The Adventures of Emily Ann

Part Three: Art & Cheese

2010-04-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hi boys and girls,
Yes, I'm back again. I can't really believe it myself...but the Great Grilled Cheese Adventure of 2010 must be documented!! Last night we took advantage of one of the awesome events happening in our neighborhood, the Miracle Mile Art Walk, to see some art, drink some free wine (the event was co-sponsored by Bear Flag Wine, and their red mix was really nice!), and (most importantly) try the Grilled Cheese Truck!

The truck's posted hours were 6-10, but when we arrived at around 6:10, there was no one else in line, and no one in the truck bothered to greet us.
So we waited. At 6:15, one of the guys in the truck suddenly hung up the "Closed" sign on the window-it said they would 'reopen' at 6:30.
We wandered into the gallery right behind us to peruse the art and drink free wine....and came out to find a crowd at the truck.
Never again will I have the first spot in a food truck line, I just know it. I blew my chance.

The practice of most (new LA) food trucks is to have their locations listed on their Twitter feed, but not so the Grille Cheese Truck. If you check their Twitter, it sends you right to their website.
Check it out! It'll make you want grilled cheese real bad.

The MELTy Menu

Who would have thought a logo with grilled cheese on it could be badass?

Old-school, space age packaging-it's not an oxymoron, you're looking at it.

We went across the street to Hancock Park to enjoy our sandwiches. As you can see, I was too excited with anticipation to be bothered by the air scented by the large Tar Pit to my right.

I went for the Harvest Melt on 6-grain Bread, described on their menu as 'Roasted Butternut Squash, Gruyere, Agave Syrup, Fresh Thyme & Balsamic Reduction.' Knowing that, I'm sure you'd be as crazy as I was to dig in.

Mr. D (who deserves a ton of credit-I can't believe he has been so down for all this G.C. madness!) opted for the Cheesy Mac Melt on French Bread. That's right...it consisted of Mac and Cheese and Sharp Cheddar.

Happiness is a Warm Grilled Mac and Cheese Sandwich.

Our melts on their own were damn delicious, but they had a bunch of special dips that we could choose from. I got the Roasted Garlic Aioli, which was DELICIOUS on both of our sandwiches. Highly recommended.

Definitely our best grilled cheese adventure to date. Me=pleased and full.

ON TO SOME ART...

LA Folks: were you aware that there is a piece of the Berlin Wall sitting on Wilshire Blvd? Yep. Right across from LACMA. It kind of gives me chills whenever I walk by it. I'm glad we had the camera so I could take a few pics.

More Wall. Not quite as exciting as the front, but just as significant.

Bookends of the Cold War. Forget Sinatra-check out those baby blues!

From the historic...to the ridiculous. This is the art that lost our #1 place in line...the gallery was filled with it. We had to take one picture to commemorate the experience.

...and from the ridiculous to the hilarious. This is from a series of pieces called "Sassquatch." No, that is not a typo. As in Sassy Bigfoot. Please note the pink leopard bikini. And the booties. I need this in my life, on my wall. That's all I'm saying.

That's all for this edition of, "Holy Crap, Emily is Suddenly a Blogging Maniac!" Hope you're enjoying it as much as I am. Have a great weekend!! More grilled cheese adventures to come, including the Grilled Cheese Invitational next Saturday!

Cheers!
Emily

Saturday Breakfast Love

2010-04-17T12:12:00.001-07:00

Happy Weekend, dearies!!

I know I'm a lucky lady to have David as my future husband. He does little things all the time that remind me of this. Like this morning...I woke up to the delicious scent of pancakes. This was my breakfast, care of Mr. Goodberg:Have you ever had an Aebelskiver? D has been kind of obsessed with them since pancake puff pans became a part of the public consciousness a few years ago, and our lovely trip to Solvang last year solidified it. I bought him his own Aebelskiver pan and a little Danish cookbook featuring lots of A-skiv recipes. This morning he made me Aebelskivers with Cardamom (one of my all-time favorite spices). I drizzled them with just a little agave nectar for sweetness.

Saturday Breakfast Love, indeed.

Until next time...
Cheers!
Em

Grilled Cheese Month, part deux...

2010-04-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

Hi again! So, I realized that LA Weekly actually had not one, but TWO posts about grilled cheese month-one with their 'top ten' and the other with a listing of five great places for grilled cheese. There were a few repeats on the short list, but one stood out as somewhere I had never been. Upon reading about their BRIE GRILLED SANDWICH, I decided a little excursion to Il Tramezzino in Beverly Hills would be a fun way to spend tonight!

Krysta, along with my ever-patient honey, tagged along for this one. I knew the general area we were going to, of course-Canon Drive in BH has a whole mess of restaurants. I figured we might be in for a bit of a wait, since the restaurant didn't offer reservations.

When we got there, I realized how silly I was to have thought that for a second. Il Tramezzino is one of the most casual, low-key places I've seen in these parts, and our fellow diners consisted of one table of four presumably high-school aged kids. Whatever, we were there for the cheese, not the ambiance.

Here's how the restaurant describes my sandwich:
Brie Cheese sun dried tomato,grilled eggplant and basil garlic sauce

Um, yes please. Let's eat!

Looks like a panini, huh? Yeah, it basically was, with a whole bunch of brie...
but a whole bunch of other stuff too.
Yummy? Yes. Messy? Indubitably. Grilled cheese? Erm..questionable.

The brie and eggplant were basically equally proportional in both amount and texture. The only textural variance was from the very crunchy toasted bread.

Of course I still ate it! Warm, melty brie cheese with veggies and a creamy pesto is something no one should ever pass up. Trust me on this. It may not have been the grilled cheese of my dreams, but it was still a damn good sandwich.

That's all for now! Sick of me yet? Just wait...I have some more entries up my sleeve.

Cheers,
Em

Happy Grilled Cheese Month!

2010-04-12T06:43:00.000-07:00

What? You didn't know it was National Grilled Cheese Month? You didn't count down the days until April 1st with some serious lactaidelicious anticipation?

OK, me either. I don't know what I would do without LA Weekly and their in-the-knowness. I found out about this amazingness a few days late, but I am determined to hit at least five of their top ten in LA by month's end. Thank God for my YogaWorks membership (which I actually use! Grilled Cheese Month isn't the only miraculous thing at work here, people).

So. I convinced the fiance to do at least part of this adventure with me. (Oh, yes, I'm engaged. My small-but-mighty following already knew that, but for those whose minds were just blown, you can read all about it here.) We decided to have a Sunday night out with dinner and a movie. I chose BreadBar as our first stop-really, how could you go wrong with grilled cheese from a place that specializes in bread? Exactly...you really can't.

We went to the Century City location, which was significantly more crowded than the 3rd Street location that we went to one Saturday night. Of course, then the whole place was empty, so I suppose anything would be an improvement. I ignored the rest of the menu, only searching for the grilled cheese.

Here's the description for the sandwich:

grilled cheese, mozza, cheddar, onion confit, salad

Simple but lovely. And it was.

The cheddar gave a pleasant bite to the taste, while the milder mozza(rella) allowed for the necessary S-T-R-E-T-C-H of the cheese. The onion was caramelized and its sweetness perfectly complemented the savoriness of the cheeses.

The salad that accompanied my sandwich had no dressing. Mixed greens really NEED dressing, in my opinion...but it's not why I was there, so I let it slide. I opted for a combo plate of just half a sandwich along with a cup of the soup of the day, black bean. The soup was pretty smooth but flavorful-it wasn't tomato, but still a nice partner to my 'wich.

My platter

The cheese oozing out...it can't wait for me to eat it!

Note the S-T-R-E-T-C-H of the cheese...

To cap off our lovely date night, what else could we see but Date Night? Pretty funny, actually. I didn't have high hopes for it, but if you like Fey and Carrell, it's a fun time.

Well, loves, that's all for now. I plan to document the rest of my grilled cheese adventures this week, so stay tuned (but as you should know by now, do not hold your breath)...

Cheers!

Mel's Bridal Shower!

2009-07-30T21:22:00.001-07:00

I hosted my second bridal shower on Sunday, for my dear, dear friend Melanie. She's joining the ranks of the officially taken on 8/23, and apparently thought I was up to the challenge of impressing the various women in her life with my hostessing skills. I'm not sure who she thinks she's been hanging out with all these years...but I did my bestest (with much help from my bestest lady, Krysta and the amazingly patient Mr. David) and I think we actually pulled it off!

Lovely flowers from the Flower Mart, arranged by Krysta

A bit of the spread: hummus with whole grain pita bread; heart-shaped lemon sandwich cookies; heart shaped chocolate cups (I loved Surfas so very much this weekend) filled with caramel mousse; one of the TWO vanilla and strawberry marshmallow trees, with caramel and fudge dipping sauces (I cheated and bought them at Whole Foods. I was in crisis, people.)

Cheddar and Parmesan Cheese Crisps, though they really ended up being more like Cheese Chews; Turkey, for those protein crazies out there

White bean and Shiitake Mushroom crostinis. I didn't cut the bread thinly enough. Again, crisis. It was 2:50 and guests were due to arrive at 3. A Note: the Shiitake Ragout makes pretty much nothing. It's delicious but best served at a small dinner party unless you want to buy about 10 pounds of mushrooms...

The Perfect Chocolate Cake. In theory, anyway. I'm so thankful this isn't a detailed shot. This cake gave me more of a headache than anything else I made all weekend. I broke two of the first layers I made clear in half and had to start over. Then the frosting was a failure, but I'd run out of butter and couldn't start over. Disaster. However, Melanie made a point of leaving me a message just yesterday telling me that they were just talking about how delicious it was, so I guess it worked out. Again, I need to work on aesthetics big time. Maybe my baby sister will give me some lessons. Thank God for those flowers...

A closer look at one of the Marshmallows Trees! I have to admit that the idea was not mine--the brilliant Sherry Yard mentions it in her fabulous cookbook, and I pilfered it. It took a lot more doing than I expected, in terms of gathering the supplies. D found the branches online after searching for some time...the vases and stones are from Michael's, as was the foam in which the branches were 'planted.' Next time there will be more rocks, but otherwise I was really pleased with them.

Favors from Paulette's-Madagascar Vanilla and Violet Cassis flavored macarons
(delicious AND their wedding colors-kismet!)

The blushing bride-to-be flanked by friends

Dinner with BHPCers

2009-07-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

There was a time not too long ago when I would look forward to going to church every Sunday. If you know me even a little, that may come as an overwhelming shock. I can't even believe I am typing it.

Thing is, at my church gig (yes, I get paid to go to church. Get over it.) at Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church, there came a time when there were a whole bunch of fabulous, fun, like-minded young folks that enjoyed hanging out together and generally just made the experiencing of hearing about Jesus that much more enjoyable.

As it goes far too often, life went on. Organist Steven and Lovely Lawyer Elizabeth got hitched. Curly Haired Composer Coreen moved to Miami and fell in love (and then moved back). Spectacular Mezzo Nichol made plans to move to San Diego and got preggers. And so it was that Tenor Marc and I were left, bored to tears and frustrated with Sundays once again.

