Going for the Gold

For the past several Olympics I have attended an Opening Ceremonies party thrown by my dear friends, Wendy and Andrew. Todd and I were thrilled to attend this year's festivities which occurred last night. The party was marvelous as always, Andrew, a master of mixology, appropriately mixed up the best gin and tonics in honor of London. I always look forward to being their guest as something about watching the Opening Ceremonies in great company seems to further cultivate the inspiration that comes with the Olympic Games.

For the party, I brought my host and hostess homemade Sticky Pudding with Toffee Sauce, fitting the theme of the evening. I was more than pleased with this recipe and will definitely be using this again when the weather gets a bit chillier. It was very easy and quick to make, I used a muffin pan instead of making it in a cake pan. These little pudding cakes are very, very sweet so the size was the perfect amount. Cheerio!

Sticky Pudding with Toffee Sauce
 Adapted from Bon Appetit January 2012 by Sandy LernerTavern

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chopped pitted dates
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs


For the sauce:
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon brandy
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin pan. Bring dates and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a medium heavy saucepan, with sides that will allow for the sauce to expand. Remove from heat, slowly stir in baking soda, the mix will foam up. Set aside to cool.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat 1/4 cup butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Add 1 egg and beat to blend. Add half of flour mixture and half of date mixture; beat to blend. Repeat with remaining 1 egg, flour mixture, and date mixture. Pour batter into muffin tins.

Bake until a tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Let cool.

To make the sauce:

 Bring sugar, cream, and butter to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to boil, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in brandy and vanilla.

and... a small group pictures from the party...

Gin and Tonics

London Pride

Todd sporting his red, white and blue

 

Peek at the Week:

Peek at the Week, July 23rd: 

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London!!! 

                   

Target City - Westwood, opened it's doors two days early on Tuesday. Westsiders and Bruins rejoice!   

Beating the summer heat with Watermelon. See the heart? It was in there when I cut the melon out. I'm relieved it wasn't the face of Jesus. 

The Stila Warehouse Sale IS BACK! This has been my yearly tradition until their hiatus. Tomorrow, July 28th it's on! 

The very much so anticipated release of Passion Pit's Gossamer,  Tuesday, July 24th. 

Date Night : Jitlada

Tom Ka

Rad Na

Crying Tiger

Last night for date night, we decided to journey to the legendary Jitlada. Todd has been a fan for a long while, but I, I had yet to try the very much so buzzed about Thai eatery. Raved about in the L.A. Times, by Rachael Ray, Zagat Rated and Johnathan Gold approved, the Thai eatery is located on Sunset in a strip mall in Thai town. We entered into a cozy feeling atmosphere bursting at the seams full of diners. The decor is very basic but with nice touches such as Thai fabrics used as tablecloths and lower than expected lighting. We were seated right outside of the kitchen in the second dining room. After a wait, a pleasant woman took our drink order, Chang and Pinot Nior. They offer a basic and standard list of Thai beers and wines are listed by varietal. We drank our beverages, chit chatted, sat with empty glasses and stomachs for a long while before our order was taken. Todd warned me that patience was key to eating at Jitlada. They even have a sign posted in a cute warning of the small kitchen and traditional cooking, which takes time. We ordered the Crying Tiger Beef (featured on the Food Network's Show- The Best Thing I Ever Ate), the Tom Ka soup with shrimp, the Rad Na with chicken and spring rolls. After time, our beef made it's way out of the kitchen, heaven. The beef was exploding with flavor and came with a delicious spicy sauce for dipping. It was gone in two seconds, tender, moist and oh so good. The second dish to arrive: the Tom Ka soup. My absolute favorite soup is Tom Ka, I have eaten it countless times and this was hands down my favorite. Jitlada's Tom Ka had an undeniable freshness to it. The soup has complex flavor of coconut milk, lime, savory flavor, cilantro, some heat, lemon grass, ginger etc. This was the most balanced Tom Ka soup I have ever had. The flavors were seamless, which I often find that Tom Ka is made too sour, or bland, too spicy, not spicy enough -this was the perfect balance. Our plates were cleared and another long wait until our Rad Na came out, Thai noodles in a gravy with Thai green veggies. Again, extreme freshness and balance, this dish was saturated in savory flavor. The gravy was delicious and the noodles were the perfect texture, they tasted homemade. We then waited longer for our spring rolls, at this point we realized, we were exhausted because TWO and A HALF hours had passed. We really didn't care about the spring rolls at this point  and we ready to just get up and move. We finally get the attention of a waiter and our spring rolls were delivered about ten minutes later- my guess, the order was forgotten and what arrived was not a plate of spring rolls but fried rolls. We absolutely appreciated the flavors, freshness and perfection of the tastes of our dinner. We did not appreciate the TWO and a HALF hours we spent with no real effort for customer service. We rarely ever saw the pleasant woman who took our order initially and struggled to get the attention of anyone who worked there. Though warned about the wait, this was beyond a "normal slow" wait and even more, the lack of service was what bothered us the most. Next time, we will order for pick up. Such a phenomenal meal, outstanding food, we simply just do not have the time to dine in. My tip: a must try but if you are dining in make sure its with someone you haven't seen in five years plus and have and immense amount to talk about, no other plans for the evening and don't go too hungry - or just order for pick up, which we will be doing very soon. 

