think I'll make it again.

Last night, I meant to make Beef and Guinness Pie, but I couldn't find puff pastry at the supermarket (and I was not going to make it myself). So I followed the recipe to make a beef stew, which I served over mashed potatoes (the box kind :-( ). The stew was amazing, very deep and rich, without being too dark, and just plain tasty. I am, therefore, copying the recipe below, because I mean to make it again (perhaps for St. Patrick's Day). I think it'd be even better with bread (sourdough would be my choice, but then again, it always is). One thing - though I loved the stew, I didn't particularly like the peppercorns. Next time I'll omit them altogether.

• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• a sprinkle of black pepper
• 2 lbs beef chuck
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 cup Guinness
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 tsp. brined green peppercorns, drained & chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Mix the flour with the salt and pepper in a medium-size bowl. Cut the beef into chunks and put in the bowl with the flour. Coat well.

Heat the olive oil in a medium to large oven-safe pot, over medium-high heat. Add the beef and stir until it browns on all sides. Remove the beef from the pot (you can put it in the same bowl it was before).

Add the onion, garlic and water to the bowl. Cook until the onions softened, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add tomato paste and stir for one minute. Add the broth, Guiness, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and green peppercorns (if using) and mix well. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat, cover and put in the oven. Cook until the beef is very soft, about 1 1/2 hours. Serve.

A few years ago I made Mohr Im Hemd, a type of Austrian chocolate pudding, as part of my international cooking project. It didn't work out well for me :-(

Yesterday I received a message with some hints on how to correctly cook it. I'm copying the message here for the benefit of those who want to make it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been looking for a "Mohr im Hemd" recipe for a number of years and your recipe worked just fine for me. Perhaps I can make a couple of suggestions that will make it work better for you as well.

First is the chocolate measurement. "One cup" is a challenge because the measurement is much affected by the fineness of the grating. I made it twice, once with 80 grams (not enough) and a second time with 160 grams (seems perfect). I also grated the chocolate very finely using a rasp - it was like dust and blended in very well. The chocolate in your picture looks like largish lumps.

Secondly, it is important to get the egg whites and the chocolate well-folded together. The chocolate mixture is quite thick, so add about 1/3 of the egg whites and fold it in to lighten it up before folding in the rest of the egg whites.

The resulting cakes were dark chocolate and very dense (and definitely homogeneous), as they are supposed to be. We've had "mohr im hemd" in Vienna a few times, but it is increasingly difficult to find a house-made version, rather than factory-made.

The sauce recipe seems to make way too much so I cut that back considerably.

Hope you find the time to read this and make some changes to the online recipe. I notice that your recipe is the same as that of Jakob Schmidlechner, the innkeeper of the Mohrenwirt restaurant in Salzberg, Austria.

Cheers - Jan Reatherford, Ottawa, Canada

I have been using Better than Bouillion for several years now, always with perfect results. It's much better, denser and flavorful, than the bouillon cubes I'd previously used, and even than the ready-made broths you can buy at the store. Plus it's convenient - you use as little or as much as your recipe calls for, and store the rest in the fridge. Though the jars have an expiration date now, I called the company years ago and they told me the concentrates are good pretty much forever.

Years ago, whenever a recipe called for broth, I used to boil the water, mix it with the base and then add it to the other items. But I've become lazy. What I do now, is add the water instead of the broth, wait until the liquid gets hot, and then add and mix the concentrate. Much easier and it works just as well.

Now, I've never made broth myself (and I'm not likely to), but I do wonder if home made broth is better than Better Than Bouillon. In his book Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain talks about how he improved in the homemade stock he had to make for cooking school, with commercial concentrate. The results were better than what anyone could otherwise make. Of course, in his cookbook Bourdain talks about the virtues of homemade stock - but I don't think I believe him :-)

Slowly but surely we've been going through our wine bottles, so I have much fewer than I used to have (not that I ever have that many). This is what is at home. It's time to go and buy a bunch of table wines.

Block 13 Sauvignon Blanc - auction ($10)

Francis Coppola Merlot 2006 - TJ ($14)
Moulin de Beusejour 2007 bordeaux - TJ ($7)
Condesa de Sarabella 2007 garnacha - TJ ($5)

Bink Merlot 2003 - won at auction ($35)
Bink Pinot Noir 2004 - won at auction ($40)
Bink Syrah 2003 - won at auction ($40)
Casola Lopez Malbec, 2002 - (my cousin Betiana Lopez gifted it to me in Argentina)
Chateu Souverain Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003, - got at winery ($24.50)
Cline Ancient Vines Mourvedre, 2006 - got at winery ($18), we liked the very unusual flavor
Loxton Red Table Wine, 2006 - got at winery ($14), fruity and acidic, a bit unfinished
Roederer Estate Pinot Noir 2005 - got at winery ($23)
Ryhan Estate Rouge Sang 2004 - got at winery ($20)
Yorkville Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, 2001 - got at winery ($40)
Urbano Cellars Zinfandel 2005 - got at winery ($18)

