Thursday, August 23, 2012

Revisiting Red Wine Briased Short Ribs

About a year ago, I posted about red wine braised short ribs that I made.  I made some again, but adjusted my recipe this time to reflect things I’ve learned over the past year, etc.  Here is what I came up with.

First, I used beef short ribs, off the bone.  And contrary to what some chefs and culinary people have told me, I refuse to use a cheap, bad bottle of red wine to braise my foods.  I don’t use a $50 bottle (or even more), but a well priced bottle of a good vintage I like.  Two Buck Chuck is just bad (sorry, but I think it’s awful – if you like it, more power to you).  I don’t think shelling out $7-$15 for a good wine to use in cooking is really all that bad.  And there are plenty of wines that fall into that range that are excellent.

So, for the ingredient list:

2 lbs. beef short ribs (off the bone)
1 onion
4-5 stalks of celery
5-6 carrots
4 cloves of garlic
1 bottle of red wine (I used a cabernet, but a syrah or any full-bodied wine works well)
4 cups beef stock (or broth if you can’t find stock)
Fresh Rosemary


See, not much to the ingredients.  The key here is cooking low and slow.  I used a crock pot to cook all day, but if you do it in the oven, do it at maybe 250 degree F for about 4-5 hours, maybe a little longer.

First, chopped up the veggies and put them aside so you have them ready.  I did it the night before.  Chop to whatever size you prefer, I diced mine.  For the garlic, I wait until I am cooking and use a garlic press, but you can mince it too. 

Heat a skillet to get it really hot, then toss is a tablespoon or two of butter, and enough olive oil to coat the pan well.  Pat dry the ribs and then season with salt & pepper.  Using tongs (so you don’t get splatter burns), lay them in the skillet and let each side brown for several minutes.  If you need to add more oil, feel free (usually the fat from the ribs melts and adds to the oil).  Make sure you brown all sides as best you can, then take out the pan and set aside. 

Add a little more oil now if you need to, then toss in the onions, carrots, celery and garlic.  Sweat the veggies until they start to soften. 

In the bottom of your crock pot, toss a spring or two of rosemary in, then cover with some of the soft veggies.  Place the browned ribs on top of that, then pour the rest of the veggies over them.  Put the skillet back on the heat and pour in about a half cup to a cup of the wine to deglaze the pan.  Bring it to a simmer, then pour over the ribs in the crock pot.  Pour the remaining wine and the beef stock in.  You can add another sprig of rosemary if you like. 

Cover and turn on your crock pot to low and leave it to cook all day. 

You will have a lot of liquid in the crock pot compared to beef, but believe me, you want that.  When you’re ready to eat, turn off the crock pot.  Laddle out some of the liquid (a cup or two if you are making one to two servings) into a sauce pot (I pour it through a strainer to get the chucks of veggies out).  On medium heat, reduce by about have to thicken and intensify the flavors.

Plate up your ribs and pour the reduced sauce over. 

Believe me, the ribs and sauce are amazing, and relatively simple to make.  I have meals for several days now!  Enjoy!
 

Sunday, August 19, 2012

A Wine-Food Pairing and a Segway Tour

My friend Thom and I drove down to San Diego yesterday morning since we had a Groupon for another Segway Tour, this time in Balboa Park, and to visit my folks.  I also had another Groupon I needed to use for a 6 course wine pairing luncheon that I had scheduled with my friend Fuzzy.  Thom went to the Barona Casino with my folks and a family friend while I went to the lunch.

It was held at Proprietor’s Reserve Wine Bar (http://proprietorsreserve.com/) in the Normal Heights area of San Diego.  Fuzzy had been there for dinner before, but was looking forward to the pairings we were going to have.  It was set up with a specific winery, Cinnabar Winery (http://cinnabarwine.com/) located in the Santa Cruz mountains in northern California. 

We had arrived early, so they weren’t set up quite yet, so we popped next door to Rosie O’Grady’s bar for a beer while we waited.  By the time they were ready to open, there was a small crowd outside Proprietor’s (emphasis on small – they can only seat 20 people at a time there).  We had assigned seats even!  But everything was set up for us.

Our first three courses were on a plate at our seat, along with a rundown of what wines would be paired with each course for the day.  The President from the winery, Suzanne Frontz, made the presentation and description for each wine, while Erin from Priopritor’s (who had created and cooked each course) explained the pairing more.

