Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Taco Tuesday...again

OK, so I haven't posted in almost a week, and that means Taco Tuesday has come back around again. Of course, this post isn't actually about that, but I will share with you my lunch from Monday.



Sunday was the cycling worlds, and we enjoyed some flank steak (a future post, no doubt, as it is a household staple), some roasted potatoes, and some fresh snap peas. Monday was a rest day for me (no bike as I try to heal and conserve energy for a century this weekend), so lunch was a leisurely thing involving opening the fridge and seeing if any of the stuff in there would go together. In this case, leftover tortillas provided a typically suitable delivery device for the leftover steak and potatoes, some cheese, some microgreens, and a little salsa to smooth it all out.

But that's not the point. Today is meant to be that long-advertised review of Sazon, not to be confused with Sazon Oaxaqueño nearby, or with the Venezuelan establishment of the same name in Philadelphia, unless, of course, you are the one reader of this blog that (now) live in the City of Brotherly Love. It's in the old location of the beloved Taqueria Estilo Mexico, just down the block from the venerable B&B Hardware. Claudia (not BoW) bought the place from family, and decided to open the menu up to a more pan-Latin approach, bringing in dishes from the Caribbean and Central and South America to augment the more familiar Mexican fare.

I've been there twice now for lunch. The menu still says "draft" on it, and there has been a board of at least eight specials on both occasions. These are the new things that Claudia is trying out with both her customers and her staff. 

The first trip was with J-Ro, and he got fish tacos. This is the one disappointing thing I or anyone I've talked to has had there. It's not that they're bad, but this is clearly no longer a taqueria.




I had a special: Pollo Enchilado. This is not an enchilada, as is clear from the picture. It is, however, a very delicious and spicy slow-cooked half bird with lots of fresh jalapeños, giving it a really nice, slow burn. Get a load of the really delicious pinto beans on the side. 



The second trip was with BoW. We started with a sope, and were too hungry to stop and take a picture. Nonetheless, it was a very nice, fluffy, hand-thrown tortilla topped with some really tasty carnitas. Knowing from my past experience Claudia's penchant for home-cooking, I opted for the Pollo Saltado, her take on a traditional Peruvian preparation. While similar in the savory flavor aspects of the Enchilado, the Saltado had a different kind of heat that seemed to sit in the throat rather than on the tongue and lips. Note that the rice is sticky, like you could eat it with chopsticks.



BoW had the Pollo con Espinaca, which is really a variation on the Enchilado that Claudia said she made for herself to get some veggies into her diet while eating at work. Not at all spicy, the chicken and sauce had a rich flavor like chicken and dumplings or noodle soup with just a touch of the earthy aroma of cumin so you remembered which hemisphere the dish came from. Note the big happy stalks of celery.



Both of the meals ended with Claudia's homemade bread pudding. For me, it's on the dry side, but again, the flavor is right there. Using cranberries instead of raisins and sharp, pungent freshly ground cinnamon don't hurt anything, and it's served simply with a touch of fresh cream and chocolate sauce.

Sazon is definitely in the rotation for quick, simple, inexpensive, and satisfying. One special on the last visit was a "Sonoran Hot Dog," which several local young guys came in and got for $3. It had bacon on it. An abuelita was ordering a bowl of Saturday menudo as we left -- a good sign. Think of Sazon as stopping by the neighbor's for supper, assuming your neighbor is from a couple of different places in el mundo hispanohablante.

Tomorrow: Zombie apocalypse.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Taco Tuesday

As anyone who worked with me in the last year knows, we have taco night once a week in our house. It is usually held on a Tuesday or Thursday to take full advantage of the whole "TT" thing that seemed to rule my life there for a while. Really, though, it has a lot to do with our enthusiasm for meat and cheese and liquor. See, BoW makes quite a mean margarita using fresh lime, top-shelf silver tequila, Cointreau, and agave nectar. And while pork is not usually on our list (like chicken, turkey, and fish are), the utility of the taco for delivering meat to your eating hole has been noted here previously.

These are from a previous meal, but they give you an idea of what I'm after when I make fish tacos.



The key is good, fresh fish. Lately, the fish guy at the Culver City market has had a lot of fresh stuff flown in from Hawai'i. I have gotten some really nice opakapaka and lehi (pictured here) from him. I also like to use mahimahi or opah, which are usually available at WFM. I used to be very into shark, but they have had problems with overfishing, so you don't see thresher for sale very often anymore.



Marinade is important, as is making sure to grill the fish through to make it diceable but lightly so it doesn't dry out. Steaky fishes can be cut into thinner strips to help with this. Lighter fillets will work well on their own. For two, marinate about 12 oz of fish for 2-4 hours in: 

1 Tbs each avocado oil (it's like olive oil that won't burn!), lime juice, and tequila 
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground red chile or cayenne 

I like garlic powder more than garlic because of the limited marinade time. I will also sometimes add fresh Jalapeños to spice it up. You can grill them, too, but I recommend seeding and veining them then. Right now, they're at the beginning of the season (if you buy local at the markets), so you can just dice them as use them as a topping like radishes and cabbage. Make the effort to get queso fresco, if you can.

