Sake Buerre Blanc

We all get sad at points and eat chocolate, watch movies endlessly, exercise, or just sit on the couch. When I get sad, I bust out Thomas Keller’s French Laundry cook book and read. That’s the perfect cure; inspiration, poignant, and creative. So, the other day, I flipped it open and read all about buerre blanc, a very difficult but gratifying sauce to prepare. The importance of ‘buerre blanc’ is that it doesn’t ‘break’ on you, not too acidic, nor rich, perfect in texture and pairs with just about any good protein.

I decided to try it and substituted white wine with Sake. This would be perfect atop Sea bass. I went to Whole Foods and bought this non-sustainable fish. Hey, I deserved to be spoiled sometimes. The sign said, ‘Chilean Sea Bass from coast of Georgia.’ Not too bad, right?

I reduced the Sake with shallots until almost dry, then, slowly threw in cold cubes of butter and finished it with Tarragon. Of course it’s not as easy as you think, I have messed up a plenty of times, because the heat was too high. The trick is having the heat very low if on at all and constantly whisk.

The Chilean Sea Bass was steamed with soy sauce and served with the succotash of corn, fava beans, and tomatoes, last of summer!

Chicken Wings and Chicken Things

A friend ordered from Honey Kettle Chicken the other day for a Feist Feast at the Hollywood Bowl. It came with the fixins’ of biscuits, cole slaw, fries, and cooked down greens beans, just the way I like 'em. The Chicken was good and different, more like a battered product than anything almost like Tempura batter instead of a regular flour based batter. Anyways, it was fattening yet yummy and thanks to Dylan, we were treated VIP at the concert.

All of this chicken inspired to make a cousin to the fried chicken, smaller sized, Chicken Wing! I did a little research and came upon Mr. Food Scientist himself, Alton Brown’s version, which is baked not fried and prepared a Buffalo sauced and Teriyaki sauced Wing Party! I messed up on the Teriyaki sauce because I failed to boil it down to the right viscosity; it should cling to the wing but didn’t. However, it was still tasty being my first attempt.

I was rushed cutting the wing tips off not to mention tearing the wing from the ‘mini drumstick’ or drummette. Afterwards, they were steamed halfway then baked all the way through at 425 degrees. Last, tossed with either sauce, garnished, and served. Sounds easy, soooo....try it!

Buffalo Sauce:

3 ounces unsalted butter

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Melt the butter in a small bowl along with the garlic.

2. Pour this along with hot sauce and salt into a bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken and stir to combine.

Teriyaki Sauce:

1 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 fresh, hot red chile, halved

5 garlic cloves, halved

2 T fresh ginger

Sesame Seeds



Green onions, minced


1. Combine all ingredients and whisk. Reduce on medium low until sauce is has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.










12 whole chicken wings


1. Place a 6-quart saucepan with a steamer basket and 1-inch of water in the bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.

2. Remove the tips of the wings and discard. Using kitchen shears, or a knife, separate the wings at the joint.

3.Place the wings into the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay the wings out on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Replace the paper towels with parchment paper.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roast on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes.

5. Turn the wings over and cook another 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

6. Remove the wings from the oven and transfer to the bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve warm.

Is it Bay-sil or Bah-sil?

A friend had bought a stalk of basil and wanted to know what else to do with it besides using with Tomatoes. Good question, I thought…so I experimented all in one day. As I kid, I used to love eating Tuna with potato chips, but now as I an adult, being more sophisticate, I decided upon pita chips.

Lunch: White Pizza with Ricotta Basil Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Snack: Tuna fish Salad with Black Pepper, Basil and Cornichons on Crispy Pita

Dinner: Spaghetti with Roasted Garlic and Herbed Breadcrumbs


Tuna Salad

Tuna, canned in water, 1 can

Red Onions, small dice, 2 T

Black Pepper, 1 t

Dijon Mustard, 1 t

Olive Oil, extra virgin, 1 T

Basil, 1 T

Salt as needed

Cornichons for garnish

Pita chips

1. Mix Dijon and olive oil until well incorporated.

2. Add to tuna, red onions, basil, and gently mix with salt and pepper.

3. Top on pita chip and finish with halved Cornichon.

Dining with a View

I’ve lived in this apartment for 3 years and just figured out another brilliant way to enjoy the view of the Mt. Baldy mountains….over good food and wine! I invited Michelle and Caroline over for and we pulled the table outside and shared a meal comprised of the local Alhambra Farmer’s Market ingredients. We started by snacking on Shrimp 'Toasts' with Manchego Cheese, after, I whipped up a salad of Corn, Heirloom Tomatoes, Green Beans, Cucumbers and mixed in good olive oil and basil…fresh and most of all summer-esque. For the main course, we had Garlic Anchovy Butter and Tomato spaghetti. It’s fairly easy and the anchovies add a light umphh. I opened up a bottle of wine that was given to me on my 30th. The Lancaster Estates Cab ‘03, not only paired well with the pasta but also Chocolate Molten Cake Michelle brought for dessert. Yum. Cheers to future dinners on the balcony as the sun sets!

