Meat Muffins: An Introduction

There are fewer meals in the US that feel as simultaneously comforting and retro as meatloaf. Everyone I know has a go-to recipe, adapted from a grandmother, mother or mother-of-all-crafters, Martha Stewart. My great-grandmother was famous for covering her meatloaf with strips of bacon, something my mother luckily picked up and implemented in the meatloaves of my childhood. It was a standard meal in my family's household and I've come to realize that most people share my nostalgic feelings for the food.

These days, however, the sustainably-minded and fusion-preaching hostess wouldn't dream of serving meatloaf and mash potatoes at a dinner party - it's too informal, too normal and nowhere near exciting enough for our foodie friends and neighbors. Which is why I've taken to creating 'meatmuffins' - still the same great idea of mixing meat with breadcrumbs, herbs and other flavors, then popping them into a muffin tin and serving up in cute little cups. Who knew meat could be adorable? And that's not all, making these mini-meatloaves is still a super quick endeavor as they take less time in the oven than a traditional loaf: 20-30 minutes @ 350, max! Plus, since they are pre-portioned, those of us who have zero self-control and will keep cutting slivers off the loaf every time we pass it until we realize there are no leftovers for a sandwich tomorrow can take two muffins and stop there.

The creative options are endless with these, too, which make them fun. So far, always using ground turkey, we've made a traditional basil/garlic pesto meatmuffin, spinach/lemon pesto muffin, bacon-mushroom meatmuffins (picture above) and a cheddar-pepper-taco meatmuffin. Delicious, easy to freeze or pack for a picnic (along with a baguette and some mustard, yum!), and fun to serve your friends. Meatloaf Meatmuffins, shall we say, are back on the table.

Here are some pictures from our recent Bacon-Mushroom Meat-Muffin extravaganza.


To one package of Jennie-O lean ground turkey we added: sauteed mushrooms (cooked and cooled), chopped raw red onion, chopped crispy bacon (cooked and drained on paper towels).

Then we added breadcrumbs (about a quarter cup), a hefty tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and some powdered garlic because we were being too lazy to grate in a few fresh cloves.

We sprayed a muffin tin with PAM, and dropped a quarter cup of (for lack of a better term) meat batter into each cup. Twenty minutes in our oven, seat at 350F did the trick. These were moist, savory, had a little bit of crunch thanks to the bacon and onion. And man did they taste great in a sandwich the next day! We know it sounds weird, but try it - it's a weird thing worth eating!

Huey Lewis and the Booze

Dique and I joined friends TA and J9 for a fabulous concert at the Mountain View Winery on August 15th. San Francisco golden boy, Huey Lewis, was on the stage singing all the hits we grew up with. It was especially fun because both Dique and TA had been to a Huey show for their very first concert. Even after all that time, the heart of rock and roll is still beating.The night was fantastic. J9 and I boogied the night away, she even gathered quite a following! What do you do when you aren't a super fan like your husband and you can't sing along? You dance!

Also, an awesome summer show is even better when the venue is terrific. Mountain View Winery and Amphitheater is located in the hills above Silicon Valley. In the summer the weather gets very warm, and as the sun sets over the hills the air is still pleasant and the lights below twinkle. It's an out-door arena and it's a good size - there are no "good" or "bad" seats! We had seats in the bleachers, which is even more open, so we bought a couple bottles of the winery's best and took our seats. We drank, we sang along, we were hip to be square. It was a blast.

Huey is 58 and can still rock and roll with the best of them. He might have sung a little softer, scooted across the stage a little slow, but hey. He had Heart and Soul. Okay. I'll stop with the song quoting now. I will send you to this article, which is funny though I disagree with parts of it.

The band is known for being friends with the Joe Montana-era SF 49ers, so the guys were thrilled when Dwight Clark joined Huey on stage for Hip To Be Square. J9 and I looked at each other wondering who that person was and what all the fuss was about, but the gents in the crowd loved it. Afterwards, we four went back to our lovely hotel in Saratoga, enjoyed more wine and a lovely summer evening.

The Niece, She Likes To Accessorize (aka) A Birthday Shout-Out To LKG!

