Sunset Celebration Weekend

Last weekend was the Sunset Celebration Weekend at their headquarters in Menlo Park. I went last year with Ryan. It was a great little introduction to the Bay Area for us. We only went one day last year and saw the fabulous Joy the Baker do a presentation. This year, we had a better understanding of the whole event and went both days. I made it sound like so much fun that my parents even came from So Cal to see what it was all about. We had a great time going to different talks, checking out the Sunset Reimagine House, sampling the food trucks, and trying to stay out of the heat.  Here are some of the highlights from the weekend.

Got a retweet from GE. No big deal. :-)

Notebook ready for the day.

Susan Feniger made 4 recipes from her new street food cookbook. Sunset said that was a new record for 30 minutes.

Watched the ever-charming Fabio Viviani make fresh egg pasta and lazy meatballs. I actually let out a little yelp when he came out to check out his station. (He's better looking in person than I thought he would be). I really need to go to his restaurant in Moorpark next time I am in So Cal.

He even threw some pasta dough into the audience.

Strawberry Caprese Pasta

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! I hope that you all had a great weekend! I went to the California Delta with the boyfriend and his fam. Post to come later. What did you all do?

For the previous four memorial day weekends, I have gone to the Arroyo Grande Strawberry Weekend. It is a fun-filled weekend of food, sun, vendors, and of course strawberries. One year my friends and I decided to throw a strawberry festival after-party. We had strawberry shortcake, chocolate dipped strawberries, and of course strawberry margaritas.

Bruschetta

I love flip flops, shorts, and tank tops as much as the next girl, but my true summer passion is tomatoes. I literally jump for joy when the heirlooms arrive. The gnarled edges and beautiful colors scream summer in my eyes. Nothing beats a perfect heirloom tomato. Add some salt, olive oil, and a thick slice of sourdough bread, and I call that lunch. And as embarrassing as it is, I professed my love for a home grown tomato on my first date with Ryan. Only later did I realize how awkward that conversation probably was.

Guacamole

Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than with some delicious, creamy guacamole. I have had a long love affair with guacamole. It is like a forbidden fruit, but surprisingly healthy. Hello, WINNER!

Now I feel like guacamole might also be one of those foods like peanut butter where people are either avid creamy fans or avid crunchy/chunky fans. I am a chunky fan. The perfect bite is when you get all of the little chunks on your tortilla chip.

Eggplant Risotto

When I smell risotto it brings me back to Italy. When I eat risotto I feel luxurious. When I make risotto I feel like I can master anything. Well, that may not be true, but I do feel rather accomplished. It is a tedious, loving journey to take a pot of rice to a creamy, delicious dinner, but it is well worth it.

This is one of my favorite risottos. Yotam Ottolenghi masterfully pairs both burnt and fried eggplant to create a perfect dish. And as I have said before in my Chicken Stock post, Mr. Ottolenghi believes stock “will make it or break it.” It holds especially true when it comes to risotto. You don’t want to spend all of this time on your risotto only to have it ruined by store-bought vegetable stock. So, please, trust me, make a stock this one time. You will by super stoked.