The Adventures of Tin-Tin

Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Darn Good Chowder at Hog Island Oyster Co.

I live about an hour's drive outside of San Francisco. This was a much easier distance to drive in my younger days. Now, I need a good reason to haul myself out there. What better reason than filing a Notice to Withdraw as Attorney of Record? As a reward, I consumed an entire porchetta sandwich from Roli-Roti (not pretty, therefore not pictured), half of an awesome grilled cheese sandwich with homemade pickles, and half of a bacony, potatoey, creamy clam chowder from Hog Island Oyster Co. I'm not used to eating two meals in the span of one hour, but that's what you gotta do when the meter's running. My punishment=never-ending heartburn. Something I never experienced before pregnancy, but now deal with regularly.

I can't believe I never made Welsh Rarebit before today!

Welsh rarebit (or Welsh rabbit) is something I've always wanted to make, but I guess it was never a priority until I saw Alton Brown making it on Good Eats. This is seriously delicious and so simple to make. The best way to describe it is like a cheddar cheese fondue with the consistency of nacho cheese--at least the way I made it--on top of toast. 

 

 

 

Make Your Own Creme Fraiche

I made my own creme fraiche yesterday after reading a very inspiring issue of Sunset Magazine. The recipe called for 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of buttermilk. You mix it up and then let it sit until it thickens, which the recipe suggested could take 8 hours or overnight. I found it took over 24 hours to get it to the right consistency. This might be because I used pasteurized whipping cream. It might also be due to the fact that I did not cook the cream to 105 degrees like other websites suggested. Eh. It still works. The result was creme fraichey, but a little runny. I think that I will leave it out for maybe 32 hours next time to get a real firm consistency. I have never had the luxury of having too much creme fraiche, so I think I will make Ina Garten's Mustard Roasted Fish which calls for 8 oz of creme fraiche.

I Love Portland Part 2-- Tillamook and the Oregon Coast

So the drive from San Jose to Portland was 10 hours and we did it in one shot. The drive from Portland to Tillamook and the Oregon coast was not bad at all either. It only took about two hours, but I wasn't driving anyway. (Thanks, John!) It was raining on the way to the coast so I was afraid we wouldn't see anything, but it cleared up just when we got to Cape Meares. We even got to see this rainbow...

and the creepy Octopus Tree...

 

The Oregon coast is beautiful, albeit cold and wet.

Spending the majority of a trip in a car was kind of a pain, and the rain made the roads slippery, but it was all worth it for free cheese samples at the Tillamook Cheese Factory!

This is from the viewing room during the self-guided tour.

Our little car did us proud. So much driving and it didn't complain once.

I Love Portland Part 1-- Food Stands Aplenty

I don't think I can say anything new about Portland that recent visitors and locals don't already know. If you've never been, you will be amazed at the number of gourmet food stands parked throughout the city. I've heard we had them in the San Francisco Bay Area, but I've never actually seen one. During our three days in Portland, our tummies were so full from eating at the great restaurants in the area. Whenever we happened to drive by a food stand, there was no room left in my bloated belly for thai food, fried pies or other treats. The morning of our departure, we paid a visit to a colony of food trucks we saw parked at an intersection. Just our luck, most of the vendors were closed. It seemed all were closed but El Brasero. Had all the food stands in that corner been open, El Brasero would have been the last place we would try since we live near San Jose and good Mexican food is always around the corner. But good food can sneak up on you in the unlikeliest of places. Good burritos in Portland? Yes! I had one of the best breakfast burritos I've ever had. It had real chunks of potato, egg, chorizo and cheese all for about $4.50!

Food stands galore! We didn't get to try any fried pies or belgian fries, but maybe next time.

El Brasero on 12th Ave and SE Hawthorne in Portland, OR 97214