For our first course, we had a white blend wine, Mercury Rising Blanc, paired with honey roasted turkey and gruyere cheese a pretzel bread crostini, topped with a cranberry herb aioli.  Erin called it “Thanksgiving on a cracker” – a rather apt description.  It paired very well with the fruity, citrusy white blend.  I could have eaten several more.

Round two was black pepper hot smoked salmon on a basil lead with crème fraiche, paired with Cinnabar’s Santa Lucia Highland Pinot Noir.  Again, an excellent pairing.  The pepper from the smoked salmon complemented the Pinot, while the creaminess from the crème fraiche pulled it all together and smoothed it out. 

For course three, the Paso Robles Clautiere Vineyard Mourvedre was paired with a slider made of 50/50 ground pork and lamb, with caramelized red onion, arugula, herbed goat cheese and a bacon jam.  The Mourvedre was smooth and melded very nicely with the meaty pork/lamb.  It would be excellent with a steak!

These three courses were on one plate, and you would have thought it wasn’t much to eat, but it actually was all just the right size, plus we had three more courses to get through.

On round four, they had paired the Mercury Rising Red Blend with a couscous salad, including spinach, roasted eggplant, tomato, kalamata, scallions and a “meat rose” made out of bresaola (a cured Italian beef – not unlike corned beef).  The salad was refreshing and held up nicely to the silky red blend. 

The Paso Robles Merlot was the treat for the pairing on round five.  It was paired up with a pork shoulder that was roasted with herbs and sage, and served up with a risotto with pancetta and romano cheese.  The roast was incredibly tender and flavorful – the sage was evident, but not at all over-powering.  It complemented the pork very well, and worked terrificly with the Merlot.  I’m not a huge merlot fan, but I did enjoy this one and how well it worked with the dish.

For our final round, we were served up a Coffee & Black Pepper Tri-tip with roasted summer vegetable quinoa.  The pairing was a Lewis Vineyard Petite Verdot.  I love petite verdots and this one was luscious and velvety, yet bold enough to work well with the tri-tip.  The nutty, peppery quinoa was a nice compliment as well.  (Unfortunately, it was the one dish I forgot to snap a photo of).

For my first official dining experience with a full meal with pairings, it was an excellent introduction.  We definitely did not leave hungry, but were a tad tipsy from all the wine tasting.  Also, you should note, that generally speaking, when you do a wine pairing meal, you don’t receive a FULL glass of wine – you’d be schnockered by the third or fourth course!  They usually pour about an ounce (give or take).  Fuzzy and I will go back to try another pairing meal, and even just a meal with a good glass of wine.  Of course, I didn’t make it out of there without buying four bottles of wine for myself!

Today, we had a Segway tour scheduled through Another Side of San Diego [http://anothersideofsandiegotours.com/] (yet another Groupon).  All three of us – Thom, Fuzzy and I, had to get up early to be downtown at 9am (on a Sunday no less!), but was actually a good thing given the heatwave all over southern California the past few weeks.

This tour took us through Balboa Park – one of the largest urban public use parks in North America.  It was the site of the World’s Fair in 1915-1916 in honor of the opening of the Panama Canal, and again in 1935-1936.  Growing up in San Diego, Balboa Park was a given spot for recreation and to go to museum’s as a kid, and young adult.  Even today, I always enjoy when I visit the park, so it was nice to see it and get a perspective from a knowledgeable guide, while enjoying a Segway ride.  The only bad part – if you would call it that – was we wound up having to deal with a 10K run, but it wasn’t awful, just a little crowded at times. 

I could go on and on about everything, but I’d rather just share some of the photos.  But we did have an enjoyable trip, and I our guide Eddie was fantastic.  He told Fuzzy and I he also gives food tours in downtown, so we’re going to sign up for one probably in October.

Anyway, here are some of the photos I snapped this afternoon.  The weather was perfect, by the way.







Monday, August 13, 2012

Chicken Tikka Masala - Homemade!

I took my first foray yesterday into making my own Indian cuisine from scratch.  I had picked up some spices from a vendor at a farmer’s market last weekend and wanted to put them to use, plus I love Tikka Masala.  I looked for some recipes and basically took several and distilled my own version.  Here’s what I came up with.

Generally, in Chicken Tikka Masala, you use chicken that’s been cut into cubes or bite-sized pieces already, but I had legs and thighs in the freezer that I wanted to use, and used them whole.

