restaurant week- friday

as our version of restaurant week rolls to an end, i sit here sipping on a yummy treat that gets your day running.  if you have ever found yourself wondering through the amazing hayes valley in san fran, you might have stumbled upon linden street where a little kiosk is parked in a garage.  this san fran spot, blue bottle coffee, has some of the most lip licking coffee and espresso drinks you will ever sip on.  on a hot day a couple years ago, I came upon this new orleans iced coffee.  it is a strong, sweet, wonderful libation.  the mix of coffee and chicory make for a tasty sipper.  blue bottle has now opened a wonderful cafe right in downtown sf where they have lots of tasty food as well.  you can shop online and order this coffee kit, as well as many of their great other blends.  the new orleans iced coffee kit comes with a pound of beans and a serving of french chicory along with the recipe for making it.  i cant tell you how highly i recommend this steeped treat.  

restaurant week- thursday

when i worked on this cookbook back in my days as a photo assistant, i knew when this cookbook hit stores it would be an instant classic.  although trattoria grappolo is not a household name, it is one of the california central coast wine country's must eats.  from the amazing fresh baked focaccia to the pizza con salame toscano, head chef leonardo curti has made simple traditional italian cuisine that will knock your socks off.  our favorite, and something we've had many times, is their calamari alla positano.  this calamari stuffed with smoked mozzarella and prosciutto leaves me wanting more and more.  next time you are out wine tasting in the central coast or staying in santa barbara, be sure to stop by this place, you will not be disappointed.  

Calamari alla Positano

(from Trattoria Grappolo)

1 lb. fresh calamari tubes w/ tentacles

1/2 cup grated smoked mozzarella cheese

2 tbs grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp dry oregano

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbs chopped italian parsley

2 slices prosciutto

olive oil

wash and clean calamari, and separate tubes from the tentacles; set aside in a colander to drain.  in a blender or cuisinart, pulse mozzarella, parmesan, oregano, garlic, parsley and prosciutto until combined.  place the mixture into a piping bag and then fill the calamari tubes.  with a toothpick, attach the tentacles to the bottom of the tube hole and close the opening.  lightly brush the calamari with olive oil.  bring a non stick pan to high heat and add the calamari.  cook each side for approximately 2 minutes.

restaurant week- wednesday

thomas keller is a genius and bouchon bakery is one of those places we can't get enough of. if you're a regular reader, you know we have eaten at bouchon and bouchon bakery in las vegas and napa valley many many times - sometimes more than once in a singele day! rumor has it a bakery is coming to los angeles and we are anxiously awaiting it's arrival. it's hard to pick just one favorite item from a place like this so we decided on the bakery's signature chocolate bite. these small brownie cakes are baked in a mold to resemble the shape of a cork, "bouchon" in french. you can purchase the mold at williams-sonoma and they even sell a mix but why not make the recipe from scratch which is written in the bouchon cookbook. it's a beautiful book filled with inspiring photos and wonderful recipes for traditional french bistro fare. enjoy!

Chocolate Bouchons

(from Bouchon by Thomas Keller)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups plus 3 tbs sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

24 tbs unsalted butter, melted and slightly warm

6 oz semisweet chocolate, such as Valrhona 55%, chopped

confectioners' sugar for dusting

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. sift flour, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl. in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the eggs and sugar on medium speed for 3-5 minutes or until thick and pale. mix in the vanilla. on low speed, add 1/3 dry ingredients, then 1/3 butter and continue alternating with the remaining flour and butter. add the chocolate and mix to combine.

put the mold on a baking sheet. fill each mold about 2/3 full. bake 25 minutes or until the tops look set like a brownie and a cake tester comes out clean. transfer to a cooling rack. after a few minutes, invert and let the bouchons cool upside down in the molds, then lift the mold off. dust with confectioners' sugar and serve with ice cream is desired.

restaurant week- tuesday

so, our tuesday post of our favorite restaurant recipe week, just happens to be un-fittingly called "monday meatballs."  these lovely treats come from one of the most amazing places in the world, A16.  this san francisco staple is a chestnut street treat, serving southern italian food, named from the italian motorway that runs from naples to canosa.  when we were lucky enough to eat here, we were floored by the house-cured salumi and some of their amazing pizzas. although this cookbook has many unreal recipes, we chose the monday meatballs, one of our all time favorites.  we recommend grinding the meat yourself if you can, and eat them fresh out of the oven.  if there is any book to pick up this year, this might be the one.  

