Photographic Lunch at Portos

Ropa Vieja. Or, Old Clothes. Cuban-style carne machaca (stewy with mild heat, and full flavor).

Photographic Lunch at La Grande Orange

Muesli. Like cold, sweet, milky, oaty, porridge.

how do you like them apples?

Sauced.

Peel and chop green apples. In a covered pot, let them sit over low heat with a few slices of lemon. Stir occasionally.

The easiest ace in my deck.

Best f-ing meal I've eaten

...at home in a long time: pasta tossed with sautéed green chard with sliced garlic, lemon, coriander, salt, and parm. MAN-o-MAN!

SO good. Just had to tell you.

Milk: The Other White Gold

For you squares who don't already think milk is super cool and funky fresh, this is my last attempt at convincing you.



Get with it, losers.

Bring home the bacon

If there are any rich benefactors out there who read this blog, perhaps you'd consider making this swine-lover's year with this supreme gift, a membership the Bacon of the Month club. I know its nothing new, but seriously, what a great holiday gift idea. I'll think of you every time it comes in the mail, which is twelve times-a-year, much more than you can say for, say, a fruitcake. My address is 438 N. Ogden Dr. Los Angeles, CA 90036. Merci et joyeux noël.

and now for another...

Thanksgiving pie that is. Certainly not Alice Waters approved, this one is in the Sandra Lee vein: peanut butter pie with pre-baked crust. Mostly mixing, and fairly excellent in the way that extra creamy peanut butter in pie crust could not be anything but -- excellent.



1 (8oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 tbs butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
1 cooked pie crust

Whip cream and set aside. Mix together cheese, peanut butter, sugar, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gently fold in whipped cream, a third at a time until combined. Pour into pie crust and refrigerate.

There was no pumpkin pie at my Thanksgiving, BUT...

Cousin Jonnie and Eve whipped out the recipe for Barbara Treves' Apple Pie, which took best in show at Evan Kleinman's Good Food Pie Contest last week. Beautiful (thanks to Eve), with uncomplicated flavor and a clean vanilla scent.




Recipe:
1-1/2 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup unbleached, organic all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla powder
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
3 T sugar
1-1/4 cup sweet butter, unsalted (freshly made if possible)
1 Tablespoon white vinegar, chilled
6 - 8 Tablespoons ice water

Measure out all dry ingredients, combine and place in freezer, keep butter & liquid ingredients in refrigerator for at least one hour prior to preparation.

When ready, add dry ingredients to food processor and pulse to mix thoroughly. Add butter cubes and pulse until mixture resembles pea-sized meal. Add vinegar, pulse to mix then add ice water, 1 T at a time, until dough begins to stick together and when pinched by hand, holds together. Remove from processor and transfer to work surface. Divide the dough into two equal parts and gently form into balls, and wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Filling
4 Tablespoons sweet butter
12 organic apples from local farmers market (mixture of Granny Smith, Fuji or other tart, crisp apples the best) – peeled, cored and sliced.
1 vanilla bean, split seeds scraped

1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup organic sugar

4 Tablespoons organic, unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup dried, sour cherries, soaked in 1/4 cup Calvados for at least 2 hours

Filling Preparation

Mix all dry ingredients, including vanilla bean seeds together. Add 2 tablespoons of this dry mixture to roasting pan, along with peeled and sliced apples. Place under broiler and broil until apples are slightly browned but not cooked through. Once nicely browned, remove and add rest of the ingredients, except butter.

Adding Filling to Pie Dough

Chill pie plate while you roll out 1 of the dough discs on a lightly floured surface until you get a disc that measure slightly larger than your pie plate and about 1/8 “– 1⁄4” thick. Pull out pie plate and gently place rolled out dough in plate.

Add broiled apples mixture, then dot with 4 T butter. Roll out 2nd disc into a circle about 1/8” – 1⁄4” thick and place on top of apples. Pinch top and bottom dough edges together and form a decorative edge.

Final Topping

1 egg
1 Tablespoons Cream
Turbinado Coarse Raw Sugar

Beat the egg and cream together in a small dish then brush top and edges of pie with mixture, sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 45 mins. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil if starting to brown too quickly. Turn pie in oven and cook an additional 15 mins. or until done.

Cool for at least two hours prior to serving.

as seen on EaterLA

On the menu at Masan: soju, monkfish, sea urchin, live octopus, and Joe's massive melon. Just stop #2 on our 4-stop stint with the 11 in 11 nocturnal diners.

Read the Eater post here.

