34. Get Your Lardon at Domaine LA’s Second Tasting

Note the ominous look of the sky with the ocean layer rolling in. I love it.

A week ago, last Sunday, along with my usual posse, I attended Domaine LA’s second wine tasting. This one was structured a little differently than the first, and all for the better in my humble opinion. First, it was scheduled a couple of hours later in the day: from 4-7pm. This seems a wiser time frame than from 2-4pm, as it enables people to settle into their evening a bit and have a few more sips. I’m sure you get the idea. Additionally, there were nine wines to taste as opposed to three: four whites and five reds ($15). Another very cool element to this affair was that the wine makers were in the house, pouring and chatting. And did I mention that the Get Your Lardon truck was there?!

This was considerably more populated and lively than the first one – which is saying a lot since the first one was pretty spirited as well. And so along with Maggie, Chris, Doug and I welcomed Wine O’Clock.

White wines:

Domaine de la Pepiere, Muscadet de Sevre et Maine Sur Lie, 2009 (Melon de Bourgogne is the grape, appellation is Muscadet-Sevre-et-Maine (Poured from a magnum) About this wine, Jill says, “Many people assume the grape is Muscadet but it's not.” This was actually my favorites of the whites. I have become a big fan of the Muscadets since my trip to France a few years back.

Peillot Altesse de Montagnieu Bugey, France, 2009 (Altesse is the grape)

Alice & Olivier de Moor Bourgogne, Chitry, 2008 (100% Chardonnay, from very close to Chablis)

Mayr Nusserhoff Blaterle, Sudtirol Vino de Tavola (2008 -- bottle has a code to indicate this even though the wine is not legally vintage dated)

Red wines:

Thierry Puzelat Le Tel Quel, Loire Valley  (2009 -- but as with the Blaterle this is a Vin de Table, so not vintage dated but this does come from the 09 vintage)

Cascina Tavijn Ruche di Castagnole, Monferrato, 2009 (Ruche is the grape) This one was my favorite of all of the wines I tasted. Maggie and I actually bought a few bottles to take home with us.

Eric Texier Cotes du Rhone Vaison-La-Romaine, 2007 (100% Grenache)

Arianna Occhipinti SP68, IGT Sicilia, 2009 (blend of Frappato and Nero d'Avola)

Jean-Paul Brun Terres Dorres, Beaujolais L'Ancien, 2009 (100% Gamay) 

The structure of this tasting was very casual. You could pretty much begin and end in whatever direction you desired. Everyone was everywhere. Everyone was happy. Kudos, again, Jill!

Let us now talk bacon.

I have been really, really excited to sink my teeth into the Get Your Lardon truck. They’re one of the newest kids on the block, but have still managed to hit the streets with a lot of fanfare. I mean, who doesn’t like bacon? Hell, one of the girls at the tasting who claimed to be a vegetarian “most of the time” still housed the Frisee Lardon Sandwich and the Lark Brownie in a New York minute.

And, as I always say, that’s why they call it bacon.

I was introduced to Get Your Lardon at Thrillist’s Best of the Food Truck Rally and sampled their Baco (pronounced like Taco): Potatoes and Cheddar in a Bacon Shell Served with Horseradish-Bacon Sour Cream ($4). It was essentially a deconstructed baked potato taco with the bacon literally serving as as the taco shell. It was divine and the perfect food to eat on the move. I had high hopes for everything else on the menu.

After we had pretty much finished the tasting Maggie excitedly raced out to the truck to gather up our bacon-filled supplies. Upon her return, she glowed with a smug comfort as she carted in what looked like one-of-everything. She even had a sticker with a star on her hand to symbolize her claim on the last Bacone the truck had to offer. Score!

So here we go.

The Bacone: 3 Strips of Bacon, rotating inclusions ($4) We had duck, boar and hickory smoked. The duck was both of our favorites. It was less fatty than the others and had a wonderful, almost jerky-like texture. The boar was great, but certainly the fattiest (not a problem if you’re bacon, of course). The hickory smoked is exactly what you’d want and expect it to be. Doug thought, “The cone of bacon was fun. I was surprised by how I couldn't tell the wild boar from the pork.”

 Note the "last Bacone" badge on Maggie's hand.

