Chicken Chipotle Tacos

This is one of my favorite meals.  Matt is a chicken chipotle taco master.  I crave these tacos... the chicken is cooked perfectly, the spices are delicious.



The chicken.



The beans.



Bien Padre flour tortillas.


I didn't know this when I moved here, but Bien Padre is an Arcata based company.  We've been eating Bien Padre tortillas my whole life! 


The beautiful finished product.  Topped with fresh lettuce from my
back porch container garden.

 A totally wonderful meal. 

xoxo
Franny

Summer Food

I've got some catching up to do!  First, would love to show you some of our grilling pictures... we had burgers the other night and they were delicious!  Nothing like meat on the coals on a cool summer evening!



Look at the size of those burgers!



I want one right now.

On a little side note, my tomato plants are doing pretty good.  Well, three out of four of them are doing good.  The grape sized cherry tomato plant is doing great, and I just ate the first ripe tomato from it last week.

Tiny tomato.

So the other night Matt made spaghetti with meatballs, and it was really really amazing.  I mowed through mine.  I pretty much can't wait till he makes it again (hint hint?).



I love Matt's sauce!



The more cheese the better!


Today, I did some baking for a potluck.  Matt was making chili, so I thought it would be fun to make cornbread muffins.  I added some shredded cheese, and stuck a little jalapeno in the top for some spice.  They turned out great!



Muffins are the best.

 That's all for now!

xoxo
Franny

Home Cookin

The girls, hanging out on the porch

Tonight it was all about home cookin... Matt is the most talented cook I've ever had the pleasure of eating with.  Our meals are heavenly! 

Tonight we started with our "house salad."  Red leaf lettuce, pear (or apples), gorgonzola, balsamic dressing, and toasted pecans.  I love this salad.  I crave it.  I think about it while I'm at work.  What a combo!

We've perfected our salad.

And then... the main course.  I got some nice looking pork chops from the store.  Matt cooked them in this amazing combination of capers, butter, and marsala wine.  Oh my goodness.  Such a rich wonderful flavor.  I am a lucky girl.



I'm a fan of the meat and potato meal.

  The combination of the fresh sweet salad with the savory pork and potatoes was just delicious.  I'm going to be thinking of this meal for a while!  I love my chef!


xoxo
Franny

200 cupcakes

I love making cupcakes.  Any time I am asked to provide dessert for a group of folks (work functions, birthday potlucks, etc.) I usually end up making some cupcakes.  And they're always a hit! 

This particular event was a friend's wedding.  The bride specifically requested fun-fetti cupcakes for the event.  So I worked with a friend to bake over two hundred of those little guys. 

I used my mom's Kitchenaid mixer (and her kitchen) to make my half of the cupcakes.



They smelled soooooo good...



The location was a beautiful redwood grove campground.  Perfect!



We made a full sized cake too, for the newlyweds.  The bride sampled it by taking a nibble out of the side.

It was a really fun afternoon... everyone had a good time, and the dinner was delicious. Roast pig, mashed potatoes, veggies... I should have taken pictures of that but I was too busy eating it!  I'm looking forward to finding another reason to make cupcakes... I've been bitten by the baking bug!

xoxo
Franny

 

Best Gas Station Burrito. Ever.

I've been a customer of various Aztec Grill locations throughout my time in northern California.  I first discovered their fresh Mexican cuisine-on-the-go while camping in Trinidad.  We didn't want to spend much, and wanted to eat something warm and delicious for dinner.  Aztec Grill burritos were our saving grace.

My favorite burrito is the carnitas supreme with black beans.  The pork is savory and tender, and the guacamole, salsa, rice and beans, melty cheese and cool sour cream are fresh as can be.  Not to mention, the supremes are as big as my face.



The one marked "no guacamole" is not mine.  Try as I might, I can't explain Matt's distaste for avacados.  :)



Do you see the beautiful carnitas?  The fresh ingredients?  These burritos make me happy.

After you've experienced one of these delicious creations, you should probably take a look around and see if the Chevron you're in has a F'real milkshake machine.  You choose what type of shake you want (they even have healthier options like fruit smoothies) and stick it in the magical cup.  The magical cup goes into the machine and when it comes back out, it's a heavenly perfect milkshake.  My favorite is usually the chocolate.

I worship you, F'real chocolate milkshake.

So the next time you are on a road trip and you see those bright blue gas station lights, pull on in there and see if you're lucky enough to have found an Aztec Grill and a F'real, because you'll be greeted with some new favorite treats!

xoxo
Franny

Remembering Paris

I went to Paris with my mom a couple of years ago.  It was an amazing trip, and one of the highlights was experiencing their food.  It appears that the French love bread and cheese as much as I do, so I found myself in a culinary heaven.  We had a kitchen in our petite apartment on Rue Dauphine, and we would stop at the market for treats to keep in the cooler. 



