a beer-themed weekend

Yesterday was Josh's 26th birthday. He's not big on birthday celebrations, so every year I'm forced with the challenge of finding something celebratory to do without it seeming too "birthday theme-ish." Lately, his focus has been on beer (trading, tasting, researching, purchasing) - so, in honor of this hobby, we celebrated his day of birth with a weekend full of beer.

We attended The Bruery Clusterfork on Saturday. The Bruery is a fantastic family-run brewery down in Orange County that produces microbrews. We've been members ever since they opened a couple years back and can't get enough of their barrel-aged beers and sours. They host a Clusterfork every few months in which they pour special beers and invite their members to bring special bottles from home to share with everyone. I got to try two Cantillons - arguably the best sour beers in the world.

(the Bruery draft beers)

(communal table of shared beers)

(beer trading)

Last night, we headed over to a homebrew class in Eagle Rock. For $10 we got to sample about 5 different beers and learn about the homebrew process from start to finish. The initial investment is pretty high (brewing kits range from $80-$180 and exclude the actual brewing ingredients) so we left empty handed. But our group appreciated seeing all the work that goes into our favorite brews. To know before you go: the class is extremely informal - we boiled the beer in their empty parking lot out back - and is more of a lecture-style with hardly any hands on activity.

(adding extract to the homebrew)

(the beer right before it started boiling over)

As a birthday gift from me, Josh is now a member of the Beer of the Month Club - specifically the Rare Beer Club. We're looking forward to tasting new beers and reporting about them here.

I hope you enjoyed a good beer this weekend!

Sick Day

Yesterday I woke up with a pretty horrific sore throat and stayed home for a sick day. A cup (or 5) of Cold Remedy tea with honey and almond milk and a slice of Trader Joe's Cinnamon Swirl toast with peanut butter put me in a much better mood.

(cold remedy tea + honey + almond milk)

(cinnamon swirl toast with peanut butter)

Blog Inspiration: Heart of Light

(a cake i baked for josh a few birthdays back)

I am an avid reader of Cupcakes and Cashmere and yesterday she linked over to one of her friend’s blogs – Heart of Light. I am obsessed. Her stories and pictures are wonderful, but what resonated with me was our similar taste in food. She loves egg-y breakfasts, has a passion for baking, and enjoys wandering around Farmers’ Markets. And – she gave up caffeine too! (Did I mention I did that? About 2 months ago. It’s helped immensely with my sleep/insomnia problems).

Anyways, her blog posts on cake baking have got me thinking about baking a cake for a certain mister’s 26th birthday this week. He loves peanut butter and chocolate. Maybe a marble cake with peanut butter filling and chocolate cake frosting? Or perhaps a peanut butter cake with a chocolate Guinness frosting? That sounds better. It will go with all the beer-themed gifts and festivities. Oooh! And I can use our beautiful new cake stand.

Homemade Oreos

Josh and I both share a love for Oreos so I was delighted to find Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for making them homemade. I recommend following her “Sugar Note” and reducing the sugar in the recipe to 1 cup. The cream filling is pretty sweet, so the wafers don’t need that extra ½ cup of sugar. The recipe is easy to follow and the cookies cool quickly. We had homemade Oreos – start to finish – in about 30 minutes.

My New Favorite LA Eatery

I've eaten at some incredible restaurants in Los Angeles, but nothing comes close to my experience at A-Frame in Culver City. The restaurant is owned and run by the creators of the Kogi BBQ truck and Chego, and it features a picnic theme (family style food served in plastic speckled dishes) with an asian-flavor undertone. If you've ever waited an hour for a Kogi short-rib and spicy pork tacos, and loved the intermix of Asian and Mexican flavors, A-Frame is your newest favorite restaurant.

We went in a group of 8 and were able to try a majority of the menu. Our favorites were:

Big Hat Punch - rye whiskey, apple brandy, rum, tea, lemon juice, and prosecco. The punch was served in an old-fashioned punch bowl with mismatching glass cups and a ladle. The menu says it serves 4-6 people, but all 8 of us got at least 2 full cups out of it.

King Antilles Cocktail - Rhum Agricole (aged rum), pineapple, lime, fresh chiles. This drink was light and fruity with a nice spicy kick at the back of your throat. I frequently order spicy drinks and this one is at the top of the lists for ones I've had in LA.

Jaywalker Cocktail - Irish whiskey, cassis, absinthe, mint, strawberries. Cool and refreshing. Paired well with the appetizers.

