Potential Gold

XLB - the eating guide & Mei Long Village

One of my favorite foods in the whole wide world is Xiao Long Bao aka XLB.  XLB is a dumpling which literally translates to "little basket bun". 

These are commonly found in the areas of Shanghai and Wuxi, China.  Here in the US, XLB are also referred to as Soup Dumplings. 

These little pockets of love are worldly.  A thin, slightly translucent, unleavened dough surrounds meat which has been steamed.  In preparation, the meat includes a good amount of gelatin that once steamed, turns into soup within the wrapper of the dumpling. 

Most commonly served with vinegar and slivers of ginger, I love to eat my XLB in the following way:

Summerland, Gainey and Santa Barbara

So the other week some friends and I went wine tasting up in the Santa Barbara area.  We started with a nice tasting at Summerland Winery's tasting room in Summerland, CA, just south of Montecito on the 101 freeway.

We tasted a great Santa Barbara County Chardonnay, some great Petite Sirah and I really also enjoyed the Trio from Summerland.  The staff there was knowledgeable, friendly and warm. 

Friday Night Bites

Friday nights are always fun.  Often times it is spent with my family and friends.  The food is always great and there is always a great mood to the evening. 

On this particular Friday night, Limor & I decided to host.  We haven't hosted yet and it was a good challenge.  There were fourteen guests confirmed and by the time it was over, I think a few more trickled in.

We started to prep on Wednesday for a Friday night meal.  The menu consisted of:

• Tuna Carpaccio alla CIA for anyone who's been to Caterina...
• Arugula & Mixed Green Salad with Cherry Tomatoes
• Ossobuco served with Risotto alla Milanese
• Chicken Cacciatore served with Roasted Pearl Barley
• Grilled Vegetables
• Misc. Cakes, Fruit Salad and other sweets

Overall I thought the dinner was a success.  Both the proteins came out very well.  The risotto had a few 'al dente' spots to it which I blame on the availability of proper cooking tools (I didn't use the right pot - too lazy to clean it). 

Everyone loved everything and the shocker for me was that almost everyone loved and ate the tuna.  Even Limor's grandfather enjoyed it and I wouldn't expect him to eat raw tuna!

Some didn't eat it though, but their portions were scarfed down by my mom...

Il Tramezzino

Il Tramezzino - a place I first went to in Beverly Hills is now opening in Tarzana.  The photos above were taken at the location in Sherman Oaks on Ventura Boulevard just west of Coldwater Canyon.

"Il Tram," as everyone calls it, is well known for its light and quick bites and also as a place to see and be seen.  For some reason unclear to me, this place is very IN at the moment.  I remember going there late one night and enjoying a hot croissant filled with Nutella and sliced Bananas. 

Pahlmeyer 2002

Not a bad bottle of wine.  This photo was taken at a friends house.

Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles

(Please excuse the "red" pictures - you'll understand if you've been to Roscoe's before)

Roscoe's is a legendary establishment.  Being around for many years, they are obviously doing something right!

Yes, this was my first visit to Roscoe's in my 18+ years living in Los Angeles.  I will definitely return and I actually look forward to the next visit. 

What I really crave is the waffle.  I thought the waffle was made very well.  There was a good spiceiness to the batter made with cinnamon and a few other ingredients for sure.  The syrup seemed standard issue Sysco but that was good too. 

The chicken was fried very well and the seasoning of the fry was great.  The meat was nice and moist.  I ordered a dark meat plate with two waffles.  It was a good choice.  Omer and Limor both ordered the classic Breast and Waffle plate. 

Linkin Park Live @ Staples Center

You know how it is...through friends of friends of friends we got some amazing tickets and VIP access to the Linkin Park show the other night in Los Angeles.

I've never been to the Staples Center so it was a really great way to see the ins and outs of such an amazing building. 

Likewise, I also was never at a Linkin Park concert so the two together were just great.

The music was very good and the lighting was outstanding.  I had the pleasure of meeting a few of the band members previously and they are all really humble and down to earth. 

The drummer of Linkin Park played a very amazing solo which I thought was world class. 

Providence

It was finally time to enjoy a nice meal in my hometown, Los Angeles.  A great excuse to splurge on a fantastic meal, and take Limor out for a night on the town, Providence was a great choice.

Providence came very highly recommended by many chef friends as well as some well known professional 'eaters'.

We started our night by taking some photos.  Our back-waiter was very joyful and enjoyed having fun with us.  So much so that he actually became our front-waiter for the night.  I think the original server didn't feel up to having fun that night (he looked way to serious in the funny costumes they wear!).

We ordered the five course tasting menu which I was warned takes about three hours to enjoy (it did).  I opted for the wine pairing. 

From the kitchen we first received a great plate of fresh butter and salt to go along with a great piece of bread (unfortunately, it was the only bread they gave us all night, except for some brioche as part of a dish).

Next out as teases was a "Gin & Tonic" in gelatinous cubes and a "Mojito" in spherical form.

The Sweet Life Bakery

Below is a letter from Stephen & Jill who are friends of mine from the CIA.  They have opened a great bakery in New Jersey and this is what they have to say...

"Hello,

Have you imagined opening your own restaurant, or being the chef and culinary creator of a concept? The Sweet Life Bakery would like to let you know that the city of Vineland, New Jersey is currently building a ‘food district’ in its downtown. It has the investors, but needs the culinary talent that you have to open a restaurant.

