Must Eat: Happy Hour @ Chaya Venice

Chaya Venice is one of our favorite spots for happy hour. One important reason is one that we can actually make it there after work, as it is every night (that's right -Monday through Sunday) from 5pm to close (12am M-Sat, 10pm Sun) as long as you sit in the bar section. The second reason is because the food is actually pretty good! Sushi starts at $4 and nothing on the menu is >$13 - making it a good value as well. 

tuna tartare, spicy shrimp sushi roll, beet salad

one of our favorites- the tuna tartar!

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding!

Chaya Venice
110 Navy Street (on corner of Navy and Main St)
Venice, CA. 90291
310-396-1179
http://www.thechaya.com/venice/index.html

Listen: James Blake - Limit to Your Love

I decided I'm going to try to start posting music that I like on Mondays, because I like the way "Music Mondays" sounds.  This also gives my readers something to look forward to at the start of each week.

My friend Gary Ventura (who happens to be an awesome photographer) introduced me to James Blake this past weekend.  Pretty awesome. Check it out!

Bake: Sunday Strawberry Bread

This is one of my favorite quick breads to make. Strawberries were on sale last week at Vons for $1.88 a pound so I took the opportunity to buy some.  My recipe is a healthier - less sugar and oil (and in my opinion, tastier!) version of the strawberry bread on allrecipes. As some of you may have noticed, I pretty much never follow a recipe as is, but modify it to my liking

Delicious LA Strawberry Bread Recipe 

Makes 2 loaves, or 24 servings. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb strawberries, stems removed and sliced (approx 3 1/2 cups)
• 3 cups flour
• 1.5 cups white sugar 
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 eggs, beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour (or spray PAM) 2 9x5 in loaf pans (I only had one so I made one loaf, and 12 muffins)
2. Slice strawberries and place in medium sized bowl, sprinkle lightly wiht sugar, and set aside while preparing bread mixture
3. Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in a large bowl, mix well
4. Whisk eggs, oil and vanilla in a separate bowl and combine with strawberries
5. Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture, blending until dry ingredients are just moistened (do not over-mix! This will affect the texture of your bread!!!). Batter will be dense and sticky.
6. Divide batter into pans or muffin tins
7. Bake bread loaf for 45-50 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes until done. Let cool in pans for 10 min on wire rack. Then take loaves out to cool completely. 

Cook: FJ Steak Dinner #2 - sides = grilled portabella, roasted kale

Last night, we defrosted the remaining steaks that we bought the previous week at Costco, and made a bunch of new sides to go with it!  We did grilled red peppers again (one of our favorite go to vegetable sides!) but mixed it up with portabella mushrooms and kale.

Grilled portabella caps:  (serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 2 portabella caps
• 1/8 cup olive oil (other recipes recommend 1/4 c canola)
• 3 chopped garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix the above ingredients together
2. wash portabella caps and remove stems, blot dry
3. place portabella caps gills side up in dish and pour marinade over.
4. Let marinate for 1 hour
5. Grill for 10 min

Roasted Kale  with Sea Salt and Vinegar
(Makes 2-4 servings of kale chips (we love to eat vegetables, so this may in fact serve more!) recipe adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen which shows step by step instructions)

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches of kale
• 1 to 2 tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil to toss kale in.
• 2 tablespoon vinegar (we used sherry vinegar, but any vinegar you like the flavor of will work)
• sea salt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300F/150C. 
2. Cut away inner ribs from each kale leaf and discard, then tear the kale leaves into same-size pieces. Wash torn kale pieces and spin dry in a salad spinner or dry with paper towels until they're very dry.
3. Put kale pieces into a large Ziploc bag (or use a bowl if you don't mind getting your hands oily.) Add half of the olive oil, seal bag, and squeeze the bag so the oil gets distributed evenly on the kale pieces. Add the other half of oil and squeeze the bag more, until all kale pieces are evenly coated with oil and slightly "massaged."
4. Open the Ziploc bag and sprinkle the sherry vinegar over the kale leaves, then seal bag and shake to spread the vinegar out over all the leaves . Add a salt to taste. 
5. Arrange kale leaves in a single layer on a baking sheet, then roast until they are mostly crisp, about 35 minutes. We checked every 10 minutes or so and turned some pieces over. We didn't mind if there were still some softer parts on some of the kale leaves as we like the combination of crisp and softer parts.
6. When chips are done to your liking, (sprinkle with salt if still needed) and eat immediately.

