5 Course Tasting Dinner at Kirkland's Restaurant

Kirkland decided to make a lovely 5 course dinner for his family. I was his sous chef/runner/cleaner. It was amazing to see all the courses come together and finally eat them. It was quite a bit of work to make that many dishes...and there were so many dishes to wash! But I thought it was really worth it. Kirk is such an amazing chef and baker. It was such a treat to cook alongside him. Every dish was so well thought out and tweaked with special Kirk touches. He even made vanilla french macaroons with raspberry filling. We made those the night before (so much work!), but because they are so difficult to make, we kinda messed up over half the batch. It was sad....we only salvaged 12 really good, serve-able ones. We are going to have to make that one again sometime. Kirk also had purchased a Nespresso machine from Williams Sonoma. Heehee...I made the mistake of drinking a regular espresso at night. I was bouncing off the walls. But lucky (or unluckily) for Kirk, not only did I keep bugging him, I washed all the dishes from the dinner and cleaned up the table. I don't think it will be happening anytime soon, but I can't wait until Kirk's next fancy dinner.

The table setting for Kirk's 5 course meal

Amuse bouche: vegetable soup

Sashimi with red and green tobiko and gobo root

Warm baby beets and spinach salad with di parma prosciutto wrapped scallop

Buta kakuni with eggplant and Matsutake gohan

Braised leg of lamb and roasted red potatoes

Chocolate ganache and raspberry tartlet with ice cream

Trader Joe's Burrata and Beets

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After eating some really good beets and burrata, I was inspired and craving the yummy pair. I heard about Trader Joe's selling Burrata. They also sell beets already steamed and peeled. I thought a nice beets and burrata salad would be tasty for dinner. The beets were excellent and sure beat trying to boil the messy beets yourself. The burrata wasn't that great. It was kind of mushy and although the taste was sort of there, it just wasn't the same as the burrata I've had at Angelini or Mozza. But I guess for Trader Joe's it was ok? Maybe cheese fans know of better places to buy burrata (hmm....maybe Surfas' cheese bar?) I definitely would make the beet salad again with the beets and greens from Traders. Add a balsamic vinagrette for dressing to top it off. Also, my new favorite apple is the breed called Honeycrisp. They sell it at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. It is super crisp, light, and watery if that makes any sense.

On a beautiful Sunday after a fun time shopping at Surfas cooking and supply store, Kirk and I stopped off at Honey Kettle Chicken in the arts district of Culver City to eat some yummy fried chicken. I'm not the biggest fan of fried chicken (gasp, I know), but this was freakin good friend chicken. I'm not the expert on fried chicken, but this was the best fried chicken I've ever laid mouth on. It was crispy on the outside, tender meat on the inside with a great flavor. The fries that came with it were ok, but the biscuit was so light and perfectly crisp on the outside. Almost tasted flash fried. If you like fried chicken and haven't been here, please go and check it out...definitely worth the drive out to Culver City.
Honey Kettle Chicken
www.honeyskettle.com
9537 Culver Blvd, Culver City -

(310) 202-5453

Place Yuu....Not Me

So I know that was a corny title...but upon valeting the car at the Sawtelle strip mall, I told the valet that I was going to Place Yuu (pronounced You). And he said place me. It took me a nanosecond to get that joke. Anyways, Kirk has been talking about Place Yuu for awhile so we decided to go there for dinner before D&B's. It is your standard small plates with sushi bar. Casual with a great friendly feel. More traditional than places like Bar Hayama or Orris. I personally like Bar Hayama more but I think that's because I like the fusion style Japanese small plates. If you don't want to venture out with the small plates, the sushi was very standard and very reliable. Kirk ordered a sushi dish called Battera which was a press sushi with I think a Saba type fish. I ordered some spicy scallop and salmon which was delicious. We also ordered Yaki Nasu (grilled eggplant), Yaki Ika (grilled squid) and Buta Kakuni (slow cooked pork). All in all it was a good meal...another restaurant to check off my list of Sawtelle street places.

Place Yuu
2101 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
90025-6200
(310) 478-7450

The Cat is Out of the Bag - Kirkland and Mo Go to Dave and Buster's

The Big Winner!

