Dish on Dining: Bette’s Oceanview Diner

Crazy for Counter Food in Berkeley
1807 Fourth St., Berkeley
Fourth Street Shopping District
PH: 510.644.3230
Open Mon.–Fri., 6:30 .m.–2:30 p.m.; Sat.–Sun., 6:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
No reservations, major credit cards accepted
www.bettesdiner.com

Bette’s Oceanview Diner is an institution in Berkeley, but I had yet to dine there for its popular brunch — mostly because of the waits.

But during Thanksgiving weekend, when my nephew was visiting from college and I was in a lounge-around kind of mood, we went for Sunday brunch and were told it would be a one-hour wait for a table of three. We sat and took in the retro diner motif and watched the toy train circle the tracks up near the ceiling.

People came and went like Bette’s is the only option for brunch in the area (it pretty much is with the closing of Eccolo across the street), and I observed how the host’s tone shifted from happily welcoming regulars to an “are you sure you want to wait?” tone with others. He was never apologetic about the wait because it’s something people expect when it comes to eating at Bette’s.

When we were finally seated, the service was prompt and courteous, but lacking the fun and familiarity you’d expect from a diner. I guess with everyone waiting, they don’t really take the time to get to know you.

For brunch, I ordered the Maryland Breakfast, which is Bette’s famous house-made corned beef hash with poached eggs. You can get it with your choice of toast, cornbread and scone and I went with the scone because I knew Bette’s has a great baker.

The corned beef has had a nice crispy edge to it, but it was primarily potatoes and I didn’t get enough of the saltiness you’d expect from corned beef. The egg was a nice touch to get a creamy texture, and the scone (a cranberry-orange) was especially good because of the crispy edges and light fluffy interior.

My nephew’s girlfriend, Mary, ordered the pancake special. Bette’s calls its pancakes soufflé pancakes. The special was gingerbread and came with scrambled eggs and choice of sausages. Mary went with bangers. She also ordered a side of house fries.

The gingerbread pancakes had a definite gingerbread taste, which was nice for the season. But it seemed really dark when eating. I guess you can’t get around that being gingerbread and all.

Chris went for the hearty and also “famous” — according to the menu — meatloaf with mashed potatoes. I have to say, it really came out looking like perfect nostalgic slice of meatloaf. A nice big chunk smothered in light brown gravy, served with a heaping helping of mashed potatoes and some large broccoli heads.

I tried a bit of the meatloaf and it was definitely worth the title “famous” because of the nice texture and crusty edges (there’s something about crusty edges to diner food that makes you feel like you’re getting all the best parts of the greasy grill).

Bette’s Oceanview Diner (btw, there’s no ocean view from any of the seats) is a fun skip back to the past with some food, especially the baked goods and meatloaf, that serves as a strong supporting act. But I might pass on the wait and go during off times, or visit its “Bette’s To-Go” next door. I wonder if you can get the meatloaf to go?

Single guy rating: 3 stars (Comforting and retro)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner


Other places for brunch:
Foreign Cinema: “Now Playing an Innovative Brunch Menu”
La Note: “A Touch of Provence in Berkeley”
Maverick: “Refined American Classics for Brunch and Beyond”

Summary only...

Chocolate for the Holidays

Winter has definitely arrived in the Bay Area, and that means scarves and snow in the Sierras. And while this Hawaii boy is not a big fan of the cold, I do like the low temperatures because that means I can make chocolates!

Last year my friend April taught me how to make chocolates. (And some of you might remember the disaster of me photographing the step-by-step process only to have the images accidentally wiped out from the memory card before I could upload them.) To make chocolates, the weather has to be cool so that the chocolates can harden properly. If it's too warm or humid, you'll just have mushy chocolates. That's why a lot of professional chocolate makers work in air-conditioned temperature-controlled kitchens. For me, I just have to wait for the weather to cooperate.

