Sometimes even a glimpse of summer can make life better. After an intense day at work dealing with a demanding boss, it was a joy to come home and toss back a couple brews, then make a nice light refreshing meal. This meal just happened to scream summer: fresh roasted corn on the cob and a big salad comprised of romaine lettuce, deliciously ripe peaches (which i know weren’t local but man were they good), cucumber, roma tomatoes, crumbled chevre, sunflower seeds, and a fresh lemon dijon vinaigrette. Surprisingly, all of the produce was really fresh and ripe…. and it’s only May!

After a nice leisurely bike ride up the San Diego coast we happened upon Mariscos in La Jolla. While Tyler was skeptical initially by its appearance the food turned out to be awesome. While they specialize in seafood, the rest of what we tried was great as well. If you’re in the Bird Rock area and are craving some Mexican, we would totally recommend Mariscos.

T: This place was a great find! I was skeptical at first.
A: skeptical?!? you likened it to a retirement home!
T: ok, in my defense, it was completely empty, and the menu used lots of navy blue text. I don’t know why retirement style restaurants always use navy blue text. If you’re wondering what a retirement style restaurant is, just think of any place you’ve been where you’re 2 generations younger than any of the other patrons. That kind of place. This was far from that, and it was extremely tasty.
A: true dat. both of their salsa’s were good. normally the salsa fresca, for lack of a better term, can be questionable at most establishments, but here… mmm mmm mmm! delish. my one qualm was that the chips were obviously fried at too low of a temp and were soggy/oily.
T: salsa really is one of the most important aspects of a Mexican restaurant. One of my favorite parts of eating Mexican is that there is instant gratification of tasty chips and salsa, almost immediately upon sitting down. If the restaurant can’t make a decent salsa, it really sets a bad tone for the rest of the meal. Particularly since I love to use the salsas on the rice and beans.
A: take notes people - first impressions matter! so did you enjoy your chile verde burrito as much as you enjoyed the salsas?
T: I did, and I wish we had a picture of it. The tortilla was very soft and delightful. Not at all dry or cardboardy. The pork was cooked to perfection- very tender and moist, and the salsa verde they used on the inside was tangy and reeeally tasty. It was a huge and meaty burrito, but was good enough that I damn near ate the whole thing. Actually I think I did eat the whole thing. Mmm. Ok, so I’m going to give a preliminary rating of Mariscos… we’ve only been one time, but I’ll give them a 4.7/5 in the Mexican restaurant arena. I thought their food was better than 95% of the mexican we eat in San Diego.
A: i have to agree. i’m so frequently let down by pretty much everywhere other than Ortega’s, but Mariscos rose to the occasion. Now, the service was a bit slow… our server brought out each dish, one at a time, as if she couldn’t carry more than one thing, but i don’t think that is her normal gig. i think her normal gig is going to high school. anywho, the food was great. my fish was perfectly cooked and utterly moist. if i were to have eaten as it was served i might have thought it to be under-seasoned but with the addition of salsas it was freaking rocking! i give Mariscos a 4.3/5. they rocked it. we will definitely be going back, if i have anything to say about it.
T: Even if you don’t have anything to say about it we’re going back. Whatchu think about that, woman?
A: i think you is right on, hommie!

View the Animation!!

All things taste better drenched in salted caramel sauce… at least sweet things that is! While this cheesecake was freaking great on its own, the salted caramel just took the experience to a whole different dimension.

Every year when a certain friend of ours with an insatiable sweet tooth comes to visit we always make her a birthday dessert. Every year she asks for croquembouche and this year I finally said yes to making it. I had started my research and was nearly ready to begin baking when I received a call from our friend letting me off the hook. While I think she was feeling guilty for getting me to agree to make a laborious, traditional french wedding cake for her amusement…er, enjoyment, she claims that what she was really craving was cheesecake… cheesecake and caramel sauce! Two of my favorite sweet things ever. I couldn’t deny my friend what she really wanted, could I? So here we have it. Plain decedent cheesecake topped with gooey salted caramel sauce.

We’re eating frenched chicken drumsticks that were soaked in a sweet chile lime marinade for several hours then baked. The chicken was served with a quinoa salad composed of sauteed baby artichokes, shallots, Spanish chorizo, green onions, banana peppers, feta cheese, and a tangy lime vinaigrette.

A: there’s something about frenched drumsticks that i think just looks cute… like little lolly pops!
T: to me they look more sophisticated and exotic that way. Even if it is just chicken. And, they seem easier to eat. I think pretty much every chicken leg should be frenched.
A: i like to french chicken legs.
T: now, are you talking about cutting tendons on the chicken leg, or are you talking about a special kiss involving your tongue? I’ll let that go unanswered. I will say though that I enjoyed rubbing my tongue all over these chicken legs… damn they were good! Just a touch of sweet, and they went awesomely with the quinoa salad. It was a thrilling meal I gotta say.
A: heheh you’re easy to please! i definitely liked it a butt ton though. the drumsticks were a little sweet, but they were also nice and savory from the smoked paprika and chile powders. i will definitely be using this marinade in the future. i used lime juice and zest in it then decided that i was going to bring that flavor out by dressing the quinoa in a lime vinaigrette.

