This weekend I returned to Wayfare Tavern for a wonderful dinner with Corey, our friend Chava and my sister-in-law, Michelle. Unlike my previous visit, I didn’t share an intimate moment with Tyler Florence – but the food was almost as delicious as the chef himself, and that’s really what matters, right?

Our dining companions are both vegetarians, so they shared two meat-free options from the Wayfare menu. The one featured at the top of this post was almost too beautiful to eat…but somehow, they found a way. Homemade ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese and surrounded by a roasted summer squash puree, jack cheese and crispy “blossoms,” which we assumed were squash blossoms. Aren’t the colors fantastic?

Alongside their pasta, Chava and Michelle shared this tomato salad with heirloom tomatoes, black-eyed peas, feta cheese and a delectable aioli. I had a bit of salad envy when I saw this combination.

Corey and I took a decidedly non-vegetarian route, agreeing to share two meaty entrees that caught my eye the last time I dined at Wayfare Tavern. First up: this smoked pork chop, adorned with a grilled peach (yum) and marcona almond butter (double yum). The combination sounded so intriguing, I had to try it. The peach was a perfect complement to the juicy pork, and the almond butter was so unexpectedly good. The pretty stuff on top is shaved fennel, which doesn’t really do anything for me. But the brown stuff on the bottom is some sort of honey/brown sugar glaze, which does quite a bit for me.

Our second entree was the reason I specifically booked a table on a Sunday evening. Sunday’s blue plate special is chicken pot pie filled with yummy vegetables and encased in a wonderful buttermilk crust. I almost changed my mind about this dish when the woman seated next to us started babbling about it being too dry and too heavy on the tarragon…but Corey convinced me we should try it and form our own opinion.

And that opinion is that it is both delicious and beautiful. Love the pea pod served on top.

The filling was not overly seasoned, as our neighbor implied. It was delicious, as was the crust.

Dessert seemed necessary since our tablemates ordered such light entrees. I mean, we pretty much had to get a few desserts to share…right?

You may remember the pineapple upside down cake from my previous visit.

I let Chava and Michelle enjoy that one so I could try a few bites of banana pudding (which was good, but not nearly Southern enough for my tastes – only one vanilla wafer, Tyler?! really?!).

And then…this appeared in front of me.

It was simply described as peach pie with vanilla goat’s milk ice cream and rosemary sugar. I was expecting a nice piece of pie for the four of us to share. Instead, we had enough pie for four or more to share. Can we talk about how beautiful this rosemary sugar looks? I love rosemary, but admit it can be a bit harsh. Rolling it in sugar certainly makes it more palatable.

Once we broke into this bad boy, it was all over. Oh. Em. Gee. Perfect filling. Perfect (and I do mean perfect) pie crust. I could not ask for a more delicious dessert.

Pie for dinner and pie for dessert. It really doesn’t get any better than that. Well, unless those pies are hand-delivered by Tyler Florence himself. Can someone make that happen?

There are 5 to 10 days per year when San Francisco temperatures rise into the high 80s/low 90s. Our homes are not air conditioned, so many of us feel a little freaked out by the sudden heat wave. When you come home from work at 5:30 p.m. and it’s 95 degrees inside your house, you can follow either of two philosophies: 1) stay inside, complain about the heat and attempt to cook dinner without turning on your oven; or 2) grab your cute husband and cute dog and head to Crissy Field to make the best of a bad situation. San Francisco is even more beautiful on a warm, sunny evening.

As for dinner…extreme heat is the one thing that kills my normally voracious appetite. Nothing sounded remotely appealing, so we headed to our favorite fro-yo place for a somewhat-irresponsible-yet-totally-satisfying frozen meal. Here, too, we found ourselves in the face of two diverging philosophies. When it comes to fro-yo, you can be super boring.

(Dulce de Leche and Original Tart yogurt topped with a smattering of Reese’s Pieces)

Or super awesome.