Garlic Anchovy Butter and Tomato Spaghetti

Garlic, minced 5 cloves

Butter 2 T

Olive oil 2 T

Anchovies 5 fillets or as much you can bare

Tomatoes, preferably Heirloom 5 good sized, chopped

Parsley, minced 2 T

Spaghetti 3 cups, cooked

Parmesan-Reggiano Cheese as needed

Salt and Pepper as needed

1. Warm butter, olive oil and garlic until aromatic, about 2 minutes.

2. Add anchovies and cook for about 1 minute on medium low.

3. Add tomatoes and simmer for 5-7 minutes, salt as needed.

4. While sauce is still warm, add to pasta and gently mix with parsley.

5. Garnish with parmesan and pepper.

2nd Annual New York 4th of July

Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad

Lamb burgers with Mint pesto fused Yogurt

Gerlyn's fav German sausage

Karoake at Sing Sang

Pizza Margherita at L'asso's

Bone Marrow and Oxtail Marmalade at Blue Ribbon

Our fish tacos

Another 4th in New York, it’s become a kind of tradition, one that starts with me arriving via LA red eye, breakfasts of cheese, charcuterie, & champagne, rained out BBQ’s on Gerlyn and Kirstin’s rooftop, long walks through the city, Karaoke and eating good in general.

This year for the annual BBQ, we did burgers in style; Lamb, Tofu, and the old fashioned Beef. I added my Red, White, & Blue Potato Salad (circa ’05) and we were set! My hosts were nice enough to let me invite family friends over. Along with G, K, and Steve's (3rd roommie) NY pals the party turned into an eclectic mix of people from around the world. We had a guest bring over German sausages, perfect with mustard on a soft bun even hours later. Not to mention the deep intricacies of British food, a.k.a Toad in the Hole and Fish n' Chips Of course, it started pouring as we started the burgers but made the best of it and moved into their cozy apartment. After the fireworks which..we did not make it to due to dark clouds, we headed to a Karaoke spot, Sing Sang and sung our faces off.

We took our own tour of the Meat Packing District, West Village and SoHo the next day, with eat/drink spots along the way. Favorites where Spice Market for the atmosphere, La Esquina for the underground-esque bar, L'asso’s, and Blue Ribbon Brasserie. They had this exquisite Mushroom and White Truffle Oil pizza at Lasso’s. At Blue Ribbon Market, the Fried Chicken was excellent along with the Bone Marrow and Oxtail Marmalade. The marmalade cut through the richness of both the marrow and oxtail, it was a perfect combination.

On my last night, we cooked Fish Tacos and Chipotle Chicken Tacos. My cousin, Michelle brought over delightful Chocolate chip cookies. We devoured these alongside Haagan Dazs Crème Brulee ice cream. It was a perfect evening as Steve played the guitar and we sang along to the Beatles and Oasis.

Red, White and Blue Potato Salad

RED potatoes, fingerlings or bliss 3#s

WHITE cheddar cheese, shredded ½ cup

BLUE cheese, Maytag or Stilton ½ cup

Green onions, thinly sliced ¼ cup

Caramelized onions, red ½ cup

Dijon mustard 3 T

Olive Oil ¼ cup

Salt and pepper as needed

1. Boil potatoes half way done, then either grill or roast until all the way done.

2. Whisk oil and mustard, then pour in with potatoes.

3. Add blue cheese, white cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, salt and pepper with potatoes, mix gently.

4. Top with green onions.

Fish Tacos for 4

Snapper, Halibut, or Rockfish 2#s

Oregano 1 teaspoon

Cumin 1 Tablespoon

Red Pepper 1 teaspoon

Parsley 2 Tablespoon

Lime 1 Tablespoon

Lemon 1 Tablespoon

Olive Oil as needed

Salt and Pepper as needed

1. Marinate fish with all ingredients above for at least 1 hour.

2. Grill fish over medium heat until done.

‘Slaw’ for Tacos

Cabbage, white, thinly shredded 2 cups

Cilantro 2 oz

Corn ½ cup

Red Vinegar 1 T

Lime 1 teaspoon

Olive Oli 2 oz

Salt as needed

1. Mix red vinegar, lime, and olive oil.

2. Pour over cabbage, cilantro, and corn and incorporate well.

**Eat with Corn tortillas and fresh salsa!