The Frisee Lardon Sandwich with a Fried Egg and Vinaigrette on Toasted Brioche ($6): I had a couple of bites of this sandwich and Maggie pretty much ate the rest. We both liked this as well. The egg was delicately fried with a super soft yolk that ran all over the place upon the first bite. A little messy? Yes. A lot luscious and deelish? Also yes. 

Lark Brownie with Bacon Nutella Spread ($3.50): Well we have all discovered, recently, the joy and wonder of the bacon and chocolate marriage, thanks mostly to the boys at Animal. And not unlike their Bacon Chocolate Crunch Bar; this was rich, savory, sweet and tremendously satisfying.

Doug and Kendra ordered “The Lardon” BLT: Nueske’s Peppered Bacon, Butter Lettuce & Heirloom Tomatoes with St. Agur Blue Cheese Served on a Toasted Baguette ($6). I did not try this, but Doug says, “The BLT was complex with thick, crusty bread, juicy tomatoes and blue-cheese spread that set off their trademark bacon.” I do think this was one of the most visually appealing items I have seen from the menu. I mean, look at those tomatoes!

I’d say everyone was happy with Get Your Lardon. I went out to say hi to the gang in there at the end of the whole affair - they were elated with the turnout and pretty much sold out of everything.

So, another happy, wine (and bacon) fun times Sunday at Domaine LA. I see this becoming a habit...

Food That Loves

Oh, the rain. How I love it. The smell, the sound, the fact that I don’t need to water my garden: I love it. I’ve had fires roaring in the fireplace for the past two nights, jazz playing loudly, and cooking lots of food that just hugs you all over.

A few days back I was reading Orangette’s column in Bon Appetit, and remembered how I really wanted to try my hand at meatballs. They fall into that category of food that I’ve not experienced much in my life – kind of like the meatloaf or "Taco Night". And when dining out I will almost always order Pasta alla Carbonara or Penne alla Vodka over Spaghetti and Meatballs. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever ordered Spaghetti and Meatballs.

So, back to the column. I have followed Orangette for years now. Since before her fancy and exciting column in a fancy and shiny magazine. I like her writing, I like her photography, and I almost always like her recipes (of which I have made my fair share). This particular recipe not only caught my eye for its meatball factor, it also caught my eye because it originally came from Carla Leonardi and Jordi Viladas, owners of Café Lago in Seattle.

Before you ask, no, I have never been to Café Lago. Nor have I been to Seattle, actually. But I did make their recipe, Pomodori al Forno, after reading about it in Orangette’s column in the Fall of 2008. Both Chris and I loved it and I have made it many times hence. Anyway, meatball excitement overcame me so I jumped in the car to wrangle up ingredients smack in the middle of the afternoon. I then spent the remainder of the day and night preparing enough spaghetti and meatballs for 10 people. I was all by myself. (Note: Much later that night Maggie ate some. The next day Chris and Maggie ate some more. The day after that I made a meatball sub with some more, and later that night Brandon took the rest home in Tupperware. So it all worked out.)

I had so much fun making these meatballs. I usually hate making a mess and wash my hands constantly. But realizing that there was no way around it, I embraced this tactile experience. With my fingers separated and immersed in the milky, meaty, eggy, bready mess, I melded the ingredients to their proper consistency. By the time I finished rolling them all into perfect golf ball sized spheres and dropped them in the sauce, I was filled with a child-like glee. Bring on the mess!

Then I sat on the couch, in front of the fire, with Ahmad Jamal melting my ears with his beautiful, jazzy mastery on the piano. And waited.

And then, with much anticipation, I served myself a heaping pile of spaghetti and meatballs. I poured a massive glass of Dolcetto. And I very much enjoyed my perfect Fall evening. I may have been the only dinner guest, but I felt entirely embraced by this dish.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

For the best texture, don't overwork the meat mixture and use Parmesan that's ground to a fine powder (use the processor or the rasp side of a box grater). For more heat, add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper to the sauce.

6 main-course servings

• PREP: 1 hour 30 minutes
• TOTAL: 2 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

Sauce

• 2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes in juice, drained, juice reserved, tomatoes finely chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 medium onions, peeled, halved through root end
• 1/2 teaspoon (or more) salt

Meatballs

• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French or country-style bread
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 8 ounces ground beef (15% fat)
• 8 ounces ground pork
• 1 cup finely ground (not grated) Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 pound spaghetti
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (for serving)

Preparation

Sauce

• Combine tomatoes with juice, butter, onions, and salt in large wide pot. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard onions. Using immersion blender, process sauce briefly to break up any large pieces of tomato (texture should be even but not completely smooth). Season sauce with more salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from heat.

