12 Days of Christmas: Day 5--Hark the Herald Angels Sing!

Angels. They're so peaceful and serene. How could you not like them? Angels seem especially prevalent around the holidays, and so it seems only appropriate that I've got more than my fair share of angel ornaments.

The small white one I love (even though it's missing it's right arm!), because it's made out of pasta! So cute. One of my favorite ornaments from growing up.

The other two angels? Relatively new additions to my collection are the second two angels. The middle one, a beautiful shade of dark green (not great for the photo against the Christmas tree green!), was a gift from a very special friend. Practically an older sister to me--my own personal angel looking after me.

The last one angel on my tree is really cute. She's almost a chime, the little legs (which you can barely see in the photo) move around, and make the cutest little noise. Sadly, her little wings broke so she's in the process of being fixed.

Here's hoping for a peaceful Christmas holiday with my angels looking after me.

12 Days of Christmas: Day 4-- The Little People

A tree can't be a tree without Santa! Our version? This little guy:

A cute Mr. and Mrs. Claus, kind of doing this silly little dance thing. Perhaps not one of my favorite ornaments, but as I was looking through them, I realized this was definitely one that I vividly remember from my childhood.

These two were others in that same boat:

Cute and festive. And again, ornaments that seem to have been in the family and on our tree since I can remember. I realized that while these may not have been my favorites, but I would be sad if I didn't have these on my tree.

12 Days of Christmas: Day 3--An Aussie Christmas

To be honest, I'm not really sure this was meant to be an ornament. The little 'hands' of the cute koala kind of snap tight, and is made to 'hold' onto something. This is almost just a little holiday decoration. But nevermind that, we always considered this an ornament and would secure it to one of the strong branches.

Since my trip to Australia last year, this little ornament has meant even more to me. It reminds me of all of the fun I had while down in Australia, and just how weird it was that it was warm and the sun was shining in December! We saw Santa Claus on the beach--in red shorts. Not a sight this San Franciscan is use to seeing! I can't wait to get this koala up on my tree this year. It'll give me visions of warm, sunny, Aussie beaches. And oh yea, that Santa in the shorts.

12 Days of Christmas: Day 2--Purrrr

Purrrr. One year when we were little, my parents took us to Michael's Craft store, and we were allowed to pick out a few plain white ceramic ornaments. Then, we took them home, and went at them with our paints.

Here's what I came up with:

I wish I could remember exactly which year we pained this. Not bad, eh? Just don't look too closely. A permanent fixture on my tree now. I love this ornament.

12 Days of Christmas: Day 1--A Christmas Baker

I've been thinking about Christmas and the holidays, and all of the activity that leads up to the holidays. From decorating your home, to purchasing presents, to baking, to preparing for that big meal, there's a lot that goes on.

It's also a time of reflection for me. And one of my favorite childhood moments around the holidays is decorating the Christmas tree. My sister and I would eagerly go through the box of ornaments, and play the game of "Oh! Do you remember this one??" We had this music box that looks like a present (green box with a red bow)--and it would play holiday songs on loop. We'd always have that playing while we were decorating our tree. (And usually be kind of tired of the music by the end of that first day!)

As we grew up and moved out on our own, I began to collect my own ornaments. I was never one of those people that could keep their tree simple--so no one color ornaments, or theme. I always look at those trees with envy. They're so gorgeous. So simple. So classy. They seem to come straight out of the pages of a design magazine.

But sigh. That is not my tree. Like my personality, my tree is a little all over the place. However, every ornament on my tree has special meaning to me. I can tell you who gave me each ornament, or where I bought each one.

SO. I'm kicking off my 12 Days of Christmas. Where each day I'll feature a different one of my special Christmas tree ornaments. Some are new, and others are from our family collection. To start us off, one of my favorite 'new' ornaments. A little baker! So cute! Enjoy the rest of the ornaments coming your way!!

Friday Favorite: Cuppa Coffee

This mug is so distinct. From Tsui Wah cafe in Hong Kong--the perfect cup of milky Hong Kong style coffee. Every time we visit Hong Kong, you can bet that there are at least a few meals consumed at Tsui Wah.

This mug was always an image that my mom, dad, sister, and I loved. I will forever see this and think of my family and the many cups of coffee we've consumed together over those old tables.

Meal of the Month: November

November was an insane month. Settling into a new apartment, a big trip to New York, and oh. Not one, but TWO Thanksgiving Feasts. I don’t even think I can even choose one meal for the month.

So this month, we’re picking two meals. One from the New York eats, and the other, from everything else.

Let’s begin with New York. Meals at the new hot spots, Locande Verde and the Breslin, old favorites such as Blue Ribbon Bakery, Momofuku Saam (ok, not once, but twice) and Harrison. There was also a special cup of coffee and cookie at Jake’s, as well as the most delicious compost cookie at Milk Bar. BBQ at Hill Country BBQ with a dear friend, and lots ‘meals’ at Pegu Club, Employees Only, Summit Bar and PDT.

Every experience in New York was amazing. So how do you even pick? Well, without a doubt, my Meal of the Month-NY would have to be the meal I had at 10 Downing. It was a special experience because my friend had recently moved from San Francisco to New York to take over the reigns here. So seeing Chef Jonnatan Leiva was already a special treat! He had barely settled into a new apartment, and had only been out there a matter of weeks. His own menu was JUST in place. And I’d say we were amongst the first of his friends to experience his menu out there.

