Food Woolf – Page 15

Thanksgiving Countdown: Redesign your space

When you live in an apartment but have big-home entertaining aspirations sometimes you have to think out of the box. Maybe you need to cook a handful of dishes in advance of the big day. Perhaps you need to rearrange your home to accommodate an spike in visiting guests. Maybe you need to put up a tent in the back yard. Anyone that’s ever thrown a dinner party in a tiny space has their own set of tricks.

For my husband and I, entertaining for twelve guests — the most we’ve ever had at our annual Thanksgiving dinner — required us to get creative with our two bedroom Los Angeles apartment. With over two decades of experience in the restaurant business combined, my husband and I were very clear: we needed to redefine our home as a space for entertaining. We would need one very large table, comfortable seating, plenty of glassware and flatware, and additional table space for platters of food and bottles of wine.Quite simply: we needed to turn our apartment into a cozy restaurant.

Before

In order to accomplish our task of accommodating twelve dinner guests, went about rearranging our home to create a space that would feel less like an apartment and more like a homey, twelve-seat restaurant. With an eye on comfort, we pulled back our living room couch, stored away our white shag rug (our wine loving guests have been known to drop full glasses), removed our love seat, and put together two dining room tables to create one long table.

After

We filled our empty dining room with comfortable chairs to create an inviting seating area, a perfect spot for guests to lounge while watching final preparations in the kitchen.

In the process of changing things up we removed the (ugly) brown slip cover from the love seat, and found we had a perfectly beautiful off white chair!

I polished, dusted and cleaned while a mix of music supplied by our iPod filled the newly arranged space. The new seating plan created a new and unfamiliar flow of energy in the apartment that gave my husband and I the feeling of two people that just moved into a new space: we felt energized and excited to be in our new environment.

Who knows, we might want to keep this arrangement for a few weeks and continue hosting dinners until well after Thanksgiving!

November 24November 14

Thanksgiving dinner countdown

It’s just three days before Thanksgiving and I have a long list of things to do. My guest list of twelve includes food and wine aficionados from Michelin starred Los Angeles restaurants, two respected wine retailers, and a wine-collecting rock star. With an attendee’s list like this, I have to stay organized, not get overwhelmed (or intimidated), and bring my A game.

After three years of hosting Thanksgiving dinner for restaurant orphans—a term I coined for restaurant professionals that are unable to go home to their families because they are expected work through the holidays–I’ve learned a lot. When serving Thanksgiving dinner to a table of restaurant pro’s you’ve got to share the work load, buy more wine than you think is needed, and most importantly, stay organized. For Thanksgiving dinner 2008 I will rely on my guests’ strengths—be it in the kitchen or in the wine cellar—to contribute dishes that showcase their talents and passions.

I’m excited to announce that Food Woolf will be one of 24 food blogs featured in Foodbuzz.com‘s first annual Thanksgiving Dinner event. As a featured publisher on Foodbuzz, I’ll be blogging about my Thanksgiving dinner within 24-hours of the day. It’s an exciting opportunity to share recipes, photos of what promises to be a wonderful meal, and insights into what happens when the people that make food and wine happen in Los Angeles have a day off to celebrate.

This year, I’ve planned out the three days leading up to Thanksgiving. Each day has its own shopping list, cleaning schedule, kitchen prep, and cooking needs.

It’s all about the Mise en Place

As it is in restaurant dining rooms and kitchens, everything must be organized and in its correct place in order for a successful dinner service to occur. And so it will be in my home.

Sunday

buy the turkey from Healthy Family Farms at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. Prep and dry brine my 24.5 pound turkey.

Decorate: Buy Satsuma oranges and arrange for an edible table display

Monday

Buy an extra large roasting pan for the turkey

Buy some wine and digestivos for the dinner

Tomorrow: turn our Los Angeles apartment into 12 seat restaurant and lounge!

November 22November 14

Los Angeles Original Farmers' Market Celebrates 75 years

The Original Farmers’ Market at Third and Fairfax celebrates 75 years of business. In response to their call for recollections of this historic culinary landmark, I submit this memory.

Love letter to the Farmers Market

Ten years ago, I moved to Los Angeles after a lifetime of residency in small towns across Massachusetts. Though I had uprooted myself several times to live in different towns within my hometown state, the cross-country move was, by far, the grandest uprooting of my life.

In Los Angeles, when I wasn’t in class studying screenwriting, I would travel 3rd Street in my little Volkswagon, in hopes of collecting a mental database of familiar landmarks. I was often lost within the sprawling landscape of LA’s streets, with the Atlantic Ocean as a forsaken compass point. I went west when I thought I was traveling east. I followed Wilshire for hours, searching for its end. One of the first markers of my new city was the Original Farmers’ Market on the corner of Third and Fairfax. Though I knew nothing about the history of the farmers’ market, the buildings proved to me that LA was once a simple village, that shared traditions like the one I came from.

I’d park my car in the sprawling lot speckled with sports cars and tour busses and meander through the market. I marveled at the shelves always lined with precise piles of fruits and vegetables–a site I had only seen during the summer months of Massachusetts. I admired the impracticality of laminated photos of dead movie stars and Hollywood street signs as souvenirs. I was soothed by the white clock tower as it marked the passing of time. The friendly French man behind the cheese counter and the smiling butcher that offered to help find the best deal surprised me with their kindness. The Farmers’ market, regardless of whether or not I stopped by, gave me a sense of calm.

Looking back now, it is no wonder that I chose to live just one block from the Original Farmers’ Market. The neighborhood is my own little village where I can walk to shops, enjoy the park, and eat out at my favorite restaurants. I am a regular, a local, a fixture at the market.