Anyhoo...sorry for the awful lot of intro! I decided I missed all those wonderful friends and that I wanted to have one big dinner while we all still lived in relatively close proximity. So, we settled on a date and I got to work on a menu. I stuck to some old standards--tabouli, spanakopita, hummus, grilled chicken and tilapia--but I was inspired to try something new for dessert. Fruit-based seemed the way to go along with this lighter fare. 'Tis the season for strawberries, and I came across the perfect recipe in the Boston Globe. I had never made an upside down cake, but I discovered it really was a piece of cake! It didn't look as perfect as their version, but honestly, I'm still working on my aesthetics in cooking. Isn't it enough that it tastes good?

The recipe recommends serving the cake with whipped cream (and ok, so I did), but I wanted to do something more. I recalled a fabulous ice cream I had a long time ago by Dr. Bob and strove to find something similar online. The Sour Cream Brown Sugar Ice Cream recipe I found on DesertCandy's blog was seriously the easiest ice cream recipe I have ever made (no custard step!) and the perfect tart complement to the sweet, sweet strawberry cake.

It was a fabulous night with some of my favorite people, and I have to say a very successful culinary night for me! I feel so lucky that I have so many wonderful and appreciative people with whom I can share my cooking. It just means I'll keep doing it!

Cheers,
Em

Candy Break!

2009-06-10T14:19:00.000-07:00

Here's to you, Hershey's, for creating the perfect candy bar. No, no, not the Peanut Butter Cup. Not Reeses Pieces, either. No, in my estimation, when they created the Take Five candy bar, they got it very, very right.
How best to capture the equally sweet and salty perfection of this spectacular candy in an Emily original concoction? I'm thinking cookies, or bars. Or cake balls?

Shoring Up at Reservoir

2009-06-09T20:12:00.001-07:00

Does that title even make sense? I'm grasping at straws here. I'm referring to another lovely dinner I had with an old LL coworker, this time at Reservoir in Silverlake. Slowly but surely I'm working through the ols list o' restaurants that's been accumulating in my work browser Bookmarks...

I met Miss Elisa at her enviable home overlooking the city under the pretense of picking up my copy of her awesome new book. She suggested we walk down the hill to the restaurant--I was a little reticent, knowing the narrow streets and frequent twists in the road would be dangerous for pedestrians with all those Priae (plural of Prius, silly. Keep up.) that live in Silverlake, but was more reticent about valet and so agreed. I quickly realized that we would actually be using a couple of the amazing hidden stairways that dot the city. Using this book D and I have discovered a bunch, but these were new. We wound down, past gated backyard paradises and a home that looked like it was owned by the Laker's biggest fan (Think lots of bright yellow, with purple trim. Yeah.) and quickly arrived at the restaurant. Once I got my bearings, I realized we were right across from

Spaceland. Next time we'll make a night of it!

Let's to the food now, shall we?

Fried tetilla cheese with prosciutto and caramelized onions, served with slices of toasted bread. Like a grown-up's dream mozzarella stick, this app was a rich, sodium-arific party in my mouth.

The entrees are each listed individually, and you get to choose your own side from a listing of "set-ups"--all vegetarian, all super yummy sounding. Basically, you can't go wrong.

I had decided before dinner that I would get the tofu for my entree. How boring! I changed my mind and went for the Grill Salmon. She did not disappoint! My choice of setup, the parmesan polenta with balsamic roasted cipollini onions, fresh English peas and sauteed chanterelles, offset the tender fish beautifully.

It was a bit salty, but then, I like salt.

"I don't remember the rule about shellfish," Elisa proclaimed before happily ordering, and subsequently loving, the scallops, with roasted potato gratin, fava bean and beluga lentil hash.

The appetizer was scrumptious, our dinners lovely...how could we say no to dessert? Can I just say that it's so nice hanging out with pregnant ladies, because they are always down for dessert. Our waitress listed off a slew of tempting sweets, but I couldn't get my mind away from the very first one--the chocolate plate. "It's really MEANT for two people," she warned (promised?) us. What did it consist of? Two pieces of bark--milk chocolate toffee and white chocolate peppermint; a mini molten chocolate cake; a small mug of spicy hot chocolate; anise pot de creme (which was truly spectacular!); and rounded off with some macerated strawberries and a dish of--wait for it--Guinness ice cream. Boys and girls, beer and ice cream really DO belong together! And here I was doubting Jonathan Gold salivating about it on Good Food-how could I??

Just looking at the plate when she brought it out was gratifying enough.

Eating it was even better.

Going...

going...

gone.

Sugar high and happy, we headed out. The bill was reasonable considering the appetizer and dessert. Be forewarned if you want to drink more than soda, though--unlike Barbrix, glasses of wine here often run around $12.

We took the same set of stairs back to Elisa's, only now our way was lit only by the light of the moon.

It was a little spooky, but mostly just purdy. We were too full to run from any

vagabonds that we may have run into, so I guess we're just lucky they left us alone!

Cheers!

Home-Grown Veggies

2009-05-31T16:57:00.000-07:00

Jalapeno, spicy hybrid and chili pepper, and cherry tomatoes--all grown by David!

Coming soon--key limes, corn and spaghetti squash!

Word on the STREET

2009-05-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

OK, maybe a few words. Or even better, pictures! I went to Street with my lovely friend Kimberly nearly two months ago, and am ridiculously just now getting around to actually posting about it. Don't take that the wrong way--it was great!! Anyway, as mentioned, Street opened in the location of the defunct Dive on Highland, and they've really spiffied the place up! We went during its opening week, and even four days in, on a Thursday night, the place was hopping. With Mozza just a stone's throw away across Highland, that block is really becoming a foodie's haven! Now on to dinner...

Street Menu. The aesthetics of Street are reminiscent of Border Grill and Ciudad--bright

colors and bold patterns, very modern. Love it.

Complimentary Rice Puffs with Indian Spices. This is basically their version of chips and salsa. They were a little sweet, a little savory, a lot cumin-y. Personally not my fave, but it goes with the street food vibe of the restaurant so I'll go with it. What about samosas, though? Good idea, right? Maybe I'll send them a letter about it.

White Wine, served in neat and unique individual serving bottles. The drinks here were bountiful, tasty and pricey. Ain't none of that 2 Buck Chuck 'round these parts.

Turkish Zucchini Spinach cakes-made with puff pastry, a roasted red pepper sauce and a dash of yum. One of those super comforting, simple dishes that anyone would love.

Paani Puri-a combination of potato, chutney and sprouted beans, served with

yogurt cilantro water. This was unexpectedly served cold (on purpose)

and was a bit eh overall. More cumin action happening here.

Kaya Toast. This was quite possibly one of the most delicious and weirdest things I've ever tried.
Basically, it is fried egg covered in soy sauce, served with a sort of grilled cheese.
Only, instead of cheese in between the slices of bread it is coconut jam.
You dip the bread into the egg, and experience nirvana, I'm pretty sure.
This dish is purportedly good for hangovers, but I would happily eat it,
drunk or sober, any day of my life. Seriously.

Kimberly and coworker (now former-two months is a long time. Oops.) He was super fun and on the off chance he EVER sees this, I'm sorry for not remembering your name! You were a neat dude. They're both gearing up to go see Mr. Belding do an art show opening. LA is pretty awesome/random basically all the time.

Our meal was great but not cheap. We spent about $70 each--that includes drinks and sharing several dishes. This is a fun, lively place to check out with friends. This summer would be a great time to go, too-they have a nice-sized patio area for dining as well as the inside room and bar. I'm considering dragging D there on a Thursday night, when they have jazz! There is still so much on the menu that I didn't get to try with KG...

If you're interested to read a little more about the inspiration for Street, Zagat.com had a neat little interview with Susan Feniger that you can read here.

Talk to you soon, loves!

Cheers,
Em

Raising the Bar at Barbrix

2009-05-23T23:12:00.000-07:00

David started compiling a list of things-attractions, museums, restaurants, etc-that we have yet to check out in LA and beyond. I've been (I'd like to think) extremely helpful in piling on the restaurants as I read about them on DailyCandy, Thrillist, Diglounge or any of the other email box fillers to which I subscribe. D may disagree on that point...

So, last Sunday was our 2.5 year anniversary. It may seem silly to some, but we always like to acknowledge little milestones like that. Just wait for Emily & David season! (That's from Halloween through mid-December, in case you were wondering. Gifts and/or parties not required but always welcome.) We thought it would be fun to go somewhere a little more special than the norm for dinner, and went to our ever-growing list for an idea. One of the newest additions is actually one of LA's newest restaurants--Barbrix opened on May 11th. It's so rare for me to actually go to one of these places so soon after their opening, I'm tempted to pat myself on the back...however, I should disclose that I know one of the owners, Adria Tennor. A ringing endorsement from our mutual friend Elizabeth was the extra push I needed to get over there asap.

Barbrix adds to the growing number of restaurants in LA specializing in small plates--basically Americanized tapas. This allows the diner a chance to try out many different things on the menu for the same (or less) cost as just getting one full-portioned entree. As a person who likes to experience many different flavors in one meal, I LOVE places like this.

The menu is a good size, with a lot of option for those of the carniverous persuasion (more MEAT-meat than poultry), as well as flexitarians like us. Here is a little synopsis of the menu items we opted for:

Burrata with artichokes alla romana- Ice cream cheese, as D calls it, is most always delicious. Soft and subtle, with a tiny bit of stretch texturally, I personally think it could the secret to world peace. Marinated artichokes are a close second, so the pairing was pretty much a match made in heaven. It was drizzled with a scant olive tapenade that could have been more of a presence on the dish.

Three cheese plate: rocchetta (Piemonte, Italy-sheep, cow & goat’s milk); Bermuda triangle (Cyprus Grove Chevre, CA-bloomy rind goat’s milk); quickes farmhouse cheddar (Sommerset, England-calico-wrapped cow’s milk)
Perhaps restaurants such as this already expect us to know the difference between a goat’s milk and a sheep’s milk cheese, and that if we order the bleu, we know it’s SUPPOSED to be a little moldy and stinky. However, as we just pretend to know what we’re doing a lot of the time, I would love if they gave suggested cheese combinations, so you can be sure you’re getting a good variety of flavors and textures. I think we did a pretty decent job flying blind, though. The Rocchetta was one of those stinky cheeses and my least favorite. The cheddar was softer than expected but had a round, assertive and mildly sharp taste. The Bermuda Triangle was my fave. It was neat-looking, like triangle-shaped brie with a varied interior color palette, and was creamy and delicious. To me it tasted like a combination of brie and goat cheese. I was tempted to snag the whole log of it that was sitting on the bar. With the cheeses was served some quince and roasted almonds, along with slices of baguette. The sides were great complements with all the cheeses.

Turkish Chopped Salad-To me, this tasted a lot like my tabouli, minus the bulgar wheat and feta. It was really fresh and tasty-the lemon/garlic vinaigrette was perfect. Plus, Mister and Miss Picky ate their respective dreaded cucumbers and tomatoes with nary a whimper. So proud of us.

Crispy Grilled Polenta- I think it’s pretty much impossible to screw up polenta with creamy mushroom sauce. It’s just a lot of goodness on a plate, you know? I did feel that this one could use a little bit of a kick in the sauce, though, a bit more spice or salt. Cream is delicious but can get bland…

Farmer’s Plate- I had no idea what a ramp was, and for some reason was envisioning it to be some sort of small fish, like an anchovy. Turns out it’s more like a green onion in looks and texture, and tastes mighty nice pickled. But then, anything pickled is all right in my book. Beets were unadorned but good. There was a third veggie on there, grilled, whose name escapes me-the texture was reminiscent of fennel, the taste that of a bitter brussel sprout. I liked-the boy did not.