Furikake Kettle Corn - buttery popcorn and Corn Pop goodness + some seaweed for that "whoa, what is that?!" flavor

Heirloom Pickles with Dip - pickled fennel, cucumbers, carrots, and beets served alongside a garlicky, blue cheese dressing. Fantastic.

Baby Back Ribs - Asian lacquered ribs served in an addicting hoisin, chili, and green onion sauce. When the ribs were gone, I was still eating the sauce simply with my fork.

Beer Can Chicken - crispy skin, juicy meat. This is how chicken should always be cooked, but I just don't think anyone else has mastered it quite like this.

Dyn-o-mite - the world's greatest twice baked potato. Butter, sour cream, parmesan, chives. We had to order additional. Order one potato for every 2-3 people. This was the favorite dish of the whole night for most of our party.

Chu-Don't-Know-Mang - pound cake churros with chocolate milk sauce and vanilla ice cream. The churros were decadent, light (even made out of pound cake), and covered with cinnamon sugar.

Weekend Feasting Plans

Happy Friday! I am so excited for this weekend. I have loads of food and cocktail plans and will report back with pictures next week.

I’ll be attempting a Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan. I’ve never been able to cook eggplant well – it always turns out bitter and mushy – but this LA Times articles sounds fool proof.

I'm meeting my friends for a girls’ brunch at Shade Hotel to celebrate Amanda's birthday. I’m looking forward to a cappuccino, possibly some eggs benedict, and lots of catching up.

We'll be celebrating Josh’s birthday at A-Frame in Culver City. We’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about this place – specifically about the Furikake Kettle Corn, Baby Back Ribs, and Banana Bacon Cream Pie. We’ll be going in a group of 8, so I hopefully I can get everyone on-board with ordering the Big Hat Punch (rye, brandy, rum, tea, lemon, and prosecco) – a giant punch prepared for large groups.

We’re also getting together for a family BBQ. Josh’s parents are making burgers and his aunt is bringing potato salad. We’re in charge of the salad – the current plan is mixed greens, fresh figs, shaved Manchego, pistachios, and a roasted shallot vinaigrette. I’m also surprising Josh’s grandfather with Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for Homemade Oreos.

Enjoy your weekend!

Thoughts on Tomatoes

I absolutely love Summer. I mean, who doesn’t? (I actually have a few mid-West friends who prefer other seasons, which I can never wrap my head around.) Southern California is a perfect 80 degrees, the days are long with gorgeous sunsets, everyone has a healthy glow to them, and the tomatoes are ridiculous. I’ve been lucky in the past few weeks and keep receiving homegrown tomatoes from family and coworkers. I thought I’d share what I’ve been concocting with them.

Caprese Salad – sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and basil over a bed of arugula. Dress with some olive oil, aged balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. A trick: sprinkle tomatoes with a hefty helping of sea salt and let them sit for 30 minutes before you eat. They’ll be oh-so-tasty!

Homemade Spinach Ricotta Ravioli with Tomato Sauce – sauté 2 diced tomatoes in 1 tablespoon of oil for about 3 minutes, add 2-3 tablespoons of red wine and stir, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato Bruschetta

In Italy, I learned that every family has their own unique bruschetta recipes – and some are definitely better than others. I can’t stop thinking about the Bruschetta at this little Enoteca in Radda in Chianti. I begged for the recipe, but they wouldn’t share. After ordering their bruschetta multiple times (c’mon, I had to do my research…), I think I came close to figuring out the recipe. My version didn’t taste identical, but it was still really, really good!

2 tomatoes, diced finely
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 T chopped flat leaf parsley
2 T chopped oregano
2 T chopped basil
1 T salt
2 t pepper
Olive oil
Ciabatta bread

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Cover ingredients with olive oil and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Cut ciabatta into slices and then halves. Place on baking sheet and toast for approximately 5 minutes, until bread is crisp on the edges but slightly soft in the middle. Spoon the bruschetta mixture onto the toast – try to leave most of the oil and all of the garlic in the bowl.

Bruschetta-Infused Olive Oil - Once you’ve enjoyed your bruschetta from above, pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. Funnel the infused oil into an airtight glass container and store in the refrigerator up to a week. I used this oil to cook tomato sauce, dress salads, or dip bread into. The olive oil may solidify in the fridge. If so, just let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes.

The Summer Dog

Dodger Dog courtesy of Serious Eats

Just got home from a Dodgers game and had one of my favorite summer treats: the hot dog.