Like I said, it's been perfect right now for chocolate-making. So I made these the day after Thanksgiving. I made two types of chocolates: 1) chocolate covered lavender caramel tiles with sea salt and 2) cardamom truffles. My nephew came by to help. Making chocolates is pretty easy, but I've learned that it's a tedious job so I appreciated the extra hands. Here's a look at how we made the chocolates, starting with the cardamom truffles.

Truffles are chocolate-covered candy with the interior infused with flavors. I decided to make cardamom because I had the flavor in ice cream a lot in the past and loved the sudden burst in flavor that seemed new and different to me. To start, I warmed 1/4 cup of heavy cream and then pour in over a bowl filled with 12 ounces of milk chocolate chips and 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter. I stirred until the chocolates melted. (If it's not totally melted, put it over a double-boiler until it's totally melted and silky.) Then I added 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom and poured the batch into an 8"x8" pan and placed it in the refrigerator to harden up a bit. (It doesn't have to be very hard, just hard enough that you can mold it.) It was in the refrigerator for about 2 hours (you can make it overnight). Then I spooned it out into little balls (people recommend using a melon baller) and then my nephew molded them into a nicer ball shape. Since they're called truffles, they're supposed to just resemble the fungus truffles, so they don't have to be perfectly shaped.

Then we prepared the chocolates to coat it. I used a semi-sweet chocolate chips because that's what I had. This is the tedious part of chocolate making because this is where you have to temper the chocolate. What that means is melting the chocolates and then cooling it to the point where you can get the chemicals reformulated back to being hard chocolates, but you want it wet enough so you can dip. The formula is melting it to about 100 degrees, then cooling to the mid-90s when you add a few unmelted chocolate bits, a process called "seeding," and then cooling until 86 degrees which is the point you can start dipping. My nephew was in charge of the instant-temperature reader and it was a chore just getting to the right temperatures. You have to be pretty patient because when you don't do it right, the chocolate won't harden with a nice sheen and instead will develop streaks or white bits.

After the chocolate was ready and we dipped all the cardomom-infused chocolate balls into them, my nephew used his little pocket flashlight to inspect them. You see, the truffles have to be totally covered by the chocolate exterior to make sure none of the cream-infused chocolates are exposed, allowing the interior to spoil. Some people just cover truffles with cocoa powder, but this means these have to be refrigerated and eaten quickly. But when you cover them in chocolate (completely), you can store it in cool room temperature in a dark dry place and they're good for a couple of weeks like this. So above, my nephew Chris did touch-up work, using melted chocolate to cover any holes he saw in our dipping work.

Now we focused on the lavender caramel chocolates, which is my favorite and a real popular chocolate when I pass them around. I used the same recipe that I printed in last year's post, so you can go back here to read the complete recipe. But here's the step-by-step look:

I started by infusing the heavy cream, adding about 2 tablespoons of cooking lavender to the heavy cream, which I warmed up. I left it in the pot for about 2 hours to let the lavender oil infuse the cream.

Then I made the caramel, which is just basically melted sugar. I used a vanilla bean (these suckers are expensive so be careful when using them) and took out the seeds and dumped them in the pot with 1.5 cups of sugar. Then over medium heat, I waited till the sugar melted, stirring occasionally. This is a boring and long process, and you have to keep from being tempted from turning up the heat or else you'll burn the caramel (unless you want to make burnt caramel). Eventually, the sugar starts to melt and turn color and eventually becomes a nice shade of caramel. Then you add 2 tablespoons of light corn syrup and after that gets all blended in, I pour in the cream. (If you have to reheat the cream, do so because you want it warm.) I placed a splatter guard screen over the pot with the caramel and slowly poured in the heavy cream. This keeps the lavender from going into the caramel because you don't want to be eating them. And the caramel also bubbles up so the screen protects from overflowing.

When the bubbling subsides, you cook the caramel until it gets to the perfect temperature that will allow it to harden properly. According to the recipe, that's 252 degrees so you need to use a candy thermometer and watch it carefully.

Once it reached 252 degrees, I took the caramel off the stove top and poured it into a pan that was lined with parchment paper and sprayed with flavorless oil. Then I just let it sit at room temperature for about two hours so that it'll harden.

