Fun Stuff
The Trader Joe’s Song
September 12, 2010 | 
Author Sorry if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby — but have no fear, it probably won’t be too long.
Bacon Cupcakes?
First it’s cookies, now bacon has invaded the realm of cupcakes. Apparently, however, there’s a bit of controversy on which Wilmington, NC cupcakery first developed this tasty little number. But there it is, regardless.
Crab bruschetta: Tonight’s low fat treat
We have an old family favorite that we shared with The Foodnuts tonight, as we watched a couple of pent-up episodes of Top Chef : Masters.
One of the great things about this recipe is that it’s easy to create to take “on the road”, as our get-together was not at our place tonight.
Crab Bruschetta:
1 large French bread
2 cups of chopped fresh spinach
2 teaspoons of chopped garlic
4 Romas, drawn and quartered (ok, diced is probably best, but I love the phrase)
2 cans of crab (we’re workin’ folks so it’s the canned for us)
Two to three cups of shredded low-fat mozzarella, depending on how “cheesy” you want this to be.
Combine the spinach, garlic, tomatoes, crab, and cheese in a bowl. Mix.
Quarter the French bread. Remove perhaps half of the “guts” of the bread. Dip this in olive oil and balsalmic vinegar whilst the baking goes on.
Spoon in the crab/tomato/etc. mixture into the bread until it’s gone; place the four quarters on a cookie sheet and place in a pre-heated 375 degree oven. Bake until the cheese is melted, but not beyond.
We served this with a nice salad and a couple of varieties of dry red wines; followed by chocolate.
It’s a nice light supper and goes well with a pairing of yelling at the Top Chef folks on the television.
Cafe Santorini
Saturday night, we had a group of 17 folks heading for the Capitol Steps show at CalTech. This has become an annual ritual for the original FoodNuts. We decided to eat first, since the show was at 8:00 pm, and Terry made reservations for us at Cafe Santorini in Pasadena.
A few of us were a tad early to the restaurant, so we enjoyed a really good sangria. Not as good as my own, of course, but very good nonetheless.
The restaurant was lovely. The food was even lovelier. The service was perfect; and the attention of the manager for our party was amazing. None of us, of course, brought cameras, so we had to make do with cell-phones.
For a starter, my wife and I shared their shrimp saltada, which was a plate of Black tiger shrimp baked with roasted potatoes and garlic Parmesan sauce over grilled French bread. I have to admit that the bread was a very pleasant surprise; this would have made a lovely entree rather than a starter.
Roz decided that she was more inclined to comfort for the show (and I agreed) if we ordered salads. She decided to try the lamb and spinach salad, which was amazing, and I had the Caesar with a perfectly cooked portion of salmon.
This left us with enough room for a dessert — chocolate mouse cake with a raspberry sauce that went perfect with espresso and Grand Marnier.
We’ll be back.
Posted in Dessert, Dishes, Foodies, Fun Stuff, Restaurants | 
Tags: cafe santorini, cal tech, capital steps, foodnuts, sangria | 
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Chocolate Bacon?
At the Iowa state fair this year the chocolate-covered bacon turned out to be my favorite treat!
Ed: Apparently they have it at the LA County Fair as well; click on pic for more info.