It was such an inspirational, high energy weekend in San Francisco!  There were many first’s in my world, here goes:

• I attended the BlogHer Food conference in San Francisco. This was my first non-virtual food blogger experience. It was fabulous to meet foodie bloggers for real.
• I traveled solo, without hubby and kiddos. This meant no schlepping of multiple bags, no car seats and no meltdowns. It meant I got to go where I wanted when I wanted. Missed the family, but the freedom was, well, freeing!

I met people in the biz that I read and write about often. Some are new inspirations that I will be adding to my list of favorites.

• David Lebovitz,
• 101 Cookbooks: Heidi Swanson
• Matt Bites: Matt Armendariz
• Conscious Cook: Victoria von Biel
• Tartelette: Helene Dujardin
• Steamy Kitchen: Jaden Hair

• I slammed fistfuls of Citizen Cake’s Scharffen Berger “Gooey Cake in a Chocolate Box” creation. Yes, I said fistfuls. They handed out latex gloves to grab hunks of Elizabeth Falkner’s creative, decadent, gooey chocolate cake. This wasn’t your typical chocolate cake. It had loads of flavors from sweet to savory. Each bite was an explosion of unique flavors. One moment I tasted spicy , the next salty, then creamy, and sweet bliss with every bite.

Some ingredients included in this gooey chocolate explosion included:

• Paprika (Huge on my radar these days!)
• Smoked Sea Salt
• Salty Pretzels
• Peanut Butter Caramel Brittle
• Perhaps some Cumin and Chili Pepper as well??  (Elizabeth, can you answer this?)

I just love odd flavor pairings. Combos that present themselves beautifully when combined together. The cake used many ingredients from the Scharffen Berger TuttieFoodie Adventure Contest. This contest is something I would love to participate in. Cheryl Sternman Rule captured a photo of me looking barbaric as I slammed a huge wad of cake into my mouth. Nice. My all time favorite sweet treat is layer cake. You can see that in the photo she snapped.

• I dined at The Slanted Door at the Ferry Building. They serve up super fresh, clean, sophisticated Vietnamese food. I had a perfectly prepared Mesquite Grilled Trout topped with a Cucumber Radish Salad. The salad was marinated in a mint and spicy ginger soy sauce. As a side: al dente Haricot Vert with Beech Mushrooms and roasted chili. Perfect flavor combinations. I sat at the bar and enjoyed each and every bite.

• Lastly in my line up of firsts: I was upgraded to a mega sweet suite. Ultra deluxe room/rooms, at the Fairmont Nob Hill. A room with a name not number kinda thing. Why doesn’t this happen on our family trips when I really need the space most?

Cool Stuff

En route to dinner at The Slanted Door I passed a gallery with this bright, eye-catching piece of art. Illuminated Sweet Heart art with hilarious comments inlcluding:

“I was drunk and you were there”

“I only used you to get your sister”

and

“I’m sorry if you’ve been mislead”

It made me realize how happy I am to be done with my college days where these expressions might have hit too close to home.

I am looking forward to the next BlogHer Food and other events to connect face to face with this vibrant community!