After many years of feeling lost, I have finally found a home in this big city, thanks in part to the Original Farmers Market.

Happy Anniversary.

November 18January 4

How to clean and cook Dungeness crab

This week marks the beginning of San Francisco’s Dungeness crab season. Starting mid November and ending in May, you’ll find seafood lovers celebrating the return of their favorite 10-legged creatures with crab parties and a myriad of crab-centric meals.

If you’ve never split open a claw and tasted the bounty of this Northern California ocean treasure, it’s time to tie on a bib and get cracking. Once you get past the Dungeness crab’s hard shell, you’ll find its sweet white meat–delicate and undeniably decadent. How to prepare Dungeness crab is up to you, but many chefs agree: Dungeness crab meat is so tasty it shouldn’t be hidden underneath competing flavors.

Where to buy:
The best time for crab is in December and January, when supplies are plentiful and the meat is sweetest. Dungeness crab can be purchased live from your local fishmonger or bought pre-cooked at the market. Whole Foods Market currently offers whole, cooked Dungeness crab for $11.99/lb. *PS, if you’re buying Dungeness Crab from Whole Foods in Los Angeles, they get their delivery every Wednesday!

If you plan on buying your crab live and cooking it at home, make sure that the crustacean is alive when you buy it. To cook it, fully submerge the crab in a pot of boiling, salted water and cook for 10-12 minutes.

Prep made easy

The best place to prep Dungeness crab is outside. If you plan on making more than a few crabs (one large crab per person is a good idea), create a prep station in the back yard, near a hose. This is a great job for kids or curious adults eager to pull up a lawn chair and get their hands dirty. You’ll need a bucket of water for cleaning, a container to hold the crabs and trash can to discard shells in.

You might even want to consider having a really tasty beer nearby.

Step 1: With the crab belly side up, pull off the triangular shaped belly flap, or apron.

Step 2: Turn over the crab and remove the top shell by inserting your thumb between body and the shell at the rear of crab. Pull up.

Step 3: Twist off claws and legs.
Step 4: Using a nutcracker or hammer, crack open the legs and claws.
Step 5: With the top shell removed, break off the hard mouth of the crab. Discard the colored connective tissue and the inedible, finger-like lungs surrounding the body.

Step 6: Rinse the crab thoroughly. The inside of the crab should appear mostly white, with only gems of pale meat and shell remaining.

Step 7: Using either a knife or your hands, split the body in half (vertically). Pick out the meat.
Step 8: Use a nutcracker or small hammer to crack open the leg shells.
Step 9: Pick out meat with a lobster pick, fork, or tip of a crab claw.

How to eat
To truly enjoy the flavor of Dungeness, serve it in the rough, with just the simplest of ingredients. Dip crab meat into warm butter, aioli (oil, egg, and touch of garlic for seasoning), or a spicy horseradish dip (add horseradish and soy to your favorite ketchup for an easy sauce).

And, if you’re looking for a fun way to keep clean, here is a beautiful and environmentally friendly alternative to pre-packaged wet napkins:

Citrus wipes
a fresh citrus and cucumber water for cleaning dirty fingers

3 lemons, thinly sliced rounds
2 limes, thinly sliced rounds
1 orange, thinly sliced rounds
1 cucumber, thinly sliced

Mix fruit in a large container. Add enough water to cover. Serve in a beautiful serving bowl or prepare individual finger bowls for guests. Present with cloth napkins.

Go on! Get some Dungeness crab and enjoy yourself!

PS, thanks to Chef Stephen Gibbs from Hands On Gourmet for showing me how to clean a crab!

November 16November 14

Los Angeles county on fire

Ashes Over Downtown, originally uploaded by JT3_11.

The air is thick with grey-black smoke. The air tastes of charred hardwood, smoking oil, and man-made objects that were never meant to be burned…My clothes smell like an old man’s pipe. Allergies are inflamed.

Just a few mountain ranges north of Los Angeles, thousands of acres burn. As the blaze destroys homes and fire erases every trace of hundreds of families’ histories, life continues in the buzzing metropolitan valley of industry.

Photo Credit: Justin Fox, of the band Tripdavon.

Though a state of emergency has been declared in LA County, you would never know it, looking at the faces of LA residents. The coffee shops are packed with latte-drinking gabbers. Breakfast diners crowd the outdoor restaurants. Hollywood farmers’ market regulars happily scan the organic produce stalls. In a city of disdain and relative unconsciousness, I feel like Chicken Little. Doesn’t anyone else notice how bad the air tastes?

I decide to skip my usual hike up Runyan Canyon and take an abridged shopping trip to the farmers’ market. With a head of cauliflower and a bunch of red-orange carrots in my shopping bags, I spot a couple walking past: they are wearing environmental masks made of soft, synthetic cloth that covers their mouth and nose. Reactionary, I think, as they pass by. But then, as the reality of the health hazards tally up in my mind, I find myself taking shallow, sips of air rather than deep breaths. Moments later, I begin to see waves of farmers’ market customers holding tee shirts, scarves, and coffee shop napkins over their mouths–makeshift masks from the compromised air– in hopes of filtering out some of the unseen contaminants.

I hasten my shopping and wheel my hook-and-go cart to the car. It’s time to go home to the relative safety of my home.

Since the fire began on Thursday, more than 34 square miles of Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange and Santa Barbara County have been burned. More than 800 homes and apartments had been destroyed.

November 14March 14

Trusted holiday pie bakers in Los Angeles

If you live a life too busy for making a pie (or you fear baking) this is the time of year when you have to get creative. It’s either assign dessert to your guests or find a great baker to do the work for you. Though it is uncouth to dish out restaurant take out to guests at your holiday party, there is no shame in serving anything out of a pretty, pink pastry box.

