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So if you couldn’t tell by now, I’m a foodie. Actually most of my family are foodies. For example, my sister and I got into a discussion about kinds of pots and pans. My mom really likes the Calphalon series, while my sister likes the All-Clad MC2 series. I have some friends that are/were chefs at Hamersley’s Bistro here in Boston and they really like their copper pans. My collection, on the other hand, is a mixture of all three (I just got my first copper saucier) although I am liking All-Clad’s MC2 and LTD series. In addition to just tasting the food, I enjoy cooking as well. Now, however, I’m trying to figure out the leap from “home-style cooking” to “restaurant-quality”. I’ve been looking for a food presentation class, or somewhere that’ll teach me how to plate, but there isn’t much here in Boston I’m taking private lessons from my friends who are chefs when I can, but with schedules as they are, that’s not very often.

Anway, here’s one of my first attempts at plating… this was an impromptu meal for my friends Dawn and Andrew, we were trying to figure out what to do for dinner when I randomly decided to cook (we’re very last-minute like that… or indecisive, whichever you prefer). Anyway I made poached salmon with herb sauce, sauteed potato balls (I finally got to use my mellon scoop) with onion, and roasted fennel.

I also tried my hand at raamen. I tried to make tonkotsu raamen, but couldn’t find the right bones. All the store had was pork necks, hocks, and feet, so the broth was more a yellow instead of a milky white. It turned into miso raamen instead. It was pretty good, I had all the toppings, except my buta no kakuni (豚の角煮)… that wasn’t melt-in-your-mouth goodness like I had in Japan. I think i need to get a dutch oven.

Another post I’ve been meaning to put up for a while… I was in Chicago last october, and decided to bring back a deep dish pizza from chicago, for my friends back in boston. So I asked the local sales guys in Chicago, what the best deep dish pizza was, and they suggested I bring back a few different types for everyone to try out. I took everyone’s suggestion to what they thought was the best, and carried 5 frozen pizza’s on the plane to bring back. Here is how my friends and I ranked the pizzas (from least favorite to the best):

5. Lou Malnati’s small cheese pizza (for Katie)

4. Lou Malnati’s Large Sausage pizza

3. Gino’s East Supreme Pizza

2. Giordano’s Stuffed Spinach pizza

1. Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder’s Pizza Pot Pie (yes, it’s as good as it sounds)

Of course Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder would take first…. I’ve been told it ranked 6th on the Travel Channel’s “Best Pizzas in the US” (as told to me from the local sales guy, I cannot verify this). Giordano’s came in a close second (and not because I really like spinach). The crust was really flaky and buttery, and they encased the cheese and spinach in a thin layer of crust and topped it with sauce. Gino’s East was really good too, but in comparison to the first two, lost out on the ranking. Unfortunately Lou Malnati’s wasn’t our favorite, but it did rank better than the local pizzeria UNO’s. Lou Malnati’s seems to be a chain mainly specializing in take-out pizzas. Giordano’s and Gino’s East were also chain restaurants, but they primarily focus on in restaurant diners. Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder is a one off. There’s only one, and I hear the waits are impossible. The local sales guy lives a few blocks from there, so we went on a tuesday…. no wait at all. Afterwards we went to see Second City, and that was an incredible night.

Now for the pics:

So I think I lucked out this past weekend… I was only supposed to be in San Fransisco’s bay area for a few days. I flew in on Mondy and was supposed to fly back home on Saturday, but there was a problem in getting gear to one of our customer sites. So I was able to extend my trip and fly back on Wednesday. however for the weekend I was able to get a hotel at the end of Napa Valley and visit wine country.

It sorta sucks being at a really nice place by yourself, and (again) no girlfriend, so I decided to go on a group tour. the first place I called was Platypus tours, but they were all booked solid for the next week or so. But I was able to get on Napa Valley Wine tours. I would highly recommend them, and if you go, ask for Lawrence. He’s a nice friendly guy, and the next time I come back (and I will be back) I’m going to ask for him again. We went to 9 wineries in total, Black Stallion, Hagafen (an Israeli winery right next to the Iranian winery, go figure), the Andretti winery (owned by ex-racecar driver Mario Andretti), Trefethen (one of the oldest wineries in Napa), Montecello (named after Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello), Silverado (the winery owned by Walt Disney’s daughter and the heir to See’s candy), Plump Jack Winery, Domaine Chandon (a lot of sparkling wines), and finally the Laird Family Estate. I had so much wine. However the best wines I think I had here was actually from the winery I visited the day I arrived in Napa, Cuvaison. Cuvaison had an outdoor seating area where you could taste the wines and they were all incredible, with gorgeous views. I bought 12 bottles to take home, but unfortunately they don’t ship to Massachusetts, so I have to check them in on the plane.

Anyway see some of the gorgeous scenery: