Dessert time in the Golden State

I just got back from a long road trip to the Golden State, otherwise known as California. I stayed right on the outskirts of the city of San Fransisco and along with that came great food. I only stayed for 2 days, but I ate up all the delicious food I could in that short amount of time. The first place we went to for dessert was a place called CREPEVINE, which, of course, sold crepes... Gourmet crepes! Yumm.... I went with my cousins who got a crepe called the Siena which consists of nutella, strawberries, and nuts. My parents shared the Cherry Blintz which has Cherries, ricotta and mascarpone cheese, with apple sauce and sour cream. My sister and I divided the Santorini crepe which was constructed of walnuts, pistachios, brown sugar, coconut, cinnamon and mascarpone cheese. The dessert crepes are all served with whipped cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I definitely recommend this restaurant to you, I wish I could have eaten dinner there also, but I was too full.

The Santorini

The Cherry Blintz

The Siena

Another restaurant I went to was a little French bakery in San Fran called Tartine. The line was pretty long, but it was totally worth it. When I walked into this place and saw all of the pastries I wanted to try them all. I ended of getting a morning bun, which I first had at my local growers market and instantly fell in love. Morning buns are like cinnamon rolls minus the icing, they are crispy and flaky and sugary and delectable. For lunch I ordered their pastrami sandwich, which was also great but I couldn't even finish one third of it because it literally came with three huge pieces of sandwich. So we just boxed it up and ate it the next day for lunch. My mom and sister got almond croissants for dessert and for lunch they got croque monsieur, which is basically a piece of thick-cut french bread covered in a beschemel sauce and layered with cheese, ham, and tomatoes. Everything we got at Tartine was very good and if you are planning on going to San Fransisco you should definitely stop by for a treat.
This was such a fun trip and a great experience (because I'm not from the city).

Greek Lemon Chicken Salad

This meal is great for a quick lunch or a simple weeknight dinner. It is delicious, fresh, and healthy. If you didn't want to make the whole meal you could just use the recipe for the Greek dressing for a salad that you made. I guarantee that you and your family will love this dish.

Feeds 3-4 people

Marinade:

Juice if 1 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
Whisk together, Set aside.
8 chicken tenderloins
Cut chicken into about 3 inch pieces, trimming off all fat. Put the marinade into a large plastic bag with the chicken. Let marinate for about 20 minutes. Grill chicken in a cast iron grilling pan or on a barbeque until browned and cooked all the way through, about 15 minutes.

Salad:

1/2 English cucumber
1 carrot
1 head of romaine lettuce
Cut cucumber into rounds. Sliver the carrots. Chop and wash all of the lettuce.

Greek Dressing:

5 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
pinch of salt and pepper
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
Pulse all of the ingredients together in a Cuisinart. Put the chicken on the salad and pour the dressing over both. Enjoy!