Combos!

Thanks to one of my clients for giving this to me! I love combos but I am in South Beach Diet now so I would probably pass this up. The husband and the kids are feasting on it on the other hand.  Speaking of my South Beach Diet, I am on my first day.  Goodluck to me!  I would really like to survive this cycle.  In fact, I am thinking to go on Phase 1 for a minimum of 1 month.  Dieting is really taking its toll on me.  It's hard to lose those stubborn extra pounds and no matter how I don't eat much, it's just there.  Is it because of the age?  Oh well, I hope the SBD could still do the trick.  I'm taking it one step a time.  Will post also my progress. 

Regrets for not going to Sonoma Valley

From our last trip, we failed to go to the known earliest vineyards and wineries in California, which is the Sonoma valley. It was supposed to be part of our itinerary but we weren't able to do so because we got stuck in San Francisco for some shopping. Gee, replaced dining to shopping.  Should never do that again cause now, after coming across the outdora's blog, I regret not going and seeing the place. It would have been great to see some great attractions in there. It would also be great to actually try and dine in the famous restaurants there like Mission Inn's Sante Restaurant and El Dorado Kitchen.

Sonoma chefs are well known for their exclusive recipes. Visitors are actually looking forward to their specialities. For example, in Sante Restaurant which is an award-winning wine country premier dining restaurant, the Grilled Quail with Bing Cherry Compote by Chef Andrew Cain is the most sought after recipe from there. Most are saying that it is perfect for outdoor party especially during summer using a built-in outdoor barbeque grill or any cookware.  From El Dorado Kitchen which is located at the heart of Sonoma and known for its sophisticated ambiance and sumptuous California cuisine, their executive chef, Justin Everett is known to be making the Roasted Tomato, Padron Pepper Grilled Pizza. It's a perfect pizza using the Big Green Egg Smoker grill.  

Now, just talking about all of these recipes, makes me hungry and regret even more for not trying those out there.  Good thing, the recipes can also be found online and thank goodness, Outdora is sharing it to it's readers.  I would just probably find time  to prepare these fresh ingredients and try it myself from our own barbeque grill back home.  I hope to be able to match the taste at least.  Let's see. Wish me luck!

Steaks!

Yes, so excited for tomorrow's picnic since we would do some steak grilling in the outdoor kitchen of my brother-in-law's place. We already bought the items we need for tomorrow's dinner. We purchased packs of steaks already from Wal-Mart. We would even grill some salmon so I bet, the husband and I would gain another few pounds. Staying here for a week makes me feel I have gained about more than 5 pounds already. 

It's pretty cold here to where we are so I am pretty sure grilling would be our best option for food. I'm also excited to use the barbecues grills outside the lawn area since it would be very cold tomorrow as predicted from the weather forecast. I have learned that a barbecue grill has been a centerpiece for outdoor entertaining many years back. And today, many homes are still using it and featuring it in their outdoor kitchens. 

How I wish I can bring home a grill since we also love to entertain guests in our lawn area back home. To more about different kinds of grills, you may click here.  Should I be considering buying an outdoor grill, I should also consider our outdoor space and how often do we really like to do grilling.  Should I bring one with me or should we have it shipped, we might as well consider those portable grills instead.  Eventually, should we push through with our decision to build a pool in our lawn area, a complete outdoor kitchen should also be in place.  Oh well, for the meantime, will just enjoy the steaks that we would prepare tomorrow! 

Snacking...

on this...

Carbonara with Pineapple Juice

Cheating on my no-carbs diet! lol! 

Crabs, crabs, crabs!

When we went to Singapore two weeks ago, we had a time of our life enjoying chili crabs! Super yummy. I have always love eating seafood especially shrimps and crabs. And recently, my MBAP friends are planning to have a get-together in the famous "dampa" where we would eat all seafood recipes to our hearts delight. But the plan for the meet up would still be by end of the month of August so I don't think I can wait any longer! Last night, I was telling Dicky that we should go to "dampa" this weekend to enjoy buttered shrimps and sczechuan crabs this time! But Dicky suggested that we should just buy the ingredients and make our own recipe. So have been on the look out now for a great and easy step recipe on a feast that we would enjoy on sunday. Any suggestions what kind of recipe to prepare? I browsed through the net and was able to find out about the Great American Food Cook off. This event is so interesting because there would be a lot of contenders for the event featuring their best seafood recipe. It is a phenomenal event being watched for by culinary experts and likes of me who would like to know how to make great seafood recipe. I wonder which would be awarded as the best recipe? I would love to learn from these contenders so I can also make one like this: