Shrimp & Cheesy Grits – My Way & On the Highway at Brenda’s French Soul Food in San Francisco

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

Last weekend, I went to San Francisco with my parents for a wedding.  Our first breakfast in SF was at a place I found (by Googling terms like “best breakfast in SF”) called Brenda’s French Soul Food.  It was a Friday morning, probably around 9:30am & there was a wait for a table.  Again, I loathe waiting but trying to find another spot in an unfamiliar city & then drive there & park – etc etc – would take longer -so we waited.  The interior of the room was really cool.  High ceilings, a collection of mirrors on one wall & a huge mural of a crawfish (or a lobster?) on the other.

The wait wasn’t long and, as it happened, we were seated just beneath the mural.  We were quickly served delicious coffees and we perused the menu.  Beignets seemed to be a house specialty & they had a savory one (made of crawfish) that intrigued me.  Still – I am not much of a pastry person & I very seldom eat sweets – so – I opted for the shrimp & grits.  My stepdad got the beignets, however, and they were gloriously huge & very tempting.

That front one is the crawfish beignet & it was, in fact, quite tasty.  Still – it could not hold a candle to the insanely delicious shrimp & grits – which I ordered sans bacon.

These were piping hot – too hot to eat, in the beginning.  The grits were very thin, too thin to eat with a fork (which I liked) but there was more cheese involved than I thought was ideal.  The shrimp were amazing – and I am not a crazy shrimp person.  In fact – sometimes I get a bit weirded out by the texture – as it really must be very much the same as giant grubs or some other sick thing that most of us would not dare sample.  Shrimp are really just giant ocean insects, no?  Why are we cool with eating them but not, say, THESE?   Anyway – this shrimp & grits definitely ranks as one of the finest combo of breakfast flavors I have ever experienced.

Yesterday, my newest son, a rescued pug now named Memphis, had to have a little dental surgery & got two VERY stinky teeth removed.

He is guesstimated to be three – which is quite young to have teeth in the condition his were – but a life in the sex trade as a backyard breeding dog (poor Memphis’ sad past) can take its toll.  You will be happy to know that his teeth are restored to a sparkling white & he no longer has that “what died in your mouth?” breath.  I picked him up after his surgery & brought him home.  I was supposed to head right back out & see one of my favorite musicians, Mr. William Elliott Whitmore (check out his awesomeness HERE), at the Roxy with some friends – but, as I feared, Memphis was pretty groggy & disoriented when I got him.  So – I stayed home to observe his recovery.  Look – he looks drunk even just sitting there:

So – last night I stayed in with my kids, watched a lot of bad news for Romney on MSNBC & chatted with my Arkansas-bound boyfriend on the phone like a teenager.  And – I made my first attempt at Shrimp & Grits!  And – I am happy to report – it was a 5 star success.  Do not be intimidated by the steps required.  Each step is very easy & this comes together very quickly & elegantly – once you’ve roasted the stuff that needs roasting.  This recipe should feed 4 people fairly generously.

Also – as an aside –  if you are an inexperienced cook & want to develop confidence – not only should you cook more often (duh) but do things like – put a measured teaspoon of salt or a measured tablespoon of sugar in your palm & try to get used to eyeballing what those quantities look like.  Pour a measured cup into a pan & see what that looks like in there.  I very seldom use measuring devices & it is the hardest part of this blog for me.  I am continually forgetting to measure accurately as I add things & taste & adjust – so reporting to you how I did it gets tricky.  Furthermore – we all have different tastes.  Some hate garlic others love extra spice – etc etc.  Most of my recipes have a lot of wiggle room for you to adjust things to your own palette.  In fact, MOST recipes out there in the world can, and often should, be adjusted.  The only time measuring becomes critical is in baking.  Baking is a precision thing.  So – anyway – practice eyeballing quantities & start weaning yourself off the two cooking crutches – the measuring spoons & the measuring cups.  You will learn to trust yourself far more quickly this way.

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Shrimp & Cheesy Grits

Preheat the oven to 400

INGREDIENTS

1 large tomato cut into big chunks.  I used half an enormous heirloom tomato

1 red tomato – diced (for garnish)

10 tomatillos, papery skin removed & halved

2 small red onions – one sliced thickly, the other sliced thin

6 garlic cloves (I used more like 15 – but this is your call)

6 oz (or more) of grated smoked cheese – cheddar or gouda work well

1 LB (or more) of the jumbo shrimp – peeled & deveined.  Any shrimp will work – but the bigger the better.

Olive oil

Smoked Paprika

S&P

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Sliced scallions for garnish (optional)

2 cups Grits

3 cups vegetable (or chicken) stock (I had leftover vegetable broth in my freezer from when I made the tortilla soup.  It was very handy in this recipe.)

3 cups half-and-half (I used fat free)

Extra grated smoked cheese as a garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

IMPORTANT NOTE – I used the fancy polenta corn grits that I bought at Figueroa Produce yesterday!  These grits required a ratio of 1 cup grits to 3 cups liquid.  The ones you use may differ & have different cooking instructions.  THOSE instructions should replace mine here on how to cook the grits.  Also – these grits (as I outline) came out fairly thick & I added a cup of more of water at the end to thin them.  You might like yours thick – or thinner than I did.  This is a personal call so use your own judgement.  Lastly – the grits – like most starches – will get thicker as they sit hot on the stove & you don’t want to remove them from the heat or they will cool too much before you use them.  So make the grits dead last after everything else is done & ready to go.  They cook pretty fast so this doesn’t add a lot of time to the process.

LOOK at the awesome heirloom brainy tomatoes I got a Figueroa Produce! 

Heat the oven to 400.  Line a roasting pan with parchment paper.  Or don’t.  All the parchment does is keep your pan clean & the roasted veggies won’t stick.  It is pretty useful –  but not totally necessary.  Anyway – once you have your roasting pan lined (or not) – put the large chunks of tomato (not the diced red tomato), the halved tomatillos, the THICK sliced red onion (reserving the thinly sliced one) & all but two cloves of garlic in the pan.  Drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Toss to coat & put in the oven for 50-75 minutes – or until the vegetables are softened & begin to char a bit on the edges.

Blend these roasted delights in a food processor or blender and add the lemon juice and some S&P.  Set aside.

Heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a pan & saute the thinly sliced onion & the two remaining garlic gloves (smash the cloves with the flat side of a large knife) until the onions are caramelized.  This takes between 5-10 minutes.  Remove them from the pan & set aside.

Toss your cleaned shrimp with some olive oil, a pinch of the smoked paprika (very different stuff than regular paprika – so try to use the smoked variety) and some S&P.  Cook these shrimp in the onion pan a few minutes on each side until they are pink.  Try not to OVER cook the shrimp.  You can stop cooking & set them aside – even before they are cooked through thoroughly – as they will continue to cook from their own heat for several minutes.  Once you think they are nearly done – remove them from the heat & set aside.

Heat the vegetable stock and half & half until nearly boiling.  Add the grits & bring to a boil.  Lower heat to medium-low, cover the grits & set them aside for as long as your package directs.  In fact – cook the damned grits the way your package directs – just substitute a half veggie stock & half half-n-half mix for however much liquid they suggest you add to two cups of grits.  Once the grits are done, stir in the cheese and a solid teaspoon of smoked paprika.  Here is where you decide on the thickness.  If they are still too thin – cook them over medium-low heat until they thicken to where you want them.  Conversely – if they are too thick, add water & stir in over low heat until they thin to the point you desire.

Assembly:

Spoon a good amount of grits into each bowl.  Place some of the caramelized onion-garlic mix on top of that.  Arrange the shrimp atop that, spoon some of the tomatillo puree into the center & garnish with chopped red tomato, scallions & extra grated cheese – if you are using them.  Individuals can add more S&P to taste.  Serve immediately!!!

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CLOSED – Figueroa Produce – a Great Resource for Vegans-Raw Dairy Fans-Hormone Free Meat Eaters and Vegetarians

http://figueroaproduce.com/

I’m writing today about something my pal Dave Wayne has long sung the praises of  (pardon that awkward grammar) – a great resource for vegetarians & vegans & even meat eaters who prefer hormone-free meats – Figueroa Produce.  It is located at

6312 N Figueroa St • Los Angeles, CA • 90042

just north of York – in a corner mall with one toe in Highland Park & the other in Eagle Rock – across the parking lot from a ubiquitous & DEPRESSING .99 cent store.  This is a counter-intuitive location for a supermarket of this kind.  The community is largely Hispanic & almost entirely low income.  Maybe the Eagle Rock – Highland Park corner is key?  Both Eagle Rock & Highland Park are trying to be the next Silverlake (think hipster) – with Eagle Rock having a substantial edge – but what’s up with hipsters?  Are they rich?  They actually CAN afford to buy the next size up (or three) in a skinny jean (which they desperately need) – but rather – opt to keep wearing the ones I can only assume they grew out of 150,000 calories ago because they like male muffin tops & that awful extra crotch area that is created when they are too fat to pull their pants up to the appropriate position?  At least hip hop kids who CHOOSE not to pull their pants up have UNDERWEAR ON beneath their defying-the-laws-of-physics-low-slung jeans – so we are spared any unwelcome information about their nether regions.  Hipsters actually cannot physically get their jeans up anywhere near the hip zone, strain their top button in a spot just below the pubic line creating a good four inches of crotch air in the upper-thigh area & another good four inches of ass-crackage revealed if they – God forbid – decide to squat.

