How Much Can We Eat in San Francisco?!

On Friday afternoon, we're traveling to San Francisco to get an early jump on the annual PRConsultants Group conference. Of course, completely work-related, we'll be eating our way through Chinatown, Sausalito, the Mission, Cow Hollow and other areas. Stay tuned for some great restaurant reviews (also to be found on Yelp and UrbanSpoon) and some lovely "food porn." 

Thirsty Thursday -- Living the High Life at Bar Drake in San Francisco

Tomorrow your intrepid blog writers are headed to San Francisco for a conference with their favorite PRConsultants Group colleagues. We're staying at the beautiful Sir Francis Drake Hotel with its gorgeous Bar Drake.

Always on the lookout for our friends' best interest, we asked the hotel what drink Bar Drake was "famous" for.  Their answer?  One that made Barb shout with joy -- it is bourbon-based (yay!), uses Woodford Reserve, and incorporates maple syrup, much like her favorite drink by Richie Moe at Citizen Public House.

According to the hotel, the most popular drink is the Drake Manhattan, made with Woodford Reserve bourbon, tawny port, angostura bitters and maple syrup. Cheers!

Food Trend Mash-up: Lamb & Coconut

We decided one of our food projects for the new year will be to take a look at rising food trends.  For fun, each of us separately identified a trend we’d like to feature first – Barb picked lamb, Sharon picked coconut.  Next, we decided to see if we could make something yummy by combining the two ingredients (thank goodness we didn’t pick two things that would be ghastly together).  Kind of reminds us of one of the challenges on Sharon’s favorite show – “Top Chef.” 
So check back here often in the next few weeks to learn more about food trends and the occasional “mash-up” recipe we come up with when our selections work together! 

Lamb:
Some are calling lamb "the new pork." Though more expensive than pork, it raises the caliber of any dish to a new level. From a full-blown roasted leg of lamb for a holiday dinner to ground lamb meatballs with tzatziki sauce, lamb is a rich-tasting option for beef, and an nice change-up from pork or poultry in a stir-fry (see our mash-up recipe below).
 
Lamb resources:
http://www.americanlamb.com/
http://howtocooklamb.info/

Coconut:

Coconut is on the upswing and is showing up in all kinds of new products this year.  
 
Besides the oil, coconut water, milk and meat are quickly showing up in sports beverages, baked goods, and frozen ice cream novelties.  Coconut sap is even showing up as a sweetener, and when fermented, as a soy sauce-type of product.   We’re also seeing coconut flour rising as a resource in gluten-free baking. 
 
New coconut products spotted at the recent Fancy Food Show include: 

• Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss: Ginger Cookie Caramel Coconut Ice Cream
  
• Noh Foods of Hawaii: Coconut Pudding Mix
  
• Hey Boo Jams: Hey Boo Coconut Jam

Coconut Recipe Resources:
http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blfruit19.htm
http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/ (features gluten-free recipes)
http://www.food.com/recipes/coconut

Thai Green Curry with Lamb 
1 T. vegetable oil
2 lbs. lamb, cubed
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
½ lb. green beans
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can lite Coconut Milk

Garnishes: 
1 small jalapeno, diced
¼ c. peanuts, chopped
1 lime, sliced into wedges
¼ cup shredded coconut (not sweetened)
 
Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add in the lamb and sauté on all sides until brown. Add in vegetables and continue to stir-fry approximately five minutes. Add in the one jar of chili paste and the can of coconut milk. Bring to a high simmer, cook for four minutes, or until hot. Serve on top of jasmine rice with garnishes.