I saw the recipe for Blueberry Yogurt Brulee the other day, and thought that it sounded really good. Today turned out to be shopping day, so I managed to get the ingredients and try it.
Despite this being the first time I had ever used my (now six-month-old) culinary torch, I think it turned out rather tastily, even if the presentation wasn’t great. But it works for My First Food Porn.
Here’s my version of the recipe.
Ingredients:
• Some berries
• Some plain yogurt
• Some brown sugar
1) Take the berries and yogurt, and mix it up to taste. I ended up using frozen berries (we’re paying for a new fridge this month, unfortunately, or I would’ve used fresh), lightly thawed in the microwave. I also ended up using vanilla yogurt, though I had meant to buy plain. The vanilla worked out, though.
2) Spoon the yogurt into small oven-safe ramekins.
3) Sprinkle a layer of sugar on top. Here’s where I went wrong; the original recipe said to sprinkle the sugar on and evenly brown it with the torch. I misinterpreted that as “sprinkle brown sugar and use the torch”.
4) Use the culinary torch in a swift circular motion over the sugar to brown it. I ended up using too much torch time on the sugar, which ignited it, much like a marshmalllow can ignite if held too close to a campfire. I threw out one big chunk of charred sugar, and then blew out smaller pieces as they ignited. (Note, always have a fire extinguisher or water within easy reach when working with fire. Very important.)
The sugar layer never really got hard, though there were patches that hardened. It did brown nicely, though, and turned out to be quite good; the picture above is of a ramekin that had already had a taste scooped out of it.
Website Map
406 B University Ave., San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 298-2929
We first visited Kitima Extraordinary Thai because my SO had to do a report on a concert of sorts for a music class, and Kitima had a live jazz performance that night. I’m quite glad she found it.
It’s not the cheapest of places, but for a Saturday night out with live music the price is great. We had a couple of appetizer platters to start with; my favorites of those are the Thai Stick (flattened chicken breast grilled and drizzled in a curry peanutty sauce) and the Ka-Tong, partly because it’s good and partly because I like the name. (Sounds like: El Kabong!!)
I had a Thai Iced Coffee to start; I love the milky sweet blend of coffee in that drink. The iced coffee here was perfect; not too sweet, but not too bitter, either.
I had the Mas-Mun Curry, which was a yummy rice-chicken-and-veggies dish in a sauce that reminded me of the Thai Panang from World Curry; the meat was definitely better in this dish, though.
My SO had the Power Rice, which is like a fried rice dish, but really well done. I tried a few bites; it had a really nice blend of flavors.
I ended the meal with the fried bananas and ice cream; quite a good dish, garnished with raspberry jam.
Ambience was nice; it’s a thin shop that stretches way back, with loft seating, which is where the jazz ensemble played. They also were very good, and made the atmosphere quite nice.
All in all it was good; we’ll definitely be back at some point.
Here’s a recipe I found from SlashFood — Baked sweet onions in cream and parmesan.
It seems really close to another recipe favorite of ours, Walla Walla Sweets.
Here’s our take on the recipe; our additions are in [square brackets]:
• one large [sweet] onion per person [if the onions are really big, maybe one onion per two people]
• double cream [heavy whipping cream in the states]
• grated Parmesan [cheese]
• [also grated swiss or gruyere cheese, if you like]
1) Peel the onions and boil in a pan of water for about 25 minutes until tender.
2) Remove and drain then slice in half.
3) Place in an oven-proof dish cut side down and cover with cream and as much parmesan [and other cheeses] as you like.
4) Bake for about 30 minutes [at 350 degrees] until golden and bubbling.
5) [If the cheese hasn't browned to your liking, turn on the broiler for 5 or so minutes (watch it, since it will go from white to brown to burnt within 30 seconds!)]
It’s a really yummy and simple dish that uses ingredients that aren’t strange, and if you ignore the fact that you’re dousing it in cream and cheese, is probably not all that horrendously bad for you. Really. }:>
Website Map
3753 India Street, Mission Hills San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 295-9269
I just rediscovered Gelato Vero after about ten years — a bit scary, but I’ve not done much exploring in Mission Hills.