After the caramel hardened, I removed it from the pan and peeled off the parchment paper and then cut the caramel into 1-inch squares. It was pretty easy to cut, but it was really oily and shiny for some reason. I put Chris is charge of reshaping the squares to make it more of a square if I didn't cut it perfectly. Then we tempered some bittersweet chocolate chips and dipped the squares in that. Then I sprinkled some pink sea salt flakes that I have in my pantry on top just for that added salted caramel thing.

Here the chocolate-covered caramels are hardening up. And with the cold weather, that didn't take too long. Of course, that meant we also had to work really fast when dipping the chocolates because the chocolate did seem a bit fudge-like near the end. (If it's too thick, you'll have to re-temper the chocolates and I hate that so I rather just work quickly.) Afterwards, I used a paring knife to clean up the edges of the chocolate tiles to make it look pretty.

This is my final results. I dressed them up by placing them in little candy cups I got at Sur La Table. Don't they look festive? They always bring a smile to the people I give them to during the holidays (if I don't end up eating them all first).

So in this cold season, gather some friends and make yourself some hand-made chocolates. It's a fun (and delicious) way to spend the holidays.

Other chocolate posts:
Chuck Siegel: The Willy Wonka of Emeryville
A Chocolate Affair to Remember
The Art of Chocolate: A Conversation with Christopher Elbow

Summary only...

In the Hunt for the Cupkates Truck

In the current street food trend, you knew it was just a matter of time before there was a taco truck selling cupcakes. And you knew it was a matter of time before I blogged about it. :)

I’ve been following the Cupkates Truck on Twitter for awhile, waiting for the moment when its tweets and my location would intertwine. The truck, started by Kate McEachern, focuses primarily in Berkeley and Oakland. But after following its tweet, I noticed the truck spent most of its days parked around the University of California-Berkeley campus.

Make sense. I mean, who else but college kids would have a constant sugar craving? Plus, Kate, a former editor at Dwell magazine, started making cupcakes while a Cal student and her husband is currently a grad student there.

But that doesn’t help me out since I’m not near the Berkeley campus during the weekdays. On the weekends, the Cupkates Truck has ventured out to some other neighborhoods, mostly in Elmwood in Berkeley.

Last Sunday, I finally caught up with the truck when it was parked at the Fourth Street shopping district in Berkeley. After getting some brunch with my nephew and his girlfriend, we walked around the area and spotted the truck parked outside the Crate & Barrel Outlet Store.

Still full from brunch, we contemplated the truck’s offering, which included favorites like Red Velvet and chocolate. The Twinkie flavor was already sold out (dang it!) and I knew all the others would probably be gone in an hour. (The truck sells out pretty fast on most days.) So we got some cupcakes boxed up to munch on later.

Both my nephew and his girlfriend got the seasonal pumpkin spice cupcake, which they enjoyed, saying the icing was light and airy and not too sweet. (They’re not making this flavor anymore and have now moved onto Peppermint Chocolate for the holidays.)

I ended up getting the Double Chocolate cupcake, and immediately my first thought when I looked at the icing was that it looked like dog poop. Hey, it wasn’t just me. My nephew said the same thing even before I could say it.

Despite the poor icing job, the overall cake was good. It was light and fluffy with a strong chocolate flavor and the icing was more rich chocolate than sugar, which is always good for me. (The only odd thing I thought was how it seemed like the top of the cupcake was lopped off because it had a very leveled top. Not sure if this was a mistake or if this is how all the chocolate cupcakes are made?)

A few other shoppers walked by and admired our cupcakes, but by then the Cupkates Truck had sold out and driven off. They may not be the best cupcakes I ever had, but they’re a nice treat in the afternoon for only $2.75 each. I’m looking forward to my next rendezvous with the Cupkates Truck.

The Cupkates Truck is out every day (except Mondays), mostly at the UC Berkeley campus and Berkeley-Oakland neighborhoods on the weekend. Follow it at twitter.com/CupkatesTruck to find the exact location, and check out its menu on its Web site.

