Father's Day Rib Overload!

Last Sunday was Father's Day, a fabulous one I might add! 80+ degrees outside, swimsuits on, family together by the pool, but most of all... amazing home cooked food! Since it's a day dedicated to Frankie, my dad, we made a meal he would appreciate. Typically that consists of any type of MEAT! We went for BBQ this year. The menu was mini burgers, aka sliders, and Ribs. We rubbed the ribs ourselves, put them in the oven to let them brown up, and then threw them on the grill with homemade BBQ sauce!!! MMM!!! Definitely the highlight of the meal for me :)

Rub Recipe for 1 Rack (multiply for additional racks):

*1 1/2 tablespoons of each: Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder

*2 tablespoons Brown Sugar

*1 tablespoon of each: Paprika & Black Pepper

Everyone has different taste buds-- very sensitive to spice, salt, etc. Therefore, this is the general recipe I would mix up first and then add more for additional flavoring!! My family wanted a little more brown sugar then it called for and less pepper and paprika since Greg and my dad have NO tolerance for ANY spice LOL!!

Rub the ribs with this recipe front and back. Try to avoid the spices clumping together because the last thing you want is to get a big bite of salt or onion powder haha! Put the ribs on a baking sheet and in the oven at 375 for about 40-50 minutes. (For less clean up, lay foil down on the baking sheet first) Roughly after 20-30 minutes flip the ribs so the other side gets browned too! 

BBQ Sauce Recipe for 2 Racks (multiply for additional racks):

This recipe was given to me by Natasha Campion- thanks girl!

2 cups boiling water
1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup worcestershire sauce

1/8 teaspoon tabasco

1/8 teaspoon chili powder

1 tsp salt

Mix all the above ingredients together and put on the stove for 1 hr on medium high. After that hour, you can add water if the sauce is too thick for your liking or you can add cornstarch to thicken it. 

Heat up the grill, throw those ribs on, & sauce them up!!!!! The best part of putting the ribs in the oven first is for those spices to melt into the meat for perfect seasoning and it lessons the amount of time the ribs need to be on the grill. Make sure to add enough sauce while you are cooking and flipping the ribs on the grill. There should also be extra BBQ sauce to put out on the table when you serve... yummy :)


(For my grill-less friends: Instead of taking the ribs out of the oven and putting them on the grill, just add the BBQ sauce and keep cooking in the oven. Make sure to add enough sauce to both sides!)

To make a complete meal- add some potato salad, a regular green salad, corn on the cob, or vegetables.. there really is so much you can do with a BBQ!

      Happy Father's Day to the best dad<3!

The delicious ribs ready to eat :)

Como Se Dice... Delicious ;) 

My boyfriend was busy studying for finals when my mom and I decided to go out on a date & try one of the many restaurants on my list. I chose Frances, a well known restaurant in the Castro District. It takes about 3 months to get ressies here.. ugh.. but I decided if we get there early enough we can grab a seat at the bar which was a success :)! 

Chef/Owner Melissa Perello has perfected this dining experience all the way into receiving a Michelin Star!! Michelin Rated in SF-- check it out!! In the Michelin world- 1 star = excellence. (Note: Jackie, Quince is on there!!)


What I like about Melissa is that she previously worked at a different restaurant in SF called Fifth Floor. In 2006, she brought that eatery to receiving a Michelin star too!! In my opinion, she seems to have the right idea of what a restaurant needs for top performance!!


Let me set the food mood for you...Appetizer: Bacon Beignets, Trottoloni Pasta, & Little Gem Salad. Main Course shared: Caramelized Atlantic Scallops with a side of Grilled Escarole & Radicchio. Dessert: Lumberjack Cake. 


The beignets were puffy fried dough balls, an excellent starter, especially with that hint of bacon mmm! For the salad, the fresh roasted beets makes any green superior in my eyes. The tarragon vinaigrette was soft but added just enough flavor. It went lovely with my glass of white wine :) OH and the Scallops!! mmm! They were so ridiculously light but somehow filling. It was smooth like butter which is how I suspect a Scallop should taste. (yuck to chewy Scallops). The Sunchoke Puree and Roasted Fennel was a perfect vegetable pairing. Lastly- the dessert!! Normally I would not order this type of dessert, but they were written up by a local magazine, 7X7, for this EXACT dessert!! Clearly, we had to try it! The Lumberjack consisted of Lady Apple's, Medjool Dates and Humphry Slocombe Maple-Walnut Ice Cream. The bartender explained the cake to be very low density with a hint of the apples.. it would not be similar to an apple pie with chunks. I was not sold on the cake but I was on the ice cream. HS is an incredible source for infused ice cream! Anyway, we gave it a go and it ended up working out! It really still isn't a cake I would prefer but because I was SO stuffed, it was ideal. It had great flavor, the ice cream was amazing, and I didn't overdue it :) 

