SpudPal's Profile
5 hour layover at LAX - accessible by taxi
If you're in the mood for some old-school diner food, Dinah's on Sepulveda is about 10-15 minutes outside the airport. Food is pretty good (known for its fried chicken), very comforting historic diner ambience. The photo gallery online has pics of what you can expect, atmosphere-wise. I used to eat lunch there all the time when I worked nearby.
Dinah's Family Restaurant, dinahsrestaurant.com
6521 South Sepulveda Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Nice Restaurant For Birthday Dinner
My husband and I just had a lovely anniversary dinner at the Lazy Ox Canteen in Little Tokyo. Not sure how long of a drive it would be, but I highly recommend it. The ambience is romantic (albeit noisy), the food is plates to share and/or entrees, and what we had was fantastic (smoked salmon, lamb riblet, caramelized cauliflower, spaghetti squash). Interesting and fresh/seasonal-produce meat, fish and veg items. Also amazing desserts like this intense butterscotch pudding we had. http://www.lazyoxcanteen.com
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Little Tokyo Restaurant
150 E Bonita Ave, San Dimas, CA 91773
Lazy Ox Canteen
241 S San Pedro St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Mushroom marinade quandry
So I currently have two fine portobello mushrooms cooling their heels at my house. I have this idea of slicing them, marinating them, then sauteeing them and serving over some leftover rice pilaf...BUT! My husband is allergic to all citrus (except lime) and all things fermented (so vinegar and soy sauce are out). Does anyone have a good marinade for two plump portobellos which only involves lime juice for the acid? Or alternates?
Thanks in advance,
Spud
What do Chowhounds do for a living (besides eat of course)?
Sure! My site is angryalien.com. I created a thing called Thirty Second Bunnies Theatre and make one bunny short per month. The bunnies often tweet about their farmer's market outings.
Most disgusting taste (of normal foodstuffs)
Cilantro. And parsnips. Serve them to me together and it's the perfect SpudPal-bane.
Pictures of your food?
Yes, the hub & I totally feel moved to do the the ta-da when photographing the cookery! We write up the menus on these plain white 3 x 5 notepads I have around the house (I'd been using them for flipbooks). So I take these loose sheets and tape them into nice scrapbooks about once a year. They're really fun to flip through and reminisce about.
It'd be neat to see your step-by-step recipe! Maybe Flickr or a blog template could facilitate it.
Great book: "I loved, I lost, I made Spaghetti" by Guilia Melucci
I also enjoyed and recommend this book. I found it a satisfying read: the humor, the writing style and detailed descriptions of experiences and food consumed. An excellent book to curl up with.
Best chocolates in LA?
Technically Guanni Chocolates is based in San Diego, but I've ordered from their online shop with delicious results. http://www.guannichocolates.com/About (I heard about them on Good Food with Evan Kleiman.)
Pictures of your food?
Yes indeed. For the last 3 years, my husband & I have been doing a food project where each week, we alternate cooking a meal we've never attempted before. We frequently document with photos and always write up a menu with the date. It's been so much fun. Here's a sample foto of an enchiladas dish. We don't get fancy with the camera, just my Canon digital elph.
What do Chowhounds do for a living (besides eat of course)?
I'm new to Chowhound. I am a full-time, self-employed cartoonist. In my life, cooking and all foody delights fall under the category of relaxing/comforting/recreational pastime.
Your mom's weird cooking ... and other stories? (recipes encouraged)
I love this thread. My mom didn't cook much. Her version of spaghetti and meat sauce: overbrowned ground beef and a jar of Ragu. Also, she used to make me peanut butter and jelly French toast served with pancake syrup. It was kinda gross, kinda delicious. I may have given her the recipe from my WhimWham kids' activity and folklore book.
Dry-Brining a turkey
Same situation with our turkey this year. It's dry brine from now on!
Tell me why I need an enameled cast iron Dutch Oven ... or not
A necessity? I don't know, but ours has become my favorite kitchen pal. 2 years ago, we received the flame orange, 4½ qt. Le Creuset round French oven for our wedding. Since then, it's been our main pot. We've made tons of soups, boiled pasta, beans, sauteed greens, braised chicken thighs, short ribs and so on. Sure, it "spreads heat more evenly and retains heat longer than other cookware...The non-reactive enamel coating doesn’t require seasoning..." I find it also quite easy to clean. But beyond that, I've become quite, er...fond of it. (I've attached an action shot of it with a gigantes, spinach and sun-dried tomato concoction.) We lent it to our neighbors so they could make coq au vin, and I was counting the days until I could get it back. I unabashedly heart this pot.
PLEASE POST YOUR VOTES HERE: Ultimate Los Angeles Restaurants 2009
over $25/person:
Little Dom's
Canele
AOC
Grace
Sushi Nozawa
under $25/person:
Sushi Isshin
Nickel Diner
Viet Noodle Bar
Cha Cha Cha
Agra Cafe
Veggie oriented Vietnamese in the SGV?
Viet Noodle Bar in Atwater Village is delicious and veggie-focused. Great ambience too. 3133 Glendale Blvd., 90039.
Most memorable cooking disaster?
Sigh, I wish I could say this happened years ago, but it happened yesterday. During the course of making vanilla ice cream, I poured the custard into the ice cream maker without first having put the frozen bowl into the machine. And I've made ice cream many times in this thing. I'm watching it, thinking, why isn't it churning? Then it hit me. In the end, husband salvaged the batch sans judgment or even playful ribbing while I ran around kitchen kicking myself. I love that guy.
What is your favorite non-citrus flavor companion to cranberries?
I follow the sauce recipe on the cranberry bag and add about 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract once pan comes off the heat. Hardly noticeable; just tastes a bit brighter.
