Happiness is...

Finding a recipe. Trying it out. Having it work out really well (except the part where you're the slowest cook in the world and it took you like 3x as long as it should have) and really actually liking it. I've tried a bunch of recipes on Allrecipes.com recently that have been decent, but this one I really enjoyed.

Pear and Prosciutto Pizza using Quick and Easy Pizza Crust. At least the way I made it - D'Anjou pears (had no idea which to use so I got the more expensive ones =P), imported Swiss cheese (it was that or fat-free which I knew my bf would kill me for), fresh mozzarella, and six slices of prosciutto... I would advise using more than the 6 cloves of garlic it calls for, though - I didn't have enough to spread all around the pizza, though it still tasted fine. But it was super-yummy and I quite enjoyed the crust which really was quick and easy.

Made Sweet and Tangy Sauteed Collard Greens on the side b/c I figured I should branch out from my typical spinach (the only green in a standard grocery store I really know how to cook). It wasn't bad - not bitter like collard greens usually are. Of course, there's a lot of butter in that recipe. Some people said they made it without the butter and it still tasted good. Maybe I'll try that next time.

On the eating out note, I've been:
Yummy Yummy (1015 Irving St, btwn 11th and 12th) which was quite yummy yummy ;). Vietnamese restaurant next door to San Tung.. my bf's pho (which they let him add both flank and steak too even though the menu had them in separate offerings) was quite tasty. I ordered one of the special grills, which is basically something like lemon pork (or beef or five-spice chicken, or sugarcane shrimp, etc etc), vermicelli, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, and mint leaves on a plate accompanied by hard dry skins that you dip in hot water until they soften and then wrap your own spring-roll like things in. This was surprisingly good given that the ingredients are so standard for Vietnamese fare - fresh and delicious.

Lilly's BBQ (705 Divisadero between Fulton and Grove) Must qualify this by saying we got this takeout, and my bf biked it home. So it got home faster than when I walk/bus stuff home from, say, lower Haight, but it still cooled off by the time we started eating it. So that must be kept in mind since cool meat is not nearly as good as freshly warm meat. That being said, at the moment I favor Memphis Minnie's BBQ more. The people at Lilly's were really nice - seems like an entire family (all the males anyway) work there and the main guy was super down home and friendly. He advised us the tri-tip was too tough (in fact, wouldn't sell it) so we got the baby back ribs and beef brisket in a 2-meat combo, with a small order of cole slaw and corn on the side. The baby back ribs were ok - not particularly meaty, not particularly juicy, but reasonably flavored for the amount of meat I could get off the bone. The beef brisket - I don't think I'm as big a fan of beef brisket as I think I should be b/c I haven't liked it the last 3 bbq places we've gone... but at any rate, partly b/c it was cold, it was a bit tougher and not as tender as I think it should be. The mild bbq sauce was ok. I know it's not at all authentic but really, my favorite is KC Masterpiece. Particularly mixed with honey. The cole slaw I liked more than Memphis Minnie b/c it was standard creamy slaw as opposed to the vinegary stuff Memphis Minnie has. The corn was pretty much whole kernel corn out of the can though there's some smokiness to it so I'm not quite sure how it was cooked. It was better than the stuff at that Soul Food place we went to a few weeks ago. I've never had real authentic southern or Texas bbq so I don't even know if I judge these things right. But...Lilly's fell a little short for me.

Also had Squat and Gobble (1428 Haight St) for dinner but I don't even count that b/c I don't think it's really a dinner place. Got a Salmon Cobb salad. The salmon was fried. The salad was decent, particularly when I got the parts with bacon and blue cheese and ranch dressing all mixed in well, but the salmon was eh. It's fine when you're looking for a low-key dinner but it's not that fast.