A TASTE OF IRELAND

I was lucky enough to live in a small town North of Dublin called Monaghan.  Even though I was only there for 2 months, I feel more festive now when St. Patrick's Day arrives.  It was the first time I’d ever experienced a pint of Guinness (very exciting) and frequented a real pub, The Squealing Pig.  I remember every time I walked into the The Squealing Pig, I was greeted with friendly faces and comforting aromas.  

My home away from home.

I think the second best way to experience a culture is by way of their cuisine. The best way, obviously, is to travel to that country, but that's not always an option!  When you actually break it down and compare the cuisines from countries around the world, it's fascinating to think just how different, for instance, Thai Curries are from hearty English stews.  Same idea, really, but completely different dishes.  In LA, I think we are fortunate (spoiled) to have so many restaurants featuring international cuisines.  Rachel and I have always been daring with trying new cuisines/restaurants, but now that we're blogging about our adventures, we have more motivation to really go for it. We shall continue to report back with our finds!

As for tomorrow, it's St. Patrick's Day and I’m getting nostalgic for some Shepherd's Pie.  It’s very much like Greek Moussaka and Italian Lasagna, but it actually originated in England.  It's traditionally made with minced lamb or mutton, hence the name of the dish.  Since I can't skip town, I'll have to make it at home!

SHEPHERD’S PIE

Ingredients:

 

1 Tablespoon Vegetable oil


1 large onion, peeled and chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1/2 lb. ground lamb (you can use 1 lb. of whatever meat you like)

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 cup beef or chicken broth

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

1/3 tomato paste


1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry rosemary


1 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry thyme

1 Tablespoon chopped Italian parsley


1/4 – 1/3 cup red wine

1 cup frozen peas


2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced


2 tablespoons unsalted butter


1/2 cup milk (any fat content)

1 cup sharp white cheddar cheese


Kosher salt to taste



1. Preheat oven to 375°F.



2. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, heat the oil, then sauté onion, carrot, and celery.  Cook until softened, about 8 minutes.   Add meat and herbs and cook for about 6 minutes, until meat is no longer pink.

3. Add the herbs, broth, tomato paste, red wine and flour.  Make sure you sprinkle the flour and quickly blend, as this will thicken the sauce.  If you dump the flour onto one spot, it will turn into a dumpling.  You don’t want this to happen!  Simmer until the juices thicken, about  8 - 10 minutes, then add the peas.

Depending on a number of factors, you may have to adjust the amount of liquid you add to the dish.  When adding broth or wine, add a little at a time.

4. Pour the mixture into an 8x8 baking dish; set aside.



5. Meanwhile, place potatoes into a pot of cold water.  Bring the potatoes to a boil.  Add 1 tsp of salt to water after it begins boiling.  Continue to boil on medium low and cook until tender, about 15 - 20 minutes; drain.  
Place the pot of potatoes back on medium low heat and make sure all the water evaporates. 
Turn off heat.

6. Mash the potatoes with the butter, milk, and salt.

 Sprinkle in the cheddar cheese. I went one step further and pureed the potatoes using a food processor. This gives the potatoes a velvety creaminess.

7. Using a spatula, drop dollops of the mashed potatoes over filling; spread to edges.  Using a fork, make decorative peaks.  

8. Bake until topping is browned and filling is bubbling rapidly, about 25 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving...if you can wait that long!

Mouthwatering, if I may say so myself.

Since this dish is very rich, I wanted to pair with it some lighter sides:

Sautéed Cabbage with Shallots and Garlic 

Melt 1 TBSP Butter over medium heat and saute 1 shallot and 2 cloves of garlic

Add 1/2 head of shredded cabbage

It wilts to this amount!  Add salt & pepper to taste.

Roasted Root Vegetables with Rosemary

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Cut 2 Parsnips and 1 Sweet Potato into bite size pieces.  Throw in a handful of Baby Carrots, along with about 12 Cipolini Pearl Onions, as well as 3 sprigs of fresh Rosemary.  Drizzle 2 TBSP Olive Oil plus Salt and Pepper over vegetables and toss.  Roast for about an hour in the oven, tossing every 15 minutes so olive oil coats evenly.

Oven Roasted Garlic Tomatoes

Preheat oven to 325 F.  Spray baking dish with oil.  Cut 3 Tomatoes in half, placing cut side up on baking dish.  Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper.  Slice 6 cloves of Garlic and place on top of Tomatoes.  Drizzle generously with Olive Oil.  Roast in oven for about an hour, checking doneness around 45 minutes.

