s a l t s m i t h

Savor the Season 2009

2009-10-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

Break the Cycle’s food and wine gala, Savor the Season is this Sunday. Saltistry is so excited to celebrate this fun and beneficial event (it's our third year of participating)!

To make things easier, We’ve attached a map of the venue, including parking information. We also invite you to visit the Guest Information page of the Savor the Season website, http://savortheseason.org/guest-information.html for more information.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you at the event!

Joni & Denise

Saltistry at Bottega Louie

2009-03-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

At the corner of Seventh and Grand, sits Bottega Louie. No expense is spared in its first location, long term plans are in the works to roll out others in Malibu and San Francisco. Though the crown moldings, brass applique, marble floors and baroque-style chairs speak to a traditional dining experience, Bottega is really a modern eatery and full service food experience: a 185-seat restaurant, Wi-Fi cafe, full bar, high-end deli and gourmet grocery all rolled into one. It's also the first retailer to carry Saltistry in downtown Los Angeles.

The dining room kitchen is helmed by Sam Marvin and Chris Goosen, long-time friends and colleagues dating back to Modada restuarant.

Dining menu features Neapolitan-style pizzas and other Italian fare, portioned for sharing. Brunch service on Sat and Sun mornings.

Opening date is currently slated for Monday, April 6th and hours are 6am to 12am. Valet parking is available. Lot and street parking on Grand. Downtown shuttle service in the works.

The art of making soba

2009-03-10T14:29:00.000-07:00

I attended a wedding at Gonpachi in Los Angeles recently and was blown away by the handmade soba noodles. Hardly revolutionary, but here the tasty buckwheat noodles are freshly made in a tiny glassed-in room. At Gonpachi, the resident soba master is measures the blue-grayish buckwheat flour into a huge red lacquer bowl. (This may be the only place in Southern California that grinds its own buckwheat flour.) The soba master vigorously kneads the stiff dough and rolls it into a giant thin rectangle with a long wooden rolling stick, he then artfully folds the dough with the rolling pin creating perfect layers of dough. The soba master cuts the dough with a wide-bladed knife — and then, almost tenderly, laying hanks of the fine noodles onto a bamboo tray. It's worth a trip to Gonpachi just to see, and taste, the soba.

The soba is impressive for its texture and flavor. The square-cut buckwheat noodles are about the size of spaghetti alla chitarra and cooked so they still have some bounce. Though you can order them hot or cold, I like them best, especially at this season, served chilled on a bamboo tray. A classic soy-based dipping sauce comes with it, and some sliced scallions and a dab of wasabi. When you're finished eating the noodles, the server brings out a lacquer teapot filled with the cooking water. Pour it into what remains of your dipping sauce to make a delicious soup.

Gonpachi

134 N. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills; (310) 659-8887

Hell's Kitchen by Lisa Kroner

2009-03-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

I've been scrambling all day. I started with a triple espresso and a little milk at 11:15, trying to calm the little whirlpools of dread in the pit of my stomach that mark the start of each 12 hour day here. It never works. Since then I have made two gallons of ice cream, 30 tart shells, biscuit dough, apple confit, bread pudding for 60 (last minute party), and zested almost a crate of oranges. I have placed the dairy order, checked my inventory of desserts, and looked at the book. We're going to get killed tonight.

I am five months into my first real restaurant gig. The food is elegant with French and Mediterranean influences. The pastry-wrapped lamb with gnocchi and picholine olives is 34 dollars. My desserts are 7 dollars each. I am paid 9 dollars an hour. The Executive Chef, a 30-year-old ex-surf punk from San Diego, lets me know several times a day that I am lucky to be paid at all. So although I feel a warm swell of pride every time I put on my spotless white chef's coat, I describe the job to most of my friends as "hell" and fantasize daily about hitching a ride to Iowa or Arkansas and cooking behind the counter of a truck stop. Or anywhere the food is served hot and brown and no one knows what a picholine olive is.

Our Los Feliz restaurant is new and has quite a bit of buzz, so other chefs sometimes come around to see and be seen. They come, ostensibly, to show professional support. But mostly they come to eat, spy, gossip, and then drink anything they want in the lounge until the bar closes. The day I met one particular visitor, I had just finished my third attempt at traditional lemon curd. My chef had thrown the first two batches in the trash and then stood over me, vulture-like, to comment on my sloppy technique each time I started again. The third time he made me hold a dinner plate under my arm, pressed against my body, while I whisked the hot mixture over the stove. Apparently this was to ensure that I whisked with my wrist only, not my arm, just as they do in France. I was still mopping my forehead and cursing the French under my breath when this visitor introduced himself two months ago.

Even in my ragged, beaten-down state, I was immediately impressed by this visitor's good looks, knowledge of food, and quick wit. I pegged him right away as the kind of guy who constantly tests his boundaries...not surprising for someone who went from dishwasher to executive chef in 6 years. He would lean in close while telling me some story, incorporating "secrets" into the conversations so he could speak right into my ear. He was unnerving and completely addictive. Normally I would challenge this kind of guy with body language of my own. Normally I would look him defiantly in the eye and not concede an inch of personal space. Normally I would smirk and laugh and call every bluff. But I am not my normal self anymore. I work in a kitchen now. I am a chef. Or at least I'm supposed to be.

So today when the two of them strut into the kitchen, I am in the middle of my second triple espresso, and buried as usual. As I chop chocolate and pretend not to notice them, I notice that my chef is pulling my pink grapefruit sorbet out of the walk-in freezer and grabbing for spoons. "You gotta try this."

Something is upside-down here. The man who makes a living out of criticizing my techniques, my ideas, my desserts, and my general reason for being is offering something I created to one of his colleagues. These two came up through the ranks together, competing for years in some of the toughest kitchens in the city. They are young and cocky and at the top of their profession. I turn from my task to watch. I am having difficulty breathing.

