Videos and Interviews

This week was an amazing week. On Wednesday I worked at the Saddle Peak Lodge deboning rabbits, making stuffing and helping to make the roulades. I’ll be doing a post on that in more detail. On Thursday I held a cooking class for some of the people from my mastermind group. It was a great success. We made a variety of things that included Escargot, Salade Bergere, my take on Moroccan cornish hens with roasted pears, greens and sunchokes, handmade pappardelle pasta with wild mushrooms, chillies, capers, tomatoes garlic and basil and then for dessert we made Alton Brown’s cocoa brownies and I added the raspberry sauce, ice cream and cocoa nibs what a great feast we had. If you want a copy of the recipes then go to Click here http://bit.ly/85uHMC

One of the students made a video of the class here’s the link http://bit.ly/6EtrLP

It was a lot of fun cooking all that wonderful stuff.

In addition this week I was interviewed on LifeStyle Buzz and internet radio program hosted by Orlando Burgos. In it he interviews people from all walks of live who are doing unique and interesting things. I was on his show on Saturday January 23, 2010. We had a great time talking about photography, cooking and travel. To hear the show Click Here http://bit.ly/8CvP5F

More posts to come. I hope you have a fabulous week.

Adam Horton – A Young Chef with a Lot of Talent

Adam in 2004 working Garde Manger Station

I got to know, now Chef Adam Horton back in 2004 when I went to work on the line at the Saddle Peak Lodge.  He started there a few months before I did working for Chef Warren Schwartz who is now at the Westside Tavern.  Working under Warren, as he liked to be called, Adam learned a lot. He watched as Warren would bring cooks up in the kitchen and then help them find jobs elsewhere to learn new techniques.  Adam is a very personable guy and we found that we both had a passion for all things culinary.  He and I both graduated in 2004 from the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena.

Adam Just back from Europe

Adam feels that his real education came from the kitchens that he has worked in and I would agree. Although we worked different stations in the kitchen and he was always there to give me a hand if I needed it and I returned the favor whenever possible. The environment in the kitchen was like a family. The standards were always high and speed was something that just came from learning and repetitive motion day in and day out.

I remember many times where Adam and I would find ourselves out in the parking lot after service, talking about food and cooking until way after everyone had already left. The passion was there waiting to be given the opportunity.

Adam as Sous Chef 2007

As a young chef he was eager to go off and experience new kitchens and ways of doing things. He came to a point where he felt he wasn’t learning what he wanted to in the kitchen so it was time for him to move on.

I remember when he told me that he was planning his trip to Europe and lining up restaurants to try out in France and London.

He looked into Michelin 2 & 3 star restaurants in Europe to stretch the boundaries of what he knew. I was envious of his plan to go and explore the culinary world, pushing himself and his talents to see what was in store for him. He had nothing tying him down. His drive to experience what the world has to offer is something that he and I both share.

So off he went to Europe cooking in some of the finest restaurants there,  Restaurant Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road in London,

then moving on to France to  Le Moulin de Mougins, La Palme d’Or, Taillevent and Troisgros. What an experience he had. The work ethic was far different to what we have here in the US. Longer hours, a bit

Adam plating tartar

slower pace in the kitchen with an emphasis on quality and perfection rather than speed and turning tables. It was great to hear some of his stories of working at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and in France. He had clearly learned a lot and came back a changed person.

Chef Adam Horton

After he got back he spent several months working at Mélisse in Santa Monica before returning in 2006 to the Saddle Peak Lodge. His passion ingredients and his learning abroad and in LA had transformed him into a fine chef.  Shortly after his return he was made Sous Chef working for Chef Steve Rojas. Adam says that working with very talented and passionate chefs gave him an understanding of what it took to be working in a world-class restaurant. In 2008, at the young age of 25 he was made chef at Saddle Peak Lodge. His passion for fish and game and his willingness to explore many sides of cooking make him a perfect fit for the Saddle Peak. Local, seasonal ingredients are what get him excited. For Adam it is about the quality of what he is putting on the plate. He takes pride in finding sources for the best local and artisanal product he can get. He is always trying new things and puts together, in my opinion, some of the finest food that I have eaten.

Chef Adam Horton and Me working

It is always a pleasure to work with him and a joy to eat his food.

