CHECK THE LABEL

A few weeks ago, I had some time on my hands, so I reorganized my spice drawer.  The thing with my spice drawer is that you can only see the lids of the spice jars, so it's difficult to identify what is what.  And there are just so many of them.  I used to waste so much time lifting the jars, then putting them back down if they weren't the spice I was looking for.  Lifting them up, putting them down.  Up and down.  Most days, I would only use crushed chili pepper or cinnamon, so of course, I'd know exactly where those spices were located.  But for anything else, it was always such a drag to have to go searching.

My Brother changed my life.  And I mean my P-touch 1180 label maker.  I do have two older brothers, but they have busy lives, so I didn't bother to call on them for help with this particular task.

Then I decided to be totally OCD and alphabetize my spices!

This labeling method has saved me a ton of time, money, an unnecessary stress;  Such as when I'm figuring out what spices I don't have and need to buy at the supermarket, or when I'm in the middle of cooking and need to rush into the spice drawer for a forgotten ingredient.  

I think when you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, organization is key to keeping your sanity.  If you don't know what you have stocked, you may make double purchases.  Or triple purchases!  What a waste!

Maybe the way I've organized my spice drawer is a little much for you, but it has streamlined my way around the kitchen.  I hope you get inspired to tackle an area in your kitchen, or somewhere in your house that is in disarray.  I guarantee you will only benefit from this! 

M

BOOZY FRUIT

I had a wonderful and lazy weekend...which definitely doesn’t happen often enough. Saturday, I went over to a friend’s house for a BBQ and watched the Kentucky Derby (way to go Animal Kingdom!), and Sunday I hit up the nursery for some pretty flowers to add to my little garden. And that was about it. The rest of my weekend was spent reading, napping, and watching movies. Ahhhh.

But Sunday night, I found myself craving something light and sweet, so I decided on Wine-Soaked Strawberries with fresh Whipped Cream.

Whenever I drink sangria, I find myself constantly fishing the wine soaked fruit out of the bottom of my glass, savoring each bite, and wishing I had more. Enter Wine-Soaked Strawberries. The wine perfectly brings out the sweetness of the strawberries and paired with fresh whipped cream, it makes for a delightful and dreamy dessert.

Wine-Soaked Strawberries

2 cups fresh strawberries (cut into quarters)

1/2 cup red wine 

1 tablespoon sugar

Combine all three ingredients in large mixing bowl. Let soak in refrigerator for 2-3 hours before serving. 

When ready to serve, place strawberries in a small dish or bowl. Top with a dollop of whipped cream.

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

Place sugar and whipping cream in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until cream reaches stiff peaks.

R

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MY GO-TO MEALS

For as many times as I eat Bossa Nova Brazilian Cuisine, I feel I should either own a time card because I'm there so much, or buy some equity in the company.  More than pho, I fill my weekly meal schedule at least 3 times with either the Bossa Salad with chicken (romaine, chopped fresh tomatoes, roasted almonds, gorgonzola, homemade croutons and chopped red onion, tossed in a homemade balsamic vinaigrette), or the Traditional Boneless Chicken (marinated in Brazilian herbs and spices served with buttery white rice, black beans, salsa and yucca flour with your choice of french fries or fried plantains).  

Today for lunch, I got the Traditional Chicken with plantains.  Good story, I know.  I don't really stray from these two dishes because I don't need to.  I never get sick of either entree.  If you have a Bossa Nova in your area, you must try my suggestions if you haven't already.  I promise you'll love them both!

Add caption

This West LA location is at 10982 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA  90064 (310) 441-0404.

I like to mix the rice, beans and salsa together, then sprinkle the yucca flour...basically over everything.

It's really difficult not to polish off all of the rice.  It's so buttery and flavorful.  But if I plan on having chicken pho for dinner, I'll skimp on the carbs for now so I can save some room for them later!

M

KENTUCKY DERBY DRINKIN'

The 137th Kentucky Derby is this Saturday so dust off your favorite hat, and get ready!

It’s been 33 years since Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978 and although we have come close with Funny Cide in 2003, Smarty Jones in 2004, and Big Brown in 2008…I’m hoping 2011 (just like I hope every year) will be the year a horse dominates all three races; The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness, and The Belmont Stakes.

Personally, I love all the classic traditions that go along with The Kentucky Derby. Namely, the Mint Julep. It’s not Derby day unless there’s lots of big hats and Mint Juleps present!

