Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients: yellow gold potatoes, leeks, celery hearts, chicken stock, garlic, dried dill, dried basil, unsalted butter, olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, fresh chives, sesame baguette croutons

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This was my first venture into potato-leek territory and it turned out pretty awesome. I created the base in typical mirepoix fashion, so I started by sauteeing the chopped leeks with celery hearts in olive oil and butter. I softened these up a bit for about 5 minutes and added about 3-4 lbs. of yellow potatoes. 

I chopped up the potatoes very roughly, but in small, even pieces and tossed them with the wilted leeks. Your pot should be nice and hot at this point and I added 4 cups of chicken stock and 1 1/2 cups of water; I then added all the dried herbs and brought it to a boil. Simmer it on low for another 40-45 mins.

Bring out the blender and puree/liquefy all of the soup, except 2 cups. I wanted there to be some scattered chunks of potato, giving each bowl and serving some texture and depth. Top with fresh chives and some croutons of your choice! Another option would be to top with some Parmesan Crisps or fried shallots.

Launched: To Market, To Market

Come check out my latest and greatest list of favorite markets, food halls, and gourmet goodies to buy! I wanted to provide a guide to some of the best markets I get the freshest, organic produce, bakeries for the best bread, my go-to coffee spots, unique & cheap kitchenwares, and of course, food. 


Markets are - hands down - the greatest places to sample the most authentic dose of culture in whatever city you're in; from San Francisco to Peru, check out my list of must-see markets, boulangeries, and cafes, up there on the tool bar at To Market, To Market.

Mercado Central de San Pedro - Cusco, PERU

Grand Lake Farmer's Market - Oakland, CA

  

Le grand marche - Place de Precheurs
Aix-en-Provence, FRANCE

Mercat de la Boqueria - Barcelona, SPAIN

Pumpkin Bourbon Ice Cream

  

Ingredients: pumpkin puree, heavy cream, egg yolks, bourbon, vanilla extract, brown sugar, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, salt

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'Tis the season to be pumpkin-ing. This could be your Thanksgiving dessert in itself - it's pretty rich and would be awesome with a vanilla bean whipped cream. It actually tastes like a pumpkin pie, a pumpkin cheesecake, and a shot of bourbon all at once! Ice cream making can be tricky when alcohol is involved as it has a very high freezing point and tends to inhibit the churning process. The key is to add the liquor literally at the very last minute of churning and then placing it in the freezer for a couple hours to allow it to set. 

People are always surprised to hear of homemade ice cream and don't realize how easy it is. I've got a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker that does all the work. The main trick is getting the custard and ice cream base just right over the stove, making sure your egg yolks don't curdle or scramble when combined with the cream. Once you've got that down, you can make any flavor combination you want.

This has a gorgeous deep-orange/cinnamon color and is perfect for fall. Would be great with a warm apple cider as well. Recipe courtesy of Williams Sonoma.

Parmesan Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients: Arborio rice, white wine, Crimini mushrooms, Shiitake mushrooms, Parmigiano Reggiano, unsalted butter, vegetable stock, dried oregano, bay leaf, kosher salt, black pepper

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Mushrooms and risotto are a classic pairing that never fails - throw in your favorite mushrooms, any will do, but make sure you include a variety for more depth of flavor. I used crimini (brown) and shiitakes for this, but I've seen a Jamie Oliver recipe of up to 5 different kinds. 

Start by sauteeing the mushrooms with some butter and garlic, then add about 4 cups of the Arborio rice. Adding white wine is a must and gives the whole dish a bit of that elegance that really elevates all of the other ingredients. Once the white wine has evaporated, you start adding 4 cups of stock, one cup at a time; it really only takes about 15-18 minutes and it's not bad at all. Just keep stirring!

Turn off the heat when all the stock has evaporated and add about 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese. If you let it sit for about 3-5 mins before serving, it thickens up to the most perfect risotto consistency. Serve with a simple side of arugula salad and some dry white wine!

From the Market // Pomegranates

  

I'm sure you've been seeing a lot of pomegranates crop up at the markets lately as they're in full harvest! I think the season might even be ending soon, so stock up. Pomegranates were always one of those fruits that I was slightly intimidated by, thinking it just took too much effort to pull out all the seeds. Plus the juice always turned me off since it stained horribly... but I was so wrong!

