Thanksgiving Printables

With Thanksgiving a little more than a week away, don't we all have things to be THANKFUL for?

Back in college, my coach would randomly pull out her "10 things I'm thankful for" notepad and pass it around. She would have our team fill them out individually and then we would share one item on our list with everyone. I always found I was thankful for things like "Wednesday morning off from practice." You can see my priorities were a little different back then.

Either way, taking the time out of our busy collegiate athletes schedules to be mindful of what we were thankful for always proved invaluable (and it got us out of 15 minutes of practice :D). Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to do the same and why not do it in style.

The good folks over at Silverbox Creative Studio created these beautiful Thanksgiving printables that can be downloaded and cut into strips. Strips can not only be used to jot down what we are thankful for, but can also be used as napkin rings, tags for branches of trees or even a thanksgiving paper chain.

Enjoy and Happy Wednesday!

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon, Basil and Salmon

I am in love!

Have you ever had a meal that you just can't stop craving or thinking about? 

Well this Salmon Spaghetti dish has been my kryptonite for the past week. I made it last Monday for the first time, and then proceeded to have it for dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday night. I would have continued this consecutive nights obsession, except for the fact that I had plans to dine out on Thursday and Friday night. Yes, it's that good and yes, I am that obsessive.

There is just something that is so delightful and delicious about this simple pasta dish.

With fresh aromatic basil and tangy citrus lemon woven into the pasta, with spinach that doesn't really cook but wilts by the heat of the pasta; how can you not feel like a glutton as you greedily gobble your way through the plate. Then there is the added bonus of the healthy whole-wheat pasta and the heart-healthy Salmon. Need I say more?

Ingredients:
1/2 lbs whole-wheat spaghetti
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp EVOO
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
4 salmon fillets
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook until tender but still firm to bite, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Add the garlic, EVOO, salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

2. Meanwhile, warm, the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Add fish to the pan and cook until medium rare (about 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on thickness of fillet). Remove salmon from pan.

3. Add the basil, capers, lemon zest, and lemon juice to pasta and toss to combine. Set out 4 serving plates or shallow bowls. Place 1/4 cup spinach in each bowl and top with 1/4 of pasta. Top each mound of pasta with a piece of salmon. Serve immediately and serves 4.

Jitlada

In between flying around the county, I had the chance to try out a local LA restaurant that has long been on my infamous "To Eat At " list- Jitlada.

A small hole in the wall restaurant, Jitlada has been listed as one of the best Thai restaurants in LA by many sources including Jonathan Gold. As a lover of Thai food, I had to find out for myself.

Meeting up with an old swimming friend from Singapore and her boyfriend, we ordered a bunch of dishes and shared it up family style.

First up, the ever popular and most quintessential Thai dish (at least in the minds of non-Thais)- Pad Thai. The Pad Thai at Jitlada was a little wetter than what I am used to, with more of a thick gravy sauce than a light coating of seasoning.

However, I must note that I do have a vague memory of eating Pad Thai in Thailand itself and thinking that the noodles there were too wet... So maybe the wet style is the traditional style?

Either way, there was nothing too spectacular about this dish. But I also kept in mind that Jitlada is more known for their Southern Thai food, as opposed to the traditional style that we know.

On recommendation of our server, we ordered the Prawn Flambe. With" Flambe" in the dish's name, I was expecting drama and excitement, and maybe a little explosion of flavor in my mouth. Instead, the prawns came drenched in a thick overly-sweet peanut sauce that taste something like mole, and not only were they not fresh, they were also overcooked and powdery.

Additionally, the dish cost a whooping $23 for just 2 jumbo prawns. What a rip off!

By this time, I was starting to feel a little let down. Did we just happen to order all the wrong dishes? Or did all those critics get it wrong?

Then the Morning glory salad- fresh watercress that is lightly battered and fried (think tempura), topped with red onions, fried shallots, cilantro and shrimp, and dressed with a spicy house dressing- arrived at our table and my faith was instantly restored.

The textures of this salad were marvelous, with the light tempura crips of the watercress educing joy with every bite I took. The vinaigrette dressing added a perfect sweet and salty combo that made all the flavors of the salad pop. Even the red onions played a part in this gastronomic symphony, adding just the right amount of bite. Now this is what I was waiting for! 

We also ordered some Tom Yum soup,  a dish that I always feel the need to order when I dine at a Thai establishment. Their Tom Yum soup had some nice intensity in terms of heat and sourness, but again, like their Pad Thai, it wasn't anything that you couldn't get at your neighborhood take out Thai restaurant.

And lastly, we ordered the Crying Tiger beef aka why do they insist on naming this dish so weirdly aka my favorite dish of the night. Tenderly cooked pieces of beef were served along side a spicy Asian-esk salsa sauce that was sweet and sour and spicy all at the same time. Mmmm I salivate just thinking of this dish.

So, do I agree with all the critics that Jitlada offers up some of the best Thai food in LA? Would I make the track back there again to get my Thai fix?

