Yes, I thought this would be gross. Mike finally decided to use the 6 kiwi’s that had been sitting in our fridge for 2 weeks. He transformed them into a uniquely creamy Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

It was surprisingly good and very sweet. It had a fresh, clean taste that reminded me of a sorbet. A small scoop is all you need to be satisfied.

Recipe link

I don’t know what it is about onions straight from the farm but those bad boys make me cry. They are soooo strong. Chop some up and our whole house smells for hours. Solution…the onion goggles. Mike and I both put them to the test (but you won’t see pictures of me!). We used them while preparing two onion heavy dishes and they really worked. Not a tear was shed and they are pretty comfy to wear (imagine sunglasses with foam around the edges). My only gripe was that my nose was still running. Mike said I’d need an onion mask to fix that. The package claims they are also fog free. I guess that comes in handy if you cook in the rain.

If you can handle looking a little corny (at least these match our kitchen) the onion goggles get the job done!

Pick up a pair from the Useful Things website

An ebelskiver not a meatball

It’s been 2 years since I started this blog. Time has really flown by. ‘09 was a truly filling year (I have the tight jeans to prove it!). To celebrate I broke out our ebelskiver pan and the new chocolate pancake mix from WS.

2010 should be a tasty year on Bay Area Foodie since Mike and I are heading to Spain and France this summer!!! Keep an eye out for that. If this is your first visit or your 100th — THANKS for stopping by!

See the chocolate ebelskiver post here.

It was time to test the new chocolate ebelskiver mix from WS. We used three different fillings and they all turned out wicked awesome but the caramel was the best!

Nutella, Peanut Butter and Caramel Filled

If you want to see the full process of making an ebelskiver check out my Cinnamon-Bun Ebelskiver post.

The recipe for Chocolate Ebelskivers is on the mix if you buy it. If you don’t, I’ve attempted to give you a recipe below…

For the pancakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 2 cups milk
• 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking
• cocoa powder (if you want to make them chocolate)

For the filling:
We used Nutella, Peanut butter and Caramel sauce right out of the jars (placed them in the fridge for 10 minutes b4 so they would be easier to work with). You want it to be a paste like consistency not soft and runny.

Directions:
To make the pancakes, in a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and granulated sugar. In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and the 4 Tbs. melted butter. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the batter will be lumpy. Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter in two additions.

Put 1/8 tsp. melted butter in each well of a filled-pancake pan. Set over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Pour 1 Tbs. batter into each well. Spoon 1 tsp. of the filling of your choice into the center of each pancake and top with 1 Tbs. batter. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Using 2 skewers, flip the pancakes over and cook until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the pancakes to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling. Dust with powdered sugar.

Makes 35 to 40.

What to do with a bushel of carrots from your latest CSA delivery? MAKE CARROT SOUP!! Man, this was good. Ginger and lemon are a fantastic compliment to carrots. I would have never guessed.

They say to serve with sour cream but it’s good with or without.

Tip: half the amount of butter is plenty.

Recipe link

For our one big night out in Maui we took my sister and husband to Merriman’s to thank them for hosting us. Mike and I became familiar with Merriman’s on our honeymoon in Kona where we had a fantastic meal so we were excited to try the Lahaina location.

We arrived at 6pm just as the sun was setting. The views from the restaurant are breathtaking. It’s situated right on the ocean. Before dinner we had a drink at the bar and enjoyed the scene. After the sun disappeared  into the horizon we were seated. We decided to start things off with the “Pupu” taster which included: Kalua pig quesadillas, sashimi and surfing goat cheese with beet chutney. Chef-Owner Peter Merriman is a pioneer in the “Farm to Table” concept and serves all fresh local ingredients. We also got the beet and Kula strawberry salad to share. Everything was lovely.

For my main course I chose the Filet with sauteed Maui onions and mushrooms, Mike went with the signature Ahi tuna & pumpkin puree and my sister picked the Lamb with gnocchi and her husband the Ribeye. Each dish was delicious and the portions were huge. You have the option to order a full or half portion …we got the full and if I went again I would get the half because I couldn’t finish my entree and that is rare! Even though we were all truly stuffed Mike insisted we order dessert. We decided on the Maui pineapple upside down cake with coconut gelato which was a sweet finish.

One of my favorite parts of the night was the 2 person live band that played throughout the evening. Imagine an older lady and gentleman with acoustic instruments playing War’s “low rider” and Outkast’s “Hey Ya” (it made me chuckle). It’s not the kind of music you’d expect to hear in this type of establishment.

If I had to compare the two Merriman’s restaurants we have been to I would say the food was better in Kona but the ambiance ruled in Maui. This is an expensive restaurant but the atmosphere and tasty eats are worth the hefty price tag.

Tip: bring a jacket — the restaurant is open so it’s as though you are sitting outside and can get chilly.

Rating:

Website: http://www.merrimanshawaii.com/

Mike and I headed to Maui to visit my newly relocated sister and her hubby & kids in early December. One of our day trips took us upcountry to Kula where there is a cool goat farm. When we arrived 2 baby goats (boy & girl) were being hand fed. They had just been born a few hours before our arrival. They were super cute. We then headed out on the tour which is a 15-20 min walk around the farm where you hear a bit about the history, see the goats and feed them.

Girls with the Goats

The tour ends with a sampling of about 6 different goat cheeses. I’m not a big fan of goat cheese but this stuff was good and there were like 34 varieties. My favorite was called “Canada” which has goat cheese mixed with cranberries, cinnamon and honey. We ended up bringing some home on the plane along with the Tzatziki flavor. If you have goat cheese at any of the finer restaurants on Maui it’s most likely from the Surfing Goat Dairy. It was a fun adventure.

Here is a little video of the goats in action:

Website: http://www.surfinggoatdairy.com/

Humans weren’t the only ones who got a holiday treat this year. I made Rachael Ray’s Peanut-Carob Isabooscotti for Edison and all his little buddies. This was really easy to make. The only problem I had was melting the carob. As soon as the chips became soft they would instantly turn into a hard ball. I tried the microwave and stovetop with the same results so we ended up with very little carob but Ed didn’t seem to mind. He ate them up!

Since Mr. Ed doesn’t eat people food we sometimes worry that treats like these can wreak havoc on his system but everything was solid ….if you know what I mean…TMI?

Recipe link

Happy holidays everyone! For the first time we decided to make sweet gifts for the family. To our surprise everything turned out perfect. I thought making toffee and fudge were recipes for disaster but they were really easy to prepare. Add some tins from the dollar store and you have a very festive gift.

Tip: after smoothing out the chocolate on top of the toffee don’t just toss it in the fridge. Let it sit for like 10 minutes to make sure all the chips melt completely. We didn’t, which just meant when we broke it up there were some chips still in tact. No biggie.

This fudge was made with mostly milk chocolate so it was not super rich which is my preference.

Toffee recipe link
Fudge recipe link

The morning after my Gary Danko birthday meal we headed to Tartine for a quick bite before heading back to San Jose. We were unfamiliar with this part of town so we were not sure of the location but as soon as we saw the line we figured we had found it. It’s much smaller than I expected.

We ended up getting the apple bread pudding and the Croque monsieur which was cheesy, hammy, tomatoey goodness on top of a thick, crusty, scrumptious slice of bread. The pudding was just ok… the Croque was delish.

I wish we had a bigger appetite. I gotta come back to try the huge morning buns and the croissants.

Warning: the cute carrots that came with the Croque were hot & spicy!

Website: http://www.tartinebakery.com/