Meatballs

• Combine breadcrumbs and milk in small bowl; stir until breadcrumbs are evenly moistened. Let stand 10 minutes.
• Place beef and pork in large bowl and break up into small chunks. Add 1 cup ground Parmesan, parsley, salt, and pepper.
• Whisk eggs to blend in small bowl; whisk in garlic. Add to meat mixture.
• Using hands, squeeze milk from breadcrumbs, reserving milk. Add breadcrumbs to meat mixture. Using hands, quickly and gently mix meat mixture just until all ingredients are evenly combined (do not overmix). Chill mixture at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.
• Moisten hands with some of reserved milk from breadcrumbs, then roll meat mixture between palms into golf-ball-size balls, occasionally moistening hands with milk as needed and arranging meatballs in single layer in sauce in pot. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before continuing.
• Cook spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer meatballs to platter. Add pasta to sauce in pot and toss to coat. Divide pasta among 6 plates. Top each serving with meatballs. Sprinkle meatballs with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve.
  
  
  

Chopping and Chewing

 Potato Buttermilk Soup, Potato Chips:

From the Chicks With Knives "Root Down" Menu at Test Kitchen on September 30, 2010.

I can confidently say that I have reclaimed my kitchen identity of late. I have re-bonded with my kitchen. I guess it began a few weeks ago when the temperature dropped into Autumn degrees. I simply suddenly wanted to be cooking. A lot. And so I did.

As you may recall, there was meatloaf. But there has also been spaghetti and meatballs – actually, my first-ever homemade meatballs (recipe to come). There has been a beautiful zucchini and basil soup (recipe to come), Swiss chard “purses” with sausage stuffing (recipe to come), and then there was the day I spent cooking in another kitchen world entirely.

I have recently become acquainted with Rachael, from Chicks with Knives, who asked me if I would like to help out in the kitchen in the preparation of their dinner at Test Kitchen. Incidentally, A friend had already asked me if I’d like to be her dining companion for the actual dinner. But hey, I could still spend the day prior helping with all things prep.

 Chicks With Knives: Suzanne & Rachael

At this point I might add that I have never worked in a professional kitchen. Nor have I ever really worked with other chefs. It’s always pretty much just little, old me in my little, old kitchen. But in there I can work magic. So why not spread out a little bit? Gain some perspective? Learn some new things?

At this point I might also add that I am a very prideful person. I’d say prideful to a fault. I really hate to screw up in front of people. When I was a little girl and got my first pair of roller skates, rather than have my mom show me what to do, and have her see me fall down in the process, I went around the block and taught myself how to skate. I didn’t come back around to my house until I had gotten it right.

So, I was admittedly nervous when, on the phone the night before, Rachael asked me to rate my kitchen skills from picking chervil to somethingsomethingsomething Eric Ripert (I couldn’t hear most of her sentence – just Eric Ripert). Gosh. I don’t really know since I’ve never had anyone to compare myself to except from watching Iron Chef or Top Chef. And if that’s my gauge, I guess I’m picking chervil.

 Rachael and some of the kitchen gang.

Miss Squashblossom in front of the wood burning oven, plating salads for the evening. 

And so, with thoughts of embarrassing myself in front of others, I spent a restless night. And then the next morning, with my freshly sharpened chef’s knife and my apron, off to Test Kitchen I went.

Hey, guess what? Everything was fine. Actually, everything was better than fine – I felt that I was really helpful and I had so much fun! Hell, six hours flew by like ten minutes! I hardly even noticed that I had given myself a right hand full of blisters from so much knifery. It felt good. I slept well that night.

"A Nice Salad"

So this brings us to the next night: the actual dinner, which I was to attend. I am almost always a super on time person and I abhor tardiness. But for some bizarre reason I am almost always running late when this friend is involved. And she’s always early! Not this night. I got there a little early even. Enjoyed the better part of a cocktail at the bar while I waited. Popped my head into the kitchen window to say hi to everyone. Kinda wished I was back there, too, but I knew I wanted to experience both sides of the coin regarding this meal. It seemed, to me, a rare opportunity to go into a restaurant to dine with the insight and exposure that I experienced prior.

