Pasta and Sauce Pairings

Pasta! Who doesn't love it? It's widely popular and there are so many different kinds! It's pretty simple to prepare - cooking the pasta the right way is the first step, then adding sauces and meats/veggies is the second, and voila - a pasta perfection!

Up until probably a year and a half ago, I never knew that certain pastas pair up with certain sauces. I honestly thought you just toss some pasta in a sauce of your choice and you can call yourself a chef! So, for those of you who were like me and didn't know, here's a quick Pasta 101 lesson for you:

Pasta and Sauce Pairing

Long Pastas - ( e.g.: tagliatelle, spaghetti, linguini) - Long and thin pastas need plenty of lubrication, so oil based sauces (olive oil is the best) are able to coat the pastas without breaking or drowning them in liquid. Long pastas can easily be torn, so when cutting vegetables, cut in julienne or match stick style so they can easily blend with the pasta.

Thick Pastas - (e.g.: fettuccine, tagliatelle) - Since they are thicker long string pastas, they can withstand thicker sauces and ragus (bolognaise). Cubed vegetables and meats also blend well with thick pastas.

Shaped/Curly Pastas - (e.g.: fusille (twists), conchiglle (shells) - Because of the unique shapes, these pastas can go well with any kind of sauce, especially thick and lumpy/texturized sauces. The advantage of these pastas are the curves and twists, which can trap meats/vegetables and sauces, making it easier to enjoy every part of your dish in one bite!

Tube Pastas - (e.g.: macaroni, rigatoni, penne) - These pastas go well with smooth, thick or chunky sauces. The tubes will trap in a good amount of sauce for savory bites. Since tube pastas have a variety of small and large sizes, the size and shape you cut your vegetables and meats vary as well as the thickness of sauce. It's all about being creative and pairing based on sizes in this category.

Stuffed Pastas - On a show that I used to watch, they described ravioli as 'pasta pillows'. As funny as it was, it's true. The secret to stuffed pasta is to make sure when cooking, the pasta ends up soft and adding just the right amount of filling. Experiment with your filling and make sure to taste them before stuffing into the pastas since the pasta itself has very little taste anyways.

Flat Pastas - The most common and actually the only one I know is Lasagna. This pasta is made flat for the intentions of layering and baking in an oven. You can be creative with how to create dishes or different types of lasagna with varieties of sauces, meats, cheese and other veggies or spices you choose to add.

Why not whip up your favorite pasta dish tonight? After all, it's National Pasta Day!

It's National Taco Day

Tacos. They're one of my favorite finger foods. Growing up in a south San Diego neighborhood with a taco shop around every corner, there's no doubt I would love this amazing food. It really is simple to make - corn or flour tortilla, soft or hard shell, and then add whatever your heart desires... or whatever your taco shell can handle. Most days I go loaded with meat (mostly carnitas, carne asada, or even chicken), fresh veggies like cilantro, onion, and tomatoes, and homemade salsa, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and beans. Other days I'll go vegetarian, or make fish tacos. I can go on for days about tacos, but the reason I'm blogging is to share my favorite taco joints in Southern California.


San Diego
Lolita's Taco Shop - known mostly for it's carne asada fries, the carne asada tacos and just as amazing and the meat isn't too chewy. This is one of the best taco shops in San Diego.

Rigoberto's Taco Shop - Carnita's tacos is the way to go. It's located near the Miramar Military Base. This place is open 24 hours so you can enjoy tacos any time you want.

TJ's Oyster Bar Fish Tacos

TJ's Oyster Bar - The only thing you need to know is 99 cent fish tacos. All day, every day. I must say, for the price and quality of this hole in the wall, this is the BEST place for fish tacos.

El Cotixan - Get the rolled tacos. They're about $3 and they actually fill up the taco with meat. And the great thing is this place has several locations scattered around San Diego County

Tacos El Gordo - It's in National City, where I was born and raised. Everything is freshly made here, tortillas and all. The lines can get a bit long, but I'm telling you, it's worth the wait. And it's only abour $2 a taco!

Orange County
Baja Fish Tacos - Amazing fish tacos I tell you that. Order it Ensemada style. It's healthy and delicious. I would say the best fish tacos in Orange County.

Avanti Hot Tacos & Sauce

Taco Asylum - Not your traditional tacos, but to me this place puts creativity and flavor in their creations. It's located at the Camp in Costa Mesa

Avanti Cafe - Don't be fooled or turn away that this is a vegetarian restaurant. Give it a chance. Their Avanti Hot Tacos are the BEST thing you've ever tasted. Not to mention they're gluten free, vegan, AND their homemade hot sauces really add a kick to your taste buds. They were also one of the best tacos in Orange County in 2011.

Kogi BBQ Truck - Mexican and Korean BBQ Tacos. Tell me that doesn't sound amazing. This food truck roams around OC and LA serving these savory bites. Many times I'd find the truck at night, but it makes for a great late night snack.

Los Angeles

Tacos El Korita

Tacos El Korita - East LA may not be the 'Hollywood Glam' that Los Angeles is known for, but it's known for some great street grub. this Taco Truck is a must try. It's a purple truck. You really can't miss it. And you'll stay after trying their tacos!

Mexicali Tacos & Co. - Don't be fooled by the plastic chairs and the handmade signs. This is a definite hole in the wall, but even LA Weekly agrees it's one of the best TACO joints in LA.

Guisados Tacos - Almost Every Foodie in LA will tell you that Guisados has the best tacos in LA. Enough said. One look at the menu and even others eating their tacos and you wouldn't know which to try first. Good thing there's the taco sampler!

