Sunday Oysters

One thing I will never take for granted is the beautiful sun. It's one of the reasons why I look forward to the weekends. There are a lot of things we aren't able to do between 8-5 because of work. So on weekends, I try to utilize all my time by spending time with family, friends, and just walking around when there's still light out.

We went to Frances for one lovely brunch with oysters and mimosas. It's something that is so easy to just do at home and extremely intimate with your friends around.

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Frances picked up 3 different oysters, I believe.. from the Hollywood Farmers Market. The varieties were Kumamoto, Kusshi, and Shigoku. Everything was super fresh and shucked perfectly with no chip (yay Frances!).

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Served with mignonette, lemon and horseradish. Make a quick cocktail sauce with ketchup, squeeze of lemon, splash of mignonette and horseradish.

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She also picked up some fresh bread and made some egg toast which was very delightful. Eggs were fluffy and mixed with chives. Just dash some hot sauce and we are good to go.

Cheers for a lovely weekend.

Slow Cooker - Beef Braised in Red Wine

I found a beautiful 4 pound chuck roast at the market the other day and immediately thought about cooking it low and slow. I have tons of red wine left from a party I had during summer so I might as well cook with it.

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4 pound chuck roast

Again, huge piece of steak. If you think about cooking something low and slow, might as well make a larger batch since this will take about 5 hours to cook. I seasoned generously with Lawry's garlic salt and cracked black pepper and seared it on high with a little olive oil.

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Make sure both sides are golden. While this is sizzling up, my slow cooker was preheating on low. I sliced up one whole white onion to set at the bottom of the slow cooker. After the beef is browned, you place it over the onion. Take one 6oz can of tomato paste and place it in the hot pan to heat up. I then poured 1 to 1 and a half cups of red wine to deglaze the pan and tomato paste. Transfer the sauce and pour it over the pot roast. I let it cook for 5 hours and turned it over only once during the process.

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For the mash, I had 2 potatoes, peeled and diced into a pot of cold water. 2 garlic cloves were peeled, thrown in with the potatoes and seasoned with salt. Bring the potatoes up to a boil and let it go on medium for about 10-15 minutes (until tender). Drain the water and place the potatoes and garlic back into the warm pot. Mash the potatoes, pour your choice of cream and season with salt and pepper until you are satisfied.

I also served this dish with some oven roasted kale.

Simple and it only takes a few ingredients. The only step you really need to take is browning the meat. Everything else just falls into place. With leftovers, you can buy some beautiful baguettes. Toasted slightly. Slather this beef (if next day make sure to reheat) and top off with some horseradish cream or Dijon mustard. Double thumbs up on that one.

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Salad

I was, and still am, very into fennel. I didn't always appreciate the flavors though, but when I had it again somewhere that prepared it well, I fell in love almost instantly. 

I made a simple grilled chicken summer plate because I was trying to find simple party dishes where people could pick at. 

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It's really simple. I just seasoned the chicken with my favorite Lawry's garlic salt and cracked black pepper. I sliced the zucchini and salted them to draw out the water, dab it dry with a paper towel, then season lightly with salt and pepper. The fennel I just sliced and roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper at 450 till tender and brown. I also grilled some onions just because I had some. 

That's it! super simple, but tons of flavor. And if you like, grab your favorite caesar dressing and drizzle on top.. everywhere. I like the the super garlicky - anchovy flavored ones. With extra cracked black pepper on top. One of my favorite go tos and takes NO time.

Pork Chop Agrodolce

My memories of eating pork chops are always those crispy fat edges and the leftover bone everyone eyes on. Pork chops are pretty inexpensive, so my parents would purchase them quite often. Just sprinkle with Lawry's garlic parsley salt with a dash of white pepper and we are good to go.

I'm going to share with you a recipe that's extremely simple, but will be a crowd pleaser (always important) at any dinner event. Pork Chop Agrodolce is just, pork chop for one, covered in a sweet and sour sauce. I feel like every cuisine has their own versions of a sweet and sour dish. This Italian version is one of my favorites at the moment. I am excited for it and hope you will be able to enjoy this in the near future.

