Heirloom Caprese Salad

I went out for a Westside food excursion, which brought me to the Saturday Santa Monica Farmer's Market on Pico.  I prefer this one to the one on the Promenade because it is smaller and easier to get in and out of, plus you don't have to dodge a procession of high-end strollers to get to the Valencia oranges.  Heirloom tomatoes are back in season, so I was inspired to make a simple Caprese salad.  I then headed over to Bay Cities Deli -- yuppie hell on a Saturday afternoon -- where I picked up some fresh mozzarella (along with my lunch) and hightailed it home.  Frankly, there isn't too much to this one; it's just sliced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese with salt and pepper.  Instead of basil leaves, I made a straightforward, Genovese-style pesto with basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic and Parmesan cheese, which I served on the side.

Chicken Noodle Soup

D wasn't feeling well, so I went to the store to pick up some chicken soup for her.  When I saw the options at the service deli, I decided to make it from scratch, so I picked up a whole chicken (which, at $4.63, cost less than the prepared soup at the deli) and boiled it with carrots, onions and a head of garlic.  (Side note: always combine the ingredients in cold water and then bring it to a boil slowly.)  After about an hour, I pulled the chicken out, boned and diced it, then strained the soup and brought it back up to a boil and added chopped carrots and ditale (a short, tube-shaped pasta that looks like rigatoni cut into pieces), then finished it off by returning the chicken to the party.

Breakfast Skillet Hash

My introduction to corned beef hash was, like for most of us, that nasty stuff out of the can from back in the day.  Remember those sad, mushy potatoes and gristly mystery meat?  I still loved it, and I order it anytime I see it at a legit breakfast joint.  Sadly, this means that I don't have it all that often, but as they say, if you want it done right you have to do it yourself.  This version is made from potatoes, bell peppers, onion and garlic, browned in a cast-iron skillet with breakfast sausage.  I made the sausage from scratch with ground pork, toasted fennel seed, crushed red chili flakes, garlic and salt and browned it separately before combining everything.  I kicked it up a notch by cracking eggs over the top and finishing it off in a 350-degree oven.  Breaking those yolks and seeing it ooze into the hash was a thing of beauty!

The Negroni

The Negroni is on the short list of all-time classic cocktails, right up there with the Martini, Old Fashioned and Tom Collins, and it meets my rule of no more than 3 ingredients in a drink.  Made with equal parts Campari, gin and sweet vermouth, then shaken and served on the rocks, it is usually finished off with an orange slice or twist for garnish.  Unfortunately, I was out of oranges, so this version was a bit incomplete.  This drink, and Campari in general, is definitely an acquired taste.  What makes it work is the balance of the bitterness of the Campari, the floral notes of the gin and the sweetness of the vermouth.  Just a warning for the novice drinkers out there: this is not a fruity drink, despite the Kool-Aid like appearance.  

Coconut Panna Cotta

Coconut has had a special place in my heart ever since I had my first Almond Joy as a kid, and I will usually take a simple, palate cleansing dessert over something decadent and over the top.  Panna cotta is about as simple and palate cleansing as it gets, I figured that I couldn't go wrong with combining it with coconut.  Any legitimate panna cotta is measured by its smooth, silky texture, and the trick is getting the ratios right, particularly the gelatin.  Too much gelatin and you will get mom's jello.  Too little and it's soup for dessert.  I made this version using a 2-1 ratio of heavy cream and coconut milk, sugar, vanilla and powdered gelatin, simmered for a few minutes and chilled in ramekins overnight, then served the next day with a mandarin orange garnish.  I am my own toughest critic, but I have to say that I completely nailed the texture this time around, and the flavors were well balanced, not too sweet.

Pan Seared Salmon and Couscous

I generally prefer Atlantic salmon, but the wild Sockeye looked too good to pass up, so I pan seared it and served it on a bed of couscous jazzed up with grape tomatoes and bacon, finished off with a drizzle of California olive oil.  In retrospect, I should have presented it skin side up, since I achieved a near perfect crisp on that side, which was somewhat lost sitting directly on the couscous.  The couscous was decent, with the smokiness of the bacon playing well off the acidity of the tomatoes.  I am really trying to walk a fine line between serving the best tasting plate of food possible and making something that looks good for the camera, and finding that balance makes you appreciate the difference between the humble home chef like myself and the pros.  Just a brief sidebar on the olive oil: California is now producing high-quality olive oil that rivals its Spanish and Mediterranean counterparts, so give it a try.   