Anyway – are these fuckers wealthy enough to regularly purchase vegan cheeses and pastured eggs & hormone & antibiotic-free meats?    Because somebody is keeping this place in business and I don’t think is is the Mexican & Guatemalan communities in there buying heirloom tomatoes, vegan egg yolk substitute, gluten-free flour & vegan chipotle sausage.

But I digress.  Figueroa Produce is a very friendly, community market selling high end products at FAR better prices than Whole Foods or my arch nemesis – Gelson’s.  They sell no alcohol or cigarettes but they have a whopping selection of specialty flours & grains (gluten-free and otherwise)

Sorry these are blurry.  I always feel so suspicious-looking when I’m photographing inside grocery stores.  Not sure why.  And look at the refrigerated cheese section – with its nearly overwhelming selection of vegan dairy & meat items:

Yeah!  You can’t see it well here but that is, in fact, NACHO TEESE!!!   And they carry both raw milk & cheese AND actual pastured eggs!

Pastured eggs are eggs from chickens who live like they did on Green Acres – out on PASTURE – foot loose & fancy free.  There is no Federal definition of free range and if you think cage-free or free range means ANYTHING REMOTELY HUMANE is going on with the chickens – watch this VIDEO on Youtube.  It shows you a hundred free range chickens who – after doing their time as egg layers – got rescued by a sanctuary to live a happy life til their natural deaths.  Please look.  It isn’t gruesome – like slaughterhouse footage.  It just shows you how DEEEEEEPLY emotionally & physically scarred these poor birds are – and these are the “lucky” ones.  Factory farmed ones with no nod toward humane conditions create far worse results.  I can’t get these chickens out of my head – so – I was gratified to find there WERE humane alternatives.  They cost more – but so do jeans not made by children in sweatshops.  Where you spend your money creates the world we live in.  Who you give your money to is a large part of your own morality.  Six pastured eggs cost $5 – but the chickens are treated in a genuinely humane way – so there is no blood on your hands.  A more than fair trade – if you ask me.  And the more other egg (dairy, meat etc) producers see that there are people who will pay more for a kinder product – the more kind product gets produced.

Stepping off the soap box – I continue.  There is a large MEAT section here –

but I did not inquire as to the sources or kindness factors related to the contents.  I don’t eat meat – so I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time.  There was a separate case with organic meats that said they were antibiotic-free – and there was seafood in there as well as – like – bison etc.

I saw a sign advertising HOMEMADE vegan sausage, however, and that intrigued me.  I inquired & was told that they were not currently available as the maker was tweaking the recipe.  A super friendly deli hipster offered me several samples of Daiya vegan cheese and some vegan sliced chicken & vegan sliced bacon.  They came in big square blocks, like cheese, and got sliced on the deli slicer like any other deli meat.  The faux chicken was good, the faux bacon was sorta chemically.  Then I was offered some jalapeno grilling cheese which had been pan fried & was served with a fresh basil leaf on top.  OMG!!!  I nearly bought every package they had in stock.  This shit is ridiculous!

I bought a half pound of sliced Daiya cheddar for $4 and some shredded vegan mozzarella – to attempt a vegan pizza.  It looks grey & less than promising but – I’ll try anything once.  Kinda.

Figueroa Produce also has – believe it or not – fresh PRODUCE!

It seems pretty standard but the HUGE heirloom tomatoes were only $4 a pound.  I think Gelson’s charges you $4 just to look at their heirloom tomatoes – but maybe I’m exaggerating.  I’m not sure if everything they have there is organic or not but if I had to guess – I’d say probably.  They also had an interesting selection of bulk spices which I neglected to photograph.

They sell a brand or two of high end dog food & other staples.  I found these curious items there:

Ew!  Sweet potato jello.  In a can.  Gross.  And zero-calorie jam!

They have $13 Salted Caramel ice cream – which I have had and it is awesome.  Basically – they have a tiny selection of the staples and a huge selection of the exotic (meaning vegan or gluten-free blah blah blah).  If you have special diet needs – Figueroa Produce just might be the place for you.   So break out your high school jeans & squeeze your fat thighs half way into them, don an ironic & hideous Christmas sweater & head on over to Figueroa Produce.  And BE SURE to ask someone to let you sample the Goddamn grilling cheese.  You are gonna shit yourself.  And not to worry – as you will have lots of room for it in your gapping crotched pants.

Roasted Tomato & Garlic Pasta Sauce

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

This is another recipe born out of what I had in the fridge that I needed to use before it spoiled.  Actually, the tomatoes were NOT in the fridge because tomatoes should NEVER go in the fridge.  Chilling below 50 degrees (and your fridge is likely under 40) will squash the aroma of the tomato, abort further ripening & even change its texture.  NEVER refrigerate your tomatoes!  There are other items that should not be refrigerated.  Here is a handy list I found:

Store at Room Temperature

Fruits apples (fewer than 7 days) bananas grapefruit lemons limes mandarins mangoes oranges papayas pineapples plantain pomegranates watermelons

Vegetables basil (in water) cucumbers dry onions eggplant garlic ginger jicama peppers potatoes pumpkins winter squash sweet potatoes tomatoes

Of course, you can choose to ignore this advice.

Anyway – this is a really delicious & easy sauce you can literally whip up – once the roasting is complete.  It is a thick, vibrant sauce that could handle meat (if you eat meat) or a cup of heavy cream to make it a decadent pink sauce.  Peas would be nice – to add some color.  The quantities of each ingredient here was decided by the quantity I had on hand.  Do not feel like you cannot substitute, eliminate or add more/less of most (if not all) the ingredients.  Here is the basic sauce:

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Roasted Tomato & Garlic Pasta Sauce

INGREDIENTS

6 Roma tomatoes – cut in half

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes – left whole

(OR 2 lbs of whatever tomatoes you have)

12 cloves of garlic – gently smashed (oxymoron, anyone?) – with the flat side of a big knife – or the handle of one

1 large onion – quartered

1 GIANT shallot (optional) – quartered

4 carrots – cut into thirds (don’t bother peeling them)

1 TBS fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dry thyme)

1 TBS fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dry oregano)

Handful or more of fresh basil

2 tsp dry thyme (yes – more)

3 TBS butter

olive oil

S&P to taste

1 TBS crushed red pepper (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

I lined my pans with parchment paper.  I don’t think that is critical, though.  Line the tomatoes, carrots, onion & garlic in a deep roasting pan.  I needed two to fit everything in one single layer.

Drizzle a decent amount of olive oil over them all & sprinkle with the S&P and the 2 tsp dry thyme.

Roast for 60-90 minutes until the edges of the tomatoes & onions & carrots begin to char.  I put the cherry tomatoes in a different pan than the Romas as I feared they would be done earlier – and they were.  So you might want to do this if using two very differently sized tomatoes.

Put these roasted ingredients INCLUDING ANY OLIVE OIL ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PANS, along with ALL the other ingredients & blend them into a puree using either a blender, a food processor or an immersion blender.  Taste – add additional S&P to taste – and any other spices you think it might need more of & voila!  Put it on your favorite pasta!

Easy!

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Fried Catfish, Collard Greens and Macaroni & Cheese at The Serving Spoon in Inglewood

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

I selected  The Serving Spoon because it is literally ten minutes from LAX.  I needed a spot near the airport to have breakfast with my parents before I dropped them off for their return to Boston.  I did a bunch of different searches on Google & Yelp & The Serving Spoon kept making the “best of” lists – so be it.  Nestled in a corner strip mall in a neighborhood rife with abandoned businesses & auto accessory shops – the sign for The Serving Spoon was disappointing.   Owning a cafe is a fantasy of mine but my fantasy involves the design of the place as much as the menu.  I am always frustrated when any business falls short on the style-factor or any opportunity for cool graphics etc.  Here are the two signs:

Actually – that one isn’t too bad.  Sorta retro…OK.  Seems to be original.  I actually like that one, in retrospect.  But – here is the storefront:

Sorta underwhelming – no?  It looks like a yarn store called the Sewing Spoon.  But those two sets of wheels outside suggest there are not octogenarian knitters inside.  An urban eatery?  I’ll be the judge of that.

The interior.  Basic as basic gets.

We stepped inside & found there was a 10-15 minute wait.  On a Wednesday.  At 9:30am.  While I detest waiting for seating anywhere – this seemed a very promising indication.   I looked at the daily special board & saw OXTAILS were on the menu along with many traditional sides & peach cobbler.  For some reason – the crowd & that special board won me over completely.   I asked my parents to guess how we’d rate the food – once we had it – on a scale of 1-5.  Everyone expected to give The Serving Spoon a 5.  That can be hard to live up to.

After about 15 minutes, I began to suspect that folks arriving after us were being seated before us.  It was the first time I ever had a fear that I was being discriminated against because of race.  As a woman?  Sure.  As a punk rock kid or person not wealthy enough to be in the Gucci store in Milan or some other fancy place?  Sure.  I’ve been judged & assessed & underestimated in various way.  We all have.  But, as I watched the hostess seat another group I swore had entered after us, I actually blushed with shame.  The shame of humiliation.  And I whispered to my mother, “What if they won’t seat us?  Oh my God.  Can you imagine?”  And for the first time, I viscerally felt a tiny hint of what so many have felt historically & to this day – when they are truly discriminated against in a really basic, human rights kinda way.  Breakfast.  Don’t we all have a right to eat in a cafe – if we can afford to pay for it?   And as I reflected on the (obvious) horrors of institutionalized racism and my first, pinky-toe sensation of how it feels to be a victim of it, the hostess approached us.  “You’re Gail, right?”  Gail is my mother – the name we put on the wait list.  With that fact confirmed, she smiled & said, “Your table is ready.”

