CHICHARRON LONJA-Deep Fried Pork Belly

YES!...this is like a whole triple wide thick slab of bacon, deep fried in...what i would venture to say...IT'S OWN FAT!...lard, pig fat, BACON FAT!...

i'm starting to wonder if i'l soon find myself out in the backyard rooting for truffles...hmmmm

maybe i should get my cholesterol checked soon.

so the story on this brick of bacon gold is...

i went out to my new favorite market to check out what kind of trouble i could get myself into. it's a killer Mexican style market, Northgat #9, out in Santa Ana, CA. it's really nice. the produce will out-shine any, and the meat dept. is unbelievable. i have yet to try their carne asada or the chicken marinating in all its glory. they also sell ALL parts of the animal...that's where i get myself into trouble. lately i've been going a bit extreem. i'll be posting about that soon. this particular visit i went to get somemore pig tails (posting soon) that i have found to be quite tasty, but that's another story. as i was making my way through the produce, i saw a bunch of people waiting in a deli-like section....ooooh boy!...all these ready made goods. salsas..sooo many salsas, fresh guacamole, civiches etc...then in the hot area i saw HUGE fresh made chicharrons, some as big as 2 ft. x 1 ft. i was just going to be happy with that, but then i saw a bunch of people with #'s waiting infront of this one area, so i nosed my way up and spied the chicharron carne and this big chicharron lonja. chicharron carne is the pork belly with a little meat attached, cut fairly small and fried crispy like the pork skins you get in a bag, but oooh soo much better. the lonja, is the big piece like the one i bought. well, nedless to say, I WAS IN PIG HEAVEN!...they also had trotters ( i attempted this at home if ya care to read about it here), spareribs and some other unrecognizable stuff, cooked or deep fried probably...i don't speak Spanish so i'll have to investigate more next time...knowing when it was my turn was challenge enough 'cuz, of course they called it out in Spanish...well, even I can count to ten in Spanish, so there i was #67, a foot taller than the other women and spikey blond hair...i kinda stuck out like a sore thumb, but still i waited, all smiles... my heart jumped as i heard sesenta y siete. i pointed and nodded and gracias'd my way through the language barrier and walked away with what i knew was pork fat gold.

the chicharron carne were so good and sinful they didn't make it into a photo. i can't stop thinking about them and will probably find myself back there just to get some. i have to admit, i got a little pork fatted-out, so i didn't dive into the lonja right away. as a matter of fact i put it in the fridge for later, kinda wondering how i was going to eat it. well, this morning for breakfast i cut off a hunk of it and put it in the toaster oven. DEEE-LISH!...with scrambled eggs, jalepenos, and a drizzle of maple syrup...sweet savory spicy...what more do i need to get my day rollin'?

so the point of this post is that i emplore any and all of you to find a great (reputable) Mexican market somewhere near you. i happen to luck out with this one, but will probably venture out to find more. it's like a treasure hunt. what treasure will i find next?

by the way...the chicharrons are fabulous with lime and fresh salsa. that is, if they make it home.

火頭山 Ramen Santouka @ The Central

After picking HY up from her office, we decided not to eat home cooked food and go for eat out dinner. This was a blessing as the grilled porkloin that I made turned out too dry (after trying it this morning). We decided to pounce into The Central to try out some Japanese food. Ramen Santouka caught our eyes as there was a long queue outside the ramen restaurant, unfazed by the popular Marutama ramen just upstairs. Ramen Santouka is a ramen chain that originated from Hokkaido and has many branch outlets all over Japan. Their main ramen soup base is their mild, pearl colored pork bone soup.

The queue right outside the entrance

Although there was a queue, we made it

into a bar counter seat in about 15 minutes.

Yokusen Toroniku Ramen

This ramen is the house speciality that uses roasted

pork cheek as the main ingredient. Pork cheeks do not

come cheap as there's only a limited portion of

cheek a pig can have. So, this ramen is the most

expensive one in the menu. There's a choice of shio,

shoyu, miso and kara-miso soup base for the ramen.