You start out with marinating your chicken (or whatever protein you prefer) in a yogurt marinade.  I thawed my chicken legs and thighs and then pulled the skin off (it works much better without the skin) and put the skin aside to do something else with (I’ll tell you about that later.)

Mix up your marinade with the following recipe:

1 cup plain yogurt
Juice of one fresh lemon
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tblsp minced fresh ginger
2 tsp salt (to taste – you can use none at all too)

Mix it all together, then toss in your chicken.  You need to get your hands dirty here by massaging the chicken into the marinade.  Cover and put in the fridge for a couple of hours (or overnight if you like).

Before pulling the chicken from out of the fridge, turn the oven on to about 350 degrees to preheat.  When ready, pull the chicken out of the fridge, then out of the marinade and arrange on a baking sheet.  Pop in the oven for about 30 minutes (gauge it by how you initially prepared the chicken – if you cut into small pieces, may need less time).

While the chicken is baking, you can start making the sauce.  In a large pan, sauté the following:

2 tblsp unsalted butter (olive oil can be used in its place or in conjunction with butter)
1 small to medium onion – diced to your preference (I like it almost minced)
2-3 cloves of garlic minced (more if you like garlic – I do!)

After you’ve “sweat” the onions and garlic for a few minutes toss in the following spices:

2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp paprika (Hungarian or smoked – whichever you prefer)
1 tsp black pepper
2-3 tsp garam masala spice (found in the international section usually or at farmer’s markets or an Indian market)
2 tsp salt (or leave it out)

Mix it all together, but don’t let it burn.  Then stir in:

1 – 32 oz can of crush tomatoes (or puree if you want a very smooth texture)
1 – 12 oz can of tomato sauce
1 – 12 oz can of coconut milk

You can also at this point throw in a few tablespoons of the marinade that’s left over if you like, just make sure you cook the sauce well.  Bring to a simmer.  Let the flavors meld over really low heat, stirring occasionally while the chicken cooks. 

Once the chicken is done, pull it out of the oven.  Toss is into the sauce and mix together.  Alternately, as I did, throw the chicken in a crock pot, pour the sauce over it and cook it on low for a few hours.  It allows the chicken to absorb more of the flavor.

When plating up, serve over rice, preferable basmati (brown rice works too for those being more health conscious). 

It turned out delicious, and spicy.  You can tone down the spices to your liking, but I enjoy the heat!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Segway!

Fun day yesterday.  My friend Thom and I took my niece down to Long Beach to do a Segway tour with Segway of Long Beach (http://www.segway.la/).   I hadn’t told her exactly what we were going to do, but she did guess.  The one snag was the train ride on the LA Metro.  For a service that keeps pushing people to get out of their cars and “Go Metro”, they really didn’t sell me on the idea yesterday.  They took us halfway there, dumped as at a station and took the train out of service, saying the “next train” would take us to Long Beach.  10-15 minutes later, the next train was also out of service, and we waited over 30 minutes for a train to get the building crowd – no explanations, no apologies, no information.  Thom called Metro to find out what was going on, but even they didn’t know, or were unwilling to admit they screwed up.  Not good Metro – get your act together if you really want the public to use public transit.

We finally got down to Long Beach, 15 minutes past our time to be there for the tour (I had called while we were stuck to let them know what was going on).  Thankfully, the other people who were going to be in our tour group never showed up, so they didn’t leave without us.  We also had Living Social deals, as well as some expired Groupons that we could apply to the tour so we didn’t have to pay anything extra for Catherine (hey - I like to get a deal!).  The added bonus was that we had our favorite guide, Anita, all to ourselves. 

Catherine at first was a little afraid when she first got on to her Segway, but Anita walked her through it, and Thom and I kept encouraging her.  She adapted fairly quickly.  By the end of the tour, she had pretty well mastered it and was doing great! 

Thom and I have been on the tour several times, so it wasn’t new to us, but it was for Catherine.  Anita took us over the bridge to the Queen Mary and gave us some of the history of the exhibits there.  While crossing the bridge, we stopped so we could get a picture of the three of us.  We then headed over to the marina area and down to the beach.  All along, Catherine handled herself very well on the Segway and really got into it.


It didn’t seem like two hours had passed, but it went by quickly.  After returning to the shop and talking with Anita for a while, we headed out to lunch.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t much in the way of unique eats, and Catherine had a craving for pasta, so we wound up dining at California Pizza Kitchen.  It’s a fine place to eat – just not terribly exciting.

