i have always liked and known what quinoa is for a while now, but there is a certain recent video that i can’t quite say the word without singing the song…and laughing. granted not a bad thing…
last week i was working on a commercial, and they had to bring in a caterer last minute, because (shocker, i know) they didn’t finish by lunch like they had planned. well, this caterer had a salad that inspired this dish:
3 ears of corn, roasted on a grill with oil and chili powder, then cut off the cob
1 cup dry red quinoa, boiled in 2 cups of water, with a bit of salt for 10-15 minutes, drained
1 cup red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped, stems included
2 limes
olive oil
s+p
toss the corn, quinoa, onion, garlic and cilantro together. squeeze in the juice of 2 limes and drizzle some olive oil over the salad. toss to combine. add s+p to taste.
i am not often inspired by dishes from caterers that feed me on film/commercial/tv sets, but this one was really good.
note: all the above ingredients were purchased at a farmers market, with the exception of the quinoa and canola oil from trader joe’s and the spices from penzeys. i was nowhere near a whole foods parking lot during the creation of this dish.
obviously we are coming up to pumpkin pie season being that thanksgiving is around the corner. honestly, i have never been one to choose pumpkin pie over other options during this season, but i found myself going to a dinner party, and wanting to bring a pie. i happened to have a pumpkin on hand with which i intended to make soup, but thought i’d try my hand at a pie instead.
my biggest problem with pumpkin pies is that they are way too sweet, so i researched a few different recipes. they all had similar ingredients and spices: pumpkin, egg, cream, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg etc… most called for canned pumpkin, and a few recipes even called for sweetened condensed milk, which makes me think that was the type of pie i was used to.
i made three changes that i think made the difference; i used a real pumpkin, i substituted the sugar with a mix of brown sugar and honey, and i replaced the cream with coconut milk. the result was a not too sweet, very flavorful, real pumpkin pie.
filling:
1 pie pumpkin, about 6-8 inches in diameter, cut in half horizontal, cored and seeds removed (reserved to roast)
1 cup coconut milk
4 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground all spice
crust:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter, cold and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3 tbsp cold shortening
2 tbsp cold water
2-3 tbsp cold vodka
instructions:
roast the pumpkin halves skin side up at 350º for 1 1/2 hours on a foil lined pan and covered with foil.
the skin should come off easily, and then pureé.
let the pumpkin pureé come to room temperature while you make the dough for the crust. you can also make the pumpkin pureé ahead of time and refrigerate until this point. if so, take it out of the fridge and let come to room temperature while making the dough.
put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor, and pulse quickly to mix. add the shortening and process for 10 seconds. add the butter and pulse 10 times. pour into a bowl and add 2 tbsp of cold water and 2 tbsp of cold vodka. with a rubber spatula using a folding mixing motion, press down with the broad side of the spatula as you turn the dough letting it stick together. add an additional tbsp of vodka if the dough doesn’t come together. form the dough into a 4-inch disk and wrap in plastic. refrigerate the dough for an hour.
pre-heat the oven to 425º about 10-15 minutes before taking your dough out of the refrigerator.
just before rolling your dough out, mix the all ingredients for the filling together very well with a hand mixer.
roll out and form the dough into the pie dish.
pour the filling into the uncooked pie crust.
bake at 425º for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350º until a knife comes out of the center clean, about 60-75 minutes.
i must say that my first pie after the disaster of the steve jobs pie incident was a complete success. i guess he was right…just move on after a mistake and ‘get on with improving your other innovations.’ pie and technology may not match up in your eyes as innovative, but it does in my mind.
note: i cleaned and roasted the pumpkin seeds with a little oil and salt, and topped the pie with several as a garnish. i also added a bit of cut out pie crust in the shape of a pumpkin and fall leaf and sprinkled it with salt.
when i started this blog months ago, it was during a down time for me work wise. i had the time to cook and write about it. the tag line to this blog is ‘the way to live life,’ and to no surprise julia child was my inspiration and motivator.