We weren’t being ignored, after all.  Hahaha!  What an asshole I am.  The folks she seated before us had been waiting on a bench I hadn’t seen.  What a total schmuck I am.  But I can tell you – it was eye opening to feel that rejection first hand – even mistakenly.  I’ve always sympathized with victims of racism but sympathy & experience are very different.  Hot flashes & the urge to run away & hide in shame.  That’s what I felt.  How unbelievably awful.  Had you asked me an hour before how I would react to being rejected because of my race, I think I would have said, “With righteous indignation” or some other thing that had a hint of resilience in it.

It wasn’t.  I felt shame.  A really unfamiliar kind of shame.  And the urge to skulk away as invisibly as possible.

Well, thank God it was all in my bleary head because it sucked.  I can’t explain why I jumped to the most negative explanation first except to say – I have had a REALLY, no – REEEEALLY, bad month or two where everything in my life seems to be dying or breaking or needing a root canal.  I think I have some sort of minor PTSD where I now just assume & expect the worst out of every encounter – whether it is with my dentist or the vet or the refrigerator repair man or my computer or my phone or ANY technology or my agent or my friends.  Step in dog shit?  In the dining room?  OF COURSE.  Why expect better?

Right now – I seem to explain everyone’s motivations with the darkest adjectives.  Every minor problem is just the first loose thread of an unraveling sweater.  Every cloud – a category five hurricane headed straight for my face.  My TEETH – actually.  My GOD – I have been having the most nightmarish monthly run of dental horror – I can’t even get into it.  Anyway – this isn’t ALWAYS the way (that I assume the grimmest outcomes & brace for disaster everywhere) but, lately, I really do seem to expect just the worst possible news from every possible source.  Coming home to a perfectly healthy, 4 year old dog – suddenly & inexplicably dead in his bed can really put the fear of God into you.  Nothing seems safe or stable after that.  So – I am writing off my bizarre conclusion at the Serving Spoon that way – the culmination of a seemingly endless run of bad luck.

And since I mentioned him – here is my gorgeous Grisbi.  RIP – August 16, 2012.

But I digress –

Seated in a comfy booth, we were greeted by our waitress & a waiter brought us coffees.  My mother declared the coffee to be a mere 1 on a scale of 1-5.  I thought that was harsh & might have upped that to a 2 or 2.5 — but maybe that was just the gratitude talking – gratitude that we hadn’t been chased away by an angry mob calling us “crackers.”

🙂  If you can’t laugh at yourself….

My parents ordered eggs & some of the expected AM sides like grits and biscuits.  I had spied a plate go by that looked like THIS.

(photo stolen from HERE)

A whole fish on a plate with its battered tail curled up into the air like fried flag.  I knew what I was gonna get.

I ordered the fried catfish – the fillet, not the whole fish – with a side of collard greens and mac & cheese.  It took a while for the food to come but wowsa!  Was it worth it!  Everything was piping hot & fresh.  The mac & cheese was not mushy or bland, the greens weren’t mushy either nor the salt lick that they are at Roscoe’s.  And the catfish?  THICK, like a chicken breast, and the crust was so crispy & perfect – I was in heaven.   A little lemon on the fish & it was even better.  Really – truly outstanding.  Look at it!

Nothing had the slightest greasy element to it.  The cleanest, freshest soul food I have ever had.   NEVER go to Roscoe’s again – until you have tried this place.

Upon leaving, I asked my parents if The Serving Spoon had lived up to our hopes for a full blown 5-star rating and we agreed, unanimously, that it had.  I cannot recommend this place more highly!  Run, don’t walk.

ESPECIALLY if you are having a long run of bad luck (LIKE ME) and expecting nothing good (or worse) from everything in life (like I am).  Break the streak & treat yourself to the joy that is The Serving Spoon!

Oh!  And lastly – the music on The Serving Spoon’s website is YOU by Lucy Pearl (featuring Q-Tip & Snoop Dogg).  Video HERE.  Serving Spoon mentioned at 1:38.  Cool!

Me and nephew snoop was eating
At the serving spoon
And my partner skin it back
Was sitting with us too
And all of a sudden
Your body was inside
I couldn’t finish breakfast
Now something just aint right
Now snoop was looking like
What the hell is wrong with you
I said I know you understand
Youve been through a few
But this one is special
Special to me
Is it my imagination killing me

Sweet Potato (Yam) & Jalapeno Macaroni and Cheese

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

OK – this recipe made enough for 30+ people probably.  It filled a Martha Stewart 7 quart casserole pan to the brim.  Those suckers are made of cast iron & weigh a shit-ton empty.  With this dense recipe inside – I could barely lift the pot & bend over to get it in the stove.

A quick aside about these awesome Martha Stewart pots – that I once suggested folks buy cheap on Ebay – there has, it seems, been a recall.  Look at these guys, though:

I got each of mine for probably close to $50 because they had minor chips in the enamel.  Not INSIDE the pots – but on the cosmetic exteriors.  I don’t care about the exteriors – and I love these pots.  But today, while researching the size mine are for this blog – I found a year old recall notice.  It read:

Hazard: The enamel coating on the cast iron casseroles can crack or break during use. This can cause the enamel to crack and fly off as a projectile, posing a risk of laceration or burn hazard to the user or bystanders.

Incidents/Injuries: Macy’s has received two reports of the enamel cracking and flying off of the casseroles during use. No injuries have been reported.

A Macy’s number was provided for more info.  I called it.  They said Macy’s will give you all your money with a receipt  or the “average price paid” for the item if you do not have a receipt.  I researched what folks had been given for their receipt-less returns & they seemed to average between $42-$99, depending on which pot, which Macy’s & which department manager you dealt with.  These guys originally retailed for $170 – so people are pissed.  And – FTW – I am just gonna risk shrapnel & burns because I cannot replace these two guys – even if I get $200 in credit.  They are already pretty scuffed on the outside.  Maybe that has released the pressure and I will be safe.  I don’t know.  I mainly cook with these INSIDE the oven rather than stove top – so – I’m not lugging 40 pounds of iron into the mall only to be handed an $82 store credit.  Harumph!

Moving on.

This recipe is not a science.  There is MUCH wiggle room & you can adjust the quantity of ingredients to suit your tastes.  Some people like dry mac & cheese – some like it wetter.  I belong to the latter category but will pretty much eat any mac & cheese I find myself in front of – assuming it is meatless.  Do not be freaked out by the quantity of garlic & of jalapenos.  I couldn’t really taste the impact of either – despite my mother’s bugged eyes as she witness me chop 14 jalapeno peppers and 20 cloves of garlic.  They seemed to blend in quite nicely.  Also – I used random cheeses I already had – like extra burrata & fresh mozzarella.  Any similar quantity of other mild cheeses would suffice.

Remember – this recipe is for 7 quarts of mac & cheese – enough for a very large group of people.  Also – while I am calling it a SWEET POTATO recipe – I used YAMS because of their brighter color.

However – you might want to read this bit I found explaining that these guys I am calling yams – are REALLY sweet potatoes.   Who knew?

In the United States, most tubers sold as yams are actually members of the sweet potato family. Your Garnets, your Jewels, the “yams” with the rich orange flesh and reddish-brown exterior, are, botanically, sweet potatoes. In fact, it’s quite likely that the vast majority of my readers – even the active ones including more carbohydrate in their diets – have never tasted a true yam. The reason for this discrepancy is simple marketing: back in the mid-20th century, when orange-fleshed sweet potatoes were introduced into the United States, they were labeled “yams” to avoid confusion with the common white-fleshed sweet potato Americans were already enjoying. “Yam” was derived either from the Spanish “name” or Portuguese “inhame,” both of which come from the Wolof word “nyam,” which means “to sample” or “to taste.” Another African language uses “yamyam” for “to chew,” which should give you some idea of the starchy tuber’s importance in local diets – as well as the level of mastication required for its consumption.

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Sweet Potato & Jalapeno Macaroni and Cheese

PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES

INGREDIENTS

26 cloves garlic

3 large Yams (or sweet potatoes) peeled & cut into 1/4 inch disks

6 TBS olive oil

1.5 lbs pasta (I used half corkscrew & half some kinda tubey pasta)

10 TBS butter

12 TBS flour

8 cups whole milk

6 cups shredded cheese (use a blend of mozzarella and/or cheddar and/or Italian or Mexican blend cheeses)

6 TBS chopped fresh rosemary

14 jalapenos – seeded & diced (food processor is handy here) – chop even more than 14 if you want to garnish the finished mac & cheese with fresh, uncooked peppers.

S&P to taste

BREAD CRUMB MIXTURE – optional

1 cup bread crumbs

1 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

4 TBS olive oil

DIRECTIONS

PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES

In a large pot – boil the sliced yams & 20 (reserving 6) garlic cloves until the yams have softened.  Maybe 5 minutes.  Remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon & re-use the hot water to boil your pasta (according to package directions).  Cook the pasta maybe one minute less than the package says to assure it is al dente.  Drain & set aside.

Once cool enough to handle (put the yams & garlic under cold running water to cool) – put the 20 cloves of garlic through a garlic press (or chop or mash another way) & set aside.

Dice the boiled yams.  Heat the olive oil in a large pan & saute the diced yams until they begin to caramelize.  This could take up to ten minutes.