The Grierson contingent celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday this weekend. We had a grand time of yummy Mexican food, fun family times and as per usual: more cake and ice cream than anyone should have eaten. It was a great day. The most fun, however, was when our niece, Miss AKG played dress up with the leis my mom had brought. Miss AKG is really into accessories. She enjoys "helping me" take my bracelets off, and putting them on herself. She's happy to hold my necklace for me. She likes purses, hats - anything, really, that she can wear is good in her book! I had to post a couple pictures from the day - Lei Baby aka Miss AKG in her Sunday Best.

And a very Happy Birthday to LKG! May this year bring you many more fun days of dress up with your darling girl (and fun days in general with your soon to be son)!

Tuni Has a Medal

I can't remember the last time I got an award for doing something athletic. Really. But on Sunday morning, July 26th Dique and I got up early and I headed to Justin Herman Plaza in the heart of San Francisco. He wished me luck and I said I'd see him at the finish line - though he met me in the park for some photo ops:





It was hard, I took longer than I wanted to, and I really had trouble due to some muscle pulls, blisters on the soles of my feet and really unattractive chafing on my arms. But. I finished. A hot sweaty, exhausted mess crossed that finish line and got a medal. It was amazing. I bonded with another runner around mile 9 and we got it done together. I struggled between miles 16-19, and she struggled between 21-24. But we did it - we crossed the finish line jogging, together, laughing because we had been singing at the top of our lungs at mile 25 to stay motivated.

When Dique met me I tried not to cry - it was an emotion I hadn't anticipated, that of relief. Part of me couldn't believe I made it! The other part just hurt. I hobbled for the rest of the day, to his parents' house where I navigated the stairs very gingerly and took the best shower of my life. We went to an open home because? I'm stubborn. And then we went home. And I took another shower. And then I got on the couch and didn't get off. I won't lie, it was a huge challenge, and I'm disappointed with myself about my time. But I did it. In a mere four months of training I was able to start and finish a marathon and much to my surprise I was not the last one across that finish line. To me, that's a success.

Sure I couldn't really walk on Sunday, had restless legs on Sunday which impacted my sleep, and on Monday I could barely move. But by Tuesday I was back in action and feeling good. Proud of myself, and ready to sign up for the next race. The next race, however, will be a half marathon - I think that's where it is at for me. So I've signed up for the US Half in San Francisco on November 1st. We'll see how I do.

Another post in which I talk about food. With pictures.

San Francisco is often cold in the summer - June and July are months of layering clothing, often a sweater under a jacket under a scarf and hat. Which is why, naturally, we get really excited when the temperature goes above 70 degrees. So excited, in fact, that we celebrate - and what better way to celebrate heat than with a fiesta?

One freakishly warm Wednesday night I left work while the sun was still shining and the air was sweet. I got all the groceries I needed: cod fillets, flour tortillas, a few ears of corn, avocados, watermelon, peppers sweet and spicy and vibrantly colored, a tin of fava beans and lots of limes. Twenty to be exact, because there's a green grocer near us who sells them $3/20 and I can't be bothered to do the math and buy fewer. I tossed those groceries around with some mangoes, red onion, cabbage, jicama and tomatoes we had lying about the house and turned the radio on. After an hour or so of leisurely cooking we enjoyed a feast of fish tacos with re-fava'd beans, mango/corn salsa, jicama/cabbage citrus slaw, homemade guacamole (is there any other kind worth eating?) and watermelon.

Sure the fog had rolled in by the time we went back for seconds, but it still felt like Summer to us.

Recipes coming soon - but here are some pictures of our feast!

Cod cooked in taco seasoning, orange, lemon and lime juice.

Final products - fesh burrito, citrus coleslaw, guacamole, corn/mango salsa.

Ready for dinner... pre-seconds!

Happy Birthday Shout-Out to Mama J!

Mama J is my mom, and she is the Queen of Birthdays. She believes in having a birth-season, not just a birthday, and as her kid I can admit I've grown accustomed to my birthday being A To Do, all because she made it one when I was a kid. We didn't have special parties at McDonalds or Chuck-E-Cheese, those weren't necessary when you like to entertain, and have craft paper and tape. Us Grierson kids, we always had home birthday parties with DIY crafts, decorations and games - and this was the 1980s, people, DIY hadn't even become trendy yet.