They still look like little condoms

T: The salad was quite tasty in and of itself. The baby artichokes were delish, and the spanish sausage was fire. And by fire I mean very tasty. I give the meal a 4.84/5. I just gobbled it up- it was so good.
A: woah dogg. i know you said you thought it was da fire, but jeez! 4.84! that’s a huge score! like i said i totally thought it kicked ass and all but i guess i wasn’t feeling it quite as much as you. i give the meal over all a 4.43/5. frickin’ good, but it could still use some work. i actually thought the quinoa salad as a stand alone item was a touch overly lime-y. combined they married beautifully though.
T: they certainly did. That’s something you have a gift for. Making things marry well. They should call you the Minister of Food.
A: i hold services every night from…oh, 8pm to 9pm. (we eat late!)
T: very few divorces.

Sick of corned beef and cabbage? Try shrimp and grits! We’re eating garlic-rosemary yellow corn grits topped with jumbo shrimp sauteed with lots of butter, garlic, sweet peppers, red onion, and crisp zucchini. To top it off, we sprinkled some green onions and crumbled feta over the top then called it a day.

A: helloooooo…ooooh…..ooooh… is there anybody out there?
T: we’ve been trapped under rubble for a month. We were hoping someone would come rescue us but nobody came so we had to eat each other’s fingers and toes. And part of Amanda’s calf.
A: seriously guys! we’re typing this with our nubs. anywho, we’re back and we are eating well again!
T: yes. we. are. And these shrimp & grits are a great example of eating well. If you’re gonna do shrimp and grits, it helps to get some big fat jumbo shrimp- not some sissy little-
A: shrimpy shrimp

You know you want to eat it

T: yeah- shrimp that could have been grown in somebody’s living room fish tank. Those will not do. Not one bit. Well that’s pretty much all the advice I have.. you got anything?
A: don’t i always? i would have to say, making sure that your shrimp are as fresh as possible and not over-cooked! seriously… it only takes like three minutes to cook shrimp! also, don’t be afraid to ask the guy at the fish market to let you smell a shrimp before you buy it. it shouldn’t be too fishy and it definitely shouldn’t smell like ammonia.
T: These were some killer shrimp. And grits. And sauteed veggies. You cooked the shrimp absolutely perfectly- they were mega tender and super delish. I give this here meal a 4.4/5. It was tasty and well executed. It could have scored higher in originality, but I have no complaints whatsoever. What’d you think?
A: i agree. shrimp and grits are by no means original but this was a freaking good rendition of it. just rating off of my pure enjoyment level, i’m gonna have to give it a 4.68/5. i could eat this all the damn time. i really can’t stress enough that getting the best quality, freshest shrimp makes all the difference in the world. these were top notch. and boy did i pay for it! they were 12 count (meaning 12 to a pound) and they weren’t the biggest ones offered. there were also colossal-sized which were 8 count and $24.99/lb. hmmm now that the dollar isn’t worth shit, i guess that might actually sound cheap to anyone living in… oh… say canada even!
T: Or Europe, perhaps? I can’t imagine paying 3 bucks for a singular shrimp! I could eat 2 carnitas tacos for that! 1 Shrimp or 2 entire tacos. That shrimp better be stuffed with… 2 tacos or something. Ay. Let’s not even get started on crawfish prices

Okay, okay, maybe I don’t really mean “the same thing” but we have done this meme before! A week or so ago we were tagged by the fabulous Leena to do the “5 things you don’t know about me” meme and as always we were quick to procrastinate and slow to get around to publishing! This time around I thought it would be fun to get Tyler involved since I’m always the one giving away the personal goods.

Note: we wanted to see what our offspring would look like if we had kids… as you can see from the photo above it would not be pretty. As a service to the world and ourselves we are NOT having kids.

5 Things You (Probably) Don’t Know about Tyler:

1. I couldn’t swallow pills until I was a teenager… I just had a mental block man, it wouldn’t go past my tougue…it sucked. the first pill I ever swallowed was a tiny little red Sudafed, and even that took lots of water.

2. My first crush was on Rudy from the Cosby show. when I was 4 years old, and I convinced my parents to name our first dog Rudy in her honor.

3. I once wore a shirt for seven months straight - it was damn ugly. Actually it was purchased for my halloween costume and then I was like - screw it, I’m done dealing w/ wardrobe decisions. now I wear jeans and a white shirt every day. this is the result of 12 years of Catholic school.

