Foodbuzz Fest Day 2 ~ Eat, Eat, Eat.

The second day of the Foodbuzz Fest began with a Gingerbread Latte for my drive into San Francisco, the second drive into the city over two days. I was running late and the latte was going to have to hold me over until lunch.  My destination, Foodbuzz Central at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in Union Square.  

First up on the agenda, one of the breakout sessions I signed up for.  Three 45 minute sessions in total. One of the sessions, "Great Catch"  was presented by Alaska Seafood and Chef Mary Sue Milliken, owner of Border Grill in L.A. and Las Vegas hosted a demo of Alaska salmon and Alaska halibut fish tacos.

Food Bloggers doing their 'thing'.

Mary Sue, showed us how to skillfully skin a salmon in about 30 seconds.  Impressive.

Another of the breakout sessions I sat in on was a hands on photography workshop where we learned tips on lighting and composition.

Food Blogging Guide to Success was the third session I sat in on.  Three successful food bloggers shared with the audience different perspectives on how to produce a successful food blog.
Bloggers who sat on the panel included:   Carrots N Cake {a blog I've been following since day one of my blogging experience}, Kitchen Corners and Lick My Spoon. 

The sessions ended at noon.  My friend, Devi met me outside the hotel so we could head on over to the Metreon for the long awaited Taste Pavilion where over 50 producers, brands, wineries, breweries and chefs awaited our hungry arrival. 

Ready.  Set.  EAT!

Devi and I made a bee line for those fish tacos that I could NOT get off my mind since earlier in the day!  They definitely lived up to my expectations.  I can't wait to try these at home!  And I have BOTH recipes, salmon and halibut, to share with you below!

The taco bar rocked!  Almost anything you could imagine to tickle your taste buds.




Celebrity Chef, Mary Sue served up the tacos herself.

The salmon wasn't ready yet, which was fine because I normally prefer a nice, firm halibut over salmon.

More Mission Mini Cupcakes to be had.  My favorite of this day was the coconut cream topped with what tasted like a nice whipped butter frosting....not too sweet and SO good.  I'm a coconut lover.

Smore's made with Ghirardelli chocolate.

Look who was here and sponsoring a smoothie bar.  Blogger winners of the smoothie competition presented their smoothie recipes made with Lactaid, lactose-free milk ~  Avocado-Vanilla Bean, Pumpkin Spice and Chocolate Caramel Peanut Smoothie.

Devi and I enjoyed a glass of wine.

This was one of my favorite bites at the pavilion.  Pop Candy butter crunch treats out of Santa Monica.  They had many flavors but the Chai Tea won me over with its combination of sweet and spice.....just like a chai tea latte.

Jalapeno Pepper Jam from Inna.  I'm a big fan of pepper jam with cream cheese and this did not disappoint.

Okay, okay, better eat some greens.

Oh I'm a fan of olive oil tasting.  At the store locations of WeOlive.com, they offer refills.  You can bring in your empty bottle or bring in a empty wine bottle to fill up and they charge you by the ounce....pretty neat!

More wine.

My favorite was this 22 Black Cab by Jaqk Cellars.  Gonna have to purchase some for home consumption.

I was getting a bit full but I had to try this Prather Ranch sausage and sauerkraut bite.  I loved it.  The sauerkraut was sweet like a relish.  I guess I've never tried sauerkraut before so I'm not sure if that's the typical flavor but if it is, I would like to find some for home.  Anyone have a good recipe for it??

Another cocktail, but this time in the shrimp variety.

Watched a presentation by Kath of Kath Eats Real Food cooking up her Figgy Wild Rice, Mushroom and Sourdough Dressing recipe.  She was such a pro up there.  She was one of three bloggers who won the chance to present her dish for Electrolux.

Food Network still hanging around, filming the Mission Minis family.  I think this was their last day of filming for their reality show.

At around 3:45, Devi and I rolled out of the Taste Pavilion.  We needed a walk in the worst way. 

As promised, the fish taco recipe from Mary Sue of Border Grill:

Grilled Alaska Halibut Tacos

1 1/2 lbs halibut filet
olive oil for drizzling
salt and pepper
6 lettuce leaves
12 4-6 inch corn tortillas, warmed
2 avocados, halved, and thinly sliced
radish slices for serving
lime wedges for serving

Cucumber Citrus Salsa

1/2 orange
1/2 grapefruit
1 lime
1 english cucumber, julienne cut
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 serrano chilies, stemmed & sliced in thin rounds
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 T olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions Tacos:

Preheat a medium hot grill, broiler oven, or pan on the stovetop - medium high heat.
Drizzle fish with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, cook until barely done, for 2-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness.  Remove the fish from the grill or pan, let cool slightly, and then pull apart into large flakes.

Place tortillas on a work surface.  Line each with a piece of lettuce and top with chunks of fish.  Top each with a generous spoonful of Cucumber Citrus Salsa and drizzle olive oil.  Serve with avocado, radish and lime.

