California

August 4th, 2009 No comments »

My family and I just spent a week in California, we started in Los Angeles and drove up the coast to San Francisco, check out the highlights!

LOS ANGELES a.k.a The City of Angels

With Cayce and Teresa at the Dresden

With Cayce and Teresa at the Dresden

I love LA! I love the weather, architecture, food, canyons, beaches, mountains, beautiful people, Trader Joe’s and the fiendish Farmer’s Market. LA is noir. Anything can happen there and I like that. Our first stop was the In & Out Burger on Sunset, this is my sons favorite burger joint. It’s fast, fresh, delicious and cheap. We then high-tailed it to Beverly Hot Springs for a massage and a soak in the natural hot springs that shoot up in the middle of Hollywood. I recommend this highly–it helps take away the stress of travel and your skin will feel like velvet. We lived in LA in the ’80′s and many of our friends still live there. So off to dinner with lovely friends Marina Muhlfriedel and Judy Thomas for Thai food at Chao Krung on Fairfax. It was delicious and  I especially dug a salad with fresh greens and hot and spicy lime dressing. There are many Thai restaurants in LA; sort of like there are many Mexican restaurants here. The next morning we had breakfast at Swingers Coffee Shop on Beverly then over to the Farmers Market for meetings, shopping and more eating of course. That night was a reunion with my beautiful friends Cayce Cage and Teresa Darling and their husbands at Farfalla an Italian restaurant in Silverlake. Great food that is delicious year after year. We shared many memories and pictures of our children and then hurried over to the Dresden Room to catch Lisa Gamache Rodrieguez. The Dresden is a 1940′s supper club/lounge with white booths that hosts the lounge act Marty & Elayn.  They have had residency there since 1982 and our lovely friend Lisa belted out a few tunes with Marty & Elayne that capped off our fast and furious two days in LA!

SAN SIMEON

hearst
We left LA and drove North on the 101 to San Simeon to visit the Hearst Castle. Breathtaking views from the castle to the ocean. The castle is amazing and completely over the top. The inside is gorgeous with fantastic art deco furnishings and there are two swimming pools on the property, one indoor and another out. I thought that we were wild and decadent in the ’80′s but I think these guys had it all over on us.

BIG SUR

bigsurWe then cut over to Highway 1 and headed up to Big Sur. What a gorgeous drive as one side is high cliffs and heartstopping ocean views and the other side is huge old redwoods and forest. We stayed at the Glen Oaks Lodge, a modern, remodeled old time motel type set up. It’s a really great place, with a fireplace that was on the inside of our cabin and on the outside on the patio. Super cool. Another highlight was the Big Sur Bakery for dinner! Wonderful, fresh, delicious, innovative food served in an old gas station. The owners have written a cook book about Big Sur and how they happened to end up there putting out this incredible food with their wood burning oven. I bought the book and they graciously signed it. Recipes from that soon.

MONTEREY

Sea Lions in Monterey

Sea Lions in Monterey

On to Monterey and whale watching. We saw three whales! Incredible! Then onto the boardwalk for dinner and every restaurant gives away samples of clam chowder. I was cold and wanted chowder but ate too many samples to actually order a bowl when I sat down. All were really delicious and it was difficult to choose where to eat.

SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco is sexy and moody and it was cold. The doormen at our hotel, The Clift, wore overcoats and it was July! We had just come from weeks of triple digit temps in Texas so this was refreshing and exotic to us. The Clift has an gorgeous art deco bar from the 1930′s. The whole room is exquisite but the bar itself is all glass and how it has survived all of these years is truly amazing. A must see. Dinner was at Plouf, a really great French seafood bistro in Belden Alley with other French restaurants. It’s really cool to have a cluster of French restaurants in an alley like that. The best part of dinner was the company, Kathleen Maher and her husband Jon Peddie. Lovely night to remember and what a way to end our trip!