It's such an easy fruit to cut into and actually sort of fun to peel. I just cut crosswise in half, and then again so that they are cut into quarters. You then just pry apart the white pith and the seeds just roll out. It's so simple, not messy, and very quick. I think this would be really fun to do with your kids (just tell them not to squeeze the seeds!). They sell fresh pomegranate seeds at Trader Joes already peeled - but each little package will cost you about $3-$4 .... one whole pomegranate was about 50 cents at the farmer's market and will yield about two packages they would sell at the store (the photos of the seeds here are just from half a pomegranate!).

I eat pomegranates with either sweet or savory dishes - on top of your yogurt and granola for breakfast or simmered down into a nice sauce or glaze drizzled over a pork chop. My favorite thing to do is to add some fresh pomegranate on top of my Moroccan Chicken dish. Stay tuned...

Roasted Tomato + Leek Soup w/ Basil Rice

Ingredients: Beefsteak Tomatoes, leeks, garlic, brown rice, fresh basil + stems, dried basil, dried thyme, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, sugar, olive oil 

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This is probably the best comfort soup for Fall! It has very minimal ingredients that yields such a flavorful and filling soup. It's fairly simple to make with an extra step to puree them all together to get it to that perfect consistency. 

Roasting the tomatoes probably took the longest, taking about 1 1/2 hours in the oven at 400F - but it's worth it! Start by halving the Beefsteaks crosswise (I used about 7 tomatoes), sprinkling them with the dried herbs, salt & pepper, and olive oil. Once they come out of the oven, they're practically falling apart, incredibly juicy and very very sweet. Plus it gets your kitchen smelling like Italy. 

In a large Dutch oven or equally durable pot, sauté about 4 garlic cloves in some olive oil until they're golden and then throw in the chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only!). Once they've softened, add the tomatoes and simmer for about 15 mins until they're officially falling apart. Then throw the whole mixture into the blender and puree the hell out of it - as chunky or as smooth as you want.

Transfer the soup back into the pot and let it simmer a bit more and do some taste-testing, adding salt, sugar, or more black pepper to taste. 

I serve this with some Basil Brown Rice, cooking the rice with several fresh basil stems (just take off the leaves) so that the rice absorbs the aromatics of the basil. Spoon some into your soup bowls and ladle the soup right over it. This will be great with some Parmesan cheese crisps, a dollop of Ricotta, or of course, some fresh basil.

Chomping Ground // Palm Springs: Birba

Photos courtesy of birbapalmsprings.com

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Spent the weekend in Palm Springs and had to share a cute, fun little place with a really great pizza, worthy of the 1-hour trip outside of Los Angeles. It was a bit off the beaten path, away from the downtown drag, hidden away from the street a bit; seemed like a local crowd that frequented the place (plus us tourists, of course). It was my first time to Palm Springs, so thanks to Yelp I was able to find a great Saturday night spot with yummy food and fancy cocktails.

The pizza was the best part: crunchy, bubbly crust, tangy/sweet/hearty sauce (homemade), and their toppings to die for. We had the Homemade Sausage, Mushroom, and Onion but other pizzas include Braised Greens, Green Olive, Serrano Chile, and Smoked Mozzarella and a great white pizza, Egg, Pancetta, Pecorino, and Spring Onion. I'd love to try other goodies next time - they had some tempting appetizers like Burrata w/ Cherry Tomatoes, English Cucumbers, and Toast and Homemade Tuna Conserva w/ PeeWee Potatoes, Haricot Verts, Green Olives, Cherry Tomatoes, and Grainy Mustard Dressing.  

Their salads were equally as great - we ordered the simplest one on the menu, but it was probably the most refreshing, tastiest, and best salad I've had in a long time: Radicchio, Endive, Arugula, Fried Garlic, Parmigiano Reggiano, lemon juice, and olive oil. Sounds right up my alley, so I'll be copying this salad in the days to come.

The decor was fun, hip, mid-century, sleek... quintessential Palm Springs, but with that nostalgic charm. Charcoal-grey outer walls accented with wood textures, white highlights, and pops of bright orange. There was also a beautiful courtyard with sand/gravel that was bordered with benches and plush pillows, where we spent most of our evening. 

The cocktails were mediocre; deliberately creative, but overly sugary and watered down. I'm sure their wines were better! 

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