Summary only...

An Iron Chef Breakfast

It’s not every day that you have an Iron Chef making you breakfast. But yesterday I was invited to a special cooking demo at the Williams-Sonoma store in Union Square featuring Michael Symon of “Iron Chef America.”

I’m not sure what I was expecting. Maybe I was waiting for the smoke machines to start up, or I half expected Alton Brown to pop out from one corner. But it wasn’t anything like that. It was more like gathering at Symon’s home on a Sunday for brunch. (Of course, the first thing that hit me was the smell of bacon frying up in the pan.)

Symon, chef and owner of the popular Lola restaurant in his hometown of Cleveland, was in town promoting his first cookbook, “Michael Symon’s Live to Cook.” (Co-written by food writer Michael Ruhlman with a forward from fellow Iron Chef Bobby Flay.) The cookbook is a mix of stories and recipes from Symon’s life, from childhood to his rise as one of the nation’s most recognizable chef (his distinctive laugh probably gives him away wherever he goes, too).

Watching Symon cook for over an hour, I got a real look into the man that you never really see on TV. Symon talked about his love of cooking, his marriage to his wife (who’s a sommelier), PORK, the three-year writing process for his first cookbook, his growing restaurant empire, and what he made for Thanksgiving dinner (turkeys three ways).

Symon’s cooking, at least for breakfast, is nothing like what he plates up on “Iron Chef America.” Instead, his food is simple comfort food, using ingredients that reflect the ethnic neighborhoods he grew up around in Cleveland.

Like breakfast. There wasn’t anything special in the eggs he made with goat cheese or the potato pancakes (his father’s recipe) that looked a lot like latkes. Here’s my plate that was served up. Pretty straightforward, right?

But this plate probably best represents Symon, who at his core is a down-home guy who grew up and still lives in Middle America.

His cookbook keeps things simple while introducing you to the food of his America, which includes ingredients like sweetbreads and his grandmother’s pig’s-head ragu. The recipes (often Italian) might sound familiar, but Symon gives you some insider tricks and bits of his personal experience to take them to another level.

Special thanks to Chef Symon for breakfast, and to Williams-Sonoma for the complimentary copy of Symon’s cookbook.

Other cooking demos:
Ming Tsai
Eric Tucker
Macy's Big Day Out

Summary only...

Dish on Dining: Quince

Playing on a Grander Stage
470 Pacific Ave. (at Montgomery), San Francisco
Jackson Square/Financial District
PH: 415.775.8500
Reservations, major credit cards accepted
(4% San Francisco health tax added to bill)
www.quincerestaurant.com

The new Quince is a shiny new spectacle in San Francisco’s restaurant scene. Opened for less than two months in the former Myth location, the contemporary American-Italian restaurant has struck a beautiful balance between grandeur and elegance.

I should note that I’ve never eaten at the old Quince restaurant in Pacific Heights, nor have I eaten at Myth. So I really don’t have a point of comparison. Everything this night would be a new dining adventure.

When you arrive, you’re treated to an open view of the brightly lit kitchen. The large glass window view took me back to Buenos Aires when I ate at Bar Uriarte. The fact that the chefs didn’t look too busy when I arrived was an indicator of my early reservations — the only slot I could get on a Thursday night.

The dining room next door was a glowing contrast to the bright kitchen. The elegant tables and bar on one side were lit with low ambient lighting and a grand glass chandelier in the center. Handsome is the word I would use to describe the furnishings, which exudes the sense of a business dinner if people still have expense accounts in this economy. (Note: The restaurant recommends business attire, so I wore a suit to blend in with the other similarly suited diners.)

But this wasn’t business for me as I was dining with my food buddy Foodhoe. It was just a night to catch up and experience the culinary talents of Chef Michael Tusk.

Chef Tusk’s menu is divided into an ala carte section and a five-course tasting menu. For the $85-tasting menu (which the entire table has to order), Tusk offered the choice between a chef’s menu and a seasonal tasting menu that focused on porcini mushrooms for the fall.

