From Sea to Plate: The St. Regis Hotel's "Fish Ritual" in Punta Mita, Mexico

Everybody needs a quick getaway once in a while. Bryan and I got ours a few weeks ago courtesy of a ton of accrued Starwood hotel points and US Airways flight credits. We traded those bad boys in for a quick three-day stay at the St. Regis Punta Mita, about 45 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Two planes, one car and four hours of travel time later and we were spending a Thursday afternoon sitting on a picturesque white sand beach, welcome margarita in hand. Talk about a departure from an office cube and LA traffic!

Upon checking into the hotel we were greeted by Carl Emberson, the St. Regis' General Manager, a boisterous fellow who is eager to share his love for the hotel property and its many amenities. He was particularly excited about the Fish Ritual, a weekly activity where local fisherman haul their catch of the day onto the beach and St. Regis guests get to hand-pick their fish for lunch and/or dinner. But wait, it gets better.

St. Regis' Catch of the Day, Straight out of the Pacific!

Bryan and I walked down to the oceanfront, where one of the St. Regis restaurant chefs and his attendants were manning the Fish Ritual. A table prepped with a bed of palm fronds and ice was topped with an array of stunningly beautiful fish, from red snapper to rainbow fish to Mahi Mahi. I'm talking sparkling scales, jewel tones, clear eyes and firm flesh. It doesn't get fresher than that.

Friday's Fish Ritual at the St. Regis Punta Mita

Every decision regarding the fish is made by the guests, from the specific fish they want, how they'd like it prepared (Ceviche? Grilled? Steamed in a banana leaf?), any accoutrements they prefer (Garlic basil sauce? Champagne Savoyan sauce?), what time they'd like to have it ready (Lunch? Dinner?) and even in which of the three St. Regis' restaurants they'd like to dine. Forget the trend of "from farm to table," we're upping the ante to "from sea to plate."

Here's what we chose:

• Fish: Red Snapper
• Preparation: Ceviche (appetizer)/Parilla con Talla Verde, aka grilled with garlic basil sauce (entree)
• Where: Sea Breeze Restaurant
• When: Dinner at 7:30pm, the best time to watch Punta Mita's gorgeous sunset

Build the Perfect Fish Dish

With the exception of a pointing at a sad little lobster stuck in a restaurant's tank, never before have we been able to literally choose our protein -- barely hours out of the sea -- and see it transformed into mouth-watering dishes. We started with the ceviche, which was marinated in lime juice, onion, spices and served with chopped tomato and fresh chips. Simple yet delicious. Our entree followed, huge filets of grilled red snapper topped with a light garlic basil sauce. To describe the snapper's flesh as anything other than sublimely succulent would be a disservice to the chef. It was easily the best piece of fish either Bryan or myself have had.

Appetizer: Snapper-Turned-Ceviche

Entree: Grilled Red Snapper with Garlic Basil Sauce |

Ratatouille of Vegetables & Jasmine Rice (not shown)

The Fish Ritual was a truly unique experience, one that we'll remember fondly. And if you're curious, it didn't break the bank, either. For two portions of the ceviche and two fish filet entrees, the bill came in at about $75 (US). It felt awesome to know we had literally walked down to the beach, pointed at the fish we wanted, chose the when/where/how and showed up a few hours later to enjoy a pescado feast. If you're in Punta Mita, definitely check St. Regis' fish ritual out. Then make sure to spend the rest of the day enjoying a cerveza by the pool. :)

Bonus Photo: Stunning View During the Fish Ritual

St. Regis Hotel Punta Mita

Lote H-4

Carreterra Federal 200, km 19.5

Punta Mita, Nayarit 63734

Mexico

(52)(329)2915800

Save the Date: Corkbar's Sausage Supper on April 27

On Wednesday, April 27, from 6 p.m. to close, Corkbar is partnering with local purveyor Huntington Meats to host a three-course, $25 prix-fixe “Sausage Supper," the second installment of its ongoing Artisanal Dinner Series (the first was in February with artisan purveyor the Cast Iron Gourmet). Each dish in the prix-fixe will feature an artisan ingredient from Corkbar’s purveyor partner, and in this case, it will be housemade sausages from the local butcher. Optional craft beer or California wine pairings are available for an additional $10 or 15, respectively.

Want to win a complimentary "Sausage Supper" for two? Do two things: 1) Follow @Corkbar on Twitter between April 15 and April 25. 2) Tweet @Corkbar the name of your favorite sausage dish or recipe.

Winners will be announced on April 26 via Twitter’s direct message service. Good luck and let the sausagefest begin!

