8.31.10

Catching up- simple summer meal.

I made honey lime chicken (inspired by the marinade article in Sunset magazine) with a peach salsa and fresh corn on the cob.

Chicken:

Mix 3 tablespoons honey, the juice of 3 or 4 limes (approx. 1/3 cup), small handful of cilantro finely chopped, 2 tbsp olive oil, 3 tablespoons sweet thai chili sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the marinade over a half chicken, cut into its respective parts (if you don't have enough marinade, make more). You can marinate for 1 hour to 1 day, depending on how forward-thinking you are (I marinated mine for ~45 minutes). Grill it on the bbq (alternately I have baked it in a 350 degree oven and sauteed it in a pan, your choice).

Salsa:

Combine in a bowl: 3 just-ripe peaches or nectarines (I used white peaches) diced, 1 jalapeno finely chopped (I remove the seeds and membrane, depends on how spicy you like things), 1 anaheim pepper finely chopped, a couple of tomatoes diced, 1 cup corn, 1/2 tsp srirarcha, 1/2 cup cilantro, juice of 1 lime, salt to taste.

Corn:

You know what to do.

8.30.10

Zig's: Home of the Bullet

One of my LA stand-bys, Zig's is a diner with a lot of valley "flair". Frequented by a variety of characters (ranging from bikers in leather to goths with mathematical equations tattooed on their arms to old men in Hawaiian shirts) Zig's provides consistently delicious, heart unhealthy American fare.

We got a chocolate shake, fries, a turkey sandwich (delicious, thick deli turkey), and a burger (traditional with thousand island! fab fab). I think the whole meal cost a grand total of $14.00.

8.29.10

Rustic Canyon - Wonderful meal. My first dining experience here was good but I wasn't blown away. On this, my second, visit it was heavenly. Ordered:
appetizers
- Ricotta gnocchi with duck ragu - generous portion of meat, the ragu reminded me of my favorite from Osteria Mozza.
- Sweet corn agnolotti with caramelized corn and parmesan (or as everyone now feels the need to say on menus, "parmigiano-reggiano") - spectacular. I want a lifetime supply.
drink
- mottled peach with basil and prosecco - fine but nothing special, the peach was not that flavorful but it tasted refreshing and summer-y.
mains
- a niman pork chop with peaches, corn, and basil - a bit disappointing, the meat was slightly overcooked.
- the BURGER !! with caramelized onions, arugula, house made pickles, sharp cheddar and an herb remoulade - I have decided that this is my favorite burger of life, thus far (even better than Spruce). It isn't over the top, they don't try anything too elaborate it is just well seasoned and has great toppings.
- Branzino with roasted artichokes, confit tomatoes, eggplant and a few more veggies - good, straightforward (ordered by the health-minded member of the group who enjoyed it but declared that next time he would be ordering the burger).
If you wanted insight as to how the chef at Rustic Canyon, Evan Funke, prepares his burger click here (although you may prefer to be ignorant re: the fat that goes into making a sublime burger).

8.23.10

Mozza2Go - Another Blackboard Eats inspired meal.

The food was great and the service dismal. Ordered: Roasted red pepper focaccia a la Nancy Silverton, only offered on Monday nights; meatballs al forno (I happily ate the leftovers over fresh pasta as a midnight snack the following night); Mario's lasagna - fabulous bechamel. Almost seems unfair to call it lasagna because it was so superior to anything I have ever encountered that goes by the same name.
Pizzas: squash blossom with burrata and tomatoes (yum); Mozza's version of the 'meat lover's pizza' - speck, fennel sausage, salami, and pancetta (one piece is a meal unto itself, I had three meals' worth).

Click here for Saveur's version of the squash blossom pizza.

Summer Fruit Buckle

Summer Fruit Buckle (aka throw in anything you have around) - adapted from an LA Times recipe. Crumb topping - Sift 1/2 cup flour and 1/3 cup sugar. Add the zest of two lemons, a generous dash of salt, and cut in a 1/2 stick of butter. Toss in about 1 cup of oats. Cover and chill.
Cake - Grease a 9x9 pan and preheat oven to 350. Whisk together a generous 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg in a medium bowl. Cream six tbsps butter, 3/4 cup sugar, and the zest of one lemon until light. Add two eggs one at a time.

Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, one third at a time, alternating with (a hefty) 1/2 cup buttermilk (start and end with dry). Once everything is incorporated fold in the fruit - I used two enormous peaches (sliced), two plums (sliced as well) and 3/4 cup blueberries. Pour the batter into the greased pan.

8.20.10

Los Toros, Chatsworth -
Best meal deal of the week. To start: an ample supply of salsa, chips and piping hot bean dip (all you can eat bean dip . . . mexican cuisine at its best). I got the "luncheon special" - carnitas burrito (filled with rice and refried beans), served with rice, refried beans (of course), and guacamole, all accompanied by a blended margarita = $6.75!!

8.17.10

Shiro in Pasadena -
We started by ordering the grilled baby artichokes with a light arugula salad (attractive, but weird metallic taste) and also chose a shrimp mousse ravioli with maitake mushrooms in a wild mushroom cream sauce. The ravioli was the best dish of the night with a wonderful mushroomy flavor; although I must say that the shrimp filling was not at all mousse-like.
Main courses: Sonoma duck breast in an orange sauce (very rare but good), black cod marinated in mirin and miso (à la Matsuhisa) with japanese eggplant (tasty but the skin was not quite as wonderfully crisped as the Matsuhisa version. For Nobu's recipe click here), and, for the main event, whole sizzling catfish with Ponzu sauce and fresh cilantro (more about the presentation probably than the actual food). Good not great. Being a starving student I thought the prices bordered on offensive, but with my Blackboard Eats discount it was almost worth it.

8.16.10

Homegrown tomatoes with fresh basil and burrata for an afternoon snack.


For dinner I made fish tacos with mahi mahi and a cilantro-lime slaw.
Recipe: I used two mahi mahi filets to serve 3 people. Season the mahi mahi with salt and pepper, chop four cloves garlic and about 1/2 cup of cilantro and rub those onto the fish. I then put the fish into a dish and let it marinate while preparing the rst of the dish. For the slaw: slice a half head of cabbage toss it into a bowl and add in the juice of 1 or 2 limes, 3/4 cup cilantro, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper, and sriracha to taste. Mix it all together and set aside. Open a can of black beans and warm them on the stove top. I chopped some avocado and cherry tomatoes to use as toppings. To finish the dish heat a pan with a little bit of olive oil, once warm place the mahi mahi in the pan and sear it for about 4 minutes on the first side and then flip it and leave it on the other side for two more minutes. Remove from the heat and break the fish into chunks. Warm some corn tortillas and pile on whatever toppings you please (I served mine with slaw, beans, tomatoes, avocado and a healthy dollop of sour cream. Next time I might swap in some radishes and queso fresco.).

Vacation - posts from the city of angels

No better place to start than an LA institution.

3 a.m. fries, blintzes and a vanilla shake at Canters. Delish.

8.12.10

Ad Hoc, Part II - Too tasty not to post.
First course - Broccolini Salad with a poached hen's egg (why would they specify "hen". . . as opposed to a rooster's?), radishes, red onion, croutons (actually fried bread fresh-baked from Bouchon), lardons (aka bacon), and (tondo) balsamic vinegar (other worldly).
Main course - a pork porterhouse from Snake River Farms. I got curious about the term porterhouse, having never heard it in reference to pork, and discovered that for a steak to be classified as porterhouse the tenderloin must be at least 1.25 inches thick, I think ours was close to 3.
It was served with sauteed romaine, which I thought would be terrible but was actually pleasant and wonderfully sweet, red quinoa, cauliflower, shaved shiitakes, stewed nantes carrots with a very delicate curry sauce and finally a small drizzle of parsley puree. The cheese course consisted of a sheep's milk cheese, Cana de Oveja, with flavor flav plums, candied pecans, and honey. For dessert they served a peach and nectarine pie with housemade vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.