sörenberg bahnen

I ended up trying this place twice before I wrote about it. I have to be honest; I wasn’t overly impressed on my first visit.  I really didn’t think I would return. I took the kids one day when hubby was out of town.  The first thing you notice is the sea of televisions screens all around (including at every booth). I guess if you want to watch 6 or 8 sporting events at the same time, this is your place. For me it was a little sensory overload (and if I want my kids to stare at a TV while we eat dinner, I could pretty easily make that happen at home). That first time the kids and I split the garlic knots, which were pizza dough tied in knots and sitting in garlic butter ($5.49). I liked these. The dough was pretty tasty, and come on, garlic butter? You can’t really go wrong. My sandwich was not impressive though. I had the “Cali club” ($9.29), which was a croissant with ham, turkey, avocado, bacon, lettuce and pesto mayo.  Eh, it was basically cold deli meat (and cold bacon, no thanks)

Our second day in Cincinnati, hubby managed to get a little time off so we could stay in town long enough to have lunch.  I asked one of my longtime readers from Cincinnati where we should eat, and he recommended Jean Robert’s Table (among other places). It was conveniently located a couple of blocks from our hotel, so it was perfect. It’s really a cute little place—run by the former chef of the Maisonette, which seemed like the perfect way to finish the full circle of our eating experience.  It is obviously a place frequented by local business people for lunch, as it got quite crowded. They also offer a 4-course $14 lunch at the bar in less than an hour, which is pretty cool.  We opted for the regular restaurant though so we could order whatever we wanted. I have to mention the bread and butter first thing. It was so good. This was slices of a French baguette—so tender inside and crisp crust.  And they were nice and warm.  They were served with amazing rich, salty, European style butt

I generally like my  double entendres to be a little more lighthearted, but such is not the case. This is just a quick note to let you know that I'll need to take a break from the blog this week to attend to some pressing family matters. I will be back before you know it, and I want to wish all of you a happy and thoughtful Memorial Day. 

I'm not sure where I saw this cake for the first time, but I remember finding web page after web page saying how great this recipe was, so I knew I had to try it. So, today was the day and all I have to say is: Holy Wack-a-Moley (as my grandchildren would say)it is delicious. Even picky-picky husband has had several pieces of cake today.  It has a rich and moist butter-rum flavor and after it's baked (and still hot) you poke holes into the cake and drizzle over a butter-rum flavored syrup.I'm talking serious flavor here!! The syrup finds its way down into the cake and the result is pure heaven. I hope you try it. 1 cup butter (room temperature) 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon rum extract 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 eggs 3 cups all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup buttermilk Grease and flour a 10" Bundt pan and preheat your oven to 325°F. Beat the butter, sugar and extracts on medium high speed for about 3 minutes, scraping

S omeone sent me a video link last summer, showing someone spiral cutting a hot dog. The wienercision was done by Blake Smith from Chow.com , and I remember wondering if this technique would work with parboiled Italian sausage. Oh, it worked. It worked real good. By the way, I was going to provide a link to the aforementioned video, but Blake ended the demo by putting ketchup on his hot dog, so forget it. Okay, fine, since I did steal his technique, here you go . Not only does this look very cool, the technique also provides a significantly greater amount of surface area, and when you’re talking about grilling meat, it’s all about the surface area. You could brush barbecue sauce on an un-helixed Italian sausage, but here you’re literally flavoring the sausage inside and out.   And if you're skeptical about how well barbecue sauce goes with Italian sausage, take it from someone who ate one; it’s a match made in backyard barbecue heaven. I’d like to wish all you a safe and very fe

****NOTE: SHANGHAI LIL IS CLOSED******** I heard a rumor the other day that Shanghai Lil might be closing (hopefully that is all it was) so the other day when hubby and I had a free day for lunch (and got shot down attempting to try a new place that as it turns out was only open for dinner), we decided to drop in and have some dim sum. It had been awhile.  And I figured I would remind you about it just in case you had forgotten (I would be sad if it closes). The meal started with a little amuse bouche before our lunch (even for lunch which I thought was a nice touch).  This time the one they gave us was delicious as well. It was a little duck and cabbage salad with a piece of soft, wonderfully cooked eggplant (I am a sucker for eggplant).  It was super tender and had a nice soy based, slightly sweet sauce.  The salad part was more acidic and they were nice together. We ordered several things—our usual ha gao ($3.95) and spring rolls ($3.75) were a no brainer. They are some of our favor

