From the Market // Last Days of Summer... and Fall Preview!

Transitional months between the seasons are just a bit depressing, especially when all the great summer fruits and vegetables are waning away. The variety of goodies this time of year tend to be either over-ripe or under-ripe, but you're bound to find the last bit of berries and peaches (great for cobblers and pies). 

The plus side is that fall is just around the corner, theoretically. Once our trademark Californian Indian Summer passes, there are loads of fall crops to look forward to: 

Apples

(crisps! sauces! pies!)

Beets

(roasted, of course)

Brussel Sprouts

(buy on the stalk, they are more fresh)

Chard

(colorful greens, so fun)

Eggplant

(my favorite vegetable)

Figs

(green, purple, Adriatic varieties... one of my favorite fruits)

Kale

(curly or dinosaur - the best)

Leeks

(yummy with potatoes)

Okra

(slice and fry them up, n'awlins style)

Parsnips

(great with a chicken noodle soup)

Pears

(poached, braised, liqueured, baked, broiled)

Persimmons

(my favorite sign of fall)

Pumpkins / Squashes

(fall = duh)

Quince

(pastes, jellies, etc.)

These late summer/early fall fruits and veggies are a sampling from the Larchmont Farmer's Market this weekend - don't forget to check out their incredible flowers!

Chomping Ground // Los Angeles Wishlist

Photos courtesy of the below restaurants.

More than a handful of new and exciting places have popped up all over town in the years I have been away, so I'm looking forward to tasting all that the city has to offer. Since my move (back) to Los Angeles, there has been a bourgeoning of a new generation of restaurants; young chefs and cooks are opening establishments with revolving menus where simplicity is key. No-frills-food with carefully designed interiors and incredible graphic design seems to be everywhere now. But that's a good thing.

Just a few new places on my palette wishlist.... :

Osteria La Buca

5210 Melrose Ave

Hollywood, CA 90038

(323) 462-1900

www.osterialabuca.com

Neighborhood: Mid-City/Wilshire

Artichoke's Heart

9010 Melrose Ave

West Hollywood, CA 90048

www.artichokesheart.com/

Neighborhood: West Hollywood

Froma

7960 Melrose Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90046

www.fromaonmelrose.com

Neighborhoods: Mid-City West, West Hollywood

Pizzanista!

2019 E. 7th St.

Los Angeles, CA 90021

Neighborhood: Downtown

Local

2943 W Sunset Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90026

Neighborhood: Silver Lake

silverlakelocal.com

The Kitchen

4348 Fountain Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90029

Neighborhood: Silver Lake

www.thekitchen-silverlake.com

Son of a Gun

8370 W. 3rd St.

Los Angeles, CA 90048

Neighborhood: Mid-City West

www.sonofagunrestaurant.com/

Sotto

9575 W. Pico Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90035

www.sottorestaurant.com

Neighborhood: West Los Angeles

The Deli at Little Dom's

2128 Hillhurst Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90027

Neighborhood: Griffith Park/Los Feliz

From the Market // Shishito Peppers

Absolutely my favorite veggie at the moment. Shishitos are definitely the mildest of peppers, similar in spice (or lack of spice) as bell peppers. They look hot, but trust me, even the seeds are very very mild. The best way to prepare these are to flash saute them in a pan of vegetable or canola oil - you can use olive oil, but since olive oil has a very low smoking point, it will just end up smoking up your kitchen. I like using canola oil since the flavor is mild and it's great to flash saute/fry anything.

You can add fresh garlic at the very end of the saute process. I usually toss them around after the skin starts browning and blistering. Add a pinch of salt and you have an amazing appetizer and/or snack. There is a great restaurant in Chicago, Girl & the Goat, that had a Shishito Pepper appetizer with miso and parmesan cheese. It was out of this world!

I got these beauties from Happy Boy Farms last weekend; one of my favorite farmers in the Bay Area. Also check out their amazing herb selection and salads-in-a-bag (often with fresh, edible flowers in the mix). 

Chomping Ground // Berkeley: Ici

Ici

2948 College Avenue

Berkeley, CA 94705

tel 510.665.6054

www.ici-icecream.com

* * *

This is my definite go-to place for ice cream while in the East Bay, or in the entire San Francisco Bay Area for that matter. I have never experienced the freshest, most flavorful ice cream anywhere else. And what I love about Ici is that the ice cream doesn't leave you feeling heavy or gross after - they have mastered the cream-custard-flavor ratio perfectly. 