Sometimes, a masterful guest list will afford at least one dessert maker in the bunch. But more often then not, Holiday dinners are populated with people eager to share their favorite side dish.

So if you can’t find a pastry chef on your invite list, I highly recommend getting over the guilt of not being able to bake, and march yourself to a trusted, local bakery.

If you live in Los Angeles, here are some amazing options:

La Brea Bakery, the Original bakery

The Original Bakery
624 South La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone (323) 939-6813
Email holiday orders to: orders@labreabakery.com

Pies Cakes and Tarts

Starting this Saturday (and until the holidays are over) you can visit La Brea Bakery (starting at 9 am) for free samples of pie! Be sure to try the Spiced yam and pumpkin pureed Thanksgiving pie ($30), Apple Crumble ($18), Cherry crumble ($20) and the toasted pecan and molasses Pecan tart ($28). Every pie is baked fresh, daily and can be ordered in advance for the holidays.

For a great cheese plate, be sure to pick up these delicious breads, created by my culinary hero, Nancy Silverton.

If your idea of a dessert course includes a plate of oozing triple creams and soft rounds of chevre, La Brea Bakery’s holiday loaves are just the thing you need to make the cheese course sing. Have the bread masters bag you a loaf of apple spice bread ($6.75), a Cranberry walnut round ($6.75), or the intensely flavored (and incredibly heavy) Fruit and Nut Bread ($13).

*Oh! And if you go by the bakery on Saturday, be sure to try the custard cake. Though this treat is quick to sell out, it’s worth going in early for a taste of the sweet, egg custard and flaky crust. Oh. My. God.

Tell George (the lovely British man behind the counter) that Food Woolf sent you!

SUSINA BAKERY

from robjtak at flickr

Susina Bakery
7122 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.934.7900

Jenna, the owner, is as sweet as the desserts she creates. Try the freshly baked apple pie, pecan pie, or the cherry pie (each $28). Look like a culinary god when you serve the quince tart with vanilla hazelnut crumble or cranberry tart with vanilla hazelnut crumble (8 inch – $28; 10 inch – $42; 12 inch – $58). Don’t sleep on the carrot cake (9 inch – $35; 11 inch – $55; 13 inch – $75.00) or pumpkin cheesecake (8 inch – $35; 10 inch – $55).

Photo by milford cubicle on flickr

Place your holiday order in advance and you won’t need to wait long for your gorgeous and tasty holiday treats.

Susina’s staff are incredibly friendly and capable–a breath of fresh air in a town littered with LA bakers that would rather be rude than give good customer service. With desserts so delicious and carefully made, you’ll be sure to boast you picked it out.

November 10November 14

Old Testament Foodies, Lego Style

Ever find yourself surfing the Internet via Stumble Upon (a randomizing search engine of popular websites), and land on a website that you have no business being on?

Curious, you look a little longer than you should. You snoop around. You click on a few links, just to see where they bring you…

Well friends, that is exactly what happened to me today when I stumbled across the Brick Testament, a website that offers well produced re-enactments of Old Testament Bible stories…with Legos. It was just so strange, I just had to share this with you.

Click around the site long enough and you start to wonder if maybe, maybe this Rev. Smith has a secret, secondary agenda. I don’t know. Call me crazy…but there’s definitely something naughty going on over there at Brick Testament…

It’s a strange, strange world out there my friends.

November 9

Eat cheap with sweet potatoes

A delicious, nutritious, and satisfying meal for just 40-cents

I thought I knew what sweet potatoes tasted like. In my taste memory, sweet potatoes were dense, mealy, and slightly sweet. Yet, despite the millions of meals I’ve eaten and the multitudes of hours spent reading about food, I was mistaken. My outdated perspective on the sweet potato got a serious overhaul recently, when I tasted a baked yam, fresh from the oven. I was dumbfounded by its complex flavors, natural sweetness, and its unadulterated texture; it was creamy like a savory pudding.

I’ve had my share of sweet potato fries, but have never tasted anything like this.

How could something so simple–a yam baked in an oven for an hour and sprinkled with salt and pepper–taste so complex? I did a taste-double take. Wait-a-minute, I said to myself, didn’t this unadulterated and undeniably delectable sweet potato cost only forty-cents?

Sweet potato (or yam as it is commonly called in some parts of the states) is a distant relative of the potato. Native to South America, the sweet potato is thought to have originated from the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico and the mouth of the Orinoco River in Venezuela. The tuber’s color ranges in shades between yellow, reddish-orange, white and purple.

Besides complex carbohydrates, sweet potatoes are rich in nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and vitamin B6. A baked yam is simply decadent with a smidgen of butter and just a pinch of salt and pepper. At approximately 90 calories per serving, the sweet flavor and rich texture will make you feel like you’re eating something far more sinful.

According to one statistic, sweet potato consumption in the US is down dramatically. In the 1920’s the average American ate 13 pounds of sweet potatoes a year. Now, the average American eats less than two pounds in 12 months.

Here’s to changing that statistic

With economic times such as they are, the low-priced sweet potato is a great tasting way to fill your belly and save some serious money. At my local farmers’ market I bought four large yams for just $1.20. Not many meals taste as good as my thirty-cent yam.

For a great snack or a no-prep meal

Wrap sweet potato in tin foil and bake, for about an hour in a 350-degree oven. Unwrap and serve with a touch of butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake off a number of sweet potatoes at once. Save uneaten potatoes for a great side dish for another meal. Mash with a fork and reheat the yams with a touch of milk (cream or soy milk will also work), a pinch of nutmeg, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper for under 15-minute mashed potatoes.

November 8

How to save money at the Farmers market

When money is this tight, is it possible to shop at a farmers’ market and still save money? The answer is yes: if you’re careful.