Foodhoe and I debated about the tasting menu for awhile but Foodhoe kept being drawn by the appetizers over on the ala carte menu. So we decided to wing it ourselves by ordering on our own.

Remember how I mentioned that the lighting was low-light? Yep, that means it was a challenge getting good shots of the food. Foodhoe looked enviably at the corner table next to us that had wonderful lighting but apparently was reserved for special guests.

We started dinner with appetizers. Foodhoe ordered the scallops ($17) served with foam and tomatoes. She’s typically not a fan of foam, but found this one actually tasty and complementing her scallops.

I ordered the sweetbreads ($16), which were pan-roasted after it was apparently coated with either a bread coating or flour. The coating made the sweetbreads not as crispy, but added a soft tender texture to it that was different and, actually, quite enjoyable. It was another way of preparing sweetbreads that I’ve never had before. (I’m used to seared, crispy sweetbreads.) The sweetbreads were served with perfectly cooked artichoke hearts and root vegetables in a black truffle sauce.

Next came the pasta courses. I had heard that the former Quince was known for its pasta, and that reputation hasn’t been lost in the move. Both Foodhoe’s and my pasta dishes were perfectly cooked with rich tasty sauces. Foodhoe ordered the Raviolo ($14) with a soft egg that oozed out when she broke into the large ravioli. It was simply dressed with a light cheese sauce.

I ordered the suckling pig pappardelle ($19), which was served with a forest green-colored pasta made from wild nettle. The green pappardelle didn’t invoke any nettle flavor, but did add a vibrant color to the dish, contrasting with the tender suckling pig meat cooked into a ragout and then topped with cracklings. The flavors and textures kept me smiling throughout this course.

The entrées offered by Chef Tusk are what you might expect at many fine-dining restaurants (lamb, fish, pork, duck). The descriptions of what to expect didn’t sound as innovative as the appetizers and pasta selections. In fact, the duck (which as you know I always order when on the menu) sounded so straight-forward that I broke my rule and didn’t order it. Yep, that’s right. I skipped the duck. Send out an alert.

Instead I ordered the lamb ($29), which was served in the form of medallions and a French cut chop. The dish was simply served with braised greens and butter beans topped with a brown sauce. The lamb was tender and leaned on the rear side, but still easy to cut and eat. But like the description on the menu, it didn’t really wow me.

Foodhoe ordered the Haddock ($27), a white fish that came beautifully plated. She also said her fish was cooked well but I didn’t hear many oohs and aahs while she was eating it.

We actually ate quite a bit so we were planning to skip dessert. But there was something on the menu called a “chiboust” that I’d never heard of, so when I asked the server, she gave such a delicious description that I had to order it. The chiboust is like a soufflé made with some fresh quince and presented with vanilla ice cream and quince ice and a thin cylindrical candy strip. The chiboust was light and fluffy but the flavor was a bit muted for me. Foodhoe thought one of the sauces that came with it tasted like mango. I did enjoy the quince ice sitting under the ice cream, mostly for its creativity and refreshing flavor.

At the end of our meal, we were presented with a tray of mignardises that included an opera chocolate cake, a berry-flavored hand-made marshmallow and a salted caramel. It was a beautiful ending to a very special dinner.

Everything about Quince is very high-end but welcoming. The service reminded me a lot of Eleven Madison Park in New York, where the service is meticulous and extremely professional but each individual server allows himself or herself to be natural and approachable so you don’t feel any pretension. Throughout the evening, people came to our table to check up on us. The conversations often went like this?

“Have you dined at the former Quince?” (No.)
“Have you eaten at Myth before?” (No.)
“Well, we’re glad you decided to visit us tonight.”

It’s this attentive service and well-executed food that probably garnered Quince its Michelin star.

While the price makes it prohibitive to enjoy Quince on a regular basis (for me at least), this shiny new star in the San Francisco restaurant scene is perfect for special occasions. And it’ll definitely add glitter to any of your holiday plans.