Seeing my grandmother for the first time since her fall. Watching her, passed out on the couch in a posture not unlike that of my papa before we buried him, I can think only of what to eat, or not eat.

Photographic Lunch at Umami Urban

sweet potato fries. salt. pepper. cinnamon?!


steak sanny on brioche. $5.

Holy shit, it's Thanksgiving!

...and man-alive, am I excited. Mom and I just got off the phone planning the menu. Here's what we decided on:

Sweet and spicy butternut squash soup

Brussels sprouts with prosciutto, figs, garlic, and balsamic. Sprinkled with Parm? I think so.

Maple-roasted yams.

Bing cherry/cranberry relish.

Stuffing (with french white)

Mom's cooking gets exponentially more delicious every year, and I've been feeling more confident in the kitchen myself lately. This is going to be SO good. 

Recent ink

I've been covering a lot of openings lately.

Now Open: Soda Pop's on La Cienega Is Ready for Lunch

The chicken pesto sandwich is exceptional. All of the flavor of the special at Il Tramezzino, without the post-lunch roof of the mouth bleed.

Now Open: Nate 'N Al Thousand Oaks, With or Without Doris

Now Open: Bricks and Scones (and Coffee and Tea) on Larchmont

All About the Bread Brings the Godfather to the East Side

Fave line: "White walls with painted human silhouettes and limited seating make All About the Bread, the new mid-city sandwich joint, seem at first rather...like a spectre Italian deli."

Last Night in Images: Drink:Eat:Play's Speakeasy at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel

If you're planning to read only one of these, I suggest this one. Note the girl in final photo. We've made her famous.


For Those Still Sitting Shiva for Algabar, We Present T-Salon

Go here for the ice tea fountain.

Hello Kitty Celebrates 35 Years at Royal/T (Where else?)

Beans

Part of the feast for the senses at Grand Central Market. All I could think of was winter chili.

"Thor-Eat-Joes": A Doritos commercial that will make you poop yourself with laughter

By our chum Ryan Reichenfeld:

My crew and I have spent the last six laborious weeks painstakingly
creating a Doritos Commercial for the Crash the Super Bowl commercial
contest held by Doritos.

If the commercial makes it to the top six I'll receive $25k, have it air
during the Super Bowl, and a chance to win $1 million if it gets ranked #1
by the USA Today Ad Meter.

It's crucial to our success that as many people as possible visit the link
on the Doritos site to view and comment on the commercial.

Posting comments like "This is a Winner", "Funniest thing I've seen in my
life", "Totally picture this playing during the Super Bowl bro!" or anything
else that comes to mind will help catch the judge's eye.

The more views and positive comments it gets, the better the chances are
for it getting picked in the top six.

Passing this email/link along to all of your friends/family/co-workers/pets
will exponentially elevate our chances for Super-Bowl-dom!

Watch that ish here.

Bread at home

I haven't bought bread for almost two months, yet I haven't eaten better bread since I lived in Europe.

I've been making all of my bread at home Ryan's bread machine. I'm no Parisian boulanger, but I can safely say that with the help of this simple device, I can make bread. This is such a fascinating world of cooking to enter. So much can go wrong (and did, at first). The different flours, the temperament of the yeast, the sweetening, the additions...it's amazing, and the changes that happen can be so subtle but remarkably noticeable. And finally, this bread hasn't yet gone bad on me. Even when it appears "stale," it toasts up to 80% of brand new in minutes.

I've settled on this mixture. It's given me a texture that I'm happy with. 

1.5 cups bread flour

1.5 whole wheat flour

3-5 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp yeast mixed with roughly a tbsp sugar and a few ounces warm water, which should sit out and bubble up over the course of about half-a-day

1 cup water

roughly a tsp or so salt

There's no end to what you can throw in. I started out making raisin bread with some nutmeg and cinnamon, but found that the above mixture was the best for everyday use. If I have it, I'll throw in some ground flax. It has a mild nutty flavor and jacks up the nutritional content of the bread. It's such a treat to cut into it right after it comes out of the machine. 

Speakeasy at the Renaissance Hotel

The best part: drinks from The Edison and The Varnish.

The Border Grill Truck. Te quiero.

This is love.

Iron Chef White House

A mix of three of my favorite things: politics, fresh produce, and food competition. This is going to be a showdown of massive proportions. I can't wait.