To serve, I preferred to take off the bits of roasted garlic, as the flavor has penetrated the tomato and you won't have awful garlic breath!

I saw this loaf of Soda Bread at the market and quickly threw it into my cart.  It really is delicious.  It tastes a bit like a muffin.  Mmm.

All this with a pint of Guinness.  I feel like I'm in Ireland again...

Don’t forget to wear green tomorrow!

M

THE HUNGRY CAT SALAD

The drive from Santa Monica to Hollywood isn’t a simple commute, especially in L.A. traffic. Unfortunately, I am forced to make the commute more often than I would like because my favorite seafood restaurant in L.A., The Hungry Cat,  is located right smack dab in the middle of Hollywood. Lucky for me, I won’t have to make the commute any longer because…drum roll please…a new Hungry Cat location is opening in Santa Monica right across the street from the beach, in the old Brass Cap location. Yay!

new westside Hungry Cat

Three reasons why I love The Hungry Cat:

1. They have Scrimshaw on tap, one of my favorite beers. (Scrimshaw is a hoppy and extremely fresh tasting pilsner brewed in northern California).

2. The two tier seafood tower. Loaded with Shrimp, Oysters, Dungeness crab, Clams, Lobster, and Caviar—they bring out the absolute best platter of sauces and toppings to perfectly compliment all of the super fresh fish. It’s perfect for two people to share if you have a hearty appetite (I do!).

3. Market Lettuces with egg, avocado and pecorino. This salad is a showstopper. I mean it. I can’t get enough of it, so I made my own version at home and it’s been present at almost every dinner since I started making it. People come over for dinner, taste the salad, and it’s all they talk about.

Here is my spin on “The Hungry Cat Salad.”

5 cups, (roughly) butter lettuce
½ avocado cut into ½ inch thick slices
¼ red onion, cut into super thin slices
2 hard boiled eggs, diced
25 Pecorino shavings, broken up into smaller pieces
1 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons olive oil
a couple dashes of salt

Place the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Toss and Eat!

thinly sliced red onion

i like to remove the extra egg white from the end of the egg. less egg white and more yolk is better.

place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl

toss with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt

crack open an ice cold Scrimshaw

Enjoy!!!

R

BABY SHOWER = A SUCCESS

Everyone loved the spread from Saturday's party.  Especially the lovely mom-to-be.  And happy guests meant happy catererers (Rachel & me)! Here's what our spread looked like:

Maya & Rachel

Clockwise from top: Goat Cheese with Chopped Fruits & Nuts, Pesto Salad with Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes & Toasted Pine Nuts, Veggies & Hummus, Peanut M&Ms, Pita Chips

Fava Bean Dip, Chicken with Butternut Squash, Grapes and Almonds, Cheese Plates, Panforte (a traditional Italian Christmas cake that is very densely packed with dried fruits and nuts), Wasabi Peas, Sliced Baguette

One of the biggest hits was the goat cheese with mixed fruits/nuts appetizer.  It was so simple to make and looked really pretty.  Here we used chopped apricots, dates, cranberries, a medley of golden and dark raisins, with toasted walnuts (salted).  People spooned this mixture onto a sliced baguette.  There was hardly any left!

We wanted to make sure all of our guests had plenty to eat.  There were a few who didn't eat meat (they were ok with cheese though), so we made everything vegetarian, except for one dish for those who were seeking a little animal protein in their lives.  This was a chicken salad with roasted butternut squash, toasted slivered almonds, and red grapes tossed in a red wine vinaigrette with fresh oregano.  I adapted this recipe from a restaurant I frequent...often.  It's called Lemonade and their food is amazing.

One of the many things I love about eating at delicious restaurants is that I'm inspired with menu ideas for parties I want to throw, and even for everyday cooking.  And whoever you're cooking for will appreciate the time and effort you put into creating a tasty meal.  If you use the freshest ingredients, it's difficult to go wrong.

Being surrounded by baby clothes and girls giving our guest of honor advice on raising her baby made me think, "When am I going to have a baby?" Then Rachel told me we needed to put more mini quiches out on the table.  Back to work!

M

HOORAY FOR TRADER JOE'S

$242.28  

That's the amount Rachel and I paid at Trader Joe's when buying ingredients for our girlfriend's baby shower we're catering tomorrow.  With a total of 24 RSVPs, that equaled out to $10.09/per person and we were happy to discover at checkout that we stayed under budget! 

