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The 5 Top Tastes of January, 2018

I eat around a lot and want to let others know about the great things I find.  To do this, I've started making lists of top tastes.

Here is the first, the top five tastes in and around Los Angeles for the month of January. They range from a Bangladeshi turnover to a Salvadoran drink to delicate cookies from a Persian bakery.


1. Chicken turnovers at Kasturi Halal Meat and Grocery. They're in a warming unit by the steam table that holds the day's selection of Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani dishes. The chicken is spicy, and the pastry is flaky and tender. 

3580 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles CA 90020. (213) 302-2848.

2. Goat curry at Abhiruchi Grill. It's so richly flavored you'll scrape up every bit of juice with naan or a paratha. The airy, multi-layered parathas are pretty amazing too. 

10823 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90034. (310) 204-2569.

3. Horchata at Atlacatl Salvadoran restaurant. This isn't the usual creamy, white Mexican horchata, but a dusky blend of chocolate, cinnamon and nuts. 

301 N Berendo St, Los Angeles, CA 90004 (corner Beverly Blvd.). (323) 663-1404.

 

4. Tiramisu at Osteria La Buca. Lovely and light, it's the perfect way to finish dinner at this popular Italian restaurant. 

 

5210 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. (323) 462-1900. 

 

5. Persian/French cookies at Mignon Bakery. Tiny chocolate-edged cookies sandwiched with apricot, delicate rice flour cookies, pistachio and cranberry rounds--there's lots to choose from, and the label on the box says the bakery makes them all. 

 

18353 Vanowen Street, Unit G, Reseda, CA 91334 (inside Valley Marketplace). (818) 774-9920. 

A Great, Easy Beef Stew from Georgia

Chashushuli--I can't pronounce it, but I love it.

What is it? A beef stew from the country of Georgia that's like no beef stew I've ever tasted. It's full of fresh herbs, stirred in just before serving. And it contains an ingredient that I haven't seen in other recipes--ground fenugreek.

This is easy to get, if you are anywhere near an Indian market. Just ask for methi seeds--they're an Indian staple--then powder them in a spice grinder and enjoy the delightful celerylike aroma they produce.

Where did I have chashushuli? In my own kitchen, thanks to the recipe in "Tasting Georgia," an extraordinary book by writer/photographer/cook Carla Capalbo.

This is the photo of the stew that she took for the book. My version is at the top. It's practical and easy to make. 

A travel guide as well as a cookbook, "Tasting Georgia" tells what to see, where to stay, where to eat, what to drink and introduces you to local cooks. The subtitle is "A Food and Wine Journey in the Caucasus."

Be aware that after reading it, you're likely to scrap your vacation plans and go to Georgia instead of to the beach. Capalbo's stunning photos alone are enough to convince you.  

Chashushuli is in a section that covers the route toward Georgia's southern borders with Turkey and Armenia. The recipe was inspired by a beef and tomato stew served at Valodia's Cottage, a hotel near the cave city of Vardzia.

Capalbo tested this and the other recipes at her home in London but gives American equivalents to the metric and Imperial measures.

On my first try--and there will be more--chashushuli worked like a dream. It's especially congenial to California cooks, with its striking use of cilantro--a small bunch is plunged into the center of the stew (above) and more is stirred in at the end, along with basil, parsley and raw garlic. There's a speck of heat from chile too.  

Capalbo cooks the stew in the oven but says that Georgian cooks would probably simmer it on top of the stove. I tried that alternative and it worked just fine, but the oven might be handy if you are making a large amount for a party. 

There's much more in this book, including instructions on how to make the famous Georgian cheese-filled bread khachapuri. It's available in my area, but I have yet to try it.

What I have tried is Georgian wines, thanks to a couple of tastings in Los Angeles. They're a bit startling at first but grow in appeal as you taste them and learn how they are made, buried in the ground in terra-cotta pots called qvevri. 


Capalbo focuses on these natural, artisanal wines, not the big scale, commercial producers in Georgia. The wine that stood out for me was Saperavi, a lively red  made from an indigenous Georgian grape. This is what I would serve with chashushuli, if I could locate a bottle--a challenge, because Georgian wine distribution is growing but still pretty limited.

BEEF AND TOMATO STEW
Chashushuli
From "Tasting Georgia" by Carla Capalbo

3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 pound stewing beef, cut into 1 1/4-inch cubes
1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups water or plain meat broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup tomato pulp, fresh or canned (without juice)
Finely chopped medium-hot fresh chile to taste
1 ounce cilantro, tied into a bunch

To finish:
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped basil, purple and green
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a heavy, cast-iron or other ovenproof casserole, melt half the butter. Stir in the onions and cook over low heat until translucent, 7 minutes. 
Turn the onions onto a side plate and add the remaining butter to the pan. Stir in the meat, raise the heat and brown the beef on all sides. Add the onions the fenugreek and half the garlic. Cook for a minute more.

Add the water, salt and tomato pulp and bring to a boil. Add the chile. Remove from the heat, pushing the bunch of coriander into the middle of the stew.

Cover the casserole and place in the center of the preheated oven. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 70 to 90 minutes or until the meat is tender but not dry. 

Remove the stew from the oven. Pull out the cilantro bouquet, squeezing it against a spoon to extract all the flavor; discard. Stir in the chopped cilantro, basil, parsley and the remaining garlic and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 3 to 4 servings.  

Learn Food Styling from the Experts

This frilly salad is exactly what you need right now, spa food to help you recover from holiday excesses.

A light mix of spinach, sliced apple and fennel, it was developed for the luxury spa Rancho La Puerta at Tecate by food stylists Denise Vivaldo and Cindie Flannigan.