7th Street & Mateo - There's a taco stand here that operates from  5 or 6 PM until midnight or later sometimes. The al pastor tacos are amazing. Want to try authentic street tacos? Go here!


Now the big question is, which one of these taco shops will I eat at tonight?!

October Food Holidays

Happy Fall my fellow foodies!

September has come and gone in the blink of an eye. I hope you all were able to celebrate some amazing food holidays like Cheese Pizza Day (5), Chocolate Milkshake Day (12), Peanut Day (13), Guacamole Day, Cheeseburger Day (18), Chocolate Milk Day (27) and Coffee Day (29). 

Now that it is officially a new season, get ready, and I mean GET READY, for the BEST month of food holidays. Well, that’s a biased opinion. Though I bet you’ll be just as amazed when you find out what food holidays we get to celebrate this month.

Here it is, the list of food Holidays to celebrate every day in October:

Eat Better, Eat Healthier Month

National Apple Month

National Caramel Month

National Chili Month

National Cookie Month

National Dessert Month

National Pizza Month

National Popcorn Popping Month

National Pork Month

National Pretzel Month

National Seafood Month

Vegetarian Awareness Month

There are many great reasons to celebrate this month! Every one of these month-long holidays is a personal favorite. Not only will the weather (at least in California), will finally feel like autumn and the festivities will begin, but we’ve got these awesome Food Holidays to add on to the excitement!

Here’s to a month of foodie fun!

September is a national mushroom month

September is a national mushroom month

Have you recently seen something like that in your backyard, in your neighborhood or in the nearby park?

I am sure most of the answers would be “Yes”. This time of the year you can find them even in every green corner of any city, not to mention parks or forests.

Some of them are beautiful, bur poisonous, like those:

Some of them are not so good looking, but delicious, like those:

But before you go out and look for those edible mushrooms in the forest, you must know how to distinguish them from the dangerous ones. Very often they look similar…

How lucky we are that we have the safest ever way to get fresh and tasty mushrooms! Just go to a local store! And here you will see:

 I love mushrooms cooked many ways. I like mushroom soup, fried mushrooms with a bit of sour cream. I add mushrooms to my stews. And my favorite kind of pizza is mushroom pizza! 

Here is a recipe of mushroom dish that my entire family loves:

Cut and fry some onion in olive oil, add cleaned and slices mushrooms, cook for 15-20 minute or until they are soft and most of the water is evaporated (if water evaporated too soon, add some more water). Then add salt a little bit of pepper, and a lot of paprika (about 1-2 table spoons for about24 oz of mushrooms). Cook for additional 5-7 minutes. With paprika you can add some dried herbs, if you like them. I add Italian seasoning. Enjoy!

And do not forget to share the video your dish with your friends!

Start Your Weekend With A PUNCH!

It's National Punch Day!

Fruit punch & punch bowl

Yes, even that fruity beverage has a day of it's own. The word punch was thought to be derived from the Hindi word panch (meaning 'five') because of it's original five ingredients: liquor, sugar, lemon, water and tea. This beverage was sent to England from India, and eventually became widely popular across the globe.

Margarita punch & Alcoholic Hawaiian Punch

Most people enjoy nonalcoholic punch made with fruit and/or fruit juices, and is often served at gatherings in a punch bowl (go figure!). Nowadays, people add a little twist to their punches like adding ice cream for a creamier texture, or mixing soda for some carbonated goodness. And for those of you 21 and over, nothing puts a punch better than the perfect glass of margarita punch!

So grab a glass of your favorite punch and cheers to the weekend!

Happy National CHOCOLATE Milkshake day to alll...

Happy National CHOCOLATE Milkshake Day to everyone! A drink in which everyone loves typically accompanies a burger to perfect a meal, but it can also be paired with other foods. Even when consumed solely as a snack or dessert, this deliciously creamy drink never fails to be satisfying.

Let’s start with some history about milkshakes (from Wikipedia):

The term "milkshake" first appeared in 1885, milkshakes were an alcoholic whiskey drink that has been described as a "sturdy, healthful eggnog type of drink, with eggs, whiskey, etc., served as a tonic as well as a treat". By 1900, Milkshakes were referred as “wholesome drinks made with chocolate, strawberry or vanilla syrups” as people where asking for more ice cream treats. By 1930’s milkshakes become a popular drink at various malt shop.

Earlier milkshakes were handmade. Now you can find machine-made shakes too.

Milkshakes can be prepared using ice creams, yogurt, malted milk. For flavors, we can use variety of syrups and fresh fruits.

One of the most popular milkshake is the yummy CHOCOLATE milkshake.

 Let’s see how to prepare one:

•       Take 3 scoop Vanilla Ice-cream.
•        Add some milk and chocolate syrup.
•        Blend them together and your yummy treat is ready.

 I hope everyone enjoys a Chocolate milkshake today!

Happy National Cheese Pizza Day..

Hello everyone, today is one of my favorite food day and I am sure of all of us. Today is Cheese Pizza Day.

One of the most favorite foods of America is the Original Cheese Pizza. It is one of the food which you will find in each and every corner of US streets. It’s one of the foods liked by kids, students, parents and professionals. It's quick bit on busy days, a party food.

I tried lot of variety of cheese pizza with different cheese combination. Personally, my favorite is 4 cheese pizza. And some of my favorite pizzerias around are Pieology , PitfirePiizza and BlazePizza.

What’s your favorite??? Where will you have your Cheese Pizza today?