February 2009 – Food Woolf

A Recipe for Becoming Guatemalan

Yo soy pura gringa. And yet, thanks to my husband, I am part of a beautiful Guatemalan/German family.

As a food lover and newly initiated family member, I thoroughly enjoy learning the histories of my husband’s family through food. Standing at the stove with my mother in-law, I discover the heritage dishes of the generations before and relish the bright, fresh flavors of comfort food from Guatemala.

In any culinary journey, the key to discovering the nuances of an unfamiliar territory is through comfort food. But eater beware. Once sampled, another culture’s comfort food has the power to beguile, distract and–most impressively–require further in depth exploration. One bite and suddenly you’re filled with a longing for that comforting flavor that can match the craving of the people that have been eating it all their lives. Tasting Mixtas for the first time, I suddenly wanted to hop a plane to Guatemala.

Mixtas, known as Guatemalan street food, is more than just a hot dog on a tortilla. Made with fresh and inexpensive ingredients, the mixtas is a hot dog rolled up with a refreshing lime-dressed cole slaw, delicate guacamole, green chiles and spicy hot sauce. A perfect mid day snack or late night bite on the cheap, a mixtas makes you wonder why you’ve never had a hot dog soft taco before.

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Mixtas, or the Guatemalan Hot Dog Taco
From a Family recipe

1 package of fresh tortillas (corn), heated in microwave in a towel or warmed over gas flame of stove
1 package of hot dogs (beef or pork), cooked in boiling water
Guatemalan slaw (recipe below)
Guatemalan guacamole (recipe below)
Hot sauce (Tapatio or Sriracha)
1 can of green chili

Guatemalan Slaw
1 bag of shredded cabbage “angel hair” style (or thinly slice half of one cabbage)
Juice of one lime
2 tbs chopped cilantro
1 Red onion, minced
4 tbs Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Toss shredded cabbage with the juice of one lime, chopped cilantro and minced red onion. Drizzle with olive oil, enough to just coat the mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Guacamole de Antigua

2 ripe Haas avocados
¼ red onion, minced
½ small lime, juiced
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
pinch of salt
1 can of green chiles (optional)

Remove meat of the avocado and mash with a fork in a bowl (or on a plate!). Mix in the red onion. Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the mixture–the citrus not only flavors the mixture it keeps the avocado from turning brown. Rub the teaspoon of oregano in your hand to release the herb’s oils and then add to avocado mixture. Add salt to taste.

To make mixtas:

Boil hot dogs in hot water. When done serve on warm tortillas (double up the tortillas if you prefer) with slaw, guacamole, hot sauce and green chilies.

Enjoy!

February 26

Chicken Coca-Cola

February is often one of the coldest and cruelest months of winter. But thanks to an extended visit from my out-of-town family, February has been nothing but warm. You see, for the past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of spending long weekends with my husband’s wonderful mother and father on the ancient pull-out couch of their winter rental in Carpenteria, California.

Carpenteria is a perfect spot for two snow birds like my snow-weary in-laws who needed to flee the brutal winter of Michigan. There in the ocean-side town populated by off-season surfers, wealthy retirees and permanently parked mobile homes, we have spent hours laughing, and sharing family stories around the dining table.

Chicken Coca-Cola is a family recipe my mother in-law shared on our first dinner together. Born and raised in Guatemala, my mother-in-law grew up on dishes inspired by local ingredients and spices and her her frugal mother. Lucrecia is a joy in the kitchen. She showers me with her passion for cooking, knowledge of Guatemalan classics and passion for sharing kitchen secrets. Chicken Coca Cola, is a family classic based around the iconic American soda.

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Pollo Con Coca-Cola

1 Whole chicken, quartered (separate into wings, breasts, legs)
1 (14 oz) Can of stewed tomatoes
3 Garlic cloves, chopped
1 Medium onion, chopped
1 Jar (4 oz.) red peppers
1 Can Coca Cola (don’t use diet!)
Vegetable oil (2-4 teaspoons)

In a medium to large skillet or Dutch oven, sauté chicken in oil until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Remove chicken. Add more oil to the hot pan if necessary before adding garlic and onion. Sautee until soft. Return chicken to pan with tomatoes, peppers and coca cola. Bring ingredients to a boil then turn down heat to allow contents of pan to simmer for several hours, or until chicken is tender. Serve with rice.