I've also been known to use leftover tortillas as a delivery device for other leftovers for breakfast and lunch. In this case, various vegetables and grains cooked for meals gone by find themselves suspended in an egg mixture and treated as if they were meat. It's the next best thing.



This was going to launch into a review, but I've gone on too long, so you'll have to wait. Eat me.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Pizza Friday

I am not here to tell you that pizza is the greatest food ever. That would be silly. It might, however, give the greatest ROI of just about anything you can cook at home.

Plenty of other sources will tell you their secrets and give you tips on how to do it. As for me, it's been a combination of trial and error, copying other people's work, and relying on one of my core kitchen references, The New Basics. If you want to know how upper-middle-class white America (primarily east of the Mississippi) ate at the end of the 20th century, that is the source. 

In seriousness, the book lives up to its title, and like most of the recipes, the pizza dough is simple and lacking in embellishment, allowing you to make pretty much any adjustment you can think of as you begin experimenting with pies on your own. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the Ladies (as my old roommate Rico and I used to call them) were the first to impress on me the idea that cooking was the synthesis of a handful of very simple recipes and techniques, elemental on their own but delicious and even profound when worked together with inspiration and talent. It's the equivalent of David Baker's jazz improvisation method....but I digress.

Normally, BoW is the one that makes pie, but since I ain't working, I got no excuse. That said, I did get her to form the second pie. Generally, when a baking recipe that produces two of anything, it produces one that is formed easily and nearly perfectly and one that makes me very angry. It's never always one or the other that's good, adding to the Russian Roulette aspect of the baking process.

The part that I'm good at is topping. Of course, there's not much to it––or there shouldn't be, anyway. I find that we have the best success when limiting to cheese plus 2-3 toppings. I also generally eschew tomato sauce and rely on a very thin layer of tomato paste or just olive oil and some seasoning. The key is to get really nice toppings.




Both pies were treated to this fresh burrata, gotten from the market when I got asparagus.



The first pie (sautéed portobello, roasted red pepper, and olives) went in fully dressed and came out GBD, just the way you'd expect.



The second pie (domestic prosciutto, burrata, and arugula) went in like a focaccia with just oil, seasoning and some parmesan to bake until crisp. The toppings didn't go on until it came out, just wilting under the heat from the crust.



After what ended up being a long day for BoW, it was quite a successful meal and provided leftovers for future lunching. And after making the 'za from scratch, you can feel good about purchasing a little dessert.


Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Asparagus Soup



My intention was to post this yesterday, but it was Taco Tuesday, and after a ride on the Mulholland Fire Road, Stretch and I went to Burbank hotspot Fiesta Taco to chow on some Tacos al Pastor. I think he put it best when he said that tacos were the ultimate pork delivery device.

At any rate, I have been feeling very fall for the last week or so, and apparently I am not alone. In fact, that post was one of the primary inspirations for making this soup. That's right, I even made it vegan–except for the chicken broth, but it was all I had. The other inspirations were leftover celery from the party, and the fact that one of the organic farms had both thick and thin asparagus at the Mar Vista Farmer's Market on Sunday. I also gotta give some props to the good DJ, who was back after a couple weeks' absence...


As you can see, the market provided everything I needed but didn't have on hand. BoW was a bit surprised at my on-the-spot decision to make soup upon seeing these spears, but she has faith in my ability to Google and come up with a recipe based on what I find there.

I will apologize now for being a bit self-indulgent with this one. I enjoy cooking a lot, and I am proud of the fact that I can improvise in the kitchen based on a little experience or research. I rarely ever follow a single recipe, and given that my home cooking is intended to be simple, yet a little sophisticated, I am usually rewarded for combining the best of what I find.

Plus, now I can take pictures and post my bragging to the internets for all to enjoy!

Anyway, while I worked on my mise en place, which mostly consisted of cubing or mincing all of my aromatics and, chopping the dill, zesting the lemon, and reserving the tips of the asparagus before cutting the rest into little pieces, I took the woody ends of the asparagus and boiled them for about 10 minutes. After squeezing them dry, I was left with about 3 cups of "asparagus stock."


Now for cooking. I sweat the aromatics for a couple of minutes in some olive oil with the lemon zest and some salt and white pepper. Then came the taters for about 10 minutes, the asparagus went in for a couple of minutes, then about 1/2 tsp of the dill, 2 cups chicken broth, and my asparagus stock. That came to a boil then simmered for half an hour.

While I waited for that, I dropped the asparagus tips into the soup to cook for a minute or two before retrieving them for later. I also fried the peels from my potatoes in some avocado oil. They came out nice and crispy for garnish later.

BoW brought home some nice, dark, grain bread, and as an accompaniment, I made a little "village salad." Basically, most of southern and eastern Europe would just call it salad, but as Anglo-centrics, we feel that salad must have lettuce. Well, I didn't have any lettuce.