‘find something that you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.’ –julia child
pie is something i am very passionate about. in fact something about the rainy weather yesterday urged me to make an apple pie, and as i was making it, i was completely in my happy space. it was beautiful going in and coming out of the oven.
sadly, when cutting into it i saw that the filling was soupy. my friends tried to console me by telling me it still tasted delicious and the crust was perfect. i was even bitchy to andrea when she asked ‘what did you do differently?’ the only thing i could think of was that normally i used some granny smiths, but they didn’t have them at the market. i was thinking perhaps the fujis or galas i had substituted had less pectin than the grannys? or they were more juicy? then it dawned on me from a question andrea asked, ‘what would make it more soupy?’ if it was the same cooking time, amount of apples, and ingredients, what would cause the moisture not to evaporate? ah ha! venting! besides the usual apple cut out in the center, perhaps i normally cut extra slits to allow more moisture to escape? instead, like andrea said, ‘i created a volcano that just hadn’t been allowed to erupt.’ upon further investigation from a previous picture of a perfect apple pie, there were indeed slits!
at my bikram yoga studio they have this quote up on the wall:
‘i have not failed. i have just found 10,000 ways that will not work. failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.’ –thomas alva edison
ironically, while i was making what was to be an epic apple pie failure (in my eyes), unbeknownst to me the announcement of steve jobs death was announced. i was truly saddened to hear this. i didn’t know steve. i have never met him. he was a visionary and a genius and changed how our world sees things. he died too young. i have used apple computers and products since the very beginning. i carry my iphone around like it’s an appendage. yet, i’ve been trying to figure out why his death has affected me so much. honestly, i don’t know why, but he has reminded me to love and live life, and to ‘think different.’
‘sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. it is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.’ –steve jobs
as i sit at the starbucks in signal hill waiting for my car to be serviced having a grande drip coffee, i am reminded of a dirty ashtray. many people are aware that i am a snob about many things food related, and coffee is no different. i am often forced to drink swill at work, and obviously in situations like right now, but it also makes me remember just how wonderful coffee can be if made right.
i believe if the beans are good, roasted correctly and brewed just right, coffee is best black. no cream. no sugar. no additives.
several years ago i had to stop by my employer’s house to pick up a check, and he offered to make me a cup of coffee. we had talked about our mutual love of coffee, so i figured it would be good. as it turned out, it was the best cup of coffee i have ever had in my life. i’m kicking myself for not writing down the name of the bean, but i remember them being expensive and for some reason ‘blue mountain’ comes to mind. a quick google search later makes me think this just might be the one.
i am fortunate that there are several independent coffee shops close to where i live downtown, so if i run out of my organic black cat espresso from intelligentsia, i can hop on my trusty steed and head out for a jolt of caffeine nearby.
coffee bar– this place sits smack dab in the middle of hip and happening spring street. the sandwich i had here was pretty good too.
harlem place cafe– their yelp page says they have closed, which if true, is a very sad thing. i must do some recon on this one.
spring for coffee– this tiny place is also on spring street, and although i usually get the coffee to go here, they do have a few tables. on occasion they even have intelligentsia coffee which is a plus.
urth caffé– though they seem a bit corporate, they have organic and fair trade beans, their food is tasty, and their in house baked goods make a perfect compliment to all drinks coffee and tea related.
one of the very first certified organic coffee roasters in southern california (as well as the largest organic coffee roaster in los angeles), while pioneering sustainable, relationship-based, and organic coffee sourcing.
one can only hope that the next time i bring my car in for service, that there will be some sort of competition to starbucks, and god willing it wont be a coffee bean + tea leaf.
summer meets fall by combining delicious sweet tomatoes and vibrant red kuri squash. i’ve also added a bit of madras curry to give it a little bit of heat. i know it was a bit crazy to make soup on a hot so-cal september day, but the colors of these beauties inspired me.
ingredients:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 onion, diced small, about 2 1/2 cups
3/4 cup carrots, diced small
2 tbsp garlic, minced
2 1/2 to 3 lbs red kuri squash, skin removed, seeded, and cut into 1-2 inch chunks
melt the butter in a large heavy bottomed pan, such as a dutch oven.
add onions and carrots, and a touch of salt. let cook until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes.
add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. then add the squash and stir to combine. cook, stirring occasionally, until a slight brown fond starts sticking to the bottom of the pan.
add the curry and cayenne. stir to combine.
add the reserved tomato juice and stock. use a wooden spoon to remove any fond from the bottom of the pan. add some s+p. i added about 1 tbsp of hanapepe salt and several cranks on the pepper mill at this point.
bring to a boil. reduce to a simmer. add the tomatoes and thyme. let cook about 20 minutes, or until the squash is soft.
purée until smooth. i use a hand blender for sheer ease, but a regular blender will work, just make sure you do it in batches and don’t over fill.
taste and add any additional s+p at this point. i added another few cranks on the pepper mill and probably another tbsp of hanapepe salt. then i allowed the spices to meld a little while longer on low heat.
there are a few finishing options. add a dollop of crème fraîche, and a pinch of thyme for garnish.
