Gastronomy 101

TRIP REPORT: San Francisco 2009

2009-10-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again ... the time where we go to San Francisco! We're old so most of our frolicking there involves food or drink, but we always manage to have a great time. This year it was the occasion of the Cal-USC football game which meant the town was pretty much invaded by Southern Californians but only in the touristy parts. I never noticed this when I lived there, but when you're spending most of your time near Union Square it becomes very apparent, especially when you try to get a cab on Saturday night after the football game.

So ... on to the important stuff. Where did we go and what did we do there?

We arrived on Friday afternoon just in time to think about lunch. We stayed in the Hyatt Regency which is conveniently across the the way from the Ferry Building. Since we knew that Saturday would probably be out for the Ferry Building, we opted to just go there right away, for lunch.

We went to Il Cane Rosso for lunch. Il Cane Rosso specializes in simple, farm-fresh, seasonal meals. I had the Star Route Farm Red Oak Lettuce salad with grapes, watermelon radishes, spicy green beans, hazelnuts and sherry vinaigrette. It was a nice light lunch and I was happy that the salad was big enough to be filling but not ridiculously huge like some places make salads. J had a brisket sandwich that was special for that day. The menu is based around several basic items that change according to what's in season. Looking back I can see that my red oak lettuce salad was a Bibb lettuce salad back in August, with figs instead of grapes and almonds instead of hazelnuts, but the idea is basically the same. The food was delicious and we ended up going back again on Sunday for a late lunch. This is the kind of place that I would go to regularly if I lived near it, bcause of the the simple but delicious food and the changing menu.

The next part of the day was devoted to ... well, a nap. We had to get up really early to catch our plane, and I had stayed up really late working the night before so basically if I was going to be alive for the evening portion, I would have to rest, which I did. Then we began our evening.

We started at the Rickhouse, which my former co-workers will remember as Ginger's Trois, one of the more dive-y and frightening gay bars around. The Rickhouse is pretty much unrecognizable. The dark, forbidding entrance with its sad, limp, faded rainbow flag is gone and now there's a sleek wooden facade and bold sign proclaiming that you are now at the Rickhouse. It's rather labyrinthine inside, but it's very nice, managing to feel old and new at the same time. The Rickhouse is a spin-off of Bourbon and Branch and shows the same attentiveness and love of mixology, but with a focus on whiskey. The specialty here is whiskey, although they serve all kinds of drinks. I was feeling like something potent, so I got a Trilby #2: Scotch, sweet vermouth, parfait amour, absinthe and orange bitters. Now that's a drink. We somehow managed to snag a spot at one of the bars but the place was packed and we had things to do, so it was one drink and then out.

We moved on to the Gray Area Foundation for the Arts (GAFFTA). GAFFTA is a non-profit art group that deals mainly with social consciousness and digital culture and also as part of an effort towards economic development in the Tenderloin. They were having their public grand opening that night so we decided to check it out. It's a nice space - a small brick building with wheat grass growing from the walls. Most of the pieces were abstract and either in a digital video medium or digitally created. My favorite was a special exhibit by a design group where they mapped out San Francisco based on various things such as crime rate, trees, cab pick-ups/drop-offs, etc. It was interesting to see the city in terms of different things like that and to be able to pick out areas without any other identifiers.

After that, it was time for a late dinner. By this point I had walked from the Financial District to deep in the Tenderloin in my high heels and my feet were telling me in no uncertain terms it was time to sit down. We opted for Bar Jules, a small neighborhood cafe in Hayes Valley. It's the type of place where the menu is written on a blackboard each day based on whatever's good and where no matter how popular it gets, it always feels like a casual neighborhood hangout inside. We were incredibly lucky, because as we got there, we were told that it would be an hour wait. My feet had immediately screamed "WHAT?!" But noting the tables outside with chairs and the availability of wine ordering while you wait, I ignored them and accepted the wait. As it turns out, most of the people ahead of us on the list had left and didn't come back in time to be called so we only had to wait a few minutes. The food is simple, but ours was delicious. The restaurant did a great job of creating the illusion of being in a small neighborhood bistro in France, although most people couldn't afford to pop in here every day for a bite. Still, for a romantic dinner this is a great idea as long as a possibly long wait for a table won't kill the romance for you.

Saturday was the day of the game, so there was not much activity to speak of for most of the day. Jason was off to the game and I spent that time getting some work done. But we did, at least, have breakfast and lunch. For brunch we headed out to the Mission to Bar Tartine. Bar Tartine is not new to me, but I think I haven't written about it here before. Anyway, if you've been reading this up until this point, you won't be surprised to find that Bar Tartine has a French cafe feel while serving fresh, local California cuisine. You are shocked, I know. But what they also have is a really satisfying brunch menu that will fill you up just as well as any greasy spoon. Jason had a poached egg and prosciutto with some grilled country bread and I had a nettle omelet with bitter greens and a rye-herb toast. And it was vacation so mimosas all around! I was happily surprised that we had such an easy time getting a spot for brunch there, although it was busy by the time we left, it didn't seem like it would be a long wait.

One long interlude for sports and working, and then it was dinner time! Our biggest problem turned out to be getting a cab. The city was packed with tourists and all the cabs were busy, busy, busy. We finally managed to grab a good corner and were able to get our ride just on time. We were about 15 minutes late for our reservation but the restaurant kindly held it for us and it was ready and waiting when we came in. Which restaurant? Well, NOPA. NOPA has made an appearance in this blog before, and it was actually good enough to merit a return. It's really hard when there are so many great places to go, to pick a place you've been over a brand shiny new place, but NOPA had all the qualities we wanted, most important being "open late enough." NOPA makes classic favorites using the requisite fresh, seasonal, etc. ingredients. You can't go wrong with a hamburger, and I indulged myself with a roast chicken and fries, since all of the "Bar ____" places were making me nostalgic for Paris. The chicken was giant. I did my best to devour it, but I couldn't quite make it. The meat was bright white and juicy. The skin was maybe not as crisp as I would have liked it, but that's easily overlooked.

Okay, just one more! Because this is getting looooong. Our last dinner was at Flour and Water. It's kind of a strange name, I have to say. The restaurant itself is Italian and once you know that it makes sense. But the name does not invoke Italy ... it's more like ... I don't know, it reminds me of The Good Earth restaurant where the name always for some reason invoked this very matronly, healthy sort of feeling that was off-putting to me. Something about "Flour and Water" is the same. I guess because flour and water on their own are not exactly tasty. You have to mess with them to make them into something delicious.

Anyway, the restaurant itself was fantastic. It was my favorite meal of the trip. J and I split a pizza and then had pastas for our main meals. I have been reading Heat, by Bill Buford and I had just been reading the section where he is in Italy with a woman who is famous for her pumpkin tortelli, which is a classic Italian recipe which appears in one of the oldest sources of written recipes. So I was thrilled when they had a pumpkin tortelli on the menu with fresh homemade pasta. I cannot think of anything that exemplifies autumn so much as a dish that uses pumpkin, sage, and butter. It was the perfect moment to eat it and it totally lived up to my rather high expectations. Everything in the restaurant is pretty lovingly homemade, and the service is fantastic, with everyone pitching in to wait tables so that you are never neglected. The server was also really helpful, answering all her questions in a way that showed she really knew the menu inside and out. Also, the price was not too bad for really good quality food and a nice atmosphere. We had a pizza, two pastas, a dessert, and two glasses of wine each and it came out to about $100 for both of us.

So that was mostly our trip! I left out the boring parts like shopping and stuff like that, and between the football and the work, and two exhausted people who needed to catch up on a lot of missed sleep, we didn't necessarily DO all that much, but we did have a lot of good food and that's pretty much enough for me. I can't wait until next year's trip now!

MISC: Evolution of a Meal

2009-09-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

Most of the time when I make something for dinner it's in one of either two circumstances: (1) I have a recipe I want to make; or (2) I am throwing something together out of whatever we have hand. But sometimes something different happens. Sometimes I see something somewhere or think of something and then I get an idea in my head of something I want to have and then I have to figure out how to make it.

For example, I recently ended up with a simple couscous, but in order to get to that point, the dish itself went through quite an evolution. It started when I saw these beauties:

Photo: Woof! Woof!

These are stuffed jalapeños wrapped with bacon. They really looked good and they stuck in my mind. Then, when I was at the farmer's market I saw this nice basket of jalapeños and I was reminded of the stuffed peppers, so I decided to get them and make some kind of stuffed peppers.

I thought I didn't want so much cream cheese, so I decided to think of alternate things to stuff them with. I decided I wanted a Spanish theme so I headed out to find some ingredients. Well, this was my first mistake. There's a reason there's so much cream cheese and that's because jalapeños are really freaking hot, and they stay that way when you don't shove a bunch of creamy stuff in there.

