MENU: Easter Dinner 2007

This year's Easter spread was pretty by-the-book, as I followed recipes from chefs Suzanne Goin and Thomas Keller. The seasonal show-stopper was a fava bean hummus, which is by far my favorite fava bean recipe to date. Concentrating the fava beans in a puree and spiking it with complimentary flavors really makes the high-maintenance legume worthwhile -- as opposed to it going undetectable in a dish.

I improvised on a salad of asparagus, grated hard-boiled eggs and mache inspired by the bistro classic Asparagus Vinaigrette with Eggs Mimosa in Keller's Bouchon cookbook.

Here's the menu with select recipes to follow.

+ THE MENU
Fava Bean Purée with Oil-Cured Olives, Feta, and Garlic Toasts, SUZANNE GOIN

Curried English Pea Soup with Creme Fraiche, SUZANNE GOIN
Asparagus and Eggs Mimosa with Mache Salad in a Walnut Vinaigrette, inspired by THOMAS KELLER
Pierogis, AUNT PAT'S RECIPE
Cauliflower Gratin, THOMAS KELLER
Sautéed Baby Artichokes with Tarragon (in a white wine, veggie stock reduction), overheard on NPR's "Good Food"
Glazed Ham with Apricot Mustard Sauce, EVERYDAY FOOD


+ RECIPE
Fava Bean Purée with Oil-Cured Olives, Feta, and Garlic Toasts
from Sunday Suppers at Lucques, by Suzanne Goin

1 Baguette
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2-1/2 pounds fava beans in the pod (or 2-1/2 cups shucked)
1 small sprig rosemary
1 chile de arbol, crumbled
1/2 lemon, for juicing
1/2 cup pitted oil-cured black olives sliced in half
1/4 cup sliced flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 pound feta
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat overn to 375 degrees F.

Cut baguette on the diagonal into twelve 1/4-inch-thick slices. (You may have leftover bread.) Brush both sides of each slice generously with olive oil (about 1/4 cup in all). Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the over 10 to 12 minutes, until golden crispy, but still tender in the center. While the toasts are warm, rub them with one of the garlic cloves.

Mince the remaining garlic clove.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
Meanwhile, remove the beans from their pods.
Blanch the beans for about 2 minutes in the boiling water. Drain the beans in a colander, cool them in the ice water, and them slip them out of their pale green shells with your fingers.

Heat a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the remaining 3/4 cup olive oil, the rosemary sprig, and the chile. Let them sizzle in the oil a minute or two, then stir in the minced garlic. Let them sizzle in the oil a minute or two, then stir in the minced garlic. Let it sizzle for a minute and stir in the fava beans, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and some freshly ground pepper. Simmer the beans 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they're tender (the exact time will depend on the starchiness of the favas). Strain the beans, reserving the oil. Discard the rosemary and chile.

Transfer the beans into a food processor and purée them. With the motor running, pour in half the reserved oil to taste. Squeeze in some lemon juice, and taste for seasoning. (The amount of oil you will need depends on the starchiness of the beans.)

In a small bowl, toss the olives and parsley with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Crumble in the feta, tossing gently to combine.

Spoon the warm fava bean purée onto a platter. Place the grilled toasts off to one side, and scatter the feta-olive salad over the purée.

Restaurant Review HAIKU Lou Hollywood, CA

Strip mall on outside,
design oasis inside,
gastronomes welcome

Lou
724 N Vine St.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 962-6369
www.louonvine.com
Google Map

More Reviews:
+ Daily Candy review

Elevated Alpine Cuisine

My experience at the Cloud Nine Bistro qualifies as a true epicurean quest. At 10,740-feet elevation in the Aspen Highlands Mountain and Ski Resort, you can only access the aptly named restaurant by chairlift or snowcat. If that's not enough, they also require a reservation.

After multiple runs of ripping moguls or cruising wide lanes, you take a mid-mountain chairlift and ski down to a little green wooden shack. A former ski patrol lodge retrofitted for fine dining, it couldn't be more cozy and authentic.

