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!

If this page took a shower, this is what it would sing: http://www.codeorgan.com/?url=thedinetteset.blogspot.com

When simple ain't easy

Wikipedia - Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation, which he subsequently extended to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is predetermined in order of importance. It is often depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels: the lowest level is associated with physiological needs, while the uppermost level is associated with self-actualization needs, particularly those related to identity and purpose. Deficiency needs must be met first. Once these are met, seeking to satisfy growth needs drives personal growth. The higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the lower needs in the pyramid are met. Once an individual has moved upwards to the next level, needs in the lower level will no longer be prioritized. If a lower set of needs is no longer being met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritize those needs by focusing attention on the unfulfilled needs, but will not permanently regress to the lower level.

Reading Leslie's post the other day, my mind became fixated on the concept it raised and launched into this tangent that's affected me for the past 48 hours. I started thinking about "simplicity" and its utopian promise of halcyon days... The thought of it all made me anxious -- the notion that once you are able to reduce something to basic numbers or equations or any systematized routine you will have achieved some finite degree of self-actualization and greater emotional intelligence. I do believe in the restorative power of simplicity, but surrendering oneself to the simple life entirely? What would that be like? If simplicity was the means to our end, surely we'd be bored out of our minds, less interesting, and less in touch with ourselves and our surroundings.

I dug up my last moleskine notebook and started flipping through all the quotations and aphorisms that I'd collected mostly from books and movies for the last couple of years. I got into collecting various quotations and aphorisms, hoping that each one might allow me to better understand and organize the world around me and be more aware of my own potentiality within it. The running list I've collected ping pongs back and forth between skepticism and faith. A recent line: "...but the universe is indifferent..." was uttered by the character Don Draper of Mad Men :). Take that line and it could all be so simple. It would allow one to both accept and reject everything at the same time. It could free one to do or believe as one pleases if one accepts [that]:

"The greatest mystery is not that we have been flung at random among the profusion of the earth and the galaxies, but that in this prison we can fashion images sufficiently powerful enough to deny our nothingness." - Andre Malraux

Life as one big boardgame. Dada life.

But every time I find myself peering over the edge of the existential black hole of nihilism, that instinct for life rises and I once again am inspired to continue exploring the "Practice of Everyday Life" (a positive nihilism?). I'm fascinated by what people are doing, everything that's happening, connections, interactions. I hate missing out. I become obsessed with understanding our modern folklore.

I remember that simplicity does not equal simple-mindedness, rather, it is what we seek as the reward for our persistence and undying curiosity. I guess a little anxiety isn't so bad after all.

A fitting quote that sums it up comes from one of the most famous (positive) nihilists out there:

"To those human beings in whom I have a stake, I wish suffering, being forsaken, sickness, maltreatment, humiliation--I wish that they should not remain unfamiliar with profound self-contempt, the torture of self-mistrust, and the misery of the vanquished: I have no pity for them because I wish them the only thing that can prove today whether one is worth anything or not--that one endures." - Nietzsche

waiting for autumn

In anticipation of fall I've been really into end of summer tunes -- the ones that just leave you with your thoughts..

like this one!


the album version is less distracting but i love this part of the movie..



and i'll just throw this classic in too...



anyone else have any?!?!

Best,
Viv

Please, just the simple things.

Classes have begun. Summer is gone. So what should one do to bring a little bit of sunshine back? Well, it is just the simple things really. This week for me was a great example of how the simplest of things always can make a dreary law student smile again.

New TV
I am guilty of being a slight television addict. I can always find someting to watch at any time of the day and even with limited channels. But it is the season premieres of the new fall schedule that brings me joy in between textbooks, namely: Mad Men, Top Chef, Project Runway, Southland, House, and The Office. But since I lack cable, my friends from school DVR them for me. Last Thursday night, me and Kat decided to have a ridiculously girlish night that included gin, pizza, and 3 hours of Project Runway. Although watching television is an awfully time-consuming habit, it was fun sipping martinis while agreeing with Tim Gunn's critiques.

Ice Cream on a Warm Summer's Night.
Although my favorite desserts are ones that are best fresh out of the oven, this summer has been so hot and my apartment so lacking in air-conditioning that ice cream is really the only cure. So if I'm craving for something more exotic than the strawberry Haagen-Dazs in my fridge, I'll head over to Scoops for some raspberry balsamic or guinness chocolate ice cream. It makes me almost love the hot weather.

Amoeba Music
Whenever I'm feeling blue, Amoeba always cheers me right up. Lately, I've been in a music funk, so I decided to visit the place and get some new tunes. When I got there, I was happily surprised that Peanut Butter Wolf was performing a DJ set. Just another perk to brighten my day. After walking the aisles for about an hour, I purchased the new Mars Volta, an original issue of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, Julian Plenti's self-titled album, two used Fugazi albums, and the new Horrors album on vinyl. I wanted more, but thought that was enough as a pick-me up. So I scurried home and ripped the plastic off of each CD/record and listened to my new purchases for the next 5 hours. Oh, such a happy day.