My grandmother, her mother, would make a cake that matched the theme of my birthday - favorites were my "teddy bear's picnic" birthday when I was five, my "disco inferno" birthday when I was sixteen and many more in-between. My mom would help me with the invitations, which - as she taught me - set the tone of the party. We'd make a guest list and spend the Friday night before the party getting ready, setting up, planning, talking, laughing and bonding. To this day being in the kitchen with my mom is one of my favorite places to be. We're normally in the kitchen cooking a gourmet dinner or working on a project or discussing the latest gossip, or running late to something. But it's always fun. With Mama J, you see, it's always a party.

So for her birthday I took the day off and we went up to Napa Valley for a ladies day of outlet shopping and yummy food. And man, did we have yummy food.

The day started with hot warm and fresh doughnuts from Dynamo Donut. I thought the "maple bacon doughnut" would be disgusting, she disagreed. She was right. It is like eating french toast without a fork and spoon using only one hand. A yeast doughnut with flecks of crispy bacon inside, a drizzle of maple icing on top, and bacon "sprinkles" to finish it off. The only thing wrong with it is that it goes away too soon. And it's embarrassing to want to eat five of them. Which is why - good news! - they have other delicious flavors to try. Like the chocolate spice which is literally spicy (like cayenne spicy) and sweet in a chocolate cake doughnut. Totally different and tasty.

After making that quick stop we headed over the Golden Gate to find ridiculously warm weather in Napa and many fun things awaiting us at the outlets. Make-up, clothes for Dique, it took all my restraint not to go to the many shoe stores!

Luckily, we ran out of time for shopping so we could get to our lunch date at Mustard's Grill. We pinky swore we wouldn't gloat in our gluttonous lunch, but it was so delicious I have to share. Mustard's is famous for their onion rings - they come piled high on a plate and are so thin and crispy you kind of forget they are fried and therefore bad for you. Then, she got a cheeseburger and I got a pulled pork sandwich. The truth is we should have ordered one and split it, but instead we did what we could do, while saving room for dessert, and put the rest in a box to take home to Dique. The lucky duck has a hollow-leg and a speedy metabolism so I know he'd enjoy it.

Now. Both sandwiches were fantastic. Mama J said her burger was probably the best she'd had in years. My pulled-pork sandwich was also incredible - sweet and tangy, messy - just everything you want. But the dessert. Oh man. The dessert was really the reason to go. In all honestly one should really go there for a full-on Fat Man Feast and order a plate of onion rings and a piece of their "Famous Lemon Lime Tart... and that ridiculously tall brown sugar meringue" because it's heaven in your mouth. The brown sugar in the meringue makes it dense and warmly sweet. The curd on the tart is the perfect citrus balance: very lemony and very limey without too much acid, nor too much sugar. And the crust. I could write a whole post about the crust, but that's because I'm a crust kind of girl. I'll just say - go check it out. You will not be disappointed. You will be full and maybe feel a little gross, but skip dinner and go for a run the next day. Promise. It's worth it.

The next day we celebrated Mama J's birthday again (see what I mean about birthday seasons?) with my brother and his family. You'd think we were done with all the cake and whatnot. You'd think that, but you'd be wrong. Thank goodness for all the running I'm doing these days....

Happy Birthday Mama J - may we continue to have many happy, busy and crazy nights in the kitchen and may we always celebrate with yummy food because it's what we do.

I love you.

Fourth of July Food Special

On the 4th of July 2009 Dique and I enjoyed a Mediterranean feast. While we joked that it wasn't traditional "American" fare, we decided that being patriotic can sometimes mean celebrating the melting pot this country is, and "eat outside the box" - if you will. One of my favorite foodie writers is Nigella Lawson, who swears making hummus is easy, cheap and worth it. Spoiler alert: she's totally right!

And Dique's mom had recently shared a recipe for a delish dish involving roasted eggplant, fresh tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice and other delicious things. So I decided to go to town and cook the day away. I made two kinds of hummus and nann, a spearmint/cucumber yogurt dip, Dique's mom's dish which I call Eggplant Mélange and a big veggie platter went down well with some pink grapefruit Greyhounds. The only thing missing was the baklava, which I haven't found the patience to try yet. Don't worry -- we managed.

And to bring in a little bit of Americana, we enjoyed our feast in front of a Back To The Future movie marathon. Totally patriotic, no?

