Inspired by California-Mediterranean cuisines and farmers markets, I cook healthy, flavorful dishes that are easy-to-prepare yet elegant. I write for Zester Daily, One for the Table, Luxury Travel Magazine, Huffington Post & New York Daily News. My latest Amazon eCookbook is 10 Delicious Holiday Recipes. My handcrafted chocolates are available at www.dchocolates.com.
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I like watching the Oscars because it's a celebration of filmmaking, one of the world's greatest art forms. We'll watch the Red Carpet beforehand hoping to catch sight of our oldest son who represents one of the actors who is in contention. And, we'll watch the ceremony in real time. No pausing because we know our smart phones will be buzzing all through the ceremony sending us updates about who won for which category.
So I spent today cooking. I made carrot salad with almonds and golden raisins soaked in rice wine vinegar and seasoned with black pepper. I also made Yukon potato salad with charred corn, carrots and parsley. And Cole slaw with green cabbage, carrots, chopped roasted almonds and the golden raisins, tossed in a sauce of equal parts mayonnaise and sour cream and a splash of rice wine vinegar.
I'll definitely open some of the clams I picked up at Whole Foods to take advantage of their 12 for $12 every Friday sale. I've been enjoying them with classic cocktail sauce and with a recipe I'm working on, a Viet-Chinese style sauce made with fish sauce, water, sugar, finely chopped shallots and lime juice.
I top off the oysters with the sauce and a few cilantro leaves that I've deep fried and with a few tasty bits of fried prosciutto fat for crunch.
To toast the winners, I'll make a Pisco Sour, a drink that I had when we stayed at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam. In the lovely Malabar at the top of the hotel with a view of Amsterdam across the River IJ, mixologist Tyrone Sullivan and bar manager Tarik showed me how they prepare their Pisco Sour.
Since I've been home, I've made the cocktail dozens of times. It's that delicious. Finding Pisco in Los Angeles isn't easy, so when I don't have Pisco, I use vodka or Mezcal instead. The taste difference is negligible.
So, here it is, the best drink recipe you'll ever try at home and the one I recommend you make when you have something (like the Oscars!) to celebrate.
All the best and, as the ad says, drink responsibly.
PISCO SOUR
Serves 1
Ingredients
2 ounces pisco
1 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 ounce simple syrup (made with equal parts water and white sugar - see below)
1 egg white (save the egg yolk to have for breakfast)
Garnish: Angostura bitters
Directions
To make simple syrup is, well, "simple." Since you can keep the syrup in the refrigerator for an indefinitely amount of time, make enough to use for many cocktails.
Place 1 cup white sugar in a small sauce pan. Carefully hand 1 cup of water. Do not stir. Allow the mixture to heat on a low flame until the sugar dissolves. Cool and place into a jar or bottle and reserve in the refrigerator.
Place the egg white, Pisco (vodka or Mezcal), simple syrup and freshly squeezed lime juice into a shaker. With the lid and top on, do a "dry" shake (which means you don't add ice). Holding the top and lid on, shake vigorously 25-30 times. Shaking caused the egg white to froth, which creates gas which will pop off the top if you don't hold on tightly.
Open the top to relieve the pressure, then open the shaker and add 4 ice cubes. Put the lid and top back on and vigorously shake again.
To serve, either pour into a martini style glass or into a large glass filled with ice. Drizzle a few drops of Angostura bitters.
I am reprising my July 4th post from previous years. This year is different. COVID isn't over, so we'll practice social distancing even as we pass around containers of food. We're all shell shocked by the events of 2022. The brutality of Russia's war against the people of Ukraine. The revelations of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capital. The actions of the Supreme Court.
Yet, even with all that, we are still grateful for our country and its democracy. We consider ourselves blessed to be living here with our family and friends, in our communities. To celebrate we will share a meal, watch fireworks and commit ourselves to get out the VOTE.
Wishing you all a great 4th of July. And now, let's COOK!
We're having a party. On July 4th we'll gather in the park opposite our local high school (Pali High) to eat, catch up and watch fireworks. Everyone will bring food and drinks to share and a sweater because when the sun goes down, it gets chilly.
We have been doing this for so many years, I'm not certain when we started. Over the years sometimes the group grows to almost thirty. Sometimes a handful of friends shows up. It all depends on what day of the week the holiday falls. We've noticed that when the 4th falls on a weekend, there isn't enough time to travel out of town, so our group swells. This year, the 4th is on Thursday, so our group will be more intimate. Big or small, the gathering is fun.
Everyone is asked to bring a favorite food. Something special. This year I'm making favorite dishes, ones designed to share at a picnic or at buffet-style fireworks watching party.
I love my kimchi chicken wings (see below), sticky sweet with heat, moist and tender. Nothing is better except fried chicken the way chef Wes Whitsell (Hatchet Hall) showed me for a cooking video we did last month. His fried chicken is crispy and moist. For the cooking demonstration he made wings, thighs and legs. He doesn't like breasts because they don't have enough flavor. I pretty much agree. For my pot luck contribution, I'm making cut apart wings and legs, the easiest parts to eat at a picnic.