And it was on the lunch buffet at Melissa's Produce the day they appeared to talk about their book, "The Food Stylist's Handbook."

If you want to know the secrets behind the beautiful food in ads, on TV and on packages, check out the book.  

Some things you would rather not know. "All studios have rats," said Vivaldo (above). And they can't stop hungry crews from gobbling down unsafe food that has sat for hours under hot lights. That's why Pepto Bismol might be in their styling kit.  

Truth in advertising means the food has to be real. They can get away with fake ice cream as the topping for a pie. But if they're doing an ad for an ice cream company, it has to be real.

Here Flannigan blends Crisco with powdered sugar to make durable imitation ice cream. She tints it pink so it looks like strawberry ice cream. 

Here it gets dressed up with chocolate sauce.

And here is the final product, so good-looking you want to taste it, but that would be nasty. "Most of the time when we style food, we don't eat any of it," Vivaldo said.

The crucial part of the work is pleasing the client, the art director and the person who hired you, she said. "It's not glamorous. It's rewarding if you like it."

Still want to try it? Vivaldo and Flannigan are giving a two-day food styling workshop in Monrovia March 3 and 4. Click here for the details.

And go to the Denise Vivaldo Group page to learn more about what they do and about what's in "The Food Stylist's Handbook," which is available through Amazon.

Finally, here is the salad recipe, which they styled for the Melissa's lunch with edible flowers. 

SPINACH, APPLE AND FENNEL SALAD
The Denise Vivaldo Group

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons rice or white balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon agave syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tarragon, coarsely chopped
4 cups spinach
1 cup apple, cored and very thinly sliced
1½ fennel bulbs, stems and fronds removed and finely sliced
Edible flowers for garnish (chamomile, violas, pansies, etc.)

Place olive oil, vinegar, mustard, agave syrup, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk until creamy.

Stir in tarragon. Just before serving, add spinach, apple and fennel to bowl, tossing to combine.

Garnish with edible flowers.

Makes 6 servings. 

Feasting in Private at Disneyland

Sure Disneyland is magic, but the greatest magic for me isn't the rides. It's a secret place behind a plain door. There's no line and no entry unless you're a member or invited by one (that's how I got in).

This is Club 33, a sumptuous retreat for high-flyers. The restaurant (at the top) is fantastic, with great food, wine pairings, beautifully set tables and service that takes care of anything you need, including charging your cell phone. 

Pampering starts as soon as you enter the secret door. You're led to a cooler with refreshing water flavored according to the season. Then up to a gorgeous lounge, Le Salon Nouveau (above), where the fun drinks menu includes a category of "lost drinks," which are cocktails from the past. 

I had the best rum drink ever there. It was Throws and Maskers (that's New Orleans Mardi Gras lingo), made from Demerara rum, passion fruit, lime, falernum and Spanish bitters (above). 

And then on to Le Grand Salon, decorated for Christmas when I was there, and a four-course lunch.

How could anyone resist a truffle crepe (above) with roasted salsify, fennel and Gruyère Mornay sauce? 

Or smoked Maple Leaf Farms duck breast (above) with a mousse of Saint-André cheese and huckleberry conserve? These were appetizers.

No need to resist, I had both and then moved on to cider-braised pork osso buco with ragú of bacon, roasted apple and celeriac (above).

Because it was near Christmas, the desserts included a slice of Valrhona chocolate bûche de Noël (Christmas log, above).

And I begged a taste of someone else's caramel mousse Napoleon with almond brittle and orange pomegranate caramel (above). 

What eclipsed everything was the restaurant's grand plateau selection of chilled seafood (above).

Wines are matched to each dish. To start, Scharffenberger Cellars' Brut Excellence, a sparkler from Mendocino County.

For the duck, a southern Rhone Rosé, Chêne Bleu 2016, which blends Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvedre and Rolle.

With the pork came La Sirena's Pirate TreasuRed 2013, a blend of seven grapes from winemaker Heidi Barrett.

The sweet wine with dessert was Blandy's 15-year-old Malmsey Madeira.

And to end it all, a signature cappuccino.

And then outside to line up for the rides and wander about, logging more than six miles on foot to compensate, at least a little, for this over-the-top feast.  

Kohlrabi--a Top Trend in Veggies

These aren't some sort of green, intergalactic aliens. They're kohlrabi. And I'm crazy about them.

According to Robert Schueller of Melissa's Produce, they're a hot produce trend for 2018, an old-time vegetable that is making a comeback. 

But they seemed strange as aliens to me, and I had to guess what to do with them.

Here's what I came up with, a simple recipe that puts kohlrabi among my favorite veggies, a real top 10. It's so forgiving you can adapt it to any number of people and alter the seasonings to taste. The flavor is delicate, so you can serve this as a side dish with almost anything.

LEMONY ROASTED KOHLRABI

To prepare the kohlrabi, cut off the leaves and save them for another use. For example, you can add them to soup. Peel the kohlrabi with a vegetable peeler, cutting off any tough portion at the bottom. Then cut vertically into slices about 1/4 inch thick.

For each kohlrabi, allow 2 teaspoons lemon-flavored olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper, plus a dash of salt.

Arrange the kohlrabi slices in a single layer in a large baking pan (above). You will need more than one pan if you are fixing this for several people.

Sprinkle the slices with the olive oil and lemon pepper, adding salt to taste (not much).

Bake the kohlrabi at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender throughout. You can bake the slices longer until really brown, almost like a chip, and that's good too.

Remove to a heated serving plate and enjoy sweet, tender, lemony perfection.