(Photo credit: Corkbar)

Corkbar

403 W. 12th St.

Los Angeles, CA 90015

(213) 746-0050

Huntington Meats

6333 West 3rd Street

Los Angeles, CA 90036

(323) 938-5383

Gruyere Cheese "Puffs": The Perfect Party Appetizer

I must share a confession: I judge a restaurant by its bread. I'm not proud of it, but over the years I've found it's a necessary evil. Bread is like a restaurant's first impression. Or better yet, first date. In most restaurants, the bread shows up before one has a chance to lock eyes with the waiter, order a cocktail, or even take a sip from the water glass that somehow flew out of the busboy's hands and onto the table. Whether it's a whole roll or a sliced baguette, bread should be fresh and warm to the touch, crusty on the outside and steamy on the inside, and emitting a wonderfully yeasty aroma. Bonus points if the bread is made in house, served with a pat of butter sprinkled with flakes of sea salt, or if it is not bread at all, but rather a gougère.

Meet the Gougère

A gou-what, you might say? A gougère is simply a fancy-schmancy name for a still-steaming, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, cheese puff. Say it with me: cheese puff. If an old-fashioned biscuit got busy with a cheese soufflé, it would have a gougère baby. On the inside it's creamy and steamy, but on the outside it's a baked, cheesy, crunchy shell of goodness. Unfortunately, there's only one restaurant in L.A. that I know of -- hello, Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao -- that serves gougères before its meals, but neither my wallet nor my cholesterol level can handles weekly dinners there. So instead, I tested a homemade gougère recipe. And guess what? It turned out fantastic so I want to share it with you, too. It's perfect for holiday party appetizers or pre-dinner bread. Enjoy!

Gruyere Gougères

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine Magazine

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup water
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese
• Sea salt
• Cracked black pepper

Make the gruyeres: Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, combine the milk with the water, butter and salt; bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Add the flour all at once with the Piment d'Espelette and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the flour is thoroughly incorporated. Reduce the heat to low, return the saucepan to the burner and cook the gougère dough, stirring constantly, until the dough pulls away from the side of the pan, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of grated Gruyere cheese and stir until cheese it melted and incorporated into dough.

Bring milk, water, salt & butter to a boil

Add flour and stir, stir, stir (!) until the dough pulls in from sides of pan

Remove the saucepan from the heat and let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until the dough cools slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring briskly between additions to thoroughly incorporate each egg. Important note: a wooden spoon is crucial here. If you don't own one, use the wooden handle of a spatula.

Add eggs, one at a time, until dough is smooth and sticky

Drop three-tablespoon mounds of dough onto the baking sheets, two inches apart. Top each round with one tablespoon of Gruyere cheese; sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

Drop mounds of dough two inches apart on parchment paper

Top each mound with grated cheese, salt and pepper

Bake the gougères for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350° and bake for 30 minutes longer, switching the baking sheets halfway through, until the gougères are puffed and browned. Turn off the oven, propping the door ajar with a wooden spoon. Let the gougères rest in the oven for about 30 minutes longer, until crisp on the outside but still steamy within. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Make ahead: The gougères can be frozen for up to 1 month. Defrost in a 350° oven for about 8 minutes.

Bake gougères according to instructions above

The finished product! Homemade gougères

Review: Test Kitchen's Red Medicine

Tonight I was one of the lucky few to get a reservation to Test Kitchen's second (of four) night schedule "testing" the menu for Red Medicine, L.A.'s upcoming punk-meets-Vietnamese restaurant. For a little background, Test Kitchen is a new restaurant concept by Bill Chait (Rivera, Spark Woodfire Grill) and Brian Saltsburg (Boyz Night Out Supper Club), giving some of L.A.'s top chefs a temporary space to "test" out dishes in the works for future restaurant projects. It's a brilliant concept; various chefs rotate through the Test Kitchen and share their potential plates with the palates of Angelenos.

Test Kitchen's Dining Room
Place Setting

Considering I live about a stone's throw from Red Medicine, I was very excited to taste Chef Jordan Khan's creations. Khan has previously described the restaurant's concept as "punk meets Vietnamese," while Test Kitchen website dubs it as "contemporary Vietnamese featuring local ingredients and modern cooking techniques." As a huge aficionado of Vietnamese cuisine, this thrilled me; I love the simple execution but bright, mind-blowing flavors in traditional Vietnamese dishes: homemade pork Banh Mi sandwiches with pickled carrots and cilantro, crisp green papaya salads, chicken meatballs in lettuce cups and glass noodle salads loaded with fragrant mint and basil, salty fish sauce, earthy peanuts and a spritz of tangy lime juice. For me, flavors just don't get better than that. Not to mention, anyone bold enough to describe their cuisine as punk is bound to have some serious rock star food.

