Novo Restaurant

Today, May 18th, marks the day that Stuart and I went on our first date 8 years ago. Doesn't time just seem to fly by as you get "older"?? The number eight just seems crazy to me. Can it really be true that I have known my now-husband for almost a decade? We met when I was still a teenager (age 18) in my very first college class at Santa Clara University. A year later, we started dating and have been together ever since. To celebrate today, we embarked on our favorite date activity and packed a picnic of bread and cheese. We took it to the beach and ate it in the warm sand at Montana de Oro State Park.

We won't be celebrating by going out to eat this week, but I was inspired by this special occasion to share my favorite restaurant in San Luis Obispo for a fancy date night. If we did have plans for a lovely meal out tonight, it would be at Novo Restaurant and Lounge. You can't beat the setting of this restaurant's gorgeous outdoor patio, which is ringed with twinkly lights and lanterns. And the food? It's a fun mixture of California bistro meets Asian fusion. Check out the photos below from two of our previous visits (hence the big difference in lighting from two very different times of year)!

 

One of my favorite dinners anywhere is a beautiful salmon fillet. These first two photos turned out gorgeous because the spring lighting was perfect! 

 

Chicken curry served with chapati bread

 

Photo of the patio, courtesy of Novo's website

 

Moroccan fried chicken

 

Roast duck breast with forbidden black rice

 

The petite filet of beef

 

Dark photos here, but a nice starter salad and appetizer soup

 

Aww, a heart design in honor of our anniversary?? Just kidding. But not kidding about what a gem this restaurant is. Check it out the next time you're in San Luis Obispo!    

Almond White Cake with Raspberries

Happy Monday! Oh wait . . . are you not so happy that it's Monday? Are Mondays typically a bit dreary? Well, the obvious solution to that is to . . . bake cake! This post is LONG over-due because this cake is an absolute favorite in our house. It is Stuart's favorite cake, and he requests it every year for his birthday (this is high praise as usually he is a peanut-butter-and-chocolate type of guy all the way). Recently, we shared this cake with some friends and they loved it so much that they wanted to make it for their own family member's birthday. So you could say that I have been holding out on you for a while.

I think I had rationalized not posting about this cake because I have not been able to take photos that do it justice. I just haven't seemed to master the art of cake photography. So, just bear with me here and my lack of frosting/decorating skills, and trust that this is a cake worth making. Immediately.

 

Make sure the egg whites are fully whipped until stiff - they should almost look like the consistency of homemade whipped cream. This can take several minutes using a stand mixer.

 

The batter and whites can take a while to incorporate, but Try not to over-mix.

 

For a casual dessert, you can keep the cake in the pan and serve from there

 

...Or, spruce up the presentation by adding sliced almonds to the sides!

 

Definitely serve with vanilla ice cream (sadly not pictured). 

Cake Ingredients:

2 cups flour


1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt


5 egg whites, room temperature

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature


1 1/2 cups sugar


2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract


1 cup milk


1 pint fresh raspberries

1 1/4 cups sliced almonds, toasted, cooled (optional for decorating)

Frosting Ingredients:   

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
                                                                          

 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature                                                                          

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar                                                                                                      

 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
                                                                                                             

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Cake Directions:

1.     Preheat to 350. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

2.     In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3.     In a large bowl or stand mixer set on high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside and prepare to rinse and re-use stand mixer bowl, if using.

4.     In a large bowl or stand mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter until light. Gradually add the sugar, beating until well blended. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.

5.     Reduce the speed to low and, dividing the flour mixture into 3 batches, beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the milk just until combined.

6.     Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the beaten whites into the batter just until incorporated.

7.     Divide the batter between the prepared pans; smooth with the spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the pan sides to loosen the cakes. Invert onto racks and let cool completely.

Frosting Directions:

1.     In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter. Using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat until smooth.

2.     Reduce the speed to low, add the confectioners’ sugar and again beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts until well blended.

3.     Spread the frosting in between the two layers and over the top and sides. Ring the top with raspberries and press the toasted almonds onto the sides. Serve immediately, or cover with a cake dome and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Skillet Lasagna

Do you think you know lasagna? Sauce, noodles, maybe some ground beef, lasts for a few nights...the end? Well, you are in for a treat because this post is all about some really good (and really easy)  lasagna. Does it include "revolutionary" ingredients? No, not really. But there are some subtle differences that make this the best lasagna that I have ever had. Stuart agreed on this one, saying that it tasted like it came from a fancy restaurant! And the biggest perk? It's all cooked in a single stove-top skillet, no hour-long baking time needed!

I have to thank my favorite blogger, Joanna Goddard, for this recipe. I bookmarked it when she posted it back in January 2014, then promptly forgot all about it. It wasn't until my sister Anna raved about the recipe that I decided to give it a try. It's hard to put into words what makes it better than other lasagna I've had. I think it has a lot do do with the fact that it uses cream cheese (instead of ricotta), canned tomatoes (instead of tomato sauce), and Italian sausage (versus ground beef). Maybe a little bit of magic too, who knows?!

*Cooking note: Before you begin, make sure that you have an extra-large saute pan ready to use. I used a 12-inch skillet, and even that was a bit too small. Ideally, you want a big skillet with high sides so that nothing sloshes out during cooking. 

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. sweet or hot Italian sausages, casings removed
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
Large pinch of hot red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dried oregano
Two 28-oz. cans whole, peeled tomatoes (diced tomatoes also works. If you are using a smaller pan,  cut down the amount of tomatoes to 1 or 1 1/2 cans.)
1 sprig fresh basil, plus a handful of leaves
Salt and pepper
One 9-oz. package no-boil lasagna noodles
4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 cup)
1/2 lb. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced and patted dry

Directions:
1. In a large high-sided sauté pan with a 3-quart capacity, heat the olive oil over high heat until it shimmers. Add the sausages and cook, stirring often and breaking up the meat, until browned, about 4 minutes. Leaving as much oil in the pan as possible, transfer the sausage to a medium bowl and set aside.

2. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onions, garlic and pepper flakes to the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened, about 7 minutes. Add the oregano, the tomatoes and their juices, crushing the tomatoes with your hands or a potato masher, the sprig of basil, and the cooked sausage and any juices. Season with salt and pepper, then gently simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check the seasonings (it should be a little salty) and discard the basil sprig.

3. Break half of the lasagna noodles in half crosswise (it’s fine if smaller pieces break off) and as you do so, push each piece into the sauce under the sausage, distributing them evenly throughout the pan. Break the remaining half of the noodles in half and distribute them evenly over the sauce, then push down on them with the back of a spoon to submerge them. Cover the pan (you can use aluminum foil if your pan doesn't have a lid) and simmer until the noodles are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 12 minutes.

4. Dollop the cream cheese over the lasagna and swirl it into the sauce. Top with the mozzarella and continue to simmer, covered, until the cheese is melted (about 2 minutes). Off the heat, top with the basil leaves, tearing any large ones. Let the lasagna rest, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, then serve.