Cook: Ginger Scones, Roasted Red Pepper Frittata & Mimosa Brunch!

Here are some brunch recipes to try this weekend!
Last weekend, F&J teamed up with S&A for a sunday funday of cooking! We started out with a delicious brunch. On the menu was:

• Lemon Ginger Scones by S
• Roasted Red Pepper Frittata by J
• Papaya and Blueberry (F's favorite combo)
• Mimosas

The recipe for Lemony (S added the zest of an entire lemon!) Ginger Scones is from simplyrecipes.

Makes 12 scones.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour (400 g)
• 3/4 cup sugar (160 g)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup candied ginger (chopped into 1/4-inch pieces or smaller) (3 1/2 ounces or 110 g)
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 3/4 cup buttermilk* (200 ml)
• 10 Tbsp (5 ounces, 140 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp coarse sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (or 200°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. (I think we sprayed the pan instead)
2. In a large bowl vigorously whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the candied ginger, lemon zest, and fresh ginger until evenly mixed.
3. Create a well in the center of the flour, pour in the melted butter and the buttermilk. Gently mix with a wooden spoon until the flour mixture is just moistened. Don't over-mix! The mixture should look very shaggy.
4. Divide the mixture into two balls, and flatten each onto a floured surface into a 1-inch thick, 6-inch wide circle. Slice each round into 6 wedges. Transfer to the parchment paper-lined baking sheet, spacing at least an inch apart. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
5. Bake at 400°F (or 200°C) for 18-20 minutes. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes before eating.
6. To store, allow first to cool to room temperature, then seal in a freezer bag   

J's Sunday Mushroom and Red Pepper Frittata (he modified it from Alton Brown's version)

Ingredients 

• 8 eggs, beaten  
• Bit of Cream/Milk 
• 1-ounce Parmesan, grated 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
• Pinch salt 
• 1 teaspoon butter 
• 1 chopped onion 
• Sliced mushrooms  (J used 1/2 lb)
• Roasted red peppers (J used 2 whole peppers)
• Bacon or Ham (optional)  - J's version was vegetarian)
• 1 tablespoon chopped basil or parsley leaves 

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to broil setting. 
2. If using bacon, pre-cook and set aside. Roast red peppers on bbq (or in oven) slice and set aside. 
3. In medium size bowl, using a fork, blend together eggs, Cream/Milk, Parmesan, pepper, and salt.
4. Heat 8-inch non-stick, oven safe saute pan over medium high heat. Add butter to pan and melt. Saute mushrooms and onions. Add peppers and bacon, then pour egg mixture into pan and stir with rubber spatula. Keep egg moving so it doesn’t set; Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the egg mixture has set on the bottom and begins to set up on top. 
5. Sprinkle with parsley or basil, grate some parmesan on top. 
6. Place pan into oven and broil for 3 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned and fluffy. 
7. Remove from pan and cut into 6 servings. Serve immediately (with crusty bread, optional).  

Mimosas - super easy, 1/4 part orange juice, 3/4 part Asti!

Cook: Delicious LA Red Velvet Cake

I finally did it!!! After eating dozens of red velvet cupcakes / slices of cake over the past 10 years, and making it from mixes (Sprinkles was the best), I finally decided to make it from scratch. The stakes were high, since I have judged and rated so many other versions - most which fell short of my expectations.

I started by doing research. I found all of the top rated recipes on the web, and read through the reviews until I picked what I felt was the most promising version. The winner was the family recipe from Pinch My Salt blog. I followed her recipe more or less, but made a few modifications. Here is the original recipe, below is my adaptation.

So - what did I think? Well, it's a bit awkward to judge my own baking, but suffice to say, I'm pretty happy with how things turned out, and my friends seem to enjoy it as well. (J gave it an "A'!) The cake was moist and light, not too dense nor dry (my most common complaints with RVC). The flavor was delicate with a subtle suggestion of chocolate and buttermilk. The cream cheese frosting was a nice compliment. If I make it again, I may try to increase the cocoa to 3 tablespoons and decrease the red food coloring to 1.5 oz (1 1/2 bottles), but this recipe is very solid, and definitely a keeper!

