artsy fartsy

The thing I love about graffiti - and of course, I mean good graffiti (a qualifier with specific intellectual and visual characteristics I don't feel like getting into now) - is the way it makes you feel when you find it: like you're suddenly "in" on an inside joke, connected to the city. Graffiti makes the urban space less anonymous and impersonal; it has the power to pull you into its conversation, to make you take a stand. It can also be very beautiful.

Found on Valencia Street - the graffiti is all wallpapered, so it's not even permanent. Isn't that neat?

Let's see. What have we been up to? Eating, as usual.

Alison turned the big 2-4 last week, so to celebrate, we had brunch at Foreign Cinema on one of the most gorgeous San Francisco days I've seen in months. Sunny but not too hot, it was the perfect opportunity to sit on the back patio and enjoy some amazing food. The chef at FC is well-known for his eggs - he has a cookbook called City Egg, Country Egg that is going on my Christmas list - and 4/6 of us ordered the exact same dish: poached eggs drizzled with a balsamic reduction, served with prosciutto, sauteed greens, and garlic potatoes.


The photo didn't do it justice. Needless to say, 4/6 of us ordered correctly.

The birthday brunch idea was really perfect: not too crazy, not too expensive, and considering that Alison was burned out from her weekend prior in Vegas, not too alcoholic.

Happy Birthday Alfie!!!

Tim's parents were in town, so we went out for dinner at Beretta and brunch (again!) the next day at B Star*, which is a Burmese-inspired restaurant that serves delicious and unique food. They're the sister-restaurant to Burma Superstar, which is famous for its fermented tea leaf salad... tastier than it sounds.

Lauren and Angela at Beretta:

And Tim at B Star*:

Last week, I also started taking a 7-week intro to acrylic painting class, which I'm very excited about. The class is offered through the City College of San Francisco, and of the twelve or so people taking the class, I'd say 8 are chic girls under 30. Quelle surprise! I'm hoping to end the course with something I can hang on my barren walls... Our first class was dedicated to black and white, learning about the properties of the medium and how to blend and shade. We watched a demo, then got to try our hand at a still life of our own. Mine didn't turn out too badly!


At the very least, it feels good to relieve stress and make something pretty. Maybe I'll go into graffiti next :)

... or maybe not.


Reading: Jonathan Franzen, Freedom (IT'S AMAZING!!)
Listening: www.hypem.com/kcp

the Month of the Potluck

Lately, my friends have embraced the idea of potluck dinners with such zeal, I can't remember a weekend in the past month that I haven't been to one. And let me tell you - I love potlucks now more than ever! They're perfect for the "emerging adulthood" phase of our lives: we want to have dinner with a big group of our friends, but don't want to deal with the hassle and expense of eating out as a big group (and god forbid getting a reservation for 10 in this city without a month's notice!). Potlucks allow people who like to cook to bring along something yummy, and for people who don't like to cook to bring along wine. Everyone spends about $10-15 dollars, eats well, drinks well, and leaves happy. It's a win-win.

The recipes have been mostly hit, with one miss. Let's start with the miss.

To celebrate Melissa Bishop's 23rd birthday, she threw a potluck. This is ironic, considering she doesn't know how to cook at all (someday I'll recount her spaghetti pie disaster), but she does know how to provide alcohol for everyone else. Anyway, I was craving chocolate, and figured a chocolate birthday-ish cake would probably work out well. I turned to Smitten Kitchen's Everyday Chocolate Cake, and put Becca and Bria to work while they were visiting me in the city to help me make it.

It was supposed to come out looking like this:


But really, it was a crumbly mess. Like this:


And this is how I felt about it:


People told me it was delicious, and I agree - the taste was totally there, but the texture! What a mess. I think there was a problem with the kind of cocoa powder I used.

Moving along, though, there were definitely some wins. I brought along the New York Time's recipe for Butterscotch Peaches to Kate Kosco's Clambake party, which were a hugely delicious success when served with ice cream. Kate never ceases to amaze me - she rented tables and chairs to seat 12 people in her apartment, fed us all an amazing seafood dinner, and brought together a great group of girls that I really enjoyed hanging out with! Thanks Kate!!

Our dinner:


And Becca and Maggie helping set up the spread:



Last weekend, Bria hosted a dinner party at her parents' house in Portola Valley, which has the most beautiful view of the foothills you could ever imagine. Her parents were out of town, and she slaved all day over a hot grill making chicken kebabs, tabbouleh, and other yummies. Becca brought homemade pita and hummus, Alison brought cheese and crackers, and I made a brown butter raspberry tart from Bon Appetit that got rave reviews. If nothing else, this crust is to die for!




And finally, last night, Tim and I went back to Smitten Kitchen for something to bring to our friend Beto and Tish's for a dinner at their awesome apartment in the Mission. With a go-big-or-go-home mentality, we decided to swing for the fences and make a cherry pie with almond streusel topping. Dare I say, it was one of the best desserts I've ever made.


We couldn't eat a bite.

Reading: Freedom, Jonathan Franzen
Listening: www.hypem.com/kcp