More visions from Rob's Bistro

This post is for LeeAnn who asked me to post more of Rob's cooking. Her request reminded me that I have been remiss in crediting my hubby for his culinary skills. Here are some photos of some meals he has prepared over the last month. Our meals DO NOT always look like this. I do not always eat everything on my plate. Sadly, I think Rob forgets that I am a small Filipino woman that doesn't need to eat THAT MUCH food. I have been working out, but I do not have the caloric needs of Michael Phelps.

Anyways... on with the show!

French Toast topped with Yogurt, Berries, and Granola served with Canadian Maple Syrup and Abuelita Mexican Chocolate Dip

(Thankfully, I was at the gym when the breakfast was served. I can't have this big of a breakfast)

Seared Albacore Tuna with Brown Rice and Mixed Green Salad

Cheese Tortellini with Artichokes, Peppers and Prosciutto

Tapas - Manchego Cheese with Spanish Chorizo, Marinated Mushrooms, Olives, Sundried Tomato and Artichocke Dip, and Crostini

Mushroom and Spinach Ravioli topped with fresh Sage from my herb garden

Broiled Chicken with Sun dried Tomato and Artichoke Topping, Grilled Artichoke, and Rice Pilaf

Shrimp Scampi with Bow-tie Pasta and Sun dried Tomatoes

Sad Dottie watches us from the living room.
She gets exiled from the kitchen whenever Rob cooks.
Don't feel too bad for her. She usually gets her own treats cooked for her.

Looking at all this pictures has made me full. I think I'm going to have crackers and fruit for dinner;)

A simple Saturday

I had one of my favorite kind of Saturdays. I had a simple one.

I got up early and met my friend, Carmela downtown. She was on the hunt for fabric and materials for a project. I was scouting out the cost of flowers for an upcoming party. We were victorious. Carmela found the fabric and materials she was looking for within an hour. I got lots of great ideas and picked up some flowers an plants. We were downtown for only 2 hours, which is amazing. I was still half-asleep. Had I thought about it, I should have taken Carmela to lunch. Her birthday was earlier in the week. (Carmela, I owe you one.)

Flower Arrangement for the Living Room
3 varieties of Dahlias and Lisianthus

Fabric Inspiration

After my jaunt into downtown, I took a fat nap. Rob woke me from my delicious nap and told me he was in the mood for Ceviche & Cerveza. To be more budget-conscious, we have limited our eating out. Lucky for him, he caught me in the right mood. We headed to one our favorite places for ceviche - Don Felix.

Don Felix

4435 Fountain Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90029

(323) 669-7575

I ordered an Inca Kola, which tastes like Bazooka Joe bubblegum.

Rob ordered his cerveza. I decided to also have a Margarita, which I know is not Peruvian, but is good nonetheless.

We ordered a few dishes to share.

Saltado de Pollo
This dish was okay. They went a little too heavy on the soy sauce.

Calamares (sp?)
This was breaded and fried to perfection.

Our favorite - Ceviche Mixto
This was the perfect blend of fish, shrimp, squid, and octopus.

Happy Rob enjoying his meal.

I'm even happier enjoying my drink AND my meal.

The sad view from the bottom of my margarita glass.

This was my simple saturday.

Dinner at Rob's Bistro

In a continuing effort to be more budget conscious, Rob has been making dinner at home. If our dinners at home continue to look like this, I don't know if I'll ever want to eat out again.

Cod broiled with dill and capers.

Served with a side of brown rice and blanched squash

Shrimp served on a bed of fettuccine with red cabbage and red peppers in a thai-inspired sauce

Fresh Mediterranean Salad with Italian Salami with fresh crostini

Seared Ahi Tuna served with brown rice and a fresh Asian inspired herb salad

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

I suspect that Rob is trying to fatten me up. I guess i will be re-gaining the weight I lost while he was out-of-town.

Dahlias and a Dive

Rob just returned home from Chicago! We decided a short trip was on the agenda. We hopped in the car and were on our way to visit the wonderful people responsible for growing these.