No comments »

Posted in Cookbooks, Travel

La Panzanella

June 14th, 2009 1 comment »

tomatoesIt’s been above 100 degrees here in Austin the past week. Who wants to cook? Not me. However I do enjoy fresh and delicious food and I love to create something in the kitchen. So I went to Central Market and bought some heirloom tomatoes, a cucumber and a red onion. Central Market is my favorite grocery store. The produce is fresh and exotic, the meat is prime, the wine selection is excellent and everything always looks so good that I want to buy it all. I also get great ideas while shopping there. I like Whole Foods Market as well. Whole Foods originated in Austin in the 1970′s as a small store on Lamar Boulevard that flooded anytime it rained hard. They sold delicious coffee beans, and they were the place to get vitamins and special health tonics that you couldn’t buy anywhere else. Now of course they are not only a health source but one of the greatest gourmet markets in the world. Several more organic grocery stores and lots of Asian and Indian stores call Austin home. This city has become a foodie paradise and there is really nothing that you can’t get. I just bought some truffle butter. I can’t wait to use that. But for now back to Panzanella.

Panzanella originated as peasant food. Leftover, day old, stale bread was brought back to life with some fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil and garlic. That’s the basic recipe. You can also add red or yellow bell peppers, lettuce, capers, olives and chicken, shrimp or cheese. I made mine with chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, lettuce, basil, capers, olives and romano cheese. Wow! Fiendish large salad, lots of flavor and a one bowl meal. Make it your own and put whatever you like in it or keep it simple just like the original as I did two nights later with the last tomato. Delicious!

panzanella

Panzanella

  • 1/2 loaf of ciabatta, diced into bites
  • 1 large tomato
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1/4 cup of red onion-diced
  • 2 cups of romaine lettuce
  • 10 black olives
  • 1 tablespoon of capers
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Heat the grill. I used my inside grill pan because I wasn’t going out into the heat….
Toss the ciabatta bread with olive oil, salt & pepper and throw on the grill. While that is toasting wash and dry the chicken breasts and dice into 1 inch cubes. Toss with olive oil, salt & pepper. The bread should have nice grill marks by now, turn it and take off when crispy.
Add the chicken to the grill for about 10 minutes.

Make the dressing …

  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/2 cup of olive oil
  • 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
  • Mix the above and whisk. Set aside.

Dice the tomato, cucumber and romaine into bite sizes. Add the olives, capers and bread. Toss the chicken in and mix. Add the dressing then grate the cheese to top it.

winesEnjoy with a good bottle of wine. I recommend two; one is a French Chardonnay and the other is a nice red. The red was introduced to me by my inimitable and delightful friend Ed Ward who lives in Montpellier, France. He is an writer, and a radio personality and an expert on food and wine. He has a terrific blog called “City On A Hill” written from Montpellier. I took my first cooking class from him way back when and it was how to make jambalaya. Or was it etouffee? Who knows? All I know is that cooking is fun!

Oh and don’t forget something sweet…perhaps some Nestle’s Tollhouse Cookies!
cookies

1 comment »

Posted in Recipes, Soups and Salads

Paella

May 31st, 2009 3 comments »

I had eaten paella only twice, last time around Christmas at Janice & Sydney’s house and about 10 years ago on New Year’s Eve at Tad & Karen’s place. Both versions were delicious but different and I’ve been haunted by them every since.  I kept thinking about it so I decided to try making it. One reason I waited this long to make it is because I like simple recipes and paella is a lot of different ingredients and steps. We had a Saturday night ahead of us so my husband Jesse and I got started. We made the traditional version with seafood, chicken and pork. It turned out delicious. Rich, smokey and salty. All flavors that I love. We made it with shrimp, clams, sausage and chicken. I can see this easily as a seafood only paella or even a vegetarian version. The chicken and sausage make it very moist and fatty. You’ve got to use Spanish paprika and saffron as both have incredible flavor and color. It took about 2 hours from start to finish so if you have the time I highly recommend this dish. It’s really fun to make and perfect for a dinner party of four. Oh, I don’t own a paella pan so I used my large skillet (pictured).