Pizzette from Mozza2Go, a good day

Cool thing: I went in to Mozza2Go for lunch, Margy's been raving about the pizzette -- topped with red pepper and stuffed with fresh field greens and ricotta salata -- and Joe ate handfuls of cereal and chips for dinner last night. (That reads as a logical progression, right?) I called in my order then rushed over. It's beautiful there, like the candy store where Charlie buys the Scrumdiddlyumptious Bar with the golden ticket inside. The girl helping me is was cute. She smiled widely when she brought out my pizzette, and I added another to my order. As she was ringing me up, Matt Molina popped out from Scuola di Pizza. "Hey Emma," he said. "Hey Matt," I said.

I am entirely sincere when I say that it was definitely the coolest part of day.


I somehow got this for free. The pop tart of my dreams, also very cool.

Photographic Lunch at FOOD

Roasted vegetables, beluga lentils with roasted corn.

Jalepeno corn soup.

Buckwheat noodles and fried bean curd

From Mitsuwa marketplace off of Venice. Perfect after a day spent writing about food you cannot afford.

Thanks Margy.

Halloween postage repurposed from the Gold Standard

There Will Be Blood (Shots) at Katsuya

Just Released: More Tickets to The Edison's All Hallows Eve Party
NOTE: the term "Baberaham Lincoln" was removed from this piece. Thus, so was my reason for writing it.

Rush Street Hosts Halloween Thriller Party

Leftover rice

They say that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Better yet, I'd say that when life gives you leftover rice and you're out of other things to eat for breakfast, make rice pudding. Much less elegant, but  much more filling.

No bread, no cereal. This morning, the situation looked grim. I made tea, worked for a bit, and avoided the thought of making breakfast. I googled "rice breakfast," thinking I might do something Asian with the leftover rice from last night, maybe throw a poached egg on top of some fried rice. The first results turned out to be rice pudding, which I was lucky enough to have the makings for.

I threw together what amounted to be probably a cup or so of leftover rice, a cup of milk, and a hand full and a half of raisins into a pot, cracked one egg, and stirred it well. For sweetness, I dripped in a few tablespoons of maple syrup (though honey or white sugar would probably do the trick), and sprinkled in a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. I brought it to a boil, stirred some more, and let it simmer for maybe 5-7 minutes. This is a really satisfying breakfast for very little work. Sweet, hearty, and it warms the cockles. Great for the winter, especially if it happened to be winter outside!

Gourmet mag lives on, sorta

The magazine's (former) editor is going to have a show on PBS. One can only hope that the show's cinematography will be as rich as Gourmet's photography.

Recent Ink

My posts lately have been infrequent and half-hearted. Forgive me. I'm hopeful that I'll learn to do better; today is the first time I've finished the newsletter before dark.

Food at Food: Amanda Broder's Fall Baking Class

Teach A Man to MAKE A Mojito, He'll Drink For A Lifetime: Caribbean Cooking Class at Ciudad

Capitol City Sports Bar Has Big T.V.'s, Cold Beers, And Now -- Ladies' Night

The Inaugural Taste of Abbot Kinney: A New "Taste" on the Block

New Happy Hours at Katsuya, comme Ça, and Cecconi's: Or, Where To Drop Moderate Coin

A HOT Date at Pourtal Wine Bar: Playmate Tasting Party

We r the un-mayo generation

Ok so, I know I posted like, ten minutes ago, but I had to share this one. It's too good to be true.

Like your mayonnaise nostalgic with just a hint of deliberate irony? Well, Miracle Whip has your medicine. Hipsters, meet your mayo.



You'll throw the coolest Brooklyn roof-top vegeburger parties EVER. Makes you wonder: Will the aging hipster really sell out for Miracle Whip, or will he still seek out a more upscale aioli?

Thanks, Lookatthisfuckinghipster.

Frozen Vegetables

From The Kitchn: which vegetables are good to eat frozen? Because I'm so poor at the moment, I eat mostly frozen haricots verts from Trader Joe's to add some green to my plate. For this I take flack from my ayurvedic mother, who tells me that these things have all of their prana, or life force, taken out of them. I always say better some green than none at all, especially when I prepare them with health in mind (in ghee, with indian herbs). But, I mean, DUH. Of course fresh is better.

