Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

Nibbles of Tidbits and company doing my kind of camping.

We also celebrated Bailee’s Birthday (Kids in the Kitchen) — The pictured Cake design is not recommended.  Don’t these things happen (lost a hunk) when it matters most?!  It tasted good, so I made the best of it.  It’s Chocolate Mountain Cake with an Orange Juice/Zest Glaze.

Unusually warm and extra beautiful in January on the South Carlsbad Cliffs.

Food, walks and painting rocks.

It’s mostly a rock beach now, after a storm a couple years ago.

Moments of branding wrapped in family time.

Christmas Crackers from Cost Plus — Wanted to try them.  A pop with jokes & prizes inside.

We had plenty of Dips, Salads, Chips, Coronas, Cactus Coolers and Mimosas at bay.

Talented Kids in the Kitchen — You’ve seen their work.

Simple eats to compliment all — Ground Beef Tacos.  The kind I grew up with.

Don’t you love the smell of a campfire?  I do!

Must have S’more ingredients on hand for these occasions.

Watching the surf with tunes and lazy dogs.

The sunsets were striking, like always, it seems — I’ve never seen a bad one.

Picnic tables are resourceful.

Playing games, flying kites, painting, taking pictures and eating – Ahhhh, free time.

Uniquely shaped rocks inspire — What’s its story?

Well wishes to your family in 2012 – Explore and eat together.

Enjoy all when and while you can.  Traveling mercies.

Print this photo and tell the Theater it’s okay to bring in Candy, but don’t tell them I said so.

Searching for a Dip to utilize a jar of Sun Dried Tomatoes, I came across Ina Garten’s Sun-Dried Tomato Dip or a variation of it, over and over again.  It didn’t sound all that terrific to me, but thought it had to be good if people keep making it — Well, that’s not necessarily so.  I didn’t like it.  Similar ingredients make more sense in Ina’s Pan-Fried Onion Dip, which is phenomenal.

Do you “want to be part of the NYE Midnight Drop” they asked me?  Two seats on the pictured Super Shot are up for grabs, if I want them.  Part of me thinks it would be a fun way to start the new year, and the other part thinks, no thanks!  I appreciate the offer, but already up in the air in circumstance — That aside, 22/1 are the current odds of winning (2) Tickets to the OC Fair New Year’s Eve Block Party.  Enter here now.  Winner to be drawn Christmas Day.

You can lead a Lobster Claw to Butter and Lemon, but you can’t make it taste good.   Well, it appears I can’t.  Maybe you can.  Lobster Claws often seem rubbery and too bland to me.  I’d been craving Lobster for some time now and was told it’s on sale at Gelsons.  It was time.

On the way home from work with nothing planned, I decided to treat myself, so I thought.

That all sounds terrific, but I gotta kill it.  Oh crap, I’m having a flashback.  First in ten, don’t do it again – In other words, I bought my first Live Lobster over ten years ago, but had someone else prepare it.  I just couldn’t do it.  And it didn’t help that a friend was holding it up like a puppet saying…”Don’t kill me.”  I now remember it’s not an enjoyable process.

Just Do It — I was fairly prepared to cook it this time, but discovered new issues.

I followed the boiling instructions above, though think steaming Lobster is probably better.

Unfortunately this process did not yield the generous, tender, sweet meat I was hoping for.

This Lobster’s meat was tough, semi-sweet, watery and sparse — Not good.

And then there’s the Lobster Roe in the middle of the tail, which appears to run parallel to the Lobster’s waste/vein/poop, I don’t know.  I removed both before eating the tail meat.  Not fun.  And the worst part is prematurely diving into a cross-section of the Lobster Tail, before discovering the roe-poo — Yuck.  Though some consider it a gourmet treat, I don’t.

After all was cut out, there was hardly any meat — My Lobster naivety is gone, I think?!

I learned a lot, and firmly prefer that a grilled, cleaned, fat Lobster Tail (only) be served to me.

Gelsons will steam the Whole Lobster for you at no extra charge — I was tempted, but had to prepare it (at least once) myself.  Check, done.  It’s not as easy and fruitful as it seems.

New or long-standing, all restaurants have high hopes.  It’s sad when one has to close, and more job loss isn’t good either.  I just walked by Marie Callender’s Restaurant & Bakery in Costa Mesa, an old faithful to many and learned it’s no mas – No more Soup for me there.  At least with this restaurant there are other locations to obtain whatever you’re going to miss.

The challenge is to take a photograph as interesting as the one provided by Royalty-Free.  Unsolicited within a library of received photos, it’s inspirational for today’s trip to Del Mar Race Track, where it was coincidentally taken in 1999 – Though it shouldn’t be a photo challenge on a Food Blog, if you know what I mean.  We like to watch horses (only), like koi, and always admired ‘em as magnificent animals.  Race Track Food to be reported about separately.

Happy Fish Friday and Labor Day Weekend — BBQ, eat Fish, whatever, but don’t eat the Koi.

Dibs on the slice with the Ruby Bracelet or is it a Red Vine?  Thanks TLC, Cake Boss and Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte – The pictured Cake is the most expensive Cake made in the world to date.  It had a variety of jewelry pieces adorned about, including emerald bracelets, diamond strands, pearl bracelets, ruby bracelets, diamond pendants, a tiara, and more totaling $20-$30 million.  One slice here PLEASE.  Cheers to the lucky celebrators.