My Favorite Pear – The Warren

Frog Hollow Farms Warren Pears

I love pears. The firm crisp ones that many people think are a bit under ripe. I’m not a soft or mushy fruit kinda guy. It’s a textural thing about me but I like my pears and apples to be firm and have some crunch. I’m not looking for unripe fruit just fruit that I like. So I find myself at the FoodBuzz Blogger Festival Taste Pavillion in early November and I come across the Frog Hollow Farms table and meet Jeff. He offers me a piece of a Warren Pear it was a heavenly experience. The texture was firm and crisp with the sweetness of a Bosc pear and some of the tartness of the D’Angou pear. I had to have another these were wonderful. Then he turned me on to a Taylor pear which had a slightly softer texture yet was sweeter than the other. It too was a great pear but the Warrens had a special place in my heart. Another wonderful find there was their olive oil. It has a buttery texture, smooth with bold olive flavor minus the bitterness or pepper found in other olive oils.

Frog Hollow Farms Olive Oil

It’s definitely a finishing or dipping oil. Full of olive flavor with a wonderful buttery smoothness. For the rest of the day I couldn’t get these pears  nor the oil out of my head. I knew that they were in my future.

When I got back to LA I knew I had to do something with the pears. I had an event coming up in December and decided to use the pears in two of the menu items. One a duck confit crostini with leek aioli, wild arugula and Frog Hollow Farms Warren Pears created the perfect blend of flavors and textures in one savory bite. I also had my pastry chef come up with small dessert. Since the pears we received were very ripe we decided to make pear puree triangles with a marscapone creme fraiche icing on a pate sucre base. The final result was a blend of the pear sweetness and some tart and sour from the icing and the base worked to add crunch and blend all the flavors wonderfully.

Warren Pear Puree Triangles

Duck Confit Crostini with Frog Hollow Farms Warren Pear

The crostini had the perfect blend of textures and flavors, crunch from the crostini, the mild bite and moisture from the leek aioli, saltiness from the duck confit, pepper from the wild arugula and the sweet, crisp juicy flavor of the Warren Pear added the perfect balance to complete the item.

Crostini Recipe – makes about 20 to 30 crostini

1 baguette

1/4C Evoo

2 leg thigh combinations duck confit

20 to 30 wild arugula leaves

2 Warren Pears

For the Aioli

1 Leek with lots of green

1 egg

Vegetable oil

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 clove garlic

juice of  1 lemon

1/2 tsp honey

S&P about 1/2 tsp each

Cut the green part from the leek and lightly blanch in boiling salt water for 30 seconds to 1 minute just enough to soften a bit and make bright green color – remove from water and place in ice bath immediately to stop the cooking process. Then remove them from the ice bath and put on paper towels to absorb excess water.

In a food processor place the egg yolk and white, dijon mustard, garlic, lemon juice, honey, leeks S&P and blend together until the leeks are well chopped up almost a puree. Begin to add oil slowly until it thickens to a mayonnaise consistency. Taste it and if necessary add more salt to bring out the leek flavor. Set aside.

To make the Crostini, slice the baguette into 1/4″ thick slices and place on sheet tray. brush each one with olive oil and season with a bit of salt & pepper put into 350ºF oven for 10 to 20 mins until lightly brown and crisp. Set aside to cool.  Note: for even browning turn your sheet tray 180º half way through the cooking process it’s also a good time to monitor the baking of the crostini.

You can either make your own duck confit or buy it premade. Pull apart the meat from the leg/thigh combos and tear/shred into small pieces. Toss with a bit of good olive oil to moisten a bit – Frog Hollow Farms makes a good one.

To assemble – spread a generous amount of aioli on the crostini, top with some duck confit and a slice of Warren Pear top with a nice wild arugula leaf

I always recommend tasting the first one you make so you can get an idea of the proper amounts of each ingredient to create the balance that you prefer.

A Fish Find In Avila Beach

The drive to Avila Beach is beautiful. It was a gorgeous clear day when I arrived at Pier 3. I walked down the long pier past the pelicans and some other vendors to the end where I found the Old Port Fisheries Company. I found Mike, whom I had been corresponding with via email and asked him to show me around. Mikes father, Barry started Old Port over 40 years ago when he saw a need to deliver the highest quality fish to his customers. Unlike most commercial fisherman at the time, Barry had a philosophy that all of his fish were to be handled with the utmost care which included hand filleting and packing with no preservatives. He was the first fish processor in the area to pack his fillets into boxes to insure the highest quality product went to his customers. In addition it gave him an edge over his competition at the time.