Thai Chicken Pasta

Thai Chicken Pasta is actually the name of one of my all time faves on the menu at the Cheesecake Factory, but this version is more of a Thai/Japanese fusion that I came up with.  The sauce combines classic Thai flavors: peanut butter, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, agave nectar (honey works just fine), lime juice, chopped garlic and rooster sauce (this would also make an amazing satay dipping sauce), and the "pasta" part is organic soba noodles from my local Nijiya Market.  I combined everything with sauteed julienned red bell peppers and chicken breast.  The only thing missing was the tableside basket of pumpernickel bread.     

Roasted Greek Chicken with Shiitake Mushrooms and Potatoes

One pot meals are a godsend on busy weeknights and this one, which is based on Mediterranean flavors, is as simple and low maintenance as it gets.  Rub chicken thighs and drumsticks in a baking dish with olive oil, garlic, oregano, sliced white onions, lemon juice and S&P, then roast in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes.  With about 10 minutes to go, add some white wine and then toss in some sliced potatoes and mushrooms.  If you put the chicken in the dish skin-side up and don't mess with it during the cooking process, the skin will get nice and crispy, and a really good pan sauce will form.  It turned out amazing...the earthiness of the oregano and garlic was a nice contrast to the acidity of the lemon juice and wine.      

Sirloin Steak with Fingerling Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach

Bottom sirloin is a tougher cut of beef that benefits from a low and slow cooking method like braising.  While there's nothing more comforting than a dish braised for hours, I started dabbling with a pressure cooker a few months ago (I highly recommend the Fagor Duo from Spain) to cut down the cooking time dramatically and get similar results.  This dish is a take on Beef Bourguignone.  I first seared the steaks with salt and pepper, then I finished it off in the pressure cooker in a braising liquid of carrots, onions, garlic, red wine vinegar, fresh rosemary and TJ's beef broth.  After 45 minutes I strained the braising liquid into my fat separator and reduced it for 10 minutes.  For the sides, I sauteed some fresh spinach with olive oil, garlic, crushed red chile flakes and lemon juice, and I also roasted off some fingerling potatoes in a cast-iron skillet with salt, pepper and olive oil.  

Scarpetta Spaghetti Pomodoro

The signature dish at Scott Conant's Scarpetta restaurant is the Spaghetti Pomodoro, which is spaghetti in a simple tomato sauce.  I've had it, and it's excellent, but I don't know about the $24 price tag.  Fortunately, Conant has done demos of this dish on tv, so the home chef can replicate it pretty closely with a little bit of technique.  I wasn't completely faithful to his recipe, but it was very close, and the taste was spot on.  First boil 15-20 Roma tomatoes for a few seconds to loosen the skin, and then peel and seed them.  Then cook them down slowly in olive oil and fresh chopped garlic until it becomes a sauce.  The secret is to add a pat of butter at the end and whip some air into it with a wooden spoon to give it some lightness.  Finally, add the spaghetti and some torn fresh basil (he does a chiffonade of basil, sue me), let everything cook together for a minute or two, then serve.  I didn't make my pasta from scratch, but so long as you use a brand made with a bronze die -- DeCecco is a good one that is available in just about every reputable supermarket -- it still will be very good.  The final price tag on my dish?  Less than $5 to feed 2-4 people.  Avoiding a night out in Beverly Hills?  Priceless!

Moscow Mule

I've had them before, but my bartender friend Brad made me a Moscow Mule the last time I saw him in Vegas, and the best part was the authentic copper mug it was served in.  This drink was invented in the 1940's in an attempt to market Smirnoff Vodka, and it was a big hit among the Hollywood crowd (long before the days of TMZ).  It's clean and refreshing, similar to a Vodka Collins.  The ingredients are: lime juice, 3-4 parts vodka to 1 part ginger beer, ice and a lime for garnish.  If you don't have an authentic copper mug, it should be served in a Collins glass.  However, I broke the rules and served mine in an Old Fashioned glass.