Ingredients

• 3 Pork Chops - mine were around 1 inch.
• Lawry's garlic parsley salt for seasoning
• black pepper
• olive oil

Algrodolce Sauce

• 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of honey (adjust to 2 if preferred)
• 2 smashed garlic cloves

Heat your pan to medium high with olive oil. Season the pork on both sides with Lawry's garlic salt and fresh cracked black pepper as you would season your meat. I am a little generous with the garlic salt.. it's my favorite.

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Let it be for a good 4-5 minutes or so to let it get crusty. Again, this really depends on how thick your chops are.

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Let it go for another 5 minutes. Add more olive oil if needed, you want to make sure both sides have browned beautifully. Removed your chops and set it to the side.

Grab a towel to dab the fat off your pan. Pour in the vinegar, honey and garlic and deglaze the pan with a wooden spatula. Make sure to get all the bits! When it starts to simmer, I added my pork chops back in and flipped them around until coated.

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There are many ways to make this. I made this with the ingredients I had at home and it still worked out (tasted) wonderfully. Some parts of the pork may appear "pink" but pork has natural tints in some sections, and no matter how you cook it the tint will always be there. If unsure before you eat them, just stick a thermometer. USDA guidelines says cook till 145 with a 3 minute rest.

Enjoy!

Summer Brunch - Italy Inspired

I've been thinking about prosciutto lately. And when I say lately, I mean almost everyday, a few times a day. I recently hung out with a good friend of mine, Frances, who's also a total foodie freak like me. Trust me, there's a few out there that can really get down in a kitchen as well as knowing what types of food to order in restaurants. We were just hanging out the other day at a farmers market, drinking wine out of an emptied out Kern's pear juice can (don't ask) before starting our conversations about different food in different countries. One of them, was Italy.

I decided to make this brunch item after talking about my dreams of going. Who wouldn't want to go?

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The recipe is simple though it may cost a little more than just your eggs and bacon.... toast.

Ingredients (Feeds 3):

• 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry. The package normally comes with 2, save the other one for other uses. Thaw puff pastry for about 20 minutes.
• 4-5 tablespoons of unsalted butter (optional)
• 3 eggs cooked sunny side - or however you want your eggs. I use Happy Eggs.
• 1 container of Belgioioso Burrata cheese - The container I got includes one large burrata almost the size of a softball. I got mines from Vons.
• 1/4 pound of Prosciutto Di Parma - Got mine from Marcel Gourmet Market at the Grove in West Hollywood/Fairfax
• 1 cup+ of baby arugula - feel free to add more.
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

HELL YES (OPTIONAL) - ADDING EXTRA BUTTER TO YOUR PASTRY.

1.  When the puff pastry is pliable, you will notice 3 folds on the dough. Hope them up so it's one sheet. In the middle fold, place about 1/2 a tablespoon interchangeably like checkers. Fold one sheet over to cover the butter, then place the remainder of the butter on the surface that doesn't have butter underneath, interchangeably as well. So if the sheet was transparent, it will kind of look like the butter is spread out evenly. Take the other flap and close it on top of the butter. Now it should look like how it was when you first took it out to thaw. 
2. Get a rolling pin or a emptied out wine bottle like me and start rolling out your dough. I made a few folds as I rolled just like if you are to make puff pastry from scratch. I got about 10 folds or so before I started to roll it out into a rectangle (like a 12x10). I stuck this in the freezer while my oven heats up to 350 (I used my Breville Pro).
3. When your oven is ready, line a baking pan with nonstick parchment paper. Lay out your chilled puff pastry and then sprinkle a light drizzle of salt.
4. Bake for 30 minutes on 350. I ranked up to 400 degrees for an additional 3 minutes.
5. If you don't add the additional butter, just follow the box instructions to cook. I would just roll it out, and make one fold to make my rectangle shape.

Always keep an eye on your oven. Try not to open your oven. Every oven is different so just make sure you check in at the 20-25 minute mark.

Plating

1. I grabbed a wooded cutting board
2. Spread 1/2 of the burrata onto the pastry
3. Top with arugula, drizzle with a little olive oil. salt lightly with salt and pepper.
4. Top with the rest of the burrata with dollops interchangeably.
5. Top with your eggs the opposite way, interchangeably.
6. Layer your Prosciutto

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With a sharp knife, cut through in a rocking motion so you won't tear the pastry. You want to make clean cuts. Enjoy this with your beverage of choice. Had this with my legs kicked back, a cup of coffee, and just watched the birds chipper.

Enjoy!