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Cooking with Cara Caras

I hadn't expected to wind up on-screen when I went to Sunkist's cooking demo at Sur La Table.

But that's why we bloggers were there, not just to watch but to cook along with chef Robert Danhi (at top) as he demonstrated how to use the Cara Cara navel orange.

Sunkist is promoting the Cara Cara as "The Power Orange," because it's so full of good stuff--vitamins A and C, foliate and potassium, fiber and lycopene, an antioxidant.

I'm not into science, so I'll just say that it tastes good--sweet and a little tangy--and the flesh has a beautiful ruby-orange color. I've bought navel oranges that had lots of skin and little juice, but the Cara Cara isn't like that. It has plenty of juice, and no seeds. 

If you're wondering how the orange got its name, it's from the place where it was discovered in 1976, the Hacienda de Cara Cara in Valencia, Venezuela. Cara Caras grow in California now. 

As the cameras worked--the demo was streaming online--we peeled, zested, cut up and squeezed oranges for three dishes.

Danhi had us put diced oranges into pico de gallo (above), along with tomatoes, chiles, red onion and cilantro. Compared to the usual salsa, this was a burst of color in a bowl.

Thank heavens there were plenty of chips so we could snack, to the envy of the viewers. "I hear mumbling, and I hear crunching," Danhi observed. 

If anyone had camera nerves, the next recipe took care of that--a sparkling drink loaded with Cognac-flavored syrup and sparkling wine.

We put zest and juice into the syrup and bits of orange into the cocktail. The flavor was punchy, sparkly and assertive enough to stand up to the spicy pico de gallo.

Happily, there was enough for refills, and we poured those later, after the cameras were no longer spying on us.

The last dish was a Vietnamese style crab, vegetable and rice noodle salad, with orange juice in the dressing and grilled orange wedges on top.

Danhi brought lemon grass from his garden to cut up for the salad, and tossed in mint, carrots and cucumber too. The Thai sweet chile sauce that he had concocted for the dressing was designed to mirror the color of the Cara Cara orange. 

The salad was perfect to end the demo, because it was lunch time, our work was finished, and all we had to do was eat and enjoy what we had made.

You can get the three recipes and see the video session at the Sunkist site. For starters, here is the pico de gallo.

CARA CARA PICO DE GALLO

1/2 cup Cara Cara orange segments, diced
2 medium roma tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon red onion, diced small
1 teaspoon minced jalapeño chiles
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine the diced oranges, tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, cilantro and salt. Toss gently to mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.  

The Sweet Treat of the Week

These crisp golden pastries, filled with ground almonds and sugar, originated in Algeria. 

They're called almond cigars, and you can get them at Cafe Livre in Culver City, whose executive chef, Farid Zadi, is Algerian.

The pastry dough is North African brik, thin sheets that are topped with the filling, rolled up, brushed with butter and baked rather than fried to eliminate greasiness. Bite into one and you'll find it's not hollow but filled with tasty crumbs that are just barely sweetened.

The plate is painted with citrus syrup, which Algerians prefer to honey. Cafe Livre's version is flavored with orange and lemon.

You can munch on these and other Algerian pastries along with a pot of tea at the cafe's new tea and coffee garden, open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cafe Livre, 9626 Venice Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232. Tel: (310) 842-9078.  

 

Dim Sum at Shanghai No. 1

"It looks like an Asian brothel in the 1930s." 

That's the sort of reaction Shanghai No. I Seafood Village has set itself up for with its red velvet walls, huge, glittery chandeliers and gaudy silver chairs.

This posh look wasn't installed to make up for mediocre food, because the cooking is very good--perhaps Asian brothel food in the '30s was very good too. 

The main menu is so thick with photos and Shanghai history that holding it up long enough to order is a challenge.

Lunch is easier. It's dim sum listed on a sheet of paper. Although dim sum is Cantonese, some Shanghainese snacks are included, and the Chinese I ate with could pick these out.

If you have a sweet tooth, you'll love Shanghai style pork buns (above), the meat wrapped in sweet, flaky yellow dough shiny with glaze and sprinkled with sesame seeds. 

Pan-fried pork buns (above) look like cupcakes, with black sesame seeds on top and pale seeds around the bottom. These spurt almost as much soup as juicy steamed soup dumplings.

The wrapper for deep-fried carrot pastry (above) appears shredded, thanks to the way it is formed. The "carrot" in this case is white radish. 

Pine nuts are mixed with the chicken inside yellow pineapple buns (above). This hints at the caliber of cooking at Shanghai No. 1, because pine nuts are expensive and could easily have been left out. By the way, there is no pineapple in pineapple buns. They're named for their appearance. 

