We went to Eiko to taste their infamous duet of liquid nitrogen lollipop ice cream prepared table side by General Manager Fellippe Esteves. We were having so much fun that Fellippe let us try popcorn dipped in liquid nitrogen too!
12.27.2011
12.24.2011
12.22.2011
Cheering For Churros
We celebrate Festivus at my office and each year Cesar brings in the most amazing legit churros for breakfast to kick off the celebrations. I don't even like churros, but these are unbelievable! Must. Eat. Warm.
Lucero Bakery. Commerce, CA.
12.20.2011
Five Cheers For The Fifth Taste
I think I was the last person in LA to try Umami Burger. You can hold it against me. I understand. One just opened by my office in the South Bay, so we escaped "campus" today to check it out!
Umami Burger serves a trio of homemade sauces - Diablo Sauce, Jalapeno Ranch and Roasted Garlic Aioli.
The cheese tots, a "secret" item occasionally available, were to-die-for. Essentially cheese-stuffed tater tots, I prefer to refer to them as crack.
The ratio of potato-to-cheese was perfect and the cheese tasted nothing like Velveeta. What I liked most was that the potatoes inside weren't minced little squares, but thicker slices of potato so you could really grasp the potato flavor. Tasted homemade.
I wasn't impressed with the tempura onion rings, which got rave reviews on Yelp. To me, the tempura tasted bland.
The smushed potatoes, dutch yellow creamers, double fried, were delicious. Floundering on a whisp of truffle-infused sauce, the outsides were perfectly crisp and the inside was smushy!
I ordered the Umami Burger with shiitake mushroom, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp and umami ketchup. Wow. The burger meat didn't taste like burger meat. The meat was loosely packed and just melted in my mouth. The combination of flavors danced joyfully in my mouth. So sinful. So savory. I can't quite pin the taste of the burger, but I guess you could call it... umami!
Umami Burger. California.
12.13.2011
Hostess With The Mostess
Had the pleasure of going to a Girls' Holiday Dinner Party at a friends house this weekend and was blown away by her table and holiday decor! Definitely the hostess with the mostess! I've known her since high school and she's always had the knack for decorating. Always get fab ideas when I go to her place. Was a fabulous way to kick off the holidays and had so much fun!
12.12.2011
Hot Havana Nights!
I took a "Flavors of Cuba" cooking class at The New School of Cooking in Culver City this past weekend. What fun! I love learning how to cook different ethnic foods to expand my abilities... and mind!
The New School of Cooking. Culver City, CA.
There were about 14 people in our class. Chef Margaret Ferrazzi briefed us on the history of Cuba and shared that Cuban cuisine is soul food lightened by an island breeze, a mixture of Spanish and African influences set on a table of Caribbean ingredients. Cuban cooks draw on the bright tastes of the ocean and the earthy products of the farm, infused with the sweetness of the tropical sun and the ubiquitous cane sugar. She then walked us through the intricacies of the 11 recipes we'd all be cooking.
We paired off and picked out of a hat to learn which dish each duo would make. My friend and I lucked out with Drunken Chicken and Arroz Blanco!
This was the first cooking class I'd taken at The New School of Cooking. Loved the shelves of utensils, plates and cooking needs! Felt like a real chef!
Before class started the staff laid out all the ingredients, in exact measures, that we would need for our dishes. We grabbed ours and were off!
I set off to make the sofrito for the Drunken Chicken. We learned that sofrito - sauteed diced onions, green peppers, garlic and olive oil - is the base of many traditional Cuban dishes! It seems some use tomatoes, but we did not for our Drunken Chicken dish.
Ingredients for the Baked Whole Snapper with Sofrito.
The Roast Pork Loin with Mojo Criollo coming out of the oven. It was cooked to perfection!
Glazing the bottom of the ramekins for the coconut flan. I typically do not like flan, but due to timing, we ate the flan right as they came out of the over (typically you give them time to cool down). You know what? I loved the flan served piping hot! Loved the crystalized sugar that I spooned up with the warm flan. While it was not intended to be eaten this way, it changed my mind about flan!
Frying up the plantains!
Making fried yuca chips!
Three cheers for mojitos!!!
Such a great contrast to the chicken and pork were fresh salads...
Basque Tossed Salad with Radishes and Spanish Olives.
Chorizo Crescent Pastries.
Ta da! We laid everything out buffet style and then dug in! The class ate together around a large table and oohed and aahed over our dishes! Everything tasted fantastic! Full of flavor and everything tastes better when you make it!
12.09.2011
12.06.2011
'Tis The Season for Bubbles
What better way to kick off the holiday season than a champagne tasting at Silverlake Wine?!?! My friends have made this a tradition for the last two years so this year I joined in on the fun. Such a fun event!
At Silverlake Wine's last champagne tasting of the year, we enjoyed five champagnes and four incredibly flavorful bites from Heirloom LA, a local catering company that focuses on local, sustainable farm-to-plate fare. It was a packed and heavenly event (aside from the treck out to Silverlake!).
During each pour, owner George Cossette indulged us with the history and making of champagne. Truth be told, I never really sat down to think about how champagne was made. Very interesting learning! Not going to lie, I can't remember all the details because 1. I was socializing and 2. drinking champagne affects my ability to concentrate :) BUT, I do remember than champagne labels are marked with either an RM, meaning the maker grows their own grapes AND makes their own wine... or RN, meaning the maker buys the grapes and makes the champagne. Interesting!
We were spoiled with incredible food from Heirloom LA. Wow. I am salivating just thinking about it! I think I'm obsessed with everything about Heirloom LA. Co-owned by Matt Poley and Tara Maxey, Matt only deals with small local farms that "respectfully and humanely raise their livestock." While you may think this would make no difference from the meat you buy in the market from huge commercial companies, the flavors from the meats we sampled were so fresh, rich and deep. I tend to forget what real meat tastes like until an experience like this. So succulent and bold. I admire Heirloom's commitment to supporting local farms that properly raise their livestock both from a taste and lifestyle perspective. The accompanying vegetables, grains and accoutrements were beautifully prepared as if plated for one, not catering style.
Deviled Egg Stuffed Peppers with House-Cured Bacon.
Curried Spiced Whole Lamb with Saffron Farro & Crispy Salsify.
Prime Rib 'n Frites with Dill Bearnaise & Marjoram.
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