Category: Foodies

The Great FOODCATION of 2010!

About 6 months ago, we were having dinner with our dearest friends, The Hammonds, and we were talking about Wade’s big 40th Birthday that was coming up this year. Wade and his talents are no stranger to our blog – not only is he one of our fellow 4 Foodies, he’s also a self-taught gourmet chef who has prepared many amazing meals for us! (Check out his incredible skills on the Summer Tasting Menu he prepared, as well as Brittany’s Birthday Truffle Dinner!) He came to the conclusion that there was no better way to bring in his 40th year than to head up north to both Napa & San Francisco to eat at some of the best Michelin-star rated restaurants possible! Lucky for us – we were invited! We happily accepted and thus began the planning for a most epic adventure – The Great FOODCATION of 2010.

Wade planned out a great itinerary … here are the places we’ll be visiting:

Monday 5/10 – Napa/Yountville
Dinner: Ad Hoc (Chef Thomas Keller)

Tuesday 5/11 – Napa/Yountville
Lunch: Redd
Terra Valentine Winery (Tour & Tasting)
Dinner: Bouchon (Chef Thomas Keller)

Wednesday 5/12 – San Francisco
Lunch: The Slanted Door
Dinner: Walzwerk (Ed’s Birthday Dinner request – East German cuisine)

Thursday 5/13 – San Francisco – Wade’s 40th Birthday!
Lunch: Boulevard
Ferry Building (For Snacks)
Dinner: Fleur De Lys (Chef Hubert Keller)

Friday 5/14 – San Francisco
Lunch: Luce

As you can see, this is no regular vacation! Ed and I decided this is the last time in a long, long time we’ll be able to do something this decadent, so we’re going for it!

Our first two days will be spent at the Glen Ellen Inn, which turned out to be super awesome! For just $129/night, we got hooked up with an incredible room! Here are a few photos of our “Secret Cottage” we borrowed from their website:

Double-sided Fireplace!
The "Living Room"
Bedroom
Jacuzzi Tub!

We are settled and comfy and will tell you all about the amazing dinner we had at Ad Hoc tonight very soon!

Practical Korean Cooking for Love!

For Valentine’s Day this year, I decided that I wanted to cook something really special for Ed: A proper Korean Feast! It seems like a no-brainer, but of course Ed absolutely LOVES Korean food, and in the three years we’ve been married, I really haven’t cooked it enough for him.

A few years ago, Ed’s mom bought us “Practical Korean Cooking“, a traditional Korean cookbook written by Noh Chin-hwa. It was translated to English with the intention of helping Westerners learn how to prepare Korean cuisine. The coolest part about this cookbook? There are step-by-step photos that guide you along, which was a BIG help (seeing as how I had no idea what some of the ingredients looked like or how these dishes are supposed to look)! So I guess in the spirit of “Julie & Julia“, this project turned out to be the Korean version. Instead of trying to tackle Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking“, I took on the challenge of Practical Korean Cooking! I decided on making a 4-Course meal. I knew it was ambitious, but I am proud to report that 4 hours later  it was a huge success!

1st Course: Saengseon Jeon
(Pan-Grilled Fish Cake with Egg)


These “fish & egg pancakes” (as I called them before looking up the proper name) are an Ed staple! He LOVES them so much, often times he can’t wait until they’re completely made – he has to cut off slices of the fish cake and eat them plain! Ed’s mom helped me with this recipe and she even gave me a cute idea of making them heart-shaped! They are super simple – beat some eggs, add a pinch of salt, dip the slices of fish cake in the egg and cook them like a pancake! I even found a heart shaped frame I could use at the Korean Market!

2nd Course: Komt’ang (Beef Stock Soup)


This soup got put on the list because a) I’ve never made my own soup stock from scratch before and b) Ed loves any kind of noodles!!! Basically, this recipe was a simple soup made with beef shank, garlic, korean radish and “chinese style” noodles. This was definitely the toughest to shop for – at Zion Market they had 2 whole aisles of just noodles! How’s a girl like me supposed to figure out the right one?!? I’m pretty sure I chose the wrong noodles, but Ed said it was delicious nonetheless.

3rd Course, part 1: Twaejigogi Kimch’ibokkum
(Stir-Fry Pork with Kimchi)


You’re definitely not eating a true Korean meal if there is no kimchi involved, so I knew this dish would hit the spot. No, I didn’t make my own kimchi from scratch, but there’s always next time! Thank goodness Ed’s mom told me which red pepper paste to look out for (whew!). This dish came out so spicy and bold and delicious – and Ed said everything about it was “just right”!