Today Old Port is run by his son Mike who takes care to get the finest locally sourced product available.

Fishing Boats in Avila Harbor

He works with the local fisherman including their own boat in San Francisco to bring in great seasonal product.

They also make their own smoked fish. I tried the smoked salmon and it was wonderful. It was moist unlike many smoked salmon that I have had which are dry for the most part. It has a rich smokey flavor that is well balanced and lets the flavor of the salmon come through.

Local Rock Crab and live Abalone

When I was there I left with an assortment of fish as well as their infamous rock crab that comes from the local waters. Some of the local species include, halibut, ling cod, black cod, rock crab, abalone and more depending upon the season.

Filletted Black Cod, Rock fish and Rock fish being Filletted

One interesting fact of the many that Mike told me about is that there a 3 types of ling cod white, yellow and blue. The flavor of each is similar but the meat corresponds to the fish skin color being either white, yellow or blue. When choosing rock crab it is best to get the crabs that have the smaller bodies and larger claws.

If you are in the area it is well worth going there. They take great care with all their customers.

FoodBuzz Blogger Fest Day 1

So I arrived at the Hotel Vitale to find the FoodBuzz Blogger Festival Table to my left in the lobby. At the table to greet me were several FoodBuzz employees including Dorian Asch whom I met at the Beso event several months earlier in Los Angeles. My festival pass around my neck and program in my pocket I proceeded upstairs to the 8th floor terrace for cocktails. As I walked out to the terrace I saw a sea of people with a bar in the corner.

Skyy vodka cocktails, sparkling wine and beer

The interesting thing about this sea of people was that they were all food bloggers. A bunch of foodies all in one place all talking about food.

The Ferry Building at night

The backdrop to this cocktail party was a picturesque night scene looking down the Embarcadero.  The yellow street lights illuminating the street trolly car tracks glistening as vintage trolly cars passed, each ringing their bell from times gone by. Behind that rises the Ferry Building perched at the waters edge, clock tower standing tall signaling that there is something special about this building. A building whose contents consist of some very special merchants who bring only the best culinary products to those who desire them. And isn’t it fitting that here on the terrace overlooking this marvel are about 200 to 300 foodies enjoying cocktails and telling each other of their culinary adventures.

I found my friend Adam Rubenstein from VivaLaFoodies on the lower terrace. We got caught up with the latest food goings on. He’s making sushi a the corporate café at Guess in downtown LA. It seems like he is having a good time.  Adam loves food and the blogging world. He has carved out a niche for himself writing restaurant and event reviews. The interesting thing about being amongst all these bloggers is that no two are alike. Everyone has their own story both about how they got into blogging as well as why they chose to write what they do on their blogs. Tomorrow I will have more information about some of the various bloggers here at the festival. Once the cocktail hour was finished we descended down the stairs to go to the Ferry Building where a veritable feast was awaiting us.

We arrived at the Ferry Building arcade where they street food fair was awaiting us. We walked in to first have some beer from Speakeasy Ales & Lagers was pouring a wheat beer and an Ale. I chose the Ale and Adam and his wife went for the wheat beer.

Adam Rubenstein and his wife, capturing beer images for his blog

They had a nice refreshing taste to begin the dining portion of the evening. I was greeted by a woman holding a tray of chichharones to tantalize the guests with. These fried swine skin delicacies had a nice clean flavor with a spice mixture sprinkled on top.  The only problem what there was little to no crunch. Although they weren’t stale they were not crispy, but the flavor was good. So what goes with chichharones? You guessed it ice cream. Coffee ice cream to be exact. Why not. Who says you need to eat your meal in any particular order, this is after all street food which can be eaten as it comes to you. So there it was staring at me. the Strauss Family Creamery table. Topped with 2 containers of Ice Cream one coffee flavored and the other vanilla. This family owned dairy makes cream, yogurt and a wonderful european style butter with an 85% milkfat content for added flavor. The second generation agreed to stay on provided that he could make ice cream. Thus the Strauss Ice Cream was born. This is no ordinary Ice Cream it has a rich and creamy texture similar to that of gelato. There are no artificial binders or ingredients in it. The result speaks for itself.