If you want to stay committed to your food-shopping budget, you have to be focused at the farmers’ market. As the seasons change and food cravings kick in, a bevy of culinary darlings threaten to coax every last dollar from your wallet and secreted away emergency funds. It’s easy to be blinded by the glory, when there are sun kissed Meyer lemons at 50-cents a piece, a bundle of herbs for just a dollar, beautiful apples for $3.50/lb, and buffalo mozzarella for $16/lb. The farmers’ market offers great bargains alongside cash absorbing luxury items.

DON’T BRING MORE THAN YOU CAN SPEND

Even though this may seem obvious, if you want to stay within your budget it is important not to bring a wallet full of cash to the farmers’ market. Don’t tempt yourself with an “emergency twenty” hidden away in the back of your wallet. If you’re a consummate food lover, all it takes is a glistening berry, a remarkable piece of fish, a gorgeous slab of beef, or a sample of nutty cheese to throw your budget out the window and motivate you to empty your wallet in a second. Do yourself and your budget a favor and leave the extra bucks at home.

ASK BEFORE YOU BUY

Though I may be careful when shopping at the supermarket, there’s something hypnotic about the farmers’ market. I lose all reason. Unlike a grocery store chain that entices me with price tags, the farmers’ lure me with glorious nature at the peak of freshness. The product is beguiling.

When I first started shopping at the farmers market I approached purchasing fruits and vegetables like a jazz player: I let impulse guide me. Though this was a great way to “get my chops” at the market, my impulsive shopping habits took quite a bite out of my weekly budget.

I’m not alone. For many food lovers, food pricing at the farmers’ market is an after thought. For every inexpensive sweet potato there is a tempting (and pricey) Honshimeji Mushroom. Though it may seem obvious, in order to stay true to a budget, you have to ask for pricing before even considering a product. Though asking for prices seriously “harshes” my improvisational style, the staccato sound of fifteen dollars a pound is enough to turn my inspiration elsewhere. And for someone like me that’s easily swayed by guilt, I now ask for pricing on items before I even touch the product I’m considering. Otherwise, that handful of delicious looking berries I spent ten minutes picking through will end up in my shopping bag–despite their astronomical price.

IMPROVISATION VS PLANNING

In the style of Miles Davis, I let the market inspire my culinary riffs. The early days of my improvisational style, unfortunately, were costly. After several weeks with a crisper filled with wilted carrots, moldy mushrooms and soggy broccoli for dishes that never got made, I realized it was time to become a more proficient and focused improviser.

Have a clear theme in mind

Before leaving for the market, I plan the number of meals I want to make. Sunday night and Monday night are my evenings to make dinner. With the number of dishes I want to make in mind, I walk around the market with my hands cemented behind my back: a move that keeps me from reaching into my pockets for my market dollars. I let my creative mind wander and allow the fruit, vegetable, and meat vendors to entice me with their products. Then I formulate the menu I want to create BEFORE buying anything. Then, with a clear menu in mind, I return to the vendors that inspired me.

FOLLOW A RECIPE

Sometimes, even a well-laid out shopping list can’t help. You may have a specific recipe you want to follow, but sometimes a new arrival at the market can distract you and inspire a whole new addition to the menu. Be aware of these impulses. Maybe one additional side dish isn’t a bad thing–but be careful not to lose the plot. Sudden inspirations, however, have turned simple chicken dinners into an elaborate, multi-course tasting menus because I couldn’t help myself. Sure, we enjoyed all the intricate side dishes and courses of food, but in the end my budget was busted.

Now, before I leave for the market, I peruse my favorite cookbooks and come up with specific meals I want to prepare. Using my shopping list as a guide, I stay focused on the list and don’t allow myself to be tempted by every fruit and vegetable that just came into season. If it’s fresh today, it will most likely be available next week. When I find myself being tempted at stand after stand, I start a mental list of what looks good so I can start planning for next week’s menu.

MULTIPLE MEAL PLANNING

If you’re shopping for more than one meal, think about how to maximize your shopping. By thinking big, you can double up on your meal plans to create multiple meals. Buy a whole chicken, roast it for dinner, and use the left-over meat for chicken salad the next day. By maximizing left-over possibilities, you’ll reduce cooking time and create a secondary meal for the next day.

BUY HEARTY

When in doubt, buy items that will last longer than a few days. Produce like potatoes, apples, oranges, and squash have a substantial storage life and can be bought in bulk. Having these low-price and hearty items on hand for a last minute snack not only saves time, the thinking ahead can also save you a fair bit of money.

What are your tricks to saving money at the farmers’ market?

November 5

Foodwoolf on The Kitchn

Over at The Kitchn, an inspiring food-blog, the editors are running a Pie Bakeoff. Readers are asked to bake and photograph their favorite pie and submit the recipe for judgment. The pie bake off is, as far as I’m concerned, a true challenge: it tests my weakest cooking skills.

In my entire lifetime of cooking, I’ve technically never made a pie. I did make a delicious nectarine and rhubarb pie once, but it required culinary training wheels: a pre-baked crust.

At the beginning of the month, I lurked on the Apartment Therapy’s Kitchn website and read about other people’s pies and wondered if I would ever build up the courage to try out one on my own. When my cravings for my Grandmother’s banana cream pie overtook me, I decided to try my hand at creating my first pie from scratch. And, as I feared, I was not completely successful.

The crust was a perfect texture–crisp and flaky with a touch of flavor boosting salt–but the custard was runny because I omitted the baked meringue element from the original recipe.

Yesterday, while trying to convince myself that my tasty, albeit soupy, cream pie wasn’t so bad, the editors of the Kitchn asked readers what kept them from baking pie. With a culinary “wound” that fresh, I couldn’t help but be honest.