Monday Meatballs

(from A16)

10 oz. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes and ground in a meat grinder or food processor

10 oz. beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes and ground in a meat grinder or food processor

6 oz. day-old country bread, torn into chunks and ground in a food processor

2 oz. pork fat, cut into 1 inch cubes and ground in a meat grinder or chilled in a freezer for 15 mins. and chopped in a food processor

2 oz. prosciutto, cut into 1 inch cubes and ground through a meat grinder or chopped in a food processor

1 cup loosely packed fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

1 tbs plus 2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp dried chile flakes

2/3 cup fresh ricotta, drained if necessary

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup whole milk

1 (280z.) can san marzano tomatoes with juices

handful of fresh basil leaves

block of grana for grating

extra virgin olive oil for finishing

preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with olive oil.

in a large bowl, combine the pork, beef, bread, pork fat, prosciutto, parsley, 1 tbs of salt, oregano, fennel seeds, and chile flakes and mix with your hands just until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed. set aside.

in a separate bowl, whisk together the ricotta, eggs, and milk just enough to break up any large curds of ricotta.  add the ricotta mixture to the ground meat mixture and mix lightly with your hands just until incorporated.  the mixture should feel wet and tacky.  pinch off a small nugget of the mixture, flatten into a disk, and cook it in a small saute pan.  taste it, and adjust the seasoning of the mixture of salt if needed. form the mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls each weighing about 2oz., and place on the prepared baking sheets.  you should have about 30 meatballs.

bake, rotating the sheets once from front to bake, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are browned.  remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.  

sprinkle the tomatoes with the remaining 2 tsp salt, and then pass the tomatoes and their juices through a food mill fitted with a medium plate.  alternatively, put the entire can of tomatoes in a large bowl, don an apron, and squeeze the tomatoes into small pieces with your hands.

pack the meatballs into 1 large roasting pan or 2 small roasting pans.  pour the tomato sauce over the meatballs, cover tightly with foil, and braise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the meatballs are tender and have absorbed some of the tomato sauce.

pull the pans out of the oven and uncover.  distribute the basil leaves throughout the sauce.

for each serving, ladle meatballs with some of the sauce into a warmed bowl.  grate grana over the top, drizzle with olive oil to finish, and serve immediately.

restaurant week

we decided to make this first week of march our version of restaurant week! for our posts this week, we're going to feature recipes from some of our favorite places - places that inspire us, delight us and have a particular dish that we just can't get enough of. 

we were lucky enough to hear about momofuku noodle bar about a year before david chang was in every food magazine imaginable and now we make sure to get a few amazing pork buns every time we visit manhattan. gourmet magazine published the recipe for these amazing sandwiches in october 2007 and we finally got around to trying them at home this past week.  we recently received 8 pounds of pork belly from a friend (don't you wish all friends came with pork belly?!) and in addition to the bacon currently brining in the fridge, we knew we had to try the recipe. another great memory from that first visit to the crowded restaurant in the east village was discovering hitachino white ale. it's from the kiuchi brewery in japan and is a Belgian style white ale with plenty of orange peel and spices, plus the logo on the bottle and cap is the cutest little orange owl you've ever seen! unfortunately, the noodle bar no longer serves this fantastic beer but you can find it at specialty liquor stores and markets with amazing imported beer selections across the country. it is definitely worth seeking out and a great pair to the steamed pork belly buns. the recipe is a bit long with many steps but the end result is SO worth it - they taste exactly like the little pieces of heaven that put momofuku and all it's glory on the culinary map. get the recipe here, find some hitachino (or order it here) and have a pork bun party as soon as possible!

cajun kitchen

before mardi gras completely passes us by, we wanted to post a dish that makes us feel like we are in that deep south.  this version of our jambalaya is one we just put together.  with a little research and a lot of tasting, we came up with what we think is a pretty good one.  we loaded this guy with all sorts of goodness, and included ham even though we thought about omitting it.  but we discovered here that the name jambalaya derives from the french "jambon" meaning, you guessed it, "ham," which is the one of the main ingredients in many of the first jambalayas.  our not so secret heat source was from the famous crystal hot sauce from louisiana.  in my mind, the dish is really built around this sauce, but we'll let you be the judge.  if you have a favorite hot sauce let us know about it!

Jambalaya

2 tbs olive oil

2 small onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded & chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbs tomato paste

2 cups long grain rice

1 tsp creole seasoning

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 bay leaves

2 1/4 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

2 tbs crystal hot sauce, or more to taste

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped

2 cups diced cooked andouille sausage

2 cups diced cooked ham

2 cups frozen langoustine tail meat or medium tail-off shrimp

1 bunch green onion, sliced - optional garnish

in a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, heat oil over medium high heat and sweat onion, celery and pepper until softened, about 10 minutes. add garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 minute. stir in rice and cook 3 minutes until rice is fragrant and coated. add remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover, cooking for 20-25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked. let sit covered 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork. garnish with sliced green onion & more hot sauce.

flatbread

curry and pizza might not be a combination you think of right away but you'll have to trust us on this one. the recipe is inspired by a flatbread we had this past weekend and we just couldn't get over how wonderful the flavors were. we knew we had to create our own version of this delicious new taste while it was still fresh in our minds. the pineapple chutney is a version of a recipe i created for vegetarian times for banana chutney and is good on almost anything - chicken, roast pork, baked yams, etc. hope you enjoy this one as much as we did! 

