Pre-Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for your loved ones: your family, and the ones that become your family. 

 And let's not forget the food!  Shown: Mashed potatoes, green beans, cornbread stuffing, turkey.

 Good friends since middle school!

 Sous-chef!

 Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows.

 Tons of wine.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Artichokes

The first recipe that I cooked out of Julia Child's 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' was the simple, natural, boiled artichoke with a sinful buttery Hollandaise sauce.  

 And just like the illustration in the book, I hollowed out the choke part and filled the middle with the luscious sauce.  Really simple to prepare, and really fun to share.  The flowered presentation kind of reminds me of Chili's Bloomin' Onion, but, you know, of course boiled vegetables is healthier than anything deep fried.

Pâté cake, pâté cake

Pâté: you either love it, or you hate it; and you always pray that you'll get a good experience.  I remember clearly two distinct pâté tastings.  First, a month or so ago at a ramen shop: a Japanese-French fusion offering that was chalky, wrapped in cold bacon, and disappointing in taste--that is to say, there wasn't really any.  Fast forward to yesterday: Monsier Marcel, located at The Original Farmer's Market in Los Angeles.  A rich, smooth mousse-truffle pâté that quite literally made my eyes roll back into my head; a duck terrine with fine shreds of meat which was just as delicious, but very different; lastly, a traditional, rustic and distinctly earthy country pâté with a chunkier texture than the rest, that also exhibited the strong presence of liver without overwhelming the palate.  

 

 Truffle Mouse pâté.  I eyed the large loaf while it was sitting in the deli case at Monsier Marcel's.  The kind deli guy gave me and my roommate a generous portion...that exquisite taste and texture contributed to my decision to fork over $5 for a quarter pound.

 Next to Monsieur Marcel's Gourmet Market is their outdoor patio dining and wine bar area; Zagat rated for many years now, as you can see.

 A sampler of fresh baguette, and savory crackers.

 The Charcuterie Francaises: Salami, ham, a duck terrine and the country pâté, accompanied by pickles and olives.

 

A cheese sampler with a hard, hearty cheese.  I'm not quite sure what variety it was, because it wasn't the cheese we ordered (we wanted the Delice de Bourgogne).  Still, very good with the quince paste and assorted nuts and fruits. 

I had a wonderful time enjoying a taste of the moderate yet luxurious French experience: a little really does go a long way.  Between me and my roommate, we have yet to finish our leftovers.  But it's just as well--with bread, wine, and conversation, the experience has yet to end.  

One year ago...

One year ago Excal and Lemony went on an impromptu road trip to visit Excal's friend, who recently suffered from a major concussion and a minor bout of amnesia.  True story.

Before they headed home on that fateful day that Excal got his first speeding ticket (sorry!), they ate at this lovely little restaurant:

 Crepeville's charming blackboard menu with lots of delicious goodies to choose from:

 And as you can see, they do more than just crepes.

 Excal, ogling the menu.

 A Mediterranean crepe with side of breakfast potatoes.  Delicious, hearty, and way too much food.

 This poor guy didn't realize just how much food we ordered.

My order of Eggs Benedict...deliciously poached, but a mistake to order because I would end up taking all the potatoes to-go.

 And finally, lemon creme blintzes, served atop applesauce.  Now these were simply amazing!

Crepeville

330 3rd St
Davis, CA 95616

(530) 750-2400

'Scuse me...Sushi coming through

Long overdue pictures from an AYCE sushi extravaganza--this was from over a year ago!
I don't usually like fusion rolls of the mayo-sauce-California Roll variety, but for a price of $14 I'm sure I'll suck it up and pack it down.

 Some sort of sushi roll.  Tastes exactly as it looks...interesting.

 A plate full of salmon sashimi!  And requisite green tea.

 Sushi boat floating by...with an out of place order of fried sesame balls (zeen duy).  Overall, not too shabby and I'm always seeing interesting people here.

Davis Sushi Buffet

707 2nd St
Davis, CA 95616

(530) 297-1999

Where your sandwich search ends.

For those of you that are tired of sandwich chains loaded with the same boring taste, there is hope.  Tucked away in the Skypark office complex near the John Wayne Airport, we find the sandwich haven known as Harry's Deli.  This is the quintessential no-frills approach, and I do mean no-frills: no chip and drink combos here.  What they do have are sandwiches that stand out on their own, and sides that perfectly complement the sandwiches.  

Let's take a look at Exhibit A:

 

A beautiful 'Loaded Turkey' on toasted sourdough, with turkey, avocado, tomato, lettuce, mayo, mustard...and the kicker: bacon.  Perfect with a side of tomato-basil soup.  Also, if you look at my profile picture: the perfect Reuben, #32 on OCWeekly's Top 100 Favorite Dishes.  But check out the reviews on Yelp!--144 five-star reviews can't be wrong--and also, their website to get a glimpse of their other sandwich creations.  

Happy Lunching!

Harry's Deli

17881 Sky Park Circle Ste A Irvine, CA 92614

(949) 261-2116

Harrys-Deli.com

Top Chef | All Stars Episode 1

This is going to be the most epic season of Top Chef yet because it's what I've been pretty much been waiting for...having previous season contestants duke it out to be the Top of the Top!  You love them, you hate them, but most importantly, you don't need to learn new names.  Watching the earlier contestants come back onto the show was pretty surreal, especially when they mentioned that it had been (at least) four years since their season was aired...meaning holy cow, I've been watching Top Chef throughout my entire college career, and then some (grad school still counts as college, guys).