They each take a spoonful. The visitor looks me right in the eye as he tastes it. There is an almost imperceptible movement of his tongue inside his mouth. I hold his gaze, mostly because I am frozen with fear. They both dig in for more. The visitor winks at me.

Somewhere beneath my perpetually shattered-and-rebuilt ego, I know that the grapefruit sorbet is perfect. The flavor is pure and bright and perfectly balanced. The texture is smooth, the color sublime. I squeezed every grapefruit by hand. And like a slap in the face, it hits me. My chef has just paid me the ultimate compliment. The sorbet isn't just good...it's good enough to be an example of his overall vision. By offering it to another chef he is saying: "See? This is what we do here." It takes me a second to process this. I feel a glorious relief, which gives way to pride, which feeds a small flicker of confidence. Then the light bulb clicks all the way on: I deserve to be here.

"Is that supposed to mean you like it?" I ask the visitor, fiercely holding his gaze. I raise one eyebrow. I feel a cocky smirk surfacing.

"That means I like you." His eyes bore into mine. I do not look away.

"I already know that."

He laughs and I turn back to my task. My chef is shooting me quizzical looks, which I ignore. I feel triumphant and completely giddy, but my face shows nothing. Confidence is everything back here. After a few long months in a fine dining kitchen, I know it is the key to survival. When I don't have enough of it, I will keep my ears open, my mouth shut, and my face unreadable. There will be many days in this business when I feel unworthy, uninspired, and totally useless. But not today.

Today, I am a chef.

Ode To Salt by Pablo Neruda

2009-02-24T22:22:00.000-08:00

This salt
in the saltcellar
I once saw in the salt mines.
I know
you won't
believe me,
but
it sings,
salt sings, the skin
of the salt mines
sings
with a mouth smothered
by the earth.
I shivered in those solitudes
when I heard
the voice of
the salt
in the desert.
Near Antofagasta
the nitrous
pampa
resounds:
a broken
voice,
a mournful
song.

In its caves
the salt moans, mountain
of buried light,
translucent cathedral,
crystal of the sea, oblivion
of the waves.

And then on every table
in the world,
salt,
we see your piquant
powder
sprinkling
vital light
upon
our food. Preserver
of the ancient
holds of ships,
discoverer
on
the high seas,
earliest
sailor
of the unknown, shifting
byways of the foam.
Dust of the sea, in you
the tongue receives a kiss
from ocean night:
taste imparts to every seasoned
dish your ocean essence;
the smallest,
miniature
wave from the saltcellar
reveals to us
more than domestic whiteness;
in it, we taste infinitude.

A trip to the infamous Zingerman's

2009-02-22T22:58:00.000-08:00

I visited Ann Arbor, Michigan recently and finally had a chance to visit the iconic Zingerman's. Boy was it terrific and surpassed its excellent reputation. Many may be famliar with the catalog and the incredible culinary treasures you can find in it. I was in town for 5 days and ate there four times (didn't want to appear be too obsessive). I ate at the Roadhouse mostly but also checked out the Deli on several occasions. They have different locations with five variations on the Zingerman's theme throughout the city. Do yourself a favor and make a pilgrimage here...it is well worth it!
Zingerman's Reuben
Zingerman's corned beef, Switzerland Swiss cheese, sauerkraut & Russian dressing on grilled, hand-sliced Jewish rye bread.

As famed food writer John T. Edge points out, “Fried chicken is at once a totem of tradition and a lowest-common-denominator lunch.” Though a lot of folks grew up with the stuff, unfortunately, even among the lucky few who have a great recipe passed down through their family, these days not many people are able to put in the time to make it. So, Zingerman's set out to make something that both recalls great childhood memories for a lot of people but takes that taste to a whole new level.

A great beer flight...

Hand-Crafted American Micro-brew Sampler
Can't make up your mind, try our 5 favorites! A small glass of each: Bell's Lager, Boont Amber Ale, Sacred Cow IPA, Rouge Dead Guy, and Poets Oatmeal Stout.

Amazing collection of salt and pepper shakers throughout the Roadhouse location...perfect place to "ban the shaker" from actual use and make them art...so cool!

Zingerman's Roadhouse · 2501 Jackson Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 · (734) 663-3663
Hours: Mon-Thurs 11am-10pm, Fri 11am-11pm, Sat 10am-11pm, Sun 10am-9pm
Drive-up & To-Go: Mon-Thurs 6am*-10pm, Fri 6am*-11pm, Sat 7am-11pm, Sun 7am-9pm *self-serve dining room open 7am

Himalayan Salt Lamps

2009-02-08T00:10:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful salt lamps, from the foothills of Himalayan Mountains are more than just pretty to look at - they're good for you. Salt crystal lamps generate healthy negative ions that cleanse the air. Ever experienced the change in the air after a good rain? That's from negative ions, and that's what these lamps do, and they don't lose their power over time. If you'd like to order a salt lamp or would like to learn more about them, contact us info@saltistry.com.

Saltistry at the Wine House

2008-10-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

Saltistry products are now available at The Wine House in West LA! Check out the October/November edition of The Wine House newsletter in the 2311 Gourmet page.

So while you’re picking out an amusing wine for your dinner party, stroll over to their gourmet section and browse through their Saltistry selection. Need a cool gift? Pick up a set of Salt Rocks with Grater. Or the Table Box with Herb Grey Salt. Both are already nicely packed in a gift box. Can’t wait for those sea salt caramels to arrive in the mail? The Wine House is carrying the small AND large bags (for you caramel junkies!) And our complete line of Artisan Infused Sea Salt Samplers are specially priced and flying off the shelves.

