What’s Going On?

Today on Christmas Eve, I returned back to McDonald’s to get a complimentary meal due to my horrible experience I had made earlier today an hour after midnight. Let me first start out by telling you all that I had a deep hunger for something to eat that night because prior to my cravings I had just played through almost 5 hours straight of Settlers of Catan. Settlers is a real fun and cool game, but the night was full of surprises and which ended up being one of the most intense games I’ve ever played with loud outbursts.

So six of my friends came together at my buddy’s place for a friendly game of Settlers. Since all of us were guys, we knew that there was going to be some trash talking going on, but we didn’t know to what extent. Anyhow throughout the game words flew out of our mouth like burgers come out of drive thrus. Okay that was a bad analogy, but you catch my drift. Anyhow, one guy says hey we should all go out to get some McDonald’s after this and I thought that perhaps that wasn’t a bad idea. So once we all made up from all that yelling and arguing from the intense three games everybody went their separate ways. I, however, had the urge to go grab a meal at McDonald’s.

I drove up to a local McDonald’s, location not disclosed, and I ordered one of the newest burgers that they have created. I ordered a 1/3 lb. Angus burger with mushrooms and Swiss cheese combo meal. I asked the worker over the intercom to have fresh hot fries. He told me that they have fries coming out every several minutes and that shouldn’t be a problem. I drive up and pay for my combo and as I received the bag of food, I opened it. I tasted the fries and to my dismay it was cold and hard. I then told the lady that gave me the food that the fries were not to my liking and that they were not freshly hot how I like them. She then told me that next time I should not taste the fries first. When I was told that comment I thought to myself that this lady is crazy because how can a customer tell if the fries are up to their standards if you don’t get to try them first. I thought that was rediculous what she had said. So that incident frustrated me. Then she came back with fries that were slightly warmer and she brought them out seconds after handing me the bag in the first place. So in disgust I drove home.

When I got home I opened up the bag of fries and realized that she filled the fries container 3/4ths of the way. She sure jacked me! I then opened the burger package to look at the Swiss mushroom burger. I looked at the burger and it seemed like nothing too special. I took a look at the patty and it seemed a little dry, but you never know right? So I took a bite of the burger with the Swiss cheese slightly melted and I bit into some dried mushrooms. The type of texture you would get with dried shiitake mushrooms in a bag at your local Asian supermarket. I was totally disgusted by it and I said to myself that I went through all that trouble of wanting a good satisfying meal and it ended up being unsatisfactory. So to voice a complaint I then called and spoke to the manager to see what he could do since I did not have a receipt which the lady did not include in my bag. He then told me to come in the next day for a complimentary meal. I then said that I would take him up on his offer and I returned the next day. I don’t normally complain about outright for something too many times, but this was just an incident that stuck with me.

The next day, Christmas Eve, I talked with another shift manager whom got a message that was written down that I would be back to receive the meal and the problem was sorted with ease. While waiting for my food a customer came up to the cashier and ordered a small meal. I overheard that he wanted some food, but he asked the cashier how much damage it would cost him. She said something about a little under three dollars. He said he couldn’t afford it and so he said how about two baked apple pies and he ended up paying for that.

As I looked at myself complaining for the smallest of things, I realize that more people are suffering more than I am. Currently, I myself am not working, but am trying to establish myself in the photography field. I thought to myself how would I feel if I was stuck in a less fortunate situation and nobody helped me out. I then thought about my trip out to the Midwest that I took out in September. Many people opened their arms up to me and showed me so much hospitality and kindness when I came as a stranger. One lady on the plane even invited me to stay with her and her family if I were ever to visit Wyoming. How generous people are is beyond belief. So after hearing what the wants of the man was I walked up to him and asked him would he like a meal and he said yes. He tried to rationalize with me that he just got out of the hospital and his leg is hurt and probably mentioned that he hadn’t had a good meal and I just told him don’t worry you don’t have to explain it. So I asked him what he wanted and I helped this guy out in his dire need.

The point of my entry today is that you should be aware of your surroundings. If a loved one and/or a stranger comes up to you or you see someone in need, take the time to go out of your way and help them out. You never know what a big or small difference you can make in their life. Something so small can change something so big. I’ve learned so much this year and my Midwest trip was one of the most influential trips that I’ve taken on my on in my entire life. My encouragement to my readers would be to lend a helping hand to those that are in need.