I admitted I am scared silly about making desserts because I can’t make mistakes without it equaling failure. I’m an impulsive cook. I hate reading recipes all the way through BEFORE starting them. I hate EXACT measurements. I like to manipulate recipes. But with baking, I know that if I miss one small and important element I will ruin the entire baking endeavor.

And that’s what I said over at the Kitchn…and they responded with a survey (inspired by my comment!) that posed the question to readers: even if you love to cook, is it possible you’ve never made a pie from scratch?

I sincerely hope I’m not alone.

Do you fear baking as much as I do?

* I should admit that I recently made a crust-free pie for my Foodbuzz.com Iron Chef Challenge. Goes to show you I’ll do anything to avoid making a pie…

November 4November 14

Craving donuts

Obama with Donuts in DC, originally uploaded by p373.

I woke up this Election Day like a kid on Christmas morning. My eyes fluttered open, hours before I usually awake. I excitedly pulled back the covers and scampered from bed. I showered and dressed in a handful of minutes. I was eager to get to the polls and make my vote count.

Like a child on Christmas morning, I was plagued with cravings. I desired a gift I’d been dreaming of for years. And, unexpectedly, I hungered for a food that could match my dreams of a sweeter future.

In a word, I craved donuts.

From the minute my eyes opened, I hungered for powdered sugar and fried dough. When I took my shower, I imagined a pink box filled with frosted crullers, honeydews, chocolate donuts, and Boston Creams. As I dressed before my mirror, I schemed. The only justification for something as decadent as donuts, is to share them with as many people possible; truly, a shared sin is a much easier sin to bear. So what better place to succumb to the peccadillo of donut eating, than in a line of ballot-casting, patriotic neighbors?

I suggested my confectionary idea to my husband at the local coffee shop, but he refused to participate in my calorie-rich indiscretion. After offering to accompany me on my trip to the donut shop and observe me in dietary indulgence, I conceded to ignore my sugary craving and head straight for the polls.

Without even a crumb of fried dough in my stomach, I joined the line of men and women preparing to do their civic duty.

I carefully cast my vote, one black circle of ink at a time. When I was finished, a woman with curly hair presented me with a sticker that read “I voted” and in a sing song voice she offered, “Thank you for participating in the democratic process.”

As I left the polling station my craving for donuts left me. The only desire I can allow is my candidate winning this presidential election.

October 30

Penne tre colori: Something wonderful from almost nothing

Penne tre colori, originally uploaded by Foodwoolf.

Desperation inspires an act of innovation

Whenever my refrigerator is empty, I see an opportunity to make something from nothing. Like the generations of women before me that created culinary masterpieces from scraps, I see possibilities in my limited larder.

With nothing but a container of leftover penne, a head of purple cauliflower, and a handful of steadily wilting radishes to inspire me, I let the ingredients dictate my recipe.

Never having sautéed a radish before, I heavily salted the vegetable (as I do when serving it raw on buttered bread), sliced it in thin rounds, and sautéed it in butter. I was delighted to discover that cooking mellowed the radishes’ sharp bite and offered a lovely earthiness and delightful color to the simple dish. The cauliflower’s sweetness was coaxed from a simple sauté and a generous dose of salt and pepper.

This dish is not only simple but incredibly beautiful and satisfying; it will be a standard in my cooking repertoire, regardless of the status of my larder.

Penne Tre colori
Serves 2

1 head of purple cauliflower (regular cauliflower will do, but it won’t look as pretty!)
1 small bunch of breakfast radishes (red, pink and white radish), thinly sliced rounds
3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic
½ bag of penne pasta (cooked)
1 tbsp butter
Sea salt
Pepper
Finishing olive oil (about 1 tbsp)
pinch of chopped tarragon

Clean the cauliflower, removing outer leaves (if there are any) and the bottom of the stem, leaving at least 2 inches of the cauliflower’s trunk. Slice the cauliflower vertically from stem to florets, about ¼ inch slices. Don’t worry if the florets break apart.

Slice the radishes in uniformly thin (1/8-inch) slices.

Heat a small sauté pan over medium high heat with 2-½ tbsp of olive oil. Using the back of your knife, bruise the clove of garlic. Add to pan, let cook for 1 minute. Add cauliflower and let sauté untouched, for 3 minutes, or until it is nicely browned on one side. Toss to allow cauliflower to cook on the other side. As both sides brown, turn down flame and cook. Keep on flame until the cauliflower is cooked almost all the way through, about 10-12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove garlic clove and set cauliflower aside in a warm and covered bowl.

Meanwhile, another sauté pan, heat over medium high heat. When hot, add the butter. When the butter melts, add the radishes and a generous pinch of sea salt and grated pepper. Taste for seasoning. Sauté until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add the pinch of chopped tarragon and toss.

Add the remaining ½ teaspoon of olive oil to the warm (and empty) cauliflower sauté pan. Once the oil is heated, add left over pasta (if using left-over, dry pasta) and reheat over low flame until warm (about 4 minutes). If using fresh from the pot pasta, simply drain. Add hot pasta to a warm bowl with sautéed vegetables. Toss.

Add ¼ cup to ½ cup grated Parmesan to pasta, toss. Taste pasta for seasoning, adjust if necessary. Plate in warm bowls. Finish with a drizzle of finishing olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Serve immediately.

“Blessed are those who expect little. They are seldom disappointed.”

—Tony Hillerman

October 27November 14

Saint Pio at the Hungry Cat

Saint Pio at the Hungry Cat, originally uploaded by Foodwoolf.

Looking over each and every burger at The Hungry Cat restaurant is Saint Pio, the patron saint of burgers.

