Cook: Radicchio, Fennel, and Arugula Salad with Roquefort and Walnuts Recipe

This is a winning recipe that J and I tried recently from epicurious.  The flavors and textures come together nicely in this delicate and complex salad.  It is important to slice the fennel as thin as possible with a sharp knife - this is probably the most time consuming step - but is worth the effort! Alternately, you could use a mandoline, but we don't have one.  :)

Ingredients:

• 6 cups shredded radicchio (about 3/4 pound)
• 2 cups thinly sliced fennel bulb* (paper-thin)
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, cooled and chopped
• 2/3 cup crumbled Roquefort (about 3 oz) / (you can substitute other blue cheese)
• 6 cups arugula, (pre-washed and dried, we used packaged baby arugula)

For Dressing

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Bake: Caramel Apple Tart

The other night, J and I invited our new friends Jorge and Angelica over for dinner. We decided to challenge ourselves by cooking up a new menu - from start to finish - everything we made was something we had never tried before. J masterfully created a delightful short rib main course, and together we created an incredibly complex yet comforting arugula, radicchio, fennel, blue cheese and walnut salad (those recipes will be posted soon, so keep coming back and checking the blog!) For dessert, I made this caramel apple tart which is a recipe from Susan Spungen.

Fall is my favorite season.  Being a native New Englander, I find the changing colors of the leaves and the cool and crisp air incredibly romantic and beautiful. People who aren't form the Northeast may find the idea of leaf peeping silly, but I don't find it silly at all. When I look out at a landscape awash in red, gold, and flame orange - a magical feeling comes over me and I think to myself, lucky lucky me. Life is so full of beauty.

Must Eat: Si Laa, Los Angeles, CA

One recent fall evening, before heading out to an event at the museum (LACMA), we decided to get some thai food.  I found the highest rated Thai restaurant in mid-city using yelp, Si Laa on Robertson Blvd.  When we sat down, our waitress came and asked us if it was our first visit. It was, so she  recommend some dishes.  Everything was spot on and delicious. I really loved this meal. This is what we tried.  I would eat it all again and am already looking forward to my return trip!

Cook: A Twist on the Classic: Variations of Pepperoni Pizza

I've been posting a bunch of pizza recipes recently.  (FYI - we do cook non-pizza dinners here in the FJ household and I'll be posting some other recipes soon :)  After the last non-meat (turkey bacon per Steph's request) pizza post, I wanted to return to a classic. Pepperoni.

I'll admit. I never was much a fan of the chain restaurant style pepperoni pizza. But after mixing up some higher quality pepperoni (nothing too fancy, I just got it at Trader Joe's) with some hot pepper, pizza sauce, good cheese and fresh basil - I must say, I'm a convert. Of all the pizzas we've made so far, the Pepperoni variations are my favorite.

Bloc Party - Signs

After a bit of a hiatus, Music monday is back! I'd love to know what readers are listening to! Please share songs on your current playlist below! :)

Cook: Fig, Turkey Bacon and Goat Cheese Pizza

Ever since I got my pizza stone, and pizza peel - I've been making pizza about once a week.  It's fun to come up with new combinations - I no longer feel the need to follow any recipes, I just think of something that inspires me and go for it!

Figs have been in season, so I've been having a lot of fun with putting them on pizza. When you add them at the end for about 1-2 minutes, they become nicely caramelized.

This week's pizza recipe was for my friend Steph. She is new to pizza making, so I asked her to bring over some toppings she'd like to see on her pizza. She doesn't eat meat, so she brought over some turkey bacon to go along with some fresh figs she had picked up that morning at the Santa Monica farmer's market. She also brought some goat cheese and arugula. 

Must Eat: Meals by Genet, Los Angeles, CA

Every now and then, I crave Ethopian Food. Luckily for me,  Little Ethopia is only a short drive away.  Although J and I have enjoyed every meal we've had on Fairfax (we've tried 3 different restaurants so far), Meals by Genet is our favorite. The restaurant has a nice ambiance - cozy and candlelit. We came with J's family, who was visiting from Canada, and sat at a round table - making it easy to converse, as well as eat, from our communal injera (Ethopian bread) topped with delightful meats and vegetables and sauces.