Dinner Party – 3.6.10 – Good Wine & Food, Good Friends, Good Times

I’ve come to realize the best moments in life occur when you’re sitting around a table with good friends and a bottle of wine. There really is nothing better.

Last weekend, I had one of these moments with 5 friends – a group we have since dubbed “The Potato Ball Crew” (i.e. “the PBC”). The rain may have been pouring last Saturday, but our wine may have been pouring harder. Six people, nine bottles of wine and a lot of good food…Safe to say, it was a good night.

These wines paired well with our saliva.

Our hostess for the night, Shelley (of Vinovents, who is now posting on CitySipper), was gracious enough to let us use her beautiful home for these festivities. Our dinner was rather hearty considering it was completely vegetarian; I might have I filled myself up on our delicious cheese platter with its chunks of brie and Stilton.

Although all the food was fantastic (minus my contribution to this classy potluck of Trader Joe’s frozen foods – I didn’t have time to cook!), my favorite dishes of the night were a unique edamame hummus (for which I think I’ll have to steal the recipe in the near future) and Shelley’s delicious farro salad. The fresh green beans and toasted hazelnuts were reminiscent of the green beans and walnuts at Petrossian, and the fried shallots were a savory addition to the dish. I enjoyed that salad so much, I’ve included the recipe below. I was told the total prep time of 45 minutes was misleading, but I personally think I was worth the effort.

To end: Thanks to my fellow Potato Ballers for a great night. I had a fantastically glorious time, and can’t wait for the next round!

Eat our balls!

———-

Farro and Green Bean Salad
From: Food & Wine Magazine, May 2006

TOTAL TIME: 45 MIN

Ingredients:

* 1 cup farro (7 ounces)
* Water
* Salt
* 6 ounces thin green beans
* 1 cup pure olive oil, for frying
* 4 large shallots—3 thinly sliced, 1 minced
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 3 cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
* 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
* 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
* 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 3 tablespoons salted toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
* Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, cover the farro with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover, remove from the heat and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain the farro and return it to the pan. Add 2 more cups of water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cook the farro over high heat until al dente, about 10 minutes; drain well.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the green beans until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes; drain. Rinse the beans under cold water and pat dry.
3. Heat the pure olive oil in a medium saucepan. In a small bowl, toss the sliced shallots with the flour, separating them into rings. Transfer the shallots to a strainer and tap off the excess flour. Add the shallots to the hot oil and fry over high heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried shallots to paper towels to drain thoroughly; season lightly with salt.
4. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the oil from the saucepan. Add the mushrooms and cook over high heat, stirring, until browned. Transfer to a plate.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk the sherry and balsamic vinegars with the minced shallot, garlic and thyme. Whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the farro, green beans, hazelnuts and three-fourths of the fried shallots and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a platter or shallow bowl. Garnish with the remaining fried shallots and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

 

Cooking with Fel – 2.20.10 – When I Say “Cous”, You Say “Cous”

Just this past week, I’ve become obsessed with couscous and quinoa. Like, totally obsessed. I think it’s their texture – the seediness of quinoa, the globular grains of coucous – I just can’t get enough!

So when I decided to cook this weekend and found a recipe for a quinoa salad, I knew I had to make it. All the fresh veggies were on sale at the local ethnic market for ridiculous prices – it was A SIGN. (Side tangent: I bought a bunch of radishes, a handful of parsley, a large cucumber, half a pound of green beans and two lemons for a little over $1.50. How this market makes money, I have no idea.) Sadly, while scouring the aisles, I realized they didn’t carry quinoa, but they did carry Israeli couscous (the larger sized ones of the various types available) and I decided to just swap the two.

Just a note: It’s probably not a good idea to make this too far in advance. After an extended period of storage, the red wine vinegar from the pickled radishes start to seep into the couscous. Otherwise, it’s great if you’re looking for a light, fresh salad to dive into.

Couscous Salad with Pickled Radishes and Feta
Modified From: Quinoa Salad with Pickled Radishes and Feta by Food & Wine Magazine, July 2008

ACTIVE: 30 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 15 MIN

Ingredients:

* 1 cup red wine vinegar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
* 4 medium radishes, very thinly sliced
* 1/2 pound thin green beans
* 1 cup toasted Israeli couscous
* 1 large English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
* 3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 6 ounces Greek feta cheese, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the red wine vinegar to a simmer with the sugar. Remove from the heat and add the radish slices. Let stand until cool, about 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan of salted boiling water, blanch the green beans until they are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse the beans under cold water until cool. Pat the beans dry and cut them into 1 1/2-inch lengths.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the couscous, cover and simmer over low heat until all of the water has been absorbed. Uncover and let stand until cool.
4. In a medium bowl, toss the cucumber with 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the couscous with the parsley, lemon juice and the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Drain the radishes and add them to the couscous, along with the beans, cucumber and feta. Toss well and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

 

Cooking with Fel – 1.3.09 – Frittata FAIL.

I have to write a little background bio before I get into my first FAIL of 2010.

Before you continue reading, please believe me when I say, “I CAN COOK”.

I seriously can. I promise.

When I was a wee UCLA bruin, living in my beloved apartment in Westwood, I cooked often. My business fraternity would have periodic cook-off competitions – I participated in two; I placed in both. I’ve made tiramisu from scratch (lady fingers included). I’ve prepared tri-tip roasts large enough to feed a pledge class (maybe even two). I’ve cooked Thanksgiving dinner for the past three years (minus the turkey this past year). I KNOW I CAN COOK.

That said, please don’t judge me on this post. I’ll admit today was a total cooking failure…but I can cook! I promise!

