Home Cooked

BEL CAMPO

Anya Fernald, the founder and CEO of Bel Campo, has led a life many of us can only dream and read about.  Fortunately, she shares some of her secrets and discoveries in her cookbook Home Cooked.   Fernald reminds us that home-cooked meals can be rich in flavor, enormously satisfying and simple to make.   Family meals need not be fussy, overly complicated and labor-intensive for us to enjoy and take pride in serving.  The recipes that whet my appetite most include the cracked crabs with lemon chile vinaigrette, her veal meatballs, twice-cooked orange duck, sealed quail (if I can find any!).   Her tips on entertaining are quite useful for anyone who has a small kitchen and a bad case of nerves trying to be the perfect hostess with the mostess.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.

Ozu East

OZU EAST

Where East Meets West At Its Best

I wanted to dine here a few times before writing a review, especially since many of the menu items have changed in between visits. I also loved and miss the spinach noodles, and sadly I never got to sample the pork roll. The charred edamame was quite interesting and tasty, but as we worked our way half way to the bottom, the edamame were too soggy and drenched to finish. The ramen bowls were both tasty, and much lighter than we were accustomed, but sadly, both broths were too salty.

Chicken Ramen

Pork Ramen

In fact, I've noticed over several visits that many dishes suffer a little from too much salt (easy fix), and I favor salt and salty snacks. When the scallion pancakes arrive, your heart skips a beat. The generous pile of brisket, the pickles, the radishes, the jalapeno crema -- it's a beauty to behold. Indeed, the scallion pancakes are quite delicious with complex flavors, a work of art, but again, too much salt on the brisket -- I couldn't finish. 

Scallion Pancake

My favorites, so far, are the marrow bone noodles and the chicken wings. I love chicken wings, and these were lightly battered, moist, not greasy. The marrow bone noodles was the surprise star, being so unusual in taste and presentation. You scoop the marrow out and mix it with the noodles. My first bite rewarded me with the luscious taste of black garlic. It is quite light and refreshing with citrus and peppery notes. 

When I learned that Chef Joshua Han previously worked for Saint Martha's and Trois Mec, I knew I had to eat here. I gained a greater appreciation of the menu and his culinary vision. Han's dishes are innovative, fresh, playful and affordable. A few dishes like the scallion pancakes and edamame could use a little editing, and a lot less salt, but overall, I'm happy to support a restaurant that delights and expands my palate. Han elevates even the simplest things. The ajitama egg, for example, was so satisfying that I ordered one to go. And yes, I do wish they'd extend their lunch menu to include many of their dinner items -- the lunch menu is limiting (that said, friends I sent over this past week were quite happy with their bento boxes) -- but perhaps the happy hour menu marks a delectable compromise.

Ozu East offers some wonderful craft beers. The atmosphere is casual, yet there is no resting on their laurels.  I loved Saint Martha so I have full faith that Ozu East will evolve into a place where East Meets West At Its Best, especially with owner Paul Yi's commitment to quality and service.   Yi is quick with a smile and on my last visit, he made the round to every table to ask how everyone liked their food. You can catch a Dodgers game there, and they just rolled out a Happy Hour. There are plenty of reasons to frequent Ozu East. See you there.

Grill Masters

Memorial Day Weekend will soon be upon us, and we all know what that means:  Time to Gather Around the Grill.  Although we're blessed in CA and can grill outdoors almost all year around, Memorial Day Weekend is still marks the beginning of summer barbecues and summer grillfests.

Greg and Gabrielle Denton elevate grilling to an art.   They also use a fancy grill modeled after an Argentinian parrillas, which most of us don't have at home.  Still, this book offers many recipes and tips that ultimately improve your grilling skills as well as flavor.  As a big fan of skirt steak, I appreciate their recipe that promises to make me look like an incredible cook for very little effort, and allows me to enjoy my guests more.   The grilled head-on spot prawns looks like a sure-fire winner.  There are plenty of luscious vegetable-centric recipes as well -- grilled butternut squash, grilled artichokes, grilled maitake mushrooms to name a few.

Gather your friends Around the Fire and you will be all rewarded with great flavors, great happiness and great memories.   I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Welcome to Basque Country

Wonderful Basque cuisine can supposedly be found in Bakersfield, CA, and I've made a note to stop there next time en route to the Bay Area.   Stuck in traffic, which is the norm in Los Angeles, I tuned in to The Splendid Table with Lynne Rossetto Kaspar, and lo and behold, it was Alexandra Raij on the air discussing her latest book.  Listening to her love for Basque cuisine whetted my appetite for the book.

Raij quickly dispels the notion that Basque cuisine is too difficult.  She explains that Basque cooking is a cuisine of subtraction, fancy embellishments are stripped away to focus on the essential ingredients.  She claims if you have a bottle of olive oil, a head of garlic and a can of tuna, you can make Basque food.

With encouragement like that, she invites you in.    Some of her recipes sound vaguely familiar. You've probably eaten a lot of pintxos, the Basque equivalent of Spanish tapas.  Her recipe for pimientos de Gernika is essentially blistered shishito peppers -- a staple in Japanese restaurants as well as fine restaurants these days.  The charred eggplant is paired with bonita tuna sounds delicious and simple enough to start you off on your love affair with Basque cuisine.  One of my favorite chapters is Huerta, The Basque Kitchen Garden, since I am an avid gardener, always looking for simple, creative ways to savor the bounty.

Simple doesn't always mean easy, which Raij points out early on in the book, but hopefully you won't mind.  You won't mind because you've started to fall for Basque food, the same way Alexandra and Eder fell for each other, and the same way diners fell in love with Txikito, the only authentic Basque restaurant in New York City.

I received this book from "Blogging for Books" in exchange for my honest review.