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So following dinner on Thursday, I brought back turkey that no one wanted and I also had brought back some of my famous cheesy mashed potatoes. So what I decided to do like almost anyone else would do is that I made another dish out of the two items.

First thing that comes to my mind anytime that there is leftover mashed potatoes would be to make a shepherd’s pie of some sort. Since I had an abundant amount of turkey to use I decided to make a shepherd’s pie out of turkey.

I first reheated some turkey and re-seasoned with salt and pepper on a cast iron skillet. Next, I took the turkey off the pan and I used some of the caramelized turkey bits and the seasoning that was left on the pan and used that to make a roux from butter and flour. I then mixed in some milk and water into my roux; however, this could be done using chicken or vegetable stock, but I didn’t have any on hand. I then mixed in some peas and corn into the gravy. Once brought up to texture and consistency that I wanted I then added the turkey back into the gravy. I then poured the meat and veggie mixture into a baking pan and then covered the mashed potatoes on top of the meat mixture. I placed the pan into a preheated 350-degree Fahrenheit oven and cooked until bubbling. When it reached the temperature I wanted I then sprinkled some fried onion strings on top and raised the temperature to 425-degrees Fahrenheit. I removed from the oven when the top of the shepherd’s pie was golden brown and the onion strings were crispy and crunch.

After cooking the shepherd’s pie, it is wise to let the shepherd’s pie sit a little bit because the contents underneath the mashed potatoes are very very hot. Also the gravy is very viscous and so it will run on you unless you created a thick gravy. My mistake this time was that I was too hungry and I just plated right away. The worst thing that could happen happened. My shepherd’s pie collapsed. However, to my amazement the pie came out wonderful in taste and flavor. It was seasoned just right and satisfied my hunger.

If you would like to this for many people and do not want to have the effect of the shepherd’s pie running on you, what you can do is make individual sized portions in little ceramic bowls. There are a vast amount of ceramics you can choose from out in the market place. You can use quiche dishes, au gratins, souffle dishes, and even creme brulee boats. Whatever best fits your needs I’m sure you’ll be able to please your friends and family.

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Thursday night was by far one of the most fun and entertaining nights with a group of friends to celebrate Christmas. The evening started out with a potluck. There was great food to be had and a surprise to me was a turkey that was seasoned just right.

My friend seasoned a delicious turkey and gave me the honors of carving the bird. When I sliced into the bird the breast meat seemed to be a little dry, but it turned out to be just right when the meat was soaked in the pan juice and drippings. The turkey was seasoned inside and out with salt, pepper, thyme, butter, a whole apple, and the kicker was Sriracha sauce. The Sriracha sauce is a Thai hot chili sauce named after the town of Si Racha in Thailand.

What made this dinner a pretty interesting one was that my friends and sometimes myself bring to the party some Asian dishes. This year there was some chow fun (thick rice noodle), chow mein (round noodle similar to spaghetti), and fried salt and pepper flavored spareribs. Some other interesting add onto the non-traditional celebration were sandwiches, ribs, and Waldorf salad. Don’t get me wrong the food was great, but just a very interesting palette when having to eat mixed flavors.

Following some quality time catching up with one another, we then began our White Elephant gift exchange. What we did was very simple. Each person that brought a gift picked a random number out of a cup. We then went in numerical order. The person with the lowest number started and chose their gift. In this case it was me. The second person would then go after I had gone and has the option of choosing a gift from the pile or stealing a gift from someone else that has already opened their gift. Since I was the first one the second person could only chose from me to steal from or select a new gift. This would go on until the last numbered person selected their gift. However, the twist to the game is that a gift could only be stolen twice and there after it has been stolen twice, the gift cannot be stolen again. The other twist to the gift exchange was that the first person to have gone has the option to steal a gift as being the last person if he/she so chooses. After that the gift exchange is finished. At the end of the swapping, I decided to keep my gift and end the game.

As gifts were being stolen and passed around for someone to check out the specifications, we all partook of some awesome laughter. It’s been a year since the last time we have done something like this and it’s just full of fun and just great times. If you haven’t done a gift exchange with your family, friends or co-workers yet you should do so quickly. When Christmas is over the people that are closest to you should set up a party where you get together to have a similar type of White Elephant party by playing the same type of game, but with gifts that you no longer want from previous years or something that may be of value to someone else. It’s fun and it’s guaranteed something to be remembered. The negative aspect of this is if you steal the gift from someone that really likes the gift, You will never be forgotten and you will be eating out of a trough come the next party.