I did buy some goat cheese but apparently not enough. Anyway, at the store I decided on a stuffing of goat cheese, idiazábal cheese (a sheep's cheese from Spain), chorizo, couscous, and saffron. I cooked the couscous with butter, and then mixed in all the other stuff, filled the peppers with it, and baked them until the outside was wrinkly and cooked looking.

And then I took a bite and my mouth burned of a thousand fires. All the goat cheese had mixed and absorbed into the couscous and there was no creaminess left to counter the heat. But I discovered that despite the hot pepper, the filling was actually really good on its own.

I decided to save the rest of the peppers for pickling, and use the rest of the chorizo as a meal portion. Which is how we end up at the ultimate meal, which was the couscous with grapes and olives and it was really good in the end, if it took a while to reach its ultimate form.

And now you see why I usually just find a recipe. If I had to do that every time, well, I suppose cooking would be more of an adventure but also more of a pain.

HISTORY: Reindeer Breeding in the United States

2009-08-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

I'm always fascinated with food culture and history. It's a type of history you don't often get to study and oftentimes just have to happen upon it. I was originally going to make this post about how to fry chicken, but when I was paging through one of my cookbooks looking up what it said about chicken, I got distracted by a page that explained how to prepare reindeer.

Wait ... what? Reindeer? This is a cookbook from the 1940s, I might add, so I am often finding interesting surprises in here when I go to look something up. Once I'd seen reindeer, I was compelled to stop and read about it. The first sentence was really interesting: "Government breeding of reindeer has brought the meat back on the market in modern form." Again .. wait ... what? Government breeding ... of reindeer?

I've never heard of this, and I immediately envisioned a secret government Santa project or some such, but I also had to go digging to figure this out. As it turns out, it was a sort of economic stimulus program for Alaska and the natives that lived there.

It all began in the 1800s, when American whalers discovered that the waters around Alaska were good hunting grounds. Eventually they thinned out the whale population and began hunting walrus in the area to boost their profit margin. The walruses were slaughtered in massive amounts, with estimates being about 300,000 walruses killed by the whalers. This was devastating to the native population of Alaska, as the walrus was their main source of food and other resources.

One whaling captain who was shipwrecked and taken in by natives wrote:

Should I ever come to the Arctic Ocean again, I will never catch another walrus, for these poor people along the coast have nothing else to live upon....I felt like a guilty culprit while eating their food with them, that I have been taking food out of their mouths. Although they knew the whaleships are doing this, they still were ready to share all they had with us.

Over the next years, the situation of the Alaskan natives became worse and worse, exacerbated by the introduction of alcohol, lack of educational resources, new diseases, and a reduction of inland mammals in addition to the walrus due to the introduction of rifles.

The U.S. Bureau of Education was given responsibility for the Alaskan natives and among other things, they decided to implement the reindeer herding proposal of Sheldon Jackson, a Presbyterian missionary who did extensive work in Alaska. Herds of reindeer were purchased from Siberia and brought over to Alaska along with herders from Lappland, who would train the Alaskan natives. Once they had completed their apprenticeship, they were loaned out their own small herd.

The herds were initially successful, as they filled in the ecological space left by the reduced population of caribou. Initially, the reindeer population grew, but by the 1940s it was rapidly falling again. There were ownership disputes, which led to incorporation of the reindeer program and rather than owning a certain number of deer, the natives were given shares of the corporation and the deer were managed as one large herd.

By the 1930s, the reindeer were practically wild and weren't very well-managed anymore. The wolf population increased. The reindeer mingled and interbred with the caribou and hunters began to be less and less discriminate about what they were shooting at. By the 1940s the deer population had dwindled and the government tried once more to revitalize the program.

But ultimately, cultural differences between the government workers running the program and the natives proved too difficult to overcome. The natives could not successfully adapt to a businessman's mindset, learning to mind and manage and expand their herds on their own and create self-sustaining and profitable businesses out of them. They maintained their subsistence hunting ways and saw the deer as a gift from the government that would be replenished as needed. And once new industries began to appear, such as construction and petroleum, the natives found it more profitable to get jobs working in these industries than to try to make it as reindeer herdsmen.

By 1952, the deer were all but gone, and the caribou population had made a comeback, which meant natives had their hunting needs satisfied.

So that's the story of the United States reindeer breeding. It's an interesting look at historical efforts toward economic stimulus and an interesting look at colonialism, since we rarely think of ourselves that way anymore. It's also a history lesson in the pitfalls of government subsidy programs and trying to improve the lives of people of other cultures without totally understanding those cultures.

INFO: Peaches 101

2009-08-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

History: Peaches are native to China, and came to Europe via Persia around 300 BCE. For this reason, peaches were once called Persian apples. The Ancient Romans ate peaches, mostly as a dessert. Apicius contained a recipe for pickled peaches:

To Keep Hard-skinned Peaches
Duracina persica ut diu durent

Select the best and put them in brine. The next day remove them and rinsing them carefully set them in place in a vessel, sprinkle with salt and satury and immerse in vinegar.

Varieties: Peaches have hundreds of varieties, varying in color (white with a pink blush to yellow with a red blush) and flavor. In general, a peach will either be freestone (pit frees easily from the flesh), or clingstone (pit clings to the flesh and is hard to remove). Freestones are generally found in markets, while clingstones are more often used commercially.

Season: Peaches are available from May to October in most regions. May through August is peak season in California.

Choosing: Look for a fragrant fruit that gives slightly to palm pressure. Peaches bruise easily so be careful when handling - you don't want to ruin it for another customer - and look over it thoroughly for soft spots. Avoid peaches with greening. Look for an orange cast instead. The best way to tell is the smell. Give it a sniff - if it smells delicious, then it is!

For Locavores: If you're trying to eat local, you have a better than 50/50 chance. 29 states harvest significant amounts of peaches. The largest producer is California, which grows more than half of the peaches in the U.S., followed by Georgia and South Carolina.

Ripening and Storage: To ripen an underripe peach, place it in a paper bag that's been pierced and let it sit at room temperature. Adding an apple to the bag will make it ripen even faster. To store, refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to five days. Bring to room temperature before eating. Be careful not to store below 45ºF. Storing a peach at such low temperatures impairs pectin breakdown in the fruit and can cause mealy flesh, which is unpleasant.

Preparation: If you like your peaches peeled, blanch it for 30 seconds and then plunge into ice cold water. To remove pits, cut in half lengthwise, following the cleft. Rotate the halves in opposite directions like opening a jar, until the pit comes free. If cutting peaches in advance of using, be aware that they can brown when exposed to air. Put some sugar on them to delay this reaction.

Nutrition: Peaches contain vitamin A and C.

Popular Dishes:

Peach Melba: Peach Melba is the classic peach dessert, created in the 1800s by the famous French chef Escoffier, for the Australian opera diva, Dame Nellie Melba. To make it, poach two peach halves in syrup and let them cool. Then place each half hollow side down on a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and top with a raspberry sauce and sometimes whipped cream and almonds.

Peaches are best served simply when they are in season. They are good enough eaten by themselves, or as a compliment to a shortbread or poundcake. Or, you can marinate sliced peaches in a bit of wine, or dribble a small amount of aged balsamic vinegar on them.

Since peaches also come in season in the summer, they make a wonderful gelato, sorbet, or ice cream ingredient.

SOURCES: The Food Lover's Companion, On Food and Cooking (Harold McGee), How to Pick a Peach (Russ Parsons)

NEWS: Angeleno Magazine's Chef's Night Out

2009-07-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

Brad A. Johnson of Angeleno magazine, and The Tasting Panel's Anthony Dias Blue are co-hosting the annual Chef's Night Out and Restaurant Awards to honor local chefs and resterauteurs and to celebrate the release of Angeleno's food issue.

The dinner benefits the Children's Institute, an organization that works with children and families affected by violence, abuse, and trauma. Tickets are $150 for the event (food from the featured chefs with wine and spirits pairings), and $250 for VIP tickets which includes access to a special reception and the awards ceremony.

