Posted on February 27, 2008 by bayareafoodie
Williams-Sonoma in Los Gatos has a series of cooking technique classes on Sunday mornings before the store opens and guess what? They are FREE. Mike and I went to one entitled One-pot dinners last week. The class was about 45 minutes and the demo was for beef bourguignonne. Our instructor was Brad who had tons of personality. He kept us entertained and was well informed on the art of making food in a pot. The set up is not all that comfortable, you are standing in a group of 25+ people around a 5 foot cooking station but what can you expect for $0.00. They provide a handout with 4-5 recipes/tips and you get to sample the dish prepared. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning. If you stop by the store you can find the list of upcoming classes next to the register. Some of the other topics include souffles, spring pasta and grilling. You will see one of our attempts to prepare a one pot meal on a future post.
Our reason for wanting to take this class…
Our new massive Rachael Ray 7 quart cast iron dutch oven
Oh, how was the beef? Super tender, great aroma and color but the sauce needed some more seasoning. It was a bit bland. Mike said he would use a Cabernet instead of a Pinot to give more flavor.
Get your Rachael Ray dutch oven
Filed under: VERY RANDOM THOUGHTS | Tagged: food, one pot meal, technique classes, williams sonoma | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 21, 2008 by bayareafoodie
James Randall is another treasure in Los Gatos. Mike and I went for our first time last weekend. When you walk in you will feel as though you stepped into your parent’s living room. It’s a very small restaurant, dimly lit with candles and a fireplace. This evening the place was filled to capacity (30 people max). 
We took our seats and were handed the concise menu. Don’t expect more than 6 main entrees to choose from per night. We began with a 5 spice Ahi tuna stack which consisted of fresh spicy tuna, sliced avocado and mixed greens sandwiched in-between circular won ton crisps. When dipped in the accompanying wasabi mayo dressing it was a little party in your mouth. It was simply delectable. Things started off with a bang and only got better. For the main course I chose the double pork chop with red cabbage and maple jus. It came with a side of crisp, buttery spatzle like pasta. Everything was cooked perfectly and had really great flavors. Mike picked the flank steak that came with green beans, mashed potatoes and a chipolte bbq sauce. He practically licked his plate clean. Now onto dessert…you didn’t think we would skip this did you? We chose the cheesecake with blueberries. It was pleasing but nothing special. What impressed us more is that they served french-press coffee. Each of us were given our own individual press…so good! French pressed coffee is sublime. As the evening came to an end Mike said, and I quote “This is my new favorite place in Los Gatos!” Now that’s a huge achievement. I don’t know if I would rank it at the very top of my list but it came close. We will definitely come back.
Tip: Mon-Thurs they have a 3 course prix fixe menu for $40 per person! For all you wine lovers james randall offers 5 or 8oz pours per glass. We went with the 8oz which comes in a personal carafe and gives you about a glass and a half. Nice option that saves you money.
Rating: 
Website: http://www.restaurantjamesrandall.com/
Filed under: Los Gatos | Tagged: california, food, Los Gatos, resaurant james randall | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 18, 2008 by bayareafoodie
If you ever get an invite to our house for risotto don’t pass it up! Mike is a risotto master. It doesn’t matter what kind he makes it always turns out fabulous. It is so good that I can’t order risotto in restaurants because they can never compare. For this special day he decided to make Lobster Risotto. It was his first attempt at preparing anything with lobster and he did a wonderful job. He chose this variety because he knows I am a lobster fanatic. My family lived in Massachusetts for many years so I have been eating lobster since I was young. Below are some pics of the fruits of his labor…
Mike started things off by making his own lobster stock which infused the rice with even more yummy lobster flavor. The final dish was silky and luscious. You can’t celebrate a special occasion at our house without a bottle of Joseph Phelps wine. This evening Mike chose a 2004 Chardonnay called Ovation which is what I gave him after I finished my 3rd helping of risotto!
Mike’s risotto cookbook of choice is by Judith Barrett and Norma Wasserman. It’s a winner. Purchase it here: Risotto
Filed under: Main Dish, RECIPES | Tagged: food, lobster, recipe, RECIPES, risotto | 3 Comments »
Posted on February 12, 2008 by bayareafoodie
My favorite cuisine is Italian. All my life I have been searching for the perfect bowl of ragu. I have found it (well at least the best so far). If you stroll the streets of downtown Saratoga you will find a handful of quirky stores and upscale/expensive restaurants. To our surprise last year a quaint little Italian restaurant opened up. We’ve dropped in three times and have never been disappointed. Last week we took a friend to dinner. We started things off with an Antipasto platter that included mozzarella, San Daniele prosciutto and two types of bruschetta (tomato and mushroom). Everything was fresh and flavorful. We also had a new addition to the menu a thinly sliced stuffed eggplant with a marinara sauce. It resembled a cannelloni and was wonderful. For the main course I had my usual — the Spaghetti Bolognese. I just can’t say enough about this little bowl of heaven.