Smashed Potatoes with a Side of Spider

A couple of evenings ago,  Todd and I shared a special “first” in the adventures of our relationship. I was zoning out, shamelessly watching my DVRed latest romantic drama between Jane and Grayson on Dropped Dead Diva, while Todd was on the computer hunting for the location of our next adventure. It was around 11:00 p.m., I was also simultaneously flipping through a Sunset magazine (really living on the edge) as I looked up and saw the scariest looking spider I had ever seen bouncing along the wall. This guy was not crawling but agile, hopping like a rock climber scaling the side of Half Dome. I quickly said in a terrified voice “Todd. There. Is. A. HUGE. SPIDER.” Todd is use to me jumping to higher ground in order to dodge my imaginary wrath of a daddy long legs, so, not to my surprise, he was less than alarmed. He slowly emerged from his computer and looked at the far wall. His calm nature quickly changed, “that’s a black widow!!!!"  We immediately began running around the apartment, frantically trying to devise a plan, windows were opened, furniture moved off the wall - we became crazy people. Do we suck it up in the vacuum? What kills a black widow? We finally found an organic insect killer under the sink but, really? It had a picture of an adorable puppy on it and was made of rosemary oil. Was this REALLY going to kill this terrifying creature? We were skeptical though we had a plan - I spray, Todd kills. We took our marks, I, with the organic spray, he, with my rolled up Sunset Magazine in hand. I aggressively started to spray. It felt like a million years passed as the spider hung curled on a string of web saturated in rosemary. Images flashed through my head of the spider falling to the ground, escaping, then crawling up my toes at night. I start to yell to Todd “SMASH HIM BABY! SMASH HIM! SMASH HIM!" Todd took one sweeping swing and SPLAT! I yelled, "Yesssssssss!" We both cheered "WOoooooooooooooooooooo!" High five. Our neighbors officially think we are nuts but we had successfully conquered our first black widow experience together.

So, in honor our smashed spider I have a lovely Smashed Potato recipe for you today.

My parents first made this for me long ago, out of a recipe they saw in Cooks Illustrated. Since, I’ve made it through the years and I’m not sure how the original recipe varies from my version at this point. This recipe is seriously one of my all time favorite comfort foods, its a real, rare treat. Oh, and so easy to make! 

Smashed Potatoes – Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

1 bay leaf

3 russet potatoes (I usually use red potatoes but this time I had a brain lapse at the store)

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

½ stick of butter, softened

¼ cup of milk - splash

2 tablespoons of fresh chives, finely chopped (more or less on your liking)

Salt

Pepper

In a large pot of water with bay leaf, cook potatoes until tender when pierced with a fork. Strain water and reserve about a ½ a cup of the water from the pot. Let potatoes cool a bit, until they are ok to handle. Add cream cheese and butter to a bowl. Add a splash of milk to mix easier, add chives and thoroughly combine. Put potatoes, skin still on, in a bowl and smash them with any kitchen gadget you fancy, add splashes of the reserved water as needed. When potatoes are smashed to your liking, add the cream cheese mixture and combine. Salt and pepper to taste, serve warm and enjoy! This is heaven!

Catch of the Day: Catching Up with Crab Cakes

Oh, hello there, I have missed you. The past couple of months have been a whirlwind:

10^th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational, competing with the fabulous Erica Sardarian- Brioche, La Tur Brie (so good it could have it’s own post), Honeycomb, red wine poached pear and bacon- a delicious but not winning sammie (I’ve tried to grow ok with this, not quite there yet). Weddings, bachelorette weekends in Vegas, showers for brides and babies, parties, restaurants, a new niece! road trips, Oregon, Washington, California coast, family, moving, packing, picking paint colors, painting, redecorating, Cinco De Mayo, Fourth of July, shows, diet, working out like crazy, long runs, long walks and now, fully immersed in summer. Where does the time go? I’ve decided to keep this post short because honestly there is so much that I could write for days, so concise, I try.

