France at Home

Bonjour! This will be my second round to bring another French Ministry of Agriculture to you.

I've noticed a lot of parties have been themed around different cultures of the world. French and Italian is one that I stand by a lot when hosting a party because I love to serve tons of wine and tons of cheese. This time will be a little different with the 4 different wines paired with some cheese and chocolate.

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I love to place everything on my kitchen counter and just have my friends serve themselves. Also getting everybody gathered in the kitchen is something I like doing. I am able to talk about my inspiration for the evening as well as why each products were selects. And honestly, everyone always ends up there anyways.

This butter is freshly crafted from cultured cream made in the heart of Normandy. I let this set at room temperature and leave one out (in a nice dish) plain with coarse salt and cracked pepper on the side, and another mixed with honey. I will pair this with mixed breads from baguettes, sourdough, to even pretzel rolls. Everyone likes variety, trust me.

Istara P'tit Basque is a 100% pure sheep's milk cheese. It is still made the same why by tradition which is handmade by sheperds leftover curds from milking their sheep. This cheese has a hint of sheep’s milk, with a smooth, sweet flavor and a nutty finish. I paired this with sweet, plump, and extremely crispy green grapes that I left in the fridge soaked with ice water.

I'm a huge fan of Mas De Daumas Gassac.

Their white grand cru comes from a dry winter and spring climate, followed by an exceedingly hot summer and just the right amount of rain in August meant they were able to pick grapes at an ideal maturity. The complexity of the wine is multilayered with tons of flavor which is pleasantly enjoyed. Here's a little more background of this white wine:

• Average age of the vines: 33 years.
• Yield: 35 hl/ha.
• Total production: 71 000 bottles and 1000 magnums.
• Alcohol by vol.: 13,30% Vol.
• Total acidity (H2SO4): 3,98.
• Ph: 3,32.
• Residual sugar: 12g.

Next we have the Rose from Mouilin De Gassac. The scent of this wine has pleasant, yet intense, floral and mineral aroma. The wine on the palate is well balanced with freshness combining red currants and berries.

Les Vignobles André Lurton, is currently one of the largest wineries in the Bordeaux region. These wines are produced from the prestigious Bordeaux appellations.

Château Bonnet White 2016 - Has a very distinct flavor of what you would find in a Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignons always reminds me of a dry crisp pear. I would serve this with fresh seafood outside from grilled to raw. This is a nice white to drink during this time of year.

Château Bonnet Red 2014 - This wine has notes that features raspberry, vanilla, and spice. Also has velvety tannins and good acidity that finishes. Some would tastes flavors of black currant which I'm not surprised about. An easy wine to drink.

THe Dulcey 32%, baking bar has a DELICIOUS notes of caramel that I've never had before. The color of this bar was also gorgeous. Nicely golden. I can make some great desserts with this, but I think I would rather enjoy this as is with the tines.

Same with the Orelys baking bag. These chips don't have the caramel flavor, but has a distinct deep milk chocolate flavor followed by licorice. I would also serve this as is with the wines. Such a dangerous treat.

Enjoy!

Sushi + Sashimi at home

It's always a drag to find a place for sushi in San Gabriel or at least a place that I would crave. I came upon Yama Seafood not too long ago and kept reminding myself to check it out. They sell fresh seafood to the public. Mostly fish for sashimi (typical ahi tuna, salmon, yellowtail, snapper, scallop, boxed uni, etc). They also have ridiculously affordable cut rolls to grab. We got a piece of salmon a little over half a pound for $15. I believe it sold for $23 a pound. Boxed uni were $14.95 and I think yellowtail went for something like $25 a pound so you can kind of get the idea of the prices. 

The unagi roll came wit 12 pieces for $5.95 and the 2 pc inari with 2 pc CA with 2 pc futomaki went for $4.95.