So, it was funny when I found myself sounding a bit like my mother talking on this subject with Emma a few days ago. She had just gone to an Indian cooking class, and the Indian woman who ran the class called for two bags of frozen spinach in her recipe for Palak Paneer. "Not so ayurvedic," I said, a bit flippant, "especially coming from an Indian." Maybe they're all yogis in my mind. Anyway, Emma shot back at me, "It doesn't matter! The whole point is to make it easier for people to make the dish." I immediately conceded, of course, because I already agreed with her. Much easier to call in this dish to Hurry Curry than seeing what exactly goes into it (which you then see isn't so much that a mortal human can't make it). The food should be as accessible as possible, of course! I guess my only point was that, somewhere along the line of exploring this sort of cooking, you've got to consider the question of how nutritive your ingredients are. It's the other side of the same coin (heads is what what you eat, tails is how you eat it).


credit: Faith Durand@ The Kitchn

Anyway, I mentioned to Emma that some fruits and veges hold their nutrients better than others, but could only mention a few. So, this article gives a bit of advice in that arena. And look, frozen spinach is right there!

Week-old Blueberries

I've noticed a trend with my baking: it happens when something's about to go bad. My bread pudding came about when my multigrain was about to go stale. This time it was blueberries. I remembered driving home from school that some fresh ones had been sitting in the fridge for about a week. Shit, I thought. I have to make muffins.



They're ridiculously simple. I liked this recipe from allrecipes because people complained that it "wasn't sweet enough," so the blueberries took center stage (don't worry about the glaze). This whole process, prep and baking, took maybe 35 minutes. I had 3/4 cup of fresh berries, so I threw in an extra 1/4 frozen, and these muffins were packed with fruit. I'm just glad they didn't go to waste.

Julia on Letterman

Thanks to The Kitchn for this one. SOUPAIR FUNNY.



I won't spoil the surprise, but Julia can really ad lib.

Pinot Bistro's Emmy Menu, and the good life

Aaron and I had a fairly amazing time researching our new post, "No Need for Harry Winstons, Pinot Bistro Offers Emmy Menu to the Public". The restaurant's lovely PR people invited us to sample the menu last week and, after about two sips of the most delicious Cabernet Sauvignon, promptly became intoxicated. Consequently, we also became BFFs with everyone at the table and earned an invitation to a Christmas tamalada at the home of LAist food blogger Elise Thompson. When it was over and we'd sobered (enough), we ran giddily to the car and wondered aloud (loudly) at how we got to be so lucky. Quite the night.

Bourdain on...

Among other things: the relationship between travel and cooking, the godliness of Mario Batali, and the cockroachiness of Rachel Ray.

Recent ink:

The Return of Happy Hour At Barbrix
Septemberfest: Like 4th of July, But With More Emphasis on Beer And Cover Bands
L.A. Lobster Fest Goes For Guinness Record
Rosh Hashanah Catering: A Guide to Timely Ordering
The Weekend in Ethnic Feasting: Have Some Hummos with Your Injera

New Fishbein's photos

Anne Fishbein's slideshow for Jonathan's new piece on Susan Feniger's Street is truly beautiful. Even without his award-winning words, Anne's photos speak volumes for the quality of this food. Here are a few of my favorites, but there're so many great ones. View them in their entirety here.

the gold standard 9/10/09

If you haven't already, you should sign up to receive the Gold Standard newsletter now, because I won't do this every week. But since this is the first one I've written, it's extra special, and I want to share it here, where everything begins:

In Counter Intelligence, Jonathan Gold revisits Susan Feniger’s Street. In First Bite, read about Zahle in the Valley: The middle-eastern polish of Alcazar Express. In Ask Mr. Gold, Sea Cucumber, Anyone? Eat ‘em raw, or braised. Just don’t call them slugs.


After months of eager waiting, Mark Gold finally (officially) opened the doors to Eva (7458 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles), his cozy new bistro located in the former Hatfield's space this Tuesday. At the preview last Sunday, Gold delivered a simple, refined, market-driven menu as promised: burrata ravioli with summer truffles and corn milk; poached beef with cauliflower, brioche and salsa verde; Hokkaido scallops with Spanish rice, chorizo and orange. The restaurant will host true family-style dinners on Sundays, meaning the atmosphere will be casual ("like a dinner party at my house," says Gold) and the wine will be free flowing from bottles opened during the week. More details at Squid Ink.

Marche (3355 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks), formerly Max, in Sherman Oaks kicked off on Tuesday night, too. Owner Andre Guerrero, who was head chef for Max, will remain on as a partner but most of his time and attention will be given to his other restaurants BoHo in Los Angles and Oinkster in Eagle Rock. Though Marche's ambiance has maintained the richly colored palate and earnest service of Max, the similarities end there. Chef Gary Menes, who honed his skills at Palate under Octavio Becerra and has also done stints at The French Laundry and with The Patina Group, is the driving force behind the restaurant's new direction and its decidedly different menu, which will change not only seasonally, but weekly. "It’s good to long for things," says Menes, referring to the challenges and whims of seasonal ingredients. Yet, eventually, they make their way back into his dishes, when the time is right.

