Potential Gold

Private Dinner - Agoura Hills, California

A couple of weeks ago Limor and I catered a small dinner party.  We were asked to come back and cook for a family which often uses our services.  This night was private sit down dinner for their friends.

The menu was as follows:

Hors d'Ouvres:

• Petite Shrimp Cocktail
• Individually Plated Seared Albacore Sashimi with Japanese Shaved Sweet Onion & Ponzu
• Seared NY Strip with Chive, Crispy Crouton & Truffle/Horseradish Sauce
• Tomato and Mozzarella Bruschetta on Wheat Toasts

Here is a picture of the appetizers:

Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of the salad.  Tonight's salad was an mix of Organic Baby Greens with a Creamy Green Goddess Dressing.  To that we added Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, Crumbled Fresh Goats Milk Cheese, and Thinly Sliced Red Onion.  It was delicious!

Between the Salad Course and the Main Course we brought out a Palate Cleanser which tonight consisted of a Fresh Pineapple Granita.  I make this by placing pineapple into a blender and then straining the result. 

I add this fresh juice to a container and use the "egg test" to adjust the sugar level to the right place.  Once the sugar density is correct, I slowly freeze the Granita. 

To properly do this, you have to go into the freezer every hour and with a fork, mix the whole mixture around so that it doesn't freeze solid.  The result is always a light and icy delight the melts on your tongue like fresh snow.

I often give my clients plenty of room to decide on what menu they would like.  Once we have an idea then I present my menu options and we move forward from there. 

For the Main Courses we offered a Line-Caught Pacific Rock Fish with a Classic Beurre Blanc and a Grilled USDA Prime NY Strip.  The accompaniments on the plate were Roasted Carrots, Asparagus and Pommes Dauphinoise (aka Cheezy Layered Potato).  I made an amazingly rich demi-glace for the steak and finished it with Peppercorns and Brandy.  It was ridiculous!

 

Dessert was, and usually is, the last course of the night!  For tonights dessert I brought back a recipe that I picked up while doing my stage at La Locanda di Bu in Italy.  Under Chef Antonio Pisaniello, I learned and perfected the method for making flourless chocolate cakes.

With only a few ingredients, you transform eggs, chocolate, butter and sugar into deliciousness.  After 8-9 minutes in a convection oven they're hot and ready to be served.

To the cakes I added a home-made Orange Sauce which was fresh squeezed Orange Juice reduced with Sugar and I always add my signature Chocolate Truffle with two different types of cocoa powder.

Again - because of the night and the timing we were unable to get a picture of that dish but you'll just have to use your imagination!

Cheers!

Champagne Salon and Delamotte Tasting at Wally's

The other night Limor and I enjoyed a wine tasting at Wally's Wine & Spirits in Los Angeles. The tasting was in collaboration with Champagne Salon as well as Delamotte.

We arrived around 7 pm to find the tasting room packed to the max. A few days ago Wally's sent out an email stating that the tasting was sold out. We made the best of it and received our tasting glass from the person who checked us in at the front.

From there we began with the Delamotte Non-Vintage Brut. For Limor who isn't a wine:o I enjoyed seeing her reactions and comments to the Champagne. The Brut was very traditional. We picked up a nose of toast, some tart green apple and Limor really thought the nose resembled the smell of something 'salty'.

From there we went onto the Delamotte Rosé. The Rosé was elegant and tasty. The blend of primarily Pinot Noir grapes really stood out. Unlike the cheaper wines, this Rosé was made by letting the skins stay in contact with the wine, releasing the color and flavor that we see and taste.

Unfortunately, the ONE Champagne I built up all my expectation towards was nowhere to be found. I bought my ticket to this tasting not for the Salon but for the 1985 Delamotte Blanc de Blancs. Unfortunately, we were scammed as that bottle wasn't poured at the tasting.

From the Rosé we moved onto the 1999 Delamotte Blanc de Blancs. The Blanc de Blancs was awesome. Although the pour was very skimpy, my one sip was really refined and the sharp difference from the first two wines was pretty outstanding.

Lastly was the Champagne Salon. The 1997 Salon Le Mesnil is what I think everyone else was there for. The bottle is extremely expensive - somewhere in the $400/btl area. I found the Salon very, very good but I am glad to say that I am not an extreme Champagne fan yet as that hobby could get really really expensive.

I want to really point out that it is not OK to say that a specific bottle will be poured and then NOT pour that bottle. I went to Wally's to taste a quarter century old Champagne and that didn't happen. Although it was my first tasting at Wally's, I do hope to come to another event there where I will expect more than this tasting.

 

 

Spain & The World Table - Anchovy & Pepper Bocadillos

In this recipe, adapted from the book Spain & The World Table (which I am working on for this section of Potential Gold), we will be continuing the work on Tapas.  The post below this is the starting point.

This post will be focusing on making an Anchovy and Pepper Bocadillo as well as the preparation of the anchovies for both posts.

Below - Limor is prepping the ingredients for a vinaigrette which will season this Anchovy & Pepper Bocadillo - NOT TO BE CONFUSED w/ the Anchovy & PISTO Bocadillo below.

Any fine vinaigrette will work.  Focus on the use of Sherry Vinegar and lemon juice as your acid.  You can see that there is a good amount of shallot and garlic in this particular vinaigrette.

Below you can see the ingredients needed for this Bocadillo (which I translated to toast point or crostini).

You will need some fire-roasted red peppers, fresh green peppers, a lot of chopped garlic and a bag of Lays Classic potato chips.

Mince the garlic and cut both peppers into strips.  