Hungry diners burst through the door out-of-breath rosy-faced and windburned, squinting, sweating beneath bulky layers. Inside, steam rises from the kitchen fogging up the windows. The fireplace crackles and fine meats sizzle. Crystal wine glasses chime.

The decor is charming and decidedly alpine, full of ski signage, plaques, and paraphernalia. French blue checked curtains adorn windows looking out onto partial snowdrifts, icicles, and snow blowing horizontal. Wrought iron Raclette ovens sit in wait atop the tables for large parties. As you begin to feel the warmth and your sense of smell detects the aromas, you realize heaven resides at Cloud Nine.

At this point, there is only one thing on my mind: Fondue.

Oozing molten gold.

Cloud Nine has two traditional European-style fondues on the menu: cheese fondue and Raclette -- Swiss raclette cheese served with cornichons, air-dried beef, and potatoes, all cooked on the table-top ovens.

The best thing about fondue is the transformation it undergoes while you're eating it, from bubbling liquefied cheese, to a rich thickening gluey goo, and, finally, to the crusty carmelized bits on the bottom.



The second best thing is the wine paring for digestion's sake. We opt for a 2004 Gruner Veltliner (Wachau Gruner Veltliner Federspiel), which is lovely.

Other options on the menu are equally mouth-watering. Cloud Nine offers high quality organic ingredients from local producers, as well as world renown purveyors. Our second course is the daily special: Gruyere stuffed pheasant sausages wrapped in pancetta with savoy cabbage and yukon gold mashed potatoes. In a word, it's "to die for."

Meanwhile at the eight-top table next to us, a crowd of Patagonian ski instructors fire up their Raclette ovens. The process goes like this: First melt a hulking knob of butter on the top grill, then add 25-30 whole cloves of garlic. Let that go a bit, then add large potato wedges to cook in the buttery, garlicky goodness. Next comes the air-dried beef and raclette cheese. There are triangular-shaped iron skillets that fit into the middle section of the oven. Place a piece of beef in the skillet, top it with a slice of raclette and insert it into the oven until the cheese melts. Eat the beef and cheese with the potatoes and cornichons.

The Austrian chef and owner, Andreas, is happy to share stories with us. He insists on a complimentary sip of dark walnut liqueur before heading back out on the mountain. "It gives you a little spring on the slopes," he tells me. And we're all about good food and good form.

Apres-Ski Sampling

Fondue and Kirsch are hallmarks of apres-ski in the Alps. In Aspen, CO, we found some flavors and tasty bites that are new to the menu.


(Clockwise from top left)
Warm Goat Cheese Fondue with Sweet Potato Chips - $12
39 Degrees at Sky Hotel

Devils on Horseback
Bacon-wrapped dates and parmesan - $9
39 Degrees at Sky Hotel

Kobe Sliders
3 mini-burgers with carmelized onions and Herkimer white cheddar - $18
ZG Grill, Aspen Highlands

Lamb Cigars
Filo-Wrapped marinated lamb, pine nuts, currants, harissa, preserved lemon - $9
39 Degrees at the Sky Hotel

2.21.07: Wednesday Round-Up

Cherry-picked articles in this week's Food & Dining sections across the nation, by yours truly:

New York Times
Tracking the origins of a spaghetti sauce recipe and finding much more, by Kim Severson
+ RECIPE: Italian Meatballs
+ SLIDE SHOW: Making Italian Meatballs
+ RECIPE: Zappa Family Spaghetti Sauce

Tasting 2004 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, by Eric Asimov
"Some Sunny French Accents for a Cold-Weather Braise," by Florence Fabricant
+ RECIPE: Short Ribs Provencal

Gordon Matta-Clark's Food utopia, included in the late-artist's retrospective at the Whitney Museum. By Randy Kennedy

Los Angeles Times
Pork dishes fit for the Year of the Pig. By Russ Parsons.
+ RECIPE: Ragù with pork ribs, sausage and pancetta
+ RECIPE: Cider-brined pork chops with wild rice
+ RECIPE: Five-spice roast pork belly

