Grub, Hollywood

Do you remember "Bada-bing Betty" Fraser on Top Chef? Well she has her own restaurant in L.A. called Grub. It's quaint, cozy and quirky.. Exactly what you'd imagine when you think of Betty herself!

Grub is famous for a few things:

1. The "crack" bacon, as they call it. Bacon glazed in maple syrup, cumin, and other spices. This stuff really is addictive!!
2. The tuna melt (I didn't get to try this.. Next time!)
3. The chocolate chip and potato chip cookie. Positively sinful.

My friend and I ordered the quesadilla with cheddar cheese, caramelized onion, green apple and "crack" bacon, and the chicken sandwich with "crack" bacon. The chicken sandwich was the clear winner--everything was perfectly balanced, from the garlic aioli to the sprouts, chicken breast, tomato, and sticky sweet bacon. The quesadilla had a nice crunchy crust, but there was just too much cheese and not enough other stuff. I could barely taste the bacon. Feeling bacon deprived, I ordered a side of bacon (5 strips of the stuff!) and devoured the whole plate in minutes. Oops. Haha.

After our meal, I got a chocolate potato chip cookie to go. We ate it while walking down Hollywood Blvd, and it was quite good. The potato chips lent a subtle saltiness to the otherwise sweet cookie.

Look what they give to snack on before you get your food! Healthy!



The Quesadilla with cheddar cheese, caramelized onion, green apple and "crack" bacon


The chicken sandwich on cheddar bread with "crack" bacon. Deee-lish!

Julia Child's Ratatouille

I have to admit that I was expecting a "prettier" dish. The movie Ratatouille made this famous dish look like a work of art. The eggplant, zucchini and such were cut into coins and then laid out in a casserole like a deck of cards. Not so with Julia Child's version.

The trick to ratatouille, according to Julia, is cooking the elements separately first and then combining them in the end to simmer. This method retains the "shape and character" of each ingredient. If you don't own the book, you can find the recipe here, straight from the publisher (it's a pdf):

http://knopfdoubleday.com/marketing/cooking/Ratatouille-condensed.pdf

I would also highly recommend watching this entertaining and informative video. It's an "homage to Julia Child", and an excellent demonstration of how to prepare the ratatouille.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efQlr1RYgrk

The dish I made was pretty good and it only took an hour or so to make. I think it would have been better if I had salted the eggplant ahead of time to get out the bitter taste (I just didn't have time for this--I was hungry!). Also, I didn't have onions on hand, so this was a missing element of the dish.

Cook the zucchini and eggplant first, one minute on each side, then cook the onion and bell peppers.

Peel the tomatoes. This is the first time I did this and I was surprised how easy it is! Drop the tomatoes into boiling water for exactly ten seconds. Then peel!

Layer everything together and simmer.

Bon Appetite!

Lemony Carrot Soup

Ok, I am guilty of taking the no-recipe approach to soups (as you can see in a couple of my previous soup posts). It's because I view soups the same way as I view fried rice---as a "throw in whatever's leftover in the fridge" kind of meal.

Today for lunch I made carrot soup (Yes, I love soup!). I decided to measure everything this time so that anyone can follow this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of roughly chopped carrots
4 large sage leaves (fresh)
olive oil
2 cups homemade unsalted chicken stock
1/4 cup of cream
1 tbsp butter
juice of half a small lemon
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1 large garlic clove
1/3 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp of cloves
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Drizzle olive oil on the carrots and toss to coat. Sprinkle chopped sage leaves on top and put in oven for about 20 minutes in the lower 1/3 rack at 450 degrees until carrots are tender and starting to caramelize. Add carrots and sage to a blender and pour in 1 1/2 cups of stock, cream, ginger, garlic, cinnamon and cloves. Puree in blender. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Thin out with remaining 1/2 cup stock if needed. Pour soup into a pot and heat over burner, adding the butter so that it melts into the soup.


I think most creamy soups would benefit by the addition of sour cream as a garnish at the end, but I didn't have any in the fridge. Nevertheless, even without the sour cream it was delicioso!

Pea Soup with Honey Sweetened Eggplant

Today I came across this recipe for split peas with honey sweetened eggplant on Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Split-Peas-with-Honey-Sweetened-Eggplant-232481

I thought it would give me a perfect opportunity to make use of my frozen chicken stock and to prepare myself for the ratatouille I'll be making tomorrow. Not having split peas on hand, I used frozen petite peas and changed the soup recipe a little. In making these changes, I was inspired by Michael Chiarello's recipe for Spring Pea Soup:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/spring-pea-soup-recipe/index.html

Here's my version.

