Last Sunday afternoon was spent at the Farmer’s Market Sur La Table “Knife Cutting Essentials” class run by Martin Gilligan, former Executive Chef at the Kyoto Grand Hotel and Gardens in downtown Los Angeles. It was an education long overdue for me as my chopping, slicing and dicing skills up to this point have been self-taught and rather inefficient by my own admission.
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MG and I confronted two big questions today.
First… what do you make for dinner that will be satisfying and delicious, but super-easy because you started drinking champagne at four o’clock in the the afternoon and don’t have the energy to attempt anything even remotely ambitious?
Second… is it possible to eat a fantastic deep-fried tortilla loaded down with crab meat, jalapeño, avocado, tomato, onion, lime, and cotija cheese ONE-HANDED and NOT drop morsels onto the table?
The answer to the first question: Crab Tostadas.
The answer to the second question: No Fucking Way.
I think this is the first time I’ve ever made a dish that involved the use of skewers. I had to locate them at my local grocery store, and you know what? They’re not easy to find. Logic told me to head straight to the utensil and disposable pan aisle, but they weren’t there. Next, I hit the meat section. No dice. “Why not try the picnic and summer bar-b-que section,” you ask? I’ll tell you why… they’re not there!
Nope, the skewers at my local grocery store are located in the fresh seafood section, so if I had started grabbing up my ingredients with the pound of fresh shrimp I needed to make this meal, I could have saved myself approximately fifteen minutes of super-valuable “Gary time.” Of course, I could have also saved it if I just asked any employee in the store where to find skewers. But I don’t do that. It’s true what they say about us. We don’t like to ask for directions.
Side note – later in the day while playing DVR catch-up, I was watching Sandra’s Money Saving Meals, with cooking’s “bad seed,” Sandra Lee (She’s blond! She’s sweet! She’ll cut your throat and have the knife cleaned and back dicing carrots before you hit the floor!).
Sandra, it so happened, was preparing her own little skewer snack and just had to point out that any good chef of course has a bounty of skewers just lying around the kitchen waiting to be employed. Yeah, that made me feel good. Sandra… she really likes to rub your nose in it.
This is a recipe I found over at Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen, posted by my cyber ally, Penny. She lives with her husband in a beautiful summer cottage on Lake Lure, North Carloina, where she raises vegetables in her own garden, creates awesome dishes, and posts eye-popping pics of her lake and its surroundings that lead me to remember my single trip to the Tar Heel State for a television pilot in 1997. Some really beautiful scenery there (check out the blog – the pics really do not disappoint).
Penny seems to have it all, but she never shows off, unlike that snooty money-saving Sandra Lee who’s just busting to tell you that her pork tacos were made for ten cents less than yours.
I think I have some issues.
Anyway, my praise for Penny and her food blog are genuine, but if my flattery also garners me an invitation to relax on a dock awash in the laurel-scented Lake Lure breeze with a plate of salmon tarragon cakes or a grilled pizza or two, I’d happily fake a tapeworm to get out of work and sneak on off to N.C. for a week or two.
Check out the fantastic recipe after the jump
I didn’t know this until just a few minutes ago, but apparently in the apartment complex that is home to Chez Tv Food and Drink, I now have a reputation to protect.
I was just at my front door, key in hand and two bags of groceries at my feet. A young couple I recognized as neighbors I was nearly certain I had seen before passed me on the way to the elevator. He was sporting an entirely shaved head but for a large flap of dark hair that fell forward and covered his left eye, while she was coiffed in shoulder-length bright magenta locks capturing a look that is more common than not in the Hollywood area.
As they went past, the guy recognized my door, stopped and asked, “Hey, are you the guy that cooks all the time?”
I chuckled nervously because that’s what I do around strangers, and then said, “yes.” He responded with, “Ah, man. I smell that food coming out of your apartment all the time. It’s fucking amazing!”
Wow! Really?
I thanked him with a big smile I couldn’t have wiped off if you paid me, then offered to drop some food off sometime at his front door, to which he offered to pay me back in kind with a bottle of wine. Then we went our separate ways before it dawned on me I still had no idea what their names were or where the hell they lived.