Much Ado About Chinese greens, by Amy Scattergood.
+ RECIPE: Scrambled eggs with garlic chives
+ RECIPE: Fu yu ong choy (stir-fried water spinach with spicy fermented tofu)
+ RECIPE: Stir-fried baby bok choy
+ RECIPE: Ru yi cai ('As you wish' vegetables)

SF Chronicle
Yet another take on long-cooked Italian sauces: "Seduced by Sugo," by Tara Duggan.
+ RECIPE: Nopa's 9-Hour Bolognese
+ RECIPE: Veal & Green Olive Ragu with Strozzapreti Pasta
+ RECIPE: Sugo D'Anatra (Duck Sauce)

A carnivore in love with vegetarian cooking. By Amanda Berne
+ RECIPE: Farro Risotto with Roasted Mushrooms & Chard
+ RECIPE: Shirred Eggs with Greens & Gruyere
+ RECIPE: Triple Citrus Salad

Restaurant Review HAIKU Six89 Carbondale, CO

haute local lamb, trout
worldly Keller-esque menu
gem outside Aspen

Six89
689 Main Street
Carbondale, CO
(970) 963-6890
Google Map

More Reviews:
Nation, Restaurant Review
Chowhound.com

Found: A Delicious Winter Caprese

Attention Mozzarella-Tomato-Basil Lovers: No need to lament the state of tomatoes during these dark winter months when Mario teaches you can always resort to roasting. The slow-roasting method reveals the flavor in these seemingly pallid duds.

Of course, you do want to go for the best tomato your market has to offer. To me, this means some kind of hothouse cherry tomato variety.

Picky purveyors Ricky and Lesley served up a pre-Lost viewing meal with Mario's Winter Caprese recipe as the powerful prelude. The dish achieves something similar to that of its summertime predecessor -- with warm, slow-roasted tomatoes, oozy mozzarella, dark pesto dollop and toasty pinenuts -- it is appropriately of the season.

Mozza's variation includes burrata instead of mozzarella di bufala bocconcini. A delicious modification, especially if using Gioia's burrata, the local California favorite.

If you decide to go burrata, be sure to go easy on it (this is difficult). The key to this dish's success is the balance of its ingredients. On our last visit to Mozza, Nancy Silverton was not manning the mozzarella output and we received a lavish amount of burrata in our caprese. True to the law of diminishing returns, I realized there can be such a thing as too much burrata.

+ RECIPE
Winter Caprese Salad
(from Molto Italiano by Mario Batali (HarperCollins, 2005), page 30)

6 Plum tomatoes, cut lengthwise in half (or large cherry tomatoes)
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parigiano-Reggiano
3 cups fresh Basil Leaves, plus a few more for garnish
2 tablespoons Pine Nuts
4 large Bocconcini from buffalo mozzarella cut into quarters (or Burrata)

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. In a medium bowl, toss the tomatoes with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place cut side down on a small baking sheet and bake for about 2 hours or until the tomatoes are softened. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and let cool.

Transfer the cooled tomatoes to a colander and set aside to drain while you make the pesto.

Combine the garlic and Parmigiano in a blender and pulse until the garlic is roughly chopped. Add the basil and pulse 7 or 8 times, or until the leaves are shredded. With the blender running, slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of the olive oil, blending until smooth.

Toast the pine-nuts in an 8-inch saute pan over medium heat, tossing frequently, until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

To serve, arrange 3 tomato slices cut side down on each plate. Place a ball of mozzarella (or scoop of burrata) in the center, and spoon 2 tablespoons of the pesto onto each ball of mozzarella. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and garnish with the basil leaves.

