H o o r a y for Cinco de Mayo~! May 31, 2007

Cinqo de Mayo was weeks ago you’re saying? I lag what can I say. Do I get any brownie points for getting the post in before the end of May?

I still remember the food very clearly though. A large salad bowl full of freshly made pico de gallo with enough minced jalapenos to make a Korean girl happy. Oh yes, and half a red bell pepper because it was sitting around in my fridge getting bored. Bright green bowl of guacamole with bits of juicy red onion and a toss of cilantro. Scooped up with tortilla chips and consumed in big mouthfuls, Boy and I were getting a good start to our Cinqo de Mayo meal.

We were having a few friends over for our Mexican meal so I started off by making that pico de gallo. Freshly made pico de gallo is heavenly. This is one of my favorite things ever. And now I think it’s one of Boy’s favorite things too. I had to keep checking on him to make sure he wasn’t eating all of it before our friends came over.

Pico de gallo is awesome but we would also need a hot sauce for our tacos. I turned to Rick Bayless’s Authentic Mexican for the Salsa Picante de Chile de Arbol recipe. I deseeded about 60 chiles de arbol and then blended it with toasted pepitas, sesame seeds, spices and cider vinegar. Woohoo~ this was spicy and acidic. Initially I thought it too vinegary but when sprinkled over the carne asada it was delicious by adding a big punch of spice and a refreshing bite of acid to the meat.

I also attempted to make homemade tortillas. I say attempted because they didn’t turn out so well. But they were good enough to be improvised into a plate plate of enchiladas though. I poured a lil bit of canned enchilada sauce on the bottom of a small baking dish then laid the tortillas, dropping a bit of crumbled queso fresco in the middle and folding it over into a half moon. I topped the layered tortillas with the rest of the sauce and more queso fresco. Covered with foil and baked it off. It was simple and delicious. I remembered from watching Anthony Bourdain in Mexico when he was eating a home cooked dinner, the women made enchiladas with just homemade tortillas and chile sauce. So I did just that so I didn’t have to throw out my first tortilla attempts.

The meat was the easiest part. Ten minutes before cooking I marinated the skirt steak with black pepper and lime juice. Then salted it before searing it in a saute pan (I forgot my grill pan at home). After letting the meat rest under a foil tent I chopped up the meat and served it in its juices.

Man the tacos were delicious! First comes the warm tortilla, then the juicy skirt steak, a scoop of pico de gallo, a squirt of chiles de arbol hot sauce, a dollop of guacamole, and a sprinkle of queso fresco. Honestly, I ate one too many tacos. Oh yeah, can’t forget the side of chopped onion and cilantro. I love loading up on that stuff. I am a raw onion lover beware.

However, after all this savory business we weren’t done yet though. I had a sweet trick up my sleeve. I had made churro dough and had it resting in the fridge all ready to go in a star tip fitted pastry bag. We fried these lil babies up and munched the night away. I used the biggest star tip I had, which isn’t really big enough for the the churros but they were still great. In fact, I think some of us became fans of the smaller churro because of its favorable crispiness ratio. Crispy and hot and tossed right away in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon, it was hard not to be indulgent that day. It’s fried, it has to be good right?

A Light & Casual Wedding Lunch Affair May 24, 2007

About two and a half weeks ago my brother’s friends Sarvi and Aaron contacted me about catering for their wedding party. It was supposed to be a more casual event held at a artsy and hip neighborhood bar/art gallery, providing guests with a light lunch. I was free so I took on the task with the help of my friend Ellen. So I began the menu planning keeping in mind that the food would have to be finger food so guests can eat easily while standing and drinking, the food would have to go with some nice wine, and of course something delicious.

The menu:

Hummus, Muhammara & California Harissa with Fresh Baguette Slices

Marinated Feta & Olives with Rosemary & Lemon Zest

Bacon-wrapped, Parmesan-Stuffed Dates

Goat Cheese Mousse Tartlets with Candied Pepitas

Romesco Pulled Pork Canape with Pecorino Salsa Verde

Tuna Tartar with Pickled Red Onion & Chives (Ellen’s hor d’oeuvre)

Prosciutto di Parma, Buffalo Mozzarella, Basil & Wild Arugula Sandwich

Balsamic Roasted Onion, Sun-dried Tomato, Ricotta & Wild Arugula Sandwich

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Hor d’oeuvres would work great for this event since they are finger food but the menu also needed other items to round it out. So I made a trio of dips - muhammara, California harissa and hummus. I made the hummus using Clifford A. Wright’s recipe by using dried chickpeas, not canned. This was the first time I made hummus from dried chickpeas and although a bit laborious due to the peeling of the beans the results were very delicious. As with many dishes made from scratch for the first time, you realize how much you’ve been missing out.

I used Paula Wolfert’s recipe for the muhammara which was so delicious! Muhammara is an eastern Mediterranean dip made from roasted red peppers, chili, walnuts and pomegranate molasses. The whole roasted serrano chili I added gave a real nice kick to it. Yup I added seeds and all since the recipe said add to taste. Nutty, sweet, savory and lightly spiced, this is definitely one of my favorite dips now.

The California harissa is Suzanne Goin’s recipe which I’ve used in so many different recipes and dishes. She is like the goddess of flavor combinations and the most flavorful rustic sauces. Just in this menu I used three of her sauces. Once you get a few of her recipes down the combinations are endless since the sauces are so versatile. But they are also delicious on their own with some fresh rustic bread.