Midnight snack.



Brie and bread.



A breakfast of pear, bread, and a delicious creamy vanilla bean yogurt
(sold in terra cotta pots) that I will remember and crave until I can have it again... divine.


Walking around Paris, we saw pastries and confections that would put some of our American bakeries to shame.  Supreme attention to detail. 



The line was out the door for these desserts.



Mom was pretty excited about her chocolate crepe!



My cone has a tomato-raspberry scoop, mom went with classic chocolate.

My favorite meal had to be the dinner we had at Restaurant la Mere Catherine, after our visit to Sacre Cour.  The village up there on the hill was magical, with a beautiful view of the city.  The lights at night were enchanting.



A view of the city from Sacre Cour.



Sacre Cour at night.



Lovely little lights.



The best dinner I had.  It was filled with cheese, zuchini and tomato, baked with
more cheese and maybe some egg.  Simply delicious.


 I am going to have to go back someday.  Not only for the food, but also to experience the art and architecture and culture again.  I loved everything about being there.  Until next time Paris!  Au revoir!

xoxo
Franny





The Looking Glass House



The Looking Glass House "Queen of Hearts" cocktail includes
champagne, vodka, and rasberries muddled with mint.


I'd like to introduce the blog world to one of my very favorite Eureka restaurants.  It's called the Looking Glass House, and it's just as whimsical and fun as the name implies.  The restaurant itself is in the bottom of a little house that sits at the edge of a bluff looking out toward the Samoa Bridge.  The bar and dining room are finished with vintage touches, and there's a hint of Alice and her wonderland in the details, and on the menu. 

I always like to start with a cheese plate... it's a crowd pleaser, and the cheese selection is very good. 

I have had a few different entrees at LGH, one was the steak and bacon mashed potatoes I had for my birthday celebration dinner... needless to say, for a girl who loves her meat, this was the right choice.

Another night, I tried the surf and turf.  Wow.  It was served on a bed of fresh veggies with a nice garlic cream sauce.  Just wonderful.  The menu has since changed, but there are a few other entrees that sound pretty appealing for my next visit.

I would definitely recommend finishing it all off with some dessert and a nice cup of french press coffee.  I tried the chevre cheesecake for my birthday dinner... the combination of sweet and tangy chevre was simply divine.  I think it's normally served without the sparkler. 

Yum!  If you're ever in town, please visit the Looking Glass House.  You will be pleased with what you find... behind the looking glass!

xoxo
Franny

Loleta Bakery

Matt and I took a really lovely day trip to Loleta today for lunch.  It's a twenty minute drive south of Eureka, surrounded by farmlands.  The sun was out and it was a perfect summer Sunday.

We went to Loleta Bakery, because we've heard they have a pretty darn good lunch.  And they do!  Super cute environment with friendly helpful staff. 

I had the turkey sandwich with swiss cheese and carmalized onions. Very good.  I liked the side salad too.  Matt had the pastrami with cheddar and pickled onions.  Next time, I think it will be a toss up between the farm fresh egg salad, and the fancy ham.  Something about fancy ham just sounds... fancy. 

To finish it off, I took home a snickerdoodle.  It's delicious, and I think I'll be nibbling on that a little bit after I hit "Publish Post."

So we'll definitely go back.  They have bread in some local stores too.  We enjoyed a loaf of the Rustic French the other day with some Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog cheese.  Hooray for bakeries and their delicious food!

xoxo
Franny

I love food.

Welcome to my new blog, Franny Eats!  My goal here is to share some of my favorite foods and restaurants with the blog world, just because I love food and my community here in Humboldt County.  I also love my boyfriend, who will be my co-conspirator in this food blog endeavor.  He is also an amazing cook.

My first post is going to be about my recent trip to San Francisco.  I visited the Ferry Building, and absolutely loved it.  I could have spent hours there... so much to see!

I stopped by Far West Fungi to check out their selection... lovely!

Then, off to the Cowgirl Creamery Sidekick store for a look at the cheese, and a little cheesy snack. 


What a selection!  Yum!!

   

Cave aged Gruyere melted between delicious grilled naan bread,
topped off with a sweet and spicy apple chutney.


Yum... so good!  The only souvenier I came away with was a lovely little jar of apricot summer jam from Happy Girl Kitchen Co.  So I'm going to have to go back, but next time I'm going to bring my master chef with me.

So that's all for now, more to come!

Xoxo
Franny