Syrup Desserts (611 S. Spring St.), a late night sweet spot specializing in Belgian waffles and sweet grilled cheeses, opened Downtown this week. Check their Twitter feed for daily updates on deals and specials.

URBNMKT (3415 S. Figueroa), a new breakfast, lunch and grab-and-go spot is now open near USC. Three separate counter stations for sandwiches, hot dishes, and salads, plus a mass of Trojan coeds in line at the breakfast burrito bar might make you feel like you’re in a university dining hall, but actually, you’re like, three blocks away.


The post-fire smoke cloud that's still hovering over parts of the city will no doubt be blown away by the exotic spices and music filling the air this weekend. Two cultural festivals, the L.A. Greek Fest and the Little Ethiopia Street fair, will put on proud displays of the best of their national flavors, textures and smells -- offering Angelenos the opportunity for a showcase international culinary tour, without ever leaving the city.

The LA Greek Fest returns to the Saint Sophia Cathedral for its 11th year, with guest hosts Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, dancing zorbas and Anna Vissi, sagnaki and yes, feta fries. Though the three day celebration kicks off with a free "Dancing Zorba Night" on Friday at 5 p.m., the $5 admission fee ($4 with a coupon from their website) on Saturday and Sunday is well worth the free cooking classes, at 2 and 4 p.m. in St. Basil's Hall. The cost of admission, however, does not include food, which will be overwhelmingly abundant. Skip the formal dinners and go a la carte at one of the three food stations: the Taverna for appetizers, kalamari and loukaniko; the Greek Sports Bar for Greek sliders, baby lamb chops, and Octopodi ("morsels" of grilled octopus); the Food Court for traditional Moussaka and kebab. Or, for $25, "Zorba's Feast" includes two kebobs, Briami, moussaka, pastitsio, spanikopita, tiropita, Greek salad and bread.

If after two days of Grecian feasting you simply cannot look at another Dolmathe, or even if you can, consider making your way to South Fairfax for the 8th Annual Little Ethiopian Street Fair. From 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday September 13, the Ethiopian restaurants numerically dominating this small section of street between Pico and Olympic open their doors wide for a proud showcase of flavors from their home country.

Though not exactly a cultural event (unless you count beach as a culture), the annual Taste of Santa Monica will feature food from Buddha's Belly, Border Grill, and Monsoon Cafe, as well as an eclectic mix of 49 other local restaurants. From 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. on Sunday, the Santa Monica Pier will buzz with live music, giveaways, and an international pizza tent (whatever that means). And extended "Sunset Happy Hours" will keep the music and festivities going until 7 p.m. Entrance costs $10 per person, children 2 - 10 are $5. Check website for more details, including information about their $65.00 all-you-can-eat pass.

For those in need of additional ethnic/regional food fests after the weekend, Chef Brandon Boudet brings a taste of Italo-Americano street foods to Dominick's (8715 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood) and Little Dom's (2128 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz). Chef Boudet explains that he chose items that represent "the tradition of Italian American street food and would work well" when sibling West Hollywood and Los Feliz restaurants celebrate the Feast of San Gennaro on Tuesday, September 15 through Friday, September 18. Boudet will offer up pork braciole ($7), stiglioli (grilled steak topped with smoked mozzarella, $7), sausage and peppers sandwich ($5), roasted tomato and artichoke foccacia ($4), sausage and cavolo nero foccacia ($4), fried clams ($8), rice ball ($4), zeppole ($4), and gelato ($3) during dinner service. He's "had all of these foods in some form or fashion at festivals in New York and New Orleans," and even if the Dom's crew can't offer bright carnival attractions or dramatic religious processions, those little red and white paper boats help import the right vibe.


The new farmers' market in Los Feliz Village on Sundays from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. is more like a markette, given its diminutive scale. It can't compete with the major weekly event a few miles west, and is still smaller than even the relatively compact Atwater Village Sunday market, but neighborhood locals appear happy to have the extra option and reduced hassle.

The selection is modest -- particularly in the organic produce department -- yet covers most bases, with booths such as Rivadeneira Farms (eggs, quail eggs, mushrooms, misc. fruits and veggies), Cobblermania, Skyline Flowers, and Paddy Mac stationed in the parking lot behind the Dresden Room. The Gastrobus parks in the alley, too, and uses products directly from this market for its spontaneous brunch menu. Now that's taking the "market driven" philosophy to a whole new level.