The event will be held at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows this Sunday, July 26. The chefs at the event include:

David Myers from Sona, Comme Ça and Pizza Ortica
Lee Hefter and Thomas Boyce from Spago
Lee Hefter and Ari Rosenson from Cut
Susan Feniger from Street
Anthony Zappola from Craft
Brian Moyers from BLT Steak
Ray Garcia from FIG Restaurant Santa Monica
Warren Schwartz from Westside Tavern
Evan Funke from Rustic Canyon
Monique King from Nine Thirty
Vernon Cardenas from Katana

The chefs and restaurants that will be receiving awards that evening include:

Restaurant of the Year: Melisse
Chef of the Year: (Tie) Suzanne Tracht, Jar and John Riviera Sedlar, Riviera
Best New Restaurant: Church and State
Best New Chef: Steven Fretz, XIV
Pastry Chef of the Year: Adrian Vasquez, Providence
Best Restaurant Design: Cecconi’s
Best Wine Service: Osteria Mozza
Vanguard Award: Capo

The awards reflect the upcoming issue of Angeleno, in which Johnson lists his top 50 restaurants of Los Angeles. “This annual event celebrates the 50 best restaurants in Los Angeles. I dined at more than 200 restaurants again this year to narrow L.A.’s food scene to the elite Top 50. It was a daunting marathon of eating that included everything from pig’s ear to white truffles. We might be in a recession, but L.A.’s restaurant scene is as exciting as ever. If you haven’t been to Mélisse or Jar in a while, you’ll be amazed at what they’re up to. And if you haven’t yet discovered downtown’s Church & State, or if you still haven’t heard of a rising star chef named Stephen Fretz in West Hollywood, it’s high time you booked a table. These are the 50 restaurants every Angeleno needs to know, right now,” Johnson said.

For ticket information, visit www.childrensinstitute.org or call 213.807.1959.

RESTAURANT: Ludobites at Breadbar

2009-07-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

We've been meaning to try Ludobites basically forever. I've never been able to try any of Chef Ludovic Lefebvre's cooking before, and I have to admit I've also had an unshakable albeit tiny crush on him, ever since I laid eyes on this picture:

Normally, this is not my type of thing at all - the sort of Fabio-romance-cover-cheesecake genre of handsome, but apparently the idea of a man bringing a fish to me straight out of the ocean that he caught with his bare hands is appealing on some sort of primal level I didn't even know I had. (It helps if you know said man would also be able to prepare it brilliantly after wrestling it from the sea just for you.) Hopefully J is paying attention and perfecting his fish-wrestling skills even as we speak.

I had a lot of fun at the restaurant. I like the size of the dishes, which is small so that you may order several things and share, but big enough that you don't have to spend a fortune just to fill yourself up. The dishes were also a lot more fun than I was expecting. There were a lot of playful elements and unique concepts, and I didn't know to expect that.

The first thing I ordered was listed as "Chorizo, Cantaloupe, Cornichon." It sounded like a kind of light starter of little things on a plate, but turned out to be a cold soup! What it was: liquified chorizo with cubes of cantaloupe and a cornichon slush (really - it was pickle in a frozen slushy texture). Oddly enough, it worked. The soup had a nice flavor that I think would have been a tad too much without the melon for contrast and the pickle slush was odd but it actually blended in nicely and enhanced the overall flavor. And it was so pretty!

The above was my finisher: lobster medallions with honey-sherry vinaigrette and rosemary. It was a chilled lobster piece with a gelled dollop of vinaigrette on top and herbs sprinkled over. Really nice and refreshing, although I probably could have done with a tad less of the dressing, but the herbs were great.

I also had scallops with red port creme fraiche, bacon and potatoes. The bacon mashed potatoes were probably my favorite thing I had during the night. The potatoes were really smooth with little chunks of thick bacon. The scallops were good, but mine was a bit gritty even though it was a diver scallop. Still, that's a possibility with any scallop and it was cooked well.

Other items we had included: Poached Egg 65 degrees, Morels, Smoked Mornay Sauce, and Toast (I didn't have any of this dish, but it looked ridiculously good); and Fried Chicken in Duck fat, and saffron cornbread). The chicken was very good, juicy and flavorful and J claims it is the best fried chicken he has ever had. I personally loved the cornbread. Saffron is one of my favorite flavors and it went well with the cornbread, which was really moist, more like a soft corn cake than a piece of cornbread.

It's BYOB so make sure to bring a bottle of wine you like. Dishes range between $11-$24 (with the exception of the giant cheese plate, which is $35) with our dishes ranging from $11-$19 apiece. So it's not a cheap or casual meal, but it's a great place for a date night where you still want it to be a bit relaxed and fun.

Ludobites is going on through August 22 at Breadbar on 3rd street. See Ludo's website for details and reservations.

RECIPE: Parmesan Pull-Apart Rolls

2009-07-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

A recent issue of Gourmet had a bunch of different dinner roll recipes. You don't have to persuade very hard to get me to make bread products. Baking is one of my favorite things to do, and now I have a whole bunch of rolls to try.

The first ones I tried were these Parmesan dinner rolls and they came out great. Before I made them, I looked over the comments on Epicurious and I was a little bit hesitant because a bunch of people said that these didn't taste good. To try to counter that, I added some herb salt I have to the top before baking, just to add some extra flavor.

However, the flavor on my rolls came out nice, even apart from the addition of the salt. I wonder what kind of cheese the people who complained used. I got a hunk of parmigiano reggiano and grated it myself using my Microplane, which is what the recipe called for. If you didn't use real parm reggiano, or you used the pregrated kind that comes in a powdery-like form, then perhaps that made a difference. I would definitely go for the real stuff and grate it out yourself just to be sure. It's a good workout for your arms. ;)

The one thing I didn't have for this recipe was the round cake pan it called for. However, I just used a rectangle one of similar dimensions and it worked fine. As long as you have something where the rolls can fit in similar proportion I'm sure it will be okay.

RECIPE: Parmesan Pull-Aparts

RECIPE: Lemon-Ginger Marmalade

2009-06-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

One of the best parts of spring and summer is getting to preserve your favorite flavors for later use. Jellies, jams, pickles, etc. are all fun to make and let you save the fruits and vegetables that are in season so that you can enjoy them even in the winter.

I've tried to make marmalade once before and it didn't quite work. I used a recipe that didn't involve pectin, relying on the pectin in the fruit to thicken it and I ended up with a lemon syrup rather than a marmalade. Luckily it could still be used for something (ice cream!) but it wasn't what I was really trying to make.

This time I chose a recipe that was virtually foolproof and as a bonus it had an added ginger flavor that was really appealing to me. The only difficulty I had was in reducing the recipe, since I had a different size of pectin packet than the recipe anticipated so figuring out the amount to use was kind of tricky. I probably could have used a bit less than I did, but the marmalade still turned out great, if a bit stiff.

It's sweet, not tart and the ginger adds some kick. I find it really good on any sort of toasted bread item with butter, as the hot toast and the butter melt it down a little and it turns into a hot mass of flavors that is really delicious.

Serving suggestions: On buttered toast or english muffin; as a topping for yogurt, ice cream, or frozen yogurt.

Recipe: Lemon-Ginger Marmalade

EVENT: LA Wine Competition Preview and Tasting

2009-06-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was invited to a preview tasting and showcase for the winners of the Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition. The competition for wine takes place over three days, during which time a panel of 75 judges from all over the world tasted 3400 different wines. They were judged in three different categories this year based on price: $14.99 and under; $15-$29.99; and $30 and up.

In each price category there were "best in class" winners for each type of wine and from each group of "best in class" wines was chosen a "best in show" winner in each price category in red and white wines.

For the first time, electronic voting was implemented so that each judge placed their vote completely unaware of what others were voting. In previous years it was a hand-raising system, which could have influenced the votes, by others being allowed to see what the most prestigious judges were voting for. Not so anymore!

When I arrived, I had the opportunity to first take part in a fun little game. We were all sat at a table and each given tastes of the five "best in show" red wines. Two of them were in the low price category, one in the mid-price category, and two in the high category. (There were two ties).

I didn't do so well with the guessing. I was able to get the low price categories due to guesswork based on the grapes involved (I've only seen a very few Malbecs over $15; likewise, I figured a blend would be less expensive), but wasn't able to tell with the mid- and high categories.

When the answers were revealed, we noticed something very interesting. One of the best in show wines was a box wine. Not just a box wine, the "Target Wine Cube." Yup. It's a box of wine you can purchase at Target. And enough of the 75 judges voted it for it to be best in show. As for how I liked it, well, it was definitely a drinkable wine. It was very light for a cabernet blend and had a delicate spicy smell, although some people said it had almost no smell to them.

My personal favorite was the mid-range wine, a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. To me it had the nicest flavor - I'm terrible at describing wine the way some people do, but my notes say "cinnamon."

After the tasting I wandered around to each table, where the best in show whites and the other best in class winners were located. Most of the winners that I had heard of were the sort of popular favorites you can often find in the supermarket - Kendall-Jackson, Ravenswood, etc. Another box wine won the Cabernet Sauvignon award - Black Box, which markets itself as providing vintage dated wines in a box.

The only wine I really recognized and eagerly darted for was the Meritage winner, as it's a beloved wine from my homeland - Justin Vineyards Isosceles. Frankly, this one was the winner as far as I'm concerned and I think the best wine I tasted that day, but I am highly, highly biased. Also, it's like six times more expensive than the wine box, but could hold its own much better against a nice steak, I think.