to add creaminess all the way through, turn off the heat and add 1 cup of half + half. if saving some for the next day, or freezing it, hold off on adding the cream until slowly reheating it.
also, one of my favorite things is grilled cheese and tomato soup, and this makes a wonderful alternative to a mainstay meal.
as the end of summer nears, i feel the need to stock up on all my favorites (avocados, peppers, tomatoes, corn etc), because it just seems like it is going to be so long before these fresh summer fruits and vegetables will be back again. here are two wonderful salads that highlight everything wonderful about summer:
this recipe was adapted by tasting table from steven brown, chef and owner of tilia in minneapolis, mn. i also made a few adjustment to my taste, and frankly my pocket book. for instance, i am not too big on salt, so i reduced it in a few places, and chanterelles are just fucking expensive (not to mention halibut), so i easily cut the mushroom amount in half. unless i missunderstood my mushroom vendor’s math, they were selling chanterelles for $30/lb, and they had $5 bags ready to go, which means that would equal 1/6lb. it was a perfect amount for 2 servings, anymore seemed like it would be overkill and take away from the rest of the dish. the original recipe was for 4 and i made it for 2, so i have made all my adjustments above and a few others below. there are a lot of spices and ingredients in general, but this is actually a quite easy dish to make. i even made my own madras-style curry from spices i already had on hand.
ingredients:
halibut-
2 halibut fillets, 1/4 lb each
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp anise seeds
1/4 cup mirin (japanese sweet rice wine)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
sweet corn curry-
1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
zest of 2 limes (or 3 kaffir-lime leaves, if you can find them)
1/2 small onion, diced
1 cup sweet corn, cut from a fresh ear
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and diced
1 1/2 tsp madras-style curry powder
1/2 cup light coconut milk (it’s what i had on hand, regular would be fine too)
1/3 cup chicken stock
pickled chanterelles-
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1/4 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp anise seeds
1 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/6 pound chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned
1/8 small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 small carrot, thinly sliced into 2-inch-long slices
directions:
prepare the halibut: season the fish on all sides with the salt and anise seeds and set aside for 1 hour, allowing to come to room temperature. this is also a good time to collect and prep the rest of the ingredients. after an hour, in a medium bowl, combine the mirin and rice vinegar and dip the fillets in the mixture. remove and pat dry. set aside while you make the rest of the dish.
make the corn curry: in a medium saucepot set over medium heat, sweat the butter, garlic, lime zest, onion, corn, jalapeño and curry powder until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
stir in the coconut milk and chicken stock and bring the mixture to a simmer.
simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and purée in a blender. keep warm.
make the pickled chanterelles: in a medium saucepot set over medium heat, combine the water, rice vinegar, sugar, sea salt, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, chile flakes, anise seeds and garlic. bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. place the mushrooms, onion and carrot in a medium bowl and pour the water-vinegar mixture over the vegetables. let sit to soak and marinate.
preheat oven to 375º. place the fish on a lightly oiled glass baking dish and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the fish is opaque and warm all the way through. i used a glass pyrex pie dish with a bit of coconut oil smeared on the bottom.
divide the curried-corn sauce among 2 bowls, or deep plates, and top each with a halibut fillet. use a slotted spoon or fork to take the mushroom mixture out of the liquid and place on top of the fish. serve immediately.
well done steven brown. this is one of the best dishes i have ever made. although every single ingredient is a favorite of mine, i just wasn’t sure how it would all fit together in the end. the creamy coconut corn and the tangy earthiness of the mushrooms worked perfectly together with the light flaky halibut and the slight tinge from the anise.
daisy, bo and luke duke had the boar’s nest. norm, cliff and fraiser had cheers. jack, janet and chrissy had the regal beagle…and now with the recent opening of the escondite, i too have a local.
the escondite
when i first moved downtown almost 5 years ago, i went to see the derby dolls when they were at 3rd and alameda, and on the way back my friends and i stopped into the 410 boyd for some food afterward. as i remember it, the food was pretty decent, but the lighting was fluorescent and horrible, and the art on the wall was god awful. i never went back. being that it was only a block away, i have always wanted it to become some place that i would like to hang out and have a drink, or get some late night food. i have been asked many times ‘is there some place nearby that we can just get a drink?’ and i think of the usuals: bar 107, mignon, pete’s cafe, wurstküche, and cole’s, but all of those are easily a 10 minute walk, and for non-new yorkers, you might as well ask them to run a marathon. 410 boyd never even crossed my mind.