And their homemade cones are something you absolutely must try. It is a perfectly crisp vanilla-butter cookie cone with an ingenious (and functional) surprise at the bottom: a chocolate seal which closes up the little hole so that your melted ice cream doesn't drip down your hand. 

Their flavors are updated daily and change with the seasons. Today's flavors include:

Strawberry Sorbet

Strawberry Balsamic Swirl

Darjeeling Cinnamon

Malted Vanilla

Orange Rosemary Toffee

Caramel Rose

Mocha Fudge Swirl

And while we're on the topic, some other ice cream honorable mentions in the Bay Area must be noted:

Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous

[Dogpatch, San Francisco]

http://www.yelp.com/biz/mr-and-mrs-miscellaneous-san-francisco

Fenton's Creamery

[Piedmont, Oakland]

http://www.fentonscreamery.com/

Bi-Rite Creamery

[Mission, San Francisco]

http://biritecreamery.com/

Mitchell's Ice Cream

[Mission-ish, San Francisco]

http://www.mitchellsicecream.com/

Photos courtesy of Ici

Chicken Nuggets w/ Fresh Jalapeño

Ingredients: organic free-range chicken, day-old Tuscan Italian sliced bread, dried basil, dried oregano, fresh garlic cloves, kosher salt, black pepper, jalapeño

* * *

Absolutely no ground-up chicken byproduct to be found in these nuggets! I believe the key here is my fresh breadcrumb mixture; trust me, once you make your own breadcrumbs, you'll never buy the Progresso canned ones again. All you need is a food processor and it's soo simple. 

I just tore pieces of my sliced bread and put it directly into the food processor with a dash of the dried herbs and a roughly chopped garlic clove. I put in a good pinch of salt and just gave it a whirl. I ground it up very finely - keep in mind fresh breadcrumbs have considerably more moisture in them (which is why you shouldn't use fresh bread). They are lighter and flakier, almost like panko breadcrumbs. 

I sliced up some boneless chicken thighs but you of course could use chicken breasts for this as well. I seasoned the chicken bits with salt and pepper and buried them directly into the breadcrumbs - no milk, no eggs, nothing. 

Lay them gently in very hot canola oil and let them brown before flipping over the pieces - make sure you don't stir them around in the oil; let them sit there and fry away. Oh, and another handy tip for some added flavor, throw in about 2 fresh garlic cloves in the oil first before frying the chicken; remove them before adding the chicken. 

In order to prevent any dry nuggets, remove them from the oil about 1 1/2 mins after flipping. Make sure you also cut your chicken in similar size pieces or slices, that way you can ensure a more even cooking process.

I served them with a fresh piece of jalapeño pepper and dipped them in some dijon mustard I had handy. Soooo much better than the mystery meat nuggets they have at fast food joints and your kids will love these (and they'll have fun with the breadcrumb part, too - just make sure they stay away from the oil!).

Chomping Ground // Napa: Morimoto Napa

Photo: Eater SF, Peter Hopper Stone

Morimoto Napa

610 Main Street

Napa, CA 94559

tel 707.252.1600

www.morimotonapa.com

* * *

I was completely speechless and amazed at the quality of the food here, the inventiveness of the dishes, and the overall presentation and attention to detail of every aspect of the dining experience. It was such an incredible, 2 1/2 hour dinner that felt like one of those rare (and expensive) indulges you definitely don't have every day. 

You may know Chef Morimoto from his stints as one of the Iron Chefs from the Food Network. I was familiar with his name, his brand, and his celebrity but I never tried his food until recently. The photos here are some that we took from our meal, which was a much better experience overall since I dined with about 5 other people. 

Going in a large group is key, so you can try a little bit of everything. Morimoto Napa excels in their small bites, appetizers, and definitely their sashimi. I was a bit underwhelmed by some of their main courses as their efforts seemed to be concentrated on their appetizers, especially the Cold Appetizers we were able to try: the Toro Tartare, Yellowtail 'Pastrami', and their most amazing Lamb Carpaccio.