Some other interesting things I tried were an "apricot wine" which won in the fruit wine category. It definitely tasted like apricot and was definitely something you'd have for dessert. I also had a riesling from New York and an Albarino from Virginia that were both decent and firsts for me with drinking wines from these states.

After the tastings, Michael Jordan, one of the judges, and a longtime resterauteur, gave us a little talk, and that was that. My take on these wines was that the large amount of judges and large amount of wines resulted in winners that were sort of "populist" wines. In other words, someone with a very refined palate and tastes is probably not going to make much of these, but for the average buyer who's looking for a good bargain on a wine they can have with an everyday dinner or pizza and burgers and whatnot, then the wines here represent some good values with tastes that have a wide appeal.

One of the things I would recommend taking a look at the list of winners for some ideas of different grapes to try if you stick to certain kinds usually, such as merlot, pinot noir, cabernet or chardonnay. There's a whole world of other stuff out there and you could do worse than to give some of these a try as a starting point to expand your palate.

If you are interested in trying the winners for yourselves, they will be on display at the LA County Fair in September, or at a special event at the Pomona Fairplex tomorrow night called Wine and Cars Under the Stars. They will have the wines available there and also the award-winning olive oils from their related competition will be available to try with grilled cheese sandwiches.

INFO: HR 2795 - Roadmap to End Global Hunger and Promote Food Security Act of 2009

2009-06-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

In my attempt to do more than just show you pretty pictures of food and talk superficially about something to do with that food, I'd like to try to diversify my topics. Having a passion for something isn't just about enjoying it as a hobby, it's also about trying to support and maintain conditions that are ideal for pursuing your hobby.

For example, ideally hunters should be concerned with conservation and environmental preservation, since without thriving wilderness and healthy animal populations, they would not be able to hunt. Wine lovers should be concerned about global warming, since changes to the climate mess with a region's ability to produce wine. Sports fans should be concerned about integrity within the professional sporting world, as corruption tends to inhibit the spirit of competition that makes sports so enjoyable.

And food lovers? Food lovers should be concerned with food politics as well. Not only should we be concerned with sustainable, responsible food production and food safety, we should also be concerned with world hunger, because wouldn't we all enjoy our luxurious meals a little better knowing that people elsewhere are fed?

So in an attempt to keep myself and anyone who reads this informed, let me give a brief explanation of some current pending food legislation: HR 2795, or the "Roadmap to End Global Hunger and Promote Food Security Act of 2009." For convenience I will call it the Roadmap Act.

What the Act is based on: The Roadmap Act is based on several findings by the proponents of the bill, including:

1. The percentage of the world's population that is hungry has decreased from 37% to 17% in the last 40 years, and the U.S. has played a critical role in that.

2. While the percentage of hungry individuals has dropped, the actual number of hungry people has grown, with most hungry individuals in developing countries live in rural areas.

3. Many of the world's hungry individuals are children, and uneducated, and many of these children are dying of hunger. The children who survive are less productive, earn less, and are more likely to have malnourished children of their own.

4. The U.S. has decreased its support for agricultural development in recent years, as has the international community.

5. Food prices have been steadily increasing with a sharp rise between 2007 and 2008 due to decreasing supplies of staple grains and cereals; increased prices due to drought, flood, and global climate change; increased food and fuel consumption by middle-income countries; and greater cultivation for biofuels. Rice in particular rose sharply in price due to trade restrictions, panic buying, a weak dollar, and high oil prices. (Source: Dept. of Agriculture)

The Policy (What the Bill is intended to promote): The government's stated policy behind this bill is to reduce global hunger, advance nutrition, and increase food security. It aims to set up programs and policies to provide emergency response in times of disaster; increase the preparedness of populations so that less intervention is needed in the event of a disaster; aid people and governments in the goal of sustainably feeding themselves; help mothers and children meet their nutritional needs; support small-scale farmers; and encourage sustainable and environmentally sound agricultural practices.

What the Bill Does: The bill does two things. It (1) established a White House Office on Global Hunger and Food Security; and (2) establishes a Permanent Joint Select Committee on Hunger. So what will these two entities do?

White House Office on Global Hunger and Food Security: The functions of this office are to:
(1) Provide the President with advice on hunger and food security issues;
(2) Make sure that reducing hunger and increasing food security remain priorities of the federal government, including working with the various departments to make sure it is a priority within these departments;
(3) Develop a comprehensive strategy for the government to address hunger and food security issues;
(4) Assess the government's current programs for dealing with hunger and food security issues;
(5) Prepare and annual report on expenditures in this area, as well as a suggested budget, and then make sure the programs receive adequate funding;
(6) Establish indicators that can be used to measure the success of programs in this area and provide quarterly reports on the progress of each program;
(7) Coordinate efforts with other governments and international groups;
(8) Consult with experts on the development, implementation, and assessment of the programs established to address these issues;
(9) Promote public awareness of these issues; and
(10) Submit an annual report to congress and the President on the overall progress made toward the goal of cutting world hunger in half by 2015.

COST: $10,000,000 each year for the next four fiscal years is authorized to be appropriated for this office.

Permanent Joint Select Committee on Hunger: This committee is to be made up of eight House members and eight senate members. Its duties are:

(1) Hold hearings, investigate, issue reports and analyses, and make recommendations to Congress on issues related to hunger, nutrition, food security, agricultural development, emergency response, and other global hunger and food security issues.
(2) Examine issues relevant to the creation of a government plan to address global hunger and food security issues.

Funding will come from the House and Senate accounts.

TOTAL COST: The bill asks for funds of $50,360,000,000 for 2010-2014.

If you want to learn more, or want to ask your Congressperson to co-sponsor this bill, you can go to Friends of the World Food Program. They have additional information and materials on this bill, as well as tools to help you approach your representative.

RECIPE: Soy Jalapeno and Apple-Cucumber Pickles

2009-05-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

Previously, I've written about the type of simple meals I enjoy, in particular, bread and cheese, cured meats, pickles and fruit. Well, my love of simple meals not only encompasses the west, but the east as well. Some nights, instead of themore European bread and cheese based meals, I prefer a more Japanese-inspired meal of rice, vegetable and soup, or something similar.

So when I saw these recipes for pickles, inspired by Korean bahn chan--which are the little dishes of pickles that come out with your rice when you are eating Korean food--I immediately thought of how good they would be with a bowl of rice as a small and simple dinner.

The two pickles I chose, soy jalapenos, and apple-cucumber, were a good complement to each other. One was spicy and salty and tangy while the other was light and sweet and vinegary. I would definitely make the apple cucumber ones repeatedly, as they make a nice warm weather snack, and the flavor is delicate, but the ginger adds a bit of a kick.

I was afraid the soy jalapenos might be too hot to eat more than a few at a time, but the soy sauce really mellowed the heat so thatit was easy to just keep crunching away at these and it went really well with the sticky rice.

Balancing out the jalapenos, were the cool, vinegary cucumbers and apples with ginger. These were a good contrast to the spicy, and you could do worse than keep a jar of these around during the hot months.

Apple Cucumber Pickles
Soy-Pickled Jalapeños

NEWS: Riva Wine Class Dinner Series - RESCHEDULED

2009-05-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

NOTE: I have received word that this first wine dinner has to be rescheduled. I will post an update once I have the proper date. For now, it will not be starting this Sunday.

If you love wine, and have some dollars to spare (lucky you!) and are looking for something fun to do this weekend, I offer for your consideration Riva's wine class dinner this weekend featuring "Tre Bicchiere" wines.

Chef Jason Travi will create a five course meal, each thoughtfully paired with a Tre Bicchiere wine to match. As you eat, you will get a tutorial for each wine presented, so you'll get a little learnin' along with your fine meal.

Riva is an Italian-inspired restaurant cheffed by a husband and wife team with impressive credentials. Jason and Miho Travi are most recently known for the restaurant Fraiche in Culver City. Riva is a slightly more casual counterpart to Fraiche with more of a focus on dishes inspired by the food of rustic Italian coastal villages.

I have no problem shilling this event for them, because Riva has my seal of approval. I've only had the opportunity to eat there once, but it got a big thumbs up from me. Everything I had was fresh, seasonal, and beautifully presented without being too stuffy or snooty. The service was nice, friendly and helpful and we had a great time.

The first wine class dinner will take place on Sunday, May 31 at 6:30 pm. Riva is located at 312 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica. Call (310) 451-RIVA for information and reservations.