February 22November 14

Food Woolf featured on The Kitchn

I have been skipping with excitement ever since I got an email from Faith at the Kitchn that my top-ten favorite things in my kitchen story was picked to be their first reader feature this Sunday!

Weeeeee!

For those of you unfamiliar with The Kitchn (a sister site to Apartment Therapy) this beautifully designed and well-written site features a bevy of visual and literary inspirations for the home cook. The Kitchn site is dedicated to offering readers kitchen design ideas, food stories, recipes, shopping hints, insights and national food trend news. If you love great design and you love to cook, this site is for you!

The point of all this gushing is to say that I’m very excited to see Food Woolf up on their pages. It’s a great honor and an exciting event in the life of my little blog. A million thank you’s to Sarah Kate, Faith and the Kitchn team for giving me the chance to spend some time over at the Kitchn!

(Skip, skip, skipping away!)

February 21June 1

SK Donut the best in Los Angeles?

The best kind of donut is one that is so beguiling that you absolutely believe that the sweet, fried dough that’s been dipped or rolled or packed full of sugar is actually good for you. Bad donuts, on the other hand—the kind that weigh so heavy in your hand so you have to think about lifting it to your mouth–have guilt baked right into them. Bad donuts are dusty, grease-laden representations of dough that are better tossed in the nearest garbage pail than eaten. Great donuts, like the ones I sampled at SK Donut, are so appealing you’ll want to do nothing but savor each and every incredible bite.

Located in a tiny strip mall on 3rd Street just west of La Brea, SK Donuts and Croissants is a 24-hour donut shop visited day and night by locals on foot, business folk, mom’s, police officers and happy Yelpers.

SK’s Donuts has perfected the art of fried dough and frosted confections—and well they should, considering this family business has been around for more than 20 years. SK’s Regular glazed donut or “honey dipped” in New England parlance, is a hole-in-the-middle wonder whose airy dough deflates upon applying even the slightest index finger/thumb pressure. A perfect ratio of frosting to doughnut, the sugary topping is lightly poured over the top, leaving the under belly of the donut unadorned.

One bite of the regular glazed and it was if I were Proust tasting his Madeline all over again. With one soft-sweet bite, I became a five-year-old on a sunny morning, distractedly dropping sugary crumbs onto the Sunday Morning Funny Page favorites of Garfield and Bloom County. I recalled my habit of pressing soft layers of the honey-dipped donut between my fingers until the dough was flat enough to be a sweet stand-in for my make-believe communion ceremonies.

Sigh…I digress.

There are so many other donuts to try. Though I’ve lived for some eight years just blocks from SK’s Donuts, I haven’t allowed myself the indulgence. I’ve really only just begun my exploration of all the SK donut varieties. There are still chocolate dipped, crullers, chocolate with sprinkles and bigger-than-your-hand apple fritters to sample. I won’t be trying the jelly donut again. The jelly is too cherry-pie-filling-like for my taste. If I’m going to go for a filled donut, I prefer a true strawberry or raspberry jelly filling in the center.

But after that revelatory culinary moment at SK’s Donuts last weekend, I fear I may never eat anything but SK Donuts every Sunday morning from now on.

SK’s Donuts
5850 W 3rd St # A
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 935-2409

Open 24-hours

(Gosh, I could really go for a donut right now!)

February 20November 14

What I love about my Kitchen

After reading a recent post by Sarah Kate at the Kitchn, I got inspired to take a moment to share with you what I love about the kitchen my husband and I share in our rental apartment in Los Angeles. Though I’ve lived in this lovely two bedroom apartment for almost ten years, it’s only after getting married last year that my husband and I have embraced the kitchen for what it is–charming and small. In just one year we’ve done some basic remodeling, painted the ancient walls a cheery sunshine yellow, bought a few key pieces to improve organization and learned to make the best of our charming and tiny (!!!)
1920’s kitchen

As a food writer, recipe developer and food blogger I spend most of my time in this room. Though the kitchen is small, I love the little scalloped cabinets, blue and white tile counter tops and the new checkered Marmoleum flooring my husband and I had installed to echo the kitchen’s 1920’s feel.