We won 2500 tickets that night and bought a bunch of candy (giant gummy bear....see blog)

I've been wanting to just go relax and burn off some steam. What better place than a place like Dave and Buster's. I really wanted to play skee ball, basketball, House of Dead, and that fun game where you try to push off coins from a ledge. Kirk and I (who have started just dating), trekked over to Santa Anita mall to the nearest Dave and Buster's. We ran around like little kids playing for hours. Kirk basically kicked my butt in most of the games. I would say the only game I was better at was that stupid push the coins off the ledge game. Kirk was awesome at all the games. He even played that game where you push the button to stop the light on tickets and he won the jackpot of 1000 tickets!!! I was in total disbelief....like winning the jackpot at a casino. Well, not exactly the same, but I was still jumping up and down and he was beaming, like it was no big deal on his first try. He also won me this cute turtle from the crane game...also a first try win. He's my hero!

Myth or Fact: Giant Gummy Bear

Just wanna bite his ear off!

Joni performing gummy bear surgery

My friends Joni and Dean introduced me to this candy blog the other day and I've been hooked on her recommendations (www.candyblog.net). She talked about some candies I've heard of and some I haven't heard of. I started getting hooked on the Japanese candy Hi-Chew which this lady loves. Dean and Joni are hooked on an expensive habit called Gummy Choco. We were all intrigued by this one blog about a giant gummy bear. I love gummy bears, but a giant one? I had dreams of just grabbing that bear and biting his nose off. Low and behold, I found it at Dave and Buster's of all places. For a mere 475 tickets, you could own a giant gummy bear, about the size of a coffee mug. I had to get it for Joni. You know what, it was really good! I got the green apple flavor (which you gummy bears fan know that it not an original true gummy bear flavor). The texture was a bit softer than a gummy bear but it was good. I think it was just weird to eat such a large piece since usually you eat a small bear one at a time. Should you come across a giant gummy bear, say "hello", chat it up a bit, then go for the kill with your knife...it won't hurt him at all.

Macaroon Ice Cream Sandwich....Need I Say More?

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

I had my first macaroon ice cream sandwich the other day. It was heaven on earth. Delicious, creamy, sweet, chewy...magnificent. My foodie friend mentioned this place to me and I thought it was a myth....a made up story. But it was true...they actually had macaroons filled with homemade ice cream. The macaroon was ginormous (about 3 inches in diameter), the ice cream inside was very fresh tasting and super creamy. They had a few flavors: grasshopper, vanilla bean, coffee/toffee. In addition to the wonderful frozen treats, there was an array of sweets in a beautiful display case. Tres leches cake, chocolate pudding, red velvet cupcakes, blue velvet cake, and on and on and on. It was pure heaven. I will be going back over and over again!!!! If you have a sweet tooth, this is a must try place.

Milk
www.themilkshop.com
7290 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036-2545
(323) 939-6455

Finally...Dinner at Angelini Osteria

Some complimentary Prosecco...always nice to dine with someone who has some connections (Masaki!)

Braised baby beets

Beets, burrata, and field greens

Gino (not Angelini), debones the Branzino tableside

My green Lasagna with flash fried spinach

Chocolate Crostata and Panna Cotta

I finally got to eat at Angelini Osteria in celebration of Angie's birthday (from last month). The usual family suspects (me, Yuki, Masaki, and Jeni-koro) met up at this restaurant on Beverly Blvd. My cousin Masaki/Bryan has been raving about this place for the longest time. I've heard lots of great things about the chef/owner Gino Angelini. It was delicious....lots of great flavors, simple, but always dependable. The green lasagna was extra creamy with what tasted like, very high quality ricotta and some other fancy cheese (not just your store bought ricotta and mozzarella). My favorite dish was the beets and burrata. So creamy and just goes so wonderfully with the sweet fresh beets. Can't wait to go back and try more of the items on the menu. Be aware, we were there wed night and it was super packed. Reservations are a must! Apparently La Terza is good, but I have yet to try it.

Angelini Osteria
www.angeliniosteria.com
Phone: 323-297-0070
Fax: 323-297-0072
7313 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90036
4 BLOCKS WEST OF LA BREA
ON THE NORTH SIDE
(CROSSTREET: POINSETTIA)