Pizza Night

Carolyn got stuck in traffic so I thought it would be fun to have some pizza toppings ready for when she got home. She put these together and they cam out great!

















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Shaved Asparagus Salad

Today I dreamed up a new way to serve asparagus as salad for the post Christmas dinner Carolyn and I are cooking for my family. We couldn't agree on the ingredients so we each made our own version for tasting. What do you think looks best?

Carolyn's: asparagus, parmasean, artichoke hearts, arugula, and lemon dressing


Dave's: asparagus, parmesan, artichoke hearts, arugula, lemon dressing, proscuitto, radish


We are still in discussion about what to serve, but both were amazing!

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Chocolate Pecan Thumbprints

This weekend some friends came over and Carolyn made these cookies. Not only are they tasty but beautiful as well!!!





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Breakfasty goodness

Carolyn made this awesome breakfast casserole. It had bacon, bread, cheese and was topped with an egg! This was the perfect hearty dish to start the day!

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Grilled Turkey

This thanksgiving we wanted to try something different than the same old turkey in the oven. The fear of burning down the house stopped us from frying one. Here are the results:





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Ethiopian anyone?

If you are like me, you probably didnt know, or forgot, that ethiopian food is so tasty. We went with a few friends to little ethiopia recently and it was fantastic. Maybe not the prettiest food ever, but yummy.

Beware. The spongy bread fills you up!


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What we had for dinner tonight

We had a fantastic dinner tonight. And Dave cooked!

Roast chicken with peas and mushrooms served with spinach salad with goat cheese and vinagarette dressing. Yummy!


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Baked Potato Soup

Carolyn made this baked potato soup for dinner tonight. It was a great meal for a cool night. This was an interactive meal were you get to put your toppings on the soup at the end!







Ingredients
Baked Russet Potatoes(skinned)
Chicken Broth
Cream
Salt
Pepper
Your favorite baked potato toppings (bacon, sour cream, etc)

Method:
1 Bake potatoes
2 Peel potatoes and purée in food processor addition chicken broth to get a good soupy consistency
3. Move to a pot and heat on medium high heat.
4 Add cream, salt and pepper to taste
5 Serve in a bowl with desired toppings.

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The Crustacean

We went with some friends to a modern Vietnamese restaurant in Beverly Hills. Their specialty is seafood (and specifically crab).

We started off with a few cocktails and had and an appetizer plate featuring beef satay, coconut shrimp, crab puffs and dumplings

These were followed up with the main courses pictured below, Roasted Crab, Salmon, Rack of Lamb and Roasted Tiger Prawns with Garlic noodles. The myth behind the Tiger Prawns, the Crab and the Garlic Noodles is that they are prepared in a secret kitchen that only family members and chefs that have worked with the family for 10 + years. This meal didn’t disappoint!

Le Joules Verne

On the second floor if the Eiffel Tower is the Michelin star restaurant "Le Joules Verne.". Tourist trap? Sure. But good food? Absolutely.


We started this culinary adventure with an elevator ride up to the restaurant. Upon exiting, you are greeted with a glowing purple J/ on the wall. You are brought to the table to find a modern place setting.

After they took this plate away, we ordered our drinks and meal. I originally tried to not order wine, but the waiter talked me into it by saying "what!?! No wine!?!?". I then ordered a glass to avoid an international incident.


We were brought an amuse bouche of cold tomato soup with a goat cheese mouse served in a shot glass. Carolyn started with a shellfish soup, and I had foie gras. We followed this up by both ordering duck, which was magnificent.

We finished up with a chocolate cake and ice cream and a strawberry shortcake topped with meringue and a lemon filling. The waiter then brought fresh marshmallows and macaroons with tea and coffee.
The meal was fantastic and a great experience. During the entire meal we were treated to a gorgeous view of Paris. If you are in town, I highly recommend trying this out.

And we're back!

We went across the Atlantic to answer the question of "what exactly do they eat in France?" The answer: really great food.


We sampled local cuisine ranging from escargot to foie gras, nutella and banana crepes to macaroons.

We were fortunate enough to travel through Reims and Paris, packing a diverse picnic lunch most days and trying out a brasserie or cafe at night.




















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Ketchup

Ketchup
Originally uploaded by tabiondg

Ketchup in Paris

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Mothers Day

I traveled back home for a wedding and spent some time this last week at my parent's house. Since I wasn't around last weekend, Carolyn came up with the idea of cooking a late mother's day dinner for my Mom.

I wanted to cook a few things that she may not have had and here's what I came up with:

1. Shrimp on watermelon with kumquats and balsamic reduction
2. Heart of Palm salad with prosciutto
3. Seared Duck Breast with a Roquefort sauce and parsnip puree
4. Mixed berries with marscapone


Seared Duck Breast with Roquefort sauce

Ingredients:
2 Duck Breasts with Skin on
Salt
Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Roquefort Cheese
1/2 c white wine
1/4 c half and half
Chives for Garnish

Method:
Duck Breasts
1. Score Skin on Duck Breasts
2. Salt and Pepper duck breasts
3. Render duck fat from breasts skin side down and drain periodically. This should be done on medium-low heat
4. While duck fat is rendering, make the roquefort sauce (see below)
5. When the fat is done rendering, sear the duck breast on high heat to desired doneness
6. Let rest for 5 minutes, salt to taste and slice

Roquefort Sauce
1. Reduce white wine by half in a small sauce pan
2. Melt roquefort into the white wine
3. Add 1/2 of the half and half and if the sauce is too salty, add the rest as needed
4. Reduce to sauce consistency and keep warm

Avacados are here!

I went away for the weekend to Chicago and came back to some fresh avacados from one of carolyn's co-workers. These were ripe and pretty tasty. Made an avacado mousse to go with some shrimp and asparagus.

Firefly

There is no shortage of places
in Los Angeles for a good drink and a great meal. Our most recent outing proved that Firefly in Studio City has both. We went here last week for drinks and dinner and we weren't dissapointed.


The ambiance is fantastic for a dinner for two with a nice fireplace in the middle and a covered outdoor dining area.

The meal started with a couple of tasty drinks (blood orange caiperinha and kumquat mojoto), followed by a chefs appitizer of chick pea purée and toasted bread. Our salad was an arugula salad with buratta cheese. For our entrees we ordered the seared duck breast with melted foie gras and the filet mignon with roquefort fondue.

The duck breast was cooked perfectly and the melted foie gras made a creamy sauce for the entire plate.


The steak was perfectly cooked and the Roquefort sauce was not overpowering and went quite well with the steak. Overall, I would say that the experience was a great one especially if you are looking for interesting cuisine and great ambience!

A sweet brunch

A year ago, my brother and sister in-law bought me an ebelskiver maker for our stove. My first reaction was "A what maker?". So enter the ebelskiver: half pancake, half doughnut, 100% delicious. We made ours with fresh raspberries or blueberries and topped them off with powdered sugar and a little lemon. We also served them up with mimosas since they are appropriate for any occasion!

A twist on tacos

I had some duck legs and wanted to find a fun idea to serve them. I ended up making these duck tacos (next time I will have to make the tortillas as well). In this recipe I used some tortillas from the Homeboy Bakery in Los Angeles.

Ingredients:
2 duck legs
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef broth
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 small onion diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small cucmber julienned
Cilantro chopped
Sambal
Hoisin Sauce (or BBQ if desired)
Green onion
Salt
Pepper

Method:
1. Sautee garlic and onion in olive oil
2. Add the red wine and beef broth and reduce by 1/4
3. Add the duck legs and braise in a preheated oven (325 degrees) for 2-3 hours or until the meat slides off the bone.
4. When the meat is done, remove the duck from braising liquid and pat dry (this removes much of the excess oil from the outside)
5. Shread the duck meat and salt and pepper to taste
6. Baste a small amount of hoisin or BBQ sauce on warm tortilla and add duck, generous amounts of cucumber, some cilantro and sambal. Garnish with some fresh chopped onion and green onion.

Pork Tenderloin with Black Beans and Rice

Pork Tenderloin can be a quick flavorful meal during the week. This particular dish was seasoned with ancho chili powder, cayenne pepper, chipotle chili powder, salt and pepper. The meat was seared then finished in the oven. A home made barbecue sauce is painted on the plate for a little sweet and flavor.

The black beans are cooked in a small amount of vinegar, salt, pepper and some parsley. They are then added to a bed of white rice.

Sushi Night

The other night we wanted to have sushi but did not feel like going out (Valencia has limited options for a good meal out which is why we cook so much). We decided to do sushi night at home instead.


We picked up some sushi grade salmon and yellowtail and made some nigiri and a roll. I was a pretty simple meal and a whole lot of fun to make! We originally tried this a long time ago with a couple of our friends in Chicago. I highly reccomend it when you want to try to make something new and can be a fun thing to entertain a small group of friends.

Firey Noodles!

So what do you get when you want Pho but don't feel like making broth? You end up with noodles, thinly sliced beef and veggies in a bowl with a mix of sour, savory and hot. For this recipe I also added a lot of heat since It seems to be a favorite with our friends and family. For me, it just makes me cry inside :).





Ingredients:
3/4 Lbs Skirt steak sliced very thin
1 bag bean sprouts
1/2 medium onion
2 Small Jalepenos
Cilantro
Mushrooms
Sambal
Siracha Sauce
Ginger
Minced garlic
Oil
Rice noodles
Soy sauce
Sugar
Lime slices


Method:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the noodles.
2. Add garlic, Ginger and onions to oil heated in the wok.
3. Add beef and and mushrooms and stir fry.w
4. Add Sambal, soy sauce, sugar , Jalepenos And Siracha to the beef.
5. When beef is almost cooked, remove all items from the wok and set aside.
6. Boil the noodles until cooked 3-5 mins
7. Rinse noodlunder cold water
8. Add more oil to wok and a tbsp of sambal
9. Add noodles and beef and veggie mixture to the wok and mix.
10. Add more soy, sambal and siracha as needed
11. Serve in a bowl garnished with cilantro more siracha, sambal and lime.

Valentine's Day Dinner

We typically don't go out for Valentine's day. For the most part we've found that it is tough to get a reservation, and they try to rush you out the door to accommodate more reservations. For the past couple years we decided to do Valentine's day dinner in. This year's menu started with goat cheese and caramelized onions on toasted french bread. This was followed up by Heart of Palm Salad with mixed greens. The main course was Filet Mignon with goat cheese, Shrimp and asparagus. The meal was capped off with fresh out of the oven Toffee Brownies with Vanilla Ice Cream on top.



Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onion on French Bread
Ingredients:
Goat Cheese
Onion
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Pinch Salt
French Bread

Instructions:
1. Melt Butter in pan and add onions. Let cook on med-low heat until the onions are soft (can take 5-8 mins)
2. While onions cook, toast french bread slices in oven
3. When french bread is almost toasted spread goat cheese on each slice
4. Add Onions to the top of toasts and salt to taste
5. Return to oven to soften the cheese and finish toasting the french bread


Heart of Palm Salad
Ingredients

1 pound canned hearts of palm, drained
1/4 lb shaved prosciutto (I like Jamon Serrano, but it is a little tougher)
1 cup greens or small mixed baby salad greens
4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Champagne Vinaigrette

1 tsp chopped fresh chives
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c Champagne vinegar
2/3 c extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper


Instructions

1. For the Champagne Vinaigrette, in a mixing bowl, stir together all the ingredients. Season to taste with a little more salt and some pepper. You should have about 1 cup of dressing. Cover and set aside.

2. If using fresh hearts of palm, you should have some bigger, thicker pieces and some smaller, thinner pieces. Put the bigger pieces in a nonreactive dish and cover them with 3/4 cup of the Vinaigrette. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

3. Drain the marinated hearts of palm and wrap each piece in a piece of ham. After the pieces are wrapped, cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rings. Slice the smaller pieces into 1/4-inch thick rings and set aside.