Sweet Wines

Eberle Muscat Canelli - got at winery ($14)
Navarro White Riesling - got at winery ($29 for 1/2 blottle)
V. Sattui California Muscat - got at winery (>$20)
Westover Port - don't know where it came from ($20)

Sparkling Wines

Roederer L'Ermitage Brut - at winery, $45

A few weeks ago I got a copy of Cocina Patagónica y Fueguina, a book on the food of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. I traveled in the area a few years ago, and what we ate was not that different from what we ate in other parts of Argentina. The lamb, however, was amazing - super tender and flavorful. There is a reason why the cordero patagónico has such a great reputation in Argentina.

The recipes in the book (which, btw, is in both Spanish and English) are based on the fauna and flora of the region. There are many for lamb, but also for hare, seafood and local berries. Alas, you cannot find those Patagonian products in America (or really, in other parts of Argentina), so the result of the recipes won't taste the same as it would back then. Still, I figured I might as well try them.

Tonight I cooked Patagonian roasted lamb with apple-curry sauce. The original recipe wasn't too clear on some of the measures, so I made them up as I went along. Also, I skipped the celery from the sauce because I didn't have any. This is my adaptation.

It was pretty good. The lamb itself was great, and the sauce almost resembled a cream soup. It has a very delicate flavor, with only hints of curry. Alas, I think the sauce may be too mild for the lamb - I'd make it again, though I'd have to find something else to serve it with.

• 1 leg of lamb
• salt & pepper
• Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 cups red wine
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 2 Granny smith apples, peeled and chopped
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F

Trim the lamb of excess fat. Season generously with salt and pepper. Place on a roasting pan and drizzle with Worcestershire sauce. Pour 1/2 cup of wine over the lamb. Place in the oven and roast until internal temperature is 145F for medium-rare - about 30 minutes per pound.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sautee until soft. Add the flour and mix well. Add the garlic, apples, bay leaf, thyme, chicken broth and 1 cup of wine. Mix well, bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the sauce into a medium-size bowl and discard the solids. Mix the cream with the sauce and add parsley.

Slice the lamb and spoon sauce on top of it. Serve.

I bought this wine at Trader Joe's yesterday, I think for about $7, give or take a dollar. It was one of the wines being promoted. We had it last night with the Patagonian roasted lamb with apple-curry sauce, and it actually went pretty well. I found the Red Diamond to be all in all a pleasant wine, but a bit too acidic. It didn't have the balance of an older or more expensive wine. But it was moderately fruity, with light tannins and perfectly OK to drink.

I probably wouldn't buy it again, because it's not special enough to merit a second try, but I won't mind drinking the leftovers tonight :-)

It'd been quite a while since I'd gone to Bella Italia for lunch, and I thought it was time to give the restaurant a try. So last Wednesday, when Lola came to visit me, I decided we should go there and see how the restaurant is faring. Alas, the answer seems to be "not very well". In the hour or so that we were there, no other party came to have lunch. Granted, it was New Year's Eve, so a reduced crowed is expected, but nobody?

For some reason, the owners have greatly expanded the restaurant from the size it was in its Prings days. I guess that makes sense if they are renting the place out for parties (and if you are looking for a banquet room in San Leandro, this may be a good choice for you), but it does it seem even lonelier when you are the only party at the restaurant. The place does look as nice as it can, given the architecture of the building (which was built as a coffee shop). There are cloth tablecloth and napkins, nicely made up tables and a new wooden bar that seems very well stocked up. Still, it doesn't have much of a "date" or "nice dinner out" atmosphere.

It's perfect for lunch, however, specially given the very low prices. The lunch menu offers salads, sandwiches, pizzas and pastas, dishes are mostly in the $6-8 range and they come with warm bread rolls and (unsalted) butter - there is also olive oil and balsamic vinegar at the table.

I had the lasagna bolognese ($6 lunch, $11 dinner) and I thought it was pretty good. It had a good combination of cheese to meat to pasta. The sauce wasn't my favorite, and it was nowhere as good to the lasagna I made myself a few weeks ago, but it's a safe dish to order.

Lola had one of their pizzas, I forgot its name but it was the one that came with ground beef. She didn't feel it tasted particularly Italian (she's spent a fair amount of time in Italy), but she thought it was OK. I'm usually not a thin-pizza sort of person, but I liked it. It thought there was a good balance of toppings to bread, and the sauce was not overwhelming. Lola didn't seem to like it that much, but Mike thought the leftovers we brought home were very tasty. I think I'd order it myself.

Service was good and attentive, and I can't believe how cheap lunch entrees are. I'd definitely go again for lunch.

La Bella Italian Inn
15015 E. 14th St.
San Leandro, CA
510-895-2792
Original Review