(Cake Batter and Chocolate yogurt topped with rainbow sprinkles, Cap’n Crunch, Reese’s Cups, Kit Kat, strawberries)

I’ll let you decide which philosophy reigns supreme.

I mean, I really hate crowds. I also hate standing in line, so I surprised myself (and my husband) when I decided to attend the SF Street Food Festival. I missed it last year, and next year I’ll have a small child (which will take crowd hatred to a new level), so it was now or never. Turns out this year was the perfect year for me to go, since a street food festival is basically a pregnant woman’s smorgasbord. Where else can you find and eat the following combination of foods?

Lumpia (Filipino eggrolls) courtesy of Lumpia Cart. I follow this gentleman on Twitter, and I’ve been dying to track him down and sample his delicious product. These were filled with pork and fried to a perfect crisp. Corey and I agreed to share everything we consumed at the fair….but I wanted to keep all the lumpia for myself.

Pork and Bean Pupusa (a delicious El Salvadoran treat) from Estrellita’s Snacks. Doughy and crisp at the same time, with a delicious pork, bean and cheese filling.

A ‘Zilla Dog from 4505 Meats. It’s an uncured hot dog topped with kimchee, scallions, a spicy sauce and – yes, you are correct – 4505′s housemade pork rinds. It was the weirdest combination ever, but it worked, especially for someone with mad vinegar cravings (= me!). Mmmmmmm.

Pork and Veggie Ramen from Hapa Ramen. We needed at least one vegetable for lunch…why not seaweed?

And finally, two items purchased and consumed by our friend Dave, who has quite an adventurous palate. First, a “suicide stick” from Global Soul, which appeared to be a tiny flame roasted pepper. The suicide effect was subtle at first, but Dave and his wife Andrea felt the heat soon enough!

Followed by a Scotch Egg from Purple Hibiscus. Hardboiled egg…wrapped in sausage…and fried. Hm. A pork rind-topped hot dog sounds far more appealing to me!

This event was partially sponsored by Pepto Bismol. How’s that for convenience?

I don’t care for most burgers made with poultry, pork, fish, beans, vegetables. If I’m going to eat a burger, I want it to be made with beef (or bison) and cooked perfectly medium. I’m willing to compromise for one particular non-beef burger, but that’s mainly because it’s stuffed with copious amounts of havarti cheese.

Havarti with dill, to be exact. I stumbled upon this recipe many years ago and it’s become a favorite in our house. So many turkey burgers are dry and tasteless, but this one gets a major flavor boost since the cheese is mixed directly into the meat. It gets nice and melty from the inside out, and keeps the meat wonderfully moist – with a little help from grated onion and a dash of mustard. I still pledge my allegiance to the almighty beef burger, but this one is almost as delicious as the real thing.

Turkey and Havarti Burgers

adapted from Rachael Ray

1 1/3 lb ground turkey (note: you can use white or dark meat, but I find dark has more flavor)

3 oz havarti with dill, diced into small pieces

1/2 small onion, grated

1 tbsp mustard

2 tsp poultry seasoning or all purpose seasoning such as Spike, or salt and pepper to taste

1 – 2 tsp olive oil

4 buns

Suggested toppings: mustard, mayo, sliced avocado, romaine lettuce

In a medium bowl, gently combine the turkey, diced cheese, grated onion, mustard and seasonings. Do not overmix or your burgers will be tough. Divide the meat into four patties.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and when it’s hot, add the burgers. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes per side or until firm to the touch and cooked through. Serve on buns spread with mustard and mayo and top with lettuce and sliced avocado.

Remember when I was relaxed? That feeling lasted for approximately 12 hours after my last blog post. We continued to enjoy ourselves…

(Yes, this is how you entertain yourselves when you’ve been married for 10+ years. Am I the only former wannabe-cheerleader marveling at Corey’s toe touch?!)

