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I finally tried this place, and the only pic I took was of the cool-ass starburst lamps they had hanging in the bar. This post will be a reminder for me to return and take better pictures, and get there early so there's time to hang in the bar and admire the lamps again.
My review:
The decor and ambiance - awesome. These lamps - fantastic. The fact that they grow their vegetables in the back, and you can walk the grounds and see the garden - wonderful. The service - mostly really good. But the food was a little hit or miss. My steak was totally overcooked, but the vegetable dishes were fantastic. So I have mixed feelings. Overall I think there was enough happening on the positive side to warrant another visit.
The other day I took the husband on a day-date to San Pedro. He hoped I might be taking him to the Chowder Barge (that'll be next time). I had heard about this great sandwich joint called Busy Bee, and had to try it. And the husband loves a good sandwich. It was delicious. Must return and try the torpedo. Plus San Pedro is an interesting place! I need to remember it exists.
Veggie Boxty at K.C. Branaghan's over the weekend. Delicious! How come so few Irish Bars offer or have even heard of these delicious crepe-like treats?
I have taken to making my own taco seasoning, to ensure I'm not getting any extras I don't want. It is quite easy and sorta fun in a crafty, DIY kind of way. I make a big batch that tends to last me and the husband a few months. We typically add it to ground turkey for tacos. But I'm sure there are other ways to use it, like on grilled vegetables, or maybe mixed with sour cream topping a baked potato. During the process, it looks like one of those sand-art bottle thingys I used to love when I was a kid.
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At the Biltmore Los Angeles
My mother in law makes this incredible treat called almond bark. Comments such as "it's the perfect blend of salty and sweet" and "it's my fiancées favorite" are heard often. She's always claimed it's so easy, and on Christmas Eve, I got a demo. This is my attempt at writing down the recipe...
Ingredients:
Dark Chocolate chips from Michaels
White Chocolate chips from Michaels
Trader Joe's dry roasted, salted almonds
Tools:
colander
two microwave-safe bowls
two wooden spoons
two forks
several cookie sheets
spatula
1-cup measuring cup
Instructions:
1. Empty the almonds into the colander, stir them around to get rid of some of the separated skins (these end up looking a little junky in the final product, so just try to minimize)
2. Place cookie sheet on stovetop, and turn burners on lowest setting possible. You are just trying to warm the sheet so it's not cold for the next few steps, it DOES make a difference.
3. Place 2 cups of dark chocolate chips into microwave safe bowl, heat approximately 2 minutes (depending on your microwave). Take out, stir a little to make it more liquid-y, then stir in 1 cup of almonds. This is your dark chocolate mixture. You will do the same in the other bowl, with the white chocolate, same ratio. While the dark is heating, you can be mixing white, and vice versa
4. Look at your cookie sheet, and imagine a large checkerboard with dark squares and white squares. This is the pattern you will make when you pour the mixtures onto the cookie sheet. Pour approximately fist sized portions onto cookie sheet, leaving space between pours for where the opposite chocolate will go
5. When the sheet is full (between 1/4-1/2 inch height), take two forks, draw X-patterns into the choclate, to mix it up a bit, so the different chocolates SWIRL and overlap, but don't fully MIX. Use the spatula to smooth top if needed
6. Place in refrigerator to chill. Break up many hours later with hands or hammer (?) into various bite-sized and larger jagged chunks. Remember- it's home-made, it should look it!