The cheese selection at Trader Joe's is amazing and VERY well priced. They carry a truffle cheese that is out of this world.  One of the appetizers we're going to make is a platter of crumbled goat cheese topped with chopped dried fruits and nuts.  We thought it'd be a nice contrast to use salted nuts to offset the sweetness of the dried fruit and the creaminess of the goat cheese.  Spoon this mixture onto a sliced baguette and I'm confident our guests will be super excited to try our other dishes.

Also on the menu, mini Zucchini Quiches.  Rachel and I bought mini paper baking cups at Sur La Table at $.25/each.  These quiches are going to look (and hopefully taste) fabulous.  I wanted to share with you today the Zucchini Quiche recipe I got from this lady, Winnie Case, who lived across the street from my family when we lived in Florida.  She was a delightful woman who lived with her two toy poodles and she loved to cook.  Thank you, Winnie, for this recipe.  I have made this quiche many times and everyone always raves about how delicious it is.   Hopefully that will be the case this weekend!

ZUCCHINI QUICHE

1 cup Bisquick

½ tsp. seasoning salt (or to taste)

dash cayenne pepper

dash pepper

½ Tbsp. chopped parsely

½ tsp. dried marjoram

1 tsp. dried oregano

¾ cup grated parmesan

4 eggs slightly beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil or less

1 ½ cup chopped onion, sauteed, seasoned with S&P

1 clove garlic, minced
3 unpared zucchini, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9 x 9 inch casserole dish.

In a large bowl combine biscuit mix, seasoning salt, cayenne pepper, pepper, parsley, marjoram, oregano and Parmesan cheese.  Stir in eggs and oil, then the sauteed onion and garlic.  Mix well.  Fold in zucchini.  Pour into prepared casserole dish.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing.  Since we are making mini quiches, we will have to guesstimate baking times.  

We're waking up early tomorrow morning to start prepping.  But we're not complaining.  We will happily lose sleep to start cooking in the kitchen!

M & R

A BOWL OF GRANDMA'S SOUP

I've admitted this before, and I'm sure I'm not alone, but I'll go through phases where I'll eat the same thing for several days in a row.  I'm not saying this is bad, just recognizing this is a pattern for me.  So after making a beet salad last week, I thought it'd be fun to then make a beet soup this week: Borscht.

My father's mother was Ukrainian and she made borscht all the time.  There are always different versions of borscht, so I invite you to play around with the ingredients, adding more or less of whatever you fancy.  One thing stays the same though; wear dark clothing when handling beets.  And pomegranates, for that matter.  Here's the recipe I used:

Ukrainian Borscht

8 servings

You will need:

2 Ham hocks


1 1/2 lb Beef brisket or chuck, fat trimmed


3 qt Beef broth *

2 cups water

3 Bay leaves

10 Peppercorns


5 Allspice berries

3 dashes Caraway Seed


5 medium Beets, roasted, sliced into sticks **

4 TB Red wine vinegar


1/2 cup tomato purée

2 TB Sugar


2 TB Unsalted Butter


1 medium Brown Onion, diced 


1 Red Bell Pepper, diced


2 small Carrots; shredded

5 small boiling Potatoes, cut into large cubes

1 head Cabbage, stalk cut out then shredded


1/2 lb Kielbasa – (to 1 lb), sliced


1/4 cup Kvass ***(I used 1/2 cup Pilsner Urquell beer), or Vinegar or Lemon Juice

1/3 cup snipped fresh Dill


6 Garlic Cloves, minced fine

Dill Sprigs and Sour Cream for garnish

In a large pot, combine meats with broth and water, bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice and caraway seed.  Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, skimming frequently, for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Strain soup, reserving broth and meats separately. Remove meat from the ham hocks, discarding any gristle or bone and cut into dice. Cut beef into large dice. Return meat and broth to pot and add vinegar, tomato purée and sugar.  Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a skillet set over medium heat, melt butter.  Sauté onion and red pepper for about 3 minutes; then add carrots, and sauté until vegetables are softened, about 2 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper; add to pot.

Add potatoes and shredded cabbage to pot; simmer for 5 minutes.  Add sliced kielbasa to pot and simmer another 5 minutes.  

Carefully fold in beets.  

Add minced garlic and fresh dill, 

along with the kvass.  

Let simmer, uncovered, for about 3 minutes.  Turn heat off and let stand 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend.  Dish into bowls and garnish with dill sprigs and sour cream. Serve with rye bread if you'd like and enjoy!

Note: The order of adding vegetables to the soup is very important as you do not want to over cook them.  Also, when boiling vegetables, it’s best to cook them on a steady low boil because a rapid boil (high heat) can cause them to collide and break apart.