The Dodger Dog is one of LA's best - I think there's something about eating it alongside a cold beer and with a ball game in the background.

My absolute favorite LA hot dogs are Pink's Guadalajara Dog and Wurstkuche's Mango Jalapeno Sausage.

Guadalajara Dog courtesy of Kahuna of the Kitchen

The Guadalajara Dog comes with relish, onions, tomatoes, and sour cream. All the hot dog purists out there are probably shaking their head at that ingredient listing, but I swear the combination is fantastic. The tang of the relish and onions and the coolness of the tomatoes and sour cream pair perfectly with the crisp snap of the hot dog. Just make sure to head over to Pink's at an off-hour, or else you're looking at a minimum of an hour wait.

Mango Jalapeno Sausage courtesy of Tomo Style

The Mango Jalapeno Sausage is made with a mixture of chicken and turkey. Wurstkuche offers a choice of sauerkraut, caramelized onions, sweet peppers or hot peppers as toppings. I usually go with a blend of the caramelized onions and hot peppers. And you MUST get an order of the Belgian fries with chipotle aioli on the side.

Inspired by the Food Network

Recently I've been feeling inspired by the Food Network. I'm a big fan of several of the chefs (as evidenced by my large collection of their cookbooks in the above picture). I regularly DVR Giada at Home and Barefoot Contessa. Both women make simple, tasty recipes, and they're easy to tweak if you don't have 100% of the ingredients at home.

I fell in love with all of the recipes on Giada's Saturday episode on spicy dishes - "The Heat is On." I'm planning on making the spicy gazpacho and meatballs stuffed with smoked mozzarella in the next couple of weeks. The ravioli with spicy sage butter is going to be a frequent "go-to" weeknight dinner - Boil store bought spinach and cheese ravioli; Melt butter with 16 leaves of sage, paprika, salt and crushed red pepper flakes. Serve sauce over ravioli with grated pecorino. Yum.

Barefoot Contessa taught me two great tips this week on her show:

1) If you don't have cake flour for a baking recipe, replace 1 cup cake flour with 2 T of corn starch and a bit less than 1 cup of all-purpose flour (corn starch + all purpose flour should equal one cup)

2) Homemade vanilla extract: Fill one air-tight jar with at least 8 vanilla pods (or as many as the jar will fit) and fill the jar with vodka (will take 1-2 bottles depending on the jar size). Store at room temperature for at least 1 month, preferably 6 months. I'm seriously considering making this as homemade holiday gifts. Such a fabulous idea!

If you're lacking food inspiration, tune into a Food Network show or check out their website. There's an abundance of menus and recipes.

Ice Cream Sandwiches

I debated over what dessert to bring to the dinner party this past weekend, but ultimately decided on ice cream sandwiches with chocolate sea salt cookies and Guinness ice cream. We recently got a Kitchenaid ice cream maker attachment, and I've been looking for excuses to use it.

My favorite ice cream sandwiches have soft and slightly chewy cookies. Crispy cookies are hard to eat, especially when paired with ice cream. This cookie recipe was wonderful and resulted in some decadent and fudgy chocolate cookies. The recipe calls for 10 minutes of baking time, but I found that the cookies were still too undercooked at that point. After 15 minutes, I was happy with the consistency. I also added a hefty amount of flaked sea salt (Maldon brand) to the cookies - maybe 8-10 flakes per cookie?

The ice cream didn't scream Guinness flavor, but definitely came across as a luscious, beer-ish ice cream. The subtlety of the ice cream paired perfectly with the richness of the cookies.

Melted chocolate and butter for the cookie batter

Ice cream base

Using the ice cream maker attachment

Sea salt chocolate cookie with Guinness ice cream

Farmers' Markets and Fresh Produce

Roman Farmers' Market

I have found that you can make the most wonderful food simply out of fresh ingredients. You don't need a complicated recipe or expensive items like truffles and kobe beef. A good meal just requires in-season produce and family and friends.

I adore going to farmers' markets without a menu or grocery list. I usually do a lap to see what looks good and is at a fair price. Then I purchase my goods and off we go. We call these days Farmers' Market Meals, where we hang out in the kitchen for hours, cooking lots of small plates, drinking wine, and eating each dish as it's ready. We shared one of these days with our friends' Chris and Natalie, and, based off her blog post, I'm pretty sure they had a blast.

Josh brought home some fresh tomatoes from his coworkers' garden that we get to enjoy this evening. I'm thinking that bruschetta could be the perfect appetizer.