Shio (Salt Flavor) - S$19.50

Shoyu (Soy Sauce Flavor) - S$19.50

Miso (Soybean Paste Flavor) - S$19.50

Kara-Miso (Spicy oybean Paste Flavor) - S$20.50

Close up of the Yokusen Toroniku

These were the roasted pork cheeks that was

tasty and tender. I did a little texture test, biting

a corner of a piece of the meat and then slowly

peeling it away with the chopsticks. The meat

peeled away very easily as it was so very soft.

I thought this was the highlight dish of this dinner.

Even though the pork cheek was great and worth a second visit, I thought my choice of kara-miso for the ramen soup base did not suit my palate. I thought the shio soup base would suit this dish better after trying HY's shio soup ramen. There were also complimenting dishes like fried rice and gyozas. In fact we had a small plate of fried rice that was just alright saved by the little chunks of braised pork which made it quite unique. The gyoza ....... maybe I shall not waste extra text space.

Address : 6 Eu tong Sen Street, #02-76, The Central

Tel : +65 62240668

Country : Singapore

Santouka Website

S for Steak

To begin, I should mention that this website’s title is an homage to Orson Welles and his last major, completed film, F for Fake.
And there was this and, my all-time favorite... this.

For years, now, I have asked myself and my friends this question, “If you could have a dinner party with 5 other people – alive or dead – who would you invite?” Only one of my friends, Chris, has ever answered this question deftly and with confidence. He immediately replied that he would invite five evil dictators from different eras and parts of the world. This both impressed and irritated me. First, what a great answer and what an interesting dinner party! But you see I am STILL unable to answer that question. I simply cannot do it. After all these years I can only say, and I know without pause, I want Orson Welles at my dinner party. He was brilliant, irreverent, meticulous, creative, hysterical, dark, beautiful, rejected, embraced, thirsty and hungry. He was truly and completely an artist. In more ways than one Orson Welles was larger than life. I’m so jealous of Rita Hayworth.

F for Fake is Welles’ self-reflexive, wistful meditation on fakery, forgery, swindling and art – and more importantly, the very definition of those words. The film focuses on three hoaxers, Elmyr, the gentlemanly forger and "old emperor of the hoax," Elmyr's biographer Clifford Irving, himself later caught in the act of faking a partnership with Howard Hughes to produce the reclusive multi-millionaire's life story, and Welles himself - the ringmaster - was the man who once convinced people that Martians had invaded New Jersey.

One of the many conversations F for Fake tackles and the one I find the most compelling is: What is art and who defines it? For example, Elmyr could effortlessly, and I mean EFFORTLESSLY, reproduce the paintings of Van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso to the degree that no expert on Earth could tell his fakes apart from the real thing. To this day there are probably more than a few Elmyr’s hanging in our most celebrated museums throughout the world parading as authentic. Why is that not art? I believe that art is something larger than any one author. I also believe, as trite as it may sound, that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.

Really, I could discuss F for Fake ad nauseam but that’s not what this platform is for. So, on that note, I would like to share with you a recipe that the aforementioned Chris, a talented artist both in the kitchen and in the studio, has deliciously “recreated” from a collaboration of two of his favorite chefs - Julia Child and Jacques Pepin - that I am now shamelessly reprinting for you.

I have a singular place in my heart for this dish as Chris has made it for me on countless birthdays, special occasions and also on evenings when he just thought I needed some food prepared with a little love. 

And my guess is Orson Welles would like this dish as well. Honestly, it's hard to imagine the man ever met a steak he didn't like. Hell, I could even serve it at my dinner party. 

Steak au Poivre

by Julia Child and Jacques Pépin
from Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home
(Alfred A. Knopf, 1999)

Makes two 6 to 7 ounce steaks

Steak au poivre is a classic preparation for sautéed steak. Here Julia Child and Jacques Pépin update the dish by using a mixture of black, green, white and Jamaican peppercorns, which is really allspice. A sauté of mushrooms and a full-bodied red wine are a fine match.

