Sunday Business Brunch

What do you do when you need to have a work-related meeting on a weekend? You bribe everyone with FOOD. That way, it's more like a meal with some business worked in than something that feels like a day at the office. Yesterday I hosted a business brunch at my house for FoodJiva and put together an easy brunch for the folks.

Something I borrowed from the Barefoot Contessa: Pasta with pesto and peas on a bed of arugula. I used whole wheat pasta, made a quick pesto with basil, garlic, Parmesan and olive oil and tossed it with peas and arugula. Easy.

Another idea borrowed from Ina: the tartine. Egg salad is one of my favorite sandwiches of all time, and this one didn't disappoint. The secret ingredient? Kewpie mayonnaise.

Fresh tomatoes with a drizzle of balsamic and olive oil, sea salt and pepper are the perfect summertime side dish.

Another tartine, but with basil goat cheese, sliced Persian cucumbers and smoked salmon with a bit of dill on top.

Quicktakes: My other blog

Hey ya'll. I'm also writing a blog for FoodJiva.com, the company I work for. Check it out when you get a chance here!

Baco Coma

When I'm on the elliptical machine, my show of choice on the boob tube is none other than "No Reservations." Yes, some may find it cruel to be subjected to visions of a juicy mortadella and cheese sandwich, dripping with fatty juice, being devoured by Anthony Bourdain while I'm working my butt off, but I find it somewhat relaxing and it takes my mind off the whole pain element of working out. Bourdain seems to favor street food, and the episodes that see him chowing down on greasy NY hot dogs or plowing through a salt fish and johnny cake sandwich in St. Maarten are my favorites. Filling, hand-held and simple. Isn't that what real food is?

This is exactly why I'm in love with the baco, created by chef Josef Centeno of Lot 1 in Echo Park. I finally got myself to his place for lunch the other day, along with my friend (who we'll refer to as Mr. Hollow Leg) to try these "global tacos." Made with a type of soft, warm flat bread and an array of fillings, they're wrapped in foil and meant to eaten with your hands. And in true street-food fashion, they're delightfully messy. Mr. Hollow Leg and I both started with "The Baco," (a.k.a. the original), which is filled with a mound of carnitas and bits of fried pork belly and cabbage and a spicy aioli. It was rich and savory and I thoroughly enjoyed every bite.

I opted for the vegetable baco as my second course while Mr. Hollow Leg went for the one with lamb sausage and a potato croquette stuffed inside. Mine had fried Japanese eggplant and a mess of pickled vegetables, which I loved. However, half-way through it, I was starting to feel very full; my eyes are clearly bigger than my stomach (though if I continue eating like this, it will soon catch up!). My dining companion, on the other hand, easily ate his lamb and potato baco, loving every bite.

We'd both gotten the lentil and farro side salad, and somehow I managed to eat most of mine while Mr. HL ate all of his. I have a weakness for farro, one of my favorite grains, and Josef makes his salad very much like I make my farro salad, with lots of vinegar and a few mild spices. Delicious as it was, at this point I was suffering from major food overload.

But my friend was gung-ho for dessert. Considering that food just seems to go into his mouth and dissipate miraculously into thin air, I can understand why. Of course he ordered not one, but two desserts: the chocolate mousse with sea salt and olive oil, and the strawberry and rhubarb crumble. I had about two bites of the mousse, which was very good and more enjoyable than I remembered it being the first time I tried it (before, the olive oil seemed a bit much but this time it really worked).

I also had about two bites of the crumble, which was absolutely lovely. The crumbly, buttery topping, the melting ice cream, the perfectly tart rhubarb against the sweet strawberries...how can one resist? But, in spite of my best efforts, I could not come close to finishing it. As my friend happily dug into the crumble, I was half way into my baco coma. Not a bad place to be, if you ask me.

Quicktakes: Tuna Steaks with Corn Relish

I love fresh-cut corn, especially in salsas. The way I make mine is by shearing the corn straight off the cob into a saute pan, cooking it for a few minutes (just to get rid of that sometimes cloying bite of sweet corn) then mixing it with some sliced cherry tomatoes, onion, cilantro, basil, chopped pickled jalapenos, olive oil and just a touch of the pickled jalapeno juice (<--secret ingredient!). It's perfect on top of a seared tuna steak or by itself with tortilla chips. This, along with some sliced Persian cucumbers, made for a quick and delicious lunch the other day.

Bashan Restaurant, Glendale

Though Bashan is technically in Glendale, it's so close to the main drag in Montrose that no one would fault you for saying it was there. In fact, it's probably more appealing to say Montrose, the town known for it's cute little downtown strip of cafes, boutiques and quaint small town atmosphere.

My friend and I decided to get to Bashan a bit early so we could walk around Honolulu Street, the aforementioned main street in Montrose. We stopped by Three Drunken Goats for a quick drink before dinner, and chose the Juve Y Camps Cava Rosada, an absolutely lovely sparkling Pinot Noir. It was light, refreshing and perfect for this balmy summer evening. If anyone knows where I can buy this directly, please advise!

We then headed to Bashan, a restaurant that has been praised heavily by foodies and critics alike. We arrived right on time for our 8 p.m. reservation and were seated promptly. A few minutes later, our waitress brought each of us a warm roll. Soft on the inside, chewy and a bit crusty on the outside, this roll is the kind of bread I dream about on a regular basis. It was a mild sourdough and with a bit of butter, it was heaven.