Tomatoes for the Weekend

Various Fruit in Capri



Squash Blossoms in Radda in Chianti

 

Papayas in Hawaii

Dinner Party Etiquette

Courtesy of Brown Eyed Baker

Now that life has calmed down a bit, I have more time for one of my favorite pastimes - dinner parties. PW (pre-wedding), we used to attend at least one dinner party a week and host one of our own. But with our chaotic loft (wedding crafts and Crate and Barrel gift boxes everywhere) and a long to-do list, we weren't able to get together for many social dinners.

This Saturday evening we'll be heading over to our friends' home in Brentwood. I believe that in proper etiquette, the guest should always offer to bring a course (appetizer or dessert are usually good) and always, always bring a bottle of champagne, wine, or microbrew. Another tip - make sure to offer to clean up all of their hard work!

Josh and I we'll be bringing a Bruery beer, some red wine, and dessert to the dinner party. Now I just need to determine my dessert selection. I'm deciding among the following three:

1. Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches (guinness ice cream with sea salt chocolate cookies)

2. Summer Fruit Tart (nectarine tart with homemade honey whipped cream)

3. Raspberry Shortbread (raspberry shortbread bars with a glass of port)


I'll report on Monday!

Champagne Bubbles

I have a deep love for champagne. There's something so celebratory and feminine about it. The fact that Josh proposed to me at Domaine Carneros, a sparkling wine chateau, probably contributes to this love of the bubbly.

We incorporated champagne in both of our signature cocktails at the wedding: Wedding Whiskey Punch and Champagne Cocktail

Wedding Whiskey Punch

3 lemon peels

5 tablespoons superfine sugar

1 cupe fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup real pomegranate grenadine (we recommend Scrappy's)

4 heavy dashes Angostura bitters

2 cups bourbon

1 (375 ml) split of champagne

1 large block of ice

In large bowl, muddle lemon peels and superfine sugar. Pour in lemon juice and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the pomegranate syrup, bitters, and bourbon. Add cubed ice to chill the mixture, and stir until mixture is cold. Strain the mixture into a punch bowl over the block of ice and top with champagne. Serve immediately. Yields: 15 servings

Champagne Cocktail

Sugar cube

3 dashes Angostura bitters

Champagne (preferably brut)

Lemon peel

On a napkin, add 3 dashes of bitters to the sugar cube so that it is adequately soaked. Drop the soaked sugar cube into a champagne flute and fill with brut. Garnish with a lemon peel.

CHEERS!

Homemade Cappuccinos

My breakfast came with a cappuccino every morning on our honeymoon. The espresso was dependably smooth and the milk was rich and frothy. At my cooking class, I asked the instructor what type of espresso maker most people use in Italy. She recommended the simple Bialetti stove-top espresso maker (we bought ours at Crate and Barrel). You put cold water in one section and ground espresso in another, then it boils on the stovetop for about 5 minutes, and it's done! The espresso came out wonderful - just like I remembered from our trip. We used Groundworks espresso beans, but there's plenty of great options out there.

Since we don't have a fancy milk frother, we simply put some milk in our Magic Bullet (or a blender will do) to froth it up and then quickly heated it in the microwave (be careful not to scald the milk). Voila! Cappuccino.

Corn Soup

There's something so comforting about soup to me. I grew up eating it on cold days, tired days, or simply days that we didn't feel like making a big ordeal out of dinner. It took me about five years to convince Josh that soup was a legitimate meal. He's still not a giant advocate, but he enjoys this specific recipe for corn soup.

I love this recipe because it has a luxurious, creamy consistency but it's completely dairy-free. Oh, and it costs about $10 for all the ingredients! Throw in a loaf of good bread and this recipe makes about 4 dinners.

**I left out the thyme from the recipe since my market was out, and I added a red bell pepper since we had one in the fridge. I also love to garnish with creme fraiche or sour cream to add a extra bit of creaminess.

The last 365+ days

So something big happened on 5/17/2010. We got engaged. And then something even bigger happened on 7/9/2011. We got married.

Unfortunately, the whole "planning a wedding" thing took over most of our free time, and we were forced to walk away from Bourbon and Bleu for the past year.

After an amazing honeymoon to Italy - filled to the brim with delectable meals, wine, amaro, and even a pasta making class - we're rejuvenated, inspired, and ready to share more of our food and cocktail love with you.

learning to make pasta in Radda in Chianti