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen petite peas

1/4 cup cream

2 cups chicken stock

2 garlic cloves

1 medium onion

olive oil

1 bay leaf

1 tsp thyme

salt and pepper and lemon juice (about half a lemon) to taste

Saute the onion and garlic in a pot with olive oil over medium high heat. After 8 minutes or so, add the stock, bay leaf, peas and cream. Bring to a boil. Take out about 1/4 cup of peas and set aside. Puree the rest of the soup in a blender, adding more stock or cream if necessary. Add the whole peas back into the soup. Salt and pepper and lemon juice to taste.

The pop of the whole peas in the soup as you eat it is just wonderful. I don't even like peas that much, but I would eat this pea soup any day--even on a scorching hot day such as this! (Note: It was even better cold the next day) The lemon is a nice finishing touch that brightens up the soup.

Here's the honey sweetened eggplant served over quinoa..

I didn't add the capers because I didn't have any on hand, but even without capers it was great. This is a pretty simple rustic dish. The addition of honey is a nice touch; it was surprising that just a dab of honey could change the flavor of the whole dish.

Recipe Index

(* indicates my current favorites)

APPETIZER

Chicken Liver Crostini

Figs with Bleu Cheese and Peppery Maple Syrup

Trader Joe's Frying Cheese

DESSERT

Brad's Tollhouse Cookies

Brad's Pistachio Chocolate Chip cookies

Brad's Chocolate Banana Muffins

Ida's Chocolate Nut Brownies

Susan's Ginger Snaps*

Applesauce Multigrain Muffins

Banana Muffins

Bananas and Sour Cream with Cinnamon

Brad's Brownie Cookies

Chocolate Dipped Frozen Bananas

Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Coconut Macaroons with Stevia

Fruit Smoothie

Ginger Raisin Granola

Gluten and Sugar Free Banana Muffins with Stevia

Julia Child's Crepes

Plum, Raspberry and Red Wine Compote

Rosemary Whiskey Bananas on Vanilla Ice Cream

EGGS

Seafood Rice Pancake and Egg Stirfry

Brad's Patient Slow Cooked Eggs

Egg on Egg on Egg

Julia Child's Eggs Baked in Ramekin (Ouefs en Cocotte)*

Tarragon Deviled Eggs and Bacon on Toast

GRAINS

Brown Rice Confetti

Okonomiyaki*

Inari Sushi*

Alton Brown's Cheese Grits

Corn Cakes with Salmon and Salmon Roe*

Fried Asian Quinoa

Fried Quinoa Cakes

Fried Rice

Slow Cooked Polenta

MEAT

Thanksgiving Dinner

Balsamic Sticky Pork Ribs

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

Julia Child's Hamburger

Maple Roasted Bacon

Rachel Ray's Lamb Chops with Mint Mustard Sauce

Rachel Ray's Maple Mustard Pork with Grilled Apples

Roast Rack of Lamb with Mint Sauce

Robert Rodriguez's Puerco Pibil

THE Meatloaf*

POULTRY

Tyler Florence's Ultimate Roast Chicken

Baked Chicken Meatballs with Peperonata

Charlie Trotter's Panko and Ginger Crusted Chicken with Sweet and Sour Mustard Sauce

Chicken with Mustard Vinaigrette

Devil's Chicken Thighs with Braised Leeks*

Figgy Piggy Cornish Hen

Julia Child's Poulet Saute (Sauteed Chicken)

Julia Child's Poulet Saute aux Herbes de Provence (Chicken Sauteed with Herbs and Garlic, Egg Yolk and Butter Sauce)

