La Mar, Ghirardelli, and a Rainy Weekend

A trip to SF by some friends in LA gave us an excuse to head to La Mar this weekend. Actually, we spent Saturday restaurant hopping and strolling the city. Here's part of our day, captured in photos.

Pisco sour, of course! Can't go to La Mar and not have one of these lime-licious treats.

Ceviche classico, the most traditional type of ceviche with halibut, hominy, yams, red onions, and a dangerous slice of habanero perched on top.

Ceviche nikkei (Japanese style ceviche) with avocado slices, sesame sees, nori, and a soy sauce base.

After sharing that very small pre-lunch snack, the four of us strolled Fisherman's Wharf and had chowder bowls for lunch--I know, I know, chowder bowls! But you have to give the tourists what they want. Personally, I find these dingies a lot more interesting than chowder bowls. They are so cute, and painted so whimsically.

After lunch, we took another stroll over to another tourist destination for a Ghirardelli sundae.

It's crazy to think that was just two days ago, because today we're cooped up inside safe and sound from one of the worst storms to hit the Bay Area in years. I stave off boredom I've started another knitting project--you'll have to see what it ends up being later!

Arepas de Queso

I tried something new today: a take on arepas de queso, which we enjoyed for the first time last week at Destino. I took the liberty of topping a traditional Peruvian corn cake with much more Mexican style toppings, but the result was still very tasty. I try to make only one new thing at a time, lest I find I've bitten off more than I can chew.

Arepas de Queso

• 2 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup white masarepa (this is a white corn flour, look for it in Latin markets where you find Goya brand products)
• 1 cup mozzarella or other soft white cheese, grated
  

Heat the milk and butter to a bare simmer. Meanwhile, combine all the other ingredients. Stir in the hot milk slowly. It may seem like too much liquid, but eventually the flour will absorb it all. Let the dough sit for a minute or two, then stir it again. A light touch is very important for arepas. It's like working with gnocchi; in fact the dough looks a lot like mashed potatoes at this point. Heat up a nonstick skillet and a tablespoon of cooking oil over medium low heat.

Form into handfuls of dough, then flatten and round out the edges. The thickness is up to you but I like these about half an inch thick or slightly thicker. Cook for about 8 minutes per side. If the arepas start burning before 6 minutes, your heat is turned too high. Adjust, and cook until all the dough is done.

Destino had their arepas topped with delicious pulled pork shoulder, but today I just did shredded chicken that had been cooked in spices, and topped with both tomato salsa and tomatillo avocado salsa. A little Tapatio on top and we were full and happy.

Aji de Gallina

The desire to make this dish came from a meal over a year ago at Fresca. I won't say my version is anywhere near as good as theirs, but it was a nice homey meal at the end of a fantastic holiday Monday! We went to the shooting range with W, had lunch at La Cumbre, went grocery shopping, and stopped by Mitchell's for a snack before coming home and spending the entire afternoon cooking. Good times!

The recipe needs tweaking, but you can click here for the recipe I followed.