Month: October 2017

Oct 30: Double Double; Hebrew Temptation

Lunch

A convoluted Burbank Monday saw Foodie Philip eating at In and Out later than usual, but still with the regular Double Double Animal Style for $4.27.

Dinner

A return to a favorite: Hebrew Temptation, otherwise known as Smokey Cheese and Pumpkin Slice. I told the story of how it became known as Hebrew Temptation earlier and the recipe is there too.

The recipe makes four quite generous serves. We served the same baby kale salad kit, augmented with a second bag as we had three for dinner.

  • The bacon was $6.99 for 12 slices, and we used five, or 73c per serve
  • Five pastured eggs at 55c each is $2.70 or 68c per serve
  • A small bag of organic flour is $2.69 and we used about 1/3 or 23c per serve
  • Buying the butternut squash diced saves a lot of angst trying to peel and deseed the squash. The whole $5.99 pack went into the dish, or $1.50 per serve
  • Normally we’d used smoked gouda but today we used a smoked mozzarella that was $5.99 or $1.50 per serve.
  • An onion adds 8c per serve
  • The salad kit came from Ralph’s (Kroger) was $2.99 and we will get three serves from it, or $1.00 per serve.

This savory cake has amazing flavor as the bacon permeates the entire dish. It’s a great meal for $5.72 per serve with the salad.

Oct 29: La Boulanger; Bratwurst and Baby Kale Salad

Lunch

Our final lunch at the conference ahead of a final preview of our new app and we decided on a favorite of Foodie Greg: La Boulanger. Largely a sandwich chain it’s not one we find locally, and they have excellent bread.

Foodie Greg had a Pastrami sandwich, while Philip had a BBQ Chicken sandwich, that had a perfect light touch with the BBQ sauce. We thoroughly enjoyed both sandwiches for $9.71 per serve with tax.

Dinner

Back home and a quick meal of bratwurst from the freezer and a Tyler Farms salad kit. We were unpacked and had dinner on the table within 30 minutes of arriving home.

  • The bratwurst are $3.49 for the pack, or $1.75 per serve
  • The salad kit was $3.99 and we used 2/3 of it at this meal, or $1.33 per serve.

Dinner tonight was easy to prepare and pretty tasty, for $3.08 per serve.

Oct 28: Armadillo Willies; Italian

Lunch

A quick break in the conference sessions found us back at Armadillo Willies for a quick lunch. Greg’s choice was a Turkey Avocado sandwich while Philip opted for the pulled pork Ultimate Pig!

Lunch today cost $13.62 per serve.

Dinner

Another gap in the conference schedule had a group of us head to a local Italian restaurant, where we both sampled the day’s specials. Foodie Greg had the Salmon with buttery smooth vegetables and rice, while Foodie Philip had the Mushroom Sausage Risotto. Both were very good and followed a decent Caesar Salad appetizer.

As we shared the communal bill, including wine and beer, it’s hard to isolate the food cost, but the meal overall cost $68.06 per serve. A little on the high side, but very much worth it.

Oct 27: Farmhouse Burger; Ham and Brie Pannini

Lunch

Between the official conference opening sessions and keynotes and the trip to the Apple Campus, we were on our own for lunch and we ended up at Lyfe in Cupertino where we both had a very excellent Farmhouse Burger – i.e. with bacon and egg.

The Farmhouse Burger was $15.80 with tax.

Dinner

While food was served during the conference Expo night we were busy demoing our latest to an interested crowd and didn’t get to eat. Instead of a long walk to find the only places still open at 10 PM we opted for room service instead.

A Ham and Brie Pannini cost an astronomical $22.10 per serve, including a pack of chips!

Oct 26: Salami, Cheese and Tomato Roll; Tea BBQ

Lunch

Before hitting the road for the FCP X Creative Summit we had a salami, labné and tomato roll.

  • The salami was $4.49 and we used less than 1/4, or 56c per serve
  • Add 20c for the spicy labné
  • The rolls were 50c each
  • The heirloom tomatoes are $4.99 for two pound, and we used about 1/4 lb today, or 32c per serve.

Lunch today was $1.58 per serve.

Dinner

Very convenient to the conference location is an Armadillo Willies – Texas BBQ – and that’s where we had dinner. A pulled pork sandwich for Greg and the three meat plate for Philip.

The BBQ has great texture and flavor and the serves are very generous, although we felt their fries were under cooked.

With tax the average was $18.79 per serve.

Oct 25: Pulled Pork Roll; Pizza

Lunch

The last of the pulled pork went into another par baked roll and was delicious.

  • The roll is 63c
  • The pulled pork is $3.88 per serve but we shared one serve, or $1.94 per serve
  • Add 5c for pickled onion.

Lunch today was excellent for $2.52 per serve.

Dinner

LACPUG rolls around once a month an we celebrate with pizza and a $5.00 contribution from everyone.