Melt the butter – over low heat – in a large sauce pan & then add the flour.  Whisk until it is incorporated.  Up the flame to medium & gradually whisk in 6 cups of the milk (reserving 2 cups for later).   Stir constantly until all the milk is incorporated & it begins to thicken a bit.  It should be like unset pudding.  Thicker than that & mixing in the cheese will get difficult.

Mince the remaining 6 cloves of garlic.  Add both forms of garlic, most of the jalapeno (reserving a good handful for a topping later), the yams, rosemary, cheeses (reserving a fat handful for topping later) and pasta.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Stir to combine.

Grease either a very large 7 quart casserole – or several smaller ones – and carefully transfer HALF the mixture into the cooking pans.   Pour one cup of the reserved milk over the mac & cheese in the pan(s) & then top with the remainder of the mac & cheese.  Pour the rest of the milk on top of this.  Top with the remaining cheese & jalapenos (reserving some – if you chose to – to add raw at the end as a garnish).

This can be topped with a bread crumb mixture – though I opted not to.  To make the bread crumb mixture – just whisk the crumbs, olive oil & cheese together & sprinkle on top of the macaroni.

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes – or until bubbly (golden – if using bread crumbs).  Let this sit a good ten minutes before serving.

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Traditional Deviled Eggs or with Shrimp or Truffle Oil or Pesto or Jalapenos or Sriracha or Harissa

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

I love deviled eggs and I am always surprised at how popular they are – because the concept is kinda gross.  And they smell so farty.  Yet – these bad boys evaporate at parties.

I recently attended a little shindig & decided to bring a sampler assortment of deviled eggs.  I found a few cool tricks to make them better, too.  One – how to get the yolks centered in the egg so you can better stuff them with the deviled mixture:

To accomplish this in each egg you boil you need to do a little advance planning. The night before boiling, take the eggs out of the egg carton and place them in the carton so the eggs are horizontal, or on their sides. They won’t fit right in the egg carton, nor will you be able to close the carton lid. This will, however, set the yoke in the center for boiling.

Secondly – the art of peeling:

ADD A TEASPOON OF BAKING SODA TO THE WATER YOU BOIL YOUR EGGS IN!!!  After hard boiling your eggs for 15 minutes, put them in cold water to bring the temperature down rapidly. You can even use ice cubes in your water, and you can change it several times—if you have the time—as the eggs will quickly warm the water up again.

Make sure they are cold as can be before you move on to the next step. This means the papery membrane is more likely to stick to the shell rather than your egg, so peeling is made super easy.

Tap the big end (bottom) of an egg onto the countertop so it cracks, then flip it and do the same for its more slender opposite end. This releases the pressure for the majority of the shell around the middle of the egg, and peeling the whole lot off should now be a breeze.

If the shell is still a little resistant to your charms, you can try peeling it underneath running cold water. It helps to persuade the shell away from the egg, as well as making for a perfect and clean finish to the outside to your egg.

 ____________________________________________

These tricks helped a lot.  There were a few eggs that got butchered in the peeling but far fewer than usual.  And look what I found inside one of them!

This reminded me of my new fixation – Abby & Brittany – the two-headed girl.

If you haven’t seen these gals on their new reality show – you need to.  They are amazing!

Anyway – I started with twenty eggs.  That’s a lot.  Reduce this recipe if you are not making these for a large group.

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Traditional Deviled Eggs

INGREDIENTS

20 hard boiled eggs – preferably chilled overnight (though this isn’t necessary)

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp hot sauce

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 TBS Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS: Harissa paste, pesto, jalapenos, shrimp, sriracha, truffle oil, chives, scallions, horseradish, parsley

DIRECTIONS

Carefully halve all your eggs & delicately remove the hard yolks.  Mix the yolks with the other ingredients.  Use a sandwich baggy with one corner cut out & use it as a pastry bag to fill your eggs without making a huge mess – like you see HERE.

And there you have it!

As to the variations – I took a portion of the traditional recipe & added things like cooked shrimp with chopped parsley:

Jalapenos (four 4 deviled eggs I added 1/2 tsp horseradish sauce & 1 diced jalapeno)

Harissa Eggs (for four – I added 2 tsp harissa paste & drizzled more on top) with paprika:

White Truffle Eggs – for four eggs, I added 1-2 tsp white truffle oil & cracked pepper:

Pesto Eggs – I added a dollop of pesto on top of the traditional eggs & some sliced scallions:

Sriracha Eggs – I just drizzled sriracha on them:

The potential for these guys is limitless.  Get creative!

DECADENT Vegan NO CARB Summer Pasta with Zucchini Noodles, Avocado, Asparagus & Peas

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

Hey!  Have you heard?  I wrote a really funny & dirty novel!  www.BathingBook.com.   Check out the reviews on Amazon!  Why not buy a copy?

 

Do not be fooled by how closely this pasta resembles my recent spinach & pea pesto linguini.  It is a completely different animal.  This is a vegan dish but only by chance – rather than design.  It can be made carb-free or carb-heavy.  That is your call.  I went carb-heavy – because, quite frankly, I am a carb whore.  Thick & doughy midsections take dedication to preserve & I am committed to mine.  You might be devoted to your hard won abs – in which case – go carb-free.

But how can I make a carb-free pasta – you might ask.  Well – it is easier than you think.  Just use fresh zucchini instead of spaghetti!  I discovered this concept recently & I can foresee it becoming a regular thing in this house.  I thought I’d need a kitchen tool called a spiralizer and so I did a lot of research on which to buy before I headed out to get one.  Spiralizers can turn potatoes into curly fries or zucchini into pasta – among other things.  I was too impatient to buy one online so I headed to Bed Bath & Beyond yesterday just to get it.  Alas – they had none.  The guy there said a mandolin might do the trick and I have one of those – so I returned home to experiment.  I saw online that some folks said a food processor could create fettuccini-like noodles & others said a vegetable peeler could work, too.   I decided to experiment.

The mandolin was sort of effective but mine is so sharp & unstable – I was kinda freaked out.  Then I remembered!  Didn’t I have some odd sorta toothy, clawlike vegetable peeler deep in the chaotic disasters that are my kitchen tool drawers??  I dug around a bit & voila!!!  There it was!  With a sturdy, rubber Tonka handle & a plastic blade guard.

I tried this on a sample zuke & it worked like a charm!  I held the peeled zucchini on one end with a fork & shaved away at the zucchini & got a wonderful spaghetti-like result.

Look at this link & see how cool spiralized zucchini is – HERE.

This dish can be made pretty close to entirely raw – if that’s your thing.  Simply blanching the zucchini noodles for 2 minutes or sauteing the zucchini noodles in olive oil for 2-3 minutes will make them deliciously edible & the sauce is raw, too.  I’m not concerned with raw so much.   If you hate peas or asparagus – just leave them out.  This recipe can be made with or without actual pasta.  This version has pasta.  I am going to give you a recipe here that uses an entire box of spaghetti – and the zucchini noodles – so it would likely feed 4-6 as a main course.  You can adjust this easy recipe to use pasta or not – and change the quantities if you only want to make a serving or two.  If you make a lot – as I did – but do not want to eat it all up immediately – just keep the ingredients (zucchini noodles, pasta with peas & asparagus and the sauce) separate from each other & only blend them in the serving size you need when you are ready to eat it.  I would boil water & just reheat the actual pasta & veggies (a minute or two) before draining & then mixing with the zucchini & sauce.  Don’t heat the zucchini.  It will get soggy.

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DECADENT Vegan NO CARB Summer Pasta with Zucchini Noodles, Avocado, Asparagus & Peas

INGREDIENTS

1 lb spaghetti (if using)

6 large (peeled or not – your call) zucchini – spiralized or shaved into noodles (do not use the seeded center of the zukes)

1 cup frozen peas (optional)

10 spears asparagus – sliced into bite size pieces (optional)

SAUCE

2 large avocados

1/3 cup water

6 TBS fresh oregano

juice of 1/2 lemon

zest of entire lemon

chopped basil as garnish

s&p to taste

DIRECTIONS

Peel (or not) then shave, spiralize or grate your zucchini into noodles.  Do not use the seeded center part.  I saved my centers & peels & made a zucchini hummus out of them afterward.  You can use them any way you want or toss them.  Whatever.

Once you have your noodles – put them in a colander in the sink & sprinkle a tsp salt over them.  Toss them to distribute the salt & let them drain while you make your sauce.

In a food processor, blend your avocados, lemon juice & zest, oregano, water (use more or less – to get the right consistency) and S&P to taste.  This is – essentially – a guacamole.  Make it very creamy.

Boil the water & cook your pasta according to directions.  In the last two minutes of the pasta cooking – add the peas & asparagus.  If not using pasta – just boil water & blanch the peas & asparagus for two minutes.  Drain.

Now simply assemble the ingredients.  I made a single serving by using equal parts pasta & zucchini noodles & then tossed them with the sauce.  A little chopped basil and S&P and I was ready to eat.  The remaining part – I am bringing to a party tonight & will assemble THAT there!

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Cheers!

Fresh Burrata Caprese Salad – Fresh Mozzarella with Heirloom Tomatoes & Basil Chiffonade

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

I covered this once before in July but it is worth a second peek.

First of all, caprese is pronounced ca-pray-zay with the emphasis on pray.  Another Italian menu item rampantly mispronounced is bruschetta.  It is not – as is so commonly thought – pronounced brush-etta – but rather brusketta.   You are less likely to get corrected by anyone if you say brushetta, because most people think this is the proper pronunciation, but nobody from Italy wold ever correct your saying brusketta.  Anyway…

Burrata – definition courtesy Wikipedia:

Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture. It is also defined by some sources as an outer shell of mozzarella filled with butter or a mixture of butter and sugar. It is usually served fresh, at room temperature. The name “burrata” means “buttered” in Italian.

