Loteria Grill @ The Original Farmers Market

Bryan and I had a spontaneous outing at the Original Farmers Market today, located at 3rd Street and Fairfax. While we originally needed to buy a gift for an upcoming wedding shower, it was lunchtime and we were starving. Hunger trumps shopping any day, so we detoured into the Farmers Market and started surveying the scene.

I'm embarrassed to say that despite being a native Angeleno, my trips to the Farmers Market have been few and far between. My mother disagrees with this statement, saying she took me to the Farmers Market on a nearly regular basis when I was a child. It doesn't matter who's right; the fact is that I don't remember having ever been to or, more importantly, eaten at one of the dozens of Farmers Market stalls. Today that streak would come to an end.

Weaving through the narrow aisles imparts a bit of sensory overload; do you go for Bryan's Pit BBQ? Loteria Grill's Latin flavors? Monsieur Marcel's French bistro cuisine?

Whatever you're in the mood for, there is something for everyone. Today, Bryan and I settled on Loteria Grill. Our friends, Annie and Brandon, have been telling us about their love for Loteria Grill for a long time, so we decided there was no better time than the present.

At first glance, Loteria Grill looks like any other Mexican food joint. But take a closer look at the menu and you'll see that it's anything but. No greasy cuchara (that would be "spoon") here.


Instead, Loteria Grill serves up a wide variety of authentic Latin soups, from Pure de Calabaza Y Elote (banana squash and corn) to Pozole Rojo (Pork & Hominy). Their tacos, tostadas and burritos, while offering the traditional choices of beef, chicken, shrimp, pork or vegetables, don't fall victim to heavy, oily, overly-seasoned of so many Latin restaurants across Southern California. Their chicken, for example, comes in three fantastic, slow-cooked versions: Mole Poblano, an extremely complicated yet flavorful sauce made from more than 20 ingredients; Tinga, chicken stewed with chipotle peppers and Loteria's home made chorizo sausage; and Pippan Rojo, a spicy pumpkin seed and peanut sauce served with finely chopped onion. I had the Mole Poblano, and as you can see from the photos below, Bryan and I had already made it halfway through our meals before remembering to take photos. Sorry about that. But they were great!


Bryan got nachos, a simple yet delicious choice. House made tortilla chips were topped with cheese, diced onions, pico de gallo, black beans and shredded chicken. He got a side of guacamole, which was also great. We both love excellent guacamole and are admittedly high maintenance about the "perfect" ingredients. My guacamole recipe is a blog for another time, but suffice to say this guacamole was just chunky enough, well-seasoned and topped with pico de gallo. Bryan was happy.

While we had a quick lunch and only got a one item each, Bryan and I thought Loteria Grill was great. While we ended up getting all our shopping done, we'll definitely keep it in mind for days we want to procrastinate facing the crowds at The Grove.

Truffled Scrambled Eggs

This is my breakfast of champions. Or indulgence. Or just deliciousness. Whatever you want to call it, these truffled scrambled eggs are really great and couldn't be more simple.

Before you get nervous and think, but Christie..."Truffles are so expensive," or "Where in the world do I even find truffles?" rest assured that this recipe does not require fancy-schmancy truffles or shavers.

What it does require, however, is an amazing product called truffle salt. It's made by Sabatino & Co. and at $20, it's definitely a splurge. But the great news is that it lasts FOREVER and you only need a tiny pinch of it for any recipe. The last container I had of it lasted over a year before it was devastatingly spilled at a friend's house. But that's a story for another time...

Here's what I use to throw together this decadent breakfast:

• Canola oil spray
  
• 3 eggs (I use two whole eggs and one egg white)
  
• 1-2 pinches Sabatino & Co. Black Truffle Salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• Manchego or Parmesiano cheese for grating
  

Coat a non-stick pan with a light spray of canola oil. Heat the pan over a low flame. Mix the two eggs, one egg white and a few grinds of fresh pepper until well combined. Add to the non-stick pan. Cook the eggs of low heat, scrambling occasionally until the eggs set and are cooked through (or until your desired doneness). Transfer the eggs to a plate and top with a pinch or two of truffle salt. Grate the cheese over the eggs (the cheese will melt almost immediately) and serve! Bon appetit!