Oct 24: Pulled Pork Roll; Watermelon Salad

Lunch

With pulled pork in the refrigerator, and some par baked rolls in the freezer, what better for lunch than a pulled pork roll with pickled onion.

  • The roll is 63c
  • The pulled pork is $3.88 per serve but we shared one serve, or $1.94 per serve
  • Add 5c for pickled onion.

Lunch today was excellent for $2.52 per serve.

Dinner

The heat wave continues as do the salads. A return to a favorite with Nigel Lawson’s watermelon, feta and black olive salad.

  • The watermelon was $3.99, or $2.00 per serve
  • The Valbreso (French) feta comes in a $9.99 tub and we used a sixth, or about 56c per serve
  • Pitted olives come in $2.99 jars and one quarter was used, or 25c per serve
  • The red onion is 52c or 17c per serve (there is left over onion)
  • Mint came from our garden
  • Olive oil and seasonings add another 20c per serve.

Tonight’s meal was as delicious as it always is for $3.18 per serve.

 

Oct 23: Double Double; Smoked Salmon Cobb Salad

Lunch

Another Burbank Monday for Foodie Philip: another In and Out Double Double Animal Style for $4.27.

Dinner

For tonight’s smoked salmon Cobb Salad we chose burrata, a fresh cheese where the outer shell is solid mozzarella, while the inside contains stracciatella and cream. We built on a bed of watercress instead of arugula, which was an improvement. Foodie Greg said “We have now reached peak Cobb Salad!”

  • Smoked salmon $5.99 for the 4oz pack or $3.00 a serve
  • A pastured egg is 55c
  • Bacon is $5.49  for the pack and we used 1/4, or 75c per serve
  • We used half a $5.99 heirloom tomato or $1.50 per serve
  • Watercress is $1.99 for a living plant and we used 1/4 or 25c per serve
  • The avocado was $2.99 for a bag of five or 30c per serve
  • The burrata was $4.99 for two, or $2.50 per serve.

Tonight’s Cobb Salad was the best we’ve had for $8.85 per serve.

 

Oct 22: Salami, Spicy Labné & Sun Dried Tomato and Peanut Butter & Sweet Chili Sauce Sandwiches; Pulled Pork with Apple, Endive and Bacon Slaw

Lunch

Another experiment in mixed sandwiches. One with Salami, spicy labné and sun dried tomatoes, with was better than expected, while the peanut butter and sweet chili sauce had hints of an Asian peanut sauce.

  • The salami was $4.49 and we used less than 1/4, or 56 per serve
  • Add 20c for the spicy labné
  • Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
  • The sun dried tomatoes were $5.99 and we used about 1/6 or 50c per serve
  • The peanut butter was $3.99 and we used about 1/8,  or 25c a serve
  • Add 10c for sweet chili sauce.

Lunch today was an interesting mix of sandwiches for  $1.93 per serve.

Dinner

With a small pork butt in the freezer and a guest coming to dinner it was time for pulled pork.

After our success with the apple and bacon slaw of last week, we decided to recreate it with endive instead of cabbage, which worked a whole lot better, both in flavor and ease of eating.

We’ll get five serves from the pork and salad.

  • The pork picnic roast (butt) was $16.14 or $3.23 per serve
  • Onion and garlic add 25c per serve
  • Chicken stock adds $2.00 or 40c per serve
  • The endive was $9.95 or $1.99 per serve
  • The Fuji apple was 98c or 20c per serve
  • Bacon is $6.99 for the pack and we used 1/4, or 35c per serve.

Tonight’s pulled pork was not quite as flavorsome as it has been, probably because it lost liquid that was replaced with mostly water, but still good for $3.88 per serve. The endive works a lot better in this salad bringing a bitter note. All up this is an excellent salad for $2.54 per serve. Dinner tonight was $6.42 per serve.

Oct 21: Bahn Mi; Red Wine and Mushroom Meatloaf with Butter Soy Pearl Onions and Sugar Snap Peas

Lunch

A fairly frustrating and unsuccessful morning led us back to Pho Saigon 1 on our way home for their excellent Bahn Mi for $8.50 with tax and tip.

Dinner

Part two of the Red Wine and Mushroom Meatloaf, but better because frying the slices off in butter creates a lot of maillard reaction on the surface, which increases the flavor.

Tonight we paired the meatloaf with a side created by Foodie Greg: pearl onions and sugar snap pease sautéed in butter and soy. Yum. Butter and soy is one of the simplest dressings, but one of the most flavorful.

  • The meatloaf is $6.71 per serve
  • The frozen pearl onions were $1.69 or 85c per serve
  • Sugar snap peas were $3.99 but we only used half, or $1.00 per serve
  • The butter is $3.99 per block, and we used about 3/8 for two serves, or 75c per serve
  • Add 10c for seasoning.

The fried-off meatloaf was excellent with that crusty outside, and the butter/soy pearl onions and sugar snap peas were particularly flavorsome and a great pairing with the meatloaf for $9.41 per serve.