After my last post yesterday, I realized two things. 1. I did not follow Dinette Set etiquette and posted something that was not really food related; and 2. I meant to! I've been meaning to all week, but got sidetracked when I nearly set my (?) new place on fire.
So. To make amends, this evening I have returned to the Dinette Set blog, and I remembered to bring back the casserole dish you left at my house.
I saw a shirt once that said "a french fry is simply a ketchup delivery device." After consuming half a pound of Whole Foods' Fresh Mango Salsa, I feel the same way about tortilla chips. I had first purchased Archer Farms Organic Blue Corn with Flax Seed tortilla chips to accompany a jar of Tostitos salsa, the hottest Target had to offer. Later that week, however when I visited Whole Foods on an empty stomach looking for some dinner (I'd heard they had vegan tamales!), I stopped at the ready-made section by the front door to get some guacamole. When I saw that it was over $6 for half a pound, I said, "screw that" and put it back. My eyes then drifted to a container filled with tiny pieces the color of early morning sunshine, speckled with red and I thought: Bingo.
I was close. It was mango.
My love affair with mango salsa goes back to eating fish tacos at La Salsa at Bella Terra in Huntington Beach. The mango on it's own was good, but when I mixed it with the habanero salsa they had?!?! Oh my goodness, that alone was worth the $7.
I know that traditionally, mango salsa has accompanied fish, but now tortilla chips will have to do.
Quickly, ingredients: Mangos, Pineapple, Onions, Variety Peppers, Cilantro, Lemon, Lime and Red Bell Peppers. It is the perfect combination of sweet and spicy (although I could go a little hotter), with no added sugars or extra crap to make you feel bad after you eat it.
I'm telling you, it's heaven in a 20% post consumer recycled product container, for under 4 bucks.
Sorry I don't have a picture; I ate it all...

Tonight I moved into my sublet apartment, something that, in my younger years, I thought would be incredibly chic and somewhat edgy. Turns out it's kinda strange. Instead of being like a long-term hotel, I've been asked to supply my own bedding, a request which I am more than happy to oblige, except I didn't pack any. I had intended to open up a new bank account anyhow, but it was shifted to the top of my priority list tonight so that I could cash a check and buy some sheets, but by the time I was through at the bank, the thrift store was closed. I wound up at Big Lots, thinking I just need something cheap to get me through the next month, and then I can get what I really want, which is why I started out at the thrift store in the first place.
I found a set. Full size. Microfiber. Tan. Fine. Perfect! I've resolved to buy sheets that are closest to my skin tone so that I sleep better (it's scientifically proven, but leaves me wondering how interracial couples work it out and feeling like albinos are pretty much set when they travel). Big Lots blankets were a mess. The dye lots were off and the fabrics were nowhere near natural feeling and I didn't think I'd be able to sleep if I bought one, so I trekked to Target for an upgrade.
At this point, I felt like I was getting things you'd get if you were decorating a whole apartment, so I had to start thinking about the color scheme for everything! After all, the blankets I got might wind up on the sofa rather than the bed, and since I had to get a towel, I had to plan my bathroom right then and there, in aisle 4 of the housewares section. There were towels on sale, so I had to face even more pressure when it came to choosing exact shades once I got the basic color scheme down.
I wound up sticking with my Big Lots towel, just the one, although I did find two super cozy blankets and a throw pillow. A throw pillow! For a sublet! But it happens that it matches his decor too, so I lucked out. Either that, or I've absorbed some of his taste from my commitment to live in his space.
Once at home, I went to make the bed and found that while my bed at home is a Full, the one in Shenoa's apartment is a Queen, and thus my sheets are too short and I have to return them, which ultimately is fine because they don't feel right, and a closer inspection revealed them to be polyester.
Tomorrow it's back to the thrift store for me because I am not investing in something that I cannot use in the long term. So, tonight, I sleep on my blanket and wake up looking like a waffle cone. Better that than burnt toast, which brings me to the second phase of tonight's adventure!
When I walked in tonight, it was like an oven in here. Or a Kiva, to be a proper New Mexican about it. I knew it had been cool when I first came to check the place out, but having lived for the last 8 years without air conditioning, I had no clue as to how or where to turn it on. When my eyes fell on the thermostat, I thought surely this must be it. Since I only needed it a little bit cool, I turned the thermostat to 74 and went around the corner to start making the bed. Before I got in the bedroom doorway, I noticed another switch, this one much clearer and more familiar. I turned it to "Low cool" and went about my business. As I was tucking in the final bit of blanket, I felt something extremely hot coming from near the outlet I was near. This place is full of antique junk with character, so I thought it was perhaps an old wire or something, but no, it was far too hot for that, and not as localized. Inspecting further, I discovered that I'd turned on the heater and almost burned the place down my first night here.
At least I'm getting all the bugs worked out at once and when I finally do get my own place, I'll be set.