I'm an Animal

Last week was my birthday, so naturally I celebrated with a few extravagant meals. My friends took me to one of my favorite restaurants Animal on Fairfax on the nights before and after my birthday. Below are some of the dishes I remembered to photograph prior to devouring them.

Foie Gras Terrine

Bacon Wrapped Rabbit Loin

Rabbit Legs

Flat Iron Steak with Sunchokes

Melted Petit Basque with Chorizo

Next, my sisters treated me to dinner at Lazy Ox Canteen in Little Tokyo.

Pork Rillete

Cripsy Clams (and Viv's manicured hands)

Panna Cotta with Figs

Chicken pot chicken pot chicken pot piiiie!

Pork Croquettes and Beef Carpaccio

Chocolate Mousse Cookie Sandwich

I ended my night with cocktails at Villains Tavern. My cousin Alan also brought me a chocolate cake from Lark bakery in Silverlake. I totally gained a few pounds at the end of the week.

Sushi 101

Konnichiwa Dinette Set-son! This is a very delayed entry, but I had to document my sushi attempt at one point. My friend Adam-son just got back from Japan and brought me back authentic sushi mats. So of course, I had to find an excuse to use them so we were off to LA Fish Company in Downtown, Los Angeles to check out the goods. After we bought some tuna and yellow tail filets, we stopped by Little Tokyo to get some other ingredients. Below is a breakdown of our Japanese culinary adventure:

Tempura Vegetables


We chopped up some mushrooms, zucchini and sweet potatoes in half-inch sticks and dipped them in the tempura batter. I accidentally made the batter too thin, so it's a good idea to add the wet water in the dry ingredients gradually. I heated up a pot of vegetable oil, dipping a drop of the batter in the oil to see if it was hot enough. Once it sizzled, I added the vegetables in small batches. After 2-3 minutes of frying, I placed the tempura on a paper towel. I like mine more crispy, so I dipped the vegetables again in the batter and fried them a second time.


Sushi/Sashimi/ Hand Rolls

First, i started the sushi rice. I added rice vinegar, sugar and a little salt to a small saucepan on medium heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, I took it off the heat to cool to add to the finished sushi rice. When the sushi rice is cooled, I added the vinegar mixture gradually until the rice incorporates the vinegar but is not too wet.

Unfortunately, I don't have a great chef's knife, which made slicing the fish extremely difficult and aesthetically displeasing. But we tried to make do, using my chopping knife to slice the fillets, cutting against the grain. The left over ends of the fish were used for our spicy tuna hand rolls. For the spicy tuna, all we did was chop up the tuna and added mayonaise and siracha to it.

After the prep work was finished, we started setting up our work station. We wrapped the sushi mats in cellophane, placed a bowl of water, the sushi rice, fish, and chopped vegetables on the table. To start our rolls, we used placed the seaweed on the mat, shiny side down. I dipped my fingers in the water bowl and grabbed a handful of rice. I covered the seaweed with a thin layer of rice, leaving some exposure on the far end. Next, I placed the fish and veggies in a row. I took the front edge of my mat and rolled it over the fish and veggies, pressing as I rolled. Once at the edge, I dipped my fingers with water to help seal the seaweed. Here's the finished product. Tanoshimu!







Sorry, no picture of my awesome handroll.

The Next Breakfast Craze?

For Alex's bon voyage back to Paris, Viv decided to cook the mademoiselle bucatini pasta. The recipe calls for a cream sauce, made with heavy cream thickened with egg yokes. As most culinary experts know, eggs scramble if placed on high heat, but Viv is yet to be an expert. She innocently forgot to turn off the stove when she placed the egg yokes inside. So, instead of a thick cream sauce, Alex was presented with pancetta flavored milk with strands of scrambled egg over pasta. Even though visually unappealing, the dish didn't taste half bad. Viv may just be the next avante-guarde chef of our time.

A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose

The obsession to recreate the perfect gorgonzola stuffed date has led to a new obsession:

Find as many creative and delicious uses for a 700ml bottle of Kalvert Rose Sirop I purchased from the Indian market down the street last Weds.

I was on the hunt for rose water for the simple syrup in my date recipe (phase II), but they only had cosmetic use rose water.

The suggested use for "NON ALCOHOLIC SWEETENED BEVERAGES" : mix 1 part sirop to 4 parts "chill milk, water or soda"

But why not alcoholic beverages? Vodka rose tonic anyone? With lime?

As a glaze for savory foods? And, might I add, it made a delightful addition to the simple syrup for the dates in place of the rose water! Any other ideas? I have the rose sirop, let's try 'em all!

Thanks for the Date, I had a Lovely Time

It was at a friend's B-day dinner at a fancy restaurant several years back that I became aware of the deliciousness which is the bacon wrapped gorgonzola stuffed date. The perfect combination of salty, savory and sweet. They melted in my mouth. It was love at first taste. I vowed to someday recreate this recipe.

Two things have gotten in the way of realizing said vow:

1. I am lazy

2. I went vegetarian over a year ago. This pretty much puts a damper on bacon wrapped anything (sob- Leslie's prosciutto wrapped asparagus)

But I finally did it. I was invited to a potluck, and realized, "Oh shit. That means I have to cook something). So I decided to compromise and create veggie and non veggie version (I was vastly outnumbered).

I searched the interwebs and found the two most cohesive, legible recipes I could. This one appeared painfully easy, but used paprika as the one and only spice, and I wasn't much into that.