My homemade Banh Mi Sandwich (recipe here)

We arrived right on time at 6pm -- Test Kitchen is located in the Pico Boulevard space that previously housed Spark Woodfire Grill -- and were immediately escorted to the bar. Matthew Doerr, Red Medicine's Bar Manager, was mixing up five featured cocktails as well as bespoke/dealer's choice libations. I ordered a bespoke cocktail -- "anything with basil and vodka in it" were my only instructions. The basil turned out to be wonderfully fragrant, with a hint of citrus from grapefruit juice and tartness from the ginger beer. My guest ordered the #5 (Red Medicine doesn't name their cocktails), made with Plymouth Gin, Lemon, cherry heering, kambucha and sparkling. His reaction? It was ordinary. However, later in the evening he ordered the #3, which was anything but ordinary, made with Redemption Rye 2yr, Luksusowa, pickled peaches, lime, mint and ginger beer. It was fantastic. I am not a whiskey drinker and the combination of the whiskey with the pickled seasonal peaches, hint of mint and lime was great.

Bespoke "Basil" Cocktail | Basil, ginger beer, grapefruit, vodka

The #5: Plymouth Gin, Lemon, cherry heering, kambucha, sparkling

The #3: Redemption Rye 2yr, Luksusowa, Pickled Peaches, Lime, Mint, Ginger Beer

We sat down and the dishes just started coming. The whole idea behind Test Kitchen is that, aside from cocktails, you're not ordering anything. There are no substitutions, there are no vegetarian options. There is a wave of twelve prix fixe, family-style dishes that just start making their way to your tabletop, ready or not. You're there as a test subject, not as a decision-making diner; which was just fine with us.

Test Kitchen's Red Medicine Menu

The servers were incredibly enthusiastic, attentive and for the most part, quite knowledgeable about each of the dishes coming from the kitchen. As you can see from the menu above there was no shortage to the ingredients in each dish, which has the potential to cause problems for both the servers' memories as well as the execution of the dishes themselves. Which unfortunately ended up being the case; while there were truly some dishes we enjoyed very much -- the green papaya salad, chicken dumplings, crispy Brussels sprouts, skirt steak and coconut bavarois were excellent stand-outs -- at the end of the day we felt as though Red Medicine was trying a bit too hard to transform Vietnamese food into extremely upscale fare. Which made me sad; any reflection of "punk" in Khan's Vietnamese cuisine was sadly missing. There is certainly a time and a place for modernizing indigenous cuisine -- Rick Bayless has mastered it in his conception of Topolobampo and most recently, L.A.'s very own Red O -- but Red Medicine's menu seemed to sacrifice bold Vietnamese flavors in favor of creative textures and edible, tweezer-appointed flora and fauna. To quote the great Coco Chanel, "Always take off your last accessory you put on." In my opinion, the same rule should be applied to Red Medicine's menu: less it more. Use less dehydrated coconut milk, charred friseé and puffed tapioca and more expressions of the bold Vietnamese flavors true fans of the cuisine know and love.

Again, this is only my opinion and there were some lovely dishes. The whole point of Test Kitchen is to gauge the reception of dishes being considered for a future restaurant concept, so I certainly cannot fault them for experimenting. It was clear that the kitchen was full of seasoned professionals, the wait staff was well trained and the owners were very invested in the success of the menu, welcoming us both in and out of the restaurant. But my idea of a true "test" kitchen would be to solicit the feedback of the diners themselves, especially those invested enough to make a reservation for an extremely limited, four-night run. Maybe it's my marketing research background coming into place, but it's just a thought.

Radishes | Coco-butter, lime, dried soy

Cured amberjack | Lime leaf, french melon, nuoc cham, bird chili, mint

Brussels sprouts | Caramelized shallots, fish sauce, prawn crackers

Tomatoes | Marinated in an infusion of their vines, silky tofu, crunchy tofu, herbs

Saigon tartine | Pork belly, pate, coriander, carrot pickle, green chili

Green papaya | Crispy taro, rau ram, fried shallots, peanuts

Caramelized chicken dumplings | Lemongrass, scallion, bibb lettuce

Baby carrots | Fermented black bean, star anise, coconut, tarragon

Bay scallops | Pomelo, young ginger, tamarind syrup, puffed tapioca, charred friseé

BEEF bavette | Bacon X.O., chinese eggplant, chinese celery, lime, palm sugar, sesame