The best part comes next: the immersion blender. It's one of my favorite kitchen tools. I don't get to use it much, so it gives me great satisfaction when I do. After smoothing the soup, adding S/P and some lemon juice to taste, I dished out a couple of bowls and topped with the asparagus tips, the skin chips, and some fresh dill. 

It made about three full servings as a main course. We were very satisfied with it as a light meal, served with bread, wine, and the salad. Sadly, my real camera ran out of juice just as I finished, so the last two pix are iPhone and not quite as nice. If you're really into it, ask for an invite to dinner and I'll make it for you.


Monday, September 15, 2008

Know Your Audience



This weekend, BoW and I hosted a little going-away party for Stretch. It was small gathering of friends in our back yard on a perfect summer Saturday.

There were, of course, last-minute errands to run that morning, so we stopped off at Sorrento's Italian Market to get a couple of sandwiches, along with some olives and baguettes for the party spread. She opted for the sausage while I got the combo (real bologna, capicola, and genoa slami.) The best part of the sandwich for me was chopping up some of their house giardiniera to top it.



Food for the party was simple, and I did not actually prepare anything other than a yogurt dip for the cudités. Regardless, the star was the cheese and sausage I laid out. (If I had made or even bought paté, I would call it charcuterie, but I didn't.) That and the cocktails.

Apparently, my friends are fans of meat and cheese and liquor. This should come as no surprise as I am clearly a fan of same. After all, it was I who provided both of those bottles of Sapphire (as much by volume as we used of tonic, by the way) and that half gallon of Knob Creek. Even BoW got a chance to mix, although one of her better efforts went down the hard way.



Don't worry, we have plenty more rosemary where that came from.

Whenever you throw a party on someone else's behalf, it's even more important that your guests enjoy themselves. We'll all miss Stretch terribly (that's enough, he's probably reading), but at least I know how to console our remaining friends in his absence: meat and cheese and liquor. 

Thursday, September 11, 2008

I'll Take Manhattan


Much has been made of the renaissance of my precious Culver City's dining culture. Some of that ado has even been about something, as in the case of Fraiche which I look forward to having the opportunity to lavish praise upon in this space in the future.

Needless to say that when Father's Office opened their eastern outpost in the Helms District in April, I cringed visibly at the thought of so many Westside Hipsters eagerly anticipating the pollution of the virgin folds of the 90230 with the taint of Santa Monica. Indeed, it seemed that even the blogosphere would not be large enough to contain their ebullient praise, or at the very least, their feverish posting to prove that they had been there.

But I am, as you can see by the inclusion of bikesnob on my roll over there, really just a fanboy after all, and everything changed when this showed up in the Weekly a couple of weeks later. Jonathan Gold is a hero to all foodies in LA. He's a hero to food writers everywhere. Mostly, I tend to agree with him, so I knew I would have to come in line.

Or should I say, stand in line, which is mostly how you spend the first 15 minutes of your Father's Office experience if you're there at any kind of peak time. It's worth it. The food is as good as they say it will be, especially the specials, but especially the burger. Dozens of exotic beers and a few ably chosen wines don't hurt either. 

The surprise is the liquor. Rather than waste a full liquor license by forcing their clearly able bar staff to pour dozens of cosmos or jack-and-cokes (I miss ya Coy), they have a simple selection of spirits crafted with the same care and scale as everything else in the joint. For example, the Manhattan above is made from a small-batch rye (like it's supposed to be), high-end vermouth, and homemade bitters with real marasca cherries that may or may not be the same as the real Luxardo cherries they repackage and sell at Surfas down the street.

As you can see, my friend and I enjoyed not only these fine beverages, but also some burgers and some kind of meat appetizer that looked like chorizo and tasted like chorizo, but brother, it wasn't chorizo. 

Elevated comfort food has become something of a bore (Rush Street, I'm looking in your direction), culminating in the lapsing of my Bon Appetite subscription a couple of years since. Father's Office clearly has bucked that trend by remembering that quality and simplicity are the two keys of real food that cannot be overlooked just because you make it fancy (and spendy.)

Introduction

For a while now, my loving wife has been on me to start a food blog. First, my excuse was I didn't have a clever name. Now that that's out of the way we can move on.

What you can expect to see here is a lot of talk about food. If I'm really into it, I'll even have a picture or two of some food. I have an iPhone, and if you have one too, you know that it's really only good for taking pictures of plates anyway. The darker, the better. It hides the lack of focus. Kind of reminds me of high school...

I'll warn you now, I am likely to digress upon occasion. Usually, bikes or biking will be the topic. After all, I'm a ride to eat kind of guy. I might even get into the Clippers, movies, music, books, or politics if I feel like it. What are you gonna do about it? I'm not trying to be the next Bikesnob or anything. Go read something else if you think I'm being a douche. You're probably right anyway.

As I am between gigs, there's not going to be a lot of restaurant reviews here, or at least not current ones. For the time being, it's going to be a lot of home cooking, farmer's markets, recipes (maybe), and a few trips to the archives based on things I've taken pictures of or had a hankering for.

I'll also have a blogroll up in the next couple of days in case you get bored here. 

Until later, then.

eatmee