On Saturday, September 12, Culinary Historians of Southern California will host Jonathan Gold's discussion of "The Rise of Regional Cuisines in the San Gabriel Valley" at the Mark Taper Auditorium at the Central Library. The fact that the event and the reception are free seems reason enough to combat the parking situation downtown, but if you can't make it out this weekend, Gold will be back at the library on October 29 for a conversation with former New York Times restaurant critic William Grimes, held in conjunction with the release of Grimes' new book, Appetite City.

AOC (8022 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles) continues their Flights and Bites on Monday Nights with a stop in New Zealand on Monday, September 14. Expect future winey visits to Veneto, Beirzo, and Burgundy. And as always, make reservations.

Monday, September 14, is the last day to place your Rosh Hashanah catering order at Joan's on Third (8350 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles). From matzo ball soup to oven roasted beef tenderloin with horseradish, noodle kugel to golden beet and apple salad with walnuts and goat cheese, the kosher catering menu covers all the holiday bases -- and then some.

In preparation for the upcoming New Year, Chef Jamie Cantor of Platine Cookies (10850 Washington Blvd., Culver City) has been rolling out sheets of rich cream cheese dough for rugelah, Platine's cookie of the month. Filled with apricot jam, walnuts, and Zante currants, then topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, the cookies will no doubt ensure a sweet New Year. Order online, or drop by the shop.

-Emma Courtland and Jessica Ritz, with contributions by Erinn Eichinger and Amy Scattergood

The Gold Standard

Register here for the Weekly's food newsletter, The Gold Standard, readership 5500 (and growing weekly), which I'll be writing while Jessica is out on maternity leave. The weekly letter will include restaurant openings, closings, events, deals, and general cool goings on about town. And whether or not you care about these things, they'll be written by moi, a condition that will undoubtedly render them enlightening and fun.

I'm kidding of course. I don't know the first thing about this writing stuff. Really. They're going to realize it any minute. But this is all the more reason to sign up now. Because who knows when they'll pull the plug, right?

Sign up.

Also, here's last week's news:
"Eating On the Run: A Photographic Tribute to LA's Fast Food, Closes Tomorrow"
"CHOW.com Profiles Galco's John Nese, Our Local Carbonation Connoisseur" -- I made a new FB friend out of this one.

Origami Tea

I happened upon this today, during another round of seemingly endless searching for things to write about, and found it very striking. Tea bags, created by the principles of origami. Like this whole food blogging thing in general, it immediately feels like a desperate effort to offer something new. There's nothing wrong with a regular tea bag. It does it's job. It's not exciting, but doesn't need to be. Isn't there something inherently settling about its plainness, something without apology or formality. So why add frills? Why so eager to comment and complicate?

I guess it's because that desperate stretch can sometimes produce something that's actually very beautiful, however trivial it may be. And I suppose it's like food blogging in that way too.

culinary tour little saigon

Last Saturday, I joined a group of food writers for a culinary tour of Little Saigon. It kicked ass. I could have spent an hour in Lee's Sandwiches alone, staring at that machine as it turned out molded creme puff-like treats. But the afternoon was so thoroughly enriching. And the book, Robert Danhi's Southeast Asian Flavors: Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, & Singapore, which I've really only just cracked, has already brought me to tears with its earnest professions of love for Southeast Asian culture.

Here are a few photos from the trip that I didn't include in the post. Btw, the first photo is of "meat floss," which sounds homo-erotic, but tastes like regular jerky. I also have a short post up about a kimchi and sauerkraut making class, "This Cooking Class Should Stink: Kraut Fest 09 at Machine Project."

peach sake

Aaron took this at Beacon yesterday. I'm so proud of it.

Here's the post, "Fusion Infusion: Seasonal Peach Sake at Beacon."

media shit storm over ground beef and nancy silverton

Daily Dish and Eater LA both ran stories that Nancy Silverton was previewing burgers for a new restaurant that she and Amy Pressman were going to open in the farmers market. The stories are not true. I wrote "An Amendment: There Will Be No Nancy Silverton Burger Joint" yesterday as an official redaction of those stories. Some of the redaction reactions were, um, biting:

"I'm glad Nancy isn't responsible for the burgers last night. I feel ripped off because $36 for a 3-course burger menu is expensive but worth it if Nancy Silverton is making the burgers. If I had known beforehand she wasn't doing the burgers or this wasn't a preview for her place, no way I'd have made the drive from OC or paid the $36. More importantly, I respectfully have to disagree about the quality of the burgers last night."

