Here are a few Holiday photos with the girls and family. Mark Dong hosted a Secret Santa Family party with great success! I forgot to take photos of all the food and found only this snappy of his pot stickers, they were delicious! Mark laid out a nice spread of salami and cheeses, along with a wonderful pasta dressed with a rich almond and tomato pesto, spinach salad with extra crispy bacon and I presented a vanilla bean cheesecake laden with a zesty and festive cranberry-orange compote. You can see Delphina Dong with Katyln Reno, Delilah on the couch, Lulu holding a zonked out little sister, Janice (Mike's sister) with her daughter, Kiana and Delilah, the host, Mark and then Mike with his girls. There is also a photo of Kiana with Delphina and Delilah, too cute!

I had the pleasure of Dining at The French Laundry last Friday with my good friend Sheri, what a treat. Definitely a must do before you die experience. The food was out of this world, however the service was a bit too much for me. As you are trying to relax and savor your delights the kitchen has prepared for you there are about 10 servers bustling around the dining room making sure you have more than what you need. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, but geese, can I at least drink 1 entire glass of water? NO!-would be the answer there. Anyway, I included a few photos of the wonderful food from our 3 hour lunch that included 9-12 courses of love.

And of course

Gingerbread Houses that I

usually make

with my Grand-

-mother, Gigi!

Cauliflower Panna Cotta with Caviar!

Butter poached Maine lobster with chestnut puree, cranberries &

brussle sprouts!

The most amazing beef from Idaho!

Happy Holiday Everyone!

Hello Everyone,

I really must reiterate how hard it is to get anything accomplished with a new born, let alone a husband and 3 year old!

I want to dedicate this small insert to my beloved Moxie Bang Bang Simmons, RIP, 1996-2009. What a great girl, friend, companion, sister, dog, trouper, snuggle girl, traveler and all around goodness! Moxie's cancer finally won, but she will never be forgotten, always in our hearts and our dreams!

You'll see a couple of photo's of Ocean Beach, the "lines" in the sand caught my eye as I was walking by this morning. The other nice blue pix is of Sutro Baths, which is also along the way of my 4-6 mile walk I take every morning after Delilah and I drop Lulu off at School. A bit brisk this morning at 35', what the heck?

Then I added in a few pix of us with Moxie...can't say anymore on that....it just is......remember all the great times!

Then there are some fun pix of us at Auntie Nay Nay's "Castle" for dinner. Lulu has the BEST time with her Auntie Nay Nay!

That's all I got for ya this go around, Moxie gets me choked up, I'll be back in the swing of this real soon!

Best, Em & Family

Cousins, Bike Rides, Good Foods, Good Friends and Good Times!

Please bear with

me as I get used to this layout, I have all the pictures and text mixed up, but I think you can figure out who is who and what is what!! ENJOY!!













Introducing Lulu and Delilah's (first) cousins;
Nicolas & Kiana Reno and Delphina &

Cooper Dong!

Delphina & Cooper live on the other side of Golden Gate Park, so we are fortunate to be able to play with them often, meeting them at the playground is a favorite! Nico & Kiana live in Oakland, across the Bay Bridge. Not as easy to visit, especially when the darn Bridge is closed, but we really love going over and having picnics in the backyard and shopping at the Farmer's Markets!

Lulu loves being picked up at School on the bikes! We often take a nice sunset ride along Ocean Beach before heading home to prepare dinner and play with little sister Delilah, who has reached the 10# mark!

Outside Lulu's School are a few Calla Lily's (Grandy's Favorite flower!), they also grow wild all over the park, so beautiful! Whenever Lulu spies one, she says, "there is Grandy's favorite flower!, what would she say if she saw it here?".

I had the chance to go out to Dinner with my good friend Robin last Thursday, we went to Magnolia Pub and Brewery on Haight Street, check them out on the web, nice food, kinda reminds me of my style of cooking for any 151 fans out there! We started off with their house made assorted pickles, that night the plate included, zucchini, summer squash, turnip and cucumbers, they were delicious! The squash were delicately sliced thinly so they melted in your mouth, the Japanese style white baby turnips provided a nice crunch, but could have sat in their brine a bit longer for my taste buds. The cucumbers had the right balance out of all the veggies presented. I can almost never forgo beets, and I am so glad I ordered the roasted beet and frisse salad! YUM! Lightly dressed in a simple vinaigrette with toasted pistachios nuts, what a treat, and velvety clouds of silky goat cheese, HEAVEN!

For our Entrees, we shared the roasted bbq chicken, bacon and cheese pizza, ok, good flavor, but the crust, although thin and crisp, lacked that nice yeasty flavor I desire. The other entree was the house made gnocchi(they might have been a day old, however, when given the chance for fresh pasta, no major complaints!) swimming with brown butter, wild mushrooms, roasted butternut squash cubes, bacon and fresh ricotta cheese; dreamy. We each had a Kolsch beer, served in a thin tall glass that went perfectly with our meal. We had a sweet server named Katie, the ambiance was nice, a bit loud by the end of our meal though......they do a kickin' Brunch!

I've included some photo's of our visit with Uncle Mark (Michael's Brother). We checked out his new apartment in Russian Hill on Jackson Street, a lovely home he has created and decorated for himself! Can't wait for his Holiday Party! We shopped on Polk Street and had some Thai food for lunch. While we were in one shop Lulu spied some Blow Pops and flashed her pearly whites and batted her almond eyes and behold! That pop found its way to her mouth! Lucky Lulu, usually it's only Grandpa who gives her those treats! She was so excited, she exclaimed, "what would Grandpa say if he saw me with this lollipop?"!

I've included a picture of Mike & Mike outside the house they are working on-HOT & HANDSOME!! Also some pictures from our visit to Auntie Nay Nay's "Castle" last night for Dinner, a great time!

Another gorgeous day here in the Bay Area, so I am off to play! Til next time, lots of love form the DDF! (Damon Dong Family)!!!!!

Oakland Sunday Farmer's Market & College Avenue

Do you want to say "a cooks heaven"? Well, I was swimming in it all afternoon yesterday with my family and the Reno Family in Rockridge at the Farmer's Market! Yippie, it happens all year long, every Sunday. And I am told this was a SMALL market. It is one of many that happen here in the Bay area. I have uploaded a few images for you to enjoy, I will try to include more, but I am so brand new to this particular site that it will take some time for me to work my way to the competent and efficient stage of loading my blog, so bear with me, please!

The strawberries were so fragrant we could smell their sweetness wafting out thru the bag they were being toted around in......the blackberries were large and plump, but not as equally sweet as the red , luscious strawberries. We just popped them in our mouths like candy for dessert. The chicken sandwich is from Bake Sale Betty's; check her out on the web. The line to enter her shop was at least a 30 minute wait.....and let me tell you-IT WAS WORTH IT! Michael and I had to split it, and even just 1/2 was more than enough! A tender, juicy fried chicken breast, mounded with a crisp, fresh cabbage slaw that was generously studded with fresh jalapeno peppers, all squeezed between a torpedo style roll..........hard to get ones mouth around!

The shot of the flowers and the "posters" of meat prices are the local shops on College Avenue.