Ingredients
1 thick-cut well-marbled strip steak, about 1 pound total weight, and 1 1/2 inches thick
2 tablespoons mixed whole peppercorns, including black, white, green, Szechuan and Jamaican (whole allspice)
Salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter

For the pan sauce
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 tablespoons cognac (or bourbon or red wine)
1/2 cup flavorful dark stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

Garnish
Chopped parsley
Watercress

Method
1. Trim the steak of all the surrounding fat and cartilage. Cut the meat into 2 pieces and crush the peppercorns using the bottom of a heavy skillet.

2. Sprinkle salt to taste on the top and bottom of the steaks; then press each side into the cracked peppercorns, encrusting the steaks lightly or heavily, as you prefer.

3. Heat the oil and the butter in a heavy sauté or frying pan over high heat. When the pan is quite hot, lay the peppered steaks in. Fry for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until the undersides are well seared. Turn the meat and cook the second side for about a minute. Press with a finger to test for the slight springiness that indicates rare. Cook to desired doneness and remove to a warm platter.

Making the pan sauce
1. Add the shallots to the pan and sauté briefly, stirring with a spoon to scrape up the drippings. Lean away from the stove (averting your face) and pour the cognac into the pan; tilt the edge of the pan slightly, over the burner flame, to ignite the alcohol. The cognac will flame for a few seconds as the alcohol burns off; cook for a few moments more and then add the stock. Bring the liquid back to the boil, and cook about 1 minute to thicken the sauce, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning. Finally, add the soft butter, swirling the pan until it melts and incorporates with the juices.

2. When blended, pour the sauce over the steaks. Sprinkle liberally with chopped parsley and garnish each plate with sprigs of parsley or watercress.

"If you try to probe, I'll lie to you.” - Orson Welles in a 1962 interview

GRANDMA's PEAR KUCHEN

THE PEAR KUCHEN...

this was so fun to make because it was a recipe written in my grandma Leda's handwriting. she passed away a few years ago at almost 108, but i swear she's still with me all the time. i even felt like calling her as i was making this. she was THE grandma of all grandmas. i hope you all had one as special as her.

she actually wrote the recipe using plums, specifically canned purple plums, but i chose to make it with canned pears. canned plums aren't in every store and i've never tried them so i went the safe route...pears. AND i think the size and color lent itself to the texture and visual of the kuchen.

the crust is really the star of the show. it's almost cookie-like. thick and crunchy but soft where needed. i mean it's just pure dense YUM!. so on with the recipe...

.

HEAVENLY PLUM KUCHEN (Al's favorite)

copied as written by Grandma Leda

.

cream 1/2 c. butter

1 c. sugar

add- 1 1/4 c. sifted flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking powder

blend and leave out 1/3 c.

press evenly into 8x8x2 pan (i used a 9 in. springform)

place 1 can purple plums-cut in half on crust ( i used pear halves)

sprinkle with 1/3 cup dough mix

bake at 375 for 15 min.

beat 1 egg slightly

stir in 1.c whipping cream to make custard

pour over plums and continue to bake untill top is golden and set... 25-30 min.

i hope this recipe makes sense. i kind of had to decypher it myself, but i gotta tell ya....this kuchen is soooo worth it...and pretty easy. so to all those grandmas out there everywhere, thank you for all your handed down recipes...i can't wait to dig into another one of her treats.

Why do YOU cook, Eric Gower?

Eric Gower's food excites me. His approach to cooking is creative and fresh. Like me, he loves to play with ingredients and find new and different ways to use them. Having lived in Japan, he often combines Western style techniques with Asian ingredients but also uses what's local. His passion for sharing techniques and great ingredients is infectious. He is the author of one of the most innovative cookbooks I own, The Breakaway Cook and he blogs at The Breakaway Cook. Tune in to the Mehta vs. Morimoto episode of Iron Chef America to see Eric as a judge.