Burrata is gaining in popularity and with that comes greater accessibility.  If you have COSTCO in your region – Costco has been carrying it & it is reasonably priced.  Sometimes Trader Joe’s has it – also at a fair price.  At these places – it comes the way buffalo mozzarella does – floating in water in a plastic container in the refrigerated section.  If you are lucky enough to have a fine cheese shop or, even better, an authentic Italian market around – you are about to be in heaven.  These places will likely have it stored in water or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap – and sitting out at room temperature – as it should be.

Burrata is a very mildly flavored cheese and it shouldn’t have to compete with anything to be experienced at its best. Sliced, ripe tomatoes, shredded basil and some salt & pepper is all I would suggest.  Ever.  If you want to get fancy, you can cut your basil in the chiffonade style – which is just to roll the basil into tubes the long way & then slice into thin strips.  It creates little basil ribbons.  Pretty – but not entirely necessary.

Heirloom tomatoes are nice here (with burrata) because they tend to be genuinely ripe – rather than dyed red (or yellow or green).  They are very costly, though.  I paid $4 for one yellow/orange heirloom tomato yesterday, where the “vine-ripe” tomatoes were only $1.49 lb.   The heirlooms were closer to $5 a pound.  But there really is a huge difference.

In my opinion, burrata isn’t good for cooking because it is far too wet & too mild to compete flavor-wise.  On its own, it is a creamy delight.  Serve it as pictured and maybe serve some crusty bread & a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc you are good to go!

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Fresh Burrata Caprese Salad – Fresh Mozzarella with Heirloom Tomatoes & Basil Chiffonade

INGREDIENTS

About 1 very ripe tomato per person – sliced

Enough Burrata (or fresh mozzarella if burrat is unavailable) to cover the tomato slices – sliced

Lots of shredded, chopped basil or basil chiffonade

S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS

Slice your tomatoes about 1/2 inch think.  Same with the cheese.  Top the tomatoes with the cheese, basil and S&P.  Voila!

Cheers~

Beer Drinking Woman! And Seafood Three Ways – Birds, Franklin and Co & Dillon’s – All in Hollywood

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

Maybe you should listen to Memphis Slim’s version of BEER DRINKING WOMAN while you read this blog!!!

I like beer.  I like seafood.  I like beer with seafood.  The photograph above is of a tall glass of Stella Artois at La Poubelle.  I didn’t get any seafood that visit – so just look at the pretty beer & lovely atmosphere they serve up in there.

Just down the street is Birds.  I always thought the “birds” thing was that they are pretty heavy on the chicken options in the menu.  They serve rotisserie chicken several ways with about a dozen options.  I don’t eat chicken – or burgers – so I don’t really go into Birds as often as I might – despite living within a mile or two of it for twenty years now.  My boyfriend is a huge Hitchcock fan & has also written a feature film called All the Birds Have Flown South – which he refers to as Birds.  I dragged him into Birds this past July – completely oblivious to the potential connections.  We walked in & sat at the bar & Miles looked around.  “Oh!  Now I see why you brought me here,” he said, smiling.  I returned his smile with a dull stare.  “You do?”  “Yeah!  This is a Hitchcock bar!”  “It is?…”  I looked around & noticed, for the first time, wall to wall portraits of Hitchcock & images from The Birds.  “Oh my God!” I said, realizing.  “Oh!  You love Hitchcock!!  OH!!  Wow.  OH!  And your new movie is called Birds!”  It was my turn to smile at him & for him to look back confused.  How could I POSSIBLY have not noticed or realized – or whatever – EVER??  Thank God he loves me.  Even at my most obtuse.  See here?  He seems to be thinking, “Yeah.  I love you.  Even though you are stupid.”

Yeah, but HOW stupid are you – you might ask.  Well – notice the Hitchcock profile tattooed inside Miles’ forearm.  I’m THAT stupid.

At any rate – Birds has a full bar & beer on tap.  And – you can sit outside!

I ordered a Stella & Miles got a Bud Lite.  He ordered chicken & I got the seared tuna burger.

Miles declared his chicken was among the best he’d ever had – and backed that up by ordering it every time we returned there in the future.  The tuna burger came on a bun about the size & pliability of a VW Bug & was just that easy to fit in my maw.  So – I removed the bun & the tuna was delightful.  The fries here are good & I like that they have about a dozen dipping sauces – from buffalo to bbq to mayo based things – so you can maximize the caloric impact of the meal.

Speaking of buffalo sauce – just next door is the Franklin & Company Tavern.   I love buffalo sauce but since I do not eat chicken – so I only ever really get to eat it by dipping fries in it or by making buffalo shrimp at home.  But – Franklin & Co has buffalo shrimp on the menu!!!

Of all the joynts there on Franklin Avenue – the interior of this one is my favorite.  It is a VAST improvement from the Italian place – Prizzi’s – that once resided there.

I like the menu a lot, too.  Lots of veggie faux meat things – like a gyro!

Or you can go the raw ahi taco direction!  I recommend all very highly.  One complaint – I find their tap beers just a tad warm, so I usually order a bottled beer.  A friend of mine used to work for Magic Hat – so I usually get this as a silent shout out to him.

They do beer flights & brunch specials & all kind of fun things.  I like this place a lot.

Our last stop in today’s pub crawl is Dillon’s Irish Pub – down at the corner of Hollywood & Vine.  If you like college girls in teensy weensy kilts & all manner of footwear – from goth platforms to sneakers – this is the place for you!  $3 valet outside is genius as everyone else in the area charges $10.  And – for three dollars – any pint of beer on tap!!! $5 for a large one.  This is kind of a big deal because they have (as my friend says) “one point seventy thousand million” beers there.  See?

I got some Hawaiian thing – not sure what it was called.  It was good!  And – better still – Dillon’s has $2 oysters!

I love oysters even though they look like the phlegm of a bronchitis patient.  I order them here all the time – almost exclusively.  Me & my buddy Curtis Armstrong (seen below from our time working on Route 30, Too – available for sale NOW!)

would often drop into Dillon’s for two cocktails & two dozen oysters.  Despite looking like biohazard – they are delicious!  And none of this vinegar & shallots bullshit!  Cocktail sauce, horseradish, Tabasco & lemon!

Most recently, as I popped the first oyster in my mouth – I though I heard something small hit the floor.  No, not Miles.  It was my earring.  As I reached up with both hands to check each ear – I heard another clink of a tiny item falling – even before I’d touched my ears.  And yes – sure enough – BOTH of my ears were bare.  I looked on the floor & there were both of my earrings on the floor – under my stool.  What the fuck?  Those oysters were so good – they popped both of my earrings out of my head with nearly the synchronized precision of those Olympic water dancers.  Plink/plink!  Out & on the floor.  That was a first for me.  I was so relieved to have Miles as a witness.  The fact is – we dropped into Dillon’s directly from the Museum of Death – so maybe the stuff they were peddling there had caused me to shiver my earrings nearly out of their nesting places but still.  The experience I had at Dillon’s was – eat an oyster & watch both of your earrings fly out of your head.

By the way – if oysters are your thing – and you also enjoy paying a lot of money for things – the oysters at the Public Kitchen at the gorgeous Roosevelt Hotel are pretty spectacular.

Anyway – I am tempted to go on & cover the classic Frolic Room – just down the street from Dillon’s but the Frolic Room deserves its own blog all to itself.  It is that awesome!

So – until then – CHEERS!

Spinach & Pea Pesto Linguini with Three Cheeses & the Sheena Metal Experience

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

Yesterday – the heat was downright uncivilized.  Well over 100 degrees – ALL DAY.  I have no AC in my house so my three dogs & I walked around with our tongues hanging out while experiencing a sometimes vague and sometimes overwhelming sense of claustrophobic panic.    I had to do an interview at 6pm in the valley which meant driving even deeper into the inferno but my car has AC & I was pretty certain the radio studio would, too, so I was counting the seconds until I could leave.  Around 5pm – I was starving but it was way too hot to try to cook anything & I didn’t have time to eat anyway.  Still – like we all do – I looked in my fridge for things I knew were not in there.  A fridge which, incidentally, required a major repair this week.  My house is beginning to have too many things in common with Grey Gardens in general – a course I am temporarily powerless to reverse – but a fridge that lets a gorgeous burrata sour in the span of a day is just unacceptable.  A girl has to eat!  Even if she has to eat amidst squalor & ruin – much of it caused by bad, bad dogs – she still has to eat.  And cook.  And write about it.  And stuff.  So I called Wilshire Refrigeration – and the repairman arrived in a few hours to break the terrible news to me.  My 15 year old Sub-Zero had a cancer – a leaking freon coil thingamajigga & it had to be cut out.  I was told by my friend that had recommended Wilshire Refrigeration to me – that I was likely to get very timely, competent & friendly service – and I DID – but he also warned me that I would likely walk funny for a few days afterward.  And I can report to you now that a $1000 repair bill DOES somehow feel like an ass rape.  But so does a fridge full of warm beer & rotting dairy, mayo & eggs.  So – $1000 later and after bidding adieu to the repair guy – I walked – like a bowlegged cowboy – back to my kitchen to put everything that was salvageable back into my restored chilling appliance.