We were enjoying our meal (ahem *wine*) so much that we apparently completely missed the earthquake. To our credit, no one else seemed to notice, either. I guess the place was rockin' enough already! Less than a week old, and it was completely jam packed. I'm glad I made a reservation!

Speaking of wine, we each had a couple glasses of red. For the first round, David opted for the Ca’de Calle ’07 (Argentina) and I had the Babich, Lasin & Pavina, “Riserva,” Alan Bibich ’06 (Croatia). I felt the Babich was a bit too tame--almost watered down--so on the second round I joined D for a Ca'de Calle. It was a richer red, with some faint buttery notes. Mmm. Both wines were $6 a glass, an extremely reasonable price. The prices of glasses ranged from $6-$9 for the most part.

As soon as I saw Adria’s favorite ginger shortcakes, with berry compote and whipped cream on the menu I knew we would have to have dessert. Another good thing about these small plate places--it takes more to stuff yourself, so you(ok, I) usually have room for dessert. This one stayed on par with the rest of our meal-the shortbread wasn't too sweet, with a nice touch of ginger, and the berries retained much of their tartness. It was pretty perfect in its simplicity. I'm now determined to recreate something similar at home, but I'm thinking peaches instead of berries. Don't doubt me, I have all the ingredients!

All in all, our experience at Barbrix was a very positive one. Aside from a couple of snags that are destined to come with growing pains (they forgot to bring us two of our dishes for quite some time) we had a really great meal and got an early look at what promises to be one of LA's most popular new hip spots. Do go check it out-the menu varies from week to week, so you may not see all the things we had, but I am betting you'll find something you love.

2 Dozen Roses for 2.5 awesome years

Cheers,

Monkeying Around

2009-05-20T10:18:00.001-07:00

Wow, I am all about the punning in my Titles, eh? Hey, I have never claimed to be a pithy wordsmith...my talents lie very much in the land of the long-winded.

Last night we got to attend a free screening at Landmark offered to KCRW members (so glad I joined for many reasons!) with a bunch of like-minded public radio listeners. They screened "Away We Go," a really funny, sweet film about a couple expecting a baby and their journey to find the ideal family home. I haven't seen "North" but I imagine it to be sort of similar to that, except with sex. And

pregnancy. And humor.

Post-movie, I was inspired by Maya Rudolph's great performance...and started craving sweets. OK, so I was craving Reeses Pieces before the movie even started. But, really, what self respecting theatre doesn't sell Reeses Pieces??

And no, I'm not pregnant.

Anyhoo. I turned down every place David offered to take me for dessert on our way home. We were almost at our door when I remembered Umami Burger, a fantabulous burger place right around the corner from our house. It deserves and will get its own post, but the reason we went there was because they offer dessert goodies from both Cake Monkey and Milk (another delightful post-worthy spot). I've been wanting to check out CM for a couple years and after seeing that we could get them at Umami, and reading this, we finally got to try a couple creations last night.

The wrapping left a little to be desired--but I guess it gives me hope that such a simple design wouldn't deter LA hipsters (and me) from digging in

We had our choice of three treats: Yo-Hos, Raspberry Red Velvet Cakewich and Peanut Butter & Marshmallow Cakewich. The PB&M was the obvious choice, especially with my Reese's craving. Against my better judgment, I agreed to also get the RRV. Trust your instincts, people...I was not a fan. It had a sort of medicinal/cleaning products flavor. Could just be me. D thought it was all right.

I'll just stick with the PB&M, thankyouverymuch. Oh Lord. A dark chocolate shell covered the layers of fluffy vanilla cake, creamy peanut butter frosting and marshmallow. The innards would probably be cloyingly sweet on their own, but

coupling it with the richer chocolate coating sold me. Have I mentioned how much I love our neighborhood and all the walking distance deliciousness that surrounds us?

Sorry for the artlessness of this pic-they tasted way better than I am making them look.

Let's talk again soon, hmmmm?

Cheers,

My current snack addiction

2009-05-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

Forget all those other superfruits...I am hooked on mangosteen! Imagine a very mild berry taste, with the occasional crunch of an almond (the fruit's seed).

(image borrowed from http://www.cbgarden.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/image/mangosteen.jpg)

Who knew freeze-dried tropical fruit could take such a hold? I just polished off a bag from Trader Joe's in about five minutes. All I know is, if Pink(crack)berry starts offering it as a topping, I am in serious trouble.

Now, where can I find some of this stuff FRESH? My mouth's feeling a little chalky...

K-Tacos, Late Night Style

2009-05-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Lizzy, my favorite li'l sis, has been bugging me about updating this. She's not even a follower (ahem!) so I don't know how she knows I haven't updated. Hm.

It's not just L's exhortations that got me back on here today. I've missed you, m'dearies! Life has been crazy of late, and honestly doesn't seem to be letting up, but I have been baking and eating a lot and know you're all dying to know the deets! So. Today I want to tell you a little story about the Kogi Taco Truck.

I first discovered Kogi's existence a couple months ago at the authenticity of food lecture. As mentioned in the original blog, this was an event brought to fruition by the Zocalo lecture series. (I mention this mostly because I didn't supply the link last time, which was totally my bad.) As threatened, I did join Twitter just to follow the truck--I was just so amazed at this living, breathing example of viral advertising! Blame my time at LL for that. However, we hadn't actually made the leap to trying the increasingly infamous tacos. I'm an old woman, people. I need to go to bed at 10PM!

Finally, though, we decided to take the plunge. I was in SoPas for a production of Faust (which was very good-you should check it out!) on Saturday and on a whim decided to see where the Kogi truck was going to be that night. Lo and behold, this was posted:

ROJA: 1PM-3PM@The Brig - Abbot Kinney and Palm in Venice;6PM-9PM@Buena Park - tbd;10:30PM-1AM@Eagle Rock - 4372 Eagle Rock Blvd.

Roja is one of their two trucks; the other is Verde. I wondered briefly if one was superior to the other, but whatevs! Eagle Rock...just a few miles from the opera! I ordered David to eat lightly so we would be in top form.

We arrived at about 10:40--found a parking spot just around the corner--walked up the hill--

and waited.

There were around 25 people in front of us in line. It was a pretty young crowd, I'm guessing mostly Occidental College peeps and maybe some adventurous fellow Trojans. There was a smattering of older folks too, which kind of perplexed as the night went on.

Still waiting.

The line continued to grow after we arrived--it was probably about a block long. Compared to the crowds at Pink's, this was child's play. Except the line wasn't moving.

Honey, it did say 10:30, right?

You get the picture. Finally, around 11:15 or so, we moved up about two feet. And so on. Those smart (?) enough to get to the truck uber early began to walk by (smugly, imho) with their tightly aluminum wrapped containers-no one was eager to risk their hard-earned nosh getting chilled by the cool night air.

Eventually we reached the front of the truck, and were actually able to view the menu. They offered four fillings for tacos or burritos: short ribs, pork, chicken and tofu. Each taco is a recession friendly $2. We opted for three each of the chicken and tofu. After about a second of arm twisting, I also convinced D to go in for the Chef's special of the night, a Chocolate Brownie with spicy peanuts. Dinner for less than $20 is always welcome!

Oh, what time was it? Yeah...12:30. Ish.

So, was the food worth it? Let's begin with dessert, since it's what we ate first: The brownie was extremely fudgey and decent, but pretty lacking in the spice department--a little disappointing considering it was the Chef's special. The chicken and tofu tacos were both tasty. According to the Kogi site, "All our tacos are topped with: sesame-chili salsa roja; julienne romaine lettuce and cabbage tossed in Korean chili-soy vinaigrette; cilantro-green onion-lime relish; crushed sesame seeds; sea salt; and garnished with lime wedge, orange wedge and red radish wedge." It's a long list, but everything on there is minimal and makes for a really delicious, flavorful blend. The chicken was nicely grilled but again a little lacking in spice. The tofu was better, a bit spicier (maybe because it's more of a blank slate than chicken?) but too soft. I think my main complaint is that I wish they used firm tofu rather than silken.

Honestly, there are VERY few things in this world I believe are worth waiting around for two hours in the chilly night air on a street corner in LA. I don't regret checking this out, though. I'm happy we went, and would like to go again...but I think next time maybe we'll check out an earlier stop closer to home. If you have some time one night, I would recommend you check it out too! You've been warned.

So sorry I didn't take pics of our experience, but the ones on the Kogi website are better than any my camera would take anyway. :) As I said at the beginning, I have been keeping busy with (mostly) baking projects, and will post some pics for your gandering pleasure.

Back to work I go! I'll be back soon, I promise (my fingers may or may not be crossed as I type this).

Cheers,

Happy Sunday

2009-03-29T17:05:00.001-07:00

What is she, joking? Happy SUNDAY? But it's a school night...

Boys and girls, it's just been a good day! What can I say...woke up early and went for a nice power walk through the morning mist, then enjoyed some Almond

Amaretto waffles (ok, one waffle) with one of David's new fave kitchen toys.

Spent most of the Jesus part of the morning daydreaming about what kinds of goodies I'm going to make for Easter. (Hey, that's religious, right?) I'm thinking of giving Pete's a run for their money and making my own magical chocolate dipped marshmallows.

All that sweet thinking made me want to get a little down and dirty when I got home. In the KITCHEN...jeez, minds out of gutter, please. We'd talked about making some of Dad's spaghetti sauce for a treat post-soccer game (D's, not mine--are you kidding?), but I felt like something a little more labor intensive too. I decided to pull out Dad's trusty Cardamom Bread recipe. Don't listen to those Atkins diet crazies, carbs rule.

Father May's Cardamom Bread

(makes two loaves)

Melt two tblsp butter slowly in a saucepan and turn burner off. Add one cup of milk to pan. Pour mixture into large bowl and add two eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp salt, two packages of active dry yeast, one tsp crushed cardamom and one cup flour. Mix for two minutes with a wooden spoon. Gradually add 3.5 to 4 more cups of flour (the variation is dependent on how moist the dough appears to you). Dough will be sticky but not dry.

Place dough on a floured board or counter and knead by hand for five to ten minutes, really stretching and mixing the dough well. Have a greased bowl (use shortening or Baking Pam) ready. The bowl should be large enough to allow dough to double in size. Place the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap so it does not dry out. Put bowl inside unheated oven for about an hour.

After an hour, remove dough from bowl, punch down and divide in half. Set one half aside. Take the other half, divide into three pieces and braid. You can also form the loaf without braiding. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough and place each loaf on a greased cookie sheet.

Brush/sprinkle the tops of the loaves with milk. The dough will be springy and soft, so handle with care. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the loaves. Cover loosely with

plastic wrap (I always just save the plastic wrap from the bowl) and place in a warm spot for 45 minutes (not the oven).

Set oven to 350 degrees. Once heated, bake loaves for approximately 30-35 minutes. If done, they will sound hollow when you tap them. Place on a rack to cool before wrapping. Or inhaling, as we tend to do.