In a saute pan, add two to three tablespoons of good olive oil and start sauteing the garlic.  Add the roasted red peppers.  When an amazing aroma develops, remove the garlic and red peppers and add the green peppers to the now-seasoned oil.  Saute the green peppers until they have cooked down, reducing the heat of the pan so nothing burns.  Once cooked, remove the peppers from the pan into a bowl, saving the oil that the peppers were cooked with in the same bowl as the green peppers.

ANCHOVIES -

Below are the two types of anchovies I used for these Bocadillos.  Directly below are the salted anchovies and below that are the Boquerones.

For the salted anchovy, I just washed them gently in cold water and then let them sit in a bowl of half water and half sherry vinegar.

I purchased these Boquerones from Whole Foods Market but they are easy to make if you have your hands on fresh anchovy.  To make them, just clean the anchovy and fillet it.  Let the anchovy soak in half water and half white wine vinegar over night.  Remove the liquids the next day, taste a piece and if salt is needed (not always), add salt and cover with olive oil, fresh sliced garlic and fresh chopped parsley.

For these that I bought, I just rinse them and pat them dry.  I did sprinkle a touch of Sherry Vinegar on these as well.

Look for the post above this in the next few days for how all these yummy ingredients finally come together...

Mastro's Steakhouse - Beverly Hills

I finally made it to another steakhouse.  This opportunity was a gift from a family friend for our recent engagement.  Fun...

Our friend ordered wine and an appetizer and we chose our protein of choice.  Limor ordered the petite filet and I had the bone-in rib eye.

Our appetizer was a shrimp cocktail which was incredible.  These shrimp were so large that it was more like biting on lobster tail.  I highly recommend this as an appetizer as it's not everyday you stumble across these huge creatures.

The presentation of the shrimp rocked - as the plate approached our table, some water was poured into the bowl holding dry ice, which oozed CO2 across our table - cool!

Our meat was next up, along with our second bottle of Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon.

Our side dishes were sauteed spinach and sauteed mushrooms.  Both were nothing special - just run-of-the-house side dishes as expected of any steakhouse these days.

Some Notes:

Father's Office - Los Angeles - Best Burger & Sweet Potato Fries

Father's Office!

My friend Justin was in town the other week - he was visiting from Minneapolis and needed to get some real, good food into him FAST.  One of our stops on that weekend was to Father's Office in Santa Monica.  After hearing all the hype and rave reviews, we had to try it for ourselves.

To the bar we went because there aren't any servers to take your order.  After a short line, we were helped by one of the friendly bartenders.  For a beverage, Justin was ok with water as the night before we visited Tokyo Delves and anyone who is familiar with Tokyo Delves knows that you can't leave that place sober unless you're the DD.

The bartender helped me choose a glass of Great White from Lost Coast Brewery.  This beer resembled the Hoegaarden which I like so much.

For a snack we ordered the amazing sweet potato fries which are served in a mini shopping cart with a small side of strong blue cheese dipping sauce.  My beer went really well with this.  As we waited for our burger, we took in the atmosphere and had a few laughs.

We arrived at Father's Office at around 5 PM on a Saturday so in my opinion there weren't too many people there, and it wasn't a problem to order and get your food.  It's pretty simple - you order at the bar and get a plastic number - your food magically appears at your seat in a few minutes.

I didn't get the vibe that they don't want you there or that it's a foodie only type of place.  Its much more of a neighborhood bar type of place.  Simple and easy.  If we had bigger appetites, we would have ordered much more food.  Although the prices or above market average, it seems like you really get quality stuff.

Our burger arrived and it looked so good.  It was not what I was expecting.  The oval shaped burger was already cut in half which made it much easier to share.  The meat was cooked medium just the way we ordered it and after the first bite, it was very very good.

I can see how people say that this is the most amazing burger and bla bla bla but in my opinion, the burger was very very good - executed to the dot and I'm sure its exactly what the chef is trying to put out.  The bun was fresh and tasty - it was more bread then a bun - the meat was juicy and well seasoned.  The arugula was tatsty and added the right flavors that worked overall.  The blue cheese was on the money - not too much or overbearing and not too little - all of it was just right.

I can't wait to get back to Father's Office.  I want to go more hungry, and with more friends as it seems like a really fun place to let loose and have a good time with great beers and very tasty food.

Jo Federigo's Restaurant & Jazz Club (Eugene)

On a recent trip to Eugene, one of the most memorable dishes I enjoyed was the Seared Scallops with Miso and Cucumber Salad prepared by the chefs over at Jo Federigo's Restaurant and Jazz Club in Eugene, Oregon.

The scallops were sweet and buttery and the miso with cucumber was fresh and appetizing - I would have stayed for more but the Lakers were playing and I had to go watch the game...

Catering to the Stars

A few weeks ago Limor and I catered a small dinner party for eleven guests.

This time I brought along two really great helpers to serve the three course dinner and pass around appetizers as the guests arrived.

A double magnum was opened that night and the spirit was high.

The first course was a Lobster Salad with a Mango & Citrus Vinaigrette.

The second course was either Moroccan Style Salmon "Chraime" OR Frenched Rack of Lamb with Shallot Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus.

Dessert was a Fresh Fruit Plate with Petit Fours.

Pahlmeyer 2002

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

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.

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!!

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

Identita Golose

The 2006 Identita Golose has been summed up in English translation by Alberto of IlForno.  Use the link to find his writings.  In my opinion, Identita Golose is one of the most important food forums happening in the world and this second forum (the first was last year) hosted some of the best chefs of the world including Wylie Dufresne from NYC's WD-50 and Pierangellini of Gambero Rosso on the Tuscan shore.

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!