Right next to this was the Mission Mini’s Gourmet Cupcake table. They make an assortment of cupcakes including Pumpkin, lemon custard, chocolate, ginger, red velvet and more. If you like cupcakes you’ll love these. I had the pumpkin and the lemon custard and they were both very good. Not too sweet and the frosting made a excellent compliment to the cake enhancing the experience instead of masking it.

So now it’s time to have some real food. I noticed people coming toward me with these wonderful looking tacos so I went in search of them. Luckily I didn’t have to go far. I got to the Tacolicious stand and found them busily making tacos. The were serving 3 kinds – Braised short rib, potato chorizo and blackeyed pea. I spoke to the proprietor and he told me that they were looking for something different to do with their tacos. Many tacos they tried were made with meat that was dry. So they came up with the idea of braising their meats to keep them moist. They also endeavor to use locally sourced product for all their tacos. The quality shows through.

Tacos, Tacos and More Tacos

I went to go see the Pie Truck table where they were serving 2 kinds of pies – Zucchini mushroom and steak & gruyere. These pies are all made from scratch. They have  converted catering truck that they use to cook their pies in and roll around the city serving these crusty saucers of deliciousness to their eagerly awaiting patrons. The great thing about these pies is that they are heavy on flavor and filling and light on crust. Which in my opinion makes for the perfect combination. There is just enough crust to encapsulate the filling so you get the full flavor without all the extra doughiness.

The best meat pies

Next was Hog Island Oyster company who was shucking their Kumamoto oysters which they raise in Tomales Bay. These oysters are small with an oceanic sweetness to them. They need nothing other than perhaps a drop of tapatio or tabasco to add that bit of spice that I like with my oysters. Later they were also shucking Malpec oysters which are a bit bigger and very flavorful as well.

Kumamotos, shucking and the larger Malpac

I had seen these pork sandwiches going by and as you know I love all things pork. The meat has a sweetness that is not found in any other. I walked over to the Roli Roti Truck whos motto is I love crispy skin. And boy do they live up to that. In speaking with the owner who has a deep seeded passion for his craft. He is Swiss and he lives by the philosophy to do what you do the best that you can do it. He raises all his own hogs, which keeps his quality way up. He only butchers his hogs when they are at their optimum flavor. If they are not quite ready then he waits until they are. As he said – “If I have to wait a week until they are ready then I wait a week.” That is the type of passion that I admire in the culinary world. He makes a large roll out of his pigs with the skin on the outside of the roll. Then he slow roasts it on a spit to ensure that the meat stays tender and the skin becomes crispy. The sandwich contains succulent pork with crispy pork skin, onions carmelized to a dark brown with greens and placed on a fresh cibatta roll. This was my hands down favorite of the evening.

The ultimate porcine experience

Next I explored the world of Raw food with Chef Leland Jung from Alive. He specializes in raw food. He was serving 3 things- 2 kinds of pizza and a lavender cheesecake. The pizza was made with a flaxseed crust that was dehydrated and topped with tomato and avocado. I had that one and it was surprisingly good for what it was. Not my favorite but if you are into the raw food thing then you’ll probably love his stuff.

I stopped by Spencer on the Go to see what was cooking. He had a mushroom dish comprised of oyster and shmeji mushrooms in a light cream sauce on top of a puff pastry topped with watercress and truffle cream. This was a wonderful dish. He added just a touch of parmesan cheese which gave offset the richness of the cream. He also made a beet salad from both red and golden beets. He slow roasted the beets in a 300º oven for about 4 hours to maximize the sweetness of the beets. It was a simple dish with only a very light olive oil vinaigrette and Point Reyes blue cheese which complimented the sweetness of the beets beautifully.