2. My salt collection

Watching chef Nancy Silverton finish off plates at Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles, has taught me that no dish is finished without a sprinkle of a great finishing salt.

3. My wood utensil collection

From the simple spoon to the well crafted spatula, my wooden utensils are some of the most used (and loved!) items in my kitchen.

4. My mini granite mortar and pestle

Bought for a handful of dollars at an Asian market, I use this kitchen tool for muddling ingredients, making pesto and crushing fresh spices. Considering how much I use this item, I should probably get a bigger model. The mortar and pestle is so compact, however, it’s small enough to live on my counter top–thereby getting much more use because of its proximity. Thanks to the advice of Marcella Hazan, I will never go back to using a food processor for pesto ever again.

5. My favorite metal cooking utensils mounted on the wall

I don’t know why it took me years to get a wall rack for my metal utensils. After admiring my friend Leah’s magnetic knife rack I decided it was high time to make the purchase. Now I have everything at my finger tips. Tongs make serving salads and pasta a breeze. The microplaner grates cheese, nutmeg and zest. The gorgeous, light and incredibly sharp Masahiro knife (A Christmas gift from my husband–thanks honey!) slices through everything beautifully and with ease. The fish spatula gently moves meat in a pan, giving all the meat and fish I cook the respect it deserves.

6. Water purifier and vintage milk bottles

My husband and I drink a lot of water, so this little water purifier is a great and inexpensive choice for two renters. The vintage milk bottle is part of a larger collection (left overs from our wedding last year) that we now use to hold room temperature and chilled water. We often add lemon or cucumber to make drinking purified water more appealing.

7. This space saving cooking rack from Crate and Barrel

Our kitchen is tiny and since I’m often called upon to develop recipes I need to make cooking in the kitchen as easy as possible. Thanks to this rack I don’t have to search through cabinets to find the right pan.

8. My all time favorite cooking dish–my cast iron skillet

Cooking in a well seasoned skillet is such a pleasure, I’ll often cook an entire meal in just this one pan–just to see if I can!

9. My Vintage china

I love Danish patterns, Buffalo China and other hearty dishes from the 30’s-50’s. It makes photographing food so much more fun when it’s in a beautiful old dish!

10. My modern and vintage cook book collection

As a food writer, my cookbooks are markers of time, my encyclopedias of knowledge, my paper Google and my every day bibles.

What do you love about your kitchen?

February 20November 14

Foodie gift ideas

Sometimes it takes a major catastrophe to shake down a handful of good ideas. For sixty-one year old Carol Pulitzer, creator, illustrator and designer of Butterfly Inc., it took the leveling force of divorce and Hurricane Katrina on her family’s tie business to inspire her to start her own textile design company.

Butterfly Inc. began in 2006 with a line of whimsical hand-printed tee shirts designed for pregnant mothers and babies. It was Pulitzer’s lifetime love of cooking and entertaining—combined with her self-confessed fear of germs—that instigated the creation of her small business’ most successful product to date: hand-printed linen cocktail napkins that individually (and artfully) distinguish party guest’s glasses from another.

Illustrated and designed by Pulitzer, the 100 per cent linen cocktail napkins are mini-works of art that help party goers from unintentionally sharing wine or cocktail glasses while keeping safe vulnerable table tops from wine stains. Easy to use–and certainly more tasteful than bedazzled wine jewelry–Butterfly Inc.’s cocktail napkins feature dancing hot dogs, Hans Christian Anderson paper cut outs, Egyptian Bubbles, Indian mandalas and repeating circles of numbers and letters so that every guest has a unique image to call their own.

A perfect host or house warming gift, these artful little cocktail napkins are available on the Butterfly Inc. website for $20 for a set of six.

February 13

Recipe for Good Service on Valentine's Day

Valentine’s day is difficult enough as it is. You either embrace the holiday, ignore it to the best of your ability or enjoy openly reviling the one day of the year couples are supposed to celebrate their love. You either have plans, are actively seeking to avoid romantic arrangements or are desperately trying to piece together a night to remember.

With the Internet’s pages thick with last minute Valentine’s Day recipes and romantic ideas, I offer a different type of pre-Valentine’s day nugget of information.

