happy halloween . . . party ideas

So this year M and I threw our only little Halloween soiree.  I hope to do this in years to come, and have it grow year by year.

The menu (blood splattered) for the night:

Dark & stormy cocktail:

I am not the world's best mixologist. In fact, I know very little about mixing drinks.  I have been featuring one cocktail at each party I throw so I can, little by little, build my repertoire.  The dark & stormy is one of my favorite drinks.  It has four parts ginger beer to 1 part dark rum, with a spritz of lime, and garnish of mint.

I used Martha Stewart's Halloween labels on the drinks.

I decorated the bar area with little mice silhouettes, courtesy of Martha Stewart, really the woman thinks of everything, and these little guys are so cute put in the right place.

And of course I served an assortment of wine.  I am finding that four bottles of wine usually do the trick: a witch's brew (shiraz), arsenic (cabernet sauvignon), frog's syrup (chardonnay), and a cyanide (rose). I especially like the spiderweb on the picture in the upper left of this picture.

For dinner the menu included, blood & guts (spaghetti & meatballs), an infested picnic (an assortment of cheeses - blue, triple whipped Brie, feta, and English cheddar), and swampy goodness (baked spinach & artichoke dip)

A Halloween party, just isn't a party without a skeleton and a skull  . . .

ants . . .

eyeballs (gum balls) . . .

and cockroach cake (homemade chocolate cake with chocolate ganache with chocolate whoppers).  Again the idea came from Martha Stewart - the name of her case is creepy-crawley cake.  The best thing about this dessert is that it has about 1 lb of chocolate in it, and the inner filling has crushed chocolate malt balls which really gives you the feeling that your biting into something nasty.  Honestly, this case tastes so yummy, and it photographs great. 

hazelnuts on pizza??

On Thursday I had this pizza -"Burrata Pie"- at Pitfire Pizza and on Sunday I decided to figure out how to make the pizza at home.

It turned out great (even better than the original if I may say so):

It was actually really simple after I figured out where to find Burrata cheese. Burrata is a type of mozzarella packed in water that has a soft center (much like ricotta) and a firm outside.  It is also more sweet than regular mozzarella.  In Los Angeles you can find this cheese at Trader Joe's for a bargain price.

I then made my favorite pizza dough recipe (you could also buy pre-made), and rolled the crust put to be really thick on the edges and super thin in the center (so it would resemble a pie). 

Next, I caramelized one yellow onion with about a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of brown sugar.

For the pizza sauce I used plain tomato sauce (organic).  I figured there would be so many flavors going on that I needed a really simple pizza sauce.

Then I layered on the caramelized onions and the burrata cheese on the crust and stuck the pizza in the oven on 400 degrees and let it bake until crispy and bubbly (about 20 minutes).

While the pizza was cooking I made the hazelnut pesto with about 2-3 garlic cloves, a handful of fresh basil, 1/4 of grated Parmesan cheese, about a 1/4 of a cup of extra virgin olive oil, and a heaping handful of hazelnuts.  I put all of these ingredients in my food processor, until I got a chunky but combined consistency.

Then I tossed the pesto, a couple pinches of peperoncino flakes and kosher salt with the arugula.

Once the pizza was ready, I put the hazelnut pesto salad on top, and devoured.  M loved it, I loved it, and its safe to say it will be a household staple.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 pizza crust
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce (organic)
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 8 oz. Burrata cheese
• 1/4 cup hazelnuts
• 1/4 cup basil leaves (fresh)
• 1/4 Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 package arugula
• 1 teaspoon peperoncino flakes
• 1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

• Coat the pizza crust with the tomato sauce. 
• Cut onion into thin slices and saute over medium heat with brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of olive oil until caramelized.  Add onions to pizza. 
• Cut burrata cheese into 1/4 inch slices and layer onto pizza.
• Place pizza in oven that is preheated to 400 degrees, and bake for about 20-25 minutes.

• While pizza is cooking combine basil, garlic, remaining olive oil, salt, Parmesan cheese, and hazelnuts in food processor until chunky and combined. Toss pesto with arugula and peperoncino flakes and top pizza with the salad mixture when finished.

i ate alligator

This weekend I went with my husband, and our friends D and M to Son of Gun, which I have been dying to try ever since I read about it in "Food and Wine" magazine in June.  The food critic said it was his favorite new restaurant in LA.

We tried to make reservations the Friday before, but the restaurant seats 55 and only takes reservations for half of the tables in the place. Walk-ins are allowed to sit at a communal table which seats 22, and these seats are available on a first come first serve basis.  So we opted to dine later, hoping to avoid the crowds, and for the communal dining experience.

