Tag: food

Easier (and lighter) Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

I love seeing the short recipe videos that friends share on Facebook and other sites. You know, the 15 second or one minute clips showing how to put together quick side dishes or appetizers?

I saw this two minute video tonight and wondered if it would be better than my simple baked sweet potato that I serve with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar…

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Click photo to link to the original AllRecipes.com video “Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter”

Here’s what I did:

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Oven at 400… (Six o’clock already… dinner’s gonna be late tonight!
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…Sweet Potatoes, cleaned and poked with knife, in for 50-60 minutes…
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…2 Tbsp. Butter, pinch of salt, fresh ground pepper, 1 tsp. brown sugar…
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When tender, cut potatoes in half, scoop potato from skins, mush up potato with ingredients in bowl, and put back into the potato skins. Top with small marshmallows and bake for 10 more minutes until marshmallows get toasty.
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10 minutes later, Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes!

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The Husband approved, The Boy is a stinker- he doesn’t like toasted marshmallows, and I thought they were too sweet. I’ll stick to a ridiculously simple baked, pat of butter, sprinkle of brown sugar version. BUT- if you like a nice, sweet, holiday-style Sweet Potato, these definitely fit the bill! Simple, quick, and quite good. If you like sweet. Is it just me? I think that sweet potatoes are rich and sweet enough, that they don’t need very much butter or sugar to make them delicious.

By the way, if you look at the recipe video that caught my attention originally, you see that it calls for cream cheese. I think that would be really nice in this dish, and will give it another try with that extra ingredient. Also- my potatoes were kind of small, which made scooping out and stuffing them a little tricky. I’d use a bigger sweet potato next time.

San Diego Beer Week #2 Ballast Point Kitchen at Miramar

IMG_9088 (1)One of the first beer discoveries that I made (“Hey, I actually like this!) was Ballast Point’s Sextant Oatmeal Stout on nitro, even, so it was extra-creamy good… mmmm. Beer Stop #2 is their new restaurant and meeting place in Miramar.

IMG_9083I like how the menu organizes the drinks for the less beer-savvy people like me. New to me is the Commodore American Stout- a good, strong drink like a punch in the tastebuds strong. It hits your nose with a huge toasted malty aroma that delivers straight into the flavor. Roasty, coffee-like flavor.

He likes my beer... uh oh.
He likes my beer… uh oh.

We both loved it. I wish I liked The Husband’s choice of some super-hoppy brew… citrusy, floral beers smell great but I never like the taste. Boo.

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I liked my beer… a lot. But then the two appetizers we ordered to split arrived and really stole the show. Holy cow, whoever made this menu deserves a raise and a half- the menu just changed this weekend and these items should stick around for the next six months.

Do NOT miss the mac and cheese with pork belly! The crispy, fatty pork strip may be only a couple of bites worth of meat but what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up in quality. We also split the duck nachos. More deliciousness! The pickled onions were just the right little tang to go with the bleu cheese sauce and duck.

Great brews, delicious snacks, spacious seating and outdoor area for games and fire pit fun. Thank you Ballast Point people, for getting this sit-down spot to join up with the rest of San Diego’s beer and food fans!

Fall and Winter Menu?
Fall and Winter Menu?
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Bloody Mary and Mai Tai mixes are available!
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Beautiful copper stills for the newer line of spirits.
Might I resume typing, cat?
Might I resume typing, cat?

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San Diego Beer Week (1 week = 10 days) #1 Green Flash Brewing Co.

They say the beer is so good in San Diego that seven days isn’t long enough for Beer Week, so they added three more days to the usual, run-of-the-mill week. And by “they” I mean “me.”

And today was my lucky day! At Green Flash Brewing Company in Sorrento Valley the genius bartender suggested I try Alpine Beer Company’s McIlhenney’s Irish Red. I think it is now tied for my favorite beer- so very low in hops, so malty, so DELICIOUS! Can I say again how glad I am that I’m making myself try new things?



With the baguette toast, cheese, and meat appetizer, a couple of Alpine beers and great conversation, we passed a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. I think I will like San Diego Beer Week 2015.

Friday Night Football and Food-to-Go… The Habit Burger Grill Review

 Fast Food chains have been classing it up more lately, have you noticed? We have seen several great food joints open up in our area, and alongside our great classic spots (In-N-Out!!), we’ve never had better choices here in So Cal. A recent article in Bon Appétit Magazine shares which ones they think should be on your food radar:

FastfoodRestaurants-MainImage-2800x2800-620x620The Fast Food Restaurants You Should Be Watching in 2015

We in the Land of In-N-Out Burgers have the privilege of knowing a good, basic burger when we see one. Tonight we hit a new restaurant… new to me, at least, and one of the places mentioned in the Bon Appétit article- The Habit Burger Grill.

IMG_9028-0Bottom line: the fries were really good! As much as I love In-N-Out, I really love everyone else’s fries more than theirs. The onion rings were nothing special at all. But about The Habit’s Burger? Well… it was definitely good, just not great. The price was great, about $7 for burger, drink, and fries, but I think my hamburger tasted only marginally better than a Big Mac.

If I want a great hamburger, I’m still going to head to In-N-Out. I have heard, however, that the salads and other sandwich variety is really nice at The Habit. So, if you want more variety, The Habit is a good spot- great prices, good selection, and really good fries. But if it is a basic cheeseburger or hamburger you are craving, stick with In-N-Out.

Found: Breakfast Dish for Holiday Visitors

I almost missed this today, pulling my usual “Guess I’ll Forget What’s on My Calendar for Today, Even Though i Checked My Calendar Yesterday AND This Morning!!” (I don’t want to admit how many of my or my kids’ appointments I have completely forgotten…)

One of my friends brought this small, single serving sized, delicious, and super-versatile breakfast dish to a meeting I nearly forgot to attend…

Click the photo or this link- Today Show Recipe- Make Ahead Egg Soufflés

This is a very forgiving recipe, my friend used her favorite cheeses and Denver Omelette style fillings for the suggested spinach and artichokes. Puff pastry + your favorite quiche or omelette fillings = fabulously easy and equally delicious breakfast or brunch!

"Make-ahead mornings: These easy baked egg soufflés freeze and reheat beautifully!"
“Make-ahead mornings: These easy baked egg soufflés freeze and reheat beautifully!”

(both photos have been lifted right off of the Today Show’s website…. gotta give credit where the credit is due, ya know!)