I'll also make an Italian parsley salad with chopped vegetables and pitted olives and a Little Gem lettuce salad with carrot rounds and feta cheese, served with whole wheat lavash.
Only recently did I discover Little Gem lettuce. First, at Glatt, a kosher market, on Pico east of Robertson and then at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market at the Garden of Organic stand. At first I thought they were "baby" romaine lettuces. They have a cleaner, crisper flavor, with less water and more crunch. Wrapped in a damp kitchen towel and placed into a plastic bag, the heads will keep fresh in the refrigerator for three weeks.
Here's the recipe I'll use for the 4th (which is exactly the recipe I use when I make the salad at home except sometimes I'll trade out the feta for blue cheese).
Crispy Little Gem Lettuce Salad
When making the salad, leave the leaves whole so they don't wilt.
For the olives, use any kind you enjoy. We like Castelvetrano Green olives, which can be found pitted for easy use, although olives taste best when not pitted.
Serves 4 Time to prepare: 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 heads Little Gem Lettuce, leaves removed whole, washed, pat dried
1 large carrot, washed, ends removed, peeled, cut into thin rounds
1 large tomato, stem end removed, washed, pat dried, cut into dime size pieces
1 cup pitted olives, roughly chopped
1 scallion, ends removed, washed, brown leaves discarded, cut into paper thin rounds (optional)
1/2 cup feta, pat dried, crumbled
1 medium avocado, washed, peeled, pit and any brown spots removed, cut into dime sized pieces
1/2 cup homemade croutons (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced over a low flame to 2 teaspoons, cooled
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Lay the Little Gem leaves in the bottom of a serving bowl. Sprinkle on the carrots, tomatoes, olives, scallions (optional), feta, avocado and croutons (optional).
Just before serving, season with sea salt and black pepper, drizzle on olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar.
Serve with a knife and fork. Kimchi Chicken Wings Chicken wings are sold whole, the drumstick only or the two-bone part. If you prefer one part of the wing over another, buy only those. The whole chicken wing will be less expensive and the wing tips can be roasted and used to create stock. Do not use the whole chicken wing, which is too difficult to eat.
I prefer preservative-free kimchi. I have been enjoying Mommy Boss napa cabbage kimchi. Read the label carefully because there are different kinds of kimchi, I would recommend only using cabbage kimchi without dried shrimp.
Serves 4 Time to prepare: Marinate overnight, prep 20 minutes, bake 60 minutes Ingredients 2 pounds chicken wings
1 cup kimchi, without preservatives
1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar, depending on taste
1 medium yellow onion, washed, pat dried, peeled, root and stem removed, thin sliced from root to stem
1/4 cup kimchi liquid
1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions
Thinly slice kimchi and mix together with onion slices, brown sugar, kimchi liquid and olive oil.
Add chicken wing parts to marinade. Mix well. Place in a covered bowl or sealed plastic bag. Refrigerate over night.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Prepare a roasting pan. Line the bottom with aluminum foil. Because the drippings are sticky (and delicious!) I place a Silpat sheet on top of the aluminum foil so I can easily retrieve the bits of caramelized onions and kimchi. Place a wire on top of the aluminum foil and Silpat sheet.
Place the chicken wings on top of the wire rack, allowing space between each part to allow for even cooking. Reserve the liquid marinade with the onions and kimchi.
Place wings into preheated oven.
While the wings are roasting, place the reserved marinade into a small sauce pan and reduce the liquid by 1/2 over a low heat.
Remove wings from the oven after 30 minutes.
Turn wings over and baste with reduced marinade, placing onion and kimchi slices on each wing.
Return to oven.
After 30 minutes, remove and check for doneness. The onions and kimchi slices should be lightly browned and beginning to crisp. The wings should be tender. If not, return to oven and continue baking. Check every 10 minutes for doneness.
Serve hot as an appetizer or on top of steamed rice. The wings are delicious at room temperature, perfect for a picnic. However they are served, have a good supply of napkins available.
"You say tomato, I say tomato" say Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong in their classic song about lovers who can't even agree on how to pronounce everyday words like "tomato" and "potato." But today pronunciation isn't the only issue when it comes to "tomato."
Recently, I was brought up-close-and-personal with a controversy that is raging in the culinary world.
When is a San Marzano tomato a real San Marzano tomato?
Widely regarded as the best-of-the-best, low-acid San Marzano tomatoes are so prized they have been given a D.O.P. designation along with Italy's other prized food products like Basilico Genovese, Acute Balsamic di Reggio Emilia and Grand Padang cheese, to name a few.
Officially the tomatoes are called Pomodoro San Marzano Dell'Agro Sarmese-Nocerino D.O.P. "D.O.P" means "Denominazionedi Origins Protetta" or "Protected Designation of Origin." In the EU, if a can of tomatoes says "San Marzano," the D.O.P. seal must also be visible on the label to confirm that the tomatoes and sauce inside are guaranteed to have been grown in San Marzano and harvested and packaged according to the designation (more about that later).
That seems simple enough. If the label says "San Marzano," then it must be "San Marzano D.O.P." But not so fast.