Click on the photo below for the menu:

INFO: Skeptical Eating

2009-05-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

Recently, I had a comment on one of my past posts that made me think it was time to step away from the pretty pictures and the recipes for a minute and get on my soapbox. The comment was from a "J-Bone" and was appended to my post about a local root beer. The comment read as follows, in response to my opinion on liking Virgil's Root Beer, another local root beer besides the one I was reviewing:

"Wow how can you choose Virgil's crap with all those chemicals in it???? Dr. Tima is all natural and as NO CORN SYRUP!! It's the best hands down in natural soda!! All the other stuff tastes like mouthwash"

Reading this made me think that maybe now is a good time to do a post on skeptical eating. The classical definition of a skeptic is: "One who instinctively or habitually doubts, questions, or disagrees with assertions or generally accepted conclusions." In other words, don't believe everything you read or see, investigate for yourself to find the truth. And most especially, do not make assumptions about what you believe to be the truth, without bothering to actually find out.

Virgil's Root Beer does not contain "chemicals," nor does it contain corn syrup. Virgil's is made of natural ingredients, just as the root beer it is being compared to is. The person who made this comment obviously chose to think Virgil's contains "chemicals" and corn syrup because it is a more well-known brand, but never stopped to read the actual ingredient label. (Or perhaps they are a root beer company rep slagging off another brand anonymously, based on the e-mail I received from the company at suspiciously the same time, but ... it could just be a coincidence.)

If you want to know what is in something, look at the ingredients, don't make assumptions or listen to what other people say about "chemicals." If you want to know if something is good or bad for you, study the information out there to find out the truth as best you can.

Also, don't distrust something solely based on meaningless labels. The comment above falls under the logical fallacy known as the "appeal to nature" or the "naturalistic fallacy." The naturalistic fallacy is the premise that natural = good, while man-made or non-natural = bad. This is simply not so. There are plenty of poisons and toxic substances found in nature, and plenty of man-made substances that are beneficial and even save people from dying.

Make no mistake, ANY drink that is composed of a sweetener, flavors, and water, whether it be cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey, or any other caloric sweetener is not in any sense healthy for you. It is empty calories, no matter how natural or unnatural the sweetener used is. The key is not whether you drink a natural root beer, or a coke, or a Mountain Dew, but that if you drink any one of those, you drink them in moderation, as a treat and not a regular beverage.

In the case of foods, natural is often healthier, but that doesn't mean you can take that as a rule. Ingredients that you don't understand or recognize aren't always bad for you. They may be natural, and if they are not, they may not be harmful. For example, xanthan gum is an additive that people often fear. It would be easy to look at this and think it is some kind of "chemical" or potentially harmful additive, when in fact it is perfectly natural--a fermented corn sugar. Xanthan gum is often used in vegan and gluten-free products, to improve texture or to substitute for gluten. Similarly, baking soda is something no one seems to have a problem putting into their baked goods and eating happily. Perhaps if we called it by its other name of "sodium bicarbonate," people would fear this common food additive, which is in fact, a chemical compound.

The best way for you to make sense of it is to take charge by learning what everything is, and whether it could be harmful or unhealthy to you by reading up in reliable, unbiased sources. Don't listen to random e-mails, websites that are trying to sell you something, or your friend who's been going to yoga class. Read authoritative sources and weigh the evidence and don't fall prey to fearmongering, which is most often perpetrated by people who are trying to sell you something. Most of the time it won't be harmful to anything but your pocketbook, but it has the potential to be harmful to your health, and living in fear isn't good for anyone.

RECIPE: Irish Soda Bread

2009-05-20T00:08:00.000-07:00

I love to eat like a peasant. Or perhaps not like a peasant, but like a fake pastoral fairy tale peasant. Culinary education nowadays tells that me that peasants ate beer, beans, peas and "pottage" which was basically a soup made of everything you have. While I have been known to eat these things, particularly that last thing, from time to time, that's NOT what I mean.

What I mean is when you read a story about a young farmboy or girl heading off into the forest to make their fortune or meet the witch or save the princess or whatever, at some point they seem to stop and eat a simple meal of bread and cheese and fruit or meat. That's what I'm talking about. That mythical fairy tale traveling food or what the lady in the cottage where you stop to rest gives you.

I love to eat like that. One of my favorite meals is just bread, cheese, cured meats, fruit and/or perhaps: nuts, crackers, wine, pickles, or other small bites. And the best way to start is by making a rustic peasanty homemade bread.

I'm not sure how much more rustic you can get than Irish. I saw this recipe for Irish soda bread and I knew I had to make it. My original plan was to be tradtional and have it with some corned beef and some sort of cabbage slaw or something, but when I got to the market, I don't really know what happened, but next thing I knew the guy was handing me salami and cheese and then there was this wine in my basket!

It totally wasn't my fault, it was those evil French people who hate the Irish and want me to eat their meats and cheeses instead.

This bread is made in a baguette shape so you can eat it in small pieces. It's a slightly sweet bread, that could go equally well at breakfast or dinner, and is really good with butter or a creamy cheese.

But I recommend it with some cured meats, cheese, pickles, and a nice glass of rosé. Preferably while on your way to slay the dragon, or perhaps you can make it to serve to wayward princes or youngest daughters on a mission to find their fate.

RECIPE: Downey's Soda Bread adapted from Downey's in Santa Barbara, CA

RECIPE: Dark and White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2009-05-13T17:02:00.001-07:00

May is the month of many birthdays, and that means .... cookies! These cookies are like brownies in cookie form with a bit of ginger flavor and chunks of white chocolate. That's really all there is to say about them, so let me tell you a bit about the people they were meant for instead, because they are special people, who I'll call by their code names, TFS and Carrot.

Almost two years ago now, I met a dude on the internet. Up until really recently, I wasn't in the habit of meeting people that way, but when you work from home, suddenly you discover that you mostly don't talk to other people in the course of a normal day, like you do in an office. So you find yourself reaching out for social interaction in whatever way you can.

The first thing I remember about TFS is discovering we were the same age (always a relief on the internet) and exchanging mutual and virtual high fives over being age buddies. But that was about the extent of our interaction, until he dragged his wife to the place where we hung out on the internets and I suddenly started to notice that she was super cool. She liked cool things, and she said funny things and other people I talked to would tell me stories of how fun and great she was to talk to.

So I admit at this point I started to kiss her butt a little. But hey it worked! Gradually, we started responding to each other in this public forum more, and then we started adding each other to things like Facebook and Last.fm and all those obligatory connection points, and suddenly almost without even realizing how, we had gone from complete strangers to talking almost every day. The completely unexpected had happened, which is that I made a real life friend from the internet. It's hard to imagine working at my computer now without my little chatting partner to help the tediousness go by more quickly.

So when J and I decided to take a trip to our nation's capital this spring, they made the extremely generous gesture of offering their home as a place for us to stay. We were a little nervous about staying with people we hadn't yet met in person, since we're both shy and slightly anti-social, but we gratefully took the offer and I'm so glad we did.

TFS and Carrot were generous and fun and they not only let us stay with them, but cooked us fabulous meals and played games with us and took us out to eat and were just excellent hosts. And we found that our friendship was just a great in real life as it is over a chat box and coming home I realized how lucky I am. Great friends are hard to come by, but with each new activity I involve myself in, whether it be school, a hobby, or just an internet website, I've managed to come away with some great friends and I now have a group of people I really love and admire.

Perhaps the only way I can show my affection is with cookies, but I hope all of the people in my life realize how much I really really appreciate you. My friends are worth more than a zillion dollars or a Nobel prize or even my dream job, and if you stick around, I will shower you with cookies forever!

If you have a special person out there that you haven't appreciated enough lately, perhaps some cookies are a good way to start. The recipe is from the March issue of Bon Appetit and can be found here: Dark and White Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

TRAVEL: Minibar

2009-05-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

Knowing that we were going to be in Washington DC for our vacation this year, J and I definitely want to try to get a reservation at Minibar. Minibar is a restaurant within a restaurant, the creation of world-famous chef Jose Andres.

Minibar is tucked away in the back of Andres's Cafe Atlantico. It's just a small bar with only six seats. Each night, they do two seatings only, which means only 12 people can dine there per night. The lucky diners are served 25-30 courses of inventive dishes that are about the size of an amuse bouche. I was really nervous about that number ... I have a fairly small appetite, but I found that the portions and pacing were well done and I didn't get too full. In fact, I have had three course meals where I felt more stuffed than that, so I was relieved that I could easily eat everything.

In order to get a reservation, we had to call the restaurant exactly one month in advance on the dot of when they opened for calls in the morning. It was like a little lottery, and luckily we got lucky on our second day of trying.

As we walked in, we were seated at the regular bar first and assigned a personal waitress. We had to wait a few minutes for the first seating to be concluded and cleaned up, and we learned that our other four diners were a group of women who were just about to graduate from law school. Good luck, ladies! You definitely deserved a nice meal with what you are about to go through.