Single guy rating: 4 stars (fantastic pasta dragged down by entrees)

Explanation of the single guy's rating system:
1 star = perfect for college students
2 stars = perfect for new diners
3 stars = perfect for foodies
4 stars = perfect for expense accounts
5 stars = perfect for any guy's dream dinner



Similar restaurant reviews:
Eleven Madison Park: “Going All the Way in Manhattan”
Five: “Berkeley Hotel Dining is Reborn”
Zinnia: “Welcome Home Chef Sean O’Brien”

Summary only...

What's ON My Frig?

From time to time, I'd feature what's in my frig. (Right now it's a lot of leftover cranberry and pumpkin cheesecake.) But today I thought I'd show you what's on my frig.

This is actually a suggestion from reader Beth, who noticed my refrigerator is filled with magnets during my cooking demos on YouTube. Beth pegged me right as a magnet fanatic, and I've been one for a long time.

It all started when I first moved away from home and rented my first place. I didn't have a lot of money to decorate so it was cheap to buy a magnet to personalize my kitchen. Over the years I'd buy more and more every time I moved and eventually my refrigerator door was covered with magnets.

My friends know I'm such a magnet fanatic that they'd sometimes give me a magnet and that just adds to my collection. And it really is a collection to me. Whenever I moved (and I moved quite often in the early years), I would individually wrap each magnet with tissue paper like it's some kind of antique in a museum exhibit, and then I'd place them all into a shoebox for the move.

I don't know how many pieces I have, but the number has changed over the years. That's because some never really survived. There has been a few magnets that were the victim of me walking by and knocking them off and then breaking as it fell. Or some got so covered by kitchen grease over the years (I'm a fanatic but there's no way I'm going to individually clean each tiny magnet) that I end up just tossing it.

Here's a close up look at just a small part of my collection.

Many of my favorite magnets have a sentimental attachment to it, and some of that is because I got them during my travels. (Pictured above, left, a magnet from The Orangery tea salon in London; top right, a mosaic magnet from La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona; bottom right, a Fish Eddys magnet from New York, my most recent addition.)

Some magnets from my travel don't necessarily scream out where they're from, but I know. Like this beautiful ceramic magnet of a dragonfly. I got this from a flea market when I was visiting my sister in Portland a few years ago.

I get a lot of my magnets when I go home to Hawaii. On the weekends, they have crafts fairs at the beach and for awhile a few booths sold hand-made magnets. (Although not so much these days.) I like to find magnets that are just cute or reminds me of growing up in the islands.

Of course, there are quite a bit of magnets related to food. I've got magnets of cherries, watermelons in a basket, Reeses peanut butter cup ...

... and, of course, cupcakes!

There are a lot of magnets that remind me of my favorite characters, like Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street.

And I'm always a sucker for rubber duckies. There's just something playful but traditional about them.

Like I said, this is just a peek at what's all over my refrigerator door. It's like taking a stroll down memory lane every time I go to get something from the frig.

Summary only...

Live Blogging: Turkey Day 2009

9:25 a.m.: Good morning Gobble Gobblers! Happy Thanksgiving! Some of you are probably super busy getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner, while others of you are enjoying some quiet time before you head off to dinner with your side dish.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I'm cooking my first turkey tonight for my nephew and his girlfriend. And I'm live blogging about it. I have to admit, I only woke up an hour ago so I already feel like I'm so behind. But I did get a head start last night when I made the cranberry and caramelized some onions that I'm tossing with the green beans. Still, even before I start cooking I have some cleaning up to do around the apartment and washing dishes that I plan to use today. Ugh, I'm so behind!

As you're reading, feel free to drop comments about how your day is going. If you also have questions, post a comment and I'll see if I have any suggestions. Yes, I'm still helping you even though I'm busy here. :)

9:30 a.m.: The Official Menu

Wondering what I'm making, here's my menu...