Pictures of the holiday party can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

On Tuesday, Urban Fauna Studio held their holiday party at The Old Jerusalem Cafe on Irving Street in San Francisco. A good turnout showed up to take part in several arts & crafts holiday activities. The warm atmosphere of the cafe cultivated a nice homey feel that promoted a tranquil environment to meet, greet, and create.

Guests brought different types of snacks and desserts for others to enjoy. The cafe provided complimentary coffee and tea. Urban Fauna Studio brought some alcoholic beverages and champagne to celebrate the event. The cafe also had available additional foods and drinks for sale during the duration of the night.

Throughout the cafe there were 4 sections to find yourself captivated. Activities that were at the party were marbling, creating holiday gift tags, felting, and designing gift wrapping paper. Some guests even brought their own knitting stuff.

At the end of the night almost every person I saw left the party with a smile. As people went home they not only left with some sort of art, but they left with a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment.

If interested in arts & crafts please contact Urban Fauna Studio. They will be able to help plug you in with the whole fabrics arts scene.

Pictures of the holiday party can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

In June of this year, I had the privilege in taking photos for Brice and his friends for an amazing day of crazy fun and food. The day first started off meeting up at Go Kart Racer in Burlingame, CA. It is one of the few indoor racing facilities that I know in the Bay Area. The guys decided to spend one driving session. The driving session included an instructional video on the dos and don’ts of racing, a qualifying time trial, and official race. The overall session took about 30 minutes.

After Go Kart Racing, the guys headed over to grab burgers at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers. Once they had their fill of burgers, bottomless fries, and unlimited refills on soda and strawberry lemonade they headed on over for a couple games of bowling at Classic Bowl in Daly City, CA. The guys had a good couple of throws and enjoyed themselves very much, but the evening wasn’t done yet.

The guys decided to go out and eat at Shanghai Dumpling Shop in Millbrae, CA. The restaurant is famous for having one of the most flavorful Shanghai Dumplings in the Bay Area. They are greatest when served piping hot with soy sauce, hot chili oil, and vinegar. Following dinner the guys decided to check out a couple bars that were out in San Mateo, CA. Most of the night life that is out there is based on East 3rd Avenue or B Street. The night was long and I hope that Brice had moments to remember from this eventful day.

Pictures of the bachelor party can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

So after having a delicious crab dinner last night, I ended up having about a pound of leftover crab.  What did I do with the leftover crab, you ask. Well, I sure didn’t throw it out. I decided to use the leftover crab meat to make some delicious crab cakes.

I looked up a couple of recipes online, but I thought that I would mix things up a bit and just make a crab cake to my liking. I ended up just using crackers, olive oil mayonnaise, salt, pepper, an egg, minced garlic, and of course the crab.  I then made a simple aioli/dip with mayonnaise, salt, pepper, habanero hot sauce, and green onions.

After making several crab cake patties, I heated up my cast iron pan with oil. I placed the patties on the hot pan and cooked for several minutes. I cooked the crab cakes until there was a nice golden brown sear on both sides. Once the crab cakes were to my liking I took them off and plated. After all the hard work of shell cracking, the crab cakes sure paid off. It was delicious and I can’t wait to think up new ways to make crab cakes in the future. I think my next trial will be with bacon.

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If you don’t know by now, it is now Dungeness Crab season.  The California Department of Fish and Game announced back on November 7, 2009 that it is open season for Dungeness Crab out in the Pacific Ocean. The holidays are fast approaching and it’s time to get that crab out onto the dinner table. The season for Dungeness Crab will last until June 30th, 2010.

For the most part, I’m happy that this season has approached because time after time I’ve always wanted to purchase crab and make new dishes from them. There is this one place down in San Francisco’s Chinatown called R&G Lounge and they have probably one of the best Salt and Pepper Dungeness Crabs I’ve ever laid my taste buds on. I’m in the pursuit of trying to figure out how they do it. If anyone does find out a decent recipe I sure would love to get some feedback from you.