Peaches | Crème de cassis, raspberry, condensed milk, tonic water sorbet, violet

Coconut bavarois | Coffee ice cream, thai basil, peanut croquant, chicory

Once You Go Packet, You'll Never Go Back: Grilled Salmon Packets

The other night I was at a dinner party when the conversation turned to grilling. My friend's husband said he was sick of the same-old, same-old grilled meals: steak, chicken, fish, etc. Instead, he said, he wanted some new ideas to mix it up a bit. I immediately thought of one of my favorite grilled meals and asked him, "Have you ever tried grilled salmon packets?" He looked at me with curiosity so I went on to explain that whenever Bryan and I want a quick, nutritious meal with practically no clean-up, we grab some tin foil, fill it with whatever's around – chopped onion, garlic, spinach leaves, sliced lemon, for example – lay a fresh piece of salmon on top and then seal up the packet. We throw it on the grill for 12 minutes, let the fish steam in its own juice and dinner is r-e-a-d-y, ready.

It couldn't be more simple or delicious; best of all, you throw out the tin foil and the clean up work is done. Of course, you can make it with whatever you want; halibut, salmon, tilapia and chicken work really well, just remember the cooking times are different for each piece of protein. Here's my go-to recipe for our salmon packets. This one's for you, Eric.

Grilled Salmon Packets

Makes four packets

• Four 20" pieces of tin foil (feel free to double the layers if you're worried about leaks)
• 4 uncooked salmon filets (size is up to you; ours are typically 3" x 5" per serving)
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
• 1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, thinly-sliced in rounds
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 lemon wedges, for garnish

Place on piece of salmon skin-side down on a piece of foil. Top with a single layer of lemon slices. Repeat with layers of sliced onion and sliced garlic. Drizzle with one teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Bring lengthwise sides of the foil together and crimp closed. Repeat with the edges, rolling the foil in on each end to seal the packet. Place on the grill for 8-10 minutes for medium rare, 12 minutes for medium and 14 minutes for well-done. You do not need to flip the packets; they will steam on the grill. Remove packets from the grill and let rest for 2-3 minutes. Open the foil packets, being careful as steam will escape. Use a spatula to transfer the salmon from the packets to the plate. Serve with a side salad or goat-cheese and spinach-stuffed mushroom cups (recipe coming soon).

Step #1: Place salmon filet on tin foil

Step #2: Top with a layer of lemon slices

Step #3: Repeat with layers of sliced onions and garlic

Step #4: Seal each packets by crimping middle and edge foil seams together

Step #5: Put on grill and cook for up to 12 minutes. Remove and let rest before opening packet.

Step #6: Use spatula to transfer to plate, perhaps on a bed of steamed spinach. Serve with lemon wedges and enjoy!

Got a Bunch of Leftovers? Here's How I Put Them To Good Use!

Last night was leftover night. I don't mean leftovers from other meals, I mean having a mishmash of ingredients that we needed to make the most out of before they went bad. You see, Bryan and I usually cook during the week, leaving Friday and Saturday nights as our nights out on the town. Since we're headed to Rick Bayless' Red O (check out my original review here) tonight and Saban Free Clinic's Extravaganza for the Senses tomorrow, we needed to go through the leftover bits from our reverse pantry list. We had part of a French baguette, some leftover grilled chicken, buffalo mozzarella, mixed greens, goat cheese, thyme, garlic and a lemon. My immediate thought was to create a kick-butt baguette sandwich we could share, so I made spread out of the goat cheese, thyme, garlic and lemon (I threw in a little S&P for good measure), toasted the baguette, added a layer of sliced grilled chicken, topped that with the mozzarella, drizzled a bit of balsamic syrup, threw on some field greens and TA-DA! We had a serious sandwich. These are the best types of dinners; a great way to get creative with your remaining groceries and put your perishables to delicious use.

Our impromptu dinner: a sandwich made with all our leftover trimmings!

I don't have a recipe for this sandwich, but I did take a few photos as I was making it. The beauty of it is that you can add whatever you want to it. What's your favorite "leftover" meal to make? Have you ever created one that's now a staple in your kitchen?

Leftover baguette, sliced and toasted

Goat cheese, garlic, thyme and lemon zest made the spread

It melted into the crunchy baguette... mmm!

I reheated some leftover grilled chicken breasts

I sliced it and added it to the baguette

Threw in some sliced sweet onion for good measure!

I sliced buffalo mozzarella and added it to the chicken layer

Then I drizzled some balsamic reduction

Finally, I topped the layers with mixed greens and the remaining baguette slice. Dinnertime!