But on the final day of our vacation, we learned our dog had been skunked and we’d be returning to a fairly stinky house. In the grand scheme of things, this is not a catastrophe – our dog sitter did an excellent job and handled the situation as well as she could – but when you’re 7+ months pregnant, fairly hormonal and sensitive to strong smells, it sure feels like one. We spent the next several days cleaning and deodorizing everything in our house. Furniture and rugs were steam cleaned. Massive amounts of laundry were done. And the source of all of this trouble received both a new haircut…

…and a new collar. His dad felt he needed something tough to ward off future skunk predators.

While the skunk drama and odor are starting to fade, we’re still not completely free of household problems. Our washing machine is acting up, and in a clumsy pregnant moment I managed to do this to our laptop.

The screen is now permanently damaged, and we have to decide whether to fix it or get a new computer. Fixing the screen is cheaper than buying something new, but before this happened we were considering a few software upgrades…and now it may be more economical to just buy a new one.

I’ve shed more than a few tears over the past few days. Really, it’s all minor stuff, but it was a lot to deal with in a short amount of time. To combat this negative energy, I’ve spent a lot of time in my kitchen, which truly is my happy place. I made a delicious pork roast on Sunday, and while Corey would be content to eat straight-up pork for days on end, I wanted to do something different and delicious with the leftover meat. Roast pork enchiladas fit the bill.

If you are having a bad week, might I humbly suggest you increase your consumption of cheese, salsa and sour cream? This was so comforting and delicious. I’ve always loved Mexican food, but pregnancy has elevated that love to a much higher level. I have intense cravings for spicy salsa and tangy, pickled jalapenos; this recipe took care of both of those cravings, while fulfilling the more important task of using the leftover roast pork. I chopped the meat and mixed it with some caramelized onions, diced green chilies and a splash of chicken stock. It was a nice twist on the typical enchilada.

You’ll notice that the enchilada sauce is neither red nor green, which was something different for me. When searching for potential recipes, I found this one and was intrigued by the sauce ingredients: sour cream, salsa verde and chicken stock. Those who tested and reviewed the recipe said it was much too watery for their tastes, so I made a few tweaks and came up with something creamy, light and tasty. The pork was a great complement to these flavors, though I think leftover chicken or beans would be equally delicious.

Let’s hope this dish is a sign that things are looking up in our household. Mexican food certainly smells a lot better than skunky dog.

Roasted Pork Enchiladas

inspired by Emeril Lagasse

2 cups cubed or shredded cooked pork*

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp canola oil

salt and pepper, to taste

7 oz can diced green chilies

1 c chicken stock

1 c lowfat sour cream

1 c salsa verde

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 c shredded monterey jack or Mexican blend cheese

8 to 10 small corn or flour tortillas (I really like these because they have the texture of flour, but a corn-like taste)

2 – 3 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish, if desired

pickled jalapenos, for garnish, if desired

Preheat the oven to 400.

Heat the oil in a large pan set over medium heat. Add the onion and allow to slowly cook and caramelize, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. (You want them brown, but not burnt). Add the cubed pork, diced green chilies, cilantro and a few splashes of chicken stock – just enough to give the mixture a slightly moist texture. Warm the mixture for a minute or two, then remove from heat and set aside. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Whisk the sour cream, cumin and salsa verde together in a mixing bowl. When combined, add the chicken stock, starting with 1/2 cup and adding more until desired consistency is reached. You want it to be saucy, but not too thin; I added about 3/4 cup total. When the sauce is fully combined and the consistency is to your liking, use 1/2 cup to evenly coat the bottom of a glass baking dish. Scoop a generous amount of filling into each tortilla, add a sprinkle of cheese and roll them up, placing them seam-side down in the prepared baking dish. Cover the tortillas with the remaining sauce, shredded cheese and jalapenos, if using.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil that’s been lightly sprayed with cooking spray and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly. Broil for 1 – 2 additional minutes if you like a brown, crusty topping. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes before serving, and garnish with chopped cilantro and sour cream.

* I used leftovers from a pork shoulder roast that had been simply seasoned with salt, pepper and brown sugar. You can use any leftover pork, or even leftover roast chicken or beans.