Steamed Manila Clams

Last night I was on a cooking rampage. I made homemade short ribs, which took about three hours. While the ribs were hibernating in the oven, I started on a batch on lentil vegetable soup. Truth be told, it's more of a lentil jambalaya because I add chicken, spicy sausage and shrimp. But that's a recipe for another time.

Turns out making short ribs and lentil soup makes one's house smell GOOOOOOOD. So good Bryan and I were absolutely starving. I got the "okay, so you're cooking up a storm, but what's for dinner tonight???" from my husband, and to be fair, he had a point.

The conclusion to the "dinner" question was in fact the short ribs, but we had at least another hour before they were done. So we needed an appetizer. I had some manila clams in the fridge, so I grabbed them along with some garlic, onion, flat leaf parsley and lemon. Oh, and a beer. This one was for the clams to drink, but I got one for Bryan as a consolation prize.

Here's what I did for a quick steamed clam appetizer. It only takes about 15 minutes and is delish. Manila clams are sweet and tender, not to mention tiny. A perfect app.

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• Sea salt
• Fresh ground pepper
  
• 1/2 cup diced onion
  
• 1 teaspoon diced fresh garlic
• 1 lb (~20) manila clams
• 1 beer (I used Lost Coast Great White; it's light but still has good flavor)
• 2 teaspoons chopped flat leaf parsley
• Juice of 1/3 lemon

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic salt and pepper and saute until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes.


Add the clams to the pan. Pour the beer over the clams, cover the pan and bring the beer to a boil.


Once the beer has started to boil, check on the clams regularly to make sure they are opening. If your pan is small enough, you may hear them open against the sides of the metal pan.


Once all the clams have opened, pour the clams and liquid into a bowl. Top with fresh lemon juice and chopped flat leaf parsley.

What Better Way To Clean Up Your Crumbs...

...than with MYdrap tear-off napkins and place mats?

I think this is another fantastic gift and love this clever twist on traditional disposable napkins. But instead of contributing to the planet's trash pile, these perforated napkin and place mat rolls are washable and come in your choice of yellow, pink, turquoise, lime green, orange and blue cotton and/or linen. At $25/roll they're not the cheapest, but sure are fun! Available at bloomingdales.com.

A Great Way to Gift Your Goodies

This year, holiday gifts from The Bishops (that would be from myself and my husband) will be of the edible kind. Turtle, s'more and peppermint brownies, chocolate dipped cookies, homemade peppermint bark, etc.

Delicious desserts are fantastic gifts but once they're gone, well, they're gone. And while it's a great thing to leave your gift-recipient wanting more, it's even better to leave them with something that they can use and remember you by.

This is where Clayswan's Fiesta-Inspired, Hand-Built Porcelain trays come in. They are gorgeous, reasonably-priced and come in a variety of sizes, patterns and fantastic, vibrant colors. I found these in Food & Wine magazine and couldn't rip out the page fast enough. You can find them at Etsy.com, starting from $16. I'm excited to get a few and give them as gifts this season, but I won't be offended if my friends don't see them until they actually eat all the goodies on top. :)



On a separate note, Clayswan also hand makes super cute and innovative "olive" and "pits" containers. Any good host wonders what to do with the pesky olive pits and God forbid we have mismatched olive and pit bowls. Worry no longer, olive lovers. These are adorable and within anyone's budget.

Short Ribs: Round #1

One of Bryan's favorite meals, if not his absolute favorite, is beef short ribs.

Whenever we're out to dinner and there are short ribs on the menu, it's game on.

Now, because of Bryan's status as a short rib aficionado, I've seen a wide variety of cooking techniques. Obviously short ribs need to be cooked long and slow in order to get that "fall off the bone" tenderness. But some are cooked without enough braising liquid, like red wine and beef stock, so they get dry. And a dry short rib just tastes like dry beef, no matter how tender or how much sauce is piled on. No good.

