Last Saturday while driving around Mission Street looking for parking for the San Francisco’s Street Food Festival, I spotted a very familiar looking liquor store while we were at a red light.

Vaguely remembering the green signs and the art on the side of the building, I quickly said to Lando and Rose, “I think that’s where Bourdain got that giant sandwich.” Half an hour later, we found parking up the street from the liquor store.

After grabbing our passports, we decided that we’d come back to the festival in a few hours. While walking back to our car, we decided that to grab a torta. By now we were feeling the effects of hunger.

Once we stepped inside, we knew we were at the right place when we saw the “Cubana” Totra listed on the menu. A torta is a Mexican sandwich and this was my first time having one.

Without hesitation, we immediately ordered the Cubana with everything on it. We stood there watching as they tossed the components of the Cubana onto the flat top grill. The grill consisted of hot dogs, eggs, chorizo, breaded beef, bacon, ham. The torta bread is placed on the grill to be lightly toasted in a pool of melted butter.

After the bread was done toasting, they assembled the behemoth with mayonnaise, avocado, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and jalapeños. While we stood there intimidated by its sheer size, they transferred the Cubana onto a scale for weighing. We had it cut into quarters and then we were on our way to the Ferry Building for Saturday’s Farmers’ Market.

Once we arrived at Ferry Building, we were filled with eager anticipation. We found a seat and quickly unwrapped the torta.

Continue Reading » I’ll have the Cubana, and That’s It.

After making Scalloped Potato Gratin for supper last night, I had a bunch of russet potatoes left over and didn’t want them to go to waste. I checked my refrigerator to see what else I had sitting around. Turns out that I had some heavy cream, chicken broth, and some chopped broccoli lying around. I stood there thinking about what I could make with nearly a dozen potatoes and I figured the easiest way to get rid of all of those potatoes was to make a soup.

Ingredients
4 Cups Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
2 Cups Heavy Cream
10 Russet Potatoes Cubed into 1/2 Pieces
18 oz. Chopped Broccoli
1 Cup Cheddar Cheese
1 Large Onion
2 Large Cloves of Minced Garlic
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Pepper
1 Tbsp. Salt
2 Sprigs of Thyme
12 Strips of Bacon Cubed into 1/2 Pieces

Steps
The amount of ingredients I used in this recipe was enough to make a large pot full that served about 8-10 people. So if you’re making this for just a few people, feel free to reduce the amount that’s listed.

Start by heating up 2 Tbsp. of Olive oil in a large pot. Season the onion and garlic with a large pinch of salt and pepper, then let the onions sweat over medium heat for about 5 minutes just till they’re translucent. Next add the chicken broth, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and the sprigs of thyme into the pot, turn the heat up to high and bring it to a slight boil. Now add the potatoes into the pot, season with a little more salt and pepper then bring it back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover it and let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until the soup has thickened up and the potatoes are tender. Make sure you are stirring occasionally.

At about the 20 minute mark, add the chopped broccoli and about 2 cups of cheddar cheese, then let it simmer for another 25 minutes. While the soup is finishing up, cook the bacon in a pan until they’re nice and crispy. This will take about 8 minutes. Once the bacon is done cooking, transfer them onto a plate with a napkin. After the 45 minutes are up, give the soup a taste, and give it a little more seasoning if needed. Also feel free to add a little more cheese if you like. Ladle a few scoops of the soup into the bowl, top it with some cheddar cheese, bacon, and you’ve got yourself a nice hearty soup.

The first time I ever had Goat Cheese was when I decided to make this dish one afternoon for lunch. It was surprisingly good. If you never had goat cheese or just craving for a good pork chop, I highly recommend you give this recipe a try.

Ingredients
Boneless Loin Pork Chops
Frozen Spinach
Goat Cheese
Cream Cheese
Chopped Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Chopped Garlic
Pepper
Salt
Olive Oil

Sauce
Low Sodium Chicken Broth
Dijon Mustard
Half a Lemon

Steps
First you’ll need to thaw the spinach and squeeze out all of the excess water. Heat up a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Toss in the chopped garlic and let it cook for about 1 minute. Don’t let the garlic brown. Now add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and season with salt and pepper and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes. After that’s done, put the mixture into a bowl, and add the cream cheese and goat cheese. Mix up the ingredients and set it aside.

Next trim off any excess fat on the sides of the pork chops. Then cut a deep pocket into the non-fat side of the pork chop. Stuff each of the pork chops, and then season each side of the chop with salt and pepper.

Spray a large skillet with some nonstick cooking spray. If you don’t have cooking spray, just pour some olive oil on a paper towel and wipe the skillet. Turn the heat up to medium-high and let it warm up for about 30 seconds. Place the chops onto the pan and sear them on each side for 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium and cover the pan. Continue to cook the chops for another 4 minutes on each side.

While the chops are cooking grab a small bowl and mix together the chicken broth, Dijon mustard, juice of half a lemon, salt, and pepper.

Remember, fully cooked pork chops have a very slight pink color to them. Once the pork chops are done cooking, transfer them onto a plate and cover them with tin foil to keep them warm while you make the sauce. Add the chicken broth mixture into the pan over medium-high heat. Scrape up all of the brown bits from the pan and let it simmer and reduce for about 5 minutes. It’ll be just long enough to turn it into a light sauce. After that’s done, take some of the sauce and drizzle it over the pork chops and you’re ready to eat.

This Sunday at Santana Row’s Sur La Table in San Jose, CA, the host of Food Network’s Everyday Italian, Behind the Bash, Giada’s Weekend Getaways, Giada in Paradise, and the upcoming, Giada At Home, Giada De Laurentiis will be holding a book signing session starting at 12:00 P.M.

I’m a big fan of the Food Network Channel, and we plan on being there this Sunday afternoon. So if anyone else plans on going, please leave us a comment and let us know. Maybe we’ll see you there.