In the United States, "D.O.P." has no meaning. U.S. domestic producers can say "San Marzano" if the seeds are from that tomato strain. So it's buyer beware. If you want a San Marzano experience in the U.S., look for "D.O.P."
Why are San Marzano tomatoes so highly regarded?
Grown within sight of Mount Vesuvius in the Agro Sarnese-Nocerino region near Naples, the tomatoes develop their delicate flavor, sweetness and low-acidity in the rich volcanic soil, under the ever-present southern Italian sun. To receive the D.O.P designation, the tomatoes must also be handpicked, steamed, peeled and combined with sauce made from San Marzano tomatoes.
At the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market, one enterprising farmer had identified his fresh tomatoes as "Sanmarzano." He might have found San Marzano seeds, but his Southern California tomatoes do not have the benefit of the Agro Sarnese-Nocerino terroir.
The tomatoes are always packaged whole. If you see a label that says San Marzano "cherry tomatoes" or "diced tomatoes," that product might be of good quality but if you want a D.O.P. experience, look for that D.O.P.
To purchase San Marzano D.O.P. products, search online. I found authentic products on Amazon, Supermarket Italy, Etaly and other online retailers and even many supermarkets like Ralph's and Von's as well as Italian shops and specialty food stores. Try Cost Plus World Market as well.
Please send me recipes and photographs when you make your delicious dishes using Pomodoro San Marzano Dell'Agro Sarmese-Nocerino D.O.P. and I will submit your recipe to enter a contest to win a gift basket of these wonderful D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes.
The tomatoes I used were provided courtesy of the Consorzio di Tutela del Pomodoro San Marzano dell’Agro Sarnese-Nocerino DOP and ANICAV.
San Marzano Tomatoes-Garbanzo Bean and Vegetable Soup
I knew about San Marzano tomatoes but had never cooked with them because I have used my own roasted tomatoes and tomato sauce. When I was offered several cans of San Marzano tomatoes, I was very happy. I quickly made a favorite recipe, tomato-garbanzo bean and vegetables soup. The result was excellent. The tomatoes thickened the soup and added a layer of flavor that made me a fan.
Please try my recipe and track down authentic San Marzano tomatoes D.O.P. Enjoy!
Cut all vegetablesinto pieces the size of a garbanzo bean.
Use homemade stock. I keep my vegetable stock in the freezer so its available whenever I want to make soup.
Serves: 4
Time to Prepare: 30 minutes
Time to Cook: 60 minutes
Ingredients
1 medium carrot, washed, peeled, ends trimmed
1 small yellow onion, washed, peeled, ends trimmed
2 cups kale, washed, stems removed
1/2 cup corn kernels (when in season)
1/2 cup Italian parsley, washed, stems removed
1/2 cup celery hearts and small leaves (celery hearts have more flavor)
1 cup broccoli florets, washed
2 cups green cabbage, preferably Savoy, ribs removed and chopped separately from leaves
6 shiitake mushrooms, washed, pat dried
1 cup canned garbanzo beans with liquid
2 cups San Marzano tomatoes and sauce
4 cups stock, preferably homemade
2 oz cheese rind (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Season olive oil with sea salt and pepper and heat over a medium flame.
Add all vegetables except the garbanzo beans and liquid and San Marzano tomatoes and liquid.
Stir well and soften. Do not brown. 10-15 minutes.
Add garbanzo beans with liquid and stir.
Add San Marzano tomatoes and sauce and stir.
Add stock and stir.
Add cheese rind (optional).
Simmer uncovered 30 minutes.
Taste and adjust seasoning and continue simmering if needed.
Served hot with crusty bread and a tossed green salad
Rockets exploding overhead. Sparklers in the darkness. Time to celebrate Independence Day. Time to gather together.
Last year we couldn't. This year we can. An amazing triumph of human will and science over a deadly disease. Thank you to all those who labored to care for us and those who created a way forward.
This year for us in Pacific Palisades, we will celebrate the past and our future with a picnic on the grass facing the high school. We'll have a pot luck dinner, see one another in person and catch up.
I'll make fried chicken a chef taught me in his kitchen and potato salad I learned from my mother. And, I will bring pickles made not with cukes but with elegantly long Persian cucumbers. For me, this is a newly modified recipe, midway between a classic Jewish dill pickle and Moroccan pickled vegetables.
Ready to eat after a day for a crisp pickle or in a week or two for a more mellow pickle-experience.
Pickles
No doubt the people who made the first pickles thought they had made a mistake. Somebody accidentally forgot about some raw vegetables in a pot with an acid and salt. Surprise, surprise. A week later, the vegetables weren’t moldy, no bugs had eaten them and, deliciously, they had a nice crunch and tang. Thus was born, the pickle! In the 1920s, my great-grandfather made pickles on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Grandmother Caroline used to tell stories about working in their little grocery store as a child. When customers would want pickles, she would hop off the counter and go out front to the pickle barrels and fish out the ones they wanted. I never knew her parents. I never ate their pickles, but I must have brine in my veins because wherever I travel, I am always on the look out for pickles.