2.07.07: Wednesday Roundup

The cream of the crop in this week's Food & Dining sections:

New York Times
The exceptional qualities of unlaid eggs, by Marian Burros
+ RECIPE: Buttery Polenta With Parmesan and Olive Oil Fried Eggs

Evening Wear for Eggs: An American breakfast tradition gets dressed up for dinner
+ RECIPE: Garlicky Swiss Chard

The Minimalist Argues for Mackerel
+ RECIPE: Mackerel Fillets Simmered in Soy Sauce

The Scoop on Surinam Cherries

Los Angeles Times
Net Net on Nettles
+ RECIPE: Nettle Polenta
+ RECIPE: Nettle Frittata With Green Garlic and Ricotta
+ RECIPE: Nettle Tapenade With Anchovies and Crostini

High Time for Crepes: History, Tradition and Method
+ RECIPE: Sweet Crepes.
+ RECIPE: Galettes (Buckwheat Crepes)
+ RECIPE: Galettes Filled With Shrimp and Scallops
+ RECIPE: Apple and Calvados Crepes
+ METHOD: How to Cook Crepes, plus a step-by-step slideshow.

Los Angeles: Kimchi Capital of America

San Francisco Chronicle
Maple Syrup Makes a Move
+ RECIPES:
Maple-Roasted Squash Soup
Apple, Cranberry & Maple Crisp
Caramelized Maple Brussels Sprouts
Maple Almond Souffle Pancake
Pecan-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Maple-Dijon Sauce
Pear Salad with Blue Cheese, Hazelnuts & Maple Vinaigrette

Year of the Fickle Fungi
Chef Rob Hunter's quest for local wild mushrooms
+ RECIPE: Black Chanterelle-Duck Confit Spring Rolls with Blood Orange-Truffle Dipping Sauce

Mexican Cowboy Comfort Food
Gabriel Fregoso, chef and owner of Las Camelias restaurant in San Rafael, CA, recreates a traditional northern Mexican lamb stew
+ RECIPE: Charro's Chamarro ("Cowboy" Lamb Shanks)

Make-Ahead Black Bean Sauce
A time-saver with many tastey options, by Tara Duggan
+ RECIPES:
Chinese Black Bean Sauce (Adapted from Simply Ming by Ming Tsai)
Clams With Chinese Black Bean Sauce
Chicken & Broccolini with Chinese Black Bean Sauce

Choice Chocolate

The tastemakers over at ThisNext.com curate their favorites in the world of chocolate. Some yummy and unique options for Valentine's Day.

Personally, I reside in the 70% cacao and higher camp.

So does chocolatier Kathy Moskal of Vere -- as featured in this week's New York Times' Dining section article "Pure or Molten, Chocolate Prepares for Its Day" -- who details the benefits of her confections.

Lucky Legumes

Determined to start the new year off on the right foot, we indulged in foodie folklore and served up Hoppin' John. Years ago, my dear friend (and cosmopolitan southern belle) Enslow introduced me to this southern tradition that ensures good luck and prosperity in the new year. The jauntily named dish is a stew of black-eyed peas and ham hocks. I doctored my own rendition and served it with brown rice and a generous splash of Texas Pete's hot sauce to finish.

Our next-door neighbor Tracey shared the Italian equivalent of fortuitous food with us -- a delicious stew of lentils with a fresh twist of mint.

Here's your choice of two legume recipes to bring you the best of luck in 2007.

+ RECIPE
Hoppin' John

6 pieces of bacon
1 onion chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 green bell pepper
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 cans of black eyed peas
1 teaspoon dried thyme
bay leaf
2 cups chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste

cooked brown rice

Texas Pete's hot sauce

Cook the bacon in a deep skillet or dutch oven until cripsy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Pour off excess bacon fat from pan. Cook onion, celery, green pepper, red pepper flakes over medium heat until tender and translucent. Add black-eyed peas, crumbled bacon & chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 30-40 minutes, until broth has reduced and thickened a bit.

Serve the Hoppin' John over cooked brown rice & spice it up to your liking with Texas Pete's hot sauce.

+ RECIPE
Lentil Stew
(from Memories of a Lost Egypt: A Memoir with Recipes by Colette Rossant )

1 onion (whole)
1 lb. small black lentils
1 bay leaf
8 cups chicken stock
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 tsp butter
2 tsp fresh mint, finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste

Peel a large onion, stick it with a whole clove, and plac it in a saucepan with lentils, bay leaf, chicken stock, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer, skimming occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

Discard the onion and bay leaf and stir in 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspon finely chopped fresh thyme, and butter. Reduce the heat to how and simmer slowly for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with 2 tsp chopped fresh mint.