A Restaurant Insider’s guide to making it through Valentine’s Day

1. Make reservations to your favorite restaurant well in advance of Valentine’s Day.
Granted, on the day before Valentine’s Day this advice comes late, but it’s an important reminder for all of you that think that calling the day before Valentine’s Day is reasonable. Getting a table at 7:30 the day before Valentine’s Day is like trying to get concert tickets for a Bruce Springsteen concert an hour before the show. It will take a miracle to get you in. Valentine’s day is one of the busiest nights for a restaurant. Most people know this and book reservations for Valentine’s Day a month in advance. See below.

2. If you’re late in booking reservations don’t take your frustrations out on the reservationist or manager.
It’s not the restaurant’s fault you’re late on booking. If you’re flexible about dining times (i.e. coming in really early or really late at night), they might actually be able to work something out for you. Walking in without a reservation isn’t a good idea if your date wants to be seated right away. A one to two hour wait time for a walk in table is reasonable on Valentine’s Day.

3. Don’t double book reservations
It’s great to have options, but if you have more than one reservation, cancel one of them now. There are hundreds of people dying to take your spot (see #2) and the restaurant counts on you showing up for dinner.

Why not? Well, in nicer restaurants for example, very few people walk in to a restaurant on Valentine’s Day without a reservation. If you don’t show, the restaurant loses the equivalent of two guests sales.

4. If you don’t have reservations and don’t want to take a chance on walking in to a restaurant start making plans to eat at home.
There’s nothing wrong with making a great meal at home. You may very well save some money, be close to the bedroom for when the romantic mood hits and with a more flexible budget you can splurge on a nicer bottle of champagne and beautiful desserts from the local bakery. See suggestion # 11.

5. If you can’t afford dinner out at a fancy spot, don’t go there
Though this may seem obvious, this is a point most overlook. Sure you may want to go splurge, but if you think a $40 dollar entrée is expensive, don’t go to a restaurant that serves $40 dollar entrees. A $40 entrée you can’t afford, regardless how masterfully it’s prepared, will disappoint you.

6. If your loved one has food allergies or dietary restrictions make sure the restaurant you’re going to has dishes they can eat.
If your date can’t eat meat, don’t go to a steak house. If your date can’t eat dairy, don’t go to a cheese bar. Seems obvious enough, but many people think that they can change a few things around on the menu and create a reasonable substitution. Unless you’re going to a restaurant that caters to your loved one’s particular food requirements, don’t expect a modified, sauce-on-the-side entrée to wow your guest. Modifications are last minute changes to long time perfected dishes and are often a real disappointment. Chefs don’t like to modify their recipes, just like you wouldn’t want to have to re-cook an entire dinner for one guest that showed up late or unexpected to your house for dinner.

7. Valentine’s Day is the day to celebrate love. Share some with those around you.
People get very stressed out around major holidays–Valentine’s Day in particular. Some of the worst behaviors are witnessed on these days. In my more than 15 years of waiting tables I’ve seen many a Valentine’s day inspired horror show. Sure there are lots of cute, sweet couples, but more often than not the restaurant is filled with angry spouses, bitter couples desperate to speed up cooking times so they can depart and guests so twisted up with expectations (see #8) they can’t even get out of their own way to have a good time.

For the sake of everyone around you, please be nice to the people that wait on you or take care of you.

8. Have reasonable expectations
A restaurant is a place that serves food and beverages. Even though Valentine’s day may be special to you, restaurants continue to do what they have always done: serve the same food they always have (with the exception of romantic decorations or “romantic” specials)

Minor adjustments aside, regardless of the holiday a restaurant will always be a place that serves food. It is not a location that offers magic dust or romance pills. Please don’t get mad if the food tastes like food or the waiter doesn’t give you an ego-massage. We’re not there to entertain you (unless you’re going to a live music restaurant), the restaurant staff are facilitators of serving great food with a pleasant attitude.

9. Don’t linger at your table
This one is hard for most diners to understand. If your dinner has been cleared and the desserts were finished long ago it’s time for you to go. If you are still sitting at your table chit chatting you should know that there is a couple standing up at the host stand yelling at the manager for being late on their reservation. You are the reason why people aren’t being sat on time for their reservation. For God’s sake get up from the table and go make kissy face at home!