Persian Cucumber, Carrot, Onion and Daikon Pickles
As with with things in life, the better the ingredients, the better the result. Use the best vegetables, you'll make a better pickle. Choose Persian cucumbers that are firm, unblemished, without any soft areas. Use carrots that have a sweet taste, the better to contrast with the vinegar and salt.
For pickled onions, slice yellow onions the long way (from root to stem) into thin strips or buy Mexican onions that look like mature scallions with fat bulbs. Whole onions take a week to pickle. Onion strips pickle in a day.
Daikon pickles are a delight. Crisp and clean tasting.
Vinegar makes a difference. White, red, yellow, there are many different types of vinegars with as many results. I use white wine vinegar I find in Persian and Armenian grocery stores that is less acidic than white vinegar and doesn't color the vegetables as would red wine vinegar. For these pickles I don't use Japanese rice wine vinegar, but I think it would work as well.
Choose a glass jar tall enough for the Persian cucumbers to stand up. Wash the glass jar in a dish washer or with hot water and soap before using.
How much brine you need depends on the size of the jar. All the vegetables must be submerged in brine to avoid spoiling. Make extra brine to keep in a separate container. As vegetables are removed, add brine to cover.
Before adding the brine to the vegetables, taste and adjust. You might like less salt or more vinegar than I do.
Prep: 15 minutes
Serves: 6
Pickling Ingredients:
6 Persian cucumbers, washed, stems removed
2 large carrots, washed, ends trimmed, peeled, cut into 1 1/2" fat sticks
1 small daikon, washed, ends trimmed, peeled, cut into 1 1/2" fat sticks
1 small yellow onions, washed, ends trimmed, peeled, sliced thin from stem to root
Brine Ingredients - Adjust proportionally to the size of the glass jar
1 1/2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Yellow White Wine Persian Vinegar or Japanese Rice Wine Vinegar
2 cups water
1 teaspoon black pepper corns
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
A pinch hot pepper flakes
3 bay leaves
Directions:
Lay the glass jar on its side.
Slide cucumbers into jar so they will stand up when the jar is placed upright.
Add other vegetables.
Add aromatics.
Stir brine well and add until vegetables are completely submerged. Make certain you keep 1 cup of brine in a separate container to add later as the liquid level drops when you remove vegetables.
A bone-in steak seared medium-rare in a carbon steel pan
A baked potato with sour cream and scallions
An egg salad sandwich flavored with dill on crustless Japanese white bread
And, my favorite, congee.
Necessity led to a favorite dish
I couldn't sleep one night. Too much stress, too much going on in the world to sleep through the night. I woke up at 4 am and couldn't go back to sleep. Better to get out of bed so I wouldn't disturb my wife. Walking into the kitchen, I opened the refrigerator, hoping to find something already made or a dish that would be easy to prepare.
I needed comfort food.
In the dull light, I saw there wasn't much. Wednesday was market day. This was Monday.
Searching in the refrigerator, I found a container of homemade vegetable stock I had made the day before, Japanese white rice from a take-out dinner two nights ago, a carrot, a shallot, an ear of corn, fresh shiitake mushrooms, green beans and a small piece of daikon.
Not a treasure-trove, but those ingredients sparked an idea that led to my enjoying a deliciously comforting meal just as the sun was coming up.
Visit most Chinese restaurants and you'll find a section of the menu labeled "Congee." The basic components are raw white rice and a liquid. The rice is simmered for up to an hour in the liquid, which can be water or stock made from seafood, poultry, beef or pork.
The result is a porridge-like bowl of creamy rice. Depending on the restaurant, the congee can be flavored with bits of protein or vegetables and topped with fresh scallions, fried shallots and a drizzle of hot oil.
Inspired by traditional congee, my version is very different
I use cooked rice added at the very end so my "congee" isn't creamy. Depending on my mood, I may add a great deal of vegetables and a protein and a smaller amount of rice. Purists might say I am making soup with rice, but in my telling of the tale, I add a lot more rice than you would find in 'soup with rice.'
With my approach, the results are infinitely variable. The only constants are cooked rice and a liquid.
Another variable is the ratio of broth to rice. For dry, cook the rice in the soup until most of the liquid is gone. For wet, cook the rice very briefly in the soup. Sometimes I like the congee with practically no broth. On a cold morning, lots of soup with the rice is the way to go.
The rice
You can make congee out of any kind of cooked rice.
Most of the time, I use Japanese short grained white rice or Chinese long grained rice. But, Thai brown rice, Middle Eastern basmati rice or Vietnamese broken white rice would also work. I have even used basmati rice flavored with almonds and orange peel from my favorite Armenian restaurant, Adana (6918 San Fernando Road, Glendale 91201, 818/843-6237).
Each rice creates a different result. The cooking time, amount of liquid used and the end result will change depending on the rice.
Cooking tip: if the cooked rice you find in the back of the refrigerator has dried out, no worries. Cooking the rice in a liquid will reconstitute the grains. If you see mold, toss the rice.
Generally speaking, one cup of cooked rice will serve one person. The ratio of rice to proteins and vegetables is a matter of personal taste.