I probably eat out, on average, one meal a week. That means I'm cooking roughly 20 times per week, since I cook three meals a day most days. Why do I cook so much?

Cooking for me is this ongoing practice of tweaks. Over the years I've tweaked my food to suit my own palate without a lot of regard for much, except what tastes great *to me.* Cooking, I think, is pure grit: if you do something three times a day, and keep at it, you're bound to get better at it.

If you try to cook competitively like the chefs on tv, you're bound to give up. Unless you have an army of 20-year-olds at your disposal to do all the work it requires, you'll never do it like they do (we'll leave aside for a moment the question of why you'd even want to). It's much better to cook simply, for yourself. Get good at feeding yourself first, and you'll naturally get good at feeding others. Sort of like the flight attendant's instructions to put the oxygen mask on first, before attending your children!

But WHY do I cook? There's a special satisfaction in creating great meals, day after day. Cooking is like coming home, to a place that is safe. When you cook often, you have the power to create a kind of home for yourself, a state of being. It's a place in which you can trust yourself. It's the opposite of a waste of time; it's the ultimate way to spend time."

海南起骨鸡饭 Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice @ Beach Road

Concealed in the basement of the Beach Road Food Centre is a popular Hainanese chicken rice stall. There was no long queue there but definitely a long wait. The stall owners took down mytable number and then my wait started. The photo above shows my S$3.50 worth of Hainanese chicken rice.

My Hainanese Chicken ....... Breast Meat only

You can say that I'm a breast man but only where

chicken rice is concerned. This stall is able to get the

chicken breast tender. Their concoction of sauce really brought

out my appetite such that I wanted another serving but I don't

think I want my lunch kakis to wait with me. Come to think

of it the portion of chicken was really small however tasty it was.

Address : 505 Beach Road, #B1-35 (opposite Golden Mile)

Country : Singapore

PUMPKIN PECAN POUND CAKE

PUMPKIN!...

I LOVE PUMPKIN!...

i was going to start by saying i'm getting a head start on the pumpkin season, but that would be a BIG lie. i eat pumpkin pie just about every morning...1st thing. well, it IS "protein pumpkin pie".

i'll say it anyway..."get a head statr on your pumpkin ideas!"...this easy pound cake will ease you into the holidays...geezzz...holidays already!

this cake is more like a breakfast bread than a pound cake. it's moist but not thick, not too sweet and full of nuts. i was going to make a yummy cream cheese frosting that i think would be great, but i went for a lite drizzle of white glaze instead. this is the kind of cake you can dress up for an after dinner dessert or play it down for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

it called for a tube pan and all i had was this little 5 1/2 c. tuber, so i also got a medium loaf pan and a mini loaf pan of cake out of the deal.

i must admit, i'm kind of sucker for anything that has dripping glaze of any sort. it just always looks so ready to cut into.

PUMPKIN POUND CAKE

(thank you Cooks.com)

you know?... i was just going to write the whole recipe out, but then i thought...i didn't change anything and i went exactly to the recipe..except for the size pan...so why copy it out when i can just link you to it...AND Cooks.com has printer friendly versions, which i love. does anybody else mind being linked to another page?...sometimes i prefer it so that it gives the other site props for the recipe and it's nice to see the recipe and the new interpretation from the blogger...i'd love to hear anyone's comments...

so go out and git yerself some punkin...i love that it's always available..year 'round.

Crunchy Cranberry Muffin Tops

To my absolute delight, my daughter is becoming a little food lover herself. The other day she made me a "salad" which consisted of crushed graham crackers, mixed with orange juice, topped off with some carrot sticks...mmmm. What do you do when your little girl comes up to you with those huge blue eyes and asks you to taste it? So I sucked it up, put on my best acting skills and went in for the kill. It did not. taste. good. However, there was no way I was going to break her little heart by not telling her it was the best salad I've ever had in my life, but I am so full that there is no way I can handle another bite of anything right now!