So I’m getting kinda full. The bloggers are buzzing all around and some of them are beginning to dwindle down. I pressed on to find a mobile wood burning oven that was cooking pizzas to perfection. The pizzas that Pizza Politana was making were topped with spinach, olives, feta and mozzarella cheese. They got their start at the farmers market in Novato. They found that they really love what they are doing and are happy to make pizzas at all hours of the day or night. They buy all their ingredients locally with the exception of the mozzarella cheese which comes from Wisconsin and the San Marzano tomatoes which come from Italy. It’s interesting but when I was speaking with the owners wife she told me that the reason they import their tomatoes from Italy is because the American tomatoes were just too sweet. I thought to myself, that’s a first. I was always under the impression that most commercial tomatoes were relatively tasteless and not anywhere near the sweetness that I have found overseas, particularly in Greece. They also use a combination of 2 different flours for their crust. One is higher protien content which is good for building up gluten which gives it a good structure and the other has a malt flavor so the combination gives the dough the perfect flavor, structure and elasticity for their use. An you know what, it works. Their crust is thin and with a nice balance of flavor. Their woodburning oven is on wheels for easy transport to some of the street corners and farmers markets they frequent as well as the evening bar crowd.

Simply great pizza

Last cocktail of the evening

So last but not least on my trek was to have a cocktail from Speakeasy Ales & Lagers. It was called a blood and sand that was made from Glenrothes Select Reserve whiskey, orange juice, Cinzano and cherry liqueur. The drink was a perfect way to cap off a wonderful evening filled with great food interesting people and the ambiance of San Francisco as a backdrop for the entire event.

The Holidays Green Style

Green Holiday Soiree
Think Globally – Eat Locally – Thursday December 10th – 6PM to 11PM

Fine Culinary Experience has created a green, festive holiday celebration that will be the talk of the town! They’ve put the event together by special arrangement with Marrakesh House in Culver City, California 90232 the showcase green remodel private residence of filmmaker and avant-environmentalist Chris Paine (Who Killed the Electric Car?).

As they say they’ve laid out the banquet tables, decorated with a natural eco friendly holiday theme, minimized their carbon footprint and opted for dining alfresco, Southern California LA Style! They’ve hand selected a winning 5 course sustainable menu, using locally sourced purveyors and a “Farm to Table” philosophy. There will be a wonderful Jazz trio, to bring that certain holiday “je ne sais quois” to the festivities. Eat, drink, savor dance, saunter, mingle, stir your soul and smile! There will even be some cool holiday themed artistic activities including a photographic exhibit to keep the crowd mingling in-between courses. Donations will be  accepted for several eco themed non-profit organizations. Who knows what else they will come up with for the event. They always seem to have something up their sleeve.

They are offering special pricing thru October 31st.  In addition they even have a 3 pay option to help you take advantage of the special rate.

For more information about the event and to purchase tickets,

please visit – Fine Culinary Experience

Santa Barbara Food Not Lawn Chapter

Santa Barbara Food Not Lawns Chapter

A friend of mine just brought to my attention the Santa Barbara food Not Lawns Project. She has been participating in this, by growing vegetables at her home.

Their first neighborhood exchange group met in March of 2007 and soon after more exchange groups formed. They welcome people with all types of food from fruits, vegetables, herbs chickens etc… It’s about using the land around your home for food production instead of sustaining a large lawn.

When I heard about this I was so impressed with it. Having small sources of food production on the land around your home is not an unusual site in many parts of Europe. It was always something that I saw on my travels and made perfect sense to me. I have grown my own vegetables on and off over the past 10 years with varying success. This organization also allies itself with professional gardeners and food producers to help the cause.

There are chapters throughout the United States as well as Montreal Canada and Granada Spain.

Check out their website and the parent organization website

The Oldest Sustainable Farm in Malibu

Vital Zuman – Since 1954

It is rare to come across a sustaimable farm in LA County so near to the coast, but we made the discovery. On one of my road trips to the local wineries with my business partner Helen, we stumbled upon this gem of a farm called Vital Zuman on PCH in Malibu.

Alan, the owner of Vital Zuman.

We went in to see what it was all about and it is amazing.  The farm has been in existence since 1954! We met Alan the owner who is a wealth of knowledge of both the native and cultivated plants on his property.  He can tell you the nutritional value of most of his crops. His growing season is year round thanks to the good climate in Southern California.

Vital Zuman farm stand

Alan’s parents bought the property in the early 50’s and always kept it a chemical-free agricultural zone. Vital Zuman sits on 6 beautiful acres, the soil has a rich dark color that exudes the full compliment of nutrients that make any plant thrive.

The farm stand has an eclectic bohemian feel. The staff is knowledgeable and willing to go out and pick items for you.

In October we can expect a wonderful array of greens, lettuces and still some heirloom tomatoes.