What I'm not sure I understand is how they select the contestants.  Some seasons have a lot more contestants selected from their set, but all seasons are represented with at least 2 contestants.

After a meet and greet and hug out at some swanky penthouse loft whatever thing in NYC, they don their snazzy black chef coats and I notice that a few of them gained a little bit of weight with the way their jackets are straining.  But you know what they say.  Don't trust a skinny chef.  Off to the Top Chef kitchen (TCK) we go!

Quickfire: Tom and Padma greet the bunch, have them divide into teams according to their season and cook a dish representative of their season's location.  Interesting, because you don't know if having more people on your team is going to be a boon or a detriment.

Recap on contestants!

Season 1 San Francisco: Cioppino gazpacho with sourdough

• Tiffani Faison: The red head that won't let you forget it.  I thought she was great on her.
• Stephen Asprinio: Wine guy.  A little pretentious. 

Season 2 Los Angeles: Shrimp Tacos with  Guacamole with Apple Wrapper

• Elia Aboumrad: Feisty one that shaved her head, has a million cooking degrees under her belt.
• Marcel Vigneron:  Mousse man that didn't shave his head.  Also a molecular gastronomist like Blaise.

Season 3 Miami: Pork tenderloin, avocado lime puree, tostones, habanero sauce.

• Casey Thompson: That pretty one that didn't really occur to me that she really knew how to cook.  She always seemed to win on accident.
• Dale Levitski: Big gay Dale.  Really gave Hung a run for his money.
• Tre Wilcox: Seemed like he knew what he was doing...but I didn't think this season terribly memorable.

Season 4 Chicago:  Pork and black pepper sausage, mustard ice cream

• Richard Blaise: Professor Blaise.  Memorable because there isn't a dish of his without a touch of liquid nitro in it. 
• Spike Mendelsohn: Wily fox after my own heart, you love to hate him but I just can't (hate him, that is).  Plus, I want a hat from his hat collection.
• Antonia Lofaso: Wholesome girl next door, and a mom.  
• Dale Talde: DT IN THE HIZZOUSE!  Cue the crotch grab.

Season 5 New York: curried apple soup, pasta with caramelized apple, rib-eye with apple

• Jamie Lauren: Tattoos.  Attitude.  Gave bald Stephen blue balls the entire season.
• Carla Hall:  Hootie!  Hoo!  Definitely who I want to go to yoga with.
• Fabio Viviani: HEARTTROB ACCENT.

Season 6 Las Vegas: Bucatini with bacon lobster carbonara

• Jennifer Carroll: an Eric Ripert favorite.  Tiny, but she can cook.
• Mike Isabella:  No idea what this d-bag is doing here on this show.  

Season 7 Washington D.C.: crab cake essence with rock fish, lemongrass, jalepeno, and Old Bay

• Angelo Sosa: Don't cook Asian food if you're not Asian, man.
• Tiffany Derry: I heart her.  She's the ultimate home girl.

 Tom didn't like:

• SF because there was too much raw garlic (which is not a bad thing in my book)
• LA because the shrimp had no seasoning, and the apple tortilla thing was too thin
• D.C. because it was too salty
• NY because he just didn't get it.

Tom liked:

• Miami because it's pork, dammit.
• Vegas because nothing says I love you than homemade pasta and lobster.
• Chicago because it's funny and weird but it works.

Winnar:  Chicago!  Good job team.

Elimination challenge: You have to remake the dish that sent you home...just a better, non-home sending version of it, that's all.  It's a great opportunity for redemption...and also a great opportunity for embarrassment.  Personally, I love this challenge because the chefs really have to earn their place...that's right, check the ego at the door because you were all eliminated once upon a time.

Judges are the same per usual, with the fourth being my very favorite Anthony Bourdain who keeps it real.  The cheftestants are divided in two; while one section cooks, the other will join the judges in tasting and critiquing the dishes.  Which means the ubiquitous flat-screen TV will be set up in the kitchen so that the chefs can see what the judges and cohorts think of the food.

Top Three: Actually, Richard made it to the top but because he went over the time limit (I don't quite believe him when he says he didn't hear the timer ring), he couldn't qualify to win.  Still, nice to be recognized...not nice to be shafted of $10,000.  Follow the rules.
Which leaves:

• Spike's Scallops
• Jamie's Celery
• Angelo's Ramen Watermelon Tea.

Just so you know, those aren't the actual dishes...just the components they improved upon.
Winner: Angelo!  He looked like he was about to cry.  You deserve this one buddy.

Loser's Circle:

• Elia's fish
• Stephen's Panda Express
• Fabio's pasta

I actually didn't think Fabio's pasta looked that bad on TV, and I honestly think Italian food can only be so bad.  So yes, Bourdain was being his usual self but Fabio probably needs to suck it up because that's not the last (or the worst) thing anyone will probably hear from Bourdain. But Elia.  Says she's matured, but she's just bordering on plain conceited.  "Don't eliminate me, I have more to offer"--but Top Chef never judges on potential. 
Packed their knives and went: Elia.


A good, exciting episode.  While I'm not particularly fond of the animosity and drama that seems to run rampant on most Bravo shows, I probably won't mind because I just happen to be thoroughly entertained by Dale Talde's attempts to compensate for his short stature (zing!).  But for predicting the winner?  It's hard to say, but I would really love for a female chef to win this season, and really put the guys into their place.  Can't wait for the next episode...heard that a JoBro is going to make an appearance.