To celebrate our arrival, The Wine House is paring Saltistry with Charbay, a family-run artisan distillery & winery based in Napa Valley, for a tasting event on Thursday, October 30. We’ll have a few of our salt tasting favs like the Saltini and the pee wee potatoes with truffle salt. Plus Chef Todd Barrie of Upstairs 2 will showcase his menu inspired by Saltistry’s sea salt infusions. And of course there will be creative cocktails whipped up by Charbay mixologist, Jenni Olson. A Salty Dog with Charbay Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka and Tangerine Salt perhaps. Or a Six Pepper Bloody Mary with Charbay Meyer Lemon Vodka. Let’s try a Blood Orange Espresso Martini...

No doubt, a good time is bound to be had by all at this Wine House event! For details and reservations, call 310-479-3731.

Red Hot @ Red Seven & Saltistry

2008-10-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

Red Hot @ Red Seven, was billed as the exclusive VIP event to proceed the huge Universal Backlot event. Red Hot was Friday September 26th at the Pacific Design Center. Hosted by Wolfgang Puck to celebrate the 26th American Food & Wine Festival. All of his chef's and a handful of other chefs were there serving up beautiful tastes of spectacular beef; Craft LA, Cut, Lawry's, 8 oz, Montage and La Brea Bakery. Our little spread seemed like an interesting addition to the event. Not sure if people were just super hungry and replaced dinner with this event but the guests were going crazy! There were over 500 guests and they ate everything and I mean everything we brought (which was a lot)! It was exhausting and a blast to expose our humble yet powerful salts to a new group of tastebuds! Were happy to take a little break from these whirlwind events for a few weeks. We'll see everyone at Great Chefs of LA in November and were also doing a Salt Tasting for the Winehouse at their restaurant Upstairs on October 30th.

Savor the Season & Saltistry

2008-10-01T20:39:00.001-07:00

The official foodie charity "season" started with Savor the Season, Saturday, September 21, at the beautiful Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles. We participated last year for the first time and made a lot of new friends in the VIP lounge. Bonnie Graves, Madame Chocolate and Andrew's Cheese Shop had beautiful tables and tasty treats. This year we were the first table in the VIP lounge again and had such an overwelming response. Many a guest told us, as they came by for their tenth taste of the truffle pee wee potatoes, that we were the "best in show"! What a wonderful compliment.

Bonnie Graves and crew provided lovely libations all evening.
Andrew Steiner of Andrew's Cheese Shop.

Saltistry kicks off Party Season

2008-10-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

Saltistry began the fall holiday Salt Party season with its end of the summer bash at the Shampoo Lounge in West Los Angeles. Lots of newbies were crazy for the usual suspects, Truffle Salt and Pee Wee Potatoes, Lavender Salt and Caramels, and Skirt Steak with Smoked Chili Salt. Tending to the all important duty of bartender, Maria was mixing up Salty Dogs, Bloody Mary's, killer Margarita's (with recipe to follow soon on Saltsmith) and she even improvised a tasty Michelada! Thanks to Holly Jones, Michael and all our talented friends at the Shampoo Lounge for hosting us at such a beautiful and artistic space! Also thanks to Sally Aristei of See Sally Shoot for gracing Saltistry with more of her wonderful photography.

Salt Cure: article by Julie Gordon

2008-08-21T20:05:00.001-07:00

A disabled chef launches a new career
by going with the grains and spicing up
the ever-popular Tupperware party

By Julie Gordon

Until she landed at Le Dome, Joni Fay Hill was a rising star on the LA restaurant scene: sauté cook at Luques under Suzanne Goin; celebrated salad maker at Rix Supper Club in Santa Monica; sous chef and then executive chef at a steak house called Balboa.
Then the curtain fell on her career as a chef at the iconic restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. Hill ran the sauté line. Or, rather, the line ran her. She worked lunches and dinners, six days a week. The restaurant sat 400. Prep cooks were in short supply. She worked till she dropped, at the end of her four-month stint at Le Dome, unable to hold a sauté pan.
Diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, Hill donned wrist braces. She went to hand therapy three days a week. Doctors told her they wanted to operate; that she’d never cook again. Discouraged, she drifted aimlessly for a year, realizing she needed to reinvent herself.

A mad scientist in the kitchen

Hill was at home, cooking in her kitchen, “playing around” with some specialty salts she’d become acquainted with as a chef, when she reached for her camera and took a few pictures with her close up lens. Her salt cure began immediately. Each crystal appeared so different. “I started to fall in love with the differences of each salt I came across. Maldon salt from Essex just fascinated me, because it’s like tiny pyramids,” she says. Hill delved deeper and deeper into artisanal salts, and, “like a mad scientist in the kitchen,” started experimenting with the various textures and inherent tastes of various specialty salts.
She brought out her food dehydrator and zested lemons and limes. Played with peppercorn mixes. Drifted into green teas. Hill gave her creations to friends as gifts and heard the inevitable. “You should sell these.” Artisanally made salts—from France, Hawaii, England, and Japan—did exist. But surprisingly, Hill found nobody yet doing what she was doing—adding a chef’s touch to a most elementary building block of fine cuisine.
“I treat each new salt like a sommelier treats food and wine,” she says. “ You have to think what’s going to be paired perfectly with this texture of salt.”
Her fledgling business, Salistry, now offers more than a dozen flavored salts, most of her own creation. Buyers shopping at the company website (www.saltistry.com) can read product descriptions like these:
•Herb grey salt—An amazing addition to steaks & roasted vegetables. Organic grey salt, oregano, thyme & basil create a beautiful balance to hearty, full-flavored dishes. Salt origin: Guerande, France.
•Heirloom tomato salt—Tiny Korean Fake salt is paired with sun roasted heirloom tomatoes to make an indescribably aromatic & flavorful infusion. Perfect for buttered noodles, salads, tuna. Salt origin: Korea.
Hill also offers the following sea salt infusions: Coconut Black Lemon Thyme, Six Pepper, Smoked Chili, Mushroom Herb, and Lime Flake. Saltistry sells its creations for $12 each in ball jars and in five different samplers ($18), each offering small amounts of five salts. Other products include handcrafted salt boxes for the table and award winning Bequet caramels from a Montana company that Hill resells with a small bag of lavender grey salt.
The four-year-old business remains tiny. So far, it’s just Hill and her business partner Denise Daclan, who handles the books and much of the marketing in between gigs as a contract photographer for Boeing. Having outgrown her home kitchen, and with the business not yet big enough for its own production facilities, Hill heads for a commissary kitchen or the restaurant kitchen of any number of chefs she knows when her inventories run low.
As with many startups run by creative individuals with scant business training, growth has been slowed by the need for on-the-job learning about entrepreneurial nuts and bolts like packaging and distribution and marketing. “A friend who works for a company that puts coupon mailers in Sunday newspapers sat us down,” says Hill, explaining the mentoring included a lot of great bootstrapping advice about branding their product. “She told us the consumer hears only sound bytes and recommended starting a blog.”