Located at the corner of Washington and India streets (past the 5-north on-ramp if you’re driving up India St.), Gelato Vero is a tiny cafe that serves coffee drinks, twelve flavors of gelato at any one time, and combinations thereof.
I’m not exactly a gelato connoisseur, but what I had was good — a small cup of Caramel with Brownies gelato, along with a medium mocha, for about 6 bucks. Definitely good for a dessert.
The cafe has a small inside seating area, seating along the street for the smokers, and (possibly? check this) a second floor patio where you can take your food.
Best part (aside from the yummy gelato)? Free wi-fi! I’m actually typing this in the cafe, waiting for some friends to finish with their evening classes.
6780 Miramar Rd, San Diego, CA 92121 (858) 566-0806 Map
Taste of India is a small Indian restaurant tucked in the corner of a strip mall behind a Carl’s Jr. on Miramar Road. (Turn left on Commerce Ave. first, then left into the strip mall.)
A few miles down from Miramar’s “Little India” — a section near its intersection with Interstate 15 that has a few Indian grocery stores, restaurants, and a Hindu temple — Taste of India offers excellent food in a buffet style meal.
When you enter the restaurant, you take a seat and let the waiter know your drink requests — the standard soda or iced-teas, as well as Indian beers and Mango Lassi, a rice-based smoothie type drink. Then, you get up, take a plate at the buffet, and load it down.
I can never remember the names for any of the food items, but they’re all good. I’m a fan of the salad, some basmati rice drizzled with the plum sauce, and then a small scoop of everything. They have deep fried vegetables (Samosas) and a tandoori chicken dish that are both amazing; there’s a spinach with cheese dish (Saag Panir) that I love as well.
For dessert they have the two standards — Gulab Jamin — small cheese balls soaked in a rose-honey water sauce, and Kheer — a thin rice pudding with nuts. (Not sure if you’re supposed to eat them together, but that’s the way I like it).
Service is quick and the buffet is cheap. If you’re there on a Friday or a Saturday, there’s a sitar player there who really knows what he’s doing — I don’t know any of the songs but they’re wonderful to listen to.
All in all, an excellent restaurant with great Indian food.
3795 Mission Blvd., Mission Beach San Diego, CA 92109 (858) 488-9060 Map
University Ave. between Utah and 28th streets, next to Sumner and Dene art gallery (address/phone unknown) Map
The Mission Cafe (of which there are two) combines great American and Mexican breakfasts into an eclectic but good menu that’s good for breakfast or lunch.
The Mission Beach location is usually much busier during tourist season (March through about October/November), and it’s hard to find parking on the narrow Mission Beach strand, but both can be very popular. The North Park location is almost more fun because it’s right next to an art gallery/shop, Sumner and Dene, that sells everything from sculptures to paintings to jewellery, all wonderfully eclectic and fun, and sometimes affordable too. (We’re not normally “art people”, but we’ve bought some pieces from this place.) The best part is that the maitre’d from the cafe will come into the gallery to call your name when your table is ready, so you don’t have to keep checking back every 5 minutes lest your table be given away. This is only at the North Park location, though.
Breakfast includes several interesting pancake types (I’m a fan of the blackberry pancakes), the standard breakfast staples (eggs, bacon, etc.) and some special dishes. The Mission Rosemary is a favorite — a rosemary omelette thing with the famous house potatoes on the side. I also like the Mission Croissant — a croissant with cream cheese, tomatoes, scallions, and eggs. There’s a smoked apple sausage plate as well, and the Zen Breakfast — a vegetarian’s delight with several different kinds of veggies and some tofu.
There’s also a set of Mexican-ish dishes (burritos and wraps), for those who like that style of food, and some smoothies for the liquid dieters. They make a mean espresso mocha, adding chocolate chips into the frozen version of this drink.
Expect about a half hour’s wait for a table, depending on what time you get there, but the food is worth the wait.
