Queenkv’s Brainpickings

COVINA, CALIF — Time flies when I back in So Cal with my family. We’re driving back to Nor Cal in a few hours.

I’m grateful many of them agreed to take a day off to sync up with my funky weekend schedule. My sleep schedule was also messed up. I’m sure I’ll be back to my graveyard existence in a day or so. Imagine me, walking around with the LA sun on my face and falling asleep at night with the hubby. It’s like I had a normal day job…or something.

A few brief notes on my weekend in So Cal before I head out for one more jogging excursion.

• The 5.5-hour drive down I-5 felt like a piece of cake.
• I ate too much good food. I also drank too much. Still, both activities are necessary and savored when I’m hanging out with my family. It’s a blessing to feel loved and accepted without the pressure of having to impress people and prove myself. Time outside of the newsroom can be a good thing.
• Meeting up with a former Kansas buddy and comparing our post-Topeka notes. He lives in a fantastic part of West Hollywood and sounds content.
• Running next to the Pacific was a dream come true. I loved breathing the ocean hair and leaving my shoe prints in the sand. Mark said it best, it was a recharging experience.
• Jennie, Scott and Kai! Yah!!!! I missed them so much! Kai likes to jump around and may be he would get along with Daisy. Then again, maybe not. Still, the humans had a fun and challenging time at the Lucky Strike Bowling alley at the Block. I shot some video with the Flip Camera and will post it in a bit.
• I loved the Mozart concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Beautiful music, balmy weather and an iconic LA setting.

No matter where we go - for work, school or pleasure - I feel my roots draw me back to So Cal.

As always, I wish I could stay longer.

West Hollywood Food, originally uploaded by queenkv.

Amazing yummy food in West Ho

I Heart Seafood, originally uploaded by queenkv.

We started with these tasty musseles in a buttery lemon sauce at the Olive Garden. The sauce tasted yummy with the garlic bread.

Enjoying Homemade Mexican Food, originally uploaded by queenkv.

My Medill buddy made us this tasty toastada with refried beans, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and chilli sauce. Yum!

It’s been 6 months+ since we moved back to Northern California.

I think we’ve synched up nicely with the rhythm of life in Sacramento and the Bay Area. Last month, we checked out the farm team for the Oakland A’s, the Sacramento River Cats.

Cheering on the River Cats!, originally uploaded by queenkv.

We scored some sweet seats next to the field and I spent a good part of the night ducking flying foul balls. We’re bringing a catcher’s mitt next time! Of course, we enjoyed the perfect ball park meal: a cold beer and a hearty hot dog. In this case, it was a kielbasa sausage.

Chowing Down at Raley Field, originally uploaded by queenkv.

Speaking of food, our trip back to Cali also helped us return to amazing meals in San Francisco. Susan and Tom had nothing but good things to say about Incanto’s Head to Tail Dinner. So, we tried it out a few weeks ago. It was a gentle, decadent introduction to offal dining and I loved every bite.

offal: 1: the waste or by-product of a process: as a: trimmings of a hide b: the by-products of milling used especially for stock feeds c: the viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal removed in dressing (from Merriam-Webster)

Anthony Bourdain often said cooks learned how to make the nasty bits taste good out of necessity. Eventually, those tasty dishes get elevated to gourmet dining because it demonstrates the cook’s skill in working with all the edible scraps, trims, bones, guts and more.

For chefs like Cosentino, cooking with offal has been transformed into an art form. It’s a nod to the tradition of past chefs who made do with little and a look forward to healthy, sustainable eating.

Almost 7 years ago, I would have never thought I’d be part of the offal dining movement. In our early dating years, Mark and I did Valentine’s Dinner at Incanto. It was an intimate, romantic dining scene. This was before Chef Cosentino exploded on the TV food scene with Iron Chef America. Back then, the food tasted delicious, refined, hearty and I wanted seconds. In 2008, I can’t wait for our next dinner at Incanto.

St. Paul’s on Easter Sunday, originally uploaded by queenkv.

After the shortest Easter Sunday Mass at St. Paul’s (45 minutes), we also celebrated with an Easter Supper Dinner at Incanto.

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I nearly gagged when I watched this YouTube Clip on Lost Remote: Brian Williams and the disgusting IFB moment. Lost Remote recommended watching this clip without food. Good advice!

Gross Gross Gross!

LAS VEGAS, NV – I’m waking up on my last day in Sin City. The Terrace Pointe Cafe at the Wynn has free wi-fi. We’re driving back to Nor Cal in a couple of hours.

At work, my co-workers complained about the civilians who chatted up their holiday plans: grilling, traveling and other ideas on how to enjoy their work-free day. I suppose folks in the TV news biz don’t like to be reminded that a federal holiday is simply another day in the newsroom.

This year, I got a chance to enjoy the holiday. That’s after surviving an 8-hour car ride to my second hometown, Vegas. The hubby and I promised ourselves we’ll fly next time.

We enjoyed yummy Filipino food on our first night in Vegas: kari kari, bbq beef, adobo, lumpia and more. My family also got a tasty mocha cake from Red Ribbon. Mark and I blew out our birthday candles for the snapping cameras. Yes, I’m not the only shutterbug in my family.

Yesterday, we had breakfast with my morning anchor from Topeka, KS. She sounds like she’s having a blast in this market - live shots, breaking news and anchoring the weekend morning show. We compared our experiences at our new stations and remembered the good ole’ days of Good Morning Kansas. There’s an amazing, talented group of folks working in our Topeka newsroom. I learned so much from them. I suspect they miss me as much as I miss them. Maybe.

Next - my hubby and I soaked up sun and atmosphere by the pool at the Wynn. I caught up with my Amy Tan book and sipped mojitos, Coronas and margaritas. Paradise.

Finally, we indulged in a tasty dinner at Craftsteak - Tom Colicchio’s restaurant and site of the season finale for the 1st season of Top Chef. The food geek inside me almost had a culinary orgasm as I followed in the footsteps of my favorite reality TV series.

I don’t want to go home, but I know we’ll come back soon.

Of course I have pictures of all this.
I’ll post them later.

Viva my weekend.
I’m taking it easy for these last days of being 29-years-old.

originally uploaded by queenkv.

Last month, we ended up in Lodi after the Stockton Asparagus Festival. An air-conditioned wine tasting at the Lodi Visitor’s Center helped revive us. The festival was fun but we were wiped out from walking through 100-degree weather and the mob of hungry people.

Mark and I fell in love with 2 different bottles of Tempranillo wine. One from Uvaggio. Another one by M.Cosentio: 2004 Temp (Kirschenmann Vineyard).

One year ago, Mark and I were living in Kansas. I was working on the 10:00 News and he was telecommuting to Berkeley.

Two years ago, we celebrated Mark’s 30th birthday in Vegas.

And next week, we return to Sin City to celebrate my 30th Birthday. Rock on! My dad’s already planning a tasty menu of yummy Filipino food for our first night in town. I might as well stop eating on Sunday so that I have plenty of room in my tummy.

originally uploaded by queenkv.

Wine and food by Lodi Lake spells out good times for Zinfest. We enjoyed tasting the local vintages.

originally uploaded by queenkv.

Roasted duck at 2KThai in Davis. A hearty meal after doing shoulder stands, wheel and pidgeon poses in yoga class.