Birthdays!

Everybody loves birthdays right? Well, at least until you hit about 21…!!! No, not me though, I have always thought birthdays were YOUR day, the one day you could feel special and celebrate your LIFE! I have always been blessed with week long parties, gifts and just plain celebration! That’s why I love my family and friends so much. Every day when the 29th of March hits, I feel unique and one of kind, but this year was different. They say, it’s your ‘Golden year', 29 on the 29th. I say, it’s when I finally felt like an adult, like everyone else, just another day that…of feeling special and great to be alive. Everyday is your birthday, I finally realized that. It’s what you make of it. I did celebrate in this year in style with a dinner at Sona, a night with my little cousins filled with cupcakes and Baby Einstein, and then another night in Hollywood, LA style, partying. A special thanks to Tina, Chris, Carly, Diep, Erik, Ben, Jack, Heidi, Caroline, Dylan, and the my co-workers, Julie, Gabel, and Amy! One year before the big 3-0, god help me!!!

Cooking THE Ghetto Gourmet

One of my defining moments occurred about 2 months ago. I was browsing the Ghetto Gourmet site checking out the next events in LA and little to my surprise, there it was, GG in LA, 3/22, “Join us as Chef Tammy Tu prepares a 4 course meal at a lovely space in Brentwood” $50 per person, SOLD OUT!

It started last October when I attended a dinner and was enamored (see my December Archives) by this ‘underground supper club’. Long story short, I told Jeremy (the founder) I was interested to cook at an event and after a few phone calls, assisting in another Ghetto Gourmet event, and a few months later, I was invited to be a Chef! It was like having my own restaurant for one night! I sat down to prepare a 4 course menu with a reasonable budget for 40 guests. I knew I wanted to create dishes that were extremely detailed with garnishes, sauces, and highlighted, Spring. After all, I was cooking on the first day after the arrival of one of my favorite seasons.

In season for Spring are bountiful green vegetables such as Asparagus, Peas, Ramps (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_leek ), Scallions, Nettles, than there’s Radishes, Cauliflower, New Potatoes. As far as fruits, red, like Rhubarb, Strawberries and proteins...Lamb, Salmon, and Trout, just in time for Easter.

The week before the event I finalized the menu, 2 days before the dinner, Jeremy called to say the head count was up to 55! Awesome, BRING it!!! The day before was all prepping and the day of, I was ready to go, just needed to get everything to the house safely and COOK. The house was situated on the edge of Brentwood Hills, gorgeous architecturally, built in the 1950s, art deco/modern syle and not like the typical Spanish or Craftsman style home in LA. I actually know the owner, an event planner whom I often get a few gigs from, hence I felt extremely comfortable in the kitchen.

My cousins and friends came to the event which probably put me on edge more than normal but I was excited! There was another honorable guest, a contestant from Top Chef, Suyai (http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef_2/bios/suyai_steinhauer.shtml ) who watched intensely as I cooked.

The verdict: AWESOME. All dishes went out successfully and now I have prepared a sit down dinner for over 50 people. I could not have done it without my new found kitchen staff and the support of my family and friends. It was crazy fun, a lot of work, and just cool. Big thanks to Jeremy and the Ghetto Gourmet. See my pictures!

The Oscars

Everyone who’s anybody watches the Oscars, right? We all go to pre-parties, post parties, get together, bet/make wagers on the winners, and name our party foods, Leo diCaprese or Silence of the Lamb meatballs, even have a theme meal around the nominated movies? No? Yes, in LA, I quickly realized that the Oscars can be like the Superbowl. This year, I watched the Oscars and made bets, hoping that I would be the victor and requested the loser to cook for me. Little did I know I was up against local pros who have been watching the Oscars in LA for years, one of whom is in the industry! We somehow figured a shady but effective (for the winner) point system! That night I prepared a few paninni’s, portabello mushroom ‘pizza’, turkey meatballs, and barbecued chicken salad, no themes but a fun Oscar menu! There was a new red wine favorite called Guenoc, Sake, and lots of moping after the show ended! I am pretty sure I have the ‘Academy’ figured out and am ready for next year, watch out…you know who you are!

Vietnamese New Year (Tet)

‘Tet’ is by far the biggest holiday in our culture. Every year, my family gets together on this day, we travel to temple, make visits to our loved ones, bringing gifts. Afterwards, the party gets started with a feast of food, gambling (yes, Blackjack, etc), and being with each other. It’s a ritual that has taken place since I could remember. Each person has their own definition of the day of Tet. To me, it’s a day to start over again, like a new beginning and maybe an omen for the year to come. When I was younger, I received money from elders (aunts and uncles) in little red envelopes and used to make out like a bandit, a couple hundred dollars. Mind, you, I have a huge family! Now that I am older it is time for me to give back to my little cousins and I find myself lucky to get even a dollar!

It’s been tough since I went to college because I have always been away from my family on this occasion. It’s been refreshing of late being here in LA where half of the family is. But this year was especially strange because all of my aunts and uncles traveled back to Vietnam to celebrate. Hence, the ‘2nd’ generation, my cousins and I, were left by ourselves. We had no clue what do and it did not even dawn on me that we should have held our own ritual all together until it was too late. Afterall, we ARE the next generation, what will happen as we have children, will this tradition pass on? My cousins, Tina, Vanee, and Caroline did the best we could. The night of, New Year’s, I decided to cook for Vanee, Caroline, and some friends a meal, not necessarily representative of what we normally eat but, nevertheless an interesting effort. A menu of 5 courses, I attempted a tribute to the Year of the Pig, which was average and did not compare to the traditional poached chicken, sweet rice, caramelized fish and or/beef, pickled cabbage, ‘pork sausage’ wrapped in banana leaves, roasted pork and of course what we younger generation folk like to call ‘the brick’ rice, mung bean, peppered pork cake (Banh Trung). I apologize but I don’t have a picture, everyone who is not Vietnamese would be interested to see what this cake is like. It’s wrapped in Banana leaves and on top of the leaves there could be a lucky red envelope. We usually eat this cake for days before and after the new year. Although afterwards, we find other variations, a.k.a. frying the darned thing, yes, frying, after all we are Americanized! It’s actually very good tasty fried and I am bummed this year that I have not had my intake.

Moving on, as it strikes midnight on the new, we usually ward off evil spirits with incense throughout the whole house, bless our ancestors (my grandparents, great-grandparents) and Buddha, feed them those delights and give our loved warm wishes. My mom throws rice on our front porch to make sure we are healthy and prosperous for the new year. Some of my cousins feast at midnight as well. This year, I actually served my grandparents some of my food. I hope they enjoyed it because it was the first time they had ever tasted my cooking! The next day, my cousin Tina and I went to temple and tried to gamble and feast on some foods we bought from the Vietnamese store. I have to admit it just wasn’t the same. I really missed my family, my aunts happily cooking away, kids running throughout the house, the loud yammering of my uncles when they won gambling, and most of all, just being together. I think I learned a valuable lesson this new year, cherish your family, friends and the moments, because change is inevitable.