A chef’s take on a Tupperware party

The woman also put them on the path to a low cost/high return form of word of mouth advertising--salt parties, in the mode of a suburban classic. After holding more than a dozen, Hill says: “We’ve now got them down to a science. The model is the Tupperware party. Thirty to forty people max. All the host does is supply the guests. We bring product, we sell product. We bring all the food for free and the drinks.”
The hand of an accomplished chef is clearly behind such finger food as: Watermelon and cantaloupe with coconut black salt; Sweet potato steak frites with smoked chili salt; Charred broccolini with genmaicha pink salt; Duck confit with roasted grapes with lemon thyme salt. And after a couple Saltinis (vodka, baby tomatoes, six pepper salt, a clever, decomposed Bloody Mary) everybody’s in the mood to buy.
“Especially around the holidays, people really go crazy. ‘I have to buy this gift and that gift.’ We’ve had some people spend as much as $1,000 or $1,500,” says Hill. Shopping frugally at LA area Korean and Japanese markets, she can hold down her food costs, making each event highly profitable. But more importantly, each gift becomes an advertisement for the company’s unique wares. Many recipients not only reorder for themselves, but log on to the Saltistry website to buy someone else a distinctive gift.
To date, these salt parties have all been in and around Los Angeles. Thoughts of taking them on the road to other metro areas have necessarily been shelved while other, more pressing issues, like product labels and packaging, were finally wrestled to the ground. The latter, especially, dogged Salistry, holding back growth. On the eve of production, the Japanese company that had designed a new pillbox-like sampler with five compartments for different varieties of salt, pulled out, leaving Hill and Daclan in the lurch. Though they scrambled, and found a Chinese company to pinch-hit, production problems ensued.
Recognizing that Salistry is still a long ways from being ready for broker-driven chain store orders and selling through distributors, the plan is to expand sales through small cheese shops and gourmet food stores that can be approached and serviced entrepreneur-to-entrepreneur. So far, Salistry’s salts are sold in about a dozen retail locations, most in the LA area, but also in Dallas and as far as Nantucket.
“It’s selling great. It surprised us, actually,” says Linda Taylor, a co-owner of Winnow Gallery & Goods, which started displaying some of Saltistry’s products in January in the artisanally made “consumables” section of the popular Newport Beach, Calfornia home furnishings and design store. “We’re getting a lot of repeat business and lots of people are buying the salts as gifts.”
“I know in my heart and so does Denise, that the real model is the Tupperware style party,” says Hill. And we’re going to stick by our guns. It’s the best way to get the word out.” And, she believes, inexpensively drive business to the company website, which can effectively sell nationwide. Recently made-over by Hill herself, the website is vastly improved over version 1.0, which less successfully showcased popular products like the specialty caramels.
And what about all that time at the computer keyboard redesigning the website? Did that aggravate her old carpal tunnel maladies? Not at all. “Now that I’m not flipping a sauté pan and hauling 50 pound bags of potatoes, I’m fine,” says Hill, stressing her new business is not salt in her old wounds, but rather an enjoyable new career that spices up her life with new challenges.

lavender fest

2008-07-13T06:25:00.000-07:00

Every year our local organic farm, Los Poblanos Organics, has a Lavender festival that is so sweet. We live in the north valley in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and today, we went to that festival for, I think, the third or fourth year in a row. It is a wonderful event that involves the local community, here in the valley. Various business owners participate in the two day festival. Restaurant owners find clever ways to incorporate the fresh lavender with various dishes, and antique stores have their banners blowing brightly in the wind, welcoming any passer by to visit their store and save, while sampling some lovely lavender biscochitos...mmmm, these are yummy little cookies. The north valley also has two wineries and a farmers market during the event, and it is all very well coordinated with plenty of available parking and shuttles. Brilliant.

The best part of the event is, of course, you get to cut your own bundle of lovely, fresh, organic, and locally grown lavender, whose rich color and aroma last for months. Like I said, three or four years in a row we've been to this. You can also buy wonderful bath oils, salts, shampoos, soaps and body washes all handmade using their lavender. It is so neat...there is nothing else like it. So, of course, you come home all inspired by an event like this (like going to a salt party and seeing that gorgeous spread that Joni and Denise do, you just want to get home and start creating some of your own yumminess) I am definitely that way. Anyway...they were selling fresh figs, and I immediately wanted fresh figs, sliced and with a sprinkle of Saltistry's brilliant lavender salt, or, on a sidebar...lavender and smoked salish salts mixed together...this sounds interesting...hmmm. Or, I was also thinking about some beets, oven roasted with some olive oil and salt and pepper. You can wrap these individually in foil and roast in oven for about 45 minutes on 375 degrees. Then after they've cooled, slip off their skins, cut them up anyway you'd like, and a make a yummy salad with them. You could put them in a really good yogurt with lavender salt, honey and some mace, to keep it on the sweet side, or you could savory it up by using Mediterranean style yogurt and adding the lavender salt with some fresh oregano. Or just tossing the beets, after peeling, in some good olive oil and adding some fresh oregano, with some orange zest and juice and scallions and then putting this yummy beetness on top of a fresh bed of arugula and baby spring mix. With some orange slices and some yummy oven roasted almonds sprinkled on top. You could add some cheese. A nicely aged asiago, or sprinkles of gorgonzola, or goat cheese. I'm really getting hungry now. Or here is another one...how about fresh endive sprinkled with lavender salt and drizzled with a light vinaigrette of champagne vinegar, or apple cider vinegar, and Dijon mustard, some lemon juice. That sounds like a fresh, crisp, cool appetizer for a summertime dinner. Or add arugula and butter lettuce, maybe figs or peaches, and maybe some fresh blueberries, sliced apples, maybe cheese, some honeyed pecans, finished with that marvelous lavender salt. Okay...I have to go cook now. Happy salting.