We also ate spicely seasoned green beans (above), mellow pork ball soup and crystal shrimp (below) that were perhaps more impressive than anything, because they were so perfectly cooked.

It takes an expert to get something as delicate as shrimp in and out of the wok so that it remains fresh and light. There was no sauce, just a dish of dark Chinkiang vinegar, a rice vinegar as rich as balsamic, for dipping.

Shanghai pan-fried noodles (above) were fat and round, pleasantly light and chewy. And for more of that chewy texture, there were fried rice cakes with pork--"very Shanghainese," my companions said.

The restaurant has one crew of cooks for dim sum and another for the main menu. It's so popular that without a reservation, you'll probably have to wait. Not to worry. You can pass the time at a foot massage place in the same plaza. 

Shanghai No. 1 Seafood Village, 250 W. Valley Blvd., San Gabriel, CA 91776.  Tel: (626) 282-1777.

 

 

Yummy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

"Don't you dare touch those. They're mine, all mine."

Miss Lily was desperate to get one of these freshly baked oatmeal raisin cookies. She loves crunchy cookies, and occasionally I give her a bite, but not this time.

These were too good. Crisp, tender and raisiny, they were exactly what I had been craving.

I came across the recipe in "Baking Basics and Beyond" by Pat Sinclair (Agate Surrey, $19.95), a book so full of tips and tempting baked goods  that there may be more fights with my rapacious cat.

Seriously, the book is a wonderful guide for those who think baking is too difficult to attempt. Sinclair writes as if she were standing in your kitchen, telling you exactly what to do so your cakes, pies, brownies, pizzas, coffee cakes, scones and muffins turn out right. 

You've read baking guides with long, detailed passages about the basics and recipes that you can't make without going back and scanning those sections with your sticky, buttery, flour-coated hands.

''Baking Basics'' isn't like that. Sinclair, a food consultant and cooking teacher, does provide instruction on techniques, equipment and ingredients. But the necessary tips are provided in each recipe and so painlessly that you may not realize how much you are learning.

You'll also learn things you never remember, or never knew, like bittersweet chocolate has more cocoa solids than semisweet chocolate and so has more chocolate flavor. And to make really good pie pastry, you should put in butter, for flavor, and solid vegetable shortening, for flakiness.

The oatmeal cookies were so simple they didn't need any special advice, other than the comment that using baking soda instead of baking powder makes them crisp. 

This is the second edition of Sinclair's book, redesigned and updated. "Learn These Simple Techniques and Bake LIke a Pro," the cover promises.

No book may turn you into a pro--that takes training and experience--but this one will make you confident enough to pass up storebought goodies and make really wonderful baked goods at home.

CRISPY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES
From "Baking Basics and Beyond" 

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar 
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries

Heat oven to 350 degrees with oven rack in middle.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.

Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in bowl of a heavy-duty mixer on medium-high speed until creamy, scraping down sides of bowl once or twice. Add vanilla and eggs and mix well.

Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat until dough forms. By hand, stir in oats and raisins.

Drop dough in rounded tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are browned on edges. Let cookies stand on cookie sheet for 1 minute before removing them. Cool on wire cooling rack.

Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Makes 3 to 3 1/2 dozen cookies. 

 

STK Gets a California Touch

I am not a huge meat eater, but that was a gorgeous piece of steak the other night at STK in West Hollywood. And I loved every bite. (Don't judge it by the photo. It was very dark meat in a dark room.)

The thick square of Kobe New York steak was coated with crushed peppercorns--red, white and black--and grains of paradise, enough to add wow flavor but not to distract from a fine piece of meat. There was shallot marmalade too.

This was the work of Liran Mezan, new corporate executive chef of The ONE Group, which includes STK among its venues.

Based in New York, Mezan was in Los Angeles for two weeks to see what he could do about adding a California touch to STK.

"I can't go too far with that, because this is a steak house," he said.

He is thinking in terms of different cuts of meat and garnishing them with greens, microgreens, fruit and other California produce. "More fresh ingredients, more fun, more local," he said.

Crab salad wrapped in a thin slice of melon (above) was one example on Mezan's tasting menu. You can see the microgreens. Charred ruby reds are on either side, and Mezan added kumquat confit too. 

Miso marinated cod (above) came with a thin slice of cauliflower on top, cauliflower puree and wilted spinach underneath and brown butter.

Lamb's accompaniments included artichoke barigoule and a splashy orange gremolatta (above). Lamb is "very springy," Mezan said, "an idea of what's to come from seasonal type items."

Mezan has cooked in Napa, so he knows California tastes. As a corporate chef, he has to juggle local flavors against a national standard. But what he has suggested so far looks promising.

STK Los Angeles, 755 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069. Tel: (310) 657-1101.