Curry Chicken Flatbread with Pineapple Chutney

1 lb pizza dough

1 boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped

2 tbs plain yogurt

1 tsp curry powder

4 tsp olive oil, divided

1/2 red onion, sliced

4 oz fresh mozzarella or burrata

1/2 small yam, peeled & sliced thin on mandolin

1/2 cup pineapple chutney, see recipe below

2 tbs chopped cilantro

preheat oven to 450 degrees F. in a small bowl, combine chicken, yogurt and curry powder and stir to combine. heat 1 tsp olive oil in a small pan and saute chicken until most of the liquid has evaporated and chicken is just cooked, about 5 minutes. in another small pan, heat 1 tsp olive oil and add sliced onion. saute over medium low heat for 10 minutes or until caramelized. 

on a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 1/4-1/2-inch thick, long oval shape. prick the dough with a fork several times and brush with remaining 2 tsp olive oil. spread with cheese, layer slices of yam, and top with caramelized onions and curry chicken.

bake on a pizza stone for 18-22 minutes or until crust is browned on the edges. top with pineapple chutney and cilantro.

Pineapple Chutney

1/2 tbs olive oil

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 tbs ginger, grated

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup pineapple, diced

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/8 cup honey

1/8 tsp salt

heat oil in a small pan over medium heat and saute onion until translucent, about 4 minutes. stir in ginger, coriander and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

bite size

these cute little muffins are super moist and packed with spices. i normally am not into mini baked goods but when i set out to make these, i discovered that we were missing an important piece of baking equipment - a muffin tin! not sure why i have every other shape under the sun - muffin top, mini muffin, mini loaf, multiple tart pans, bundt pan, panattone, on and on. needless to say i went out and bought a regular muffin tin to add to the collection. this batter is originally for making a loaf but it's great as muffins as well. it came from a family friend over twenty years ago and we've been baking it ever since. i never measure the spices too exactly and you get something a little different each time. enjoy!

Applesauce Spice Muffins

2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 eggs

3/4 cup raisins

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. mix all ingredients well and stir in raisins. pour into a well greased tin and bake until done in the center when poked with a cake tester, about 12-15 minutes for small muffins, 25-30 minutes for regular muffins or 50-55 minutes for loaf.

cubalibre

in my family the first sign of summer, or even spring in our case now, is a call for getting on the water and having a great relaxing time.  we actually had some sun in l.a. this week and it really put us in that mood.  this drink is really one that i hold close to my heart.  my grandfather and father are my ambassadors to rum, which is what our boat usually has in stock.  as rum comes in many variations and almost mixes with anything, it is something that can't be beat for its affordable price.  now as much as I respect my grandpa and dad's love for all things myers rum, and even just some mount gay rum on the rocks, i have to put a little different twist on things.  the cubalibre, which is spanish for "free cuba," is a drink that most of us tag as the u.s. form of rum and coke. although very similar, this drink requires much more lime and the additions of two very necessary ingredients, mount gay extra old rum and a mexican coke.  these are essential in the right flavor, as they will make you wonder how you really drank all those captain morgan and cokes in the first place.  we like to combine the coke and rum in a pitcher and pour over ice and the lime juice for a group.  the recipe below is for a single drink. cheers!

cubalibre

1oz lime juice, fresh squeezed

5oz mexican coca-cola

2oz mount gay extra old rum

pour all ingredients over ice in a highball glass.  mix well, garnish with additional lime wedge.

the high life

we finally had some nice rainy cool weather to make it really feel like winter. well, a southern california winter that is. so we had to make soup! this creamy corn chowder combines some of my favorite flavors like smokey bacon, sweet bell pepper, creamy sweet corn and earthy herbs like thyme and bay. i used fresh corn leftover from a miller high life bbq shoot but frozen corn works well too. feel free to adjust the ratio of cream to chicken stock if you want an even richer chowder.

Corn Chowder

6 oz bacon, diced

1 onion, diced

1 red or orange bell pepper, diced

3 carrots, peeled & diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

1 qt chicken or vegetable stock

5 ears fresh corn, cut off the cob (about 5 cups)

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbs fresh chopped parsley

salt & pepper

in a large saucepan, saute bacon until crispy and all the fat is rendered. remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. saute onion, bell pepper and carrots until slightly softened. add garlic and potatoes and saute 2-3 minutes more. add thyme, bay leaves and chicken stock and bring to a boil. reduce and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender. stir in corn, cream and bacon and cook 5-8 minutes until corn is tender but still a little crisp. remove from heat, add chopped parsley and season with salt & pepper to taste. enjoy!