But I digress.  At 5 last night – I glanced in my fridge for a snack.  There was nothing that fit the bill but there was a collection of ingredients that I spontaneously decided would whip nicely into a cool pesto that I could mix into pasta upon my return from the interview.  I had 10-15 minutes before I had to leave so – I made the following delightful concoction:

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Spinach & Pea Pesto Pasta with Three Cheeses

serves 2 (Use more pasta to feed however many you have.)

INGREDIENTS

4 packed cups fresh spinach

1 packed cup fresh basil

2 cup frozen peas – 1 cup for the pesto – 1 cup for the pasta

1/2 cup olive oil

water – 1/4 cup or more

2 oz goat cheese

2 oz feta cheese

(or 4 oz of either one – Goat or Feta)

Fresh mozzarella (the stuff stored in water) – to taste – diced

4 cloves garlic

1/2 tomato – diced (more if you are feeding more than 2)

fresh parsley – chopped

S&P to taste

1/2 lb dried pasta

DIRECTIONS

In a food processor blend the basil, spinach, garlic, olive oil, s&p, feta, goat cheese, 1 cup of peas – adding only as much water as you need to get the proper consistency.

NOTE – This will make 2-3 cups of this pesto – FAR more than you need for 1/2 lb pasta (which serves 2 – in my opinion).  In fact – it is way more than you need for the whole box of pasta.  So – use the extra on crostinis or as a condiment on sandwiches or as a base to a pizza or for just more pasta.

Cook your pasta according to the directions.  In the last minute or two – add 1 cup of the peas to the water.  Drain.

Put the pasta & cooked peas in a bowl & toss with a few tablespoons of the pesto.  Add more if you think it needs it.  Arrange the pasta on plates & top with a little more pesto, chopped tomato, chopped mozzarella & parsley.  And go heavy with the parsley.  It has a lovely, fresh taste & is not just a garnish!!!  🙂

After I whipped up the pesto – using unthawed frozen peas – I put it in the fridge for a $1000 chilling – and walked my aching ass to the car to head to the valley for my interview.

The radio studio is in Sherman Oaks.  The waiting room looks like this:

Pictures of past guests (like Noah Wyle & Mini Me) lined one wall.  After about 20 minutes of listening to an Irish author be interviewed just before me – I was called in for my part.  Sheena was SUPER duper nice, smart & funny.  The interview went as well as I could hope & I really enjoyed myself – both because of the civilized temperature in there & because of the charm of my hostess.  The entire interview can be heard HERE.  I show up at about the 62 minute mark.

Once that was done, I stepped outside into the smokey dusk (a fire was blazing near the Getty).

No surprise there was a fire as I wasn’t entirely sure I was safe from spontaneous combustion myself.  I got into my car & checked the temperature.

104!!  At 7pm!!!  Ugh.  Still – smog & fires make for pretty sunsets & nice light for photographs.

So – I cranked up the AC in the car & headed home to boil up some pasta & try my newest pesto creation.  And let me tell you – it was REALLY good!  And so easy!  And good for you!  So try it!!!

Cheers~

Breakfast in Los Angeles Three Ways – Millie’s, Hugo’s & Alcove

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

I am not a huge breakfast person.  I tend to eat an early lunch & an early dinner & skip breakfast completely.  I know this is not considered good & makes you fat etc – but what can you do?  I usually work out in the mornings & I am not hungry when I wake up – so – there you have it.  Still – if I have out of town guests – the gym generally gets blown off & then breakfast is back on the table – quite literally.

One of my old school favorites is Millie’s in Silverlake.  I have been going there since about 1985-6.  I’m kind of a stickler about the word “diner” and prefer it only be used when referring to actual DINING CAR diners rather than just any shitty coffee shop. That said – I would be happy to call Millie’s a diner.  It has all the right cosmetic aesthetics & the right (and very good) food.

That is my cutie boyfriend, Miles.  Aw!

Millie’s also has a great attitude.  Check out this vintage T-shirt I have from there from way back in the day:

Service with a fuck you!  Nice!

Miles ordered pork chops & cheesy eggs.  Miles often orders cheesy eggs but this was the first time I’d seen him happy with their execution.  It seems the cheese was nicely blended in with the eggs – rather than just slapped on top & stuck under a heat lamp.

The pork chops passed muster – as did their awesome rosemary potatoes.  I ordered scrambled eggs, veggie sausage & a biscuit.

All great – especially the biscuit & the coffee served in a proper diner mug.  There is seating inside, at the counter & outside.  If you sit at the counter – you can watch your meal be prepared.  The food portions are huge & I’ve never had a bad meal here.  The Devil’s Mess is exceptional.  The only odd thing is the art displayed – I guess made by local patrons.  I’m never very impressed.  I once thought some of my roadside attraction imagery would be a perfect fit.  Check them out HERE.  I mean – come on!  4 or 5 of them – printed huge & framed?  They would kill in there.  But I was told (a few years ago) by a snarky guy that the honor of hanging at Millie’s was reserved for regulars.  If a 25 year patronage doesn’t qualify me – then fuck it.  I guess I’ll save myself the expense of printing & framing & use some of that money for Millie’s coffee & biscuits.

A few days later – we stopped by Hugo’s – in the valley.  While Hugo’s has an insanely broad selection of healthy, vegetarian & vegan options – I pretty much get the same thing every time I go there.  I get one of their breakfast pastas.  Pasta Mama, Pasta Papa or – as in this case – Pasta Emilia.  They make all their pastas fresh which is not only wonderful but critical in the case of these eggy breakfast pastas.  Look how yummy!

Miles ordered a beef burger & I think it weighed half as much as he does.  It was enormous.

I’m not a big fan of those rustic “skin on” french fries.  I am much more of a crispy shoestring or McDonald’s or crispy steak fry kinda gal but these at Hugo’s are OK.    This burger went a long way in that it fed Miles & then my three appreciative dogs as leftovers.  Hugo’s isn’t cheap – but it really is VERY good!

Finally – on a Sunday – I decided we had to eat outside.  We went to Alcove – in Hollywood.  This place is gorgeous in every way.  The outside patio is quaint & shady & has ample tables for al fresco dining.  The Big Bar is exactly the kind of old-school but still bright & cheery place I prefer to do my drinking.  There is a bakery & a chocolate element to Alcove, too, but sweets never appeal much to me.  Still – the is one of the prettiest little spots in Hollywood.  You order your food at the cash register, sit with a number & they bring your food to you – wherever you elected to sit.

I ordered a bagel & sliced tomato.  Miles opted for – who knew? – cheesy eggs & a side of potatoes.

Again – the eggs got a thumbs up.  The potatoes were amazing.  I believe a frialator was involved & I can’t think of anything that isn’t improved by deep frying.  Except butter.   Deep fried butter EXISTS!!  Don’t believe me?  Look HERE.  UGH!  Gag gag gag.  But the potatoes at Alcove seemed deep fried and were a perfect golden color & not greasy at all.  Miles also ordered a beer – as he is wont to do.  It was a new beer to both of us & it was very good.  Don’t underestimate the charm of a cold beer for breakfast, kids!  And don’t judge.  In fact – TRY IT!

Mmmmmmm!

And so there you have it.  Not a lotta comedy or drama today.  Just lotsa yummy breakfast options in Los Angeles.  And some sage advice – BEER for breakfast!!!

Taco Sampler at Mission Cantina in Hollywood & The Museum of Death

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

Typically – I’m not a big fan of Mexican restaurants.  I don’t eat meat & I find that pretty limiting with most Mexican menus.  The shrimp dishes can either be way too buttery or fatty or whatever – or downright funky.  Bay shrimp?  Who the fuck eats – if any other choice is available – BAY shrimp????  They sell them at Gel$on’$ and I am always tempted to wait there and watch & see who the these weirdos are that buy them – and then ask WHY.  Anyway – at Mexican restaurants, I tend to fill up on chips & beer (and the inevitable seafood tacos) & leave feeling vaguely cheated but stuffed to bursting.  If I’m gonna be forced to eat fish or shrimp tacos (because ordering a quesadilla in a restaurant is tantamount to ordering a PB&J sandwich) – I prefer to go to little taco stands that seem to deal with these things with more authenticity & flavor – and they don’t load you up with lard-based refried beans & rice – and they are usually very cheap.

So – the other day when my boyfriend requested a Mexican lunch – I had to give in & take him to a local restaurant – rather than one of the many far more colorful stands around Hollywood.  Why?  Because my guy likes his beer and those taco stands never serve alcohol.  OK, so fine.  A restaurant.  Mexican.  Open at noon.  NOT El Coyote – with the worst food on earth.  Not an icky Acapulco-type chain.  Hmmmm.

I settled on one that is very close to where I live, opened fairly early & had beer – the Mission Cantina.  There was one parking meter on the entire block – and it was available!  OK – that’s a good sign.  We stepped inside & it was bright & cheery – which I like – and we were the only ones in there.  We sat at the bar & ordered beers.

The beer was a Craftsman 1903 Ale – made right in Pasadena & it was awesome!  The bar is wide & welcoming & the bartender was super friendly.  There is outdoor seating – just as an FYI – but the interior is so pleasant – I recommend it highly.  Chips & a really great salsa were placed before us as we perused the menu.  There was a $12 taco sampler – so we chose to split that.  I got a fish taco & their verduras (veggie) taco.  Miles got the carne asada, carnitas & the highly recommended (by the bartender) – beef barbacoa.

When the tacos arrived, they were served with a selection of pickled things:

These tacos were clean & light & I suggest you try them.  If you really love tacos – try Mission Cantina’s Taco Tuesdays – with $1 tacos all the live-long day!!!  That is an awesome deal.