Mint Julep
Makes 1 drink

1 scant ounce minted simple syrup (recipe below)
2 cups crushed ice
2 ounces bourbon (such as Woodford Reserve)
Fresh mint sprig, for garnish

To highball glass or silver Julep cup, add minted simple syrup, then 1 cup crushed ice, bourbon, and splash of water. Add enough of remaining ice to almost fill glass. Stir well and garnish with mint sprig.

To make minted simple syrup:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 bunch fresh mint

In heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together water and sugar until sugar dissolves. Increase heat slightly, then simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take pan off heat, add mint leaves, and steep 15 minutes. Strain, then refrigerate syrup until cold, about 3 hours. (Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)

Now, if you're like me and you're not a regular bourbon drinker....add an extra ounce of the minted simple syrup to your drink. I really like to taste a strong mint flavor.

May the best horse win!

R

DINING WITH THE ROYALS

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

I can only imagine how stressful it would be to plan a wedding.  But to then plan a wedding the whole world is watching, I cannot fathom the pressures involved.  Then to be the caterer for this event? Does someone from the royal family call on Wolfgang Puck?  I mean, he caters the Oscars.  

Well, apparently you have to be a Royal Chef to cook for the Royals.  Turns out that in order to become a Royal chef, all you have to do is apply.  Just like a real job!


So my girlfriend, Maggie (with whom I always eat chicken pho), emailed me a link to a website that did great coverage of the food served at the reception at Buckingham Palace.  She thought I'd want to make some of the recipes for a tea party at my house sometime with the girls.  What a great idea! When I decide when and what dishes I'd like to make, I'll be sure to blog about it.  


Here's the fantastic website with a description of all the delicacies served in Buckingham Palace on the day of William and Kate's wedding:


http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/blog/2011/April/29/The-Lunchtime-Reception




M

MALIBU WINES

This past weekend, I was pleasantly reminded how much I love living in LA.

On Saturday, I spent my day at the beach followed by a BBQ at a friend's house. I managed to get a slight sunburn on one of my legs (not attractive), but it's ok. The day was definitely worth it, and then some.

Sunday, I headed up to Malibu Wines. Visiting Malibu Wines has been on my list of things to do for a looong time so I was pretty excited to finally go.

In my opinion, the best part about the winery is that their tasting room is entirely outdoors. You can bring in as much food as you want to picnic, (they don't sell any food at the winery) but no outside alcohol is allowed. (and yes, they will check your bags) There are plenty of tables, chairs, and grassy areas to lay out a blanket and picnic to your heart's desire. 

Ok, so the wine wasn't the best wine I've ever tasted, but it wasn't bad either. Their Semler 2009 Sauvignon Blanc went perfectly with my turkey sandwich and kettle chips. It was my favorite wine of the day...light, crisp, and fruity.

Starting in June, they will begin staying open until 9pm. I noticed that they have plenty of outdoor lights strung, so I can only imagine how pretty it will look at night. They also have live music 1pm-3pm on Saturdays and Sundays! 



R

COCHON 555

Yesterday I had the great privilege of going to Cochon 555, which took over the space in the beautifully renovated St. Vibiana's church in downtown Los Angeles.  Five heritage pig farmers and five vintners were paired with five local chefs:


Octavio Becerra of Palate Food + Wine  /  Berkshire Pig from ReRide Ranch


Chad Colby of Mozza  /  Hampshire Pig from Hopkins Hog Farm


Tim Goodell of Public Kitchen + Bar  /  Spotted Poland China Pig from Hopkins Hog Farm


Ben Ford of Ford's Filling Station  /  Hereford Pig from Hopkins Hog Farm


Joshua Whigham of Bazaar  /  Red Wattle Pig from Walnut Keep Farm


Utilizing all parts of the pig, these rockstar chefs were challenged to create a feast for 400 attendees, who would then cast their vote alongside a selected panel.  The winning chef of the Los Angeles event would be competing for one of ten spots at the The Grand Cochon throw down at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen in June.  


Before we were allowed inside the event, vendors set up outside and we were treated to wine and cheese, oysters on the half shell, a butchering demo by butchers Erika Nakamura and Amelia Posada of Lindy + Grundy, and some simple appetizers before the big feast. 

View of St. Vibiana's

Erica Nakamura on the left, Amelia Posada on the right giving a butchering demo.