The stock
I always use homemade stock. To make vegetable stock, during the week I freeze vegetable peelings. On the weekend, I add them to a pot of boiling water, simmer 60 minutes, strain and, voila, homemade vegetable stock. Whenever we make a chicken dish, I save the bones, fat and skin, cover with water, simmer 60 minutes, strain and cool. The resulting vegetable or chicken stock can be refrigerated or frozen in an air tight container.
Homemade stock will produce the healthiest, freshest flavors. Store bought stock whether fresh in the deli department, packaged in cans or boxes or even dehydrated can be used, but the salt content tends to be high and the quality unpredictable.
I have used all kinds of broth. Sometimes I'll use the miso soup I brought home from a Japanese restaurant or I'll make stock by boiling left-over Thai bbq honey pork ribs or turkey stock from a Thanksgiving feast or chicken stock made with the bones from a roast chicken.
Making your own stock means you control the quality and flavor, so I recommend keeping 16 and 8 ounce containers of frozen stock in the freezer so you are always prepared to make a delicious savory meal at a moment's notice.
Use fresh vegetables or left-overs. Roasted vegetables from last night's dinner or bok choy and broccoli from Chinese take-out can be chopped into bite sized pieces and added to the congee. My go-to base ingredients are fresh, chopped onions, carrots, kale, shiitake mushrooms, green beans, daikon, broccoli stems or crowns and Savoy cabbage leaves, if I have them and corn kernels when in season.
For a protein, tofu, chicken, pork, fish and shellfish are good to add. Use cooked or raw proteins, knowing that the cooking times will be different for each. Cooked proteins only need to be reheated. Raw proteins can take longer, although fish and shellfish cook very quickly. Tofu can be added along with the stock.
Vegan or omnivore
Use ingredients you like. Stick with plant-based and make a best-ever vegan congee with homemade vegetable stock, rice of your choice and all the vegetables that make you happy.
If you're an omnivore, just about any animal protein or seafood works well. Use any protein you enjoy. Cooked meats with a lot of flavor, like bbq brisket or Vietnamese bbq pork or roasted dark chicken meat will add layers of flavor. Raw pieces of fish filets, crab, shrimp or lobster, add flavor to the broth as they cook.
Congee with Scallions and BBQ Pork
As with all cooking, if you use quality ingredients, the resulting dish will taste better and be healthier.
Every element added to the congee should build to a final, layered conclusion. You can keep the result simple, like a piano recital, emphasizing the "quiet" of the stock and the rice or jazz it up with a composition with rhythms of hot, sour, sweet and savory.
I often add bbq pork from my frequent trips to Little Saigon south of LAX. From my home, the drive takes under an hour, barely enough time to catch up on The Daily, one of my favorite podcasts. On the return trip, I listen to the news and happily eat aBánh mi from Bánh Mì Saigon ( 8940 Westminster Blvd., Westminster, CA 92683, (714) 896-8782) next to My Thuan, a favorite supermarket.
Cut all ingredients into small bite-sized pieces, the easier to pick up with chop sticks.
The recipe is for one, so multiply the ingredients by the number of servings you are making.
Serves 1
Time to prepare: 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 tablespoons yellow onions or shallots, cut into thin slices
2 tablespoons carrots cut into rounds or small "sticks"
2 shiitake mushrooms, washed, stem trimmed, cut into thin slices
1/4 cup broccoli, florets cut apart (optional)
1 tablespoon corn kernels (when available)
1/4 cup green beans, washed, cut into 1" sections (optional)
1 scallion, washed, root end removed, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 cup cooked rice
2 cups stock, preferably homemade
1/2 cup bbq pork or cooked beef, pork or chicken or raw shellfish or fish, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon soy sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon Vietnamese sweet and hot sauce often served with bbq pork vermicelli (optional)
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
Directions
Organize all the ingredients before beginning.
Heat small saucepan over medium flame. Add olive oil. Soften but do not brown. Add remaining vegetables, stir and soften.
A week to go for Super Bowl Sunday and I have my menu planned. No chips or dips. No ordering in (although a sausage pizza with mushrooms, onions and extra cheese would be nice). A great game deserves great food.
I'm making favorite dishes, ones designed to share at a picnic or at buffet-style Super Bowl watching party.
I love my kimchi chicken wings (see below), sticky sweet with heat, moist and tender. Nothing is better except fried chicken the way chef Wes Whitsell showed me for a cooking video we did when he was at Manuela DTLA. His fried chicken is crispy and moist. For the cooking demonstration he made wings, thighs and legs. He doesn't like breasts because they don't have enough flavor. I pretty much agree. For my pot luck contribution, I'm making cut apart wings and legs, the easiest parts to eat at a picnic.
I'll also make an Italian parsley salad with chopped vegetables and pitted olives and a Little Gem lettuce salad with carrot rounds and feta cheese, served with whole wheat lavash.
Only recently did I discover Little Gem lettuce. First, at Glatt, a kosher market, on Pico east of Robertson and then at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market at the Garden of Organic stand. At first I thought they were "baby" romaine lettuces. They have a cleaner, crisper flavor, with less water and more crunch. Wrapped in a damp kitchen towel and placed into a plastic bag, the heads will keep fresh in the refrigerator for three weeks.