The sauce is light with lots of tiny bits of meat and mushrooms. I could eat it every day. By the way the Spaghetti with meatballs is just as good. Mike had the veal piccata and our guest had the homemade gnocchi with pesto and Gorgonzola cheese sauce. I’ve never been a fan of gnocchi but Mike and our friend both said they were fantastic. To finish things off we ordered the tiramisu and chocolate macaroons. Be sure to leave room for dessert because the tiramisu is some of the best I’ve ever had. During our meal Mike attempted to get the ragu recipe out of the hostess but she wasn’t leaking any family secrets. I guess we’ll just have to continue to visit Da Mario for all my future ragu cravings…
Rating:
Website: http://www.ristorantedamario.com/
Filed under: Saratoga | Tagged: Bolognese, food, italian, ragu, Ristorante Da Mario, Saratoga, tiramisu | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 8, 2008 by bayareafoodie
Growing up I was not into sweets. My mom would have to toss my Halloween candy in December because it was still sitting on the floor of my closet. As I have aged things have changed. I now really enjoy desserts. In 2006 Mike and I were in Beverly Hills and as we were driving down Santa Monica Blvd. looking for a place to eat lunch we saw a line of about 10 people outside a place called Sprinkles. We had no idea what it was but we decided to stop by after lunch. What we found was a tiny storefront with 4 stools a counter and a display of delectable cupcakes. I had never seen anything like it before in my life. I had a new found love …cupcakes. My favorite flavors SO FAR include: red velvet,banana & coconut. Note: if you want to make your business look like its always busy design it like Sprinkles (have absolutely no space for customers).
I have also tried cupcakes from “Icing on the cupcake”(Rocklin) & “Kara’s Cupcakes” (SF). Both are good but can’t beat Sprinkles. I really wish they would open a branch in Los Gatos…
Tip: You can buy Sprinkles mix at Williams-Sonoma! It takes a bit of work but they turn out pretty good. Eat them asap or they get hard. If you choose red velvet be advised that your hands will be dyed red.
http://www.sprinklescupcakes.com/
Filed under: Southern CA | Tagged: cupcakes, food, la, sprinkles cupcakes | 1 Comment »
Posted on February 5, 2008 by bayareafoodie
The Slanted Door is a modern Vietnamese restaurant located in the newly renovated Ferry building in San Francisco. It has a nice simple, clean design. If you can get a seat by the window (which we did) it has great views of the bay. Along the main wall to maximize space tables are situated tightly. Watch your bum cause you will likely bump the table next to you if you need to get up. The majority of the food was delicious including the Meyer Ranch shaking beef (filet mignon with garlic, watercress and red onions), Caramelized tiger prawns (garlic, onions and chili sauce) which had a nice kick, and for dessert a peach/apple tart. The only dish that didn’t meet expectations was the Slanted door spring rolls w/peanut sauce. This being a Vietnamese restaurant I was looking forward to trying their rolls. Bad choice, they were missing something….taste. On this rare occasion we chose to have beer with our meal instead of wine and we found an unexpected selection of German and Belgian beers. They were good but at a Asian restaurant — where is the TsingTao?! The service was another thing to be desired. I think our waiter was more worried about lookin good than servin good. The guy was nice and polite but we ended up getting our main course (after a very long wait) before our appetizer and never received the soup we ordered. Lucky for him we were not in a hurry and in a celebratory mood (Mike’s B day Weekend) so we didn’t let him ruin our evening. My suggestion to the waiter would be to write down an order instead of trying to memorize it. In theory that seems cool and sophisticated but when orders are incorrect or completely forgotten…I don’t mind the pen & paper. After all is said and done, I would go back to the Slanted Door FOR THE FOOD. Maybe take-out next time.
Tip: Adjacent from the restaurant they have a shop called “Out the door” where you can get some of The Slanted Door items to go.
Rating:
Website: http://www.slanteddoor.com/
Filed under: San Francisco | Tagged: food, restaurant, San Francisco, slanted door, vietnamese | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 2, 2008 by bayareafoodie
This is not a review but more of a shout out to the Green Papaya. If you are ever in Los Gatos at dinner time and are looking for a low key spot to grab a bite and don’t need a reservation drop by the Green Papaya. Mike and I like to eat here every once in a while. It’s a cozy Vietnamese restaurant with good food and a nice wait staff. I highly recommend the Los Gatos beef and the spring rolls. I would pass on the fried banana dessert unless you close your eyes as you eat it. Think big fried banana –no frills or fus. I wish I had a picture of it 😆
Address: 137 North Santa Cruz
Filed under: Los Gatos | Tagged: food | Leave a comment »
= 
Bay Area Foodie 