Miss Juice made some pretty yummy ravioli one time... from scratch, at that. I don't have her prowess, nor patience to make my own dough, but I tried to make my own ravioli also... using wonton wrappers.

this is by no means a secret. It's not exactly the same as ravioli dough, but it's a quick and easy substitute, plus i was already making some actual wonton anyway. Since I wound up with a bunch of extra wrappers and extra meat, i decided to try my hand at some Fusion Ravioli.

I used a mixture of ground pork, feta, spinach, onions, garlic, mustard, and tender loving care. It turned out pretty well, when I tested a couple raviolis to see how long I would need to cook them, without contracting trychinosis.

I put away the ravioli to cook up at another time, since I needed to eat a bunch of just-made wonton, as well. I was pretty busy the last couple days, but I finally had some time to sit down and cook up these ravioli. only there was a problem...

when you let uncooked wonton dough sit (along with moisture from the meat), the dough sort of "melts" and reforms into a solid ball. So basically, I was stuck with a mound of inseparable wonton-wrapped ravioli.

I tried to pry them apart, but it was hopeless. so instead of cooking them individually, i just browned the outside and then baked it... to make a ravioli cake!!

I have 3 words for you...BEER-BATTERED FRIES

Why didn't I think of it sooner? The whole thing was an accident...a sinfully delicious glorious accident! We were making fish n' chips last night because there was about a pound of fish left over from crispy fish taco night. I found this beer batter recipe online and decided to try it--it was simple enough...basically flour, milk, seasoning and BEER. I fried the potatoes first, my reasoning being that those would take longer to cook, which they did. I ended up under-frying them a bit so they were cooked but not crispy. :o(

It was late and I was starving, so I accepted my soggy-fries fate and moved on to the fish. The fish turned out AMAZING...but now we had amazing fish and soggy chips. No, we couldn't let it happen, then...it came to us...Actually, it was J5's idea...he was like, "hey, let's batter the fries."

"battering the fries" you say?

It was crazy talk! Who would do such a thing? Batte the fr--but it MIGHT just work for us... Of course! It was brilliant! How come I didn't think of it? It was staring us right in the face, like the answer to a sudoku puzzle but because it's there and you've been looking at it for so long you miss it completely!

So we battered the fries, fried a batch and then taste-tested...EUREKA! How can I describe it? It was like an explosion of oily, starchy, crunchy, beer-y goodness!

I told my boss about it today, to which he replied,"OMG, THAT would be my last meal"...hell, it FELT like my last meal.

I give this one a, "YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS BEFORE YOU DIE!"

p.s. Berniequa, the beer from trader joe's i was telling u about is called "carmel" and it was a hefe. $4.99 6-pk!

Oh, joyous day whenever i find a great fish and chips place. T-Juice and I went to Tam's Fish and Chips the other day, where we were able to gorge ourselves of on so much fish and oil, that we were internally well-lubricated for the next day or two.

It is possibly the best fish and chips that I've had in the Bay Area. Granted, I haven't tried that many places, but it's better than Beckett's, O'Reilly's, Edinburgh, and Pig and Whistle (the usual suspects in the Fish and Chips game). Hell, I've even tried the fish and chips at Fisherman's wharf, which aren't as bad as you'd suspect. but here we were, at a Chinese-run "restaurant" in the middle of the quasi-ghetto part Oakland, and we we got great fish and chips... for really really cheap.

It was less that $5 for a large order of F&C... and by large, i mean LARGE. they said 3 pieces, but it was more like 3 whole fish. If you don't mind getting shot or mugged, this is the place to go for Fish and Chips.

Ana Mandara

Here's a first...dressing up for a fancy dinner on a sunday evening "just because". We went to Ana Mandara, which has "modern vietnamese cuisine". I actually saw a special about this place on the food network--apparently it was (or is) owned by Cheech and Don Johnson. Of course, I was skeptical what with the mention of "modern VN" and "Don Johnson" in the same sentence, but hell, I am an open-minded person. I had also heard from a friend who went recently that it is also just a beautiful restaurant and boy, they weren't kidding. I felt like I was in a VN palace-hut (if there is such a thing). It was gorgeous inside, but a little dark, and the upstairs was just a huge space with couches--pretty much set up to be a lounge area for parties.

We were seated at a booth downstairs and immediately ordered a bottle of wine (yum). For appetizers, I believe J5 had the "VN crispy rolls", which are basically eggrolls, and I got the "sonoma duck sausage with foie gras, pinenuts and spicy ginger sauce". As it turns out, this is just a fancy way of describing a classic VN snack known as "nem nuong." I wasn't disappointed though, that stuff was GOOD. For the main course, J5 got the special which was a salmon with some sort of tomato base, mango puree (or something like that), with a balsamic reduction. It was good but I don't remember the dish that well, however, i remember MINE! "Miso-honey glazed blue nose bass with crispy brown rice risotto" The fish was surprisingly hearty and flavorful, went well w/ the sauce--DELICIOUS! The garlic noodles side dish was also pretty tasty. Unfortunately, we did not have enough room for dessert but I'm sure that would have been good too.

It wasn't that pricey for a restaurant of this scale, no different than going to piperade or zuni. Very interesting and tasty cuisine--it's vietnamese so it's pretty light but rich in flavor. And of course, the setting is beautiful. I'd leave the kids at home.

I'm gonna give this one a "try it some time!"