Truffle Scrambled Eggs & Pepper Jelly

This combination might sound a bit strange to some but take my word for it, they do go together.
I scrambled eggs by swishing them directly in the pan (no beating) with butter and a bit of olive oil. While cooking, I added freshly ground pepper. While still a bit runny, I sprinkled some truffle salt and put them on top of toasted English muffin with butter and pepper jelly.

It was delicious. You had the crunchy buttery, well toasted muffin with the sweet and spicy pepper jelly and the fluffy scrambled eggs on top.  I had it with a cup of strong dark coffee. I also could have had it with champagne which I thought I would reserve for the evening.

Swedish Crepes at IHOP

The plan was to go to Pancake House right after my colonoscopy. Sandi picked me up from the facility and deposited me to Amy's house since she couldn't join us for breakfast. I was too hungry to go all the way to Pancake House so we just went to IHOP which was just a mile away from Amy's house.  My plan was to have the Cheese Blitz. I was devastated when our server informed me that they no longer serve them.

Not to worry....I also like their Swedish Crepe with Lingonberries. Amy felt adventurous so she ordered something new; Strawberry Vanilla Spice Crepe. It came with eggs, hash brown and bacon. She thought it was too much but I talked her into ordering it with my intention of eating it as I had a voracious appetite since I have not eaten anything solid since the day before!

Amy liked her strawberry vanilla spice crepe. My Swedish crepes were great with the lingonberries and the creamy lingonberry butter. The lingonberries was a bit tart and yet sweet. I was able to have half of the eggs, hash brown, and bacon. Amy had a little bit but could not finish her portion so she ended up having to take it home.

IHOP was busy and for once, the service was good. My friends usually don't want to dine there because the service is always slow and that's early in the morning when they are not too busy. I guess there's hope for IHOP.

Taco Bell's Nacho Fries

I've been seeing advertisements for the Nacho Fries which is supposed to be available for a limited time. We finally tried it with the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco Supreme. The fries are so good and my first thought is why don't they have this all the time. The cool ranch Doritos locos are my favorite tacos. You just have to try it because I know you will get hooked on it.

We liked it so much that our friend Aaron came along with us a few days later. It is cheaper to get the box which includes the Doritos taco, the nacho fries, a burrito and a drink all for $5.00. You can't beat that! Only I could finish the contents of the box. Aaron and Sandi could not do it. What a bunch of wusses!

Piero's Last Lunch as a Single Man

Sandi made Piero's favorite dish for lunch in honor of his last few days as a single man. This also happens to be my favorite thing she makes. I always said she should open a restaurant and serve nothing but Koobideh and Lentils with Rice. We, of course, had to start with a toast! Peach Bellini was the perfect drink on this hot day.

Instead of beef or chicken, Sandi opted for turkey. It was just as delicious, especially after some labneh on the side. In my case, I slather it all over the meat. The lentils with rice are unexplainable. It's just out of this world! She, of course, had to make a salad with her garlic-lemon dressing with lots of feta cheese. That too is overly delicious as far as salads go.

Dessert was something unusual. I talked her into experimenting on making a nectarine pie. It turned out to be very good with some caramel vanilla ice cream.

It was an unforgettable lunch with an unforgettable friend, Piero. Congratulations to you and the lovely Inez. 

Peach Jam & Jasmine Ganache Cronut

Peach Jam & Jasmine Ganache is the flavor for August's cronut at the famous Dominique Ansel Bakery at the Grove in Los Angeles. As usual, it has not disappointed me yet. Some flavors are definitely better than others but they are still very good. The beautiful cronuts are light and crispy with the many layers like that of a croissant and the wonderful filling oozes out as you take your bite.

If you haven't yet experienced eating a cronut, this is the place to go since Dominique Ansel invented the cronut.

They do have other pastries that look delicious but in our experience, they look better than they taste. You can never go wrong with the cronuts.

Szechwan Chinese Restaurant

After seeing the movie The Farewell the other day, five of us got really hungry for Chinese food. We wanted to go to our favorite A-1 in Lomita but they didn't open until 5 p.m. and it was only shortly after 4 p.m. Amy suggested Szechwan since she has been going there with her family. That restaurant has been at that location for a long time and I have been there long ago and could not remember anything special about it.

We all ordered several entrées. Doris ordered Singapore Style Rice Noodles and Sujata ordered the Shrimp Fried Rice. Sandi decided on the Lemon Chicken. The noodles were good and so was the fried rice though we all thought it lacked salt so we just added some soy sauce and it was great. The lemon chicken was especially good as we found the lemon slices with the peel very appealing! The tart/bitter flavor went well with the chicken.

I thought I would try the Flat Noodle in Black Bean Sauce with BBQ pork. We enjoyed that. Amy opted for the Minced Chicken Lettuce Cup which supposedly feeds four. It came with 4 pieces of lettuce. They could have given us more lettuce because there was enough chicken to wrap at least 3 more helpings. The hoisin sauce squirted on top of the chicken elevated it to another level.

Our server, Leo was not only great but he was entertaining. The only thing he didn't do is dance for us, maybe next time.  Szechwan Chinese Restaurant is located at 2107 Pacific Coast Hwy. in Lomita, California.

Zohreh's Spaghetti

I make good spaghetti so when I really love someone else's spaghetti, you can be sure it is really good. My friend Zohreh brought me a container to share with Sandi for dinner. I didn't see Sandi that evening and wasn't going to see her in another 2 days so I decided to have some.

I filled my plate as you can see and there was still plenty to share. It was mouthwatering and very tasty. I made myself some salad to go since I didn't have any French bread around to go with it. With my glass of wine, it was a perfect dinner at home. I later shared the rest of it with Sandi only because I had to.

Thank you Zohreh. You don't have to give me the recipe, you just have to remind me how good it is occasionally.