"I'm just wondering how many major things Eater can get wrong before somebody pulls the plug. It's becoming almost comical to see Kat thrashing around like that."

Then from Eater:

"Why is Kat "fault-free?" because she copied the Times? Just because they got it wrong doesn't mean she's not at fault. Did anyone see the mistakes in SIV's review of Ado today? They're just as bad over there. All it takes is one or two phone calls, people. The paper and blogs, alike. So lazy. I don't care if the fact checkers got canned (LAT) or bloggers don't know any better (KAT), but if you don't know who to call to get the real story, you shouldn't f**cking print/post it.

And I agree with some of you: Reading Eater now is like walking through a mine field of misreported facts and general nothingness that the editor makes up. who knows what to believe anymore."

"I love it when all the food blogs get it wrong except the LA Weekly."

I hope there isn't going to be a food blog rumble, unless it's the dance-off kind.

Here're more scraps from this week:
"Weed in a Bottle: Mary Jane's Relaxing Soda"
"Digestive Table Invites Worms to Dinner"
"It's Sustainable L.A. Day at the Downtown Film Festival"

Inky leftovers, some fresher than others...

Last week's doggy bag includes a few vegan stereotypes "Hot Knives Host Vegan BBQ Sunday at Verdugo Bar," and "Rush Street Celebrates Christmas in August with Traditional Dinner + Naughty Elves and Deer Pong"is a giant "snow" cone of sarcasm for what are basically frat parties for adults.

And today's lunch was "Tickets On Sale for the Modesto Reel Food Film Festival."

Sorry if any of these posts stink, they're not exactly fresh.

Finally! Gourmet.com clears cobbler-family confusion.

A cobbler and a crisp are different things, no matter how many people use the terms interchangeably. Occasionally you'll hear "buckle" used in reference to either of these two, or less frequently, "brown Betty," which I'm sure is more common in the south (excuse the King of the Hill-informed stereotype). Luckily, the ever-informative Gourmet.com posted this (definitive?) list, distinguishing characteristics of each of these members of the cobbler-family, to steer our baking and eating endeavours toward greater PCdom. Here it is in full. Check back to the original piece for photos. They're incredibly helpful.

Think of a cobbler—fruit topped with a crust and baked—as a fruit pot pie. Most cobblers have a thick biscuit crust, which can either be cut into rounds (“cobbles”) or left as a single layer. Cobblers were originally made with a pie crust, and you can still find cooks in the American South who sandwich a fruit filling between a top and bottom crust made of pie dough. Eat a cobbler warm or cold, wrote Lettice Bryan in The Kentucky Housewife (1839). “Although it is not a fashionable pie for company, it is very excellent for family use.” A few of our favorite fillings for cobblers: stone fruit, sweet cherries, blackberries, apples, berries and brown sugar, or plums and almonds.

In a crisp, the fruit is sprinkled with a streusel-like mixture of butter, sugar, flour, and often oatmeal or nuts that has been rubbed together (or pulsed in a food processor). A crisp is called a crumble in Britain. Try our recipes for plum berry crisp, peach crisp, apple oatmeal crumble, and fall fruit crumble.

A brown Betty is similar to a crisp, but breadcrumbs are used, and they’re layered in with the fruit rather than scattered on top. Try a recipe for brown Betty with apples; add prunes; or make individual little brown Bettys.

In a buckle, the fruit is generally folded into (or sprinkled onto) cake batter and then covered with a topping similar to that found on a crisp; the cake batter will “buckle” as it bakes. Try our recipes for blueberry nectarine buckle, raspberry sour cream buckle, and lemon blueberry buckle (registration required).

A pandowdy is a deep-dish fruit dessert that originated in the hearth kitchen as a way to use up leftover dough (typically bread dough) on baking days. The thick crust, which would become as hard as a cracker, was then broken up and left to soak in the cooking juices. The end result was similar to a bread pudding. The pandowdy evolved with the times, and by the 1850s and ’60s, most women had switched to a biscuit crust, which had become the default crust for all baked and steamed fruit desserts. After the 1860s, both biscuit crusts and pie crusts were used. Up until the mid-20th century, apples were the only fruit and molasses the only sweetener used in pandowdies. Try our recipes for apricot pandowdy and old-fashioned apple pandowdy.

