Bouchon, Beverly Hills

If you couldn't already tell from the hoards of food bloggers taking pictures of their meals with expensive cameras and the fact that the restaurant is completely booked weeks from now, Bouchon is the latest hot dining spot in L.A.. I was lucky enough to score a reservation for brunch the second week it opened.

Fans of Thomas Keller are die hard, and I had high expectations. I had seen the salmon rilette on the Food Network show "Best Thing I Ever Ate". Tyler Florence (I think it was either him or Bobby Flay) boldly claimed that this was the best thing he ever ate. It's a mixture of smoked salmon and fresh raw salmon mixed with extra virgin olive oil. A coating of clarified butter is poured on top and hardens. The waiter takes the clarified butter off and you can spread it on the bread with the salmon. It was divine.

We also got the frisee salad with lardons and poached egg, the croque madame and the bouchons for dessert. It was all great, but my favorites were the croque madame and the bouchon dessert.

The service was impeccable. Not snooty or pretentious at all, very relaxed and friendly and polite. This was the best service I have ever had in L.A..

Note: Unlike Vegas, they have the same menu for lunch and dinner. No brunch menu or bakery.

Dinner Party: Raclette

Our friends Ron and Fran came over last weekend bringing wine, cheese, meats and a table top grill. We were preparing a traditional French dish called raclette. For those of you who are unfamiliar with raclette, here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Raclette is a dish indigenous to parts of Switzerland, Wallonia and France. The Raclette cheese round is heated, either in front of a fire or by a special machine, then scraped onto diners' plates; the term raclette derives from the French racler, meaning "to scrape". Traditionally, it is accompanied by small firm potatoes(Bintje, Charlotte or Raclette varieties), gherkins, pickled onions, dried meat, such as prosciutto and viande des Grisons, sliced peppers, tomato, onion, mushrooms, pears, and dusted with paprika and fresh-ground black pepper...

A modern way of serving raclette involves an electric table-top grill with small pans, known as coupelles, to heat slices of raclette cheese in. Generally the grill is surmounted by a hot plate or griddle. The cheese is brought to the table sliced, accompanied by platters of boiled or steamed potatoes, other vegetables, charcuterie, and perhaps seafood. Diners create their own small packages of food by cooking small amounts of meat, vegetables and seafood on the griddle. These are then mixed with potatoes and topped with cheese in the small, wedge-shaped coupelles that are placed under the grill to melt and brown the cheese. Alternatively, slices of cheese may be melted and simply poured over food on the plate. The accent in raclette dining is on relaxed and sociable eating and drinking, the meal often running to several hours. French and other European supermarkets generally stock both the grill apparatus and ready-sliced cheese and charcuterie selections for use with it. Restaurants also provide raclette evenings for parties of diners.

Cheese, meat and potatoes. How can it not be delicious, right? Here are the ingredients we used:

Boiled small yellow potatoes

Gherkins (miniature pickles)

Assorted cured meats

Raclette cheese (they got theirs from Trader Joes)

White wine

Salad (accompaniment)

Put the cheese in the grill tray and place it in the grill to melt for about 2 minutes. Halve some potatoes and when cheese is melted, pour it over the potatoes. Add cured meat and gherkin and enjoy.

Since the dinner was so heavy, we had fresh fruit for dessert. It was such a delicious meal, and perfect for a cozy wintry evening!

Rudy's BBQ, Austin TX

When in Austin, BBQ is a given. We were treated to some of the best BBQ in Austin at Rudy's BBQ. (We also got our smoked Thanksgiving turkey from there too!). The brisket was just melt in your mouth, perfectly charred, and the ribs were so juicy and flavorful.

There are no plates, so you eat on the paper table mats they give you. Along with their famous BBQ sauce, sweet pickles, white bread and smoky baked beans, there really isn't anything else that could make the meal any better... Oh, except some banana pudding. :)

Pre Feast Munchies

Artichoke Hummus Dip

I forgot to upload these pics with the Thanksgiving post.. Here's an awesome spread that Amy and Ed put out for us before we sat around the table for our Thanksgiving meal. That black cheese is actually a Guinness Cheddar cheese!

Cheese board with Guinness Cheddar

Ed's famous guacamole

The Hula Hut, Austin TX

baby back ribs

The Hula Hut in Austin TX was a first for me; it's a Polynesian-Mexican fusion restaurant! Hey, why not? The fish tacos were light and refreshing (did I just say refreshing while referring to a taco?), and the sweet ribs were out of this world. In fact, Brad even told the waitress that their ribs were "better than Rudy's". That's a big compliment. Hehe.

The Mexican influence is obvious--there are lots of tacos, quesadillas, etc. The Polynesian influence is mainly in the sauces and the use of mango and pineapple. Combined with its fun atmosphere, this restaurant is a definite go-to if you're in Austin!

fish tacos

mahi mahi

Susan's Ginger Snaps

Brad's mother Susan makes the most amazing ginger snaps. They're thin, crisp and perfectly bite sized with a nice ginger kick to them.

Susan brought these over for Thanksgiving, and we took some back with us to L.A. We cannot stop eating them!

1 1/3 sticks butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

3 Tablespoons molasses

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1-2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter, sugar, add the egg and molasses. Then add the dry ingredients. Put the mixture in the refrigerator for about an hr. Then,roll into little balls in your hand and dip into a bowl of sugar.They should be lightly coated with the sugar. I put parchement paper on the cookie sheets. Bake about 10 minutes. Cookies will puff, then crinkle on the top. They should get more crisp as they cool.

It makes about 75 - 80 cookies.

Huckleberry, Take 2, Santa Monica

Duck Hash

Huckleberry in Santa Monica is fast becoming my favorite brunch spot. I skip the inside seating because it's so crowded and loud in there, and I sit on the outside tables on Wilshire Blvd. This time around we ordered the duck hash, pan au chocolat, brussel sprouts, and the bacon maple biscuit (again!). It was all so good, but the duck hash was my favorite out of the four (with the maple bacon biscuit a close second). The hash had shredded duck with potatoes and various greens. Everything went together so well, and it made for a cozy warm dish perfect for a brisk Saturday afternoon.

Brussel Sprouts

Pan Au Chocolat