October 27November 14

Michelin Guide Star Winners Wrap up

ghosts on the Vegas strip

MICHELIN STAR ROUND UP:
Michelin Starred Las Vegas restaurants
***Three star: Joël Robuchon
**Two Star: Alex, Guy Savoy, Picasso
*One Star: Alizé, Andre’s (Downtown), Aureole, Bradley Ogden, Daniel Boulud Brasserie, DJT, L’Ateilier de Joël Robuchon, Le Cirque, Michael Mina, miX, Nobu, Restaurant Charlie, Wing Lei

LOS ANGELES
**Two star: Melisse, Providence, Spago, Urasawa

*One star: Asanebo, Bastide, CUT, The Dining room at the Langham, Gordon Ramsay at the London, Hatfield’s, Le Botte, Mori Sushi, Ortolan, Osteria Mozza, Patina, Sona, Sushi Zo, Trattoria Tre Venezie, Valentino, Water Grill

October 26March 14

Notes from the Road: Part III–Food Paparazzi

There I was, having coffee with Lesley Balla— the most powerful food gossip in Los Angeles–when she casually asked me what I was doing on Wednesday.

“Want to go to Las Vegas for the Michelin Guide awards party?” she asked.

Ask me to go to a Friday night movie premier and I’ll tell you I’m busy. Offer me a ticket to a great foodie event—any day of the week–and I’ll be in my closet picking out something to wear. I’m just that easy.

Breathless with enthusiasm, I volunteered myself for the road trip and quickly rescheduled my workweek and packed a bag in less than thirty minutes. I couldn’t wait to hit the road.

Meanhile, Back in Vegas

Delayed by our dinner and kitchen tour with pretty boy chef, Ludo Lefebvre, Lesley Balla and I rush through the subterranean world of the Wynn in order to get to the party on time. We struggle to pass the galumphing gamblers and dodge a line of Japanese tourists, all in our high-heeled boots.

We arrive at the Michelin Guide Awards event some thirty minutes late as Jean-Luc, the man behind the Michelin Guide, finishes his congratulatory speech to guidebook winners.

Balla and I head straight to the bar for a strong glass of fortification once Jean Luc’s speech is complete. With a Manhattan in hand, we are ready to face the crowd.

The lights make guests look like shadows against the round, white couches and sparkling blue water of the Wynn Hotel‘s European pool. There are food stands from Michelin starred Las Vegas restaurants to entice guests. Tables are covered with mason jar rillettes and pate; baskets of French Fries; smoking plates of teriyaki and pristine sushi; a pastry chef offers gelato and fluffy pastry. Past the bright rental lights and boisterous catering chefs, we spy familiar faces of Los Angeles chefs gathered by the deep end of the pool.

Past the deep end

I scan the crowd. Long black hair and midnight black leather catches my eye. “Oh! Look!” I call out to Balla, like a tourist on a jungle safari. “There’s Kerry Simon!” I take a blurry picture of Chef Simon, of SimonLA, without a flash–careful to maintain a certain amount of dignified distance.

As only two food bloggers can, we pull hand held digital cameras from our purses and snap photos of chefs and the food they’re eating.

“Oh! Look! There’s Keller!” Balla says, and scurries away to grab a picture.

The energy of the night quickly increases as I begin to recognize more and more of my favorite chefs. There’s Daniel Boulud (Daniel Boulud Brasserie, café Boulud, Bar Boulud), Thomas Keller (Per Se, French Laundry), and Morihiro Onodera of Mori Sushi.

I put down my drink and stand wide-legged like a tripod, in hopes of stilling myself enough to grab a picture without a flash. I point my lens at Ortolon’s Chef/Owner, Christophe Eme, and his actress wife, Jeri Ryan as they talk with Michael Cimarusti of Providence.

Balla joins me and the two of us snap photo after blurry photo of the group, until I notice a certain unhappy look in Jeri Ryan’s eye. Realizing we look like a pair of food paparazzi, I make a move to introduce myself to the couple, only to discover their extreme dislike for us and our impromptu photo session has already been cemented.

From Eater LA: “The only one not smiling: Ortolan chef/owner Christophe Eme. The rest: Wife Jeri Ryan, and the Cimarustis”

After making small talk with the Cimarusti’s and the wonderful and delightful Donoto Poto (Providence’s GM), Balla and I quickly depart for another grouping of power chefs.

Celebrating (L to R): Morihiro Onodera (Mori Sushi), Donato Poto (Providence), Jean-Luc Naret (Michelin), Kerry Simon (Simon LA), David Kinch (Manresa), Michael Cimarusti (Providence), Christopher Kostow (Meadowood) from LA Eater

As the champagne flows and back-slapping congratulations are passed from chef to chef, the air around us becomes increasingly electric. Flashes pop as groups of happy chefs pose for pictures. Though there are only a few press people invited to the event, the flash bulbs blaze, making the chefs look like movie stars at a premier.

Josia Citrin reminds Lesley Balla of his two stars

As the food tables are picked over and the event ends, the guests share after party plans. Some will go out for a late night meal. Others will go to
the hotel’s nightclub for dancing.

At the after-hours party, I have a couple of glasses of champagne to celebrate. With the lights dimmed, Michael Jackson classics rocking on the loud speakers, and celebrity chefs buzzing around me, things start to get rather fuzzy.

Thomas Keller and wife watch as Amy, the Wynn Publicist, gets a photograph with Daniel Boulud

Huber Keller, of Fleur de Lis, tears it up on the dance floor

October 24November 14

Notes from the Road: A road trip with Eater LA

from Mikep on flickr

A helicopter hovers above the smoldering San Bernadino mountains as the car speeds West on the 15 highway. I’m riding shotgun in the car of Los Angeles’ most powerful food gossip, Lesley Balla. Our destination: the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas for the Michelin Restaurant Guide awards party.