4. In a mixing bowl, toss salad with the sliced small hearts of palm and 4 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mound some of the greens mixture in the center of each serving plate. Place the ham wrapped rounds around the salad. Drizzle the remaining Vinaigrette around each plate. Serve immediately.

Curried Lentil Salad

I decided to step out a bit and try some different flavors. This curried lentil salad is inspired by the salad at Fords Filling Station in Culver City. There are two options for this recipe, 1 is vegetarian the other is for meat eaters. Since I typically like a little meat with my meals, I chose the latter. Just substitute oil for panchetta and you should be good to go.

Ingredients
Mixed greens
Goat cheese
Lentils (precooked from Trader Joes Works)
1/8 pound panchetta
Walnuts
1/8 tbsp curry powder
1/4 tbsp cayenne
salt
black pepper
1 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp sugar

1. Toast the walnuts with a little salt
2. Reduce balsamic vinegar until thick
3. Mix in a blender with oil and sugar to create an emulsion
4. Cook Panchetta
5. Heat lentils in the pan with panchetta on low heat and add seasonings (don't go crazy with the curry so you can still taste the lentils)
6. Add lentils, greens and goat cheese to plate and garnish with walnuts.
7. Salt to taste and drizzle balsamic dressing onto the plate.

Gnocci with Fried Sage

Gnocci sounded like a good idea on a cold Friday afternoon. (Cold for Southern California standards). I made the gnocci from scratch with potatoes. I added some fried sage to give it some crunch and served it on a fennel creme sauce.

1 1/2 lb potatoes
1 egg
1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup sage leaves
2 tablespoons salted butter
1 cup white wine
1 cup whipping cream or half and half
Salt
Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp Fennel Seed

Make gnocchi:
Boil peeled potatoes until soft
Run the potatoes through a food processor then let cool
Lightly flour 2 or 3 large baking sheets or line with parchment paper.
Beat together egg 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a small bowl.
Gather potatoes into a mound in sheet pan, using a pastry scraper if you have one, and form a well in center.
Pour egg mixture into well, then knead into potatoes. Knead in 1 1/2 cups flour, then knead, adding more flour as necessary, until mixture forms a smooth but slightly sticky dough. Dust top lightly with some of flour.
Form ropes with the dough and cut into small pieces
Dust cut pieces with flour
Make an impression on each piece of gnocci with a fork

Fry sage leaves
Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Fry sage leaves in 3 batches, stirring, until they turn just a shade lighter and crisp (they will continue to crisp as they cool), about 30 seconds per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season lightly with salt.
Season lightly with salt. Reserve oil in skillet.


Make sauce:
Reduce white wine by half and add cream or half and half
Add Fennel Seed
Salt to Taste

Cook gnocchi:
Add half of gnocchi to a pasta pot of well-salted boiling water and stir. Cook until they float to surface, about 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to skillet with butter sauce. Cook remaining gnocchi in same manner, transferring to skillet as cooked.
Heat gnocchi in skillet over medium heat, stirring to coat.
Serve sprinkled with fried sage and on top of fennel sauce.
Sprinkle with Cayenne Pepper and Salt to taste.

Idiot

Last weekend we went to The Village Idiot on Melrose. It's a great place to get a good drink and some good food. It was a bit crowded (although not hard to walk through the bar area). The menu had some fun categories such as "no face (vegetarian)", "two legs (poultry)", "four legs (lamb, beef, pork)" etc. Overall it's a pretty fun atmosphere. If you come with a party of 7 and they put you in a booth, be ready to get cozy with your group.

They had a good selection of beers to choose from. I was drinking the "black and pale" which is a black and tan with Guinness and Yellowtale Pale Ale. Carolyn had "The Bumblebee": a half cider half hefeweizen. I would recommend both of these.

Food Recommendations - Pub Burger (add the fried egg, I promise it's good). Roasted Half Chicken, Chorizo Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates.

One person in our party ordered the lamb meatballs... apparently they weren't the best.