The other seemed a bit fancier, and involved making the gorgonzola into a paste by processing it with almonds, whiched sounded like a fantastic idea. The problem? It involved making a glaze out of reduced sugar & rose water. a) rosewater required specialty store shopping, which I didn't have time for. b) a sugar syrup seemed superfluous as the dates are already so sweet.

Naturally, I combined the two recipes, and experimented with my best judgement.

I used slightly more cheese in the gorgonzola to almond ratio than the grouprecipies.com recipe, and the powdered sugar to taste. And of course, no syrup.

don't forget to use toothpicks to secure your proscioutto/fakin' bacon. This is really mostly important for the veggie bacon, as it doesn't want to stay wrapped. The prosciutto could get away with going pickless.

Also, I ended up cooking the veggie bacon and proscioutto wrapped dates at about 400/425 degrees, for almost 10 minutes (I checked them at 5 and 8 minutes and the cheese wasn't melty, the dates were not bubbly and the bacon did not look crispy)

The result of this experiment in taste?

The veggie bacon needs more cook time than the proscioutto, which ended up a little overcooked, but still plenty edible.

Veggie bacon isn't really known for it's ability to crisp.

I swallow my know-it-all-ness. The syrup was probably more for helping the morsels stick together, and adding moisture. I think in the long run, that's what they needed more of.

But overall, the date experiment was a success. I made instant friends with people and didn't make it across the room without loosing several off the tray to some hungry folks.

Tomorrow: Date experiment #2

I will implement the sauce this time, and make the necessary time adjustments. Also, I will use slivers of tofurky slices in place of the veggie bacon, which had the disturbingly artificial coloring and resembled play-doh food just a bit. Also, I think it will be more similar in thinness to the proscioutto.

Stay tuned, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

image pirated, erm, I mean... borrowed... appropriated! from: http://www.epicurean.com/featured/crispy-bacon-wrapped-stuffed-dates-recipe.html

Update: Experiment part 2!
The second batch of dates were more successful than the first! I avoided overcooking the proscioutto , and the syrup made the bites more succulent, the slightest hint of rose was lovely.

I asked my new culinary guinea pigs, erm, friends, for some honest feedback, and It was agreed that the fake meat was not necessary for the veggie option, as it added in texture, but not so much to the flavor. Not a bad idea at all.

The Road to Domesticity

I personally love cooking for my friends and roomie Viv, but it was pretty nice having her cook me breakfast for the first time. Viv wanted to start learning how to cook, so I challenged her and Chase to cook me a poached egg. With the help of Martha Stewart and my oversight, we ended up enjoying a brilliant breakfast of poached eggs on a bed of tomatoes and spinach. I must say, Viv's poached egg was beautifully executed.

VIV LOOKING COMFORTABLE IN THE KITCHEN
SECRET IN KEEPING THE EGG'S SHAPE IS CONSTANTLY STIRRING THE WATER
ONCED POACHED, PLACE THE EGG ON A PAPER TOWEL TO SOAK UP THE WATER
THE FINISHED PRODUCT
CHASE'S POACHED EGG

Culinary Crush

Chef Ludovic (Ludo) Lefebvre
Age: 38
Status: Married (to an attorney/playboy)
Career: Rebel French chef

My first bangs of affection for Ludo occurred while watching Iron Chef. What can I say, I"m a sucker for the French and even more so for tattoos. Although he can be rude and cocky, as seen in his two failed attempts at becoming a Top Chef Master, he is remarkably charming in person. But his charm wouldn't affect me this much if it wasn't for his amazing cuisine. When I missed him at Breadbar, I was determined to experience his culinary craft the next time at Royal/T. His fusion of french and asian flavors was one of the most amazing things I've tasted. From the foie gras beignet to the udon soup, everything was delicious. But Ludo out did himself at Gram & Papas for Ludobites 4.0. Here, the cuisine was more french. The tartine with lavender honey and lard made me a fan of lavender, something I though made things taste like lotion. My favorite plates were the foie gras "pina colada", the lamb with artichokes, and the dark chocolate souffle. If I had more money, I would have ordered the entire menu. But I digress...

NIGHT 1:
SNAPPER CEVICHE, HEIRLOOM TOMATOES, JALAPENOS, RED ONIONS, MEYER LEMON PASTE, OLIVE OIL

RACK OF LAMB, FRESH GOAT CHEESE, SMOKED EEL, ARTICHOKES, MINT
STEAK AU POIVRE, SHALLOTS, POLENTA BONE MARROW, ROASTED EGGPLANT PUREE
POTATO MOUSSELINE


DARK CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE


MACARONS, ORGANIC STRAWBERRY & CHANTILLY



During my second visit, Ludo caught my eye and gave me a playful wink! I'm sure this small act is common for all his groupies, but I still believe I was a little more special than the others. I know, I know, self-delusion. My night's apex shifted towards the end of my meal when Ludo approached me and Viv --asking if we had a good time and reassuring us that he'll win Top Chef Masters one day. I seriously got goosebumps when he gave us a hug and posed for our pictures. Check it out.

NIGHT 2:
WILD STRIPED BASS, FRESH SANSHO PEPPER, FRESH PEAS, LETTUCE, SPRING ONIONS, YUZU
SCALLOP, SPINACH, YOGURT-CURRY, SPRING GARLIC, VIOLET FLOWERS
SANTA BARBARA PRAWNS, AVOCADO, COCKTAIL SAUCE

See how wonderful he is at the next LudoBites.

http://www.ludolefebvre.com

First post of 2010!

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