My bridal bouquet

Centerpieces

Boutonnières

Love House Dahlias is a Dahlia grower located in Ventura. I contacted Ann Dunstan, one of the owners, about this time last year about purchasing cut flowers from them. She was very helpful and made arrangements to drop off bucket and buckets of cut flowers the day before our wedding.

We drove up not just for a visit, but to return her buckets and flower tubes. We had made several attempts to return them, but for one reason or another didn't make it. Today, we finally made it out there. The farm is nestled in the hills outside of the city. The farm had a serenity and quiet beauty about it. Ann was as warm and friendly as she was when I met her nearly a year ago. We took a short tour of the place. The Dahlias were not in full bloom yet, but there were still several varieties to enjoy. We were invited to their annual Dahlia open house in August, which coincides with our anniversary.






Here are some of the snapshots I took. It's times like these that I really wish I still had an SLR.
[Scroll your mouse over an image for a larger view]
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After our brief tour, we decide to grab some lunch. Initially, Rob suggested going to Jalama Beach. I vetoed that because it was another hour North of where we were. Then, we both remembered Neptune's Net. We headed south on PCH towards Santa Monica. I enjoyed the view and the fresh air on the drive down.

Neptune's Net isn't anything fancy, but the location and view is phenomenal. I really like it because it reminded me of some of my favorite seafood joints back in VA. I was incredibly stuffed when we left. I can't wait to go back. I don't think I can get enough steamed shrimp... ever.

Rob with his Dos Equis

The chowder in a bread bowl is superb.

Triple Platter - Shrimp, Fish & Crab Cake

Chowder in a bread bowl

My fave! Steamed Shrimp.

How to gain 5lbs. in 4 days

Another thing that I love about going home is the food. I adore Southern food. I don't care what anyone says. You cannot find good Southern food in L.A. Everyone wants to make a gimmick out of it or water it down. Southern food is buttery, fatty and fried. No substitutions.

One of my first requests was Pollard's Chicken. They have amazing fried chicken. One of their specialties are puffs. Puffs are deep-fried doughy goodness that is eaten with honey. They are very similar to unglazed Krispy Kreme donuts.

Next on my list was barbecue. Pulled pork barbecue is another fave of mine. The only place I want it from is Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que. Pierce's is a family run establishment in Williamsburg. My sister graciously braved the hour plus drive to this little spot. Although, I think the nearby outlets was another reason for the trip. Their barbecue is sauced but not too heavily. The sauce is tangy with a slight sweetness.

No trip is complete without some kind of seafood dinner. My brother treated me to a shrimp dinner. This is a huge deal because my poor brother is allergic to shrimp. I promised not to fling shrimp shells at him in exchange for a dinner. It was soooo good. This seafood is so fresh. It was caught that morning.


Needless to say, I will be taking Dottie out for a couple of runs to offset all that I've eaten.

Pinkberry

There's been a lot of hub-bub about Pinkberry. There's even been a L.A. Times article about this phenomenon. I had a rough day. So as a treat, I thought I would investigate Pinkberry for myself. Thankfully, there is one right by my office. I took a short break and headed over there.

The store was bright and cheerful. The staff was incredibly helpful and gave me a few small samples. With all the choices they had to offer, I went with a small green tea flavor with Cap'n Crunch Topping. Here's some photos I took before I dove into it.
It looks delicious, right? The little girl in me was excited about the Cap'n Crunch. Two spoonfuls later, I felt cheated. I equate cold and creamy to sweet and delicious. In this case, it was tart?! I just couldn't get over the tartness of it. When I have a dairy product and it tastes sour, all I can think is that it's gone bad. I ended up eating most of the Cap'n Crunch. I gave the rest to my co-worker who happily devoured it. Pinkberry fans, you can keep your frozen nastiness. Just point me in the direction of the nearest Coldstone Creamery or Baskin Robbins.