———-

When I woke up this morning, I decided: It’s 2010 now! It’s a year of action and change and awesomeness! I am going to cook a frittata and take pictures and post it on The Food Ledger and be a food blogger and this is going to rock!!

…Uh, not quite.

First off, I haven’t seriously cooked since college (some 2.5 years ago) so my skills are a bit rusty, to say the least. Excluding the annual Thanksgiving dinner, how often do I touch a stove during the year? I’ll give you a hint: I can probably count on one hand. Definitely on two. (Strike one.)

Secondly, I’ve never made a frittata before. I’ve never used a cast iron skillet before. I’ve never used a cast iron skillet to make a frittata before. I had no idea what I was doing. My onions turned out quite nicely, but the potatoes were undercooked and kept sticking to the skillet and my eggs didn’t rise as nicely as they were supposed to. Not quite the perfect frittata I envisioned. (Strike two.)

Lastly…Who am I kidding? I may be able to cook but I am in no way a chef. Things don’t come out pretty with me; food comes out on a plate, a little lopsided but tasting the way it should. But that’s not what pretty food blogs look like…Pretty food blogs are, well, pretty. I tried making three potatoes look artsy today and let me just say, it’s hard making food look pretty. I can’t even make my failed frittata look appetizing. *tears* (Strike three.)

…So I guess you can argue that I was doomed from the beginning. I claim I was just overly ambitious.

In the end, I really can’t consider it a total failure. It actually tasted okay (minus the overly pungent gorgonzola I added last minute). Plus, this gives me my first tangible resolution of 2010:

Resolution #1: Make an awesome, beautiful frittata by the end of the year.

Now onto the recipe and pictures:

Potato and Caramelized Onion Frittata with Gorgonzola Recipe
From: The Balsamic Vinegar Cookbook by Meesha Halm

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

Caramelized Onions:
* 2 Tablespoons butter, unsalted
* 2 large yellow onion, cut 1/8 inch thick
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 dash freshly ground black pepper
* 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Frittata:
* 5 medium red potatoes, unpeeled
* 2 Tablespoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon salt, divided
* 3/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
* 10 large eggs
* 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
* 2 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Preparation:
To make the caramelized onions:
In a medium nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring often to avoid scorching, until the onions are very soft and deep golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and sugar and cook until the vinegar is reduced to a glaze, about 1 minute. Keep the onions warm. (The onions can be prepared up to three days ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat before using.)

To prepare frittata:
Parboil potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool enough to handle. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices, then chop coarsely.

In a 9- to 10-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, uncovered, turning the potatoes occasionally, until they are browned and tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Spread the potatoes as evenly as possible in the skillet.

Position the broiler rack about 6 inches from the source of heat and preheat the broiler. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, rosemary, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper until well-combined. Pour over the potatoes and reduce the heat to medium-low. Using a rubber spatula, lift up the cooked part of the frittata and tilt the skillet to allow the uncooked eggs to run underneath. Continue cooking, occasionally lifting the frittata and tilting the skillet as described until the top is almost set, approximately 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the Gorgonzola cheese. Broil until the frittata is puffed and the top is set, approximately 1 minute.

To serve, spread the top of the frittata with the warm onions and cut into wedges. Serve hot or warm.

Yield: 6 servings

 

HPFY09 (i.e. Holiday Party, Fiscal Year 09) – 12.18.09 – An Early Xmas

Christmas Day is a day filled with presents, with tables overflowing with food, with family and holiday cheer…

…Well, not quite.  Strange as it sounds, my family hasn’t really celebrated Christmas for past ten years or so. No Christmas tree, no gift exchange, no feasts – we just treat it as another day at home. This year was no exception; especially since we spent most of this week in Vegas for a family reunion, today is a day of recovery rather than festivity.

Although today may not be as eventful for me as it is for you, don’t worry – I got my holiday cheer on last week. One of my managers was nice enough to invite us over to his house for a little holiday get together and his wife put together one of the most impressive spreads I’ve seen in a while.

(Gingerbread men and gumdrops – oh my!)

Everything was basically made from scratch, from the crispy wonton skins filled with savory sausage to the perfectly decorated tiramisu cheesecake. The mac and cheese was cheesy, the shrimp were coated in a lick-your-fingers spice rub…There was a lot of good grubbing going on.

So like I said, I already got my holiday cheer this December and I hope all of you are getting yours now too!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!

 

TGFY09 (i.e. Thanksgiving, Fiscal Year 2009)

Things I’m thankful for:

1. That I now have a blog (even with all its stupid CSS glitches) that I can post stuff like this on.
2. That I’ve been able to fight a good fight against my impending food coma (or else these sentences may not be as coherent as they otherwise would be).

Okay, that was totally a “things I’m thankful for” cop-out, but the writing isn’t the point of this post – I just wanted to post TGFY09 pics.

Just as some background: My brother and I have been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the past couple of years because…well…my mom hates to cook. Plus, she has this health freak thing where she never follows the recipe because it has “too much (blank) in it” (e.g.  butter, sugar, salt, fat, etc. – all the stuff that makes food delicious). Thus, we usually take over so she’ll never know how unhealthy our Thanksgiving dinner really is.

This year, she wanted to cook. The brother and I got bored and ended up cooking all the sides anyway, but mom was in charge of the bird. We were worried – we shouldn’t have been. Her turkey blew TGFY07 and TGFY08 turkeys out of the water. No competition.

See that? That’s a fine looking turkey.

Anyway, hope everyone else’s Thanksgiving spreads were as good (and filling!) as mine. Now to give in to the tryptophan…

 

(For those looking for a good dry-brined turkey recipe, refer to the LA Times)