After filling up with some lunch, we headed back to the Metro station since we were all fairly exhausted.  The train ride back was much faster, but I learned that traveling mid-afternoon on a weekend is probably not ideal – the trains were crowded.

After Thom dropped us back at my place, Catherine and I lounged around a little bit, then I showed her how to make my tomato soup (the recipe is on an earlier blog).  I had her get in there and do some of it so she could go home and try to make it herself.  Every time she comes to visit, I try to teach her something new in the way of cooking.

After a long day, we just sat around and watched some TV, ate the soup we made and crashed early.  It was a good day over all.  Today, we’re heading out to do a little sight-seeing.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Visiting With My Niece

Thursday night I drove out to Temecula to pick up my niece, Catherine, to come spend the weekend with me.  Her mom, Amy, had made a lemon pie and offered up a taste (okay, she really wanted me to blog about it….).  You know those Marie Callender Lemon Pies, the ones that have a layer of cream cheese and lemon on the bottom, and the lemon custard on top of that?  That’s what she made, with a graham cracker crust.  It really was delicious.  I’ve made something similar where I mix cream cheese into the lemon custard for the whole pie.  It’s very creamy and tangy and rich!

Since I got there real late in the evening, I stayed the night so we could head out in the morning.  Amy made us Belgian waffles with homemade blueberry syrup.  The syrup was a nice touch!
We headed out of Temecula mid morning and headed into L.A.  We stopped in Pasadena to visit the Norton Simon Museum (www.nortonsimon.org).   I hadn’t been there in years, and Catherine was up for some art.  It was a nice experience for me to see what kind of art she liked and what she thought was silly.  Norton Simon has 4 wings and a lower level – each dedicated to a different era.  She spent a lot of time on the 14th-16th century wing, looking at all the religious paintings and iconography.  They are fascinating to look at, especially since so many of them are so vivid still, with rich colors.  The level of detail and richness of the colors amazes me, especially for paintings that are often over 500 years old!

The art the seemed to fascinate Catherine the most was the Cubist art – she really liked several of the paintings of Kandinsky.  That kind of surprised me, but now I know what she is drawn to.  I was happy to get my fill of Monet, Van Gogh and Picasso.  They had a painting of Van Gogh’s sunflowers that I hadn’t seen which I really enjoyed staring at.

It was getting to be later in the afternoon, so we headed down the street in to Old Town Pasadena to get some lunch.  I thought we would try The Melting Pot for some fondue, but they aren’t open for lunchtime – bummer.  But a few doors down was the Japanese restaurant Kabuki (www.kabukirestaurants.com).  Catherine had never eaten at a Japanese restaurant (though she has had and liked sushi), so we decided to give it a try.

We started out with some Edamame – the brought a small bowl of the plain edamame, which I didn’t realize that some comes with a lunch combo because I had also ordered the Garlic Edamame, so we wound up with two servings!  But the Garlic version was grilled and even more tasty than the plain.  I showed Catherine how to eat it, since the first time I tried it, I ate the whole pod (that’s a lot of fiber!).  I also tried to teach her how to use the chopsticks, which she hasn’t quite mastered, but she had improved by the end of the meal.


The second appetizer I ordered was the Broiled King Crab.  They brought us eight pieces of some of the most flavorful, rich crab I’ve had in a while.  It was very well seasoned.  I sprinkled some lemon juice in top to give it a little more kick and we devoured them fairly quickly.

Round three was Miso Soup – my favorite.  Catherine discovered she really liked it too.  We already had a fair amount of food, but we still had entrees to go.  She wanted some sushi, and ordered the Lobster Roll.  I had the Chicken and Steak Teriyaki lunch combo, which came with a small salad, rice and the chicken and steak in a teriyaki sauce.  I was surprised to find I could eat the salad easily with my chopsticks!  The meats had been grilled perfectly and the teriyaki sauce was the right amount of sweet and tangy.


Catherine enjoyed her Lobster Roll, though she had trouble using the chopsticks.  For her first attempt, I thought she did pretty well.  I told her it takes practice.
After lunch we checked out the shops and walked around.  It was a nice afternoon weather-wise.  We stopped in at Trader Joe’s to pick up some supplies and snacks and then headed home to hang out for a bit.