10. If you hate Valentine’s Day avoid restaurants that cater to couples on the night of Valentine’s
Though we’d love to see you come in, you’re probably going to get very upset by the spectacle of handholding (and browbeaten) tables for two. You’ll also most likely have to suffer through a “romantic” prixe fixe menu that is likely to make your skin crawl.

11. Think about take out
If you really can’t stand the idea of cooking, I would suggest the take out option. Ethnic food take out is your best bet for limited wait time. If you want something fancy, do keep in mind that the busiest time for the fine dining kitchens on the night of Valentine’s day will be between 7:30 and 8:30, so don’t be surprised if you have to wait a while for your food.

OTHER IMPORTANT NUGGETS:

Why can’t I get a reservation on Valentine’s Day?
It’s a math thing. There just aren’t enough tables for two in one given night. If a restaurant only has 4 tables, on Valentine’s Day the booking manager will more than likely try to put couples on all four tables—regardless of their size. See below.

THE MATHEMATICS OF VALENTINE’S DAY

Regular Saturday night of small restaurant at first seating:
2 TABLES OF TWO = 4 people
2 TABLES OF FOUR = 8 people
TOTAL TABLES IN RESTAURANT = 12

Valentine’s Day in a small restaurant
2 TABLES OF TWO = 2 couples–4 people
2 TABLES OF FOUR = 2 couples—4 people
TOTAL TABLES IN RESTAURANT = 8 total

In a short time the restaurant must cater to a slew of couples—which taxes the restaurant’s seating options to the maximum. On this special night, tables that are usually held for four or more guests suddenly become viable real estate for the restaurant to use for couples—thereby minimizing the amount of people they can seat that night.

Thank you for your support.

February 10November 14

Animal–A restaurant insider's pick

(taken with my late night iPhone cam)

In the world of restaurants the late night, post-shift meal with co-workers is a ritual that is relished and celebrated in various and unruly incarnations. Some find sustenance in a handful of bar snacks and a gullet full of cocktails. Others speed across town to the 24-hour drive-thru and late night taco stand to silently devour a well-deserved meal in mere seconds. While some—exhausted individuals craving to commiserate–speed across town to a late-night restaurant en masse to eat and drink away the shift’s miseries, swap stories and revel in debauchery.

In Los Angeles there are many all-night spots popular with restaurant folk. Taco stands, 24-hour hamburger joints and Korean noodle houses aside, there are few places in the city of Angels that offer food and a service staff that cater to the rich and exotic tastes of restaurant folk. Animal Restaurant, a meat obsessed late-night spot in the Fairfax district, is a rare example of a celebrated late night eatery that has found a dedicated following of night owls and restaurant insiders.

Founded by the handsomely tussled chef-duo Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, Animal’s menu is dedicated to all things meat. The dishes are small but pack a lot of flavor (and fat filled calories) like the six hour Bolognese on Parmesan polenta ($8), pork belly with kimchi, chili soy and scallion ($11), or melted petit basque on a bed of chorizo with garlic bread ($11). Favorites with my fellow-late night diners are the house smoked pork belly, lentil & butterbean salad ($14), fall off the bone pork ribs with a rocket, fennel and citrus salad ($15), blow-your-diet foie gras with a salty biscuit and maple sausage gravy ($22).

(late night iPhone cam)

The one dish that keeps the folks at Mozza coming back for more is the French Canadian comfort food poutine: made here with a rich oxtail gravy, melted cheddar cheese on a bed of French fries ($14). Though a perfect finale for a long night of drinking, this is a dish that requires an iron stomach. Poutine on an empty stomach at 2 AM is a really, really bad idea.

For those with a late night sweet tooth, recommended dishes include the decadent tres leches cake ($7), jar of chocolate pudding (topped with bacon!) ($7) and Animal’s signature bacon meets chocolate dessert, a Kit-Kat inspired bacon and chocolate crunch bar ($8).

With words like “changes and modifications politely declined” printed on the menu, Animal restaurant is a restaurant insider’s pick.