The following recipe was inspired by my recent trip to the Oregon coast with Todd. We had an amazing time, we are both people who thrive in nature and honestly need it to stay sane. We had a blast visiting his family which sadly, we live so far away we don’t get nearly enough time with. The trip was life altering in many ways for me and one I will never forget. Challenging at times (long hours in the car and camping) but oh so worth it to see the beauty that lays north. I found myself yearning to be back on the Oregon coast just days after returning to L.A. My solution? Cook crab cakes! This recipe is super easy and though not a northwest recipe, approved by a Pacific North westerner, Todd. He loved them! This makes a large batch of large cakes; I had several left over and even brought some to my dad, major perk.  

Baltimore Crab Cakes - Bon Appetit August 2011

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice plus wedges for garnish

1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 jalapeño, seeded, finely chopped

1 pound lump crabmeat

1 1/4 cup panko, divided

1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Whisk first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add crab; fold to blend. Stir in 3/4 cup panko, chives, salt, and pepper. Divide into equal portions. Form each into 1"-thick patties. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place remaining 1/2 cup panko on a plate. Coat cakes with panko. Fry until golden brown and crisp, 3-4 minutes per side. Arrange atop lettuce; serve with lemon wedges. 

L.A. Beer Fest: Where the Beautiful People Go ... to Get Wasted.

 Extremely wasted, beautiful people at L.A. Beer  Fest

My favorite people at L.A. Beer Fest 

A couple of weekends ago, in the midst of moving insanity, I took a much needed respite. Waking up early on a Saturday is never my cup of tea but this Saturday it was quite necessary as I needed to unpack copious amounts of boxes before I headed out for the rest of the evening at 4:00. My motivation all day, was knowing that I was going to spend some much overdue quality time with two of my dearest friends. We were lucky enough to meet back in college and now NINE years later I am even more lucky to have a family-like bond with them. This excitement totally eclipsed what was in store for me - I was utterly clueless. Giving very little thought to where we were going or what we were doing, the quality time was my absolute focus. After years of nearly attending the L.A. Beer Fest, this year was my year to finally really attend, holding zero expectations. I feverishly worked on unpacking all day up to the very last minute of the 2:00 hour, quickly rinsed, threw on whatever I could find, called a cab and sprinted out the door. I ended up in the cab of the friendliest and most chatty cab driver in L.A. which was fine with me. "Paramount Studios" I said to him, he inquired, “what is happening today? My screen all lit up with cab orders” in a curious almost annoyed tone. “Ah, yes, I'm headed to a beer festival” I said in the least confident of tones, totally unaware of what was to come. About half way on my two mile journey we spot a threesome of wild youngsters as they tried to wave down my cab, one with a full thick head of dreadlocks, a goateed hipster and a tall lean beautiful young lady who seemed to belong in a 1993 Aerosmith video. The cab driver rolled down the window and yelled "all full but where are you going?" “LA Beer Fest” they yelled with extreme enthusiasm and smiles. I quickly acknowledged that I was quite the loaner in the cab and we happened to have three open seats; in the motley crew piled. As we drove on our way I felt just a smidgen that much more cool yet reminded of younger years when I got that excited about an afternoon of drinking. After an extremely entertaining one mile jaunt down Melrose Avenue, we arrived, my new found posse and I scurried quickly towards the entrance. 

Hoards of People on the New York Lot at Paramount Studios 

After reading a quick blurb about LA Beer Fest on Yelp, the one tidbit of vital information was to arrive early and take all measures to try to avoid the long lines. Well, this year, they doubled up on all check in personnel, so, what line? I quickly gained access into the vast New York lot at Paramount Studios which was lined with bumper to bumper food trucks and breweries in tents…this I could get use to. I found my dear friends and without missing a beat were savoring stouts in seconds.

DJ Spinning

The L.A. Beer Fest turned out being one of my ultimate favorite L.A. experiences yet. The setting was perfect, just like walking through the street set of Seinfeld, with hoards of every type of person you could imagine. Preppy to tacky frat boys, beachy to modelesque you ladies, lots of tattoos, middle aged folks who look like they just got off the bus from Missouri to Kim Cattrall look-a-like goddesses dressed to nines. A true myriad of people with a shared common denominator: beer.