Below is a slide show containing the pictures of each course and some of the area behind the bar. They are arranged in order of courses or you can click here to see them as a Flicker set. It was an immensely long meal, so I'm going to just do a quick description/blurb about each dish.

Munchies

Olive Oil "Bon Bon": This was olive oil that had been made into a candy-like form and then rested on top of a powdered balsamic vinegar. It was really visually stunning and it was a neat little thing to taste, basically just olive oil and vinegar with different textures than you are used to.
Beet "Tumbleweed": This was beet that had been cut into thin strips and then dried and formed into a ball and dried and made crunchy. It tasted similar to a potato chip and was really beautiful to look at.
"Mojito": The "mojito" was a sort of jelly that had the flavors of a mojito - mint, lime and sugar, and was kind of effervescent and liquidy in the center. It was tasty and really fun to eat. People make fun of molecular gastronomy, but this is the kind of thing they're really miss out on. Experiencing unexpected textures and aspects of food is really fun as a special experience.
"Bagels and Lox": This was a play on bagels and lox using a suggestion of the ingredients. The "bagel" was represented by a crunchy cone, the "lox" by the big juicy salmon roe on top, and the cream cheese by the cream inside the cone.
"Dragon's Breath" Popcorn: This won the prize for the most fun dish of the evening. We were given a small popcorn cake that looked kind of like a mini rice cake and told to eat it right away while looking at each other. (That's why my picture was so bad, I was trying to take it quickly). The cake was frozen with nitrogen and when you ate it, the "smoke" from it would come out of your nose when you breathed out, making you look like a dragon. I really wish I could try this one again, just because it was so fun and cool to breathe smoke like a dragon.
Boneless Chicken Wing: This was a pretty straightfoward dish. It was exactly what it says, a boneless chicken wing, with thai flavors. Despite the fact that it was one of the most mundane dishes, quite a few people remembered it as a favorite at the end of the night.
Steamed Brioche Bun with Caviar: This was one of my all-around favorites for the night, because in both execution, presentation, and taste it was really successful. First of all, I love the presentation, the dumpling came out perfectly round and smooth and putting it in the tiny steamer was so cute! It also was a really luxurious dish - brioche and caviar, and it tasted great - rich, but not too much so.
Blue Cheese and Almond: This was sort of like a little tart, with the blue cheese part within a shell that was made of almond somehow. The shell was rather soft and the flavor of the cheese was fairly mild. I found this dish okay, but not very memorable.
Cotton Candy Eel: I really can't believe I'm saying this, but this was my very favorite dish of the evening. This was probably the most difficult concept, because it looked just absolutely gross. The cotton candy looked like some massive growth of mold, and it was dusted with some spice so it looked like something that they found under the bed when they moved out of their apartment. But flavorwise, it was amazing. The flavor profile was Japanese, and the eel was juicy and delicious and wrapped in shiso leaf. I absolutely loved this and would definitely eat it again and again.

Flavors & Textures

"Sun Dried" Tomato Salad: The "sun dried" tomatoes were a kind of gelee of sun-dried tomato. It tasted exactly right but there wasn't much to this dish. It was kind of like the suggestion of a caprese or something. Even with a meal of this type, I like a little something more - this was too much of a "hint" of the real thing.
Zucchini in Textures: This was an amazing dish, and unfortunately it was designed to be not my thing. I have a slight aversion to zucchini, although I still eat them, but mostly for me it was the texture here. This dish is a work of art, and very painstakingly done and I do appreciate it on that level. The seeds are picked one by one from the zucchini, and then they are surrounded by a zucchini gel which is all layered on top of a zucchini puree.
Green Almonds and "Raisins": The "raisins" here were actually spherified (and wrinklified) portions of a 1979 port. The green almonds were coated in a marcona almond paste, so that they were almond to the max. I loved the fake raisins, but found the almonds a little bland. This was one of those molecular gastronomy moments where the "fake" thing made you want the real thing more than what you were eating. I would have rather just had the "raisins" with some actual marcona almonds, I think.
Parmesan "Egg" with Migas: This dish was up at the top of my list for favorites of the meal. It was clever, tasty, and satisfying and I liked it a lot. It appeared to be an egg with a pile of crunchy panko-like bread crumbs, but the egg white was actually made of parmesan and contained a real yolk, that bust out when you put your fork in it like a real egg does. I would definitely have this for breakfast any day.
Smoked Oysters with Apples and Juniper: I'm an oyster lover, but I think even those who shy away from oysters could deal with this dish. The smoked flavor makes the oyster meat really appealing in a non-fishy way. The apples and juniper were hints of flavor within the foam, really subtle and nice.
"Guacamole": This was a fun contrast with the rustic guacamole being made by hand at the tables behind us. This "guacamole" was a frozen tomato wrapped around with thin slices of avocado like a sushi roll. It was sprinkled with cilantro and crumbs of tortilla chips. It was pretty delicious and I loved the contrast of textures with the icy tomato, the soft avocado and the crunchy chips.
Sea Urchin Ceviche with Hibiscus: This was a fresh sea urchin flown in directly from Catalina, with a hibiscus foam. The dish was visually stunning, but I couldn't take the texture. I have unfortunately, a problem with certain textures and this was one of them. I ate about half of this and then had to give the rest to J. He loved it though.
Salmon-Pineapple "Ravioli" with Crispy Quinoa: This was J's least favorite dish of the night (and when I say that, I mean, least awesome). It was a nice dish, but compared to some of the others it just wasn't a standout at all.
New England Clam Chowder: This was yet another highlight. Kind of like a chowder deconstructed, with whole clam pieces nestled in a bed of bacon foam and crispy potato bits. Bacon. Foam. You guys. Bacon foam! It was really good. I'm a big fan of bacon foam. Maybe not as crispy-chewy-satisfying as real bacon but yummy nonetheless and I loved how none of the parts was what you would expect.
Breaded Cigala with Sea Salad: A cigala is kind of like a langoustine. The chefs suggested that it was some miracle shellfish that was richer than a lobster but I can find no information to back that up. My research suggests that it's basically the Portuguese version of a langoustine and is served by non-rich people at holidays. So basically a poor man's lobster. It was delicious anyway, as all such shellfish are if they are not deadly to you, and I liked the crispy chip thing it came with.
"Philly Cheesesteak": Right before this was served, we were talking to our chef about The Bazaar in Beverly Hills and touting this dish as one of our favorite. Shortly thereafter we came to suspect he was preparing it even as we talked about it. He was. This take on a cheesesteak was actually created by the chefs of Minibar and exported out to The Bazaar. Our chef claimed theirs was better and I have to say he was right. The Bazaar one was very good, but it reminded me very strongly in flavor of one of those "chicken and biscuits" flavored crackers they had in the '70s. This cheesesteak had much more beef on the top which transformed it a lot into something of a much richer flavor.

Pre-Dessert

Kumquats and Pumpkin Seed Oil: This was probably the most eye-popping of the dishes. The fuschia and yellow swirl with the bright orange kumquat really popped, it looked very cool. It was also a nice palate cleanser, as the kumquat was cold and the citrus helped make the way for dessert.

Dessert

Thai Dessert: The thai dessert was called so because it used thai flavors. It was a coconut ice cream with basil and peanut flavors as well, and some kind of curry or spice flavor as well. It was very good, but quickly got upstaged by the next dessert.
Frozen Yogurt and Honey: This was so much better than Pinkberry. It was a Greek yogurt flash-frozen with nitrogen so it became a cold powder, and then it was piled on a thick honey. It was incredibly delicious and kind of fun to eat in the powdery form.

Sweet Endings

Chocolate Covered Corn Nuts, Mango Box, Saffron Gumdrop with Edible Wrapper: This was a finale--a slab of little treats to finish everything off. The corn nuts were homemade and then coated with good chocolate. A little box of mango cream and saffron candies. Everything was edible (except the slab). The candies with edible wrapper were a play on the Japanese candies wrapped in edible rice paper.

JAPANESE COOKING: Fish in Clear Dashi Broth

2009-05-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

Since it's spring, I've been picking out the springtime-looking soups in the soup section of my Japanese cookbook. This fish soup in a clear broth with watercress and lemon looked very springlike and reminded me of some soups I had when I was in Japan in the springtime.

The original recipe is made with a fish head, but the one in the books uses a more attractive fish filet with skin on. The fish used in Japan is porgy, or sea bream. That's not available at my fishmonger, which mostly sells local fish and only a few special fish shipped from overseas. The recipe gave sole as an acceptable substitute and sole is locally available.

I chose a rex sole because it still had the skin on, as opposed to the petrale sole. The only problem I ran into with it is that it is cooked with the bone on, and then taken off the bone. That added some extra steps to this preparation and because the bones are delicate, I ended up with one or two bones in my soup. Next time I would probably just choose the other and forget the skin.