Animal Restaurant
435 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 782-9225

Open Seven Days A Week
Sunday – Thursday 6pm-11pm
Friday – Saturday 6pm-2am

February 4November 14

Support Good Food on KCRW

It’s pledge time at KCRW, Los Angeles’ public radio station and home to the amazing culinary radio show Good Food, the international news program The World, sit-in-your-car-to-listen-til-it’s-over This American Life and inspired music programming. Though the state of the economy has hit us hard, KCRW needs everyone’s help to stay on the air. After the recent demise of Indy 103, one of LA’s most beloved independent radio stations, it’s clear that this is no time to sit back and do nothing.

If you live in LA and enjoy the programming on KCRW, please make a donation. I know times are tough. I’m sad to admit I haven’t always been able to afford to be a paying KCRW supporter–I’ve donated some years and volunteered when money in my budget was in the negatives. In this year’s pledge drive be sure to do something–KCRW needs all of its listeners to do what we can, however we can.

My generous friends Todd and Diane from White on Rice are making the donating process even more enticing for food lovers across LA. Listeners that donate at least $75 to KCRW can take part in one of their amazing culinary tours of Little Saigon (featuring a guest appearance by Evan Kleiman). And remember: ask for the White on Rice Little Saigon Tour!

Be sure to call in at 1-800-600-KCRW or go on line to give what you can. .
NPR is radio worth paying for.

Thanks to La.foodblogging for creating the Good Food video to remind food bloggers and food lovers alike to support KCRW.

NOTE: White on Rice’s donated prize is still in the works! Please stay tuned to KCRW’s Good Food to find out the details!

February 3

The Modern: North End's Best Cannoli

Even before my love of Italian cuisine was ignited, I fell for cannoli. What’s not to like about a tube of fried pastry dough filled with a sweet, creamy filling? Between my sweet tooth and appreciation for foods with a fan-base, I was enamored with the cream filled pastry before I took my first bite.

You had me at cream-filled pastry

Originally a Sicilian pastry, cannoli is a beloved pastry of all Italian Americans. A fried pastry shell filled with sweetened ricotta or pastry cream, the cannoli is a dessert with many variations. Some argue a cannoli isn’t a cannoli if it isn’t piped fresh. Others say ricotta is the only proper filling. Italian pastry chefs argue over authentic cannoli toppings like powdered sugar, pistachios, chocolate chips and sprinkles. Though cannoli may seem like a simple dessert, this crunchy-creamy confection has the power to start culinary wars.

In the Italian neighborhood of Boston, there’s a sort of Capulet and Montegue division of cannoli eaters that inspires heated arguments between North End couples and families when ever it’s time to eat dessert. In the North End, the Capulet family would be played by 50-year old Mike’s Pastry
and the Montegue clan would feature the 70-year old Modern Pastry shop.

I was inducted into the Mike’s Pastry camp the day I had my first bite of cannoli by a life-time Mike’s pastry customer. By default, I remained a dedicated customer of Mike’s throughout my decade living in Boston. But after ten years away from my East coast city, I felt it was time to test my affiliations.

After a side-by-side taste test (that required some crafty hiding of competitor pastry boxes) I must proclaim The Modern the clear taste test winner. Though Mike’s will always hold a special place in my heart—they were my first cannoli after all—I must admit they are not the best cannoli shop in Boston*.

The key reason for the Modern’s win is the crispness of its pastry shell. By piping the cannoli to order, the Modern’s pastry maintains its structural integrity and crisp texture. With its sweetened ricotta filling, the Modern cannoli is, in my estimation, the perfect expression of the classic Italian dessert. Its beguiling texture and perfectly sweet filling makes sharing a near impossibility. The vanilla cream cannoli is velvety and sweet, but in my opinion doesn’t match the simplicity of the ricotta filled classic.

Be sure to try their ricotta pie and Sfogliatella when available!

The Modern is a lovely place to enjoy a pastry and cappuccino and listen to the old men chat in Italian at the neighboring tables.

*Why not Mike’s?
Though Mike’s Pastry makes its cannoli fresh daily, their cannoli sit on the shelves for hours after being piped fresh that morning. The result, the pastry dough’s fried shell is slightly soft, and doesn’t have the crunch a freshly-piped cannoli should have. The ricotta filling is dense and sweet—almost too sweet for my palate—and requires a good strong cup of coffee to balance things out.