Poorly perforated and disintegrating Paper Towels are getting on our nerves.  We’re going to start monitoring these issues to name the best and worst Paper Towels out there.  If they don’t tear off properly, sheets are wasted, and if they disintegrate when drying something or soaking up a spill, what good are they?  It’s time to identify and stop purchasing the bad ones.

When did a Strawberry Shake become $6.75 — I love Häagen-Dazs, but what a shake down.

He’s a Snooth Operator, Snooth Operator — YES, Snooth.  It’s YOU with Fast Food, a well paired bottle of Wine and hot date.  How about it?  Pack a tablecloth and one of the suggested bottles of Wine with a couple glasses and head to your favorite Fast Food Joint.

Order a Burrito at Chipotle, Big Mac at McDonalds or Fried Chicken at KFC, find a table, pop the cork, pour, sip and bite, until you get kicked out for bringing in alcohol.  Chicks will dig it!

Snooth helps one find better Wines.  Their suggested pairings for Chipotle Mexican Grill, McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken are linked above.  I dare you to dine in.  If so, send a photo and we’ll post it here along with future fast food pairings.  Thanks for the photos Snooth.  Cheers!

I get asked to review a lot of cookbooks, which is pretty cool.  Some I love and have used over and over, and others I’m not so sure about.  Just because a recipe makes it into a cookbook doesn’t mean it’s going to be good.  I’ve learned that the hard way many times.

I was recently reminded that all are not created equal, after a review of The Unknown Cookbook.  I appreciate the opportunity to try it, but the Chorizo (Mexican Sausage) recipe within tasted nothing like it.  Aside from that, it just wasn’t good.  Though the book will never be a favorite, I learned from the process.  In other words, it’s nice to know that I can make Chorizo without Salivary Glands, though this isn’t the recipe to do it.

All is posted to show that the method is easy with the right ingredients.

The pre-rolled Catfood-ish looking “Chorizo” (below) was a bit of a turn off.

Chorizo is better wrapped in plastic than intestines.

We were excited about it, before we tasted it — Blah.

After being refrigerated for two days, we sliced it into patties and cooked it, then took a couple bites and tossed it in the trash.  I’m calling this the review of The Unknown Cookbook, so not to make the author feel bad.  We prefer to emphasize the positive and not hurt the sales of others with a bad review.  I’m sure there is something worth making in the book.  With respect to this recipe, we’re sticking with Soy Chorizo for now – We know it’s good.

For some reason I always wanted to make Peach Iced Tea — It just seems like a refreshing Summer drink.  The pictured was made using two Peaches and three Decaf Green Tea Bags. 

To make it – Peel, cut and puree the Peaches in a mini food processor, then strain the puree through Cheesecloth to produce the juice pictured in the above pitcher.

Then pour boiling Decaf Green Tea over the Peach puree, directly into the pitcher.

The Decaf Peach Tea is then chilled and served over Ice.

It turned out good, but needed more Peach flavor — Four Peaches will be better next time.

I contemplated posting this report, since our handy dandy Guest Blogger, Bonnie focuses more on getting lost than the food, but I don’t blame her — I’m sure I would’ve been frustrated too, thus do post her account below, mostly so not to stymie the amazing food and professional photographs provided by The Capital Grille in Beverly Hills.  Although pissed about the drive, she loved the food.  I’ve yet to dine at The Capital Grille and will most likely opt to do so at the South Coast Plaza location.  A photo of the Bar is posted first, because Bonnie needs a drink after telling her story…

The Capital Grille in Beverly Hills — Having had such a wonderful meal at the Capital Grille in Costa Mesa only a week before, I decided to start my night in Beverly Hills at their brand new, sister restaurant in the Beverly Center. 

It wasn’t their fault that I got totally and completely lost. I should have known better than to make the drive from Newport Beach to Beverly Hills at 5:00 p.m. on a Thursday night without anydirections on me at all. But heck, I’ve been to the Beverly Center before. Indeed, I was born and raised in Los Angeles, so I know it quite well. And geewhiz — I have GPS — so why would I need directions?

Because — truth be told, I haven’t lived in LA for thirty years, so I completely forgot how to get to the Beverly Center. And the directions my girlfriend’s daughter gave me over the cell phone were quite detailed, but…

 WRONG!

Plus, nobody at the restaurant could figure out where I was when I told them what cross streets I was passing.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Adding final insult to injury, my GPS would not “accept” an address on Beverly Boulevard beginning with the number “8”.

!!!@#$%!!!

Once I finally arrived though, we were treated to the same fine service and attention from the Capital Grille’s staff, along with some delicious food and drink. Our server, Charles, graciously apologized (even though he didn’t have to!) for my hour and a half of misfortune, and then served us a beautiful Steak with Béarnaise Sauce and Crab, Macaroni and Cheese with Lobster, and Sautéed Spinach on the side.

We didn’t have time to take a tour of the restaurant that was offered to us by Managing Partner Gina Doyle, but we sure appreciated the fact that they treated us to another Exceptionally Distinctive Guest Experience.

Thank you — Charles and Gina — and next time I come to LA, I promise to bring directions.

Thanks Bonnie — I’m glad I wasn’t with you, though I am ready for their SCP location.