I'm still perfecting my bread making skillZ but this loaves are looking pretty nice, don't you think? They took longer to bake than expected, which in my opinion is better than shorter. I have a feeling it has to do with my kickass new cookie shee t.

Just measure before you order. Lucky for us it is EXACTLY the right width for our little antique oven.

Oh, and here's a shot of the sauce for good measure. I'll share that recipe with

you someday, maybe, but today is not that day. Trust me, it's worth the wait.

Well, off to my afternoon nap. Hey, where do you think I get all this energy?

Cheers,

Nailed It!

2009-03-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

Last year, I wrote a post about the demise of the Dive. A very sad thing--that place had the greatest black bean burgers I've ever had the pleasure of scarfing.

BUT my prediction finally came to pass. Check out today's Thrillist. I can't wait to check it out and thank them for following through.

I'm considering my future in fortune telling. Thoughts? Oh wait, I already know...you're right, it IS an amazing idea!

Kisses! More soon, I promise. Easter baking, anyone?

"Lemon Tree, very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet...

2009-03-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

...but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat!" -Peter, Paul & Mary, "Lemon Tree"

PP&M must have had some sour run-ins with citrus fruits, (pun intended...) but I don't have enough good things to say about OUR lemon tree, planted handily years ago by people with the foresight to know someday David and I would be able to use it. For good, not evil, in case you were wondering.

So. Last Friday night (I'm a little behind here) we had a dinner party at the house with a couple of my coworkers and their hubbies. I decided on a Mediterranean theme because 1) a few of my fave recipes are some type of Mediterranean; 2)there are a lot of vegetarian options for Michelle; and 3) it would give us a bunch of opportunities to use our lemons!

I made my mom's tabouli salad, complete with cherry tomatoes from one of D's tomato bushes and fresh lemon juice ze aforementioned tree. Mr. David made some lovely roasted veggies, as well as my mom's hummus (again with lemon juice-those suckers were juicy). Mom's hummus is that against which I judge all others (other hummi?) so watch out before you serve me some mashed chickpeas and tahini, know what I'm sayin'?
My challenge in this meal was coming up with a dessert. I would have loved to try my hand at baklava, but didn't feel like figuring out a vegan alternative for phyllo dough. Plus, those lemons...I decided to make a simple lemon sandwich cookie, vegan style. Why sandwich cookies? I just think they are fun to make-for all ages!-AND pretty to look at.

Trolling around online, I found a surprisingly simple-looking Martha Stewart lemon cookie recipe. It didn't take much to turn it vegan (or as close as I know how--I cannot figure out whether confectioner's sugar is vegan! I've read that Whole Foods brand sugars are, but then when we went, there was one container of granulated in the 365 brand that was specifically marked "Vegan Sugar." Michelle, when you read this can you enlighten me?)

The cookies call for zest in both the cookie (essentially a butter cookie) and filling (cream cheese). I love the smell and taste that zest lends to dishes, but upon completion I felt like there was not enough of a lemon PUNCH in the taste. So, I squeezed some of that lovely fresh lemon juice into a bowl of more confectioner's sugar and made an icing. I drizzled it over the cookies and threw them in the fridge to harden a little before serving.

I used a small flower-shaped cookie cutter for these. I find that bite-sized sandwich cookies are the perfect size--and then you don't feel guilty about taking seconds (and thirds)! Also, you'll notice the recipe call for sprinkled granulated sugar before baking the cookies. I happened to have some gold sanding sugar on hand so I used that instead, which made for a nice effect on the flowers!

Ready for the recipe? OK, I guess you've been good...here you go!

Vegan Lemon Sandwich Cookies
From marthastewart.com

1 cup Earth Balance or other butter substitute, room temperature
1 cup vegan confectioners' sugar*
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling
2 tablespoons vegan granulated sugar, for sprinkling*
1 package (4 ounces) Tofutti (or similar) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
1 to 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, and salt until combined. With mixer on low, add flour (dough will still be stiff); finish mixing with a wooden spoon.
Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, pat into a disk about 1/2 inch thick.

Wrap, and chill until firm, about 1 hour (and up to 3 days).

Unwrap dough; place on a lightly floured piece of parchment or waxed paper. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough about 1/8 inch thick (if dough cracks, let it warm up slightly).

Cut out cookies with a 1 1/2-inch round cutter (reroll scraps once, chilling if too soft). Place 1 inch apart on two baking sheets; sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until barely beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes; transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and zest until smooth. Gradually add 1 cup confectioners' sugar, mixing until smooth. Mix in remaining sugar as necessary to create a firm but spreadable filling.

Form sandwiches: Place about 1 teaspoon filling between two cookies, sugared sides facing out; squeeze gently.

*can be found at Whole Foods or similar grocery/health foods store

A Brief Monologue about Tea

2009-03-12T14:22:00.000-07:00

In my quest to find a nice mainstream go-to tea retailer, CB&Tea Leaf continues to win me over above Starbucks and their crap Tazo Tea line. Unfortunately, S'bucks is sort of like that guy that you KNOW you should stop calling because every time you do, you're reminded of how very self-involved he is and why you've been avoiding him for the past three months, but then in the fourth month you sort of forget and decide to call and see how he's doing.

This morning was my fourth month, metaphorically speaking. I decided to give the big S another try and purchased a Grande Soy London Fog Latte...and managed about 5 sips. Alas, adding milk to bad tea just makes for bad tea lattes. Give it up, guys.

Tea Leaf (that friend who's always been there for you, even though you've been blind to see it) has really started with the wooing of late. Oh Raspberry Ceylon Latte, I go to sleep with your sweet taste still on my lips...

Going To Our First Food Lecture (and other signs I am getting old)

2009-03-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to an udderly fascinating lecture at the Skirball about the possibility of authenticity in cooking. (Pardon the udder pun, but you'll get it when you read through the link.)

This was a FREE event, as part of the Zocalo (public square in Spanish) Lecture Series. For the life of me, I don't remember how I came upon it to begin with, but suffice to say, as soon as I saw Jonathan Gold on the docket as moderator, I knew I had to go. By the way, you may have noticed I mention Jonathan Gold in basically every one of my posts. This does not make me a crazy stalker. When I start posting wide-angle lens shots of him doing various private things in his home you can start to worry.

I knew there would be some heavy hitters of the LA food world there, but didn't really pay attention to who was on tap. Lo and behold, the first two people JG introduced were Nancy Silverton and Jimmy Shaw--the creators of Campanile/Mozza and Loteria Grill, respectively. I wrote last year about Pizzeria Mozza and its magical powers, but haven't gotten around to waxing poetic about Loteria. It is worthy of a full post, but until then just know that it is kickass!

I don't think the question of food authenticity was ever really answered last night (and don't think that it really can be--it's a totally subjective thing), but learning about each chef's path to creating the regional food that each of them brings to their respective kitchens was fascinating.

Silverton spoke first, and quickly acknowledged being the only impostor on the panel--a Jewish chick from the Valley who specializes in Italian cuisine. However, it was her experiences living, cooking and eating in Umbria (I think), among other areas of Italy, that spoke most to her and caused her to start her mini-empire. (She announced last night that they are opening both an Osteria and Pizzeria Mozza in SINGAPORE of all places. Now it's starting to really look like an empire...)

Jimmy Shaw looks like a white guy from Southie, but turns out he spent his formative years in Mexico City. He explained to us how difficult it was coming to LA, with all of its CalMex and TexMex restaurants, but no truly Mexican cuisine restaurants. He said the idea of going into a Mexican place and seeing "carne asada" on the menu is the equivalent of going to a steakhouse and just seeing "charred meat" on the menu. What are you actually getting? What cut of meat, etc? How is it prepared? His version of authenticity is borrowing from all of the regional Mexican cuisines that he knew as a boy--he claimed that it is the Americans who sometimes complain about the food, saying it's not 'authentic, whereas visiting Mexicans always visit his restaurant before any others for a taste of home.

Roy Choi was third. He looked to be about our age, and wore a black Dodgers pulled down almost over his eyes. Before he was introduced, I have to say I was wondering what the heck he was doing up there. This is the man behind the Korean taco truck. I had read tidbits here and there about it, but after hearing about the mad scene that surrounds whatever neighborhood said truck lands in each night, I can't wait to experience the madness firsthand. The idea of the trucks come from Roy's own view of authenticity. A totally Americanized (his words) Korean who has spent a lot of time in LA's Koreatown, like Shaw he realized that the Korean food people were getting was nothing like the Korean food one would get IN Korea. He coupled that idea with an ultimate LA enterprise--the taco truck--and in a short time KoGi BBQ was born. OK, there is more to it than that, but check out the very first link in this post to get the rest. Apparently the truck (or trucks--I think there are two) has only been around for a few months. As more and more people tried it, and got location updates via Twitter, the crowds each night grew. Talk about a viral phenomenon--so cool. Needless to say, today I signed up for a Twitter account and I think I am already a little addicted. Thanks A LOT, KoGi BBQ. You've ruined me.

Last up was Sirintip "Jazz" Singsanong, owner of Jitlada Thai in East H'wood. I've actually never heard of the place, and it appears that up until a few years ago, that was a good thing! When Jazz and her brother took over the restaurant, they kept the name, which at first meant they were not very popular. The original Jitlada was known for middling-to-bad Americanized Thai--when the Singsanongs took over, they wanted to bring a taste of what they knew as Thai food. Specifically, the food that was cooked within their family in Southern Thailand. This regional cooking is apparently quite different from what we know as Thai food...but no one even knew they were making it! The Southern Thai specialties on the menu were only listed in Thai. It took an out-of-towner with a minimal background in the language glimpsing the menu by chance and realizing that he didn't recognize any of the dishes listed. With some help from Jazz's brother, he translated this menu, which made the rounds through the food blogs. The rest is history.

I think that the devout following of these restaurants is proof that a clear vision of your cuisine, coupled with creativity and WoM, is a major key to culinary success. Each of these chefs authenticate their own food histories in their dishes, and in turn all of us who experience it open our eyes to whole new universes of what authentic means to each one of us. If nothing else, these chefs represent authentic Los Angeles cooking and the melting pot that is this city.

Here are handy-dandy links to all the above-mentioned restaurants again:

Campanile (beautiful place with GRILLED CHEESE THURSDAYS)

Mozza (with links to the fancier Osteria and more casual Pizzeria)

Loteria Grill

KoGi BBQ

Jitlada

Cheers!

Year of the Cocktail

2009-03-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

After reading Jonathan Gold's article today, "The New Cocktailians," I am both humbled and thirsty. Just wanted to share.

Anyone want to check out The Varnish with me this weekend?

____________

In the spirit of this post, I'd like to add an addendum. There was a great article in the food section of the LA Times this week talking about kumquats, which apparently are at their tastiest this month. As they always do, at the end they included some recipes, including one for a Candied Kumquat Mojito.

Candied kumquat mojito

Note: From Peter Birmingham at Norman's, where the drink is made with Ron Matusalem Platino rum. Birmingham also recommends Bacardi Silver or Cruzan Estate Light rum. You'll have enough simple syrup and candied kumquats for up to 12 drinks.

Candied kumquats

1 cup boiling water

1 cup sugar

12 whole kumquats

1 stalk lemongrass, ends trimmed and two outer layers removed, slightly smashed with the side of a chef's knife

1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water

1. Add the boiling water to the sugar. Stir to mix and dissolve the sugar, cool.

2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch the kumquats for 1 minute, drain.