Here are the details...

Eggplant Mélange

Plain Hummus, Spearmint/Cucumber Yogurt Dip, Oniony Hummus

Table of Indulgence #1

Table #2 had all the healthy stuff...

A veggie platter, in our book, has to include sauteed mushrooms. Because they are simply delicious. Period. Funghi is our friend.

Recipes forthcoming!

Pink Saturday

Everyone know about the Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco: it's a legend, a grand event, a spectacle. But the best part of the Pride Festival is Pink Saturday - the party in the Castro District the night before the parade.

It started as a very hush-hush kind of affair, a neighborhood party to celebrate the weekend and get those feelings of community and pride running through the city before the parade on Sunday. Now Pink Saturday is a full-blown extravaganza with multiple stages of live music, delicious food and drink specials and fabulous costumes. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are the annual organizers and this year I was lucky enough to be talking to one at the right time so I got asked to volunteer! Lady D is one of Dique's oldest and best friends and we've become really tight. Lady D is also neighbors to one of the Sisters and at a little backyard gathering involving too much hard alcohol, I joined Lady D in her volunteer position.

On Saturday, June 27th we worked the Market Street gate, ushering in people to the party and asking them to make donations. One of the best things about the Sisters is that they raise funds for programs all over the city. They don't discriminate - all of the causes they support are equally different and equally worthy. Pink Saturday in and of itself if free to the public, but there is a suggested donation - a nominal fee, this year it was $7. With a donation you get a pink sticker with the Sister emblem and then discounts for food/drinks for the night.

We had a ball. Lady D was a seductive temptress and I was a Butterfly Fairy. Lady D's brother was also with us and let me just say that together they make a very good looking bunch of siblings! Thanks to them we had a very successful gate and got a lot of donations! After our shift ended around 9pm we got some dinner and walked around the party until we met up with friends and go where any good lady goes: Moby Dick bar.

The weather was warm, the people were happy, it was a glorious night. I was so glad to be a part of it - thanks to Lady D and the Sisters for including me in the fun! I gave my butterfly wings to a security guard who brought them home to his daughter, so I'm on the lookout for a new pair so I can be ready for next year!

Come back for pictures - they'll be up soon!

Marathon Fun

Training for a marathon has opened up a whole new world for me. First, I'm surprising myself every week, discovering that I actually enjoy being outside early on a Saturday morning chatting to women as we run through the streets and parks of San Francisco. The even bigger shock is that I'm fine with doing all of this in spandex and a baseball hat - two things I normally keep as far away from my wardrobe as possible.

Running has totally changed my mentality about what I'm capable of and how much I can push myself. I also have learned that being able to run long distances is complicated. It's not about having a "runner's body" or a gene from your running parents. You need stamina, strength, hydration, the right nutrition, the right equipment and sleep. And that's about it. Well, that and motivation.

I ran into my first "runner's wall" a couple of weeks ago. I was so disappointed with myself, and it was mostly because I hadn't prepared well all week so it showed on the run. It was an 18-mile run, and I had talked myself up about it all week. The longest run we had before that was a 16-miler, and I thought, what the heck, tagging on a couple more miles is nothing. Right? Not really. Not when you stop getting enough water, enough sleep, enough fuel for your body. The night before the run I had yummy Chinese food, champagne and English chocolate - three of my all time favorite things! Dique and I had a couple friends over, we stayed up late, indulged to the max and had a great night. It was an absolute blast, actually, until the next morning when I woke up with an upset stomach and then tried to run 18 miles dehydrated and nauseous.

The first eight miles were fantastic. I made it through the next five without too much of a struggle. But somewhere between mile 13 and 15 I fell apart. My ego blames the ginormous, never-ending, pain-in-the-hey-hey hill the takes you from Ocean Beach up to the Cliff House and into the Richmond District. But the truth is? I totally messed up. I essentially walked the last three miles in and even walking hurt. If I had money for a cab on me I totally would have hailed one. It was that crappy.

So - instead of getting really bummed about it, I decided the following week would not only be different, but it would way better. I wouldn't let the run kick my butt, I'd kick it's butt - and hard. I went back to focusing on nutrition, stretching, drinking water instead of champagne (even though the latter is so. much. better!) and I got a lot of sleep. Come Saturday morning I was able to get up, go for that 20-mile run and even turn into a butterfly princess and volunteer at Pink Saturday until into the night, on my feet and dancing.