The end result was not as pretty as the picture in the book, but I still think it looked nice and springy. The broth was good and the watercress and lemon zest added a bit of zing to the flavor.

I felt that it was a good choice for spring for sure, as the soup was very light and the clear broth and bright colors just looked right for the season.

JAPANESE COOKING: Shredded Chicken in Dashi Broth

2009-04-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

So I've been having almost constant cravings for Japanese food, and unfortunately, really good Japanese food is a bit of a drive in either direction. So I thought, why not learn how to make it? So I got a couple of books and I am going through them and teaching myself some Japanese dishes. The books are Japanese Light, by Kimiko Barber and Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen by Elizabeth Andoh.

The first thing I've been making is soup. The first soup I made was a very basic and simple chicken soup.

There's not much to this soup, just the broth and the chicken, but you could easily add some noodles or vegetables to the final product for something heartier. If you just want a simple meal, then this is very nice with some rice and a vegetable.

I'm not going to include the recipe, since this is part of the book and so you really should purchase the book for the recipes. Instead, I'll just describe and show you some pictures. I will include a recipe for a basic dashi that you can use as the base of any soup.

Above is the broth I made first as it cooked. It is similar to a normal chicken broth, except that there are some Japanese ingredients as well: kombu and a shiitake mushroom. Kombu is a kind of seaweed and it helps add a rich, oceany, umami flavor to the broth.

Here is the finished product, which I ate with some rice and cucumber salad and sake. It made a nice simple meal, which what I usually like to eat at home.

Dashi is the basic broth for Japanese soups. Dashi is used in many things that show up in Japanese cuisine besides soup as well, which is why dashi is the first place I start when beginning to learn Japanese cooking.

There are different types of dashi broth, including vegetarian and even a non-cook "cheater's version." The version I am including here is the most popular dashi that can be used for almost everything. It is incredibly easy to make provided you have the time to let things sit and come back to them every once in a while.

Number One Dashi Broth (by Kimiko Barber)

INGREDIENTS:

1 postcard-sized piece of konbu (kelp seaweed)
4 1/2 cups water
3/4 oz. dried bonito flakes (about a handful)

In a saucepan, soak the konbu in 4 cups of water for 1 hour (or at least 30 min.) before placing over a moderate heat. If the konbu has soaked for less than 1 hour, cook at a low heat instead.

Take out the konbu when it begins to float to the surface and a few small bubbles appear at the edge of the saucepan. Pour in 1/2 cup of cold water followed by the bonito flakes. Turn up the heat slightly and cook until the liquid returns to a gentle boil, but do not let it come to full boil. Turn off the heat. Let the bonito flakes settle to the bottom and then strain the broth through a fine sieve lined with a piece of paper towel.

LOCAL: Dr. Tima Root Beer and Chili Mangos

2009-04-08T23:55:00.000-07:00

So you may have heard recently the growing exhortation to buy local. It's all the rage these days, but for good reason. Buying local products when you can is beneficial in a lot of ways:

Fresh food is fresher
Local products use less transportation resources, which is good for the environment, helps conserve resources, and puts less strain on the infrastructure.
Very often, you can buy direct from the supplier, cutting out the middleman. This means you pay less and the person who made the product gets all the profit.
It supports your community and the benefits of that will spread to the people around you, your local friends and relatives, and yourself.

Is it practical or even possible to buy local foods all the time? No, unfortunately, it's rather difficult, but the growing demand is good for us consumers, as stores increasingly stock local products and label local foods.

When I can, I'll try to highlight some local products I've found, and especially those I enjoy often. Here is one I've recently tried, and another product that's practically an addiction for me.

Dr. Tima's Honey Root Beer: Dr. Tima Honey Root Beer is double good for people who like to feel responsible with their purchases. Not only is this a local product, but it also helps bees. According to the box, some of the profits go to honeybee research. This is apparently made from an old European recipe and I did like that it used real herbal flavors along with the honey, unlike some root beers that just are a combo of sugar and artificial flavors.

So how was it? Well, it was good, but it didn't compare to Virgil's Root Beer which is what I usually buy. I like the balance of flavors better in Virgil's. In this one the wintergreen seemed a bit strong to me. It was still a nice refreshing drink, but I would probably choose the Virgil's, which is also a local product and therefore I don't have to feel bad about that!

Chili Mangos: Okay, I just love these. These chili covered dried mango strips are one of my favorite snacks and I have to try really hard not to burn my tongue off from eating too many at once. These particular ones shown above are the ones I like. They come from the Farm Fresh Produce stand at the Farmer's Market. I don't even know how I got the idea to try these in the first place, but I'm really glad I did. These are a dried mango strip covered in chili powder and sugar. I'm guessing that if you're a person that will like them, they are already sounding good to you; and if you're not, you are probably thinking I'm insane. But if you like spicy and sweet, and especially if you like them together, then try them! I can't pass the stand without getting them now. Just beware that they are REALLY spicy. Have a glass of milk sitting nearby.

RECIPE: Olive Oil Cookies

2009-04-06T00:22:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I'm not much of a sweet tooth. I will take a salty snack over a sugary dessert any day, and the only thing I usually look forward to after dinner is ice cream or gelato. That said, I love to bake and cookies are one of my favorite things to make. I'm always on the lookout for cookies that are not too much of a sweet overload, balancing the sugary with some savory.

These cookies are pretty much perfect in that regard and are going in my permanent file. They use olive oil instead of butter, which also provides the flavor, along with orange zest and hazelnuts. They come out really moist and soft and not too sweet and they go really well with a cup of hot coffee or tea. I wasn't sure how these would turn out, as baking without butter makes me nervous, but they were great and I wouldn't hesitate to make them again.

They would be nice for an afternoon party or just to keep around the house for tea time or dessert.

RECIPE (yield - about 6 dozen)
From Fine Cooking December 2008/January 2009

Ingredients:

2 cups toasted and skinned hazelnuts
10 oz. (2-1/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. table salt
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large eggs
Finely grated zest of 2 medium oranges (about 1-1/2 packed Tbs.)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Procedure:

Finely grind the hazelnuts in a food processor. In a medium bowl, whisk the hazelnuts, flour, baking powder, and salt to blend. With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, oil, eggs, zest, and vanilla on low speed until the sugar is moistened, about 15 seconds. Increase the speed to high and mix until well combined, about 15 seconds more (the sugar will not be dissolved at this point). Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until the dough has just pulled together, 30 to 60 seconds.

Divide the dough in half. Pile one half of the dough onto a piece of parchment. Using the parchment to help shape the dough, form it into a log 11 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Wrap the parchment around the log and twist the ends to secure. Repeat with the remaining dough. Chill in the freezer until firm, about 1 hour.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Line four cookie sheets with parchment or nonstick baking liners.

Unwrap one log of dough at a time and cut the dough into 1/4-inch slices; set them 1 inch apart on the prepared sheets. Bake two sheets at a time until light golden on the bottoms and around the edges, about 10 minutes, rotating and swapping the sheets halfway through for even baking. Let cool completely on racks. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

NOTE: Dough can be frozen for up to 1 month.

RECIPE: Fancy Super Bowl Snacks

2009-02-26T15:02:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, the Super Bowl is long over. Its been a long month full of obstacles so I'll need to be cut some slack. But the Super Bowl part really isn't important. The key here is snacks to bring to an event that look sort of fancy but involve almost no cooking or hardship. It's like the American dream with a little extra glitter as well.

It's almost March Madness, I'm sure you've all got important basketball parties to attend. These snacks go just as well with basketball as they do with football. They also take very little time to make and the olives and nuts also make good snacks to just have around the house as well, even if you're a hermit like I've been for the past several weeks.

Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella and Basil

Take a thick slice of prosciutto and lay it out flat. Take a small piece of mozzarella cheese and a half cherry tomato and put the cut sides together so they make a ball. Wrap each ball in half of a large basil leaf. Roll the balls up in the prosciutto slice and secure with a toothpick. Repeat for as many rolls as you want to make. For vegetarians leave off the prosciutto. When they are finished, set them on a platter, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper and serve.

Spiced Roasted Nuts

Preheat oven to 400º F. Spread 1 lb mixed nuts on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast until they start to brown, about 10 min.

Combine 1 1/2 Tbs. light brown sugar, 2 tsp. chopped thyme, 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder, and 1 tsp. salt in a small bowl. Once roasted, transfer the nuts to a large bowl and add 2 Tbs. melted butter and toss well. Add the sugar and spice mixture and toss again. Season with a little more salt to taste and then serve warm or keep in an airtight container for up to three days.

You can play around with the spices you use on these to suit your own personal taste.