Oh well. I’s nice to know I have some fans out there amongst the masses. And it’s certainly the kind of thing you happily welcome hearing the night before having to psych yourself up for another work week.
And yes, I certainly did assume that the aroma of the food I make would slither into the hallways of my complex now and again. But as I’m the one doing the cooking, I seldom catch the actual aroma myself since it envelopes me faster than anything else. So it’s nice to get a pat on the back for something you hope other people love enjoying as much as you enjoy making it.
So, I’m the “cooks all the time” neighbor. I’ll take it. It’s much better than being the “drunk who lets all the restaurant menus pile up at their front door” neighbor, or the “doesn’t know that polite conversation needs to end well before the ten-minute mark” neighbor, or the “why the hell should I walk one flight of stairs when there’s an elevator to haul my lazy ass up to it?” neighbor.
Come to think of it, I’m sure these spicy apple lamb meatballs probably garnered me some hallway props amongst the neighbors. Aside from the spicy kick of the onions, peppers and horseradish, there’s also some earthy tones from the parsley and the mushrooms, capped off by the sweet aroma of apples and apple cider. It’s an aromatic opera! As for the taste, the heat is met straight on by the sweetness, striking a nice balance from one chew to the next. And I highly recommend letting some sit overnight in its juices for an even more concentrated taste sensation the next day!
Click on the photos below for high-res images. Your back button will return you to this page. Recipe follows after the jump.
The end of LOST last week unfortunately also spells the end to hosting my regular Tuesday night viewing and food parties. It’s been a great way for me to keep the new recipes coming through the kitchen during the work week, and a chance to share the finished meals with people other than only MG. Not that MG would ever complain about being the sole recipient of my food, but it’s nice to get a little buzz going outside of the boyfriend realm.
(If you are one of those people who is planning to start watching LOST on DVD now that its full run is complete, do NOT read the next paragraph. Just hop over it.)
Unlike many of the LOSTies out there, I had no problem with the show’s ultimately unanswered questions and unresolved issues. The final episode was wholly satisfying and gave me a genuine feeling of closure. It was worth the six seasons of commitment, so please feel free to not leave comments asking how Libby ended up in Hurley’s mental hospital, what Walt’s powers were, and how the smoke monster couldn’t leave the island and yet characters saw visions of their dead loved ones in the “real world.” I have no interest in defending how I feel about the show or allowing someone to try and argue me out of it, and seeing that it’s still a pretty touchy subject with many fans, that’s probably the smartest road to take anyway.
The best part of the show for me was spending time with my mini-community of LOST buddies… eating, drinking, exchanging past story details that might have been forgotten and executing a communal gasp at a particularly mind-fucking cliffhanger.
Even more fun than that was grabbing MG by the shirt collars at an act break, throwing him around the couch and shrieking, “HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON??????” What, I’m suppose to do that with Glee now? I don’t think it’s going to work.
The final LOST dinner party at my place was for the penultimate episode. LOSTies and co-workers Travis, Laura and Ashley joined me and MG for a night of smoke monsters, frozen time-altering wheels, and open-faced crab burgers with homemade red pepper sauce followed by angel food cake topped with strawberry sauce and whipped cream, which in turn was followed by (in MG’s case only) a bowl of rocky road ice cream. Recipes and MG’s “this little piggy can’t be stopped” photo are after the jump.
The only regret I have in putting this meal together last night was that I neglecgted to take any picutres of the streams of juice that dripped from these finished burgers, snaked around our fingers as we ate, and rained down onto our plates. If you decide to make these, look forward to the experience. It’s an extra perk of these decadent dream-burgers.
The smell over the burners as the mushrooms and onions browned together was truly intoxicating. The portobellos add a rich, woodsy flavor to the meat.
Mature mushrooms such as portobellos store higher levels of octenol in their gills, leading to a richer aroma when they’re cut open. I topped them with a simple slaw made with celery, apple, sugar and cider vinegar that rendered any additional topping or condiment unnecessary
Tender buffalo that melts in your mouth, packed with aromatic mushrooms and topped with a zesty slaw. Write your own ending to this one. I just remembered there are two left over in the refrigerator!