3rd Course, part 2: Nakchinokkum (Fried Octopus)


My goal from the start was to knock Ed’s socks off and completely surprise him by this meal – so I knew the sure-fire way to do just that was to include octopus on the menu. Octopus is a huge favorite for Ed, and there is no way he would ever expect that I would make that for him! Even though I am not a big fan of the octopus, I did give it a shot. Ed was completely shocked that I even attempted it and very happy about how it turned out!

I took this shot of him, mid-bite:

He liked it – he really, really liked it! :)

4th course: Strawberry Ice Cream and
Rice Cracker Treats


Pretty simple, but Strawberry Ice Cream is always a hit with Ed, and paired with Rice Crackers, I knew it would be a solid finish to the meal!

In total, I spent about 4 hours preparing everything tonight – and it was worth every minute of it to see Ed’s shock and amazement! Now I want to practice a bit more so I can impress my in-laws! :) A BIG thank you goes out to my awesome mom-in-law, Kay, who helped me out a lot by sharing some invaluable tips!

Here are a few more details of the evening:

Place setting + menu


Ed devours the octopus!


I did it!


My menu!

Click here to see all the pictures!
(Sorry for bad quality of some of them – technical difficulty had us using our iPhones for the majority of the evening!)

Stefan’s at L.A. Farm

Last night we enjoyed a great night dining out with our friends Britt & Wade at Stefan’s at L.A. Farm! Of course – it’s the same Stefan from Top Chef! Upon arrival, we got an awesome unexpected surprise – as we all got out of the car in the parking lot behind the restaurant, there was Stefan himself, enjoying a cigarette in the back! He was super cool – he called out to us and gave a us a warm welcoming, and even met up with us in the lobby and chatted us up for a bit before we were seated! He is a funny guy and it definitely made our night to see him so social and talkative with us. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ask him directly what we should order – and his response was, “Do you like small plates?” We all gave an emphatic YES! He told us to get the tater tots with Hidden Valley ranch dressing and the “Big Mac”. I kind of laughed a bit, I really thought he was pulling my leg – but he wasn’t! He even assured us that yes, he really does use Hidden Valley Ranch. He also mentioned deviled eggs and foie gras! All we knew was we couldn’t wait to sit down and start eating …

Small plates - Deviled Eggs, Tater Tots w/Hidden Valley Ranch, Foie Gras on Toast and Oyster

Stefan’s is really casual and the menu is very fun. I wasn’t so sure what to expect – afterall, on the show, he always seemed to feature very serious sophisticated foods. But the small plates really set the stage for a good time. We took his advice and started with the deviled eggs, tater tots and the Sonoma Foie Gras with Cracked White Pepper, Smoked Salt and Griddled Brioche. Delicious! The boys ordered oysters and said they were impeccable. Its tough to see in the photo, but the presentation was awesome – the oyster sat on a simple and perfectly formed mound of salt. And the deviled eggs were topped with caviar! A very special egg, for sure.

Added bonus of the small plates? They’re only $3 each!

Stefan's "Like a Big Mac" - My burger for dessert!

Our entrees were great too … Ed ordered the Shepherd’s Pie (total Ed food!) and I ordered the veal chop with cauliflower puree and baby carrots.

The only bummer about mine was that I had no idea a veal chop would be so fatty and kind of weird. I was pretty bummed about it and didn’t want to end the meal on an anything-but-sublime note. So, when the dessert menus arrived, I decided to skip the sweets and order the “Like a Big Mac” instead! It was the best choice I’ve ever made – and no kidding, I think it’s the BEST burger bite I’ve ever tasted!

So, I am happy to sign off with this entry by saying, I had a burger for dessert!

*My iPhone pics were terrible, so these photos are from Yelp user Kwiri Y. and kevineats.com.

The Kims’ Christmas Ham…Part 2

Ok, so about a day and a half later, it was time to get back to the ham. During its long and salty bath, the leg had certainly changed color somewhat.

One thing for sure…it didn’t quite look appetizing yet!


Yup, still just a big hunk of leg.


Into the roasting pan it goes! See you in six and a half hours.


It had to keep roasting until the thickest part of the leg was 150 degrees inside, so after about four hours I had to periodically check the temp inside.

And drumroll…..


It’s finished and it’s coming out!


Yes, it looks a lot more appetizing now, wouldn’t you say?


It definitely looked the part.

So how was it? It was delicious. It actually didn’t taste like ham in the traditional sense; its consistency was almost like turkey, but way more juicy and flavorful than any turkey. Much softer too. In addition, I’d made a jus using the drippings in the pan, and that truly brought it to life. Mmm, salty goodness!

So I think it was a success. Everyone seemed to enjoy it – especially Dad and Uncle! As it was 22 pounds, it also looks like I’ll be eating ham sandwiches for the next month.