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  1. Saleh Smokehouse – Review

    January 3, 2017 by admin

    The Everett & Jones restaurant in Hayward has become more and more erratic in their opening hours, so we are looking for a new BBQ joint to call our own.  Last week we gave Saleh Smokehouse a try.  It gets a B+, in my book.

    We ordered a plate of links, another of beef, and another of beef and ribs.  Alas, instead of ribs the last plate had links and we didn’t realize it until we came home.  We’re going to have to go back and try the ribs.

    I was personally happy with both the beef and the links.  The beef was tender, juicy enough and not overly fatty.  The links were coarse, gritty and homemade.  My husband wasn’t as happy with the links, however, finding them too dry and inferior to E&J’s.  He also didn’t think the BBQ sauce was as great, but I actually thought it was pretty similar to E&J’s.  He was reasonably happy with the baked beans and potato salad.

    Saleh Smokehouse is located inside a mini-market in East Oakland.   In addition to barbecue they sell fried chicken and fish & chips, which we didn’t try.  We did pick up a couple of slices of homemade cakes.  I thought the German chocolate cake one was fine, but it needed more coconut flavor in the frosting.  On the plus side, it wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet.

    I anticipate we’ll be back

    Saleh Smokehouse
    679 98th Ave
    Oakland, CA
    (510) 553-9191
    M-Sa 8 AM – 9 PM, Su 8 AM – 7 PM

    Marga’s Restaurant Reviews

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  2. Chicken Luisita – Recipe

    March 17, 2014 by marga

    I got some fresh tarragon to make Lobster Thermidor and I wanted to use what was left before it went bad.  So I went looking for an easy recipe that had ingredients I had at home.  I completely lucked out with Peter Micheli’s Chicken Louisa at Epicurious.com.   I didn’t have tomatoes, though, so I substituted with tomato puree.  I also used leftover rose champagne instead of wine.  For that reason, I’m changing the name – slightly :-).

    This recipe can be done in much less than an hour. I served it with plain couscous, but it was also great with homemade white bread.

    Chicken Luisita

    • 8 boneless, skinless chicken thigh fillets
    • salt & pepper to taste
    • 1 Tbsp.  olive oil
    • 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
    • 1 shallot, finely chopped
    • 1/2 cup white wine
    • 3/4 cup heavy cream
    • 1 15 oz can tomato puree
    • 2 Tbsp. fresh tarragon, finely chopped
    • 1/2 tsp. chicken stock base
    Pat chicken dry.  Season with salt and pepper.
    Heat oil and butter together in a frying pan over moderately high heat.  Brown chicken on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.  Remove chicken and keep warm in a separate plate.
    Add shallot and cook for one minute.  Deglaze with the wine and cook until wine is reduced by half. Add the cream, tomato puree, tarragon and chicken base.  Mix, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low.  Cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
    Return chicken to the pot, together with any juices on the plate.  Cook until the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.

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  3. Betty Crocker Warm Delights – Review

    September 6, 2011 by admin

    Betty Crocker Warm Delights are individual-sized cakes, cookies and brownies that you prepare at home in your microwave.  The bowls come with a small package of cake mixture, to which you add water.  Then you put it in the microwave for about a minute, and top it with ready-made fudge from a packet included in the kit.  You have a warm dessert in 2 or 3 minutes.  Really, it couldn’t be simpler or faster.

    These warm delights bowls taste much, much better than they have any right to.  Indeed, they taste just as good – it not better – than most similar desserts you can get at a restaurant or even make yourself.  Because you make the cake right before you eat it, it’s moist and airy.  The fudge adds intensiveness and sweetness.  They are even better with vanilla ice cream on top.  Of course, I’m sure they are terribly bad for you and I don’t even want to look at the ingredients, but as a quick dessert to hit your sweet tooth they can’t be beat.

    Warm Delights came in two sizes, a regular bowl (pictured) and “minis”, bowls about half the size.  A mini is definitely large enough as a dessert.  They retail for about $2 (for either a large bowl or two minis), but I get them at Grocery Outlet (when available) for 50-cents each.

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  4. Strawberry Ice cream

    August 17, 2008 by marga

    Yesterday I made some strawberry ice cream from the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream book, and it was amazingly delicious. I’m not really a fan of strawberry ice cream, but this one was out of this world. I’m sure part of the reason was that I used fresh strawberries bought that same day at the farmers’ market. Definitely use fresh strawberries if you can.
    Strawberry Ice Cream

  5. 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled & sliced
  6. 1/3 cup sugar
  7. juice of 1/2 lemon
  8. 2 large eggs
  9. 3/4 cup sugar
  10. 2 cups whipping cream
  11. 1 cup milk
    Instructions
    In a small bowl, mix the strawberries with the sugar and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
    Mash the strawberries to a puree and set aside.
    In a medium-size bowl whisk the eggs until light and fluffy. Whisk in the sugar, a little at the time, until fully blended. Add the cream and milk and whisk to blend.
    Stir the strawberries into the cream.
    Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.
    Enjoy!

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    December 20, 2006 by marga

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  • Trader Joe’s recalls food for listeria

    October 25, 2005 by marga

    The Food service and Inspection Service has recalled several ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold at Trader Joe’s (under its marks). Listeria was found at the processing plant. Listeria is a bacteria that causes listeriosis, normal adults are not at much risk for it, but pregnant women are 20 times more likely to develop it. It can cause miscarriage, pre-term labor, stillbirth and serious health problems for newborns. Concerns about listeriosis is why pregnant women stay away from sushi, soft cheeses and deli meats. Apparently, they should also stay away from TJ’s ready-to-eat foods.
    Here is the recall notice:
    Recall Notification Report 044-2005

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