Eventually we needed to grab some dinner – we walked down to the NoHo food truck roundup.  Unfortunately, they didn’t have a lot of vegetarian options.  They did have a crepe truck through, Crepuscule (I think they’re relatively new on the scene), so there were options for Catherine.  She ordered a one that had smoked salmon, egg and cheese.  I got to have a taste and it was quite yummy.


I got a burger from Rounds Premium Burgers (www.roundsburgers.com).   I ordered the Hawaiian (grilled pineapple and jack cheese and teriyaki sauce), and a side of fries with buttermilk ranch dipping sauce.  The burger was juicy and flavorful.  They had grilled it perfectly, and the pineapple and teriyaki were a nice compliment.  The fries were very crispy – they way I like them!  If the fries are done right, that generally indicates that the rest of the food is quality.


We grabbed a couple of cupcakes from Sweet Arleen’s (www.sweetarleens.com) – a Cupcake Wars winner on Food Network!  I had the Red Velvet, and Catherine had the Peanut Butter & Fudge – she really liked that.

Today we head down to Long Beach for a Segway tour….shhhhhh, Catherine doesn’t know what we’re doing yet. ;)

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Culver City - A Secret Gem

Last night I met my friend Colleen for dinner in Culver City.  I never have really stopped in Culver City to explore the restaurants and shops – it’s usually just a place a “drive through” on my way to LAX to skirt the freeway.  I found a restaurant with a menu (and reviews) that piqued my interest – Akasha (http://akasharestaurant.com.)  It’s located in the heart of downtown Culver City, in the midst of Sony Pictures Studios.  The streets are kind of wonky in this part of town, but once you figure out the layout, you can figure out how to get around and find parking, etc. (The city does offer several public garages in the area.)

I had made a reservation for 6pm since I was coming from work.  Of course, never knowing what traffic will be like, I gave myself plenty of time and wound up having 30 minutes to kill once I found the place and found parking.  So I walked around the neighborhood some to check it out, and there are lots of interesting restaurants in the area – of course, it is catering to the studio.

I finally hit the restaurant and got my table while I waited for Colleen (it was still a tad early).  It sits on the corner of Culver Blvd. and Watseka Ave.  There’s a public garage right next to it on Watseka that offers free parking for two hours, then $1 for each hour after – a real bargain!  There is an entrance in the back on Watseka, and the main entrance is on the corner.  When you enter, there is a little café/coffee bar for more casual dining.  Behind that is the main restaurant and bar.  It is beautifully appointed and very open, with high ceilings and dark woods. 

Colleen arrived a few minutes late, but that’s normal given L.A. traffic.  It turned out that on Wednesdays the restaurant offers half-off bottles of wine, so we’re no fools and started asking our server for recommendations.  Colleen prefers white, I prefer red, so I suggested we go for a bubbly instead.  Gina, our server, recommended a bubbly rosé, though we were thinking of a prosecco.  She brought us a taste of each so we could make up our mind, and it turned out her recommendation of the rosé was ideal!

We ordered the Roasted Garlic Hummus as a started, which came with flatbread with caramelized onions on it.  Normally, I am not a fan of carmelized or grilled onions on anything, but they had cooked it so well it was almost a jam, and proved very tasty.  The hummus was very creamy and rich.  Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a picture (yet again), but it was beautifully presented and was incredibly delicious.

In addition to their regular menu, they also had a “specials” menu for the night.  I wound up ordering from that menu since those are items not usually offered, and I really was intrigued by the Rib-Eye Steak on offer.  When it was brought to me, I was surprised at how big a steak it turned out to be – a very generous portion.  I ordered mine medium, so it was nice and pink in the middle.  It sat on a bed of new potatoes and squash, and was stopped with a dollop of pesto sauce.  It was one of the better steaks I’ve had in a while.  It was juicy, grilled perfectly, and extremely flavorful.  And to me, the sign of an excellent restaurant kitchen is how they grill a steak.  I’ve had good, I’ve had bad, and mediocre.  This was excellent.  It bodes well for all their other dishes.  Colleen gave me a bite of her chicken, which I also found juicy and flavorful.

To finish out the meal, they were offering Panna Cotta with raspberry sauce and framboise.  It was very delicate, and a nice finish to a hearty meal – not heavy, but light and sweet. 

Colleen and I both found the restaurant, and staff, very inviting and the menu enticing.  And now that we know that Wednesdays are half price bottle days…..we will definitely be back to explore more of the menu!