I'm a big fan of peanut butter and honey sandwiches (PB&H). Forget about the jelly, it's better with honey. With peanut butter, I prefer the simple sweetness of honey over fruity jams and jellies.

One of my favorite breakfast items is an open-faced peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich, a PBB&H if you will. It's open-faced because I use a thick cinnamon swirl bread from Trader Joe's. It's a hearty wheat bread with a great cinnamon flavor. For breakfast, I usually toast a piece of bread, spread it with creamy peanut butter, slice a banana and drizzle a little bit of honey on top. Two open-face PBB&H sandwiches are very filling and keep me fueled up during long bike rides.

The funny thing is, I refused to eat peanut butter for almost fifteen years. My disdain for peanut butter started during nursery school. My family and I just immigrated to the States and I was literally fresh off the boat. Well, we took a boat from Saigon to Hong Kong, and flew the rest of the way to a small Pennsylvania town, New Cumberland.

Each day after nursery school let out, I would go to a classmate's home, whose mother baby-sat us until my mom finished work. This is were I was first introduced to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I recall it wasn't too bad initially, but I was used to savory banh mi, pho and rice plates.

Unfortunately, every day for the rest of the school year, my classmate's mom would ask her daughter what she wanted for lunch. Her answer was always a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I was a shy 4 year old, who barely spoke English (I'm the kid holding the flag in the picture below). Her mom would ask me what I wanted and I would respond timidly with "uh, same." I didn't know what to say and I knew she didn't know how to make bánh xèo, a Vietnamese sizzling crepe.

PB&J, ugh! It was always PB&J on white bread with the crust cut off. It was a cruel Groundhog Day scenario for a foreign-born, food loving four year old! Over and over for four or five months, it was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. Man, oh man, did I wish my classmate would answer with anything but PB&J! Every blue moon she would ask for something different, but the only thing I can remember eating at her house was PB&J.

On the last day of nursery school, my mom picked me up and asked me what I had for lunch. I answered simply with "peanut butter and jelly." Of course, I had told my mom that I didn't like peanut butter, but I didn't tell her why. Surprised by my response, my mom asked me, "I thought you didn't like peanut butter?" And I answered, "Yes."

Learning for the first time that I didn't like peanut butter, my classmate's mom was horrified. She asked me why I didn't say anything. I shrugged my shoulders and responded with "don't know", thinking to myself, I don't know how to tell you that I hate peanut butter!

From that day onward, I refused to eat anything with peanut butter. Reese's peanut butter cups... no. Peanut sauces... no way. PB&J... hell no! Fifteen years later, I rediscovered peanut butter as a starving college kid at Penn State. At that time, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich suddenly tasted so good!

As you can see, I've had a love-hate relationship with peanut butter. I love it now, and really enjoy PB&H sandwiches, peanut sauces and peanut butter frosted cupcakes. Currently, Trader Joe's organic peanut butter is my preferred brand. I go back and forth between creamy and crunchy. I'm on a creamy kick right now.

So, that's my peanut butter saga. Do you love peanut butter? What's your favorite food with peanut butter? What's your favorite brand?

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A few weeks ago, a friend brought over sticky date pudding from Bakesale Betty and it was absolutely fabulous. We loved it so much we tried Betty's pumpkin and pecan pies a few days later on Thanksgiving. Both pies were excellent, particularly the pecan pie.

After all the great desserts, we had to check out the bakery for lunch to try their popular fried chicken sandwich. The shop is located in North Oakland's Temescal District. When we arrived at the small, unassuming corner bakery, the line was just out the door. It was a little chaotic as we tried to figure out what to order in the fast moving line. We quickly decided to order...

• Fried Chicken Sandwich ($7.25)
• Egg Salad Sandwich ($5.50)
• Lemon Raisin Scone ($1.95)
• Ginger Pear Scone ($1.95)
• Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce (price unknown)

Our order was taken by Michael Camp, who is an owner and married to Alison Barakat, a.k.a. Betty, a former cook at Chez Panisse Cafe. At the time, I had no idea who Michael was. He began putting our order together on a metal tray and asked for $16.00. Obviously, I thought he made a mistake and asked him for the total again, he said, "16 dollars." I asked if he included the sticky date pudding in the order because it wasn't on the tray. He replied, "it's on the house." Alrighty then! We ended up getting...