Restaurant Review HAIKU Elf Café Echo Park, CA

greek inspired spices
transcend top-shelf veggie fare
cabbage can excite

Elf Café
2135 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Google Map

More Reviews:
Metroblogging LA



Elf Café and its owners' band Viva K on MySpace

U-Turn for Mozza

While speeding back from Beverly Hills this afternoon, I decided to take my usual out-of-the-way detour past Highland and Melrose to spy upon the progress of Mario Batali's new restaurant location. Brown paper and smudgey windows still reside at the Osteria-to-be on the main corner, but much to my surprise the Pizzeria next door, Mozza, looks wide open and bustling with life!

I crank a serious U-turn and pull myself up to the pizza bar as quickly as possible.

I hit the tail-end of the lunch rush, so my timing was perfect. A review of the menu: squash blossom, burrata and tomato pizza -- Done!

As an added bonus, co-owner Nancy Silverton, the famed LA chef and mozzarella guru is manning the pizza bar. Nancy is known as THE purveyor of the freshest cheeses in town -- her cameos at Jar's "Mozzarella Night" and "Grilled Cheese" Thursdays at Campanile have both become LA dining institutions. Now Nancy has partnered with Mario Batali in what promises to be the primo pizza spot in LA.

Perched on my barstool, I watch Nancy and her two pizza chefs go to town. As each pie emerges from the raging wood-burning oven, Nancy inspects the pizza, shouts out pointers to her staff and then finishes it off with a turn of olive oil and a dusting of salt, pepper and fresh herbs. The 10-inch pies are super thin in the center with gorgeously large aerated puffs around the perimeter. Sometimes when the puffs come out a bit charred, Nancy takes kitchen shears to each pie and trims off the overly blackened spots. This pizza is glorious in these "imperfections."

Some of the main ingredients are also added by Nancy at this finishing stage. Dollops of burrata are scooped atop the pie after cooking (the waiter told me the burrata gets too chewy if put in the oven to melt). Nancy also carefully folds paper-thin prosciutto di parma slices and sprinkles fresh rucola atop a just-out-of-the-oven pie with molten mozzarella.

I watch the pizza team create my order my scratch. From what I could see, the chefs' technique consists first of a dusting of semolina flour on the individual wooden pizza peel board. The doughy disc is gently plied with the fingertips, and then placed on top of both fists and stretched in circles by the knuckles until it reaches desired size & thinness. It is returned to the wooden peel and given a paintbrushing of olive oil.

One small ladel of sauce is poured onto the center of the pie, then using the bottom of the ladel the chef traces a spiraling nautilus pattern out to the perimeter to distribute the sauce. He adds my squash blossoms and pops it into the oven. Just over ten minutes later my crispy, bubbling pie is ready for Nancy. She tops it off with the burrata, herbs and seasonings -- magnificent!

I'm big on squash blossoms these days, so I couldn't be any happier with these creative toppings. And the crust: light and thin with an underlying crisp and just enough toothiness in the chew. And the burrata ... ooooh ... need I say more?

The other 13 varieties of pizzas feature finely selected fresh local ingredients and nods to classic italian combinations. And the hallmark of course, the cheeses include mozzarella, burrata, fontina, taleggio, parmigiano, pecorino, cacio di Roma, gorgonzola, and caciocavallo. But that's as much as I'll tell you about the menu -- I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise of such fantastic offerings in LA.

Ravioli Role Reversal

It's rare that a ravioli takes me by such surprise. It's even more rare when it takes place at a British gastropub. This was the case of the Tomato Basil Ravioli served at the Village Pub in Barnsely -- a picturesque village in the Cotswolds.

The homemade ravioli are unassuming in appearance: delicate pouches glisten with a thin coating of parmesean cream sauce, monochrome and rather "vanilla" in presentation. But upon first bite, the pouch explodes with an intense tomato basil flavor. It's the inverse of what you'd expect, with a small but potent amount of "sauce" in the filling. I found it outstanding.

