Grand Central Market Cookbook

This cookbook is bound to be a sentimental favorite for anyone who loves Los Angeles.  Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles is a favorite cultural institution for residents and tourists alike.  The market has everything and caters to every taste bud.  Great food, great energy, great people-watching, and this book captures much of that vibrancy.

Now you can make your own soy chile glazed broccoli or coddled eggs with potato puree in a mason jar.  Read what inspired the vendors of your favorite foods to set up shop downtown Los Angeles, and how they chose their curated menus.  The cuisine and culture of Los Angeles reflects the rich and delicious diversity our country offers.

Behind every recipe in this cookbook is a mouth-watering adventure.  Totally recommend this book for anyone who loves to travel the world.

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

Cherry Bombe

Cherry Bombe is the bomb!
Seriously, it's a collection of recipes and stories written by 100 inspiring and creative women.
The recipes are delicious and written for everyone, male and female, expert and novice.
So many recipes to spark your imagination and whet your appetite. 
The latkes with pear sauce will come in handy with Hanukkah around the corner and have your friends and neighbors lingering at your doorstep.
Whole wheat chocolate chip cookies may be featured in my holiday cookie exchange, it looks like it melts in your mouth on the page.
If I can get a hold of some hanger steak, I will definitely make Naomi Pomeroy's hanger steak with tomato salad with sichuan vinaigrette.
I've never had Somali Chicken Stew with yogurt and coconut milk before, and now, I have no excuse.
The possibilities are endlessly delicious.
I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Very Merry Cookies

It's almost that time of year where friends and family exchange gifts, sweets and holiday cheer.  Elisabet der Nederlanden's Holiday Cookies is a wonderful compendium of recipes, designed to help you celebrate the holidays with delicious variety and pizzazz.

Holidays can be stressful, so found it really comforting that Nederlanden offers many cookie tips and tricks to ensure success.  Most of her cookie recipes are simple, use every day ingredients and spend less than twenty minutes in the oven.  There a lot of recipes to appeal to every sweet tooth across the globe, and the photographs are stunning.  Totally recommend this for cookie lovers everywhere and anyone baking for the holidays.

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

Instant Pot, Instant Happiness

I love my Instant Pot so I was pretty excited when my copy of The Essential Instant Pot cookbook arrived.  This book will appeal to everyone as the recipes are wide-ranging.  The book has seven chapters filled with recipes devoted to poultry, soups, veggies, beans and grains, desserts, breakfasts, beef and pork.

For those of us who like to experiment and improvise, the cooking charts provided in the back will prove most useful.  Almost as handy, let alone tasty, as the meyer lemon ricotta cheesecake I haven't made yet because I didn't know how you could do that in an Instant Pot.  That's right, no more excuses.  There are tips and guidelines to elevate your culinary genius.  No more hunting all over the Internet, trying to decide whose recipe is best, unless, of course, you enjoy and surfing and have the time.

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

 

My Rad Life

My Rad Life is a fun journal for every woman.  Each page is an inspiration and prompts you to inspire yourself.  There are quotes from famous people to remind you of the power within.  Sometimes, a page lists a fact that urges you to keep going in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, like the fact that J.K. Rowling was rejected by more than ten publishers before her first book was published. Some pages are blank so you can dream on, and write on.  There are also interactive prompts to get your creative juices flowing. 

I highly recommend this journal for all the women in your life.  You don't have to be a writer to lead a rad life.  Everyone needs some inspiration and room to dream.

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

The Art of Negotiating

Life is a risk.  Life is a negotiation.  I was curious what advice Stark and Flaherty might give a freelancer like me.  So often I lack the power of a muscular corporation behind me.  So many writers offer their work for free, for the "exposure."  For someone like me, this is a refresher course.   A confidence booster.  Negotiate forth!

I graduated with an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth Graduate Business School, and traded bonds on Wall Street, and worked for a NYC Mayor before becoming an "artist."  The stereotype is artists lack business savvy, and I've met plenty of those types.   I've also been treated poorly by some of my counterparts automatically assume I lack business savvy, and if I show any, they've threatened to label me as a "difficult artist."  Stay out of the negotiations, let the "suits" battle it out, I've been told plenty of times.  Tricky, eh?  Hence, I always strive for win-win negotiations.  Most of the tips read like common sense, but it is alway so much harder to practice and follow when you're in the throes of a heated negotiation.  Real estate, for example, involves a lot of money and can get very emotional.

I recommend this guide to anyone who hates confrontation and wants to improve their negotiation skills.   I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Measure for Measure: Good Measure is a resounding YES!

I don't often dine out on Monday evenings, but last night was no ordinary Monday. It was the grand opening of the much anticipated Good Measure.  This hot new restaurant is located in the space Ozu formerly occupied on Glendale Blvd in Atwater Village, and what a difference interior design makes. While Ozu was casual with picnic benches and a bare wall on which to project Dodger games, Good Measure feels more like a romantic wine cave. They've placed a big canvas of art where the blank wall used to be. 

The space is intimate, and opening night felt like family and friends night, as everyone introduced themselves to each other, shared their opinions and stories of how they learned about Good Measure. I ran into friends I haven't seen in a long time -- always a treat.  

We sat at the sommelier bar facing the private alcove where VIP diners can reserve a table of eight. Jesse reigned supreme as he helped everyone taste and pair the right wine with the right food.  Among the wines we tasted were a beautiful 2003 chateauneuf and a stellar 2004 Saint Joseph, as well an earthy Negrette from the Fronton region of southwest France. A stellar wine bar demands a stellar menu, and luckily, the chef is from Ammo so your tastebuds are in for a delight. While the emphasis is clearly on wine, there are some excellent craft beers on tap. And I'm sure, thanks to Jay Williamson's expertise in the brewing arts, the craft beer selection will expand. 

We ordered mussels, the halibut and dry-aged rib-eye steak. The mussels whetted our appetites with its tasty tomato-based broth, preserved lemons, fresno chili and bacon bits. The California halibut was flaky and delicate, accompanied by fennel confit and grilled rhubarb. The boneless rib-eye was quite tender and flavorful, served with roasted potato cubes and one of my faves, Japanese baby turnips. Our neighbors at the bar enjoyed the crispy pork rillette, burger, pork chop and lamb belly. Towards the end of the meal, I asked everyone around me if they would come back. Resounding yeses could be heard everywhere, the true measure of success. Measure for Measure, Good Measure is worthy of many encore visits. Bravo, Team Good Measure.

FYI, if you fall in love with a particular pour (and I predict you will fall in love many times), you can order by the bottle. We were never given a list of wines available by the bottle, but Jesse informed us you can indeed order anything they pour by the glass by the bottle as well.

Started the evening off with a glass of Italian rose

California Halibut

Rib-eye

Mussels