If you noticed the only dish I left out of the pictures/descriptions was the Trottoloni Pasta. This was because it was the MOST delicious dish to me that evening. So much so, that I tried to recreate the dish with my own recipe after some research online. I have included a picture of the Frances dish and then my own creation, along with the recipe for those that want to try it :) 

Frances' Version

Booty Foodie's Version

To me this dish is the epitome of spring/summer pasta! It is a full body of flavors but yet with the spinach & asparagus it is light, especially with that hint of lemon mmm mmm mmm! It was really fun to shave the asparagus- something I had yet to do! The toasted walnuts on top were a great crunchy aspect to a pasta cream sauce. I have been paying more attention to pairing salty with sweet and smooth with crunchy. It makes your taste buds go crazy! And to me that signifies an amazing meal :) If you end up trying it, I hope you enjoy it as much as Greg and I did :) :)!!


Recipe:


Groceries:


1. Pasta- I liked short and fat with this but you can use any- just keep in mind that if you use longer pasta you may need to add more of the ingredients so the sauce covers all the pasta. 
2. 1 Mascarpone tub- you only need about 4-6 ounces but it only comes in 8 (always good to have more in case you need to add it)
3. Fresh ground pepper
4. 2 Meyer Lemons. 1 Teaspoon of zest, about 1/4 cup juice. (Meyer Lemon season is Dec- April, regular Lemons can be used. Meyer Lemons are just less acidic and slightly sweeter)
5. Spinach- couple handfuls (can use as much or little as you like)
6. Walnuts- about 1 cup
7. Block of parmesan cheese
8. Bundle of Asparagus- shaved. how to shave asparagus guideline


Instructions:


Toasting Method for Walnuts:


Either put nuts on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 for a few minutes, (watch closely as they can brown quickly), or put on the stove and saute for a few minutes. I would recommend chopping the nuts into smaller pieces to be more edible. 


Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta to your liking and reserve some of the pasta water (roughly 1 cup). Combine the zest, lemon juice, mascarpone, and pepper in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Once pasta is done/drained. Put the pasta back in the pot and on the stove on low heat. Stir in the mascarpone mixture. Add the asparagus & spinach. Toss so the spinach will begin to wilt. Add about 1/4 cup of the pasta water at a time and mix- keep adding more of the pasta water if you want the sauce to be thinner. (Note: can always add more Mascarpone mixture if your pasta needs more to coat) Add the walnuts at the end and mix throughout. Serve the pasta and grate fresh parmesan cheese on top! Bon Appetit :)

In N Out vs Five Guys vs Shake Shack. WOW. 

Click here for Article!!

I just HAD to share this article since I have had many conversations with family & friends about these Bi-Coastal burgers!! I am from California and I find In N Out to be fabulous but when living in NYC, I was blown away by Shake Shack- more importantly the Shack Stack (pictured below- note: not a Lisa Original Photo). Shack Stack= a cheeseburger and 'shroom burger topped with lettuce, tomato, and shack sauce. What is a 'shroom burger you ask??...the most delicious crispy fried portobello mushroom filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheese. 

Not only is the burger enticing, but they have cheese sauce for your french fries folks!! If you know me at all, you know that my realllllly guilty pleasure is gooey cheese sauce!! mmmm! Shake Shack actually makes theirs homemade and I dip every single fry into it :) I do have to admit though In N Out makes a mean Animal Style French Fry. Animal Style Fries (pictured below- note: this IS a Lisa original photo)= Fries, melted cheese, grilled onions, and their special sauce which is basically 1000 Island dressing. Heart attack central but scrumptious nonetheless!

Sorry I have yet to mention Five Guys, which by the way just made its journey to the West Coast. We took  my dad there for his birthday this year. It is a solid burger, do not get me wrong, but I just don't think it is in the same category for type of burgers as In N Out and Shake Shack are. Five Guys is for when you are craving the down and dirty greasy but delicious LARGE burger. I do enjoy it but IF I HAVE to pick... I would pick Shake Shack- sorry CA!