4th of July Salty BBQ

2008-07-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today is the great American holiday and I would guess that at least 90% of americans will be involved in some way, shape or form, in a backyard barbecue, or lakeside barbecue, or poolside, or campsite cookout, whatever you want to call it...somehow, and for some reason, we are drawn to the grill on this day. Maybe cooking outdoors somehow connects us with the freedom and liberation that we fought so hard to obtain. Cooking outside definitely connects us with each other, our primitive roots, and a primal instinct to incorporate and play with...fire! How else do we top of this holiday, but with a fireworks display, either of our own, or a massive spectacle (like on the esplenade in Boston, complete with the Boston symphony playing 'God Bless America'...so cool!)
Whatever draws us outside to celebrate, this is the one day on which most Americans agree, that food tastes better cooked outside...and that is exactly what I am doing on this holiday...grillin'.

We are cooking everything outside today and Saltisry salts will be with us every step of the way. We aren't cooking burgers or dogs, we've gone one step further and are cooking seafood on the grill, lobster tails and crab legs, cauliflower and whatever other veggies we need to use up in the fridge...and the beauty of these amazing salts is that they will compliment anything we put on the fire. We are also having potato salad, just to maintain some cookout tradition. I think that deciding what salt to use in my potato salad was the hardest decision...which direction do I want my potatoes to take? We started with some red potatoes, boiled and then skinned, used some red wine vinegar, shallots, french dijon mustard, parsley and I finished it with the fennel pollen salt..a bold choice perhaps, but the fennel added a suprisingly subtle layer to the salad, and is fantastic! For the grilled cauliflower, I just blanched it for about 3 minutes and then smeared it with greek oregano and some of the most yummiest smoked salish salt...divine!!!!! There will be none of this left by the time I go to bed tonight! For the lobster tails and crab legs...some preserved lemon salt suits the seafood to a tee, but for New Mexican flare, we added chili flakes and lime flake salt...a supreme combination. We also used this combo on a cold jicima salad with excellent results!!!!

The most amazing thing about these salts is that you get to create your mood, through food. You can take ordinary, everyday items to a completely different level with the salts that you use. You can use the coconut black salt on watermelon, or shrimp. You can use the apricot salt for fruit salad, or grilled mango, or pineapple, or even on dry roasted walnuts and raisins, or dry roasted sunflower seeds and raisins. The smoked salish can go on grilled potatoes or asparagus. The popcorn salt can go on grilled artichokes or radicchio. The smoked chili or six pepper can go on any meat item that you can think of...that's just it, anything goes!!!! Even the most inexperienced cooks can create wonderful flavors by using whichever salt strikes their fancy. The more obviuos flavored salts are a great way to start and get your palate used to fine salts, but for the more experienced palates, which yours will become with exposure, the purist sampler offers delicate differences, untouched by outside flavors. Whichever you use, the most important thing to remember is that there is no wrong choice. Whichever salt sounds good to you, use and experiment...you will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

As for my grilling adventure...my next experiment in honor of this red, white and blue holiday is to grill up some sourdough(white), sprinkle on some bleu cheese just before I pull it off of the grill(blue, of course) and top it off with some thinly slice tomatoes or red onions(yummy and red) and then finish this wonderfulness with some yummy six pepper or herb grey salt...I have yet to decide. Happy Grilling, Americans and stay 'salty'!!!!!

WATER SALAD

2008-07-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

This is the quintessential summer salad! It's unique flavor profile really gets people talking and it is so light and tasty it's sure to be a new favorite. Plus, it couldn't be easier to make and if you're having trouble finding watercress you can substitute arugula or even use both together. The sweetness of the watermelon likes the pepperyness on the watercress...we call it the "Water" Salad, get it? melon and cress never tasted so good!

Ingredients

1 cup seedless watermelon, bite size cubes
1 bunch watercress, trimmed
1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, washed & dried & rough chopped
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
fresh cracked pepper
Lime Flake Salt

Make Dressing & Pickle Onions

In small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and vinegar. Set aside. In small bowl, combine the onions, lime juice, and brown sugar and set aside for a few hours. Clean Watercress and spin
dry in Salad Spinner. Clean Parsley and spin dry too. Slice Watermelon.

Put It Together & Serve

In a large bowl, combine the watercress, parsley, and watermelon. Add just enough
dressing to moisen the ingredients (there will be a little left) toss to coat. Drain the
onion, and add to salad, lightly toss again. Place the salad on a large platter.
Finish with a few grinds from the peppermill and liberal sprinkling of Lime Flake Salt.

Garden Tomato & Sweet Onions

2008-06-14T06:29:00.000-07:00

wow, those new labels look awesome. They make me think of boxcars on a cool old train, or a shiny diner with sleek, clean lines. Love them labels!! What i love more, though, is the flipping salt! I know that there is a tomato scare out there right now, but if you're lucky enough to have a garden, it is quickly becoming yummy eating time. Joni's salts are the perfect accompaniments for fresh tomato salads of all kinds (they're the perfect touch to all fresh veggies, but we'll get to those recipes later).
Summer is upon us and that means parties and barbecues and picnics, left and right. It is crucial to have a small, reliable stash of light, summery, recipes: fresh appetizers, some main fare, even quick and easy desserts.