I was so proud of myself and thought - hell if I can do this, I can run that marathon. Which is something I never thought I'd say.

Is that a peacock on your hand or are you happy to see me?

Dique's sister, my fabulous sister-in-law KEH, hosted an amazing gathering yesterday. KEH is engaged and in order for all of us bridal party people to meet and greet each other, she organized a fun afternoon filled with Mediterranean eats, wedding talk and henna. The shindig was at Dique's parents' home and MamaB whipped up a delicious spread of Eggplant Mélange, homemade hummus, lemony shrimp, nann, tahini and other treats. I made sure to get the recipe for the eggplant dish because it was incredible, and I definitely want to make that sometime.

I have only gotten "henna’d" one other time, and it was during college days at Cal Berkeley. There are many henna artists always scattered along Telegraph Avenue and I randomly got some done during a street festival. It didn’t last very long, and I barely remember it happening, so suffice to say I was excited to get properly henna’d this time around.

KEH hired a wonderfully sweet and talented artist – the hardest part was deciding what to have done! After lots of contemplating and looking at the portfolio, I decided to get a peacock design on the inside of my left hand, and a bracelet design around my right wrist. The peacock symbolizes fertility, so I asked her to put a time-delay blessing on it, too. Hah.

She did each design in under ten minutes, which I thought was incredibly fast. I don’t have a particularly still hand, so I’m always amazed by people who can paint nails efficiently, color within the lines, etc. We had to let the henna dry and absorb into the skin for at least an hour, at which point the dried henna will fleck (or be picked) off. It’s advised not to get it wet for the first 4-6 hours, either. I followed the rules to a T and mine looks great today. The henna on my left hand (the bird) is more orange than that on my right wrist. I wonder if she changed her materials, or if the color change is due to different make-up of the body parts. Either way, I think it looks fantastic!

See for yourself…

Thanks to MamaB for the feast (and the recipe) and to KEH for having such a great party! It was really fun to meet and visit with her bridal party – she has great friends! I’m really honored to be part of the bridal posse and can’t wait for the next bridal party party.

Hooray for good friends, good food, good times, and hooray for henna!

Memorable Memorial Day Wedding

Two wonderful people got married on top of a historic SF hill over Memorial Day weekend! Their wedding was beautiful, heartfelt and one hell of a party. Congratulations Molly and Charles!!


Molly and her mom make the big trek - check out the gorgeous red shoes!



Charles' dad presided over the ceremony - he is a pastor and did a wonderful job.


Sealed with a kiss.


What a beautiful and happy pair.


Our good friends Joey and Paige Korich who made our table extra fun! Paige and Tuni take full responsibility for emptying many (countless?) bottles of wine down their throats.


Our other good friends were also at the table, Colin and Kelly, they did good work making alcohol vanish, as well.



Adorable and tasty favors - homemade jam! And a plate of olive oil for bread-dipping during their Italian reception feast.



Yeah. We had a good time.



Look! Still relatively sober!



More fun with the beautiful bride.



Paige and da boyz.



Hmm. Maybe not so sober.



Here's to a fabulous couple!!

Twenty-Great Years Old

Just wanted to share some pictures from my very happy 28th birthday. I love being Twenty-GREAT so far!

Flowers and yummy Ethiopian dinner on Friday night, a great barbecue with friends and family in our backyard on Sunday. My mother-in-law (MamaB) even made me a SuperGirl Runs birthday cake! How cool is that? My parents came by right in time to help with things so I could put my party face and dress on - and the weather was gorgeous.

We had a wonderful time, and I feel so celebrated - thank you!!

Hmm. I wonder what my twenty-greatest year will bring??

Yummy food at New Eritrea complete with a glass of honey wine!

A Saturday night cooking fest in preparation for a Sunday afternoon barbecue!

Three big jugs of delicious sangria made by Dique.

Apple and peach pie, oh my!

Friends and family in a hot backyard!

More family and friends!

Even more family and friends!

Between MamaB's cake and MamaJ bringing ice cream, I think I gained 15 pounds at this bbq.

What a fun time - thank you everyone again for making it so!