Delicious LA Red Velvet Cake:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour (you can also use 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 oz red food coloring (2 entire bottles!!!)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour three 8-inch round cake pans.
2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps; set aside. (I used a small whisk)
4. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add the buttermilk.
5. Gradually beat in the flour mixture until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
6. Make sure you have cake pans buttered, floured, and nearby. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. It will fizz! Add to the cake batter and stir well to combine.
7. Working quickly, divide batter evenly between the cake pans and place them in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes for 3 pans. Check early, cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. To remove the cakes from the pan, place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, then gently lift the pan.
9. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.
10. Frost with buttercream or cream cheese icing (recipe below).

Recipe Notes: *Sift cake flour once before measuring, then sift again with the other dry ingredients per recipe instructions. Wear an apron and be careful with the red food coloring–it will stain! As you’re mixing the cake batter, use a spatula to scrape down the bowl frequently throughout the entire process. Another good trick I learned from reading reviews was to put the cake briefly in the freezer (30min) so that the layers become firmer and the red cake won't crumble and mess up the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 16 oz. cream cheese (2 packages), softened
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick), softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 to 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (depending on your preference for sugar/cream cheese ratio)
• pinch of salt

Tip: *Use a large bowl as powdered sugar can get a little messy.

With an electric mixer, blend together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Turn mixer to low speed and blend in vanilla extract, salt and powdered sugar. Turn mixer on high and beat until light and fluffy. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. If refrigerated, the frosting will need to be brought to room temperature before using (after frosting softens up, beat with mixer until smooth).

Update 3-3-11: If you do freeze the cake layers before frosting, loosen them in pan (so they don't stick to bottom when you take them out) and cover pan with saran wrap. If you do use this strategy, let cake come to room temperature before serving. We served this cake at room temperature, but it is also delicious slightly chilled out of the fridge!

Cook: Southern Supper - Collard Greens, Fried (Red) Tomatoes

On Sunday, we teamed up with our friends S and A for a fun day of cooking (brunch recipes will be posted later this week, in time for you to make next weekend!). For dinner, we decided on a Southern theme, centered around A's mac and cheese. Since his recipe is proprietary, we will share the recipes that we cooked.

First of all, we grilled some ribs (Tony Roma's) and sausages (bratwurst) from Costco. This is as easy as it gets - take out of the package and grill! The results are fantastically tasty. We also heated some homestyle baked beans.

For sides, J whipped up two things from scratch. Recipes below:

Southern Greens with Red Onion and Bacon (Serves 8), adapted from epicurious

Ingredients:

1/2 pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into fourths

3 medium red onions, coarsely chopped

1 1/4 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 lbs (or 2 bags) of Ready to Use "southern greens blend" from trader joe's

(If you can not find prepared ready to use southern greens, you can use 4 pounds collard greens (preferably small leaves), coarse stems and ribs discarded and leaves and thin stems washed well, drained and chopped coarse )

Directions:

In a deep heavy pot cook bacon in 2 batches over moderate heat until crisp and transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but about 3 tablespoons drippings and in drippings remaining in kettle cook onions, stirring occasionally, until browned slightly and softened. Transfer onions with a slotted spoon to a bowl.

Add broth, vinegar, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and about half of bacon to the pot, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add about half of collards, tossing until wilted slightly, and add remaining collards, tossing until combined. Simmer collards, covered, 30 minutes. Stir in onions and simmer, covered, 30 minutes more, or until collards are very tender.

Serve collards topped with remaining bacon.

Fried (Red) Tomatoes: (Adapted from Best Fried Green Tomatoes @ allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

4 large unripe tomatoes (preferably green but you can use firm red ones)

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

1. Slice tomatoes 1/2 in thick, discard the ends.

2. Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium sized bowl. Scoop flour onto a plate

3. Mix cornmeal, bread crumbs, salt and pepper on another plate

4. Dip tomatoes into milk and egg mixture. Dredge in breadcrumbs to comletely coat.

5. In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is 1/2 inch of oil in the pan), heat over medium heat.

6. Place tomatoes in the frying pan in batches of 4 or 5, depending on size of skillet. Do NOT crowd the tomatoes, they should not touch each other.

7. When tomatoes are browned, flip and fry on the other side.

8. Remove from oil with slotted spatula. Drain on paper towels

Serve HOT!