paella

Paella

  • 2 chicken legs
  • 2 chicken thighs
  • 1 pound of clams – we used littleneck
  • 6 large shrimp – peeled & deviened
  • 1 pound of sausage – we used Andouille
  • 1 onion
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1/8 cup of olive oil
  • 1 cup of rice
  • 1 teaspoon of oregano
  • 1 teaspoon of fennel
  • 2 tablespoons of sweet paprika
  • a pinch of saffron
Wash and dry the chicken, clean the shrimp & clams and set aside.
Saute the chicken in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, oregano and paprika. Let it cook for about 10 minutes. Add the sausage to the chicken and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. This is where it gets a bit greasy so I think I will eliminate the chicken and sausage next time for my taste although they do make a very rich & tasty paella. Take the meat out of the skillet and set on a plate. Add the onions and garlic both chopped and minced to the skillet and cook them down a bit and add the tomatoes. Cook on high until you loose some of the water from the tomatoes. Add the rice and about 3 cups of water, salt, pepper & saffron. Simmer all for about 10 minutes. Add the shrimp, clams, chicken & sausage back into the pan and cook all for about 15 minutes or until the rice is tender. A lot of this timing in the end will depend on what kind of rice that you use. Don’t use a brown rice but instead a basmati or Spanish rice that cooks quickly.
The paella should be ready. Put some chopped parsley on top and enjoy. Enjoy with  some a bottle of red Spanish wine.

3 comments »

Posted in Chicken, Beef, Pork, Recipes, Seafood

Memorial Day

May 25th, 2009 8 comments »

spareribsToday is Memorial Day and the Grovers are coming over for a late lunch. My mom’s coming too. She is a fantastic Italian cook that doesn’t cook anymore due to her age. She asked me to make German Potato Salad and I did. More on that in a minute. Memorial Day means barbecuing, at least the food part of the day signifies that. The day itself should make us remember all of the soldiers that fought for our freedom. My wonderful dad fought in World War 2 and I’m thankful to him for risking his life and to all of the others that did so as well. Otherwise we may not be blogging, Facebooking, emailing, etc. This is a food blog so on with our menu for today.

  • Watermelon Daiquiris
  • Chips with Green Salsa
  • BBQ Pork Ribs
  • German Potato Salad
  • Baked Beans
  • Cole Slaw
The Grovers are bringing the dessert and I think it will be a cobbler but I’ll let you know for sure later.
coleslaw

I prepared all of the recipes in advance which is awesome when you are having guests over and you want to start with a daiquiri when they arrive. I mean one or two of those and no telling how the food would turn out.

That morning prepare the babyback ribs.

Season well, I use coarse black pepper, kosher salt & garlic powder. Sprinkle all of the seasonings all over the ribs. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 1 hour & 15 minutes. Cover with foil and when you are ready to eat heat a grill, sauce one side and grill for 3 minutes, turn over do the same. Oh, I love Hoover’s BBQ sauce, buy some. At this point the only place to buy it is his restaurant.

German Potato Salad

  • potatoes
  • bacon
  • onions
  • celery seed
Boil the potatoes, cool, slice. To make the sauce, saute onions in olive oil, the recipe calls for bacon dripping but I don’t go there. It’s olive oil for me. Add the celery seed, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of sugar to the onions. Then add 1/4 cup of vinegar. I think Japanese rice vinegar is best, and 1 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of flour. Cook until thick and add the potatoes and bacon. You now have German Potato salad! Serve at room temperture.

potatosalad

Baked Beans

Open a can and saute 1/4 cup of onion, add some dijon mustard to cut the sweetness and add 2 slices of bacon; cooked and chopped. Heat & Serve.
This is not really the kind of food that I usually cook and this is my first post so I’m a little nervous so keep checking me out because it’s going to get better. I will cook a lot of Italian recipes from my Mom and food with a French twist.

8 comments »

Posted in Appetizers and Sides, Chicken, Beef, Pork, Cocktails and Wine, Holidays, Recipes, Soups and Salads