Well, yes and no. I don't think I sampled enough of their specialty of Southern Thai Food. So yes, I would go back to give it another try. Do I think they serve the best traditional Thai food? No- I've had better Pad Thai and Tom Yum at any other Thai eatery. So, yes and no.

Details:
Jitlada
5233 W Sunset Blvd. 
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 663-3104 

Firday Pics: Taste of Beverly Hills

We interrupt our regular programming to bring you a worldless recap of how I spent 9.02.10. - at a food & wine festival called Taste of Beverly Hills.

Geddit? Beverly Hills? 90201? 9.02.10? No? sigh.

And yes, I know this was over 2 months ago. But better late than never! Happy Friday!

 

Oven-Fried Buttermilk Chicken

I'm one of those weird people who takes the time to plan my weekly menu. Worst still, I am one of those single people who cooks solely for themselves and still plans her weekly menu.

I can't help it! It's a leftover habit from my swimming days, when planning and diet mattered. Furthermore, it makes grocery shopping that much easier since you already know what you are going to cook and therefore, what you are going to need to pick up from the store. Plus! There is the added bonus that nothing in your fridge goes to waste.

As such, after purchasing a big glug of buttermilk to make my vanilla pudding cake with chocolate buttermilk buttercream cake, I made sure I planned a way to use up that buttermilk. Enter oven-fried buttermilk chicken.

The healthier version of the down-home fried chicken, this oven-fried is a satisfying compromise to the traditionally fat-laden chicken. Enjoy this juicy and crackling chicken smothered in buttermilk gravy without clogging your arteries!  

 Ingredients:
Marinade
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 1/2 cups coarsely crushed corn flakes
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Gravy
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Directions:
1. In a large shallow dish, whisk buttermilk, Dijon mustard, garlic, olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Add chicken breast to marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and coat with a non-stick cooking spray.

3. In a medium bowl. Combine corn flake crumbs and parmesan cheese. Remove chicken from marinade and discard the marinade. Coat each breast with the corn flake mixture. Arrange on the prepared  baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through and coating is golden.

4. For the gravy, melt butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. Whisk in the flour until well blended. Gradually add the chicken broth, stirring constantly over medium heat. Bring mixture to boil and stir for 3-5 minutes or until thick and gravy like.

5. To serve, slice cooked chicken breast in half and pour gravy over the top. Mashed potatoes optional!Serves 6.


Recipe courtesy of Bite Me by Julie Albert & Lisa Gnat

Firefly Restaurant

Continuing on with the scheduled recap of my journeys, the next stop on the itinerary was San Francisco. Despite oversleeping and missing my flight up north (I know! Can you believe I did that?), our event went relatively well. Later that night, an old college friend and I grabbed some grub to catch up and unwind from the long day.

After researching the choices that my friend gave me, we decided to dine at Firefly Restaurant in Noe Valley. With swoops of pleated fabric covering the ceilings and an eclectic yet elegant mix of art work, the main dining room at Firefly is filled with just enough warmth and whimsy to bridge the gap between the bright lights of the big city, and the homey expressions of a small town. Pretense is something you will not find here. Instead, Firefly's genteel bustle makes you feel like you walked into your, well, maybe not your home, but a friend's home for dinner.

Atmosphere aside, Firefly's menu is a bargain with nothing over $26 and a $36 3 course Pre Fixe Menu that is available Sunday through Thursday. Obviously, we jumped at that opportunity.

For my appetizer, I ordered the Heirloom Tomato Soup with Parmesan Pain Perdu and Teeny Tiny Basil. Honestly, this simple tomato soup had me on my knees in awe, well not literally on my knees but you get the picture.

Intensely flavorful and perfectly balanced, this soup warmed my body and soul simultaneously. Sweet but not too sweet, thick but not too thick, intense but not too intense- I felt like I was Goldilocks chancing upon the perfect chair/porridge/bed! The Parmesan pain perdu provided the right amount of texture to keep this soup interesting and I could not get enough of the dish as a whole.

Moving on to my main course, while their Roasted Chicken and Dumplings sounded homey and comforting, I opted for their California White Sea Bass with Pole Bean Ragout, Toybox Tomatoes, Speck Ham and Arugula Pistou.

The fish, while fresh and seasoned perfectly, did little to elicit much excitement from me. The speck was a little too salty for me and overpowered the delicate white fish. After that amazing first course, I wanted to like this dish more but there was nothing that stood out to me.

And lastly, for dessert I had a (and I forgot to write this down, so don't quote me on this) chocolate torte cake of some sort with house made chocolate chip mint ice cream. The cake was delicious and chocolately and was exactly what I craved after a nerve-wrecking morning of oversleeping and a busy day of work.

Despite my stress-eating-need for chocolate, the star of the plate really was the house made chocolate chip mint ice cream. Minty but not overpowering, you could really taste the fresh mint in it, rather than the usual sugar with essence of mint that one finds in their grocery store ice cream.

Details:
Firefly Restaurant
4288 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
415-821-7652