To sum this up, there were more food outside of what is shown in this photo. We purchased some sashimi soy sauce by Yamasa totalling our bill to $28. Not a bad deal at all. This market also sells a lot of Japanese ingredients like soba and soba sauce. Sake is also sold at 1.7 liters. I also saw instant ramen, wasabi, ginger, rice, seaweed, and dashi. You can practically get what you need here for a good meal at home.

The only negative is, and I barely say anything bad, is how long it took to get our sashimi. The line was not long, but the chef himself runs the whole line. The work he distributes to his employees. There were about 5 people ahead of us waiting to get their fish sliced which took the wait time to around 45 minutes. So be prepared. That said, I'll still be back, but will plan accordingly.

911 W Las Tunas Dr San Gabriel, CA 91776

Closed on Tuesday's. Open 10-7.

Grilled Cheese - VONS

There are a few reasons why I love a grilled cheese sandwich. One of the main reasons though, is because I am lactose intolerant. No one ever knows because I still love to eat it when it's in front of me. Lactose Intolerance can't tell me what to do! The other reason why I love a grilled cheese sandwich was also because when I was growing up, a lot of my classmates would have this in their brown lunch bag which I also did not have.

Brown lunch bags and grilled cheese sandwiches. I remember I always wanted a brown bag, but my parents would instead give me the plastic bags they use to bag groceries. I can tell, they wanted my life to be miserable. It's not even a simple plastic Vons bag. It had to be the ones from the Chinese market with weird prints on them. It was so embarrassing. But sometimes, the school would serve grilled cheese sandwiches. It's the cheapest thing ever made along with the bean & cheese burritos, but I would trade anything for one right now.

For national grilled cheese sandwich day, I made my own version of a grilled cheese sandwich for a small little competition hosted by Vons. The recipe you will find below feeds 4 people. I like to use really subtle cheeses just because I have a sensitive palate to stinky cheese. This recipe will definitely be friendly to anyone, but more towards the hardcore foodie fanatics. Why? Because it includes Pimento Cheese and tator tots. Holy COW.

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You will need:

• 3 Cups of frozen tater tots - I used Safeway tater tots. Selling 2 bags for $5 at the moment!
• 1 - 3/4 cups (1 bag) Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese - Lucerne
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan - I had leftover Krafts
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise - Best Foods
• 8oz of cream cheese - Lucerne
• 4oz of diced pimento drained - (Found near the pickles at Vons)
• 3oz canned green chiles drained - (Found near enchilada sauces at Vons)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1 heaping teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
• 1 loaf of Signature Select sourdough - slice about 3/4 inch - 1 inch depending on preference. The sandwich will be pressed. - (Found near fresh baked breads)
• 1.5 tablespoons of unsalted butter.

** Make sure your cream cheese is softened before proceeding. **

1. Preheat your oven to 425 per instructions on the bag of your tater tots. Cover a pan with non-stick parchment paper before laying out your tots. The tots will bake for 22 - 25 minutes. I like to drizzle a bit of olive the LAST 5 minutes. Once the tots are completed, I sprinkle on Kosher salt while they are still HOT.
2. Once your cream cheese has soften, you basically mix everything in a large bowl until all the ingredients are combined. This is why soft cream cheese is important. Like mixing cold butter. Might as well just give up.
3. Preheat your non-stick pan (or whatever you are comfortable using) to medium heat.
4. Start layering your sandwiches. Pimento cheese on both slices of bread. Top with an even layer of tater tots, then top the other slice with cheese on top of the tots. So it's: bread-cheese-tots-cheese-bread.
5. Once your pan is read, take 1/2 the butter and put it in your pan. Once that melts, quickly put your sandwich in with a pan placed on top to press. The first side will take about 2 minutes pressed, but we all know it can always change. Just grab a spatula to slightly lift.
6. Once it's golden brown with dark crispy edges, remove the sandwich on your cutting board. Put the rest of your butter in the pan, and repeat process 5 until golden brown. The cheese might ooze out. Don't panic, these get crispy and delicious. I scrape them up along the sandwich when they start getting too dark.
7. Once the sandwich is completed, let stand for a minute before eating so you won't burn your mouth.