So after telling my mom about this, she was sweet enough to send my girl her own cookbook of recipes made for kids. It's a William Sonoma cookbook, and I love it because they are easy recipes, but they are also things that I actually want my kids to eat. My daughter loves the cookbook, and I often catch her sitting on the couch leafing through it, makes a mama proud! These muffin tops were the first thing we tried together and they were such a hit. I love the hearty flavor of cornmeal and addition of dried cranberries made them delicious. Great job princess!



Crunchy Cranberry Muffin Tops
Found in Cooking Together

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, buttermilk, butter, and honey. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Stir in the cranberries and orange zest and mix well.

3. Drop the batter by large spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, placing them well apart.

4. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 4 minutes. Serve warm with honey.

Am I slow-roasting or being slow-roasted?

It’s hotter than Georgia asphalt here in LA. And on this scorching September afternoon, firmly planted 3 feet away from my fan, I feel myself slow-roasting. I have a sweat moustache. It’s as though I’m in a really un-sexy Tennessee Williams moment. It’s too early to open the white wine. Oh, how I suffer.

Slow-roasting is a fascinating, yet simple, concept and process – and one that occupies an oddly prominent and quite interesting nook of my life, in the kitchen and beyond. It requires complacent confidence and infinite patience, neither of which are my strongest suits.

The theory behind slow-roasting has the simplicity of genius. If the oven is set at the desired internal temperature of the meat, then the meat can never overcook because no part of it is subjected to a temperature above the optimum. This is essentially transferring heat from the outside of the roast to the inside by conductance. The physical process is the same whether the oven is at 400 degrees or 200 degrees. The benefit of slow roasting something is less moisture loss and a more tender product. Oddly however, at the moment, I find myself feeling quite overcooked and dehydrated. Hmpf.

Even though, more often than not, pot roast comes to mind, in actuality one can slow-roast just about anything. Short ribs, pork shoulder, venison, chicken, duck, salmon and even tomatoes can all benefit from this method of cooking. For slow-roasting some people use crock-pots, others use ovens and recently, I used my grill and a chicken.

Slow-Roasted Chicken

3 - 3 1/2 lb chicken -- trimmed of excess fat
1/4 c butter – 1/2 of it melted

2 lemons
salt and pepper
additional herbs and spices as desired

Hardware: shallow roasting pan with rack

• Heat oven and roasting pan (without rack) to 350F. Slice 2 of the lemons paper thin with a knife or a mandoline. With your fingers, carefully loosen the skin from the meat on the bird. Insert 5 or 6 lemon slices underneath the skin along with some of the butter. Put any unused slices and the ends of the lemons into the cavity.
• Place the chicken breast-side up on the rack, brush with butter and season with salt, pepper, and herbs.
• Place chicken in the heated roasting pan in the middle of oven for 30 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 200F and continue roasting for another 1 hour. Increase heat to 400F and cook another 15 minutes until a thermometer inserted into thigh registers 160F.
• Remove from oven, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

In the above recipe, the initial 350F heat quickly cooks the outside (and skin). The reduced 200F heat keeps the outside hot at about the same rate as the cooler interior absorbs the heat. The final 400F period browns the exterior for those wonderful Maillard reactions.

The result, with something like a chicken or turkey is that the thighs and the breast approach doneness at something much closer to simultaneously and even if the breast is a bit overcooked when the thighs are done, the additional juiciness makes up for it.

Me, I’m still roasting. But dusk is just around the corner, and with that comes wine o’clock. As for you, may your home be air conditioned, your wine crisp and cold, and your fortitude in slow-roasting be met with successful results.

"It ain't the heat; it's the humility." -Yogi Berra

General Mills Photography Studios

At General Mills they do all their own photography on site for packaging, editorial, everything. They have a labyrinth of prop rooms, a photo lab, multiple kitchens and areas set up for photography and post production.


Walking into the photo area was a hallway with photos taken by various photographers using General Mills products, just for the fun of it. I kept thinking, the photos would make great cards. Actually General Mills thought so too and gave us each a box of cards made from these fabulous photos. Here were my favorites, can you identify the General Mills product in each one? Sorry these are photos of photos, so please excuse the poor quality.



