Potential Gold

Private Dinner - October 2009

Here's a posting we should have put up a few months ago.  Back in October, we were invited to cook for a dinner party in Agoura Hills, California.  Check out the menu and photos from that dinner.

Cooing in their beautiful home, we were asked to come up with a 'steakhouse' menu for this evening.  The menu was as follows:

Passed appetizers:

Grilled Lamb Loin on Olive Crostini with Roasted Red Peppers
Sesame Crusted Seared Tuna on English Cucumber Chip with Wasabi Crème
Fresh Basil Pesto Crostini with Imported Mozzarella & Cherry Tomatoes
Smoked Salmon Endive Spears with Croutons and a Dill Crème Fraîche

Here are some pictures we captured from the appetizers that night:

The first course was:

A seafood tower which consisted of jumbo shrimp and Alaskan king crab legs. These were presented at the table with smoking dry ice. This was a big success and delicious with the different dipping sauces.

The second course was:

The Classic Steakhouse Iceberg Wedge with Point Reyes Station Blue Cheese, Crisp
Bacon & Onion Strings

 
Between the second and third course there was a palate cleanser served. This evening's was a champagne mint granita.

 

The main course was served next. The guests had a choice of entree- Fresh Halibut Filet with a pesto sauce or Grilled Filet Mignon. These were served with Roasted Garlic & Shallot Mashed Potatoes,
Sauteed Mushrooms with Shallot and White Wine and Sauteed Asparagus spears with garlic and shallots.

The last course was Fresh Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Strawberry-Balsamic Compote and an Almond
Tuile. Finished with a home made chocolate truffle.

Tunisian Tomato "Salsa"

The smell of this dish brings me straight back to my childhood.  At first sniff, I recall fun summers in the small neighborhood of Malcha, in the city of Jerusalem.  I remember my mom and her sisters making a feast of fried fish and 'chips'.

This tomato sauce was always there.  With the 'black' bread to soak up all the flavors, my favorite part was eating the crispy fish skin.  Dredged in flour and fried, the white flesh of the fish was always tasty and sweet.

For the sauce:

• Vegetable Oil for the pan
• Onion - 1 Cup
• Garlic - 1 Tablespoon, minced
• Tomato Paste - 1 Can
• Crushed Tomato - 2 Large Cans (not #10 large, just large)

Method:

In your pan, start by heating oil and sauteing the onion (don't be cheap on the oil...this is a rustic sauce!).  Once off to a good start and almost cooked through, add the garlic.  At this point, pay special attention to the garlic.  At first sign of color, add the can of tomato paste. 

Trader Joes Cooked Tri-Tip

Yes - it really is pre-cooked meat on my blog...

WHY?   Because sometimes I just don't want to think...JUST EAT!  (and its not all the bad, too)

Microwave for a few moments, let rest and slice thin.

So - the next time you're at the Traders, take a peak at some of the offerings of pre-cooked options.  I really like the shredded bbq chicken and I want to try the baby back ribs they have.

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:

Blue Corn Tamales

At the farmer's market there are always lots of pretty good booths that offer an array of flavors.  This past weekend we tried the Tamale vendor.  With many flavors of Masa and different fillings, we chose the Blue Corn filled with Jack Cheese and Roasted Green Peppers. 

The combination was great and the Tamale was very well seasoned and delicious. 

For more info about Tamales, click here!

Simple Food

Some days I just feel like cooking normal, homie, easy food.

Above are some photos of:

- Turkey Meat Balls seasoned with cumin and turmeric.
- Imported Italian Tomato with Ground Turkey and Fresh Basil

Party Snacks

From our past trip to Italy, we brought back some 36 month Parmigiano-Reggiano and we served it with some of PB's Balsamic Vinegar from Chalk Hill & a local Los Angeles Honey I found at the Farmer's Market.

Limor made a tasty Chickenless version of the 'Chinese' Salad.  The dressing is tricky - with so many variations we had to modify a handful of recipes to come up with the one she used.

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!)

The Cannard Farm

Fennel

Boule - Not What I Expected

I was a bit dissapointed at the following:

I (Alibi PDC) catered a party a few weeks ago and the hosts mentioned not to hold back in any circumstances...so I didn't.  I tried for the best of the best and it was all flawless until the cake from the famed Bakery in Los Angeles, Boule, went under the knife.

Please don't get me wrong, I think that Boule is an amazing store and the proprietors are really helping LA and its food scene - but a bit more love should go into the products they offer.

I special-ordered my Boule cake a week before I needed it and on Friday afternoon when I went to pick the cake up, it was still not ready and we had to wait at least 15 minutes for them to get the cake to us.  For $58.00 and a weeks notice I would expect a bit more.

I asked if pre-slicing was available and it wasn't so I knew the task would get tricky but not as tricky as it really was.

The Boule cake was delicious, again, don't get me wrong; it just looked like poop.  All the cutting tricks I had up my sleeve weren't tough enough for this super moussey cake that died and deflated as soon as the knife punctured the surface.

I guess there isn't much to say about it, just that I was dissapointed and that I hope it doesn't happen to many others out there.

Yes, I kept it in the fridge.  Yes, I used the sharp knife with hot water.  Yes, I made sure my blade was clean every new slice I went in for.  Yes, what you see is really what I served (unfortunately).  Yes, it really cost $58.00

Yes, they ate it all!