So the other day I went down to Chinatown to look for a fish monger that would be still open because I arrived in Chinatown at about 6:20pm. Most stores in Chinatown close at about 6pm, but I happen to find a shop that was still open. As I walked in I saw all sorts of fresh fish, shellfish, and crustaceans. However, my eyes were set on one thing and one thing only, crab.

I walked over to one of the workers there and asked him to help pick out two large Dungeness Crabs for me. First thing he did was grab a plastic bag that was lined with a paper bag inside of it. Next, he shifted some of the foam away from the top of the water tank as he stuck his bare hands into the water. In my mind, I was shocked to see him brave enough to stick his hands in there and not use a stick or some sort of net, this guy has “balls”. So with his gutsy move, he picked out two crabs that were to my liking and I was happy and went home with two 2.5lb crabs at $3.99/lb. My head calculations bring that to about $20 for two crabs, what a bargain. That’s like going to a restaurant and getting a crab for free, if only it were that cheap to get one alone at $20. Most restaurants around the city charge anywhere from $35-50 for a single crab weighing about 2.5lbs.

When I got the crabs home I took a few pictures to scale the size of these monsters. I happened to use a quarter to show scale, but I should have known that the quarter was too small and that I should have used a dollar bill. Anyhow, the next universal thing that I did was found a can of fruit cocktail and I placed it in front of the crab to show a little bit of the scale of the crab and I think that did justice.

The next day I decided to cook the crab in the oven. I took the crab and cleaned it. After cleaning the crab I broke the crab into segments. On the stove top I cooked up some minced garlic with butter and salt and fresh ground pepper to season the crab. I tossed the crab into the mixture coating the shells and then placed the crab segments into the oven and spooned the remaining garlic butter mixture on top of the crab as it roasted. After the crab finished roasting, I placed the crab with some pasta, green bean casserole, and macaroni and cheese. The meal was delicious. Now the leftovers will probably be used into making some sort of crab cakes if it lasts that long. Anyhow, I’m still looking for a recipe for deep fried salt and pepper crab and if you have a recipe that’s delicious please share it with me.

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Crab wanting freedom

Crab sized up with a quarter to show scale

Crab sized up using a tin can

Crab dinner

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving where all retail stores go all out with discounts and free giveaways to get people to purchase products for their family, friends, and themselves. Retail stores see their highest profits on this day and for this one month that lead up to Christmas businesses see 25% or more of their year’s profit in less than 30 days.

This year, there wasn’t much that I was interested in purchasing so I just drove around anyway to see what there was if anything that I wanted. This year I’m pretty content with things and so businesses didn’t cash in with me.

After driving all over the upper peninsula, I ended up heading to Union Square in San Francisco to grab a bite with some friends and to look at the Macy’s Christmas Tree. This was Macy’s 20th Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and begun about 6pm. The tree that Macy’s used was a Shasta White Fir 85 feet in height from Carlton Tree Farm in Mt. Shasta. The tree is a stunning sight to see on the western half of Union Square next to the Holiday Ice Rink on the eastern half of the Square. With both the tree and the skating rink in the heart of Union Square, one gets engulfed into Winter Wonderland emotions. The only thing that San Francisco lacks is snow on the streets, but I think I can safely say that I wouldn’t like the idea of having to shovel up snow every winter. If you haven’t been down to Union Square get down there quick before the holidays are over. If you plan on going ice skating get their early as lines can be long.

Pictures of the Holidays at Union Square can be seen by clicking on the picture link above. If this post was informative and helpful, please feel free to leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

This year’s Thanksgiving was probably one of the best celebrations that I’ve had in a very long time. This year I was able to partake of this very blessed holiday with family, friends, food, and fun. On Thanksgiving Day I had two dinners and that’s more than one can ask for. I first started the evening with a bunch of friends a little after noon to help prepare for what I thought was going to be a late lunch. Turns out that it was more like an early dinner.

Friends started arriving in 20 minute increments and as time went on more and more food were arriving as it was a potluck. This year I decided to just bring a side-dish of mashed potatoes with cheese. I’ve never made mashed potatoes like these prior to this year, but boy they will be a part of dinners to come in the future. I basically boiled potatoes in a pot like normal until they were fork tender. I poured out the water and mashed the potatoes. Here’s the kicker, I then added milk and butter to make the potatoes moist to my liking and cheese to the pot. They were the most smooth and silky potatoes I’ve ever made. Were there things I could have done to make it better? Absolutely, I think if I had more cheese I would have engulfed that pot to make a batch of some creamy cheesy goodness and I would have sprinkled on some french fried onion strings on the top for texture and flavor. Mmm Mmm that’s some good eats.

