Tricks & Treats

Halloween is just a couple weeks away and I am sure some of you are gearing up for it. Maybe your throwing a Halloween Party or maybe you will be attending one. Costumes are being made, rented, and pumpkins are carved and ready to light. Halloween is on a Monday night so

this year I plan to stay in, make dinner for him, pass out candy to all the kids that come trick-or-treating. A scary movie flick will be playing on the tube and dinner will probably consist of Brains & Eye Balls (Spaghetti & Meatballs).

Here are some awesome tricks & treats for your spooky holiday coming up! I think this might be the first post I have posted where you can lose your appetite! So READ AT YOUR OWN RISK and have a happy & safe Halloween.

How nasty are these? I bet your kids will love them. Bloody Band-Aid Cookies made out of graham crackers, white frosting and red decorators gel!Kitty Litter Cake - this cracks me up! Those deuces are made out of melted tootsie rolls! Hilarious! You can get the recipe here.I love these Googly Eye Cupcakes made from a simple mix and decorated with gummy eye balls, licorice, jelly fish and marshmallows. Eyeball Caprese Salad
For a sophisticated Halloween?
Ghosts On A Stick - These look so good. Made out of pears and Vanilla Candiquik
Eye Ball Cake Pops!
The best for last if you ask me!

Le Magnifique Cafe Madeleine

French food is the game and Cafe Madeleine is her name. This french cafe located in South Park is serving up Illy coffee, tea, pastries, crepes, salads and panini's. This is one of my new favorite spots for breakfast and lunch. No wifi here folks. Its a different kind of cafe. How bout a crepe with chocolate & banana? Or the prosciutto crepe with bechamel, emmenthal cheese, tomato & olives. Or make that into a panini? Or maybe a salad with arugula, walnut, pear, blue cheese, and chicken dressed in a pear balsamic vinaigrette?
Croque Monsieur? Or make it a Madame and add an egg?The first time I went I had the ham panini with Dijon mustard, emmenthal cheese, and tomato. It was heaven. This last time I went I had the much anticipated breakfast panini. My father had it last time I went I told myself when I go back I am having that. I did and I want to go back for it again. The bread is toasty and crisp and filled with a little mayo, Swiss cheese, bacon, arugula and an egg. You would think this would be a thick breakfast sandwich but it is as thin as can be. One of the reasons I love it so much.The cafe itself is really small with some seating inside and a handful of tables outside. Don't let the fact that they have no prep area or a real kitchen steer you out of there. Good thing is they own Vagabond around the corner where they can do most of their prep work! Some of the best meals come out of a small kitchen. Believe me I know. (wink wink)

Word is more Cafe M's are in the works to pop up around San Diego. I hope one near me soon!
M = Magnifique Madeleine!
Cafe Madeleine
2248 30th St. (between Ivy & Juniper)
San Diego

A Summerish Fall

Last night was the most fantastic evening. It consisted of great company of real foodies, food of the best quality ingredients, martini's, wine, and champagne. It doesn't get much better then that.

Even though Summer seems to still be lingering in the air, the menu was influenced by fall and a recent cheese class I just took. But the heat outside didn't stop us from creating some heat in the kitchen. I think Fall is when the real recipes come out of the recipe book, and real cooking starts. It is my favorite time of year for food and it just so happens that cheese is at its best in the Fall too. So I will share with you one of my favorite recipes to make during the fall.
Mac N Cheese
It was paired with a Burgundy Marinated Tri-Tip from Seaside Market in Cardiff, the last of the peppery arugula & cherry tomatoes from his garden tossed in a light Champagne vinaigrette.The mac n cheese was filled with top-notch cheese. Which cost me about $30.00 alone just for the cheese. Worth every penny! The cheese I used was a Quebec vintage 6 year cheddar from Canada which was tangy and sharp and was mixed with a creamy, earthy, nutty Gruyere cheese from Switzerland. The perfect combo for the perfect Mac!The appetizer of the evening was brought by our guests and consisted of the best of the best. Gorgonzola cheese, prosciutto, figs & apples from their garden, walnuts, and homemade fig & flax seed crackers. It was all drizzled with a balsamic honey reduction. It was just a beautiful to eat as it was to look at.Mac N Cheese
Ingredients
kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni or cavatappi
4 cups milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 cups grated Gruyere cheese
2 cups grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Topping
1 cup bread crumbs
olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
Directions
Preheat over to 375%
Cook pasta for 6-8 minutes and drain (mix with some olive oil to avoid sticking together)
Heat milk in a saucepan but do not let it boil.
Melt butter in sauce pan and add the flour whisking constantly. Cook for 2 minutes. While whisking add the hot milk and cook till thick for 2 minutes until thick and smooth.Off the heat add cheese, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg and stir until the cheese is melted. Add it to the cooked noodles and add the noodles to a pyrex baking dish. Place the bread crumbs in a bowl and add olive oil until the bread crumbs are lightly wet. Add chopped Italian parsley to the bread crumb mixture. Top the macaroni with a little more cheese and bread crumbs. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown and sauce is bubbly.

You can make the mac n cheese a day ahead and refrigerate. Right before cooking it top it with cheese and bread crumbs.
It was an amazing evening indeed! Alright, its time for me to get out and enjoy this hot Summer weather in Fall.
I hope fall is starting out great for you!

CUP-FAKES

Just a fun one for today. These are hysterical. Cupcakes made to look like real food. How sweet would it be to bring something like this home to your kids for dinner. I bet they would eat all the pea's right up!

I hope you are have a great week so far.

It seemed to fly by for me and hopefully it did for you too!