Using the wonderful selection of salt's from Saltistry opens the door to a candy shop of opportunities. With these salts you can pair salt flavors with food flavors that are complimentary, or with flavors at opposite ends of the spectrum...whatever you choose, the choice is all yours, no wrong or right answers. The world is your oyster, especially with a light sprinkling of mushroom herb salt, perhaps...or smoked salish, or with lime flake salt and being washed down with a nice, chilled shot of Patron silver, yummmm!!

okay...back from salty tangents. Here is a quick and wonderful recipes using garden tomatoes. I know...tomato scare out there, but for this recipe you should use nicer, organic, locally grown tomatoes that you can get from a farmer's market. This is for an appetizer for a BBQ or picnic or potluck, so you want to use tomatoes that are nice enough to stand on their own, and if they are locally farmed, chances are, they are not using intense fertilizers and are not exposed to the same elements that the bigger farms are. Use big fresh tomatoes, any color you want and slice them like for sandwiches, pretty thin. Then slice a red onion, also like for sandwiches, as thin as you can get them, while keeping them whole, complete slices, if you care about that look,that is, slice them however best you can and they will be fine. Then layer alternating between tomato and onion, in a flat dish with a bit of a side, casserole dishes work well. You can add a little bit of salt at this point, lime flake is yummy, but I love the heirloom tomato salt, because it adds a nice bit of tomato sweetness sometimes missing from the bigger tomatoes. If you chop up fresh herbs and then mix them in a small bowl with the salt before you put it on the tomatoes, it really brings out the flavor of the herbs, like rosemary, thyme, oregano, all excellent, but save some for the very end to top off your dish. Then get a nice yummy extra virgin olive oil and, holding your thumb over the opening, shake a little oil over all of the tomatoes and onions. Next sprinkle a nice red wine vinegar, add the rest of your salt concoction, and viola!! Yummy, summery, fast and easy appetizer, using the most wonderful of salts.

Sea Salt Samplers for Every Occasion

2008-05-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

A unique and wonderful gift for every level of salt lover. The Sampler creates an instant Salt Party featuring five Sea Salt Infusions side-by-side. There are five different Sampler Infusion Sets: Classic, Robust, Exotic, Harvest, and Purist. Remember, each flavor set is based upon a theme so some infusions are repeated.

The Classic Sampler features our five most popular Sea Salt Infusions. The Classic represents a great sampling of five very different textures of salt as well as five very different flavors. Great all around Sampler for every type of cuisine.

Lemon Thyme Salt

Herb Grey Salt

Six Pepper Salt

Genmaicha Salt

Smoked Chili Salt

The Exotic Sampler is for the more adventurous palate or for the days when your feeling like perking up your tastebuds. Pairs well with seafood, fruits and vegetables.The Exotic Sampler features some of the most interesting and unique sea salt infusions Saltistry offers.

Coconut Black Salt
Preserved Lemon Salt
Genmaicha Salt
Fennel Pollen Salt
Lavender Salt

The Harvest Sampler is a true taste of the Farmer's Market. Offering a fresh and seasonal array of Sea Salt Infusions. The bright and fruity flavors are an excellent foil for all kinds of salads, pasta and vegetable dishes.

Lemon Thyme Salt
Apricot Salt
Heirloom Tomato Salt
Tangerine Salt
Lime Flake Salt

The Robust Sampler features five of the most full bodied flavor profiles from our Sea Salt Infusions. The perfect Sampler for grilling and roasts and heartier fare.

Smoked Salish Salt
Herb Grey Salt
Six Pepper Salt
Mushroom Herb Salt
Smoked Chili Salt

The Purist Sampler is for the salt lover with the purist palate. Presented in our beautiful five compartment interlocking signature Sampler Salt Box. Sometimes you just want pure salt with no additional flavors. The Sea Salts featured in the Purist Sampler are the some of the most prized sea salts on the planet.

Fleur De Sel (France)
Aguni (Japan)
Sel Gris (France)
Murray River (Australia)
Halen Mon (Wales)

The Salt Party Festivities

2008-04-07T20:15:00.001-07:00

Here are some photo's from our Salt Tasting Party at Food Court L.A. last week. Our wonderful and talented friends, Joshua Hill and Jonathan Wolf captured the event for us with their wonderful photography.

Blogger Caroline on Crack and Chef Brock Kleweno of Yamashiro sample the Duck Rillette.

The Feeding Frenzy was on!

Lifelong Saltistry supporter, Diane Sabatini with Joni and Denise.
SALTAILS : Six Pepper Bloody Mary.

Beautiful Flower arrangements were provided by florist friend,Tom Ramirez from
Fabulous Flowers.
Who can resist Root Vegetable Chips or Pee Wee Potatoes with Truffle Salt?
Thanks to all our Salty Supporters out there! Big Thanks to Nancy and Kara from Slife. As well as our loyal and wonderful helpers, Tom, Stephanie and Shannon. Without you guys Denise and I would surely have collapsed. Tom for your beautiful flower arrangements, and to Rich Jhin, for your beautiful space at Food Court L.A., the perfect location for our Salt Tasting, many thanks to all.

Too much Salt Tasting? Never!

2008-04-03T13:55:00.001-07:00

The salt tasting that Saltistry held at Food Court LA on Monday night was a great success. So successful in fact we had a crowd that sampled and tasted every morsel of food that we prepared! The duck rillette was devoured in a matter of an hour and the albacore tataki had even less of a chance and was gone in thirty minutes. Anyone who knows me knows that I always cook for more people than ever show up but Monday made my culinary head spin. We served up fifty pounds of pee wee potatoes in two hours! Of course we owe the success of each dish to the magic of the salt pairing and the pee wee potatoes with Truffle Salt was no exception.