3. Place the sugar water, lemongrass and orange blossom water in a bowl. Add the kumquats, placing a small plate on top to submerge the kumquats. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours and up until 3 weeks.

Simple syrup

3/4 cup boiling water

3/4 cup sugar

Add the boiling water to the sugar. Stir to mix and dissolve the sugar. Cool.

Cocktail (per serving)

6 mint leaves

3/4 ounce (5 teaspoons) simple syrup, divided

1 candied kumquat

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 ounces rum

1 tablespoon pineapple juice

1 wedge lime

Splash club soda

1. In a double old-fashioned glass, muddle the mint with one-fourth ounce (two teaspoons) simple syrup. Add the candied kumquat and muddle. Add ice to glass.

2. In a cocktail shaker, mix together the lemon and lime juices, the remaining one-half ounce (about 3 teaspoons) simple syrup, the rum and pineapple juice. Shake well. Pour into the glass, add the wedge of lime and splash of club soda.

Each serving: 200 calories; 0 protein; 19 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 0 fat; 0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 3 mg. Sodium.

Cheers!
Em

In Bloom

2009-03-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

It's been a chilly couple of days out here, but I'm still warm and cozy from a lovely dinner Tuesday night with Mr. D. There was no occasion for it, other than the desire to spend a little special time together.

I am usually hesitant to try any restaurant that sticks menus in mailboxes. Why would someone do that unless they were desperate? However, as one who loves reading anything food-related, I always glance through before trashing it, and one day I was really glad I did. We’d noticed Bloom, a brightly colored storefront at Pico and Hauser, many times since moving and often commented that we should check it out. When we got THAT menu, their claim of cooking with locally grown organic foods, combined with some really unique and tasty-sounding offerings totally hooked me. Before heading out, I read some reviews online that only made me more excited!

I read on a couple different sites that Bloom didn’t have a liquor license, but DID have BYO, AND no corkage fee. The latter is sort of revolutionary in LA. Why places feel ok with charging $25 to unscrew a cork is completely beyond me. But I digress. Since we’ve been trying to be ‘better’ (ie, more frequent) wine drinkers (hopefully in the hope of becoming aficionados rather than lushes), I thought it would be fun to take along a bottle we had picked up at Cost Plus. (On a side note, David found this website that lists cheap-to-no corkage fees in LA restaurants--seems like a pretty new site, but it could be a neat resource down the road. If you know of places with low cork fees, you can submit!)

One of my favorite things about the restaurant, before even stepping foot inside, was that it is walking distance from our house. You just don't get that very much in this city! I don't think I would make that walk by myself after dark--in spite of beautification efforts, Pico Blvd is still very rough around the edges--but with David, it was a nice (safe) little adventure.

The restaurant is divided into two sections--on the right side is the restaurant, with about 12 tables; the left side appears to be a take-out/juice bar deal, although I don't think it's open at night. The whole place was pleasantly dim, and we were greeted immediately by the man who turned out to be the waiter. He opened our wine as a busboy brought us wine glasses and cucumber-infused water (so refreshing!) and we perused the menu.

One thing I read about this place was that the pizzas were awesome, so we decided to find one of those to split, along with another dish. It didn't take us long to agree on the Rosemary Comte Cheese Potato. The salads here are outside the norm in a very good way--more than your standard Caesar, Cobb or spinach-and we finally settled on the Spicy Free Range Chicken Salad, with baby greens, poblano chile, roasted corn (I think David hogged all of that--corn:David::spinach::Popeye) and sundried tomato-red chili vinaigrette. I also got a cup of the Vegan Soup of the Day, butternut squash. Such a sucker for pureed vegetable soups!

First the soup. It had a nice squash flavor, but needed something more to round out the overall profile. Table salt didn't do the trick--I think my standbys allspice or nutmeg would have been particularly effective.

There are no complaints about flavor with the salad. The dressing added a good kick to the generous portion of greens and (delicious) chicken. The pizza, too--I am not too familiar with Comte cheese, but it is creamy and very mild, and complemented the razor thin slices of potato beautifully. There was no one glaring flavor on this pizza--even the rosemary seemed to be a subtle infusion rather than the leading lady, as is so often the case by the mere fact that it's a strong herb.

Throughout our meal, there's little doubt that part of our enjoyment came from the wine. We are still green in the whole wine game and even more so in our experience with reds, but we lucked out with this Cabernet. I won't try to explain it because my palate isn't sophisticated enough to detect individual fruits and chocolates and herbs like some can--suffice to say it went down easy, warmed our bellies, and widened the smiles on our faces just a little bit.

The food was so lovely that I was tempted to opt out of dessert...even the best of restaurants can be hit or miss with that portion of the meal, you know? My hesitation disappeared, though, when he listed the amazing-sounding ice creams and sorbets they had. We decided on a bowl of the brown sugar vanilla bean. Oh. My. Goodness. Heaven in my mouth.

The bill was wonderfully affordable (my, do I love BYOB!) and we left arm in arm, thrilled that we had found such a great neighborhood restaurant to call our own.

That's all for now, folks! Tune in next time when I wax poetic about our lemon tree....

Cheers,

Two things

2009-02-27T12:37:00.000-08:00

Hello loves!

Two quick things have I to share:

Today for lunch I convinced the ladies to come check out a new place that I've heard a good amount about lately, The Curious Palate. When my man Jonny Gold mentioned it in LA Weekly, well, I had no choice but to go. We weren't disappointed! Amber tried the Cubano sandwich and liked it (although she and I were in agreement that we weren't tickled by their pickles-she took hers out of the sandwich).There wasn't too much for Miss Michelle (a vegan) but she loved her Curried Squash Soup. And I LOVED the Veggie Panini! The black-eyed pea mash was a really unique and yummy touch, and the balsamic that came on the side was delicious for dipping. I also got the Beluga Lentils, which was good but a bit overwhelming with olive oil flavor. Actually, let's just take that to mean my palate is evolving, eh?

What a cute space--there is seating inside and (minimal) out, it's got a deli counter and a whole bunch of artisanal goods to purchase. Didn't have too much time to peruse, but we couldn't resist looking at the selection of mini chocolate bars by the register. I didn't need too much pushing to buy the dark chocolate orange cardamom (LOVE me some cardamom) and the white chocolate lemon pepper. Oh my Lord. That's really all I have to say. I'm already craving more of the white--I think they must get their crack from the same place as Pinkberry.

Too far?

And on that note, I leave you for now. I just ordered a bunch of new baking supplies (on a bit of a shopaholic kick this month) and plan to be making a bunch of new lovely things to share. Yes, this apparently is still very much a food blog. Re-name change may be forthcoming.

Happy Friday!
Em

Birthday Cake for My Boy

2009-02-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

Mission: David's 27th Birthday Cake

I asked young Mr G what he was looking for in a cake this year. He loved the one I came up with for his 26th (a really hearty whole wheat flour cake with lemon icing and blueberries) so I couldn't disappoint this year. He told me, "Something with caramel sounds good." Nothing more. And so the quest began.

I was looking for something delish but low maintenance, sinc

e I would be making it on a weeknight. After some digging through cookbooks and ye olde Internet, I settled on this recipe. Super basic vanilla cake, just like David likes it. To spice things up a bit-literally-I decided to add 1 tsp of cardamom and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, as well as the zest of one lemon.

The cake baked up beautifully in 35 minutes and slid out of the pan easy as...pie? Do you ever have that moment of total fear before you take a cake out of the pan, that maybe the shortening or whatever you used to line the pan somehow didn't work and half of your cake is going to stick? Yeah...me either.

While ze (fully intact) cake was cooling and smelling up the house with all sorts of deliciousness, I set to work on the topping. Although the aforementioned cake recipe did include its own recipe for caramel glaze (it is, after all, called caramel cake), I decided to go with a caramel recipe that I already know and love.Forgiv

e me if I've already mentioned this book, but Desserts by the Yard is an absolutely fabulous book of dessert recipes by the pastry chef at Spago. It's also just a really a good read if you like that sort of thing. One of the desserts she has is for homemade Twix bars, inspired by her time studying pastry making in London, and the caramel is to die for!! The trick is Lyle's Golden Syrup, instead plain old corn syrup. You can buy it online, or find it at Cost Plus World Market--it's an import from the UK (and I'm pretty sure there is a little of the White Witch's magic in the stuff).

I decided to halve the caramel recipe, since it was just being used as a glaze and I didn't want to make the cake soggy. I realize now that was silly thinking, since the caramel solidifies pretty quickly. Ah well. Anyway, halving it is very easy, except for the fact that my liquid measuring cups don't have a line for 3/8 of a cup, so I may have added too much Golden Syrup. Not that that could ever be a bad thing. I always feel like a brilliant mad scientist when I add the heavy cream to the hot sugar/syrup mixture--it suddenly starts boiling and changing color, and then magically (ok, chemically) turns into caramel when I add the condensed milk. Bwa ha ha!

OK, so. As soon as the caramel was complete (it only takes about 15 minutes if you do it right, as I do sometimes), I poured it on over that cake. I placed a cookie sheet under the cooling rack to catch any rogue caramel, of which there was much. The caramel was not as thick as I would have liked, and I think that showed in the final product. Of course it was supposed to be a glaze, so I guess in that regard it worked out.

In the end, it was a pretty humble looking cake--you might have mistaken it for a corn bread. Looks aside, the taste is great!! The cake is just moist enough with a nice crumb, and I do feel the extra spice touches I added made the difference in flavor. However, because of that the caramel tended to fade into the background, which is unfortunate. Next time I either need to back off on the spices, or work with a more assertive flavor profile for the icing. All in all, though, I'll call it a success. I have one happy and full 27 year old guy, and a lot of cake that needs eating!

Cheers!

Monday Night Dinner in MDR

2009-02-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Dinner last night inspired me to write a haiku to commemorate the occasion. We took D’s aunt and uncle (wrapping up an abbreviated version of their annual trek out West) to C&O Trattoria in Marina del Rey. None of them (my boy included) had been there before, and it had been years since I’d graced the place with my presence. I was a little dismayed when we were led in to the dining room and I saw that the seats were nothing more than your standard green plastic chairs…I was worried that I recalled the restaurant being much better than it actually was.

However, Raymond and Janie quickly put my mind at ease. They loved the atmosphere, said it was just their kind of place. The hot, buttery garlic rolls didn’t hurt, either. They both got the special pasta, linguini with clam sauce. It had clams in the shell, too, which apparently is a very very good thing. D and I know nothing of such things. He got the Fettucine Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, I the Pappardelle avec Wild Mushrooms & Chicken Apple Sausage. Everyone seemed pleased as punch…or maybe it was just the chianti? I sure am glad I drink red wine now. Raymond advised us early in the night to always get the house wine, said you can’t go wrong. In wine as in gambling, the house always wins. And I win doubly--wine never gives this little girl a hangover!