Poached Rib Eye, Juniper, Parsley Root Puree

Dinner was great. The food was plated beautifully and the pacing was absolutely perfect. I felt their food was thoughtful, seasonal and inspired. Their cuisine is not too far off from my own, conceptually. And it was simply too much fun to take notice of “my” beautifully julienned celery in the fennel, persimmon, celery and chorizo salad, and to taste the lovely, creamy and nutty parsley root and potato puree that I saw from beginning to end the very day before. And even though I can get freaked out by cooked fruit, I savored every bite of the apples – that I had peeled!

Pumpkin Pot de Créme. Chocolate, Beet. Apple Tart Tatin.

And so. A little micro-adventure for F for Food. A new thing. And this makes me very happy. Except my kitchen seems kind of small, now.


*All of the lovely photographs of the food I swiped from Kevin Eats.

33. The Ludo Truck at Domaine LA’s First Tasting

You know I love Sundays. Most recently I had an exceptional one. And one that involved a lot of decadence and, in varying ways, a lot of food truckness. It all began early on in the day when Maggie and I realized that the final episode of The Great Food Truck Race would be airing later that night and that they would be marathoning the season throughout the day. We had only seen the first episode and kind of forgot to keep up – so, DVR: set. Woo hoo!

12:30pm – Watching episode 2 of The Great Food Truck Race. Getting excited about food trucks, in general. Even more excited about Ludo Truck being at Domaine LA’s first wine tasting in a mere hour and a half.

1:30pm – Hell. Wanting to watch more food truckery, as the television is quite addictive, but must hustle to Domaine LA for tasting and Ludo’s truck chicken.

The scene in Domaine LA: sipping, crunching and mingling.

2pm – At Domaine LA. Right on time. Chris, Maggie and I all have our first glass of bubbly. This was a 2008 Francois Pinon Vouvray, Non-Dosé, Methode Champenoise Chenin Blanc. This was to be my favorite of the three. I actually bought a bottle to take home at the end of the affair.

2:45pm – Second tasting while keeping an ever watchful eye on the line situation out at Ludo Truck. Looks okay. Doable. Currently tasting the 2009 La Grange Tiphaine Rosé Rosa Rosam, Pet'Nat Blend of Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Grolleau, Cot (aka Malbec). Hmm. This one is not as much my style. Billed as dry read as jammy to me. I think this was Chris’ favorite, however.

3:15pm – Last pour. Number three: 2009 Vigneto Saetti Lambrusco Salamino di S.Croce. We really got bigger and bigger throughout our journey in bubbles. This one was downright esoteric. It dares you. It begins so tart you pucker, but later becomes round and soft.

Check out Jill’s words on these wines here.

3:30pm – Ludo Truck O’ Clock. The line was short. The shortest it had been all day. Go time! Oh, and did I mention that, as Maggie and I were among the first 20 people to purchase tickets to the tasting, we received little coupons that entitled us to a FREE 2-piece chicken meal with a side from Ludo-land? Yes. That mere $12 gave us three champagnes and full tummies. Jealous much?

Okay, now. Time to chat about chicken.

As you know, I’ve tasted Ludo’s fried chicken one time prior to this banner day. At the Foundry, with Eric Greenspan. I loved it. And really, today was no different. I still loved it. 

 

 

A great thing about having Maggie and Chris with me: we were able to order everything off the (already small and precise) menu. I went for a Provencal Pepitte: Juicy boneless chicken balls prepared over three days. Infused with rosemary and herbs de provence and a Chicken Strip: white meat, chicken breast strip. These both were complimented with the Piquillo pepper sauce and served with a side of Ludo Slaw: A freshly hand-sliced concoction of savoy cabbage, celery, red onion, chives, and Italian parsley leaves dressed to the nines with a jalapeño kick.

 

 

Note the moist towelettes! 

 

Both Maggie and Chris also ordered the Honey-Glazed Garlic Wings and Perfect Fries (hand-peeled and hand-cut). Maggie freaked out over those fries. In fact, I believe she said, “Upon reading the menu claiming “Perfect Fries” I was skeptical. But I would have to agree that they accomplished a pretty perfect marriage between a kettle cooked potato chip and French fry. No grease. All crunch!” 