Heirloom Tomatoes

Squash of all sorts are also available. One interesting discovery that Alan introduced me to were the Rangpur limes that look like clementine tangerines but definitely taste like limes with a wonderful sweet rind.

A variety of squash

I will be using these gems in the dessert that I am preparing for our October 24th fundraiser.  Vital Zuman squash is truly divine with varieties such as spaghetti, butternut, zucchini and kuri. They also grow wonderful figs and stone fruit when in season.

Vital Zuman is a gem to visit and the product is very fresh and tasty too!

A wine tasting room in the Santa Monica Mountains

The Cornell Winery and Tasting Room, located in the Santa Monica Mountains, on Mulholland Hwy, is nestled in the tiny historic town of Cornell.  Specializing in wines grown in the Santa Monica mountain region.  With over 50 vineyards in the area, this region is producing some great wine varieties. Helen and I walked into an ambiance that is reminiscent of some of the older parts of Napa Valley.  We met Deanne who walked us around the wonderful showroom filled with locally produced wines as well as mustards, olives, vinegars, wine accessories and much more!  You really do feel the history of the place. Deanne is a story teller and has many historic tales, old and new, that she loves to share. Later during my wine tasting Tim Skogstrom and I met.  His knowledge of wine stems from his 25 years in the corporate wine world, however all this is overshadowed by his strong passion for wines. When Tim speaks about wine and Cornell, there is a spark in his eyes and an excitement in his body that overcomes him.  He is very engaging and a wonderful resource to have. We are delighted to have selected Tim Skogstrom as our wine speaker at the 350. org event! Come hear Tim speak and take you through the delights of drinking wine and the story of one of the newest California wine regions. It’s a wonderful experience, not to be missed!

FoodBuzz at Beso

Sangria

I signed up for the Visa Signature sponsored event at Beso for Foodbuzz and was one of the ones who got to go. I decided to do some research on the net about Beso and didn’t find much that was positive. This made me skeptical but never having been there I went with an open mind and an empty stomach. Wednesday evening, September 9th, finally came.  I pulled up to a nondescript building that almost looked like one of the abandoned ones on Hollywood blvd.  I went in the large black wooden doors into a dark cavernous dining room.  The Hostess greeted me and pointed me in the right direction, where I found the other Foodbuzz bloggers mingling.

I was greeted by Dorian Asch, assistant editor of Foodbuzz, who introduced me to some of the other bloggers.  Michael, from South Bay Foodies, and I talked about the foodie fights battle kohlrabi & rosemary, we were both in the same competition and we talked about the competition amongst other things. Dorian handed me my Sangria which was not as sweet or fruity as some that I have had in the past. It had just the right balance of red wine with a hint of sweetness and citrus flavor from the fruit. I enjoyed it very much.

Shooting Flatbread

A bit later we were escorted the the long table which was nicely set with menu and wine glasses ready.  The service was wonderful.  My Sangria glass was never empty throughout the starter course which included – Avocado Guacamole with corn chips and  Artichoke Guacamole with za’tar chips, basically corn chips with za’tar spice. The Sangria went well with the two of these. I was seated next to Nancy, Food Stylist extraordinaire from FoodArt , Dorian on the other side, Wendy the engineer who loves baking from Pink Stripes, across from me the team of Krissy and Daniel from Food Addicts and next to Nancy was Esi from Dishing Up Delights .

What a great group of people. It’s kind of funny, I almost feel like I’m breaking people’s anonymity writing this blog like I am outing them from the bloggosphere and screaming I have seen you and know what you look like. It’s more than just words and photos, blogs are people.  What a concept. I know to some of you it may seem obvious but there is always that realization when you meet people from the virtual world whether from TV, movies or blogs etc… there is that reality factor that finally hits you. That it’s not all make believe and that real people are behind these electronic devices that put words and images in front of up.

Ok enough of a transgression.  The tables were long and those I just described were in my immediate sphere of influence for most of the meal. Then there was Adam from LAFoodies, we talked a bit about Hell’s kitchen and cooking. He’s a gregarious guy, going  around to everyone there handing out his blogger card.  Blogger cards, another great idea, it never occured to me to have a blogger card.  A card that announces to the world that I too am a blogger, please read the stuff I post and look at my photos. I am one of a select thousands of food bloggers who have discovered this wonderful thing and want to share it with the world. It’s great to hang out with bloggers especially food bloggers the conversation never dies.