You’ll have to excuse the smaller than usual blog post, but I just flew across country, and boy are my arms tired…sorry, not arms, I meant jokes.  Anyway, I’m back at my mom’s for a few weeks to help her out after some shoulder surgery, and despite a very late, turbulent, and sleepless flight, I had just enough energy left to post this marble potatoes video. I generally try to stick with ingredients that can be found at any large grocery store, and I hope that’s the case here, but to be honest I really didn’t care, as these were just too damn cute not to film. If at all possible, I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy! Ingredients: 4 stripes bacon, sliced 1 pound marble potatoes salt and pepper to taste 2 tsp chopped rosemary 1 tbsp rice vinegar, or any vinegar View the complete recipe

This rich and creamy, smoked turkey and spring pea fettuccine recipe is inspired by a pasta I learned long ago, working at my first real chef job in San Francisco.  You ma y have heard me mention Ryan’s Café in the past, especially if you’ve tried our famous chicken Marsala , and it was at this same restaurant where I learned what I still consider one of the best pasta recipes ever. As I mention in the video, the original was done with smoked chicken, but for whatever reason smoked turkey is much easier to find at the market. I blame the sandwich industry, but no worries, as the turkey is just as good. There’s just something very special about the way the creamy, slightly sweet, aromatic sauce pairs with the smoky meat. Which reminds me, this is also wonderful with leftover ham. Regarding what many would consider the dangerously large quantities of cream, I’d like to take a moment to do some math. The recipe makes four appetizer size portions. There’s about 1 3/4 cups of cream used,

Hubby and I took a quick road trip to Cincinnati recently to see a band we like.  The purpose of the trip was the concert, but naturally as soon as we decided to go, I started figuring out where we could eat before for dinner and lunch the next day.  So we had a very early dinner at Sotto, which is the new, more casual, restaurant from the same people who own Boca, which we loved .  Boca has recently re-opened in the space that used to house the Maisonnette, which was the old school “best” restaurant in Cincinnati. When the Maisonnette was open, there was a casual French restaurant run by the same owners called La Normandie.  Now Boca is up top and Sotto is below (a very cool thing is that hubby and I had the opportunity to eat at both places before they closed as well). I love the atmosphere of Sotto—it is basically underground, and full of brick. The first thing you notice is how dark it is, especially when you come in from full daylight.  Think lots of wooden chairs, weathered looki

I can't believe it's almost Memorial Day weekend! Seems like just yesterday I was watching people shoveling snow and scraping ice. Of course, I live in California, and that was on the Weather Channel, but still, seems like yesterday. I blame my beloved Golden State Warriors for makin g the playoffs, and throwing off my seasonal clock.   Anyway, the upcoming long weekend is considered the official start of cookout season, and to celebrate I thought I'd repost this collection of grill-friendly recipes. By the way, in addition to looking and tasting great on their own, these dishes all have a proven track record of pairing well with cold beer. Enjoy!!  Santa Maria Tri-Tip Grilled Lamb Chops Grilled Pickled Veggies Grilled Korean Short Ribs Grilled Flank Steak Grilled Lemon Chicken Cornell Chicken Grilled Barbecue Chicken Grilled Pork Tenderloin Grilled Asian Skirt Steak Spicy Tarragon Grilled Chicken Grilled Calabrian Chicken

The calendar says spring is here, although today (5/18/2013) it is snowing like crazy here in Alaska. I'm not letting that stop me from planning a barbecue this weekend (wish me luck!!). THIS SALAD COULDN'T BE EASIER!!!  I love "make ahead" salads that go well with ANYTHING you decide to grill. This classic coleslaw recipe is not only refreshing, but it is inexpensive to make and you can make it 2-3 days ahead of time (if need be) which is wonderful for busy summer weekends. If you make it ahead of time, just gently toss before serving 4 cups shredded cabbage 2 large carrots grated 1/2 cup mayo 1/4 cup sour cream 3 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons lemon juice 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (I use Honey Dijon) 1/2 teaspoon celery seed 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 cup milk Whisk the last 9 ingredients together and toss with the shredded veggies. Mix well and C hill AT LEAST 2 hours (overnight is even better).  That's it, quick and simple!! NOTE: We like

No salad will break your heart like the “Caprese.” It always sounds great; creamy mozzarella, fragrant basil, and sweet, juicy, vine-ripened tomatoes…what’s not to love? Well, false advertising for one. With very few exceptions, the tomatoes used on these Caprese salads are not sweet, juicy, ripe tomatoes; they’re the opposite. They’re almost always your standard, conventionally produced, picked green and left to redden (not ripen) in the case, tomatoes. They’re mealy, flavorless, and completely undeserving of being paired with ingredients as perfect as mozzarella and basil. While I’m invariably disappointed by the execution of this classic salad, I do love the combination of flavors, and by using cherry tomatoes, I thought it would translate perfectly for a baked goat cheese appetizer. Did it ever. When you take into consideration the taste, appearance, and ease of preparation, there’s a real chance this could become your new favorite summer appetizer. By the way, as long as you are