Here's the recipe I'll use for the Super Bowl (which is exactly the recipe I use when I make the salad at home except sometimes I'll trade out the feta for blue cheese).
Crispy Little Gem Lettuce Salad
When making the salad, leave the leaves whole so they don't wilt.
For the olives, use any kind you enjoy. We like Castelvetrano Green olives, which can be found pitted for easy use, although olives taste best when not pitted.
Serves 4 Time to prepare: 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 heads Little Gem Lettuce, leaves removed whole, washed, pat dried
1 large carrot, washed, ends removed, peeled, cut into thin rounds
1 large tomato, stem end removed, washed, pat dried, cut into dime size pieces
1 cup pitted olives, roughly chopped
1 scallion, ends removed, washed, brown leaves discarded, cut into paper thin rounds (optional)
1/2 cup feta, pat dried, crumbled
1 medium avocado, washed, peeled, pit and any brown spots removed, cut into dime sized pieces
1/2 cup homemade croutons (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced over a low flame to 2 teaspoons, cooled
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Lay the Little Gem leaves in the bottom of a serving bowl. Sprinkle on the carrots, tomatoes, olives, scallions (optional), feta, avocado and croutons (optional).
Just before serving, season with sea salt and black pepper, drizzle on olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar.
Serve with a knife and fork. Kimchi Chicken Wings Chicken wings are sold whole, the drumstick only or the two-bone part. If you prefer one part of the wing over another, buy only those. The whole chicken wing will be less expensive and the wing tips can be roasted and used to create stock. Do not use the whole chicken wing, which is too difficult to eat.
I prefer preservative-free kimchi. I have been enjoying Mommy Boss napa cabbage kimchi. Read the label carefully because there are different kinds of kimchi, I would recommend only using cabbage kimchi without dried shrimp.
Serves 4 Time to prepare: Marinate overnight, prep 20 minutes, bake 60 minutes Ingredients 2 pounds chicken wings
1 cup kimchi, without preservatives
1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar, depending on taste
1 medium yellow onion, washed, pat dried, peeled, root and stem removed, thin sliced from root to stem
1/4 cup kimchi liquid
1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions
Thinly slice kimchi and mix together with onion slices, brown sugar, kimchi liquid and olive oil.
Add chicken wing parts to marinade. Mix well. Place in a covered bowl or sealed plastic bag. Refrigerate over night.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Prepare a roasting pan. Line the bottom with aluminum foil. Because the drippings are sticky (and delicious!) I place a Silpat sheet on top of the aluminum foil so I can easily retrieve the bits of caramelized onions and kimchi. Place a wire on top of the aluminum foil and Silpat sheet.
Place the chicken wings on top of the wire rack, allowing space between each part to allow for even cooking. Reserve the liquid marinade with the onions and kimchi.
Place wings into preheated oven.
While the wings are roasting, place the reserved marinade into a small sauce pan and reduce the liquid by 1/2 over a low heat.
Remove wings from the oven after 30 minutes.
Turn wings over and baste with reduced marinade, placing onion and kimchi slices on each wing.
Return to oven.
After 30 minutes, remove and check for doneness. The onions and kimchi slices should be lightly browned and beginning to crisp. The wings should be tender. If not, return to oven and continue baking. Check every 10 minutes for doneness.
Serve hot as an appetizer or on top of steamed rice. The wings are delicious at room temperature, perfect for a picnic. However they are served, have a good supply of napkins available.
I am reprising my July 4th post from previous years Everything we made last year, we're making again because we enjoy the dishes so much. We hope you will enjoy the holiday this year and celebrate what is best about our country and our lives.
We're having a party. On July 4th we'll gather in the park opposite our local high school (Pali High) to eat, catch up and watch fireworks. Everyone will bring food and drinks to share and a sweater because when the sun goes down, it gets chilly.
We have been doing this for so many years, I'm not certain when we started. Over the years sometimes the group grows to almost thirty. Sometimes a handful of friends shows up. It all depends on what day of the week the holiday falls. We've noticed that when the 4th falls on a weekend, there isn't enough time to travel out of town, so our group swells. This year, the 4th is on Thursday, so our group will be more intimate. Big or small, the gathering is fun.
Everyone is asked to bring a favorite food. Something special. This year I'm making favorite dishes, ones designed to share at a picnic or at buffet-style fireworks watching party.
I love my kimchi chicken wings (see below), sticky sweet with heat, moist and tender. Nothing is better except fried chicken the way chef Wes Whitsell (Manuela DTLA) showed me for a cooking video we did last month. His fried chicken is crispy and moist. For the cooking demonstration he made wings, thighs and legs. He doesn't like breasts because they don't have enough flavor. I pretty much agree. For my pot luck contribution, I'm making cut apart wings and legs, the easiest parts to eat at a picnic.
I'll also make an Italian parsley salad with chopped vegetables and pitted olives and a Little Gem lettuce salad with carrot rounds and feta cheese, served with whole wheat lavash.