Making Chicken Stock

Oven Fried Panko Chicken

Rachel Ray's Creole Chicken Breasts with Crab and Artichoke Stuffing

Rachel Ray-Inspired Chicken with Artichoke

Smoke Roasted BBQ Chicken with Apple Cider Sauce

Thai Curry

Thai Curry Crock Pot

Tyler Florence's Chicken Mole Poblano

SAUCES

Mayonnaise

Pan Drippings Hollandaise Sauce

Red Wine Barbeque Sauce

SOUP

Mochi Soup

Bacon Carrot Soup

Congee (Jook) or Rice Porridge

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Creamy Carrot and Sage Soup

Lemony Carrot Soup

Lotus Root Soup

Pea Soup

Sage Sweet Potato Soup

VEGETABLES

Bitter Melon

Harumi's Carrot Tuna Salad*

Harumi's Green Bean with Sesame

Harumi's Mabo Tofu

Honey Sweetened Eggplant

Julia Child's Ratatouille

Marinated Eggplant with Capers and Mint

Moong Dal

Okra with Tuna and Daikon

Rachel Ray's Cauliflower with Red, Green and Black Confetti

Rachel Ray's Eggplant Caviar

Radishes, Butter and Sea Salt

Roasted Cauliflower

Skillet Tomato

Soy Simmered Burdock Root

Sweet Potato Croquettes

WORKS IN PROGRESS

Coconut Banana Muffins

Double Fudge Brownie with Stevia

Fried Polenta

Raspberry Clafouti

Radishes, Butter and Sea Salt

I have never been to France, and I desperately want to go. My main motivation is the food, of course!

I read in Gourmet that a common French snack is radishes served with a lick of soft butter and sea salt. This simple combination seems so elementary, yet it's a perfect trio that showcases the best of each ingredient.

If you use good quality unsalted butter (Plugra's European style butter is great. You can buy it at Whole Foods) and coarse sea salt, the result is heavenly. The peppery radish is tempered by the creamy butter, while the coarse sea salt adds a nice crunchy texture.

If you want to serve this at a dinner party, try these open-face butter and radish sandwiches from Bon Appetite:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Open-Face-Butter-and-Radish-Sandwiches-241634

Fried Quinoa

Have you ever had fried rice? Sure, but have you ever had fried quinoa?

Fried quinoa has the same flavors as fried rice, but the quinoa adds a subtle nuttiness. Quinoa also has a unique pop-in-your-mouth texture, which I love. Here's the ingredients list.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa (Note: Quinoa cooks just like rice. 2 cups of water for 1 cup of quinoa)

2 eggs

2 handfuls of frozen peas

3 strips bacon

1/2 onion

soy sauce to taste

drizzle of sesame oil to taste

2 garlic cloves

ginger to taste

pepper to taste

handful of chopped green onion

Directions:

Cook the bacon in a skillet, then set aside.

Add the onion, ginger and garlic, and saute in the bacon fat.

Add the cooked quinoa, peas, bacon, green onion, soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil. Make a hole in the middle of the pan and add your scrambled eggs. Let it cook in the middle of the pan, mixing the eggs occasionally so it all cooks.

Mix everything together and serve!

Similar to the fried rice I make, there's nothing set in stone. It's a very flexible dish, and all sorts of veggies and meats can be added. Play around with the recipe and make it your own.

Julia Child's Poulet Saute (Sauteed Chicken)

For lunch today I made Julia Child's Poulet Saute (Sauteed Chicken) with one chicken thigh. The recipe is on page 254 in her cookbook. According to Julia, a true saute has the chicken cooking entirely in butter or oil; the bird never touches liquid until the very end. This gives the bird that nice crunchy brown exterior.

To cook this dish, just put some butter in a pot or casserole dish, turn up the heat to moderately high, and wait until the butter's foaming starts to subside. Next, place a towel-dried chicken thigh (or any other part of the bird) in the butter for a few minutes, then turn. Make sure the chicken browns on both sides and the butter doesn't burn.

Season the chicken with herbs (I used basil, tarragon and thyme), salt and pepper. For the next 15 minutes, turn down the heat to moderate and cover the pot. Baste the chicken 2 or 3 times during this time period and turn occasionally. Make sure the butter doesn't burn.

Remove the chicken. For the sauce, I just added some dry white wine and a bit of beef stock and butter to the pot. I deglazed the pan and poured the sauce over the chicken. Bon appetite!

Note: Of course, this is a condensed version of Julia's recipe. Hers is two and a half pages long. Buy the book if you haven't already, and let me know which recipes you like to make! :)

...

There's not much to say today except "Mmm.. Leftover meatloaf."

On the menu for later this week: Julia Child's Ratatouille. It sounds like a simple dish, but Julia herself proclaims that it isn't a simple endeavor if you want to get it "right". I'm up for the challenge. Stay tuned!