Being a girlfriend of a home brewer, I really had all intentions of taking my beer tastings extremely seriously. I also stumbled upon some very passionate commentary online from past attendees. Rants about the atrocity of drunken festival goers who taste in gluttony after breweries work so hard to represent and share their masterpieces. God forbid someone says "after a couple they all taste the same" ... I hate to break it to you, I'll be honest, I really resisted this, I did, but an hour in, one really can not discern between the sky and the ground let alone the difference between a cider and an IPA, and I am no amateur when it comes to drinking. It was exactly one hour in, and the crowd dramatically changed like a rising tide of debauchery. Lines no longer existed, people began dancing in the streets to the various DJs and live bands - it was a hell of a lot of fun. 

$45, well worth it dollars, 81 breweries, beautiful people, food trucks, all you can drink beer for three hours in the L.A. sun and countless of L.A.s finest food trucks: an absolute must try for anyone who is over 21 and enjoys a good time. 

Crazy Beer Fest Goer 

Genius Pretzel Necklace 

Chocolate Chip, Waffle Battered, Fried Mini Cadbury Creme Eggs - A Sinful Easter

 
Ah, spring time. A time when the budding flowers perfume the love soaked air. It's a great time to be in California, the sun begins to toast the skin, yet there remains a chilly sea misted coastal breeze that keeps everything perfectly chilled to 75 degrees. I love the spring, in my book, it’s an extremely close second to the fall and I seriously adore Easter. I love any excuse to don a girlie dress and plant my bare feet in between fresh cut grass. Easter is always an outdoor occasion in my family and my mother (the expert entertainer that she is) always goes all out. Easter egg hunts for my nephew and one for the adults, a brunch that could feed an army and of course, amazing cocktails. I also happen to have the world's biggest weakness for Easter candy. Give me any other holiday and I can easily brave the sugar rush storm of sweets, but put baby chick shaped fluff of pink sugar in front of me? I can't resist it. One year I made the mistake of doing a cleanse right through Easter and I really realized what a problem I have with Easter sweets. I broke my cleanse with a handful of jelly beans. I've been known to call every store in the area in February just to find out when their shipment of Cadbury Creme Eggs will arrive. I always tell myself I just need one, one milk chocolate covered creme egg all year in order to get my "fix". So, naturally, one lazy Sunday siesta a couple of weeks ago, I found myself tossing and turning unable to sleep. Visions of Cadbury Creme Eggs were dancing in my head. A reoccurring idea that would not budge; annoyingly keeping me from my slumber. Fried Mini Cadbury Creme Eggs. It is crazy! I had enough, I abruptly jumped from my rest and googled my vision, had it ever been done before? To my surprise, I found many recipes for fried regular sized Cadbury Creme Eggs. That's all fine and dandy but just one of those suckers is enough sweet for me for a while, and fried? Holy moly, that might be overboard for me. But the fried mini Cadbury Creme Egg, it did not find. I do prefer to take all my deserts in mini size, it's less guilt and it's usually all you need to kill a nagging sweet tooth. I decided to end my google search and begin my journey in the kitchen. I will confess I'm not typically a fan of fried; anything, let alone sweets and I have never done any frying myself so this was surely an adventure. This recipe was so much fun to make and super easy, the result is seriously sinful. They are best eaten hot while the inside is still nice and gooey. I could only stomach just a couple before I overdosed on sweet, but I think that is the beauty of them.  I lightly dusted them with powdered sugar just for aesthetics. They are a little smaller than the size of a silver dollar. A small and delicious treat for a little Easter joy. 

Chocolate Chip, Waffle Battered, Fried Mini Cadbury Creme Eggs

12 mini Cadbury Creme Eggs
1/3 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 small egg
1/4 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1/8 cup + 3 cups of vegetable oil
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped chocolate chips

Combine with a whisk, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, 1/8 cup of oil, vanilla and chocolate chips in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and incorporated. Depending on the size of your saucepan, add enough oil in your pan to submerge the eggs, in a medium pan it was about 3 cups. Heat the oil to 350 degrees (we used a candy thermometer). Drop the Cadbury Creme Eggs one by one in the batter, heavily coat, using a fork; gently transport it to the oil, carefully dropping them in, one at a time. Fry until the batter is golden, about 1 - 2 minutes. Remove, drain the oil on a paper towel and enjoy while warm.