Only recently did I discover Little Gem lettuce. First, at Glatt, a kosher market, on Pico east of Robertson and then at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market at the Garden of Organic stand. At first I thought they were "baby" romaine lettuces. They have a cleaner, crisper flavor, with less water and more crunch. Wrapped in a damp kitchen towel and placed into a plastic bag, the heads will keep fresh in the refrigerator for three weeks.
Here's the recipe I'll use for the 4th (which is exactly the recipe I use when I make the salad at home except sometimes I'll trade out the feta for blue cheese).
Crispy Little Gem Lettuce Salad
When making the salad, leave the leaves whole so they don't wilt.
For the olives, use any kind you enjoy. We like Castelvetrano Green olives, which can be found pitted for easy use, although olives taste best when not pitted.
Serves 4 Time to prepare: 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 heads Little Gem Lettuce, leaves removed whole, washed, pat dried
1 large carrot, washed, ends removed, peeled, cut into thin rounds
1 large tomato, stem end removed, washed, pat dried, cut into dime size pieces
1 cup pitted olives, roughly chopped
1 scallion, ends removed, washed, brown leaves discarded, cut into paper thin rounds (optional)
1/2 cup feta, pat dried, crumbled
1 medium avocado, washed, peeled, pit and any brown spots removed, cut into dime sized pieces
1/2 cup homemade croutons (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced over a low flame to 2 teaspoons, cooled
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Lay the Little Gem leaves in the bottom of a serving bowl. Sprinkle on the carrots, tomatoes, olives, scallions (optional), feta, avocado and croutons (optional).
Just before serving, season with sea salt and black pepper, drizzle on olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar.
Serve with a knife and fork. Kimchi Chicken Wings Chicken wings are sold whole, the drumstick only or the two-bone part. If you prefer one part of the wing over another, buy only those. The whole chicken wing will be less expensive and the wing tips can be roasted and used to create stock. Do not use the whole chicken wing, which is too difficult to eat.
I prefer preservative-free kimchi. I have been enjoying Mommy Boss napa cabbage kimchi. Read the label carefully because there are different kinds of kimchi, I would recommend only using cabbage kimchi without dried shrimp.
Serves 4 Time to prepare: Marinate overnight, prep 20 minutes, bake 60 minutes Ingredients
2 pounds chicken wings
1 cup kimchi, without preservatives
1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar, depending on taste
1 medium yellow onion, washed, pat dried, peeled, root and stem removed, thin sliced from root to stem
1/4 cup kimchi liquid
1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions
Thinly slice kimchi and mix together with onion slices, brown sugar, kimchi liquid and olive oil.
Add chicken wing parts to marinade. Mix well. Place in a covered bowl or sealed plastic bag. Refrigerate over night.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Prepare a roasting pan. Line the bottom with aluminum foil. Because the drippings are sticky (and delicious!) I place a Silpat sheet on top of the aluminum foil so I can easily retrieve the bits of caramelized onions and kimchi. Place a wire on top of the aluminum foil and Silpat sheet.
Place the chicken wings on top of the wire rack, allowing space between each part to allow for even cooking. Reserve the liquid marinade with the onions and kimchi.
Place wings into preheated oven.
While the wings are roasting, place the reserved marinade into a small sauce pan and reduce the liquid by 1/2 over a low heat.
Remove wings from the oven after 30 minutes.
Turn wings over and baste with reduced marinade, placing onion and kimchi slices on each wing.
Return to oven.
After 30 minutes, remove and check for doneness. The onions and kimchi slices should be lightly browned and beginning to crisp. The wings should be tender. If not, return to oven and continue baking. Check every 10 minutes for doneness.
Serve hot as an appetizer or on top of steamed rice. The wings are delicious at room temperature, perfect for a picnic. However they are served, have a good supply of napkins available.
I am reprising my July 4th post from last year. Everything we made last year, we're making again because we enjoy the dishes so much. We hope you will enjoy the holiday this year and celebrate what is best about our country and our lives.
We're having a party. On July 4th we'll gather in the park opposite our local high school (Pali High) to eat, catch up and watch fireworks. Everyone will bring food and drinks to share and a sweater because when the sun goes down, it gets chilly.
We have been doing this for so many years, I'm not certain when we started. Over the years sometimes the group grows to almost thirty. Sometimes a handful of friends shows up. It all depends on what day of the week the holiday falls. We've noticed that when the 4th falls on a weekend, there isn't enough time to travel out of town, so our group swells. This year, the 4th is on Tuesday, so our group will be more intimate. Big or small, the gathering is fun.
Everyone is asked to bring a favorite food. Something special. This year I'm making fried chicken the way chef Wes Whitsell (Manuela DTLA) showed me for a cooking video we did last month. His fried chicken is crispy and moist. For the cooking demonstration he made wings, thighs and legs. He doesn't like breasts because they don't have enough flavor. I pretty much agree. For my pot luck contribution, I'm making cut apart wings and legs, the easiest parts to eat at a picnic.