Enjoy and happy Thursday!Chinese take out tonight?I used to love Slurpee's! Pizza Pie-a!An apple a day keeps the doctor away!
Pie Anyone!

Healthy Curried Chicken Salad

I'm so glad its Wednesday. I swear the weekend can't come fast enough for me. I have been trying to eat really healthy all week and prepare all my meals at home. Last week was kind of nightmare in the planning ahead department and I ate really poorly. But not this week. 2 trips to the grocery store so far is keeping my healthy at home eating habits in check.
I picked up an organic rotisserie chicken from Wholefoods on Sunday and to my disappointment it was dry and had no flavor. I think someone forgot to add salt into the mix. Not the norm from what I usually experience with Wholefoods rotisserie chickens. I seriously can't eat it plain and it doesn't even taste good thrown into a salad covered with dressing. I didn't want to let the $12.00 organic chicken go to waste so with one breast left on it it and all the dark meat I decided give this chicken some moisture it's been asking for and make a Healthy Curried Chicken Salad for the rest of my lunches this week. I learned this recipe in my healthy cuisine class last semester and I make it from time to time. I just love it and I think you will too.
It is great served atop baby greens or inside a wrap. Tomorrow I plan to wrap it inside butter lettuce leaves. Curried Chicken Wraps! YUM! I'm super excited for my lunch tomorrow and super excited tomorrow is Thursday!
Healthy Curried Chicken Salad
Meat of 1 roasted chicken shredded or 3 roasted chicken breasts chopped
1 red bell pepper diced
2 green onions thinly sliced
1 carrot diced
1 handful of yellow raisins / or try chopped mango
1 handful of slivered almonds
1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup non-fat mayonnaise
2 T curry Powder (add more if needed)
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 T Lime Juice
Salt & Pepper to taste
Combine yogurt, mayo, curry, cayenne pepper and lime juice in a small bowl. Let sit in refrigerator while preparing chicken. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl, pour curry dressing atop and mix thoroughly. Season with salt & pepper.I saved my $12 rotisserie chicken, my money by avoiding take out, and my waistline!
It's almost Friday!
Whooohoooooo!

Grilled Peach and Corn Salad

On Friday night I went to my friends house for some ridiculously delicious homemade pizza. They cook them in the oven on a pizza stone and they are just as good if not better then any pizza you could order in an Italian restaurant. They purchase top notch ingredients from Mona Lisa in Little Italy, local farmers market and Wholefoods. I knew I was in for a treat!
My job of the evening was to bring a salad and wine. I wanted to make something different and spoil the hosts of evening since they were going to spoil me. Also they needed a special treat to snack on while they were working hard in the kitchen to prepare those pizza's.
I decided a salad with grilled peaches would be the pleasing salad of the evening.
I made a champagne vinaigrette dressing for the salad and I also used it to coat the peaches with before grilling them. It caramelized the peaches and grilling them brought out all the sweet natural flavors.
I grilled the corn with salt, pepper and olive oil and once it cooled cut the corn off the cob. To Layer the salad you simply chop up butter lettuce, slices of hearts of palm, dice up avocado, grilled corn, diced shallots, and nestle the peaches into the salad and top with toasted almond slivers.
Grilled Peach & Corn Salad
2 peaches cut into wedges & grilled
2 ears of corn grilled
4 hearts of palm sliced
diced avocado
toasted slivered almonds
1 head butter lettuce
1 shallot diced
Champagne Vinaigrette
1 small shallot
1 small clove of garlic
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
dash of ground white pepper
1/2 cup champagne vinegar
1 1/2 cups canola oil
To make the dressing in a food processor or blender with metal blade process the shallot and garlic until finely minced. Add mustard, sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar. Process to combine and then slowly add the oil in a thin stream to form an emulsion.
Toss the peaches with some dressing and grill for about 1-2 minutes on each side until you see grill marks. Remove and let cool
Grill corn with salt, pepper and olive oil until done. Cool and cut off the cob.
Chop up lettuce and add shallots, avocado, hearts of palm, corn, and nestle in peaches. Top with toasted almonds and mix with the dressing to lightly coat the salad.Oh and I have to share with you the pizza's of the evening. Check out the ingredients involved.Yeah they don't mess around when it comes to pizza night.
I helped with putting the corn meal on the pizza peel which insured the pizza would slide onto the pizza stone easily. A rustic pizza with tomato sauce, broccoli rabe, spicy Italian sausage and mozzarella cheese.

A classic pizza made up of roasted garlic, parrano cheese, prosciutto, drizzled with white truffle oil and topped with fresh arugula.A pizza topped with shrimp, mushrooms, mozzarella, red sauce and fresh basil.Oh it was an awesome weekend indeed. Thanks to all who made it so great. You know who you are.

Lot's To Eat Up In September

I cant believe September is already here but I have never been more excited about it!

For all you foodies out there September is the month that will bring pure pleasure to your palates. The first event this month is happening on September 8th and is called
Taste Of Down Town.It's tasty a sampling event that features over 55 fantastic restaurants in the East Village, Gaslamp, and Financial District. Tickets are $30.00 in advance and $35.00 the day of and you can purchase tickets here. The event starts at 5pm and ends at 9pm.
See you there!
Another one of my favorite incredible food events is San Diego Restaurant Week taking place September 18th-23rd. Its a treasured event in San Diego and the perfect time to try out some new or old restaurants you have been wanting to check out. All discounted menus are pre-fixed and now there is 2 course lunch options for $10, $15, and $20. Dinner includes 3 courses for $20, $30 and $40. Make your reservations soon because things book up fast.
You can check out the full list of participating restaurants here.
Now if this doesn't get you excited for September I don't know what will! Lots to eat up this September....start booking!