After the mass quantities of barbeque sauce, mac and cheese, and pizza that has been consumed at Chez TV Food and Drink in the last week or so (I’m keeping mum about the homemade cinnamon and brown sugar pop tarts from last week, but expect the post soon), it’s time for something a little brighter, and definitely a little lighter.
This recipe was secured of my iPhone Epicurious app. and comes from the good people at Bon Appétit, a magazine I have never actually purchased, much less looked through. Am I missing out on something?
And let’s hear it for homemade salsa! There is nothing better. Jarred salsa is just a total impostor, usually crammed with juices and preservatives that completely violate the vibrant colors of the vegetables, but the fresh homemade! Oh joy! Watch it sing its own praises right off your plate!
If you can’t go more than a week without a taco, you need to come by my place sometime.
Tacos usually hit my table at least every seven days, packed with well-seasoned chicken or turkey simmered for at least ninety minutes in a bath of chopped onion, jalapeno and bell peppers, garlic and cayenne pepper (sprinkled in sparingly if guests are coming, generously if it’s just MG and me, and enough to turn the entire pan crimson if it’s me alone)
Apartment 402 was the place to be this past Tuesday night as MG made for me a celebratory “back from San Fran” mountain of crunchy-tender-succulent happiness that nearly made my eyes pop out of my head like a wolf in a Tex Avery cartoon!
OK, yeah, so MG and I made complete pigs out of ourselves with these burgers tonight.
ARE YOU LOOKING AT THEM? If so, you can hardly blame us.
MG threw me a culinary air kiss (fingers to puckered lips which then shoot off into my direction – is there a better name for that?) and declared this “one of your most satisfying meals yet!” He doesn’t just give these kinds of compliments out, people, so take a very good look at this burger. I don’t often pat myself on the back, but…
It didn’t hurt that I used ground bison instead of beef or lamb (if you follow me here, you know beef is almost non-existent in my diet, and lamb has recently surpassed turkey as favorite burger meat of choice).
Bison is new to my kitchen. A few of its merits: less fat, less calories, and more protein than a comparable serving of beef. Also, similar to lamb, it just breaks apart in you mouth like magic. In fact, you need to take extra care in the pan as well or it might just fall apart on you during a flip. No matter though… push it back together, or don’t. Scoop it out it pieces, melt a little cheese over it and eat it over the sink.
The meat also really absorbs whatever flavors you pack into the pre-cooked patties.
And while you might feel the need to slather it in BBQ sauce as you would a beef burger, DON’T.
In fact, to be honest, I would have enjoyed it just as much with no BBQ sauce and maybe a fresh slice of avocado in its place. Bacon is most certainly a welcome addition as well.
Dare I go the route next time of cheese, avocado, bacon AND BBQ sauce?
If you were here, you would see the angel and the devil that have magically just appeared on my shoulders and have begun fighting for control of my soul.
Bison, people… BISON!
This recipe comes from a new friend named Katie and has travelled all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to meet you. Katie’s blog, Thyme for Cooking has been entertaining foodies since 2006, and is not only full of stories about Katie’s life and cooking overseas, but also boasts a sister site with an extensive section of kitchen tips I go to regularly, sometimes out of necessity, sometimes just to learn a new kitchen factoid and tuck away for future use.
If you ever need guidance on soup bases, how to pit an avocado, freeze an egg, or store a pumpkin, you couldn’t do better than starting with Katie!
And then there’s her puff pastry pizza with prosciutto.
My name is Gary Green. I am a writer and television producer living in Los Angeles, California.
I have been cooking with a serious desire to learn since fall of 2009. My goal is to make up for all the years of my adult life I spent eating meals that could be microwaved, pulled out of a paper box or delivered to my door in cardboard.
My emphasis is constantly changing... soups, gourmet burgers, chicken, dips, desserts. I am especially fond of the jalapeno pepper and use it in everything I can.
My kitchen is slowly piling up with new gadgets and utensils, and one goal is to learn how to make anything and everything without the majority of them.
Please enjoy my site and feel free to look around. I welcome recommendations, suggestions, tips, pictures, and questions always. If you'd like to contact me or suggest a new link for my blog roll, you can e-mail me at TvFoodAndDrink@gmail.com.
I look forward to hearing from you.