I really liked sitting on the communal table, which was made out of a very rustic looking wood and had 22 wooden stools around it. Eating that way also strikes a lovely balance between eating at your parent's kitchen counter and eating at a restaurant.  You immediately feel relaxed.  I also think it makes for a great atmosphere.  We got to see what everyone around us ordered, and strike up conversations about whether they liked what they ordered, what other restaurants they loved in LA etc.  Also, the wait for the table was only about 30 minutes.    

Like the dinner table, the menu is very communal.  It consisted of all small dishes that are meant to be shared with your dining companions (which is really my favorite thing in the world - sharing food).

The restaurant was pretty darkly lit so I didn't take any pictures, but here is what we tried (* liked, but would try something new over having it again, ** would order again, *** want to come back so I can have it again).

Cocktails:
Our table had the pimm's cup, * dark & stormy,* and sazerac. 

For Dinner:

The Lobster Roll -small piece of toasted bread, lobster, lemon aioli, fennel, garnished with potato chips. ***
Smoked Mahi and Crackers - it was very much like a crab dip, and then topped with fennel. *

Green Goddess Salad - heirloom grape tomatoes, purple green beans, avocado, fennel, rosemary, cucumber, and carrots - this is a playful salad. *

Mussels, Tarragon, Fennel and Toast - I think this was my favorite, I am not sure what was all in it obviously fennel, butter, cream, probably shallot and garlic.  But there were some other notes I couldn't quite put my finger on. ***

Linguine and Clams - this had like a mac and cheese taste to it with a jalapeno bite at the end. *

King Crab Legs w/ Tabasco Butter Sauce **

Alligator Schnitzel with Hearts of Palm and Orange - this was kind of a confusing dish.  The alligator was fried (almost like a very thin chicken patty) and then topped with a coleslaw of sorts with hearts of palm and some type of vanilla sauce.  The sauce reminded me of butterscotch - in the end - I decided that I am not really sure I want something with meat in it to taste like butterscotch?

For Dessert:
Frozen Lime Yogurt, graham cracker crumble, and toasted meringue ***
Apple Pie with ice cream

modern hat shop and larchmont bungalow

This weekend I met my friend M for breakfast at the Larchmont Bungalow.  The Larchmont Bungalow is known for their red velvet pancakes.  Yeah, you heard me.  I didn't indulge this time in sweets, instead I had the lobster cake Eggs Benedict with fruit salsa, and I also had the Moroccan iced coffee (chocolate, hazelnut, and nutmeg notes) super yummy.  

A few blocks down is this great store called Goorin Bros.  I don't know about you, but if I could go back to the days when women never left the house without their hat and white gloves, I probably would!  I love accessories. M and I spent like an hour in Goorin Bros trying on all the different hats, learning what kinds of hats look good on different face shapes.  It was awesome.  Here is the one I got ("hooty"):

Here are a few that I really liked:


 

"Susie Q"



 

"Eden"



 

"Betty Beauty"



monday looms in the very near distance

Do you ever feel like your life is full of conflict??  I do - from the moment I get into the car in the morning and fight my way through traffic for 45 mins to an hour to get to work, to the moment I get to work (which obviously as an attorney my day is full of conflict) to the moment I get back into the car for another hour of being cut off, honked at, and yes, sometimes yelled at -  my life is full of conflict.  Needless to say, by the time I get in the door at the end of the night I feel like someone picked up a big steaming bucket of mud and dumped it on me.

And this routine (sometimes better . . . sometimes worse) continues for the next 5 days (sometimes more).  I would like to say that all that conflict doesn't affect me or my personal life, but of course it does.   It seems like I handle the conflict fine while it is happening, but the results of living with that type of conflict seem to come out at the most ridiculous moments. 

For example, Thursday night I got home, started making dinner, I got into the cupboard and there were like 4 bags of super huge marshmellows blocking all of my canned goods, I pushed the bags out of they way and the bages must have been open because when I moved them they all spilled all over the kitchen.  This is what made me lose it . . . me standing in the midsts of pink and white jumbo marshmellows . . . and of course I took my frustration out on my spouse.  But really . . . were the mooshy marshmellows beneath my feet, what was getting me down?? No . . . it was all the problems during the day that really got to me.  (I am the problem solver thats what I do, but some problems take a long time to solve).

Today, at church the sermon was about dealing with conflict.  Obviously, I felt it was very relevant to how I have been feeling.  These are the verses we studied today, and I feel I need to commit them to memory (or attach them to my steering wheel):

Colossians 3:12-17

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

 ¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Have a good peaceful week.