Cucumber Citrus Salsa

Slice ends off orange, grapefruit & lime and stand upright on counter.  Cut away peel and membrane, exposing fruit.  Working over a bowl to catch the juices, separate the citrus sections by slicing with knife between membranes.  Remove and discard seeds.  Cut the citrus segments into small dice and add to the bowl with all the juices.  Stir in remaining ingredients thoroughly, cover, and let sit in fridge at least 30 minutes for flavors to combine.

I'll have the Salmon Taco recipe for you tomorrow!

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Foodbuzz Festival~ The Opening Evening

Foodbuzz kicked off the welcoming opener at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, where 350 invited food bloggers enjoyed an indoor Street Food Fare experience.  We were assigned seats at the picnic like table setting, which was a fantastic idea because this gave everyone the opportunity to meet and socialize with new people.  And for someone like me, a fairly new blogger with Foodbuzz, it gave me the opportunity just to meet people and network. 

After a welcoming presentation, we were ready to get up, mingle and eat.  There were 10 street food venders in attendance.

  

I forgot to mention, there were numerous cheese and fruit platters at every table filled with artisan cheeses, breads, perfectly ripened figs and  Frog Hollow Pears.




Spencer on the Go was a contestant in Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race and he was serving up some French cuisine.  New England Lobster Cappuccino, Braised Lamb Sandwiches and Escargot Puff Lollipop.

There was quite the extensive line at his truck the entire evening.  I didn't try any, didn't want to wait!

Instead I headed for the Roli Roti line where they were serving up a crispy, tender and juicy Pork Belly Sandwich with potatoes.

Two words......OH MY!

There was plenty to choose from but after that pork belly, I was stuffed.

But no matter how full I am, I always find room for dessert.  I found out that Mission Minis DID get the reality TV pilot with the Food Network.  So we'll be seeing their new show air sometime in the future.

There was lots of activity at the cupcake display with the film crew capturing it all.

There were three mini cupcakes to choose from.  I chose the cinnamon and the pumpkin.  I didn't want to be greedy and take one of each.

Well, at least until I finished the first two.  I did go back for the vanilla, I couldn't help myself.  They go well with IPA as well.

Lots more to come........stay tuned!

Related Posts you may also enjoy:

Foodbuzz Fest Day Two-Eat, Eat, Eat

Foodbuzz Fest's Big Bash Dinner at the SF Ferry Building

Happy Sunday!

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Foodbuzz Welcome & French Toast Sticks for the K-1 Class

Last night was opening night of the long awaited {for me} Foodbuzz Festival.  The Welcoming Reception was held at Fort Mason on the Marina Green in San Francisco.

Here's a tiny preview.......hundreds of mini cupcakes from Mini Cupcakes.  Apparently, Mini Cupcakes scored themselves a reality TV pilot for Food Network.  Hopefully it will make it to TV because Food Network was there filming the entire night.

More to come on the Foodbuzz Fest......stay tuned.

Yesterday was also volunteer cooking day at Bryce's school yesterday.  This is where I volunteer to teach cooking to the small 5 student K-1 class.  I have about an hour with the kids, so sometimes it's a challenge to come up with something that's easy, kid-friendly as far as taste goes and that can be completed from start to finish in an hour or so.

I chose French Toast Sticks, and boy did they ever have fun.  It's amazing what the combination of sugary syrup and five, 5 and 6 year olds makes.  Let's just say, it got progressively louder in that small   K-1 room as the hour went on, especially when the syrup was thrown into the mix!  But SO much fun.  Kids really enjoy cooking and I'm cherishing these little moments with them.

Here's how it all went down........

Ingredients you'll need, eggs, milk, french toast bread, cinnamon, butter, corn flakes, syrup and powdered sugar.

Mix the eggs and the milk with a whisk until it's light and fluffy.  Cut each slice of bread in three or four strips.

Give each child a Ziploc with some corn flakes in it and let them pound them to smithereens!  This was, by far their favorite part!

Dip the bread strips in the batter mixture and roll in the corn flakes.  Then in a heated skillet with butter, toast up all the strips.

Top with powdered sugar and / or dip in syrup. 

 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Enjoy!

French Toast Sticks

Ingredients:

• 4 slices bread
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 cups cornflakes cereal
• 1 T butter
• Syrup or powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Cut each slice of bread into 3 strips on a cutting board, using a serrated knife. Put bread strips in baking dish.

2. Crack the eggs into a bowl. Add the milk to the eggs. Beat with a fork until the eggs look foamy. Pour over bread in baking dish. Turn bread strips over, using tongs, to coat other side.

3. Put the cereal in a plastic bag. Seal bag closed. Use rolling pin to crush cereal. Dump crushed cereal into a shallow baking dish or pie plate.

4. Put butter in the skillet. Heat over medium heat until butter is melted.

5. Take the bread strips out of the egg mixture, using tongs, and put them on the crushed cereal. Turn over to coat other sides.

6. Put the bread strips into the hot skillet. Cook for about 4 minutes or until bottoms of bread strips are golden brown. Turn them over and cook other side for about 4 minutes as well.

7. Serve the “stix” with syrup for dipping or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Happy Saturday!

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