• Fried Chicken Sandwich
• Egg Salad Sandwich
• Lemon Raisin Scone
• Ginger Pear Scone
• Apricot Almond Scone (complimentary)
• Sticky Date Pudding (complimentary)
• Two Frozen Lemonades (complimentary)

Michael told us that he would bring out the sticky date pudding cake to us. We found a table, an old ironing board, in a sunny spot on the sidewalk and started digging into our bounty. The fried chicken sandwich was fantastic. The buttermilk-battered chicken breast was nice and crispy with cole slaw piled high on top of it. We really liked the lightly dressed, vinaigrette based cole slaw. The absence of mayonnaise in the sandwich and slaw was a big positive for us. Serving thigh meat instead of breast meat is the only thing that would make it better, since we prefer dark meat.

The chunky egg salad sandwich was equally as good. It was topped with peppery arugula, which was a nice addition. Both sandwiches were served on good Acme torpedo rolls. The egg salad sandwich was a decent size, but the chicken sandwich was a very generous portion.

The scones were light and flaky with interesting flavor combinations. Our favorite scone was the lemon raisin with plump and juicy raisins. The scones would be great for breakfast with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Hungry Bear enjoyed the frozen lemonade because of the balance between sweet and tart. It was too tart for me, but I have odd taste buds.

As we were finishing our sandwiches, Michael came outside and told us the sticky date pudding was sold out. He apologized and gave us a voucher for a free pudding cake along with two shortbread cookies. It was completely unexpected and unnecessary, but talk about a great way to build customer loyalty.

The line grew longer during the lunch hour and we saw Michael on several occasions giving away cookies to everyone in line. I was sold on the food itself, but the extremely friendly service has me completely hooked. It's now my favorite bakery in the Bay Area!

I'm excited about going back for the sticky date pudding and trying out the banana bread. Hungry Bear wants to sample the lemon bars. I also want to figure out which sandwich I like more, fried chicken or egg salad? It's a toss up right now. I can't guarantee you'll get the same amount of complimentary food as we did, but the quality of the sandwiches and baked goods alone will make you come back for more!

Tip: Go early for sandwiches or they'll sell out and you'll be sad.

Location & Hours:
Bakesale Betty
5098 Telegraph Avenue (at 51st Street)
Oakland, CA 94609
Tuesday - Saturday: 7:00 am - 7:00 pm
(510) 985-1213
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A few weeks ago, I had a major craving for pulled pork after seeing this pulled pork sandwich from Simply Recipes. I love any big hunk of meat that is slow-cooked or braised. But after looking at the ingredients in the recipe, I was hesitant to make it because it seemed too vinegary.

I have a low tart tolerance and generally dislike anything with a lot of vinegar. And I have major issues with BBQ sauce, Tabasco and other vinegar sauces that dare call themselves hot sauces, but that's a sore subject for another time. When I have barbecued meat, I make sure the BBQ sauce is on the side. I want to taste the meat first and the sauce second!

Instead of making pulled pork with a traditional vinegar or tomato based sauce, I decided to create a Vietnamese pulled pork with my favorite Vietnamese ingredients. I used the flavors from my mom's braised chicken in caramel sauce with lemongrass and chili peppers (ga kho xa ot) as the inspiration for my pulled pork. My mom's ga kho xa ot is my favorite Vietnamese dish and it's the first thing I eat when I visit my parents.

I decided to make the pulled pork in the oven, since I don't have a reliable outdoor grill. My first attempt at making pulled pork turned out well and the SNDsters enjoyed it. I was pleased with the flavors from the dry rub, caramel sauce, lemongrass, chili peppers and fish sauce. However, I used bad cooking directions from a Food Network chef, who shall remain nameless. But let's just say, the results were far from "ultimate."