As the voice of Eater LA—the restaurant industry’s main resource for insider information–Balla is a powerful media presence that restaurateurs solicit and avoid, depending on the ever fluctuating status of their business operations. Today, I’m hoping to witness what Balla does best, finding stories in the daily details and dramas of every day life in the restaurant business.

Balla fights to keep her car at race-car speed, as the gale force Santa Anna crosswinds threaten to nudge the Honda off the highway. I hold a crumpled tissue against my nose as the dust and wind tickle my allergies and make my eyes well up with false tears. Balla eyes me with concern as she flips on air vent, hoping not to catch whatever ails me.

For two strangers on a road trip, the four-hour drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas offers an even amount of time for two chatty women to get to know each other. The burning hills blur as we compare dining experiences and trade stories about the formative moments that made us dedicate our lives to writing. We cackle as we share off the record stories of lost chefs, addled servers, demanding restaurant customers and restaurant gossip too juicy for either of us to contemplate even writing about.

As we travel the straight path of highway to Vegas, I realize it’s been ten years since my last (albeit brief) visit to the gambler’s city. A decade ago, I stopped in Las Vegas–for the nanosecond it took to lose my one lucky dollar in a slot machine–during a cross-country journey from my home in Massachusetts to an unknown future in writing in LA. In just ten years, glossy food magazines and industry insiders like Balla describe Las Vegas as a culinary city transformed where the all-you-can-eat buffets have been replaced by Michelin starred chefs from all over the world.

By the time we arrive at the towering Wynn Hotel, a causal observer might mistake Balla and I as old friends. We step from the car wearing a matching California uniform of faded jeans, baggy shirts and flip-flops and a road weary look that only four hours in a car can give. Once inside as we check in, it becomes clear that even if Balla never considers me BFF material, I am about to become the very lucky, second hand beneficiary of Balla’s media clout.

A bright-eyed hotel staffer joins us at the check in desk and insists on leading us to our rooms. The chirpy blonde leads us through of Wynn’s ornate lobby of polished gold and mirrors. I wince in embarrassment as I notice the snapping of my rubber flip-flops against the white marble floors. Our tour ends on the 11th floor when the young woman hands us each a set of keys to our two-bedroom suite overlooking the hotel’s extravagant four pools. Within minutes of her departure, a flock of hotel staffers arrive with plates of charcuterie and aged cheeses and lush bouquets of yellow roses and green orchids. Pardon us, they say. Would we mind if they came in? Mind? Are you kidding me?

Though there may be gaming rooms and three-star restaurants beckoning, Balla can think of nothing but blog deadlines. “I’ve got six more posts to do for the day,” she says as she methodically plugs in her laptop and starts typing. “I want to be done in enough time so we can grab some dinner before the party.” I check my watch. It’s 11 o’clock in the afternoon.

From my separate bedroom, I can hear Lesley clicking away at her computer while mid-day sunbathers lounge on white beach chairs eleven stories below us. Feeling guilty for not being a better journalistic side-kick, I scan the Internet for breaking restaurant news. I hope to find a news brief worthy enough to lighten Lesley’s blogging load, but as the hours pass and the shadow of the towering Wynn casts an early dusk on the pools below, I find am no further along in my search than when I started. Every lead I follow tracks back to Eater LA. And, despite my dogged attempts, every possible news source I search has already been picked clean by the woman blogging in the room next to me.

TWELVE POSTS TO PUT TO BED

By five o’clock, I’m still waiting for Balla to finish. For entertainment, I step onto the bathroom scale and, thanks to the fluffy rug underneath, the scale announces a series of false weights for me: 96 lbs., 88 lbs. I giggle at my childish thoughts that maybe, just maybe, the Wynn Hotel is a truly magical place with powers to revert me to my original teenage packaging. My childish dreams shatter quickly, after I move the scale onto the hard marble floor. The balanced equipment tells me in cold, digital numbers that not only am I quite a bit more than 100 pounds, it’s time for me to go on a diet.

With just a few minutes to spare before our dinner reservations, Lesley finishes with her final post of the day. She’s glowing as she steps into the room wearing a crisp black jacket and midnight-blue jeans. Her hair is wavy, like a Roman goddess, and she smiles like a woman sprung from jail. “Let’s get a glass of champagne!” she says as she sashays out of the room and makes a beeline for the elevator.

We talk about the months she spent researching the restaurant, hotel, and nightlife scene in Las Vegas for a project she once worked on as we walk the footbridge to the Palazzo Hotel. Half way across the bridge she stops. “My shoes are already killing me,” she says with a frown. Then, in the blink of an eye, she shrugs and keeps walking at her usual break-neck pace. “Guess I’ll just have to start the night with a martini, then.”

MORE TOMORROW…

October 16November 14

Amy Sedaris on Cookthink

Courtesy ThinkFilm/Warner Bros. Entertainment

Amy Sedaris is one funny bitch.*

Known to many as the odd-ball sister of the odd-duck author, David Sedaris, Amy Sedaris is many things–an outrageous comedian, unhinged actress, author, and quirky pastry chef.

Today in a Q & A with Cookthink, an on line food magazine, Amy Sedaris is asked about her love for food. In a classic Sedaris response to being asked what she would like to die with in her stomach, she replied, “a knife.”

More of the Cookthink interview

Cookthink: If heaven exists, what do you hope they have on the menu?
Sedaris: Spirits

Cookthink: If you came back as a fruit or a vegetable, which one would it be?
Sedaris: Strawberry. I like the idea of seeds on the outside.