Still waiting for that haiku, are you? All right, you’ve been good. Here ya go:

Rolls of Garlic Sate

(Outside, the Ocean Winds Whip)

Red Wine Freely Flows

Another Random Emily Musing

2008-12-19T16:10:00.000-08:00

I think I wrote this one sometime this summer:

"There’s something so sad, somehow, about seeing a middle-aged man, sitting in front of a receptionist’s computer…temping. Ready for action, dressed in his nicest shirt and tie, sitting quietly with his hands folded, watching the bustle of big business around him while he reads the morning paper. How did he get there? What string of bad luck led him to the point of seeking out temp work filling in for the receptionist at a medium-sized private equity in Santa Monica? How does he feel about it? Ashamed that he is forced to temp…or happy to have finally gotten the call for duty? I imagine him waking up at 6 every morning, showering and ironing his shirt and pants…and then waiting by the phone. Maybe he showers the night before, just to make sure he doesn’t miss a call? I want to smile at him, show him some friendliness just in case he is hating the fact that he is here right now, but he doesn’t look up from his paper."

Found: An Old Emily Musing

2008-12-18T21:14:00.000-08:00

I just found this little piece--I named the file simply "10-23" (October 23, 2007):

Today I counted down the minutes, as I do every day, until I could break free and suck some life back into my nearly lifeless, corporate body. When 6PM came, I cut my shackles and headed home.

What greeted me when I went out the door was not the usual unspoken unclean smog of Los Angeles, but something dirtier, heavier. My eyes felt itchy and dry. The fires, which had up until now been beyond my periphery, seemed ever closer.

I quickly got into Lainey and forgot about the air as I rocked to the Beach Boys on my Workout Magic playlist and got cooled off by my A/C. As I battled through Hollywood traffic, I wondered if it was bad to curse the GOD-AWFUL driver who happened to have the enormous “God Bless” Sign in the back of his car. Should that REALLY give him license to swerve manically in and out of lanes without signaling? I’ll have to meditate on that one.

As I drove up Cahuenga towards the freeway, I thought of little beyond getting into the left lane to get onto the 101. I missed it. Why ANYONE would INTENTIONALLY take Cahuenga past the freeway entrance is beyond me. It gets ridiculously backed up and takes 10 times the amount of time. I was busily swearing at the snail’s pace of the traffic (as the 101 traffic running parallel streamed steadily along) and not paying attention to anything outside, when suddenly I reached the peak of the hill.

The skies had been just dark up til now. It’s late October at 6:30, so I wasn’t questioning that point. If I had stopped to think about it, I would have remembered that yesterday wasn’t quite so dark…

But when I got that peak, I saw something odd. The horizon looked different. It looked like that silhouette time, that David knows I love so much. But this wasn’t the regular white-blue silhouette against the sky. These silhouettes stood against an orange-red sky, beneath the smoke, above the horizon.

I became breathless. I had to turn off Diana Ross on my iPod because I could not think of anything but this sight I was seeing and all that it represented. Suddenly I was reminded of all the lives that had been displaced in the last 48 hours; all the homes that had been built from hard earned money that were suddenly and cruelly burned to the ground. I realized that all of my money troubles, which I had brought onto myself, were nothing compared to the devastation that so many of my fellow Southern Californians were suddenly faced with.

I was at the stoplight at Barham, much sooner than I expected. There was a man there holding his cardboard sign, like so many other intersections throughout the city. I didn’t even look at the sign, but simply felt relief at the fact that I had cash in my wallet to give him. I needed to do something, anything, to help someone other than myself right then. I fumbled in my wallet and pulled out $2. I rolled down my window and the man said, “God bless.” Just like that fricking bad driver’s car.

I turned the corner and started down Ventura. The skies weren’t red anymore…they were just back to that same smoky black night sky. I really hope that guy buys himself a burger or a taco or something. How many drugs can $2 buy you on the street, anyway?

Turning Over a New Beaf

2008-11-21T15:08:00.000-08:00

Beaf=Blog Leaf. Like Vlog refers to Video Blog...oh never mind.
Mmmmboy it has been awhile.
I have been struggling a lot with this blog and its purpose, for me and the world-at-large. Because, you and I both know everyone and their mom reads it. Hello Kazakhstan!
I think what has been a struggle is that I really want to say something neat and unique and cool every time I write, and neat, unique, cool things regarding FOOD just don't happen to me every day. To be perfectly honest, they DO happen a lot more than the 10 previous entries in this blog over the past 10 months, but it has really gotten hard to get up the desire to write when TV or books or sleep were alternatives.
As much as I LOVE food (and you know I do) I think that if I want this whole blogging thing to work, I need to encompass a bit more of Emilyworld outside of my kickass vintage kitchen. Shoot, I still need to do a blog about that!
MY POINT IS...if I want to do this blog regularly, and my multitudes of fans demand new material regularly, I need to write about more than just food. Like music, something I've been studying for umpteen years. And movies. And books. And life as a twenty-something. And...and. Yes.
So, this is my intro to a new chapter of Em the Epicurean. The name change will come shortly. Until then, kisses, my dears.
Cheers!
Em

Tofu Peanut Kale Scramble, take one

2008-07-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

Gentle Reader,

Haha...imagine if I went all Miss Manners on you. No freaking way, dudes.

Yahoo often has a link on their front page for recipes...generally easy-peasy ones for the harried cook with no time and a desire to cut calories. They don't usually inspire me--I have enough cookbooks, Cooks' Illustrated issues and recipes that I've already stuffed into my kitchen, all right? However, for whatever reason, today I took the plunge and printed out another recipe to add to my ridiculous collection. The recipe can be found here. If you don't feel like reading my ramblings about making it, you can just stop here and go on to live a relatively good life. Just in case you were wondering.

All right, getting back to tonight's dinner. What really drew me into this recipe, I guess, was the sauce. Peanut Sauce in any form is pretty splendiferous in my book. The sauce in this recipe was basically perfect, and super easy. I used white vinegar, fyi, and did not find any issue with that as substitute for rice vinegar. I'm glad I didn't buy rice vinegar just for this--if you are like me and don't have that in your kitchen stock, don't even sweat it. One thing I will say is more a criticism of my skills: MAKE SURE the ginger is really finely minced. I chopped it sort of half-ass fashion, because I don't have the greatest knife wielding skillz, and there were points in eating the dish where I got a bigger ginger taste than I wanted. The smaller the pieces, the more all of the flavors are able to just meld together so one doesn't pop out and hit you over the head like the ginger did to me.

So, this dish is called Tofu with Peanut Ginger Sauce, but upon close examination of the recipe, I came to the conclusion that those were all supporting players to the star of the show, the greens. With that in mind, I decided to spice things up a bit in that regard--the "BAM" factor, if you will. I love spinach, but I decided to dive in and substitute kale instead. You might remember my earlier post about M de

Chaya in which I sang the praises of their kale with peanut salad--that is sort of what I was going for here. Thing was, I had never worked with kale, EVER. How different could it be?

The answer is, well, not too different. I assumed that the kale would wilt like any normal green, and it did...slowly. The recipe instructs you throw all of the veggies and sauce in at once, but if you do that, and don't have a gargantuan pan, you're apt to end up with a mess. Whether you use spinach or kale or any other green, I would split it in half and allow the first group to wilt before adding the rest. One beef I have with this recipe is that they don't mention that at all. They are asking you to throw four cups of greens into a pan but they don't warn you that they won't necessarily fit right away. I don't consider myself an expert cook by any stretch of the imagination, but I have a bit of experience at a stove and knew that...if these recipes are really meant for anybody, though, they should TELL people these things and don't just make them find it out for themselves once a cup of their spinach has ended up on their stove and/or floor.

Here is another beef with this part of the recipe, by the by. (Sorry, by the way, veggies, for the figure of speech, but that's all it is-ain't no cow in this cookin'.) Because you're going to be working so hard to make sure the greens wilt, you're not going to have a lot of room in your pan for those there mushrooms and scallions to cook very well. I ended up with some barely cooked sliced mushrooms, which didn't really gel with the rest of the dish. I would suggest tossing the mushrooms with a small amount of olive oil and nuking them for about 15 seconds. It will give them a chance to soften up a bit without overcooking everything else in the pan.

This is the finished product as I made it

tonight:

Sorry for the lack of finesse-I really need to learn how to take good food photos. You'll notice that you see a lot more kale and mushroom in there than tofu--that is another fault of the recipe as it stands. It calls for one 14 oz container (standard size), but I would say that for it to stand up to the amount of greens called for, I would almost double the tofu...or else leave it out completely. This dish would do extremely well as a side accompaniment to chicken breast, or else as one of several veggie dishes merged together to make a meal. In spite of Yahoo's claim that this makes a great weeknight meal, I just don't buy it on its own. Overall, though, it is a really delicious dish. I urge you to try it out, and make your own substitutions, with different greens, veggies, and maybe even a different protein. I swear, anything will taste good with Peanut Sauce. :)

And friends...as a final note, let me apologize for once again falling off the side of the earth for a couple months. Life has been busy, with travels and recitals galore (ok, two recitals and two weeks on the East Coast), and my prime blogging time, during my slow workdays, is not allowable in the new work digs. HOWEVER, David and I will soon be moving to a lovely little flat closer to work and I will have some more TIME to do things I enjoy. At the top of that list is baking, cooking and BLOGGING...and I promise you a big chocolate cake if I do not stick with it post-move. Deal? Really, you win either way. Actually, you'd probably prefer the cake....

Until next time, my sweets!

Cheers,

I'm ba-ack!

2008-05-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

Hey...is anyone there? Where have you guys BEEN? It's been FOREVER!

OK, OK. My bad. Did I not mention I am notoriously bad at keeping any habit up for long periods, even those as glorious and addictive as blogging about foodie goodness?

Miss me? Well, I missed YOU, my lovelies!!

You're probably wondering what inspired me to get back to the grindstone after my self-imposed blogger exile...all it took was a fairly basic, but YUM meal from Curry Land on Lankershim. The place itself doesn't seem much bigger than my walk-in closet, and thus I've never been inclined to eat there--takeout's the name of this game.

Although they inexplicably changed their name from Curry House to the aforementioned "Land" a few months ago, everything else remains the same for this little Indian gem of the East SF Valley. Every time we have ordered from here, the food has been consistently good. I realized tonight that we were enjoying a total comfort food dinner, though I certainly was not having flashbacks to nights during my childhood where I curled up by the fire with a hot plate of Chicken Tikka and samosas. As I've mentioned in the past, I was a very picky eater growing up and never would have touched most of the items on CL's basic menu...so what is it about the stuff that makes me feel like I've practically crawled back inside the womb? Every bit of the Sag Paner (spinach with paneer cheese-basically the most delicious creamed spinach you can imagine accompanied by cubes of cheese slighter softer and milder than feta) and Sag Aloo (potatoes with more spinach-I guess we were in a Popeye-fying mood tonight) made me feel like putting on my fuzzy slippers and watching, I don't know, "Pollyanna" or something (or would it be "Bollyanna"? Woah, just came up with that, I swear!). Pile those two entrees on some of CL's basmati rice (which seems to have just a touch of saffron in it for color) and you can just plan on mopping up that puddle of happy that is me.

OK, now, to be fair, the meal was not perfect. Along with the two veggie dishes, we ordered Chicken Dansak, described as "chicken cooked in thick lentil sauce with a touch of lemon juice." The chicken was tender, which was necessary in order to cut through the enormous chunks; however, the "thick lentil sauce" was less than impressive. There was little flavor beyond its indistinguishable heat, and no indication of lentils beyond a less-than-desirable graininess in texture.

