Quinn's Focaccia Sandwich

This weekend brought all sorts of changes: Quinn's move up to Santa Barbara, an additional food section for Culinary Therapy, and a flashy new camera! That's right, no more grainy iPhone photos. After weeks of research and deliberation I bought myself a Sony Nex-5 and am thrilled to play with my new toy. I welcome tips and suggestions from any and all photographers with open arms.

Also, please welcome to the blog: Weekend Getaways! As I plan to take brief jaunts up the coast to see Quinn in Santa Barbara and explore the restaurants in surrounding areas, I thought I might as well be productive during my trips. With such gems as Goleta's La Super Rica and Solvang's famed Chinese food, I have my work cut out for me. 

Saturday morning Quinn and I perused the Farmers' Market in downtown Santa Barbara. The county is known for its fresh produce and daily markets, inspiring me to spend more time at my own neighborhood venue. Quinn picked out a heirloom tomatoes, pluots (apricot and plum's love child), and a stunning herb focaccia. He lovingly designed an addictive end-of-summer sandwich we nibbled on all weekend.

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The Taste - Picnic in the Hills

Last Monday I was lucky enough to attend one of LA Times and the Food Network's events at "The Taste". The series of food demonstrations and tastings took place in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and downtown LA all weekend and were hosted by celebrity chefs such as Giada De Laurentiis ("Everyday Italian", "Next Food Network Star"), Susan Feniger (Border Grill, "Top Chef Masters"), and Duff Goldman (Charm City Cakes, "Ace of Cakes"). Themes included "Burgers and Beer", "Street Eats", "Desserts After Dark", and "Picnic in the Hills". 

Sheltered by massive tents to combat the late August heat, the "Picnic in the Hills" VIP pass included fresh lemonade in basil or strawberry (Target), endless wine tasting from California vineyards, and little bites from the best and brightest of LA's culinary scene. From Santa Monica's M Street Kitchen to on-the-go food truck B Sweet, every plate I sampled was artfully assembled and exquisite. 

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Sunday Morning Chocolate Chip Muffins

As a little girl I longed to be a "grown up" for several reasons.

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The "Louis Doesn't Like Red Sauce" Pasta (with Meatballs)

If anyone can understand a kid's qualms about food, it would be me. Terrified of mushrooms and partial to creating a hot dog/Kraft macaroni and cheese mutant, I was a very picky eater. My little brother Louis, out-of-this-world trumpet player and sarcasm whiz, is obviously following in my footsteps. To save him from an all-day Jazz and Blues festival our dad goes to every year, we spent a Sunday lounging in his Playa del Rey apartment utilizing his flat screen, blu-ray player (him) and spacious kitchen (me).

Since Louis and I are twelve years apart (11, 23), I often find myself lamenting his lack of movie education. After suffering through The Diary of a Wimpy Kid II at his request and his required  trumpet practice, I informed the snarky pre-teen that we were going to watch a classic from my childhood: The Fifth Element. As Louis marveled in the special effects ("How can this movie be fifteen years old?!") and sat entranced by the comic stylings of a young and trim Bruce Willis, I set to work on his dinner.

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Food Trucks LA: Dogtown Dogs

Though the food truck race in Los Angeles has been picking up steam for a while, I have yet to venture out and try any. Somehow I never get it together in time to check out First Fridays, an event in the Venice district of Abbot Kinney, where merchants feature artists, music, drink specials and a wide variety of food trucks. (I will make it there someday.) Where food trucks were once known as "roach coaches", a cheap array of Mexican fare on wheels, the fad has exploded in the LA foodie scene. Partly due to our current economic decline, the mobile restaurants feature hip, gourmet street food. 

 

Kogi Korean BBQ was the front-runner in the food truck craze, an army of five Korean-Mexican fusion trucks that feature options of spicy pork tacos or kimchi quesadillas. After winning several awards and the hearts and minds of Angelinos, Kogi's success spawned hundreds of on-the-go eateries, from The Grilled Cheese Truck (note to self: try the cheesy mac & rib melt as soon as humanly possible), the Border Grill truck, an addition to the renowned Santa Monica Spanish restaurant at the 3rd Street Promenade, and my first venture into the world of food trucks, Dogtown Dogs.