I also made some marinated olives and feta and served them in this great elongated dish I picked up at Ross for only $6. Yeah, I am a discount dish junkie. It does pay off to keep your eyes open at these discount places because you can find quality stuff once in a while for very cheap - like $0.99 for a Le Creuset ramekins. Back to the food - I marinated the olives and feta in olive oil, rosemary, lightly crushed garlic just to infuse the oil, and lemon zest.

I’ve never met anyone who didn’t adore A.O.C.’s roasted dates, so I put them on the menu, and as expected people went crazy for them. Ellen made about 120 pieces of these and they were all gone. This is a super easy recipe so if you love A.O.C.’s dates or you love bacon or parmesan do make these at home. All you need are pitted dates, parmesan, and thinly sliced American bacon from the deli. Now stuff, wrap with half a slice of bacon, and roast at a high temp.

Romesco is one of my favorite condiments and I always turn to Suzanne Goin’s version (what can I say, she is awesome). Pork is another one of my favorite things, as a hunkin piece of meat and in all its cured, salted, smoked incarnations. Romesco is a great condiment for any meat but I thought pulled pork tossed with romesco would be meaty and delicious. Normally I would have made feta salsa verde to top the canape but since I already had the marinated feta I turned to pecorino romano.

I made the base from wonton skins which I greased and baked in mini muffin pans. I ran out of spray oil at about the 60th skin out of the 140 I needed to make. Doh! I thought just brushing on the oil would be the same but for these wonton shells spray oil is really the method of choice because it coats it a lot lighter. After baking all of em I brush off the excess flour on each wonton skin with a pastry brush, a step which I didn’t take the last time I made these shells which made them sorta floury.

The pulled pork was juicy and the romesco added such a great nutty chili flavor to it. Serious yum. I froze the chunk of leftover pork since I won’t have time to eat it this week. But a romesco pulled pork sandwich will surely rear its beautiful head sometime in the near future.

For my second hor d’oeuvre I turned to the always dependable and delicious goat cheese mousse which I’ve served many times since I came across Thomas Keller’s recipe which actually calls for beautiful parmesan crisp baskets. I knew it would be way too time consuming and insane to make 120 parmesan crisp baskets because of their delicate nature and the crazy speed required to form the baskets immediately after they come out of the oven. So instead phyllo dough was used to form the base. Ellen took over the duty of the phyllo shells, which would have been impossible for me to do with my oven being invaded by the baking of all the wontons, the roasting of the pulled pork, and the roasting of the balsamic onions for the sandwiches. I added my own touch to the goat cheese mousse by sprinkling candied pepitas (also Goin), which were made with butter, sugar, cinnamon, paprika, and cumin. I love the sweet and saltiness of the seeds, accented by warm spices.

I originally had cauliflower soup shooters on the menu but soon took it off because we weren’t able to find a good-sized disposable shot glasses and since the bar didn’t have a full kitchen and no servers were hired for the small event renting shot glasses for the event would prove some difficulties. In its place Ellen offered up her version of Emeril’s tuna tartar, flavored with shallots, dijon, olive oil, and wasabi creme fraiche. Pickled red onion was added for a nice crunch and tartness along with a garnish of chives. The tartar was served on sesame crackers.

To add some heft to the menu, we offered some delicious Italian sandwiches which we made with freshly baked Bay Cities bread. One had beautiful prosciutto di parma, creamy soft buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil and wild arugula from Maggie’s Farm. The vegetarian offering had roasted onion marinated in balsamic onion, sun-dried tomatoes, creamy ricotta, and likewise some peppery wild arugula.

All the guests were very happy with the food and more importantly Saarvi and Aaron were super happy. It was an honor to be hired for their special day considering they’ve only had my food a few times at my brother’s gatherings. It was a great time and the event was a breeze and with guests saying the food was “incredible”, “amazing” and “so delicious” it makes all the effort worth it. And thanks to Ellen for helping out with making the hundreds of pieces of the dates, phyllo shells and the tuna tartar!

The Best Samosas Ever - India Spices & Groceries May 16, 2007

Now that I’m looking at this delicious picture of the best samosas I realize I haven’t been back to India Spices & Groceries since November! What the hell is wrong with me? How can I resist the call of freshly fried samosas, cheap and filling, (I think $1.50 for 2) with practically a side of refreshing but searing green chutney? I guess I’ve been in a taco fiend mood as of late and my stops have been on Adams, rather than Pico, at Leo’s taco truck.

The samosas come out super hot, steaming when I bite a bit off the corner. Going a bit at a time is important as I’ve had the experience of having too big, too hot a bite before. I make sure to have tons of the spicy green chutney in a takeaway cup, pouring a spoonful on for each bite. Even at the last bite the samosas are still hot, the edges still crispy. The potato filling is seasoned perfectly with a smattering of spices and not overwhelmed by them. The perfect samosa I tell ya.

The only problem after trying India Spices’s is that other samosas disappoint. The ones at India Sweets & Spices can often be sitting around for a lil bit losing that extra crisp that only exists moments after a dip hot oil. The one I had recently at Gate of India was so-so but overall the their food sucked. The sub-par samosa should have been a vision of things to come - mediocrity to be exact.

Anyhow, back to goodness. The last time I was at India Spices & Groceries I also helped myself to some vegetable pakoras. Likewise, deliciously fresh and crispy. I mean just look at it! Brown and gorgeous, with a high crisp batter to soft innard ratio. Fried food done right. Cheap and delicious. And on the way home! Guess what I’m pickin up for myself tomorrow?

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5994 W Pico Blvd
LA, CA 90035
323.931.4871