Cook: Scarpetta Inspired Tomato and Basil Pasta

This is one of J's recipe and it is AWESOME. This is seriously one of the most delicious pasta recipes that I've eaten.  The original can be found at Scarpetta Restaurant in Beverly Hills, but J's version is pretty close.  J derived his recipe from this Serious Eats post, and this Grubstreet post.  

Eat LA: Comme Ca Burger Night

Since my last post featured the burger at Plan Check, I felt I should also share my impressions of the Comme Ca Burger for comparison. For my prior review about the Father's Office burger, click here.

Tuesday night is Burger Night at Comme Ca and the menu of high end, fancy burgers, includes: 

• Comme Ca Burger - $18
• Swiss Melt Burger - $18 - Angus beef, gruyere cheese, mushrooms, butter lettuce, crispy onion rings, french fries and garlic aioli
• Black and Blue Burger - $18 - Angus beef, bleu cheese, red onion, bacon, french fries and garlic aioli
• Lamb Merguez Burger - $16 - Lamb Sausage, roasted peppers and caramelized onions, arugula on ciabatta bun, french fries, harissa aioli
• Breakfast Burger - $14 - house made pork sausage, egg sunny side up, white gravy, on an English muffin, lyonnaise potato
• CCVB (Comme Ca Veggie Burger) - $14 - cashew and pine nuts, garbanzo bean, ajuwan-tomato jam on tofu bun, baby kale and spinach salad.

On this particular evening, our party ordered three burgers - the Comme Ca Burger (which my friend Steph is taking a photo of above), Swiss Melt burger and the Breakfast Burger (pictured below).  I ordered the breakfast burger and while it was good, everything about it just seemed a bit too dense and heavy to me. If I could recreate it, I would pair the sausage with a fluffier bun.  I had a bite of J's swiss melt burger which was pretty good, but I still favor Father's office or Plan Check. 

What is your favorite Burger in LA?

Comme Ca
French Brasserie by Chef David Myers
8479 Melrose Avenue
West Hollywood, CA. 90069
(323) 782-1104
www.commecarestaurant.com

Must Eat: Plan Check Kitchen + Bar, Los Angeles

There's quite a bit of debate in LA regarding who has the "best burger".  J and I are fans of the famous father's office burger. We also enjoy the burger at Rustic Canyon and the options at Comme Ca.   However, recently, we came across a new favorite - the "Chefs Favorite Burger" -  at the hip new spot for "Modern American Comfort Food" on Sawtelle Blvd -  Plan Check.  

The "Chef's Favorite Burger" consists of "akaushi red wagyu beef, cheese two ways, bacon two ways, ketchup leather, sunny fried egg and hot sauce."- $12.  It is not for the faint of heart - as you can see from the photo above, this is quite a decadent burger.  If the above combinations do catch your fancy, they also offer the Plan Check Burger, and the Blueprint Burger.  The menu has a number of tasty snacks and apps, sides/salads and dishes to choose from. 

Bake: DIY Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcakes

A year ago, my friend Shannon requested that I bake red velvet cake for dessert for her birthday. I  received a lot of rave reviews about that recipe. This year, Shannon requested red velvet for her birthday again.  I figured I'd mix things up a bit and try this recipe. It is a totally different approach to red velvet cake. This recipe contains significantly more cocoa and rather than vinegar for the twang, buttermilk.  Shannon liked it just as much. I'm on the fence. J prefers the one from last year. If you make these let me know, what do you think?

Recipe credit goes to Carrot Top Mom! I love her tip about using a ziplop bag with corner tip cut off as a piping bag for the frosting! It worked like a charm. The only modification I made was to reduce the red food coloring to just 2/3 of a bottle.  For the recipe, please visit:
http://www.carrottopmom.com/?p=290

Must Eat: Blockheads Snow Cream, Los Angeles, CA

This is probably the most exciting dessert I've eaten in the past year! The first time I tried Blockhead Shaved Ice, I literally became giddy with excitement. It is THAT good. Blockheads Shavery came up with an interesting twist on Hawaiian shave ice by adding ice cream. The resulting "snow cream" is a light, yet rich, icy treat!  I think it's absolutely brilliant.