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Boy was this scrumptious! This was extremely flavorful and savory you won't even miss the meat. BUT, if I had more time, I would totally cook some bacon bits to fold into my pimento cheese. The sourdough was perfectly crispy. The pimento cheese was slightly spicy from the cayenne, but was cooling from the creamy cheeses. Each bite gets your jowl going. Crack open a bottle of root beer and this will be the best summer backyard/outdoor sandwich to get the crowd going for days.

Feel free to bake all your tots to eat on the side. You can never have enough of these things.

Happy cheesin.

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Game Day Nachos

Or is it Nachos everyday? I love nachos. There's something so satisfying, laying around, having a few drinks with friends and munching on snacks. It's honestly one of my favorite things to look forward to when hosting a sports party. Well, that and drinking of course. Actually, really of course.

I love game day food. From pungent buffalo wings to a big bowl of guacamole. Don't forget the dried nuts, pizza and the occasional fried chicken. Basically, anything could go down. But kick that 7 layer dip aside and serve up some beast looking nachos because that's what everyone wants.

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Grab a big plate. Have some canned corn and black beans drained and rinsed slightly. Grab a jar of ready made queso (even better with green chile if available). Cook some marinated chicken or just season a few chicken breast yourself. Fresh fried tortillas were used.

Layer the chips, with some cheese, with some corn and black beans, with some chicken. Do it again and continue to create layers. Before you know it, you created a masterpiece. Slice up some jalapenos and cilantro leaves for garnish. Put a few spoonfuls of sour cream, guacamole and salsa. Basically, you can make this however you want with as much toppings as you can load.

The bigger the plate, the bigger the party. Who's ready?

Krusteaz Pancake

I've been meaning to make pancakes for a while, but November became quite expensive. From my brother's birthday, to a lot of other unplanned events that is making my credit card statements a little painful to look at.

With that being said, I became just a tad discouraged to make something from scratch. I went to Vons to make a quick run for groceries when I came across Krusteaz buttermilk pancake mix. I'm really curious about this, because for $2-$3, I can make this again for a few more breakfast/brunches. All I needed was to add water. At that point, I was sold. The batter was extremely easy to put together, literally. 1 cup of Krusteaz with 2/3's of cold water. I mixed the ingredients with a fork to not "over whisk" the batter. As mentioned on the box, it's okay that there are lumps, but not to over mix.

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The batter made 3 pancakes, but you could easily divide it to 4 pancakes (I was only able to eat 2 out of 3).

I brûléed a banana to use as a topping. Just grab one firm, but ripe, banana. Peel, cut in half and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Stick it under the broiler until the top starts caramelizing. When this happens, keep your eyes on it because it will burn quick. Let your bananas sit out as you assemble your plate.

Layer pancakes with a slice of butter in between, top with your caramelized banana, toasted pecans, crispy bacon pieces, drizzle with pure maple syrup (or Aunt Jemimas because everyone loves Aunt Jemima) and top off with just a sprinkle of kosher salt. To make it taste like the holidays, sprinkle a little nutmeg and cinnamon.

Now, remember your pancakes it just a blank canvas. I happened to have pecans and bananas at home to throw on. If you have frozen fruit, you can make a quick compote to throw over these pancakes. The verdict with these pancakes are pretty straight forward. I would rather make my own. I love pancakes to be extremely fluffy and buttery which wasn't the case for the Krusteaz buttermilk pancake mix. But, was it easy? very. And sometimes you just need something quick and easy to make breakfast happen. The toppings however, made this feel very gourmet.

So have fun with this and don't stress too much on breakfast. This will still be a crowd pleaser, and everyone will think you made this from scratch. Because, bacon. And brûléed banana. Pecans? You totally win.

Let the holidays begin!