Outside atmosphere...what a gorgeous day...

This event was for the true pork lover.  I very much appreciate when chefs use every last part of the animal to create meals, and that's what this event was all about.  I think people are becoming more open to what was once thought of as bizarre food, such as dishes containing offal.  Now you see top chefs coming up with inventive ways of preparing innards or glands and people pay top dollar for the fine dining experience.  Think of how amazing eating out would be if everyone in the country was this adventurous with food!  Baby steps.


Each chef/restaurant set up shop inside the church and lines for the tastings were long.  But well worth it.  

We started with Joshua Whigham who heads the kitchen at Bazaar in the SLS Hotel.  

Here, among other dishes, he was serving pork sausage with a cream sauce along with a cream croquette.  

Delicious, but we soon found that other chefs were doing more elaborate tastings... like next door at Public Bar + Kitchen with chef Tim Goodell.  His line was long.

Look at this gorgeous plate!!!

I thought I'd taken a picture of the menu here at Public (for whom I voted) so I could later dish about the food, but I didn't...I apologize!  And it happened to be the favorite tasting plate of 4 of 5 people in our group.  You idiot, Maya!

The master, above, hard at work.  Along with help from his team.

What I found to be a little disturbing was a pig that was on display on the altar, behind the butchering competition.  Yeah, I get that we're sacrificing pigs for the event, but was that really necessary?

These butchers, staged with the altar behind them, were given 40 minutes to cut up half of a pig, and another 20 minutes to freestyle the head (of the pig).  They were then judged on their cuts.

Brady Lowe (in black), who started Cochon 555 in 2008, in front of the swine shrine, kicking off the butchering competition.

This young lad, Tim Havidic, from Lindy + Grundy, can't be older than 21.  He actually helped me 3 weeks ago when I bought some lamb at their new store that's awesome and then some.  Go Tim!

As the butchers were doing their thing, we wandered to the next station, where Chef Octavio Becerra of Palate Food + Wine was dishing up his creations.

Clockwise from top: Bahn Mi - crispy shoulder, spicy head, kumquat-lardon-pistachio relish, Offal Soup Dumpling with quail egg, ginger, pickled brussel sprouts,  Belly with Bossam Kimchi, Kushi oyster, krill sauce, Petite Hot Dog on a Stick with sauerkraut, purple mustard.

A closer look because it's so fun to look at!

Then over at Mozza, Chef Chad Colby did an impressive Porchetta, along with shank and trotter stewed gigante beans, 10 hour roasted shoulder with cracklings,  mortadella dogs and a simple salad.  Great, but I don't think he should've won the competition.  Oh, yeah, Chad Colby is going to Aspen in June.  We all thought (well, our group anyway) Tim Goodell of Public Kitchen + Bar should've won...

Our last stop was at Ford's Filling Station headed by Chef Ben Ford.  I was stuffed and didn't think I could eat anymore, so I was kind of glad Ben was starting to run out of food. But we did manage to  eat a few dishes here...

Chef Ben Ford is at the end of the table with the goatee.

Scrapple with Broken Yolk and Candied Bacon

Holy pork balls was the scrapple delicious.

At the end of the tasting competition, as if we weren't all gluttonous enough, Chef Neal Fraser, who will open his Grace restaurant at St. Vibiana's later this year, treated everyone with a whole pig roast. I asked him exactly how he roasted these pigs in case I wanted to do it myself (my boyfriend just bought a smoker, yay!) and he told me he'd smoked these pigs at 240 degrees fahrenheit for 7.5 hours using Oak wood.  Good to know.

Chef Neal Fraser on the very left

 I can't believe people were still hungry and in line for more!  Ok, I tasted a small portion because how could I not?  It was deliciously tender and moist, but I could hardly taste the smokey flavor.  I'm not complaining, just taking note that maybe Oak isn't the wood for me.  Maybe I'll get my boyfriend to try Apple wood.  Mmm.

Thank you, Brady Lowe, for creating this pork phenomenon.  I will definitely go again next year, with my foodie friends in tow, but maybe you could lower the price of tickets.  Chef Chad Colby, we wish you all the best at the Grand Cochon competition in June!  And Tim Goodell, I've never been to your restaurant, Public Kitchen + Bar, so expect me in about a week, which will be how long it'll take to work up an appetite after yesterday's pig out.

M