 

 

I thought my chicken strip was just fine; clean, crunchy, succinct, if not extraordinarily exciting. I had ordered the Piquillo pepper sauce on the salesgirl’s suggestion, but I really wished I had the Béarnaise sauce for that one. But let me tell you about that Provencal Pepitte… Holy delicious! It was like all of Thanksgiving wrapped up in a little ball. It didn’t need any sauce and every element, flavor and texture just danced together brilliantly. Chris thought, “The wing was the best (and the messiest).  Delicious marinade.  I was not the only one licking my fingers after this one. No sauce needed at all." And we all loved that slaw. It was inspired and had a surprising zing to it. Cut through all the fried-ness of everything else.

 

Kudos to Ludo! (I felt I had to do that.)

 

Tipsy with lovely bubbles and full of yummy deliciousness. Sigh.

 

And the icing on our perfect Sunday, you ask? We then headed home to re-boot and watch all of The Great Food Truck Race episodes. Then we were off to a bar on Hollywood Boulevard to watch the live airing of the season finale with the posses from both Grill ‘Em All Truck and Nom Nom Truck! I congratulate both finalists for a race well played. It was also a proud moment for our fair city and our awesome truckitude.

 

And then there was sleep.

32. The Manila Machine

I have been meaning to get to this truck for quite some time. I have followed co-owner, Nastassia Johnson’s blog, Let Me Eat Cake for a while, and like her style. Additionally, her truck hit the streets scant few days prior to one of my first Dinner at Eights, which lamentably resulted in Nastassia not being able to attend. I’ll get her there eventually.

Arguably the first food bloggers to man a food truck, Johnson and Marvin Gapultos (Burnt Lumpia) are serving up the City of Angels Filipino food on wheels – and, in doing so, filling a notable hole in our city’s wide range of cultural cuisines. And this, my friends, would be The Manila Machine.

So when Doug told me that they would be The Frosted Cupcakery’s Thursday truck of the week I was pretty pleased.

We sauntered on up to the window of the truck around 1pm to find the sprightly and enchanting Nastassia greeting us with a winsome smile. And but a moment later I was also introduced to the equally personable Marvin. They were both so welcoming that I kind of just wanted to hop into the truck and kick it with them for a few hours. But I was already holding up the line that was forming behind me. And so…

I asked them to lay it on me: serve me what you want me to eat. And here we go.

Pork Belly and Pineapple Adobo ($6)

This was chunks of pork belly braised in a rich, sweet and tangy sauce of vinegar, soy, and pineapples. Served over steamed jasmine rice. Although we all know my fruit drama, this type of situation is in my "happily working on it" category. I really enjoyed this dish. When I plunged my fork into the rice I was pleasantly surprised to find all of the yummy sauce which which to stir everything up. The sweet and the savory played perfectly together here and those few little scallions cut up on top actually added a lovely fresh and crisp accent.

A trio of sliders. From left to right: The Original Manila Dip, Longganisa, Tapa ($2.50 each)

The Original Manila Dip is shredded chicken adobo and caramelized onions on a pan de sal roll. Served with an adobo dipping sauce. I tasted this one last, and perhaps as a result it was the least interesting to me. It was solid, yes. It was good, yes. I love dipping sauces, yes. I found no fault with this slider, but I simply didn't find it as compelling as the two that graced my palate prior. I will say that I really loved the way the bread (which I just loved, anyway) held everything together, in addition to sopping up the dipping sauce.

The Longganisa is sweet pork and garlic sausage, caramelized onions, arugula, and mango jam on a pan de sal roll. I loved this. I loved that sausage. It was smoky and a little sweet - to me, ever so slightly reminiscent of a good chorizo, but a bit milder. And hey folks, I even like the mango jam!

The Tapa is sweet calamansi beef, achara slaw, and spicy sriracha mayo on a pan de sal roll. This was Doug's favorite. In fact, we are fortunate enough to have a Doug sound bite: "This was a dynamic combination of sweet and sour that provided an unexpected (and welcome) bite." I agree, this is also fantastic.

I think we were supposed to get Lumpia as well but we forgot. This was a good thing as both Doug and I were perfectly sated. AND now I have something new to try upon my return. And return I shall. Thanks for a great lunch, guys!

Hey! You should follow them on Twitter!