I could have spent hours in the prop room or rather, rooms. Imagine every single color, size and shape pan, plate, placemat and everything in between. In a word, staggering.

A huge thanks to the photographers and food stylists who set up a shoot, walking us through all the steps, the lighting, the props and the styling. I picked up lots of great tips and will treasure the little tutorial they prepared. It answered many of the nagging questions I have had about aperture settings, lighting tricks, photo angles and more. Here are just a few of my favorite photo styling tips:

+ Wrap foil on the bottom of your pan to form the shape, then place it inside the pan so you don't get creases and wrinkles in the corners. This works great for things like brownies that you want to smoothly lift out of the pan without sticking.

+ Remove slices surrounding the slice you want to photograph, so it stays attractive.

+ Use a ruler and pins or toothpicks to mark where you are going to cut slices of brownies, cake, pie, etc.

+ Sometimes tearing into homestyle foods like muffins looks better than slicing them


Aside from the hospitality of our hosts, the best thing about my trip was this--hanging out with Anna from Cookie Madness and Nicole from Baking Bites. They are smart, funny, creative and amazingly talented bakers and bloggers. We had such a good time together. In case you didn't know, Anna is a past Pillsbury Bake-off winner. How cool was it to walk around and have various employees recognize her as a celebrity? I loved it!

Grilled Halibut Fish Sandwiches wiith Tartar Sauce

Why hello there Mr. Halibut Sandwich. Look at you sitting there all smug. You know everyone wants you, with your delicious ciabatta bread, and homemade tartar sauce. You know that no one can deny the deliciousness of your perfectly seasoned and grilled fillet, it's simply not fair. I see you even have your little friend Diet Coke with you. Oh, you two are just plain old trouble aren't you.

Grilled Halibut Fish Sandwiches with Tartar Sauce
By Rachael Ray

Ingredients

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds fresh halibut, cut into 4 servings, 4 to 6 ounces each, 1-inch thick
Vegetable or olive oil, for drizzling
2 teaspoons crab boil seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 lemon, juiced

Tartar sauce:(if you can, make this the day before, the flavors are much stronger)
1 cup mayonnaise or reduced fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 dill or half-sour pickle, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
10 blades fresh chives, chopped or 2 thin scallions thinly sliced
1/2 lemon, juiced
Few drops cayenne pepper sauce
4 crusty rolls, split
1 large ripe tomato, sliced
4 leaves green leaf or Boston lettuce


Directions

Preheat nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron grill pan over medium high heat. Drizzle halibut pieces with oil, then season with crab boil seasoning, salt and pepper. Grill on a hot pan 4 or 5 minutes on each side.

Place melted butter in a small dish and add juice of 1/2 lemon.

Combine all ingredients for the tartar sauce in a small bowl.

Lightly toast buns on grill pan after fish is removed.

To assemble, brush bun bottoms and fish with lemon butter. Top fish with tomato and lettuce and slather the bun tops with tartar sauce, then serve.

My visit to General Mills

Last week General Mills invited around 50 bloggers to come visit their corporate headquarters. I was a little wary. After all, I'm not a big consumer of packaged foods, but the lure of seeing the test kitchens and photo studio proved incentive enough, and I was in!

The evening I arrived there was a welcome reception and dinner at the Mill City Museum. The museum has terrific interactive exhibits about the mill, and there was also lots of early advertising and packaging from Pillsbury and Gold Medal brands. I particularly liked seeing the ruins of the old factory and dramatic views from the observation deck, that really give you a feel for the history of the city and how important milling was.

The next day bright and early,we headed to the test kitchens. They have 16 stations and test and develop 2000 recipes a year! Not all the test kitchen staff was present, but I was told they have about 15 employees. It was a dream kitchen, light and airy with huge glass windows looking out on the manicured landscaping. I can't imagine a nicer space to work on recipes. If I worked at General Mills, those kitchens would spoil me so I'd never want to cook at home, ever again.