The Hollywood Reporter announced today that David Letterman’s production company penned a deal with Sedaris and her “Stranger’s with Candy” writing/acting partner, Paul Dinello. The pair will create, write, and star in an unnamed series for 20th Century Fox. Let’s hope the show has something to do with food or her obsession with her pet rabbit. Then again…Knowing Sedaris, she might mix the two obsessions together and cook her beloved rabbit for comedy’s sake.

Sedaris drew a curious and dedicated fan base with her former Comedy Central series “Strangers with Candy” that she starred in with Dinello and Steven Colbert. In the series, her middle aged character, Jerri Blank–a self-admitted “boozer, loser and two time user”–leaves prison after several decades and decides to return home to start over where she left off. As a student at the local high school.

Here is a hillarious clip of Sedaris on Martha Stewart’s show while promoting her book, “I Like You, Entertaining under the Influence.”
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*I come from a fisherman’s village where swearing is not only allowed, but encouraged.

October 15

Movie Picnic

When times are tough some of us tighten our belts, cut corners, and save. Then, there are credit-loving others, that are quick to ignore their true finances and throw down plastic cards for the exciting whim that catches their eye.

I can go for long periods of time spending almost no money and then, like a dieter that finally sees results, I decide to treat myself. The trick is finding a reward that won’t break the bank. Because sometimes, it’s the getting of a reward that can ruin even the best behaved.

I’d like to wager that there’s a little bit of both extremes in all of us. So for the big spenders in all of us, I propose a new kind of entertainment:

The Movie Picnic

Skip dinner and movie and have a picnic in the theater! Make your favorite picnic foods and buy tickets to the great new film. Before the lights dim, pour a glass of wine and help yourself to your gourmet picnic!

INGREDIENTS:
–cured meats
–a mason jar rillette or pate
–A selection of cheese, one hard (Manchego), one medium (goat gouda) and one soft (brie, camembert).
–Candied or mixed nuts
–A mini baguette or fruit and nut loaf
–Fruit, an apple or a pear
–Bottle of wine (a sparkler, rose, white or red!)
–a bottle of sparkling water
–Chocolate bar for dessert
–home made cookies

Pack a handful of kitchen towels. Towels do double duty as both a napkin and a way to protect wine glasses. I always pack our thick, glass Crate and Barrel “O” wine glasses for a touch of unexpected fanciness.

Bring one extra kitchen towel for any surprise messes, a mini cutting board if you have one, a wine opener and a cheese knife.

“Movies! Movies!”

October 11November 14

Local pub stops crime in my neighborhood

from LAPD crime maps

The Village Idiot, a Los Angeles bar and restaurant, is partially responsible for the first successful apprehension of three armed robbers in the Melrose/Fairfax district. A fast thinking security bike officer employed by the local bar helped thwart an armed robbery in the process by three armed men and a woman driving the getaway vehicle.

At 12:20 a.m. the security officer from X-Zero approached Martel Ave. and Waring Street as a man held at gunpoint was being robbed by three men and a woman. The officer approached the scene without being observed and confronted the robbers’ look out man. The officer contacted a Melrose patrol unit in the vicinity of the crime. Fearing capture, the men quickly fled the scene. The X-Zero officer aided the victim and was able to give valuable descriptions of the suspects to the responding police units.

Police quickly arrived at the scene including a helicopter and K-9 units. Along with a sawed-off shotgun and clothing used for the robbery, three suspects were apprehended after a dozen residential blocks were blocked off and searched for several hours. The suspects, described as Hispanic males with shaved heads, in their mid 20’s, were arrested on the scene.

All of the victim’s valuables were recovered and there have been no reports of injury. This would be first arrest associated with the recent crime wave to hit Melrose Neighborhood.

The predominantly Jewish enclave of the Melrose/Fairfax district has recently been plagued by several armed robberies for the past few months. Traditionally a low crime area, the neighborhood has seen a huge spike in armed robberies of both pedestrians and local businesses such as the Coffee Bean—that brazenly take place both day and night. Jewish families, film and finance industry executives, students and concerned neighbors and businesses have joined together to return peace and safety to their streets.

October 10November 14

Gastrosexual Nation

Photo from tvscoop.tv

Dr. Paul Levy, the man who purportedly coined the term foodie, has come up with another keeper. Following some intensive research on the cooking habits of British men, he’s created a lexicon that describes a new breed of pleasure seeking men in the kitchen: the Gastrosexual.

In Emergence of the Gastrosexual, a new study commissioned by food company PurAsia, recently reported data showing that a growing number of food loving men spend time in the kitchen as a way to define themselves and their relationships.

The Gastrosexual, Levy explains, is someone that loves food for more than sustenance. According to the study, the gastrosexual enjoys the sensuality of cooking, the richness of experiencing good food and the effect it has on others. This new breed of food obsessed men are upwardly mobile 25 to 44-year-olds that cook not only as a hobby but to impress, and even seduce, a partner.

The Gastrosexual believes that men in the kitchen can still be manly. According to study findings, popular macho chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver paved the way for these gastronomically excited men to feel comfortable—and sexy—in the kitchen.

MORE THAN JUST A PASSING FANCY

The men interviewed are not just occasional chefs, the study shows. These food loving men cook frequently and believe that time spent in the kitchen is the most creative and enjoyable aspect of domestic work. What’s more, gastrosexuals cook for potential lovers as well as friends. The study showed that men often hosted dinner parties in their house as much as once a month. Most gastrosexuals enjoy cooking a wide range of foods, especially Asian foods, which is good news for food companys like PurAsia.

One interesting problem facing the culinary Romeo’s, however, the gastrosexual hates cleaning up. Let’s hope the lucky recipients of all this culinary love enjoy washing dishes.