you can never go wrong with chocolate-covered strawberries

Hyatt - Santa Barbara, CA

holiday delights... they never grow old

I carved the turkey for the first time this year

this link helped me out... a lot:

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/11/21/dining/1194833560897/carving-a-thanksgiving-turkey.html?scp=1&sq=carve%20turkey&st=cse

Happy Holiday Cooking :)

holiday cooking on its way...

don't know about the rest of you, but i'm ready

Epicurious

get the holiday music playing, get out that menorah and that christmas tree, and begin to taste the pleasures of the holidays

story of my life: the farmer's market

The November 2011 issue of Los Angeles Magazine published in-depth profiles on the farmers' markets around Los Angeles. Every Sunday I attend the Hollywood market, so was delighted to see my farmers' stands given the spotlight.

To give you a taste of the deliciousness, here's this month's letter from the Editor-in-Chief, Mary Melton.

It’s the weekend. The alarm clock blares. You think, I can’t possibly do it. Please, just ten minutes more. The week was long, impossibly long, and your body craves rest. As soon as you hit the Snooze button, a nectarine as sweet as a s’more and so juicy you must lean into the bite to save your shoes from a geyser sneaks into your dreams. Hit Snooze again, doze off.... “Good morning,” whispers a peppery arugula into your ear. “I’m ready for my drizzle of champagne pear vinaigrette.” Hit Snooze again, doze off.... “Where are you?” demands the opinionated baker with the wacky sunglasses. “Your weekly loaf of olive bread is waiting for its schmear of fresh dill goat cheese.” Enough already. You fall out of bed, pull on a hat to hide the morning hair, and grab some canvas bags.

Time to head for the farmers’ market—one of the great sensory experiences in Southern California. There’s that aforementioned taste, of course: multiple generations having at it with the samples, stuffing their mouths with bites of pluots and Pink Lady apples, preschoolers dipping speared chunks of sourdough into balsamic vinegar aged 25 years (that always fills me with hope for the culinary future). Smells: windborne bursts of sharp basil and sweet mint, the earthy tang of wet dirt clinging to the tendrils of a newly yanked beet. Touch: farmers rifling through crates with their experienced hands to help you hunt down avocados that are primed to become guacamole by afternoon. Sounds: the buskers banging out beats in their drum circles, the blind man who for years has wailed beautiful, mournful ballads on his guitar. Sights: every shade of green and purple and orange—even berries smushed into the asphalt offer a tragicomic tableau.

“The market is my church; it’s my family,” says pastry chef Sherry Yard in our annual Food Lovers Guide, which for the first time is devoted to farmers’ markets. As the dessert maven for Wolfgang Puck, Yard finds constant inspiration for her recipes among the stalls. That Fuji apple and rhubarb toasted almond crumble at Cut? It started here. I may never create something nearly as delicious, but that I have the same access as Yard to the same ingredients—the finest produce, possibly, in the world—certainly keeps open the possibility, no matter how remote. Endless possibilities—just bag them and take them home.

new york food culture: eataly

On 5th and 23rd, Eataly awaits you with a choice of 5 different eateries, lots of fresh produce, and a wide selection of Italian imported products. After a day of traveling, I took the healthy route and dined at Le Verdure, the vegetable-based restaurant. However, as I walked around after eating, I noticed the pastas and had some regrets. Nonetheless, it was a great meal with gelato to finish! Buon appetite!

the selection of aromatic mushrooms; gorgeous, but quite overpriced

sweet and strong

doughy on the inside, crisp as can be on the outside

salted peppers

scarola alla griglia: grilled bitter greens with pine nuts, currants, parmigiano reggiano, and aged balsamic 

verdure alla piastra: a selection of warm vegetables and farro salad in a nebbiolo vinaigrette

fresh peach sorbetto

200 5th AVENUE NEW YORK NY 10010

all about the ingredients: pizzeria mozza

On the corner of highland and melrose lies MOZZA. There's the osteria and the pizzeria right next door to one another, but for a much more casual and less extreme dining experience, the pizzeria is beyond perfection. Famous for its yeasty pizza crust, yet the ingredients truly make the dishes stand out.

as simple as a plate of prosciutto

meatballs al forno

bruschette: white beans alla Toscana with extra virgin olive oil and saba

rucola, funghi, and piave

pizza: fennel sausage, panna, red onion, and scallions

pizza: bianca with fontina, mozzarella, sottocenere, and sage

641 NORTH HIGHLAND AVE.  LOS ANGELES CA 90036

saturday morning omelets

I always throw in whatever is in the house.

Trader Joe's prosciutto, Trader Joe's thickly grated cheese, farmer's market sliced cherry tomatoes, and farmer's market heirloom spinach (slightly sauteed before thrown in). 

Other delicious omelet concoctions:

-chard (or another bitter green) and sliced onion omelet (make sure to saute the onions a little bit before putting them in)

-mushroom, spinach, tomato, and grated cheese omelet

-sausage and sliced potato omelet (good with an addition of onions as well)

-veggies galore: zucchini, red bell peppers, asparagus, spinach, onions, eggplant, and lots of delicious herbs

EAT UP!