Margarita Flatbread

OK so back to the meal. The server comes around and pours the Grenache “Gran Feudo” Bodegas Julian Chivite, this was my signal to stop drinking Sangria.  Shortly after that the appetizers were served, Taqueria tasting – steak, ahi tuna, plantain, chicken adobo and fish, Shrimp and chorizo flatbread harissa, queso fresco, mexican crema, and Margarita flat bread – spicy tomato sauce, queso fresco and cilantro.  The plates went down and the cameras came out, everyone had their take for each dish. I try to shoot everything natural light so I was moving the candles around the table to get as much light on each thing as I could to get a shot. Less than perfect but a reproduction that works. The wine had a crisp slightly fruity flavor it paired well with the appetizers. I had the chicken taco which was a bit dry but tasty none the less, the flat breads were good the flavors came through nicely.  After some more stories from Nancy about food styling and the shows that she has and is working on there was the discussion of the difference between baking and cooking, baking being a science and requiring patience and delayed gratification whereas cooking is more from the gut using a mixture of flavors and cooking methods to come up with something new. It doesn’t require the exacting measurements of baking.  Two different disciplines both to be admired. In addition the conversation had to inclue  some reality tv talk thrown in for good measure.

Seared Diver Scallop

The next course came out which was the Pescado – Seared diver scallop with oxtail rosti, roasted beet pico, carmelized fennel and horseradish this was served with Albarino, Don Olegario. From what I can recall about the wine it had a nice flavor crisp that paired well with the scallop. The scallop was cooked perfectly, I could taste everything except the oxtail, perhaps they forgot to put it on the plate, the textures and flavors went very well together. The sweetness of the scallop was offset by the horseradish crema and carmelized fennel it was definitely one of my favorites of the evening.

The evening had a leisurely pace to it, which I found very nice and relaxing. As the evening wore on the restaurant filled up. Seated behind us was Eva Longoria with her friends at a long table. There was some private party going on in the upstairs “special” room. Not sure what it was but it’s reserved only for super VIP’s.  Time for the Entree’s the white wine glasses were scooped up and the red was being poured which was a Malbec “Bonardo” (organic), La Posta.  It was ok but nothing worth noting. I love Malbec and this one was kinda dull.

Chili Rubbed Skirt Steak, Roasted Jidori Chicken, Beso Paella

The entree’s were Chili Rubbed Skirt Steak with tortilla fattoush, Roasted Jidori Chicken breast – aji-oregano rub, heirloom tomato, cornbread panzanella, crispy Maui onion on top, and finally the Beso Paella – saffron rice, lobster, roasted chicken, shellfish and chorizo.  This is my kind of entree buffet.  The skirt steak was out of this world wonderful flavor cooked medium rare and worked well with the wine. The chicken skin was crispy which was enhanced by the crispy Maui onion it was moist and tasty. I love Paella and when I saw this come out

Ryan Stern, Dorian Asch, Eva Longoria, The GM of Beso

I was excited. The rice could have had a bit more flavor perhaps it just needed a bit more salt to bring out the saffron taste in the rice, I also prefer my Paella to have more of a seafood flavor that being said I liked it better than the chicken.  It was good the seafood cooked well and the flavors blended together nicely. All in all the entrees were great.

Greg from Sippitysup

So, after this it was time to see what was happening at the other end of the tables.  I went over and introduced myself  and met up with Greg from Sippitysup and Abby from Pleasure Palate and Ken and Annalise with no blogs and I think that Barbara from Table Conversation was there as well. We were all just yaking up a storm about the meal blogging and the upcoming Foodbuzz event in November.  Several us will be going so it’s nice that I will recognize someone at the event. The scallop, skirt steak and paella were the best dishes. Dessert was served some sort of cheese cake and a nutter butter dessert and churros.

Cheesecake, bloggers photographing Churos, Nutter Butter

They were all good however there is nothing like the fresh churros that are made on Olvera Street.  At the end Eva Longoria stopped by the table to say hi to everyone.  She was very nice and appreciative of us coming to her restaurant. All in all it was a great evening, meeting new people eating good food and being in Hollywood, a town that I like visiting and I have fond memories of.