4. I went to 12 years of Catholic school. (no girls, brown shoes, you know what i’m talking about.) Thank god that’s over with.

5. I have a cyst on my back named Jerome. nah, it’s not really named Jerome, but it has been there for a few years, and I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

And now…

5 Things You (Probably) Don’t Know about Amanda:

1. for a couple of years in college i didn’t brush my hair and just wore braided pigtails all of the time… which did indeed lead to having a couple of dreaded pieces of hair. i also used to have coca-cola red hair with yellow and orange highlights to look like fire. don’t worry, now my hair is back to the natural burnt-potato chip dark blond brushed state. i actually have to be slightly presentable working as a personal chef/estate manager. working in the back-of-the-house you just have to be clean(ish) with your hair tied back and covered. no style required.

2. to follow up on style, i don’t really pay attention to fashion or what i’m wearing. if it’s comfortable and i think i don’t look like a complete dork in it, i’ll wear it. i’m not too concerned with matching… at least when i’m not at work!(i just read tyler’s 5 things… i wonder if our lack of interest in wardrobes is part of what makes us so right for each other? )

3. i’m an npr junkie! i’m not a fan of most of the music played on the radio although i am a huge fan of music. while i like some of pretty much all genres i’m a particular fan of bluegrass (not country), jam bands, prog-rock, funk, blues, femme rock (the likes of ani and the indigo girls)… and of course i grew up on the alternative music of the early nineties.

4. this year will be my 10 year class reunion from high school - and i fully intend not to go. really, what’s happened in ten years that could have drastically changed the people. at 28 we’re all still pretty much kids, right? now maybe if it was the 20 or 30 year reunion i might be interested. this year i’d like to waste that travel money on a leisurely trip up the california coast (with a high school friend!) ending in arcata, ca to visit another high school friend.

5. i have the (horrible) ability to waste hours while playing games online. i put that all on having an overnight job in the past where i had nothing to do for six and a half hours everyday. i particularly love puzzle games involving words and numbers.

Quiches are an oldy but a goody and we’re taking advantage of that oldy tonight. Dinner consisted of mini-quiches in puff pastry shells with crumbled feta, pepperoni, sauteed crimini mushrooms and leeks, and a sprinkling of italian blend cheese. To lighten the meal up a bit we served a basic romaine salad along side.

T: Ooowee these things were rockin’! It’s been forever since you made any tasty little quiche things, and I’m glad to see them back again. Yeah!
A: no joke! when we lived in baton rouge i was on a quiche kick. there was a period where i was making at least one quiche a week! that’s a bit out of control but they’re just so damn tasty.
T: They really are very very tasty. Are they tricky to make?
A: not at all. for these i even used egg substitute so it was even less work -
T: woah woah… wait a sec. Egg substitute? I’m afraid. Those things tasted good, but I’m still a little afraid of what an egg substitute might consist of.

Millions of quiches… quiches for me

A: actually it’s 100% egg, but not eggs in the shell, you know? i didn’t want to brand drop but i used egg beaters. it’s mainly egg white with a touch of yolk i think.
T: ok, so it would have been the same to just take out the yolk of real eggs?
A: yup. you could do that, but this is way easier. all i had to do was shake and pour.
T: You shook and poured well I must say. I give these a 4.7/5. I could eat these every day… for at least a couple of months. They were so flavorful, and had a great texture too. I like the flaky outsides. The pepperoni really set them off though. What’s your rating?
A: i agree with you, i loved the crap out of these things. just simple quiches in puff pastry shells but still taaaastyyyy. I give ‘em a 4.6/5. the pepperoni and feta went great with the sauteed mushrooms and leeks. i was a little apprehensive about using egg beaters initially but it worked out great. i don’t remember why i got off the quiche kick but it looks like i might be back on.
T: hell. yes. Bring it. Hey, just a thought- these might be good for your brownbag lunches, huh?
A: actually, while you were typing earlier i was thinking exactly that! or for both of our breakfasts. they would be great for a grab and go any time! dude. i can’t tell you how utterly sick of ham on wheat sandwiches i am. like take vomitously sick and multiply it by a billion and that’s how sick of them i am.
T: Been there done that. I’ve reached that point with ham, turkey, and pb&j in the past. Move on, Amanda, and don’t look back. You’ve made your last crappy ham sandwich. Rejoice.
A: i’m starting the “freedom through mini-quiches” movement! are you on board?
T: uhh… actually I’ve got a lot going on.. you’ll have to handle up on that one yourself.

Hey guys. We just wanted to let you know that we’re still around, and we’ll be busting out some fresh food for ya soon. Until then, here’s a pic of a cinnamon roll that Amanda made a while back. It’s based on the Cinnabon Knock-off recipe which you can find here. Our verdict? Eh. Not the best ever.