Our bakery has laid the foundation for a legitimate culinary destination, but downtown Vineland needs more genuine restaurants and specialty food shops to make it a truly special place. Nice restaurants will be opening here… do you want one to be yours?

There are financial incentives, a convenient location halfway between Atlantic City and Philadelphia, lots of growth in the general area, as well as the host of the newly founded Vineland Music Festival.

If you’re interested and would like more information, please call Jill or Stephen at The Sweet Life Bakery 856-692-5353, or e-mail us at thesweetilfebakery@verizon.net

If this is not something that interests you, please forward this on to any awesome cooks or talented chefs that you know. We’re counting on using the power of the web to find just a few people whose time has come! Thanks for your help!

We hope to hear from you or your friends soon.

-S&J"

Read their blog here.

Menu For Hope 4

It's finally time to do another good deed. 

This years Menu for Hope has begun and I was able to sneak in an assortment of Fra' Mani Salumi as a prize for this years raffle.  Make your $10 donations by following the information below and you could be a winner (yes, I know, we're all winners!).

The Prize code for the Fra' Mani Salumi assortment is UW34 - The set will include a random assortment of Fra' Mani Salumi hand chosen by Paul Bertolli.  Included will be an assortment of salami as well as Fra' Mani's new Cooked Sausages.  Shipping is included within the continental US and there is no delivery to a PO Box.  This set won't let you down and will be great for any Salumi lover or fan of Paul's work.

Inside a Flower

Inside a Flower.

Caviar & New Years 2007

To celebrate the new year and to bring it in with a nice kick, my friends T & E invited me for a bit of caviar.

A few days before, PB and M were over at T & E's and really had the gourmet tasting.

A trial was set up with three different producers of caviar.  One was from California, one from Germany and one from Italy.  Because I was not in attendance, I heard that the Italian caviar won top scores from the three producers.

I was able to 'taste' the Californian product which was great.

Some Wonder Bread toasts, Bellwether Farms Creme Fraiche and Grey Goose vodka accompanied the Sterling caviar produced by Stolt Sea Farm in Elverta, California.

Not too shabby and a great way to start 2007!

Thanks for reading!

I Won, I Won!

I never win anything...ever...but I guess when the cause is a positive one then luck is on my side.  Pim and a great group of bloggers have done it again. 

This year we raised over sixty-thousand dollars to help the UN World Food Programme.  People from all over donated gifts and prizes to those who donated.   I tried to give a salami but I didn't make the deadline.  There's always next year to give back.

So, I won a dinner for two at Manresa in Los Gatos care of Pim's Blog and the staff at Manresa (I think!).

Thanks!!

Pomegranate Flower

Taken at the Getty Villa.

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Parmigiano Reggiano

One of the Supreme Cheeses of the world, the true Parmigiano is nothing to phuk with. The chance finally came around for me to open up one of these beautiful wheels of cheese and I attacked the opportunity head on.

Here, at Al Vedel, we go through about forty wheels of Parmigiano a year. Being closed the whole month of July and a few weeks here and there, that is about a wheel of cheese a week. Hopefully this wont be the last wheel I open (my technique can use some help!!).

On eG, I posted about my visit to a family who makes Parmigiano – check that out. 

So – on with the process…How to get into the cheez:

The tools – what we use to open up the wheel is a cheese scoring knife – the one at the bottom with the beaked tip.

Then, the two chisel-like tools are used to shimmy there way into the cheese. Not much force is necessary in the entire process, although the cheese is damn heavy.

Once the cheese is scored with the knife, you jab the rounded knife into the cheese, rock back and forth till the knife enters the cheese, then insert the squared knife in to hold the cheese open. The squared knife is tapered and gets wider further up.  Here is a photo of the cheese scored and open in the center.

This photo shows the bottom half of the cheese, not yet scored, but open at the center.

As you can see, this particular cheese was aged well, with no defects of trapped gasses (holes) or off colors. You can also see the deposits of calcium in the cheese; that white ‘crunch’ that grana gets its name for. Yes, here they also call Parmigiano ‘grana’ – for its texture more than for respect for the other cheese; although, check this out as a rebuttal.

I’m working on one half at a time. The whole process took me about 20 minutes – I was having fun and took my time! 

The pile of cheese that comes from one wheel of Parmigiano is amazing. If each wheel weighs 30 kilos, then each wedge must weigh about two and a half kilos – or – five and a half pounds.

Each wedge then probably costs (in the US) from seventy to ninety (+) dollars. But then again, Parmigiano in the US is way overcharged – and minimally used compared to the amounts used here.

At the end, the pieces are wrapped in plastic and ready to use later. I look forward to doing this next week, although the sous chef made a comment about how “rustico” my wedges were. His come out perfectly straight and in line, then again he has been doing this for a long, long time!

Go Eat Cheese

Fra' Mani Salametto

 

Inside La Mortadella

The Mortadella in transit.

Inside view.

Inside view.

La Mortadella

Some R&D work led to these amazing hanging Mortadella.

(prior to the oven)

Thanks to our neighbors for letting us use their oven!

(almost ready to eat!)

Pig's Feet

Some people enjoy eating this pickled...how do you like your pig's feet?!?

(yuk)

Happy Olives

The fruit from these trees make one hell of an oil...

 

American Balsamic Vinegar

Check out this battery of Balsamic Vinegar in various wood barrels.  The people here surely know what they're doing!

And Yes, this really is in America (Sonoma, CA area).  Interested??