Apparently, all of my readers are comedians

These "diggs" apropos my pee on your tomatoes post:

"It works especially well if your tomatoes have been stung by a jellyfish."

"Vitamin P?"

"I'll reference this article to the police next time they arrest me for public urination."

"Done and done"

"I also heard that you get better results for lettuce if you take a dump on each head."

"I crap in my neighbor's garden."

"Another tip: bury banana peels near your tomatoes' roots. Tomatoes often find themselves short on potassium in the soil, which the peel will provide. Also, it's mellow yellow too."

Can a bagel made in Florida be a New York Bagel?

That was the question asked by Sun Sentinel writer John Tanasychuk. His article, on which I based "Florida Bakery Makes Brooklyn Water, Offers Hope for LA's Bagels," says Yes, emphatically.


To be honest though, the whole NY bagel as holy grail thing (pun intended) is total meshugas. The NY bagels I've eaten brought me no closer to enlightenment, nor did they give me deeper happiness, or tighter buns. I've gleaned far greater satisfaction from the Bagel Broker down the street. So the idea that someone would spend that kind of money on a purification + mineralization system to turn Florida tap water into Brooklyn tap water -- if it even works -- is beyond me. Oy!

The SI post is rant-free, I swear by my bubbie.

S'more cake from Nickel Diner

As if by mandate, Aaron and I rose at the crack of 7:15 to get to the Nickel Diner downtown, for early morning bites and photos of their famous s'more cake. "Nickel Diner's Blowtorched S'more Cake: How Best to Celebrate National S'more Day" is a short suggestion for tardy celebrators of the unofficial holiday.

S'more cake, Dutch-angled because it's so intense.

Mozza: a little better all the time.

From Eater LA.

Say "No" to stale popcorn and prescription comedy

The idea was to compile a list of places to do dinner and a movie in LA, but with all of the J & J madness, and the fact that neither Shin nor Cinespace were very forthcoming with information about their screenings, "What To Do This Weekend: There Are Alternatives to Stale Popcorn and Cinema" turned into a list of food-related screening alternatives to seeing "Julie & Julia."

Also, I wanted to find a complimentary photo that really said "dinner and a movie," but the idea is so abstract that most of my searches turned up with art from the TBS show by that name. Ultimately, I used a photo of popcorn from Creative Commons. I did, however, find the perfect "dinner and a movie" pictures, surprisingly from an ad campaign for a food court in the IBN Battuta Mall -- the "world's largest themed mall" -- in Dubai (naturally).

I couldn't use them for a commercial website, but I can here. Aren't they amazing! I love the use of space with King Kong.

While we're talking tomatoes...

My trip to the Santa Monica farmers market yesterday was excitingly fruitful: I bought some half-dozen early Galas, made dinner plans with Amanda, and learned how to prep tomato seeds for sowing.

Tomato Seed Preping:
1. Select the best tomato and let it over-ripen on the vine to ensure that its seeds are ripe as well.
2. Cut the tomato in half horizontally. Expose the open sides of the tomato to the sun for 3-5 days.
3. Squeeze the tomato seeds out over a metal strainer. Run them under very hot water and rub the seeds against the strainer, to remove any remaining tomato membrane.
4. Spread the seeds out on a paper towel to dry.
5. Store them in a tightly sealed container with a teaspoon of Powdered Milk stapled in a Paper Towel "envelope," to absorb moisture and let 'em get moldy!

Photos of lovely zebra tomatoes, yet another fruit of my trip.

Via the twitter of Stephen T. Colbert

"Hey yogurt, if you're so cultured, how come I never see you at the opera?"
7:50 AM Jul 5th

Fertilize your tomatoes with pee pee!

Apparently human urine, which is high in nitrates and vitamins, makes great fertilizer for tomatoes and cabbages. My brother Nick has been peeing on our plants since he was little, but I always discouraged it. Guess I'm the fool.

Read "This From Finnish Researchers: When in Drought, Pee on Your Tomatoes," my SI post on the subject, for more.

Take the kitchen

Cruising the NY Times today, I spotted this nifty picture. It reminds me of Eternal Sunshine and being at Jackie's beach house.


The corresponding article was written by Interpreter of Maladies author Jhumpa Lahiri. "Note To Myself: Take the Kitchen" is about cooking on vacation in a rental house kitchen, which is always a trial, but Lahiri's predicament feels a little elitist, and her diction a little too kitchen jargony. The working title could have been, "Oh the woes of life on the Cape!," though it probably would have been scrapped for being such a turn-off. Still, it would have been more fitting I think.