*The soup may be a bit salty from the ham hocks, so you may need to add more water to taste.

**The beets can be roasted, skin on, for an hour at 400 degrees.  When roasting, wrap in aluminum foil after seasoning with olive oil, salt and pepper.  The foil should be tightly sealed so heat can’t escape.  After an hour, take them out of oven and let rest for15 minutes before peeling off skin.  Be careful, since beets stain.  You may want to use gloves or just buy pre roasted beets at Trader Joe’s!

***Kvass is a fermented, mildly alcoholic drink made from rye bread that is very popular in Russia. You can substitute Kombucha for the Kvass, or whatever beer you have in your fridge.

M and M's Grandma

(ALMOST) SUMMERTIME MEAL

After dealing with some on and off rain for the last couple of weeks, it makes a warm sunny day feel that much sweeter! It was 70 degrees yesterday in Los Angeles and it’s supposed to get up to 76 degrees today. Days like this make me feel like a kid again; stupidly giddy at the thought of summertime. Which is why, last night, I decided I was going to pretend like it was summer and eat dinner outside on my balcony. (Unfortunately, we have a few more days until daylight savings so it was a little darker out than I would have liked). Fresh salmon burgers and an arugula salad, paired with one of my favorite Sauvignon Blancs made for an excellent (almost) summertime meal.

Fresh Salmon Burgers
Serves 4

1 pound skinless salmon fillet, cut into ¼ inch pieces
4 green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons jarred jalapenos, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 ½ teaspoon prepared horseradish
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 ½ tablespoons of mayonnaise

½ cup dry breadcrumbs
1 teaspoons of olive oil

4 whole wheat buns, lightly toasted
4 large tomato slices
4 rings of sliced red onion
8 small romaine leaves (I love the added crunch romaine gives the burger!)

Lemon Aioli
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, minced
dash of salt

Combine first set of ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or depending on how much time you have, place in freezer for 8 minutes.

Combine breadcrumbs and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small bowl and then add to large bowl of salmon mixture. Mix well. Form salmon mixture into 4 patties. It’s important to make sure that each patty is as tightly packed together and as flat as possible on both sides so they do not break apart when cooking.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add patties and cook about 3 minutes per side until brown and crispy on the outside.

To make lemon aioli, mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, and salt in a small dish until thoroughly combined.

To assemble burgers, spread lemon aioli generously on top and bottom buns. Place salmon patties on bottom bun, top with tomato slice, red onion, and two romaine leaves. Place top bun on top of romaine leaves and go to town!

Arugula Salad with Lemon and Shaved Parmesan
Serves 4

3 ½ oz of arugula (I used about half of a 7oz bag)
20 shavings of parmesan cheese (I use a vegetable peeler that works great on cheese …I count about 20 shavings, then break them up into smaller pieces)

Lemon Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
dash of salt

Place arugula in large mixing bowl, add parmesan shavings. Mix lemon vinaigrette in a small dish, then add to arugula and parmesan. Toss to coat, and serve!

  

I paired my meal with this wonderful and wallet-friendly Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. At $12.99 a bottle, it delivers everything a Sauvignon Blanc should, and more!

Dinner is served!

R

I LOVE HOUSTON

Hey y’all!  I’m back from Houston!  If you haven't yet been, you should definitely plan a trip.  There's so much to see and do and it was a blast.

Thanks, Katie, for lending me your beautiful cowboy hat!  Yeehaw!

 I went to my first rodeo held at Reliant Park,

watched mutton busting (similar to adults riding a bull except that mutton busting involves kids holding on to a lamb right out of the gate), saw Janet Jackson in concert, 

she looked great and so did her cleavage!

scored my first pair of cowboy boots, 

ate authentic Texas BBQ at Goode Company BBQ, 

Goode's had the longest line

5 different kinds of sausage on top of smoked turkey and brisket, with a side of beans, jalapeño cheese bread, and a deep fried meatball

deep fried bacon!

washed it down with some beer,

and discovered Frito Pie (thanks Liane and Raquel)! 

my version

The authentic version

When I yelped Goode Company BBQ, they had the most reviews and I was told it was one of the best BBQ restaurants in town.  So if you find yourself in Houston, that should be a good enough sales pitch to get you into Goode's. I do regret not having cornbread though.  What was I thinking?!  I guess I didn't exactly need more carbs after that Frito pie.  Or the deep fried bacon.

My goal now is to break in my gorgeous new cowboy boots, so I’ll be wearing them practically everyday.  And hopefully walking a LOT to burn off the extra weight I put on after that trip!  

M