I'll also make an Italian parsley salad with chopped vegetables and pitted olives and a Little Gem lettuce salad with carrot rounds and feta cheese, served with whole wheat lavash.
Only recently did I discover Little Gem lettuce. First, at Glatt, a kosher market, on Pico east of Robertson and then at the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market at the Garden of Organic stand. At first I thought they were "baby" romaine lettuces. They have a cleaner, crisper flavor, with less water and more crunch. Wrapped in a damp kitchen towel and placed into a plastic bag, the heads will keep fresh in the refrigerator for three weeks.
Here's the recipe I'll use for the 4th (which is exactly the recipe I use when I make the salad at home except sometimes I'll trade out the feta for blue cheese).
Crispy Little Gem Lettuce Salad
When making the salad, leave the leaves whole so they don't wilt.
For the olives, use any kind you enjoy. We like Castelvetrano Green olives, which can be found pitted for easy use, although olives taste best when not pitted.
Serves 4 Time to prepare: 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 heads Little Gem Lettuce, leaves removed whole, washed, pat dried
1 large carrot, washed, ends removed, peeled, cut into thin rounds
1 large tomato, stem end removed, washed, pat dried, cut into dime size pieces
1 cup pitted olives, roughly chopped
1 scallion, ends removed, washed, brown leaves discarded, cut into paper thin rounds (optional)
1/2 cup feta, pat dried, crumbled
1 medium avocado, washed, peeled, pit and any brown spots removed, cut into dime sized pieces
1/2 cup homemade croutons (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced over a low flame to 2 teaspoons, cooled
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Lay the Little Gem leaves in the bottom of a serving bowl. Sprinkle on the carrots, tomatoes, olives, scallions (optional), feta, avocado and croutons (optional).
Just before serving, season with sea salt and black pepper, drizzle on olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar.
We are planning a Super Bowl Sunday party. My plan is to serve "picnic" food. Carrot salad, potato salad, Little Gem green salad, Persian salad, crispy fried chicken, brown sugar salmon and roasted artichokes.
Super Bowl Sunday food should be fun, delicious and healthy.
Spring is happening and artichokes are showing up in our farmers markets. The dark green vegetable, prized by cooks, is healthy and easy-to-prepare.
Looking at an artichoke, with its hard exterior and sharp pointed leaves makes me wonder how anyone figured out they would be good to eat. With a small amount of effort, that tough looking exterior gives up the wonderfully savory flavor bits at the end of the each leaf.
Choosing a good artichoke
Whether you find one that is the size of your hand or a larger one the size of a soft ball, give it a squeeze. If the artichoke feels solid, you've found a good one. An artichoke past its prime will be squishy like a child's squeeze toy. Make sure all the leaves are green. Don't buy an artichoke with brown or blackened leaves.
Having a sharp pair of scissors or kitchen shears, a pairing knife and a chefs knife will make breaking down the artichoke easy.
Roasted or Grilled Artichokes
One person can easily eat one artichoke the size of your hand. The larger artichokes will feed 2-3 people as an appetizer or a side dish.
4 medium sized or 2 large artichokes, washed
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup sweet butter (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Or, set grill (indoor or outdoor) to medium-high.
Place a large stock pot on the stove on a high flame. Add kosher salt. Bring to a low boil. Cover.
To roast the artichoke sections after boiling, cover the bottom of a baking sheet with parchment paper, a Silpat sheet or a piece of aluminum foil. Set aside.
Using scissors trim off the pointy end of each artichoke leaf.
Trim off the stem of each artichoke, flush to the bottom. Discard the stems.
Give each artichoke a flat-top haircut. Place the artichoke on its side. Using a chefs knife, trim off the top 1/4" of each artichoke and discard.
Place the artichoke on the cutting board. Using a chefs knife, cut each artichoke in half, from bottom to the top. Cut each half into two pieces. If the artichoke is large, cut those four pieces in half, creating eight segments.
Working quickly, because the inside of the artichoke will discolor when exposed to air, use a sharp pairing knife to remove the fuzzy part on the inside of each section. Rinse the artichoke sections and discard the fuzzy parts.
Place all the artichoke sections in the boiling salted water. Cover and cook 10 minutes.
Using the pairing knife, test one of the artichoke sections. The knife should easily go into the fleshy part on the bottom of the leaves. If the knife doesn't go in easily, cook another 5 minutes but beware not to over cook the artichokes. They should be firm not mushy.
Place a colander or strainer in the sink. Pour the hot salted water with the artichoke sections into the colander and drain.
Transfer the artichoke sections to a mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Toss well to coat.
If grilling, place the artichokes on the pre-heated grill. Turn frequently to avoid burning. Remove when grill marks appear on all sides.
If baking in the oven, arrange the artichokes on the prepared baking sheet, leaving room between the sections.
Place in the oven and cook 15 minutes. Using tongs, turn the sections over and place back in the oven another 15 minutes so they cook evenly.
Remove the artichokes from the oven and serve hot or at room temperature with sea salt, black pepper and small dishes of melted butter (optional).
If serving with melted butter (optional), melt the butter in a small saucepan being careful to avoid burning.