Persimmon and Prosciutto Flatbread

Pomegranate Frisee Salad w/Hazelnuts

Lemon-citrus Turkey w/Chestnut Cream Sauce

Chorizo and Leeks Stuffing

Five-Spice Glazed Sweet Potatoe with (or without) Walnut Toffee

Cranberry-Asian Pear Sauce

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

Pumpkin Cheesecake w/Bourbon Whipped Cream

10:00 a.m. OK, that didn't take long. I just broke my first glass of the day. Luckily, it was just a cordial glass that was the victim of a falling cake pan as I tried reaching for it to prepare for what I needed to make my cheesecake. This is what happens when you live in small space. Everything's a target.

10:07 a.m. What's in my frig? Lots of stuff! It's never been so full.

I pointed out some things I plan to use, like the pomegranate for the salad that I seeded a couple of nights ago. See my turkey? I got it at Whole Foods (I reserved a couple of weeks ago to be safe) and it was just partially frozen, so I didn't have to worry about defrosting for days. I just wanted a 10 pounder and they gave me this 12 pounder. Oh well, it doesn't look too big does it? Hope it fits my tiny oven. I just salted it with kosher salt (about 3 tablespoons) and some lemon zest since I'm trying to go for a lemony turkey. So it's been sitting in the salt for 24 hours. I wasn't about to brine it in a mass of salty water, too much trouble!

11:40 a.m.: Pumpkin cheesecake in the oven but not really cooking.

OK, so I wanted to do something different this year and I love pumpkin pie, but my nephew likes cheesecake so I thought it'll be fun to make a pumpkin cheesecake. I couldn't really find a recipe that sounded good, so I just combined a few things. First off, I went with a graham cracker crust but I bought one of those ready made ones. Hey, why deal with all the mess? It was a bit tough getting all the pieces into the cake pan I'm using. Then for the filling I used a Los Angeles Times recipe, but wanted to make a marble effect so I kept the pumpkin and cream cheese separate. Then I poured the two ingredients in alternating methods. Above is how it turned out. Not too bad huh? Kind of marble-ly.

Problem is, it's not cooking well. The recipe says to cook it at 300 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, and it's been in the oven for 40 minutes and when I checked it was still like liquid! ARRGH! I should have made this last night. Anywho, I just bumped the oven up to about 325 and hopefully that'll help the filling cook faster. I have to get the turkey in the oven in an hour so this has to be done soon!

12:20 p.m.: Yeah, cheesecake done and out of the oven. Now cooling off on the rack. Looks nice and golden on the edges. Hope it taste good. Now, time for a lunch break. Going to make a chicken Caesar salad. Then time to cook the turkey! (BTW, I bet some of you are already eating your Thanksgiving dinner. I find it interesting that people start eating at 2 or 3 p.m. What time are you guys eating?)

1:27 p.m.: Turkey is in the oven!

So the real cooking begins! The turkey is in the oven. And I have to say, it barely fits. The top of the turkey is hitting the top of my oven roof. It's not like the turkey is so big. It really does look like a chicken on steroids. But before the turkey went in, I roasted some hazelnuts I got at Trader Joe's. They're for the salad later. I have to skin them, though. What a pain. Hope it's worth it.

Then I made a herb butter with sage, thyme and rosemary. The classics. I tucked these under the skin of the turkey. There's no stuffing in the bird, just celery, onion, garlic and a lemon and grapefruit for the whole citrus theme. It's the same thing I do when I roast a chicken. So now the turkey is cooking at 450 degrees. I'll turn down the heat in an hour. Time for more prep and Brady Bunch reruns. (There really is nothing to watch on Thanksgiving.)

2:06 p.m.: Table is set. Check. It's a good thing it's just the three of us because my table is too small for anyone else. (Plus, those Indian corn is taking up most of the centerpiece.) I'm going to put the food up by the kitchen counter and we're going to have to do it buffet style because the food won't fit the table. Now I'm just waiting for my guests to arrive and that turkey to be done so I can do other things in the oven. Is it time for wine yet?

2:39 p.m.: Yikes, look at my turkey after just one hour in the oven!?