From the awesome server we had, to bringing us tastes of virtually every dish on the menu. We should have had 10 friends with us—because we were STUFFED. There were too many favorites to list—but some true highlights? The cauliflower soup, Spanish boquerones and olives, grilled quail (with pomegranate, cornbread ‘French toast’, onion jam), and veal breast and sweetbreads.

Such amazing flavors. And beautiful presentations. The table next to us literally started to glare at us each time we had another plate dropped on our table. I think they were jealous. The best part of the meal? Being able to be there to support Jonny and to hang out with him after! THANK YOU JONNY!

The rest of the month. Lots of meals at home. A simple Sunday curry chicken night with Tarlan, pork chop night and lots of catching up with Sabine, a belated birthday steak night dinner for Defne, and lots and LOTS of wine and champagne with lots and lots of friends. A great lunch with dad and sis which ended with a detour to Park Chalet for some afternoon drinks.

There was checking out the local eats. Checking out a nearby sushi spot with Sarah and Evan, Eric’s Chinese food with Jim, Starbelly with Matt, Beretta with Lisa and Tarlan, and Starbelly with Wendy. Let’s not forget the ‘meal’ Lisa, Tim and I made of a little cheese and a lot of bourbon (oh vey.My head still hurts from that ‘meal’!)

I had an awesome Sunday night with Grace and Lien—checking out the new SPQR menu. Must have been some unofficial industry night there that evening, because it sure was a who’s who of the SF food business! We enjoyed the MOST delicious chicken liver, local sardines, eggs ‘al diavolo’, and spaghetti nero with Dungeness crab.

There were TWO amazing meals at Incanto. One where I was able to bring and share the experience with two friends that had never been before. Where we splurged with a yummy veal-rabbit terrina, an amazing chestnut soup, sardines, parsnip and bone marrow ravioli, pork shoulder and much much more.

That meal was amazing. And not enough for me. So I returned later that month, but this time for the Leg of Beast meal! With a group in hand, and a very excited 13 year old boy that was ready to celebrate his birthday with brains, we returned to Incanto.

In addition to the amazing beef shank, we had roasted marrow bones (that were the length of my forearm!), sardines, the most most MOST amazing pasta alla chitarra (so simple, but delicious with Boccalone lard, egg yolk, scallions and garlic chips), the biggest porcini mushroom I have ever see in my life (wrapped in bacon!), nervetti with cannellini beans, and again, much more. (Including the MOST delicious chocolate blood panna cotta!)

And then, there was Thanksgiving. I have to say, my TWO Thanksgivings would have to be my non-New York Meal of the Month. Thanksgiving is always a special time of year for me. It's near my mom' birthday--so it's near and dear to my heart. And for my family, Thanksgiving is of course about family and friends--but it's also about food. I wrote about Thanksgiving already (click here if you want more yummy details.)

Thanks to my family and friends, and to all of the chefs out there that feed me SO well in November!!

Two Thanksgivings to be Thankful For

I'm thankful for a lot of things. As I mentioned in my Thanksgiving post- I wouldn't be who I am without my family and so many amazing friends.

The best part about my family and friends?? That we all love to eat. And the fact that planning and preparing a meal is how we choose to spend time together. Hours shopping in the markets, prepping in the kitchen, and finally hours gathered around a table together.

This year, I was especially lucky. I had not one, but TWO Thanksgiving feasts.

The first was with my family. And as I've mentioned before, one of my family's Thanksgiving traditions? Crab. Turkey doesn't usually make it's way to our table- but rather we eat crab, and supplement it with a number of other Chinese dishes. Some other meat, fish, and plates and plates of veggies. Oh. And rice. Always rice.

There's also a flow of wine and beer (there is just something so good about having a nice cold beer with a spicy salty crab.)

Well, this year, in addition to my family's feast, I was lucky enough to have a second, belated Thanksgiving with some friends! Back at home in San Francisco, a number of my chef friends worked through Thanksgiving and the entire weekend. They were finally able to celebrate the Monday night after Thanksgiving and I was lucky enough to be invited to join them.

The turkey was the BEST turkey I've ever had. The gravy was a nice touch, but the turkey was so tender and soft, that no gravy was even really necessary. There was also a braised turkey with pasta, sweet potatoes, sauteed spinach, and not one, but TWO kinds of stuffing. It was so special that they were sharing their Thanksgiving with their friends.

The company was what made this Thanksgiving feast the best. The hosts, Sarah and Evan, are part of my extended family. These are a few of those friends that I would choose to be part of my family. And hey, we don't always get to choose our family (although I lucked out with mine!), doesn't it mean more to be able to choose friends that you WOULD include in your family?

Friends gathered around the table four days after 'the real' Thanksgiving had passed. Proving once again, it's not the date that makes the occasion, it's the people you choose to spend it with. And that we should be thankful EVERY day, not just on Thanksgiving.

Belated Friday Favorite: Bubbly!

You thought I was busy in November? Well, the holiday season is upon us, and it's only getting worse. SO. Here's hoping that I don't continue to neglect my poor little blog. But if I do, here's a belated Friday Favorite--BUBBLY!


Here's wishing you a fantastic and fun holiday season filled with family, friends, and good food. Oh, and lots and lots of bubbly of course.

Friday Favorite: Just Another Fall Day

One of the things I wish I did more of was just walk around with my camera. Looking at the world through a lens. Seeing things from a sometimes strange or different angle. Using light. Using different objects to frame a shot.

I did a little of this while walking through Central Park a few weeks ago. And this was one of my favorite shots.

Here's hoping that I'll have more free time to do a little bit more walking with my camera--in San Francisco, in New York, and where ever my travels may take me.