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!

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!

The New School of Cooking. Culver City, CA.

I'm On The Menu at Craft!

Craft.

'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.

Silverlake Wine and Heirloom LA. Los Angeles, CA.

Taking a Bite Out Of "Ludo Baby Bites"

It's all about who you know, right?!?! Well, good thing my cohort knows someone who works at Bugaboo and who invited us to the exclusive screening of Chef Ludo Lefebvre's "Ludo Baby Bites" webisode series, a recent partnership of Bugaboo's! No, I don't have babies, but I'm a huge fan of Chef Ludo (just announced... LudoBites 8.0 will be in January on the Westside... yes!) and love this concept of helping families prepare fresh and healthy food for themselves... and their babies! Definitely was excited to check it out.

Turns out the Bugaboo offices are in El Segundo and super close to my office. We walked into their huge, bright office and I couldn't help but be happy! Ludo, babies and the Ludo Food truck awaited!

Bugaboo did a fantastic job hosting this exclusive screening! Loved all the branded promotional items, which were edible!

The idea of "Ludo Baby Bites" was born at Chef Ludo's wife, Krissy's, baby shower. Chef Ludo was blindfolded and had to taste different baby foods and list the ingredients. He guessed about 30% of the ingredients (and was right!), but questioned why pureed carrots were brown. Carrots weren't brown! It got him thinking about what he would put in the mouths of his seven-month-old twins and "Ludo Baby Bites," a 12 episode web series designed to "promote healthy eating for modern families," was born. 

It's so important what we put in our mouths, and the mouths of our babies. Excited for parents to watch Chef Ludo prepare food that parents AND toddlers can eat! That's healthy and tasty! Perfect for busy parents who are conscious about what they feed their children. Such a fantastic idea!

The icing on the cake? Lunch from the Ludo Truck!

Some of the Bugaboo gang in front of the truck!

The watermelon strawberry agua fresca was refreshing and delicious!

Embarrassed to admit, but this was my first taste of Chef Ludo's infamous fried chicken. I know, I know, I should be ashamed!!! What an incredible spread! The fried chicken was so different than your typical fried chicken. Each piece was a huge hunk of white meat... no mystery meat or dark meat here. It was hot, full of flavor and housed by a thin crisp layer of batter. Not over-fried, not too much batter. As Goldilocks would say, "just right."

The fries? Perfection! The spicy aioli sauce on the side? Fab!

The slaw on the side was delicious. Packed with fresh cilantro, cabbage, onion, Thai basil and jalapenos in a spicy sauce. Refreshing with a kick!

While we were at the Bugaboo offices we got a tour of the Bugaboo store and learned all about their awesome product line. Will definitely keep these products top of mind when I have a baby... eventually ;)

And look, their strollers aren't just for babies!!! Hee hee.

Ludo Baby Bites and Bugaboo.