As the early dinnertime was approaching, the about 15lb. turkey was finishing up in the oven and all the other dishes were being organized on the counter. In the living room, the guys were watching a Texas vs Texas A&M game, while the girls were just chit chatting and playing with the couple children.

When dinner was served, I had plated up some great yummy goodness that I can only imagine now how tasty it was. I wish I had come around for seconds, but I had to save room for the dinner at my grandma’s. After the dinner was done, a bunch of people played a game around the room that contains three parts. It is a mixture of Taboo, Charades, and Password/Pyramid. It seemed like a pretty intense game, but I had to leave early and head on over to be with the family.

I arrived at my grandma’s place to an already finished dinner. I grabbed a plate and looked over many many dishes to chose from. As I was plating up some food, the family and extended family were watching my grandma’s birthday on DVD. Everyone seemed to be having a good time laughing and enjoying themselves. I, also, was enjoying myself, but after eating another plate of dinner I felt the pain of having too much to eat and the food coma was starting to kick in. The night ended with some CSI on TV. What a great show to end off a great night with family, friends, food, and fun.

Pictures of Thanksgiving can be seen by clicking on the picture link above.If this post and pictures were informative and helpful, please leave me a comment or donation below. Thank you.

On the November 22nd, the Miss California USA 2010 took place at the Agua Caliente Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage, CA about 30 mins from Palms Springs, CA. Contestants for the pageant stayed at the Riviera Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, CA where they conducted orientation, interviews, and rehearsals. There were 133 contestants from all over California who participated in one of the largest gatherings in the Miss California USA Pageant history.

Hosting the Pageant was Chris Jacobs who is an entertainment correspondent and weekend anchor for The Insider. Celebrity Judges for the event included: AJ Buckley (CSI, Bones), Claudia Jordan (Celebrity Apprentice), Dr. Frank Ryan (Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon to the Stars), Kelly Monaco (DWTS, General Hospital), Hill Harper (CSI, The Handler),  Randall Slavin (Celebrity Photographer), Shandi Finnessey (DWTS, Celebrity Apprentice), Tony Bowls (Fashion Designer), Lu Parker (Emmy Award Winning Journalist), Francine Champagne (Owner Vision Models), Tiffany Fallon (Miss Georgia USA 2001), and David Fendrick (COO of Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians).

Contestants for the pageant competed in three categories: swimsuit, evening gown, and interview. The Final results for the Miss California 2010 Pageant are as follows:

Miss California USA 2010: Miss Sherwood, Nicole Johnson

1st Runner Up: Miss Beverly Hills, Nana Meriwether

2nd Runner Up: Miss Citris Valley, Nia Sanchez

3rd Runner Up: Miss Greater San Diego, Jessica Morgan

4th Runner Up: Miss Tarzana, Brandi Lea Milloy

My dear friend, placed Top 10: Miss San Francisco, Louise Wu

Miss Photogenic Award: Miss WeHo, Colleen Hunter

Miss Congeniality Award: Miss Stevenson Ranch, Marceia Hawkins

Congratulations to all the women who competed in the pageant you all were great. To my good friend Louise you did an exceptional job on stage. You were very poised and presented yourself like no other. Keep on shining.

Louise Wu, is currently an assistant on the Ellen Degeneres Show and during the weeks prior to the pageant, Louise was pampered left and right with help from Ellen herself. On different episodes of Ellen, Louise was given some helpful and some not so helpful tips. These are a few of the things that Ellen provided for Louise on her show:  Ellen helped give tips on make-up, Ellen provided an evening gown for Louise, Fran Drescher assisted Louise on skin care, Ellen conducted a quiz show for Louise against Miss California 2009 (Tami Farrel), Ellen provided Louise with a great send off, and following the pageant when Louise did not receive the Miss California crown, Ellen provided Louise with a tiara. YES WU CAN!

Louise Gets A Dress

Louise Gets Skincare Tips

Louise Wins The Quiz

Louise On Her Way

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