We left Mission Cantina satisfied but not needing the naps that are so often the case after eating exhausting Mexican meals – so we decided to drop into the nearby Museum of Death – just a few blocks away to kill some time.  🙂

Free parking in the rear…

There is a really spooky old trailer back there – no explanation.

Predictably, no photography is allowed in the Museum of Death.  The museum tour begins with a gallery of art created by famous serial killers as well as some background on the more famous ones (Ed Gein, Richard Ramirez, John Wayne Gacy – etc) & rare documents.  Then a few novelties – like a mummified head of guillotine victim (a convicted serial killer) – the crime scene & autopsy photos from the Manson-Tate murders, Victorian post-mortem dead baby portraits & generally just a lot of stuff you’ve probably seen (or seen similar) if you have had any kind of history of a fixation with the morbid (as I have).  Footage of an autopsy proved too gross to watch.

The most compelling collection in house was a series of photos depicting a nude wife holding her dead husband (killed at the hands of her boyfriend – also depicted but not nude, I don’t think) – and the progressive dismembering of said husband & then the loving portraits of his severed head with his severed foot in his mouth – and then with his severed hand putting his severed penis in his own mouth.  The photos are from the seventies – shot (hilariously to me) on a 110 camera.  I think only subject matter as unusual as a party-style mutilation could really distract you from the other novelties in the images – her vintage, 1970’s winter bush & tiny, seventies natural bud-like breasts.   Oh – and her wickedly smiling face as she poses – nude & squatted – with the castrated torso of her late husband.  It seems this naked butcher had a pal at a Fotomat or something but she didn’t realize that the developing & printing process involved more than one employee.  I’m not sure why she thought even her own mother would look at the developed photos & not turn her in – but the stranger involved in the photo processing did just that.  Thank heavens – or I never would have gotten to digest fish tacos looking up into the neck hole of a beheaded man.

As an aside – I worked at a little Fotomat-esque storefront in high school & routinely stole the embarrassing images from the stuff that came through.  The shop was near Boston College & I have a lot of nudes & images of men’s penises & mooning arses etc – all typically a result of the pyramids of empty beer cans college kids seem to enjoy building so much.  So – if you went to BC around 1981-83 – and had a tendency to nude up for the camera at keggers – I might have some things that would interest you.

The Holocaust got surprisingly little coverage – too obvious perhaps?  Overexposed?  Who knows?  I think it is a gross oversight because the Holocaust has more horror to offer than the combined elements of the entire rest of the museum.  But maybe that’s just me.  Anyway – Heaven’s Gate & Jim Jones get some exposure.  Jayne Mansfield’s dead & taxidermied chihuahua is in the collection along with a series of stuffed albino animals & some jarred animal “abominations” of the two-headed or 9-legged variety.

All in all – it was worth the $15 each, I’d say, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to anyone.  Mission Cantina & Taco Tuesdays, on the other hand – I recommend without reservation!

Penne with Spicy Garlic Shrimp, Vodka Sauce and Arugula

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

This is a total cheat meal but it was so good, I thought I’d post it anyway.  As is so often the case – last night I found myself with an odd mix of ingredients & the challenge of making a combination of them into something edible.  I had shrimp, pasta, arugula & two half jars of pasta sauce.  I also had something unexpected in my refrigerator – do you see it?

Who is THAT in the upper left corner?

There was a grasshopper in my fridge!  Alive – and he had been there many hours – because I hadn’t opened the fridge all day.  Grasshoppers have been showing up in my kitchen sorta frequently lately which is odd because 1) they never have before & 2) because I just shot a movie called Grasshopper! and since then  – several of us involved with it have been having strange grasshopper encounters.  My boyfriend found one in his air-tight-to-preserve-the-air-conditioning ELEVENTH floor condo.  How would a grasshopper get in there?  Or in my fridge?  One crashed a party I had in July.  Crazy.  Anyway – we got him out & set him free.  Now – back to the pasta:

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Penne with Spicy Garlic Shrimp, Vodka Sauce and Arugula

INGREDIENTS

1/2 jar of Gia Russa Hot Sicilian Pasta Sauce

1/2 jar Bertolli Vodka Sauce

6 cloves garlic

12 shrimp

1/2 box penne pasta

1/2 bag fresh arugula

olive oil

crushed red pepper

S&P

Parmesan or fresh mozzarella – if putting cheese with fish doesn’t make you go mental.

DIRECTIONS

Heat the olive oil & saute the garlic cloves – whole – for about a minute.  Add the shrimp with a tablespoon of crushed red pepper and S&P to taste.  Saute until the shrimp are pink.  Set aside.

I heated the two sauces in a pan & blended them.  I added crushed red pepper to this sauce.

Cook the pasta according to directions.  Drain.  Put pasta on two plates, top with fresh, raw arugula & then some sauce.  Arrange shrimp on top of this & serve.  It is considered a sin to put any cheese on fish – so this dish is best served without Parmesan – but my boyfriend likes cheese – so I added some sliced, fresh mozzarella to his.

Very Spicy Vegetarian Tortilla Soup with Homemade Vegetable Stock

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

My boyfriend doesn’t like to eat very much and I mean that both ways.  I mean – eating is something he seems to do only because he must and – when he must – there are only a few things that strike his fancy.  Among them are pizza (thank God), my pasta with clams, grilled cheese sandwiches, meat of all kinds (it seems) and a host of soups.  Tortilla soup is one of his favorites.  I decided I needed to make him some the other day.  I’d never made it before & I wanted to be able to try it – so I made a vegetarian version.  The other challenge I faced was that I had to make it from ingredients I already had in the house.  It was incredibly hot out & I was too lazy to make a market run.  “Why make a spicy soup on a hot day?” you might ask.  I might respond by saying, “That’s nothing.  I made three shepherd’s pies, a carrot cake & corn chowder this week on a 95 degree day.”  I don’t know that that would answer the question you were really asking – but that’s all I got for ya.

I didn’t have any vegetarian stock or bouillon cubes – so I had to make the stock from scratch, too.   A recipe will follow – but you can do this a zillion ways.  I chose to use what I did because I HAD it.  You might not have all these things or you might choose to use others that you think sound good.  This made a lot of stock – maybe ten cups.  I froze all that I didn’t use in one pint containers that I recycled from past sour cream, mozzarella or cottage cheese etc purchases.  These also make great to-go containers for you to send guests away with leftovers in (pardon that grammar).

This soup really is the result of some creative combining and I think it came out pretty good.  Still – in an ideal world – I would have used fewer canned items in it & gone with fresher options – especially with the cheese.  But the fact that it came out so well – means that you can probably substitute like crazy & still come up with a pretty decent tortilla soup – so do not feel you need to follow this one – either the ingredients or the quantities of each ingredient – with anything resembling loyalty.  I didn’t have any avocado – so mine here isn’t adorned with any – but I recommend you use some.

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Vegetable Stock

INGREDIENTS

Water

a few carrots – chopped into big chunks

a few stalks of celery – chopped into big chunks

1/2 large russet potato – chopped into big chunks

1/2 small head cabbage – chopped into big chunks

1 large shallot – chopped into big chunks

2 jalapenos – chopped into big chunks

several sprigs of fresh Thyme

a handful of fresh cilantro

a handful of fresh sage

a handful of fresh oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

Salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS

Fill a large stock pot with water.  Add all the other ingredients & bring to a boil.  Reduced heat & simmer for 45-60 minutes.  Strain (through cheesecloth if you have it – but this isn’t necessary) into another pan & toss all the ingredients away.  Voila!  You will likely use 4-6 cups or more in this.  Freeze the rest in smaller containers for future use.

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Very Spicy Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

INGREDIENTS

4-5 corn tortillas – cut into thin strips

4-5 corn tortillas – chopped

3 TBS olive oil

1 large onion – diced

2 tomatoes – diced

8 garlic cloves – minced

1/2 russet potato – diced

6 chipotle peppers & their adobo sauce – diced (less if spicy bothers you)

1 15oz can diced tomatoes – fire roasted if you have them (I didn’t – so I used regular)

1 15 oz can of vegetarian refried beans (or you can use garbanzos or other canned white bean)

1 10 3/4oz can Campbell’s Cheddar Cheese Soup (REAL fresh grated cheese – a cup of it – would be MUCH better)

handful of chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp paprika (smoked if you have it – though mine was not)

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp turmeric

Salt & Pepper (1 tsp each – or to taste)

1 cup corn (fresh of the cob is best – but canned or frozen are fine)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

6 cups vegetable broth

1/2 avocado – sliced or diced (for garnish)

1 tomato – finely diced (for garnish)

chopped cilantro (for garnish)

grated cheese (for garnish)

lime wedges (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS

Heat your oven to 350.  Spread the thinly sliced corn tortilla strips in a single layer on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking oil.  Bake the strips 10-15 minutes until they are crispy.  Try not to overcook them (they should not be browned).  Remove from oven & set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large soup stock pot.  Saute the onion & potato over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic for a minute & then add the chopped tortillas and the dried spices (turmeric, thyme, paprika, S&P) and the chopped cilantro.  Stir them in & then add the canned tomatoes, diced tomatoes, beans, corn, chipotle peppers and the vegetable stock (use at least 5 cups – more if you like a thin soup).  Bring to a boil & then add the canned cheese soup.  If using real cheese – add it AFTER the soup has been pureed.

Remove the soup from the heat & allow it to cool enough that it is safe to begin blending it all up.  In smallish batches – blend the soup into a puree.  Never get lazy & try to over-fill the blender – as you are sure to pop the top off & scald yourself.  I go with 1/2 to 2/3 full & put a thick kitchen towel over the top of the blender to assure the top doesn’t fly off & create a hurricane of whipping, boiling soup in my kitchen – and in my face.