a few weeks ago, while walking back from lunch with my friend shirley, i noticed the 410 boyd sign had changed. it was now planks of wood with an eye peering through them. intriguing…
we decided to stop and check things out. erin, one of the owners, was on the patio and asked if she could help us. she was as sweet as my sweet potato pecan pie, told us that they would be opening in a few weeks, and that we would be pleasantly surprised. my neighbor katherine had met brian, the other owner, while doing some guerrilla gardening in their parking lot, and he was nice enough to donate water to them. we decided we would go get a drink on opening night, and as it turned out quite a few other people in our building also wanted to see the new digs. there was easily a dozen of us there.
the escondite, or the hiding place, is dark enough to hide from anyone, but so much so, that i had a hard time even reading the menu that night. i was told that they would be adding candles to the bar area, and reprinting the menus with a darker font. i have been back a few times now, tasted the food, had a chance to chat with erin and brian some more, candles have appeared and fonts are darker.
the menu is pretty simple: mostly burgers, some sandwiches, a few salads and appetizers, and hand cut french fries.
they all have some not so usual ingredients on them including fritos, refried beans, pineapple, hashbrowns, mashed potatoes, and cream cheese. they are vegetarian friendly, and can all be made with a veggie burger, or if you prefer chicken breast, that’s an option too. their buffalo mushrooms have a really good kick, and one of the best sauces i have tasted, but it made me want them to be chicken wings.
buffalo mushrooms
brian wants to respect the vegetarians and wont use the deep fryers for both fries and wings, and until they can expand, mushrooms it is. the teriyaki steak tips were tangy and had some good heat and spice as well. i need to try out their sandwiches next, but since i am a bit of a sandwich snob, who knows that outcome? ultimately, the food is good, and for a neighborhood local i don’t need it to win any james beard awards. what i do need is that on a sunday night after a long day at work, without a meal break, to show up after 10pm and erin to happily say ‘we serve food til 1am every night.’ thank you sweet baby jesus! …and this was the view on the patio that night:
and as we left last night:
i have been in enough over the past couple of weeks to know that once the word gets out about this place, my local will soon be popular, but even brian implied he has no qualms about turning people away that don’t give him the vibe that he wants. he and erin set out to make it a neighborhood place, and i believe it.
brian is also an owner at bar 107, which on the weekends especially, can get crazy and over run with usc kids, and what i like to call ‘bridge and tunnel’ peeps. the feeling at the escondite is much mellower and matured. it’s a place where people of any age will want to hang out and have a drink and some food, but has character and isn’t stuffy.
the music has been fantastic. a great mix ranging from obscure 70’s one hit wonders to punk rock, with a little old school willie nelson, and a bit of early 90’s grunge rock thrown in. again, all up in my wheelhouse. although, i have seen both erin and brian on 2 separate occasions run and jump the bar when a certain enigma song came up in the rotation.
i asked brian, why not just take the song off the ipod? he said, ‘cuz it’s fun to run.’
i’m pretty sure chrissy, janet and jack would be jealous.
the escondite is at 410 boyd street, la, ca 90013 • skid row adjacent • parking is free after 6 + all day sunday • happy hour 5-8p m-f.
*a special thanks to shirley shivhon for providing some of her photos.
i love the sweetness of summer tomatoes paired with the earthiness of beets, topped with tangy but creamy chèvre, floral thyme, and drizzled with adams’ olive ranch balsamic vinegar + their lemon infused olive oil.
absolutely fresh and scrumptious! summer you will be missed, and your tomatoes even more so.
adams’ olive ranch products are sold at the santa monica and hollywood farmers markets, fairs, festivals and gourmet shops.
as you may have noticed from my top 5 favorite sandwiches post, i am a big fan of the croque monsieur. they may seem daunting to make just from the name, but actually, they are really quite easy to make.
then, layer the ham on the toasted bread, top with the cheese, and put in the oven until the cheese melts and the ham is warmed. about 5 minutes at 350º.
in the meantime, make your béchemel. for one sandwich: scald about 1/4 cup milk in a small pan. melt 1/2 tbsp butter in another pan, add an equal amount of flour and whisk together to make a roux. then gradually add the milk on medium-low heat while continually whisking until it starts to thicken. if it gets too thick whisk in a little bit more milk. add a pinch of nutmeg, and s+p to taste.
drizzle the sauce over the open-faced sandwich, and sprinkle with parsley.
it’s not quite like the one at mignon, but it’s close enough in a pinch.
mignon is a wine + cheese bar in downtown los angeles @ 128 east sixth street, la, ca 90014 • phone: 213-489-0131 • open 5p-midnight daily.
wild, fresh + tasty 