Barefoot Contessa Sighting

Thanks everyone for all the congrats on my new job.  I am incredibly excited to work in the wine industry and for such a great company.  I cannot wait to share my adventures in wine with you all.  For those who asked what I will be doing, I am a numbers girl and will be working with finance, accounting, operations, sales and marketing.  I love that my job will be a mix of everything I am passionate about and I have the chance to work with everyone in the organization helping to grow the business.

This week’s Wordless Wednesday was for one of the most unique purses I’ve ever seen.  For those who want to buy it, it’s waiting for you at the Sacramento Antique Fair.

And now, my recap of the day I have been waiting for ever since I first picked up on Barefoot Contessa Fool Proof cookbook last month.  We were up bright and early to make sure we secured a good spot in line.

After hopping in the car for the drive, we grabbed lattes at Panera to keep our hands warm while we waited in line.  I shared a slice of a sour baguette and pumpkin pie bagel with my friend.

I am pretty much convinced that I could live off of Panera’s baguettes.

We arrived at 10:30 am for the book signing and the line was already out the door and quickly wrapping around the corner.  The people at the beginning of the line said they got there at 7 am.

The book signing was held at Sur La Table and they made sure they provided us all with snacks while we were in line.

Not just any snacks, but, actual Barefoot Contessa recipes from her book ~ Mexican Hot Chocolate, Cappucino’s, pecan sandies, blondies, brownies and cinnamon toast bread.

My absolutely favorite of the mini snacks were the cupcakes.

On the left, a pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting and crushed heath bar that really is as good as it sounds!

On the right, a red velvet cake from the box mix Barefoot Contessa makes and topped with cream cheese frosting.

In order to have your book signed by BC, you had to buy it at Sur La Table either ahead of time or on the day.  Your ticket was the key to getting your book signed.

Can I just say that I totally love the fact that BC likes Red Cups too?!

The only thing she was doing was signing her name without a message since there were so many people in line.  I wish she would have at least written our names like Tyler Florence did when he signed his books last year

I am a complete dork because I asked her if I could take a picture with her and then forgot to turn around when the time came.  Here is my “snap shot” with the Contessa LOL.  It was still fun to meet and chat with her even if I was too star struck to remember to look at the camera.

After the signing, I refueled with some gigantic grapes before we headed out to do some shopping. 

I pretty much fell in love with Santana Row all over again as we walked around checking out all the holiday decorations.

This building totally reminded me of Rainbow Row in Charleston, South Carolina.

Before heading to lunch/dinner, we decided to visit DSW to see what was on sale.  You know you are cool when you are prepared for trying on any type of shoe with one sock and one panty hose sock on.  For the record, I only did this in the store and didn’t walk around all day like this lol.

We also made a quick walk through of World Market where I found another cookbook that was made just for me (No Sis, I didn’t buy it, but, I can’t promise how long I can resist lol.)

We drove across town just so we could have some Hunan Food.  Hunan is a cross between Thai Food and Chinese Food made spicy.  You pick the level of heat you want in everything they make.

All I can say is if you are ever in San Jose, CA, you need to visit Hunan Tastes and try their Meat Pies.  You will not be disappointed!

Since there were 4 of us, we decided on ordering everything on the menu just so we could try it all.

First up, The Onion Cake with Peanut Sauce.  It’s like this super thin flour tortilla packed with just the right amount of green onions to give it a little oniony flavor.  They fry it, but, it’s not greasy at all.

Next up, The Spicy Meat Pies that everyone raves about.

There are 4 layers of those delicious flour and egg thin pancakes stuffed with spicy chicken (think sriracha spice!) and fresh, cool, crisp lettuce.

I know this is going to sound like a crazy explanation, but, it reminded a little of a spicy Jim Boy’s Taco, but, better.

These meat pies melt in your mouth and then just as your mouth starts to get a little hot, the lettuce kicks in.  If you only order one thing on the menu, get these!

We picked 3 different stir fries to try and every single one was spicy, flavorful and perfectly cooked.

Thai Basil Chicken ~ we actually saw this dish getting delivered to someone in the restaurant and asked her what it was.  She said that it is the only thing she gets and she comes here once a week, just for this dish.

I can totally see why ~ you can taste the basil, ginger, and hot chili spice.  The vegetables were crispy and crunchy.

The special of the day ~ Asparagus Beef ~ the spicy garlic black bean sauce made this dish.

My personal favorite and something I would’ve never ordered if it wasn’t raved about on Yelp ~ Shredded Pork with Vegetables.  This was a little sweet, a lot of spicy and all the vegetables gave this dish great texture and crunch.

Delicious!  I want to grab that fork and dig in all over again!

We walked lunch off wondering the Valley Fair Mall before heading over to watch the Holiday Light Festival at Santana Row.

Janetha ~ This store front totally made me think of you and wonder if there was any way I could just pick it up and ship it to you   Happy “Owlidays”! I love it!

Eventually we ended up at the outdoor vintage wine bar for some Holiday Wine while we waited for The Row to Light Up. 

Paired with Jo’s Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Caramel’s ~ aka, my favorite 2 points+ caramel ever.  You can find them at Peet’s Coffee and World Market.

Every single building had lights in the window or super cute decorations like this.

I seriously think we stepped right into the Christmas Carol or another Christmas movie in a good way.  They were serving up hot cider, chocolate, cookies and milk and there were dancers, singers, Christmas Carolers…..

And, the Nutcrackers were dancing on stilts in the streets.

The only thing I didn’t see was Santa, his elves or Rudolph ~ maybe all that comes after Thanksgiving?

The Grand Finale was the biggest Christmas Tree on the Row lighting up. My pictures do not even come close to capturing how beautiful everything was and what an amazing day/night it was. 

It was all we talked about on the way home since we couldn’t find a radio station playing Christmas music yet

As fun as my long weekend was, I am looking forward to a couple of routine days with healthy eats as we get ready to head off for our Jamaican Thanksgiving on Friday!!!

I will catch up with you all tomorrow with my daily.

Night all!