For Denise and I the event was very exciting because it's always wonderful to meet new people and challenge new palettes. But, we usually model our Salt Parties after the old school throwback Tupperware Party. Because we were looking for a striking venue to release our newest Sampler Flavor Sets (coming soon to our website) we asked my friend, Rich Jhin to host us at Food Court LA. Unlike our previous no-cost parties this one had a $25 entrance fee to cover Rich's costs. We will be returning to the more intimate free salt party model for sure. Monday's party was so crowded it was very difficult for me to advise and explain the ideas and philosophy behind the Sea Salt Infusions and the food they are paired with. Although it was intense and exciting I yearned for the smaller more intimate events where I could make sure people dipped frugally as to not burn out their palette's. To explain to our enthusiastic guests that although the salts appear so beautiful and candy-like they are in fact Salt and are Salty.

I found it alarming and upsetting that several people who attended were overheard declaring something was "SALTY"! This reason alone is why we will return to the smaller more intimate salt party...so I can, as the inner chef in me demands, guide people along the salty road of of a tasting and make sure they are not all running for the Spa Water!

Salt Tasting Party Tonight!

2008-03-31T11:32:00.001-07:00

Hello Salt Fans! Tonight is the big night....

Saltistry Tasting Event is tonight Monday, March 31 6pm-9pm at Food CourtL.A.

We've had a tremendous response. Those with reservations
will be moved to the front of the line for entry, so let the
attendant know you have a reservation. We suggest you arrive at
the beginning of the event for the best bites.
Want more details? See post March 17 below.

Otherwise we look forward to seeing you there!

Salt Tastings are a Beautiful Thing!

2008-03-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

Here in L.A. we're throwing our first big Gala Salt Tasting Event and the response has been phenomenal (see post below for details). Meanwhile, the LA Food Blog scene is talking about Saltistry's Salt Tasting as well as another cool tasting going on at Chef Daniel Snukal's restaurant 3 on Fourth. Now, I know we have lots of die-hard fans out there and several of our loyal customers are screaming foul over these events happening so close together. But the truth is, everyone loves great salt, especially a chef. Chef Daniel is showcasing a beautiful Sake maker beside some interesting salt curing and inventive salt preparations. In my book, any salt tasting is a beautiful thing and I highly recommend checking out both events if you can do it. Here's the 3 on Fourth menu and info :

Chef Daniel's Tasting Menu

Himalayan Salt-seared asparagus and Wagyu beef
Himalayan Salt-cured halibut and Kampachi Sashimi
Housemade potato chips with citrus salt
Sweet cherry port jellies with fleur de sel

And if you’re still famished after the $45 event, there’s a $35 prix fixe dinner available downstairs to salt tasting attendees.

6:30-8 pm. Wednesday, March 26. For reservations, call (310) 395-6765. 3 on Fourth, 1432A Fourth Street, Santa Monica

Salt Party at Food Court L.A.

2008-03-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

Elevating salt from a simple seasoning to an exquisite art, Los Angeles-based Saltistry has set a new trend in gourmet salt with their handcrafted salt infusions, a marriage of the world's finest sea salts and blends of fruits, herbs and spices. Leading the revolution to "Ban the Shaker," owners and salt artists Joni Fay Hill and Denise Daclan will open their salt cellars to the public on March 31 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at an exclusive Salt Party hosted at Food Court LA, located at 8334 W. Third St in Los Angeles.

This one-of-a-kind tasting will feature Saltistry's artisanal salts and rare salt products paired with an eclectic array of appetizers, drinks and desserts. Joni and Denise will guide guests through unique pairings, including:

FOOD
Saltini: vodka, baby tomatoes, Six Pepper Salt
Radishes, plugra butter and various salts
Clementines with Preserved Lemon Salt
Watermelon and cantaloupe with Coconut Black Salt
Smoked chili pepitas
Roasted pee wee potatoes with Truffle Salt
Duck rillette, crusty bread and Preserved Lemon Salt
Dark chocolate with Smoked Salish and Popcorn Salt
Assorted breads with plugra butter and Lemon Thyme Salt
Albacore tataki on Himalayan Salt Plate with ponzu
Grilled flank steak with Smoked Chili Salt
Kumamoto oysters with assorted Citrus Salts
Root vegetable chips with Six Pepper Salt
Sea salt caramels with Lavender Gray Salt

DRINKS
Margarita with Lime Flake Salt
Salty Dog (grapefruit, vodka) with Tangerine Salt
Six Pepper Bloody Mary
Coronitas with Lime Flake Salt

Tickets to this exclusive tasting are available at the door for $25, all inclusive. Saltistry products will also be available for purchase at the event. Valet for the Food Court LA is available for $4.50.

About Saltistry
Sourcing the finest sea salts from around the world, salt artist Joni Fay Hill infuses salts with blends of fruits, herbs and spices, creating a complex marriage of flavors and aromas that add a brilliant flavor dimension to anything and everything edible. A former chef, Joni approaches artisanal salt from a cook's perspective, meticulously handcrafting her salt infusions in small batches to create a depth of flavor while preserving the texture and integrity of each grain. Her passion for salt led to the formation of Saltistry in 2005 with co-owner Denise Daclan, a former event planner and fellow salt lover. Their unique collection of salt infusions and rare salt products are available for purchase on their website.

Sampler Flavor Sets

2008-02-25T12:56:00.001-08:00

Check out the the exciting New Samplers featuring five different flavor profiles coming this Spring! With new custom packaging, Saltistry will launch the sexy and elegant Sampler Flavor Sets. The current Sampler has been the most wonderful and unique food gift out there. But now, with five different versions, The Sampler will become an even more exciting and versatile gift. Check out the distinctive new Flavor Sets:

Classic ~ the five most popular Sea Salt Infusions : Lemon Thyme, Herb Grey, Six Pepper, Genmaicha and Smoked Chili.
Harvest ~ a taste of the Farmer's Market : Heirloom Tomato, Tangerine, Apricot, Lime Flake, Lemon Thyme.
Exotic ~ for the adventurous pallette : Coconut Black, Preserved Lemon, Fennel Pollen, Lavender Grey, Popcorn Salt (aka, Genmai Fine).
Robust ~ these infusions stand up to every ingredient and really get noticed : Herb Grey, Salish Smoked, Mushroom Herb, Smoked Chili, Six Pepper.
Purist ~ for the sea salt connoisseur looking for pure salt flavor : Fleur De Sel (France), Murray River(Australia), Aguni (Japan), Trapani (Italy), Halen Mon (Wales).