Another snafoo is actually because of my own faulty memory. Every time we've ordered from Curry House/Land, I've been taken in by the list of delicious naan and insist on ordering some...and every time, I've been disappointed. Rather than the warm, fresh, well-seasoned naans I've come to expect in every Indian restaurant (when I eat THERE), takeout naan comes across as slightly stale, with none of that delicious doughiness. Tonight's choice was garlic, and the garlic meagerly sprinkled on top of the bread seemed bottled rather than fresh. Perhaps third time is the charm, and I'll leave my naan intake to restaurant visits from here on out.

A couple basic things I've learned about Curry Land/House: 1) order plenty ahead of time. The first two times we went there, we waited an inordinately long amount of time for our food. Tonight it wasn't bad, but there were only two people eating in-house. Other times, it's been much busier. 2) Stick to veggie dishes. To each their own, of course, but I've found that the vegetable dishes have been consistently good, while the meat dishes seemed lacking. Not bad, but not worth giving up another serving of Sag Paner, ya know?

Well, I think that is all for this installment. I really have missed you. I hope this wasn't too terribly written--I am feeling really rusty. Tomorrow promises to be another exciting dinner out, so I hope to write about that as well. Glucklichen Freitag und Wochenende!

Cheers,

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2008-03-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

IRISH CREAM SHAKE

Rice Dream drink (Vanilla)

Rice Dream ice cream (Vanilla)

Bailey's Irish Cream (Mint Chocolate)

Green food coloring

York Peppermint Patties, ground

Mix at will and drink up!

Cheers!

Lunching with (a few) Look-Look Ladies

2008-03-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

But this wasn't just any lunch, kids. This was my first experience at Pizzeria Mozza! Yes, that's right, I bought into the hype. Actually, I've been dying to try the place out since even before it opened, when my fave food columnist (actually, favorite all-around columnist), Pulitzer Prize-winning Jonathan Gold sang its praises. So imagine my utter and complete JOY upon realizing that my new job at Look-Look put me directly diagonally across Melrose and Highland to the latest Holy Grail of Pizza-Eating!

Fast forward 11 months later...and I had yet to go. Reservations for the place are still as elusive as aforementioned Grail, plus money's been a bit tight and the urge for this splurge never came at a good time financially speaking. And then suddenly a new job popped up, and I was about to be forced far, far away from the Pizza Lunch that appeared destined to never happen.

And then...just when I thought the bosses at LL could never do right by me...Sharon canceled one of those hard-won lunches. Rather than let the prize once again slip through my fingers, I held onto it tightly. And so it was, that Megan, Sara, KG and I enjoyed a lovely lunch in the Mario Batali/Nancy Silverton mecca.

Boy, that was a long time coming, eh? Both the meal for me and this little review for you!

Anyway, we were bustled in with the rest of the Friday lunch crowd. It's not a large place, but the atmosphere is made homey by the rust and goldenrod-colored walls. There was a film crew there for some reason or another, just in case we had forgotten that we were very much in Hollywood. The restaurant is not great in terms of sound-control--being the 'scene' it is, it was packed pretty quickly, and I felt almost as if I was in a bar, with the amount each of us had to speak up to be heard.

Our utensils were individually wrapped in paper with the Mozza logo--again, do we really need this reminder of where we are? The placemats were cute, though, covered with Italian cartoons. Who cares if I didn't have a clue about what they said beyond "I"?

Megan was the only non-Mozza virgin amongst us, and she recommended that we all split some appetizers. Out of respect for KG's tryst with veganism, we got all veggie-ful, dairy & meat-free treats: the Eggplant Caponata (described by one as really good ratatouille), the Brussel Sprouts (supposed to come with prosciutto breadcrumbs, which I am SO curious about, but we forewent them) and the Beets with Horseradish. The last of these was veeery light on the horseradish--it looked almost like tiny flower buds on top of the lovely purple vegetable--but still packed plenty of wallop! The fave of the table was definitely the eggplant. Though all of these came out in bowls not much larger than regular sized ramekins, we all got good samplings of each app. We also got a serving of the White Bean Bruschetta, which I probably could have polished off on my own. Loves me some white beans and good bread.

Less exciting was the salad, which was Rucola (a type of leaf that looks rather like overgrown clovers), mushrooms (white-yawn) and fresh Parmesan, the most redeeming part of this dish, but not enough to save it, or rather me, from boredom.

As I had been dreaming about Silverton's pizzas for months on end, I insisted on getting one for myself. I decided on the Goat Cheese, Scallion, Leek and BACON.

Upon digging in, I discovered the added bonus of roasted garlic cloves.

Now, this pizza. It was large, a bit big for a personal pie, although if you were really hungry, it would probably be easy to finish. One of the great things about the pie was just how fresh the ingredients were. I think maybe they keep a goat in back just for its milk and resultant cheese. The leeks were shredded thinly; I had never seen them prepared that way before, and I think that really helped emphasize and spread out their flavor a bit, if that makes sense. The bacon was a little sweet (maple cured) and a little fatty. And yeah, so sue me...I kinda liked that. The crust was crispy and generally delicious. My one beef was that it was a bit too oily. I get that you're not using tomato sauce...that doesn't mean you have to oversaturate your crust to compensate.

KG and Sara split the one vegan pie on the menu, just tomato sauce and oregano. It was very heavy on the oregano and really not much else. When you highlight your sauce so nakedly, I really think it needs to pop. This one did not.

I really wanted to get dessert, but the rest of the ladies apparently have smaller stomachs than I and were ready for the bill. It's ok, though...now that I have experienced Mozza once, I know I have to come back, with more friends, with David, with any miscellaneous visiting family. It is a classy, warm place with an upscale and creative, yet accessible (hello, pizza) menu, and in my opinion, worth the hype. As KG said when we first sat down, I looked like a kid in a candy store...and believe me when I say I left that candy store full and happy!

Ode to a Dive

2008-02-19T15:29:00.000-08:00

Actually, THE Dive. Like a brilliant TV sitcom canceled before Sweeps Week hit, this little bar was torn from us before its time. Granted, I never really understood its place as a Hugo's Restaurant sibling...but danged if they didn't serve up the best durned-black bean burgers this gal had ever done tasted! I never got to try their ethereally-named cocktails, either, having always visited during working hours. No drinky-drinks on Look-Look's time!
Anyway, my real point in this blog is one of speculation. There is a sign up on the front of The Dive, promising something new and exciting in the coming days. Here's what I think: I spotted an Application for New Ownership or something similarly official at the Dive a few months ago, and on that App...the names of Milliken and Feniger. That's right, the Two Hot Tamales, creators of my FAVE restaurants in LA, Ciudad and Border Grill. Could it be REMOTELY possible that they're extending their (albeit small) empire to RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO MY OFFICE?!?! Demeter, that goddess of the bountiful harvest, has surely been listening to my pleas.
Again, this is all speculation...but I hope that for once my wishful thinking will pay off with bowls of hot tortilla soup all around. Mmmmmmm!

Cheers!

Presidents' Day Eats

2008-02-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

It feels like absolutely forever since I had a day off, all to myself...I actually had time to neaten up the house (that is, neaten those corners that David has designated "Emily piles"), sing my recital rep, and plan a dinner that for once would not be rushed!

My mom gave me a copy of The New Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Kayden sometime last year, and while I've flipped through it quite a bit, I hadn't actually made any recipes out of it. Lately, though, I've been craving healthy cooking, and Moosewood promised me that. I settled on the Onion Soup, a top contender for the Easiest Recipes Ever Award. Anyone can do this one, kids...all you need are 4 large onions (I am in love with Sweet Mayan Yellows right now), a big stockpot and an hour to spare. Throw a couple spices in the mix (thyme and mustard this time around) and some butter to get the onions started and you're golden. I must admit to being a little underwhelmed as I began this dish--could 4 cups of water really replace beef stock sufficiently? But after those onions sat in the stockpot for 40 minutes, soaking in their own 'juices' so to speak, they were as tender as overcooked spaghetti, and smelled just heavenly. Pay the onions minimal attention, with just the occasional stir to ensure they don't stick to the pan, and you will wind up with a really simple and delicious soup.

I had some ciabatta bread left over from the weekend, which I sliced into four small pieces, brushed with crushed garlic and olive oil, and stuck in the toaster oven for about 9 minutes at 350 degrees. I plopped the slices into the soup and laid a thin piece of Swiss cheese over each serving. Let me tell you, that beef broth was not missed one bit.

To go with our soup, I decided to finally test out my new panini press, which has been gathering dust since I received it for Christmas. I had some sliced sourdough bread, on which I added a spread of goat cheese, artichoke hearts, chives,crushed garlic, jalapeno, rosemary and thyme (next time I may leave out the last two and substitute other things--it was a little too woodsy for me); on top of that was some thinly sliced oven roasted turkey breast. I added some balsamic to my oil and garlic spread (I love garlic-sue me) and brushed this onto both sides of the sandwiches. I grilled the sandwiches for about 5 minutes, and they were pretty much perfect.

NOTE: Some people may still wonder how practical it is to use panini presses, or for that matter, Foreman grills, considering how difficult it is to clean up the insides afterwards. It is for that reason I ALWAYS use aluminum foil, sprayed, as protection for anything cooked in those types of appliances. Trust me, it works exactly the same, and you'll still get those neat grill marks, but without the clean-up hassle afterwards!

To end this cozy comfort foods dinner, I made something else I had been dying to try out from scratch: rice pudding! Using some of our new cookware, I was able to begin the pudding (using Arborio, or risotto, rice for extra thick-and-gooeyness) on top of the stove and move it into the oven to bake using THE SAME PAN. Yeah, yeah, I know, big deal, but it's new for ME. And therefore awesome.

Want to top off your own cozy evening at home? Try this simple recipe for yourself! I put a couple of personal touches on it--some lemon zest along with the spices, with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and blueberries on top!

Cheers,

David's Birthday!

2008-02-12T13:23:00.000-08:00

For some lame reason, David decided to have his birthday on a Monday this year. To alleviate said lameness, we opted to have a weekend-long celebration leading up to his big 2-6. Saturday was a fun-filled day of mini-golf and Universal City Walk; Sunday was a surprise from me to him. Since we got together, we've shared a common interest in learning more about wine. We've certainly drank a lot of it together, but with no real rhyme or reason regarding our choices beyond an attraction to the price and look of the bottle.

So, I started plotting a wine tasting excursion a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure where to go for it--we didn't have plans to go to Wine Country in the near future, so I was on the hunt for something for local. Goldstar Events actually had a couple of tastings offered, but they were upwards of $50/person. I mentioned these to KG, a friend at work, and she steered me towards Silverlake Wine in, you guessed it, Silverlake. She told me that they had weekly wine tastings with food that were really great and informative...and a lot more affordable than the frou-frou tastings I was coming across.

We were a little early arriving on Sunday and had a chance to wander around the shop a bit. It's a small place, and smells just like State Liquor back in Wootown. I'd forgotten what stores that ONLY sell liquor smell like. The wine selection was seemingly impressive, but again, we really don't know anything.

Once all of the attendees had crammed into the store, a bunch of wine store worker bees began serving the first drink: Domaine St. Vincent Brut NV New Mexico. A sparkling wine that reminded my inexperienced tongue of champagne, I found this one fairly refreshing and light. David, who doesn't like champagne, didn't enjoy it as much.