After searching for better roasting directions, I found a great article on pork butt selection and preparation. I learned the ideal cooking temperature was 225 to 250 degrees F and the target internal pork temperature was 190 to 205 degrees F.

Using these directions, my second attempt at pulled pork was a bigger success. I was extremely pleased with the texture of the pork and how easily it pulled apart. I oven-roasted a 7.5 lb pork butt at 250 degrees F to an internal temp of 195 degrees F and it took 9 1/2 hours. Yes it's a long time, but it's easy work and definitely worth the wait.

During the roasting process, the fragrance of Chinese five spice, which was used in the dry rub, filled my entire place. The pork developed a nice bark, primarily from the brown sugar in the rub. The pulled pork had a great five spice flavor on its own, but it was even more delicious after the lemongrass caramel sauce was mixed in.

I was extremely happy with the flavors of my pulled pork. There was a nice combination of sweetness and heat from the caramel sauce and fresh chili peppers. The saltiness of the pork comes from the kosher salt in the dry rub and fish sauce. The flavors are rounded out by the citrus of the lemongrass.

The pulled pork was served as a sandwich with a side of Vietnamese slaw (goi bap cai). Dinner was completed with an amazing sticky date pudding from Bakesale Betty. The slaw and date pudding will be written up in future posts, so I'll hold off describing them for now.

I created Vietnamese pulled pork to satisfy my desire for pulled pork without a heavy, vinegar based BBQ sauce. "Let the pork shine" was my philosophy. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

SNDsters: Eric, Tracy, Mark, Jane, Hungry Bear, Chuck

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As I mentioned in the last post, we had ice cream cookie sandwiches for dessert last Sunday. The cookies for the sandwich are thick and chewy chocolate chunk cookies. The cookies on their own are absolutely delicious with a glass of milk or coffee. Our friends have enjoyed the chocolate chunk cookies many times, so we decided to add a new twist and treat them to ice cream too.

The thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies recipe can be found in Cook's Illustrated's The New Best Recipe cookbook. We really like this recipe because it produces cookies that have a great chewy texture. Another reason why we like the recipe is the butter is melted as opposed to softened, so there's no pre-planning required to make the cookies.

When Hungry Bear and I make the cookies, we don't use chocolate chips, but instead create chunks by chopping bars of bittersweet Scharffen Berger chocolate. Additionally, to create a jagged surface, we break the dough ball in half, rotate the jagged halves 90 degrees and jam them back together. When you click through the slideshow, you'll see a round dough ball and one that was split in half and put back together. A round dough ball will create a cookie with a smooth surface, whereas, a jagged dough ball will produce a cookie with a nice textured appearance. This is one of the tips that you'll find at Cook's Illustrated.

Back to the ice cream sandwiches, they were great and completely over the top. The sandwich is just an excuse to eat two chocolate chunk cookies with some ice cream. I don't think we'll make ice cream cookie sandwiches again any time soon. It was just too gluttonous. But I completely enjoyed my chocolate chunk ice cream cookie sandwich last Sunday!

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I'm a big fan of breakfast sandwiches. My favorite breakfast sammy only takes five minutes to make. The sandwich consists of whole wheat bread, scrambled eggs, pepper jack cheese and avocado.

Last week at the Serramonte Farmers' Market, we picked up a hearty whole wheat bread with sunflower, sesame and poppy seeds. It's called Dakota bread and is made by the Great Harvest Bread Co. franchise in Oakland. The Dakota bread has a great texture from all the seeds and makes a great base for sandwiches. Any type of bread will do, but fresh bread from a local baker makes the breakfast sammy even better.

It doesn't get any better than toasted bread, melted pepper jack cheese, scrambled eggs and a ripe avocado... simply scrumptious. A little sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper over the avocado enhances its flavor even more. There's also a great contrast of textures between the crunchy bread, melted cheese, fluffy eggs and creamy avocado. Since I love spicy food, I top my eggs with a few shakes of a good hot sauce. One of my favorite hot sauces is Crystal Extra Hot hot sauce. 

I love this breakfast sandwich because it's super easy to make and a delicious way to start any day.

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