Once the soup is all pureed, add the real cheese (if you are using) and the heavy cream.  Simmer this on a medium-low flame – stirring frequently –  until the cheese & cream or fully incorporated.  If the soup is too thick – add more vegetable stock.  If it is too thin – allow it to cook down a bit.  Taste & add S&P – if you desire.

Serve in bowls & garnish with tomato, grated cheese, cilantro, avocado & a few baked corn tortilla strips.  Serve each bowl with a lime wedge to squeeze into the soup – if you desire.

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Spinach Hummus – Harissa-Spiced Hummus – Roasted Broccoli Mousse – Brussels Sprouts & Asparagus Mousse

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

OK – ever get a little carried away at the farmer’s market or even just a random produce aisle – because everything looked so vibrant & delicious or maybe because you were planning on living a healthier & more plant-based-diet lifestyle? Ever find yourself throwing away one item after another as they go bad at their own rates because either 1) you were fucking kidding yourself & you ate Lean Cuisines & frozen pizza all week or 2) you ended up going out to eat more than you anticipated or 3) you just bought so Goddamn much – even a family of yaks couldn’t have gotten through it all?

Me, too. And, I don’t know about you, but I’m not jump-starting my stove pilots with burning hundred dollar bills. Throwing away a $3 avocado or one of those $40 (not really) vine-ripe bullshit tomatoes from one of our “finer” grocers – like Whole “Paycheck” Foods or Gelson’s or your own local way-too-expensive market – really blows! Watching the broccoli lose its color or the spinach get greener (meaning – getting all dark & soggy & funky gross) and your romaine turn to soup – really sucks. I’ve eaten things, folks, and this is fucking TRUE, that I convinced myself were OK to eat because I’d read (in The Diary of Anne Frank) about the molded & otherwise sub par produce etc that Anne Frank had been forced to eat and it wasn’t the food in that Annex that killed her, was it? No, it wasn’t. In case you want to challenge me. And, by the way, that diary of hers will humble you. What an incredible kid. You should read it if you haven’t – and read it again, if you have.

Look at the energy in that kid’s face. Ugh. 😦

Anyway – the fact is – most of us are pretty spoiled & far too fussy about what we consider edible…..yet we eat the infected death McDonald’s serves without batting an eyelash. Ever found a two year old McD’s French Fry in the back seat of your car? It is still a totally pristine French Fry. Hard? Sure. But not a hint of the hideous mold my week-old, raw green beans – in the fridge – displayed this morning.

Anyway – eventually – even WWII fetishists have to admit some stuff is beyond edible. I found myself just today – faced making some very hard decisions. Sadly sage-green-colored broccoli, wilting asparagus, spinach threatening to join the liquid romaine & the aforementioned green beans that I was forced to toss. Brussels sprouts were staring out at me, guilting me, every time I opened the fridge and pretended I wasn’t seeing a bunch of vegetables on the cusp of dying for nothing. Lives squandered because I felt the need to make my last two meals out of a can of petroleum-based nacho cheese sauce, canned jalapenos & homemade corn chips (or home fried – so there was THAT concession to avoiding toxic waste). Do not try that at home, kids. A day spent eating nothing but that gelatinous, movie theater nacho cheese sauce from a can – and a can & a half of pickled jalapenos does things to one’s innards that it takes TRAINING to survive.

I was determined to save these poor vegetative beings from a fate of total waste. “Hmmmmm….hmmmmm,” I thought, scratching my beard.  “I’ll make BLENDED food out of them,” I decided. No pressure now to look pretty on a plate, to maintain an “al dente” texture, to look crisp & healthy & expensive. No! I will make HUMMUS! And hummus I made. Four ways. Actually – two ways. The third & fourth are more of a mousse or pate  – suited to pita – but BETTER SUITED to a bruschetta (crostini), a pizza base or a pasta!

Know that my veggies were not spoiled – but they were headed that way. Look at the pathetic, under-saturated color of this broccoli and then those poor spouts & some asparagus – losing their religion:

But a little roasting – a little steaming – and/or a little sauteing – watch that shit come back to life!

Yes – olive oil, garlic & a little heat puts the pink back in their cheeks, lemme tell you.

So – without further ado – let me spell out what I made & how I made it. A food processor or other motorized blending tool is critical here.

HUMMUS – four ways.  Kinda.

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Spinach Hummus

(3 cups or so)

INGREDIENTS

15 oz can chick peas

4 garlic cloves (less if you don’t LOVE garlic)

4 cups fresh spinach – packed

1/4 cup tahini sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup water (less or more – depending how thick you like your hummus)

1-3 TBS olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Blend. Yup. Blend. Add the water in increments until you get our desired consistency. That’s it. You gotta love hummus!  Serve with HOMEMADE PITA.

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Harissa-Spiced Hummus

INGREDIENTS

15 oz can chick peas

4 garlic cloves (less – or more – to taste)

juice of 1/2 lemon

4 TBS olive oil

1/4 cup tahini sauce

2 TBS (or more) Harissa paste

1 TBS tomato paste (or puree)

Cayenne pepper – a pinch

S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS

Blend the chick peas with 2 TBS of the olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and S&P to taste.

In a separate bowl – whisk the harissa, tomato puree & the last TBS olive oil.

Transfer your hummus to a serving bowl & drizzle with the harissa sauce. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper. Serve!

Serve with HOMEMADE PITA.

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This Broccoli Pesto – and the Brussels Sprouts one – are better served as a bruschetta or crostini than with pita.  They would also toss very well with cooked pasta or serve as a nice base for a pizza.  Go EASY on the salt with these two.

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Roasted Broccoli Mousse

INGREDIENTS

15 oz can WHITE BEANS (or chick peas – I suppose. But this is a cannellini or other white bean recipe)

1/2 lb roasted broccoli (recipe – ingredients & directions – below)

6 garlic cloves (roasted with the broccoli)

1 tsp lemon juice

zest of half a lemon

1/4 cup tahini sauce

S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS

Blend it all (including the ROASTED broccoli from below) in a food processor. Voila!

Roasted Broccoli

1/2 pound broccoli (the same as above – not additionally)

1 TBS crushed red pepper

6 (or less) garlic cloves (the same as above – not additionally)

2 TBS olive oil

scant pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl – toss the broccoli florets, red pepper, olive oil, whole garlic & salt.  Stir to coat the florets.  Arrange the broccoli on a parchment paper-lined cooking sheet being sure to keep each floret from touching the others….otherwise you will get more of a steamed broccoli than the roasted variety you want here.  Roast for 20 minutes or so (they should look a bit charred) & remove from the oven to blend with the remaining ingredients above.

This is best served on toasted bread (crostini) or mixed sparingly with pasta & served with extra Parmesan.  It also works instead of tomato sauce as a pizza layer.

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Brussels Sprouts & Asparagus Mousse

INGREDIENTS

2-3 inch cube of feta cheese

1/2 cup TOASTED nuts – pine or pecan or walnut or almond – your call.  I used pecans.  I’m terrified of PINE MOUTH and avoid pine nuts at all costs.

1/2 cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves

10-15 Brussels Sprouts – depending on their size

6 Asparagus spears – tough ends broken away (video tutorial HERE)

1 bunch Italian parsley

1/2 cup white wine (or water)

zest of 1/2 large lemon

olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Halve the Brussels Sprouts & boil them for three minutes.  Add the asparagus & boil another minute.  Drain.  Heat some oil in a frying pan & saute the sprouts & asparagus until the sprouts begin to brown.  Remove from heat.

In your food processor – blend all the ingredients – including your warmed veggies.

Again – this is best served on toasted bread (crostini) or mixed sparingly with pasta & served with extra Parmesan.  It also works instead of tomato sauce as a pizza layer.

Simple Homemade Pita Bread

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

This was easy because I made the dough in my bread machine.  It can certainly be kneaded by hand & left to rise – but this is a bread machine version.  They cost about $100 on Ebay & if you make pizza & other bread-based things very often – a bread machine is well worth the investment.

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Simple Homemade Pita Bread

make 8 little pitas

Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees.  Place a cookie sheet or pizza stone in the oven while it heats.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups flour – with extra for kneading

1 cup warm water

2 tsp active yeast

2 tsp salt

1 tsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Place the ingredients in the bread machine & put it through the mix, knead & rise process….or do it manually.  Manually – in a large bowl, put the yeast in the warm water & stir until dissolved.  Add the remaining ingredients & work into a sticky dough.  Transfer to a floured surface & knead the dough for 5 or 10 minutes – adding flour as required – until you have a smooth workable dough.  Put the dough in a clean bowl that is either swiped with olive oil or floured & drape with a damp kitchen towel.  Allow it to rise for at least an hour.

When you are ready to bake your pita – on a floured surface – knead your dough gently & divide into eight equal sections.  Roll each out to disk about 7-8 inches across and about 1/4 inch thick.

I baked mine two at a time on a large cookie sheet that was red hot in the 500 degree oven.  I took the cookie sheet out, Palmed two pitas & flopped them onto the hot cookie sheet.  I then took a spray bottle & spritzed them lightly with tap water – and put them in the oven.  They do not need to be turned over in the oven.  Some puffed up – some did not.  Do not over cook them or you end up with a mini pizza crust!

They cook up quickly – 3-4 minutes.  Remove from the oven & serve with some homemade hummus!