As everyone was polishing off this drink, someone I assumed was the owner finally actually welcomed us. The theme of the day, he told us, was the wines of a particular Central CA winery, Lioco--with the exception of the first wine, all of selections were Lioco. Accompanying the wines were tapas of sorts by Auntie Em's Restaurant in Eagle Rock, which was particularly exciting, since I've been meaning to check them out.

As I'm continuing this blog over a week after the actual tasting (slacker!), I am just going to cover a few key points. Besides the Brut, the wines we drank were:

Chardonnay "Stuhlmuller" 2006 Alexander Valley

Pinot Noir "Michaud" 2006 Chalone

Pinot Noir "Klindt" 2006 Anderson Valley

Pinot Noir "Hirsch" 2006 Sonoma

The names in quotations refer to the actual vineyard from which that particular wine's grapes hailed. One thing we novices learned that day was that the most important thing to note when you are buying wine is where the grapes came from. Learn your great vineyards and you'll seemingly never err.

Something else we learned was that wines are treated with lactic acid (I am not clear if that goes for ALL wines or just certain ones...) and so some wines actually taste creamy. After hearing about this, we tasted the Pinot Noir Michaud, and I tasted the buttery notes within it. The taste eventually got a little bitter, but that buttery richness was enough to make me a fan.

The menu to accompany the wines included:

Crab terrine with chives and tomatoes on French bread

Golden beet salad with blood orange dressing, pea tendrils and goat cheese

Mushroom "pate" avec crudites et pain

Beef bourguignon

Thankfully we're not vegetarians...as it was, we steered clear of the beef. The other three dishes were quite tasty, though, especially that mushroom pate--essentially a mushroom and cream dip. Yummy!

Oh! To top the afternoon off, Auntie Em's served their famous cupcakes, bite-sized. We both grabbed a red velvet and were licking our fingers until we got to the car.

Final note: This was basically a cocktail party where we didn't know anyone and had to pay for admittance. As a couple of minor wallflowers, this was not our ideal situation. I don't want to knock the place or the event. We both had a lot of fun, and I think it's a great environment for someone super outgoing (or on the prowl) or a big group of friends...I would definitely be down to checking it out again with a few more peeps. Any takers?

Anyhoo, thanks for reading this installment.

Cheers!

Super Bowl Snackin'

2008-02-02T15:11:00.000-08:00

Krysta and Kenneth hosted the Super Bowl this year. It would have been a damn shame any other way, frankly, considering that behemoth big screen they've got sitting in the place of honor in their living room. As with any gathering I'm invited to, my response was "I'll be there...what should I bring?" and as usual Krysta left the playing field wiiiide open for me.

PART ONE

So, I started looking through my recipe stash for ideas. (Oh, and it is a stash. Poor uber-organized David went so far as to promise to put my whole collection into a cohesive unit when he saw my drawers stuffed with printed and scribbled-out recipes.) My goal: bring something delicious, that the partygoers likely had never had before. I found my inspiration within a cute little dessert cookbook called Angels in My Kitchen by Caryl Westwood. It was the Amaretto Cheesecake that did it, but I didn't want to bring a big ol' pie to a SPORTS party, for God's sake. I'm a food snob but I do have some sense. I decided to translate the idea of cheesecake into bars. I would switch out the regular ol' graham cracker crust with a chocolate one, adjust some recipe portioning (5 containers of cream cheese would be just a little ridiculous for an 8x8 pan), and add some flair at the end for good measure. I consulted several different cheesecake and cheesecake bar recipes, as well as that trusty resource known as "Mom", but in the end basically flew by the seat of my pants. Lucky for all present, it all worked out, taste-wise. Next time I may very well cut out the glaze completely, and could increase the amount of cream cheese a bit. Also, I had some issue with the crust sticking to the pan (yes, I greased it)--I am thinking I may have baked it on its own for a bit too long? Anyway, here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Em's Amaretto Cheesecake Bars

Crust:

20 crushed chocolate filled sandwich cookies (ie Joe Joe's)

4 tblsp butter

Combine and press into greased (spray is ok) 8x8 pan. Refrigerate. Bake in 350

degree oven for 12 minutes or until set.

Filling:

12 oz (1.5 packages) cream cheese

1/2 c granulated sugar

1 tblsp flour

zest from one orange

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

3 tblsp amaretto

1 tsp almond extract

Combine cream cheese, sugar, flour and zest in mixing bow--mix until smooth. Add egg, yolk, amaretto and extract. Pour over partially baked crust and bake in 350 degree oven for 25-28 minutes, until firm and brown on the edges. Refrigerate tonight.

Glaze

6 oz white chocolate (I used morsels)

1/4 c heavy cream

2 tblsp Amaretto

The next day, melt the white chocolate, combined with the cream, over a low heat.

Stir in amaretto. Let the glaze cool slightly and ladle evenly over the cheesecake. Return to the refrigerator to set.

Topping

2-3 pieces toffee Candy (I used Trader Joe's English Toffee)

Process in food processor until in small chunks. Sprinkle evenly over bars. Cut bars into small squares and serve chilled.

Enjoy!

PART TWO

I had actually originally intended to make two things, because you know, I'm an over-doer. However, David found a yummy recipe that he wanted to try out, so I was able to share my over-doing with my guy. His choice? Fried Rice Balls Stuffed with Mozzarella. I got super excited after reading this recipe because it gave me

the opportunity to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time--make risotto! That's right, in addition to making the actual treat, we made two full servings of that famously tricky dish to go INTO the treat. And we succeeded!

Since I am not sure of the rules as far as copyrighting recipes goes (and honestly, because I am tired), I'm not going to write out the recipe here. However, here are the super easy basics:

make a batch of risotto
cool it overnight
combine risotto with a couple of eggs and form into balls the size of small fists, stirring in breadcrumbs to help balls keep shape
poke a hole in the center of each ball and stick in a small cube of mozzarella (we used fresh whole milk mozzarella, which David called ice cream mozzarella-so yummy!)
seal up hole in ball
roll risotto balls in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs-repeat
fry balls in batches of 4-5 in pot of oil
drain on paper towels
serve hot

Note: we saved some of the rice balls at home. I decided to stick a couple in the toaster oven last night to bake, rather than frying them, and BOY, were they good. This is a more healthful approach, and the cheese really melts in the middle. YUM!

Lunch in SoHo

2008-01-29T14:14:00.000-08:00

By SoHo, I'm not referring to that hip bohemian haven in the Big Apple, but what I've come to think of as South Hollywood...the neighborhood within which I toil thanklessly 9-6, every day.
Work drudgery aside, lunchtime is usually a happy time for me. There are loads of restaurants in every pocket of LA, and I'd like to wax poetic for a moment about the two that are making my Tuesday a bit brighter.

Most of the hipster crowd in the city is probably aware of M de Chaya (http://mcafedechaya.com), even if they haven't been. This veggie/pesca friendly place has always struck me as a uber-clean, new-agey deli. They serve loads of sandwiches, salads and sushi, with a revolving menu of soups. Most of their sandwiches come with meat substitutes...do NOT go in there expecting the Muffaletta to taste of real salami, because trust me, you will leave a sad panda. However, go in with an open mind and mouth and you are sure to be satisfied. I have fallen in love with the Panino Tuscano, which they describe as "tuscan white bean spread, spicy seitan “salami”, caramelized onions & arugula on house-baked focaccia grilled hot & crisp to order." It sounds delicious because it is. Nuff said.
Today, though, I wanted something different. I have a (some say bad) habit of always getting the same thing at different restaurants once I find something I adore. So I decided to opt out of my sandwich rut and dive into a few salads. Their menu lets you choose 2, 3 or 4 salads to combine in a sort of personal salad smorgasbord. I went with three vastly different but (pretty much) equally yummy choices:

Kale with Peanut Sauce--there's really nothing else to this puppy. Kale, if you're not familiar, seems similar in strength of taste to spinach; texturally, though, it is more substantial. The strong taste of the kale is balanced by the subtle sweetness of the peanuty dressing.
Sesame Soba Noodles--basically cold veggie lo mein (which, if you're me, is pretty much kickass anytime), but with a distinct taste of sesame, both in the dressing and in the seeds throughout the salad. There were some rather unwieldy pieces of tofu in this serving a little too tough for my liking, but it didn't do much to detract from the salad as a whole.
Wasabi Sweet Potato Salad--yes, wasabi. I was both scared and fascinated by the idea of this dish. Let me put it out there now that I am normally not a fan of salads with mayo, and only ordered this one because they made it with vegannaise. The wasabi was an undertone of the overall dish, which worked really well. However, the sweet potatoes seemed no different that regular potatoes to me...it could be I just have not had enough exposure to them, but I have to admit being disappointed with that. My fave part of this salad was the slices of cucumbers...their crunchiness in combo with the wasabi vegannaise was nearly worth my sweet potato disappointment.

After a very short wait (in spite of a crowd) I got my salads to go and started the trek back to the office. I passed over the used bookstore, sex toy shop and haberdashery, but couldn't resist stopping at the local coffee shop to pick up my drink. Stir Crazy is a little cafe with a faded sign and an eclectic clientèle. I wandered in there one morning when I had missed breakfast, and waited no less than 20 minutes for a sandwich. With no one in line in front of me. BUT, along with that sandwich, I ordered something that I would NEVER have imagined on the menu of this place, or really any place: a cherry lime rickey. So what? you might say. Cherry and Lime Concentrate with some seltzer water...anyone could do that. Oh, but DOES anyone do it? No. Just ORDERING it made me feel like I was wearing a poodle skirt and waiting for my guy to pick me up outside the soda shop. Today, as I walked back to work (or hell, as I like to call it), that rickey called to me. It said, 'I'll make your day better! Just give me another chance! It won't take too long (unless you order a sandwich too)!''
So I did. And it was right. It was just the right ratio of cherry to lime to soda water, not too sweet or tart. Just Cherry Lime Rickey perfection. If you don't know what that is yet, well, I hope you do someday. It makes even hell a little bit more comfortable.

Until next time...
Cheers,
Em

First Post!

2008-01-25T17:50:00.000-08:00

Woah. This is waaaaaaay past due. Hey there, food-lovers! My name is Emily and I love food. There are times when my metabolism makes that very evident too...but that is fodder for another blog.

Moving on: I am a formerly extreme picky eater who has been mostly converted through the vast and wonderful culinary experiences I've had since living on my own in Los Angeles, CA. This is Hollywood, people. Now, I admit to still having some food hang-ups (and you may wonder, as I do on occasion, whether a girl who abhors plain tomatoes is really capable of writing a decent food blog) but trying new things now excites rather than scares me. I am a comfort food girl at heart but adore Thai, Indian, French, Southern, German, New England, New Californian...yadda yadda, you know the drill.

I also love baking. Both of my parents as well as my maternal grandma have been baking all my life and through their influence, I like to think that I've gotten pretty good at it! Baking begets things like big bellies and chunky hips, so lately I've been expanding my repertoire to things that aren't loaded with butter and sugar.

Through this blog I am hoping to share new recipes and restaurants with you. I hope to make them enjoyable and informative enough to get you all into the kitchen, and out to some great new places!!

Cheers,
Emily