Cold Brewed Iced Coffee

There's nothing like a tall glass of iced coffee on a hot summer day.  The easy way out is to use regular brewed drip coffee.  But if you want the ultimate iced coffee experience -- and you are willing to wait for it -- you have to go with the cold-brewed method.  Applying heat to ground coffee beans is the most efficient way to extract the flavor from the bean and make that hot cup of coffee in the morning.  The downside is that the heat also extracts the acid from the bean, which gives us that bitter aftertaste that comes with most commercial coffees (Pike's Place, I'm talking to you).  The cold-brewed method extracts the flavor without the acid, resulting in a super smooth coffee.  Beware that this method also results in a super-caffeinated brew, so you will have to dilute it milk or water by at least 20%-30%.  I found this out the hard way after I had the jitters all day at work (it was very traumatic).  The method: Steep a 4-1 ratio of cold water to course ground coffee beans for 10-12 hours in a French press or other vessel and strain when ready using a fine mesh sieve or coffee filter.  I recommend trying it first without milk or sugar to give you an idea of how smooth it is. 

French Toast and Bacon Grand Slam Breakfast

Breakfast is probably my favorite meal of the day because I love eggs (cooked any and all ways, depending on my mood), and because I also associate it with a leisurely morning (I rarely get to enjoy it during the workweek).  Ok, I get that French Toast doesn't exactly have a high degree of difficulty, so it really comes down to the quality of the ingredients.  I like to use a thick white bread (the loaf I used here is from the Korean bakery) and also add some Mexican cinnamon to the beaten eggs before dipping the bread.  To make the bacon I lay it out on a sheet pan and throw it in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes with a few sprigs of fresh rosemary on top -- cooking it in the oven is much lower maintenance; it eliminates stovetop grease splatter, and you don't have to turn it midway.  Finally, drizzle the syrup around the plate or have it on the side so it doesn't make the toast soggy.  Breakfast of champions!   

Rigatoni with Chicken and Spinach

I was in the mood for something light yet hearty (yes, I know this sounds contradictory, but you'll see where I'm going), so I threw together this simple dish, which is a riff on Pasta Primavera.  Cubed chicken breast sauteed with garlic, olive oil, oregano and chopped spinach, with the rigatoni, fresh lemon juice, more olive oil and oven roasted tomatoes added at the very end.  The kicker in this dish is fresh lemon zest, which brightens the flavors and adds lightness.     

Spice Rubbed Grilled Chicken

I was channel surfing this weekend and caught a rerun of a South Beach grilling special on the Food Network with Bobby Flay and a few other Food Network personalities.  His spice rubbed grilled chicken inspired this dish, and I threw in a sauteed orange bell pepper that looked lonely in the fridge.  The spice rub contains paprika, cumin and fresh ground mustard seed and fennel seed (had to break out my spice grinder for that).  The flavors were there, but I give myself a C+ on presentation.  Although I took the extra step of slicing the chicken on the bias, the plate needed some color to break up the orange, and I probably could have set the chicken on top of the peppers to give it some height.  Great cooking is all in the details.      

Steamed Little Neck Clams

My local Ralph's Fresh Fare had a great deal on Littleneck Clams, so I picked some up and steamed them in a white wine broth made with chopped garlic, olive oil, Sauv Blanc, butter, fennel seed and dried oregano.

Persian Pizza

I was at the Blue Wave Car Wash in West L.A. when I decided to check out "Naan Hut," a nondescript Persian bakery across the street.  I told the guy at the counter that "I wanted to try some bread," and he looked down his nose and asked "what kind of bread?"  When I told him I wanted the house specialty, he replied "gagnat," so I gave him my $3 and was on my way.  I'd say it was a cross between naan and pita with roasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top.  Anyway, when I first tried it I thought it would make a great flatbread pizza, so when I got home I raided the fridge and pantry for: Avery's mozzarella string cheese, Trader Joe's marinara sauce, some salami Deborah brought home from her business trip, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, dried oregano, crushed red pepper and some olive oil.  Into a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes and voila, Persian Pizza!