Hildon: Water of Choice

They ship it in by the palette at the French Laundry in Yountville, CA. It's the staple "fizzy or flat" at Barnsley House and Village Pub in the Cotswolds. Lately, I've been seeing Hildon's regal blue label pop up in all the right places.

One could say that Hildon English Mineral Water tops the fine dining and hospitality industry, as far as bottled waters go.

I have yet to see it on the shelves in the states, but my Brit pals found my fascination with the high-class water positively dull. "I dunno, it's been around for years," one friend told me. To me, even the incidentals are interesting.

At first the allure is definitely in the design of the glass bottle and the label. Clean lines, elegant type and a golden crest smack of royal officialdom or some kind of sanctioned purity. Then the quality comes through in the taste and feel of the water. You can actually detect a difference. Needless to say, I bought Hildon hook, line and sinker.

A Summer Selection of Oysters and Mussels

I rue the day we enter into the non-"r" months when rumor has it that molluscs should be off the menu. It's late August and I find myself at Thomas Keller's bistro Bouchon for lunch in Yountville, CA. The plateau des fruits de mer looks too tantalizing to pass up. My dining companion, Jose, orders the plateau while I opt for a pot of mussels. Our intention is to share.

The plateau presents a glorious display including fresh creamy curly oysters. My mussels arrive in an ovular Staub mussel pot, drowning in a sea of white wine, mustard and saffron. We are living on the edge, but I have full faith in the chef and his purveyors.

The seafood is delicious and meaty indeed. No meager summertime molluscs here!

I notice the oyster display on the zinc bar reveals the sources: Marin Bay in California, Snow Creek in Washington State, Petit Manan and Bagaduce from Maine, and St. Anne from Nova Scotia. We learn Maine is also the home of the "bouchot mussels."

The truth is, good quality oysters and mussels can be had in August. If the chef is as discerning of the sources as they are at Bouchon, then you're in the clear -- no "r" withstanding.

Restaurant Review HAIKU Koi West Hollywood, CA

telltale cheap chopsticks
sophomore sushi, teenage scene
food lost in hype ploy

More Reviews: Yelp.com, Gayot.com

Koi
730 N. La Cienega Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
310-659-9449

Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

These bright yellow-orange flowers signal summer's bounty. Whether fried on their own, or in a light batter or with a savory stuffing, they turn out a visually stunning and delicious appetizer. And besides, what can be more exotic than feasting on flowers?

There is a fair amount of labor that goes into prepping these gems for consumption, but it's well worth the effort. A staple at any self-respecting farmer's market, make sure you select zucchini blossoms that haven't been bruised or over handled. You'll need to perform the tricky procedure of reaching into each flower and nicking out the stamen. I've tried extracting the stamen with tweezers, but a small pairing knife works best. Don't worry if you slightly tear the side of the blossom a bit, it will hold up when stuffed and fried.

This recipe combines two sources: I borrowed the batter from Italy's much revered Silver Spoon cookbook (Fiori di Zucchine Ripieni e Fritti), while the goat cheese stuffing comes from Mario Batali's Molto Italiano (Fiori di Zucca Fritti). Traditionally, the flowers are stuffed with mozzarella, but as Mario says, "you can use any soft, creamy, delicate cheese."

+ Recipe
Fried Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

12 Zucchini Flowers, trimmed
The Batter:
Scant 1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, separated
5 Tablespoons dry white wine
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2/3 - 3/4 c. warm water
salt
The Stuffing:
1 c. soft goat cheese (or fresh goat cheese curd if you can find it)
1 large egg
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper

First, prepare the batter by combining the flower, pinch of salt and egg yolk, wine oil and add 2/3 - 3/4 c. warm water to make a runny mixture. Let stand for 30 minutes. Wish the egg white in a grease-free bowl and fold into the batter.

Next, clean and trim the blossoms by removing the stamen. Trim the stem slightly, but not completely -- you'll want to keep a bit of stem. Rinse the flowers under gentle running water to get rid of any pollen, goo or bugs, and drain them on paper towels.