Next up was a curious amuse bouche. The waitress explained it as a melon consomme, with a bit of curry oil, but to me and my dinner companion, it just tasted like melon juice. There were bits of something floating around in it, though I could not determine what it was. The juice was refreshing, but nothing really special.

For appetizers, we shared two salads: a green salad with jicama, tomatoes (yay!), truffle oil, red onions and blood oranges. It was simple and flavorful and the flavor combinations worked perfectly. To those who think it's easy to make a great salad, let me be the first to disagree. But Chef Bashan knows how to create a memorable one.

Our second appetizer was, in a word, divine. It was the burrata and bresaola salad with parsnips, dates, endive and pistachios. The bresaola was formed into a little cup, which cradled the creamy burrata. It sat on top of a shredded parsnip slaw, which was a discovery for me. I've never eaten parsnips raw - what wonderful flavor and texture! The dressing had bits of shallots and perfectly complimented the salad. Again, it takes some mad skills to take a bunch of vegetables and make something profound from them. This is one of those profound dishes.

For dinner, my friend had the Alaskan halibut with pea puree and fava beans with langostines. The verdict was that while the langostine/fava bean/onion hash on the side was fabulous, the halibut - while perfectly cooked - was on the bland side. I took a bite and have to agree, though a bit of salt would've fixed it right up.

I had the dry aged NY steak with truffled mushroom puree and vegetables. I have to admit I was surprised to see it served sliced like this; I much prefer cutting my own steak, especially one that is so high in quality. The steak itself was very good, though a bit gristley on one side. The snap peas, carrots and onions were perfectly cooked and lovely. If I had to (humbly) make a suggestion to the chef, it would be to please serve the meat in one piece. Otherwise, it was very good.

If we had to pick a winner for the night, it would be a toss up between the burrata and this, the sticky toffee and peanut butter pudding. Both my friend and I agreed that this is one of the best desserts we'd ever had, period. The warm pudding and caramel sauce was served with cold vanilla ice cream and salted peanuts, and every bite was a divine experience. Even though we were quite full, I think we could have eaten another one of these. The whole meal was fantastic, but this dessert is enough reason to go back to Bashan. Prices are a bit steep (average $27 for an entree), but they have some well-priced wines by the glass and bottle, so in the end it didn't end up costing as much as we thought.

Constant Craving

Lately I've been craving burgers. But not just any burger: a medium-rare, 15% fat (for flavor!), avocado cheeseburger on a bun that's not too dense but firm enough to hold a good, juicy burger. After hemming and hawing for days on where to get one - too expensive! bad reviews! too greasy! - I decided to take matters into my own hands and just make the damn thing myself. I got some cracked wheat buns, fresh ground meat, an avocado, some cheese, onions and tomato and cooked up the perfect burger (accompanied by some baked fries). It was awesome.

Completely off topic: This is Cory, my sister's cat. I'm babysitting while my sis and her hub are in Japan. This is what she does all day. She cares not nor knows nothing of my burger adventure. All she cares about is sleep, sleep, sleep and Fancy Feast.

M Cafe and the Crazy Spitting Lunatic

Again I apologize for the Blackberry photo, but I didn't have my D40 with me and just had to snap an image of this absolutely gorgeous lunch. Today I tried M Cafe for the first time (no, I don't live in a cave) and now get what all the fuss is about. I had the tuna burger, which had the most delectable pickled onions on top, along with sliced avocado and sprouts - delicious! And the beautiful wine-colored quinoa you see is stained by the red beets mixed into the grains. The only damper on lunch was a random crazy type who happened upon the patio of M Cafe and proclaimed that he wanted to kill people. He then spat on us, no joke. The staff took the situation seriously (as well they should) and called the po-po. But the loopty loop was gone before they arrived. No harm, no foul.

By the time I dug into my slice of vegan chocolate cake from M Cafe that my lunch companion so nicely insisted on buying for me, I'd long since forgotten about the spitting incident. In fact, I'm still lost in a luscious chocolate dream, it was SO rich and fabulous. Mmmmmmm Cafe!

Palate Food + Wine

First of all, my photos do no justice to the food at Palate Food + Wine. I forgot my camera and had to use my Blackberry to take these. But let me assure you, the food was absolutely FABULOUS. We shared the gnocchi (above), which was tossed in a light butter sauce with fava beans. It was light as a cloud and delicious.

Also go the barracuda with octopus which was in a light tomato sauce with white beans. There was a fantastic crust on the barracuda, and the creamy beans and light sauce were the perfect match for the fish. The octopus was tender and flavorful and I could have eaten three more of these!!

We each picked a cheese from their selection: one goat and two cows. I wish I could recall the names of each, but I cannot. They were served with a sweet chili sauce, some baked grapes and what I think was an apple compote. The goat (white triangle) was our favorite, but we enjoyed all of the cheeses we sampled.

One of my favorites of the evening was the free bread "basket." The cheese bread was crusty and really cheesy, and it was served with homemade butter (!!), which was dotted with paper-thin radishes and a few sprigs of dill.

The group favorite was the duck rilette. It was rich and meaty, with a hint of tarragon (at first I swore it was shiso leaves, but the waiter checked with the chef and said it was tarragon). We literally scraped the bottom of this jar with our knives. At $5 a jar, you can't get a better deal in town. If you were just going to sit at the bar and have a drink, order one of these and some bread and two of you would be set for the evening. But I encourage you to try everything on the Palate Food + Wine menu, it was THAT good. Everything was perfectly seasoned and the service was spot-on. I will definitely be back very soon.