We were also able to sample some of their Hot Appetizers: Oyster Foie Gras, Spicy King Crab (SO GOOD), Kakuni, Morimoto Bone Marrow, and Melon Tempura (which was my favorite and most amazing thing I've ever tasted). 

The most interesting dessert I had was Chef Morimoto's take on the classic Korean bibimbap, which he turned into a creatively gorgeous sweet dish instead of a savory one. He topped a sushi rice pudding with cubed papaya, mango, and other tropical fruits. In addition, he added a yellow mango custard in the shape of an egg yolk - a classic staple of a bibimbap. Visually, it was beautiful and it was the perfect end to the most amazing meal. 

Melon + Feta Salad w/ Mint

 

Ingredients: Honeydew melon, organic Greek feta, fresh mint leaves, lemon juice, salt

* * *

I had an incredible salad last night at a lovely little gastropub in Hollywood.  Wood & Vine had an ingenious idea to pair honeydew with feta cheese - the salad was a refreshing, delicious, and a very simple starter that went perfect with our cocktails. Theirs was slightly different; I think they might've added another type of melon or fruit, but I replicated it pretty well, with the fresh chopped mint and lemon vinaigrette. 

This was so easy, it's just a matter of throwing everything together in a bowl with a splash of lemon juice, olive oil, and salt to taste. Make sure to try and cube the honeydew and feta so that they're the same size. Add the chopped mint as the very last step and toss right before serving, as the mint tends to oxidize and turn brown quickly once it's chopped. 

From the Market // Mushrooms

I was so amazed and curious by these awesome mushrooms I saw at the Hollywood Farmer's Market last weekend. We were at the L.A. Funghi stand; it was full of various types, species, and strains of every type of mushroom you could imagine. No boring button mushrooms here! A few I recognized, some Wood Ears, Morels, Portobellos (of course), and Shitakes, but some were just downright insane. I failed to write any of the names down so I don't know what type they are, but thought I'd snap some shots of the ones that caught my eye and figured they'd speak for themselves. 

They also sold whole, fresh white truffles in a jar by the cash register to tempt you as you're paying for your goodies. And as a side note, their Portobello caps were so juicy and flavorful, it was like digging into a steak. We threw them on the grill - no seasoning needed. 

Turkey + Pancetta Ragù w/ Pappardelle

Ingredients: canned whole tomatoes, shallots, garlic, dried oregano, dried basil, dried thyme, bay leaf, unsalted butter, pancetta, ground turkey, egg pappardelle pasta

* * *

Much in the way I made the sauce for my Spaghetti + Meatballs, I slow-cooked all of the ingredients together for about 2 hours. I added a step in the very beginning, searing the pancetta and cooking the ground turkey in my dutch oven first, removing the meats, and began the base for my sauce. After placing in the food processor to get that saucey consistency, I added the pancetta and ground turkey and simmered on low for another hour or so. 

I'm not a fan of setting a sauce on top of the pasta - I like stirring and mixing it together in the saucepan prior to serving, just so all the flavors combine properly. Especially with a ragù recipe like this, you really want each and every noodle to achieve maximum ragù-ness.

Alice Waters has a brilliant Mushroom Ragù and also a classic Bolognese sauce that served as an inspiration for this recipe.

Tarragon Shrimp Salad w/ Butter Lettuce + Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

Ingredients: Argentinian Red Shrimp, butter lettuce, fresh tarragon leaves, unsalted butter, red garlic, lemon zest, olive oil, kosher salt, cracked pepper, Dijon mustard, lemon juice

* * *

Having spent the weekend in the beautiful Napa Valley, I was inspired by a dish I tried at brunch today at the Auberge du Soleil Resort restaurant. It was a poached shrimp and little gem appetizer in an incredible citrus Dijon vinaigrette, so of course I attempted my own version this evening for dinner.

My shrimp weren't as gorgeous as the Auberge version so I decided to saute them with garlic, butter, and fresh tarragon leaves instead of poaching them. I set them on top of some small leaves of butter lettuce and whisked together a lemon Dijon vinaigrette that tasted exactly like its inspiration!

If you have a chance to visit the area, pop in to the restaurant and/or bar area. They have the most beautiful terrace that overlooks the entire valley, with wine vineyards that stretch as far as the eye can see. Staying the night here is extremely expensive, so I often just visit the bar and restaurant when I'm in town.