In a small bowl, stir together goat cheese, egg, scallions, nutmeg and sat and pepper to taste. Using a small spoon, stuff each blossom with 1-1/2 Tablespoons of the filling.

In a 10-12 inch skillet, heat 3-4 Tablespoons vegetable oil for frying. Dip each stuffed blossom into the batter then fry in the hot oil until golden brown -- turning as needed.

When done, place blossoms on paper towels to drain. Serve immediately.

Dinner Music

Tonight at Beck's concert at the Wiltern in Los Angeles, CA, stagehands brought out a dinner table replete with placesettings, then the band members put down their instruments to sit for a mid-show snack while their shaggy-haired troubador carried on with acoustic guitar and harmonica.

It was an odd sight for a rock show, but then again it followed live marionettes and a puppet cam.

During Beck's four solo songs, the five band members feasted on salad, a bowl of fruit, red wine and water in wine glasses until they could no longer resist the contagious groove and started using their utensils and serving vessels as impromptu percussion.

In contrast, the marionette mise en scene had the muppet band members eating what looked like fake pieces of red meat.

I plan to find out exactly what was served at the show through my industry insider connections. I'll be sure to report back.

Kristina's Famous Goat Cheese Guac

Who knew a pairing of goat cheese and avocado would yield such outrageous results! We had this rich, creamy guacamole-goat cheese spread as a prelude to our spanish/cali/mex BBQ fare at Jim & Kristina's house in Silverlake. Piquant and super savory, it elevates the avocado and takes your party guests by surprise.

+RECIPE
Avocado Goat Cheese Spread

3 Ripe Hass Avocados
4 oz Goat Cheese (Crumbled if you can find it)
1 Lime
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Be sure to find ripe avocados that aren't overly mushy. Halve each avocado & remove the pit. Cut a crosshatch pattern into each avocado half and squeeze out the cubes into a bowl. Add the goat chesse. Add juice of 1/2 lime. Mush together by combining with a fork. Fold in 1 T. Olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. (Adjust the seasoning to your taste by adding more lime juice or olive oil as you see fit.) The spread should look very light green and almost whipped with occasional chunks of avocado and goat cheese.

Serve with Tortilla Chips or Flatbread.

Purslane, If You Please

This weekend, I found some perky little bunches of Purslane at the Hollywood Farmer's Market. I've been eager to make a Purslane Potato Salad recipe I saw years ago in Saveur magazine, but have since misplaced the issue (sadly).

Purslane is a green herb with ample, oval leaves and a mild bite. If Mache and Argula had a baby girl, they would name it Purslane. There's a chewy depth in its texture and it's visually appealing with abundant uniform leaves. Plus, Purslane offes an added bonus of being one of the most nutritionally rich leafy greens out there with vitamin E, vitamin C, beta carotene, protein and essential omega-3 fatty acids.

Culling from a few recipes online and my memory of the photo published in Saveur, I took a stab at my own version -- with excellent results.

+RECIPE
Purslane Potato Salad
(Adapted from YankeeMagazine.com, WildManSteveBrill.com, and a fleeting memory of a Saveur article)

3 lbs Fingerling Potatoes, such as Russian Banana, Red Thumb, French Fingerling, Ruby Crescent
4 Baby Spring Onions (scallion size, thinly sliced)
2 Celery ribs, thinly sized on the bias
2 cups Purslane leaves

Dressing
4 oz. Plain Yogurt
1 Heaping Tablespoon of Coarse Grain Mustard (Moutarde a l'Ancienne)
1 Tablespoon Sherry Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Boil the fingerling potatoes in salted water until tender. While they are cooking, combine the spring onions, celery and purslane leaves in a large salad bowl. Drain potatoes and run under cool water to cool down. Let potatoes rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Slice some fingerling potatoes in half lengthwise and some into 1/2-inch discs. Add slighly warmer than room temperature potatoes to the bowl. The heat of the potatoes should make the purslane leaves wilt a bit.

Dressing
In a non-reactive bowl, place yogurt, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix with fork until well-combined.

Pour dressing into the salad bowl. Toss until ingredients are well covered. Add salt and pepper to taste.