Then there's the opposite issue; braising it for too long in too much liquid. Sure, the meat gets really tender, but it falls off the bone in the liquid and becomes more of a liquid-y stew. Great if you're going for a soup angle, but not so great for classic short ribs.

That said, when making short ribs it's really important to maintain the balance between tender, moist and good structural integrity.

After watching my husband eat enough short ribs to fill a small tank, I decided to make them myself. They are not expensive - maybe $9 for six beef ribs - and the rest of the ingredients (think carrots, celery, onions, leeks, herbs and dry red wine) don't break the bank either.

When I was looking for recipes, I turned to my go-to cookbook series: Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa. This specific cookbook is Barefoot Contessa Family Style, and it is seriously fantastic. I love cookbooks with great insider tricks, tips and a narrative that conveys the chef's trial and error experiences making the dishes. On top of that, over-sized, glossy photos of the finished presentation makes or breaks the cookbook bank for me.

So I decided Ina was going to help me through my inaugural round of short ribs. Apparently her recipe is adapted from Scott Bieber, head chef at Eli's Manhattan Restaurant in NYC. So I figured having the experience of two big time chefs behind me couldn't hurt! I have to say it worked out really well, even if I did discover that it was a bit too liquid-y for me. But that's easily fixed by controlling the amount of sauce you add to the plate.

Here's how to make it:

• 6 beef short ribs, trimmed of fat
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black paper
• 1/4 good olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion (~ 2 onions)
• 4 cups large-diced celery (~ 6 large stalks)
• 2 carrots, peeled and large-diced
• 1 small fennel, fronds, stems, and core removed, large-diced
• 1 leek, cleaned and large-diced, white part only
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 750-mL bottle burgundy or other dry red wine (I used a 2005 J. Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon)
• Fresh rosemary sprigs (I used 4)
• Fresh thyme sprigs (I used 6)
• 6 cups beef stock
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the short ribs on a sheet plan (I lined mine with foil to minimize clean-up), sprinkle salt and pepper, and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.


Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven and add the onions, celery, carrots, fennel and leek and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.

Pour the wine over the vegetables, bring to a boil, and cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. (Note: I found that this was closer to 20 minutes).

Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the rosemary and thyme together with kitchen twine and add to the pot. (Tip: Don't have kitchen twine? Dental floss accomplishes the same thing. Don't worry if it's mint. The flavor won't hurt it at all.)

Place the roasted ribs on top of the vegetables in the Dutch oven and add the beef stock and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover the Dutch oven and bake for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.

Carefully remove the short ribs from the pot and set aside. Discard the herbs and skim the excess fat. Cook the vegetables and sauce over medium heat for 20 minutes, until reduced. Put the ribs back into the pot and heat through. Serve with the vegetables and sauce.

What's Your Thanksgiving Leftover Strategy?

This post is a bit late, but Bryan and I just got home from our Thanksgiving trip to his hometown in the Bay area. We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Now, if we can dig deep and go back a few days, here's the debate...what's your day-after-Thanksgiving-leftover-sandwich strategy?

We all know the drill: you're standing in front of the fridge, faced with a mountain of leftover Tupperware containers. Turkey, ham, stuffing, yams, potatoes, green beans, gravy...


What do you do? Where do you start? What's your go-to leftover sandwich strategy?


Bryan's brother makes mini sandwiches piled high with mayo, turkey and pickle slices.

Bryan makes a similar version but adds spicy mustard. He heats up mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy on the side.

I, on the other hand, take the idea of a "leftover sandwich" to heart. I cut a roll in half, use cranberry sauce as my "mayo," then spread on layers of mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey and ham. Hold the gravy. It's a literal translation of Thanksgiving leftovers on a sandwich, and it's fan-tas-tic.

You can make it hot or cold. You don't need a fork. But you do need a napkin because it's delightfully messy. Yum, yum, yum.

So, if you can, go back five days, when your pants were a little too tight and you were rummaging through the fridge for leftovers. Think about your leftover sandwich strategy. You know you've got one...