 

 

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Top Chef Potluck: Chipotle Shrimp Tacos w/ Mango Avocado Salsa

A few weeks ago, my friends and I got together for another Top Chef Potluck. Instead of choosing our best recipe, we opted to take the competition a step further and compete with a main ingredient. We chose avocados, and set out to determine who made the most delicious and original meal. From Sam's "Bacamole" to Heruy's Ribeye Fiesta to Ted's Cholcolate Avacado Mousse (newly dubbed "Quetzalcoatl's Pre-Columbian Dessert Deluxxe Flavor Exxplosion"), our work was cut out for us. My submission?

 

Ever since a disastrous attempt at making grilled sole for Quinn when I first started teaching myself how to cook, I've been a little intimidated by seafood. (We found out the fish had gone bad, so the putrid smell was not, in fact, my fault.) I considered many options centered around avocado -- a Santa Fe Chicken Pizza,  hand-rolled sushi, grilled Cuban chicken with a pomegranite guacamole -- but I knew I had to make one of my favorite dishes, chipotle shrimp tacos! I have to credit Quinn (as usual) for the mango-avocado salsa. He and his mom make it for many of their Sunday dinners, and after one taste I was hooked! Despite my seafood qualms, I tackled shrimp with the determination to make perfectly tender morsels for the competition.

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Sushi Kiyono Date

 

Before a holiday weekend filled with long-lost San Francisco friends, the Fairfax flea market and 70's roller disco, Quinn took me out to a mellow sushi date at Beverly Hills' Sushi Kiyono. Smack dab in the middle of Beverly Drive, the restaurant serves sashimi, nigiri, and Los Angeles themed sushi with names like the Show Me The Money or The Godfather.

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Healthy Eats: Arugula & Goat Cheese Pasta Salad

I've said it once, I'll say it again: there is something  so wonderful about cooking with friends. Opening a bottle (or 2, or 3) of wine, brainstorming dishes together, deliberating over spices, rubs and marinades... it can't be beat. This past weekend Quinn and I got together with two of his good friends from high school to grill high quality tri tip and chicken breasts purchased at the Los Angeles Original Farmer's Market.

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Iron Chef Potluck #1, Volume 4: Jamie's Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cupcakes and Quinn's Key Lime & Mint Cream Pies

There is something inherently cruel about serving desserts at the climax of a potluck. Stuffed to the brim with tuna tar tar, burgundy beef stew, rigatoni carbonara, creamy gnocchi and sweet potato fries, we were left with the painfully wonderful task of finding room in our stomachs for such scintillating desserts as Jamie and Quinn's.

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Iron Chef Potluck #1, Volume 4: Jodi's Gnocchi with Spinach & Peas & Ted's Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Jodi and Ted are not only the cutest couple possibly ever, but they both came to the potluck bringing their A-game. Fortunately for our kitchen space, they brought their dishes already prepared, but unfortunately for ME, I don't know exactly how they made them. However, I do know this: they were absolutely divine.

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Carbonara Nirvana (Iron Chef Potluck #1, Volume 3)

There are times when I chide myself for my constant out-pour of affection and appreciation for all things Italian. Sometimes I wonder if the ingredients and cuisine there are in fact better than what we have here in the US, as I often claim. This weekend was not one of those times.

Sure, it can be annoying to hear my undying love for Italian Parmesan or my quest to fine-tune my favorite Roman dishes. But such obsession lends to perfection, and on Saturday I think I finally reached carbonara nirvana.

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A Hearty Saturday Breakfast

After weeks of gloomy weather on the weekends and tauntingly summery work weeks, LA finally got its shit together this weekend. It was 85 degrees in beach-breezy Santa Monica, and I embarked on a relaxing weekend full of movies, retail therapy, endless sunshine and of course, food.

Saturday morning Quinn and I woke up early to peruse the Virginia Park farmer's market a few blocks from my apartment. We sampled fresh strawberries to pick the boldest and sweetest, picked up blood oranges and just-baked chocolate chip muffins, then headed out to breakfast at John O'Groat's.

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