Doesn't it look like it's done? I think the high heat definitely browned the turkey, especially in my small oven where the heat is probably really up close to the turkey. I hope the turkey doesn't dry out on the outside. Gosh, this is such the typical Thanksgiving cooking dilemma huh? Anywho, I lowered the heat to 325 degrees, which I had planned to do after an hour anyway. But I bet this cooks faster than the planned 3 hours. I'll probably check in another 1.5 hours. In the meantime, I put foil over the breast, hopefully that'll keep it from turning black. (Oh, and also to baste, I put some of the oil that came out and rubbed a lemon half on the skin to give it that lemony taste. Keeping my fingers crossed that the skin doesn't turn any darker!

3:20 p.m. My nephew Chris and his girlfriend, Mary, just arrived. And he brought pumpkin bread. Although it looks kind of like cake, huh? He says it's a recipe from Alton Brown. (Now he's off to Safeway on a beer run. I guess he's not into my wine.)

3:45 p.m.: OK, big debate about whether the turkey is done.

We just did an instant read and the thermoter quickly jumped to 160 degrees, which I think is good because when we let it rest it should be ready, but Chris thinks it should be 170 because that's what the recipe says. The turkey looked pretty dark and dry. I'm worried it'll be over cooked. Anyway, it's back in the oven and I think it'll be done in 10 minutes. It's a pretty fast cook, huh?

4:15 p.m.: Turkey out and now baking the yams. Chris and Mary are busy being my prep chefs and are cleaning out the green beans. I'm getting confused by my schedule that is now blown out of the water.

4:42 p.m.: Sitting down for the Pomegranate Salad with Hazelnut, but skipped the flat bread since Chris made pumpkin bread that was more like pumpkin cake. So we're just munching on the prosciutto instead. I sliced up the persimmon on the side, and the combo with prosciutto is like figs with prosciutto.

5:18 p.m.: Mad rush to the end! Just finished a quick chorizo leeks stuffing and now made the chestnut cream/gravy. Chris is thickening it up now. Last thing to do: green beans! Aiiiie! Hope the turkey isn't all cold by now.

5:44 p.m.: Yes, finally sitting down for dinner. Carving turkey was tricky with no carving knife and getting oily and stuff. But now for eating. (Whew, the turkey wasn't dry, but it wasn't super moist. It helped to have the gravy or cream or whatever it was that we made.) I almost forgot the cranberry that I had in the frig, but cranberry is my favorite so I pulled it out at the last minute. Enjoy your thanksgiving dinner everyone!


6:49 p.m.: Oh. MY. Gaawd. I'm so full. And you know what? The free-range turkey tasted like chicken. A big chicken. Now we're watching "Glee." Then in a bit it's dessert and we're going to see if that cheesecake was fully cooked.

8:24 p.m.: OK, after watching "Glee" (love it), it was time for dessert. Gosh, it's late. I bet all of you have already gone to a movie and back. Anywho, the pumpkin cheesecake was sliced up but not before we made some whipped cream the old fashion way. No, we didn't go harvesting the cream itself from milk. But I got some heavy cream and had my nephew start whipping it with a whisk until it got stiff and fluffy. Oh, boy, he was a wimp. He hardly whipped it before he got tired. We ended up taking shifts where we each whipped the cream until it was magically stiff and firm after being liquid just a few seconds before. I'm so amazed when that happens. Oh, and yes, we added liquor, but not the bourbon that I was planning to because I didn't find any at Safeway (but they sure love their whisky), so I just poured a dash of Disaronna. But we didn't really taste the alcohol in the cream. But it was light and fluffy. The cheese cake itself? It was like someone took a pumpkin pie (which I love) and put half of it with a cheesecake. I guess I should have blended it more instead of trying to marble it when it wouldn't. Here's a shot of the slice (I had to use my point and shoot because my camera battery died all of a sudden. Go figure.)

So that's it with the eating now that dessert is over. Whew. That was a lot. Oh, and you don't want to see the dishes. Yuck. I'm so tempted to bury everything. We're going to watch the DVD of Ice Age 3. No 3-D glasses though. Hope you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner and night! So I showed you my Thanksgiving, I'd like to hear how some of your Thanksgiving went.

Summary only...