Now there will be a Sampler for every occasion, cook, chef, foodie and non-foodie alike! Stay tuned for the new product launch coming this Spring from Saltistry. In the meantime, check out the Saltistry website for all the exciting Sea Salt Infusions available today!

Moderation Is Key!

2008-02-22T12:30:00.000-08:00

A new report was published today from the American Heart Association Journal. The "controversy" continues over salt with what seems like a strange series of links to how bad salt is for you (when in fact it should clearly be stated that SODIUM; not salt is the culprit). The premise of the study: IF A CHILD EATS SALTY SNACKS THEY WILL DRINK MORE SODA! Which is the TRUE reason for their obesity- not the actual sodium intake! Seems like an absurd notion. Like saying, "I've got a really bad headache so if I overdose on aspirin it's the headaches fault that I died." Read for yourself:

"Children who eat less salt drink fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks and may significantly lower their risks for obesity, elevated blood pressure and later-in-life heart attack and stroke, researchers reported in the print and online issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Previous studies have shown that dietary salt intake increases fluid consumption in adults. But researchers at St. Georges University of London, England, are the first to examine whether the same is true in children."

To read the whole article and decide for yourself: American Heart Association Journal Report: Reducing Kids’ Salt Intake May Lower Soft Drink Consumption

In my Salt Lovers Mantra, Moderation is always key, especially if you have children. Obviously, the quality of food and sea salt you make available to your children coupled with proper education is key. So, if your toddler likes a nice pinch of Fleur De Sal on her hardboiled egg- she should have it! Dare I say, this simple pleasure of life will actually decrease her chances of obesity compared to the child who eats a pop tart or a big bowl of sugared cereal for breakfast. What about one of those sodium laden microwave "wholesome" breakfasts so readily available (not to mention the fast food options available)?!

The healthy child starts and ends with the eating habits that parents instill in their children, period!

Salt For Thought

2008-02-20T13:34:00.000-08:00

“Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed.”
- Buddha

“No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life, in a great cause.”
-Theodore Roosevelt

“Wit is the salt of conversation, not the food.”
-William Hazlitt

“A wise woman puts a grain of sugar into everything she says to a man, and takes a grain of salt with everything he says to her.”
-Helen Rowland

“Be not affronted at a joke. If one throw salt at thee, thou wilt receive no harm, unless thou art raw.”
-Oliver Goldsmith

“Business is the salt of life.”
-Voltaire

“Hemingway hated me. I sold 200 million books, and he didn't. Of course most of mine sold for 25 cents, but still... you look at all this stuff with a grain of salt.”
-Mickey Spillane

“At dinner parties I sit below the salt now. There are a lot of interesting people there.”
-Donald T. Regan

“Of course I have used dissonance in my time, but there has been too much dissonance. Bach used dissonance as good salt for his music. Others applied pepper, seasoned the dishes more and more highly, till all healthy appetites were sick and until the music was nothing but pepper.”
-Sergei Prokofiev

“Talent in cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”
-Stephen King

“Many a man gets weary of clamping down on his rough impulses, which if given occasional release would encourage the living of life with salt in it, in place of dust.”
- Henry S. Haskins

“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.”
- Isak Dinesen

“Take it with a grin of salt.”
- Yogi Berra

“A peasant becomes fond of his pig and is glad to salt away its pork. What is significant, and is so difficult for the urban stranger to understand, is that the two statements are connected by an and not by a but.”
- John Berger

“Let there be such oneness between us, that when one cries, the other tastes salt.”
- anonymous

“A man must eat a peck of salt with his friend, before he knows him.”
- Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

“We have some salt of our youth in us.”
- William Shakespeare

“When life hands you lemons - break out the tequila and salt.”
- anonymous

“Give neither counsel nor salt till you are asked for it.”
- Italian Proverb

“Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?”
- The Bible, Job 6:6”

“Be not affronted at a joke. If one throw salt at thee, thou wilt receive no harm, unless thou art raw.”
- Oliver Goldsmith

“Nobody likes having salt rubbed into their wounds, even if it is the salt of the earth.”
- Rebecca West

“Lust is the craving for salt of a man who is dying of thirst.”
- Frederick Buechner

“Discretion is the salt, and fancy the sugar of life; the one preserves, the other sweetens it. “
- John Christian Bovee

“We live in a time of transition, an uneasy era which is likely to endure for the rest of this century. During the period we may be tempted to abandon some of the time-honored principles and commitments which have been proven during the difficult times of past generations. We must never yield to this temptation. Our American values are not luxuries, but necessities - not the salt in our bread, but the bread itself.”
- Jimmy Carter

“Kissing is like drinking salted water: you drink and your thirst increases.”
- Chinese Proverb

“Willpower is the ability to eat one salted peanut.”
- anonymous

“WIT, n. The salt with which the American humorist spoils his intellectual cookery by leaving it out.”
- Ambrose Bierce

“Being kissed by a man who didn't wax his moustache was--like eating an egg without salt.”
- Rudyard Kipling

“Bread that this house may never know hunger, salt that life may always have flavor.”
- Donna Reed

“Where would we be without salt?”
- James Beard

“Those big-shot writers could never dig the fact that there are more salted peanuts consumed than caviar.”
- Mickey Spillane

“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man.”
- The Bible,Colossians 4:6