Spicy Olives

Combine 2 cups mixed olives, 6 thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes, 1 large clove of garlic, minced, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, and 1/4 tsp smoked paprika in a medium bowl. Mix well and let sit for 15 min at room temperature or up to 3 days in refrigerator before serving.

NEWS: Dine LA Restaurant Week

2009-01-27T12:11:00.000-08:00

Hey you guys! It's Restaurant Week in Los Angeles! If you have never heard of this, I encourage you to check it out. During restaurant week, local restaurants show off their goods by offering fixed price menus at reduced prices. There are three tiers of prices:

Deluxe Dining: Lunch is $16 and dinner is $28 for three courses.
Premier Dining: Lunch is $22 and dinner is $34 for three courses.
Fine Dining: Lunch is $28 and dinner is $44 for three courses.

In all cases, it is a bargain. It is a chance to revisit that old standby that you just kind of keep overlooking these days or to try a place that is normally out of your league. There are options for everyone and the menus are available online so you can see if they appeal to you. There are many vegetarian and even some vegan options for those with restrictions.

The list of participating restaurants, their price level, and menus is here: Participating Restaurants.

I always take full advantage of Restaurant Week, and it usually works out to both my and the restaurant's favor. Last year I went to Grace, and had a great experience. Grace is an investment for me so now I know that it is worth the money and am inclined to go back for a special occasion.

The other night, we tried Luna Park. I've been to Luna Park many times, but I have a tendency to forget about it, tucked away in its kind of odd location and because it's just a fun place, good for some relatively inexpensive food, cozy and dark, and just generally a good value. Eating here reminded me that it's here and an option for casual dining. I also got to see that they've added a fun thing to their cocktail menu: a "flight" of cocktails where you get three mini-versions of their cocktails to sample. The menu offered for Restaurant Week was a really good example of some of their regular menu selections and as such it's a good representation of the experience you would get if you came back on a regular night.

Next up for us is Cube. It's right down the way, but we haven't been yet. Now we can try it for a lower price to see if we want to make it one of our regular "go out" places. Also on Thursday, I'm getting an unexpected visit from my world-traveling parents who are off on their travels again so we'll be going out then as well to a location as yet unknown. I will try to report back on what I discover!

RECIPE: Porcini Mushroom Soup

2009-01-10T23:49:00.000-08:00

I am about to put a recipe up here for porcini mushroom soup. I am also about to put a picture up of the soup I made. The two soups are similar in idea, but they are not the same soup. So why I am I putting a recipe for one soup up when I made a different soup? Well, because ... the recipe I'm putting is the recipe I meant to make, and it looks like a really good recipe .. but some things happened along the way, as they do, and I ended up with a different soup.

First, I couldn't find porcini mushrooms at the store. The only dried mushrooms were in the Asian section, so I ended up with shiitake mushrooms instead. I would have liked the correct mushrooms, but we can't always get what we want, eh?

Then I came to the part in the recipe where it said "tomatoes." I'm able to eat tomatoes when they're in a soup, usually, but I really don't like tomatoes. If I have control over whether tomatoes can be in something or not, sorry, but they're outta there.

After that, I made the soup as directed until ... well, I got to the part where it says to puree a portion of the soup and throw it back in with the rest of the soup. So I pureed the portion ... and ... it just smelled so good. And the rest of the soup looked so chunky ... the mushrooms were pretty big for a bite. So before I knew what I was doing I had my immersion blender in that pot and the rest of it was all pureed. Okay, I admit it ... I also just really love to use my immersion blender. Still, I think the soup was really nice pureed, although the picture from the magazine with the big chunky mushrooms looks very nice and rustic. But pureed, the soup was nice with some parmesan cheese on top.

Hey, a recipe is only a guideline right? It's an idea and you can follow it or you can try something else. Comments on Epicurious are mixed as to whether it needs more salt or not. I found it to be find but I agree it could have been improved with more salt. It was fine with the cheese though and the garlic and onion add enough that it's not bland.

Eat with a piece of crusty bread on a cold day. It's a nice hearty soup, and great for winter.

PORCINI MUSHROOM SOUP
Gourmet, December 2008
Makes 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 ounces dried porcini mushrooms (1 cup)
6 cups tepid water plus 2 cups hot water, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds white mushrooms, sliced or quartered
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped dill

PREPARATION:

Soak porcini in 2 cups hot water 15 minutes.

Cook onion in butter with 1 teaspoon salt in a heavy medium pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Add celery, carrot, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Transfer porcini with a slotted spoon to pot and strain soaking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a large glass measure. Add white mushrooms to pot with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, remaining 6 cups water, and porcini-soaking liquid. Simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes.

Purée 1 cup vegetables and 1 cup liquid in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids), then return to pot. Stir in parsley, dill, and salt to taste.

Cooks' note: Soup, without dill and parsley, can be made 3 days ahead and chilled. Add herbs after reheating.

RECIPE: Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

2008-12-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

I hate to do this, but I think it's time to talk about a sad truth. These days we SEE so much cooking, but most of it isn't real. That is, we see it on television, or in magazines, or on people's blogs, and mostly what we see is the result, or the idealized version of the process, but we don't really see how it works to develop a dish or make a recipe that first time.

I think it's easy to fall into believing that cooking is a talent, which you are either good at, or you aren't. That's totally false. While truly genius and inspired cooking is often a matter of talent, especially the creative part of it, the actual mechanics of cooking can be learned by anyone and any dish can be made with practice.

The truth is, that most people don't just pick up a brand new recipe and know immediately how to make it perfectly. The first time you make something new is always a practice and if it comes out well, it's usually luck as much as skill. With any new recipe you have to test it out, have some trial and error runs, and see how it works with your cooking style, your equipment, and your personal taste.

Witness the cookies above. These are Christmas cookies I made for this year, and as you can see, they are pretty cute. The fact is that those cookies are the end product of a chain of failures. The ugly truth is that my first batch of cookies were burnt and had to go right into the trash, but that batch taught me how long they needed to cook in my crotchety oven. The second batch came out cooked correctly, but then I had to figure out how to use the frosting I got. That batch came out ... a little ... well ... beauty-challenged, you might say:

But after that unfortunate looking batch, I was ready ... I had mastered the mechanics of the dough and of the oven and of the frosting (kind of) and I got down to business with all of the remaining dough and managed to put out some decent cookies. But by no means was this a process that came naturally or automatically. It took some tries and it took some errors.

That's what it comes down to. Cooking is not about natural talent, it's about determination, a willingness to learn, observation, and a willingness to practice. It's about trying something, and instead of throwing your hands up when it fails, trying to understand why it failed and how you can fix it. Once you get the basic maneuvers of a recipe down, you will remember how to do it for the next time, and as you practice and learn, you will get more right on the first try, because you will have learned from your mistakes in the past. Don't let cooking shows and magazines and the internet fool you into thinking that you must do everything perfectly right away to be a good cook. Good cooks mostly get that way by repetition, not by inspiration, so you'll be fine as long as you have the interest and the time and the patience.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
Gourmet, December 2008 by Shelly Wiseman

INGREDIENTS

1 cup hazelnuts (5 ounces)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon dark rum

Equipment: decorative cookie cutters (about 3 inches)

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Toast nuts in a small baking pan in oven until centers are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Wrap in a kitchen towel and cool to warm, then rub off any loose skins. Chop nuts. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in egg and rum. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Stir in nuts. Divide dough in half and form each half into a 5-inch square. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out 1 piece of dough between 2 sheets of parchment into an 11-to 12-inch square. Freeze on a tray until firm, about 20 minutes. Remove top sheet of parchment and cut out shapes with cookie cutters, arranging them 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake cookies, switching position and rotating sheets halfway through, until firm and tops are slightly cracked, 8 to 12 minutes total. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough (cool baking sheets and line with fresh parchment). Reroll scraps once for extra cookies if desired.

Cooks’ note:

Dough can be chilled up to 1 week.
Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

NEWS: Go Eat Los Angeles!

2008-12-13T12:31:00.000-08:00

Mark your calendars, foodies! On February 26, Aid for AIDS, in conjunction with local restaurants is having a fundraiser. For the entire day, breakfast through dinner, participating restaurants will give 20% of their earnings or more to help prevent homelessness and hunger for individuals and families impoverished by HIV/AIDS.

To see the list of participating restaurants, check the website: www.GoEatLA.org. The list is updating so make sure to check back close to the event if you don't find your favorite places on there.

About the organizations: Aid For AIDS, a non-profit organization founded in 1983, is one of the oldest, continuously running AIDS assistance organizations in California. The agency mission is to prevent homelessness and hunger and to encourage independent living for impoverished women, men and children with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County. Aid For AIDS helped more than 1,000 last year.