Otis and I took an extra day off MLK weekend and jetted off to San Francisco. It's was a fairly long trip for such a short visit, but due to our schedules (school started for me on Jan 22) it was really the only viable time we could go; plus, my mom was visiting at the same time, and it turned into a big family weekend.

My grandfather, Moe Haber, lives in SF, in the Jewish Home for the Aged. He just turned 93, and I hadn't seen him in 2 and a half years. (The actual birthdate is a matter of some internal family debate, since he always said his birthday was Dec 25. It now seems that was a dramatization, and his real birthday is Dec 29. Part of this also stemmed from the fact that his parents were named Mary and Josef. He is a character.)

So, we flew out of Boston early Friday morning (6:10) and had a whirlwind weekend visiting the city and my family. We had gorgeous, sunny weather, and had the chance to see my grandpa, my cousins Leila and Damon and their respective spouses and adorable children, my uncle Merrill and aunt Nancy, and my mom. We also got to visit Otis's old high school friend Seton, his wife Patty, and their adorable little toddler Eva.

Part of what makes spending time with my family amusing is the constant food-related talk. (Hey, I come by it honestly!!) This is a group of people who plan their dinner while eating breakfast. We basically arrived, went to visit my grandpa in the home, and then went out to dim sum, without a pause.

So, there was a lot of delicious food to report on:

- Friday dim sum at Mayflower Seafood
- Friday dinner at my cousin Leila's house, which featured a delicious warm shrimp salad which was prepared from a recipe Merrill and Nancy learned at a cooking school during their recent trip to Vietnam
- Irish breakfast at O'Reilly's in North Beach
- Burritos at a restaurant in Alameda with Seton (I forget the name of this one, I'll have to check with Otis!)
- Pastry and coffee at Caffe Trieste
- Sunday brunch with bagels, lox, some insanely cheesy hash brown casserole, and mimosas at Leila's house
- Dinner at Cafe de la Presse

I think that's it! A lot of food in one short weekend! It was a wonderful time, and if I have a chance I will post restaurant reviews. And, as a special treat, here is the warm salad recipe from Vietnam. The recipe calls for squid, but you can make it with anything, really.

Also, there are comments written on my copy by my uncle Merrill... but I can't read them, his handwriting is so bad. Hopefully there's nothing important! (This recipe is from the Red Bridge Cooking School in Hoi An, Vietnam. If you're ever there, it sounds like a fabulous day of cooking and eating!)

Warm Squid Salad in Half a Pineapple

100 grams sliced squid
2 t vegetable oil
1 t garlic, chopped
1 t ginger, chopped
1/2 t sugar
1 t light fish sauce
1 T tomato puree or tomato sauce
1 T sweet and sour chilli sauce (recipe below)
1/2 cup chopped hot pepper
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 T water
Few pieces cilantro

Add vegetable oil to wok with ginger and garlic. Add squid, fish sauce, and sugar, and stirfry 1 min. Add vegetables and tomato puree, and stirfry 3 minutes. Add water. Serve in hollowed-out pineapple sauce and top with cilantro and hot pepper.

Sweet & Sour Chilli Sauce

1 T water
1/2 t sour chilli sauce (super sour sriracha is probably what they mean here)
1/2 t tomato puree
1/2 T finely chopped white onion
1/2 T finely chopped pineapple
1/2 T finely chopped tomato
1/2 t crushed ginger
1/2 t veg oil

Heat oil in wok and add all ingredients except water, sour chilli, and tomato puree. Fry for a few seconds, then add reserved ingredients. Bring to simmer, simmer until cooked.