In terms of the products, I can't say I fell head-over-heels in love with anything. I just don't eat much cold cereal or snack food, (products which Michael Pollan likes to call "food like substances" due to how processed they are). My favorite product was probably the Progresso Creamy Tomato Basil soup. It had very few ingredients, a fresh basil and tomato flavor and pleasing texture.

Though I buy imported Italian tomatoes for sauce, I also buy Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes because they are very consistent and add a terrific smoky flavor to soups, stews and sauces. I learned that Muir Glen is planting some heirloom varieties of tomatoes and handpicking them for limited edition cans. I can't wait to try them when they become later this year. If you're interested in heirloom canned tomatoes too, join the "Tomato Connoisseurs Club."

Overall I was impressed with how General Mills is clearly responding to consumers demand for products that are organic, gluten-free, and with no artificial flavors and colors. I told them I wasn't even interested in trying anything made with sucralose, to me it leaves a nasty aftertaste. And while it was too sweet for me, the Cascadian Farm organic dark chocolate granola was an interesting product introduction. I suggested they consider cocoa nibs instead of dark chocolate, you never know, it could happen...

Next up--a visit to the photo lab...

Greenblatt's is SO my Regal Beagle.

A week and a half ago the love of my life, my 3-legged (as if that’s not enough) Chihuahua underwent spinal surgery that has rendered him virtually immobile for the next three weeks while he recovers. 

Well, as you may imagine, this has also left me virtually immobile. I put him in his crate while I shower or find it absolutely necessary to run an errand, but he screams bloody murder in there. I’m not so sure that the stress and screaming is all that great for the recovery process or my neighbors’ neighborliness, so he pretty much sits right next to me on the couch or in the bed. 

This makes him happy. This makes me unable to shop for groceries or prepare food, and most certainly inhibits dining out. This means delivery. This means Greenblatt’s.

As I was complaining about this whole delivery thing making me feel like a stereotypical bachelor-dude-type and also lamenting the lack of recipes or restaurants to write about, my friend suggested I write about Greenblatt’s.

Why in God’s teeth I have never discussed Greenblatt’s on here is beyond me. It is pretty much my favorite place. If I moved anywhere else in LA I would continue to patronize Greenblatt’s, and I have honestly thought that if I ever moved away from LA that it would be a damned shame to no longer have Greenblatt’s in my life (this being almost a driving force to remain, mind you). I’m only sad that it took me a few years of living here to discover the place. What did I do BEFORE? Okay, enough.

Established in 1926 (which might as well pre-date the Byzantine Empire by LA standards) Greenblatt’s is a New York style, kosher deli and fine wine shop that happens to be (too?) close to my house. They are open 365 days a year, from 9am until 2am. They offer dine in, take out and delivery. I’ve spent a Christmas night there in my pine cone jammies, drinking champagne. They are my friends.
 

From mile-high Ruebens, a bagel and lox platter that rivals Canter’s, their cure-all matzoball soup, an awe-inspiring clam chowder, a Cobb salad you could do laps in, to full chicken, turkey, rib and meatloaf dinners with any number of sides (stuffing, potatoes, green beans or broccoli, to name a few), they’ve got it covered.

The wine shop (which also sells liquor) is really and truly something special. It is vast, the prices are a solid couple of bucks cheaper than ANYWHERE else, I’ve found. And the staff knows what they’re talking about. In fact, most are certifiable oenophiles and a few are even studying to be sommeliers.

It doesn’t hurt that as a result of the frequency of my visits (and my undeniable charm?), I am on a first name basis with the entire staff and they are very familiar with my likes and dislikes. Or it could be that last Summer I bought them out of Lillet. Hell, my friends stop in to buy wine on their way to my house and ask the staff what I would like. And they KNOW. I do love me a Regal Beagle.

So during my dog’s and my own house arrest, the good people of Greenblatt’s may not be seeing my face, but they hear my voice – and I their‘s (they are in my speed dial). “Ralph,” I say, “It’s hot. I can’t imagine drinking any reds. Would you mind selecting me a few sauvignon blancs and rosés? I also need a bottle of Lillet, a Cobb salad, and the maple mustard chicken dinner with stuffing and broccoli. That should last me a few days…”. 30 minutes later my bounty arrives and, of course, Ralph’s selections are spot on. 

Now Beso and I can relax and watch the entirety of Season 1 of True Blood on the couch together. It may even get us into Season 2 of Gossip Girl. Hey, a girl can dream…

Greenblatt’s also has an impressive cheese and charcuterie selection AND a magical lemon cake that I could write a whole other blog about…

Greenblatt's Deli-Restaurant and Fine Wine Shop

8017 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 656-0606

Barbecue Style Brisket

Summer is almost over, but it's not too late to plan one more backyard barbecue. This past weekend I had some friends over for a potluck at my folks place, and the main attraction was the beef. My father recently purchased a smoker in anticipation of trying some Snake River Farms beef I had been given as a sample. I first had Snake Rive Farms beef at The French Laundry and more recently tried their burgers, both were fantastic. Wagyu beef has a higher percentage of unsaturated fat, more than any other breed and American Snake River Farms beef is free of both added hormones and antibiotic residues. It's extremely tender and flavorful.

Brisket is an economical cut of beef and I was curious to see if American raised Kobe beef would be superior to conventional beef or grassfed in terms of flavor as well. Oh my. Was it ever. I don't eat beef all that often, but this is really the most rich and luxurious beef you can buy. It's a great way to indulge and tastier than steak, in my opinion. A whole brisket, when available, is about 14 pounds of meat, but needs to be trimmed of fat. You can cut it into three large pieces, each of which will serve about 6 people, maybe a few more.

My father is not big on recipes, but I did get the details on how he prepared the brisket. Here are the basic steps and measurements:

1. Dry rub and marinate
After trimming the meat of most of the fat, rub the meat with a spice rub. You can make it or use a commercial product that contains salt, sugar and spices. Wrap in plastic and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

2. Smoke
Rinse off the rub to make sure the meat will not be too salty. Brush with barbecue sauce and smoke in a smoker for 2 hours at 250 degrees. Note: If you don't have a smoker you could skip this step and just add 2 hours to the baking time.

3. Bake low and slow
Caramelize an onion until golden. Slice a raw onion and create a bed for the meat in a deep disposable style foil baking pan. Layer the meat on top of the raw onion and add about 1 cup water and 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce, place the caramelized onions on top of the meat. Seal the pan with foil and bake at 250 degrees for 4 1/2 - 5 1/2 hours or until meltingly tender.

4. Chill and slice
The meat will be very soft and impossible to slice. Chill it and defat the sauce. Slice and reheat gently in a warm oven. Serve with the sauce--reduced and defatted.

My favorite way to throw a party is potluck. Everyone participates and it showcases the talents and backgrounds of each person in a fun way. Those who don't cook can bring beer or wine. It's not too late! I hope you'll throw a barbecue before Summer is nothing but a memory...

Lau Goh Teochew Chye Thow Kway ..... Fried Carrot Cake @ Zion Road

Lau Goh's Fried Carrot Cake was one of the stalls in the Riverside Food Centre (at Zion Road) that has been in business at the same place for many years now. I like him frying my carrot cake with that extra eggy crisp and that generous amount of white pepper sprinkled over the spring onion garnishing. Lau Goh is not new to media coverage and still read lips like he used to do (he cannot hear you but he can read your lips). However, there wasn't a queue like it used to be even though I thought his standard is still there. It may be the price tag for his plate of fried carrot cake at minimum S$3.50. Nevertheless, I still thought his fried carrot cake as one of the best around.

My S$4.00 plate of Lau Goh Fried Carrot Cake

Extra eggy crisp and generous amount of white pepper

Address : Riverside Food Centre, Zion Road, #01-26

Opening Hours : 11:45am ~ 9pm. Closed on Tuesdays.

Country : Singapore